Aliyah turns 3!!!

So our little girl turned 3 today! We can't believe it! For the past weeks we have been counting down the days with her to build up the excitement and now here we are, Aliyah Grace Roper, 3 Years Old!
As we think back to three years ago today, it was a completely different situation than today. Some of you may know the story and some of you may not, so we want to briefly share what the LORD did and where He has brought our little girl!

Here is Rebecca's story on Aliyah's birth...
My entire pregnancy was completely normal and she was healthy the whole time. We didn't expect anything out of the ordinary. I went into labor around midnight on October 28, 2006. So we went in and when I got there I was already dilated to a 7! We didn't even call our family until after she was born, everything happened so fast. To our surprise when she was born she was completely gray, not breathing, and barely had a heart beat. They did c.p.r. right away and within minutes had a tube down her throat, got her hooked up to an iv and took her to the NICU. It was a whirlwind of emotions! I was exhausted and barely could comprehend what was going on, just that this was my baby and something was wrong with her. It wasn't until later that night when the Dr. came to the room and sat down and explained she could possibly be there a few weeks, she could have brain damage, etc. They would have to do some tests to know. This is when it all sank in! I was a wreck! I just broke down. This wasn't supposed to happen! I planned on bringing her home to her room and I just couldn't imagine how I could possibly parent a child with severe medical issues. My husband kept reassuring me that she was in God's hands. I was clinging to His Words from psalm 100,"know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." They said during the last few minutes of delivery, she wasn't getting any blood/oxygen because my placenta had abrupted from the uterus. We praise the Lord for the very quick delivery, so they were able to start working on her! This was on Saturday night; on Sunday our whole church stood up and prayed corporately for her, praying for a miracle at that exact moment (10:30 am). When we went to see her the next morning, the nurses said that she started breathing on her own at 10:30!!!! WOW! God is able to answer prayers! By His grace, she got better and better and by Wednesday we brought her home! Our friend who is a nurse asked what her Apgar scores were and they were 1,1, and 2 and she was just amazed, saying, "wow, she was almost gone." We know that her life is truly a miracle! The Lord is gracious! I look back to this time of testing and thank Him for taking us through it as it drew us closer to Him and showed us His merciful kindness.

And now, we have been extremely blessed by this little girl that is so full of life, joy, happiness, excitement, energy, etc. It is amazing to think that even through her birth, this little girl of ours was already being used to get people to look to Jesus and it is our prayer that the Lord will continue to use her life to cause people to look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith!
WE LOVE YOU ALIYAH! WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR YOU!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

A2 - Prüfung (Test)

Hallo Zusammen! Heute morgen ich hatte ein Prüfung für meine Deutschkurs. Ich hatte viel angst für diese Prüfung, aber jetzt bin ich fertig und ich denke dass meine ergibnisse ist gut sein.
For all of you German speakers, I hope this is all correct, but I do think you understand what I am saying. (I am trying!)
So for all of you English Speakers. This morning I had a test for my German class. I had a lot of fear for this test, but now I am finished and I think that my results will be good.
I will find out next week what happened, so hopefully I passed!

Just thought I would share that with you all.

Update on Aliyah and Noah

Here is a quick little update with Aliyah and Noah. Aliyah is doing better. Thank you all for your prayers. Noah is still sick. He has been having a runny nose because of his teeth coming in, but he has been coughing these past few days and tonight he threw up twice and has a little fever. Please continue to be praying for him. Pray that he would also get some sleep - all the way through the night!
Thank you all for your prayers!

Are We Listening?

This past Sunday, we as a church continued in our series that is entitled "Are We Listening?" This has been a series through the 7 letters that were written to the 7 churches in the book of Revelation. Now I don't normally do this, but I do want to encourage you to listen to the message. Not because I taught it, but because of the power and the important warning that this letter is to us as the Church of Jesus Christ. To listen to the message, you can listen to it here on the blog. Just scroll down and the right hand side and look for the title, "Are We Listening? - Part 6." Or you can click here.

May you be blessed, challenged, convicted, drawn near to Jesus more than ever before.

The last thing that I want to say is... if you need prayer for anything - just hit the "comment" button below and we would love to pray for you!

