Getting even

After hearing the lecture about this weeks lesson which was on Matthew chapter 5 I got to thinking about the idea of "getting even". The speaker explained that the law or retribution found in the old testament was very specific when it said eye for an eye, hand for a hand, etc. She explained that if someone slapped you with an open hand then you had to slap back the same way, you couldn't punch them with a closed fist. Isn't that what we want to do though, get them back in a way that makes them understand that they better not mess with us again. Not just do back what they did to us but add a little bit more pain than we initially received. That is the human nature of getting even, but Jesus turns our world upside down by saying we need to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile. I'll be honest and this is not to boast but I am not very easily offended and no one has physically attacked me lately so I haven't had to worry about turning the other cheek much. However, what does bother me is when someone "messes" with my family. I thought about the movies I have watched where the bad guys are torturing someone to get them to talk, but when it doesn't work they start torturing someone else in front of them, usually someone they love or care about. Isn't that what our enemy does too? If he can't get to us by messing with us then he will start messing with our friends and family. For some reason it's easier to justify revenge if it's done on behalf of another. After all, aren't we suppose to be our "brothers keeper". Unfortunately no matter how we justify it, getting even and revenge are God's jobs, not ours.

Responding to the star

I have begun studying the book of Matthew with Community Bible Study. (the website which includes an audio of the lectures is at toccoalavoniacbs.org) One of the questions asked us to list the groups of people who were listed in chapter 2 and what their response was to the birth of Jesus. As I read the chapter I noted that there were 4 groups: 1)the magi 2) Herod and all Jerusalem 3) the chief priest and teachers of the law and 4) Mary and Joseph. This chapter and the story of Jesus birth is a familiar one to most so as I looked at the responses of these 4 groups I realized that in the past I had overlooked one. I knew that the magi were overjoyed, worshiped Him and brought Him gifts. (isn't it interesting that the first people to come and worship the King of the Jews were Gentiles?) I also knew that Mary and Joseph obeyed every step of the way, protecting our young Savior. And, it didn't surprise me to read that Herod and all Jerusalem were "disturbed". People don't like change, especially when that change involves a threat to your position and possibly even your life. What did strike me as odd was the lack of response made by the priest and teachers of the law. Nothing. Nada. No response at all. They answered Herod's question, that's it. Did they even look at the night sky? Did they even wonder if it was true? Did they care if the Messiah really born? Nothing. I guess we all have that same choice today. Jesus said that he will come back someday. I hope that we believe that and are looking at the signs. Every generation must hold on to the promise of his return.

Another interesting point was made during the study of this chapter. The magi were probably from the Babylonian region. If we look back at the book of Daniel we will see that Daniel was promoted and was placed in charge of all the magi in Babylon because of his ability to interpret dreams (Daniel 3:48). Could it be that these magi that came to worship Jesus had learned about it (the prophesies about the Messiah) because of Daniel? Just a thought.

Outshining the King

This summer was the 10th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. I remember watching the television in disbelief 10 years ago as the tragic events were shared across the world. She was one of those people that you felt like you knew even though you never met her and I remember feeling so sad for her sons to have lost their mother at such a vulnerable age. I have read a few articles about her and as would be expected most of them shed a very positive light on the "People's Princess". One article, though, in comparing her with Camilla said that "Camilla, unlike Diana doesn't try to outshine Prince Charles". I got to thinking about that statement and initially got defensive....Diana did a lot of good things for a lot of people, it isn't her fault that she was more charismatic that Prince Charles, but I thought about it more and realized that yes, actually it was. And I had to ask myself, in using any of my gifts or abilities, do I ever end up outshining my King? Are people seeing me? or are they seeing Jesus in me? Diana knew what her "job" was when she married Prince Charles and as Christians we need to remember what our job is....like the song says....Lord let me shine, shine like the moon, a reflection of you in all that I do, Lord let me be a light for your truth, light of the world I want to be used to shine for you.

Sacrifice

I know it has been a while since my last post but sometimes it takes me a while to fully understand what the Lord is trying to teach me. I recently read the sermon notes from a Pastor in TX. He has a great blog. I'm still new at this blog thing so I'm not sure how to include the link but his blog is called "Hillcrest church - Pastor Mark's blog" and I have found a lot of valuable information and links from it. Back to the sermon notes...He used the story from 1 Chronicles 21:18-30. In verse 24 David says "I will not take for the Lord what is yours or sacrifice a burnt offering that cost me nothing." It reminded me of an illustration the Lord has been stirring in my heart. My children are at the age where they love to pick me dandelions.They bring them to me with huge smiles and say "look Mommy I picked you some flowers." I don't have the heart to tell them that they are actually weeds, and I always put them in a glass with some water and treat them like a priceless treasure until they die and when the kids aren't looking I throw them away. How would I feel if my husband brought me dandelions though? The same way any wife of 11 years would. I would give him that "you've got to be kidding me" look and storm out of the room. Why? Because he knows they are weeds and they didn't cost him anything. I had to ask myself, am I still bringing the Lord a handful of dandelions? Do I really expect the Lord to continue to accept an offering that has cost me nothing? Is my relationship still that shallow or is he expecting something more of me?

