PREPARING YOUR HEART TO SEEK GOD

Within the Book of II Chronicles, the rule of each king is assessed and correlated with his faithfulness to the Lord. As we can see in the two verses below, the character of their deeds were inevitably tied to the degree of heart preparation each king made to seek after the Lord.

2 Chronicles 12:14  And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.

2 Chronicles 31:20-21  Thus Hezekiah . . . did what was good, right, and true before the LORD his God. Every work he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered.

In a previous post on bitterness, it was noted that God desires us to destroy the weeds spoiling the “garden” of our heart. If you also consider Jesus’ parable of the sower in Matthew 13, you will find that it is also extremely important that we prepare the soil of our heart-garden. These garden metaphors are so apt that I would like to continue their usage to explore the means through which God desires us to produce a bumper crop of spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). The following study of preparing your heart for God will be compared to the preparation of soil to produce a good crop.

Prepare the Soil of Your Heart

1. We are to adopt Christ’s attitude of submission to the will of the Father.

Phillipians 2:5  Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.

2. We are to rigorously train ourselves not to be influenced by human wisdom or the common culture that surrounds us, but to sift everything through the sieve of His Word to see if it is good and to caste away anything that doesn’t align.

Romans 12:2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

3. We are to fertilize our hearts by absorbing His words as revealed in the Bible, and by working them so deeply into our souls that they become part of us. His thoughts are the needed nutrients that will produce an abundant crop of superior quality fruit.

Joshua 1:8  This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

Psalm 119:15  I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways.

To expand the fertilization concept of number 3 (above), here are some simple steps for the "fertilization" process:

Fertilize for Abundant Spiritual Growth

1) Read the Word daily. God wants to be in continual conversation with us just as He walked and talked with Adam in the garden each day. Please realize that the Lord's recorded word in the Bible is the Lord’s side of the conversation. This is the way God talks to us. Put simply, prayer is you talking to God; reading the Word is God talking to you.

Which side of the conversation do you think might be the most important, God’s words, or our words? Make no mistake, the Lord wants us to talk to Him - He made us to fellowship with Him - but He decidedly wants to be the conversation leader.

2) Ask Father for greater faith to believe His message. Faith is a gift, and our Creator well knows that receiving gifts is our special “love language.” We love to be blessed and gifted, and our Father loves to give gifts! He will gladly give you more faith.

Ephesians 2:8  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

3) Practice trusting God for everything, particularly the future. Don’t project outcomes for your life.

4) Be humbly aware that you are a created being, a creature. Humanity is not the star of the show; God is. The Lord cares deeply about us, but this love exists within the larger context of the reason for our creation. We were made to glorify our Creator; unfortunately, humanity often gets this reversed.

OBLIGATO: WEDDING VOWS

Given the high divorce rate in many countries, do you ever wonder if the wedding vows actually signify any real obligation to the marrying couple? And if they do, why is it that these promises are so casually ignored rather than performed? 

A vow is an oath which formalizes a transaction between God and man. Vows are not commanded, by God. In fact, He frequently counsels against them; but once they are made, they are binding. (Deut. 23:21-23; Eccl. 5:4)  Most couples marrying in the United States repeat vows similar to these:

Groom:

I, _________, take you, __________, to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.

Bride:

I, __________, take you, _________, to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.

The vows above are the very ones I made when I married my husband, Steve, except mine also included a promise to obey my husband. Sadly, I have not kept those promises with consistency - particularly “to love” at all times and certainly that little part about obedience. It was a temptation for me to obscure my failures here with language like, “I haven’t kept my vows perfectly,” but since just one failure in the fulfillment equals a broken vow, I must confess that my mine have not been fulfilled as I promised on that November evening in 1970. And true to the “reap-what-you-sow” principle, though forgiven by God and my husband, I have reaped on my failures.

If this “reaping” was limited to simple guilt and a few ancillary consequences, a compromised marriage vow might not be that consequential. Yet, the Lord views our vows with great seriousness and does not dismiss them just because we somehow don’t manage to fulfill them. It is for this reason that we need to view our pledges with much greater respect and gravity than we do.

I’d like to take you on a little side trip through the Bible to explore God’s perspective on vows and to define them more clearly. Interestingly, the Bible indicates that there are five significant requirements for a vow made before the Lord.

1. & 2. A vow must be made voluntarily and verbally.

Deut. 23:23

You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God, what you have promised.

3. A vow must be performed.

Numbers 30:1-2

Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which the LORD has commanded. If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth."

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

Matthew 5:33

“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘ YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’

4. A vow must be performed without delay.

Deuteronomy 23:21

When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the LORD your God will surely require it of you.

5. “Perfect” fulfillment is required in fulfilling a vow.

Leviticus 22:23

In respect to an ox or a lamb which has an imperfect or stunted limb, you may present it for a freewill offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted.

Malachi 1:14

But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, "For I am a great King,” says the LORD of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

In the spirit of personal transparency, I will disclose my marriage vow scores to you:

1. Voluntary?  A+

2. Oral?  A+

3. Performed faithfully?  C (Mediocre performance.)

4. Performed promptly?  F (If one day is as 1,000 years in the sight of the Lord, I’m tardy.)

5. Performed perfectly?  F (Epic fail.)

It’s obvious that I must plead the blood of Jesus, to whom I am profoundly thankful.

Now, let’s examine two particularly interesting scriptures that are specific to vows that may be undertaken by a woman or a girl.

