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Boasting in Weakness

~ Appropriating the Cross of Christ for Life.

Boasting in Weakness

Category Archives: Biblical Parenting

Video

John Piper on the Ultimate Essence of Evil

15 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by Beth Hogan in Biblical Parenting, Edification, The Believing 21st Centruy American Woman

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Sin, The Glory of God

This is the sermon John Piper preached at Passion 2017. Sunday a friend told me to check it out. She said that her and her husband listened to it last week and that it left them dumbfounded – that it changed their whole perspective on sin and the essence of evil. So I heeded her sisterly admonishment to ‘check it out’ and started to listen to it while cooking dinner earlier tonight. After listening to the first twenty minutes of this message, I wanted my kids to hear it. So I hooked-up the movie projector and we listened to (watched) John Piper preach on the ultimate essence of evil.

The reason that I wanted my kids to hear this sermon is my desire that they understand that preferring anything else more than they prefer God is the ultimate essence of evil and the root of all sin. I wanted to remind them that the Christian life is not about a check-list of dos and don’ts, which is an easy thing to forget when raised in a Christian home. I wanted my kids to hear again that the Christian life is about seeing “…the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6), rejoicing over all that God is for us in Christ (Romans 5:11),  “…being transformed into the same image from one degree to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18), and that pleasing God in righteous living and obedience results from a faith-filled love for God (Hebrews 11:6). Or, to put it another way,  I wanted my kids to remember that loving God, wanting God, desiring God above all other things is at the heart of glorifying God, magnifying Christ, and serving Him in this world. I wanted them to lay-hold of the reality that Christ is everything, and that everything other than Christ is nothing without Him.

God has been very kind to give this generation preachers like John Piper. I am so glad that I took my friend’s advice and was able to share this sermon with my kids. It blessed us all. So if you have 45 minutes and you need to be reminded of some of these truths too – check it out.

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Barbara’s Testimony

03 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by Beth Hogan in Biblical Parenting, Edification, Family, Motherhood, Salvation, Testimony, The Believing 21st Centruy American Woman, The Christian Home

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Biblical Femininity, Christian Marriage, Grace, The Sovereignty of God, Trials

“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”   (Revelation 12:11 ESV).

When I met Barbara seven years ago, she shared her testimony with me. Although, until recently, I had not seen her for about four years, I had never forgotten what she had shared with me that night. How God had sovereignly intervened in her life through her children’s involvement with a local youth ministry. How at a time of great difficulty in dealing with her first husband’s addiction and subsequent death, God was working for her salvation and her joy. And, how God brought her husband Michael and her together for a long joyful marriage of service to God. Barbara came to know the Lord 44 years ago, and yet her love and exuberance for Jesus is as contagious as if she just came to know Him. The Lord has carried her through years of difficulty and living life in a fallen world. Her testimony can and, I believe, will encourage any woman who needs to be reminded that the Lord is sovereign. And, that for those that love Him, He is working all things together- (all things including the addictions of loved ones, widowhood, single parent child-rearing, church ministry)- for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.   (Romans 8:28 ESV)

Barbara’s Testimony

“I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic church faith from 1931 to 1972 when Jesus changed my life. I attended Sacred Heart School in Yonkers, NY from kindergarten through high school graduation in 1948. I received First Communion at age 8, and Confirmation at age 12, attended all Novena services, sang in the choir, and prayed the Rosary novenas. One of my uncles was a Roman Catholic priest, and my Father was a St. LaSalle teaching brother at Manhattan College until he had to leave the order to take care of his mother and sisters when his father died. My mother’s family also were strong Roman Catholics.

In 1953 I was married in the Catholic Church. God gave us four boys and four girls. In 1974, my oldest daughter was invited to a service in a Baptist church, and I gave her my permission to go there.

My husband had a problem with alcohol and our family was suffering from the results of his addiction, but he was unwilling to get help. After being out of work as an accountant for a company involved with hotels and motels he finally, after a year at home, went for a job interview and, as I found out later, he was hired. On the train coming home, he had been talking with people in the bar-car and got off at the wrong station. When he realized his mistake he tried to get on the moving train, but people tried to pull him off. When they let go of him- he lost his grip and went under the wheels. He died an hour later at the hospital. That was November 6, 1970.

I started to notice my daughter who had gone to the Baptist church taking her Bible and notebook to her favorite spot every day and sharing with her brothers things that she was learning. I went to see my parish priest and asked him what he thought about the Baptists. The only answer he gave me was, “Keep yourself and your children away from them.”

My daughter was telling her brothers about the things she was learning and I started to notice a change in their behavior. To satisfy my curiosity, I invited the youth group to have choir practice in my home. I heard the messages of love for the Lord and reaching out to people with the message of God’s love that changes lives. I found out the reason why Jesus had to die a horrible death. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, the stain of their sin of disobedience was passed on to every person who was born. Baby baptism does not remove the stain of sin. The person being baptized has to acknowledge their separation from God, as they are put under the water to be buried with Christ in His death, and brought up out of the water to be raised out of death to walk with Jesus in newness of life.

