Just posted a short blog for our first rescue baby on my other blog "Loving for Jesus." Click the link below to view:
made in heaven
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
A Love that Redeems
"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." Isaiah 1:18-19, ESV
This week we began diving into the prophets of the Old Testament. For those of you new to the study of Scripture, there are two different categories of prophets: major prophets and minor prophets. We read from both this week. Amos and Hosea are minor prophets, while Isaiah is one of the major prophets. If your Bible has an introduction to each book, I encourage you to read that for each of these prophets so you understand what people/nation he was sent to prophesy and why.
As a teacher, I want to be so careful not to "spoon feed you" from my time in God's Word. You will only truly grow from YOUR time with the LORD in His Word. And yet, I want to make sure you get the most from your time of Bible reading so that you understand the significance of what you are reading. If I had not put myself under the discipleship of great teachers over the course of many years, I would not know what I do today and be able to continually learn more because of the historical background which I have. So right now, I feel the need to encourage you to do the same. If you really want to grow in your knowledge of God's Word, find a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) or CBS (Community Bible Study) class to begin this fall when the new classes start (and do so quickly, because many classes fill up). I attended several years of BSF classes, along with many Beth Moore studies, and I am so daily thankful as I read my Bible and see the notes I took in the margin as I did those studies. As I am reading through the Bible this year, God is helping me to build upon that knowledge base. There is always something new to learn!
With that in mind, I want to point out a few significant things from our readings this week.
Speaking of Redeemer, I hope you took the time to read all of Hosea this week. That is a story of Redeeming Love. In fact, a wonderful Christian fiction writer has written a fantastic book that I know several of you have read, and it is completely based on Hosea taking a prostitute as his wife to be a real-life drama of God choosing us and loving us and redeeming us in the midst of our sin. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is one of the best fictional books I have ever read, and I highly recommend it.
Finally, we whet our appetite with just the first four chapters of Isaiah, one of my favorite books in all of the Bible. A few fun facts about Isaiah:
There's more I could share about Isaiah, but I'll wait until we dive deeper into this beautiful portrait of our Savior. For now, soak up every word. It is beauty.
"In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel." Isaiah 4:2
This week we began diving into the prophets of the Old Testament. For those of you new to the study of Scripture, there are two different categories of prophets: major prophets and minor prophets. We read from both this week. Amos and Hosea are minor prophets, while Isaiah is one of the major prophets. If your Bible has an introduction to each book, I encourage you to read that for each of these prophets so you understand what people/nation he was sent to prophesy and why.
As a teacher, I want to be so careful not to "spoon feed you" from my time in God's Word. You will only truly grow from YOUR time with the LORD in His Word. And yet, I want to make sure you get the most from your time of Bible reading so that you understand the significance of what you are reading. If I had not put myself under the discipleship of great teachers over the course of many years, I would not know what I do today and be able to continually learn more because of the historical background which I have. So right now, I feel the need to encourage you to do the same. If you really want to grow in your knowledge of God's Word, find a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) or CBS (Community Bible Study) class to begin this fall when the new classes start (and do so quickly, because many classes fill up). I attended several years of BSF classes, along with many Beth Moore studies, and I am so daily thankful as I read my Bible and see the notes I took in the margin as I did those studies. As I am reading through the Bible this year, God is helping me to build upon that knowledge base. There is always something new to learn!
With that in mind, I want to point out a few significant things from our readings this week.
- Read Amos 8:11-12. Amos prophesies what kind of famine? For what will all people be desperately searching?
- What Amos prophesies to the people of Israel and Judah comes true after the last words of Malachi the prophet (the last book of the Old Testament). God's people will have a time of silence from God--no more prophetic visions, no more angelic appearances, no more words from the Sovereign LORD...for 400 years! Sound familiar? Think back to the time between Joseph and Moses, when God's people were in slavery in Egypt. Just as God promised to send a deliverer to His people in bondage to Pharoah, so God now promises to send a Deliverer to His people in bondage to sin.
- Read what Malachi prophesies in Malachi 4:5-6. Who will come to break the silence of God? What else will he do?
- Now turn to Luke 1:5-19...and watch God's story unfold!
- Who broke the silence? (hint: he stands in the presence of God; v. 19)
- Who was the promised prophet to come in the spirit and power of Elijah? (Read more about his ministry in John 1:19-34.)
- What was John the Baptist's sole purpose in life? (hint: see the end of v. 17; compare with Mark 1:2-9)
Speaking of Redeemer, I hope you took the time to read all of Hosea this week. That is a story of Redeeming Love. In fact, a wonderful Christian fiction writer has written a fantastic book that I know several of you have read, and it is completely based on Hosea taking a prostitute as his wife to be a real-life drama of God choosing us and loving us and redeeming us in the midst of our sin. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is one of the best fictional books I have ever read, and I highly recommend it.
Finally, we whet our appetite with just the first four chapters of Isaiah, one of my favorite books in all of the Bible. A few fun facts about Isaiah:
- the Bible has 66 books; Isaiah has 66 chapters
- the first 39 books of the Bible are Old Testament; the first 39 chapters of Isaiah prophesy mainly about events leading up to Captivity (God's judgement of Israel)
- the last 27 books of the Bible are New Testament; the last 27 books of Isaiah prophesy about events beyond the Captivity (God's redemption of Israel)
- the keyword of Isaiah is "salvation"
- Isaiah is the prophet of redemption; his name means "Salvation of Jehovah."
