Wealth and Riches

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” – 1 Timothy 6:17-19

    Where is our hope, our delight, and our desires? The western world and other parts of the world in this generation has seen an abundance of prosperity. In many places such as the United States and Europe the general population lives in greater richest not only when compared to the rest of the world, but also when compared with the generations of man. Many live with great wealth – homes with several different rooms, indoor plumbing, a vast host of a variety of delicacies to feast upon, transportation that conveys us quickly to distant places and does so in comfort, the ability to learn a variety of skills and explore different occupations, scores of clothes to choose from, and more. In other places, today, and in other generations, these riches are not known. And for many of us, including me, these riches have become so common, that we have forgotten how much we have been given and these riches have become what is expected and demanded and even have  become considered a necessity, instead of a blessing.

    As God has been blessing me with these abundances, I see my own sin and how easily riches can corrupt the heart, and how easily the desire for comfort and the desire for security can affect my decisions, whether I am poor or rich. And these desires in my heart are sin creeping up to rot the blessings the Lord has given me. John wrote, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eye and pride in possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

    As I eat the food with my nice clothes at a comfortable table in a modern home that the Lord has provided, can I consider it my right to have these things, when others can only afford basic nutrition; some eat the same thing for every meal, every day; and some die of starvation? Can I consider it a right to have a fancy home with many rooms and indoor plumbing, when families of different generations have to live in one room in other parts of the world? Is it a necessity to have a closet full of clothes, when others have so little?

   For those who see these things as a necessity, the scripture gives this warning . . ."Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs."

    The things we have are not a necessity or a right or a privilege, but a blessing. And we should always be thankful for what the Lord has granted us, giving Him glory. Paul states,

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Earlier Paul writes,

“7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

    What we are and what we do are founded in Christ. In Him and through Him, we have are being, we have our life. In Him alone are we rich. Christ gives us the strength to live whether in plenty or in want. And in Him we can do all things, that is of faith. What we have is not important. Whose we are is.

    What we have is not ours, these possessions are the Lord’s, we are only stewards of them. And we will one day have to give an account for are stewardship. If we lived our lives trusting in these possessions, hording them for ourselves, and finding our delight in them, not only will we find ourselves hoarding what is rightfully the Lord’s and not ours, and essentially robbing the King, we will also find that our hope has rotted away with these hoarded possessions. “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eye and  pride in possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

    Our attitude should not be how do I get a nice home, or how do I make sure I am eating well, or how do I have nice clothing. Our thoughts should be on how we can be faithful stewards of what is the Lord’s. How do I let Christ’s strength work in me, so “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Our treasure is Christ and our passions and our love and our devotion are for Him. So let us throw aside all that hinders and entangles us and run with our eyes upon Christ, desiring and longing for Him, being enamored and captivated by his beauty, and having pride in His possessing us, for in this the love of the Father is truly in us, and this does not fade away.

    Christ stated,

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:19-21

    Our treasure is Christ and we should pursue that treasure with all our heart, mind, soul, and body.  Jesus calls to us, “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” And He is honest about the cost of following Him . . . “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’" Our very lives are His, how much more are our possessions. And He is are King and Shepherd, we follow Him wherever He may lead us. And wherever He leads us, whether in plenty or want, He will give us the strength in all things, and He will enable us to be rich in good deeds. So with joy we cast off all that hinders us and we run with all our might and take pleasure in our freedom.

Training a woman for a career

I was listening to a sermon, today, about raising daughters. One of the points of the sermon was how in our culture the focus is to train women for a career. Even in homes where it is believed that the mother should stay home, often the thought is to train her for a career and then when she gets married, she can leave the career and be a mother, as if being a mother is an easy thing and doesn't need much training.

This is backwards. When we train our daughters, the focus of our training should be to train them for God's calling on their lives, not the world's opinion on what they should be. The focus of training our daughters is to teach them how to be godly women and to equip them to follow the calling that God has for them as wives and mothers.  This does not mean that we don't educate our daughters or equip them with skills. The Proverbs 31 woman was a skillful and well educated woman. She was truly and independent woman and quite capable of taking care of herself. And she was quite capable of taking care of others. She kept her family warm and helped a many hungry have a full belly. And even quite capable in business matters, as well. And a godly woman should hone these giftings that God has placed in her. But these giftings are used to build up the home and to establish God's work in her as a mother and wife and the ministry of her home. These giftings are not for building her career. A career is never her focus, being a godly woman and a godly mother and a godly wife are her focus.

So in training our daughters our focus should be in training her to be a godly woman, not a career woman.