On October 30, 1972 at 10:00 A.M. I went into my bedroom to pray the prayer of the rosary devotions. After saying a few Hail Marys my mind turned toward remembering the messages of the songs. One song says, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give, I will ever love and trust him, in His presence daily live. I surrender all, all to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” With tears rolling down my cheeks, I surrendered my life to my Lord Jesus Christ. I gathered my children around and shared my experience with them. I prayed the sinner’s prayer with each of them, but at different times the Lord gave each one their own experience.”

At one time the Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church needed a secretary and asked me if my daughter Joan could come for an interview and would I be present with her. While Pastor was gathering information from Joan, in my mind the Lord was impressing on me that “This is my job.” In my mind, I told the Lord that Joan was the one being interviewed, not me. Three times the Lord impressed on me that this was my job.

After two years as Pastor’s secretary Joan was offered a job at Rug Works which was owned and operated by members in the congregation. And so, Pastor was, again, without a secretary. Three weeks after Joan left, I asked Pastor if he needed a secretary. His answer to me was, “When can you start?” The next day I began my career as a church secretary, which lasted until my retirement in 2006.

My children Anne, George, and I were baptized by immersion in 1973.

I served the Lord under Pastors Haire, Farber, and the present Pastor Pandolfi.

While I was secretary I was involved with the youth group, and for three summers my two-week vacation was used traveling with the youth group to churches, sharing the Gospel message. My brother and sister-in-law stayed with the children while I was away.

On November 6, 1974, Billy Graham had a crusade on television ministering to young people and my future husband Michael listened to the message. In the course of his life, he had traveled around and worked at Yellowstone national park. He had met some people who shared the gospel with him. As he listened to the message, he remembered the things that had been shared with him in his travels. When the invitation was given, he poured his heart out to invite Jesus to take control of his life. He prayed asking the Lord where he should go to church. He remembered seeing a church being built not far from where he was staying.

The first person he saw was the minister of youth. Michael said to him, “Is this where you find Jesus?” Of course the answer was, “Yes, Sir, you’re in the right place.”

After about a year of observing how involved I was with the youth group and gathering information from church members, Mike found out that I was a widow with 8 children, a church secretary, a piano teacher for children of two families who were church members, a Sunday school teacher (4th grade students), leader of ladies Bible studies, sang special music in some of the services, and had traveled with the “Agape” youth group for two weeks, two summers (to Georgia one year and Niagara Falls another year). Mike went to a family in the church and expressed to them his desire to ask me for a date. They encouraged him to ask me. I agreed to do Bible Studies with him. We waited three years before we got engaged and three years before we got married.

My husband and I now live in an apartment complex in Port Jervis, New York, with 49 other families; and we share the Gospel message as the Lord leads. My eight children, Anne. James, Robert, Joan, George, Kathleen, William, and Maryan have their own families and live in different states.

As a side note, When I was still searching for answers, and had gone to the priest and asked him what he thought about the Baptist church, the only answer that got from him was “Keep yourself and your children away from the Baptists.” I also wrote to the Bishop of Rockville center, New York City, and I asked him if her knew if he would go to heaven. His secretary sent me a short note saying, “We have to leave that up to the Lord.”

I remained a Catholic for about one year after I accepted the Lord, and I left tracks regarding the Lord’s message of salvation where people might find them. Before I was saved, I had been elected ‘Corresponding Secretary’ of the Rosary Society; but, because I had given my life to the Lord, I gave back all the materials they gave me. I also took my daughter’s best friend to one of the ladies homes to witness to her. I never saw that lady again. Some nights I stayed up all night reading the Bible, and when the children left for school I would go to bed for a few hours.”

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My Son’s Favorite Bible Account (And a Free Bible Searching Tool)

06 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by Beth Hogan in Bible Reading, Biblical Parenting, Boasting in Weaknesses, Christian Love, Edification, Education, Family, Free Faith Builders, Friendship

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I was showing my son John how to use the Bible-Hub search engine (Bible.hub is some pretty nifty free online software for searching the Bible). So I asked him, “What do you want to look up?” He said, “Cup of water- like David’s mighty men.” (He is twelve.) So we typed it in, and next thing you know we have 2 Samuel 23:13-17 printed out (in a really cool font, of course), and hanging above his desk in his bedroom. After we looked it up, John said, “I love that account. Its just so great to see how much his friends loved him.” I was like, “It really is.” So I decided to post it. John was right, it really is so great to see how much David’s friends (mighty men) loved him- and to see how much he loved his friends. Bible-hub link follows.

2 Samuel 23:13-17

“And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim . David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.”

http://biblehub.com/

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Born in 76, saved in 95, happily married since 96, moved from MA to TX in 97- did the reverse two years later. First child born in 99, second and third children (twins) born in 01, fourth child born in 03, fifth child born in 04- started homeschooling the same year. Moved from MA to NY in 05 and then moved again from NY to PA in 09- In all of it, totally feeling my weakness, absolutely embracing the cross, and in an amazing way experiencing the resurrection grace of God. So, I figured why not just boast in it? Hence, Boasting in Weakness: Appropriating the Cross of Christ for Life- 2014.

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