God’s care for his people is sufficient! There can be no doubt. Joy comes from knowing who He is, what He has done for us, what he has provided for us, and what we have to look forward to in serving Him. I sat in amazement the other night in church as the teaching was on Approaching God from Psalm 131. It was a very nice follow up to what I had previously that morning posted on my blog. It wrapped up my thoughts and was like a gift handed back. I just had to share it here with you. Hope you will take the time to listen.
Tag Archives: scriptural truth
What Really Matters?
For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:15-17
Watching the news can be traumatizing these days. It seems the world is falling apart and no one has control over anything. There is conflict everywhere. War overseas, tensions amongst Americans, divorce between parents, millennials not knowing when adulthood begins, sexual confusion tearing at the seams of the fabric of creation, growing numbers of cases of disease and outright moral conflict between right and wrong. Where in the world do we find peace and hope? Is there any?
If you haven’t noticed, I have been out of the loop lately. My blogging has been a bit sparse. I blame it on quite a number of things, from loss, to health, to not knowing what to say in times of constant turmoil. I mean, what I want to say and what I should say are not in conjunction with one another and finding the right words were not coming as easily as they normally do. That is however, until today. Well, that’s only partially true…I started stirring with “blogger” thoughts last week, today is the first day I’ve had time to sit down and put them on the board.
A friend and I began doing a book study together. Something that we both were excited to start for a few months. We finally began and I have to say, I am thrilled. Anything that can bring me closer to the Lord in study is a joy. It gets me out of the “what is happening in this world” mentality, and takes me to the “thank you Lord for saving me out of this world” mentality. Those little reminders to thank the Lord for life, grace, and eternal salvation bring a smile to my face, hope in my thoughts, stamina to continue on and keep me grounded in purpose.
And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 24:12-13
I often wonder what people think of when they consider their lives. I mean, do they look at their lives and thank the Lord for what they have and for their future? Or do they look at their lives and say, “I’m just not rich enough, happy enough, or wise enough so I need to make changes… so look out world here I come. I don’t care who is in my way or who I destroy in the mean time. After all, my life is my life and I need to be happy and have it all.” Crazy as that may sound, in my eyes, that is what I see in people when I look around. I see it in relationships, in groups, in family, on TV and in movies. I have wept, prayed, prayed some more and at times come close to shutting down, wanting to turn off all social media, electronics and lock the door from the world. Right or wrong, it saddens me that the world is so brutal to human emotion. That being said, as I write this it’s noticed that what was just said has one considering “I” and “me”. This life isn’t about “me”, it’s about something greater than that.
The sadness I have felt over these issues however, has been overshadowed with joy in the last few weeks. Why? Well, its due to the simple fact that I am reminded,
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
In our study we are reading about our purpose in this life. Why were we created to be saved? The answers are always present and sometimes it takes the nudge of the Lord during these times of distress to remind us of His plan for us and how we should be living. Remembering this, takes the “me” out of living.
Am I speaking about you? Do you have the hope needed to continue on in this life? Consider it. Consider where you are. Consider how you are living. Consider what could be holy vs. worldly.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel… 2 Timothy 8-11
Does suffering for the gospel mean that we are unhappy? No. We don’t have the need for the fancy car, the perfect spouse, the perfect house, perfect job, perfect health, etc. etc. Looking at the fact that God called his people out of a life of sin brings joy to believers, and a peace that nothing can compare to. Just as I said above, we may get sad over the thought of the destruction of this world that was created so beautifully by God, yet we have joy knowing that there is so much more.
Prayerfully, my thoughts will continue to swell with blog worthy writing and a sweeping message of hope will be captured for others to embrace. Have a blessed week/weekend and enjoy the sun this summer day.
Abiding in His Love
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2Corinthians 4:7-11
I’ve written it before, and I think it needs to be the reminder in our home right now. Praise God for the glory of His word to teach us, build our character, shape us, and connect us to Him.
For the love of God is eternal, unconditional, just and perfect! May we always remember, live by, abide by and stand firm in His word.
Individual Accountability or Systemic Problem?
We have had many discussions over the last few months about this very subject, topic and issue. We could not however, put it into words as well as these two men who inspire, lead and share the truth and word of God. I always wonder why more don’t go to scriptural truth, individual responsibility and individual accountability.
Hope you will read not only this blog, yet also Voddie’s in his own words. (http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/thoughts-on-ferguson) Yes this is controversial, however, both of these blogs from these two men sum up what should be the real issues at hand.
(Reblogging from chantrynotes.wordpress.com. Author: Tom Chantry 12/2/2014.)
What Voddie Said (and Didn’t)
So America is experiencing race riots again, which is simply awful.
My heart goes out to the people of Ferguson who are living this nightmare. My heart goes out to the police who risk their lives to protect ours. And my heart goes out to the Body of Christ, which is Black and White and Both and Neither, and in which we are expected to live as one.
Racial tension always exacerbates our struggle for unity, and racial violence does not bring out the best in any of us. Predictably, genuine Christian pastors of varying political, social, and cultural stripes have weighed in on the riots and their cause, and they have not agreed. Recriminations have followed. I have no desire to enter that fray.
In the midst of it, Voddie Baucham posted his thoughts on the Gospel Coalition blog, and while many have linked to his thoughts, it seems to me that most who have interacted or evaluated have either misunderstood or misrepresented his statements. It’s fairly obvious that most have read Baucham’s remarks through their own personal tinted goggles, so maybe I have also. But I’ll tell you what I think anyway, because if I’m reading him correctly, he has said some genuinely wonderful things.
But First, About Baucham
Voddie Baucham is someone I hold in high esteem in spite of our differences. Prior to 2012 I only knew of him as the pastor from Texas who, while he holds my Confession of Faith, is also part of the family integrated worship movement – a position with which I have some rather sharp differences. (NB: This post isn’t on that subject, and neither will the comments be on that subject.) Quite honestly, I had read some things he wrote without ever realizing he was black. I think that is actually significant: Baucham is a pastor with a theological and ecclesiastical point of view, not a representative of a particular racial group.
