Urgent Prayer Request

Hey y'all, I've got a quick prayer request from my friend, Libby. Here is what she said:

My sister's close friend, who is only eight years old, fell off a tree -- a drop of about two and a bit yards/metres -- breaking the worst bone in your leg that you can break, and breaking her wrist and nose. They say she's going to stay in the hospital for six weeks!!!!!!

The family is finding it really hard since the father has also got broken ribs, and had to BIKE RIDE up to the hospital when it happened, since the little girl was at my place when she fell, and her parents weren't around.

I was there, waiting for the ambulance to come (lets not mention she fell on someone elses driveway, on the CONCRETE!) and comforting her and stuff. She also hit head-first, but, THANK YOU GOD! -- she doesn't have anything wrong with her brain or anything.

She was the bravest little girl ever, and I want to tell her so. ...thank you Jesus -- nothing is wrong with her neck or spine.

She was rushed to the hospital -- her mother uncontactable -- and my mom went a long with them. Luckily she was chatting all the way to the hospital because that is a really good sign.

Now her mom is with her at hospital and her sisters are with the dad, in tears of course. But normally, when you break a bone, all the pain comes in the next few days, and that's what's happening with her. PLEASE PRAY, because she is in SO much pain.

And here is the latest update from Libby.

Okay, so I just remembered something I heard when I was with Ellie. The nurses were talking about all the broken femurs they'd had this year. Normally they had three a year, but this year, Ellie was NUMBER SIX to have a broken femur!!!!!!! That's why they hardly knew what to do about a traction and this one nurse had to explain and stuff. They were all REALLY scared to work on Ellie because the last three haven't been successful at all (I heard all this -- they were talking about it. I don't know if Ellie heard or not... but I did.) and I was like, no way.Please, please, PLEASE pray that this traction will be successful for Ellie, and that it will heal properly and NOTHING will go wrong like the last three the nurses have worked with. Please pray for wisdom for those nurses and that God will guide their hands as they work with her.I thought that was really shocking to hear, so yeah, please pray about that.

I know they would appreciate your prayers. I will keep y'all updated if I can!

In Christ,
Buttercup

Search my blog!!! Giveaway!!!

Hey y’all! Well, I got this idea from Libby, (you've probably seen a lot of stuff she's made for me, or told me how to do lately!) who just did this on her blog! I had so much fun doing it, that I thought y’all would too!

The first place prize is: the Chris Tomlin “Arriving” CD! AND you get to do a guest post on my blog and I can do one on yours (I personally think that is a lot of fun!). AND I will link to your blog on mine! AND you will have all rights to use a photograph of mine, of course, it is still mine under copyright, but you can use it however you like! (i.e. Backgrounds, buttons, etc.)

The second place prize is: you get to do a guest post on my blog and/or I will do one on yours. AND you will also have a picture (not yet decided which) of mine to use! AND I will link to your blog on mine!

For third place: YOU get to chose two of the things in the second place prize!

It ends on the seventh of October! So you've got plenty of time! But don't wait! If you got them all correct but someone did it first, then you get second or third place. If you win first place, but don't like Chris Tomlin (I don't know how you couldn't!) or already have the CD or you are just feeling generous then just tell me, and I'll send it to the second place winner. :P

Please do it! You’ll have so much fun! You can use the search bar if you need to, but for my questions, I don't think you'll need to, or can really. :D




Ready? Set? Go!

1. What was my first post titled?

2. How many posts were in the 2nd Timothy study?

3. Which month did I post the most?

4. What label has been used the most?

5. Am I the only person that has ever posted on here? If not, then who else posted?

6. What or who is most important in my life?

7. How many links to other sites are on my sidebar?

8. What does FTF stand for?

9. What am I trying to do once a month this year?

10. What grade am I in?

11. Who did I name myself after?

12. How many/which blogs do I participate in?

13. Where is the word "Faultless" used?

14. What's my latest post titled? As of when you do this.

15. Tell other bloggers about the quiz and the prizes! And link back to me!

Once you've got your answers, post it in a comment,* I will not post the comments till the last day! And be sure to check out Libby's blogs! Thanks a ton, Libby!

If there are any changes I will let you know asap!