One objection might be what if my daughter never marries. There are two things, a daughter is under the father till she marries, so if needed she has that as a protection. But even with out her father's care, a woman like the Proverbs 31 woman, is more than adequately capable of facing the hazards of this world and has the mental fortitude as well as the strength and wisdom to do well. Also a woman well trained in being a wife and a mother has been trained in skills that will not be wasted, they will help her as a single woman both for herself and for others. A woman trained in this way is a huge asset to the church and to others, whether or not she ever marries.

Missing God

We are often more worried about missing God, instead of trusting and having faith that He will uphold us and be there when we do miss Him.

The Purpose of Family Worship - Voddie Bauchan

The Consequences of Feminism - Voddie Baucham

Family Driven Education - Voddie Bauchman

An amazing story about a friend of Ravi Zacharias - Romans 8

The Children's Hour by Henry Longfellow

The Children's Hour by Henry Longfellow

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret
O'er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, o blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!

Belief and life

There are times, that when you speak about your belief in the Word of God, that you will get a hardy "yes". But if you live out what the Word of God says, often that hardy "yes" disapears.

--Hebrews 11

Clip from the Nativity Story

I really love this movie because it challenges me on what it means to be a husband. This clip for the first 5 minutes and 5 seconds shows good part of how this movie demonstrates a godly husband.

Kirk Cameron Interviews John MacArthur

Roles women in the church can take - Ask Pastor Tim Conway

http://biblical-womanhood.blogspot.com/

Christians who harp on Homosexuality have made a mistake: My sincere apology

Christians who harp on Homosexuality have made a mistake: My sincere apology

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

There has been a fervent outcry among those of the Christian faith against Homosexuality and the Homosexual agenda, an outcry that has set these people apart. Homosexuality is treated as a “particularly” horrid form of depravity, as if it were one of the deepest sins of the heart. And the Homosexual agenda is treated as a “particularly” corrupting influence in our society. We communicate to the homosexuals that they are more depraved than others who do not commit such a sin. This angers me and my heart hurts for those who are caught up in this sin.

The reason I have heard from people, so many times, for this reaction specifically towards homosexuality is a misunderstanding of Romans 1, where it states,

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

These verses are quoted and said to be a descending spiral into the depravity of the human heart, and that here, homosexuality being presented as being “particularly” depraved. However, this is not the argument that Paul gives, at all.

Paul is not talking about the depravity of the heart and its descending spiral. Instead Paul is presenting the madness that comes out of a mind that suppresses the truth of who God is.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

This lack of faith and the suppression of truth is the source of the rotten power of sin that corrupts and erodes mankind and brings them into madness.

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became (futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, . . .”

In Isaiah, God speaks of this madness and foolishness.

Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, "Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire." But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god." They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. No one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, "I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals I roast meat and eat it Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!" He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

Paul goes on describing our insanity . . .

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

And in this insanity and madness God gave us over to its passions. Here Paul uses homosexuality as an example of the fools we have become because there is an obvious exchanging the natural order of things for the unnatural.

However, Paul is not using this example to state that those who commit these unnatural sexual acts or more depraved than others, He is only describing how insane sin makes us become.

Right after this, Paul describes this madness with other sins. If this is a downward spiral, Paul is describing, then these sins fall below homosexuality, and must be more depraved. How many of these sins have you committed? No, Paul is describing the madness of sin and how utterly corrupt we have become.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Now, let’s read on to the next verse,

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. . .

Paul states that we are . . .

all under sin;
as it is written,
"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
"THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,"
"THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";
"WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";
"THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."
"THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."

Paul in his argument brings all men under this madness of sin. We have all become depraved and corrupted. And this is Paul’s point: sin, itself, from the very conception in the heart of man is utterly corrupting, bringing us all under the wrath of God.

So why do some Christians have a special indignation toward homosexuality? Do you who speak out against laws promoting homosexuality also speak out against laws promoting divorce (something that has devastated our society)? Do you who harp about homosexuality outside the church, get angry over adultery and promiscuity and divorce that is so prevalent within the church? How about the sin in your own life? . . . . Do you have contempt for the kindness and tolerance and patience of God, who saved you from such filth?

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians tells the church “not to associate with sexually immoral people –“. But he is quick to say, “not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.” His judgment is on those who are in the Church. “But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler – not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside.”

The Gospel brings a compassion and conviction to sinners. Christ was known as a man who associated with “sinners and tax collectors”. He brought the Gospel into the madness of this world. He loved those who were unloved and were considered “great” sinners. He spoke the truth and called for repentance, but He did so to all men.