In 2012 it suddenly mattered that Baucham was black. That was the year of the fateful Elephant Room II conference, in which Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald (remember when folks still thought of them as trustworthy evangelical leaders?) decided to embrace anti-trinitarian and prosperity heretic T.D. Jakes as a “Christian Brother.” Baucham was invited to participate in the conference, initially agreed, and then withdrew. He was still slated to speak at another conference at MacDonald’s Illinois church, but that fell through over Baucham’s vocal criticism of ER2. His own explanation of these events is still available here.
So what did race have to do with all this? Simply this: Jakes is also black, and apparently Baucham was expected to take his “side” out of racial solidarity. Some black pastors argued that anyone who has a problem with Jakes is a racist,theology be damned. MacDonald went so far as to post an incredibly offensive video in which he sat down with two race-baiting pastors. Baucham was aware of all this; he linked to the above linked article himself. However, he was uninterested in being identified as a “black pastor” if that meant being somewhatless identified as a “Christian pastor.” Put another way, Baucham proved in a difficult hour that Christian unity is around the gospel, not around our skin. (He wasn’t alone in this; Thabiti Anyabwile took a similar stand.) Perhaps this is why so many were clamoring for Baucham to weigh in on Ferguson.
What Baucham Said
Regardless of the reason, the clamoring commenced with the first (August) protests in Ferguson. Baucham’s response was finally published last week. What follows is my own summary and interaction with what I heard. You really shouldn’t read it without reading his article first, because – as I said above – I may be wrong.
- A pastor’s work is in his church.
Apparently a lot of people asked for Baucham’s thoughts (“asked” may be too weak a word) in August, but for three months he said nothing. The reason is that he is a pastor and a father, roles he mentions in his brief post. If you’re not one of his kids or a member of his church, you have less claim on his time than the child struggling with math homework or the church member grieving over a lost child or a deceased spouse. Quite frankly, our desire to know what the “black pastor” thinks about Ferguson is less important than their need for the true spiritual ministry of a Christian pastor.
If you can’t grasp the significance of this point, you may as well skip the rest of Baucham’s essay. It isn’t just that he delayed his reaction; that is missing the point. He doesn’t appear to have been waiting for the Grand Jury; he merely spoke when he believed his voice as a Christian minister could be useful. He didn’t approach Ferguson as a politician, or as a social scientist, or as a political commentator, because he isn’t any of those things. He didn’t even approach it as a black man per se, or even as an American. He approached it as a pastor, asking what the Word of God says to this situation. He has to be evaluated on that basis. He apparently knows and accepts the calling of Christ communicated through His church. He spoke as a “steward of the mysteries of God,” which is rare enough in this instance. Perhaps that is why so many have misunderstood him.
- In a sinful world, personal sin contributes to systemic sin.
At no point did Baucham suggest that there are no systemic problems facing the black community. He identified violence and criminality, immorality and fatherlessness, and indeed, latent racism which at times is manifested through official harassment from law enforcement. Each of these is a real problem which Baucham acknowledged.
However, he does not allow the category of “systemic problem” to excuse the real culprit: the individual sinner. If systemic racism pulled over black drivers without warrant, then racist cops would have an excuse, wouldn’t they? It’s the system; and they are just cogs in the machine. Or to take another example, if systemic racism beat Rodney King senseless in the street, then the officers who held the batons have an excuse. Baucham would have nothing of this; he points the finger at the individual sinner.
This is consistent with his approach as a Christian minister. The Bible addresses our sin individually and insists that we own up to it individually. A steward of the divine mysteries doesn’t get to say that black criminality is responsible for crime. Social scientists can debate that ad nauseum, but the Bible holds the criminal guilty. Similarly, he can’t hold systemic racism culpable for sin; it is the racist sinner who is guilty.
At the same time, Baucham is dead honest about the realities: cumulative sin makes up a culture of sin, and that culture affects us. In America, criminality, fatherlessness, and racism particularly affect black men in a way they do not affect white men, and Baucham never for a moment denies that. But what message does he speak to those living in that reality?
- Jesus came to redeem sinners in the world, not to transform the world.
I don’t see many commenting on the one passage of Scripture Baucham chose to highlight: 1 Peter 3:15ff, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” The verse speaks of gospel: Christ the Lord, the holy one, is the hope that is in us. Before Fox News cut him off, Baucham was beginning to proclaim the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What is that hope? Perhaps what bothers everyone from Fox to MSNBC is that Baucham doesn’t seem to think the gospel has anything to do with healing America. Instead, the gospel of Jesus Christ takes away personal guilt for personal sin while allowing the individual to turn to a holy life even while living in a broken and imperfect world. It’s a good thing that this is the gospel we have if Baucham is right to say that God always holds individuals accountable for their sin!
- God is concerned with how we live under injustice, not with whether we overturn injustice.
But doesn’t the gospel also address systemic cultural problems? Doesn’t it lay out a blueprint for wiping out systemic sin and ushering in an ideal kingdom on this earth? This is simply taken for granted by the transformationalists on the right and the left. It is, however, quite wrong, and Baucham appears to grasp that fact.
As an American Christian, I’ve been troubled by the failure of the Bible to condemn slavery. It seems obvious that a faith which teaches the universal image-bearing quality of all mankind, the disappearance of race and class within the church, and the condemnation of God against “enslavers” would be a faith which would seek to overturn the institution of slavery. Yet the Bible instead tells slaves and slaveholders how to live righteously within that putrid system. Either God incomprehensibly approves a system which so evidently breaks His law at multiple points, or else we are forced to admit that the point of the gospel was never cultural transformation. It troubles me, and it must be absolutely maddening to black American Christians, but there it is. The Bible says what it says, and it doesn’t say what it doesn’t say.
So here’s the point: if the Bible fails to lay out a blueprint for abolition, why would it lay out a blueprint to overturn systemic racism, or criminality, or fatherlessness? Instead, the Bible speaks of how we are to live as Christian individuals in an unjust world: loving our neighbors of every race, abiding by the laws, and owning up to our family responsibilities.
