Grace For Women

I'm moving...

2009-09-28T20:41:00.003-04:00

My blog has a new address, a new look, and a new name but I haven’t changed. I want you to check out my new website the Grace Post.

In the past few months I’ve been staying busy doing book reviews in addition to my own Bible studies. I have been wanting to make it easier for the reader to differentiate between Reviews and Bible Study, this new site provides that to you. I also plan to add a list of resources I find useful in the hopes that they will be of use to your personal study.

If you have any ideas that could make the Grace Post better post a comment and I’ll see what I can do.

I have enjoyed getting to know you through grace for women and I hope you will follow me to the Grace Post!

The Blame Game

2009-09-22T10:52:00.000-04:00

The other night I was sitting at the table with my Mom and the boys and we had out the game Aggravation. As usual this game is a lot of fun but can be quite, well, aggravating. I don’t know if any of you have ever played that game but it has marbles and a dice and you move your colored marble around the board. They each had insisted on bringing a stuffed animal to the table so Furry and Puppy Bear were also joining us for this event. Ethan has now reached an age where he can actually play this game. So we started a game and were letting Micah “play”. I told Micah “do not move the marbles around just roll the dice.”

For the first few rounds he very intently rolled the dice and was doing just right but then he started messing around with his own marbles and then moved on to the marbles which were actually being used in the game. My mom looked right at him and said “Micah, no-no, don’t mess up the marbles.” Without missing a beat Micah replied “Puppy Bear did it.”

We dealt with the situation and told him not to blame “Puppy Bear” but it brought to mind Adam and Eve. Their first sin was pride and disobedience to God. Then when they are confronted with their sin they start the blame game. Just like I did not teach Micah to place blame on someone else for his disobedience, no one taught Adam and Eve to blame each other for what they had done wrong. It is sometimes the natural reaction when we are faced with our own shortcomings.

I think as adults we often think we are more sophisticated than Micah or Adam and Eve. It is easy to tell ourselves that we aren’t blaming anyone for our shortcomings when we actually are.

Have you ever been sitting in your office at work and there has been some time of malfunction and the boss comes in angry wondering what went wrong? Isn’t one of the first things to go through the mind “who’s fault is this?” In our pride we want to blame someone else even if we are responsible. Our hearts might even deceive us into believing it is someone else’s fault.

All too often instead of asking the Lord and our brothers and sister’s in Christ to forgive our wrong doing we think of someone else to blame.

The Lord took the blame for us. If we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin. So don’t play the blame game. Repent and be grateful for what the Lord has done.

Search me O God and see if there be any wicked way in me.

10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe, by Larry Osborne: Book Review

2009-09-15T11:06:00.003-04:00

So I just picked up this book simply because of the title Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe. I went into the library to pay a massive fine, or “stupid tax”. Anyway I saw this book and decided to see what this author had to say. I had never heard of the author, Larry Osborne before so I had no preconceived ideas about his beliefs. 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe was a book that intrigued me.

Synopsis
This book covers “Sunday School” myths that many Christians hold as truth from God’s Word. I know that I have been guilty of this in the past. Mr. Osborne writes to debunk these commonly held myths with the truth from God’s Word. He gets right to the point with the first chapter “Faith can fix anything.”

He covers a wide range of topics which many Smart Christians had dumb ideas about. At the end of the book he provides a discussion guide so you can discuss the myth along with the truth from God’s Word with a small group. It would also work as a personal study guide if you want to read this book on your own.

Strengths
This book does not sugar coat the truth. It just presents the truth from God’s Word. This to me makes a Christian growth book good. I like that he points out the difference between a proverb and a promise. He comes back to this point a few times. In his chapter “A Godly Home Guarantees Godly Kids” this point is incredibly relevant. He gives two examples of parents with rebellious children. One set of parents suffers from extreme guilt over what they think must be poor parenting. The other set of parents is filled with unfounded hope that their child will absolutely return to the Lord because of the verse Proverbs 22:6. He uses practical examples like this throughout the book to illustrate the myths we believe from the truth of what God’s Word actually says.

Each chapter provides the reader with several reasons why the widely held belief is false and what the truth actually is in the correlating situation. At the end of each chapter it asks the myth in the form of a question like “Can Christians Ever Judge?” and then answers with a Scripture passage. I love that feature of this book. After you read all his thoughts on the topic you are given a concrete answer from God’s Word to answer the question.

Weaknesses
The author uses lots of Scripture throughout the book, but they are not clearly listed. Often he makes a point or paraphrase and then there is a footnote number. However they are not actually footnotes. They are notes at the end of the book. So if you want to read through this book and read the corresponding passages it takes quite a bit of time. I would have preferred actual footnotes so I wouldn’t have to constantly flip back and forth.

Phrases like “Jesus made a mean Merlot” are unnecessary to me. I understand that Jesus turned water into wine, this type of phrasing doesn’t add anything to the message.

Conclusion
This is a well written book. When I read about the author at the end of the book I was not at all surprised that he has a congregation of 7000 people. He is an excellent communicator and he speaks the truth in love. These chapters speak clearly against widely held beliefs. I am sure he knew that some of his truth would be offensive to some but he confidently presents the facts and I admire that in a person.

I especially appreciated the truth of chapter 10, “Dead People Go to a Better Place”. This is not true unless the deceased person has believed on Christ. He uses the illustration of the rich young ruler who wanted his stuff instead of the Savior. This chapter encouraged me in evangelism. I do not evangelize like I should.

This book is a good read. I think this would be a good book not only for the believer to have good answers to these common questions. I also think it would be a good read for a new believer so they start out with the right answers to what they’ve always heard about Christianity.

The Prodigal Son: A story of pride and humility

2009-09-10T16:35:00.004-04:00

I am studying the book Humility: True Greatness with a group of ladies at my church. Of course the opposite of humility is pride. Pride is the root of sin; it is what Lucifer committed in his heart. It was the demise of mankind. When I started studying Biblical characters that were destroyed by pride I came up with several examples, however one has stuck with me. It is a story that gives us a full picture of pride and humility, The prodigal Son in Luke 15.

Rebellious Pride

The younger son who asks his father for his inheritance is showing his pride. He wants to be on his own he does not want to wait until his father is near death. He wants his money now and he wants to be on his own. We often see this type of pride manifest itself in rebellion in young children. From what we can tell from this story it seems as though the father is loving to his children. Yet he wants his independence. He wants to be footloose and fancy free. So his father grants his wish and the son leaves.

The young son goes out and the Bible tells us that he “squandered his property in reckless living.” This young man is enjoying the freedom to have lots of fun that instant wealth can bring. Yet when a famine strikes the land and all his money is gone he is left feeding pigs. This young man experienced the natural consequences of his rebellion. His pride and rebellion led him to destruction.

Repentance to Humility

So as the son is sitting with the pigs he begins to think of his father. His heart is softened by his circumstances and he decides to go home and beg his father to let him be a servant in his house. His father treats servants better than his is living now. He is broken and humbled. It takes humility to say you are wrong. It takes real humility to go back to the person you wronged and ask them for anything. A truly proud heart would stay in the pig pen where at least they were “on their own.” He knows he needs help and so he takes a chance at repentance to his father. He has been suffered because of his pride but once broken has changed his heart toward humility.

Real Humility

As the son comes home his father sees him from a distance. He runs to his son! This type of act for middle eastern men would have been unheard of. Most men would scorn their son which is why this young man was going with the intention of begging his father to let him be a slave. He expected resistance to his repentance but he was instead met with arms open wide. The father loves his son and is so thankful for his repentance. He does not put a stone wall up against the one he loves.

As the son begins to ask for forgiveness the father doesn’t even seem to hear, He simply calls for the best robe and a celebration to be held because his son has come home.

This father gives us a picture of what Christ did for us. He humbled himself and took suffered on the cross. He gave up His Glory to reach down to us. He runs to us when we come to us. He does not hold our wickedness against us forever. He banishes it as far as the east is from the west. He grants forgiveness. He allows us to spend eternity with Him. Heaven will be unbelieveable to our minds. He does not give this gift begrudgingly, He wants us to be with Him. Why else would He have humbled himself and come to earth? He did it because he wants our repentant and humble hearts.

We as sinners must are also sitting in the pig pen of our own sin. We must come to the Lord with humble and repentant hearts and believe on Him. Humility is something we cannot ignore.

So the party begins for the repentant and now humble younger son. Joy has filled this father’s heart. His son is home.

Repressed Pride

Everyone is not happy at the repentance and return of the young son. No, in fact anger is brewing in the heart of his older brother. This brother did everything right. He had stayed and done what he was supposed to do. His father should have liked him better. He should be having a party because he has been faithful to his father through his actions.

This son reminds me of Jonah, he doesn’t want the Ninevites to be saved he wants justice. That is what this older son wants for this younger son; justice. As Christians I think this type of pride is often our downfall. It is the pride that we deserve Christ because of our service to Him. we are serving him. When a “real sinner” comes back to Christ this type of pride manifests itself in an unforgiving spirit.

It seems from this passage that sometimes pride is not as flagrant as that of the younger son. The pride is present but we conceal it. This type of pride is buried deep within our hearts but just like the Bible tells us “as a man thinks in his heart so is he” is so true. You might be able to hide your pride from those around you but that doesn’t make it any less real. Eventually that sin will be exposed.

Reflections on humility

At the end of this I feel conviction. Often I’m a person with repressed pride. Since we know all people are sinners I think it is safe to say that we all struggle with pride in some form. What is necessary is to ask the Spirit to probe our hearts and point us toward repentance in areas where we are proud and don’t even realize it.

Once we are aware of pride in our own hearts we can ask the Spirit to help us change. We can then grow in humility.

Truly, we have nothing to be proud about in our own lives. It is because of Christ that we will live.

Fearless: Imagine your life without fear. by Max Lucado

2009-09-08T10:07:00.004-04:00

When I got the news that I could get an advanced copy of Max Lucado’s newest book, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear I was thrilled! Max Lucado was probably my first real exposure to Christian Living literature. I first read his work in college and I just couldn’t believe how his words were so grounded in God’s Word and yet so relatable.

It had probably been 7 years since I had read one of his books, probably just the insanity of newlywed to new mother. So when I picked up this book it was like hearing from an old friend. You and the friend have grown over the years but you still can relate. That’s how it was for me when I picked up “Fearless”.

Synopsis
Fearless takes us from the primary reason for our fear, which is sin. the fears we face, and the fear we need to have. He takes the reader on a journey through fear.

The first chapter is an explanation of why we are afraid. I love that he takes the time to explain this concept. What impressed me most about these chapters were the Scripture passages he uses. Toward the end of the chapter he lists 13 verses where Jesus told His followers to be fearless. He then uses the words of Christ to open the following chapters.

The book continues with chapters that detail common fears and ways to change our thinking towards courage in the Lord. I appreciated his candor when dealing with the subject of fear of death. He details a dream he had where he dies but he has courage in death because of Christ. I loved the story and then he details his own brush with death during a heart surgery. I think that is one of the things I like about Mr. Lucado. He is honest about his own struggles and it makes me take his counsel seriously.

Other fears he touches on include the fear of not mattering, of not protecting my kids, of violence and other relevant topics (obviously you can read the table of contents)

He ends with what he calls “The One Healthy Terror” which details our fear of God. We must always fear Him for He is Holy.

Strengths
One of the best parts of this book is that it uses Scripture as the premise of the author’s assertions. That is important to me. It is not a book that makes points and then finds Scripture to back up his points. It is the other way around, Scripture is the base and everything else falls around that. The first chapter lists 13 verses where Christ instructs His followers not to fear. The following chapters are based largely on this list of passages making the book a cohesive unit.

I alluded earlier to Max Lucado’s candor throughout this book but I can’t reiterate enough how much I appreciate a transparent author. This is not the kind of book where the author spends 200 pages telling you all the great things he has done. Instead he points out his own fears and how these Scriptures help him in his daily walk.

The book includes a discussion guide which is excellent. It includes several thought provoking questions for each chapter as well as lots of Scripture to back it up! Each chapter’s discussion guide has 3 areas of focus: “Examining Fear, Exposing Fear, and Battling Fear.” This would be a great book discussion for small groups at church. When it focuses on Examining Fear it is filled with thought provoking questions like “What are you prone to – dread of failure, rejection, or calamity? What does that indicate about you?”
Exposing Fear is filled with God’s answers to our fears. It lists several bible verses to combat the fears you discover about yourself through the first section. Battling Fear includes a section of reflection and a meditation for the week.

WeaknessesI wish this book went deeper. I think it does a great job of skimming the surface of these issues of fear but the middle chapters where specific fears are listed seem to short. The discussion guide does make up some for this lack of depth in my opinion.

Conclusion
I do recommend Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear. It gave me a lot to think about in my own life. Fear is something that can plague a person. It is something I have struggled with and for those of you who usually read my blog you know that about me. Max Lucado delivers his message in an easy to read manner that is appealing to large audiences. If you are reading this book on your own I encourage you to do the discussion questions as study guide questions after each chapter. Do a chapter each week and meditate on Scripture from the chapter and the probing questions of the study guide. I think it will help the reader get a lot more from this book than simply reading the chapters. This book would also make a great book for small group discussion at church or local Bible studies.

Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear is a great resource for any Christian, whether they are oppressed with fear or not. We all need to remember that because of Christ we have every reason to be “Fearless.”

100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs book review

2009-09-01T20:18:00.005-04:00

100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs
Written by Stephen Elkins Illustrated by Tim O’Connor

The cover of this book just draws kids into its pages. The art on the cover is a fantastic example of the art throughout this book. It is happy and colorful. The songs are also just as bright and happy.

This children’s Bible goes from Genesis through Revelation. Like most children’s Bibles these stories are paraphrased and give just a brief overview of the story. A unique feature of this book is that it comes with 2 CD’s with a simple children’s song to go along with each story. The back cover says that your child will Read it! Sing It! And Learn It! This book gives parents the extra tool of music to reinforce a Biblical truth which is a neat feature.

It includes an extensive table of contents in the front of the book which includes the Story, Bible Verse, Bible Song and Page. It also separates the stories by Old Testament and New Testament. Each story is just two adjacent pages. The page on the right has the story and song title and the body of the story. The left hand page has the illustration, Bible verse paraphrase, and a truth your child can learn from the story.

What your child will like

Your child will enjoy the bright illustrations and catchy songs that go along with each story. The stories are easy to understand and the truths are simple for very small children to grasp and put into practice. My boys loved singing the songs some of their favorites were “Only a Boy named David”, “His Banner Over Me is Love”, and “My God is So Big”. My older son (age 4) liked that the stories are short so that we could read several in one sitting.

What the parent will like

These stories and songs give the parent a short version of a story that they can explain to their child. It is often difficult to read a long story to a small child and then have them accurately understand a truth. I think as a parent you will find this book enables you to bring back these truth’s to your child and they will remember the story and song. The songs are a big part of this book and I think it works well with a child’s natural ability to remember and sing songs. Often it seems children will more easily remember a song than a story. As a parent you might enjoy the fact that most of the songs are very familiar classics. It is a joy to introduce these wonderful songs to our children.

My conclusion

This book is beautifully illustrated and presents the Bible accurately. However the stories are very short so the focus of the story is very simplistic. This is good for the very young child, probably under the age of 4. Children older than 4 might find this book too simple for their growing minds. The truth that the book presents is a paraphrase as well. For me, I would like the truth to be an actual Scripture verse with the reference. The book does tell you what book of the Bible the story is from, but the truth presented is not always an actual Bible verse. As a parent you might want to incorporate an actual Bible verse with these stories if you are using them for a devotional time with your child.

I think the CD’s can stand alone apart from the book. We have listened to the CD’s more than once and the kids have enjoyed singing their favorite Sunday School songs at home. If you buy this book I think you will find the CD’s worth the price. I know that some of my readers have fairly conservative views on music. If that is the case you might find some of the songs on the CD’s a little too peppy.

If you are looking for a first Bible for your very young child I think this book is a good starting point.

A Good Witch

2009-08-20T20:43:00.004-04:00

I love being in musical theatre. I’ve loved acting and singing from a young age. My parents would tell you that I got my first taste and love for the stage at the age of 2. It was my first time to sing with the little kids in the Christmas program. The Sunday School teacher put me on one of the back rows of the risers. Well once we started singing I pushed my way through the other kids to the front and stood below the mic and just held on to the bar and tried to sing right into it. My parents were mortified and I was in love.

So, now that I’m an adult I still like to think about acting and singing. On Sunday I always look at the audition section and think about what I would sing or what part I would want to be. I know, I have now shared another small piece of my weirdness with the world.

During my Sunday ritual a couple of weeks ago I noticed that there would be auditions for “The Wizard of Oz” with a local community theatre. I immediately thought I could be Glinda the Good Witch. Now that I’m a mother I thought I could really understand that role. Plus it’s a great part but not a main role. I figured I would have the time to do that. I also thought Ethan (4) could be a munchkin in the production and we could do this activity together. I had the perfect plan. After all these years of wanting to get back into musical theatre I knew this was my time to get back into the scene.

So this week I was excited to audition. I watched YouTube videos of the Good Witch and I was ready. Yet tonight before I was about to leave I started feeling like I wasn’t going to have the time to commit to it. I talked to Daniel (my husband) and he really thought I should go try out and see what exactly was involved. So I drove over there and I still just felt unsettled. I started to pray that the Lord would clearly open or close this door for me. It might seem silly to pray about something like a low budget community theatre play but that’s what I did.

I got there, filled out the paperwork and looked over rehearsal schedule.

Instant disappointment.

I knew I could not audition for this play because I cannot commit to the rehearsal schedule. I start to feel bad for myself. “Why do I have to be a work-week-widow?” Why can’t anything ever work out for me? Why can’t I do something that makes me happy?”

Self-pity was creeping in and taking over, and then I remembered my prayer. The Lord had shown me something clearly. Yes, the answer was “No” but it was still a clear answer. I wasn’t left wondering what to do. I wasn’t waffling in my decision. I knew what to do. The Lord heard me and He answered.

The verses from Ecclesiastes came to mind “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.”

This just isn’t the time for me. That doesn’t mean the time won’t come again, but that’s hard to keep in perspective when I’m disappointed. Yet it’s true. Life is in a constant flux of phases. I will probably be able to be in a play next year but I can’t focus on what might be. I have to enjoy the time that is today. I must redeem the time like it is a gift. There is no point in self-pity. It just makes me, well, pitiful. And who wants to live like that?

I won’t be playing Glinda the Good Witch in the Wizard of Oz, but maybe my kids won’t mind if I pretend to be the Good Witch here at my own personal Oz.

A Mother's Glimpse of the Father's Love

2009-08-16T11:02:00.001-04:00

God speaks of being our Father throughout Scripture. He is truly our Lord and Master but more than that Christ calls Him “Father’. As a child I used to think of my parents and how they loved me. As the recipient of their love I valued them. Yet my small gestures were nothing compared to what they did for me. They provided everything essential. They also filled my childhood with memorable experiences. As a child I think you expect this from your parents. You grow up and they do these things for you from the start of your life until you move out. So I kind of thought of God this way. Yes I knew He loved Christ but I kind of thought it was obligatory. Then I had kids.

Yes a parent is obligated to care for their children but the love you feel for your child is something very different. As a mother you have an overwhelming desire to care for and love your children. This makes the acts we do for our kids much more than obligatory in nature. It makes those actions come from our hearts.

So this gives us a truer picture of God’s love for Christ. He did not just send Christ down to do a job. It was difficult. Can you imagine your child sitting in a garden on the last night before they would be betrayed, beaten, and killed and asking you to spare them from this torment? It would be pure agony for me as a mother to allow that to happen to my son. Even though it was what they are created for. I would still want to save him.

Imagine the torture of watching your child being abused and then taking all the sin of the world on Himself, and because of God’s holiness He must turn His face away. It’s would be true horror to a parent.

As mother’s, I know understand the explanation of a father and His child. It is a human relationship that parents can completely understand. The Bible repeatedly uses familial terms to describe relationships between God and His creation. Think about marriage. Paul tells us it is like Christ and the church. God is the Father and Jesus is His Son. It is one of the unexpected gifts of motherhood. We see Christ as God’s son and it gives a new wonderful appreciation for what has been given to us.

It is truly one of the gifts of Motherhood!

Book Review: Surrender All by Joni Lamb

2009-08-03T15:55:00.003-04:00

Surrender All was a book I had the opportunity to read and review recently. I knew virtually nothing about the author, other than the fact that she was a TV talk show host for a Christian broadcast network. I let the book sit on the shelf for a while because I’ve been pressed for time. However on a recent trip I was able to read the book in just two sittings. I was interested in her as a person as soon as I started reading because she is from my hometown of Greenville, SC. Maybe if she is ever in her home state we can have lunch.

The book details many aspects of life. Surrender must take place in our homes, when we succeed and fail and ultimately all the glory goes to God. The message of this book is spot on in these areas.

Before I give a wholehearted stamp of approval to this book, I get the feeling that the Lambs are full gospel. There are frequent stories where she tells us that Jesus came to her in a vision or that the Lord literally spoke to her or someone else. My usual readers probably know that this is not something I would personally agree with.

One of the things I truly appreciated about this book is that the focus is always on what God did, not what Joni and her husband have accomplished in their own strength. It seems as though their heart for ministry is genuine, and I find the spirit of the book refreshing.

My favorite story in the book is when Joni tells us how the Lord orchestrated events in her life so that she and her husband Marcus would be husband and wife. She had to deal with heartbreak and then was able to find the love of her life. In keeping with the theme of the book Joni had to surrender her life to the Lord in order for Him to direct her steps.

Overall I found this book well written and the stories accurately illustrated the points she is trying to make. I found that the book encouraged me to give everything to the Lord.

My Carnal Behavior

2009-07-22T11:15:00.005-04:00

The word “carnal” brings specific sins to my mind. When I hear the word I generally think of some sexual sin or desire. The word “carnal” is generally used in the New Testament to describe our flesh; so the sexual connotation of that word is not out of place. However today I was reading 1 Corinthians 3 and was intrigued by Paul’s description of carnality. He uses the words “envying and strife,”

This definition of carnality instantly caught my attention. Carnal behaviors are activities we engage in to serve our flesh. It’s fascinating to me when I read a verse that completely changes my view of a word. When I read about being carnal that’s what happened.

The Corinthian church was one that should have matured in Christ but had stunted growth. This was because they were indulging in their flesh. Paul points out their carnality by listing a few specific sins.

Envy

As we read through 1 Corinthians we see that as a church body they were jealous of each other’s gifts. They wanted to have the gifts they deemed superior instead of gladly accepting the gift the Holy Spirit had given each on individually. I think this could be a problem in our modern church as well. How often do jealousies run wild when someone is put in charge of a ministry?

Strife

The verses continue to detail a situation where the Corinthian church was arguing about who led them to the Lord, Paul or Apollos? Fighting over which person they were going to pledge their allegiance to. The focus should have been on God, the spiritual. Instead of fighting over who their allegiance should have been to, their focus should have on serving Christ. We cannot serve God and man.

In this passage we see that being carnal is when we live for our flesh. God is Spirit and He sent us the Holy Spirit. We must be mindful that we serve God and not our flesh. We are His temple.