Have fun! Buttercup :D

*For those of you who only get these posts by email. Now you've got a reason to visit my blog! LOL. You can tell me your answers by email if you want. :D

Project

Hi Y'all! I am going to undertake a big project! I think that God wants me to raise the money for a fully-equipped missionary vehicle for the native missionaries of Asia through Gospel For Asia (GFA). Here is what the site says on what it is,

A fully equipped vehicle—complete with an Indian-made film on the life of Christ, an LCD projector, generator, mobile public address system, Gospel tracts, Bibles and flip charts—is $21,000.

Yeah I know, $21,000. But, if God said do it, I can! So, do you want to help me??? You don't have to. :P Please get the word out! Direct people to my blog, where I will update! I think I will put this button on the sidebar, so you don't have to find the specific post. Since it is so much money, I am going to donate each month, whatever I recieve; so, it will probably not all go to one vehicle, but my goal still is $21,000!

2nd Timothy study, Part 27

Hi y'all! Hope y'all are having a great week so far, and a good hump day! We just might finish the study today! Let's see! Remember to pray before we begin today. Oh, btw, remember how I had to cut it short yesterday? Well, today we get to see what Paul was going to say in verse eighteen.

18. And the Lord shall deliver from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for every and ever. Amen.

19. Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

20. Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

21. Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.

22.The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

Verse eighteen is a part of what Paul was talking about in the previous couple verses. That's why I wanted to do it yesterday, but didn't have time. The cool thing about this verse is that you can almost feel Paul's courage. You can see how sure he was, how much he relied on God to bring him through. He says, "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom." He doesn't say that he thinks that God might deliver him from some evil works. NO! He says for a fact that God will deliver him, no doubt about it! God will not only deliver him, but he will deliver him from every single evil work! Amazing faith! What amazing faith!

And, not only deliver him from every evil work, but he says that God will also "preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom." I think, that that means that he knows that he is saved, and when he dies (died) that he will go up to heaven to be with God!

He ends that verse by praising God, he says, "...to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Basically, he is saying, not to me, but to God, be all the glory for ever and ever and ever! Never ending glory!

In the last few verses, Paul is telling Timothy to greet some certain people, and telling him that certain people greet him. Let's look and see who they were....

1. Prisca and Aquila. In some versions Prisca is Priscilla. I don't know why it's different, but they are the same person. Priscilla and Aquila were a couple that lived at the same time of Paul, they were Christians, and they opened up their home to be used as a church. To read more about Priscilla and Aquila, click here.
   
2. The household of Onesiphorus. Remember him from chapter one? Paul said that he did not desert him, but refreshed him, and was not ashamed of him like the others.
3. Eratus. I don't know anything about him besides that he lived in Corinth. So all I can do is guess. Since Paul tells Timothy to "salute" (greet) him, he is probably a Christian, and a good friend of Paul and Timothy. Also, since Timothy is told to greet him, he might be in Corinth, or is going to go through it soon.
   
4. Trophimus. This is a pretty sad thing. This is not the only time he is mentioned in the Bible, click here to read the other references to this man. Right here all Paul says is that he left him at Miletum sick, but one of the other references to him notes that he is an Ephesian, a man who lived in Ephesus. Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in that city, the book of Ephesians!
   
5. Eubulus. This is the only time he is mentioned in the Bible, and nothing is really said about him. All I know about him is that he is with Paul, he is probably bringing Paul food, and keeping him company; because Paul says that "Eubulus greeteth thee," he might also know Timothy.
6. Pudens and Linus. Same with them, they are probably with Paul. Also, they are not mentioned any other time in the Bible. (They are not a couple. :P I just put them together since they are in the same position.)
   
7. Claudia is also only mentioned once in the Bible, but Barclay thinks that she may have been a British princess that was sent to Rome after the rulers of Britain and Rome made an agreement, and when she was there she became a Christian. No one knows for sure though, there were probably a lot of people named Claudia back then! :D
8. All the brethren. The Christians.
   

In the beginning of verse twenty one Paul makes request of Timothy, he tells him to try to come before winter. The winters in Europe are cold as far as I know, and Paul did not want Timothy to make that long journey in the cold, and probably wanted to see him as soon as possible. Does that not sound fatherly to you? The further we get through this book, I keep seeing how Paul loved Timothy so much, and basically took him for his own son, he loved and cared for Timothy like a father, and Timothy probably felt the same towards Paul.

