This probably doesn't need a lot of explanation. We pretty much all know what a sword is. This is the one offensive piece in a suit of armor.
When you use a sword, you swing it in different ways to attack or defend. It is sharp and piercing. It can cut or hold back an enemy. In the same way, the Holy Spirit will speak the Word of God to our hearts--different words at different times as the need arises. It can be a sharp pierce when you need it, or dull thud to stop you from doing something stupid.
Your sword will be much sharper if you read your Bible and have the words in your head so the Spirit can bring them to your heart and mind at the precise moment needed.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Armor of God--Shod your feet
Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
The Roman soldier's feet were shod with hard, studded shoes. Even today we consider shoes to be a protection for our feet. How many times did you hear your mother tell you to put on shoes before you go outside? So as a soldier for Christ, we certainly need protection of our feet. How can you stand if your feet are hurt or attacked? This would be vital. Your feet and their protection would be like your foundation--your cornerstone of who you are and how you remain upright. And what does Paul tell us that should be? The preparation of the gospel of peace.
So what does that mean? That could mean that we need to have the gospel as our very foundation. It could also mean that we should be prepared to go out and defend and spread the gospel. I think it could be both. It's not enough to just say you believe in Christ. The gospel can't be much of a foundation if you don't really understand it. Have you ever shared it? You have to know something pretty well to share and defend it. If you haven't ever done that, I would challenge you to do so as soon as possible. Even if you're only sharing it with your dog or cat or goldfish. Share it. You'll be amazed how much more real it becomes to you when you explain it. And once you've got your goldfish saved, you may want to try someone else, someone more human.
The Roman soldier's feet were shod with hard, studded shoes. Even today we consider shoes to be a protection for our feet. How many times did you hear your mother tell you to put on shoes before you go outside? So as a soldier for Christ, we certainly need protection of our feet. How can you stand if your feet are hurt or attacked? This would be vital. Your feet and their protection would be like your foundation--your cornerstone of who you are and how you remain upright. And what does Paul tell us that should be? The preparation of the gospel of peace.
So what does that mean? That could mean that we need to have the gospel as our very foundation. It could also mean that we should be prepared to go out and defend and spread the gospel. I think it could be both. It's not enough to just say you believe in Christ. The gospel can't be much of a foundation if you don't really understand it. Have you ever shared it? You have to know something pretty well to share and defend it. If you haven't ever done that, I would challenge you to do so as soon as possible. Even if you're only sharing it with your dog or cat or goldfish. Share it. You'll be amazed how much more real it becomes to you when you explain it. And once you've got your goldfish saved, you may want to try someone else, someone more human.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Armor of God--The Breastplate
The breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness: morally upright; without guilt or sin.
I wondered if this is the righteousness of all believers in Christ where His blood covers our sin. My Bible's footnote says no. This is the practical, righteous character and deeds of believers. But another commentary says yes. So which is it? I'm inclined to think that when Paul uses the term "righteousness." he's NOT referring to the blood of Christ because he is writing to people who already have that. Why would he tell them to put it on? In John 14:15 Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." We can argue about what commandments He meant, but the fact is, He expects us to obey something. I believe it is this obedience that protects us.
We are saved by faith through grace, not by works. Yet faith without works is dead. How does this make sense? Well, our righteousness may not save us, but it protects us. The Law is so detailed, so full of wisdom and good living habits. Science has proven time and again that the law is good for us. The breastplate was a piece that went all the way around covering the core of your body. So being righteous, or following the law, protects the very core of your body. Walk out from under this protection and sickness and disease and every other evil have an opening to get to you.
The Psalms are full of praises for the Law. None of the psalms are talking about words of Christ, but about the Old Testament scriptures that the psalmists had available to them. Psalm 19: 7-11 seems to confirm that a protective righteousness comes from keeping the law:
Psalm 1: 1-5 tells us the way of the righteous and the end of the ungodly:
We most definitely need Jesus first and foremost to cleanse our sins. We have nothing without His Righteousness. This is absolutely without a doubt the most important form of righteousness we can receive. If the Breastplate of Righteousness refers to the Righteousness we receive by being followers of Christ, cool. That is covered the minute we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Then why do we still suffer spiritual attack? How do we stand against it? Isn't that what Paul was trying to tell us?
There are so many things that Christians suffer in this world that I wonder if we couldn't avoid if we kept the law. The laws about food have been proven to be wise. There's probably a lot about that that we'll never really understand, but God does, He made it all! If we still kept the laws about how to clean our house and when we are clean and unclean, I wonder if we wouldn't avoid a lot of sickness and disease. I don't think we'll ever completely wipe out sickness from our lives, just like we'll never completely wipe out sin from our lives.
Anyway, it's something to think about. I know that living our lives doing whatever we want and ignoring the whole Old Testament is not doing much for anyone I know. So either God is a liar, or that is NOT the protection He was referring to.
I wondered if this is the righteousness of all believers in Christ where His blood covers our sin. My Bible's footnote says no. This is the practical, righteous character and deeds of believers. But another commentary says yes. So which is it? I'm inclined to think that when Paul uses the term "righteousness." he's NOT referring to the blood of Christ because he is writing to people who already have that. Why would he tell them to put it on? In John 14:15 Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey my commandments." We can argue about what commandments He meant, but the fact is, He expects us to obey something. I believe it is this obedience that protects us.