Book Referal - Worship

Would you consider yourself a worshiper of Jesus? Would you say that you are a person that seeks to grow in your intimacy with Jesus? Do you seek to have a constant attitude of adoration of Jesus? Then I would definitely recommend this book. Facedown is a short and yet powerful book on the topic of worship.
I have to be honest with you. I have often been asked throughout my life, "What is your favorite music?" And in responding to this question, I always answer, "Worship!" I love to worship! I love listening to worship music! I love to spend time in worship as much as I can!
And yet as I think about it, I believe that our lives as Christians should be displaying a constant attitude and lifestyle of worship!
Jesus said in John 4:23-24 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
I find that the more that I spend time in the Word, the more I learn about who my God is and the more that I learn about who He is, the more my heart and mind stand in awe of who He is. In my life, this will naturally lead to an attitude of worship. To be honest, I do pray for you and I that we would have more of a desire to worship than we have ever had in the past. I pray that our response in worship would not be repetitious, apathetic, or a mere just going through the motions, but that the more that we understand who our amazing God is, the more that we would respond to Him in our worship, thanksgiving, and adoration.

I just want to share with you one little quote from the book, maybe it will spark an interest in you getting the book...

"When we face up to the glory of God, we soon find ourselves facedown in worship. To worship facedown is the ultimate outward sign of inward reverance...When it comes to expressing our worship, what we do on the outside is a key reflection of what is taking place on the inside..."
Facedown - Matt Redman - Page 13 & 14

Book Referal

Are you a teacher of the Word? Do you lead a small group Bible study? Do you seek to become a teacher of the Word? Have you just taken over a ministry and will be teaching others the Word?
Then I would definitely say that this little book would be one to get and to read. I have had this book for many years and have read it before, but I thought that I would just read it again and be refreshed by it. Warren and David Wiersbe point out many short, simple, and yet powerful points in the topic of preaching. So if you would answer yes to any of the questions above or think that you might one day, then get the book and read it. Maybe you already have it. Read it. Maybe you have already read it. Read it again and be refreshed by it.
As I was reading through it, I found myself being encouraged by many points, convicted by some, and challenged by others. So check it out.

Our Kids

The Roper Kids from Joey Roper on Vimeo.

Pray for Aliyah & Noah

Hello Everyone. I just want to put this short note out there to ask all of you to please start praying once again for Aliyah. She is sick once again. She is breathing really raspy once again. It is not as bad as last time, but she has it once again. We got her all bundled up today and took her on a walk outside to get some cold fresh air in her lungs. We have been told that is really good for her. So please do keep her in your prayers.
We also want to ask you to pray for Noah also. He has been sick for a while now. Nothing major, but just a constant runny nose and some coughing. So keep him in prayer also.
We are starting to enter into the cold season here in Deutschland and we definitely covet your prayers through this time to be healthy as a family.
Thank you all very much!
Love the Roper Family

Thus says the LORD - Part 2

Rebecca and I have started reading a new book. At the beginning of this book the author talks about he has been to a lot of hospital visits and has done many funerals. He began to talk about how frail our life is and when it comes to the point when we are on our "death bed" - we should live our lives in such a way that we would not have any regrets. So, let me ask you, would you?
I share that, because I want to share the following two verses...

James 4:14 “…For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Psalm 39:4-5 “LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. 5Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.”

As we consider these two verses, I want you to go get a match and a candle. Go ahead, go get it. If you don't have a candle, just get a match. Ready? Now light it. Now blow it out. Now count how long it takes that smoke to disappear. The Bible relates that to our life. Our life is just a vapor!
Why do I share this? Because I have only been given one life - I don't want to live my life with any regrets! I don't want my life to be a wasted life. If my life is just a vapor - then I want my life to be full of purpose, hope, vision, direction, and LIFE. So that causes me to get to this question.

What is it that you are living for?

Now we are at our theme verses...

Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.”

As we consider these two verses and understand that it starts off with "Thus says the LORD," I want to look at three areas that we as people often consume our lives in and then one area that the Lord desires us to consume our life in.

1. Glory not in Wisdom - Rühme dich nicht deiner Weisheit
Vs.23 “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,”

Before we get into this, let me define a couple words for you…

• Glory – to praise, to make one’s boast in, to be boastful (excessive pride)
• Wise/Wisdom – intelligent; wise from experience of life & skillful with regard to affairs both in human & divine areas

If there was one area that we as people glory in… it is our Wisdom. Think about it. When was the last time that you went to the doctors office? What did you notice all over the walls? (besides all of the corny paintings) That's right, all of the diplomas, degrees, and awards that proves that the doctor has the "wisdom" to do what he does. Now don't get me wrong. I want my doctor to really know what he is doing, especially if he is going to operate on me. But so often we as people can "glory" in those things. If you are not a doctor, but you are a student, going to high school, college, university, etc. Why are you going? To get a higher education right. To get more experience for your future. To get more "wisdom." Again, there is nothing wrong with those desires in and of themselves, but many times we as individuals begin to only have conversations with those who will "understand us," or even who are as "wise" as us. Lastly, sad to say, this has often been brought into the church. We wonder... Is the pastor qualified? Did he go to seminary? Does he have a degree in Biblical Studies? Has he mastered the Greek and Hebrew? Again, there is nothing wrong with any of these things in and of themselves, but how easily we can begin to "glory" or become prideful in what we know. Notice what the LORD says again...