Part of what the Bible says – part which very much applies in Ferguson this week, as well as whatever city you live in – is that we are to submit to the governing authorities. Many are outraged that Baucham went there, insisting that it is somehow less applicable in the midst of America’s racial injustice. It is as though they think the Apostle Paul wrote those words to the Saints in Mayberry – that fictional South in which there were no black people, there was no oppressed class, and the governing authority didn’t bother to ever carry his ‘sword’ with him outside the office because he could rely on his backwoods charm to win the day. Of course we should submit to that governing authority, but what do you expect when the system is as messed up as ours? As you know, the Apostle actually wrote those words to “those in [Nero’s] Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints,” so yes, it probably does apply in Ferguson, too.
If the Roman Christians were to render obedience to Nero, and if the black residents of Ferguson are to render obedience to their predominantly white police force, then perhaps those verses also mean something to Christians living under persecution throughout the world – and perhaps soon here as well. We need to get this issue right, and soon, for our own sakes. Baucham points us to the right place: God’s concern that we, people of the Holy Christ, live as holy in an unholy world. That’s what he tells his kids and his church members (Remember them? This is all about them, in his eyes), and it’s what he tells us also.
- Those who break God’s laws are without excuse and will suffer accordingly.
Baucham also sees a corrective lesson in this story. Remember, he has acknowledged that systemic racism exists, and that sometimes cops are the individuals who are personally culpable for it. He passes no judgment on Darrin Wilson, whom he has never met. He does, however pass judgment on Michael Brown, based on the evidence now publically available and on his own two eyes.
This seems to have upset everybody, but let’s just wait a moment and think about it in light of everything else Baucham said. Let’s stipulate for the sake of argument that Officer Wilson is one of the racist cops, that he profiled Brown unfairly, and that he precipitated the situation. Baucham is neither a supervisor in the police force nor a member of the Grand Jury. He is, as he reminds us again, a “father of seven black men.” He looks on this situation in light of God’s command to live a holy life even in the midst of injustice, and he says to his kids, “This is what a holy life doesn’t look like. Don’t rob stores. Don’t ignore police orders. Don’t attack the police and try to grab their guns. It isn’t how Christ calls you to live. Furthermore, if you do these things, recognize that you live in a world where divine justice is very real, and if you reap what you sow, whom will you blame but yourself? ”
This has absolutely nothing to do with whether there is racism in America (there is, and Baucham acknowledged it) or on the Ferguson police force (there may be, but Baucham has never been there and can’t say). It is simply a biblical truism.
What Everybody Heard
That is what I heard, but it seems I’m in a small minority here. Many heard something different.
The Left and Baucham
Many on the left, including some evangelical Christians, who are either defined by the political left or who are highly desirous of being thought of as “racially sensitive,” heard only that Baucham went off script. He didn’t say the things that black men are supposed to say in this circumstance. (They’re right; he wasn’t trying. He’s a Christian pastor.)
In the worst instances of criticism Baucham has been accused of selling out his people. (He didn’t; as one of ‘his people,’ I can attest to that!) Others have suggested that he is racially insensitive, which is a truly stunning accusation for white pastors and writers to make! Many worry that he has only given cover to those who want to grab onto his words to support their own white/right-wing political agenda. But did he?
The Right and Baucham
In fact, I think there are some who have latched on to Baucham’s words as vindication of the idea that systemic racism is not a real problem and that the body politic should simply move on. He actually never said that, either; he asserted that racism is a real problem in America. Presumably he would like to see that change, and even would like to see it addressed intelligently in America. The thing is, he’s a steward of the mysteries of God, and the magical key to solve systemic racism isn’t one of those mysteries.
What the right doesn’t seem to want to hear any more than the left is Baucham’s actual message: that sinners sin but that Jesus saves. After all, it was Fox News that cut him off just as he began to go “off message” and talk about the gospel – the real gospel. The real gospel isn’t about political conservatism any more than it’s about racial justice. The real gospel is about spectacular grace offered to spectacular sinners, of which Baucham, you, and I are three of the worst.
The Ultimate Irony
What I find truly amusing in all of this is that none of it has actually revealed anything political about Voddie Baucham. I don’t know how Voddie votes. I don’t care how Voddie votes. Voddie apparently isn’t too interested in broadcasting how Voddie votes. His mission is to proclaim a King whose Kingdom is not of this world.
A Little Perspective
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2Corinthians 1:3-4
In studying JOB, I have come to understand more clearly the value of trusting God, His Word, and His mercies that are offered to His flock. Calling out to him over the last year, whether my day was filled with pain or exhaustion, I admittedly had moments where I complained over my circumstances, yet I also knew and had faith that God had a plan. I was comforted in knowing that He would utilize my situation to His glory and that nothing I go through in this world is too great when I have Him by my side.
I have a picture with a beautiful poem about the Lord carrying us in our times of trouble and the picture has one set of footprints walking in the sand. Although I enjoy the concept of Him carrying us through this life, I think I would rather consider Him as a partner walking beside me like a seeing eye “friend”. Pointing out obstacles, directing my footsteps, guiding me down the path of life leading to His narrow gate. Nurturing me along the journey so that in the end He will be glorified.
One of our questions in our study asked whether we have ever encountered God in a way that transformed our understanding of or attitude toward Him? We were then asked to share the experience and tell how our view of God was changed.
My answer was yes and I went on to explain. Our move to our current location was not an easy transition. We moved to a state that we had never stepped into, knowing absolutely no one, and to top it off it was in the winter. We lived in a two bedroom apartment for two months while we sought out our current home. The kids had school and were making friends, my husband had work and new relationships to nurture while I had a realtor once a week. My days were very lonely.