- Messianic prophesies (prophesy the coming of the Messiah--Jesus): Isaiah 2:4; 7:14; 9:2,6; 11:10; 28:16; 42:1; 53(most often quoted Old Testament chapter in the New Testament); 59:16; 61:1; 63:1
(some of the above is from the Thompson Chain-Reference comprehensive Bible helps)
There's more I could share about Isaiah, but I'll wait until we dive deeper into this beautiful portrait of our Savior. For now, soak up every word. It is beauty.
"In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel." Isaiah 4:2
Monday, June 20, 2011
tip for bible readings
Good morning ladies--
I wanted to make a quick suggestion this morning as we begin reading about all the kings of Israel and Judah. When I first studied these books, a teacher suggested we do this and it was SO helpful. If you have not read my blog yet about the Divided Kingdom, read that to understand what I'm talking about.
Use a blue colored pencil to underline (or mark however you choose) the kings of Judah (because blue is the Davidic color of the Jews).
Use a red colored pencil to mark the kings of Israel.
This will help you keep from getting confused which nation is being referred to. Remember, Judahbegins with Rehoboam (Solomon's son), so he and each of his successive descendants will be blue. Israel begins with Jeroboam. So he and each of his successive descendants will be red. You may even want to go back to the last day of last week and mark those kings at the beginning of their reigns.
This is when our readings become like a novel again, learning the history of God's people and why the Jewish nation was longing so desperately for Messiah to come. Enjoy!
Would you believe my bible fell open to this prophecy this morning?
"There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms...They will be my people, and I will be their God." (Ezekiel 37:22b, 23b)
O the joy of knowing the end of the story...that Messiah will come and reign!!!!!!!!!!
Love you gals,
Julie
Saturday, June 18, 2011
A Kingdom Divided
Something very significant happened in our Bible readings this week. If this is the first time you've read through God's Word, you may not have noticed this huge event, so I want to be sure and point it out to you.
First, however, I want to have you take a look at some passages from Jesus' life. Are you familiar with the story of the Samaritan woman in John 4? She was the woman at the well to whom Jesus spoke and asked for a drink of water.
5So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." 13Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." (John 4:5-15)
This is an incredibly powerful story that gets even better, and I could write and talk about it all day (I have before, at women's retreats!). But the Living Water is not my point today--although He is the greatest thing we could ever thirst for, and the ONLY thing that truly satisfies!
Did you notice what the woman said about Jews associating with Samaritans? Then she brought up that bit about her father Jacob (renamed Israel) and that well of his from which she was drawing water. See Genesis 33:19 and Joshua 24:32 for the references about Jacob's well. Now read a little more of Jesus' conversation with this Samaritan woman.
20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." 21Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 25The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." 26Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." (John 4:20-26)
Wow! What an encounter! Her life was never the same.
What I want you to notice is the discussion about which mountain God is supposed to be worshipped upon, and worshipping what you do know versus what you don't know. IT ALL STARTED IN OUR READINGS THIS WEEK.
Sadly, as we read about the end of Solomon's life, we watched him fall into the sin of idol worship. He disobeyed God's command to not marry foreign women, for God knew they would lead him to worship their gods. The wisest man ever became very foolish at the end of his life. Actually, I don't think it was foolishness and much as laziness. He let down his guard, and that was not good. What's worse? His children and future descendants got to pay the price. Parents...take heed.
9And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the LORD commanded. 11Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen." (1 Kings 11:9-13)
Consequences. Now Solomon's son Rehoboam gets to reap them...and he sure did miss the boat on the wisdom given to his father. Take a look at 1 Kings 12 for the full story. Because God caused Rehoboam to be so foolish and take very foolish advice, the kingdom was almost completely ripped away from him. The people's words were pretty clear: "What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David." (1 Kings 12:16b)
The result of Solomon's sin of idolatry and his son Rehoboam's folly? "So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day." (1 Kings 12:19) Then the prophecy given to Jeroboam comes true, and all Israel goes to him to be their king.
"And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only." (1 Kings 12:20; emphasis mine)
Notice that part in bold letters. Which tribe remains part of the house of David? Judah. They were called "Judaites"and eventually shortened to "Jews." Thus we now have the Jewish nation made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin ("When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin" 1 Kings 12:21). What happened to the other ten tribes? They followed Jeroboam as the "Israelites."
So from this point on throughout the history of God's people, we now have Judah (called the southern kingdom) and Israel (the northern kingdom). Judah...the Judaites...the Jews...were the ones who remained true to the faith of their fathers and continued the line of David. They worshipped God at the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem and kept God's laws.
The Israelites, however, mixed their worship of God with foreign gods, and as we read this week, Jeroboam sought to counterfeit the things of God by creating his own version for fear his people would go back to Jerusalem and follow Rehoboam instead.
26And Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah." 28So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." 29And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings. (1 Kings 12:26-33)
Does any of this sound familiar? Are you thinking "Aaron" and "the golden calf" while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments? He even used the same words: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4b) As Solomon said, "There is nothing new under the sun." (Ecc. 1:9)
The Jewish people became so disgusted with Israel (the other ten tribes) at the way they had profaned God's law and gone to worship other idols they they wanted to have nothing to do with them. They counted them their enemies. Samaria was a town in Israel among these ten tribes. Now does the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman make more sense? How about the story of the Good Samaritan who helped the Jewish man who was robbed and beaten on the road, and not a Jewish priest or a Levite would stop to help him, but rather his enemy?