Should we speak out against homosexuality. "Yes", a definite "Yes". It is a horrible and devastating sin. And we do not have to fear to call sin sin. If we love, we will speak out against it, but we must speak out against it in a biblical way. We need to get off our high horse and be real with who we are without Christ and come to the homosexuals as people under the same corruption and filth and madness, people with just as much need of the Gospel as they. Some harp about “specific” sins, without looking at their own, but it is the fact that we are all sinners that keeps us from God. So we have nothing to boast against someone who has done a "specific" sin. Unless I repent, I will likewise perish, and I need the grace of God, through Christ Jesus.

Kirk Cameron and John MacArthur on Salvation!

Bionic eye restores sight

How He Loves Us - David Crowder

Huckabee Interviews Ex-Planned Parenthood Director Abby Johnson

Pigeon: Impossible

How do I receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? - Tim Conway

You must suffer - John Piper

Most DangerousPlace to Raise a Child - John Piper

John Piper is bad

Convention pt. 2

Hebrews 11 says that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible."

When the disciples suggested sending the 5,000 away, so that they could get food. They did this because it was what was realistic for that situation. Christ came into that situation to show them something even more real and more realistic. He took 5 loaves and two fish and fed 5,000 people and had 12 basketful left over. This defied logic. It defied science. It defied any ability of man.

God's ways are not defined by the world. Christ has called us into a Kingdom that is more real than this age. This is why we come to God's word like a child who trusts his Father. His word is true and believable and trustworthy. And so we live our lives by these words.

Convention

I think we are so quick in our lives, in business, in our homes, and in ministry to do things by the world's conventions. How does the world say it works? How do we make a living? How do we protect our families? How do we reach people?

When God's way is presented there are all these objections because it doesn't fit our conventional way of thinking.

When the crowds of 5,000 people were hungry, the disciples came to Jesus and told him it would be best to to let the crowds go and buy food. This would have been the responsible and rational thing to do. . . .

Hebrews 11 says that "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible."

God does not work by the standards of this world, or by the science, or by worldly wisdom. He is God. He is God and He is worthy of our trust.

I don't want to live by the world's conventions. I don't want to do business the same way. I don't want to be safe in how I live my life. I want to live by faith, which is not the safe way, because it is having faith in someone who makes things happen from the unseen. Whether in the mundane or in the not so mundane, this should be the norm for Christians. We must live our lives and make decisions based on a belief in a God that is not regulated to the rules of this world.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Patient Trust by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ

Above all, trust in the slow work of God
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability-
and that it may take a very long time

And so I think it is with you.
your ideas mature gradually-let them grow
let them shape themselves, without undue hast.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow
Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.

http://www.teilharddechardin.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Teilhard_de_Chardin

(Karen sent this poem to me.)

Exodus 20:11 - In six days . . .

Exodus 20:11

¹¹"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 31:17

¹⁷"It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed."

The Theology of Creation - John MacArthur

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Husbands As Stay-At-Home Dads

Paul Washer - Sin Wrath Mercy & LOVE

Treasuring Him - DWYL Sermon Jam Video

Love is the Fulfilment of the Law. (Paul Washer)

Boast in the Lord

There is no pride as you grow in maturity as a Christian. Often it is the more mature who are the greater sinners, since the more you understand, the more you are held to account, and the greater the sin. But even in the good that we do there is no boasting, because we are the handiwork of God and not ourselves. Any goodness is His work and not our own. We have nothing to present before others to show that we are better than they are. We have nothing to present before God. And so there is no boasting, except in the cross, which is greater than the greatness of our sin and is the only thing that makes us right before God.

Write Every Letter Of Your Law On My Heart - by Landon Lewis

Write Every Letter Of Your Law On My Heart

Write every letter of your law on my heart
That I may always have the highest regard
For every word that does proceed from your mouth
In all matters large and small, simple and hard.

Remove every desire and inclination
To coerce what is written to bow the knee
Before my feelings and presuppositions
For comfort’s sake or to justify my deeds.

Bestow the passion, courage, and endurance
Needed to stay firmly entrenched in your word
When apprehensive, ridden, heavy-laden
And assailed with speech or stone by friend or foe.

And generate a wellspring of compassion
As a complement to the steely resolve
That I may image forth your son’s perfect love:
Never harsh, never shifty, never dissolved.

Scripture Inspiration: Jeremiah 31:33-34, Deuteronomy 8:3, & Ezekiel 11:19-20

By Landon Lewis

"Wherever you are be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."
--Jim Elliot

Live knowing He is there.

The Mysterious Islands

God had led him to this woman.