On the evening I married, just before entering the church to repeat my marriage vows before God and witnesses, my father did something surprising. He leaned over and said quietly, “If you have any doubts, just say the word and we can leave together right now. My car is just outside.” (Below is a picture of us taken just after that very moment over 40 years ago.) He loved and respected my Steve, but he was ready to protect me from any ill-considered pledge I may have made. Unbeknownst to him (since he wasn't a believer at the time), he was being an excellent and Biblical father when he made this comment. Notice the provision the Lord has made for the vows of a daughter:

NUMBERS 30:3-5

“Also if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by an obligation in her father’s house in her youth,

4 and her father hears her vow and her obligation by which she has bound herself, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will forgive her because her father had forbidden her.

The verses above reflect a practical, caring Father-God. Within them, He provides needed oversight and guidance to the inexperienced young female deriving from a source that will be naturally protective, caring, and more mature - her own father. But, let’s read on.

NUMBERS 30:6-14

6 However, if she should marry while under her vows or the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and the LORD will forgive her. 10 However, if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband indeed annuls them on the day he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the obligation of herself shall not stand; her husband has annulled them, and the LORD will forgive her. 13 Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. 14 But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows, or all her obligations, which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them.

These verses describe various situations wherein a woman’s husband is to now function in the same protecting role as her father concerning any vows taken by his wife. It is interesting to note that scripture knows no point in a woman’s life wherein is she to be without the protection and guidance of a male-guardian.

I understand that the nature of this type of male oversight might rankle the autonomous spirit of modern woman (including that of many Christian women) because of its paternalistic overtones; but from Sarah calling Abraham her lord in an acknowledgment of his authority over her life, to Ruth covering her feet with Boaz’ cloak in a symbolic gesture of her desire for his protection, to the material support given by the elders to the enrolled widows of the church, the Bible demonstrates the manner in which God has taken pains to make protective provision for His daughters. It is clear that the Lord wants fathers and husbands to use responsible wisdom in the oversight and care of their women. It is, therefore, their solemn duty to monitor the wisdom of their wive's and daughter's vows as part of a general system of provision and protection which the Lord has ordained for the benefit of women.

WISDOM FOUND IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD

Deut. 10:20

20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. 21 He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.

I would like to explore how the fear of God can be a motivator for gaining wisdom.

God is our Creator with the full power to un-make us at His will. He is also the righteous dispenser of judgment; but as He is most well known for His lovingkindness, I did not consider the “fear of God” to be a positive concept as a young Christian. I thought “respect” was surely the term the translators were seeking to convey. Yet, after a lifetime of experiencing the manner in which fear has actually protected me from many foolish actions and words, I now disagree with my younger self.

I have come to understand that the Lord is also the One who ordained the sure principle of reaping-what-is-sown, a principle that is further reinforced by the biblical concept of “practice makes perfect.” Fear has proven itself to be my friend as it restrained my “sowing” when I had no wisdom. I currently view fear as one of the most useful of all our emotions, and in an unexpected way it was a huge contributor to the success of my marriage to Steve. Let me explain:

My husband has told me that I was a good wife from the beginning, and that I still am. This is not because I was a particularly wise or good young woman. We were baby Christians (only one year old) and knew only a very few of the Biblical basics of marriage, but I was very motivated - - by fear, of course.

Steve had strong concerns about marrying at such a young age, yet certain that I was the right girl for him, he was afraid he would lose me if he waited several more years. It was thus, that he proposed. Along with his reticence to marry, there was also the chorus of his college buddies who would mock marriage at every turn. These circumstances caused me to be deeply fearful that Steve would grow to regret his decision and that marriage would make him feel like a man in bondage. (Also, like all women reared in the 1950’s, the desire to please is deeply ingrained in me, so I just really wanted to please him.)

As it turned out, those fears were just the thing to take my focus off of myself and to set it squarely upon my husband’s happiness. As we all know, and as simplistic as it may sound, the less we dwell upon ourselves, the happier we are. Thus, Steve and I have experienced happiness together, and all because of healthy fear.

Around the seventh year of our marriage, this fear for Steve’s potential regret was supplanted by a new fear in my heart. It was a growing fear of the Lord that began forming when I finally began reading the Bible for myself.

At the time, I was operating my little day care in my home, so I wasn’t able to attend a women’s Bible study, or even listen to teachings on CD, because the children required my full attention. I believe that God arranged these circumstances because He wanted me to spend time alone with Him. It was His intention that I listen to His voice only with no interference from others.

During the children’s naptime, I embarked on my plan to read through the Bible by using a popular one-year plan and reading its commentary. Soon, however, I began to notice that what I was reading in the Word did not match the commentary, probably because the author had a particular theological viewpoint into which he was trying to shoehorn the scripture. This conflict over the meaning continued to occur throughout the first month of reading and resulted in my loss of faith - - in the commentator. I chucked the book at that point, but kept its very accommodating reading schedule. Every day thereafter, I would confess to the Lord that my dark mind wasn’t able to understand spiritual things, and I asked Him to be my teacher and to protect me from error. I didn’t use any commentaries or other books about the Bible. I just read slowly, carefully, and attentively for about 30 minutes each day while the children slept. From this first experience so many years ago, I have remained convinced that the Holy Spirit alone is sufficient to lead His people in truth.

At the end of the first year, I knew something of God at last, and interestingly, He wasn’t much like the God about whom I had been taught. I don’t fault my teachers or pastors for this. The Lord is just too fierce and large for human to convey adequately. His love is too consuming, His anger too searing. His will is unalterable and insistent. He is not at all like us. For instance, He can be wildly jealous and it’s completely appropriate and righteous. Only the Lord alone can express the fullness of His being.”

This first read through the entire Bible also made it abundantly clear to me that the Lord’s “love language” is obedience. No one had ever pointed that out to me before, even though He plainly says, “If you love Me, keep My Word,” (John 14:15). Our obedience is the very particular worship the Lord seeks. It praises His wisdom. It expresses maximum trust in His sovereignty. It is the highest complement to His good will.