Vs.23 “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,”

He is not declaring that wisdom is bad or wrong. No, in fact, it states in …

Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom.”

Proverbs 8:11 “For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.”

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

So it is not that WISDOM is bad. But what happens to us is that we begin to boast (glory) in our wisdom, as if we are the GREAT WISE ONE!

We need to be reminded of the following verses…

1 Chronicles 29:10-15 “Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. 11Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all. 12Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13“Now therefore, our God, We thank You And praise Your glorious name. 14But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You. 15For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, as were all our fathers; Our days on earth are as a shadow, And without hope.”

If we have any wisdom it is because He has given it to us! Why would we glory in something that is not our own!
Consider this verse…

1 Corinthians 1:25 “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men,”

2. Glory not in Strength - Rühme dich nicht deiner Stärke
Vs.23 “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the mighty man glory in his might,”
This is definitely another area that we as people boast (glory) in...OUR STRENGTH...OUR MIGHT...Our Mighty Deeds...The Great things that we have accomplished
I think we have some great examples to learn from in God’s Word…
Goliath

1 Samuel 17:4-10 “And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”

Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel 4:30 “The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

Herod

Acts 12:21-23 “So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. 22 And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.”

What happened to each of these men?

• Goliath died
• Nebuchadnezzar was humbled and later gave glory to the Lord
• Herod died on the spot

Once again, why do we begin to boast in something that we have received from the Lord? Has not all that we have been given to us from the Lord?

3. Glory not in Riches - Rühme dich nicht deiner Reichtümer
Vs.23 “Thus says the LORD: “Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;”

Here is the third area where we as people often glory in. Money! Our Riches! What we have acquired! But I want you to really let the LORD minister to you through His Word in these following verses...

1 Timothy 6:6-10 “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

1 Timothy 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.”

How many people have you seen in your life destroyed with money? Especially in the day and age that we live in. With all that is going on with the economy. So many people were glorying in their riches, in their wealth, in their abundance, and now, for many, it is all gone!

Consider these verses…

Matthew 16:26” For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Don’t Glory in Your
• Wisdom
• Might
• Riches

To summarize these three points, let us look at…

Ecclesiastes 2:3-11 “I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. 4 I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds. 9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor. 11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.”

Lastly, we look at the point that I believe that the LORD wants us to pursue with our lives...
4. Glory in Knowing Me - Rühme dich darin, mich zu kennen

Vs.24 “But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.”

Remember…

James 4:14 “…For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

I want to simply ask each of us, if we were on our deathbed right now, would be looking back in REGRET? What have we spent our lives PURSUING? In the end, will our wisdom matter at all? In the end, will our might matter at all? In the end, will our riches matter at all? WHAT WILL MATTER?

Let’s look at the verse again…

Vs.24 “But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.”

I think that my 4-year-old daughter has said it correct these past couple of weeks…

“Daddy, I want to go to heaven.”

Why?

“Because I want to see Jesus.”

“I want to sing that song…. I WANT TO KNOW YOU.”

Is this our aim? Is this the purpose in our life? To KNOW Him! To live our lives for the glory of Him! I have found that as I pursue Him, as I live for Him, as I seek to know Him more and more, my life is not empty, it has purpose, I am less worried about the financial crisis, my foundation is secure, and lastly I have discovered that He has been completely faithful to me.

Turn with me as we look at our last verses…

Philippians 3:3b-14 “and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Do you know Him? Is He your LORD? My prayer for you is that you would simply surrender your life to Jesus right now! Stop glorying in the things in this world. You might have it today, but what if it is all gone tomorrow? Because think about it - your life is a vapor - one day you will stand before His throne and the question will be asked... what did you do with My Son (Jesus)?

Are We Listening?