We are saved by faith through grace, not by works. Yet faith without works is dead. How does this make sense? Well, our righteousness may not save us, but it protects us. The Law is so detailed, so full of wisdom and good living habits. Science has proven time and again that the law is good for us. The breastplate was a piece that went all the way around covering the core of your body. So being righteous, or following the law, protects the very core of your body. Walk out from under this protection and sickness and disease and every other evil have an opening to get to you.
The Psalms are full of praises for the Law. None of the psalms are talking about words of Christ, but about the Old Testament scriptures that the psalmists had available to them. Psalm 19: 7-11 seems to confirm that a protective righteousness comes from keeping the law:
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
Psalm 1: 1-5 tells us the way of the righteous and the end of the ungodly:
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
We most definitely need Jesus first and foremost to cleanse our sins. We have nothing without His Righteousness. This is absolutely without a doubt the most important form of righteousness we can receive. If the Breastplate of Righteousness refers to the Righteousness we receive by being followers of Christ, cool. That is covered the minute we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Then why do we still suffer spiritual attack? How do we stand against it? Isn't that what Paul was trying to tell us?
There are so many things that Christians suffer in this world that I wonder if we couldn't avoid if we kept the law. The laws about food have been proven to be wise. There's probably a lot about that that we'll never really understand, but God does, He made it all! If we still kept the laws about how to clean our house and when we are clean and unclean, I wonder if we wouldn't avoid a lot of sickness and disease. I don't think we'll ever completely wipe out sickness from our lives, just like we'll never completely wipe out sin from our lives.
Anyway, it's something to think about. I know that living our lives doing whatever we want and ignoring the whole Old Testament is not doing much for anyone I know. So either God is a liar, or that is NOT the protection He was referring to.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Armor of God--the Belt
Ephesians 6:11-18 says,"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
My daughter just recently decided to give her life to Jesus. Then we all began working with her on what that means. One of her older sisters started teaching her how to "be safe from Satan" and was using the scripture quoted above.
You know, so many things are used over and over to teach kids about the Bible and I just become sort of numb to them. I think of them as "kids' stories" rather than the Word for me that they are. And when I actually read (or overhear someone reading) these scriptures it will amaze me how much truth there is in them.
So I'm listening to this being read to my 6 yr old and thinking about how to explain it to her. Boy does that make scripture come alive! (One of my goals is to someday re-write the Bible in my own words--just for me. I haven't gotten very far yet, but someday . . .)
Armor is something we use to protect and defend ourselves, right? So I began to really look at each piece. I was going to write about it all at once, but it was getting way too long. So I'm breaking it down piece by piece.
The belt of truth. The Ten Commandments clearly teach us not to lie. This isn't just to give us a rule to follow. Truth protects us. And when I looked at what the Roman belt is, I found that it isn't just something to hold your pants up. It was a piece of armor that went all the way around with leather strips that hung down and protected the groin area.
This, to a man, would be a very important thing. Ever know a man who didn't instinctively want to protect his groin? That's how important Truth should be to us.
The belt also holds the dagger guard. I found this interesting since the sword is the Word of God. We have nothing to hold our sword if we aren't first guarded by the Truth.
My daughter just recently decided to give her life to Jesus. Then we all began working with her on what that means. One of her older sisters started teaching her how to "be safe from Satan" and was using the scripture quoted above.
You know, so many things are used over and over to teach kids about the Bible and I just become sort of numb to them. I think of them as "kids' stories" rather than the Word for me that they are. And when I actually read (or overhear someone reading) these scriptures it will amaze me how much truth there is in them.
So I'm listening to this being read to my 6 yr old and thinking about how to explain it to her. Boy does that make scripture come alive! (One of my goals is to someday re-write the Bible in my own words--just for me. I haven't gotten very far yet, but someday . . .)
Armor is something we use to protect and defend ourselves, right? So I began to really look at each piece. I was going to write about it all at once, but it was getting way too long. So I'm breaking it down piece by piece.
The belt of truth. The Ten Commandments clearly teach us not to lie. This isn't just to give us a rule to follow. Truth protects us. And when I looked at what the Roman belt is, I found that it isn't just something to hold your pants up. It was a piece of armor that went all the way around with leather strips that hung down and protected the groin area.
This, to a man, would be a very important thing. Ever know a man who didn't instinctively want to protect his groin? That's how important Truth should be to us.
The belt also holds the dagger guard. I found this interesting since the sword is the Word of God. We have nothing to hold our sword if we aren't first guarded by the Truth.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Why don't things always work out well?
I just answered a question on an email and I feel the Lord was giving me the answer. I want to remember it because I know there are lots of times I ask this same question. So I'm posting it here for my own remembrance:
Answer:
The big question here is WHO decides if it turned out well or not?
I think even if you look at Biblical examples you'll see that they may not have thought things turned out well.