What about this story?
11On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." 14When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. 15Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:11-19, emphasis mine)
This is why we are reading through the Bible together. When you read it in it's entirety, it makes so much more sense and has tons more meaning. Now we understand why Jesus calls the Samaritan a "foreigner." Don't you love Jesus words to him? Don't you love that Jesus didn't just reserve healing and salvation for the Jews, but freely gives both to all who believe? That is the beauty of the Gospel--undeserved grace!
We are all "foreigners" when it comes to God's kingdom, because our sin has separated us from God and made us His enemies (Romans 5:10). But at the great exchange, we are clothed in Jesus' righteousness as He takes our sins upon Himself.
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24)
O for the day when we all are made pure and are brought together in unity in the Kingdom of the Son He loves!
"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)
First, however, I want to have you take a look at some passages from Jesus' life. Are you familiar with the story of the Samaritan woman in John 4? She was the woman at the well to whom Jesus spoke and asked for a drink of water.
5So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." 13Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." (John 4:5-15)
This is an incredibly powerful story that gets even better, and I could write and talk about it all day (I have before, at women's retreats!). But the Living Water is not my point today--although He is the greatest thing we could ever thirst for, and the ONLY thing that truly satisfies!
Did you notice what the woman said about Jews associating with Samaritans? Then she brought up that bit about her father Jacob (renamed Israel) and that well of his from which she was drawing water. See Genesis 33:19 and Joshua 24:32 for the references about Jacob's well. Now read a little more of Jesus' conversation with this Samaritan woman.
20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." 21Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 25The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." 26Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." (John 4:20-26)
Wow! What an encounter! Her life was never the same.
What I want you to notice is the discussion about which mountain God is supposed to be worshipped upon, and worshipping what you do know versus what you don't know. IT ALL STARTED IN OUR READINGS THIS WEEK.
Sadly, as we read about the end of Solomon's life, we watched him fall into the sin of idol worship. He disobeyed God's command to not marry foreign women, for God knew they would lead him to worship their gods. The wisest man ever became very foolish at the end of his life. Actually, I don't think it was foolishness and much as laziness. He let down his guard, and that was not good. What's worse? His children and future descendants got to pay the price. Parents...take heed.
9And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the LORD commanded. 11Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen." (1 Kings 11:9-13)
Consequences. Now Solomon's son Rehoboam gets to reap them...and he sure did miss the boat on the wisdom given to his father. Take a look at 1 Kings 12 for the full story. Because God caused Rehoboam to be so foolish and take very foolish advice, the kingdom was almost completely ripped away from him. The people's words were pretty clear: "What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David." (1 Kings 12:16b)
The result of Solomon's sin of idolatry and his son Rehoboam's folly? "So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day." (1 Kings 12:19) Then the prophecy given to Jeroboam comes true, and all Israel goes to him to be their king.
"And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only." (1 Kings 12:20; emphasis mine)
Notice that part in bold letters. Which tribe remains part of the house of David? Judah. They were called "Judaites"and eventually shortened to "Jews." Thus we now have the Jewish nation made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin ("When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin" 1 Kings 12:21). What happened to the other ten tribes? They followed Jeroboam as the "Israelites."
So from this point on throughout the history of God's people, we now have Judah (called the southern kingdom) and Israel (the northern kingdom). Judah...the Judaites...the Jews...were the ones who remained true to the faith of their fathers and continued the line of David. They worshipped God at the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem and kept God's laws.
The Israelites, however, mixed their worship of God with foreign gods, and as we read this week, Jeroboam sought to counterfeit the things of God by creating his own version for fear his people would go back to Jerusalem and follow Rehoboam instead.
26And Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah." 28So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." 29And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings. (1 Kings 12:26-33)
Does any of this sound familiar? Are you thinking "Aaron" and "the golden calf" while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments? He even used the same words: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4b) As Solomon said, "There is nothing new under the sun." (Ecc. 1:9)
The Jewish people became so disgusted with Israel (the other ten tribes) at the way they had profaned God's law and gone to worship other idols they they wanted to have nothing to do with them. They counted them their enemies. Samaria was a town in Israel among these ten tribes. Now does the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman make more sense? How about the story of the Good Samaritan who helped the Jewish man who was robbed and beaten on the road, and not a Jewish priest or a Levite would stop to help him, but rather his enemy?
What about this story?
11On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." 14When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. 15Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:11-19, emphasis mine)
This is why we are reading through the Bible together. When you read it in it's entirety, it makes so much more sense and has tons more meaning. Now we understand why Jesus calls the Samaritan a "foreigner." Don't you love Jesus words to him? Don't you love that Jesus didn't just reserve healing and salvation for the Jews, but freely gives both to all who believe? That is the beauty of the Gospel--undeserved grace!
We are all "foreigners" when it comes to God's kingdom, because our sin has separated us from God and made us His enemies (Romans 5:10). But at the great exchange, we are clothed in Jesus' righteousness as He takes our sins upon Himself.
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24)
O for the day when we all are made pure and are brought together in unity in the Kingdom of the Son He loves!
