We Serve a BIG God!

<sup>Today in my daily Bible reading I read in Isaiah. Occassionaly, I like to see other wording in different translations. This translation is from The Message, which I usually don't read, but loved how they worded today's message and had to share! It reminds me that we serve a BIG God!! Whatever problem, besetting sin, trial, or tribulation you are facing- our God is bigger! Truly, with Christ- the God of the Universe- you can do ALL things! Hope everyone has a blessed week!


Isaiah 40:12-31
12-17</sup>Who has scooped up the ocean
in his two hands,
or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger,
Who has put all the earth's dirt in one of his baskets,
weighed each mountain and hill?
Who could ever have told God what to do
or taught him his business?
What expert would he have gone to for advice,
what school would he attend to learn justice?
What god do you suppose might have taught him what he knows,
showed him how things work?
Why, the nations are but a drop in a bucket,
a mere smudge on a window.
Watch him sweep up the islands
like so much dust off the floor!
There aren't enough trees in Lebanon
nor enough animals in those vast forests
to furnish adequate fuel and offerings for his worship.
All the nations add up to simply nothing before him—
less than nothing is more like it. A minus.
^18-20So who even comes close to being like God?
To whom or what can you compare him?
Some no-god idol? Ridiculous!
It's made in a workshop, cast in bronze,
Given a thin veneer of gold,
and draped with silver filigree.
Or, perhaps someone will select a fine wood—
olive wood, say—that won't rot,
Then hire a woodcarver to make a no-god,
giving special care to its base so it won't tip over! ^21-24Have you not been paying attention?
Have you not been listening?
Haven't you heard these stories all your life?
Don't you understand the foundation of all things?
God sits high above the round ball of earth.
The people look like mere ants.
He stretches out the skies like a canvas—
yes, like a tent canvas to live under.
He ignores what all the princes say and do.
The rulers of the earth count for nothing.
Princes and rulers don't amount to much.
Like seeds barely rooted, just sprouted,
They shrivel when God blows on them.
Like flecks of chaff, they're gone with the wind. ^25-26"So—who is like me?
Who holds a candle to me?" says The Holy.
Look at the night skies:
Who do you think made all this?
Who marches this army of stars out each night,
counts them off, calls each by name
—so magnificent! so powerful!—
and never overlooks a single one? ^27-31Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
"God has lost track of me.
He doesn't care what happens to me"?
Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening?
God doesn't come and go. God lasts.
He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don't get tired,
they walk and don't lag behind.

What Are You Cleaving to?

What are you cleaving to?

My favorite definition of the word cleave is to "follow hard after" or to "adhere to"; which makes me think of glue. In other words, what are you glued to? What do you pursue with all your heart?

Some cleave to their career, their idols, their past, but the christian cleaves to Christ. We realize that Christ is all we have, our only hope, our righteousness, our only refuge in the storm, and our Advocate in the Judgement to come.

Who, when he came , and had seen the grace of God, was glad , and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. Acts 11:23 KJV

Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. Deuteronomy 10:20 KJV

But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. Joshua 22:5


That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. Deuteronomy 30:20 KJV

Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. Deuteronomy 13:4 KJV

Definitions of "Cleave":

to cling, cleave, keep close
NASB Word Usage
cleaves (4), cling (14), clings (3), closely pursued (1), closer (1), clung (4), deeply attracted (1), fasten its grip (1), follow closely (1), held fast (1), hold (2), hold fast (2), holding fast (1), joined (2), joined together (1), overtake (1), overtook (5), pursued him closely (1), pursued them closely (1), remained steadfast (1), stay (1), stay close (1), stayed close (1), stick (1), stick together (1), stuck (2). NASB Concordance

abide fast, cleave fast together, follow close hard after, be joined together
A primitive root; properly, to impinge, i.e. Cling or adhere; figuratively, to catch by pursuit -- abide fast, cleave (fast together), follow close (hard after), be joined (together), keep (fast), overtake, pursue hard, stick, take. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance


I wrote this poem late last night as I studied the significance of cleaving to the Lord.