The first one that pops into my mind is Mary, the mother of Jesus. She had an angel visit her and so there probably wasn't a lot of doubt about if it was God or her own thoughts. That was probably really good because I can imagine, if it were me at least, how hard it would have been to see things were going well. For starters she had to be looked down on for getting pregnant outside of marriage. We're more forgiving for that these days than back then, and I can tell you from experience it isn't very easy. I deserved some trouble I guess, but she sure didn't. Then she raised this precious little boy. He grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man, right? So that part wasn't so bad. And then He entered His ministry. Some people loved Him and others hated Him. She must have been proud though. Then she watched as they crucified Him. I'm projecting my own thoughts on her here, but don't you think it's very possible that as she watched she thought something must have gone horribly wrong? This couldn't have been God's plan.
How about Moses? He saw a burning bush and heard the voice of the Lord audibly. And yet, he didn't think God had the right guy. But he goes to pharaoh and shows His signs and wonders and pharaoh makes the people work harder. Whoops. Could that really be what God had in mind? Even when they were able to leave Egypt, the people whined and complained. Moses had to have had moments of wondering if God really knew what He was doing.
Let's talk about Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God told him to build an ark. Noah obeyed. God gave him very detailed instructions and Noah obeyed. You think that was easy? Most likely everyone laughed at him. I would guess there were times Noah himself doubted if he was doing the right thing. How about when it started to rain and God shut the doors of the ark. I am just guessing here because the Bible doesn't say, but I imagine that there were people banging on the outside of the ark shouting that they are sorry and they believe now, begging to be let in. But it was too late and they received no mercy. That would be hard to listen to. There's probably a good reason GOD shut that door instead of leaving it to Noah. And quite possibly Noah didn't think things were working out very well in spite of the fact that he obeyed God.
How about Ezekiel. He went through all kinds of grief just obeying God. God had a difficult message to get to the people and Ezekiel was willing to be the one to give the message. It wasn't easy for him I bet. But he loved the Lord and obeyed anyway. Someone had to do it. Our reward isn't always given on this earth.
And Elijah. Wow. Just read about him -- even if you've read it before. 1 Kings 17. Seriously, get out your Bible and read this. It will be so worth your time. Amazing. You know, I always read about Elijah and thought about how faithful he was and that's all I saw. But recently I saw how incredibly hard this must have all been for him. Like when God sent him off to the wilderness and had ravens feed him and he drank from the brook. Cool, huh? God provided for him. I used to imagine him just takin' a vacation and being completely cared for by animals that God sent. But now I see it differently. He was fed meat and bread from the beaks of ravens. Ravens were unclean to him. And how gross would that be to eat the food a filthy bird left on the ground for you? I'd have to get pretty hungry before I'd eat it the first time. And drinking from the brook? How clean was that? Notice that later when he went to the widow he asked for a drink of water IN A CUP. But aside from the grossness of it all, he's dealing with all this and obeying God and then the brook dries up! That had to cause some questions in his mind as to whether or not he was really following God. But it wasn't over. God had another word for him. He sent him to the widow. So he obeys and goes and asks her for food (in her hand--notice he didn't want to eat from birds anymore. ;-) ) and drink. She tells him that she doesn't have any bread. What she does have she was about to prepare as a last meal for her son and herself and then they would all die because of lack of food. Don't you think that would have given him pause to wonder if he was doing the right thing? But he tells her to do that, but feed him first. And don't worry about it because God will make sure you don't run out of food.
How could Elijah have such faith? How could he be so sure in the midst of such troubles? I think it all comes from LISTENING TO GOD. He was in constant communion with Him.
And the lesson I've learned from this story, and from too much experience in my own life, is that when it seems like things aren't going well after we've obeyed God, we just aren't seeing the big picture. We see our current situation as everything there is. But God sees that sometimes you have to suffer today to get to where you need to be tomorrow. And sometimes what seems like the worst suffering EVER is really helping you to avoid even worse suffering.
It's all about having a relationship with Him and following Him step by step. It's so easy to take that Word from God and do what He says, but stop listening. But God is always talking to us and we just need to keep our eyes on Him and our ears tuned to Him. We need to know what the NEXT step is.
Kind of like when Peter got out of the boat. Jesus TOLD him to come to Him out on that stormy sea. Peter was just obeying. Why did he then begin to sink? Was it because he hadn't really heard the voice of the Lord? Of course not. He just started looking at the world around him instead of focusing on his Lord. But Jesus didn't let Peter sink. Peter cried out for help and he received it.
And then there are martyrs, like Stephen. He was obeying God and was killed for it. Jesus warned us that it wouldn't be easy to follow Him. He said to take up our cross and follow Him. This didn't just mean wear a crucifix around your neck and claim that you are a Christian and go to church every Sunday!! Jesus hadn't yet been crucified when He said that, but He knew from the culture at that time how hard it would be to "take up your cross." He knew He was asking us to do something really hard. But we do it if we love Him.
God is always there watching over us. Sometimes we forget to listen and sometimes we think we're done before we really are. Sometimes things are just hard because they have to be because we live in a fallen world. But God speaks to us and wants us to follow Him and in the very end our reward will be great.
Question:
For those of you who have felt God's prompting you or telling you to do something, did it always turn out well? How did you know it was God? Have you ever stepped out in faith after spending weeks/months in prayer over something, on your face, crying, in scripture seeking direction and clarity? Have you ever moved/acted on in the direction you were sure is God's, and have it all crumble or fail?