Knowing God's Will

It's what we are all seeking but yet many of us can't seem to figure out. What is God's will for my life? Or even what is God's will for a certain situation? Will I know it's God's will if I have a "peace about it"? I have heard that used by many people..."I just don't have a peace about it", but does God's will and peace always go hand in hand? As I think about many familiar Bible stories I have to say the answer is no. I don't remember it saying anywhere that Abraham had peace as he climbed Mt. Moriah to sacrifice Issac. He had faith and believed God would provide an offering but I don't read anywhere that he had peace during the whole ordeal. What about Jonah? He obviously did not have a peace about going to Nineveh, that's why he went the other direction. Even when he saw God have mercy on the people and they repented, Jonah still didn't have peace, instead he was mad that God had used him to show that mercy. There are countless other examples of men and women who did God's will despite their own feeling but I do have one more to share. Jesus knew that it was his Father's will for Him to die on that cross but the anguish and drops of sweat with blood don't sound like peace to me. Even Jesus had to put his own feelings aside and just do the Father's will, peace or not. My husband made a very profound statement while we were discussing this issue. He said "if God always paved the way for us then we wouldn't need faith." Wow. God's will is not a peace issue it's a faith issue. Faith comes from hearing and hearing comes from the Word of God. So, how do we know the will of God? Know the Word of God, and don't be afraid to step out in faith. God always rewards those who have faith.

the "Trouble Tree"

One day a man was on his way home when he saw his neighbor standing by his car on the side of the road. He pulled over and offered him a ride. The man accepted and got in. "What happened?" the man asked. "I ran out of gas. Today has not been my day. I got chewed out by my boss for a mistake someone else made, I missed lunch trying to fix the mistake and now I am going to be late for dinner because I ran out of gas." his neighbor replied. They pulled into the driveway and the man watched as his neighbor got out. He walked over to a tree and with both hands touched the end of the branches. He then walked into his house with a big smile and hugged his children and kissed his wife. He got back into the car after getting a gas can and the man had to ask: "What's with the tree?" and the neighbor replied, "Oh, that, that's my trouble tree. When I get home from work I go and hang my troubles on the tree so that I don't take them into the house with me then I pick them back up the next morning. But for some reason there are never as many troubles on the tree in the morning as I put out there the night before."

I recently heard that story and may have changed a few of the details because my memory isn't what it used to be but I am sure I haven't strayed from it's purpose. After hearing it I thought about the fact that as Christians we have a "trouble tree" too. It is a tree that has been cut down and made into the shape of a cross bearing our Savior. It has the same purpose though. As we approach our cross shaped tree we can lay all of our burdens there, and if we are foolish enough to pick them back up (and many times I am) there dosen't seem to be as many as we laid down. What a blessing to know that we can turn to our "trouble tree" in any situatuion and at any time. And, I don't know about you but I am sure my family would appreciate it if I left my troubles on the trouble tree before I spend time with them.

Ask first

Having children is one of the most eye-opening spiritual experiences. At least for me it is. Every time I say something to my children I wonder, has God ever tried to tell me that? Like times when I tell them to "be patient", I'm sure He has tried to tell me that or "be quiet", if you know me, you know He has said that plenty of times but lately I have been telling my daughter, "don't help yourself, ask first" and it struck me that maybe the Lord has tried to tell me this one and I haven't listened. I will be the first to admit that finances are my biggest struggle. I have plenty of excuses that go something like this...I grew up in the 80s (the material girl age), I was the baby of the family (I usually got what I wanted) and I have always tried to "show" love for my family by buying the things they want. My husband was the baby too so he isn't much help. We both have to fight the "I want it and I want it now" mentality. So, as I said to my daughter for what seemed like the 10th time in a week yesterday that she had to ask 1st before helping herself to the goodies, I felt that God was saying the same thing to me. I wondered how many purchases we had made without consulting Him and I decided it was most of them. I wish I could say that this will be an easy challenge for me but I have a feeling that just like any other bad habit this too is going to be a hard one to break. So, pray for me, I want to give God glory in everything I do, including the decisions to buy things, things that I need or just want.

Are we listening?