Another thing I learned is that the consequences for not obeying the Lord’s wise will can be quite harsh and costly. (The entire Old Testament is a long string of testimonies to that truth.) The Lord is well aware of this. He loves His children, so He is concerned for their protection. It’s massively important to Father that we obey Him; and like any loving father, the Lord will discipline His children effectively for disobeying His training. We are wise children, if we seek to avoid the correction by following Him with trust.

Knowledge of the fear of the Lord is like a coin whose sides are distinctly engraved with differing images. On one side, we find the consequences of sin and the attending discipline. On the other side, we see that the Lord views our obedience as worship because it is through our obedience that we acknowledge His holiness. While it can include them, true worship is not the songs, or the tithing, or the liturgy. It is obedience based upon the knowledge that God is holy.

The history of Saul and the Agag is an excellent example of how important obedience is to God. In this story, God tells King Saul that he is to be God’s instrument of judgment on the Amalekites for persecuting His people:

I Samuel 15:1-3

The prophet, Samuel, said to King Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel; listen therefore to the Lord’s message. The Lord of hosts says: ‘I have in mind what Amalek did to Israel; how he waylaid him when he came up from Egypt. Now then, you go and strike down Amalek; destroy all he has; spare none. Slay man and woman, cattle and sheep, camel and donkey.”

(For God to act in retributive judgment on a people is righteous because His justice is always perfect.)

Unfortunately, Saul does not fully obey the Lord, but spares not only the best of the flocks, but also the king of the Amalekites whose name is Agag.

I Samuel 15:7-9

Saul struck down Amalek from Havilah to the Shur approach east of Egypt. He captured Agag, the Amalek king, alive; but he doomed all the people to complete destruction with the sword. However, Saul and the people spared Agag; also the choicest sheep and cattle and the fattest lambs - everything of high value they did not doom to destruction; only the lesser quality cattle and the worthless they utterly destroyed.

Not only did King Saul not fully obey, he also appears to lie about sparing the flocks by pretending they were spared for later sacrifice, something God did not ask. Read the Lord’s reaction to Saul’s behavior:

I Samuel 15:10-11; 22-23; 28-29

10-11 Then came the Lord’s message to Samuel: “I am grieved ever to have made Saul king; for he has quit following Me and has not carried out My orders.”. . .22-23 Samuel then said, “Does the Lord delight as much in burnt offerings and in sacrifices as in obeying the Lord’s voice. See! Obedience is better than sacrifice and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of fortunetelling, and stubbornness as wickedness and idol worship. Because you have rejected the Lord’s word, He has rejected you from being king.”. . . 28-29 Samuel further said to Saul, “Today the Lord has torn the kingship of Israel from you and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you, and the Everlasting of Israel doe not lie or repent; for He is not a man to change His mind.”

Apart from losing the kingship, there was another serious consequence for Israel which was set in motion because of Saul’s disobedience.

Esther 3:1,8-10

Following these events (Esther being made queen), King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He advanced him and seated him higher than all his fellow princes. . . Then Haman told the King, “There is a race scattered and dispersed among all the peoples in the provinces of your realm, wholse laws differ from those of all other nations, and they do not observe the king’s laws, that that it is not expedient for your majesty to tolerate them. If it is agreeable to your majesty, let an ordinance be written to destroy them, and I will pay twenty million silver dollars into the hands of those in charge of the royal treasury.” (Haman is offering to personally cover the expense of the genocide.) The king removed his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jew-hater.

Haman is a descendent of Agag, the king who Saul failed to kill as God had told him to do. If Saul had obeyed the Lord, if he had feared the Lord, the story of Esther would not have had to happen.

Let’s look at another famous act of disobedience that concerns Nadab and Abihu, the priestly sons of Aaron. As shown below, the Lord had given the priestly order very precise directions on the proper way to approach Him in the tabernacle.

Leviticus 16:12

And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil.

Numbers 16:46

Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun.”

Nadab and Abihu disregarded these instructions and brought fire from another source.

Leviticus 10:1

But Nabab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, took each his censer, put some fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before the Lord, such as He had not ordered them.

Because it violated His command, and therefore, His holiness, the Lord reacted strongly to their use of fire that was not taken from the altar as He had instructed.

Leviticus 10:2-3

Then fire issued forth from the presence of the Lord and consumed them; they died before the Lord. Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said, ‘Among those in My presence I will be hallowed, and in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’”

Father, please build in us a holy fear of You and a true desire for wisdom.

The WISDOM of SUBMISSION

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”

The Lord’s people are called to act with wisdom. It is His desire to teach us the right way to live to protect us from heartbreaking experiences and aimless wandering. Simply put, acting in wisdom is the application of His divine truth to our personal human experience.

Sometimes I think wives may need the Lord’s wisdom more than anyone due to the complexities and pressures of our many roles as helpmeet, mother, sister, friend, and citizen. Our strong need for some guiding insight may be why God depicts Wisdom as a woman in His Word. While I’m comforted that He accepted me in my weaknesses, it thrills me that He also has a blueprint for the woman into whom He intends to make me. I especially love the very apt description of one early Christian writer who says Wisdom is "radiant and unfading, easily discerned by those who love her, and found by those who seek her." 

For this blog entry, I would like to specifically consider, “What is the wisdom behind Lord’s desire for a believing wife to be submissive to her husband?”

Ephesians 5:24,32-33

But as the church is submissive to Christ, so wives must in every respect be submissive to their husbands . . . There is a great hidden meaning in this, but I am speaking about Christ and the church. Let each of you love his wife as much as himself, and let the wife revere her husband.

