Skip the Regrets and Forge Forward in Faith in 2018

"What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?  Job 15:14

I am but a silly sheep in the great I AM 's  overflowing pasture, and I lose my way all the time. He rescues me daily from my own bad decisions and keeps me in life. (Psalm 66:9) Yet the Bible says I am pure if I am washed in the blood of the Lamb. I am without spot and blameless. I share in Christ's very righteousness.

"Yes, but....!" I've said in my heart a million times. My own heart wants to readily condemn me. The voice in my heart demands to be heard. Yet God is far greater than that voice...

For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. I John 3:21

 At certain times, like at night when I toss and turn, the thoughts of what I should have done and could have done come back to nip at my conscience. Finally, I am able to put the day into the wastebasket and He gives me rest.

The trouble is I know what is in my heart. I know that I fall short of God's righteous requirements. And Jesus does too.He knows I can never clean up the mess within my own heart. But somehow He still loves me, not because of anything desirable in me, but because of who and what He is. There is nothing in Him less than absolute love and perfection. He knows that if I spent the next billion years trying in my flesh to be like Him I would never produce even one good thing.

So He waits. He wants only for me to trust Him. He alone will produce anything good that comes from me by His grace. After all these years of walking with the Lord, I  only see more of my failures. That's a good thing, though. It's good to be weakened, to be reminded that I am only made of dust, so that I look only to my Perfect Savior. He too was made of dust, but now is in an incorruptible body that has triumphed for once and all over sins and failures and death.

Thank God, this Perfect Savior does not see me the way I see myself. I say in my heart, "But Lord, remember the time I did this, or though that, or didn't do what I thought You wanted me to?"

But that's ridiculous to entertain that, for He tells us:

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Heb. 8: 12

If I believe the Bible, I must cast these thoughts off as vain imaginations. These feelings of guilt and regret do not make me more valuable or pious to God. They only serve to prove that my eyes are on myself and not on the Finished Work sacrifice that He made, once for all.

If He said it was finished, it was finished. No matter how bad I botch things, my sins, past, present and future have all been a part of what we could call Job's bag and thrown on Christ, once for all.

"My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You wrap up my iniquity." Job 14:15

In the updated 1992 version of Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest today,  it gently and kindly reminded me, when once again I was ready to beat myself up for falling short that it is about looking ahead, not looking behind, as we reach this last day of the year 2017.

 "It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return...Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ. Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him." 

Daughters of Sarah

"And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD...Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated ..." Gen. 13: 10-11

Abraham and Lot were at odds. It was time for them to separate. Abraham gave Lot the choice of where to go, even though it seemed that Lot was getting the better deal by choosing the well watered plain of Jordan.

But shortly, that lovely land would be destroyed because of the great wickedness of the people there. In fact, Lot's wife would not make it out of there alive when the judgment commenced. Still, Lot had chosen that what he thought was the best for himself.

I have thought and thought over the years about those five little words: "Then Lot chose for himself."

It seemed, by sight, that he was getting the better deal. But that was by sight. We know that the Father of our faith, Abraham became the friend of God because of his faith. In faith, Abraham let God choose the land where he would dwell, and had the freedom to let his cousin Lot make his own choice.

There was a decision that had to be made. Abraham trusted God enough to go ahead and let Lot choose. How often, in my own life my family and I were at a crossroad. A decision had to be made. Like Lot, I often looked around me and chose with my eyes what I thought would be best for my family. If my husband had a different opinion, the adage, "If Mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy" rang true. By my pouting and arguing, he would relent and I would choose the well watered plain that would eventually mean destruction.

One day God in His mercy showed me Proverbs 14:1. When I read it, I felt like a bomb might have been going off in my spirit, for it cut me to the quick.

The wise woman builds her house. But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

Ouch! I didn't like that. I thought, "God, why did You have to let that verse be allowed in Your Word?"