In Old Testament times the people would go through painstaking rituals to purify and make the temple holy. They would not dare come to the Lord dirty or sinful. Yet as a church that is what the Corinthians were doing. They were coming to the Lord dirty and the Lord was not pleased. God is Holy. He makes Himself available to us at anytime but He requires holiness from us.

As we live our lives we must be mindful of the holiness of God. When we accept Christ he lives in us. Our temples should be holy and set apart. God cannot dwell in or reward a flesh minded temple.

This convicts me. I point a finger in my mind at those who choose to live in what often is considered the really bad sins like adultery and fornication. Yet scripture calls me carnal when I am jealous of another Christian or when I stir up fights. This sin might be easier to hide but is just as devastating to my spiritual condition. I encourage you today to think about your body as God’s temple. Let Him transform you so that you can be filled with His Spirit and your life will count for eternity.

Words for Young Mothers: Let God Have the Control

2009-07-13T15:52:00.004-04:00

Many of my friends are having babies or are first time mothers. This has caused me to reminisce about my experiences as a new mother. There were so many new responsibilities that I felt completely overwhelmed. Add to the reality of those responsibilities, out of control hormones, and sleep deprivation, and you get one crazy lady! Yet even in this whirlwind of craziness I had great joy with my new son.

One of the biggest mental obstacles I’ve had to face as a mother is relinquishing the control of my children to God. I am a control freak. I was born the boss, yet even though I want to control everything, I simply cannot control everything that happens with my kids. The first couple of weeks at home with Ethan I would not sleep at all during the night. I was scared Ethan would get sids. This fear was exaggerated since the only way he would sleep was on his tummy and the Dr just scared me to death about letting him sleep that way. So for endless nights I would lie in bed awake and then go check on him incessantly.

One night as I was laying there freaking out, I realized something; I am not in control when we have to sleep. Yes, I need to be prudent and aware but I have to sleep and so does Ethan. So I began to meditate on Scripture. One verse that was a comfort to me was “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” God cares about my children more than I do, and ultimately He is in control. God knows more about them and cares about them in every way. He will protect them. This is a hard one for Mom's. Children are our responsibility and we take it seriously as we should. However this care we give our children should not be overcome with fear for their well-being.

Having children gives women a glimpse at the Father’s love for His Son. Imagine how much you love your child and care for him, and then multiply that times infinity and you would have just some of God’s love for His children. Entrust your little ones into the hands of the Almighty. He will care for them in the best possible way.

Worship on Purpose

2009-07-01T11:45:00.005-04:00

My Pastor, Dean Taylor, preached a great message in his Worship on Purpose series which I think ties in nicely with my blogpost No Skirts, No Suits, No Service

If you have a chance to download and listen to this message, I think you will be blessed!

Treasure

2009-06-26T12:16:00.001-04:00

I recently went grocery shopping at my normal store. I go to the same store at about the same time every week. I’ve gotten to know the check-out ladies and the men who bag and carry out the groceries. I like that feeling of community. However because of this familiarity I know one of the bag men is kind of grumpy. So today I saw that one of my favorite check-out ladies, Janine, was available so I went to her aisle but then I saw the grumpy bag man. He’s older, probably in his 70’s. I was not thrilled but since he’s not overtly mean I just went ahead.

After I paid he started pushing the cart and I was leading him to our car. As we are getting ready to walk across the parking lot, I see Micah and the cart just kind of free rolling into the road. I grab the cart. I’m wondering of course what has happened. For the first time ever, I see the grumpy man smiling. He says “I got it!” and then stands up and starts pushing the cart again.

Now, what he was reaching over to pick up? One nickel. Seriously. He let the cart roll away for a nickel. He did not care about anything at that moment but picking up a stray nickel. I was stunned that a nickel was more important to him than the well being of my child and doing his job properly. Let’s just say he will not be getting a pat on the back for the job he did today.

Yes, what he did was odd but it revealed what was important in his life at that moment was a nickel. While this played out very obviously today it made me think of the times I let go of what is really important for those things that are insignificant. Yes there is value in a nickel, but the amount of groceries he was responsible for was worth way more than that, not to mention the priceless life of my child.

Matthew 6:19-21
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also

I am quick to judge this man because he did not share a love for what I valued. However often I am guilty of the same thing. I want my treasure to be in heaven but so often I drop what needs to be cherished for something trivial. This speaks volumes about my heart. Anything that makes us break the greatest commandments of loving God and loving people is moving our hearts away from where it should be.

My judgment of the bag-man quickly turned to judgment of myself. There are areas where I know I’m leaving what is truly important for the insignificant.

So, while I might be avoiding this particular bag-man in the future, I am thankful that the Lord used that instance to teach me a lesson about myself. I need to avoid the nickels along my path and treasure the truly meaningful.

Victory Over My Mouth Begins with a Battle for My Mind

2009-06-14T23:04:00.003-04:00

If you know me at all, you are probably aware of my tendency to talk. Sometimes I use this for good, but I often get myself into trouble. The Bible tells us that the tongue will cause us problems. James tells us that the tongue defileth the whole body! This is a scary prospect for me and one I must work on. I don’t want my tongue to be a poison. So for the chatty among us, getting this under control is vital to put this gift to good use.

While I’ve been meditating and studying what Scripture says about the tongue, I read the verse“a fool uttereth all His mind.” It is foolish to say everything we think. James tells us to put a bridle on our tongue. We need to control it. This is where I think my attention has broadened from simply my tongue to my mind as well. A fool often has foolish thoughts. Yes, it is foolish to say everything we think, yet what we think shapes what we say.

So I’ve been focusing on a few areas of my mind. One, I am trying to think with love. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that love thinketh no evil. I am trying to conscientiously focus my thoughts on goodness of the evil of another person. This can be so hard to do sometimes. Sometimes it’s hard to think of something positive, yet love should override our thinking. I’ve been asking the Lord to show me the good in others and to make that my focus. Obviously, I would not want someone to focus on all my negatives (and there are plenty) so I should not be focusing my attention on someone else’s problems. Our Love for God and love for others is the basic commandment from Scripture. If I am acting in obedience to Christ, I will show love to my fellow man by thinking good.

Another action I am focusing on is renewing my mind. Romans 12 says we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It seems an impossible task, but it is not. We have a powerful gift in the Holy Spirit. When we are Spirit-filled, the transformation of our minds is possible. When our minds are transformed then our lives and actions are changed as well. It starts with our mind! We must ask for the Spirit’s help. Without His help how could I ever think the kinds of thoughts that would make for good conversation?

And so it becomes a battle. My spirit is willing and my flesh is weak. I want to focus my mind on things above but it is a struggle without the work of the Holy Spirit. Negative thoughts easily slip into my mind without any effort and replacing that negativity with positive thought takes a purposeful decision. It takes true love that comes from the Lord.

A prayer for today:

Lord, please change my thoughts to your thoughts and ways. Allow the Spirit to transform my thinking to Godly ideals. Will you protect my mind from negative thoughts about my family, friends and acquaintances and change them to hopeful positive thoughts. Help me to think on goodness of others.

Take the work of goodness You do in my mind and allow that to control my tongue. Let your thoughts and direction keep my mouth from harming the Body of Christ. Let your Spirit guide my mind and words to love. Let my words be used for good and not for evil.

Change my mind to hopeful thinking. Let my focus be on the grace and mercy You have shown in my own life.

A Modern Day Jonah

2009-06-05T09:28:00.001-04:00

In Scripture we see the law as a way for people to know how to define justice in their society. The law helped maintain order. It also gave the people a picture of the Holiness of God and man’s complete inability to be holy. The Law still does an important work today. When we read the law in scripture we see our need for a Savior. We see that God demands justice and holiness. He sent a Christ to save us from the damnation we so deserve.

In our society we have laws as well. We have rules and regulations to keep order. When those laws are broken the perpetrator is usually punished. When they are not we are outraged. How could this be? They were guilty! We feel unsettled because justice has not been done. Someone did wrong and they should pay. Bad people should get bad treatment and good people should receive good things.

Jonah is someone I can relate to when I think about the law. He is someone who was a prophet of God yet ran when God wanted him to talk to the wicked Ninevites about repentance. The Ninevites did not follow God’s law. In fact in many areas they did the exact opposite of what God requires. What gets me about Jonah is that he did not want to tell them to repent because he knew they would and that God would have mercy on them. He did not want them to have mercy. He wanted justice. He wanted God’s law measured out in full force on the wicked Ninevites.

Yet he did not want justice for himself. He wanted mercy and grace even though he had done wrong. He just viewed their sins as worse than his. So he thought they should be punished instead of forgiven.

I identify with Jonah because like him I have a rich heritage. I assume Jonah was raised in a Jewish home. Regardless of how he was raised he was a prophet and had a special gift from God. I was raised by Christian parents in a Christian home. I was saved by God’s grace at a young age. This was a great gift from God! Yet somehow the thought still crosses my mind of “you got what you had coming!”

This is not an attitude from God. It’s an attitude of pride, and I know that is something God hates. Like Jonah, I sometimes want mercy for myself and justice for the “bad people” around me. I deserve the same, yet Grace saves me.

The Noticer, a book review

2009-05-30T20:59:00.003-04:00

This week I read “The Noticer” by Andy Andrews. The story begins with a struggling young man named Andy, and his seemingly happenstance meeting with an older man named Jones. Jones helps him gain “perspective” and this changes his life. The book is a collection of stories about people with difficult life circumstances like death, marriage difficulties, and depression. Jones is able to come to the aid of these people when the least expect it and help them see things with a new point of view.

What I like about this book is that the character of Jones encourages the reader to stop focusing on what is wrong in their life and to focus on the positive. He also encourages them to look for the good in things and look forward to better things to come. When one dwells in the depths of despair they often stay in that predicament. The book urges the troubled souls of this book to gain a positive perspective on life. This doesn’t change the past, but it can make your future brighter.

The only issue I have with this book is that it was sold as “Spiritual Growth”. While there can be some personal growth from this book, I would not classify it as Christian Spiritual Growth. If you pick up this book at the Bible bookstore and are expecting to see Scripture, you will not find it in this book. There are a couple references to Biblical characters listed as biographies along with many other people. There are also a few references to prayer. The message of this book is not anti-Christian, but is not Christian focused.

Overall, I found this to be an uplifting story; one that teaches the reader to take the focus off of self and put life’s problems into proper perspective. It was a good read.

A Modest Proposal

2009-05-07T23:08:00.005-04:00

When I wrote the article No Skirts, No Suits, no Service and A Response, I seperated part of it because I was going down two paths. In addition to the fact that our dress should not hinder people from coming to Christ; our dress should be modest and point people to Christ. Modesty is often just a discussion about lines; hemlines and necklines. Modesty is also a discussion of our spirit and attitude. Our clothing choices are a very narrow focus in comparison to the broader discussion of a modest spirit and attitude. When our hearts are modest then our clothing choices will often follow naturally.

We find a few verses on clothing in 1 Timothy 2:9-10 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 10But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. This seems to be the verse most people go to when discussing clothing for women. Clearly, women should be modest. A few weeks ago I was listening to a sermon by Dr. Kevin Bauder titled “Revisiting Biblical Womanhood”. In this message he made a point out of the context of these famous verses. The beginning of the chapter gives us the premise for the rest of the chapter’s instructions. “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” This is one of those times when I knew the well-used verses but never even considered context.

The instructions in this chapter are related to instruction to bring people to Christ! The exhortation to modesty is an instruction not to dress in such a way that we are bringing undue attention to ourselves, for any reason. Whether our clothes attract attention because they show too much skin or because they show that we like to spend a lot of money, at the point our clothes are the focus in any way, the focus is wrong.

It is my belief that our view of modesty has been skewed by time. The idea that women should be covered and modestly dressed is a good thing, and most of us agree with this principle. The problem from my view, is that most have narrowed their view of modesty to simply clothing choices. The context of 1 Timothy 2:9-10 speaks of being both sober and modest. This means we should not be bringing attention to our dress. Although most people think only of clothes which are revealing as “immodest”, the word means more than that. For example, if I wore a ballgown to church, even if it was floor length and came up to my collar bone; I would not be modest because
I would be bringing undue attention to my clothes.

The instruction of 1 Timothy tells us what we should do instead of placing the focus on our clothes. We are to be clothed in good works. Are Christians known for their good works? This is sobering to me. When people think about me do they think about my good works or about my cute outfit? As a Christian I am to be showing Christ to the world around me through my good works. In the New Testament we read time and again about bringing people to Christ because of our good works. This passage falls right in line with this concept of winning souls. In fact it seems to be the point of this chapter.

Maybe I’ve brought up a silly conversation in light of eternity. However, I think it is entirely possible that Satan has used issues like clothing to divide the Body of Christ.

Either way, I hope I have started a discussion. I hope we all have something we can consider as we try to grow in the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No Skirts. No Suits. No Service : a response

2009-05-03T16:00:00.003-04:00

How does your dress affect your church attendance?(online surveys)

Wow, the response from this discussion has been diverse. Clothes are something that people obviously care a lot about. I had a second part to this article started, but because of the amount of comments and concerns I’m going to postpone that. I’d like to comment on the concerns and ideas I’ve been hearing. I will post the second part which is about modesty sometime this coming week. I have added a poll, would you mind to vote? I would love to get a snapshot of the varying ideas.

A friend told me this morning that they found my article offensive. I appreciate her honesty with me, and think it’s safe to assume that others shared her view. She felt that I put everyone who goes to a conservative church in a box. She felt I was wrong to assume that all people who dress up for church is judging others or doing so to make themselves feel righteous. I am sorry for this, and she is absolutely right. Certainly, many people do not feel the way I characterized in my first article. How could I possibly know the hearts of those around me? I was speaking very directly about my perception. My perception cannot be placed on those around me. It is obvious from the comments and e-mails that many share my view and others do not. I would assume that since someone voiced their concern there are probably others who were offended. If you were, I sincerely apologize for characterizing you negatively. It was not my intent.

Another concern voiced in the comments and by a few others was dressing up for the occasion, which is coming to God’s house. God’s holiness is very important. His holiness is a central attribute in my mind. His Holiness is something we should be focused on when we pray, when work, when we attend church, and in whatever we do. While I don’t know of any specific passages that command us to dress up, certainly the idea of respecting God’s Holiness is a valid point. We do come together to worship God and when two or three are gathered together in his name he is in the midst of them. When we dress up to show our reverence for God and His house I think it is a good thing. If you feel that dressing up shows respect for God’s Holiness I understand that and am supportive.

The issue I was trying to address was that our clothes should not define who we are, and what we wear can even be a hindrance. If you are dressing up because you want to acknowledge God’s holiness on Sunday, I support you in that. My concern is that this tradition has morphed into a requirement. This was the issue I was focusing on. If what we wear on Sunday is an outpouring of the heart; that is a good thing. If we wear something to be accepted by our peers or be looked upon as “good Christians” then it is probably not from good motivation. I raised questions based on my perceptions and experiences because that’s what I understand. I’m thankful for the different views that have been shared, it gives good perspective.

It is clear that many share my concerns. I hope that in voicing our shared concern you will grow in grace in understanding your Brothers and Sisters in Christ who disagree with you.

For those who disagree with the view I suggested, I hope you will take the knowledge of others feelings and use that to grow in grace as well.

It is clear from this discussion that no one wants others, especially those who do not know the Lord, to feel uncomfortable at church. I don’t know how we do this. Do we have people come to church a little less formal so that if guests come they feel welcome? Do we go out of our way to buy Sunday clothes or do we just wear our best from everyday life? I’m sure there are better suggestions out there, share them!

I’m looking forward to reading Scripture filled responses!

No Skirts. No Suits. No Service?

2009-04-29T20:28:00.004-04:00

I’ve been thinking about clothes a lot this week. I have been reading a discussion online about appropriate church attire. It has opened my eyes to a huge problem within the Church today. We judge the righteousness of others based on their clothing. Yikes! Now, I'm not talking about modesty. I think it's important but not the focus of this essay.

James 2 immediately comes to mind “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Now, I cannot remember the last time someone came to our church with an obviously expensive outfit and someone else having on “vile raiment.” I think we could apply this to our culture this way: we see someone in a long skirt and think, they must be really spiritual. Then we see someone in jeans and think, they must not know any better. We then respect the person dressed in a suit or long dress as good and righteous, and the person in jeans as inferior. It seems from this passage that the problem is not with our dress but our attitudes.

However the obvious is true as well, those in vile raiment are probably poor people. I believe we do not see extremely poor people in our churches because of our dress codes.

Whether church dress codes are spelled out or implied they keep people from coming to church. At some point it seems like what we are wearing is more important than our attendance. That's a problem and not Biblical.

There have been times when we were coming home from a vacation and could have made it to church. However we did not go because we did not have time to change into something acceptable. We were modestly dressed but not in 'appropriate" attire. Man's laws and ideas about clothing kept us away.

And so we come to the poor. It has been my experience that our dress codes keep poor people from our churches. We have a mega church here in Greenville, 80% of the church is considered poor by anyone's standards. They go to this church because they are accepted. If their best is jeans and a polo shirt, that is what they wear and it's not an issue. I realize that there are other factors to the mega church, loud music, dancing, etc. Still, I know that when people go to a church that is super formal and they can't afford to dress appropriately, they leave and go where they fit in. I don't want these people to leave. I want them to stay and learn the Truth of God's Word!

The Bible is also clear about the faith of poor people and the difficulty for the wealthy to come to Christ. The book of Matthew tells us “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” I believe this is because a wealthy person does not have physical needs and does not see their need of a Savior. It’s not impossible for them to be saved, but close because they don’t have need. Our churches are filled with people who do not have real needs. Hence the reason we often do not see many adults coming to Christ in our churches.

James 2 continues : “Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?Those who are poor are rich in faith. They see their need more easily and believe.

So at the end of this ramble I think a few things are clear. We are focused too much on clothes. We are working very hard to fit into a man made mold in order to appear righteous. In so doing we also look down upon those who do not fit our mold. This is sin.

Should our clothes be modest? Of course. Is there anything wrong with dressing up for church? Of course not.

There is something wrong with dressing for the approval of others. There is something wrong with looking down our noses at those who are not dressed “right”. In order for there to be revival in our churches we must win people to Christ. We need to love people, not what they are wearing. Grace should be applied instead of judgment.

I think the question of dress should be is it Biblical or simply a tradition?

Earth Day: a literal view

2009-04-22T21:50:00.006-04:00

I am not much of an outdoors woman. However I appreciate God's creation and believe we should be good stewards of it. Today when Ethan asked if he could wear green for Earth day I found a green shirt for him and Micah. So while I encourage the idea of being good stewards of God's creation, I do not play outside very often. I hate mud. I hate dirt. I have never liked to be dirty and I don’t think I ever will. Tonight though, I was destined to be dirty.

I sent the boys outside to play while I cooked dinner. I threw a pizza in the oven and was doing some general cleaning work in the kitchen. I saw the boys were playing nicely but then saw them going over to a muddy area of the yard. I instructed Ethan not to get into the mud because I did not want a huge mess right before dinner. He said “Ok” and I went back inside.

I guess his agreement with my command was just words because a few minutes later I see Micah covered in mud. Ethan has some mud on himself as well.

I was hoppin’ mad! “There will be no dessert or cartoons tonight! Get in here!” I hollered at them.

Of course then I had second thoughts as they got closer to the door, I couldn’t let that mess into the house. So I had them stand on the patio while I ran up the stairs to retrieve the towels. At this point Micah is crying because he has mud in his eye but has nothing clean to wipe it with because he is covered.

So I take off all their clothes in the backyard (we have a privacy fence so no one could see) wrapped them in towels and went upstairs to the bathroom. On the way I do think to turn the oven off in hopes that dinner will not be completely ruined. I started Micah in the tub but I could not get the mud out of his hair so I had to go to plan B which included me getting into the shower with him.

I am really upset at this point. Why would these kids disobey me? Don’t they understand what No means? Why am I failing as a mother? Now my dinner is going to be ruined!
As I am getting Micah redressed the thought occurs to me, this is not personal against me. “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child” This is childish behavior and has very little to do with me. Yes, I need to teach them to obey but they are kids and kids get muddy.

This thought progressed to my relationship with the Lord. Paul tells us in Philippians that “He humbled himself”. God came down to our level in human flesh. I have wronged him in far worse ways than my children wronged me this evening. Yet He does not yell at me. He doesn’t look down his nose and me and say “How could you?” Instead He teaches me over and over again the right thing to do. He is full of love, mercy and grace. These are things I need to show my children. Yes, discipline is necessary but I need to show love, mercy and grace to my children just as Christ showers me with these everyday.

In the end, I made the kids a peanut butter sandwich to make up for the burned up pizza and drove myself out for some fast food. We had a nice evening and the kids went to bed without any issue. Hopefully I’m starting to learn my lesson in grace and the kids are starting to learn their lesson in obedience.

Why Do We Need God's Law?

2009-04-21T23:00:00.004-04:00

It’s an honest question many people have. If we now live under grace then what impact does God’s Law have on our lives?

The Law of God is very important to our lives. The Law gives us a glimpse at the character of God. His Law show us His love for people and His holiness. God is holy and can tolerate nothing less than holiness from those who dwell with Him. The Law is how God tells us what we need to do as we travel this Earth. This again shows God’s love for his people. He does not leave us ignorant. He gives us his law so we will know what He expects of us.

Since Christ came the Law still serves a purpose. Christ came to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. He told us the most important laws to follow, Love God and love our neighbor. This seems so simple after reading books like Leviticus. How could Christ come to fulfill the whole Law yet simplify the books of laws down to only 2 laws?

I think it is because all the laws God gave us can fall under these two main categories. When Exodus 20 tells us that we should not covet our neighbor’s things, this is giving us instruction on loving those around us. The 10 commandments also give us instruction not to have other gods. This law clearly falls under loving God.

So the Law of God is given to help us know what God expects of us. It also shows us our sin. The Law of God convicts us of our sin. Have you ever gotten a new cell phone and you are using it just fine until you find out your new contract only had 200 minutes a month after you had used 1000? You find out when you get the bill and realize that a simple mistake is going to cost you big bucks! That is what happens when we learn God’s law. Without it we would go through life without even knowing we had done wrong in God’s eyes. Luckily we have the gift of the Law. We know the character of God because of it, and this reveals the deficiency in our own lives.

Yes, we are saved because of God’s free gift of grace. We must only believe on Christ to be saved. This never ceases to amaze me. However, this grace does not diminish the gift of the law. Jesus did not change God’s laws, He fulfilled God’s promise.

Palm Sunday

2009-04-04T22:10:00.003-04:00

Hosanna! Hosanna! It is Palm Sunday. This is the day when we remember Christ’s triumphant entry into the Jerusalem. This is the beginning of the Holy Week. The people were so thankful to see Jesus. They wanted Him to be their physical king. They did not understand that God’s plan for redemption was going to take place in just a week’s time. They were right. Christ will save us, just not how they thought He would. His death would set them free from the bondage of the law. They would be redeemed through His death and resurrection. The people were praising and proclaiming Him as their Savior. Not only was He the Savior of the Jews, but of all people.

So today proclaim Hosanna with your voice and heart! Be thankful for the gift God has given you in His Son Jesus.