"God had led him to this woman. The search was over. A man could spend the rest of his life (and many do) looking for someone better than the last one. This is where faith and faithfulness com in. Confidence in God. He has promised to lead Is He a faithful Shepherd? Will He make it impossibly difficult for His beloved sheep to discern His will, or will He keep His promise to direct your path?” – Elizabeth Elliot

Segregation in the Church

One of the things that hurts me is the segregation that is found in the Church. There is a group for young children. A group for adolescents. A group for college students. A group for young single adults. A group for young married couples. A group for middle aged people. And a group for the elderly.

This is not God's heart for the church. He has knit us together as a body and we need all the parts coming together. There may be a time and place to separate into these groups, but separation into these groups should be a rarity and not something that is common. If you hang out, make sure you invite people of all ages. Make sure that you seek to be involved as a body in the church and not a segregated group. This takes hard work and its a different thinking for this modern age (and this is more of a modern thing). But segregation in the church has never meant to be the norm.

So older people invest in and seek out younger folks. Younger folks pursue the wisdom and encouragement of older people. When you hang out work hard at this and don't just give into the easy standards of modern thinking.

Finding a man to lead a Bible Study.

What does a woman do if its on her heart to get a group of people together in community to grow in Christ, to grow and study the bible together. The scripture is very clear that a woman cannot lead a bible study where there both men and woman. So what can a woman do if this is on her heart.

First, prayer asking got to raise a man to lead. I think this is one of the most powerful things. And God will definitely hear this prayer if you patiently wait on Him.

Some possible other things that you can do is
- talk to the pastor, elders, deacons and ask him to find a man to lead it.
- encourage the men around you to lead. Ask them to lead. This is a skill that many women need to learn. Ask God and He will give you wisdom on how to encourage the men around you to lead.
- continue to pray. Get the women together and pray earnestly for this
- Don't lead or teach over men. God is a God of His word. Not only would it be sin to lead or teach over men, but your stating God is not a God of His word and you can't trust Him. You can trust Him. Don't do things your way.

As I search the word on this, the reason God would not have a woman lead or teach over men in this situation is because He has something greater in mind. He wants to strengthen the church. And it is a powerful thing, where you have a church with women who are earnestly praying. Be patient, wait on the Lord, trust His timing. These women will have more influence and more honor and more respect than if they took it upon themselves instead of allowing God to take control.

33 Miles - Hold on

"My soul clings to You, Your right hand upholds me."

Loss of sensitivity - pt 2

Just a side note -

I have known many Christians (including myself) who have fallen into sexual immorality, because they lost their sensitivity to what it means to be pure. And they have lost their sensitivity to sexual sin.

A lot of this lack of sensitivity is because what we have chosen to be entertained by. There is a reason that God said to flee sexual immorality, to not come near it, to not even entertain a hint of it. It is because God knows that if we do, we will probably fall.

Revelation 2:20-23 Participation of the Church in immorality, a sign of a corrupt heart

20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

Lack of sensitivity

In the early church, Christians refused to participate in the entertainment of Rome at the time, because it involved taking life. They were willing to make this stand against the culture even when it was hard because they wanted to live lives that honored their Lord and others. They loved the Lord and refused to be entertained by the things He hated. They refused to love entertainment more than God. They also loved others and refused to participate in an entertainment that victimized others and destroyed their lives (even if those being victimized were willing participants). They stood up and defended the lives of others.

Today, Christians often refuse to give up their entertainment in order to stand up for others. Worse, they refuse to give up their entertainment for God. There are many movies that have absolute sinful scenes and yet we love our entertainment more than God, the scriptures and others.

One area of entertainment where we have lost our sensitivity is sexual immorality. I am shocked when I here a Christian struggling with whether or not it is ok to watch a movie with a sexual scene in it. The fact that this would even be a question, shows how much the church has lost their sensitivity to things that are evil. I don't think we would be willing to go and watch a live couple commit some sexual act or be nude in our living room or anywhere else for that matter for entertainment, even if we turned our heads or went into the other room. But we are willing put up with it and watch it behind the safety of a tv or movie screen. Realize this, these are real men and women, just as real as if they were there live, committing real sexual immorality and sin. Having a screen or the fact that it is a good movie otherwise doesn't make it less real.

This is not good and this struggle is not good. This is a symptom of a heart grown cold toward the things of God. It shows how far our hearts have come from God in this area. When we struggle, it shows that our hearts are pulled to loving other things more than God. There should not be a struggle. God is clear on his view of sexual immorality. We are not to have any part in it, not even a hint of sexual immorality. And God is also clear that we are to love others and to love with an agape love (a love that is strong, stronger than our for fleeting entertainment). It should break our hearts that our entertainment industry promotes sexual immorality and adultery and takes advantage of people, just as in Rome they took advantage of the gladiators for their entertainment. Looking away or fast forwarding is like going to watch a gladiator battle and looking away or taking a break to go to the restroom right before the one kills the other, but still being entertained by the pomp and festivities around the fight, and on top of that you are still giving them the money to continue to produce these death fights by attending. Even though you say you are not participating in the bad parts, you are. God has called us to be a light, to bring goodness and justice; to love others and to be willing to stand up for the good of others, even when it hurts, even when we must miss a movie we really want to watch.