I had left behind a volunteer position at the kids school that kept me working every day as the school librarian, room mom for one class, a bible study that I had been a part of for 10 years, childhood friends, college friends, family and ladies that I had befriended after our third move. My involvement with our church included VBS, women’s ministry, fundraisers and the meal delivery service for our brothers and sisters within the church that I was in charge of. I was running with kids to Karate classes two days a week, baseball three days a week, dance classes 3 days a week, boy scouts and brownies every other week and our weekends were spent at a cottage. To say that I was busy is an understatement. In fact, one of my friends gave me a mug for my birthday that said, “Note to self: Stop volunteering for stuff”.
In my loneliness, I found that going to the Lord was giving me encouragement. In my times of human weakness, however, I sought out to find purpose for myself in our new town. I thought I needed to be a part of something, other than just looking for a house for the family. So after a month of spending one day a week cleaning the apartment, grocery shopping and doing laundry, another day going out with the realtor, and the rest of my week spent sitting alone reading the word of God, I went in to our new church and requested a list of activities and groups that our family could be a part of. I distinctly remember breaking down in tears in front of the secretaries. Not sure what else to do, they presented me with a list of people to call and activities that may interest us.
One by one we reached out, seeking out purpose, more for myself than the rest of the family. After all, they were meeting people and making friends. I was the one who was trying to find my niche. Each time we reached out, we hit a dead end. Either the groups were full or after receiving information we decided that the group was not what we were interested in. Once again, I remember finding myself in tears. As our second month approached, we had found our house and we were waiting for it to be completed as it had been a new construction. One more day would be added to my loneliness as I no longer had my day with the realtor. Another moment of tears. I remember asking God why and I also remember complaining.
One day, as I was reading His word, I was struck by the time I had to be with Him. I’m not sure exactly what took place, however, I felt this peace that I had not known since our move. I came to the realization that prior to our move, my time with Lord was when I could fit Him in, between projects and activities. I scheduled my time with Him based on what worked for me. In the two months of being in the apartment I realized that all I had was time to spend with Him. He had become my best friend, my caretaker, and my encourager. He was walking beside me and was giving me comfort in my times of loneliness. I was not alone, I just didn’t have perspective.
I remember thanking Him for all that He was doing for me and my family. For giving us all that we needed. Even though we were in a two bedroom apartment and ate dinners at a table in the living room by the couch. We all have said that they were the best two months we’ve ever had as a family. As a family, we grew closer, enjoying our time together since we didn’t have any extra curricular activities vying for our time.
I would say that during that time I encountered God as I had not known him before. The focus in my years prior to our move were spent trying to do all the good in the world, doing all that I could for my family and for others. I spent time with him when He fit into my schedule, praying while I was driving and in my quiet time upon waking and before bed. After our move, I had refocused my attention, turning my daily schedule into a time of continued worship of Him. To my pleasant surprise, my Heavenly Father was there waiting for me and He met with me giving me peace, understanding and perspective. He didn’t ask me to wait until He had time in His schedule, He was ready and willing to offer mercy, grace, and love when I needed it the most.
Rather than seeing Him as a Holy God who was too busy to notice whether or not I took time out for Him, I realized He was a Holy God who is a jealous God that needed me to take that next step in knowing Him. I was transformed! I don’t mean that I became a christian at that point, I knew I was a christian and had been for many years. I was however, growing in my knowledge of Him and who He truly was. Humbled by His time with me and my recognition of His Almighty character, I prayed that He would lead me and open doors when He was ready for me to once again serve outside of the home. I said that prayer in church one night and at the end of the service a woman approached me asking me to be a part of a prayer group. Timing was everything. Once again, I thanked Him, knowing that all He wanted me to trust in Him and His plan for my life. Each experience I have endured since the Lord called me by name has helped me to grow closer to Him and has given me new perspective.
In watching Bethany Hamilton in Soul Surfer recently with my daughter, I am reminded that sometimes we need to be in a different place, focusing on something other than ourselves to gain perspective. Not unlike what God did with JOB. JOB had his own thoughts and considerations in defending himself pridefully with his friends, yet it took God’s audience with JOB to show him a new perspective that included who he was in comparison to who God was. Isn’t that so like the life of a christian? When we stray from the herd, our shepherd uses His staff to to gently remind us of our place in the flock.
I challenge you reader to look at your current affliction and look for opportunities to give you a new perspective. Preferably, allowing God to be a part of that process.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2Corinthians 4:7-11
Joy Through Affliction
Can I somehow relay to anyone through my words how much rejoicing has been going on in my heart the last few months and especially yesterday? I mean, even though my Lyme symptoms have returned, my joy in Him has not subsided.
Psalm 4:7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Psalm 71:23 My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.
My husband and I have been married for 21 years next month. During that time we have had many trials, heart aches, and afflictions overwhelm our relationship. Through every timely attack, we have managed to cling to one another. Oh, it’s not always been easy, and for the first 12 years it was especially tough in our home. I remember my early walk with the Lord, knowing and understanding fully who He was, as being a lonely venture. Lonely in that God’s timing for my husband was not in sync with His timing with me. I prayed for those twelve years that God would change my husbands heart, that He would show my husband His Word and Grace so that we could grow together. At times, God likely heard my prayers to be more like begging. Pleading for the release of my husbands hardened heart so that he would hear God’s calling and crave to know the truth as I was learning it. Let’s just clearly say, it was a long 12 years and the support from others to continue on was at times quite at odds with scripture and felt more like worldly advice attacks.
At the bible study I attended weekly during that time, an older, wiser Titus 2 woman who was in our leaders group reminded all of us through a devotional that sometimes we need to release our wants and desires and give it up to the Lord, for as we know all things are in His timing. That our will was not always His will and that we needed to trust Him.
Wow! Wait… hold the presses… I knew that! Yet my daily prayer for 12 consistent years had been pleading my will upon the Lord’s heartstrings. I was begging for something rather than trusting and praying for God’s will to be done in my husbands life. Why had I not asked God for my own patience? Why had I not prayed for acceptance of where God had my husband at that time? I remember beating myself up about my own prayers and how selfish they were. I wasn’t trusting God to just do as He needed. It was that day that I went home and got on my knees and asked for God’s forgiveness in not trusting Him. I repented for my lack of patience and asked God to give me strength to wait upon Him and His timing for my husband…. If that is what the Lord intended. I did not know if my husband would ever accept Christ nor if God would ever even call upon my husband to be one of His flock. I just knew that I needed to trust the plan God had for us and to stay true to Him and all that He is.