Writing for Children

2009-03-30T15:55:00.002-04:00

I have not posted in a while so I thought I would give you a quick update as to why. I have been writing some stories on The Law of God for a Children's Bible Curriculum. I just started 2 weeks ago and they are due in a week! I have never written children's literature so it has been challenging and fun at the same time. I have been learning a lot about why God gave us His Law and our inability to follow it.

I'm working on teaching the children what the Law is and how it reveals the character of God and the character He wants us to exemplify.

The second topic is what the Law does, how it reveals to us our depravity and need for a Savior.

What the Law cannot do, how the Law cannot save us from sin.

Finally, the Cure for the Law, how faith in Christ is what saves us, not our good works.One verse that has stuck with me is Galatians 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us . . .”

Christ has redeemed us once for all. I have been learning much about the Law of God and one I hope the children will understand this doctrine when I'm finished. If you think of me would you pray that the Lord would give me wisdom as I study and write? I will appreciate it much!

Joseph's Recession: A history lesson for today

2009-03-18T19:15:00.002-04:00

The Bible tells us the story of a kind, intelligent ruler named Joseph who through Divine revelation, tells the Pharaoh that there will be 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine.

Now, the years of plenty were amazing; wealth you can hardly imagine. During this time, the people are taxed and the grain is stored so that they would have food for the years of famine. For seven years they meticulously saved 20% of their wealth while still enjoying the bounty.

Of course the seven years of famine followed. This was a deep and dark famine. People are forced to come to Egypt to buy grain. Joseph’s families, the Israelites, come and eventually settle in the land of Goshen.

During this famine the people run out of money to buy grain, so they exchange cattle for grain. Then, there is nothing left to sell so they sold their land and themselves in exchange for grain. Imagine the desperation of these people. I cannot even imagine the kind of hunger where I would sell myself to the government to pay for food, but that is what it came down to for these people. Even with the warning that hard times were coming they were still unable to prepare adequately for their suffering. Not only did they sell themselves to the Pharoah, but as part of the agreement, they were forced to pay an additional 20% of their income to the government. They were so desperate that they sold themselves and were still taxed on what they produced.

I cannot help but see the parallel between this time in history and our nation’s current financial tempest. We have had several years of plenty but during that time our nation wasted what could have been saved. As citizens, we went into debt to pay for a lifestyle we wanted. It seemed ok at the time because we were earning decent money and the banks were willing to give out the credit in exchange for exorbitant fees and interest rates. Banks gave people credit to buy homes they could never afford. It seemed ok though because they would be able to just barely pay the bank and the bank would still be making their income. We lived in a way that seemed ok at the time. There has been little concern in our society about the time of financial famine. Our lack of concern, however, did not stop the recession for coming.

It seems as though the actions of the Egyptian government saved their people from starvation and certain death. In the short term this is absolutely true, but another result of Joseph and Pharoah’s plan was the enslavement of a nation -- not only financial enslavement but personal enslavement to the government. Government acted on the fears of their people and the people gave up everything they had in order to have grain. The people’s government was changed forever because of their immediate hunger. The help that they received in the short term took everything away for the foreseeable future. This was done with the best of intentions but the motivation did not change the ramifications of their actions.

The Israelites would remain in Egypt for years and would be the slaves of the Egyptians. They had food but it came at a price. They would be beaten, treated poorly, face persecution, and would be forced to serve their master. Yes, they are eventually saved from their horror, but it takes years and their suffering is real. Their eventual escape is the result of God’s intervention.

As Americans, it seems we are unfortunately headed down this road. We may not be physically beaten, but we are slowing giving away our freedoms and finances over to the government with the hope that they will save us.

They will not.

The result will be personal enslavement to a big, wealthy government. Even worse, since our government has spent tax dollars they did not have, American citizens will also be beholden to enemy nations. We are giving away what we have earned with the hope that the government can save us from our problems. We are giving it to a government who has not shown financial wisdom in the past. We may not feel all the effects of giving away our freedoms, but our children will. We are choosing to give away their ability to live financially free. I have no reason to think that the Egyptian leaders intended slavery to be the result of their intervention. However, their good intentions did not change the result.

Unlike these ancient times, we have history to teach us. We should use our knowledge of what has happened in the past to positively affect what we will allow to happen in our society. The power is still in the hands of the American people. Do not let go of your financial freedom for short term security. Even the most well meaning leaders can do irreparable harm. We must stop our nation from entering a recession of Biblical proportions.

Preparing my Heart for Easter: A modified Lent

2009-02-25T21:04:00.005-05:00

Easter is almost here and I love it. I love color coordinating my family’s outfits and eating Easter candy. I think some of the candy during Easter is better than at Christmas. I cannot resist mini Cadbury Eggs. During this time of year I am generally making these preparations for Easter. These are not bad things, but they are also not important things. As evangelical Christians we celebrate the resurrection rather quickly. While I’m not saying that this a bad thing, many other denominations and religions take the next 40 days more seriously. For many, preparation for Easter is serious business. While I know that the customs, traditions, and generally legalistic means are of no use in earning God’s favor, a person who is focused on the life and crucifixion of Christ is doing a good thing.

The life Jesus lived and the death He suffered make the resurrection all the more glorious. He chose to live here, work here, and die on Earth because of his love for mankind. I know the stories, I know that it’s important, but the depth of God’s choice to love us this way deserves my meditation and focus.

Lent is a long standing tradition within Christianity. For some this is a time where they try to earn forgiveness of sins. These acts are necessary in their minds in order to earn God’s favor. This is not a Biblical idea. We do not need these acts in order to earn favor with God. However there is benefit in taking 40 days to focus on the Cross and what the death and resurrection of Christ really mean. Matthew 4:2 tells us that “when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.” In some religions the act of fasting and feasting, almsgiving, and prayer are things that are works of righteousness. The works aren’t necessary, but a spirit given to meditating on the life of Christ is a good thing. In keeping with that principal, I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to focus on the passion of Christ until Easter.

One idea is to read through the Gospels during the 40 days. There is a schedule here. This is an idea I embrace and plan to do. I don’t know of any better way to focus on the Gospel than to actual read it. I hope others will consider this idea in their own lives.

Another traditional part of Lent is Almsgiving. In our current economy this might be a hard one for a lot of people. Joyful giving is something that flows from the heart. It is possible to give alms that are not simply money. Making dinner for someone less fortunate would be a way to help that would cost very little money. What about watching a child for a friend who cannot afford a sitter? You can volunteer at a soup kitchen, a gift of alms that costs nothing but time. Helping the poor should not be a once a year thing. I think this part of lent should be an integral part of our everyday life. It is part of loving others. Maybe this time of reflection would be a good time to put what we know we should be doing into practice.

Fasting is something I have done in the past, and will do again in the future. There are several passages in the Bible that deal with fasting and prayer. When the disciples as Christ why John the Baptist’s disciples were fasting they weren’t He answered them “Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.” Fasting is a time where your heart is so full of prayer that you do not eat. It is a special time of fellowship with the Lord. I do not think it is absolutely necessary for a good prayer life. It is a spiritual discipline encouraged in Scripture and I believe there is great value in it. Regardless of your choice to fast or not, praying for your spiritual life is something that should be done. Too often we ask amiss because we give God a list of what we want. Prayer based on things we know the Lord wants for us will be answered. Those things would include, love for God and neighbor, the fruit of the Spirit, souls to be saved, grace and peace. The list goes on and on. Pray diligently for these things to prepare your heart for Easter.

While I understand some of the negative reaction many have toward the observation of Lent, I see merit in the focus on Christ. Surely works done simply because it’s "Lent" are worthless in the eyes of God if it is not an outflow of the heart. But just because these acts can be done with the wrong motivation by some is not a reason for the rest of us to turn our backs on the practice of purposeful study on Christ. Lots of people go to church every Sunday because its the "right" thing to do. I'm wondering if observing Lent is similar.

I hope that this Easter season I grow in my understanding and love for God. I plan to make Easter more than a one day focus.

A Peaceful Spirit

2009-02-23T23:15:00.003-05:00

A peaceful spirit comes from God. It comes from our belief in Christ who came and paid the debt for our sin. In addition to this peace from salvation there are other things that can attack the peace within our own spirit. When Paul is talking to the church he wishes spiritual peace on them repeatedly. Why does he do this? He was talking to people who were leaving in a world of chaos. Martyrdom and torture were all around them. They were afraid. I imagine their concerns to be incredibly valid. Spiritual peace was something they needed.

The grace and peace Paul mentions in his epistles is for the grace and peace only Christ can give. He wanted these blessings in the lives of the New Testament Christians. It is not necessarily an exhortation to live peaceably, because he specifically addresses this need in his books. This is for the spiritual well being of the individuals. I think this is where peace in relationships starts. If there is no peace in our own spirits, then how can we be peacemakers? It would be impossible. Peace in our hearts is possible because of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift to pray for and receive peace from the Lord, but we can also pray this blessing on our friends. So often we pray for God to take pain away or heal hurts, yet we do not ask proactively for spiritual growth. This is something Paul does consistently, and we should as well. Pray for peaceful spirits for your friends and family. You will bless them.

As women we are admonished in 1 Peter 3 to focus on our spirit instead of our outward appearance. This is tough because it is hard not to be caught up in the outer shell of people. It is something we are warned about in Scripture, yet I think for most women this tends to be a struggle. When I was studying peace within my spirit, I was surprised when I read 1 Peter 3 and found that in being modest in our spirit that we are also to have a quiet spirit. The definition of that word quiet is peaceable or tranquil. Women are instructed to be peaceable in their nature. I find myself thinking " are you talking to me?" Sometimes as women it is difficult to have a spirit that is truly peaceful in Christ. We are around the chaos if little kids, dating relationships, marriages, work. There is a lot on our plates and our spirits are easily riled up. It is so much easier to dress up the outward appearance instead of working on our hearts. However this is the area that needs our attention. It is what God sees in us.

I encourage those who read this to take the time to pray for a spirit of peace for yourself and for others.

God is a Spirit: Meditations on Worship

2009-02-16T21:56:00.003-05:00

God is a Spirit; those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24

I saw this verse a few days ago and it has not left my mind. I don’t think much about the Spirit, but I should. After all when we are His children we are filled with the Spirit. I have really mediated on what this verse means.

God is a Spirit

God is not made of finite flesh. He is everywhere. The Bible tells us that the Spirit of God comes upon people throughout the Old and New Testament

Those who worship Him must worship in Spirit

He cannot be fooled by my head being bowed and my eyes closed during prayer. God is not impressed by my singing His praise alone. He is a Spirit. While those physical things are often the evidence of what is going on inside, those actions can be manufactured. We can fool those around us, but true worship of God is from our spirit.

And in truth

We must worship God believing in the truth of His Word. In the truth of who He is as God. Our God is holy and just. Our worship must be rooted in the Truth of God’s Word. Without this the most sincere worship is sadly in vain.

In the past few weeks, I’ve found this verse to be something I’ve meditated on when worshiping Christ at home or at church. In our finite view of God we often want to make our rules and then make God happy by following them: church attendance, singing the right songs, wearing the right clothes. None of that matters to God if our spirits are not worshipping Him in the truth of who He is. We must worship with more than our bodies and voices. Real worship should come from the spirit of our being.

God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

Perfect Peace

2009-02-09T14:54:00.002-05:00

In the beginning God created the earth. That earth was peaceful. No one argued. There was no violence. There was peace in the environment, peace at home, peace was everywhere. That is part of what made it paradise. Without sin, there is peace. unfortunately we live in a world tainted by sin. We live in a world where wars abound. We see violence towards innocent people, fights in our homes, churches and schools, and often wars within our own spirit. These problems and so many others are caused by the sin that is prevalent in our world.

Even with all the angst of our world, we are admonished throughout Scripture to live peaceably with all men. Paul wishes “Grace and peace” to the churches who receive his epistles. The angels sang of “peace on earth.” A peaceful world matters to God. That is why He sent His Son, to save us from our sin. Perfect peace cannot come while sin rules in our hearts and minds. God sent a solution for our sin problem with His Son Jesus.

I’m becoming more convinced that peace is not just a hippie mantra, it is how the Earth was and how it will be again. Until the Lord returns though, He has laid out principles in Scripture which can help us live peaceful lives in a mixed up world. The foundation of peace is through God’s gift of salvation.

No person on Earth is without sin.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God Romans 3:23.

Because of this, we all deserve punishment.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord Romans 6:23.

You cannot earn God’s favor by being “good” our “righteousnesses are as filthy rags” in comparison with God.
For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Because God is love, He was not willing that any should perish and so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Christ had never sinned and did not deserve to die, but He did because He loves us deeply.
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. 1 Peter 3:18.

All you have to do is repent for your sins and believe in Christ to save you. It seems so simple because it is. God’s love is true and unconditional.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. Acts 16:31.

Now you not only have the foundation of peace but the truth about the gift of eternal life from God.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

I realize that most who read this blog have either heard this before, or are already believers. At this point though I wanted to lay the foundation for where we are headed with a study on peace. If you have read this post and want to know more about accepting Christ please contact me, I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Peace starts with our relationship with Christ and salvation is the key. I hope to continue with this series over the next few weeks. Not only can we have the peace that passes all understanding, but it helps us to become peacemakers.

Good Works Report

2009-02-02T13:49:00.003-05:00

Well, I received no comments or e-mails related to my last post so either you are very modest, or no one chose to do something extra. Either way, I hope you will do something generous and above what you are expected to do. I’m holding myself accountable so here’s what happened this week.

I made a meal for someone who was not expecting it. Not a big thing I know, but it was something extra. She did not expect it and I know she appreciated it. I also decided to do something to show extra love to my kids. I wish I could tell you that we listen to children’s music in our car all the time, but we do not. I just can’t handle it for long periods of time. So my boys know that after a couple kiddie songs, we change to a grown up song or talk radio. I decided to let the listen to their new CD all the way through.
My oldest, Ethan said “ Mom, you forgot to change the song”.
So I replied “ I’m leaving this on for you, is that ok?’
And he said “ Yes! I know why you left this CD in, it’s because you love me.”Receiving acknowledgement from him was not something I expected, but it sure was nice. It’s a small thing that mattered to him. Now, I know that is not extra “work” for my children but I think it falls into the category of having a generous spirit.

Those are the two things I did conscientiously. I could have done better, but I am going to try to do something extra weekly.

On to someone I know did something extra this week. My mom called me this morning and told me that she would be in Asheville today because she was taking her neighbor to the doctor up there. I think Mom wins the award for literally going the extra mile! This neighbor is unsaved and quite honestly is a little strange. Spending that much time with some who is not your good friend is tough and shows a generous and loving spirit. I would love to take the credit and say my challenge was the reason for her action, but it’s not. This is the second time she has driven her neighbor to Asheville. . This act lives up to Rebekah’s example

If you did something this week, great! If you didn’t, I hope you will find an opportunity to follow in Rebekah’s example and be able to use good works to impact someone around you soon.

Rebekah: Isaac's Virtuous Woman

2009-01-26T20:40:00.005-05:00

For Christian women, I think most of us hold the Virtuous woman mentioned in Proverbs 31 as the high standard. There are varying opinions as to who the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 is. Some say she is a made up person, others say she was Solomon’s mother. In studying Scripture I see examples of women who are at least in part the virtuous woman of their generation. I’ve compared the Virtuous Woman with the Shunammite Woman in a previous post. This past week I was struck by the similarity between the Virtuous woman and Rebekah.

In Genesis 24, we see the story of a very old Abraham sending his eldest servant to his family in Mesopotamia to get a wife for Isaac. The beginning of this story is hard to imagine given the culture we live in. It was even a little odd for the servant. He asks Abraham what to do if she will not come back with him. He seems a little concerned at traveling about 500 miles and getting the girl to come back with him to a family she has never met. I can’t say I’d be excited if my master asked me to do that, but the servant obeys and Abraham gives him gifts to help seal the deal with the new bride.

When the servant finally arrives in the city of Nahor he goes to the well. His camels were surely parched by this time and they needed water desperately. He prays specifically that when he asks her for a drink that she will then give him the water she has and then water all 10 camels. This was no small feat. These wells were down in a deep cave and the women would have to make several trips to finish this task. I know how much effort it takes to carry my 30 lb son up and down the stairs one time. Imagine carrying buckets of water up and down enough to water these camels! The servant was praying for a woman who was not only willing to do her work, but to work diligently and have a generous spirit.

I wonder if I would have stopped to even offer a stranger a drink, let alone offer to do the back-breaking work of watering the camels. I want the answer to be yes, but it is probably no. And why is that? Seriously, in our society while we have differing wealth, most of us have plenty of time. Just like the virtuous woman of the Bible we have servants as well. Most of us do not employ people to do our work, but our servants take the form of washing machines, dishwashers, electricity, running water, grocery stores etc. It doesn’t take me all morning just to make bread for my family. I go to Publix and spend 2 dollars for my bread for the week.

Proverbs 31 tells us that finding a virtuous woman is difficult and that her price is far above rubies. Surely Rebekah was this kind of rare gem. Too often the demands of work, children, husbands, friends, church, tend to wear on us. We do the work we must. We clean the bathroom because we have to. We go to church because we should. We cook dinner because our family needs to eat. Yet somehow in the midst of surviving, we lose the desire to be generous and diligent with our work. Even people who don’t know Christ do those things. We need to dedicate ourselves as women of good works who will be called blessed by their husband and children.

Something else that strikes me about this story is not only that the servant prays to know her by her work but that she is chosen because of it. I am quite sure that the last shall be first is true. She was not only willing to help with a seemingly menial task but she was persistent in finishing the job. Her hard work at a small thing allowed her to be chosen for a greater task and blessing.

So how does the story of this woman change our lives? I think we can choose to live lives full of good works and generosity. We can start by going the extra mile in our homes. For some this will mean cleaning up after their roommate. For others it will mean spending extra time with our children reading a book for the millionth time. Husbands could be treated to a favorite meal instead of the boxed dinner that’s easy to throw in the microwave. We can help out our parents with chores around their house. We can call a sick friend and offer to watch their kids or cook their supper.

I hope this week those who read this blog will do at least one extra good deed in their home and one outside. If you take this message to heart and do something this week or have a practical suggestion of something we can do let us know by posting a comment or sending me an e-mail. It would be a blessing to those who read this blog to get ideas of works that can be done and the blessing that comes from generous work.

A Call for Change: A Christian's response to our government and world

2009-01-19T16:34:00.005-05:00

I’ve been thinking about this inauguration. Even though I disagree with Obama’s ideology, I am thrilled that the ultimate glass ceiling has been broken. This is a historic time in our nation’s history. It has given me cause to reflect on how we got to the election of a liberal president. What was his appeal? Why did people vote for him? I think I have come up with an answer. I think it was the idea of having someone positive in office. Someone who appealed to people’s need for hope in their lives and change in our government. If you voted for him, I would be interested in your reasoning if it varies from that analysis.

Regardless of whether you voted for him or not, I believe for Christian’s regardless of political persuasion we should see opportunity. Obviously people are attracted to a message of hope, peace and change. As Christians we have the answer to all those desires in Christ. However, at the root of the issue a politician is not the answer that Christ is for the hurting heart. A politician cannot solve the problems that plague souls in need of a Savior. All Christians, regardless of political persuasion need to get busy sharing Christ with the world around them. I believe the Bible gives us a prescription for sharing the love and hope of Christ in our world.

We are to be a light in a world of darkness(Matthew 5:14). That means that we show Christ to the people we meet who do not know him. How we do this is by our good works and by displaying the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

I’ve been trying to analyze the good work I do that will show others Christ, to be honest it’s embarrassing. I need to be doing more for the world around me. Not just work within the church although that work is important, but work for the poor, needy, widows, and fatherless. That is real religion (James 1:27). That is how the world sees our light

The world should also see the fruit of the Spirit working in our lives. What I mean by that is that we are a people of love and peace. Often conservative Christians shy away from those titles because it just seems too liberal. However that is a type of liberalism that God requires. In three passages in the New Testament we are admonished to submit to our authority and to make peace and do good works (1 Peter 2:13, Romans 13, Titus 3) . This is something God takes seriously. We must do it, since it allows us to show God to those looking for hope and change.

Christians must change from a worldy attitude of cynicism and evil-speaking to one of love. We must not only speak kindness but must show real sacrificial love to the needy around us. That does not mean we back down from our morals. We show love for God when we stand for what God calls right. However when at all possible we must avoid the desire to speak hate against those who disagree with us, and instead speak truth in love and promote leaders who share our moral values.

Christians are to be a people set apart to peace. People without Christ react with hostility to those who do not agree with them. What causes people who don’t know Christ to see the difference in our lives? If we claim that Christ has changed our lives yet react the same way as everyone else, why would someone believe us? They shouldn’t. If we choose to live in the Spirit and love peace people will see the difference in us. They might be attracted to that difference and come to know Christ. When we respond to the world with anger, cynicism, and mockery simply because we don’t “get our way” we are giving into the flesh and are not living by the Spirit.

Christians in the community should be leading the way in the areas of doing good instead of relying on politicians to do it for us. We should not wait for our government to do what the Lord has already commanded of us. For conservative Christians who did not vote for Obama, I ask you to examine your life. Have you been doing all you could for a needy in a lost and dying world? Or are you of the mindset that “they need to work harder”, or “it’s not my responsibility”. I think as Christians we have been corrupted by a world view that says we should work hard for as much as we can and let everyone else fend for themselves. While that world view is “The American Dream”, it not the Bible’s view. The Bible teaches us to be self-sacrificing, work for the good of others, and give the glory to God. Blessing is the recompense for these actions, but “blessing” does not always mean financial reward (2 Corinthians 9).

In light of these observations, I will mirror Obama’s call for community service but for different reasons. We should help the needy not just because we should serve those around us, but because there are lost souls who need to see the change a Savior can make. They see that change clearly through Christians who are God-loving and People serving.

As a Christian we possess the real Hope. Don’t let secularism take away our chance to share truth. Let’s reclaim Hope and change within the Church and make a difference to the World. The call for Christians everywhere is that we embrace change in our own lives. Regardless of your political leanings and the result of the recent election, if Christians live with our minds set on Christ, our actions will follow and positive actions will result.

God Bless America.

Hagar: An example of God's love for the abandoned

2009-01-04T15:18:00.004-05:00

Just this week I was told of a friend who is going through a divorce. Her husband has abandoned her. This is not the first time this has happened to a friend, and unfortunately it won’t be the last. I’ve been trying to think of a Biblical example of an abandoned woman who the Lord took exceptional care of, but nothing came to mind until today in Sunday School. Out of the blue the name Hagar was in my mind and I knew I had my girl!

I feel so sorry for Hagar. She was a slave and had no control of her life at all. She did not ask to be Abraham’s concubine, her master, Sarah forced her. So this woman became his concubine (similar to a wife). As his concubine, she becomes the mother of Abraham’s first son, Ishmael. As a result, she is despised by the woman who forced her on Abraham.

The first time Hagar is left alone is found in Genesis 16, it is because she escapes Sarah. At this point, she is fearful for her life. While she is at a spring an angel of the Lord finds her and tells her to go submit to her master, Sarah. Even though Hagar was in a miserable situation, God told her to go and submit and she obeyed. Sometimes in a relationship, we don’t want to submit, we want to flee because it is too hard. Yet when God tells us to submit we must do so. I find it striking that even though Hagar is not an Israelite, God loves her, protects her, and even blesses her through a powerful son. She submitted, God protected, and God blessed.