Just a short time ago this was not a hard issue. It was not complicated. It was not a struggle. It was a dishonor to being entertained by a movie was a movie or anything that defiled the marriage bed or demeaned a man or woman sexually, no matter how good the rest of the movie was. A man was not a man of honor if he watched these kind of movies. It was called integrity and honor. A man or women still has no honor if they chose to participate in a movie like this. Our hearts have grown cold. This issue has only become complicated because of an increased love of entertainment and a decreased love for God, His word, purity and a decreased love for others and justice. We love our entertainment more than we love God and more than we love others.

I am writing this, not because I am any better, but because I want this in my own life. I want my own heart to turn from being cold in these areas where I struggle with this and to turn to love. I want the parts in my own heart that have been corrupt to become pure. I want the God who searches our hearts to search my own, and put to death this in me. I want to love. And I want to stand for the things that God loves. And I want to love others. And I want to love my Beloved.

Manhood - Dr. Voddie Baucham

Pulpit and women

John Piper on health

John Piper - Biblical Masculinity

John Piper - Biblical Masculinity

Fatherhood - consequences

Voddie Baucham

Advice to men in looking for wives

Biblical Womanhood by Voddie Baucham

"The greatest influence on earth whether for good or for evil, is possessed by woman."

Future Homemakers¹

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Nicole Whitacre

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As a young woman, I often lay in bed at night and wondered about my future. I stared hard into the darkness, as if God had put the answers there. I had a longing to do great things for God. I imagined myself as a missionary in another country, maybe even a nurse. (I assumed my tendency to faint at the sight of blood would not be a problem.) I had visions of speaking to crowds of women, leading many to the gospel.

What I didn't yet understand was that God's plan for me was greater than what my imagination could conjure up. It was also very different than what I thought.

How about you? What are your dreams and aspirations for your future? How do you answer the well-meaning adults who ask about your plans after high school?

It may surprise you to learn that God in the Bible has already given you a sneak peek into your future. As women, we are all appointed to be keepers of the home (Prov 31:10-31; 1 Tim 5:14; Titus 2:5). Someday you may be called to love a husband and bring up children and make a home for them. Or as a single woman, you may be entrusted with a home from which you extend hospitality and vital service to your church and community. While you may pursue many other God-honoring tasks or occupations throughout your lifetime, you are also called to be a homemaker.

This is our purpose in life, what John Angell James calls a "woman's mission"—to "affect society through the medium of family influence."² You see, being feminine isn't just who we are; it's also what we do. Our feminine identity comes with a unique task: to change the world by devoting ourselves to home life.

Now this does not mean that the Bible confines girls and women to their homes. The Proverbs 31 woman—the ideal homemaker—pursued endeavors outside of the home for the good of her family. And, of course, single women will have careers that require them to work beyond the home. But Scripture unapologetically sets forth the high priority of the home for each and every woman.

Although this is our clear mission from God, not many young women aspire to be homemakers these days. While there are many other worthy careers they may consider, homemaking isn't usually on the list of desirable options.

However, it wasn't so long ago that women thought differently about homemaking. As author Danielle Crittenden points out, "Whether it's the pleasure of being a wife or of raising children or of making a home—[these] were, until the day before yesterday, considered the most natural things in the world."³ Today the most natural thing in the world is for girls to consider any career except that of homemaker. So what happened? When did homemaking fall off the radar screen for young women?

To make a very long story short, forty years ago a revolution known as the feminist movement set out to "liberate" our mothers' generation from being tied down to the home. And part and parcel of the feminist message was "a disdain of domesticity and a contempt for housewives."⁴

And there is perhaps no greater measurement of the success of feminism than the fact that our generation no longer considers homemaking a viable career. As my mom has written, "Feminist philosophy has become thoroughly integrated into the values of mainstream society—so much so, that it has been absorbed and applied by the majority of women, even many who do not consider themselves feminist."⁵ The feminist revolution is not a revolution anymore; it's simply a way of life.

While motherhood has made a comeback in the ratings of late—and only as a worthy interlude in an otherwise successful career—homemaking in its full scope remains unpopular. Thus you may not have thought of housewives (a term usually employed while looking down on someone) as being world-changers before. But looks can be deceiving. True greatness isn't always flashy or attention-grabbing when it arrives on the scene. I didn't see it at first either.