The Lord reveals that within their own marriages, wives are to enact the mystery of the marital union of Christ to His Bride, the Church. This is the path of wisdom that our God has set according to His holy will. Given the self-centered state of spouses in a modern marriage, the obedient fulfillment of our role as a submissive helpmeet would be a phenomenal testimony to His power.

The laying aside of the self for another can only be accomplished by following Him in complete trust and obedience. Can you imagine the impact the church would have on the world if she were actually living in a holy manner? Certainly, the impact would be even greater than when the Church does not conduct herself in a holy way.

In my local church, we have recently experienced the damage an unholy action such as marital unfaithfulness can cause. With horror, we read about our shame in the local newspapers, and we heard the mocking, despising reaction of the world over our pastor’s stumble. I mention this not to throw any rocks, but to illustrate that failure in our own marriages will have the very same negative impact on Christ’s reputation (His reputation, NOT His reality), among those who know us. The scale of the reverberating circles of destruction may not spread so widely for us, but they will certainly overtake and negatively buffet our children, our family, and our friends. A failure in a Christian marriage is the ultimate case of “the salt of the earth” losing its saltiness.

Because so much is at stake in a Christian's marriage for the Kingdom of God, wives need to ask, “What exactly is this holy submission supposed to look like?”

I Peter 3:1-2

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives - - when they see your respectful and pure conduct.

This I Peter passage opens with the word “likewise” - a sure signal that we have to look to the proceeding verses for further edification of what the Lord has in mind. Check out:

I Peter 2:18-19

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.

And -

I Peter 2:21

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, He did not revile in turn. When He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.

Jesus trusted the Father and submitted to His will without complaint or balking. We see in the verses above that His response is to be the measure of a wife’s behavior, so if, despite the Lord’s example, you still don’t see a submissive role as an honorable one, let’s read on:

Philipians 2:5

Have this mind among yourselves in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped; but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death . . .

I Peter 1:12b:

It was revealed to the Prophets that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven; things into which angels long to look.

And finally -

I Cor. 11:10:

That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

(Note: It’s submission to authority, not what’s on her head, that is of interest to the angels.)

Women are privileged to model the submission of Christ to the Father. Through this, they display Him before the whole world and to unseen spiritual beings. Before this audience, men are to model His headship; women are to model His submission.

Having seen the pre-incarnate Christ in His glory, the angels were amazed as they observed His submission to the will of the Father through the taking of a human form, suffering, and dying for our sins. They continue to find this yielding of His glory and His humble submission an astounding event. It is a wonder of love they have difficulty grasping.

The whole plan of redemption is unfathomable to them because they were created to be servants to the Lord Most High, and therefore, their own state is fixed. They have no ability to conceive of themselves as other than they are - obedient. They always obey God because this is how He created them, and they find our human rebellion scandalous. Because they were created to be completely reliable, God has also imbued the angels with immense power. Miracles do not impress them. There isn’t a single miracle in the Bible, save one (our redemption through the resurrection), that wouldn’t be mere child’s play for them to accomplish. 

What does get angelic attention - the thing that causes them to shout God’s glory - is the sight of one of the daughters of Eve, brought to life from living-death through the Son’s submission to the Father, in her turn purposefully choosing to take up Christ’s attribute of submission within her own marriage. They know that only the power of God can quicken the dead to life, and only the power of God can quell our immense human pride. This is something the spiritual realm can appreciate as a bona fide miracle! (Remember, they have been watching life on earth from the beginning of creation, so they certainly understand who we are, how utterly dead we are, perhaps far better than we understand these things for ourselves.)

A wife’s submission to her husband is a testimony about the unsurpassable, selfless love of Christ which she displays not only to the world, but also to the entire spiritual universe. Women are highly FAVORED by God when He asks them to model this aspect of Christ's character.

Counter-intuitive as it may be to proud humanity, Christ’s submissiveness may be His most glorious trait. It is the one by which our salvation was accomplished. To despise it is shameful. If women will demand honor, this is their honor. 

If you have difficulty seeing the wisdom behind this truth, reflect on what Jesus had to say about the demonic spirit motivating Peter as he argued with Christ about going to the cross. Also, remember that the Lord has promised He will use a wife's submission redemptively. This may most notably be seen in the case of a wife whose husband is disobedient to the Word, but it will also be influential to many far beyond this.

Submission is the Lord’s wisdom for wives. The ultimate wisdom is obey His holy will.

BITTERNESS: MARITAL POISON

(Excerpted from “Role of Wife” Bible study; my home; Sept. 2011)

Before going any further in our study of marriage, it is crucial to remember that the basis for all our actions must be upon what Jesus has done for us on the cross. We are not attempting to bring about improvement for our own sake, although that’s a nice side effect, but because we love the Lord, we trust Him, and we want to obey Him. This is what it means to have the Lord “build the house.” When a wife (or a husband) obeys the Lord’s commands for their conduct within the marriage, those very commands become the bricks He uses to build your marriage. It will be Rock solid. (Pun intended.)

Sometimes, instead of a house, I like to compare marriage to a garden. A garden, with all of its associated aspects of soil, plants, fruits, flowers, weeds, needs for water, etc., functions well metaphorically in so many ways. If you have ever maintained a garden, you may have noticed that when you put too much emphasis on the weeds and associated chores, you almost always end-up missing the point of the garden -  - all the good plants, flowers, and shrubs that are growing there for your enjoyment. 

