Hi Brian!

I am so sorry that I completely missed the blog again last week! These Monday holidays seem to trip me up lately! The word for this week is "irksome". It is found twice in the Amplified Bible and it caught my eye! Here are the two places:

Philippians 3:1 FOR THE rest, my brethren, delight yourselves in the Lord and continue to rejoice that you are in Him. To keep writing to you [over and over] of the same things is not irksome to me, and it is [a precaution] for your safety. AMP

1 John 5:3 For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous). AMP

These are two different Greek words that have similar meanings. In Philippians it is the word "okneros". Thayer's Greek Lexicon says:  to be slow or hesitant. Vine's Expository Dictionary says: to be loath or slow to do a thing. Paul is sayng that even if he has to keep writing these instructions to them, he doesn't mind because his heart is turned toward them to help them! In 1 John 5:3 they give the definition which is burdensome, oppressive or grievous. This came from the Greek word "barus". Anything that the Word of God instructs us to do is ALWAYS for our own good and will result in God's blessings in our lives. 

I know that by now you and Kristine have faced many things with four unique young ladies that you have had to deal with, and many times differently with each different personality! Yet Holy Spirit has given you the needed wisdom in each circumstance! You have both done a tremendous job of obeying Proverbs 22:6:

6 Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. AMP

The PROMISE is that all of your time, energy and creativity is not in vain and WILL produce the desired results! Well done! The only song that comes to mind for this is Brandon Lake's "Kids" for HE "will never let His kids down"!

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

The first blog post we did spoke about fathers and what a good father you were (are). This week we are looking a two verses that speak about fathers.

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord. AMP

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or fret your children [do not be hard on them or harass them], lest they become discouraged and sullen and morose and feel inferior and frustrated. [Do not break their spirit.] AMP

I was never raised to know Jesus and I was never close to the father I grew up knowing! Everything that Greg and I learned about parenting came after we recieved Jesus in 1980 when Trevor was 2 1/2 and Kori was 1! We missed some time there, but God was gracious to teach us quickly! It has been such a joy to watch our children become wonderful parents. It has also been a real joy to watch you and Kristine raise your beautiful young ladies to love Jesus, to step out and try things, to work hard for what they want, and to LOVE others! They always show us so much love even though we don't see them as often now. All of that is the fruit of being a GOOD father! They will never have a hard time receiving the love that Heavenly Father has for them because they have been and are now loved so well by you both! So the message is that you are doing such a wonderful job at fatherhood and as you keep up that GOOD WORK, you will continue to reap the fruit of that! Here is a song by Brandon Lake called "Daddy's DNA" which speaks of how our Heavenly Father sees us! 

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

Hi Brian!

This week I have still had my mind on the concert that we went to. Holy Spirit has continued to show me things and bring back to my remembrance things that I have known, but sometimes let slip away! It has been such a rejuvination for me! Then I read this from Charles Spurgeon  today and it really ministered to me! 

"The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." — John 1:14

Believer, YOU can bear your testimony that Christ is the only begotten of the Father, as well as the first begotten from the dead. You can say, "He is divine to me, if He be human to all the world beside. He has done that for me which none but a God could do. He has subdued my stubborn will, melted a heart of adamant, opened gates of brass, and snapped bars of iron. He hath turned for me my mourning into laughter, and my desolation into joy; He hath led my captivity captive, and made my heart rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Let others think as they will of Him, to me He must be the only begotten of the Father: blessed be His name. And He is full of grace. Ah! had He not been I should never have been saved. He drew me when I struggled to escape from His grace; and when at last I came all trembling like a condemned culprit to His mercy-seat He said, 'Thy sins which are many are all forgiven thee: be of good cheer.' And He is full of truth. True have His promises been, not one has failed. I bear witness that never servant had such a master as I have; never brother such a kinsman as He has been to me; never spouse such a husband as Christ has been to my soul; never sinner a better Saviour; never mourner a better comforter than Christ hath been to my spirit. I want none beside Him. In life He is my life, and in death He shall be the death of death; in poverty Christ is my riches; in sickness He makes my bed; in darkness He is my star, and in brightness He is my sun; He is the manna of the camp in the wilderness, and He shall be the new corn of the host when they come to Canaan. Jesus is to me all grace and no wrath, all truth and no falsehood: and of truth and grace He is full, infinitely full. My soul, this night, bless with all thy might 'the only Begotten.'"

There is such FREEDOM in serving JESUS! Freedom to BE who HE has made us to be without trying to live up to the expectations of others! I LOVE this in Proverbs 16:7:

7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

If my goal is pleasing HIM, He has promised to deal with others on my behalf! I LOVE that! Here is a song that we sang at the concert by Pat Berrett called "Praise The Lord Forever" that has a similar message! 

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!

P.S. We had to change internet providers a while ago and I don't remember if I gave you my new email address. It is:

r_swov@yahoo.com

Hi Brian!

This week I am sharing Joseph Prince's "Daily Grace Inspirations" devotional becauase I LOVE it! 

Come Back to Simplicity

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3

Several years ago, the Lord began to speak to me about healing in a very strong way. He led me to read a verse I believe articulates clearly His will for us. It was written by the disciple whom Jesus loved, the disciple who was an eyewitness as Jesus went about healing all who came to Him, the disciple who leaned on Jesus’ bosom and knew the heartbeat of His love:

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. —3 John 1:2

What I want you to see is this: John was writing to the well-beloved Gaius, a believer. John knew that Gaius’s soul was already prospering.

If you have invited Jesus into your heart to be your Lord and Savior, then you have received the gift of eternal life and can have full assurance that heaven is your home (Romans 10:9–11). Whatever challenges you might be faced with on the outside, your soul, which is eternal, has begun prospering.

But it wasn’t enough for John to know Gaius’s soul was prospering. John prayed that Gaius would also “prosper in all things and be in health.” In other words, you can pray for your outward, physical body to be healthy even as your soul is healthy in Christ.

You can be sure God’s will is for you to be healthy because His Word declares it. Since His will is for you to be “in health,” don’t go with human tradition or man’s opinion that says it is sometimes His will for you to be sick.

Don’t let man’s conjectures and theories cause you to believe the lie that maybe God wants you to endure the sickness in your body so you can learn to trust Him more or grow in patience. Because of what Jesus did at Calvary, we can be sure sickness is never from God. Healing is!

Come back to the simplicity of declaring like a child, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” In the same way, how do I know Jesus wants us walking in His health and wholeness? For the Bible tells me so.

AMEN! Here is a song that tells of GOD'S unwavering support of US and our CHILDREN! This is called I Know A Name" by Brandon Lake and it speaks very clearly to Who WE are when WE ARE in HIM!

Love and Shalom from the Swoveys!