Cleave to Christ

When those you love betray you and the enemy surrounds,
When your many imperfections are more than you can count.
Cleave to Christ.

When you start to feel discouraged and your loaded down with cares,
When you haven’t heard an answer from the hours spent in prayer.
Cleave to Christ.

When the narrow way is lonely and your faith begins to wane,
When others try to tell you that your faith has been in vain.
Cleave to Christ.

When the cross is hard to carry and it feels like you are failing,
When the warnings that you’ve shared looks like they are unavailing.
Cleave to Christ.

When the finish line to heaven is hard to keep in sight,
When the dawning of the morning is being hid by night.
Cling to Christ.

When the only song your singing is a mourning over sin,
And the anguish of lost souls has been a heaviness within.
Cleave to Christ.

When life’s final breath is taken and our pilgrimage complete,
And we’re passing through death’s valley onto the golden streets.
Cling to Christ.

Our only rest and refuge is Christ in Whom we cleave,
His promises uphold us if by faith we do believe.

Those Who Have Young

He tends his flock like a shepherd:

He gathers the lambs in his arms

and carries them close to his heart;

he gently leads those that have young.

Isaiah 40:11

Spiritual Food

We wouldn’t starve our children on purpose by not feeding them. Why is it that we often withhold spiritual food by not feeding our children daily from the Word of God? So often we underestimate the importance of doing this or we believe it’s someone else’s responsibility. We leave the responsibility to our church, Sunday school, or school teachers. God’s word says that it is OUR responsibility to equip our children. We are the ones responsible to train up our children in the way they should go. I have found that I can always find an excuse for not finding time to read/study the Bible with my children…. to busy, to late in the evening, to tired, … Maybe it would be easier if I would stop making excuses for myself and state the truth.. lack of discipline, misplaced priorities, lazy. The truth hurts and we like to sugar coat things sometimes. When we know the good we ought to do and don’t do it we are sinning. That is God’s words, not mine. We can call it whatever we want, but God calls it sin. Raising Godly children takes a lot of discipline! It’s sad how we can manage to find the time to watch t.v., surf the net, clean the house, read a magazine or book, but when it comes to reading the Bible with our children we can’t even squeeze in 15 minutes a day. Let’s feed our children food that always satisfies, food that makes them grow spiritually- a daily feeding of God’s Word.

Matthew 4:4
4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.

Hebrews 5:12-14
12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.


2 Timothy 3:16-17
16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Proverbs 22:6
6 Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.

James 4:17
17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.


Proverbs 4:20-22
20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
listen closely to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to a man's whole body.


Deuteronomy 8:3
3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Television and Ungodly Influences in the Home

We would never purposely allow violence, pornographic magazines, vulgar language, or books in our home that teach evolution would we? Why is it that we don't see a problem with watching shows on t.v. in our homes that promote these same things? According to usetoday.com, the average American home has more televisions than people with an average of 3 televisions per home. As christians we shouldn't find entertainment in watching shows that promote a sinful lifestyle. Did we forget that it was SIN that nailed our Lord and Savior to the cross? Do we really think filling our minds with filth will have no consequences?
I'm not saying that it's wrong to ever watch television, but we need to use the Biblical standard for choosing which programs we watch:

Phillipians 4:8
"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy-think about such things."

Proverbs 31:27
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."


Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I want to share with you a few titles of some of the most popular t.v. shows of 2010:
True Blood
Lie to Me
Gossip Girl
Desperate Housewives
Hell's Kitchen
The Vampire Diaries
Pretty Little Liars
Charmed
Buffy the Vampire Slayers
Dirty Sexy Money
Sex and the City
Bad Girls Club
Californication



Here is just a few of the many dangers of television:

1. Desensitizes us to sin.
2. Corrupts our character. "garbage in, garbage out"
3. Creates a false view of reality.
4. Wastes time we can be spending doing something fruitful.
5. Steals precious time we can be spending with our family.
6. Is linked to a higer risk of autism in children.