This coming Sunday we are going to be continuing the series "Are We Listening?" This has been a series that the Lord laid on my heart to teach any time that Pastor Edmund is out of town or is sick. We are going to be getting into our next letter. So I want to ask of you to please be praying for myself as I study to hear clearly from the Lord. Please also be praying for the church in Herborn, that we as a church would respond to what it is the Lord wants to work in or out of us. Pray that we would not just be hearers of the Word, but doers also. (James 1:22)
Thanks!

Thus Says the LORD - Part 1

I want to share with you my thoughts and notes on my "Part 1" study for "Thus says the LORD"
We looked at 3 different portions of Scripture where it is declared, "Thus says the LORD"
So let's get into it...
1. Allowance of Sin - Zulassen von Sünde

Joshua 7:13 “Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

Here is the situation...The Children of Israel are now under the leadership of Joshua. They have now crossed the Jordan River. They are moving forward and on their way to inherit the Promise Land. They had just defeated Jericho. The Lord was with them! They then faced the men of Ai and the men of Ai defeated the Children of Israel. When this took place, Joshua went before the Lord and complained. The LORD spoke to Joshua and told him to “Get Up… Israel has sinned…neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.”(Vs.12)
• This now brings us to our verse
• Let’s read it again…

Joshua 7:13 “Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

• How does this speak into our lives?
• What is the LORD speaking to us in this?
LET'S PUT IT SIMPLY… We too are like the Children of Israel. We are on a Journey to the “Promise Land." On this journey we are facing many enemies, many oppositions, etc. But the Lord is with us! In fact, maybe we have even had some recent victories in our lives, in our church, etc. But then all of a sudden, we have had some defeat in our lives. WHY? We feel like we have lost that “Blessing of the Lord." We sense that the Presence of the Lord has departed
WHY?
I will simply put it like this…

WHAT IS THE ACCURSED THING THAT IS IN YOUR/OUR MIDST?

Is there something that you are HIDING like Achan? Oh, no one knows about it – So you think! But the LORD knows about it…

Hebrews 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

Let us listen to the words that the Lord speaks to the Children of Israel…

Vs.13 “O Israel; YOU CANNOT STAND before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

This is so IMPORTANT! We cannot expect to be receiving the “blessing of the Lord” if we are hiding sin in our midst! We cannot expect to be led of the Lord if we are allowing this sin in our midst!

Isaiah 59:1-2 “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”

2. Hardening of Your Heart - Verhärtung des Herzens

Jeremiah 4:3-4 “For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. 4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.”

Here the LORD is speaking to the men of Judah and Jerusalem. Not have they only allowed sin into their lives. It has taken over their lives and so their hearts had become hardened. So the LORD sends Jeremiah the prophet to speak on His behalf
I want to quickly look at 3 things that Jeremiah says: THUS SAYS THE LORD

A.Break Up Your Fallow Ground - Pflügt einen Neubruch
Their hearts had become so hardened. They need to be broken up. They need to be softened. What about you?Has your heart become “Hardened” to the things of the Lord? Has sin put up “walls” of division between you and the Lord?

B. Do Not Sow Among Thorns - Sät nicht unter die Dornen
Why does the LORD speak this to them? What does this mean?

Matthew 13:18, 22 (turn with me to) “Therefore hear the parable of the sower…22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches CHOKE THE WORD, and HE BECOMES UNFRUITFUL.”

The nation of Israel had completely SOWN among thorns (the world). Yet the LORD speaks clearly to them. DO NOT SOW AMONG THORNS! I believe that this is what the LORD is speaking to us. DO NOT SOW AMONG THORNS! Stop mixing in with the world! What does it do? It Chokes the Word & You Become Unfruitful

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

“The Church did the most for the world, when the church was least like the world.”
G. Campbell Morgan

C. Circumcise Yourselves to the LORD - Beschneidet Euch für den HERRN
What is the LORD saying here? You see, the Covenant of Circumcision was something that the Nation of Israel did take serious. Jewish boys were circumcised when eight days old, given a name, and made a son of the covenant. But the problem was they the Nation of Israel had now “Trusted” in their Circumcision, but their hearts were far from the LORD.
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU ARE TRUSTING IN? Are you trusting in the fact that you go to church? Are you trusting in the fact that you were baptized when you were a baby? What are you trusting in?
What He desired was a circumcision of the HEART. A cutting away of “the flesh” of the heart.