This principle is also true of marriage. When partners focus too intently on problems, they lose sight of the value in the union. This is partially why we having been working hard over the past few weeks to focus on enjoying the good things in our marriage. Yet, there is one problem weed in life, and particularly in marriage, that is so destructive, it cannot be ignored. Thus, if you will bear with me, I’d like to spend a few minutes talking about the particularly invasive weed of bitterness. Bitterness is the opposite of the sweet “fruit” of joy, and it is the main “weed” God wants out of the garden of our marriage. He truly wants us to go after removing it with all of our vigor.

Eph. 4:31-5:2

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

In these verses, the Lord God instructs us to get rid of all bitterness. Furthermore, He commands us to work at maintaining a "tender heart" because He knows that bitterness and tenderness are mutually exclusive. As an unknown wit once said, " Being bitter is like taking poison and expecting someone else to die." If you are a bitter woman, you will not be able to be a tender wife.

So, how could bitterness best be described? What does it look like? It certainly seems to be one of those things that is easier to spot in someone else, than in ourselves.

Definition:

When you sin, you feel guilt. When someone sins against you, you feel bitter. Bitterness is the residue of an initial emotion such as anger, hatred, hurt, or loss. You might argue, “I’m not bitter, I just get hurt (or angry) easily,” but the connection between the resentment a hurt causes and bitterness is very close. Bitterness is quite simply resentment put on hold.

Symptoms of Bitterness:

1. Bitterness remembers every word and detail of an offense. This is because the offended person has ruminated about the issue over and over again.

2. Bitterness can be rather enjoyable because there is a self-promoting pleasure in accusing someone else. A husband can certainly be a convenient and tempting target for a wife; and, of course, vise-versa is also true.

3. Hebrews 12:15

“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defiles many.”

This verse describes bitterness as existing like a root -- unseen, underground, and undesirable. Like any other plant, it will produce fruit like itself, i.e., bitter fruit. In so many words, God compares bitterness to a weed, and He insists that we get rid of it.

4. Again in Hebrews 12, notice that bitterness is described as something that defiles many. Bitterness is a highly contagious emotion that will infect your husband, your friends, and your children, defiling them, too, as they begin to share and mirror your attitude. If you are a bitter mother, I guarantee you that your children are learning it from you right now, and that you are preparing them for future lives of certain bitterness. It rubs off onto others as easily as a quick brush against soot. 

5. Bitterness is insatiable. Expressing it will not get rid of it (i.e., “I’m so angry that you did/said XYZ!”). An apology from the offender will not get rid of it because mere words are never enough. There are known to have been occasions where even the death of the offender would not appease the bitterness of the offended. 

So, the question is, how can we get rid of the bitterness that is choking our joy and poisoning our married life? 

Amy Carmichael, an early missionary to India, said, “For a cup of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted.” The “jolts” of our life are the disappointments, stresses, frustrations, and the failures of others. What spills out of us in response, is what is already inside.

Thus, since it's what's inside us that must be dealt with to eradicate bitterness, an effective remedy can be found through confessing to God that you are harboring a great and evil sin. Because if its infectious and defiling nature, bitterness is a great and evil sin. Ask the Lord to cleanse you of your bitterness through His ready forgiveness. This is the only lasting solution.

The hardest part in this process may be getting your eyes off of your husband’s sin against you. It is vital to recognize that bitterness is your sin, not the sin of the man who has wronged you (e.g., by not picking up his dirty socks 5,000 times in a row; or by making a hurtful crack; or by failing to understand your mood; etc).

When you focus on your own bitter response with the recognition that it is a very gross sin, and confess it to the Lord for cleansing forgiveness, your bitterness will begin to recede. In its place, sweetness will come to fill you, and you can respond with concern and understanding for your husband, as in, “He must be tired from working so hard, or getting sick, or feeling so disappointed," and so forth.

I will freely admit that it's hard, time-consuming work to keep off-loading bitterness onto God. Getting rid of it will take determined persistence because it’s a weed with a very penetrating root that feeds deeply upon the soil of our self-love. 

Take all the time necessary to address any bitterness with the Lord. You may even need to keep repeating your prayer of confession over and over until the bitterness is gone from your heart. Please understand:
1) You cannot be a bitter person and still feel or express joy. 
2) You cannot be a bitter wife and be a fit companion, a suitable helper, to your husband. 
3) You cannot be a bitter person and be able to apprehend God's blessings in your life.
Doing the work with the Lord to confess and be cleansed of bitterness is not a luxury; it is a life essential. 

God will meet your needs as you honor your commitment to root out bitterness. He may not change your husband (at least not until you learn to rely on God for those expectations you have of your mate), but He will change you. With bitter attitudes gone, the Lord will also remove the callous on your heart that prevents you from feeling joy. 

If bitterness is poison to joy (and really to all the good things in our marriage garden), gratitude turns out to be the greatest “fertilizer” for growing marital joy. But that’s a discussion for another day.

THE SEVEN PERFECT WAYS OF THE HOSTESS

(Transcripted from presentation at ALCF Mom's Time Out; April 27, 2011)


“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” I Peter 4:8-10


Our Lord refers to His church as the “Body of Christ;” so I like to consider acts of hospitality as one tangible way we can be the Lord’s arms reaching out to the people that He wants to touch. I find this a very moving picture, though I must confess putting it into action does not come easily to me. For one thing, my natural temperament works against me. Despite the fact that I like people and tremendously enjoy being in their company, I’m fundamentally a loner with a strong tendency to keep to myself much of the time. Then there is the problem of my so-called cooking skills. I don’t possess the skill of reading a recipe well, I’m not facile with my hands, and I seem to lack the necessary imagination to be anything more than a very pedestrian cook. The worst part is that I know these things are true; so, of course, I lack confidence in the kitchen, and the thought of a dinner party is guaranteed to put me in a tailspin. As a matter of fact, the best dinner I have ever served to guests was cooked entirely by my son, Zane the Good. Here's the happy guests and Zane in action with his wife, Daisy.

