Called to the Carpet!

That's right, I've been called to the carpet by the Lord.  As my husband Steve would say, God's been "busting my chops"!  Basically, the Lord has reminded me that ministry to my husband and children is of paramount importance.  If I'm not walking in love with my own husband and children, I'm missing something. How sad it would be for me to pour out my energies by volunteering in church, blogging about grace, etc. and yet not be loving my man and kids the way God has called me to.  I admit that sometimes it feels much more immediately rewarding to do other ministries, because I might get positive feedback and recognition.  My ego likes positive feedback and recognition.  Most of the time my husband and kids don't remember to say something like:  "Oh thank you dear wife/mother for all you do for us....you are a virtuous woman far above rubies!" But whether I get "positive feedback" or not, I'm still called to walk in love with my family.

When I'm not walking in love, selfishness and pride are at the root of the problem. Proverbs 13:10 states, "Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom." KJV There is a major truth right here in the Word. Contention/strife comes only when pride is present. Selfishness is a form of pride. The dictionary definition of pride is "an overhigh opinion of oneself; exaggerated self-esteem; conceit."  This is the form of pride we are most familiar with.  However, the opposite is also a form of pride.  When a person has a low opinion of themselves, I believe that is a form of pride as well,  because the focus is still on yourself.  Pride boils down to being overly concerned with self.   Basically, pride = selfishness.  So if my husband and I are in strife of any sort, at least one of us is being selfish!  Think about it.....anytime there is strife, pride is at the root.  Wow!  I have a whole lot of room to grow in this area.

Let me give you some examples of areas where strife could potentially come or could potentially be avoided:

Husband wants me to do some yard work with him today, but I had other things in mind for my to-do list today.

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Kids get into an argument and need intervention/supervision from me, but I'm in the middle of a phone call with a friend.

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Husband has been working hard repairing the family vehicle and, upon coming in the house, some dirt and grease rub off.

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Kids are pulling on me for attention, but I'm in the middle of cleaning the refrigerator.

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When I'm more concerned about MYSELF, I will probably not respond in love and grace to these examples.  However, when I esteem others higher than myself (Phil 2:3), I'm able to avoid selfishness and strife and walk in love with my family.  But what about MY rights???  HA!  Read Philippians 2:4-8.  To summarize it basically states that we are to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others.  We are to be ever mindful of Jesus, who became a humble servant and was obedient to the POINT OF DEATH!

Maybe these examples seem trivial to you....I don't know.   But for me, they are real day-in and day-out type of things that arise.  I have many opportunities to be selfish and prideful or to be selfless and loving.  The Lord is telling me in no uncertain terms to choose the latter.  And lest I think that I'm such a martyr, being so selfless and all, the Lord reminds me that when I give of myself, I actually gain life! (Matthew 10:39)  And the best part of all this is that I don't feel condemned by God in the least over this, just corrected.  There is a huge difference between feeling corrected and condemned.  Thank you Lord for your grace :)

Well, that's what God's been talking to me about.....what is God telling you?

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Answered Prayer

I attend a weekly bible study for women, sponsored by my church.  This past week, our challenge was to dig into the Word on the subject of prayer.  A vast subject for sure!  As I spent time thinking and reading the Word, I realized something awesome, and I'd like to share it with you.

1 John 5:14-15 states:  "This is the confidence we have in approaching God:  that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of Him." (NIV)

It seems pretty simple to me.  If we're praying according to God's will, not only are we assured that God has heard us, but we're also assured that we have what we've asked for.   I know, you're probably thinking "yes, that's great.  But how does a person know if they're praying according to God's will?" The million dollar question.  According to Ephesians 5:17, we are admonished to understand the will of the Lord.  It states, "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Since God put that statement in His Word we must be able to do it, otherwise He wouldn't have put it in the Bible.  So that begs the question how does one understand the Lord's will?