My mom is a homemaker. I grew up with a living model of a woman who utilized all her intelligence, creativity, and energy to create a home and care for her husband and children. But I didn't always fully appreciate the true significance of her chosen career.

Sure, I wanted to get married and have kids someday and have a home of my own, but I lacked a biblical understanding and vision of the importance and priority of my future calling. However, Mom did not allow me to remain ignorant for long. Through Scripture, hours of conversations, and helpful books, she presented to me the noble calling of a homemaker and its powerful effect in the world.

I learned that, as John Angell James wrote, quoting Adolphe Monod, "The greatest influence on earth whether for good or for evil, is possessed by woman."⁶ Modern-day pastor John MacArthur echoes his sentiment:

The family might survive the problems with children and husband-fathers if the women who are wives and mothers were faithful to their godly calling. Their influence is so strong and pervasive in the home that it can mitigate the other influences. . . . when a wife and mother fulfills her God-given duty, she acts as a barrier against that family's dishonoring God and His Word.⁷

Mom not only taught me of the power of a homemaker's influence in the world but about the fulfilling nature of her job. Dorothy Patterson elaborates,

Homemaking, if pursued with energy, imagination, and skills, has as much challenge and opportunity, success and failure, growth and expansion, perks and incentives as any corporation, plus something no other position offers—working for people you love most and want to please the most!⁸

Through my mother's example and training, I caught a vision of the importance of my future mission. I knew that whether or not I got married, and no matter what other tasks God might have for me, I wanted to fulfill my biblical calling to be a "keeper of the home."

Today, although I may not be doing important works by society's standards, I am doing great things for God, by His grace. Although God did not call me to be a missionary in another country, I am able to share the gospel with my little boy, Jack. While I may not be an encouragement to thousands, I can pray for and encourage Steve, the godly man who is my husband. And I finally realized that I wasn't cut out to be a nurse, but each and every day I have the opportunity to serve the church and reach out to the community, all from the base of my home.

I know many other women, married and single, who are quietly and without fanfare starting a counterrevolution. They are intelligent, talented, godly visionaries who are seeking to change their world by answering God's call to be homemakers.

Carolyn McCulley is one such single woman. She has turned her back on the feminist ideology she formerly embraced and now enthusiastically serves others through her home. While she holds down a demanding job, she also thrives on hosting singles and married couples alike in her home for fellowship or evangelism (and even gourmet meals!). She loves to have children—especially her nieces and nephews—spend the night. In fact, Carolyn has recently written a book to encourage other single women to embrace God's feminine design.⁹

Another revolutionary is my friend, Jonalee Earles, a young wife and mother. She was a straight-A student in high school who went on to study interior design and could have had her pick of career options. However, she's chosen to invest her creative talent into making a pleasant and delightful home for her husband and their three small children. Jonalee is a wonderful wife, an exceptional mom, and a skilled and artistic homemaker. In her spare time she helps other women decorate their homes.

Stephanie Pyle is a future homemaker. A bright college student at the local university, she does not hesitate to tell others that she hopes to make use of her degree as a wife and mother someday. Her fellow students are perplexed but curious. Stephanie is a young woman who has a clear vision of the importance of the home.

Carolyn, Jonalee, and Stephanie are participating in what one person called "the great task of renovating the world":

Even if we cannot reform the world in a moment, we can begin the work by reforming ourselves and our households—It is woman's mission. Let her not look away from her own little family circle for the means of producing moral and social reforms, but begin at home.¹⁰

You want to join us? I must warn you that the world will not applaud you. Or worse, they may look down on you and criticize you. I guarantee there won't be awards given out for homemakers—at least, not in this world. And we probably won't see the effects right away. But our influence will surely outlast our lives.

Actually you don't have to wait until a future day or time to get started on your mission. You can begin today. My mom, Carolyn Mahaney, will tell you how in the following article. But for the moment, consider: When the next person asks about your plans after high school, how will you respond? Will you join the vast number of women who have tossed away the keys to the home? Or will you join the homemaker's mission to change the world with the gospel?

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Endnotes

¹ From Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood by Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Mahaney Whitacre, copyright 2005, pages 143-48. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, www.crossway.com.

² John Angell James, Female Piety: A Young Woman's Friend and Guide (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria, 1860, repr. 1995), 91-92.

³ Danielle Crittenden, What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999), 22.

⁴ F. Carolyn Graglia, Domestic Tranquility (Dallas, TX: Spence, 1998), 92.

⁵ Carolyn Mahaney, Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003), 103.

⁶ James, Female Piety, 72.

⁷ John MacArthur, Foreword to Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock, Becoming a Woman Who Pleases God, (Chicago: Moody, 2003), 12.