Two weeks from the day of that prayer, my husband was asked by a personal friend who he respected, if he wanted to begin a bible study with him. My husband accepted the invitation. We went to the store and bought him a study bible and he began studying God’s word. I kid you not, I stood in amazement. I have to say that for a period of time, God allowed my husband to continue serving the prince of the earth while also learning about God’s truth. There was a true battle of good vs. evil at work. At the final turning point, the crushing lowest point of my husbands life, he began to see that he could not be of both worlds and the Lord began to strengthen my husbands desire for truth and soften his once hardened heart. He admittedly prayed about hypocracy and that he no longer wanted the sinful part of his life. He asked God for help in getting rid of the sins and continued temptations that were trying to overtake him.
John 3:5-8 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is born of the spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
God did not turn a blind eye. He helped my husband see the errors of his ways, and gave him the nourishment of truth that he so desired. The ever present Holy Spirit walked with him giving him an unknown desire for learning the scriptures. As time went forth, the fruit of God’s work in his life was being seen and his life was reflective of a life being lived out to serve our heavenly creator.
John 15:1-11 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
All of those years since, I and others have seen a complete transformation. Out of darkness came a blessing of light that has touched the lives of so many. He has over that last 9 years, become the man I prayed for him to become. He may live in this world yet he too is not of this world. He was called, he heard, he acted. He has not taken the gospel for granted. He studies, he craves the word, and he longs for truth. All in God’s timing!
John 15:16-17 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
You may ask what in the world this has to do with my joy. Well, yesterday my beloved husband was blessed with the induction of becoming a deacon in our church. This is not a role to be taken lightly. For many months our family in Christ has been praying over those being called into this position, and we have been praying that “God’s Will Be Done”.
1 Timothy 3:8-13 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. Their wives must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
I was asked by several people yesterday how I felt to be a deacons wife. Honestly, I am not sure I should feel any different. After all, my husband has been called to a role he is meant to serve in, and I am gladly sitting by supporting him, just as I have been supporting him our entire 21 years of marriage.
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
If I have to admit to any feeling, it would be joy. Joy over the transformation that has carried my husband out of death and into Life.
John 20:30-31 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God, is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am not overly joyful about titles, yet I am overjoyed at the knowledge I have of where we have been and where we are today. I am also overjoyed at knowing that God’s timing is perfect, in every way and that my husbands serving heart embraces God’s will.
Romans 14:16-18 So do not let what you regard as good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
Since I know he reads my blogs, I want to add one more thing:
Honey, I love you and am pleased to be on this journey with you. Together, we can support one another through all that comes our way with the strength of Jesus Christ. I love you!
I know that I am not alone in saying congratulations. 🙂
Jim would be proud that you have been a willing servant for He who rescued you out of death to give you Life and that you continue to trust in His will over all that comes your way. I knew when I saw you helping Jim with his final walk toward everlasting peace with the Lord, that your were meant to serve your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. With this last year being so tough, you never wavered taking care of me.
Thank you My Love, and yes, I am pleased to say I am a deacons wife!
Faith or Works
“But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” Galations 4:22-24
The question in our study asked to record and explain the two images Paul uses to illustrate how the Law functions. The two images were prison and guardian. How could it be both?
My answer to the how was to consider a plane in a holding pattern. Number 3 in a line of 6 sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off. As a patron in the plane, likely having sat on that plane for about 1/2 hour already at that time, one could feel as though they are in prison. Not able to get out of the seat, not able to use the phone, not able lay the seat back. It is a requirement that one follows the rules of the plane at this time. However, as the pilot, hearing and knowing that the holding pattern they are in is truly a protection from being hit by other planes and that waiting their turn is worth the safety of the crew and patrons on board.
How wonderful that the fulfillment of Christ’s death on the cross set us free from the imprisonment of the law. If ever you’ve read the law laid out for god’s people of the Old Testament you would realize that it’s quite complicated. One could easily feel imprisoned, especially since the Law did not give them freedom, it only gave them a recognition of their sins and their death to them. Only the coming of Christ and the fulfillment of his death could provide life. I wonder how many people that call themselves Christians understand this? Being a homeschool mom, I have over the years met and observed many groups/people that practice much of the Old Testament Law. I often wonder if they truly know Christ and understand that there is nothing they can do obtain salvation. I wonder if they understand that the covenant made to Abraham in Genesis, came 430 years prior to the law.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Galations 12:1-3
This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it longer comes by promise, but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Galations 3:17-18
The understanding that we can do nothing to obtain salvation other than through the freedom in Christ is sometimes twisted by unbelievers so that they feel freedom in sinful behavior as long as they claim to believe in Christ. I’ve even heard it said that if someone is a good person and they do good works and have lived a clean life they are saved. Even if the person outwardly has claimed they don’t believe in God. I would argue and have argued that one is not saved through such criteria.
And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:29-31
So then what freedom does a person claiming to believe in Jesus have? Can he or she knowingly still freely sin? Are the 10 commandments null and void due to the coming of Christ?
NO!