The last verse is Paul's farewell, he says, "The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen." One thing that I noticed as I read all of Paul's letters is that, he always ends with, "Grace be with you." Or something similar, it is kind of like his signature or mark, if you think about it! :D

Well, that's it. That is the twenty-seventh part of the four chapter letter written by Paul to Timothy. I hope you all enjoyed the study, and learned something from it too, if you did not get a chance to read them all they are all here, if you type in "2 Timothy" in the search engine, or go down my sidebar to "labels" and click "2 Timothy study" then they will all come up. :) Tomorrow I will try to do the recap for chapter four, then I will do a recap of the whole book sometime soon after. Thanks for reading.

Love you all in Christ,
Buttercup :)

2nd Timothy study, Part 26

Hey Y'all! I am very sorry for not posting in awhile, but I've been so busy! I have co-op three days a week, awanas once a week, volleyball three days a week, church on Sunday, and school five days a week; so, I'm pretty busy! Remember to pray before we begin studying today! :D

12. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

13. The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee , and the books, but especially the parchments.

14. Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:

15. Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.

16. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid at their charge.

17. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

18. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

In the first verse we are looking at today, Paul informs Timothy that he sent a man named, Tychicus, to Ephesus. Most likely to preach, and encourage the Christians there in Paul's absence. That's my guess, but I don't think anyone really knows anything about this man.

In verse thirteen Paul gives him a list of things he wants Timothy to bring to him.

1. His cloke. A circular piece of clothing with a hole in the middle for your head, and possibly a hood, it reached all the way to the ground, so it basically did the work of a blanket. Paul was most likely cold in that prison, and like a normal human being, wanted something to keep him warm, and possibly dry.
2. The books. I don't know which books these were, but they might have been copies of the Old Testament.
   
3. But especially the parchments. I did not know what this meant until I read what our friend Barclay had to say. :P He said that it was probably the early versions of the gospels! What did Paul say? He said "especially the parchments." More than his cloke, he wanted to read God's word. Where is a better place to find comfort and encouragement?!

Verse fourteen talks about a man. What do we know about him? Let's see!

1. His name is Alexander
2. He is a coppersmith. Someone who makes things out of copper.
3. He did much evil to Paul.
4. He withstood the works of the disciples.
   

What else does Paul say about him? He writes, "...the Lord reward him according to his works." Or, in other words, God will punish him according to his works. He also tells Timothy to beware, to stay away from him, not to be around him. Doesn't that sound fatherly? It does to me!

In the next three verses Paul talks about how all forsook him, but God stood by him, for he was doing the work God had planned for him. The first thing he says, is that all men forsook him, they all left him, no one was brave enough to stand by him for God. Then he does something that every Christian wants to do, and should do, a thing that Christ said when he was dieing on the cross; I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge." That, my friends, is true forgiveness, to be able to pray that God will not lay on their charge, the ones that are torturing you, and killing you, and putting you in prison. wow.

Now, he says, "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." He says that even though all men deserted him, the Lord stood with him. It is like an army going out to battle, the enemy comes on, and all the men flee, except one; he and his commander, stand alone on the battlefield facing a whole army alone! No doubt, that is how Paul felt. He says next that his commander, the Lord, strengthened him; so that he could keep on preaching so that all the Gentiles (all people except Jews) could hear the gospel. Paul says that the Lord didn't strengthen him for his own use and pleasure, but so that he could go on preaching!

The last thing he says there, is that he was, "..delivered out of the mouth of the lion." In other words, he was rescued from certain death.

Well, sorry y'all, I was going to do verse eighteen too, but I have to go. We might possibly finish chapter four tomorrow! God bless!

In Christ,
Buttercup :D

New Years Resolutions, #7

Ahhh! Sorry I forgot to update last month. :( Well, here's an update!

1. As for my Bible reading, it is going great! I have been reading a chapter (or, rather, a book the last few days :P) a day. Today I read Jude, it is only one chapter long, so, I just read the whole book!

2. To be honest, I KEEP FORGETTING!!!!!! Well, my sis and I just changed rooms (I'll talk more about that later :D) so, right now, it is very clean! :P

TTYL! (Talk To Y'all Later!)

In Him,
Buttercup :)

I want to be...

Have you ever thought about what you want to be when you grow up? Most everyone does. It's what most people call "normal." Are you normal? Do you want to be normal? These are some questions to ponder as we explore this subject. Please answer the question before you read on! It makes it more worthwhile to read. :)

What do you want to be when you grow up? Do you want to be a doctor? Teacher? EMT? Firefighter? Police officer? Store manager? What? When you were young, you were probably prompted by your parents, teachers, grandparents, and friends to pick something to be "when you grow up."

Should we think about it? In my opinion, that is a good thing to think about, because (for example) if you are going to be a doctor in the future, then you have to have the eight years or so of training, so you have to think about it before you can be it. But, I think, that we think about it too much. We are so sure that we will live another day, that we don't even think about it any more. In the Bible, it says that we are not even promised to live today, every day is a gift from God.

What is normal? Normal means that some thing or some person is the same as most everything else. It means that it is not different, it is familiar, not random, natural.

Are you normal? Personally, I don't think I am normal. For many reasons, here are some; #1 I am homeschooled, not public schooled like "normal." #2 I am a Christian. #3 I dress modestly (in my opinion, people have different ideas about what is modest). But, I am also normal too, here are some examples of how I am normal; #1 I enjoy sports, photography, blogging, etc. #2 I like being with friends and family. So, on the outside I probably look pretty normal, but what matters is whats inside. God is what I want at the center of my life, but I fail, like a normal human being. :P

Do you want to be normal? Most people do, they want to "fit in," they want to be accepted. They want to please others so that they will be accepted in. But, would you rather live to please people or God?

What is the most important thing to you? For me, God. Then family, friends, and my brothers and sisters in Christ. This is a very important question. If you answered truthfully, you might have seen a few problems in your life. This is an examination question, one that you use to examine yourself, and look at the way you use your time and thoughts and breath and, over all, life.

I hope that this helped you see how important it is to examine your priorities, and how you need to think in regards to what you will be "when you grow up." I want to end with this question. Do you think more about what "you" want to be when you grow up, or what God has already predestined you to be?

2nd Timothy study, Part 25

Hi Y'all! Sorry I've not been posting the Bible study. Remember to pray before we begin today. Btw, now, there isn't much meat, it is Paul's greetings and benediction.

9. Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:

10. For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

11. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for this ministry.

The first thing Paul says is, "Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me." Or, in other words, Paul is telling them to make it a top priority to come to him soon. Why would he say that? I don't really know, my guess is that where Paul was, there was a ton of people who wanted to learn more about God, and those that needed to be reached with the gospel; but Paul is only one man, he could not personally talk with everyone! So, he needed help. But we must also remember that this letter is to Timothy, Paul might want him to come not only for him to help him, but so that Paul can teach Timothy more.

He tells Timothy next about a man named, Demas. What about him? He says that he has forsaken him (Paul), and loves the world, and has gone to Thessalonica. What does it mean to love this present world? Well, "this present world" refers to the lusts and evil things of this world. For example money, clothes, stuff in general, etc. To love this world, means that you love things of this world more than you love God. A Christian should want to leave as soon as possible so they can go to be with their Heavenly Father! Where is Thessalonica? Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia/Greece at the time of Paul, here is a map.

Paul lists two more people, Crescens and Titus. I am not sure if these two people were also deserters, or if they were still spreading the gospel, or what. All we know is that Crescens went to Galatia, and Titus went to Dalmatia. I'm afraid I don't know where, and couldn't find a map of where Dalmatia is. :( It must have been too small for the maps. If anyone knows where in the world that is (literally!) then let me know! I'll post it! One other thing, I don't know if the Titus mentioned here, is the same that Paul wrote the letter/book of Titus to.

The next person he mentions is in verse eleven. His name is Luke. Luke was the writer of the books of Acts and Luke. He was also a doctor. What made Luke special is that he was a very learned man, a doctor; but, instead of settling down in a busy town and making some money, he accompanied Paul in his missionary journeys. He even posed as a slave so that he could go with Paul to prison! Also, Luke was kind and loyal. He was probably not a very good preacher, but his other qualities made him a very useful tool for God's kingdom.

Next is Mark. Who was Mark? His full name was actually, John Mark. I knew nothing about this man until I read about him in Barclay's commentary. What he says is quite interesting, I might type it out sometime for y'all. :) In short, Mark went with Paul and Barnabas on a missionary journey, but Mark chickened out and went home. After that Barnabas wanted to take him on the next journey, for he was a relative, but Paul would not do it, so, Paul and Barnabas split up; and it looks like they never got back together. Mark's mother's house was probably the one that Paul came to after being released from prison, and it might have been the center of the Jerusalem Church.

Now we've had a switch, something had to have happened, but we don't know what; because now, in this letter to Timothy, Paul wants Mark to come to him. This is a mystery....

Next, he says that Mark is "profitable to me for the ministry." Now, Paul is saying that Mark is not a deserter or quitter, but that he is profitable, he can help Paul in the ministry! What a turn of events! Barclay says what could have happened during their separation, he says that "Tradition has it that he went to Egypt and that he was the founder of the Christian Church in that country. But, whatever he did , he certainly redeemed himself."

I think that's where we'll stop today. I really enjoyed it today, I never knew that about Mark, Demas, or Luke! How cool to see how Paul interacted with other Christians of his day! Hope y'all are havin' a good week! God bless!

In Him,
Buttercup :)

Windmills!

It is crazy how many, and how huge these things are! Btw, sorry about the background noise. :P



What did you think? Cool huh? Seeing how great and powerful non-living things like that can be, how great and powerful do you think God is? I like to see comparisons like this because what we gape at, God could simply pick up or crush like a blade of grass! How great and powerful and mighty is our God!

We praise the work of men for something like that, how much more should we praise God for creating all of us, all the animals, the earth, and the entire universe?! It's those small things, like these speck-sized windmills, that makes us think about how great and mighty and powerful is our God!

What do you think now? Our God is worthy to be praised and worshipped.

A Homeschool Family, by Tim Hawkins

This is hilarious!

Yes this is still my blog!

Yes, this is still my blog. :D I was gettin' tired of the plain minima background....So...BANG! I changed it! LOL.

~BUTTERCUP~

Proper Representations, a guest post

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." -Ghandi After reading this quote I sat in a sort of contemplative silence.

I was questioning some things. I was questioning myself. Am I like my Christ? Do I give an accurate representation of my beautiful Jesus to the world? I wasn't thinking of this as a judgement, but as a wake-up call. I am a living, breathing, walking, talking representation. But what am I representing? Am I representing the beautiful and precious light of my Father? Am I representing the healing hand that he has for his beloved and sometimes wayward children? Or am I one more thing to represent a fallen world?

I cannot ignore the greatest calling that God has on my life - to serve him and show other people his love. If I am not doing that, than I have no reason for being here. God has showered me in so many blessings, and like a knight carrying the family crest, so proud and so willing to give up anything and everything to uphold the name of his fathers house. Carrying a banner so precious that everything would be willingly given up to uphold the family name and bring honor and glory to his Father. If a crest was so important as to give all to uphold its good name, how much more precious is the name, honor and glory of Jesus?

I am not even close to perfect in this area. But I will strive to uphold the name of The Father and to carry his message with pride, not letting it touch the ground or be trampled on. I want to bring a proper representation of God to this hurting world. Don't take this as a judgment but as a call to arms and a rally to the faithful, put on the armor of God and fight the good fight. "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 15:57

~Rachel, with Identity

This was a guest post by a teenage Rebelutionary girl. I hope you enjoyed reading. Since her blog is private, please leave a comment here with your email address if you would like to access her blog. I will personally let her know. Thanks! ~Buttercup

Quote from an Answers in Genesis comic

Hey Y'all, this was in an Answers in Genesis comic last week (the one at the bottom of my blog).

Have you ever noticed if someone calls you a “monkey” it’s an insult, but if they say you came from a monkey, that’s “science?”

EDIT: It's actually, on there right now! Take a look!

Last night...

Last night I had a weird thing happen. I was lying down in bed, half trying to go to sleep, half thinking and praying about what project He wants me to do, when a verse came into my mind. I have never read it before, but for some reason, it just came to my mind. So I grabbed my Bible and turned to it. It is Isaiah 52:3. It says, "For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money."

After I got to thinking about it I know why God led me to this verse. I was praying about what I should raise money for, I've always known that you can't save people with money, but I still wanted to help them with money, so God just stepped in to make me stop for a minute, and make me think about what I was doing, and what Jesus did to save us.

In this verse God says that we have sold ourselves for nothing, and we will be saved without money. Jesus saved us, not with money, but with His life. He gave his life for us, He died in our place. We should always look to Him, and bow down to Him, and worship Him. Nothing that we can do will get us into heaven, God saved us, Jesus paid the price, not with money but with His precious life.

I thank God that He showed me this verse, I just needed to stop, and listen.

2nd Timothy study, part 24

Well, well, well, look who's reading my blog! JK! I wish I knew who you were! Please post a comment when you drop by! :P Remember to pray before we start a'studying today! Btw, today we are doing some incredible verses that I just love! Enjoy!

6. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

7. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

The first verse is pretty amazing for anyone to say. That is the verse, I think, that every missionary should memorize, study, ponder, and meditate on; having applied it to themselves. See what it says when you turn it into a question. "Am I ready to be offered? Is the time for my departure close at hand?" See? When I asked myself that question, I did not immediately give an answer. For I knew not. Am I ready to go into missions, am I ready to offer myself fully to God, trust Him with everything, even my life? To be honest, I answered no. Why? Because I am a girl, just going into high school, finally starting to dig into God's word, shy, very different from all other girls I know, and trying to learn to listen for God's voice. I am not ready, and I know that. I just pray that God makes me ready. For the other question, I have no idea.

Paul did not ask these questions, and no one asked them of him. He just firmly stated that he was ready to be offered, and that he was leaving soon. Ask yourself those two questions. And, if you want, share your answers with me, I don't have to publish them if you'd rather not tell the world. :) I've done that before.

The next verse is verse seven, it says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." I wish with all my heart that I will be able to say that one day! Don't you? One thing I just noticed as I was typing the verse out, is the different occupations that he uses here. Soldier and athlete. Do you remember when he used those before??? It was in chapter two verses three, four, and five! Paul says that he has fought the good fight. He makes three statements in one. 1. He participated in the fight. 2. It is a good/worthy fight. 3. That he is done fighting, he fought, not IS fighting.

He also says that he has finished his course. He has completed the race, he is done. The last thing he says is the most important, I think. He says that he has "kept the faith." He not only finished, but he finished with honour. He never gave up the faith, he kept it, he never let it go, he always depended on God, even when he was stoned or put in prison or ridiculed. That is the main one that I hope to say one day, I hope to say that I not only fought the good fight, and finished the course, but that I kept the faith, all the way through.

In verse eight Paul tells of things to come. He says that "there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." Isn't it awesome when you win a game/race and get a trophy? It's exciting right? How amazing it will be, when we are given a crown! Of righteousness no less!

Next we need to find out some things about this. Who shall give it? "...which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day." What day? I'm not so sure about that one. Probably on judgment day...I don't know.

To who shall it be given? "...and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." What does that mean? That love his appearing? Well, those who love his appearing will know what's happening, right? Those who will know what's happening, and who's coming, will be the Christians, right? Not necessarily. What about the non-Christians who know some of the things of the Bible? That is a good point. But what does Paul say? Does he say that the crown will be given to those who know what's happening? No! He says that the crown will be given to those that love his appearing! Those that are jumping for joy and coming out of their skin (not literally!) because their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ has returned!

Well, that's all for now. I hope this is benefiting y'all, and that you are enjoying reading them. I know I love this book even more than I knew when I started! God bless!

In Him,
Buttercup :D

Gospel For Asia, sponsorship

Hey Y'all! Last night I started sponsoring a native missionary through Gospel For Asia! Her name is Rajwinder, she is eighteen. I might put her testimony on here sometime if y'all like. Please assist me in praying for her. I think this is a great way to help with missions.

It is only thirty dollars a month that you pay to support a native missionary, because four to six people support each. To fully support a missionary is over a hundred dollars a month, so they break it down so that you can support for a long period of time.

If you would like to support a native missionary or a child, click here. If you would just like to give to Gospel for Asia, click here. :D

Also, I am thinking about doing a different project for GFA...so stay tuned! LOL. Thanks y'all!

In Him,
Buttercup :)

2nd Timothy Study, part 23

Hey y'all! Well, remember my post yesterday? Today I read verse five, the next verse we are studying, and it goes along with what I was saying yesterday! God works in cool ways! Since it is so important, I am just going to do it today. I really, really, really, really, really like the next few verses too!!! Esp. verse seven!!! Remember to pray today!

5. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

WOW! Sorry, I can't help but see how cool it is that this would be the next verse to study, when I shared my passion for mission work with y'all yesterday!

"But watch thou in all things." What does that mean? It means that we must watch. Huh? What exactly does Paul want us to watch? I'm not sure, lets look at some different versions and see. I like looking at a few different versions, it helps explain it, in my opinion.

The New International Version* says,

But you, keep your head in all situations.

The New American Standard Version says,

But you, be sober in all things.

The New Living Translation* says,
But you should keep a clear mind in every situation.

So, between these four different translations, I think we have a pretty clear understanding of what Paul is trying to tell us. He is telling us to watch, to keep our eyes open, to be sober, have a clear mind in all situations, and to keep our heads (to not fly into a temper, to keep calm and think about what we are doing at all times). How would this help? My goodness! It would help a lot! Think how calm and peaceful the world would be if everyone did these things! No one would fly into a temper, they would think before they acted, they would see when something bad was coming, they would be sober, and many other things that go along with this!

In the next part of this verse Paul repeats something he has said multiple times in this book, "endure afflictions." Now that we are nearing the end of this book, we need to ask an important question, "Why does he emphasize this?" I think he emphasized it because it is true, and very important. All Christians, great and small, old and young, will be persecuted in some way, at least one time in their walk.*** All Christians should know this so that they can be prepared, they should know that they have to suffer for the gospel, just as Jesus suffered for us.

Next, Paul lists, "...do the work of an evangelist." What does an evangelist do? They preach the gospel, tell people about God, counsel them in the faith, pray with/for them, etc.

Lastly, Paul says to, "...make full proof of thy ministry." What does that mean? I think that it means that we must not only minister, but we must make full proof of it, we must go full into it, we must do it all the time, encourage, exhort, pray, preach to, and love the body of believers! For non-believers we must pray, preach to, and love them, for they might be one of God's elect, and one of our future brothers or sisters in Christ! We must minister until we can do it no more.

Well, that's all for today, I hope y'all are having a great hump day, and a great week! God bless!

In Christ,
Buttercup :D

*I don't usually trust the NIV....
**I haven't really read this translation before, it just said something a bit different than the others, and it kinda explained it better.
***Y'all know what I mean by that right? Their walk with God, their Christian life.

Creation Face the Facts, #4 (last one!)

NO!!! I forgot to do it!!!! Well, anyways, here are the last facts. God bless!

23: “The meticulous work of many historians should not be ignored. Their dates of only thousands of years are good support for the biblical date of about 6000 years, but not for billions of years.” – Ken Ham

24: “It is impossible to devise a scientific experiment to describe the creation process, or even to ascertain whether such a process can take place. The creator does not create at the whim of a scientist.” -Lee Strobel

25: “Natural selection and mutations are means of change; however, both of these processes fall short in explaining design because neither can produce new genetic information.” -Ken Ham

26: “Everything in nature is governed by laws. Nothing can function outside these laws. Such governing laws that work in perfect unison cannot be explained in an atheist’s worldview because there is no source for such logic and order. Yet, even the atheist must admit that such laws of nature exist.” -Ken Ham

27: “Genesis 2:13 says that the heavens and earth were finished. Thus, Christians who say God used evolution to bring everything, including man, into being have a real problem. If evolution is not occurring today (that is, if God is not “creating” through evolution today) there is no basis to extrapolate into the past to say that evolution has ever occurred.” -Ken Ham

28: “The Bible clearly teaches that God created in 6 literal, 24-hour days o few thousand years ago. The Hebrew word for day in Genesis is ‘yom’. In the vast majority of its uses in the Old Testament it means a literal day and where it doesn’t the context make this clear.” -Dr. Terry Mortenson

29: "In all its bearing upon scriptural truth, the evolution theory is in direct opposition to it. If God’s Word be true, evolution is a lie. I will not mince the matter: this is not the time for soft speaking." -Charles Spurgeon

30: "The theory of evolution itself has continually changed over time. This is in contrast to biblical creationism, which has not changed over time." faithfacts.org

31: "The Bible not only fits the evidence of scientific investigation, it provides an answer for why the world was created. Evolution does neither." -faithfacts.org

Where? When? How? Why????

Okay y'all, I don't have time to post a Bible Study right now, but I did want to share something with y'all real quick.

I believe God is calling me into mission work. But I don't know where, when, why, or how. All I know right now is, well, nothing really. But I really want to know! I want to know where God is calling me, when I shall go, how it's all going to happen, and mostly, why He wants me. I am at a split in the road, that I haven't traveled very far on, and I don't know where to go. So, if y'all could pray for me that would be awesome. And, if y'all see any clear directions or some encouragement in our great road map/instruction manual (the Bible) that might help me, by all means, please tell me! I know our Heavenly guide is there to help us through, so I pray that I will listen to Him and follow His instruction.

Thanks for reading y'all, for those who know me personally, you know I would never be able to say this out loud, to anyone, and, well, I haven't.

In Him,
Buttercup :)