In light of these realities, I was astounded when your leaders asked me to speak on hospitality. I felt duty-bound to let them in on my “dirty little secrets” and emphasized that I’m not the right person for the job. I nominated Dottie, a very talented hostess, as a vastly superior choice. Nonetheless, Inez and Julie sweetly, but firmly, insisted that my difficulties are the very reason they were asking me to speak, instead of choosing someone for whom hospitality comes more naturally. Their theory seems to be that my little snaggle of misadventures in Hostess Land might be of some encouragement to those of you who share my anxieties. I hope they are right, because apparently we are legion. So, recognizing that hospitality is not only a spiritual gift, but also a command from our Father, “let’s reason together” on how to remove those barriers that are keeping us from having the open-heart and the open-home He desires.


Listen to some of my old excuses and see if any of them sound familiar to you. (And please believe that I am conversant in all of them.) “I’m too busy caring for the children to have people over.” “Cleaning and cooking for guests just overwhelms me.” “It’s too expensive.” “I’m too shy.” “I’m too introverted.” “I’m too boring.” And how about that most invidious of hospitality killers? Our overarching vanity -


Over the years, the Lord has had many a “little talk” with me about these very things. (I’ve even had to have some spankings.) He has pointedly and repeatedly urged me to take off that ugly old rag of vanity I insist upon wearing and urged me to put on His own garment.


“Well,” I thought, “Father wants this, right?” As you may know, it can be really hard to say “no” to Him, so I skeptically put on His coat, fully expecting it to be hot and heavy, with the hem dragging the ground and the sleeves hanging way past my fingertips. - - Afterall, it’s Father’s coat! He’s God and I’m Carolyn. I thought, “Sure, I’ve gained a few pounds, but really, can’t He see that we’re not anywhere near the same size?”


To my amazement, it fit me perfectly! The fabric was light and breathable, flexible, yet strong. More to the point, the simple lines made me look better than I really am. (I think it may even have been bulletproof.) I asked Father, “What's this made of?” “I was hoping you’d ask,” He responded, “I use a special thread for the weave that incorporates an open heart for the woof - - it creates that lightness you’ve noticed - - and a hospitable, stranger-loving attitude in the warp to provide the strength.”


I’ll bet you don’t believe God really talks to me this way. You’re right, He doesn’t, but He isn’t a silent God either. He talks to me through His spoken Word, the scriptures, and through the “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit in my heart. Because of my love for you, I would like to share His conversations with me. It’s my hope that they will bring you the freedom to be the obedient daughters of the King that you long to be. For today, I’m calling His lessons the “7 perfect Ways of the Hostess.”


Lesson #1 - Be sure Jesus is the one on display, not you.


For the first 10 years of our marriage, the dinners and after-church breakfasts we gave were a misery for me and, therefore, a misery for my whole family because, as you well know, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” This is a burdensome truth for us moms, but an entirely true reality for our families. It’s the mother that makes the emotional weather in her home.


Ill-equipped though I was to be a hostess, I still treasured a few fantasies of having everything just right - the place settings, the food, the children, and of course, me. (My husband, Steve, was on his own.) My attitude meant the family would be under martial law for at least a full day. And what was all this uptight activity really about? It was just some misplaced idea I had of what it means to honor a guest when they came into my home.


To be fair, I just didn’t know any better either. I was re-enacting some version of my own Mother. She was a skilled hostess, and as I’ve told some of you before, a natural-born lady. For example, if she were expecting a guest from Louisiana, my mom would study-up on it before they arrived so that she could talk about things that might interest them. As an executive’s wife, she always showed well for my father. She set a beautiful table, was highly groomed, and served a balanced meal that often featured a pot roast and a delightful dessert. This was the way I saw my path, too. It was all I knew - except for the part about how to make a pot roast.


In the course of time, the Holy Spirit whispered a question into my heart. “Carolyn, exactly who is on display here? - - You or Jesus?” and I began to think about that. Would Jesus be personally embarrassed because the table setting wasn’t perfect? Would He have cared if an over-cooked casserole exposed Him as an incompetent cook? Would He grump around and make excuses if the children were all smudgy? The answer is obvious. The Spirit wanted to help me understand the kind and the kindness of the hospitality Father really wants. He doesn’t want performance art, or some form of personal marketing. Very simply, He wants us to offer a friendly reception and the sort of generous treatment that will represent His heart to strangers. It’s about Jesus; it’s not about us.


Lesson #2 - Everything is fine.


My first epiphany about this arrived in a flash when I was 15 years old. Walking home from high school with a bunch of other kids, I noticed that everyone, including me, was only thinking about him or herself and vying for attention. Not much else was receiving any notice. These many years later, this observation still ranks very high among my most comforting and freeing pieces of found wisdom, and while it may not be obvious at first, it has a very salient application to the subject of hospitality.


I don’t wish to step on anyone’s toes or to be too controversial, but there is such a thing as a home that is too clean. I’m in real estate, so I can recognize “show time” when I see it. Certainly cleanliness contributes to a comfortable home, but when someone obsesses over it too much, it makes the home psychologically “uncomfortable” both for the family and the guests. I believe it is a false pride that makes us fret if the floor isn’t vacuumed or there’s a little dust here and there. If it’s reasonably ok, - or even just short of being an actual danger to someone - don’t worry, be happy. (I Thessalonians!)