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:9-11
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. John 17:9
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:14
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. John 6:37
Can someone just say he or she believes in Christ and they are saved? How do we know it’s genuine? What about alter calls? I have to be honest in saying that I myself find it hard to judge the heart of another. Just as one of the two thieves on the cross deserved death, he was not baptized, he did not follow the law, yet he believed in Christ, genuinely, and Christ understood his heart. He was welcomed by the Lord unconditionally other than his proclamation of faith. Consider however, he did not have a life further to live. He was dying alongside our Lord. For healthy humans who say they believe, if they are genuine in their faith there is a change of heart and their lives begin to reflect that change.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. do not marvel that I said to you ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where is wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:3-8
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for this soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels int he glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” Matthew 16:24-27
And again in Mark 8:34-36 the above is again repeated. Ending with: “For what can a man give in return for his soul? for whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in his adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:37-38
Keeping God’s commandments, and doing good works are all a result of saving faith. The requirement of the Law of the Old Testament as atonement for sins is no longer required since Christ died on the cross. Good works by those who love Him however, still exist as a result of one’s faith in Christ.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothes and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14-17
But someone will say to you, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God , and it was counted to him as righteousness” – and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:18-26
Why has this subject been swarming in my mind this past week? I’m not sure other than to say it is God’s providence that I have a blog to share with others. To write about my understanding of His words and to share what I know with those who may not understand. For we know not the way the Lord may touch the human soul. Through a song, a friend, a family member, a loss, a tragedy, or maybe through a blog.
I hope you find your week to be blessed and that you can see Him. May your hearts be stirred to know him more completely through His Word.
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1 (The commentary on this verse claims it is addressing a deep spiritual longing to seek the Lord while he may be found. The word Come is all one needs to do in order to find mercy in God. ESV Study Bible Commentary)
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. Revelation 22:17
Faith or Works
“But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” Galations 4:22-24
The question in our study asked to record and explain the two images Paul uses to illustrate how the Law functions. The two images were prison and guardian. How could it be both?
My answer to the how was to consider a plane in a holding pattern. Number 3 in a line of 6 sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off. As a patron in the plane, likely having sat on that plane for about 1/2 hour already at that time, one could feel as though they are in prison. Not able to get out of the seat, not able to use the phone, not able lay the seat back. It is a requirement that one follows the rules of the plane at this time. However, as the pilot, hearing and knowing that the holding pattern they are in is truly a protection from being hit by other planes and that waiting their turn is worth the safety of the crew and patrons on board.
How wonderful that the fulfillment of Christ’s death on the cross set us free from the imprisonment of the law. If ever you’ve read the law laid out for god’s people of the Old Testament you would realize that it’s quit complicated. One could easily feel imprisoned, especially since the Law did not give them freedom, it only gave them a recognition of their sins and their death to them. Only the coming of Christ and the fulfillment of his death could provide life. I wonder how many people that call themselves Christians understand this? Being a homeschool mom, I have over the years met and observed many groups/people that practice much of the Old Testament Law. I often wonder if they truly know Christ and understand that there is nothing they can do obtain salvation. I wonder if they understand that the covenant made to Abraham in Genesis, came 430 years prior to the law.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Galations 12:1-3
This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it longer comes by promise, but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. Galations 3:17-18
The understanding that we can do nothing to obtain salvation other than through the freedom in Christ is sometimes twisted by unbelievers so that they feel freedom in sinful behavior as long as they claim to believe in Christ. I’ve even heard it said that if someone is a good person and they do good works and have lived a clean life they are saved. Even if the person outwardly has claimed they don’t believe in God. I would argue and have argued that one is not saved through such criteria.
And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:29-31
So then what freedom does a person claiming to believe in Jesus have? Can he or she knowingly still freely sin? Are the 10 commandments null and void due to the coming of Christ?
NO!
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:9-11
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. John 17:9
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:14
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. John 6:37
Can someone just say he or she believes in Christ and they are saved? How do we know it’s genuine? What about alter calls? I have to be honest in saying that I myself find it hard to judge the heart of another. Just as one of the two thieves on the cross deserved death, he was not baptized, he did not follow the law, yet he believed in Christ, genuinely, and Christ understood his heart. He was welcomed by the Lord unconditionally other than his proclamation of faith. Consider however, he did not have a life further to live. He was dying alongside our Lord. For healthy humans who say they believe, if they are genuine in their faith there is a change of heart and their lives begin to reflect that change.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. do not marvel that I said to you ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where is wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:3-8
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for this soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels int he glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” Matthew 16:24-27
And again in Mark 8:34-36 the above is again repeated. Ending with: “For what can a man give in return for his soul? for whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in his adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:37-38
Keeping God’s commandments, and doing good works are all a result of saving faith. The requirement of the Law of the Old Testament as atonement for sins is no longer required since Christ died on the cross. Good works by those who love Him however, still exist as a result of one’s faith in Christ.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothes and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14-17
But someone will say to you, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God , and it was counted to him as righteousness” – and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:18-26
Why has this subject been swarming in my mind this past week? I’m not sure other than to say it is God’s providence that I have a blog to share with others. To write about my understanding of His words and to share what I know with those who may not understand. For we know not the way the Lord may touch the human soul. Through a song, a friend, a family member, a loss, a tragedy, or maybe through a blog.
I hope you find your week to be blessed and that you can see Him. May your hearts be stirred to know him more completely through His Word.
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1 (The commentary on this verse claims it is addressing a deep spiritual longing to seek the Lord while he may be found. The word Come is all one needs to do in order to find mercy in God. ESV Study Bible Commentary)
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. Revelation 22:17
Why bother…?
(This painting hangs in my kitchen… It’s so me!)
Why fermentation? Why canning? Why grow your own food when you have grocery stores on every corner? Why go through the work?
Oh my, so many questions. I’ve heard it all. I’ve even heard, “Sherry you are too sick to be doing all of that”, or “I did all that when I was younger and see no need to keep doing it. I hated doing it then with my mother why would I do it now.” Well, the primary answer to everyones “why” about this topic is this:
Neighbor, “Yeah we have so many tomatoes this year that Sally (name changed) is thinking we should make some pasta sauce. We just aren’t sure what to do with so many.”
MY husband, “Oh yeah. Can the sauces so you have them this winter. It was great this last winter when Sherry was so sick and I prepared the meals, those canned sauces really helped out when I needed them.”
Neighbor, “Maybe they can help one another and do the canning together.”