The story of Hagar has a second part found in Genesis 21. Sarah does eventually give birth to a son, Isaac. He is the one through whom Abraham’s line will be blessed. After he is weaned, Abraham throws a big party, and Sarah sees Ishmael having a good time. She insists that Abraham send Hagar and Ishamael away. Sarah does not want them around. She wants Hagar and Ishmael out of her life. God permits this by telling Abraham to do as Sarah says. He does so with a heavy heart but Sarah and Abraham abandon Ishmael and Hagar. Hagar is effectively divorced from Abraham, but again God protects her, loves her, and renews His promise to make Ishmael a great nation. Even through divorce, God never fails

In the 1 Peter 3:1, Peter addresses a situation where a woman is married to someone who does not obey the Word. He tells her to stay with her spouse and show him the Gospel through her good works. The fact that a husband may not be led by Christ, is not a biblical excuse for a wife to leave or treat him poorly. She is to stay and win him with her goodness. That verse is a hard pill to swallow, but true because God’s Word commands it.

Paul also shares thoughts on divorce in 1 Corinthians 7, and tells women that if the husband leaves, and is an unbeliever, the wives should let them go. For the women I know who have dealt with divorce or separation, the loss of their husband is extremely painful because it is the death of their love. The one they trusted and wanted to spend their life with has left them.It is devastating.

Now, I know that this situation is not exactly the same as a divorce in our society. I don’t know any families who have a slave or a concubine. What I do think is that just like Hagar was abandoned by her provider and family, so have some women I know whose husbands have divorced them. These women like Hagar have been left to fend for themselves, but like Hagar, God has not forgotten them. God watches and loves them continually, His love is never failing.

I don’t know the circumstances of the women who read this blog, but I’m sure some are in a similar situation. Either they are in a relationship where they want to run or they have already become divorced. Whatever the situation though, there is hope in Christ. He loves you and wants the best for you.

Happy New Year

2008-12-30T00:15:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to think about the New Year and make some goals. I plan to add exercise into my life. It is something I’m not looking forward to, but something I know will help my body. I’m sure I’m not the only person making a health and fitness plan for this year. I think that having a plan is important. We see throughout Scripture a planting and reaping principle. I often hear this in regards to planting the seed toward salvation, and that is a right and good application; however I think it goes deeper than that. There is a sowing of our deeds which reap rewards or consequences. I hope that by exercising routinely that I will reap the benefit of a healthier and more energetic body. I’m weary of the consequences which have resulted from my choice to remain unfit.

In addition to this physical goal I decided I need to make some spiritual goals as well. Once I started thinking about these it became somewhat overwhelming. I lack in so many areas that it is hard to pick just one to put my focus. So instead I am currently focusing on quite a few in hopes that I will grow in these areas. I’ve thought some study in each topic or passage a month might be a good way to start for me. Some of these words come easier to me than others. Many areas are in dire need of attention. I hope the Lord will give me some help in all these areas. Some of these words bring passages quickly to mind. These are some of the areas that came to mind.

Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things; endures all things. Love never ends.

Living in the Spirit
Ephesians 5:18b but be filled with the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Prayer
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Boldness
Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Wisdom and Strength
Isaiah 33:6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

I hope that this year I can sow in these areas. I know I will fail, but the pursuit of Godliness is one worth the effort.

Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-22T09:51:00.004-05:00

Christmas is here! This is my favorite time of year. I love the decorations, the cookies, the gifts, the music, pretty much everything. Yet as much as I enjoy those things, I cannot overstate how exciting the real meaning of Christmas is to me.

It is the birth of our Savior. I think most people know that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, yet I think we lack the amazement we should have. Jesus Christ was fully God and yet humbled Himself to become not only a human but a baby. He went from ultimate power to a helpless infant. We have a hard time understanding this because we rarely see power without pride attached. Most in power would not completely debase themselves for love. This is what Christ did for you.

Add to this the purpose of His birth which was to die for our sins and save us from damnation. God the Father knew this was the purpose yet sent Him anyway. To save people who would abuse him, not believe in Him, and not worship Him as the God that He is. This was an act of pure love. That is what God did for you.

This is something else that is hard to wrap our minds around because as flawed humans we do not fully comprehend what pure, selfless love is. As a parent we get a glimpse of pure love in how we feel for our children, yet this is still not the pure unconditional love of God.

God truly is love and He wants the best for all of us. God sent His Son because He loved the world.

God is also holy. He cannot allow sin in His presence, so He provided Christ to die for us so we could have a relationship with Him. This is His desire, to have a relationship with you.

Jesus came to Earth in all humility to die on the cross and shed His blood to cover our sins. There must be sacrifice for sin. The perfect sacrifice was born in Christ.

Jesus was not dead forever though, He was raised from the dead and lives in heaven with His Father. He intercedes for those who believe in him. Because of His sacrifice when we ask His forgiveness, and believe He is our Savior His blood covers our sin and God sees us as Holy because Christ is Holy. We then have the wondrous relationship with God He wants with us.

Because of Jesus we can have real peace in our lives. Someday He will bring peace to earth and those who believe in Christ’s sacrifice to save them from sin will live in perfect peace with Him forever.

So this Christmas enjoy the festivities. Love your family, and think on this truth from God’s Word. If you do not believe in Christ I hope you will accept His loving gift of salvation from sin. If you are already one of God’s children, share this truth with those around you this Christmas season.

Thank you for reading this blog this year. I’ve loved the correspondence, I’ve loved getting to know new people, and I’m looking forward to the new year. God Bless you, and have a very Merry Christmas.

Grief conclusion

2008-12-15T22:59:00.001-05:00

To sum up my last post on grief I want to address the promises to God’s Word to love and care for us.

God loves you. Even though you are suffering and the pain is very real. The truth is that God loves you and He always will. Testing, trials and pain are all part of our human experience. Yet God’s love is constant and sure.

God hears you. Even when God feels far away to us, He is close. Cry out to God and He will hear your prayer.

His mercies are new every morning. There is mercy for every day and it is new and fresh for you.

For those of us who weep with those who weep.

We can encourage with love. We do not need to offer solutions, just love and sympathy. I wrote about this in my last article about loving through silence but it bears repeating. It does not matter why someone is suffering, if someone is experiencing grief we need to love them, and sometimes the best way to show love is to just be quietly supportive.

Bear ye one another’s burdens. We can pray for our friends in pain; sometimes it hard for someone experiencing grief to pray. As Christians we can pray for them. It is a blessing to them.

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. The God of all Comfort will not leave you. Let His love comfort you, and let His peace replace the hurt you feel.

Grief, Part 1

2008-12-08T14:37:00.003-05:00

After my last post I’ve some very interesting responses and unrelated connections which have made me think about grief in the Bible. There are a lot of hurts in people around me. People who are dealing with horrible circumstances like divorce, disease, and death are all around us. These are people who are grieving. The pain is real and they are asking natural questions. I’m going to write a few posts on grief because it’s something I’ve personally had to deal with this year and something I do not hear discussed openly or often. It’s almost like mourning is unacceptable in our culture or makes us ungodly. This is patently false. Thankfully the Bible speaks of people dealing with real sorrow and I find comfort in the fact that many Godly people grieved.

David cried out to God in anguish several times throughout Scripture. Some of his Psalms are so full of sadness “The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!" If that isn’t the voice of a darkened heart I don’t know what is, and this is just one example. When his son Absalom dies he just weeps and weeps. He felt grief, still he was a man after God’s own heart.

Hannah is another example of someone who was uncontrollably upset. She could not give her husband the child she wanted and her husband’s other wife tormented her constantly because of this. The Bible tells us that she went to the temple and when Eli questioned her seemingly crazy behavior she answered him “I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation." This woman needed help that only the Lord could give. She felt so distraught that her prayer seemed out of control to the priest. Yet out of this outpouring to God, He grants her request.

Jesus Christ grieved. He wept when Lazarus died. He was mourning the loss of a friend. Even though He was God, He still felt sadness over His friends death. He grieved in the Garden before His crucifixion. His sweat turned to blood because of His deep sadness. As Christians, we grieve the Holy Spirit with our sin. The Bible doesn’t say that the Spirit is angry or mad, it says grieved. I think that is significant.

Sorrow is inevitable because of sin. It is a sad part of life that will never change while the world is in its current state. There is hope in Christ. God sent His Son so that we do not have to be consumed by our sorrow. He does not leave us alone in our grief, He hears us, He loves us, He cares for us even when we don’t feel like He is near. Our feelings do not change Truth.

Just as the Bible gives many examples of grief, I also believe He gives us help to deal with our sadness biblically.

More to come.

Heart of Weakness

2008-12-02T15:39:00.003-05:00

The past couple of months have been a little stressful for me. Not just the typical stress of a husband in law school and the busyness of having 2 kids at home. A few months ago I had my annual female exam which came back with poor results, it was a little disconcerting. They suggested I have another routine test because false positives are typical. Three months later I followed my Dr’s instructions and had the same test repeated. They told me that I would hear from them if there was a problem or that I would get the regular card in the mail saying all is well. A couple weeks passed and I had not heard anything so I assumed I was fine. I told my Mom and sister that I must be fine. The next week I got a call from the Dr saying my test was bad again and that I would have to come back in for a more involved test. The diagnosis I had received is one that generally indicates precancerous cells. I was a little panicked to say the least.

I had to wait the week of Thanksgiving before having this follow up test which allowed the Dr to look at the affected area and take biopsies of suspicious areas. I had talked with a friend who pointed out that I am not at all afraid about most things, but this was something that had made me fearful. This was eye opening for me. I thought about the fear I was feeling, not really fear of cancer, but fear of the unknown was a lot for me. Then I began to think, this is where the rubber meets the road for me. Will I tell people to live fearless lives in Christ, and live in fear of what I choose? Or I could choose to live without fear and in essence practice what I preach. So I decided to live the rest of the time in confidence. I had moments of discouragement, but overall remained fairly calm. The night before the test I was alone and began to let my mind get the best of my sense. I was not sobbing on the couch upset, just unnerved.

So this morning as I ran around the house getting children up early to go to their Aunt’s house so I could go get tested. On the drive to the Dr’s I was trying to remain calm.

Once I got there and the test got under way the Dr said I had some unusual cells but nothing problematic. She did not even have to biopsy anything. I am fine physically, but have had to examine my spiritual life.

Even though I knew the answers from Scripture about prayer, faith, God’s sovereignty, God’s goodness, His testing, and the confidence Christians can have in Him, I saw weakness in my faith. I’ve had my faith tested before, but this time it was personal. Cancer is something people cannot control. Most other problems in my life are ones I have some control over, but this was something I was facing that was bigger than me. That is what God wanted me to learn.

I suppose this was one of those lessons I got to learn the easy way this time. Part of me hated to mention this story because I know people who’s diagnosis was the opposite of mine and they are still struggling with disease. I tend to think those people are able to handle more than me. If that person is you, I hope you see God even when it’s hard. Romans tells us that “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” This is a truth from God’s Word, and we can hold onto it tightly when we can’t even think straight.

I hope this story encourages you to live a fearless life in Christ. Take the time to examine your spiritual life before problems arise. However when difficulty comes into your existence, don't just look for the answer to your immediate need, look deeper into what you need spiritually.

Love and Forgiveness

2008-11-17T23:04:00.001-05:00

This week I’ve been thinking about sin, the love it takes for Christ to forgive us, and the love it takes for us to forgive each other. Maybe for some of you true forgiveness comes quickly and easily, but for people like me it can be a difficult process. I always think justice is necessary, but justice and forgiveness are two very different things. While justice sometimes occurs, the only thing I have control over is my attitude of forgiveness.

One story I have meditated on this week has been the one of the “sinful woman” who pours her ointment on Jesus’ feet. It’s such a strange picture in my mind. Here sits Jesus at dinner with one of the spiritual elite, a Pharisee. As this poor and sinful woman approaches, The Pharisee sits shocked. How could this type of woman walk up to Jesus? Then she begins crying, washing Jesus’ feet and anointing them with oil. She is making a scene, and the Pharisees are appalled, not just at this woman’s behavior, but at Jesus’ reaction to her. From the story, we know that Jesus can read his thoughts. So He speaks to what the man is thinking about in his heart.

That story is behind the phrase that will not leave my mind Luke 7: 47: "Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." It just won’t leave my mind. Profound truth in just a few words, and it’s a truth that is changing my thinking. The forgiveness the Lord gives any of us is great and should produce our great love. The reason it does not is because in our humanity we think we know what sin is worse in God’s eyes. We are wrong in assuming what God thinks. I suggest to those of you who read this that all the sin Christ forgives is amazing. The difference is in our view of sin. We let our view cloud what God’s Word says. The Pharisee who sat and judged this sinful woman was full of pride, a sin which the Lord says He hates. He wanted justice for her worse actions, and did not realize the extent of the sin in his own heart.

The act of forgiveness from the Lord is rooted in His perfect love for us, the sinful. In return for His forgiveness, we are to love the Lord with all our hearts, soul and mind. His great forgiveness should easily produce great love. Of course as humans we fail to remember this, but one day in heaven we will be able to love Him completely without our sin filled flesh.

What I’ve just described is the love and forgiveness from God to man. Forgiveness and love also take place between people. The principle Jesus speaks of in this passage applies to our earthly relationships. I know for me, I can think of times when forgiveness was difficult. I can remember times when I have been so hurt or angry that forgiveness did not seem possible. I wanted that person to pay for what they had done. Yet Christ paid the ultimate price to save me, so the least we can do is forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ. I certainly don’t want the Lord to judge me harshly for all the wrong I’ve done. So, I must allow the love of Christ to dwell in me richly, and forgive the trespasses of others just as God forgives me. The result of forgiveness is love.

This is what it comes down to for me today: love motivates forgiveness and forgiveness creates more love. I have been deeply convicted by this passage to forgive in love quickly and completely. Christ has forgiven me, I should forgive others and pray for grace and mercy in their lives just as I have experienced it in mine.

I encourage those who read this to examine their own relationships, and to give forgiveness and love freely, just as Christ has done for you.

America Did Not Elect God

2008-11-11T14:18:00.005-05:00

I must admit shock at the behavior of some Christians. I supported John McCain because of a few key issues, but he lost. That’s disappointing, but not upsetting to me. I have a hard time understanding the angst and fear exhibited by Christians over the election of Obama. I am troubled by Christians involved in groups where they put President Obama’s head superimposed in a poster of Osama Bin Laden. That is offensive and shows no respect for the highest office in the land. I am angry when I see countries in the Middle East defaming our President, what is being done here in our country is no different, maybe worse.

Our God is Almighty and Sovereign no matter whom the President is. The Bible has a lot to say about kings (in our case a president) and our response to them and our government. I’d like to share a few passages with you.

In Matthew 22:17-22 the Bible shows a dialogue between people and Jesus: Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar’s." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s." When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

Caesar overtaxed his people. He was not someone who was loved by Israel. These Pharisees thought they could ignore Caesar because of his wickedness, but Jesus give them a surprising answer. They are to give Caesar what is his. Interesting to think this instance compared with our culture.

Another passage on submission to governmental authority is Romans 13:1-7: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Submission to authority sometimes just goes against the grain doesn’t it? Yet God’s Word commands us to respect and be in subjection to our ruling authorities. They are appointed by God and He demands that we respect their authority. President Obama deserves our respect because he is going to be our President. We need to show the love of Christ to him, his family, and supporters. I see no evidence of Christ supporting actions which defame our leaders. I also see evidence in this passage that God will not bless those who are not in subjection to their leaders. I see no evidence that this President will impede on our rights to freely worship, we should be grateful to God for this, it is our most important freedom.

Another principle to think about is Ecclesiastes 10:20 Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

I am convinced that with the amount of vitriol I see on the internet or hear from Christians about Obama, that there are even more bad thoughts about him in hearts and minds. This behavior is not winning souls to Christ. It is turning them away.

I believe that on issues that are against God’s law such as abortion, Christians should stand their ground firmly. Surely God’s law comes first. This kind of stand against wrong doing can be done while still respecting the office of the Presidency. It is what we should strive to do.

I am sure some who have read this will disagree with me, feel free to tell me why. I pray that some will consider their part in this nonsense, and show real Christian love to those with whom they disagree politically.

God was on His throne when Obama was elected, God will be on His throne when Obama is no longer our President, and God will be on His throne forever and ever, Amen!

My Political Choice

2008-10-28T23:34:00.004-04:00

I have stayed away from anything political on my blog because I want the focus to be on Christ. Since I run this blog though, I’m giving myself one exception. The reason for the exception is that I want to give real reasons for my vote. I have a lot of Christian friends who disagree with me politically, so I wanted to put down specific reasons for my choice. That being said, if you do not like politics, feel free to skip this post and I promise to post something “normal” again soon!

This is an important election. As Americans we have the choice between the most liberal Senator in the United States or a moderate Republican Senator for the Presidency. In a country of people who love to speak about bi-partisanship I do not see much evidence of it. If Obama is elected and the House and Senate remain under Democratic control, conservatives will not have much of a voice in Washington. There is not much evidence from his record that he will work closely with the remaining Republicans. In the above scenario, bi-partisanship is over. We will be left with liberalism being the pervasive ideology in our nation’s Capitol. The McCain Palin ticket brings balance to the White House. He has a proven track record of working with Democrats and Independents throughout his long history.

For those of us who are truly conservative Republicans it is somewhat difficult to vote for John McCain because he does not completely stand with us. However there are several reasons why we should vote for him.

Palin

Even though McCain is a moderate Republican, he chose a conservative Republican for the Vice Presidency. This was a smart move on his part. If he had not chosen someone truly conservative he would left the base of his party out entirely. My conservative values are better represented by Sarah Palin.

War

McCain understands war, the military, and how it works together. Not only did he grow up around it, but he enlisted and fought for our country himself. Twenty years is a significant amount of military experience. I want our men and women who are serving our country to have a leader who understands their needs. Whether you agree with the war or not, we are still in the middle of one. That is a fact that does not change. Obama does not have any experience in this area.

Terrorism

McCain is willing to identify evil in our world. One’s definition of evil is important. This issue came up at Saddleback Church when both Obama and McCain had their interview with Rick Warren. Obama claimed that while evil exists he qualified his answer with the following statement “Now, the -- the one thing that I think is very important is for us to have some humility in how we approach the issue of confronting evil, because, uh, you know, a lot of evil has been perpetrated, uhhh, based on the claim that we were trying to confront evil.” Contrast that with John McCain’s answer “Defeat it…Of course evil must be defeated. My friends, we are facing a transient challenge of the twenty-first century: radical Islamic extremism.” The tone is different and their beliefs are different. We need a Commander-in-Chief who can clearly point out the evil and rally our nation to fight against it.

Human Rights

McCain is pro-life. This is an issue that still matters to me. I have been told by many supposed conservatives who are voting for Obama that this issue is just the Republican Party’s way of keeping conservatives in their camp. That is true, do you know why? Because this issue matters, it is important. The truth about abortion is that its practice takes the lives of a staggering 1.37 million babies per year. Think about that number. It is astounding. Of the 1.37 million, ninety-three percent are based solely on social reasons, meaning that only 7% are because of the health of the mother or abuse. McCain will work to protect the lives of these innocent children. It is not “above his pay grade” to know when life begins. Civil Rights is a very important issue and abortion is a clear violation of the civil rights of the unborn children.

Fiscal Responsibility

McCain will cut spending in Washington. He has never once asked for pork to be added to a bill for his constituents. Obama has asked for 320 million in earmarks, or pork, in his 3 ½ years in the Senate. While both candidates say they will cut spending. Obama has yet to tell us what he will cut, and his record shows that he likes to spend money. McCain on the other hand has a long history of not spending. McCain practices what he preaches.

So in these uncertain times of war, a potential recession, and terrorism, I choose the candidate with experience. I choose the candidate who will stand with me on issues about which I care deeply. I choose someone with the character necessary to be Commander-in-Chief. I choose the candidate who will help to preserve some of my voice.

I choose John McCain.

A Testament to Fasting and Prayer

2008-10-22T23:29:00.004-04:00

A couple of months ago, I shared some frustration in my life in my “Queen Cranky Pants” post. I regret to inform you that I remained fairly cranky off and on for the past couple of months. One big issue has been that of Daniel’s summer associate position (a paid summer internship) for next summer. Basically, he didn’t have one. Since the end of August, I have gone out to the mailbox dreading the rejection letters that would come, and come they did. I usually get the mail in the afternoon, so I would have to call him and say “ XYZ law firm doesn’t have a job for you”. This happened several times. This was not only depressing for him, but discouraging for me too. Seriously, who wants to be the bearer of bad news?

He has had several interviews but there just are not many jobs to be had. Two weeks ago on a Friday, he got the rejection of yet another large firm here in town. Needless to say we were very discouraged. There was a small glimmer of hope in that on Monday he had one final interview, one last chance to get a summer job here in our town. This was pretty much our last hope.

STRESS!

Time passed and today I went to the mailbox and saw a regular envelope from this last hope firm. I was sick. Offers generally come by phone. As I walked back into the house, I dreaded the call I would have to make to Daniel. I just did not want to give him more bad news. What do you know (ok, you’ve probably guess at this point)…he got the position! I literally jumped for joy and called him in disbelief. I could not believe that the last possible chance he had, was the one that worked out for him. I have been in a state of happiness ever since.

It occurred to me later on this evening that I had extra reason to be joyful. Of course, Daniel and I had prayed for God to provide a job. On this particular occasion though, we had fasted the day before his interview. We have done this more than once, and on this day we both felt compelled to do so, so we did. The more I thought about it, this was also the only job prospect we fasted over. We were both truly at our wits end. I had thought several times, “Why would God provide the opportunity of law school and then not provide the job to go with it?” In hindsight, I think we were resting too much on Daniel’s abilities, and not enough on God. I was kind of like the person James describes as double minded. I was praying and asking the Lord to help but trusting in human ability at the same time. James 1:5-8 says : If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Faith is sometimes fleeting when you are discouraged. I know this is the case for me. Yet faith, as we see in the James passage is a requirement of prayer. We must pray believing. This is where I believe fasting comes into the picture. In Matthew 17:20-22 Jesus tells us that “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. Prayer and fasting are ways we act on our faith.

Fasting and prayer are two things that are meant to be done together. Many of us pray, but when we fast our prayers are different. Not only are we acting in obedience to the Lord, but we are suffering a little physically for spiritual strength. What a blessing that is for us.

God does not always answer our prayers the way we want Him to, but many times He chooses to give us exactly what we ask. He chooses to answer our specific requests with specific answers, and that to me is amazing. God cares about me personally. He cares about you personally. He watches out for us, He hears us, He answers us, and when He does we should praise Him!

Loving Through Silence

2008-10-19T14:22:00.002-04:00

I love words, whether I’m writing or speaking, words come very naturally. Recently, I’ve been studying the book of Job. His friends caused him a lot of trouble. Here is poor Job, devastated by his loss, the death of all his children. His friends come with the intention of speaking what they perceive to be truth, but in the process they bring Job down deeper in his despair. Often they are speaking right theology but to the wrong person at the wrong time. While they have good intentions with their words that did not minimize the negative impact they had on Job. As I think about Job’s friends, I’m afraid I would have been one of them. I would desperately want to comfort or point him in the right direction, but would probably do more harm than good.

