A Fresh Perspective

As of my last post, life has been returning to normal. Thom returned home just a few hours later than scheduled. We are recovering from our illnesses. The weather is slowly warming up. We have all of the goats outside now. Much of the garden froze, but it looks like some of it may come back. We'll have to wait and see. If not, we'll just replant and try again. We also lost a lot of chicks. Out of 100 we lost somewhere between 20-25. I can only attribute it to a bout of pneumonia due to the cold weather. As soon as Thom got home he and the boys set to work building an insulated box for them. With that and a heat lamp in the garage we've been able to keep the temperature in the 90's. It has been about 24 hours since the last one died and the remainder are all looking strong and healthy.

At times like these last couple of weeks when times are hard I tend to get overwhelmed by the darkness. It seems that things will never get better. A major focus so far this year has been the renewing of my mind. We are doing a scheduled Bible-in-a-year reading. When I read I've always had a tendency to think of the accounts in human terms. "What happened to these people? Did they do what was right or wrong? What was the result?" Then I realized that I've been thinking of it all wrong. It's not about us and our deeds. It's about God. It's a difficult habit to break, but I've been trying to think about it this way. "What is this telling me about God? Who is He? What did He do in this situation?" The same pattern of thought applies to all of life. It's not about what I'm going through. It's not about how I feel or even about my happiness. It's about God. Am I bringing Him glory in this situation? Am I honoring Him by how I'm handling this? Life is full of challenges--illnesses, failures, temptations, tough marriages, tough kids, financial troubles, ... We all struggle, each in our own way. It all comes down to this--will I honor God even in this darkness?

As I lay in bed, tossing and turning with dreams, this passage came to mind. I hope you are as encouraged as I was:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim and the Word was Elohim. He was in the beginning with Elohim. Everything existed through His hands, and without him, not even one thing existed of the things, which have existed. In him was life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. John 1:1-5

God has given us the truth. He has shown us what the darkness looks like from His perspective. Do we believe Him?

T.V.’s Virtual Reality

This was written by a very dear friend of mine, a true Titus 2 woman. May you be as blessed by this as I am.

This is written by a woman who learned some hard lessons, and after a long while was set free, by the Lord Jesus, from the snares of daytime television.  Many women get glued to the TV  - in secret -  when husbands are not at home, and find themselves lacking in productivity and contentment, and most of all - peace.  The Television, I came to realize, was making me fat for starters, as it affected my moods.  This may sound silly, but it is true that we overeat as a result of our moods, which in turn dictate the atmosphere of our family life, and how we relate with our spouse.  And thus a cycle began.  Here is what Jesus showed me as I struggled, and wrestled in prayer, to overcome my sinful patterns that were destroying my life. TV breeds, cultivates, steals, exaggerates, and tells lies!   Today I give thanks & praise to God for delivering me from willful, defiling sin. (Mark 7:20-23)  He has helped me to remove the plank from my own eye, granting me Understanding in this matter,  that I may help others who are suffering in similar patterns.   (Matt. 7: 1-5) TV breeds disappointment TV breeds envy TV breeds unrealistic and vain imagination TV breeds dissatisfaction with our spouse, and our surroundings TV breeds laziness TV breeds ridiculing our husband and mocking men  in general TV cultivates destructive attitudes TV cultivates depression TV cultivates false expectations TV cultivates other people into our bedroom TV cultivates rebellious attitudes TV cultivates tolerance of evil behavior TV steals sexual purity from our minds TV steals motivation to be productive TV steals valuable time TV steals God's rightful request of our time TV exaggerates marital problems to seem insurmountable TV exaggerates marital infidelity and makes it look normal TV exaggerates immodesty making it look normal TV exaggerates beauty, seducing with make-up, sexy hair, and sensual clothing. TV lies to woman, thinking other men eyeing her flatters her husband TV lies to women that they need more and better things, and leisure TV lies to women giving them a false sense of comfort TV lies to women drawing them into living discontented lives. In a nutshell, TV defiles Believers.  ALL this is especially true of daytime soap operas. And yes, even Oprah steals what is rightfully God's territory -- which is biblical reasoning and time. Shows like '24' , 'Alias' , 'Desperate Housewives', “American Idol’, etc. are a rebellion against what we know the Lord would have