"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)
Friday, June 17, 2011
Overflow
Hi sweet sisters in Jesus--
In our recent "read thru the Bible" readings, we've read through most of Psalms and Proverbs, all of Song of Songs (whoo hoo!), and this week Ecclesiastes. What a ride. Are you getting wisdom yet? Those of us in the women's "Wising Up" study are getting an incredible serving of the main course of wisdom, enjoying every bite--even the bitter-sweet ones. I've lost count, but we have well over 20 precious ladies in this study, a few college girls even, and I'm loving it!
Life and ministry have been blessedly full lately, so I have found little time for blogging about our readings. I have enjoyed our Sunday morning discussions and will once again look forward to that this Sunday. But this morning, during my quiet time with Jesus, I responded to Him with a poem I felt compelled to share with you.
As some of you know, I've been reading the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Powerful, powerful stuff. So after my Bible reading this morning and then a little reading in that book, I wrote the following prayer/poem in my journal. If you've read her book, you'll understand.
"Overflow"
Eucharisteo.
He must increase, I must decrease.
The best gifts are down lower and lower.
Joy.
O LORD, what are You teaching me?
Where are You taking me?
How are You shaping me?
I cannot see.
I hold Your hand and trust-walk with covered eyes, open heart.
A heart I fear is about to be pierced beyond bearing--but You know what that's like...and You bore it for me.
Home study in just three days.
Babies about to be born in jail.
Babies, toddlers, living on streets...in dirty motel rooms...in only You know where.
How did you ever get me here, LORD?
Who would have thought?
Holding homeless mama's hand in hospital before she gives birth.
Lying quiet next to precious children as they fall asleep in my home--Your home--when what they need is their own place to call "home."
When...how...did You do this in my life?
In their lives?
Intersect.
The Grace of God.
It has touched me in a new way.
Never the same.
Thank you, Jesus.
Never the same.
Empty.
I empty.
You fill.
Overflow.
love,
Julie
In our recent "read thru the Bible" readings, we've read through most of Psalms and Proverbs, all of Song of Songs (whoo hoo!), and this week Ecclesiastes. What a ride. Are you getting wisdom yet? Those of us in the women's "Wising Up" study are getting an incredible serving of the main course of wisdom, enjoying every bite--even the bitter-sweet ones. I've lost count, but we have well over 20 precious ladies in this study, a few college girls even, and I'm loving it!
Life and ministry have been blessedly full lately, so I have found little time for blogging about our readings. I have enjoyed our Sunday morning discussions and will once again look forward to that this Sunday. But this morning, during my quiet time with Jesus, I responded to Him with a poem I felt compelled to share with you.
As some of you know, I've been reading the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Powerful, powerful stuff. So after my Bible reading this morning and then a little reading in that book, I wrote the following prayer/poem in my journal. If you've read her book, you'll understand.
"Overflow"
Eucharisteo.
He must increase, I must decrease.
The best gifts are down lower and lower.
Joy.
O LORD, what are You teaching me?
Where are You taking me?
How are You shaping me?
I cannot see.
I hold Your hand and trust-walk with covered eyes, open heart.
A heart I fear is about to be pierced beyond bearing--but You know what that's like...and You bore it for me.
Home study in just three days.
Babies about to be born in jail.
Babies, toddlers, living on streets...in dirty motel rooms...in only You know where.
How did you ever get me here, LORD?
Who would have thought?
Holding homeless mama's hand in hospital before she gives birth.
Lying quiet next to precious children as they fall asleep in my home--Your home--when what they need is their own place to call "home."
When...how...did You do this in my life?
In their lives?
Intersect.
The Grace of God.
It has touched me in a new way.
Never the same.
Thank you, Jesus.
Never the same.
Empty.
I empty.
You fill.
Overflow.
love,
Julie
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Fully live
You just have to read my new favorite blog.
kissesfromkatie
Be blessed. Savor grace. Spill it all out for Jesus.
kissesfromkatie
Be blessed. Savor grace. Spill it all out for Jesus.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Beautiful in God's Sight
"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." (Psalm 32:1-2)
King David. A man after God's own heart. A man. A great leader and worshipper of the Lord, but still a man. Just a man. Battling sin.
I hope you have kept up with our readings through God's Word as we watch the story of David's life unfold. This is some of the best stuff until we get to the life of Christ. I have loved reading through the psalms, too! Nothing speaks to my heart quite like them, and they make the most beautiful expression of prayer that I know. Anything I need to pray, I find that it's already there in the psalms, mostly penned by David's hand himself.
Last week we came to the story of David and Bathsheba. It was our first introduction to the "human" side of David where we witnessed him battle with his own flesh. Up until now, we have only seen him as a man of honor and integrity, continually seeking the Lord's direction and obeying wholeheartedly, passionately worshipping his God. But last week we watched his passions lead him into sin. He faced a different kind of battle than all the peoples he had fought and conquered. He faced "every man's battle," and he lost.
Now, as women, we tend to become very judgemental of King David at this point, and he can lose his credibility in our eyes. But hold on there, sister. I want to take this devotion from a very different point of view. We're not going to look at David's sin. We're going to look at Bathsheba's mistake.
A mistake from which I hope we will learn. A mistake I pray we will choose not to make ourselves.