What do you do then? How do you discern the voice of God from your own?For those of you who have felt God's prompting you or telling you to do something, did it always turn out well? How did you know it was God? Have you ever stepped out in faith after spending weeks/months in prayer over something, on your face, crying, in scripture seeking direction and clarity? Have you ever moved/acted on in the direction you were sure is God's, and have it all crumble or fail?
Answer:
The big question here is WHO decides if it turned out well or not?
I think even if you look at Biblical examples you'll see that they may not have thought things turned out well.
The first one that pops into my mind is Mary, the mother of Jesus. She had an angel visit her and so there probably wasn't a lot of doubt about if it was God or her own thoughts. That was probably really good because I can imagine, if it were me at least, how hard it would have been to see things were going well. For starters she had to be looked down on for getting pregnant outside of marriage. We're more forgiving for that these days than back then, and I can tell you from experience it isn't very easy. I deserved some trouble I guess, but she sure didn't. Then she raised this precious little boy. He grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man, right? So that part wasn't so bad. And then He entered His ministry. Some people loved Him and others hated Him. She must have been proud though. Then she watched as they crucified Him. I'm projecting my own thoughts on her here, but don't you think it's very possible that as she watched she thought something must have gone horribly wrong? This couldn't have been God's plan.
How about Moses? He saw a burning bush and heard the voice of the Lord audibly. And yet, he didn't think God had the right guy. But he goes to pharaoh and shows His signs and wonders and pharaoh makes the people work harder. Whoops. Could that really be what God had in mind? Even when they were able to leave Egypt, the people whined and complained. Moses had to have had moments of wondering if God really knew what He was doing.
Let's talk about Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God told him to build an ark. Noah obeyed. God gave him very detailed instructions and Noah obeyed. You think that was easy? Most likely everyone laughed at him. I would guess there were times Noah himself doubted if he was doing the right thing. How about when it started to rain and God shut the doors of the ark. I am just guessing here because the Bible doesn't say, but I imagine that there were people banging on the outside of the ark shouting that they are sorry and they believe now, begging to be let in. But it was too late and they received no mercy. That would be hard to listen to. There's probably a good reason GOD shut that door instead of leaving it to Noah. And quite possibly Noah didn't think things were working out very well in spite of the fact that he obeyed God.
How about Ezekiel. He went through all kinds of grief just obeying God. God had a difficult message to get to the people and Ezekiel was willing to be the one to give the message. It wasn't easy for him I bet. But he loved the Lord and obeyed anyway. Someone had to do it. Our reward isn't always given on this earth.
And Elijah. Wow. Just read about him -- even if you've read it before. 1 Kings 17. Seriously, get out your Bible and read this. It will be so worth your time. Amazing. You know, I always read about Elijah and thought about how faithful he was and that's all I saw. But recently I saw how incredibly hard this must have all been for him. Like when God sent him off to the wilderness and had ravens feed him and he drank from the brook. Cool, huh? God provided for him. I used to imagine him just takin' a vacation and being completely cared for by animals that God sent. But now I see it differently. He was fed meat and bread from the beaks of ravens. Ravens were unclean to him. And how gross would that be to eat the food a filthy bird left on the ground for you? I'd have to get pretty hungry before I'd eat it the first time. And drinking from the brook? How clean was that? Notice that later when he went to the widow he asked for a drink of water IN A CUP. But aside from the grossness of it all, he's dealing with all this and obeying God and then the brook dries up! That had to cause some questions in his mind as to whether or not he was really following God. But it wasn't over. God had another word for him. He sent him to the widow. So he obeys and goes and asks her for food (in her hand--notice he didn't want to eat from birds anymore. ;-) ) and drink. She tells him that she doesn't have any bread. What she does have she was about to prepare as a last meal for her son and herself and then they would all die because of lack of food. Don't you think that would have given him pause to wonder if he was doing the right thing? But he tells her to do that, but feed him first. And don't worry about it because God will make sure you don't run out of food.
How could Elijah have such faith? How could he be so sure in the midst of such troubles? I think it all comes from LISTENING TO GOD. He was in constant communion with Him.
And the lesson I've learned from this story, and from too much experience in my own life, is that when it seems like things aren't going well after we've obeyed God, we just aren't seeing the big picture. We see our current situation as everything there is. But God sees that sometimes you have to suffer today to get to where you need to be tomorrow. And sometimes what seems like the worst suffering EVER is really helping you to avoid even worse suffering.
It's all about having a relationship with Him and following Him step by step. It's so easy to take that Word from God and do what He says, but stop listening. But God is always talking to us and we just need to keep our eyes on Him and our ears tuned to Him. We need to know what the NEXT step is.
Kind of like when Peter got out of the boat. Jesus TOLD him to come to Him out on that stormy sea. Peter was just obeying. Why did he then begin to sink? Was it because he hadn't really heard the voice of the Lord? Of course not. He just started looking at the world around him instead of focusing on his Lord. But Jesus didn't let Peter sink. Peter cried out for help and he received it.
And then there are martyrs, like Stephen. He was obeying God and was killed for it. Jesus warned us that it wouldn't be easy to follow Him. He said to take up our cross and follow Him. This didn't just mean wear a crucifix around your neck and claim that you are a Christian and go to church every Sunday!! Jesus hadn't yet been crucified when He said that, but He knew from the culture at that time how hard it would be to "take up your cross." He knew He was asking us to do something really hard. But we do it if we love Him.