Please believe me when I say that because of our inherent sin-nature, it is typical for most humans to be absorbed with thinking about their own appearance, what they’re saying, and when they’ll get their next chance to talk. The effect of this is to render them nearly blind to their surroundings. Furthermore, judging by Jesus' (who did not have a sin-nature) comments to Mary and Martha, I doubt if He spends much time concerning Himself over your housekeeping either!


If by some crazy longshot, a visitor shows up with white gloves to run along your baseboards, just give them a smile and gently explain that this is your ministry to help other women feel good about themselves. Your guests will remember you and bless you forever - because it’s about Jesus, it’s not about the house.


Lesson #3 Plant a KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).


Fortunately for us, and our woeful efforts at hospitality, the Lord mounted a rescue that involved sending Steve on a long business trip. It was 1981, and he was sent to the Florida panhandle to consult on an Air Force project. If you have ever experienced a long business trip like this, especially to the hinterlands, you know that the hotels are sterile, smelly, and lonely; so he was thrilled when one Air Force family invited him to stay with them and sleep on their couch. Every night, that Florida family would barbeque and serve my husband hot dogs and Kool-Aid for dinner. He loved it! It really tickled him to see this whole family, including the mom and dad, sitting around after dinner with cute little Kool-Aid mustaches; but the real pleasure for him was the way they treated him like family. They were just themselves - wearing their old sweatpants, saying a homely grace, swatting mosquitoes, and playing the usual games of Candyland and dominoes.


Steve returned from this trip a born-again host! He’d had a wonderful, relaxed time with this family, and never once felt like a burden to them. He informed me that this was going to be our new M.O., too. I was to scale back the hosting efforts until it was simple and easy for me, even if it meant serving spaghetti for dinner, and showing overnight guests where they could find the cold cereal and OJ for breakfast. The best result of our new style, (besides busting the kids out of jail!), was that we began to have people over more often.


Ultimately, we even gained enough confidence to begin hosting Wycliffe missionaries on furlough, and boy was that great! I can’t recommend it highly enough, as in blessing-upon-blessing. We met giants of tremendous faith, heard amazing stories from all over the world, and our children even learned to give up their bedrooms with grace - because it’s about Jesus, it’s not about style.


Lesson #4: Don’t let possessions possess.


This simply means, don’t let your “things” - either the lack of them, or their preservation - prevent you from opening your home to others. Every single thing you have is on loan to you from their rightful owner, the Lord God, for “the earth is His and all therein”; therefore you will have your stuff as long as the Lord wants you to have it, in the very condition He desires it to be in. The Lord absolutely does not want the stewardship of His possessions to derail us from obeying His command to be hospitable. He wants us to share His gifts freely with others, so don’t spend a second worrying about whether your things will be damaged, broken, or stolen. They’re not yours anyway.


When the Lord’s people say to someone, “Make yourself at home,” He wants them to mean it with no hidden agendas or concerns - because it’s about Jesus, it’s not about the things.


Lesson #5: Devise a hospitality budget.


Steve and I were committed to keeping me home to raise our children, which in our two-income world, means we were poor for quite a long time. We needed to figure out how much we could afford to spend on hospitality because it has the potential to be expensive. If you want, or need, to make your hospitality expenditures a sub-portion of your regular giving, I’m positive the Lord will bless and approve of it. If you find yourself in a situation like ours and can’t afford much, try making a batch of cupcakes or some warm gingerbread, and having folks over for dessert a couple of times a month.


Some years ago, we invited Pastor Paul and Meredith over for dessert, and I served them burnt gingerbread, which I had carefully made from scratch and burned to perfection just before they arrived. They were so nice about it. They looked a little quizzical, but they didn’t say a word - - just ate it politely and still became our friends. The best way to honor guests isn’t with expensive food, burned or un-burned, or glitzy serving pieces; it’s through seeking their company and offering yourself generously. This is what it means to be cordial - because it’s about Jesus, it’s not about money.


Lesson #6: No excuses.


About a year ago, I gave this lesson the ultimate test. I had invited the other Mentor Moms over for our usual pre-season dinner, but as the day drew near, I found that I had a few “problems.” My oven wasn’t working, the dishwasher had suddenly gone on the fritz, and I couldn’t go grocery shopping because I had no transportation. Late on the night before the dinner party, I was toying with the idea of just ordering a pizza, as I was also inquiring, “Lord, should I just cancel this?” But then, mostly because I’m so distractible, I turned and picked up a copy of Sunset Magazine to leaf through. (I can just imagine the Holy Spirit saying, “Uh-oh, We lost her!”) Amazingly, the Lord had sent a solution to my problem tucked within the magazine covers, and based upon His speedy response, it seems that He is really serious about this hospitality thing. Within that August 2009 issue, just as He had planned in distant ages past because He knew I was going to be in this pickle, I found a whole page of recipes designed for when it’s too hot to cook! Each was based upon store-rotisserie chicken, so I didn’t even need a stove. I chose one with a sauce made from some quirky fresh ingredients that didn’t require any heat, and I was back in business. After work the next day, I trotted to a nearby Whole Foods, and they kindly let me borrow one of their shopping carts to get the groceries home. I had a whole two hours left to prep the meal, and as usual, I was super blessed by spending time with my sisters - because it’s about Jesus, it’s not about the excuse.


And finally -


Lesson #7: You never know from whence help will come.


I’m sure you think about this every day, but have you ever noticed that the success of the Roman Empire was based entirely on its ability to steal every good idea they came across? It’s true! The Romans weren’t the most creative thinkers on the world stage, but they had a good eye for a great idea. I’m kind of like that myself, and I encourage you to be, too. I find the picture of my Roman-self happily raiding Greeks for their all their good stuff amusing and apt. For an application of what I’m trying to express, let’s take the realm of party games. I’m not the kind of person who particularly enjoys games, nor am I a competitive person, so naturally I’m hopelessly clueless when it comes to devising one. If I’m called upon to produce a game, my inner Roman will immediately seek out a Greek, as exemplified by the writer of this ancient little book of party games.