"One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful...." (2 Sam. 11:2)
Now if you know the story, you know that King David's whole army had gone off to battle (as all good kings do in the spring), but David had chosen to stay in Jerusalem and not go off to war with his men for some reason. So all the fighting men in Jerusalem were gone. That means Bathsheba's husband was off at war, too.
Re-read this part: "From the roof he saw a woman bathing." Now we can assume that David's palace was quite grand and tall. Surely his balcony overlooked all of Jerusalem from above. And surely Bathsheba knew this.
I want to be careful not to assume anything on her part, and I surely don't want to falsely accuse her of intentionally seducing the King. But intentional or not, she did.
And we as women need to take heed and learn.
Whether intential or not, ladies, we as women can make "every man's battle" much harder than need be. We must quit pointing the accusing finger at them and check ourselves first. I would love to require (can I do that?) every woman to read For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. You will so much better understand the battle every man faces, and you will be equipped to be considerate enough of the men around you not to make that battle any harder than it already is.
Not only do we ourselves need to take note, but many of us are raising girls in a not-so-modest world, and many of us have influence over young women who need guidance in this area. And we ALL live in a country where you can't walk into the mall, let alone go through your mail, without having your eyes accosted by half-naked, voluptious women. For those of us raising sons in this culture, our work is certainly cut out for us!
So what is the lesson we women can learn from Bathsheba's mistake? Wisdom and cautious modesty. Surely she knew that the King was likely to have a view of her choice of bathing spots. Did she miss the attention of her husband and so decide to make herself feel desired again by bathing in David's view? Did she think it was just a harmless, little treat for his eyes? Or did she have hopes that he would send for her? We really don't know. But what we also don't find in Scripture is Bathsheba resisting David's advance. Yes, he was the King, but a godly woman full of wisdom would have urged God's anointed not to do such a thing and bring reproach from the Lord upon himself.
What makes all of this so much worse is that she was a married woman. And David knew it. Did you notice what the servant said to David when he sent to inquire about Bathsheba? "The man said, 'Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?'” (2 Sam. 11:3; emphasis mine) It's as if God was giving David the opportunity to resist the seduction that Satan had thrown in his path. But David's flesh got the best of him, and he fell.
Bathsheba seemed to enjoy the attention, too. Girls, this is serious stuff. It is never o.k. for us to enjoy the attention of any man except our husband's. Seduction is the hallmark of the Enemy. Satan seduced Adam and Eve in the garden with gaining the knowledge of good and evil, feeding their appetites with delicious, sinful fruit. He has been seducing mankind ever since.
If you are married, your body is for your man only. We walk a fine line between making ourselves attractive to our husbands without making ourselves attractive to other men. Of course, for some of us, pregnancy leaves us with bodies that solve that problem! Ha! But if you're blessed to have a body that returns back to normal, keep your sexy clothes to times when only your hubby gets to enjoy the view. And be sure to show up for church when we get to the book of Song of Solomon. It will be better than any marriage workshop we could have, I'm sure!
If you are not married, your body belongs to God alone. Every believer's body belongs to God, but yours has not been given yet by God to a man to be enjoyed. Read what God has to say about our bodies in Paul's letter to the Corinthians: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Cor. 6:18-20; emphasis mine) You belong to God alone. So honor Him. His commands are for your protection.
These truths from God's Word have been lost in our culture. Anything goes. And parents are sadly turning a blind eye to it. So are friends, co-workers, and sometimes even spouses. "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more." (Eph. 4:18-19; emphasis mine) Girlfriends, you can start by turning off the television! Even kids shows these days are causing them to "lose sensitivity" to sexual impropriety. Even the latest "G-rated" movie about a bunny hinted at Hugh Heffner and playboy bunnies! Good grief! The only reason I protected my children's hearts from that subtle, slippery slope was because I check it out at plugged in movie reviews (Focus on the Family). Then I could make the decision not to take my children to see it. Hollywood seduces us to think these things are funny. Dear one, sin is anything but funny.
May I make a suggestion? Fall down on your knees and pray that God will prevent you from losing sensitivity to sexual purity. And if you already have, then ask God to restore that sensitivity within you. It is a constant battle in this world, and Paul knew it. We must seek the power of God to cleanse our hearts and restore our purity by His Spirit within us.
So how does a godly woman look? What does biblical womanhood look like? You might be surprised just how much God has to say about the subject.
"...women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control." (1 Tim. 2:9-15) (now you know why I teach women, not men--although they are always welcome to join us...but I do not assume to be their teacher--that is a man's role; I seek, rather, to learn from them)
Let's focus on the words Paul used to describe biblical womanhood:
Here is more instruction from God's Word--very important instructions to us as women!
"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." (Titus 2:3-5)
Notice there are two sets of instructions from Paul to his student Titus: one for older women and one for younger women. But who is supposed to teach and train the younger women? The older women! And this is where the huge gap exists in our biblical womanhood today, because we are in a great shortage of "Titus 2" women training the young women of our day.
Unfortunately, the older women of our day came through the "women's lib" era and have a very different mindset than what Paul describes here. A true Titus 2 woman who imparts wisdom to young moms and single women of how to be beautiful biblically is a rare treasure these days. If you find one, cling to her as your mentor and soak up every wise word from her lips! I am blessed to have one of these precious women living at the end of my street. I prayed for God to send one into my life, and He graciously answered that prayer. He will do the same for you, my friend. I am also blessed to have several "Titus 2 women-in-the-making" among my homeschool mom friends. I pray that God will raise up many at LifeBridge Church so that we can fulfill our God-given role to the next generation--our daughters and their husbands and children.