I was just watching the sunset and as I sat there in the cool of the evening I thought "Lord, why can't you come back tonight?" As I pondered what His answer might be I thought about all the people out there that are begging Him to wait. "Please Lord, my son hasn't accepted your love yet, please give him more time." "I know you can come at any time Lord, but please not now, I just told my Mom about you and she was actually sober and I think she understood, please wait a little longer so I can talk to her some more." Then I thought, if He continues to wait because of their pleadings, will He ever come? Will there really be a time when people no longer ask Him to wait because they want to see a lost loved one saved? The Bible says in the end times the love of most will grow cold. (Matt. 24:12) In the list of terrible things that will also happen in the end times 2Tim 3 includes "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, without (family) love, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." I guess that time is coming but I don't want to be a part of it. As much as I want the Lord to come, I am not ready to live in a world that looks like that. Yes, I know what you are thinking...it already does look like that. True, there has been an increase in wickedness and we can think of many examples of the list above, (if you can't just read the news) but I am not ready to believe that there is no longer people out there who love others enough to beg our Lord to wait. I believe He is listening to their cry, but are we? We are the ones who are called to bring the good news to the ends of the earth, but have we even brought it to the end of our street? I have to admit that I am failing miserably in this area. The other day our pastor asked us if we knew of any unsaved people we could invite to church. I couldn't raise my hand. I am in a Christian bubble right now and I know it needs to pop. I can offer the excuse that I am a stay at home Mom with 3 young children so I don't have a job where I can meet people but I don't think that it's a very good one. Especially since I started a stay at home marketing job which taught me how to share their products with everyone I meet. I learned the right thing to say and how to respond to objections and I practiced what I would say over and over in my head so I could walk up to someone in Walmart and tell them about these great products. Why can't I share my faith with someone at Walmart? Why haven't I practiced how to start a conversation and what to say to show someone not a product but the love of Christ? How many times have I prayed Lord, use me, and then instead of listening to what He would have me do, did my own thing? Were there times when had I listened I could have been used to share with that mother who was begging for son, or that daughter who was begging for her mother? No one knows when the Lord will come back but if we really believe it could happen at any time why aren't we sharing the good news with everyone we know or meet?

Freedom

Sometimes things all fit together and sometimes there are just pieces and they all seem like they belong to different puzzles. That is how I have felt in the past couple of weeks which is why I haven't written much. I feel like I am still learning some things, things that I can't quite share because I'm not always sure I am "getting it".
I have decided instead to share some things that I have learned a while back when I took the Beth Moore Bible study Breaking Free. I highly recommend it. After taking the study I created a Contract for Freedom. The first point in that contract is: I will find freedom to the degree my heart accepts, relies on and responds to the truth in God's Word, therefore I dedicate myself to the study of God's Word so I can enjoy the benefits He has planned for me. Psalms 119 is ringing in my heart. All those verses that speak of the importance of knowing God's Word. The whole chapter is appropriate but verse 32 says: "I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free." David received the freedom that comes from running in the path of God's Word. I hope that I can run the race as faithfully as David did. Freedom is never free, it always requires sacrifice. Am I giving up the "worthless things" that David mentions in verse 37? Or am I letting the things of this world steal away my time which will eventually imprison my heart? Freedom is available but are we willing to pay the price?

Gifts

Spiritual gifts is the topic at my church this month. A friend of mine just shared with me that her church just finished a series on discovering their destiny. I don't know about you but I over think things like this. I start to wonder, what is my purpose in life? What is God's will for my life? What are my gifts? What do I want to do with my life? (What do I want to be when I grow up? since I am only 33!!!!!) As you can see I usually end up with more questions than answers. Part of my Bible study this morning was reading Psalm 119. Yep, that really, really long chapter in the book of Psalms. You wouldn't think of the verses there as a place you would normally look for answers to these types of questions and yet it seemed so clear to me why David was a man after God's own heart. He dedicated every part of his being to knowing and obeying God's Word and then praised God with all he had. I do believe that God has a purpose for us....but I don't think His purpose is for us to find out what our purpose is. I think our purpose is to know and obey the Word of God and then whatever we are doing will be in line with His will. And I do believe we all have gifts but maybe we are too focused on the gifts within us that we end up missing the gifts around us. I have been given the gift of 3 beautiful, healthy children - what am doing with those gifts? I have been given the gift of being a part of the body of Christ by helping in the preschool department - what am I doing with that gift? I have been given the gift of a husband - what am I doing with that gift? I used to get confused by the talents parable because in the Bible it was monetary but calling it a talent always made me think of a talent like drama or singing. If we think of the talents as the type of gifts and blessings I mentioned above it makes a lot more sence to me. (Although I hope he dosen't multipy my husband...I can only handle one of him!)