God is always there watching over us. Sometimes we forget to listen and sometimes we think we're done before we really are. Sometimes things are just hard because they have to be because we live in a fallen world. But God speaks to us and wants us to follow Him and in the very end our reward will be great.
| "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. | |
| "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. |
| "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. |
| Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. |
| And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, | |
| But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality. |
| Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. | |
| For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: | |
| "For yet a little while, | |
| But if anyone draws back, | |
| But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. |
| "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. | |
Friday, August 29, 2008
Acting like a 4 yr old
Last night I was tucking Sam in and he hugged me. It felt so good. He'd been a wild 4 yr old boy all day and it was good to just get hugged and not be disciplining him.
Tonight I was tucking Sam in and again he hugged me. Again it felt so good. This time I said, "Sam, I miss you." He didn't know what I was talking about. I told him that when he's wild and disobedient and ignoring me all day (literally ignoring me. He will hear me speak and just won't respond unless he wants to) all I get to do is discipline him all day. I don't get to really enjoy him. And then I miss him.
He was so sweet. He said, "Mom, I'll be good all day tomorrow." I know he meant it, but he'll still mess up and do something wrong. But it meant a lot to know he was sorry and wanted to be better.
It just really struck me how we do that to our Heavenly Father. We know His laws, mostly--at least the "Top 10"--but we don't really obey them. He tries to talk to us all the time, but we don't stop and listen unless we want to. And we're always so busy running around doing our own thing. He has to spend time disciplining us when what He really desires is to just spend time with us. Just being together.
He misses us when we act like that. The discipline hurts Him more than it hurts us. And our reaction is so much like my 4 yr old son. "I'm sorry. I'll do better." And He knows we mean it and He knows we'll mess up. But how sweet it must be to hear it when we truly mean it. And how much sweeter still when we do obey Him and we do listen to Him and we let Him just love us and not have to discipline us.
Lord, help me be good all day tomorrow.
Tonight I was tucking Sam in and again he hugged me. Again it felt so good. This time I said, "Sam, I miss you." He didn't know what I was talking about. I told him that when he's wild and disobedient and ignoring me all day (literally ignoring me. He will hear me speak and just won't respond unless he wants to) all I get to do is discipline him all day. I don't get to really enjoy him. And then I miss him.
He was so sweet. He said, "Mom, I'll be good all day tomorrow." I know he meant it, but he'll still mess up and do something wrong. But it meant a lot to know he was sorry and wanted to be better.
It just really struck me how we do that to our Heavenly Father. We know His laws, mostly--at least the "Top 10"--but we don't really obey them. He tries to talk to us all the time, but we don't stop and listen unless we want to. And we're always so busy running around doing our own thing. He has to spend time disciplining us when what He really desires is to just spend time with us. Just being together.
He misses us when we act like that. The discipline hurts Him more than it hurts us. And our reaction is so much like my 4 yr old son. "I'm sorry. I'll do better." And He knows we mean it and He knows we'll mess up. But how sweet it must be to hear it when we truly mean it. And how much sweeter still when we do obey Him and we do listen to Him and we let Him just love us and not have to discipline us.
Lord, help me be good all day tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I'm Not Listening
The title is from a song that Mitchell wrote. It's now running through my head. I hope he records it some day so others can hear it too.
Lately it seems that things keep happening showing me that I'm not listening to God. And at the same time, I am listening and trying to do things He tells me to do. Sound confusing? No wonder my life has seemed complicated lately, huh? But listening seems to be a theme lately.
I recently started working with our youth group at church. I was preparing a lesson and felt God's leading to do a study on Hearing His Voice. He guided me step-by-step to find a book to use and I followed him step-by-step. The book is called Hearing God's Voice by Henry and Richard Blackaby. I'm only 3 chapters into it and I'm loving it. I've taught the youth, but they seemed bored. Mitchell tells me they weren't bored, just teens. Either way, *I* have learned a lot already.
A couple weeks ago I had this weird thing where I felt like I was supposed to move stuff from our freezer in our barn--the one I thought worked really well--to the freezer in the house--which doesn't work all that well. It made no sense so I ignored it. Several days later Roger came in from the barn and informed me that the freezer in the barn had died probably several days earlier. aaack! Why didn't I at least go check?
Yesterday I laid down for a nap. I was really really tired. As I laid down I realized I needed to go give the ducks water. It was that same nagging sensation. But thinking I was only going to sleep for a few minutes because that's all I usually get to nap I ignored it. I woke up an hour later and went to take care of the ducks. We had 18 ducks and 10 of them were now dead. Actually only 9, but I was too late to save the next one that died as I tried to get it to drink. It was 107 outside. They had no shade and I had waited too long to refill their waterers. I'm certain that if I'd come out an hour earlier they'd all be fine today.
Then this morning as we were reading the Bible, we were reading in Leviticus about giving offerings. It kept saying that when you sin and you don't realize it, when you do realize it you are to give such and such offering. Well, I don't feel the need to kill anymore animals to repent for killing the ducks, but I did get that even though I hadn't intended to sin, I still had. And I needed to repent.