3.Trusting in Flesh - Vertrauen in das Fleisch

Jeremiah 17:5-8 “Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. 6For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. 7“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. 8For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

Do you see how each of these points have been building on top of each other. Let's recap. It starts with the allowance of sin in our lives. After some time, if our hearts are not checked, it leads to the hardening of our hearts, which will many times lead us into "trusting" in our flesh, our strength, our abilities, etc. We begin to make "the flesh" our strength. But if you note with me in vs.5 it states... whose heart departs from the LORD. What do you think about that? How does that affect you? Well, keep reading vs. 6 to see the outcome. That does not sound good at all! Note the opposite in vs.7-8…(read above)
Here are some powerful verses to consider...

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;”

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

Proverbs 3:7 “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.”

4. Confession and Repentance - Bekenntnis & Buße
I believe that this is what our response needs to be. Let's be honest. Is there sin that you have allowed into your life? Get right with Jesus today! He is the only One that died in your place. He died so that you can live. He bled so that you can have your sins forgive. He resurrected so that you can have the assurance of salvation and the hope of eternity with Him.
Get right with Jesus today!
Consider the following verses...

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
So… Confess…Repent…
Proverbs 28:13 “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

Thus Says the LORD

Tomorrow night we are going to get into our next message on this topic of "Thus says the LORD." Last week I shared on three different passages where it states "Thus says the LORD," but tomorrow night, we are going to be focusing in on one passage of Scripture. I do ask all of you to please be praying for the LORD to clearly speak to us through the passage that I believe that He has laid upon my heart. Please do also be praying that we as His people would respond to what He tells us. I do believe that it would be a shame if we simply come to "church" and do not respond to what He desires to speak to us.
I also want to remind all of you here in Deutschland to come with ready and expectant hearts, to hear from the LORD.
God Bless you all!

By the way, just so you know, I will be putting up some notes from last weeks message and tomorrow nights message soon, so that the LORD will speak to and challlenge you also.

Resurrection

Updates on Daisy Love Merrick

A while back we put up a prayer request on the blog for Daisy Merrick. To get all of the current updates, please click here.

Please continue to Pray!

Thus Says the LORD

We have started a short little series on Wednesday nights that is called, "Thus Says the LORD." This is a theme that the Lord has placed upon Pastor Edmund's heart to teach to the church. I am blessed, excited, terrified, etc. to teach these next two Wednesday nights on this theme. Since Edmund told me about this theme I have been thinking of how awesome this series will be and yet how important it will be for us as a church to be listening to what the LORD desires to speak into our lives. I believe it will be awesome, because only awe can truly belong to the Lord. It will be important, because this must mean that the LORD wants to speak specific details into our lives as individuals and to us corporately as the body of Christ here in Herborn, Germany. If the statement is, "Thus says the LORD," then I believe that this should create in us the following responses:

• Awe & Fear - because we are dealing with the One True Holy God! Not fear that we would be afraid of Him, but more of a reverential awe (the fear of the Lord) of or for Him.
• A Ready Heart - because we need to be ready for the Lord to speak into our lives. He is the One that knows all things and wants to speak to us about some specific topics.
  
• An Obedient Life - the LORD will speak. What will be our response? I pray that it will be obedience from all of us.
  

So this is what I ask, I ask that you would be praying for all of those who will be teaching on these Wednesday night. Pray that they would clearly be hearing from the Lord. For it is the LORD who needs to speak, not us. Then pray that we would be faithful to declare that which the LORD is speaking. Also pray for us as a church (CC Herborn), that our response will be obedience to the LORD.
Lastly, I want to encourage all of you here in Deutschland that are reading this to come on these Wednesday nights will expectant and ready hearts!

May the LORD speak! May we Listen! May Jesus be glorified by it all!

Daddy & Noah

Here is a pic of my son (stud) and I. Yesterday as I was getting ready for church, I went into Noah's room to ask Rebecca if she could help me out with something. As soon as I walked in, Rebecca was just finishing dressing Noah. We couldn't help but notice that we had both dressed with a pullover sweeter and the long-sleeve button up shirt. So we had to take a picture and post it! Isn't he just the cuttest little boy in the world!!!!

Will Israel Stand Alone? - Amir Tsarfati

On Wednesday, September 16, we were blessed once again to have Amir Tsarfati to come and share about some current events that are taking place in Israel. The theme of his teaching was, "Will Israel Stand Alone?" Here is a basic summary of his teaching:

"Can Israel ever stand alone? This is the question that Amir will seek to answer in a biblical way. As you listen to this message, you will hear Amir demonstrate how the nations will leave Israel standing alone, you will hear about the biggest threat that Israel is currently facing, and how one of Israel’s greatest allies, the United States of America, is ready to depart from them.
In the days that we are living in, we see the spirit of the antichrist arising more and more, seeking to deceive the nations. You as a believer in Jesus Christ will be challenged more than ever to stand with Israel. It is time for us as followers of Christ to get serious, get ready, and pray harder than ever."