Even though his friends really end up causing Job more pain, they really started out well. The Bible tells us that these friends came from far distances. They come all this way and find Job, covered in boils and sitting in ashes. He was not only miserable spiritually, but he was miserable physically as well. These friends came and sat in the ashes with Job. They did not sit there for a minute and then start into their diatribes. No, they sat there for 7 days.

Seven silent days in horrible surroundings; I cannot imagine being silent for 7 minutes let alone days. Yet, that is what his friends did. They waited for Job to speak. How could Job deny the true friendship of these men after they had endured with him through his suffering? Would we as busy Americans be able to stop for 7 days to just sit with a friend? No Blackberry, no laptop, no TV, no books; just silent comfort to a friend in mourning. It’s hard to conceive of it, but these men stopped their lives for a friend. I feel immense conviction when I stop and think about this loving act.

I’m not against using words to encourage, convict, or discuss. I’m just burdened with the idea that maybe I’m too quick to judge what is going on in someone else’s life. I’m too quick to label something without all the facts. That’s what Job’s friends did. They saw what they thought was consequence for sin when it was not. Unless someone has committed a fault against me personally, I really have no reason to call them to repentance for wrongs I think could have been committed.

While words are wonderful, sometimes the words “I love you and I’m praying for you” are enough when someone is hurting. Through notes, prayers, meals, and hugs we can show immense love through our silence.

Abraham and Sarah's Adoption of Lot

2008-10-07T14:32:00.003-04:00

I have been studying Genesis recently and came across a portion of Scripture that made me think of adoption. I’ve mentioned Sarah in a previous essay about Infertility. In Genesis 11, I was reading through a genealogy of Abraham. Generally, I find these to be rather boring, but yesterday, it certainly was not! It mentions in verse 27-30 that Haran fathered Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father.

In the next section of verses it mentions Nahor and his wife Milcah and Abram and Sarai. It makes special note that Sarai was barren.

The chapter closes with Terah (the grandfather), Abram, Lot and Sarai leaving Ur of the Chaldeas for Canaan and settling in Haran.

In this description of the line of Abraham, we see a few specifics mentioned that are not typical for genealogies. One that Lot's father dies before Terah, and that Sarah was barren.

Is this the first recorded instance of adoption in the Bible? I think it could be. Certainly there could have been adoptions before, but this is the first time one is mentioned. Sarai, a woman who had no children of her own, becomes the mother to Lot.

Now, I don’t know why I thought this, but I always pictured Lot as adult who just went with Abraham. It never occurred to me that he was fatherless and that Abram and Sarai had taken him with them as their own.

Scripture does not use the term “adopt” here, but think of their relationship throughout Genesis. Abram does everything for Lot, he truly loves him. He gives him the good land, and he petitions God to save his life when he is in Sodom and Gomorrah. Does that not seem like a parent child relationship?

While infertility brings pain to many mothers, I believe it can be used for God’s glory. There are so many children who need loving parents, maybe this seeming trial is God’s good plan for you and the child you are called to adopt. It seems to me that Abraham and Sarah's infertility was used in the life of Lot.

Grace

2008-10-01T08:30:00.003-04:00

I think most of us can think of a time when there was a bratty kid at the grocery store. A usually good child who just doesn’t want to be there. Picture him, a little boy with big eyes and a wide smile. His mom has him perfectly styled and they seem to be the perfect little family. As they stroll through the store they come to the candy aisle. “Mommy, I want candy!” he says, they mother of course says “Not today buddy”. The pleas from the child grow louder “I want candy now!!” and the mother replies yet again “No honey, we have candy at home.”

This little boy is not happy, and he begins to show it anyway he can. He screams, cries, kicks and generally flails about the grocery cart as his mom valiantly tries to stay calm and finish shopping as quickly as she can. As they reach the check out line his fit continues when he spies more candy right within reach. “ I WANT CANDY!” he screams. The mother feeling much more exasperated says “No, I told you no and I mean it. You’re in big trouble when you get home!” The mother and the son leave the store angry and upset. Not to mention the people in the store who had to witness this exchange.

There is no doubt that this child is sinning against his mother. This is the woman who gave birth to him, cares for him when he is sick, and getting to the heart of the matter, she is the one who usually buys him candy! Yet this child berates her in front of an entire store of people.

Think about the love and mercy this mother showed to her son. She did not pick her son up and shake him for being naughty. She loved him because he is her son. While she must be the authority in her child’s life, she is also the source of great love.

Now think about God. He lovingly created Adam and Eve, and pronounced them good. Even though they had everything in the Garden, they were tempted by the one thing they couldn’t have. Yet even though Adam and Eve disobeyed God, in lovingkindness He gave them a way to escape the punishment they deserved. He also promised to one day send a perfect sacrifice to save the whole world.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:12

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Romans 5:8-9

God loved us even though man committed terrible acts against their Creator. He sent His own Son to die for us.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16.

The result of this love is grace. We can do nothing to save ourselves.

For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9.

Grace is possible because of the blood of Christ. As hard as I might work by doing good for those around me, by trying not to sin, by punishing myself with guilt; only the grace of God can save me from myself.

The mother with the disobedient child, while she still loves her child with all her heart, will more than likely discipline her child at home. Our Father in heaven is different. He will not punish us when we reach our heavenly home because of the the saving work of Christ on the cross, and the grace of God. Though we have sinned against God, if we believe on Christ to save us from our sins, instead of eternal suffering, we are given eternal peace and comfort beyond our wildest imaginations. We don’t simply avoid punishment by God’s mercy, we will enjoy all good things because of His grace.

A Woman's Influence

2008-10-01T06:35:00.002-04:00

In my never-ending search to discover women and their importance in Scripture, another peculiar idea came to mind, influence. Over and over again in the Bible tells stories of women influencing their husbands for good and evil. The first time I thought of this was a mention of Solomon in Nehemiah 13: 26 “He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by strange women.” I had never really considered the fact that Solomon turned his heart from God because of his marriages. In 1 Kings 11: 4 we see that the wives “turned his heart toward other gods”. Now, it was Solomon’s choice to indulge in his wives’ idolatry, and therefore his sin, but this shows me the power of a wife’s influence over her husband’s decisions.In Proverbs we see many references to “strange women”. This can be translated as adulteress, but it is also interpreted as foreigner. Solomon’s book of Proverbs is a way of teaching his son. I find it fascinating that he warns his son over and over again about the trap of strange women. I wonder if this was out of an awareness he had of his own failing in this area. He warns him of the flattery of strange women, that they are a deep pit. He knew the dangers because he had experienced the consequences of marrying and listening to women who were not godly. The book ends with a proverb to Lemuel describing the “perfect” woman. Who a man marries has a profound impact on his life and decision-making.

Even in the beginning of the Bible, Eve was deceived and Adam chose to sin with full knowledge of what he was doing. Again, we see the great influence of a wife over her husband. It was Adam’s choice, but Eve’s influence led him in the path of sin.Esther was a very influential wife. She could not make decisions independent of her husband, but she did influence him for good. She prayed, she fasted and the Lord used her influence to save his people. Now, Ahaseurus was not a godly man, but he was a man who was blessed to have a godly wife. She used her influence for good.

In the New Testament the Christian wife is instructed to try to win her husband to Christ through her godly example. Paul gives this command specifically to women. I believe Paul was very in tune with the power a wife has over her husband. Have you ever really contemplated the fact that it is just through her godly conduct that her husband would be won to Christ? It doesn’t say she was to force him to pray or read the Bible. She was to be a Godly wife, submissive, respectful, and loving. The husband is to be won by her lifestyle. That is an incredible ministry and responsibility that every woman married to an unsaved man has.Why does this matter to me as a wife? Isn’t this a man’s concern? These warnings about strange women are to men. Men are to beware of ungodly, adulterous, and idolatrous women. The reason it is of interest to me is that if ungodly women had such a dramatic impact, wouldn’t a godly woman have a dramatic effect in a positive way? As a woman I can take my responsibility to be a good influence seriously. It is sobering to think that my influence as a woman has such a distinct influence on my husband. My sin and attitude impact him greatly. While a woman should not make decisions for her husband, she should be constantly aware that her attitude is shaping her husband’s opinion about life and choices he must make.

There are different types of women. There is no way I could list them all in this short essay, but consider the following types of women.A whiny woman, the one who complains all the time about money, her life, and other people is a drain on her husband. Through her attitude she is telling her husband that she is discontent, and he is to blame. She may not think that her actions have that effect, but indeed they do. She brings her husband down, and then they are both brought low. I don’t know of anyone who makes wise decisions while they are whining or listening to a whiner. A discontented woman is usually selfish, and not working toward a happy and productive marriage. Instead of putting her focus on the Lord and her husband, she has turned her gaze inward. Although she may be unaware of her impact on the marriage, she may even influence her husband to put all his effort into pleasing her selfish desires and not focusing his heart on serving God. I have bad news for this whiny wife, the more her husband takes his focus off the Lord, the more poor decisions he will make, and her life will probably get worse rather than better.

Contrast the whiny woman with a happy thankful wife. She is an encouragement to her husband. Her joy brings her husband’s spirit high. Her joy is truly contagious. It is so hard to be around someone who is happy and not become happy yourself. As a wife you can be a joy, and share joy with your husband.

Better still is a woman who is joyful and submissive, one who is respectful and loving toward her husband. She will have the greatest positive influence, because she is following the command of the Lord. It’s when we start to do our own will that we get into trouble. While she is submitting to the Lord and her husband; she is showing him the respect he so desperately desires. By respecting her husband, she gives him the confidence he needs. She has that power to help her husband.

While we can (hopefully) agree that our influence matters, what are we to do about it? How can we actually put our influence to good work instead of bad? The most important thing we can do is pray. So many times we pray for the Lord to do quick fixes through out the day. I challenge you to pray thoughtfully, and using Scripture. The Lord promises to hear and answer our prayers. I believe strongly that if the Bible tells us to be submissive, loving wives, then it is His will for us. If it is His will for us, then I have confidence that He will answer your prayers for your marriage with a resounding “Yes!” Pray that the Lord will show you areas where you cause your husband to stumble. Pray that your life and attitude would be positive and Christ- honoring. Ask the Lord to make your spirit joyful. Right with praying comes reading the Word of God. Read His Word looking for truth. Read His Word diligently, and put into practice what it says. Commit the Word of the Lord to your heart. The Word is powerful and will encourage you in your life and marriage.

The only thing left to do is put into practice right living: encourage your husband, don’t complain about your life, kids, or friends, don’t second guess his decisions – respect them, be aware of your words and actions. When we pray, read, and then do, we will see the Lord work. I hope and pray whoever reads this is able to influence their husband for good and not evil

Love in Relationships

2008-09-20T21:51:00.002-04:00

Relationships are the often the greatest blessing in our lives. Husbands and wives, parents and children, friends, these are all part of our life’s primary focus. I remember vividly those first moments of connection when I first started dating my husband. My children’s first smiles. Some of the best memories I have are the ones where I ran around crazy with good girlfriends.

The opposite is also true of relationships; they also cause the deepest pain. It was devastating when my husband I had our first real disagreement. The shock I felt the first time my son deliberately disobeyed me. Broken bonds of friendship that were not easily repaired. Relationships bring real sorrow and disappointment.

I began thinking about relationships this week after studying Genesis. While God is the Holy Creator of the universe, He is also described as our Father. God’s attribute as Father came alive to me as I studied these first passages in Genesis. Consider first the way God made people. He did not command from Heaven that people exist, although He surely could have. Instead he came down to the Earth He created and lovingly created Adam. Once God created Adam, He wanted him to have a companion, and again He carefully and purposefully created Eve. From the beginning God loved people. It was a relationship He created and valued.

In this wonderful relationship, heartache came because of sin. Just like our relationships today, sin is what causes break in our relationships. Selfishness, pride, hate, anger, jealousy, and the list can go on and on. The point is that sin harms relationships. And so, as we do today, sin caused a break between God and His creation. God could have, quite justly, destroyed Adam and Eve immediately. He does not, in fact God does not insantly come down and accuse them of sin. He asks them “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" God knew what they had done, yet chose to ask them, what love. I wish I could learn to always speak kindly even when someone has wronged me. While God is just and righteous and cannot tolerate sin, He shows love when dealing with His children.

He takes them out of the Garden and with grace shows them his unconditional love, and the remedy for their sin. God knew that he would have to ultimately send His Son to redeem us, but was willing to make that sacrifice because of His perfect love.

It is my hope that when as women when our husbands, children or friends hurt us, or we hurt them, that we remember the most important relationship of all. The one we have with our Father in Heaven.

God is not only our perfect example of love, God is Love.

Remembering 9/11...

2008-09-11T16:20:00.004-04:00

Seven years ago America changed forever. Never again would we feel completely secure in our nation. The safety we felt for decades was gone. We became tragically aware that people living and enjoying the luxuries of this country actually hate it and wish to destroy it. The country that once felt invincible, was suddenly quite vulnerable.

The truth is that from the beginning of nations, there has been conflict. The United States was attacked and while it is tragic, it is not new.

When you read the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, it becomes very clear that times of peace and war were in constant flow. Where good exists, evil wishes to destroy it. After these conflicts God’s people would build an altar at times to remember what happened. It seems to me to be much like the memorials we build today. The people of Israel, even when they were in sin, would endure the difficulty and eventually turn their hearts to Lord for their salvation. They realized that the evil was greater then themselves and they would turn to the only One who can destroy evil forever.

In Deuteronomy, Moses instructs parents to remind their children of the difficult times in Egypt so they appreciate the peace and happiness they enjoy. As parents we should remember the attacks on our country and do our best to impress those things into the minds of our children.

While our country’s leaders can make the best decisions possible, and aggressively try to fight evil, they cannot stop evil from existence. The difference is that those of us who were around on September 11, have had a personal experience with what terrorism can bring.

When I think of the events of that day I am motivated to impact the world I in which I live. I think of the souls that were lost. All who died were separated from their earthly families, but many separated from God for all eternity. In a moment they were gone and forever lost. Who we influence today for Christ has an eternal impact. We must not miss these opportunities to share the Gospel with those around us.

I’m also motivated to be involved with my community and country. One thing we all have is time. Time to speak against evil and promote good. We must not allow evil to triumph while we remain quietly on the sidelines. Moses told the Pharaoh to let the people go. Samuel told David of the wickedness in his life. Esther told Ahashuerus of the planned annihilation of her people. They are biblical examples of people who the Lord used to change societies and leaders back to Him.

I am grateful to live in the United States, where I am free. Where I can write or speak of the Lord with no fear for my life. It is not only a blessing from the Lord, but a gift.

Redeeming the time because the days are evil.

Thankful that God's word is true -- Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth.

Queen Cranky Pants

2008-08-27T15:07:00.001-04:00

I feel like I haven’t written in forever! I realize some of you who read this blog know me, and some do not. For those who don’t know me, my husband just started his second year of law school at Wake Forest University. It is a busy time of year to say the least. During the school year my husband spends the school week at his apartment in Winston-Salem, NC and I stay here in Greenville, SC at our house with our two kids. It always takes some readjustment to get back into a routine. To put it mildly, I’ve kind of been a “Queen Cranky Pants” for the past couple of weeks. I’m also still dealing with the loss of my Grandma; it is very difficult for me to see her room empty; missing her just piles on more ick to my mood.

I’m sure I’m not the only girl who feels this way sometimes. I’m sure many of you have much bigger problems. No matter who we are, we go through times of darkness in our lives.

This week I started a study on Esther for a specific person with a specific need. This young lady is going through a readjustment herself, and Esther came to mind as a character study to share with her. As I was studying and meditating on the first part of the story, I realized the message was for me as well.

This girl, Esther, was not in an optimal situation. She was an Israelite living in captivity. She was an orphan. She is taken into a harem where she will spend a year preparing to meet the king. She must hide her identity, which almost certainly meant she could not befriend or commiserate with the other Jewish girls within the harem. While she was surrounded by people, I can’t help but think she was in a very lonely place. If anyone had a good reason to be Queen Cranky Pants it was Esther.

Yet as I read the first two chapters of Esther I do not see any evidence of an upset spirit. In fact it says that she had “won favor in the eyes of all who saw her”. A gorgeous girl with an ugly attitude does not win favor in the eyes of others. We can all think of a lady like that. One who is beautiful, yet the beauty is only skin deep. I believe Esther’s beauty was a well that spilled over into her countenance. She did not allow circumstance to control her attitude.

Esther was also obedient. She obeyed Mordecai. I alluded to it before, but I think there would have been some loneliness in protecting her identity. She obeyed her father figure though and was rewarded. I can think of people in our society today who would say to their guardian “Well you aren’t the boss of me”, or “I’m not joining the harem you can’t make me!” Aren’t those things you can hear someone saying today? No doubt people have said or thought those things since the beginning of time, but there is no record of Esther doing any such thing.

So today I’m asking the Lord to take away my crankiness, and help me be more like Queen Esther instead.

Fearless Jael

2008-08-12T23:23:00.002-04:00

The other hero in the story of Deborah is Jael. She was a Kenite, a nation of people who had a good relationship with the Israelites. However, her nationality allowed her to gain the trust of Sisera as well, enough that he was willing to hide in her tent while fleeing the Isrealites. I kind of think of the Kenites as the Switzerland of tribal nations.

As the Lord gives Barak victory over the enemy, their “fearless” leader runs away. As his army is annihilated, he runs for cover. This tells us something about his poor leadership qualities. Real leaders stand with their people no matter what; they don’t run when there is trouble. It makes me think about my leadership duty to my children. Am I standing with them no matter the circumstance, or do I run away from problems and let them fend for themselves? Am I proactively leading them in the Truth of the Gospel, or waiting until problems arise and then trying to figure out an answer?

So as the sissy Sisera runs away, Jael sees him and calls out to him to come into her tent. She told him “Do not be afraid,” and since they were allies, he agrees to hide in her tent. Judges 5:25 says “
He asked water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl.” She shows him honor by giving him milk. He trusts her and asks her to tell people that he is not there. He trusts her so much that he falls asleep under her rug and she sneaks over to him and drives a tent peg into his head with a hammer. She literally nailed him to the ground.

As Barak is pursuing Sisera, he passes by Jael’s tent and she stops him, and tells him that Sisera is in her tent. Barak then sees Sisera nailed to the ground, and sees the prophecy of Deborah fulfilled.

I don’t know how often I can be used of the Lord like Jael was. For you and I to be walking with the Spirit in such a way that we would have no fear of man is hard to imagine, yet is possible. If you feel the Lord calling you to do something, whether you are a man or a woman, we should be faithful to do it. Our fear of God should overcome our fear of man.

Jepthah and His Daughter

2008-08-06T14:27:00.003-04:00

In the previous blog post I discussed Jepthah and his faith, and whether that should be his legacy in Scripture or not.

I want to go ahead and finish discussing this story. After Jepthah makes his vow, the Lord delivers the Ammonites into his hand. After the Ammonites are defeated he heads home and his daughter, his only child, comes out to meet him. She is thrilled, dancing, excited at the victory her father has had. Can you imagine the pride she felt for her father? Her pride and excitement result in Jepthah’s utter despair. As he tears his clothes he tells his daughter the reason for his grief “For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow."

The daughter’s response is amazing. She seems to quickly and easily respond to her father’s news “My father, you have opened your mouth to the LORD; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the LORD has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites." I see a true fear of the Lord in this girl, she does not question her father’s vow, she accepts it. She also wants her father to fulfill his vow because the Lord had been faithful to him and given him the victory.

I think this exchange shows two things about Jepthah and his daughter. First of all, I think it shows that Jepthah was a faithful parent. He had taught his daughter a true fear of Lord, so much so that she does not seem to hesitate at her fate. She seems to share his faith completely. I do not think she quickly agrees to give her life to the Lord because of fear of her father but because of a true fear of the Lord, what an example of good parenting.

Secondly, it shows a daughter who was willing to do anything for the Lord who had saved her people. While she still mourns her fate, she comes back willingly to be made a sacrifice to the Lord. She doesn't whine and say "Dad! How could you do this to me!" If I'm truly honest, that's what I would have said. That is not her attitude, she accepts that this was the deal made between her father and the Lord. I wonder if I am instilling a real love and fear of the Lord in my children. I believe the only way we can expect to have children who live in the fear of the Lord is if we do so ourselves. I can see areas in my own life where I am falling short in this area. As parents, we have the important task of modeling faithfulness, love, and fear of the Lord to our children.

There is some debate as to whether Jepthah’s daughter is actually killed, or just placed in service to the Lord for the rest of her life. I don’t think it matters how her sacrifice was fulfilled. We know that Jepthah made a vow and that he kept it, that’s enough information for me.

I appreciated David and Diane’s feedback about Jepthah. I think they both made wonderful points and it was great to hear from them!

Ultimately, I think I now have a better understanding of Jepthah and his daughter. Jepthah was a man of faith who raised a daughter with great faith. While the lesson about hasty vows made to God is good, I don’t think his vow should be Jepthah’s legacy. I believe the overall truths we can learn from Jepthah’s life is that faith in the Lord and fear of the Lord are necessary to a life fully used by the Lord.

Jepthah: A Man of Great Faith?

2008-07-30T14:51:00.006-04:00

In Sunday School we have been studying faith, which has involved study of Hebrews 11. I was reading through the passage and in verse 32 I see the name Jepthah listed as a man of great faith. I’m embarrassed to say that the story of Jepthah did not leap into my mind, so off I went to Judges 11 to read his story. I figure if he is listed among those of great faith then I needed to read his story with close attention.

Once I got to Judges 11 I remember the story as the “guy who vowed to give the 1st thing that came out of his house as a sacrifice to the Lord.” Isn’t that such a typical Sunday School answer? There is so much more there.

First of all, I did not realize that Jepthah was a mighty warriror, I also did not realize that he was the son of a prostitute. Because of his mother, he is treated poorly by his half brothers and eventually exiled from his family completely. They looked down on him because of his mother, and would not share their father’s inheritance with him. They send him away to Tob. At this point in the story I already start to feel some conviction. I was forced to inspect my own prejudices. Are there people I look down on for reasons they cannot even help? I know I have had instant thoughts about people based solely on who their parents are or where they have been. It’s not right or Christ-like, I’m thankful that this story brought this issue into the forefront of my mind.

So after his brothers treat him cruelly, the Ammonites begin to make war against Israel, and the elders of Gilead want the strong warrior Jepthah to come back and help them. He is skeptical at first, and I can’t say that I blame him. He makes them swear before the Lord that if they are delivered from the Ammonites that they will make him their head, and the elders of Gilead agree. Jepthah then begins to correspond with the Ammonites in hope of creating peace between the two countries.

After some ineffective correspondence with the Ammonites verse 29 it tells us that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jepthah” and in verse 30-31 we see Jepthah’s tragic vow “If You will indeed give the Ammonites into my hand, Then whatever or whoever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites, it shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it or him up as a burnt offering.” This is where I have some questions with my Sunday School answer. I remember being taught that he made “an ill-advised vow”, or that he “should have thought more carefully about his vow” but now I’m wondering if that is the point of the story. I’m hoping some of you will have an opinion and share it with me, and I’ll add some of the ideas into the conclusion of this piece.