Said and done! Two verses come to mind when I consider this conversation exchange. The first is from Proverbs 31:10- 18 “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.” Keep in mind that as I type this I am aware that it sounds boldly prideful on my part to consider this verse and my husbands conversation. However, when you realize that the title of this portion of Proverbs is titled “A Woman Who Fears The Lord” you understand that all that I do is pleasing to the Lord. I understand who the Lord is and why I am here.
Now, I also must admit that the human side of my being, living in a self indulgent world also realizes that homemaking has become a taboo word for women. The thought amongst our peers is that we were either too stupid to make it doing anything else (and yes I’ve even heard of one persons interpretation of my being a stay at home mom described as “not being highly educated”) or we have an overbearing husband who chains us to the house without allowing us to have a mind of our own. That being said, I have to also admit that worldly thinking can and does creep in sometimes. My worldly thought on the conversation was this, “Thank you Lord that my husband appreciates the sacrifices I have made. I was not at the pool, tennis courts, golfing at the club, sitting down watching soap operas (are those still running?) or going out spending money with friends buying designer clothes and enjoying lavish expensive lunches (as many of my friends did at our last place of residence). I will consider this my paycheck… A wonderful compliment from my husband.” Now, being that I started it out as a sort of thanksgiving prayer, one would assume this was not worldly, however, I would argue with you that it was very selfish on my part to look to myself with pride expecting praise from someone for something I’ve done and sacrifices I made. Really? I’ve made no sacrifices, this is my JOB as a wife and mother. Going to the Word of God you see that Proverbs 31 has much more to say past verse 18. And, it’s all to please the Lord. Does that mean there is no laughter and fun? Of course not. There is great joy when you all sit down together for a meal, or when the aroma of dinner tantalizes your husbands nose when he walks in the door, and the pleasing look in his eyes when he knows that he doesn’t have to worry about one more thing after a full day of work away from those he loves.
Gardening, canning, fermenting, and housework is done to please the Lord. Not to please anyone else. Now, in pleasing the Lord, I am also pleasing the family. It’s a win win.
The second verse was from Titus 2:3, “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” Again, God honoring to teach the younger women (Sally) how to please the Lord by also pleasing, preparing, saving money and working for the good of the family.
Now, that I’ve shared what’s been on my mind the last two days, I need to share why it’s been on my mind. Yesterday began canning day. With the harvest coming in from our own garden and the local CSA it’s time to begin preparing for winter. Oh we enjoy enough of our harvest now, however, we also enjoy it all winter long. The first comment of my being too sick actually came to reality when I was on my feet all afternoon without sitting down for a break and by dinner time my right leg was numb and I felt like I was again dragging my right foot. Oh swizzle sticks! (as the little girl next door says) Today is a new day and we will try again. Taking breaks this time so as not to overdo.
Yesterday I canned the two day project I was working on. Chicken Stock. Yes, I canned it. I did some reading and educated myself so as not to ruin anyones day with illness. I made my chicken stock the day before, cooking it in the Nesco all day. Then I poured it into jars, refrigerated it and skimmed off the fat the next morning. I then put it back into a stock pot (2 – 3/4 gallons of it) just to the boiling point, poured it into clean hot pint jars, added a tsp. of salt and placed on the lids and began the canning process. Because water baths are not sufficient enough for chicken stock, I used two of my pressure canners at 10 lbs. of pressure for 20 minutes. I made 23 pints of stock. (See previous post last fall on making the chicken stock.) Disclaimer: I would NOT can any chicken that comes from the traditional conventional marketplace. I would only can organic, non-GMO fed chicken stock that was homemade with all organic ingredients using pure unadulterated water sources.
After the chicken stock I moved on to making fermented salsa. I took the beautiful ripe organic tomatoes from the CSA (mine are not done yet), one very large onion, a large bunch of cilantro and about 10-15 garlic. I put them all in the food processor and gently processed them down to a mildly chunky state and poured it all into a bowl. I took clean jelly jars and a few pints placing 1 tsp. salt and 1 TBS fresh whey in each. Then I scooped the salsa into each jar leaving 1 inch space at the top. Wiped each clean and put on the lids. I then shook the jars to mix in the whey and the salt. Placing them on the counter on top of a towel I then unscrewed the lid of the jar so the air would be able to flow. I will leave them on the counter from 3-7 days, burping the jars each day to release the fermented gases before putting them into the refrigerator.
Fermented foods have been a long tradition in many cultures and is wonderful to help aid in digestion. We see the importance of eating yogurt, this is the same only using fresh organic vegetables. Each month my doctor wants to know if I am continuing to eat my fermented veggies, juicing, kefir and kombuccha of which the answer is always yes. We both agree it helps tremendously.
Today, I will be creating and making fermented beats, fennel, cabbage recipes which I will share at the end of the week.
P.S. I am college educated with a 4 year degree. 🙂
Thank you Lord for the blessing of a family to care for. Thank you for the knowledge you have provided regarding health, nutrition, foods, and the human bodies response to unnatural man made resources. Thank you Lord for the daily strength that can only come from you as I open my eyes each day feeling weary. It is only through your almighty grace that I continue on. Lord I pray that I can honor you through all that I do, say and think. Help me to keep my focus on you and you alone so that all I do on this earth will be glorifying to you. Amen…
Beauty or Truth? You decide…
Proverbs 4:7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,and whatever you get, get insight.
Ecclesiastes 7:12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
We recently returned from another Highland Festival gathering which took place once again in Canada. We decided to take an additional few days before the games to take a tour of the north eastern part of Canada since we were going to be so close. So off to Quebec City we drove. There is so much to share about our trip, yet one part of it continues to haunt my thoughts and is something I have been praying over for the last week.