When I found it, this book had three obvious strengths to my trained Roman eye: 1) it was cheap (most likely free); 2) it’s so old that it’s almost guaranteed that no one plays these games anymore, which makes them - fresh; and 3) some clever, social, long-gone person has done all the thinking for me. All I need to do is seize one of the ideas this Greek has so kindly made available for any enterprising Roman to grab, and I’ve got game! Best of all for me, using it meets Steve’s directive to keep hospitality easy!


You don’t need to personally “invent fire and the wheel” to share yourself and your home with grace. Creativity is not necessary, nor even desirable, if it becomes an impediment to opening your home. Whether you are using a game someone else devised, or faux (aka paper) plates, or even if someone other than you made the food, it is of no consequence because a warm, welcoming attitude is the only real necessity - because it’s about Jesus, it’s not about anything else.


That last statement is a good summation of all the lessons the Lord had for me. Father refers to His children as the sheep He shepherds, never as His beasts of burden. While the Bible lays down hospitality as a very important part of the life He desires for us, the Lord has said, His “yoke is easy” and His “burden is light.” Be on guard not to allow anything to be a stumbling block to your obedience - because it’s about Jesus, and Him alone.

HOSPITALITY RELATED SCRIPTURE

Leviticus 19:33-34 - “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”

Romans 12:13d - "(We are to be) practicing hospitality."

Hidden blessing: Hebrews 13:1-2 - “Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”

Seeks to succor up the lowly: Luke 14:12-14 - “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friend, or your brothers, or your relatives, or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

3 John 5-8 - “Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they bear witness to your love before the church; and you will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support (‘show hospitality to’ NIV) such men, that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

1 Peter 4:8-10 - “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

1 Timothy 3:2 - “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, . . . “

Titus 1:8 - “but (elders must be) hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, . . .”

3 John 5 - “Beloved friend, you are acting faithfully when you do anything for the brothers, and especially strangers.”

Matthew 25:44-45 - "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'”

BASICS FOR BIBLICAL LAY COUNSELING

What are we to do?


1. Minister to one another (from Paul’s example)


• "Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears." (Acts 20:31)


• "And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ." (Colossians 1:28)


2. Be subject to one another. "Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ" (Ephesians 5:21)


3. Admonish one another. "And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able also to admonish one another." (Romans 15:14)


4. Encourage one another. "And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together as the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as we see the day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25)


Who is to do this?


1. All believers


• "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching one another and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:16)


• "But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine . . . Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored." (Titus 2:1,3-5)


• Also see Romans 15:14 (above)


What should counseling be based upon?


1. Scripture.


• "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (II Timothy 3:16-17)


• "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction." (II Timothy 4:1-2)


• Much of Scripture is written to exhort (for example, Proverbs, Paul's letters to the churches, accounts of Old Testament saints and sinners)


What is the process?


1. Prerequisites


• Knowledge of the Scriptures for they are the basis for exhortation.


• Have a loving attitude - "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." (I Timothy 1:5)


2. Confess your sins - "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:16)


3. Instruct, reprove, admonish, exhort, encourage, and pray for one another.


Definition of terms:


1. Instruct: to communicate knowledge (teach)


2. Reprove: to express disapproval (rebuke)

3. Admonish: to caution against specific faults (warn, reprove mildly)

4. Exhort: to urge earnestly by advice, warning, etc. to do what is proper

5. Encourage: to give courage, hope, or confidence, to help

PSALM 40: A PSALM OF DAVID AND CAROLYN

1 I waited and waited for the Lord; then He bent over to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up from a destructive pit, from the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, steadying my steps.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a praise to our God -- Many shall see it and revere and trust the Lord.
4 Blessings the man enjoys who makes the Lord his trust, and does not turn to those defiant, lying apostates.
5 You have made numerous, O Lord my God, Your wonders and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You; were I to declare and tell them, they are too many to be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering You have not desired; a responsive ear You have prepared for me; burnt-offering and sin-offering You have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; in the volume of the Book it is written of me.”
8 I delight to do Your will, my God -- Your law is deep within my heart.
9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation; see, my lips I will not close; O Lord, you know this.
10 Your righteousness I have not hid in my heart; Your faithfulness and Your salvation I have proclaimed; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.
11 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your mercies from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth shall continually preserve me.
12 For evils* without number have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, even beyond my discerning; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let them** be ashamed and confounded together, who seek my soul to destroy it. Let those be turned back and put to shame who desire my hurt.
15 Let them be confounded as a reward for their shame; they who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all those seeking You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”
17 Though I am poor and needy, the Lord thinks of me; You are my help and my deliverer. O my God, delay not.




* My own disobedient desires that spring from inappropriate self-will and self-love


** Both the above and the evil one and the fallen angels

THEY BELIEVE IN BEAUTY

I visited the Amish Quilt Exhibit at the De Young Museum this past Sunday. Breathtaking works of art! Much of the Amish ethos is admirable: plain, simple, thrifty, humble, and they rightly view no distinction between the religious and the secular. The quilts they have created are stripped bare of self-involvement, pride, and even the need to create self-conscious works of art. While avoiding pictorial art (in something of a misunderstanding of the second Commandment) and eschewing pride, Amish women clearly do believe in beauty. 


This very telling quote was on the museum wall:   

“ They proceed from the place modern artists sought to find - - the rich interior world of spiritual calm, shared values, and mutually beneficial self-denial made by believers, not seekers.” 

by Robter Shaw