This may sound harsh to some people who believe that God only looks at our hearts and He would have known I didn't intend evil. So often we don't want to accept responsibility for our actions. But I was happy to repent and let God forgive me. Now it's past and over. God is so good. He is so wise to realize that we need to have closure on these things. No matter how hard I might have tried to say it wasn't my fault (which this time, at least, I wasn't doing, but often do) it was. And to accept responsibility, apologize and be forgiven, and then go on feels so much better than forever trying to justify why it was okay that I took that nap before I checked on the ducks.
So anyway, I had to go to town and went by myself. This gave me time in the van ALL ALONE. I love it when that happens. So I began to talk to God. I told Him I was sorry for not listening. I was sorry for killing His ducks and wasting the meat He'd provided for us. He forgives me. I already knew that. Then I asked Him to help me to listen and respond. To help me to know when He's talking to me. And you know what? He told me, "I'm always talking to you. Just listen and believe that it's Me." Suddenly some of the stuff I'd just read to teach the youth came flooding to my mind. Of course He talks to me all the time. It's a relationship. What kind of a relationship would it be if He only talked to me when there was something big going on? How could I love a God who only gave me stuff to do? He talks to me all the time. Wow. The coolness of that really sunk in today. This great, powerful, almighty Creator who is busy running the universe ALSO talks to me. He doesn't just take time to give me orders as He manages this big universe and needs something done. He takes time to chat with me. To whisper words of love to me. He comforts me when I mess up, yet expects me to get up and keep going and face the consequences of my actions.
I understand that the enemy is also out there trying to whisper in my ear and throw me off. But I believe that if I focus on God's voice and stay tuned to that, it will help me ignore the darts of the enemy.
It's like those cartoons with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Which one will I listen to? You really can't focus in on them both. Like I always tell my kids, I have two ears, but that doesn't mean I can hear two things at once!
Lately it seems that things keep happening showing me that I'm not listening to God. And at the same time, I am listening and trying to do things He tells me to do. Sound confusing? No wonder my life has seemed complicated lately, huh? But listening seems to be a theme lately.
I recently started working with our youth group at church. I was preparing a lesson and felt God's leading to do a study on Hearing His Voice. He guided me step-by-step to find a book to use and I followed him step-by-step. The book is called Hearing God's Voice by Henry and Richard Blackaby. I'm only 3 chapters into it and I'm loving it. I've taught the youth, but they seemed bored. Mitchell tells me they weren't bored, just teens. Either way, *I* have learned a lot already.
A couple weeks ago I had this weird thing where I felt like I was supposed to move stuff from our freezer in our barn--the one I thought worked really well--to the freezer in the house--which doesn't work all that well. It made no sense so I ignored it. Several days later Roger came in from the barn and informed me that the freezer in the barn had died probably several days earlier. aaack! Why didn't I at least go check?
Yesterday I laid down for a nap. I was really really tired. As I laid down I realized I needed to go give the ducks water. It was that same nagging sensation. But thinking I was only going to sleep for a few minutes because that's all I usually get to nap I ignored it. I woke up an hour later and went to take care of the ducks. We had 18 ducks and 10 of them were now dead. Actually only 9, but I was too late to save the next one that died as I tried to get it to drink. It was 107 outside. They had no shade and I had waited too long to refill their waterers. I'm certain that if I'd come out an hour earlier they'd all be fine today.
Then this morning as we were reading the Bible, we were reading in Leviticus about giving offerings. It kept saying that when you sin and you don't realize it, when you do realize it you are to give such and such offering. Well, I don't feel the need to kill anymore animals to repent for killing the ducks, but I did get that even though I hadn't intended to sin, I still had. And I needed to repent.
This may sound harsh to some people who believe that God only looks at our hearts and He would have known I didn't intend evil. So often we don't want to accept responsibility for our actions. But I was happy to repent and let God forgive me. Now it's past and over. God is so good. He is so wise to realize that we need to have closure on these things. No matter how hard I might have tried to say it wasn't my fault (which this time, at least, I wasn't doing, but often do) it was. And to accept responsibility, apologize and be forgiven, and then go on feels so much better than forever trying to justify why it was okay that I took that nap before I checked on the ducks.
So anyway, I had to go to town and went by myself. This gave me time in the van ALL ALONE. I love it when that happens. So I began to talk to God. I told Him I was sorry for not listening. I was sorry for killing His ducks and wasting the meat He'd provided for us. He forgives me. I already knew that. Then I asked Him to help me to listen and respond. To help me to know when He's talking to me. And you know what? He told me, "I'm always talking to you. Just listen and believe that it's Me." Suddenly some of the stuff I'd just read to teach the youth came flooding to my mind. Of course He talks to me all the time. It's a relationship. What kind of a relationship would it be if He only talked to me when there was something big going on? How could I love a God who only gave me stuff to do? He talks to me all the time. Wow. The coolness of that really sunk in today. This great, powerful, almighty Creator who is busy running the universe ALSO talks to me. He doesn't just take time to give me orders as He manages this big universe and needs something done. He takes time to chat with me. To whisper words of love to me. He comforts me when I mess up, yet expects me to get up and keep going and face the consequences of my actions.