Where is his great faith shown in this story?

If the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, could he have been led by the Spirit to make this vow?

Does his vow show a lack of faith? Should he have just trusted the Lord to give him the Ammonites without offering something to God?

I appreciate any feedback on this story!

Women of Good Works

2008-07-20T22:08:00.001-04:00

Good Works

The first thing that comes to mind is that our good works identify us as God’s children to a lost and dying world. Matthew 5:16 says In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

It does not say that our light shines because of our personal devotions, giving, or prayer life; although these private things have a direct impact on our works. This passage is clear that our good works bring glory to the Father. What are the good works we can be doing? As the church and larger body of Christ, we can do larger-scale works to bring glory to God. Examples of such works would be: food drives, ministry to the homeless, prison ministry, teen mother ministry, school ministries, college ministries, the list is endless. As individuals we can do good works for our neighbors, or through one of these larger more organized activities. Christ ministered to physical needs during His earthly ministry. These miracles and other physical acts of kindness were done because of the deeper heart needs of the people with whom He came in contact.

As women, I believe we are specifically called to do good works. Timothy says that women who profess godliness should be adorned with good works. He also says that the widows in the church that will be cared for should be “well reported of good works”. Her works were the outward manifestation of her godly heart. In Proverbs 31 we see the Virtuous Woman lauded for her good works. It says nothing about her personal spiritual life, because her works show the abundance of her heart. Dorcas was known by her church because of the good work she did for the poor. Time and again women are known for their works and I think that is how a woman’s heart is revealed.

I also think based on Galatians 6 that we should place a priority on doing good for the household of faith. I think this is a principle throughout Scripture. If you cannot take care of your own how can you properly take care of others? I can assure you that I do not look at families who fight and argue all the time for advice on how to love and find peace. That wouldn’t make any sense. I think of the qualifications for a pastor, he has to be able to take care of his own family, in order to care for the church properly. In the same way, we should be doing good within the Body of Christ, and those good works should be so rich that we cannot help but do good for the world around us.

Good works show the transformation of the Gospel within our lives. Our works can reflect the love of Christ and shine the light on the goodness of God to work in spite of our flesh.

Deborah: God's Choice for Leadership

2008-07-14T23:30:00.004-04:00

There are times when the Lord chooses to use women in positions of leadership to accomplish His will.

We find Deborah in the days when judges ruled Israel. After the death of Joshua the people of Israel turn to wickedness. They worship false gods and turn their back on God and His commandments. Consequently the Lord gives the people to foreign lands and nations because of their sin “Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them… Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge.” ( Judges 2:11-16)We see the Lord work through the judges He chose to use to answer the prayers of His people.

In Judges 4 we see the oppressive enemy of Israel, Jabin of Canaan. During this period, Deborah was the judge in Israel. The Bible tells us that she was a prophetess and that she was married to a man named Lappidoth. It is interesting to me that the Bible does not tell us what her husband did, or if he had any part in ministry or politics at all. This was her specific calling and task. I have read and heard other people state that the reason God used Deborah was because there weren’t any good men. That theory just does not hold water for me. If the Lord specifically chose whom to lift up as the leader, He could have given power to a man. God chose Deborah because He wanted her for this task.

As the story progresses, she sends for Barak. She is aware of what God has called him to do, yet he is hesitant and fearful. After all, Jabin and Sisera were cruel and evil enemies, it was natural to fear them. However, Barak’s faith in God was weak, and he makes a deal with Deborah that he will obey God if she will go with him. I’m convicted when I read this. I think I could have been like Barak; even though the Lord’s command to him was clear “Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun? And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you at the river Kishon with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into your hand?” Even though the Lord had promised him victory he was still hesitant. It’s the same way for us today. The Lord has given us promises in His Word, and given us the Holy Spirit to guide us. Yet when His will is clear in our lives, we often let our flesh rule, and allow our fears to keep us from His plan.

Deborah agrees to go with Barak on the condition that Sisera will fall by the hand of a woman. So they go gather the 10,000 men and head to Mount Tabor. Here we see some more of Deborah’s personality coming through when she exclaims to Barak "Up! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the LORD go out before you?" She was the motivation behind Barak’s follow-through. Even though I’m not a ruler of anything, motivating others to a task is a job women commonly participate in. I cannot go to school for my son, learn to read for him, do his homework, or play with his friends, but I can motivate him to get busy! As mothers we cannot do the work for our kids, but we can go with them, and help them along the way.

Of course the Lord kept His promise to Barak, “And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak by the edge of the sword…and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.” The Lord had the victory in this battle, and used Barak and Deborah to do His will.

What challenges are you facing today that seem overwhelming? Do you have an enemy who you feel is waiting to attack? If you are struggling with some pain or fear, look to the Lord for help. Read His Word, pray and live in His strength.

Maybe you are a Deborah, and you need to influence or motivate someone around you. When words of encouragement for someone are in your heart and mind, say them out loud. If the Lord has called you to encourage someone else in their task, do not fail to do His will.

Helping the Helpless

2008-07-09T21:23:00.004-04:00

A while back, I was working as a court reporter for the “Unlocking Doors” Seminar for the department of Housing and Urban Development. This is a federal organization that focuses on housing options for lower income families. The senior project manager was there. She came to Greenville, all because of one man, the preacher of a Mega Church in my community. She gets up in front of 75 people and lauds the work he is doing for the homeless and single mothers of our community. Now, I start to look the room over, there are businessmen and women from all areas of life. Three or four churches are represented, several banks, contractors, and government sponsored groups, all there to think of creative ways to help the homeless and poor in my community. There could have been a fundamental business man or woman there, and I was unaware. While there were clearly Christians present, there was not one Fundamental church represented. I started to feel embarrassment and shame.

I have always had the impression that a Mega Church is just large because of its massive production, rambunctious preaching, singing, dancing, and etc. I think all of those aspects play into that large of a membership, but I am convinced having sat through a 5 hour meeting and having eaten lunch with the honored preacher, that the excitement of their services is not their only appeal. Eighty percent of their 10,000 members are low income. Single mothers. Minorities. There is significance in that demographic. They have buses that go out into the inner city, they pick up people and give them practical training. They have partnered with Greenville Tech and were able to give out 200 scholarships last year to people who would not have otherwise been able to get any type of training. They have started a housing program where they work with people to fix their credit scores, save money, and create home ownership opportunities. I was shocked. I also became aware of why that church has 10,000 members. They are quite clearly known for the charitable work they do for our community.

Where are we?

I just feel shame when I see no evidence of our fundamentalism in the truly needy parts of town. Am I really that self involved and ignorant to the needs of others? The simple answer is yes. I currently know one single mother, and to be honest, I have not been that good of a friend to her. James 1:27 will not leave my mind “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” I feel as fundamentalists we have singular focus on the second half of this verse. A hallmark of our brand of religion is remaining separated from the world; in contrast, we have a long way to go before we can say we have pure religion that is undefiled before God.

What can be done?

We can pray for opportunities to present themselves. We can pray specifically that the Lord would put people and circumstances in our lives that would allow us to minister. I would also like to see Christians united in their love of Christ and for that love outpoured on the people around them. With the wealth of knowledge and abilities within our churches we have no excuse for ignoring the people around us. It is not enough to simply throw money at these issues; time and commitment are necessary as well. Practically speaking, what about GED classes, financial and budgeting advice for single mothers, delivery of food to local people who really need it. The possibilities are endless.

To truly love all people we must do more than just say the words. We must follow Christ’s example and meet these souls with the truth of the Gospel. Christ repeatedly met physical needs during His earthly ministry. People should know without question that we are Christian's because of our "good works" they should be part of our identity.

I applaud those around me who are looking to serve those outside their usual sphere of comfort, and I encourage those of us (me) who are not actively serving the needy around us to get out there and serve, befriend, and love.

"Blessed is he that considereth the poor"

Shunamite Woman

2008-06-29T22:54:00.004-04:00

Many times in Scripture we see women, whether they are wealthy or poor, helping the servants of God with all they have. One such woman is the Shunamite woman in 2 Kings 4. To be perfectly honest, I was given an assignment to compare the Shunamite woman with the Virtuous Woman in Proverbs 31. Specifically verse 11 which states: The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. So this essay aimed specifically at that correlation. I think I will dig deeper into this story at another time.

The first glimpse we get of her relationship with her husband is when she gives him an idea of how to help Elisha. “And she said to her husband, Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there." While I do not think she is demanding of her husband, I do not think she is asking for permission. I think it is fair to say that there is a large amount of trust built into their relationship. Makes me stop and think, have I built a relationship with my husband where he trusts my judgment on things.

I also see from this interaction that she is a woman of industry. She did not wait around for someone to tell her to make an apartment for Elisha. She had an idea and acted on it, and within the bounds of proper submission. She gave her husband the opportunity to discuss the idea with her before she acted. I think she is further proof that a woman can be incredibly industrious while maintaining a submissive spirit.

The story progresses and the Shunamite woman is given a son as a blessing from Elisha. She is hesitant at first because her husband is old, but the son is born and grows. Tragedy strikes, and the child dies. This is where we see the woman and her husband interact again.

The Shunamite woman puts her son in Elisha’s apartment and in verse 22-24 we see her conversation with her husband: “Then she called to her husband and said, "Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again." And he said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath." She said, "All is well." Once again she discusses her plan with her husband with confidence. This time however, he questions her. I’m sure he was curious why she would want to go see the Elisha when it wasn’t a day for church. I think it’s safe to infer that she regularly attended services or gatherings with Elisha. I'm sure her husband was curious as to why she was going, yet when she confidently tells him “all is well” he gets the donkey and servant and she leaves to find Elisha. Once again we see that her husband’s heart does “safely trust in her”. The story does have a happy ending, and the son is brought back to life by God through Elisha.

There are many truths to be gained from this story, but when I just focus on her relationship with her husband I am convicted. I’ll add the caveat that some husbands are not so accommodating, but I wonder if even that could be helped by a wife with a good heart attitude. To me, the open and trusting relationship we see in this passage is one that was built over time. I’m sure her husband trusted in her more and more over the years. I think it is obvious that he trusted her discernment when it came to spiritual and financial matters.

As women today I wonder how we can be more like this woman. I think one way we can start is with prayer, and asking the Lord to give us good discernment. Prayer that the Lord would give us wisdom in discussing all areas of life with our husbands. Prayer that the Lord would give us the respect we should have when speaking to our husbands. I also think we can start by respectfully discussing issues with our husbands before we act on our ideas. This not only displays our respect but it also builds trust into the relationship.

I'm hoping as women we can work toward the Shunamite woman's shining example.

James

2008-06-24T21:49:00.002-04:00

This has certainly been a time to mourn and weep. It seems as though sadness will not leave. On Friday a friend, James Larsen, passed away. He was only 31 years old and left behind a wife and two precious daughters. It seems so unnatural for someone that young to die, yet God had appointed that day for him to enter Heaven. I am not sad for James, he is at peace, but my heart aches for his family and friends. He had a loving spirit and was a true gift from God on this Earth.

The Bible tells us in 1 & 2 Samuel of a godly man who died quite young, Jonathan.

Jonathan was a man of real love. He loved God, his father, and David. He was willing to risk everything for David. It says “his soul was knit to David’s.” His love was deeply rooted and steadfast. Out of love he wanted to preserve David’s safety. It was not only the love of each other that bound them together, but the love of the Lord.

Jonathan was humble and loyal. He did not let his selfish ambition or pride get in the way of his love for David and the Lord. How easy it would have been for him to hate David just like his Saul did, after all, Jonathan was Saul’s oldest son and “rightful heir” to the throne. He did not think of what he wanted because he wanted what the Lord had planned.

Jonathan was analytical. He orchestrated a plan to warn David of Saul’s intentions. He thought through what needed to happen in order to save David’s life, and he implemented his ideas. He sensed what his father was going to do, and thought through ways to save his friends life. He used his mind to serve David and by doing so, served the Lord.

I think you could easily replace the name Jonathan with James in each of these areas. Truly he was a man who loved God, loved his family, loved his friends, was humble, loyal, and had an analytical mind. He used his life to the honor of Christ. What a blessing that is for those that are left behind. James’ life was such that there is no question where he is spending eternity. He was saved by faith in Christ and his life was a testament to what his heart believed.

Like Jonathan, James’ life on earth ended sooner than anyone wanted. Yet both lived a life of purpose, and lives that honored God. While in our minds it seems he could have done much more, he had accomplished what the Lord had for his life.

David mourned the death of Jonathan with deep sorrow. Even though David was a man after God’s own heart, he was still heartbroken at his loss. Just as David mourned the loss of Jonathan, we mourn the loss of James. Through time, I’m sure the pain will heal, but the memory of James will continue. In 2 Samuel 9, we see that David’s love for Jonathan never stopped when he asks if there is anyone left from the house of Saul for Jonathan’s sake. Just like James left small children behind, Jonathan had left a son who was only 5 years old at the time of his death. I want to encourage those who knew and loved James not to forget his children and wife, even after years pass. James 1:27 says that “Pure religion and undefiled is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.” We have the opportunity to uphold James' legacy of love for Christ by loving the family he left behind.

Grandma

2008-06-18T21:06:00.004-04:00

I’m going to delve into the personal once more and then hopefully move back to the purpose of my blog. I decided it was necessary that I speak of my Grandma. The stroke she suffered last Sunday, took her life 3 days later. It has been devastating for me and my family. We shared a special bond that will never be duplicated. Even in death her life was a testament to the power of prayer. She had prayed two things in regard to her old age and death; one was to keep her mind. You know, she never lost her mind. On Monday after her stroke she was talking with us just like she always did, and even remembered her friend’s phone numbers. That was a gift from God and a true answer to prayer. Her other request was that she die in her sleep, and that is exactly what happened. She fell asleep and never woke up. The Lord heard her prayers and answered them. While I have peace that she is with the Lord, I am still feeling the pain that she is not here with me. I already miss her laugh, her smile, and her wit. She was a treasure.

The message that her pastor gave at her funeral really spoke to my heart. He compared her to the virtuous woman, and while I’m sure she would tell you that she wasn’t virtuous, her life lined up with that passage perfectly. I don’t think this was probably recognized in her day to day life, but the daily decisions she made added up to a virtuous legacy. She would not take credit for her work, but would give credit to the grace of God. I think that’s they way it is for most Christians. Most of us will never be powerful leaders in the Christian world, many of us won’t be in full time Christian work, but we still have the same opportunity to have an indisputable reputation as a child of God. Our life’s testimony is measured by our love of the Lord and our faithfulness to Him. It became so clear to me that her spiritual stature was not because of one amazing deed, but the culmination of small choices to live her life for the Lord.

One example that came to mind was my Grandma’s work ethic. In her lifetime she worked for the war effort, owned her own beauty parlor, volunteered as a pink lady at the hospital, and dedicated countless hours to her church family. Her reputation was solidified by years of hard work. Her daily choice to be faithful in the use of her time added up to a reputation of faithfulness.

When I think of her it makes me evaluate my own life. Am I building a life that will be remembered for good and not evil? Am I faithful in the small things? Those seemingly small choices to do good and be faithful create a successful Christian life in the eyes of God.

I am thankful for a Grandma who not only told me how to live a righteous life, but showed me by her example. While I am very sad for me, I am happy for her. She is enjoying the eternal rewards of a life well lived by the grace of God.

Legacy of Love

2008-06-09T11:18:00.003-04:00

When I started this blog I never intended to share a lot of personal stories, but recently the events in my life have been so closely linked with the spiritual that I've found it appropriate to share them.

I spent last night in the hospital, unfortunately it seems we just cannot stay away from them. Last night after church my Grandma had a massive stroke. Even though my Grandma is 85, it’s still devastating to watch someone you love and has loved you so much be incapacitated so completely. She just doesn’t look the same, even though she still knows who I am, she is debilitated to the point that “normal” will never exist again. As I was watching her last night I was thinking of portrait of unconditional love she has been in my life. She has loved me constantly no matter the situation; now that I’m older I realize that kind of love is rare.

While I was sitting in the waiting room, I began to think of the love of my mother. She was the one who called the ambulance, held my Grandma’s hand, and has made all the tough decisions. Yet I don’t think this is the complete picture of her love. Many people swoop in to help in a time of crisis. While my mother has been a present during every problem, she has shown her love to my Grandma in a consistent daily way. Caring for an aging parent is somewhat similar to a caring for a child, it is just much more difficult. Those of you who have cared for a parent understand this. With a child you discipline them, you can pick them up and carry them where they need to go. It’s a lot of work to care for a young child, but you generally get a good return on your investment, an adult child you can watch mature and grow. As you care for an aging parent, you pour your life into them like a child, but you do not have the same return on your time. Instead of watching a life begin fresh, you are watching one end. Even if the parent is saved, the process and result are heart-wrenching and time consuming. Through wathcing my mom care for my Grandma, I have seen real love displayed. She is my human example of 1 Corinthians 13.

Mom has been patient when my Grandma has been sick or just in a bad mood. She has waited for her as she tried on clothes in the dressing room , or wanted to read long forwards in her e-mail.

Mom has been kind to my Grandma in every way. Mom has driven her to visit her friends for her birthday. She has taken her on trips to visit things my Grandma wants to see.

Mom is never jealous of the attention my Grandma gets. I think at times it is hard to be the caretaker for someone because you are often overlooked for your efforts. Mom has never seemed bothered by her lack of attention.

Mom has never been rude to my Grandma. Even though my mom has assumed more of a caretaker mode, she still treats my Grandma with the respect she deserves as her mother.

Mom has put off many plans and aspirations to take care of my Grandma. My Mom loves to be involved in church but has put that somewhat on the backburner to make Grandma a priority. My Mom loves to travel, and was supposed to be on a trip this weekend, but she did not go because she knew my Grandma wasn’t feeling well. Mom has been selfless.

Mom has not become angry when things have not gone her way. She has put it behind her and moved on with her day.

Mom has bore all my Grandma’s burdens and done her best to help. Mom has believed in God and hoped for the best with my Grandma. She has maintained a positive attitude. She integrated Grandma into her world, she did not expect my Grandma to change to make her life easier. My Mom has endured all hardship because she has made the daily choice to love.

I could say the same kinds of things about my Grandma, because she has passed on a legacy of true love to my Mom.

Today the promise of Proverbs 31 has been fulfilled for my mother:

Her children rise up and call her blessed

Stranglehold

2008-06-02T11:42:00.003-04:00

I really like to eat at Sonic. I know it’s weird since I used to work there, but for some reason I still like it. Yesterday was even better because I had buy one get one free coupons which made eating there extremely cheap. Everyone ordered their food and I got my usual kids meal with a hamburger, but went ahead and splurged on a peanut butter fudge milkshake since they were on sale. Yum.

So we started eating our food and once we were done I started on my milkshake. A few minutes later I just didn’t feel right. My throat started to feel funny. A few more minutes pass and I realize my throat is swelling; I immediately grab the children’s Benadryl and take a couple of teaspoons. At this point I’m feeling worse and getting a little panicky. I make the decision that we have to go to the ER. I have never been to an ER before, but I figured my throat swelling was a good reason.

As we drove I was praying, trying to figure out what exactly had happened to me, what I had eaten to cause this severe of a reaction. I was feeling pretty bad when I got into the ER and I went to Triage. I’m still breathing ok through my nose, but I can barely swallow. For some reason the nurse kept asking me if I had a rough French fry in my throat, I guess she thought I might have something stuck? Anyway, after a few minutes I started shaking but then my throat started to feel normal again. I guess the double dose of Benadryl I took was working. I got up and told them I was fine, at which point they had me sign a sheet saying I wouldn’t sue them if I died on the way home. This was ok with me since I knew I was going to be fine. Once I got home I went straight to bed to sleep off the medication and woke up feeling pretty much back to normal.

All this got me to thinking about life. How often do we ingest things not only into our bodies but into our minds with no thought of their impact on us? I’ve eaten at Sonic several times, and never had a reaction yet something bad caused my body to react with intensity. Many times I feel this happens in my spiritual life. I go through my day doing the same kinds of activities and without thinking, sin slips into my day. It might be pride over something I’ve accomplished, or perhaps selfishness when something does not go my way. Though our day seems ordinary and normal, we have allowed evil into our hearts and mind without even thinking about it. Often in the Bible we see sin become part of someone’s life from their conscious choice, David would be a good example of this. While I’m sure he was not thinking of the consequences of his sin with Bathsheba, I’m sure he knew adultery was sin. On the other hand you have someone like Eve. She did not have her mind fixed on truth and the subtlety of the serpent convinced her to sin. Her lack of discretion cost her and her husband greatly. While I may not have known I was eating something my body hated, it did not change the consequences. Although Eve was deceived, she was still guilty.

In Leviticus 4 we see that quite clearly that unintentional sins still make us guilty before God When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty; Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering,… and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. Even though what we do may be unintentional, it is still a sin against God, and requires His forgiveness and atonement. Our knowledge is no excuse.

Often as women we are like Eve, easily deceived by our emotions and what we want to be true. We take in all the world has to tell us and do not always discern the truth, and before we know it, we can’t breathe. We are being strangled by the lie and we do not even realize it until we feel the consequences.

Yet there is hope, we have the truth of God’s Word. Just as I used a medication yesterday to relieve the pressure on my throat, we have the Holy Spirit, prayer and God’s Word to weed out sin and regain close fellowship with God. He has given us all that we need to be healed in Him. He loves us and wants to free us from the sin that has take hold of us.

Yesterday, I was convicted that I should be asking the Lord as David did Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. I want the Lord to reveal the sin in my life that I do not even know I’m guilty of. I’m thankful for His promise to forgive, and today in particular, I’m thankful for His protection of my health.

Loving the Wounded

2008-05-28T20:06:00.001-04:00

The parable of the Good Samaritan is always convicting for me. In a story about real love, God makes the hated the hero. As this man is beat up and thrown to the ground he is completely helpless and devastated. He is bloody and probably not nice to look at, and as the priest and the Levite walk past him, they have blatant disregard for the laws that say to love your neighbor as yourself. They know better, but they don’t have time; or perhaps the sight of the wounds is just too much for them.

Then along comes an outcast in Jewish society, a Samaritan. Not only does he check on this poor man, but he takes care of him, cleans his wounds takes him to a hotel and pays his way. He is generous with everything, his time, his money, most importantly his love.

I was thinking about this story today and how it relates to our Christian community. When Jesus told this story he was talking about a Jew to Jewish people. As Christians I think we often walk past this bloody man, and don’t even realize we are doing it. I know there are hurting people within the confines of church. Some people are bruised with sin, sin that seems unforgivable to us. Sins we don’t want to know about for fear it will somehow rub off. Sometimes we walk by a person who is broken by abuse. She might be in a hurtful marriage or have abusive parents. She is broken, but we walk on by because we don’t want to get involved in something like that. Maybe someone is wounded by failed expectations; they just couldn’t live up to the standards of the Christians around them. Regardless of the hurt, there are people all around us looking for love, someone to take an interest in their lives, yet as Christians we often leave our sister high and dry. We don’t want to get our hands dirty in their lives.