One way we can absolutely, positively know the Lord's will is by observing the life and ministry of Jesus.  Hebrews 1:3 states that Jesus is the "express image" (exact representation) of Father God.  Jesus himself stated that He only did what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19)!  So we can look at what Jesus did and know that it was and is God's will.  What things did Jesus do?  Let's take a look (because if Jesus did it, we can take it to the bank - it's God will):

-Healed the sick, weak and lame (in fact, He healed every sick person that came to Him except those from His hometown-not because He couldn't but because of the people's unbelief!)

-Raised the dead

-Cast out demons

-Paid taxes

-Ministered to children

-Ushered in grace and truth, which turned the religious system upside down

I'm sure there are more aspects of His life and ministry, but I'm going to stop there.  Let me just add, if you're wondering whether it is God's will to heal you (or someone you know), let me clue you in:  IT IS! If you're wondering whether it's God's will for you to pay your taxes, IT IS! I think you're starting to catch my drift here.

But then comes the question about things specific to your own personal life, that aren't covered in the bible.  Things like, do I marry this person?  Do I take this job?  Do we move to this new city? In what environment should my children be educated?  Do I commit to this volunteer opportunity?  The questions are endless.  James 1:5 tells us to pray for wisdom and stand in faith on our request without wavering, and we'll receive!  God will actually make known to us the wisdom we need for any given situation.  Take Him at His Word and try it.  Also, let's not forget the Holy Spirit's role in prayer.  Romans 8:26 says, "...the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." It goes on to say in verse 27 that the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.  Yay for the Holy Spirit.

To summarize, we have a general revelation of God's will for our lives through Scripture, specifically Jesus' life and ministry.  We have the Holy Spirit to pray on our behalf for things we don't know what to pray for.  And we can pray for wisdom from God for the rest of it.  I think that about covers it!

P.S.  Sometimes it's easy to get bogged down in a problem or challenging situation and forget to pray for wisdom.  I've been in that position before countless times, but when I remember to pray for wisdom, God has always answered my prayer.  The answer is usually not immediate, but the answer does come. 

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Seek First the Kingdom

I would like to consider a passage of Scripture that the Lord has been emphasizing to me lately.  As some of you know, my husband has been enemployed since June 2010.  During this time, the Lord has provided for all our needs and has been teaching us many things.  Let's look at the following passage from Matthew 6:25-34 (ESV):

²⁵ "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?   ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.   Are you not of more value than they?   ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.   ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?   ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.    ³⁴ "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

The Lord has been emphasizing my need to rest in Him and His provision for me and my family.  This is difficult at times, especially for my husband.  He's wired to be the provider and he's a real "go-getter".   Our tendency has been to jump in and try and make something happen, rather than wait on the Lord for peace and direction.  The Lord has also been showing me that we are in a major transitional crossroad period in our lives.  We (my husband and I) both know it's extremely important to let the peace of God rule our heart in ALL the decisions we make.  It's easy to go about your daily life and save seeking God for the "big stuff".  But we're learning that seeking God is a constant need in our life.

Another aspect the Lord has been showing me from this passage is found in verse 26, I've highlighted the text in bold letters.  Isn't this a wonderful picture of God's grace toward us.  The birds of the air cannot earn His provision and neither can we!  We are His children and He takes care of us. Period.  Now, the Word also states that the Lord blesses the work of our hands and that we're not to be lazy.  So, I don't think this passage in Matthew is encouraging us to sit around and let God feed us.  I do think it's showing us how God cares for us, simply because we are His children. 

God makes things so clear and simple in His Word.  We are to seek His kingdom and righteousness first, then everything else takes care of itself.  I believe that to seek God's righteousness is to seek an understanding of our right-standing with Him based on the finished work of Jesus at the cross.  After all, that is our righteousness.  We have no righteousness of our own.  So, by seeking the Lord through spending time with Him, we can rest in knowing that He's taking care of everything else in our life. 

I hope you take the time to meditate on this passage and let the Lord speak to you.  I welcome any comments or questions!