I understand that the enemy is also out there trying to whisper in my ear and throw me off. But I believe that if I focus on God's voice and stay tuned to that, it will help me ignore the darts of the enemy.
It's like those cartoons with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Which one will I listen to? You really can't focus in on them both. Like I always tell my kids, I have two ears, but that doesn't mean I can hear two things at once!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Is He Right For Me?
I needed to type this up for another reason, so I figured I would include it here:
One summer, way back when I only had two kids, I was going through a Bible study. The first day of the study we had to introduce ourselves by giving our name and when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. Somehow those words just really hit me. When it came around to me I gave my name and when I'd accepted Christ as my Savior, but had to admit that I'd never really made Him my Lord. I remember saying I'd have to work on that.
Well, God worked me on that through the rest of the summer. I was really doing well having a daily quiet time since the study was a 5 day a week thing. With a baby who cried all the time I needed all 7 days to get those 5 days in. And I was giving this my all.
EVERY day when I would close my study time with prayer, God would ask me the same question: "If I asked you to leave your husband and your children, would you do it?" I knew He'd never really ask me that, but I also knew that wasn't the point. Every day I tried to answer honestly. I couldn't bring myself to say no to God, but I couldn't honestly say yes either. Each day I just answered with, "Please don't ask me that." and quickly said Amen.
But as I continued to study His Word and pray more and more often, I grew a lot closer to Him. I began to understand why people could refer to Jesus as a friend and my trust grew. My baby was healed by God that summer of a stomach disorder that should have required surgery and that went a long way toward helping me trust and love God.
Finally one day God asked the same question. "If I asked you to leave your husband and your children, would you do it?" This time I was able to honestly answer that "Yes, Lord. I trust You. If You asked me to leave them I would have to believe that it was what was best for them and for me. I would obey You."
At that moment I was given a vision of a pair of filmstrips. One of them was from my life and the other was from Roger's. They were laid one over the other so that I could see that everything in his life led him to me and everything in my life led me to him. It was God's plan for us to be together. He gave me the most precious gift of knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was absolutely with the right man. And of course God would never ask me to leave him.
I believe I received this gift because I submitted to His Lordship. He really wants us to surrender all to Him and oh how sweet to trust in Jesus. It's not just a lot of words we sing over and over in hymns. It's real. He's real.
One summer, way back when I only had two kids, I was going through a Bible study. The first day of the study we had to introduce ourselves by giving our name and when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. Somehow those words just really hit me. When it came around to me I gave my name and when I'd accepted Christ as my Savior, but had to admit that I'd never really made Him my Lord. I remember saying I'd have to work on that.
Well, God worked me on that through the rest of the summer. I was really doing well having a daily quiet time since the study was a 5 day a week thing. With a baby who cried all the time I needed all 7 days to get those 5 days in. And I was giving this my all.
EVERY day when I would close my study time with prayer, God would ask me the same question: "If I asked you to leave your husband and your children, would you do it?" I knew He'd never really ask me that, but I also knew that wasn't the point. Every day I tried to answer honestly. I couldn't bring myself to say no to God, but I couldn't honestly say yes either. Each day I just answered with, "Please don't ask me that." and quickly said Amen.
But as I continued to study His Word and pray more and more often, I grew a lot closer to Him. I began to understand why people could refer to Jesus as a friend and my trust grew. My baby was healed by God that summer of a stomach disorder that should have required surgery and that went a long way toward helping me trust and love God.
Finally one day God asked the same question. "If I asked you to leave your husband and your children, would you do it?" This time I was able to honestly answer that "Yes, Lord. I trust You. If You asked me to leave them I would have to believe that it was what was best for them and for me. I would obey You."
At that moment I was given a vision of a pair of filmstrips. One of them was from my life and the other was from Roger's. They were laid one over the other so that I could see that everything in his life led him to me and everything in my life led me to him. It was God's plan for us to be together. He gave me the most precious gift of knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was absolutely with the right man. And of course God would never ask me to leave him.
I believe I received this gift because I submitted to His Lordship. He really wants us to surrender all to Him and oh how sweet to trust in Jesus. It's not just a lot of words we sing over and over in hymns. It's real. He's real.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Riches in Glory
One way I can be more of a Mary (rather than Martha) is to trust God to provide. It seems like everywhere I turn lately God is showing me how He can provide.
Here's a scripture I want to study some more. It's the verse my 5 and 8 yr olds are supposed to memorize for Sunday School. (See how God just bombards you with things when He is trying to make a point.) It's found in Philippians 4:19 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
According to His riches in glory. Wow. That sounds like a lot. The king of kings wants to supply my needs according to His riches in glory. Not just supply my needs so that I can squeak by. Not just grudgingly give me enough to survive. He wants to supply all my need richly.
I think there will be more on this subject as He keeps teaching me about it.
Here's a scripture I want to study some more. It's the verse my 5 and 8 yr olds are supposed to memorize for Sunday School. (See how God just bombards you with things when He is trying to make a point.) It's found in Philippians 4:19 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
According to His riches in glory. Wow. That sounds like a lot. The king of kings wants to supply my needs according to His riches in glory. Not just supply my needs so that I can squeak by. Not just grudgingly give me enough to survive. He wants to supply all my need richly.
I think there will be more on this subject as He keeps teaching me about it.