But it was for my safety. As a woman, I do not think like a man. Aha! I think with my emotions and let my emotions rule me in what I thought would be the best choice for my children and family. I did not yet understand that God made a simple way for me to keep my family safe. And that was to submit (yes, that dirty word) to my husband.

I remember one day my husband was putting in a new hardwood floor in our dining room. I didn't think he had done a good enough job and got down on my hands and knees sanding it when he wasn't there, trying to make it better. All of a sudden, I could see that what I was doing was at best futile but also dangerous, willful, and hurtful.

It took me a long time, to my shame, to adjust to the reality of God's command that a woman should submit to her husband.  (I can almost feel the whoosh of rotten tomatoes being thrown in my direction.) That is why I write this, to spare someone else the misery I went through.

It comes down to this, when there are two people, there are bound to be two different wills. They can clash against each other 'til death or divorce do them part, or we ladies can be like Abraham. We pray in faith for our husbands as the designated head of our home and family. And then we let him be in charge. God can turn his heart if he is going the wrong way, but not if we are putting up resistance.

It brings peace to twisted and anxious souls to rest in faith. Just like satan came against God and fell one day, it was because he had a different will than the wise will of the Father. One day, we will see that God's way always is for the best. We will know it when we see our enemy cast into the lake of fire.

But for now, we can keep him from reigning havoc in our family by being like Abraham and trusting God, and give our husband the authority bestowed upon him by God.

Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. I Peter 3:1-2

For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. I Peter 3: 5-6

I want to be a daughter of Sarah. No matter where we find ourselves in our marriages or in our lives, we can choose to be Sarah's daughters, all because we choose to trust God in our lives and not in our own plan, which will lead only to the road of destruction. It is never too late to start!

"If the Foundations be Destroyed..."

Psalm 11:3

"If

the

foundations

be destroyed,

what can the

righteous

do?"



This verse speaks to me right now in light of recent events that have taken place in our country, even in the whole world. The foundations of the moral fabric in this country are being destroyed, right before our very eyes. Some may say I am intolerant for saying that, but I can't help but feel we are being sucked down into a vortex of societal breakdown faster and faster with each passing day.

If that were all that I had eyes to see, I would be so depressed. Thank God, He has, through His Word, given me eyes of faith to see that this is all supposed to happen, no matter how sad it is to behold. The Bible speaks of the last days as being "perilous" in II Timothy 3:1. The word in the Greek for perilous is chalepos, in the Greek #5467. It is defined as:

Fierce, Fierceness:
"hard,"
(a) "hard to do or deal with, difficult, fierce," is said of the Gadarene demoniacs, Mat 8:28;
(b) "hard to bear, painful, grievous," said of the last times, 2Ti 3:1, RV, "grievous," for AV, "perilous

http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5467&t=KJV

The lexicion says also to look into the word "fierce"

Fierce, Fierceness:
signifies "not tame, savage" (from a, negative, and hemeros, "gentle"), 2Ti 3:3. Epictetus describes those who forget God as their Creator, as resembling lions, "wild, savage and fierce" (anemeroi) (Moulton and Milligan, Greek Test. Vocab.).

ww.blueletterbible.org/search/dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?topic=VT0001034

My pastor said the last days resemble a gaping, open pit which many will fall into.

Very sobering stuff. But yesterday, the Spirit quickened a verse to me as an alternative to despairing over the state of the world. I received amazing encouragement from these 2 verses tucked away in Psalm 104.

33 "I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD."

Instead of worrying, I can sing to the Lord, for He is worthy.

I want to remember this verse always, no matter what happens. When I praise Him, it opens the gate for me to enter His holy courts. When I rest in that lovely place,
I am transferred, temporarily, to a place of calmness, a place of peace.

In this place, I am reminded of Psalm 46:10-11: "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah."

Psalm 37 verses 3-6
"Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday."

and verses 23-25

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."

Oh God, help us to keep our eyes fixed upon You no matter what happens all around us. For You alone our worthy of our trust, and You alone are worthy of our praise. Amen.