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Secret No More

Can you keep a secret?  I’m not very good at keeping secrets.  If I know somebody has one, I’m overcome with curiosity until the secret is revealed.  I think I inherited this tendency from my mom (the mother always gets blamed).  She was so excited about the presents she had bought me for Christmas that she couldn’t wait until the actual day.  She’d actually let me see some of my presents before Christmas!  (So opening presents at Christmas was kind of anti-climatic for me.)  God isn’t like us.  He can keep a secret.  If fact, He did keep one.  There is a secret talked about in the bible.  Romans 16:25-26 speaks of this mystery that was hidden in ages past, but now has been revealed through the prophetic writings in the Old Testament and the fulfillment of them in Jesus Christ.  So the secret is the gospel itself – the good news!

Jesus became fully human (John 1:14) so we can fully identify with Him.  He ate food, slept, went to the bathroom, etc. just like us (except He was without sin!)  He was baptized, just like we get baptized.  He walked in faith, just like we walk in faith.  All the miracles done through Jesus on earth were done through Jesus as a man – a human man.  Jesus prayed to the Father, just like we pray to the Father.  So we see Jesus is our earthly example, representing God to us and representing how we can flow in our relationship with God.  So if Jesus used the bible to minister truth to people, don’t you think we should also?  (Kind of a loaded question, I know.)

That is exactly what Jesus did.  Luke 24:13-35 gives an interesting account about two of Jesus’ followers on the road to Emmaus.  The resurrection of Jesus has already taken place and He Himself draws near to these two fellows and starts walking with them.  They did not recognize Jesus at this point.  Jesus engages them in conversation, and the whole story spills out about the crucifixion and a supposed resurrection and their doubt confusion about the whole mess!  Jesus then calls them foolish and proceeds to explain to them beginning at Moses the Scriptures concerning Himself.  (Note:  Jesus used the Word to reveal the truth.)  Voila, they now understand.  Jesus used the Old Testament prophecies and explained how He fulfilled them.  As followers of Christ, it seems to me that we should be able to do the same for people we know are seeking the truth.

There are over 60 specific prophecies in the bible concerning Jesus and the events during the time of His birth that were fulfilled to the letter.  I’m going to summarize just a few of these and list their biblical references.  Keep in mind these prophesies were recorded 500 to 1000 years before they ever happened!  And, most have been fulfilled and recorded in the New Testament (some have yet to be fulfilled, such as His second coming).  I hope this proves helpful to you personally and to others you might share it with.

Born in Bethlehem                                                                                           Micah 5:2

Messenger to prepare the way (John the Baptist)                                          Malachi 3:1

First born children two years old and younger killed                                      Jeremiah 31:15

Joseph flees to Egypt, then is called out of Egypt                                          Hosea 11:1

Lived in Nazareth                                                                                            Judges 13:5

Light to the regions of Zebulon and Napthalie (land of Galilee)                   Isaiah 9:1-2

Riding on a donkey                                                                                         Zechariah 9:9

Betrayal                                                                                                          Psalm 41:9

Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver                                                                     Zechariah 11:12

30 pieces of silver for a potter’s field                                                            Zechariah 11:13

Details of the crucifixion                                                                                Isaiah 50:6

Details of the crucifixion                                                                                Psalm 22 & Isaiah 53

The resurrection                                                                                             Psalm 16:10

Seated at God’s right hand                                                                             Psalm 110:1

Second coming-in power, dominion and authority                                         Daniel 7:13,14

Israel will finally recognize Jesus as the Messiah                                         Zechariah 12:10

The millennial reign of Christ                                                                         Zechariah 14:6-9

                                               

Can’t you just picture Jesus reciting verse after verse of Old Testament prophecy on the road to Emmaus and saying, “Jesus did that, Jesus did that too”! 

I for one think it is of utmost importance that we establish ourselves in these foundational truths.  Contrary to popular/cultural opinion, there is such a thing as absolute truth.  Jesus is absolutely true, and all He accomplished for us through his death, burial and resurrection is absolutely true.  I’m glad I have this foundation to build my life on, instead of having to question things when hard times come.

Jesus is at the center of everything – He’s The Man (I Timothy 2:5).  I’d like to end with Colossians 1:13-17, “He [God] has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

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