⁸ Dorothy Patterson, "The High Calling of Wife and Mother in Biblical Perspective," in Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood (ed. John Piper and Wayne Grudem; Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1991), 377.

⁹ Carolyn McCulley, Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? Trusting God with A Hope Deferred (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004).

¹⁰ Barbara Welter, "The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860," American Quarterly, 18 (Summer 1966), 53, 174; quoted in Susan Hunt, The True Woman (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1997), 24.

Piety overcoming struggles with sin

I have been struggling with fears. And as I have been struggling with these fears, I am finding that there is so much sin in me. And I am crushed by who I am and how I respond. There is so much in me that I hate. And I am devastated and in shock by what I see in my own heart.

I think I was just hoping for more. I was hoping I'd be stronger. And it is tearing me apart that I am not. I think I thought maybe I wouldn't have to deal with these fears any more. So when I see myself fall into them it devastates me. And even though I have grown, I think just the fact that I have these fears at all is breaking my heart. I should have conquered these fears by now.

I looked at Romans 7, last night. I feel like this. Not understanding, hating myself, feeling like sin is always just right there, this constant war. At the end Paul confesses who he is, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? . . .

. . . Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" I need to trust Christ. He is the one that can deliver me from this body of death. The next few chapters are powerful in talking about how God is sanctifying us and making us more like Him. I need to hold on to that promise in the midst of these struggles. I need to be reminded that even though I fail, He doesn't. And that the Gospel that saved me will also sanctifies me.

I think I have been working so hard not to fear, that instead of looking to God and His grace and His strength, all that I can see is myself as a failure, instead of a man that God is working on and changing. It is not me who is glorious, it is Him. I have no good thing apart from Him.

John Calvin said, “I call ‘piety’ that reverence joined with love of God which the knowledge of his benefits induces.” I must have faith in His sovereign goodness and His Fatherly care for me in my struggles with sin. The punishment was taken at the cross, and therefore there is no longer any condemnation, only a loving Father, who walks alongside me and trains and leads me, so faithfully and so lovingly, and so patiently. And I need to trust in His promises to sanctify me.

And even though He might discipline me with the rod, the rod is not an instrument for punishment or retribution for my sin, but an instrument for training me in righteousness. It is His loving hand guiding me and protecting me in the way I should go. And He is so faithful in taking this boy and making him into a man.

Romans 7

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! . . . .

I am so glad that God can love me, even though I am a mess.

Assumptions causing loss of friendships

Lately, I have seen friendships lost because of assumptions. One are both parties have chosen to believe a lie and have already determined in their heart where the other party is wrong and they have already determined they are right. Without listening, they become irrational in their thinking, but tend to package it in away that at least seems rational to them. And so even though they are wrong, they think they are right and have hearts that are hard to hearing the truth. Friendships are often loss. And all this because of an assumption. This is evil and contentious. God hates this. And when we do this we are self righteous fools.

Instead of having hearts that make assumptions. Our hearts should be broken, quick to listen and ready to love, even when we are being wronged. We should be patient with others faults, listening to find out where they are at, and speaking the truth in love. . .

God knows us. He does not make assumptions. And yet He treats us with such grace.

Hebrews 12:1,2

Living by faith is not the life of a dreamer or an idealist. . . .

It is the pursuit of the realist.

A woman's heart

Realist

Hope arises out of the hard truth of how things are. Christians will always live carrying in one hand the promises of how it will be and in the other hand the hard reality of how it is. To deny either is to hold only half the truth of the gospel. --Craig Barnes

Prayer for work

"A prayer to be said before doing one's work" by John Calvin

Our good God, Father and Savior, since You have pleased to command us to work to meet our needs, by Your grace may You so bless our labor that Your benediction may extend to us: without it we cannot continue to live. And may Your favor serve us as a witness of Your goodness and presence, that by it we may recognize the fatherly care You have for us. Moreover, O Lord, please grant us aid by Your Holy Spirit, so that we may faithfully work in our place and vocation, without any fraud or deception; may we pay attention to following Your ordinance rather than satisfying our own lust for gain. And if it please You to prosper our labor, may You also give us the heart to support those who are in need according to the ability You have given us - but always without our wishing to set ourselves above those who have not received such generosity from You. And where You choose to give us greater poverty and lack than our flesh would like, You, O Lord, grant us the grace to acknowledge that You always feed us by Your goodness, so that we may not be tempted to defy You. But may we wait with patience for You to fill us not only with Your temporal graces but also with spiritual ones, so that we may always have greater reason and occasion to thank you and to repose entirely on your goodness alone. Hear us, most merciful Father, by Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Amen.