Needless to say, the message was very powerful and many people were blessed with it. I am personally so thankful for Amir always making himself available to come and and to minister to the German people. I am thankful that he brings for the Word of God and the he challenges each of us as believers in Jesus to be awake and alert in the times that we are living in.

I would strongly encourage each of you to listen to the message here.

We had a packed house, I believe that every seat was full!

A Surprise Visitor

A few weeks ago, before I had my surgery, we had a surprise visitor! I was sick on this particular Sunday and it was a little after 12 o'clock that Pastor Edmund gave me a call. He told me that he had someone right there that wanted to talk to me. So I was not sure who it was going to be. So the person got on the phone and said, "Hey Joey, do you remember me? It's Pam!" Well, I thought, I know many Pam's, so I was not sure who it was. So she went on to say, "You know, Pam Luntz, I was in your youth group years ago!" So now I am trying to remember all of the Pam's that we had in the youth group and told her that I definitely recognized her name, but would need to see her to put a face to the name. So we invited her over, even though I was sick, and ended having her over for lunch and a great time of fellowship! It was so awesome to see Pam! As soon as she was standing at the door of our house, I knew exactly who she was. It was so great to catch up and to hear all that the Lord is doing in her and her familiy's lives. What a special treat it was for us to have one of our youth from many years ago come and suprise us here in Germany. So many thousands of miles apart, and yet the Lord brings us back together to have fellowship, encourage each other, and pray for each other!
Pam, it was great to see you! Thanks so much for the surprise visit! May the Lord continue to lead you and guide you as you seek to follow after Him!

I Want To Go To Heaven

This morning as I was taking Katie to kindergarten, she said many statements along the way that totally blessed my heart as her daddy and as one who has the same desires. So here are some of the statements that she said:

"Daddy, I want to go to heaven."

When she said that statement, Philippians 3:20, immediately came to my mind. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ," How quickly I was challenged by my 4 year old daughter to be reminded of the eternal perspective. To have this longing for and desiring to be in heaven!
I then went on to ask her, "Sweetie, why do you want to go to Heaven?"
This was her response...

"Because I want to see Jesus."

Simple questions easily flow to my mind from this statement. Do I long to see Jesus? Have I so settled my heart and my life here on earth (although I live for Him), that this desire seems to fade from my heart and mind? Once again, I am challenged and reminded of Matthew 6:19-21, which says, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
As we went on in our conversation, there is one more statement that she said that I have to share with you. She said:

"I want to sing that song, 'I want to know Him'"

Wow! Although this is just a simply statement from a 4 year old little girl, think of the power of this statement! This is a similar statement that Paul the Apostle said in Philippians 3:8-10,
"Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,"

So I want to ask each of you today:

• Do you want to go to Heaven?
• Do you want to see Jesus?
• Do you want to know Him?

The Bible states in Romans 3:23 that 'we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.' We are all guilty and because of this, we deserve to be judged! And yet because of the amazing love of God, He sent His only begotten Son into the world to take the judgment that we deserved upon Himself (John 3:16-17). In fact, Romans 5:8 states that the love that 'God demonstrated was that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.' I love that! God didn't just say that He loved us, He demonstrated His love towards us! So what will you do with this love? What will you do with this offer of forgiveness? Romans 10:9-10 states 'if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.'

• Do you want to know for sure that you are going to heaven?
• Do you want to know for sure that you will see Jesus?
• Do you want to know Jesus TODAY as your personal Lord and Savior?

Then I want to encourage you to do these following steps:
1. Recognize you are a Sinner
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

2. Realize that Jesus died for you
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

3. Repent from your sin
Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,”
Romans 10:9-10 "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

4. Receive Jesus
John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”

Parable from the Beach

Here is a little powerful devotion that I thought you would be blessed with!

St. Petersburg, Russia Outreach

St. Petersburg Mission Team Outreach from Joey Roper on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago Martha led a small team over to St. Petersburg, Russia for a weeks long mission trip. The main point of the trip was the Women's Retreat that Martha taught at. This was the first ever women's retreat with these three Calvary Chapel churches in St. Petersburg. The Lord really blessed and did a great work of His Spirit! We praise the Lord for the work of His Spirit that was done!

The name of the song is "Till the Whole World Hears" by Scott Cunningham