You know what eventually happens? That wounded person eventually finds love, but it isn’t from God’s people, it is from someone who doesn’t know Christ. Sometimes, it’s an unbeliever who picks up the broken Christian and shows real love. This modern day Samaritan shows true love for humanity, when Christians would not. This Samaritan is not turned off by the wounds, he lovingly cares for him.

This is where my mind really starts to wonder about our Christian community. How many people do we ignore within our community who are eventually loved and helped by people outside the Body of Christ? It could be that a woman who is abused finds real love at a shelter for women. It could be that the teenager who fails to meet the rigid expectations of his school or youth group finds real love through a co-worker. They may find help through psychologists or therapists, but not often through the love of God’s people.

Through this process of rejection by the Body of Christ, they become loved by others. Ultimately what happens to those people? Do they ever turn back to Christ, or do they turn to the person or place which showed them love in their suffering? I think most often people turn toward the love they find through others.

I realize the scenario I described is not always the case. There are many great and amazing things done by Christian people everyday. However, I feel we are missing opportunities on a daily basis to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are leaving them on the side of the road for someone else to take care of. It is time to get our hands dirty, and give up our time and money for our Family in Christ. If we cannot effectively love the Body, how will we love the unsaved to Christ?

Perfect Timing

2008-05-22T00:15:00.002-04:00

From the Biblical stigma of the “barren” wife to the modern, more polite terminology of “infertility”, issues with childbearing have affected women for as long as there has been time. However, it seems to me that there is more of an open discussion of the topic in recent years. Perhaps it’s due to the medical advances in the area or more to the lessening social stigma associated. In any case, if you aren’t personally suffering from this problem you probably know someone who is. I’m going to call the woman in my story Sharon. Sharon has decided she wants to have children, she’s always wanted to be a mother and so she and her husband begin trying. Although this baby is desperately wanted, something isn’t working right. So she continues trying for years. She has decided its “baby time” yet her body just won’t perform the way she wants it to. After months or years of trying, Sharon goes to fertility specialists, and all of a sudden the process of having a baby has turned into a mission. She begins the process of shots, treatments, and a whole host of other unromantic things. In fact the pursuit of a baby begins to take over her life. She follows the entire doctor’s advice and month after month she is disappointed. She begins to question God, “Why won’t my body work? How can teenagers who don’t want babies get pregnant so easily and I can’t?” Nothing seems fair and all of a sudden marriage becomes a struggle. Her self-worth begins to diminish. Her faith begins to run dry and she is exhausted by her seemingly fruitless pursuit. Months turn into years and the cycle of stress continues. I don’t know how to encourage you if you are going through this struggle except to offer some comfort from Scripture.

Of course, there is more than one example of this woman from the Bible. In 1 Samuel we read about Hannah. This poor lady was loved by her husband but had no child. In this culture not having children was viewed as a curse. In fact the Bible tells us that the LORD had closed her womb. Not only was she heavy with the burden of having no children, her husband’s other wife continuously berated her about the fact that she was infertile. The passage goes on to say that this went on year after year. Hannah becomes increasingly heartsick. Her spirit is so wrought with grief that Eli thinks she is drunk, when she is only praying! She wants a child so desperately that she makes a vow to God. She promises to give her son to the Lord if she can just have give birth to him.

Of course you know the rest of the story, the Lord grants her wish and she gives birth to Samuel. Hannah keeps her promise and gives him to the Lord’s work when he is quite small. Samuel grows up to be one of the greatest leaders in Israel and Hannah is subsequently blessed with more children. This story is not only encouraging to women who have struggled to have children because the outcome is positive. It also encourages that the Lord’s timing is perfect. If Hannah would have had a son immediately in her marriage, she would not have promised to give him to God. Had she not promised to give Samuel to God, Israel would have missed Samuel’s distinct leadership. There is hope in the waiting. Hope that the child you long for will be born for a specific purpose and time; it just might not be according to your plan.

Another example of a fertility struggle would be Elisabeth. Here is a woman who with her husband had lived a blameless and righteous life before God. Yet they were looked on with scorn because they had not conceived a child. They grow old and the hope for having a son is lost. Can you imagine her surprise when she finds out she is pregnant? Not only is she giving birth to a child, but he will be a special son. Her son John became the fulfillment of prophecy. He will be filled with the Holy Ghost and prepare the way of the Lord. You know what I find fascinating? She led a righteous life even without children, even though she was scorned by her community as being some kind of sinner. The fact that she did not have the validation of a child did not stop her from serving the Lord. She was faithful. I believe the Lord rewarded her patience and she was able to experience a special blessing from the Lord in His perfect timing. She was greatly used to bring John the Baptist into the world and raise him. Her long life of wait was necessary for God’s plan.

In the same passage, the angel speaks to Mary the Mother of Jesus and tells her she will conceive a child. He goes on to tell her that Elisabeth is pregnant even in her old age. Then we find a verse many quote, but I never realized its context: For with God nothing shall be impossible. I hope you believe that, and I hope you find joy in your life today.

I wish I could end this article with an emphatic answer to your fertility, but I can’t. I can however tell you that the Lord has a purpose for you today and for the rest of your life. If He wants you to have a baby, nothing will stop Him. If you can’t have children, maybe the Lord has called you to adopt, or dedicate more time to the Body of Christ. Whatever His plan is, live your life in the fullness of His Grace and Love today.

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Grace in Prison

2008-05-16T14:38:00.001-04:00

In January, I went to prison.

I was working as a court reporter and was asked to work with an adoption attorney here in Greenville, so I quickly said yes to the job. Only after agreeing to the work, did I find out the deposition would take place at the Spartanburg Detention Facility. Yikes! I was a little nervous. I’m sure you will find this hard to believe, but I had never been to prison!

As I drove by about ten bail bond businesses, my stomach started to turn, was it really worth working if I had to go to this part of town? I drove into the parking lot and waited for a while. Fear started to creep in. People were just milling around the cars, and let’s face it you know the kind of people that mill around a prison. I decided to wait until one of the attorneys arrived to get out of my car. While I was waiting (tardiness tends to be typical attorney behavior), the thought struck me, it is only because of God’s grace that I am not in prison myself. God created and loves every prisoner who is there, and he commands us to love them. I immediately felt guilty for my lack of love for my neighbor. With this change in attitude, I was not afraid; I got out and went on into the lobby.

Once inside, we passed through metal detectors and several locked doors with the prison guard. Once we were through all the security, I started setting up my equipment and began to look around. In this small room, there was Some Lady’s desk, 2 barbershop chairs, and 3 walls lined, floor to ceiling, with books and magazines. Oh no, here comes the guilt again! It was unbelievable what I did NOT see. There was not one Christian magazine. Hooray for the Jehovah’s Witnesses though, there had to be 100 copies of “The Watchtower” and “Awake” on the shelves. I only know of one Jehovah’s Witness Temple in town, and look at what they are doing for their cause. I was embarrassed and ashamed. The streets of Greenville and Spartanburg are littered with good churches, and yet I only saw one piece of Christian literature; a Janette Oke novel. Trust me; I was really looking for something good in that room, which is probably the only reason I noticed the lone book. Speaking of the books, if you ever wanted to read a raunchy romance novel, you could find just about anything written in that genre.

This only scratches the surface of what an American prison is like; devoid of Christ and morals. A place where sin abounds. It is hard for me to imagine Paul in a prison with even far worse conditions. Not only were the physical sufferings severe, but the loneliness of few if any Christians was very real. I think this is why Paul is so thankful for Epaphroditus and Timothy. He had a true perspective of what the fellowship with other believers is all about, and what a blessing it is.

It is overwhelming to consider the wonderful grace that has been bestowed upon me, and many others like me. We were born into good Christian homes, with plenty of training in the Gospel. I see a parallel between Paul’s Jewish heritage and our American Christian background. I can name several people who were saved at very young ages. It is sometimes easy to think that we didn’t need as much grace to be saved, or to rely on that godly heritage; the contrary is true. Our salvation is one of great grace. We have been spared a life of misery, addiction, and separation from God’s love. We have been given an amazing gift. We do not have to wait to serve Christ; we can use the majority of our lives. It was not necessary for me to live much of my life in darkness, but rather in the light. It is because of this that most lifetime Christians should feel more of a duty and drive to win others for Christ and stand for His causes. It is not something to take pride in, but something that should make me humbled to my knees in thanksgiving.

The Wise Woman - Conclusion

2008-05-10T23:09:00.003-04:00

So after this initial introduction their conversation continues. The wise woman goes on to tell him "Long ago they used to say, 'Get your answer at Abel,' and that settled it. We are the peaceful and faithful in Israel. You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow up the LORD's inheritance?" I find it interesting that she appeals to his sensibilities. She gives him advice to calm down and stop terrorizing peaceful people. She asks him to think of the peaceful people he is going to victimize. Isn’t that just like a man, so focused on the goal that he loses sight of the other things around him? I realize that is a generalization, but since I’ve already committed the sin, isn’t it just like a woman to be concerned with the innocent people in her town?

He in turn responds “"Far be it from me to swallow up or destroy! That is not the case. A man named Sheba son of Bicri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Hand over this one man, and I'll withdraw from the city." It is clear that Joab does not want to destroy innocent people; he just wants to capture and kill Sheba.

Without hesitation she responds "His head will be thrown to you from the wall." She was authoritative in her response to Joab. She had brokered a deal for peace and she was happy with the arrangement.

So the wise woman instructs the people of Abel and they cut off Sheba’s head and throw it over the wall to Joab. Her wisdom is welcomed by the people of the town and they follow her instructions. I’m sure the people were happy to oblige Joab’s request and spare their city. It’s still astounding to me at their reaction to her wisdom. Apparently they willingly capture and kill Sheba, all at the voice of a woman.

This story excites me! Not only does this woman save the King, she also saves her city from the attack of Joab. The result of her wisdom was peace. The Lord could have used anyone but He chose a wise woman. I tend to think this woman provided balance to what could have been a disastrous situation. God created women to complete the man. I love the interaction between this man and woman. Both of their strengths are easily viewed by the reader.

As women, sometimes I think we hear two messages. One tells us to be submissive and meek in all areas of life. Another message is that women should rule the world and tell their husband’s what to do. Obviously both of the messages are flawed, and this wise woman is one more example from Scripture. This story just illustrates the great influence women can have among God’s people when she is wise and follows God’s Word. That means living in submission to God’s authority while being completely available for His use. God used a nameless woman to save a city and a King. Wouldn’t it be great if the Lord would use one of us to change our city? We never know when God might call on us to do something extraordinary.

Something else I want to point out, this is the third time in the Bible where we find a woman actively saving the life of David. Michal covered for him as he fled from King Saul. Abigail intervened on David’s behalf and eventually married him. This wise woman delivered the head of a man who would kill him. I realize this is a side track to the original message but when I thought of this it added to my amazement at God’s use of women.

Ultimately, the question I think of is “are you living in such a way that God can use you?” While God may not call you to save the world, are you daily living in such a way that He could? I believe God has a special plan for all of us. God is waiting to use you in a mighty way. Strive to be a wise woman so you can be ready when you are called on to serve Him.

The Wise Woman

2008-05-06T22:15:00.002-04:00

Ok, now that I’ve brought up the looking into what the Bible actually says I found another passage in the Bible I had previously never noticed. While some religions debase women, our God does not. The opposite is true. In Scripture we see the Lord uses women in many incredible ways. Even though many heroes in the Bible remain nameless, their stories are timeless and encouraging. God loves using ordinary women to do extraordinary things. That is exactly what happened with the wise woman in 2 Samuel 20.

Let me set the stage for the story. Absalom has just caused havoc and been killed; now David has a new enemy named Sheba. The passage tells us that he was a man of Belial (Satan) and was of the tribe of Benjamin. He rallies the people of Israel to go against King David. While the rest of Israel goes against David, Judah remains firmly with their king. While this coup is going on, David sends Amasa to gather troops throughout Judah to stop Sheba. In the meantime, Joab pretends to befriend Amasa and kills him instead. Joab becomes a man on a mission. His sole focus is Sheba and he does not care what happens except that Sheba is dead.

On his tear throughout the country he comes to Abel. He and his troops decide that Sheba is in Abel and they are ready to take over the city and do anything to finish him. I can totally see this picture can't you. A huge gang of men raising up against a city. The Bible tells us :“While they were battering the wall to bring it down, A wise woman called from the city, "Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come here so I can speak to him."

He went toward her, and she asked, "Are you Joab?"

"I am," he answered.

She said, "Listen to what your servant has to say."

"I'm listening," he said.

At this point in the story I’m already hooked. Can you imagine a woman doing this? Joab’s response is even more amazing, he listens to what this wise woman has to say. Her reputation among the people of Abel must have been above reproach. She requests a meeting with him and he obliges her request. The truth and wisdom from this act teaches a great lesson. The Bible tells us to ask and we shall receive, It also tells us to go to the person who has offended us and speak with them. Both of those passages were written much later than this story, yet the principle is already seen here.

I can think of times when I have felt oppressed and intimidated by people before, I’m sure you have too. I felt like there was nothing I could do, or that even if I spoke up they would not listen to me anyway. While all those feelings may turn out to be accurate, if I do not speak up and voice my objection, how can I hold the other person accountable for things I thought they would do?

So what I learn from this wise woman is to just speak calmly and clearly to the person who is offending me. If you feel intimidated, ask the Lord for wise words to say and approach the problem with humility. The Bible tells us nothing of this woman except that she is wise, and her wisdom is obvious right from the beginning of the story. Asking specifically for what we want and working toward peace with others is wisdom you and I can put into practice today.

The story does not end here, but my post today does. I will post a conclusion later on this week.

New Truth in Familiar Places

2008-05-03T20:21:00.002-04:00

While most of us who would call ourselves Christians have read through the Bible, I am always amazed at the things I miss in Scripture. This idea was highlighted this week for me. I was reading a very familiar passage in Luke when two verses leapt off the page. I am confident that I had read these verses before but quickly skimmed over them to get to the “important” part of the chapter. The truth is that anything written in Scripture was put there for a purpose, and is profitable to me. I was left wondering “Why do I trust my own mind to pick and choose what are the most important parts of the Bible?”

In the beginning of Luke 22 we find Jesus gathered together with his disciples to partake in the Lord’s Supper. As we know, the Lord prophesies that the one who will betray him is in the very room. As the disciples try to discover who will carry out this horrific act, Peter quickly insists that He will never betray the Lord. Jesus proceeds to tell him that he will know he has betrayed the Lord when the cock crows twice. Since Matthew, Mark and Luke are synoptic, we can see the same story told through the eye witness of three different people. Luke lends a specific conversation the other authors leave out in verses 31-32, And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. This is so powerful to me. Jesus could have told Satan “No” but instead he prayed for Peter’s faith to be strong. He prayed that when Peter turned back to Him that he would give strength to his brothers and sisters in Christ. Fascinating; Jesus began his ministry of intercession for us while He was still on earth. This gives me a strong desire to ask the Lord for great faith. What an amazing thing Christ did for Peter. We know that the Father answered Jesus’ prayer, because the Church was built under Peter’s leadership. How encouraging that is for us as believers. To know that the Lord protects us with His prayers is simply awe-inspiring.

The second seemingly obscure verse to catch my attention is verse 43, and there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. Now I don’t know what this angel actually did to strengthen Christ, but we can be quite certain that the angel gave Him strength. We know from the following verses that Jesus continued to pray so earnestly that His sweat appeared to be blood. He was fervent in His prayer. I find this situation almost impossible to fathom. God sent an angel to strengthen Christ. Jesus was fully God, yet the appearance of an angel was part of strengthening Him for the coming crucifixion. God may not send an angel to strengthen me for the road ahead, but He will send encouragement and strength through His people, the Word, and the Spirit. He never leaves us alone.

I do not share these things because I think I have illumined some deep truth of the Bible to those reading this. The purpose is to show how much we miss by looking for what we consider to be the big stories in Scripture. We are being wise in our own eyes when we decide what is or is not of importance. It is all important, because everything God says demands our attention. I want to encourage you to consider every verse you read and look for its importance in your own life. If you find something in the Bible this week that you have never noticed before, please share it with me and those who read this blog. I know whatever you find will inspire other women to really dig into God's Word.

The Fear of the Lord

2008-04-30T14:12:00.002-04:00

If we are to be wise, we must live in a true fear of the Lord. Not only to recognize what it is but to fully realize that a Holy God is watching over us, everywhere we are, and seeing everything they do. In Proverbs 9, the Lord says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The Bible also promises that the Fear of the Lord will be our refuge. It will bring knowledge. It will bring mercy. It will prolong our life. I believe God’s Word, and believe that these promises are true.

So what is the fear of the Lord? I can remember as a child often wondering what that really meant. Should I hide my head under the pillow and cower from him? The word fear brings an almost immediate negative reaction in my mind, and probably in the minds of others. So what is this fear, and why is it used in both a negative and positive way in the Scriptures? It brings to mind my toddler. My son has a playroom downstairs, and a couple times a day, I set a timer for 15 minutes and instruct him to stay in the playroom until the timer goes “beep, beep, beep.” He has a very clear understanding of the playroom rules. He is to enjoy his toys and play with basically anything he wants as long as it’s in the toy box or on his toy/bookshelf. It is a toddler toy heaven, and that is by design. I love having a place for Ethan to just let loose and enjoy being a kid. He has tons of freedom except for the closet. He knows that is completely off limits to him. He is not to open the door and get into anything in there. I think this is a reasonable rule, but sometimes he is just too tempted. Periodically I will go check up on him, and if he is in the closet and hears me coming, he will race around and try to get out of the closet as quick as he can. Fear creates this response. Yes the negative fear of punishment, but also the fear or respect for my authority as his mother.

As an adult I think we can relate this concept to our jobs. Almost anyone is more productive when the boss is either close by or coming into their office. I know I do this. I straighten up in my chair; I try to look as busy as possible. Now, even if you have been working your best all day (which you should obviously do), there is still a respect for your boss. You don’t want any doubt in your boss’ mind that you are slacking off or doing something you shouldn’t.

Just as a proper respect for our bosses at work enables us to focus on being as productive as possible, a proper fear of the Lord enables us to be better servants of His. Wisdom is produced by fearing the Lord because it changes our worldview. This proper view of God motivates wise people to obey. When the Almighty Creator tells you to do something, you do it. To do otherwise is foolish. When we become truly awestruck by our God we begin to live in His ways, and that is the truest form of wisdom. No wisdom can be had without first fearing the God who created the laws we try to follow.

Prayer and Praise

2008-04-28T11:12:00.002-04:00

I have considered prayer constantly while Krista has been having problems. A verse on prayer came to mind “Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” The only way we can effectively bear one another’s burdens is with prayer. Sure, we can use our words to encourage, our hands to meet needs, our feet to visit, but without effective prayer and faith those actions mean very little.

There is great power when we pray. While I feel completely helpless to ease my sister’s burden, I can pray. You know what else; the power of the prayers of many is even greater. While there are several passages of Scripture which speak of the power of one man’s prayer doing great things, there are also great promises of the Lord hearing the prayers of many.

I think of Esther. When Esther was called upon by Mordecai to intreat the King for help, she asked all the Israelites to fast and pray. She was moved to have many pray to the Lord for help. Esther could have fasted and prayed on her own, but by the prayers of many she was effective. The Lord chose to use the prayers of all Israelites to show Himself great.

Another great example is Paul. In 2 Corinthians 1:10-12 Paul gives thanks to the people of Corinth: “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.” It was God who saved Paul, but the prayers of the people were of great importance to their deliverance. Their prayers were mightily used of the Lord.

In Ephesians 6 Paul gives another command in regards to prayer, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” We are to pray for those around us. Not only for physical needs, but the spiritual as well. Our prayers minister to the body of Christ.

These are just a few examples of Paul’s requests for prayer. He speaks of prayer with great confidence; there is not a shred of disbelief in what he says. He believes that the Lord will hear and answer his prayer. Over and over again he speaks of prayer and its importance. Paul believed in the power of his prayers, and he desperately asked for the prayers of the Body of Christ.

The ultimate example of prayer comes from Christ. Even though He was fully God, he prayed while He was on Earth. He prayed alone to God and made his praise and petitions known to Him. He taught the disciples how to pray. He gave them examples of prayers the Lord wants to hear. He prayed with the disciples. In his darkest hour, he prayed in the Garden with his disciples. Yes, they failed him, but He brought them to the Garden with Him. Jesus sent the Spirit to help us through prayer. It is a powerful gift given to us by God.

Jesus encouraged us with his promise in Matthew 18, “if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” A unified petition amongst believers is blessed by the Father, and Jesus is in the midst of them. That is amazing to me.

While God already knows the outcome for Krista and her baby, our prayers matter greatly. In fact your prayers have blessed them already. Krista is going home today with a good prognosis. There is still some danger for her, but it seems far less serious now. I attribute this complete turn events to the prayers of many.

Thank you for bearing our burden and praying for Krista. Truly “the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much.”

Jellies and Prayer

2008-04-24T13:29:00.001-04:00

My sister, Krista, is pregnant with her 1st child, we are so excited! Unfortunately this excitement is shadowed with fear because she is having some pre-term labor issues, which have included some bleeding. Her doctors have prescribed bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. Since she is stuck at home I have tried to call her more often to keep her company any way I can.

So at about 10:30 Tuesday night I called her to discuss the fashion emergency at Old Navy. They are bringing back Jellies for adults. Yes, it was an 80’s flashback that horrified me, so like any good girl; I called to warn my sister. The conversation went on through the mundane to pregnancy chatter. She brought up some scary dreams where she is bleeding. I tried to comfort her by relaying some of the crazy dreams throughout my pregnancies. All of a sudden Krista says “Oh no, not again! –David!” and she hangs up the phone. In a moment I went from a fun chat with my sister to sheer panic. I could not believe we were having a conversation about her problems and somehow the bad dreams had become a reality.

I felt the Spirit urging me to pray, and so I did. I prayed for the safety of my sister. I prayed for the safety of the baby. I prayed for them to have a spirit of peace, and then I felt like I was repeating myself a bunch, so I got out my Bible to read something from His Word. In my mind, I questioned my faith, was I believing that God would take care of my sister? So I asked the Lord to increase my faith and began to “pray believing”. Then I asked the Lord for wisdom. “If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God”. I prayed for wisdom from the Lord to direct my words and prayer in the way He chose.

After a while I began to think I needed to go to sleep, but sleep was not coming easily. The Lord brought Psalm 4 to me, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!” I desperately wanted the Lord to relieve Krista from her distress. Not only that, but I wanted the Lord to hear my prayers and relieve the distress of my own heart.

The last verse of Psalm 4 says: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I cannot imagine the fear that David must have endured as he wrote this Psalm. Yet with confidence he goes to sleep knowing that the Lord will protect him. Last night I took comfort in the fact that the Lord would keep my sister and her baby in safety. My worry would not help her at all. I embraced the prayer of David and made this verse the prayer of my heart.

After a couple of hours passed, I finally heard from Krista letting me know that she and the baby were doing well. After the experience of last night, I want to praise the Lord for answering my prayers. I praise and thank Him for giving me the Words to say. He is our fortress in time of trouble. Even when we feel alone and burdened, His walls of protection are all around us. He has provided us with grace, His Word, and the gift of prayer for us. With all these things in mind, I went to bed and slept in peace.