Defying the Odds...

27 ​​“Here is what I have found,” says the Preacher,
​​“Adding one thing to the other to find out the reason,
28 ​​Which my soul still seeks but I cannot find: ​​One man among a thousand I have found,
But a woman among all these I have not found."
Ecclesiastes 7:27-28

Whoa Solomon, for laying a heavy indictment on us women!

Proverbs 14:1
"The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down." (ESV)

Proverbs 31: 10-12
10 "​​Who can find a virtuous wife?
​​For her worth is far above rubies.
11 ​​The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
​​So he will have no lack of gain.
12 ​​She does him good and not evil
​​All the days of her life."

Oh, how I long, rather, to be this kind of woman!

How could Solomon say that he could not find a virtuous woman among a thousand? Yet the wisest man on earth recorded these very words.I never realized the power we women have among our men, just by batting our eyelashes. Yet Solomon said he could not find one that used their power correctly.And no one can say that Solomon did not know a LOT of women.

And yet, like it or not, we wield power over our families. The commentator Barnes has this to say of Proverbs 14:1: Every wise woman - literally, Wise women. The fullest recognition that has as yet met us of the importance of woman, for good or evil, in all human society.

http://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/proverbs/14.htm

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world you know.

If only I realized that, back when I was raising my family, the power I held in my household. I could use it for good or evil, but many times, sadly, I used it wrongly. Of course I did not know it at the time. I thought I was doing what was right. How could I have been so misled?

I was misled because of my own emotions, letting them rule me instead of trusting God to guide and lead through my husband. My own tender heartstrings pulled at me (especially when it came to childrearing) and I did not trust that God was working through him, in spite of his mistakes, in spite of his own human frailty, in spite of how things might have looked "by sight."

In the Old Testament, we see King Ahab of Judah, who was a believer in Christ, yet he did great evil. His outcome could have been different if he may have chosen a different wife than the wicked Jezebel. It says this of Ahab in the Old Testament record,

"Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.He acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the sons of Israel." I Kings 21: 25-26

Or what about Herodias and her daughter in the New Testament, who asked King Herod to give her what she wished? That wish was to have the head of John the Baptist on a platter! Herod regretted making any promise to her, but ended up with the blood of John the Baptist on his hands because of a woman's sway and power over him.

6 "But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Having been prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother." Matthew 14:6-11

But ladies, what if we tried to beat the odds, so to speak, as women and wives? Do you think God would help us? Of course He would! I have often thought that if we have power over our families, we also have power in one another's lives as well. Women's friendships are so important. What if we tried to build each other up in our households and encourage other women to do the same? To do what Paul instructed Titus in chapter 2 verses 3 through 5:

3 "Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored."

After thirty years of marriage, I can say that I see my husband differently now than during those early years. I can see that the story of his life has been working hard to take care of me and our children. He gave his life for us by getting up early each day and trudging off to work, getting beat up in the world so that we would have a roof over our heads, food, and clothes to wear. The last thing he needed was to feel discouragement at home too. He may have come home tired, but he certainly didn't need any more attitude coming from me. Just love and respect, and to show him that I was on his side. I failed many times at this, but I am thankful now that God has given us a second chance, and in retrospect I see that God's ways were the best ways all along. I am thankful that He works even my failures in the past for the good today.

I remember reading a book once called "All He Ever Wanted" by Anita Shreve. It was heartbreaking, because it depicted this man working so hard to earn this woman's love. I will not give away the ending, but it helped me to see how hard the male species really go to to please their women. I think of my own husband and how "all he ever wanted" was just to make me happy. We can make it easier for them and ourselves by doing things God's way instead of our own. If, as believing women, we simply trust that God will work through them as the designated heads of our homes, we will end up saving ourselves a lot of grief and heartache in the long run.

1Corinthians 11:3
"But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ."
This is God's truth for us, and in it we can find peace and rest.




















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