Now let's go back and look at those instructions, noting every quality God desires.
Older women:
To really grasp the full meaning of God's teaching in this all-important passage to women, we need to read it in the King Jame's Version. The wording of the KJV gives us more insight:
"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."
I had a wonderful book recommended to be by some sisters in Christ a few years ago, and it was entirely written around this verse. I will forever recommend it to other women, because it focuses on true biblical womanhood: Created to Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl. Her website has excerpts that have saved marriages!
Let me share a glimpse of what I learned. Let's look at those key words again in the KJV.
sober
love their husbands
love their children
discreet
chaste
keepers at home
good
obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed
What do these words mean?
1) sober--in addition to refraining from drunkenness, this also means a reality check of the following (this is a definition from Merriam-Webster's dictionary):
2) love their husbands (read 1 Corinthians 13 for how to love God's way)
3) love their children (ditto #2, plus read Hints on Child Training for how to love your children God's way; go ahead and purchase The Mission of Motherhood, too, because it's excellent--one of my favorites!)
4) discreet--exactly what Bathsheba was NOT; we must be discreet with our words, too, dear sisters; here is the dictionary definition:
5) chaste--Bathsheba failed at this one, too.
7) good--(dictionary) virtuous, right, commendable (see Proverbs 31 for the best example of this--words straight from a mother's heart to her son, the king)
8) obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed--o.k., ladies--this topic of submission is highly unpopular in our world today, and the word is even quite often omitted from wedding vows now. But according to this verse, there are some serious consequences to us not taking submission to our husbands seriously. And I do mean SERIOUS. According to the God-inspired words of Paul here, when we are disobedient to our husbands, we can cause the word of God to be blasphemed (maligned--NIV; reviled--ESV). Do you know what the bible has to say about blaspheming God?
I know I have recommended a lot of books here, but I must recommend a few more: A Woman After God's Own Heart and Beautiful in God's Eyes, both by Elizabeth George. These were the first two books I read on biblical womanhood, and they would be a great starting point for anyone seeking to do the same.
If you are single, I highly recommend you read Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris. He also wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye. This new book, however, focuses on how to have a godly courtship when you find the person you want to consider marrying (parents of teenagers, take note as well!). Courtship to pursue marriage is very different than dating around for fun and pleasure. It protects both of your hearts, as well as your purity. You may have seen the book his twin younger brothers wrote, called Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. Now they lead conferences around the country: The Rebelution. Incidentally, their parents used Hints on Child Training for wisdom in raising their children to live godly lives and influence their generation for God's purposes and God's glory. And that is what they are doing!
So what we will do on our watch, ladies?
It's swimsuit season. What are you and your daughters saying to a watching world? Are you influencing those around you for your glory, or for God's?
Bathsheba's carelessness led King David into temptation and sin. The consequences were quite serious for their son born due to their adultery--death, and also to David's entire family line. "Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife." (2 Samuel 12:10) We began reading about those consequences this week with Absalom and Tamar. Much more sin and shame are still to come in this anointed family line. All because a woman failed to be "discreet and chaste, a keeper at home." Wow.
Thank God for His goodness and mercy that does not leave us without hope! He made a way for us to be forgiven! "But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast." (2 Sam. 14:14b)
David poured out his heart in repentance before God in Psalm 51. I read this psalm as a prayer of confession practically every day. Sometimes I use Romans 7 instead. Whether Paul's words or David's words, we find the cries of our own hearts right there on the pages of Scripture. They were human just as we are. We can learn from their struggles with sin.
And we can also rejoice with them in their and our victory over sin through the redeeming blood of our Savior Jesus! Let's do that now with David as he praises God with the words of Psalm 103:
Psalm 103
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
Bless the LORD, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Now, go make yourself beautiful in God's sight!
"But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening." (1 Peter 3:4-6)
King David. A man after God's own heart. A man. A great leader and worshipper of the Lord, but still a man. Just a man. Battling sin.
I hope you have kept up with our readings through God's Word as we watch the story of David's life unfold. This is some of the best stuff until we get to the life of Christ. I have loved reading through the psalms, too! Nothing speaks to my heart quite like them, and they make the most beautiful expression of prayer that I know. Anything I need to pray, I find that it's already there in the psalms, mostly penned by David's hand himself.
Last week we came to the story of David and Bathsheba. It was our first introduction to the "human" side of David where we witnessed him battle with his own flesh. Up until now, we have only seen him as a man of honor and integrity, continually seeking the Lord's direction and obeying wholeheartedly, passionately worshipping his God. But last week we watched his passions lead him into sin. He faced a different kind of battle than all the peoples he had fought and conquered. He faced "every man's battle," and he lost.
Now, as women, we tend to become very judgemental of King David at this point, and he can lose his credibility in our eyes. But hold on there, sister. I want to take this devotion from a very different point of view. We're not going to look at David's sin. We're going to look at Bathsheba's mistake.
A mistake from which I hope we will learn. A mistake I pray we will choose not to make ourselves.
"One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful...." (2 Sam. 11:2)
Now if you know the story, you know that King David's whole army had gone off to battle (as all good kings do in the spring), but David had chosen to stay in Jerusalem and not go off to war with his men for some reason. So all the fighting men in Jerusalem were gone. That means Bathsheba's husband was off at war, too.