The Reason for the Title
I always like to know how people come up with their blog titles. So I'll explain mine.
There are a lot of ways that I feel that I am different. I have a large family and am fine with the idea of it getting even larger. I home school, home birth. I don't vaccinate my children. And when it comes to my faith I have a lot of thoughts and ideas that just don't seem to fit with any one Christian denomination. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong. But one thing is for sure. I feel different. So there's one reason for the title.
I always wanted to be a stay home mom, but I used to always say I would NEVER have more than two kids. So my life has turned out quite differently than I ever imagined. I also used to say I'd never live on a farm and that is quite different now, too.
And then there's the fact that many of the other title ideas I had were already taken.
There are a lot of ways that I feel that I am different. I have a large family and am fine with the idea of it getting even larger. I home school, home birth. I don't vaccinate my children. And when it comes to my faith I have a lot of thoughts and ideas that just don't seem to fit with any one Christian denomination. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong. But one thing is for sure. I feel different. So there's one reason for the title.
I always wanted to be a stay home mom, but I used to always say I would NEVER have more than two kids. So my life has turned out quite differently than I ever imagined. I also used to say I'd never live on a farm and that is quite different now, too.
And then there's the fact that many of the other title ideas I had were already taken.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Mary or Martha?
Are you familiar with the story about Mary and Martha? Mary sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to Him talk while Martha does all the work preparing their meal. Martha thinks that Mary should help and basically Jesus tells them that Mary has her priorities straight.
This has always been a hard one for me to understand. And the more children I have the more I struggle with it. There is ALWAYS work to be done and if someone doesn't do it no one will eat, have clean clothes to wear, a place to sit down (due to all the filth everywhere), and so on. So how could Jesus say that Mary was the one who was right? Shouldn't we get the work done and THEN sit and talk.
That's another thing I feel God is trying to teach me right now. That He will provide. Will He provide the food and clothes we need if I don't prepare it and go shopping? I'm still trying to figure that one out.
But lately I've felt that God is trying to tell me that life isn't about getting things done. It's about love. If we don't show love, if we don't feel love, what does all the rest matter? And if I do love others, they are much more likely to want what I have--Jesus in my life--than if I'm always working hard. And how do I show love if I'm always busy getting things done?
I would argue that some of the things I do show love to my family. That's important.
But that's not the end. With God I never really get the last word. I might stop listening, but I don't win the arguments.
My daughter Joy and I seem to clash too frequently. She's five and there's a bluntness in her words. She told me one day that she thinks I'm boring. Ouch. It wasn't one of those moments where she was trying to be mean. She was just trying to explain things to me. Dad is fun. He plays with her. Mom is boring. She just works all the time. Dad works a lot too. What's the difference? He plays. I just keep working. But I'm rarely done so I feel I can't quit.
I think that's what Jesus is talking about. We will always have the work. But the kids grow up way too fast. If I don't stop and find time to build those relationships, it will be too late. If I don't stop and take time to listen to God it's often too late.
So I need to be like Mary and do what needs to be done. That seems so very backward to me. How can I know what to do each day? I figure if I would just take a few minutes each day and pray and ask God, "What do YOU want me to do today?" then He'll give me my top priority for the day. He's done it before and those always end up being such wise choices for my day. So I'm going to try to do it every day. Then take the time to listen.
I want to be like Mary. It really sounds much more enjoyable.
This has always been a hard one for me to understand. And the more children I have the more I struggle with it. There is ALWAYS work to be done and if someone doesn't do it no one will eat, have clean clothes to wear, a place to sit down (due to all the filth everywhere), and so on. So how could Jesus say that Mary was the one who was right? Shouldn't we get the work done and THEN sit and talk.
That's another thing I feel God is trying to teach me right now. That He will provide. Will He provide the food and clothes we need if I don't prepare it and go shopping? I'm still trying to figure that one out.
But lately I've felt that God is trying to tell me that life isn't about getting things done. It's about love. If we don't show love, if we don't feel love, what does all the rest matter? And if I do love others, they are much more likely to want what I have--Jesus in my life--than if I'm always working hard. And how do I show love if I'm always busy getting things done?
I would argue that some of the things I do show love to my family. That's important.
But that's not the end. With God I never really get the last word. I might stop listening, but I don't win the arguments.
My daughter Joy and I seem to clash too frequently. She's five and there's a bluntness in her words. She told me one day that she thinks I'm boring. Ouch. It wasn't one of those moments where she was trying to be mean. She was just trying to explain things to me. Dad is fun. He plays with her. Mom is boring. She just works all the time. Dad works a lot too. What's the difference? He plays. I just keep working. But I'm rarely done so I feel I can't quit.
I think that's what Jesus is talking about. We will always have the work. But the kids grow up way too fast. If I don't stop and find time to build those relationships, it will be too late. If I don't stop and take time to listen to God it's often too late.
So I need to be like Mary and do what needs to be done. That seems so very backward to me. How can I know what to do each day? I figure if I would just take a few minutes each day and pray and ask God, "What do YOU want me to do today?" then He'll give me my top priority for the day. He's done it before and those always end up being such wise choices for my day. So I'm going to try to do it every day. Then take the time to listen.
I want to be like Mary. It really sounds much more enjoyable.
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