The following paragraph is taken from Nancy Leigh DeMoss from Revive Our Hearts
Children will cultivate an appetite for whatever they are fed in their earliest formative years. I have known young people from 'committed' Christian homes who know more about movie stars and rock groups than they do about the patriarchs or the disciples. They can sing along with all the top hit songs but do not know the great hymns of the faith. I can only assume that they have an appetite for what they've been exposed to.
"If we allow our children to listen to music, attend movies, read books and magazines and hang out with friends that promote profanity, negative attitudes, illicit sex, rebellion, and violence, we should not be surprised when they adopt the world's philosophies."
God intended that our homes should be like a greenhouse--a potting place for young, tender plants, where they can be nurtured and brought up in the ways of God until they're prepared to go out into the world and to withstand the attacks and the storms of life outside your home.
As parents we need to be careful what influences we are allowing in our homes. May our homes and the programs we watch glorify the Lord and be pleasing in His sight.


The TV is my shepherd, my spiritual life shall want,
It makes me to sit down and do nothing for the cause of Christ.
It demandeth my spare time.
It restoreth my desire for the things of the world.
It keepeth me from studying the truth of God’s Word.
It leadeth me in the path of failure to attend God’s house.
Yea, though I live to be a hundred, I will fear no rental;
My “Telly” is with me, its sound and vision comfort me.
It prepareth a program for me, even in the presence of visitors.
Its volume shall be full.
Surely comedy and commercials shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in spiritual poverty forever.
Author Unknown

Embracing Your Role As Homemaker

It's not easy being a homemaker in todays culture. The very word "homemaker" is counter-cultural. The world considers those who choose to work at home as lazy, unproductive, wasting our time, talents, education. We receive no recognition from others for our hard work or salary for the long hours we put in, but we can guarantee that our reward is in heaven. None of our days sacrificed in serving others will go unnoticed by our Lord and Savior. Choosing to stay at home to raise your children is a decision that you will never look back and regret and neither will your children. You will never hear a child tell his mother that he wishes that she would have worked full time so that he could have spent his childhood at daycare. We live in a society where mothers have forsaken there God-given roles and pay others for jobs they simple "dont have the time for" in order for them to pursue more "important" tasks. We can pay someone to raise our chidren, pay someone to clean our house, pay someone to make our food, pay someone to do our laudry... the list goes on and on. I'm not saying all those things are bad in and of itself, but when we refuse to embrace God's calling for us as women we are saying to God that His plan for womanhood isn't relevant anymore, it isn't good enough. God's Ways are always perfect, always good. When we choose to do things our way or the world's way there will always be consequences. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you are not serving God unless you put your ministry before your children. Raising Godly children that fear and love the Lord IS ministry! This should be your first priority. Rest in the season God has placed you because the season of raising little souls is fleeting and will pass quickly.
If we do nothing else well in this world, let us at least build well within our own doors.-JR Miller



Titus 2:1-5
1 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: 2 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; 3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— 4 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.


Here are some motherhood quotes you might enjoy:





When you cook nutritious, tasty meals for your family, you are pointing them to the One who feeds the hungry and who satisfies thirsty souls with Himself. You’re giving them an appetite for Him.
And when you go to the time and effort to be sure that your husband and your kids have adequate clothing that fits, you are pointing them toward the One who clothes us with His righteousness.
See, every aspect of homemaking is meant to reflect some spiritual, eternal truth that we’re trying to picture to our world.
When you maintain a clean home, an orderly home, you’re creating an atmosphere where your family can appreciate the value of being spiritually clean, cleansed from sin, and of having lives that are spiritually ordered. You’re teaching; you’re training not just to be clean and orderly because that is not a supreme, ultimate eternal virtue. It’s pointing them to virtues that are supreme and eternal. As you are homemaking what you are doing is creating a taste for our ultimate home in heaven.
We’re talking about homes that reflect the glory of God, the beauty of Christ, and that are havens and greenhouses and places where life can be cultivated and where people can grow and become like Christ and where the gospel can be manifested.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss




"To know the true state of a nation, look at the state of the Church. To know the true state of the Church, look at the families who populate her pews. To know the state of her families, look to the fathers who lead them. Destroy the vision of the father, and you render impotent the family, thus creating a chain reaction that will spread throughout civilization."

- Douglas W. Phillips

Family JR Miller
Pg. 118
The place in which He (Jesus)
was prepared for that mission was not in any of the fine schools of the world, but in a lowly home; not at the feet of rabbis and philosophers, but with his own mother for his teacher. What an honor does this fact put upon home! What a dignity upon motherhood!



Family J.R. Miller Pg.65-66
But it should be understood that for every wife the first duty is the making and keeping of her own home. Her first and best work should be done there, and till it is well done she has no right to go outside to take up other duties. She is to be a “worker at home.” She must look upon her home as the one spot on earth for which she alone is responsible, and which she must cultivate well for God if she never does anything outside. For her Father’s business is not attending Dorcas societies and missionary mettings, and mother’s meetings, and temperance conventions, or even teaching a Sunday-school class, until she has made her own home all the her wisest thought and best skill can make it.


There have been wives who in their zeal for Christ’s work outside have neglected Christ’s work inside their own doors. They have had eyes and hearts for human need and human sorrow in the broad fields lying far out, but neither eye nor heart for the work of love lain about their own feet. The result has been that while they were doing angelic work in the lanes and streets, the angels were mourning over their neglected duties within the hallowed walls of their own homes. While they were winning a place in the hearts of the poor or the sick or the orphan, they were losing their rightful place in the hearts of their own household. Let it be remembered that Christ’s work in the home is the first that he gives every wife, and that no amount of consecrated activities in other spheres will atone in this world or the next for neglect or failure there. JR Miller

Instilling God's Word In Our Children

Little minds are so impressionable! Instilling God's Word in our children takes effort, but is well worth the investment of our time. God says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17
that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. We are so grateful that God has blessed our family to be able to send our children to a christian school to receive a christian education. God has also blessed us with a great church and Sunday school teachers that teach our children the Word of God, but it is ultimately our job as parents to train up our children in the way they should go. So many times as parents we think we are doing our part just by sending our kids to a christian school or taking our children to church. Whoever spends the most time with your children has the greatest spiritual influence. Mothers- No one can parent and raise your children better than you can. God blessed you with the children you have because He chose YOU to train them, to lead them, to protect them. How tragic it would be to send our children out into the world without a solid foundation of scripture!
There are so many ways we can teach our children scripture. Several months ago I bought a small primitive looking chalk board and hung it in my kitchen. Each week I try to write a different scripture on it. The kids look forward to finding a new scripture written on it. Another thing I made was a scripture jar. I typed up several scriptures on colored paper, cut them out in strips, and folded them. I then put them in a cute little jar that I leave out on our window sill as a reminder. Each morning before we eat our breakfast I let each of the kids take out one verse and read it outloud. While we eat breakfast we discuss the verse and what God means by it and how it applies to our life. I'm sure you could come up with more creative ways than I did, but that's what works for us. If you have any creative tips on teaching children scripture please share them with me! I would be glad to hear them!


Deuteronomy 11:18-19
18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.