Purim

This weekend Jewish families all over the world celebrated Purim. Even Madonna and her family, who practice Kabbalah got in the action. For those of you who don't know Purim is a celebration based on the defeat of Haman which prevented the total destruction of the Jews in the book of Esther. I had the privilege of studying this book with my Wed. morning bible study and it would take me a few days to be able to share all I learned. What stands out the most is how many "coincidences" there are. Like a king without a queen because he gets drunk and makes a rash decision to get rid of his current queen. Or I love the fact that the king had insomnia so he had the chronicles read to him and he just happened to hear about Mordecai. There are quite a few more and I would encourage you to read the whole book. I want to point out though that we see the hand of God at work in these details that are spelled out in the book but lets not forget that His hand was working early on. Lets not forget that Esther was taken captive with all the other Jews and they were living in exile in a foreign country. Lets not forget that Esther lost her parents at a young age and was being raised by her Uncle. I don't know about you but I would find it hard to see the hand of God in my own life if I was taken from my home to become a slave in foreign country and both of my parents had died. Yet, if we believe the hand of God was on Esther we need to believe that His hand was on her from the very beginning. We have two choices. We can believe that everything we go through is part of God's plan, even if what we are going through is painful. Or we can believe it is all random and all the pain and hurts of our past are in vain.

I have to make a correction. I was reading the commentary in my Bible and read that Esther and her generation had the opportunity to return home, like many of the exiles did, but for some reason, she and her family stayed. So, she was probably not a slave although they were heavily taxed by the king and did have to work. However all of that does not negate my point but instead makes an even stronger argument that God was in control. Why did Mordecai and his family choose to stay when they could have left? Most of the Israelites that were diligent in their obedience to God and the law of Moses, which it seems Mordecai was, returned home. So, the sovereignty of God is seen again. If they had gone back, Esther would not have become queen and the Jews would have perished.

Daylight Savings

Do we really have to loose an hour of sleep tonight? I get so little as it is with 3 kids under 6. There is usually at least one visitor to my bedside each night and that's if I am lucky. Lately with Cody teething and Colin getting over a virus I have been lucky to get 5-6 hours and now I get to look forward to loosing an extra hour tonight. Yeah:( Can you hear the enthusiasm? I have often kidded with my family that the best cure for insomnia is praying or trying to read the Bible. Am I the only one who feels like the enemy places me in a room full of poppies like in the wizard of oz as soon as I start to pray or read my Bible? Lord help us all! It reminds me of when Jesus was praying with the disciples right before his arrest and He kept finding them asleep. (Mark 14:32-41) If they only knew what was about to happen. I wonder if it would have made a difference. How many times have we heard of a crisis or extreme situation and promised to pray and then forgot? I have to admit there are also times when I have let the enemy defeat me. I have been on a spiritual high and then felt so attacked that I gave up. I thought if I retreat then I won't feel the heat so much. I guess that is why we are exhorted in Ephesians that after we have put on the armor of God to "stand your ground, stand, and stand firm." Retreat is not an option. Giving up is not an option. Falling asleep is not an option. There are too many people who are in a crisis and if we can't stay awake to pray then who will?

Accountability

Accountability. It's not the most comforting of words and for some it may cause trepidation, but oh how necessary it is. It is a word that has come out of my mouth many times in the past few days and so I must ask myself, who am I accountable to? Thankfully I have a great support group of family and friends who love me enough to keep me accountable and I am thankful that the Lord has kept my pride in check so that I can turn to them. Unfortunately I think there are too many people who don't think they need accountability. They think the decisions they make are their own and they falsely believe those decisions don't effect others. In Exodus 20 right in the middle of the Ten Commandments God says "I the Lord am a jealous God punishing the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and forth generation of those who hate me but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." How gracious God is! The harmful effects of sin can effect our grandchildren and great-grandchildren but how exciting to know that our obedience will effect thousands of generations. At my high school graduation we sang the Steve Green song that says "May all who come behind me find me faithful, may the fire of my devotion light their way, may the footprints that we leave lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey." Those words hold so much more meaning to me now that I have children of my own. I pray my life will be a legacy of obedience so my children can also enjoy the love of the Lord.

first blog

I cannot believe how easy it is to set up a blog spot!! I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts on life, love, children, and most importantly my passion to know and understand the Word of God. In the past couple of years I have taken several Bible studies and I have learned soooo much that I feel I have a responsibility to share what I have learned with others. What a fun way to do that. I hope you will be blessed by what you read and please feel free to express any questions or concerns. I love being challenged!!