If you think of my sister, please pray for her. While Krista and the baby are doing fine, she is still hospitalized because of the nature of her problems.

Prayer and Holiness

2008-04-21T13:53:00.003-04:00

Recently the thought struck me that maybe the reason people don’t pray, or feel their prayers aren’t answered, is because they do not fully respect the Holiness of God. Failure to live in a fear of the Lord is a problem, and one that has plagued our nation’s churches in recent years. I often wonder if Jesus, in bodily form, was at a church what we would do differently. I wonder if people would come to church in sloppy clothes, be judgmental of others, or be filled with pride from all their "good works". What people fail to realize is that He is there. While not everyone at church on Sunday is in communion with God, the Bible says that when two or three are gathered together, He is there. I think this is a truth which is often forgotten.

Maybe prayer is regarded the same way. We do not approach prayer with a mind fully conscious on the fact that we are speaking to a Holy, living God. While He loves us regardless, we cannot expect Him to simply over look a sinful, unrepentant life. We wonder why God won’t make something clear to us, or give us the joy only He can give. All the while, we forget to look at our own lives, and that maybe the reason prayer isn’t “working” is because we are not following His Word. We are responsible to follow the Lord’s Word in our lives. Because of this, I believe that one way we can have a richer prayer life is to live in the fear of the Lord and approach Him as the Holy God that He is. How we approach God matters.

Grandma's Wisdom

2008-04-17T14:59:00.004-04:00

I am blessed to have a wonderfully close relationship with my Grandma. Just like Timothy had Lois, I have been brought up in the sincere faith of my Grandma. Over the past few months, she has brought up a story that I want to share with you.

My Grandma has a good friend, Barbara. Barbara and Grandma have been friends for most of their adult life. The have gone to church together for over 50 years. Barbara is bubbly and kind. I cannot help but smile when I see her. She always has plenty of hugs and kisses for the people around her. Barbara has no problem showing love. When Grandma and Barbara were my age and raising kids, it appeared to Grandma that Barbara had a flaw. She didn’t keep her house in perfect order. Barbara did not keep a disgusting house, but it wasn’t immaculate. My Grandma has always taken great pride in keeping an impeccable house. She is a driven person, always motivated to be busy and keeping house always fell into the important category. Barbara and Grandma shared a deep love for God, but had different priorities.

Fast forward to today, Grandma is telling me how she wishes she had been more like Barbara. Barbara’s philosophy was that she would always have a house to clean, but while she had kids she was going to play with them. In my Grandma’s current view, what she perceived at the time to be a flaw in Barbara, she now sees as greatness. It is amazing to see how time can change one’s view. Of all the wisdom my Grandma could impart to me, this principle is the one on which she chooses to focus. In hindsight, she wishes she would have let some of the perfection go in place of spending time with her kids. Uh-oh, I’m starting to think Grandma sees this tendency in me. No, I’m not overly concerned with my house, but I am quite driven in other areas. We share a love for busyness.

As I was thinking about this story today, a familiar story from the Bible popped into my mind, the story of Mary washing Jesus’ feet. Think about Mary’s priorities. She gave what was most precious to the Lord. I’m sure you remember that while she is worshipping Christ, Judas brings up selling the ointment for the poor. The Lord’s response is striking, “the poor ye have with you; but me ye have not always”. I can’t explain why, but the thought struck me, “cleaning I have always, but my children I have not always.” I realize that my children are not as precious as Christ, but they are the heritage He has given me while I am on earth. I will not have my children in my house forever. They are in my home for a relatively short period of time. Our time together is a gift. As their mother I am to care for them, love them, and raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Am I doing as Mary and giving them my best? Or am I giving my energy to all the things around them, the things I think have to get done?

I don’t want those who read this story to think my Grandma is an over the top Martha. She is not. She may feel that way but I have never had that opinion of her. She has always been warm, kind, and loving towards me. However, I would be foolish not to heed the words of my Grandma. In sharing her wisdom with me, she is obeying God's Word by "teaching the younger women".

I do not think we should be extreme and let our house get filthy and stop everything to focus solely on our children. An attitude like that would go against the things we learn about the virtuous woman. She was one of the busiest women in the Bible. I am suggesting that as mothers we stop and think about our children as a precious gift; one that will be gone before we know it. It’s hard to be like Mary, because to live like Mary means to sacrifice. Our sacrifice for our children will not be wasted. I believe that loving our children wholeheartedly will honor the Lord.

I am grateful for a Grandma who continues to give me her best!

The Love of Naomi

2008-04-14T14:10:00.003-04:00

It is impossible to live a life without some sadness, pain, and depression. Everyone goes through heartache, the times when you feel so black inside that you feel nothing will lighten your spirit. Maybe you feel overwhelmed by loneliness, you may feel there is no one that cares for or understands you. All of these feelings can be caused by many of life’s circumstances, arguments with a spouse or child, moving away from family and friends, wounds from a friend, and especially the death of a loved one. During these times of hardship it is impossible not to feel sadness or grief. God made us emotional. Yet, even in our times of despair, our love for God and people can remain in tact.

Naomi was a woman who loved deeply even through her personal grief. The book of Ruth begins with her family in crisis. Elimelech, Naomi, and their sons are forced to leave their homeland because of a famine. Can you imagine that? When I read the first verse of this story I think of Hurricane Katrina; thousands of families displaced because of horrendous circumstances. They had to leave their homes, leave their friends and start over with nothing. Think of the pain Naomi experienced. Not only did she have to leave everything familiar behind, but her husband took her to the land of Moab. The Israelites knew they were not to have anything to do with Moab, the Lord had made this command clear. Yet, this is where Elimelech takes his family. While there Elimelech dies and Naomi is left a widow. Not only was there great personal grief with losing a spouse, but in her day, the loss of a husband meant loss of security. Life is always difficult for widows, but for a widow in this time period it was particularly devastating. Her security was gone. Naomi is still fortunate though because she has two sons.

Her sons Mahlon and Chilion also choose to sin. They marry Orpah and Ruth, women of Moab. Again, to marry a Moabitess was strictly forbidden by God, and the sons would have been well aware of this command. It is speculated by scholars that perhaps the sons die in war, but regardless of how the sons died, they die premature deaths. Because of the deaths of her sons and husband, Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth are left alone. Losing your spouse would be bad enough, but losing both sons would break any woman’s heart. She is alone, without security, and with two daughters in law from the land of Moab. It is fair to say that her circumstances seem bleak at best.

At some point Naomi receives word that the Lord has blessed Bethlehem with food, and she heads home. As the custom of the day was, Orpah and Ruth accompany her towards Bethlehem, here we begin to glimpse the love of Naomi. She did not want those women to suffer as she had. She urges them to stay in their homeland, remarry, and live happy lives. Think how much easier it would have been for Naomi to have both women with her. They could have both gleaned from the fields which would have supplied more of her needs. She does not do this; she lovingly chooses to send them back to Moab. She had personally suffered by moving from her homeland and did not wish this pain on her daughters in law. She did not wish on them the pain of never having a family. How often do we as women love others this way, especially when we are grieving? Often when we are sad or depressed we want others around us to sympathize or feel our pain. Our emotions can often cloud our vision but this is not the case with Naomi. She portrays a beautiful example of love in the Book of Ruth.

I believe there is another example of Naomi’s love in the first chapter of Ruth. We often give credit to Ruth for loving Naomi and staying with her. I agree that Ruth was sacrificial and loving to stay with Naomi. However, I tend to think Naomi had shown her love before this turning point. It makes sense to me that Naomi had been a wise and loving influence on Ruth during the 10 years they were in Moab together. I believe the influence of Naomi prior to leaving Moab may have compelled Ruth to stay with her. If Ruth did not already love Naomi and her God, why would she so eagerly stay with Naomi? Could it be that Ruth turns from her country and her gods because of the loving God she saw through Naomi’s example? I believe that to be all together possible.

Pain in our lives does not have to cloud over the love of God in our hearts. Personal suffering does not have to take over our love for people. Naomi’s love for God and people is quite evident throughout this book but especially in this first chapter. Who are you showing the love of God to, regardless of your own personal struggles? Are you allowing God to shine through your life even though you are burdened? I hope the example of Naomi will help you focus on God’s love toward you and in turn you can show that love to His people.

Why I Write

2008-04-11T14:30:00.002-04:00

There has been some curiosity from friends as to why I write, so I figured I would give the explanation. I have never considered myself to be a writer. I started writing out of what I perceived to be necessity.

I paid only slight attention a couple years ago when a group of college homosexual activists were visiting conservative religious universities. It was no surprise that they came to Bob Jones and it didn’t really bother me. If they want to protest, be my guest.

I became very upset though, when I saw Christian people out protesting and preaching against the homosexual group. They were yelling in megaphones, had sandwich boards on that said “you’re going to hell”, and were in general giving a very poor impression of Christ. I was annoyed by this, but still unmotivated to say something.

Later in the week I was getting my hair done and my hairdresser brought the situation up to me. She was talking about how people at Bob Jones were so crass and rude. How she hated when the screamed at people and how much they hated homosexuals. I found it offensive and knew it was untrue. I have a degree from that school and when they are perceived as unloving by the community, I am as well. The thought was then with me that others in the Greenville area probably had the same idea. I did not know how a mother could speak up for the love of God, but the thought struck me; I could write a letter to the Editor.

I prayed and decided to write two letters. One letter was basically negative in tone. I was upset at the media’s coverage and at the protesters. Then I wrote letter which was focused on the love God had for homosexuals. I felt led to submit both letters, so that’s what I did. Honestly, I did not think either one would be printed.

I did not tell my husband that I had sent a letter to the paper. He is not as “out there” as I am and I knew he would find it a little weird. In hindsight, I probably should have told him, but at the time I just was not comfortable doing so. I figured there was no point in causing a disagreement if they were not going to publish them anyway. When the paper called and asked me if they could publish one of the letters, I then decided I had to tell Daniel. Luckily, although he wasn’t thrilled, he wasn’t mad either. Once he read both essays he was convinced, as I was that the negative letter would run. Since the paper didn’t tell me what they were going to do I was left in agony until I saw it in print.

The day it ran I was in shock; the positive letter had been printed. The newspaper had printed a completely positive letter about God’s love and Bob Jones. I was convinced that day that God could do whatever He wanted. I also decided that anytime He laid something on my heart that I would write it down for His use.

And that is why I write.

Loving Enemies

2008-04-09T15:14:00.002-04:00

I don’t want to love my enemies…do you? I don’t want to love people who are mean, or who hate Christ. I don’t want to love people who perform abortion, but I should. These are all general enemies of Christianity and I am to love all of them. This begins a bit of protest in my mind, “but I don’t want to!” or “they are sinners and should be treated poorly”. Obviously that is not a Christ-like attitude, but too often that is how I feel. You know what is worse? I generally find it easier to love that type of person as opposed to my enemies within the body of Christ. Ouch, that is convicting. How can I find it so difficult to love people who are also believers? In fact, when I consider someone to be my enemy I usually want bad things to happen to them because “they deserve it”. I justify those feelings by thinking of David’s prayers for the Lord to smite his enemies or another favorite “vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord.” In my mind I’m thinking, “yeah Lord…Get ‘em!” That is a selfish attitude, and one filled with pride. Would I want someone to wish justice on my actions? No way. Somehow though, I think it is ok to feel that way toward others. The Lord commanded us to love our enemies and this just goes against our nature.

I’m reminded of a time when a friend of mine was hurt by a Christian enemy. This enemy was a man in the church. The pastor was having a difficulty and this enemy decided to make a huge issue out of the problem. He started telling people of the issue and soon something small turned into wildfire. Ultimately, the pastor had to resign from his church and the friend who stood by him left as well. This lady left the church with a bitter and broken spirit. I don’t blame the lady for feeling this way; after all she was justified wasn’t she? That enemy in the church went against her pastor! That man had caused grief to a family who didn’t deserve it. She chose to hate her enemy.

Contrast that story with something that happened to a friend of mine. Her father was the principal of a Christian School, in fact, he started the school. He loved the school, and the people who were there. Over the course of 10 years things ran as smoothly as any Christian school, and then a major conflict happened. The conflict was started by a friend at the school who had a disagreement with him over something relatively minor. This friend then spread her disapproval for him around the school and turned the other parents and board members against him. She orchestrated a coup which took the ministry he had created right out from under him. She betrayed him, and in essence became his enemy.

However, this Principal and his Enemy both had daughters, and these daughters were best friends. You know what? This Principal chose to love his enemy, and never spoke ill of the Enemy to his daughter. It would have been much easier to end his daughter’s friendship. It would have been easier to be hateful when he saw the girl’s mother, but he made a choice; a choice to love his enemy.

Now think of Jesus and his disciples. He had an enemy within. Jesus who was the Almighty, All-knowing God chose Judas to be his disciple, knowing he would betray him. Just like the stories above, Judas was one enemy who spawned hatred amongst many. Jesus knew Judas was his enemy but He loved him regardless. I do not think any of us have an enemy who actually wants to kill us. If we did, we would not love them. Yet, Jesus loved; He gave the perfect example of loving our enemies.

How can we love our enemies? The first thing we can do is “pray for those who despitefully use you”. Seriously commit to prayer for those who are your enemies. Instead of praying for their destruction, why not pray for their restoration. Ask the Lord to change their hearts.

Pray that the Lord will work in your own heart. Ask the Lord to give you love for that person. If the Lord has commanded us to love our enemies then it is His will that we do it. Pray that He will give you a forgiving heart. Jesus commanded us to forgive so we must follow through on His command. He does not leave us to do these things on our own. I believe the Bible to be clear when it says that if we ask according to His will that He will answer our prayer. Pray believe that God will give you love for your enemies. He has promised to answer, and there is no doubt that a loving, forgiving heart is something He greatly desires for you. Ask and receive His gift of love.

Make the choice to love. That phrase seems so obvious, but I feel it must be said. Loving people is a choice. You may not feel love toward someone, but you can still show love with your actions. We can choose to love by not gossiping about our enemy. We can choose to love by speaking kind words to that person when we see them. We can choose to love by verbalizing forgiveness to our enemy.

Loving our enemies is hard work, but just like anything the Lord commands of us, it is well worth the effort. If the Lord was willing to die for His enemies, we should be more than willing to love them.

Loving God

2008-04-06T22:15:00.005-04:00

When I love someone completely, I love what they love. I never would have picked up a book and read about the law, but since my husband loves the topic, I have begun to have an interest in it as well. My older son loves sports. I can barely catch a ball, but I have been getting better because I love my son and he loves basketball. I play with him, I’ve learned about the game, and I’m beginning to enjoy it because he does. My baby has a love as well; he is in love with his blankie. The blankie is soft with a satin trim. He sleeps with it every night and at naptime. He would carry the blankie around all day if I would let him. His blankie is his prized possession. Now the blankie on it’s own is hard to love. It smells a little weird even though it is washed frequently, and it is starting to look worn. It is no longer perfect like it was when he received it, yet he loves it and so do I. Micah has lots of blankets, but only one blankie. While most people would not want to touch the blankie, I love it because I am in love with Micah. My love for the ugly blankie comes from my love for Micah.

I think this principle applies to our love of God, and how that love transcends to others. Many of us say we love God with our entire being, but do we really? If we truly love God with our whole life then we would love what He loves. It is clear from Scripture that God loves people. He cherishes all of His earthly treasures, the people He has created. People are God’s prized possession. A God who cares about the life of a sparrow cares infinitely more about people. I suffer deep conviction when I think how I treat His people. Sure, I show love to my family, friends at church, and people I like, but I do not always love the ones I perceive to be unlovely. Those people I find unappealing or difficult to love are not unlovely to the God who created them.

Jesus portrayed His perfect love for people over and over again during His earthly ministry. We are blessed to have His example of how to treat people. He loved the poor, the beggar, the rich, the young, the old, the sick, the religious; Jesus loved them all. He saw them for the person they were, and who they could be in Christ. He loved men and women even when they rejected Him. He loved them completely because He was God.

So we are forced to answer the question “Do I really love God?” The answer for me is twofold. Yes, I love God; but no, I do not love Him as I should. However, if we could ever truly love God completely, loving people would be effortless. It would become so natural that it would not seem like work at all. Loving people begins with loving God. I believe that is why it is commanded first. We cannot appropriately do the second command to love others if we cannot get the first commandment right.

I hope my love for God will grow so that my love for people will grow as well; just like my love for Micah’s blankie.

The Story of Adam

2008-04-03T21:32:00.002-04:00

Have you ever wondered how to be a light in a crooked and perverse nation? How can I be salt in the world around me? I was recently given a Bible study on this topic so I was forced to evaluate my life. It was difficult to sit down and think of specific instances of my being “light”. In fact I found the task incredibly tedious. Then, a very vivid memory popped into mind. I believe it was the Lord reminding me of His truth, and power to work through ordinary lives, even mine.

As a sophomore in high school, I was attending at a Christian school in name only. My parents and I came to the decision that I would go to public school the next year, and skip straight ahead to my senior year. This was a turning point in my life, and the setting of my story. Leander High School was a scary place. Four thousand teenagers, hundreds of teachers and one school; the only way to describe it is overwhelming. I did not know one person before beginning my senior year; I felt truly alone to make friends and find my way.

It is a complete paradigm shift for a teenager to go from Christian school to the public environment. It is a change the Lord used greatly in my life. I was forced to make choices about who I would be friends with, what groups I would join, who I would look up to, and who I would lead. I sat alone at lunch for the first 3 weeks of school. It was not pleasant, but I was scared to get too close to anyone. As time went by I got more and more involved in my choir and drama classes. I was in the school’s Broadway musical and had a blast. I made friends with a many kids from that production.

After opening night, there was a cast party. My parents of course said I could go, so I hopped in my truck, and headed out for a fun evening. Now I was a naïve teenage girl. I was thinking pizza, pop and games. Sure, I knew that drugs were around any school, but I had never actually seen them used, or been friends with anyone who used them. Little did I know that at this party I was about to be introduced to the pot culture that is rampant within our schools, both public and Christian.

I saw some of my friends go outside, and went out with them a few minutes later. Can you believe they were lighting a joint? I was shocked. What happened next was even more bizarre. Adam turned to me, in front a group of people and said “I don’t think I can smoke this right now, I feel like Jesus is watching me.” Surprisingly enough, some of the people agreed with him. I didn’t really know what to say, so I replied “He is.” I was floored, and left the party quickly after the incident. To my shame, I had never really evangelized anyone at that school, yet, Adam thought of Jesus when he saw me. At the time, I thought about it for a few days, but moved on with life. I suppose that one comment helped me to keep a clean testimony while attending Leander High School. To this day, I don’t know where Adam is, what he does, or if he ever heard the gospel.

This incident, while memorable, had not entered my mind for years, why now? I can only think the Lord brought it back to mind. My view of what happened has changed with age and maturity. I am humbled by the fact that the Lord would choose to use one teenage girl to show his grace and power. He uses anyone at anytime. He gives us experiences that we can remember later in life to remind us of what His grace has done. I think of the altars that Joshua and Moses built while wandering the wilderness. They were reminded of God’s help; I am reminded of God’s grace.

I am convicted by the fact that I could be doing so much more now as an adult. I may never get such specific feedback on my life on earth again, but I was blessed with an honest comment on my life. I have experienced first hand the power of remaining “blameless and harmless”. The Spirit allowed my one little light to shine enough that Adam could see Christ. It mattered very little to him what I said, what I did made the difference. As Christians we need to be consciously aware that our lives are the light God uses to illuminate his world. We never know who our lives will touch, but we are responsible to live in such a way that others are drawn to him.

A Woman's Role in Submission

2008-04-02T14:38:00.002-04:00

What is the true role of a woman within her marriage? For most of us the first thought is “submission” and that thought is correct. So why is submission so difficult? I believe there are many misperceptions when it comes to this area of a woman’s role. Some women throw all the responsibility on their husband, as if they are the only person who will give an account for their family. They use their husband’s authority as an excuse for their behavior. It is also easy for women to allow themselves to feel inferior, which again puts responsibility on their husbands instead of on themselves. I think both of those views are inaccurate. The thought “well, he’s in charge so what I do doesn’t matter” is so selfish. His leadership does not take anything away from her responsibility. If the two become one flesh, then wouldn’t they both be judged by their life together? Truly, a man will be judged according to his leadership, but a woman will be judged as well for her role within their union.

Another Scripture that should be considered is in Genesis 3, where the Bible tells us that part of Eve’s curse for sinning will be that “her desire will be to her husband.” We often read in Genesis 2 where it says we were created to be his “helpmeet”, and assume that is where our where our struggle begins. I think that the verse in Genesis 3 gives us an indication that our submission to our husband was part of our punishment, which explains why it can be difficult for us at times. While submission and unity with our spouse the way God planned it would be perfection, submission is difficult because of sin.

I used to question submission all the time. Sure, in my head I knew what I was supposed to do, but translating that knowledge into my heart and actions was a struggle. Then I came across 1 Corinthians 11:3. “But I want you to know and realize that Christ is the Head of every man, the head of a woman is her husband, and the Head of Christ is God.” Have you ever meditated on the fact that while God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all co-equals and all fully and completely God, that God the Father is the Head of Christ? Jesus is no less God than the Father, but He submitted His will to God. He is the perfect example of humility and submission. Think back to Jesus praying in the garden, He asked God to “take this cup from me, nevertheless, not my will but Thine.” He also allowed himself to become human. He had to humble himself to take on human flesh (Philippians 2:7-9). I doubt any of us would do that for love, but that is what Christ did. He did not complain, He willingly came because He loved the world so much, that He did not want anyone to perish. Consider that for a moment. While equal with God, He knew His purpose and fulfilled it perfectly, with all humility. Was Jesus less God because He submitted to the Father? NO! He was fully God and equal to Him. However He was fully committed to His role within His union.

If you continue reading 1 Corinthians 11:8-12 we are told that the “woman was created for the man” From this I have further confirmation that we were created to be our husband’s helper, no question. So my role is further clarified from that verse. Keep reading though, in verse 11 and 12 it says “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.” These verses again just seemed to penetrate my heart and thinking. It seems to connect with verse 3. Are men and women equal in the Lord? I think the answer is obvious, yes! So, while my husband is the head, we are one in the Lord.

So maybe you are still saying to yourself “So what? I already knew I was to submit to my husband.” The reason I bring these verses to your attention is because they have completely changed my attitude about submission. If Christ, the Holy God was submissive, why should I complain about my role? Being submissive takes nothing away from my standing in Christ. In fact, when I have a submissive spirit, I am living in obedience to Him which is exactly what I should be doing with my life.

Welcome

2008-03-31T15:17:00.005-04:00

Welcome to the Grace for Women blog. I thought long and hard before deciding to publish my writing for all the world to read. It is a little intimidating to bare my literary soul to those who might want to read my essays. That being said, I have been writing for about a year now, and am ready to begin sharing some of what the Lord has been teaching me.

I hope that those who read this blog will be either encouraged or challenged by the Word. The Word is powerful, and has the ability to impact our daily lives. Your life can and will be transformed by the Bible if you will read it, meditate on it, and apply it to their lives. Through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word will become alive to you. It is my prayer that those who read these essays will be drawn closer to the Lord, and be able to put His Word into practice.

I want us as women to grow in grace and truth.