At a very early age we put a spoon in the hand of a toddler, teaching him how to feed himself. We must do the same with the Word of God, teaching young hearts and minds how to draw life-giving and life-shaping truths from its pages. Kay Arthur Youniquely Woman pg. 226

If you fail, father, to teach your son to fear God, the devil will teach him to hate God. If you fail to teach your son to guard his mind, the devil will gladly teach him to have an open mind. If you fail to teach your son to obey his parents, the devil will teach him to rebel and break his parent’s heart. If you fail to teach your son to select his companions, the devil will gladly choose them for him. If you fail to teach your son to control his body, the devil will teach him to give it over completely to lust. If you fail to teach your son to enjoy the marriage partner that God has given him, the devil will teach him to destroy the marriage. If you fail to teach your son to watch his words, the devil will fill his mouth with filth. If you fail to teach your son to pursue his work, the devil will make his laziness a tool of hell. If you fail to teach your son to manage his money, the devil will teach him to waste it on riotous living. And if you fail to teach your son to love his neighbor, the devil will gladly teach him to love only himself.
John MacArthur
Crucial Lessons for a Wise Father, Selected Proverbs.

Let His Light Shine In

　
　
I’ve always been told it’s not good to dwell on my faults so I would always box them up, turn off the light, and shut the door, but the Holy Spirit is always faithful to turn the light back on and reveal the faults in my life that is keeping me from producing good fruit. It has been overwhelming at times. Issues that I would rather not deal with because of pride and denial. I mean who actually LIKES to look at their weaknesses? I would tell myself that nobody is perfect and try to move on.
We like to measure our spiritual maturity by how "good" we are, but the truth is that not one of us is "good" and if we say we are than we have no room for God’s grace. God loves us the way we are, but He refuses to keep us that way. We are to walk in holiness, but that doesn’t mean we will be without blemish. As soon as God helps me overcome one issue, another issue shows up. It can be discouraging, but I remind myself of a saying I once read in a book "your not where you need to be, but thank God you’re not where you used to be." Whenever I think I’m making no spiritual progress I just look back several years and see how much God has changed me. He still has a lot of work to do, but I know he will do it. God’s word says that "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion." When I sin the Holy Spirit is always faithful to show me the way and make my paths straight.
I want my life to produce good fruit for Christ. I want people to see me as authentic and not as a hypocrite. Why is it so hard for us to talk about our weaknesses? We find it pretty easy to talk about someone else’s weaknesses, but not our own. We usually take someone’s weakness and use it against them. God wants us to confess our weaknesses to one another, not to embarrass them but so we can encourage each other. When we isolate ourselves in our problems we make ourselves vulnerable to Satan. Satan wants us to feel that we are the only one with weaknesses and that we shouldn’t have any if we were really a TRUE follower of Christ. Satan is a liar and sometimes we actually believe his lies. Only when we face our weaknesses and shine light on them can we begin to overcome them. We are all part of the body of Christ and we all need each other!
Sometimes it is so hard to see God’s love for me. How could He possibly love ME? I guess that is the beauty of His GRACE. I have known about God’s grace since I was a child, but just knowing about grace doesn’t set me free, I need to ACCEPT it! Grace frees us from trying to earn God’s love and acceptance when it’s already ours for the taking. Someone can give you gift, but you can’t use the gift until you actually unwrap it. It’s only when you actually accept the unconditional love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and acceptance that you actually start doing things because you LOVE God, not because you are trying to earn God’s love. (I’m still a work in progress on this one.) We already have His love. God doesn’t look at my actions, He looks at my motives behind my actions. The "why" not the "what" of what I do. Being a follower of Christ is a daily decision and sometimes for me a minute by minute decision. Our flesh has to die to self. I used to follow the lead of my feelings, but I’ve learned that my feelings can not be trusted and they often get me into trouble. I am trying to put aside my feelings and do what God’s word tells me to do even if I don’t "feel" like it. That is part of a growing relationship with Christ. We can’t grow in Christ if we our faith is never tested.
Don’t just accept your weaknesses, but don’t let your focus only be on your weakness’ either, rather keep your focus on Jesus Christ and let his Truth set you free!
Philippians 1:6
6. being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
　
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
　
1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.