of us; to deny our flesh, and live for Him. Shall we test HIM by loving the world? 1Jn 2:15-16  Oh dear sisters, cry to God to show you His will. And persevere!  Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:5  "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"  Have you ever realized that TV breaks every law of God  repeatedly?  How can we, His people, find pleasure in this? When we begin to view the TV as a minute-by-minute sacrifice of our spiritual health and liveliness, and as what the Apostle John said is practicing sin which leads to hell, we will begin to hate its destructive existence, and look at it as a demonic tool used to destroy.  The first thing our Lord asked of me was to confess my sin to my husband!!  Hard, yes, but Jesus wanted me to expose the darkness, that my husband would pray for me as my spiritual head.  This is a good 1st step to conquer sinful habits, especially when in serious temptation. (Eph.5:8-22) The Lord also asked me to wrap the TV with ribbon and a big bow smack in the middle, right there in my family room, to give it as a sacrificial offering to Him. The wrapping reminded me that I submitted to Him, and thus encouraged me to obey the Lord.  “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”  “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” Psalm 101:2-3.  To be faithful to Him, we must obey the Lord God in reverential fear, understanding He is impartial, and Righteous in all of His judgments. Obedience honors, pleases and glorifies God, and proves our love to Him.  In return He implants a growing assurance of salvation, and we bear the fruit of the Spirit. As I obeyed, I began to see the strengthening power of the Lord helping me conquer other sins, as TV was such a terrible stronghold.  Of course I needed to ask the Lord to remind me time and again of my desire to obey Him, but once victorious, I became one with a real-life testimony to the LORD’s power.  He desires to bless each of us in our obedience to Him.  He loves those that fear Him.    And on a note to married life...being overweight is the most influential aspect of being non-romantic.  We think it’s our hormones (it could be) but more than likely it is hidden areas of the heart. TV in part, holds you there; I know this without any doubt whatsoever, because I had to pray and ask God to make me hate it as much as He does. (A good prayer for any sin.) Satan owns TV programs.  So who do we serve when we give in?  Saying I won’t let the shows "get to me," was such a lie, as if there is any power in rebellion! Dear friend, ask the Lord to forgive you, and repent.  Then strive for the goal of purity! “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!” (emphasis, mine)   © 2005MLS/ No portion of tract may be altered.  Copy in full. Photo credit

No More Kings

Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian." Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you."--Judges 8:22-23

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations."...And the Lord said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them...."--I Sam. 8:4-7

Until the time of Saul's appointment as King, the Hebrew civil government consisted of a number of Judges (see Exodus 18). The Judges and the people looked to God as their Supreme Judge, Lawgiver and King (Isaiah 33:22). In time, the people began to desire a human king, like the nations around them. Gideon refused to be their king, and reminded them that that position belongs to God alone. The second time the people rejected God, he gave them their desire, with a firm warning of the consequences. They continued to reject God and Saul was appointed King. History has shown God's warning being fulfilled over and over again.

Moving forward 2500 years, God's people began to be persecuted for their faith by not only Kings, but by those who claimed to be serving God in the Church. These people were forced to flee to North America. The people governed themselves according to God's Word. Although they were still under the rule of kings, the physical distance provided them greater liberty. They were loyal to the king, but King George was not as loyal to his people. He violated British law in his colonies all over the world. British law, it seems, did not apply outside of Britain. He trampled on rights that were given to the people by God. The colonists in America had effectively been governing themselves by God's law for 200 years and were not willing to have their liberty trampled. So in 1776, the 13 sovereign colonies declared themselves independent of the crown.

Now, I know this is nothing new. However, it struck me the other day that this was a monumental event! For the first time since approximately 1100 BC, men once again recognized God as their King! As in the time of the Judges, men had rule by law (the law of the King, Jehovah God) rather than rule by man. This is a Republic.

What a heritage! It makes me so proud to be an American! It also grieves me to know that Americans have once again turned away from King Jehovah in search of an earthly king. We must repent, turn away from our self-serving ways and once again recognize Jehovah God as the Creator and Sustainer of life, our Judge, Lawgiver and King. We must once again become intimately familiar with the scriptures, submit every area of our lives to God, and look to Him rather than our elected representatives as the healer of our ailing nation. Only then will we be blessed. Only then will we have liberty.

Saved by His Life

Today has been a pretty run-of-the-mill day. Thom left on another 2 week trip yesterday. This time he's off to Germany, then China. The kids and I stayed home doing school work and trying to recover from a nasty cold.
Meanwhile, I've been pondering a thought that Dallas Willard brought out in his book, The Spirit of the Disciplines. It is rather appropriately timed, as tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent. When I think of what Jesus has done for me I picture the crowning moment of his life as his sacrifice on the cross. It was that act of suffering and death that gave us our salvation. But is that all he did for me? Romans 5:9-10 says, "Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." Did you catch that? By his Death, Christ took the consequences of our guilt upon himself, so that we could be reconciled to God, but by his Life we are saved. His Life! The Bible places considerable emphasis on Life (John 10:10, I John 5:12, Eph 2:5). I think I will be spending a good bit more time studying and meditating on how Jesus used his life.