Re-read this part: "From the roof he saw a woman bathing." Now we can assume that David's palace was quite grand and tall. Surely his balcony overlooked all of Jerusalem from above. And surely Bathsheba knew this.
I want to be careful not to assume anything on her part, and I surely don't want to falsely accuse her of intentionally seducing the King. But intentional or not, she did.
And we as women need to take heed and learn.
Whether intential or not, ladies, we as women can make "every man's battle" much harder than need be. We must quit pointing the accusing finger at them and check ourselves first. I would love to require (can I do that?) every woman to read For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn. You will so much better understand the battle every man faces, and you will be equipped to be considerate enough of the men around you not to make that battle any harder than it already is.
Not only do we ourselves need to take note, but many of us are raising girls in a not-so-modest world, and many of us have influence over young women who need guidance in this area. And we ALL live in a country where you can't walk into the mall, let alone go through your mail, without having your eyes accosted by half-naked, voluptious women. For those of us raising sons in this culture, our work is certainly cut out for us!
So what is the lesson we women can learn from Bathsheba's mistake? Wisdom and cautious modesty. Surely she knew that the King was likely to have a view of her choice of bathing spots. Did she miss the attention of her husband and so decide to make herself feel desired again by bathing in David's view? Did she think it was just a harmless, little treat for his eyes? Or did she have hopes that he would send for her? We really don't know. But what we also don't find in Scripture is Bathsheba resisting David's advance. Yes, he was the King, but a godly woman full of wisdom would have urged God's anointed not to do such a thing and bring reproach from the Lord upon himself.
What makes all of this so much worse is that she was a married woman. And David knew it. Did you notice what the servant said to David when he sent to inquire about Bathsheba? "The man said, 'Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?'” (2 Sam. 11:3; emphasis mine) It's as if God was giving David the opportunity to resist the seduction that Satan had thrown in his path. But David's flesh got the best of him, and he fell.
Bathsheba seemed to enjoy the attention, too. Girls, this is serious stuff. It is never o.k. for us to enjoy the attention of any man except our husband's. Seduction is the hallmark of the Enemy. Satan seduced Adam and Eve in the garden with gaining the knowledge of good and evil, feeding their appetites with delicious, sinful fruit. He has been seducing mankind ever since.
If you are married, your body is for your man only. We walk a fine line between making ourselves attractive to our husbands without making ourselves attractive to other men. Of course, for some of us, pregnancy leaves us with bodies that solve that problem! Ha! But if you're blessed to have a body that returns back to normal, keep your sexy clothes to times when only your hubby gets to enjoy the view. And be sure to show up for church when we get to the book of Song of Solomon. It will be better than any marriage workshop we could have, I'm sure!
If you are not married, your body belongs to God alone. Every believer's body belongs to God, but yours has not been given yet by God to a man to be enjoyed. Read what God has to say about our bodies in Paul's letter to the Corinthians: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Cor. 6:18-20; emphasis mine) You belong to God alone. So honor Him. His commands are for your protection.
These truths from God's Word have been lost in our culture. Anything goes. And parents are sadly turning a blind eye to it. So are friends, co-workers, and sometimes even spouses. "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more." (Eph. 4:18-19; emphasis mine) Girlfriends, you can start by turning off the television! Even kids shows these days are causing them to "lose sensitivity" to sexual impropriety. Even the latest "G-rated" movie about a bunny hinted at Hugh Heffner and playboy bunnies! Good grief! The only reason I protected my children's hearts from that subtle, slippery slope was because I check it out at plugged in movie reviews (Focus on the Family). Then I could make the decision not to take my children to see it. Hollywood seduces us to think these things are funny. Dear one, sin is anything but funny.
May I make a suggestion? Fall down on your knees and pray that God will prevent you from losing sensitivity to sexual purity. And if you already have, then ask God to restore that sensitivity within you. It is a constant battle in this world, and Paul knew it. We must seek the power of God to cleanse our hearts and restore our purity by His Spirit within us.
So how does a godly woman look? What does biblical womanhood look like? You might be surprised just how much God has to say about the subject.
"...women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control." (1 Tim. 2:9-15) (now you know why I teach women, not men--although they are always welcome to join us...but I do not assume to be their teacher--that is a man's role; I seek, rather, to learn from them)
Let's focus on the words Paul used to describe biblical womanhood:
- respectable apparel
- modesty
- self-control
- good deeds
- quietness
- full submission
- quiet among men (unless asked to contribute by them, of course, but men lead us spiritually--and if you do not have a husband to be your spiritual leader, then you look to your father, your pastor, or another respected brother in Christ to teach and lead you)
- childbearing
- faith
- love
- holiness with self-control
Here is more instruction from God's Word--very important instructions to us as women!
"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." (Titus 2:3-5)
Notice there are two sets of instructions from Paul to his student Titus: one for older women and one for younger women. But who is supposed to teach and train the younger women? The older women! And this is where the huge gap exists in our biblical womanhood today, because we are in a great shortage of "Titus 2" women training the young women of our day.