When I began writing this blog, my earlier posts had a theme of “why”? I thought it would be interesting to write in that direction, however, many other things popped up that had me writing and sharing outside of that why box. Well, I have over the last week continued to pray about and ask why about one small hour in time that took place on our trip. I know and am very aware that this subject could be a hot point and am not certain how many will continue reading once I get to my point, however, I certainly hope that more will at least consider that this is me asking why and maybe they will consider my question and God’s truth on the subject. After all, 2Timothy 3:14-16 says “14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
On our country tour of Quebec City, we were taken to St. Anne’s Basilica, or as the French call it Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Shrine. My first why was questioning “shrine”. In the dictionary this is how they describe shrine: a building or other shelter, often of a stately or sumptuous character, enclosing the remains or relics of a saint or other holy person and forming an object of religious veneration and pilgrimage. My second question was more of a “who” rather than why. Who was St. Anne? On the tour bus we had the explanation given through our tour guide describing her as the mother of the virgin Mary. Now comes the third question, why is the mother of Mary a saint? Well, saint in the dictionary reads as such: any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian Church, especially by canonization. Did she lead an exceptional life? Her name is not listed in the bible and from what I researched it is only listed once in the middle of the second century in the apocryphal Protevangelium of James. Everywhere I looked for information about Anne, there were different stories and legends about her life. From her being barren and sharing the same story as Hanna and Samuel, to her being married once to her being married three times and having three daughters. I repeatedly found the word “tradition” used when describing her and her importance. Making me wonder what the definition of tradition was: a : an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom)
b : a belief or story or a body of beliefs or stories relating to the past that are commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable.
Ah, definition b. is where I see the bigger picture. “Commonly accepted as historical though not verifiable.” With such inconsistencies, no clear biblical explanation into her importance, why is she a saint? It must be obvious at this point I am not catholic. I do not understand praying to someone other than directly to the Lord in the name of Jesus.
Back to the trip…off through the country’s winding roads and small towns we went to see a shrine dedicated and named after a woman who is a part of history yet whose name is not even in God’s holy scriptures. The driver went on to explain that St. Anne was prayed to for healing and that people have hobbled into the basilica crippled and walked out leaving canes and crutches behind. As I sat uncomfortably in my seat, knowing that my body is riddled with spirochetes and various other infections, I was no longer concerned over my own health, yet was concerned over the spiritual health of those who pray to someone other than Christ. I began to pray for the miracle of His divine power to change the heart. I began praying for all of those who ooed and awed at the thought of seeing the basilica, seeing her hip bone under glass, and their praying to “St. Anne”. I asked Christ directly to show those who did not know Him to be shown Him. Just as my peace and healing has come from prayer directly to Christ himself, they too can feel healing if they only knew Him.
Exiting the bus, it was hard not to breath deeply at the beauty of such a towering “shrine”. It certainly was beautiful from the parking lot, and from the road. I took a great number of pictures of the beautiful windows that the suns rays shown through, and the enormous copper doors which a local man had made. However, as I studied the sculpture above the door as we entered in, I was wrought with sadness. Sadness at seeing a woman (St. Anne) portrayed as an idol by those who were bowing down before her. (I tried for 3 hours to download the picture, not sure why it will not upload.) Why? Her name is not listed in scripture, she is not the reason for Mary’s immaculate conception, her history is sketchy at best and there is no history of her doing anything spectacular other than being a mom to someone else who was an important part of history. Bus loads and car loads of people unloaded to go into the basilica and pray to her. There was even a campground across the street and a small building behind the church to buy your souvenirs. Why pray to her? Scripture tells us even in the old testament prayers were lifted to either the creator of the earth, our Lord God Almighty, or to man made idols. So, since we know she herself is not God, does that make her an idol? After all, people make pilgrimages to her basilica where miracles of healing are proclaimed and they pray to her.
The following prayer was found laying out for people to read and use in their prayers. (Please note 1/2 way down the page under Before a relic of Saint Anne, second paragraph..)
It must be mentioned that the Catholic Church in 1677 condemned the belief that Anne also participated in the immaculate conception of Mary. Another why… why then is this prayer sitting in a Catholic Church dedicated to a woman who is not listed in scripture enticing people from all over the world to visit and to pray to her?
1 Timothy 2:3-6 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
I know that the answer falls back onto the shoulders of those who taught such ideas, as well as tradition. Tradition passed down from generation to generation. It is possible however, to be the one person to break with tradition and begin reading scripture as God intended for us to do. We no longer live in an age where all we have is personal reflection and stories passed down due to the lack of writing and paper. We have bibles in our stores, churches, hotels and prayerfully in our homes. We have internet, Bible aps and ipads. If one begins reading them and praying directly to the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ one may find wisdom. As Christians we need to ask hard questions when something doesn’t seem right in the teaching of the scriptures. If people do not know truth, how will they know Him?
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
To the reader that has read all the way through, thank you. Thank you for pondering with me the questions which need to be asked. I hope that you will continue to read the scriptures below and listen to the following sermon posts on the first two commandments so you may understand my concern for those who pray to anyone other than Jesus Christ.
I titled this post Beauty or Truth? because I think it’s another pondering question. Would you rather have a beautiful sanctuary with gold and silver relics and copper doors or would you rather have truth? I would rather have truth.
Who should we pray to:
John 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
John 14:14
If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
(Please note that the Father in this text is God, not the local priest or pastor.)
James 1:5
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Let us remember:
Deuteronomy 5:6-21
6″I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
7 “‘You shall have no other gods before me.
8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
17 “You shall not murder.
18 “And you shall not commit adultery.
19 “And you shall not steal.
20 “And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 “And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’
Jeremiah 18:15
But my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to false gods;
Zechariah 10:2
For the household gods utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
Jeremiah 10:1-15
Idols and the Living God
10 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord:
“Learn not the way of the nations,
nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
because the nations are dismayed at them,
3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity A tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5 Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”
6 There is none like you, O Lord;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you.
8 They are both stupid and foolish;
the instruction of idols is but wood!
9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz.
They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is violet and purple;
they are all the work of skilled men.
10 But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
12 It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13 When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
cand he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
14 Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
hand there is no breath in them.
15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
I hope that you will consider listening to these two sermons on the first two commandments. Very thought provoking.
http://crbc.us/media_events/953-The-First-Commandment
http://crbc.us/media_events/954-The-Second-Commandment
For more information on biblical teaching of the commandments, visit CRBC.us.
