Living Above the Sun Ministries

"Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." -John 6:37 The book of John is my favorite Gospel. It's deeply theological, and one of the main themes is believing. The word believe is used close to 88 times. The Greek word for believe is pisteuo , and means to put ones faith in; to trust. This is our fourth and final part in this series of looking at the question, "What must I do?" Our passage today comes from John 6:22-58, and again I ask you to read this passage completely before reading on in this post. I want to express to you from my heart how excited I am about this post. I was up one morning till three o'clock pouring over this scripture and rejoicing in what God revealed to me in it. It was such an intimate time with Him, and it was one of those night's where I'm writing with one hand and the other up in the air praising Him. Oh my. My heart leaps and is so overwhelmed for ...

"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance..." -Luke 3:8 So we've been looking at the different instances in scripture where people ask the question of what they must do to have eternal life. Today we'll be looking at Luke 3:7-19 which again I encourage you to read before reading the rest of this post. In this passage alone we see the question, "what must I do" asked 3 different times. In this case they are asking John the Baptist. John was preparing the way for Jesus, showing people that they need a Savior to save them from the law that they can't keep. Verse three of this chapter tells us he was going throughout all the region around Jordan preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. There are two important Greek words to know: hamartia - 'sin': (n) any action or attitude that is contrary to the will of God, and the revealed standard of God. metanoia - 'repented': (n) changing from a sinful state to a right...

"Now as He was going down the road, one came running knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" -Mark 10:17 Since coming back to Portland I have been praying for a rich man to be saved. After addressing the choir I sing in at my church and giving the news that God had called me to be a missionary in Portland, a good friend of mine emailed me later that night and told me something God revealed to her driving home. This is what her email said to me: I don't want to put words in God's mouth, but He may have shown me something. I was praying as I got home and I think He may have given this to me...Pray for a rich man in Portland to be saved....this verse came immediately... " Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. " This moved me so deeply, since that email on August 7, 2013 I have prayed fervently everyday for the ri...

"Let us look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." -Hebrews 12:2 Lately these mornings here in PDX I've been getting up to watch the sunrise. Fresh out of bed I flail around the neighborhood in my PJ's trying to get the perfect view of the sun rising over Mt. Hood. Taking in the colors, taking in the sounds, I meet with God. My eyes fill with tears. Since it rains 9 months out of the year here if you have a chance to catch a glimpse of God's beauty you better do it! What a gift to not receive. Up, up, up a hill I would climb, "higher, God, higher! I want to go higher with you. I want to see a bigger picture. I don't want to miss anything you would have me see." When I came home I asked the lady I live with if she knew that she could see Mt. St. Helens from her door. She's lived there for a while, and she didn't know! She is shorter than I, but it got me thinking about perspective. A few of my other friends also ca...

"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26 I was recently at a Women of Faith Conference here in Portland and was blessed to hear Lysa Terkurst speak. The theme of this conference was "Believe God Can do Anything." I already know, and believe He can, goodness I think my life is enough witness right there! She spoke from 2 Samuel 20:16-22 about 'the wise woman' who saved her city. The week leading up to this weekend I had been praying...and still do continue to pray for Portland. That God would do a mighty work, and give us eyes to see Him work, and to know that He can change the people of Portland. It's so interesting, when I tell people I'm a missionary their response always is, "Portland definitely needs it." Don't get me wrong Portland does need a lot of exposure to Jesus, but the past several days I've been in huge crowds of people who claim Christ. It's going to take every ...

It is ironic when we read the Bible. We'll come to parts where the Pharisee's mock Jesus, or how people treat those who are diseased, or the man who insulted Jesus on the cross. I like to think I'd be just like Jesus, at least like Peter. After all there is no way we could be like those unfair Pharisee's, or like the people who do this or that that is not Christ like. We're good people. Some of us believe this good gets us into Heaven and makes God accept and love us more. But the more I humble myself and truly let God reveal to me who I am in the mirror of His Word, the more I see that I am the Pharisee, I am the one who treats the diseased badly, and I insult Jesus on a constant basis. I was reading in Luke 23 this morning, the conversation Jesus had with the 2 men hanging on either side of Him. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear ...