Gathering At the Well

Psalm 97 gives us a beautiful and powerful picture of the Most High God. He is a God so powerful that the mountains melt and the earth trembles in His presence. How would our lives be different if we saw God as great and powerful as the Psalmist declares Him to be? How would our views of Him change? Would we be even affected at all?

Join me today for a Gathering At the Well.

I do hope you will join in on the discussion by linking your blog to At the Well with your post answering the discussion questions. Or, if you don't have a blog, you can simply leave a comment At the Well instead. So hop on over and have a blessed day!

To my Wife

Well Ladies I have sabotaged my wife’s blog for the day.
I have to warn before you proceed that this will not be what you are accustom to reading. Jenifer has the gift writing, I have the gift of… well I am not really sure. So as you read on just know that this will be a grammatical train wreck.

Today is our ten year wedding anniversary. Truly God has blessed us and brought to this point. It has been a journey.

I tell you I don’t know how this woman has put up with me. I remember the day before our rehearsal dinner she asked me what I had bought her for a wedding gift. Well that was news to me, how was I to know that I was supposed to buy her a gift? Besides, I was pretty much broke at this point. I had lost my job two weeks prior to our wedding and had not received a check from my new job yet (what a way to start things off!). So after many hours of searching I found the perfect gift, a coffee grinder. Yes that’s right a coffee grinder. To say the least she was really surprised when she opened that up in front of everybody she knew! On our second anniversary she scored big again, a Bundt pan and a cheap watch. There are even some years that I am pretty sure I didn’t even remember (last year). Needless to say she has been more than merciful to me.

Well to get to my point. How can I say what my wife means to me? That is a tall order. I guess I would have to say that she is my trapper keeper. She is my date book, calendar keeper, secretary, boss, friend, lover, mother, fashion consultant, flatulence sniffer, psychiatrist, and many other things.

The Greeks believed that the gods of Olympus would split a soul in half and cast both pieces to earth. They said that only true love could be found in your “soul mate”. Well I can truly say that I have found my soul mate.

Huney it has only been 10 years we got a long way to go but wouldn’t want it any other way.

With God in front us and you beside me I can do anything.

My prayer for our marriage is that God would continue to bind us together and focused on him.

I pray that our marriage would be a Sola marriage;

Sola Scriptura
Sola Gratia
Solus Christos
Sola Fida
Soli Deo Gloria

With all my Love,
Mr. Knighton

Pursue Jesus!

"Hey guys. Here's your schoolwork. Grab your church bags and put your work in there, please, so you can do it while mom is in her meeting," I told my kids as we were preparing to leave the house.

"Mom! My stuff won't fit in my bag, cause of all my church stuff!," proclaimed my son in frustration.

"Well, just take out your church papers and then you'll have room for your other stuff," I responded as I hurriedly ironed my clothes.

And then it hit me. How often do I get rid of the church stuff in order to have room for other other stuff? How often do I push my relationship with the Lord aside so that I can fit into my life those things I feel to be more important?

"Just this one time," we say to ourselves as we hit the snooze button instead of rising to meet the Lord first thing in the morning. That one time turns into two and then three, then four and five, and before you know it your "quiet time " with the Lord has been replaced with an extra long meeting with the sandman.

"It's such a beautiful Sunday, it will be ok if we miss church today and go to the lake, or do some yard work, or clean out the garage, or..." Then next Sunday rolls around and low and behold it's another gorgeous day. "What's one more Sunday away from church?" Those Sunday's turn into a month full of Sunday's that we have decided to enjoy God's creation instead of worshipping the creator God with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

"It was such a busy week and I've got so much that I need to get done and today is the only day I have available to get everything done; church will just have to wait." Before long it seems as if the only day anything can be accomplished is the day meant to be spent in corporate worship praising God Almighty.

Now, I'm not just talking about replacing Sunday worship with things we deem more important; I'm also talking about all the other activities, people, and things that gain our attention over our relationship with God. Baseball practices, dance lessons, school, jobs, money, TV, extreme exercise. We push our relationship with the Lord aside so that we can climb the corporate ladder; for what? to gain a title? We get rid of the "Jesus" stuff so that we are able to fit in more with co-workers, friends, and maybe even family and not appear to be the weird one. We buy into the lies of the enemy who says we can have it all, live good lives, and in the end be a god ourselves. We replace God's Word with Cosmopolitan Magazine and Oprah, clinging to the latest fade and book club suggestion.

We have become a society of "easy come, easy go." "If it feels good, do it." "If it cramps your lifestyle, get rid of it." "If you want it, then do whatever you have to do it get." "You are all that matters in life." "Out with the old, in with the new." "Here today, gone tomorrow." Blah, blah, blah, blah. Are you getting the point here? If it doesn't fit into our schedule, if it doesn't work for us, if there's something out there that seems a little better, then whatever "it" is will be replaced with the next best thing.

My friends, can I just tell you that there is NOTHING better than Jesus! There is NOTHING and NO ONE who will work more for your good than Jesus. There is NOTHING and NO ONE who can fill you up like Jesus. Jesus is here today, just like He was yesterday, and I can assure you that He will be here tomorrow as well. There is NO relationship more important than your relationship with Jesus Christ. There is NO activity more important than your time spent with Him- praising Him, learning from Him, talking to Him, listening for His voice, and sitting at His feet.

If I know nothing else, I know this- when we push aside our relationship with the Jesus Christ to pursue other things, it may not happen right away, but over time our lives become more meaningless and empty, completely focused on self and the pursuit of pleasing self and gaining more and more. You and I were not created to live self-centered lives, but instead we were created to live lives that bring honor and glory to the King of Kings and Lord of Lord. We weren't created to get rid of Him or to push Him to the side, but to be filled up to the things of God- His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

I ask you today: Have you pushed your relationship with the Lord to the side in order to pursue other things?

"The thief comes only to steal and kill
and destroy;

I came that they may have life, and have
it abundantly."

John 10:10, NASB

Pursue your relationship with the Lord today and in live in the freedom that He died in order for you to have.

A Gathering at the Well

Today's discussion At the Well is about being thankful for one's husband and publicly proclaiming it. To read others accolades about their hubby's visit At the Well...in Pursuit of Titus 2.

This discussion couldn't have come at a better time for me. On Friday, March 27, 2009, my man and I will be celebrating 10 years of marriage. My friends, it is only by the grace and mercy of God Almighty that we are still married. We have been through our share of ups and downs. At one point in our marriage divorce papers had been filed and we had agreed to go our separate ways, but God, in His sovereignty, had others plans for our lives and marriage. God has healed us as individuals and as a couple. He has blessed up beyond anything we could have ever imagined. God has been SO good to us!

My man means the world to me; he is my best friend; he is my heart and my life. Here are just a few of the reasons I thank God for my man:

~He loves Jesus! And, he seeks the Lord as to how he is to lead his family.

~He is selfless. He always puts the needs of our children and myself before his own.

~He makes it a point to spend quality time with our children, doing with them what makes them happy.

~He works hard to provide for our family, but never puts work before us.

~He speaks the truth in love.

~He has been a true picture of Christ to me. He loves me unconditionally and excepts me for who I am.

I love my man and I am looking forward to many more years with him.

Answered Prayer

God never ceases to amaze me! He provides, He loves, He protects, He forgives. He rains down showers of blessings and He answers the prayers of His children. As of late I have found myself at a stand still- not knowing which way God would have me to go next. I have sought after Him with my whole heart seeking His direction and will for my life. And, well, He has answered.

On Sunday I met three women, of whom I didn't know at all, who encouraged me to keep on keeping on. Last night my husband and I talked more about my passion and desire to serve the Lord through teaching and writing. He spoke a wonderful blessing over me that made my heart melt. In preparation of an upcoming lesson I am teaching on James 4:1-12, the Holy Spirit through James spoke a Word to my heart. And yet again today, God has spoken. I don't think His message could be much clearer than this.

"Stay there until I tell you."

Matthew 2:13

I'll stay where You've put me; I will, dear Lord,

Though I wanted so badly to go;

I was eager to march with the "rank and file,"

Yes, I wanted to lead them, You know.

I planned to keep step to the music loud,

To cheer when the banner unfurled,

To stand in the midst of the fight straight and proud,

But I'll stay where You've put me.

I'll stay where You've put me; I'll work, dear Lord,

Through the field be narrow and small,

And the ground be neglected, and stones lie thick,

And there seems to be no life at all.

The field is Your own, only give me the seed,

I'll sow it with never a fear;

I'll till the dry soil while I wait for the rain,

And rejoice when the green blades appear;

I'll work where You've put me.

I'll stay where You've put me; I will, dear Lord;

I'll bear the day's burden and heat,

Always trusting You fully; when sunset has come

I'll lay stalks of grain at Your feet.

And then, when my earth work is ended and done,

In the light of eternity's glow,

Life's record all closed, I surely will find

It was better to stay than to go;

I'll stay where You've put me.

O restless heart- beating against the prison bars of your circumstances and longing for a wider realm of usefulness- allow God to direct all your days. Patience and trust, even in the midst of the monotony of your daily routine, will be the best preparation to courageously handle the stress and stain of greater opportunity, which God may someday send.

(from Streams in the Desert- author unknown- March 17)

I believe God's answer to be pretty clear- what do you think? :)

Proofread- You'll be Glad You Did!

I got an email this morning and just had to share it with you all. I needed the laugh. Enjoy!!

Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services (Summer, 2007 Release).

~The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

~The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'

~Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

~Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

~The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

~Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.

~Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

~Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I Will Not Pass This Way Again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

~For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

~Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

~The Rector will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing: 'Break Forth Into Joy.'

~Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24th in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

~At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.

~Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

~Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

~Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

~The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

~Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - Prayer and medication to follow.

~The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

~This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

~Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.

~The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

~Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7PM. Please use the back door.

~The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

~Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use the large double doors at the side entrance.

~The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday : 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours' .


Have a blessed day! And, be sure to proofread your work, you'll be glad you did! :)

A Bride's Love for Her Bridegroom

This morning in Sunday School my wonderful husband led us through Mark 2:18-22.

"18) Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?" 19) Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20) But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. 21) "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22) And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."

Fasting, in this day, was most often associated with mourning or a time of great spiritual need. Those who approached Jesus wanted to know why His disciples were not fasting. After all that was the thing to do, a weekly tradition in fact.

I love the Lord's response and the picture He paints for us as He explains to them why His disciples were not fasting. Imagine your wedding day and the excitement that surrounded the events of that day. This is a day filled with great anticipation, much joy and laughter; there is no time for mourning and there is no need for more than what is about to take place. And, so it was with the disciples of Jesus- by being in the presence of the Savior of the world, the bridegroom, there was absolutely no need to mourn and the reality of physically walking with Christ daily met their every need. Fasting for them, at this time, was not necessary.

There is so much more that could be discussed here, but I want to focus our attention to one thing in particular. As Chris continued teaching and talking about the wedding day and all the joys, the love, and the closeness that is felt on that day; the words that are exchanged between the bridegroom and his bride expressing each one's love for the other, he asked a question that I have thought about all afternoon- why do you love God and when was the last time you told Him you loved Him? All afternoon I thought about all the reasons I love the Lord and all the ways He has blessed me. I began making a list- the list could go on and on, but I want to share just a few of those reasons with you and I would for you to share with us the reasons you love the Lord.

I love You Daddy because:
~You have never turned Your back on me.

~You are a God of second and third and fourth and.... chances ( and goodness knows I have needed them all)

~You have set me free from the bondage of sin and set my feet upon the Rock.

~Your ways are higher than mine and Your thoughts make so much more sense than mine do.

~You have blessed me with a wonderful husband who has shown me the person of Christ in so many ways and given me the privilege to be the mother of three precious children. I love you honey!

~You have given me a message to speak and I am honored to be Your servant.

~You have showered me with more grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love than I deserve.

~You gave me two Godly parents who never stopped praying for my stubborn self. Love you mom and dad!!

~You have redeemed my soul and given me life eternal.

~You have blessed me with many Godly friends who encourage me to keep on keeping on.

Oh Father, my words could never adequately express my love for You. Your love never ceases to amaze me. I pray that I live my life in a manner that brings You honor and glory. You are my everything. My heart anticipates that great and glorious day when the heavens are opened and I, your bride, take You, my groom, by the hand and forever dwell with You. Come Lord Jesus, come!

It's a Fork

I have come to the conclusion that it's a fork. Not a spoon or a knife, but a fork.

Do you ever come to those places in your walk with the Lord where you cease to walk for a time and stand at the fork in the middle of the road wondering which way you are to go next? There are a few options to choose from- you could could turn to the left or to the right or you could simply continue on straight ahead. Each path looks inviting; they all have their own appealing qualities. Each one is good; none would lead you away from God's calling on your life. So, which one do you choose? Which path do you walk down?

Friends, this is where I am right now in my journey with the Lord. I am at a fork in the road; and an unexpected fork at that. Sometimes we are prepared for those forks, but that is not the case right now for me. This was an unexpected fork in my road and frankly, I don't really like it. You see, I was traveling along just fine. The road I was traveling down seemed good to me. And, now- well, now I have no idea which way to go. All directions seem inviting; all seem good; all would allow me to continue living out the calling God has placed on my life. BUT, which one is best? Which one is the one that will keep me closest to my Savior? Which one is the one that will bring the most honor and glory to His name?

I don't want to choose the path. I am praying for clear direction from the Lord. It is my heart's desire to walk down the path He has chosen for me to walk down. I want to be faithful and true to God and His will for my life. So as I stand at this fork in my road, I am asking for your prayers. I don't know what's next, but I know that He does and I know that in His time He will make it clear which path I am to take.

"Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your
paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my
salvation; For You I wait all the day."

Psalm 25:4-5, NKJV

A Little Three Letter Word

I spent some time today reading through John 4:1-42. Contained within these verses we read John's account of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman of Sychar, known to most of us as the "woman at the well."

I have read this many times before but today it has caused a stirring within my soul.

Let me set the stage for you. Jesus had been in Judea where His popularity was rapidly increasing. To avoid possible trouble with the disciples of John the Baptist who were yet to understand who He was and to avoid a run in with the Pharisees, Jesus left Judea and headed toward Galilee. There were many roads that led from Judea to Galilee- one could enjoy of nice leisurely stroll along the seacoast or choose to travel through the region of Perea- but, most would not, especially a Jew, travel by way of Samaria. To the Jews of that day, Samaritans were thought to be heretical half-breeds of which no "righteous" Jew would waste any time on and who would, at all cost, avoid any kind of contact with them. So, of course Jesus, being a Jew Himself, would not choose to travel by way of the town of Samaria, right? WRONG!

John tells us in verse 4 of chapter 4 that Jesus "had to pass through Samaria." Do you see that? He HAD to pass through this town of misfits, low-life's, the rejects of society; He HAD to. I have never noticed that three letter word before, but today it hit me square in the face. Jesus had to pass through the Samaritan town of Sychar that day because He had a divine appointment with a woman who was in need of the Living Water.

Oh, hold on a minute! The plot is about the thicken. Not only is Jesus, who is a Jew, going to travel through this Samaritan town of rejects because He "has" to, but His reasoning for doing so is for the purpose of meeting up with a WOMAN! Oh no He didn't! Oh, yes, my friend- yes He did! Jesus Christ is traveling through this Samaritan town because He has an appointment with a Samaritan woman who is in desperate need of Him.

Life had left this Samaritan woman thirsty; her life circumstances had left her drained. She had no friends, hence the fact that she was alone at the well in the middle of the noon-day heat. She had been ostracized by the people of the town for being "easy" due to the fact that she had been married 5 times and was currently shacked up with a man who was not her husband. Poor decisions had left her life in ruins. Blame it on a rotten up-bringing, blame it on unfaithful men, blame it on being doomed from the get-go, blame it on an addiction, blame it on the rain- whatever it was that got her where she was this day had left her totally empty, utterly in need of something to fill the void in her life. She had a thirst that no man had been able to fill. She had a longing deep within her soul that no addiction could satisfy and no irrational, co-dependant behavior could cure; this Samaritan woman needed a once and for all fix that could only come from the Most High Himself.

Jesus knew her. He knew ALL about her. He knew her life story and loved her beyond it. He knew she had tried all her life to fill her heart with whatever was around the next corner. Jesus stepped across racial divides that day; He stepped across political lines that day; He stepped across every kind of imaginable barrier that day and offered to this woman what she had spent her whole life looking for. She came to the well that day to get water, but she left with a new life, a full heart, and a forgiven past. That day she met the man of her dreams; her knight in shining armor.

As I read, re-read, and yet read again these verses today several things pierced my heart:
~Every appointment on God's calendar is a divine appointment; none of them are coincidences.

~All I need is Jesus- not more stuff, not more friends, not a position- just Jesus.

~Jesus' love goes beyond man.

~Jesus is my knight in shining armor who will rescue me from the fiery dragon.


Today I leave you with one question: what are you filling your life with- Jesus or _________?