Unfortunately, the older women of our day came through the "women's lib" era and have a very different mindset than what Paul describes here. A true Titus 2 woman who imparts wisdom to young moms and single women of how to be beautiful biblically is a rare treasure these days. If you find one, cling to her as your mentor and soak up every wise word from her lips! I am blessed to have one of these precious women living at the end of my street. I prayed for God to send one into my life, and He graciously answered that prayer. He will do the same for you, my friend. I am also blessed to have several "Titus 2 women-in-the-making" among my homeschool mom friends. I pray that God will raise up many at LifeBridge Church so that we can fulfill our God-given role to the next generation--our daughters and their husbands and children.
Now let's go back and look at those instructions, noting every quality God desires.
Older women:
- reverent
- not slanderers (how many women have you heard slander a man lately? ...and too many young men these days are rising up to be exactly what they hear women declaring them to be...and it's not an encouraging sight for young women seeking a man they can follow in life and faith)
- not addicted to much wine
- teach what is good
- train the younger women
- all of the younger women's instructions (because you must possess them before you can impart them)
- love your husband
- love your children
- self-controlled
- pure
- busy at home
- kind
- subject to your husband
To really grasp the full meaning of God's teaching in this all-important passage to women, we need to read it in the King Jame's Version. The wording of the KJV gives us more insight:
"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."
I had a wonderful book recommended to be by some sisters in Christ a few years ago, and it was entirely written around this verse. I will forever recommend it to other women, because it focuses on true biblical womanhood: Created to Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl. Her website has excerpts that have saved marriages!
Let me share a glimpse of what I learned. Let's look at those key words again in the KJV.
sober
love their husbands
love their children
discreet
chaste
keepers at home
good
obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed
What do these words mean?
1) sober--in addition to refraining from drunkenness, this also means a reality check of the following (this is a definition from Merriam-Webster's dictionary):
- marked by sedate or gravely or earnestly thoughtful character or demeanor
- marked by temperance, moderation, or seriousness
- showing no excessive or extreme qualities of fancy, emotion, or prejudice
2) love their husbands (read 1 Corinthians 13 for how to love God's way)
3) love their children (ditto #2, plus read Hints on Child Training for how to love your children God's way; go ahead and purchase The Mission of Motherhood, too, because it's excellent--one of my favorites!)
4) discreet--exactly what Bathsheba was NOT; we must be discreet with our words, too, dear sisters; here is the dictionary definition:
- having or showing discernment or good judgment in conduct and especially in speech : prudent; especially : capable of preserving prudent silence
- unpretentious, modest
- unobtrusive, unnoticeable
5) chaste--Bathsheba failed at this one, too.
- innocent of unlawful sexual intercourse
- pure in thought and act : modest
- severely simple in design or execution : austere
- clean, spotless
7) good--(dictionary) virtuous, right, commendable (see Proverbs 31 for the best example of this--words straight from a mother's heart to her son, the king)
8) obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed--o.k., ladies--this topic of submission is highly unpopular in our world today, and the word is even quite often omitted from wedding vows now. But according to this verse, there are some serious consequences to us not taking submission to our husbands seriously. And I do mean SERIOUS. According to the God-inspired words of Paul here, when we are disobedient to our husbands, we can cause the word of God to be blasphemed (maligned--NIV; reviled--ESV). Do you know what the bible has to say about blaspheming God?
- "Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death." (Lev. 24:16)
"but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:29)- "And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." (Luke 12:10)
- "And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed." (2 Peter 2:2)
- "But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively." (Jude 1:10)
I know I have recommended a lot of books here, but I must recommend a few more: A Woman After God's Own Heart and Beautiful in God's Eyes, both by Elizabeth George. These were the first two books I read on biblical womanhood, and they would be a great starting point for anyone seeking to do the same.
If you are single, I highly recommend you read Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris. He also wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye. This new book, however, focuses on how to have a godly courtship when you find the person you want to consider marrying (parents of teenagers, take note as well!). Courtship to pursue marriage is very different than dating around for fun and pleasure. It protects both of your hearts, as well as your purity. You may have seen the book his twin younger brothers wrote, called Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. Now they lead conferences around the country: The Rebelution. Incidentally, their parents used Hints on Child Training for wisdom in raising their children to live godly lives and influence their generation for God's purposes and God's glory. And that is what they are doing!
So what we will do on our watch, ladies?
It's swimsuit season. What are you and your daughters saying to a watching world? Are you influencing those around you for your glory, or for God's?
Bathsheba's carelessness led King David into temptation and sin. The consequences were quite serious for their son born due to their adultery--death, and also to David's entire family line. "Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife." (2 Samuel 12:10) We began reading about those consequences this week with Absalom and Tamar. Much more sin and shame are still to come in this anointed family line. All because a woman failed to be "discreet and chaste, a keeper at home." Wow.
Thank God for His goodness and mercy that does not leave us without hope! He made a way for us to be forgiven! "But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast." (2 Sam. 14:14b)
David poured out his heart in repentance before God in Psalm 51. I read this psalm as a prayer of confession practically every day. Sometimes I use Romans 7 instead. Whether Paul's words or David's words, we find the cries of our own hearts right there on the pages of Scripture. They were human just as we are. We can learn from their struggles with sin.
And we can also rejoice with them in their and our victory over sin through the redeeming blood of our Savior Jesus! Let's do that now with David as he praises God with the words of Psalm 103:
Psalm 103
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
Bless the LORD, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Now, go make yourself beautiful in God's sight!
"But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening." (1 Peter 3:4-6)
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