What we should be entertained by

Question from my womanhood blog

Comments based on what I wrote about 1 Corinthians 14:35

Reader said...

hey- i got to your blog thru a___. quick question- what about a theological discussion around the table, at a meal or gathering? do you think that it is biblically wrong for a woman to engage with a man other than her husband about theology -whether her husband is present or not? is it wrong for me to ask you this question thru blogging? should i have asked my husband first? thanks-

June 20, 2008 9:38 AM

Miykael said...

That’s a good question. When I wrote these things on women, I wanted to get at the raw meaning of what the scripture is saying. Not necessarily figure out all the practical aspects of it, but to just find out, “what is it saying?”, because I know that God is wiser than I am, and I can trust Him at his word, and that it is a good thing to obey Him. I also wanted to know because; I didn’t want to ask something of women that God was not asking. I will be honest with you I am still wrestling with this specific verse, trying to get at the core of what it is saying and what it means practically for us. I tend to approach scripture like Jacob when he wrestled with God. I wrestle with it and chew on it till God shows me what it means. This verse is such a sensitive topic, so I don’t want to come to a quick conclusion. But what I have written on 1 Corinthians 14 is what has come out of my wrestling with the verse so far. The scriptures are pretty clear that a woman ought to express “theology” or “who God is” in all that she does, whether actions or words. Anyone who would interpret 1 Corinthians 14 as saying that women should be weak or not express who God is has not really studied the scripture on this issue. And no I do not think that she has to ask her husband every time she expresses who God is in her life. I think we have to be careful of bringing our cultural perspective, or any cultural perspective, into our understanding of the verses on women. Also we must be careful not to have an “either . . . or” mentality. As with many things the things of the Kingdom of God do not fit into these things. Women our both to be strong in their expression of theology both in their words and in their actions with men and they are also supposed to support the leadership of men, especially that of their husbands. I don’t think these are exclusive things.

Since Paul uses scripture as his reasoning for saying this (specifically to women) and later says it’s the Lord’s command, we cannot just ignore these verses. We must obey it. I do think it will take some learning on how to live these verses out practically, one to get our own assumptions on what this looks like out of the way, and two to learn to live out what the Kingdom of God has for us. My hope is to get people to start believing in the scripture and then once they do ask how we are to obey it.

Here is what I have come up with so far on the practical side of these verses, although I have not settled on a conclusion. The church is meant to be lead not only by pastors, elders, and deacons, but as families come into the church the father is to represent his family within the church and provide godly leadership. These verses reflect that: fathers rising up and taking responsibility to see that their homes are the Lord’s, teaching their family about the ways of the Lord. So I think this is the overall lesson of these verses: Women, what can you do to establish the godly leadership of your husband in your home. This is the over arching principle in whatever situation you find you self in, whether in the church meeting or out of it (1 Corinthians 11).

Specifically, this verse refers to meeting as a church (whether small group meeting or a Sunday service). I don’t think this means that a women cannot talk about God openly in her daily actions. In fact, I think that is the essence of womanhood, to express God in all she does whether by words or actions. So as long as she is supporting her husband’s leadership and is not in an authoritative or teaching position over men, I would not put any restrictions on her outside the church, as long as it is done with a gentle and quiet spirit (don’t put cultural connotations on this). I think an example of this is Aquila and Priscilla with Apollos. This was a one on one interaction with Apollos, and although I am sure they probably mostly talked with him together, I also wouldn’t be surprised if there were times for example Priscilla was working around the house and praising God and talking with Apollo on how great God is and about theology. We also know that Paul and Jesus talked with women. I think that theology should be part of a regular discussion among Christians (Col 3:16). What better thing to talk about then the glories of God as a part of normal discussion. I don’t think these verses are restricting that by any means.

I do think, though, within church or small group meetings there should be strong leadership from the men. And that this restriction focuses on that. I believe that these verses are putting the responsibility on direction, teaching, authority, and judgment on the men, because when that happens the church is stronger. It is not saying that women must be totally silence, because we see that in 1 Corinthians 11, Acts 1-2, and so on, but when it comes to the things above they are to be silent. I will be honest with you; I am still wrestling at this point. I also have the questions of “What is this supposed to look like?” And when I say these things, I also have a strong reaction like most people (because I come to it with my cultural expectations of what that looks like), but I am not interested in what I have say about it or what feel, but instead I want to submit to the word of God; “was it from [me] that the word of God came?” I do have more ideas about this verse, which are interesting and hopefully will be helpful, but I am still chewing on it waiting on the Lord to give me the answer, but I think what it comes down to is that we have to surrender to God in this and say, “I know you have something good here, your Word is God breathed and is for our good. God show us what you mean here and how we can practically live it out.” And He is good, and I think we will find in His word so much more than we expected or dreamed.