Proverbs 31:13-15 She finds wool and flax
and busily spins it.
14 She is like a merchant’s ship,
bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.
This woman is amazing. Imagine making things with your hands, driving far to bring food home. Waking before the sun is up to prepare breakfast for your family and plan the day's work for servant girls.
Okay so we don't have servant girls but we do have something they didn't have back then. Dishwashers and Washing Machines, Ovens, Toasters, Electricity. It was necessary to get up before dawn to prepare breakfast. It wasn't a case of open packet, nuke it, snack it. A lot of preparation needed to be done before a meal was put on the table. There was a lot of chores than needed to be done. Nothing was instant. She finds wool and flax in it's rawest form and has to spin it before she can use it.
She needs servant girls to help with all of theses tasks. She runs her home well. She understands what needs to be done and she plans for it.
She doesn't just go afar to get food on a whim. She carefully selects food for her family and if it cannot be found close by and it is of better quality elsewhere she will travel far to bring it home. Only the best for her family.
How does this apply to us today? We do not have servant girls but we do have appliances and yet still with all the appliances and things to make life easier things are still hard. We have become too proud to ask for help or accept help when offered. Women feel they need to be everything to everyone and do everything. Taking care of our homes and our families is not just a job it is who we are created to be. We were created to be helpers. Not only do we help our husbands but we can help women around us.We don't have servants but we do have friends. Allowing others to help us when we really need it makes us deal with issues of pride but it also encourages your friends to help others in small ways too.
Asking someone to mind your child for an hour or so while you clean house or just have some time to yourself is not something you need to be guilty about. I don't think for one second that the Proverbs 31 Woman ever felt guilty for having servant girls. Quit the pride and ditch the guilt. We do not need that in a life of a helper.
Plan your day. If you really are not a morning person (like me) plan the night before. Know exactly what needs to be done. Be sensible about what you plan to do. Cleaning the whole house in one day though noble is not very wise. You will get a fourth of the way through and will collapse in a heap of despair. List 6 things you want to get done and work in 15 min increments. I get very bored with a task if I do it for 2hours straight and see no progress but if I do just a little bit and set a time limit I am least likely to get distracted. Put some music on and fold that laundry. When you do laundry, break up the task. For 15 mins round up laundry and sort it, 15 mins of folding and then 15 mins of packing away etc.
Put your children to work. I am not talking child slave labour. I am saying they are a part of the family and also help making a mess so they can help put it straight. Obviously this needs to be age appropriate. Do not let your toddler use the iron and stuff like that.
Husbands are you a help or a hindrance to your wife and how she is trying to run your household? I am not saying this gives her permission to be a nagging fishwife but in the same way that she is supportive of your need to work late to meet a deadline you need to be supportive of the chores that need to be done around the home. There are just some things that a man must take care of around the home. Taking out the trash, changing light bulbs, fixing broken stuff, making sure the car is safe to drive, mow the lawn. There are of course exceptions and every family is different but husband and wife are to care for each other's needs above their own. Yes husbands provide for their family outside the home but providing inside the home is just as if not more important. Being available to your children and speaking life into their futures and encouraging your wife after a long day is just as valuable as when you come home to a hot meal and warm arms after a long and stressful day at work.
We can all learn from the Proverbs 31 Woman. She plans and she does her job well and with excellence (note not perfection), free from guilt, shame and pride.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Proverbs 31 - Week 2 - Virtue
Proverbs 31:10-12
Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
Virtue - Behaviour showing high moral standards.
A virtuous and capable wife is a great treasure to her husband. He trusts her and his life is made rich and good.
As women it is in our power to build up or tear down with what we believe and what we do. What is our attitude like? Are we trustworthy women? Do we enrich our husbands lives? Are we virtuous? Are we women of high moral standards?
A husband I am sure are so blessed by a wife of quality and virtue.
Now lets flip it and find out more about the husband of this virtuous wife. If his wife is virtuous then he too must be virtuous. You cannot be in a marriage that will last if one person holds moral standards highly and the other does not. If this is a quality that delights a husband then he too will be a virtuous husband not only in his marriage but in his workplace and in every area of his life.
Single people look for someone who has high moral standards and likewise know what you stand for. You will not be able to build a good foundation in a marriage until you are sure what you believe and the things you simply won't negotiate on. If you don't stand for anything you will fall for anything. Ask God to show you how to be virtuous. Read your Bible and learn what God says is a virtuous character.
There is trust within their marriage. He trusts her with his life, the home, finances, their children and his heart. The wife trusts her husband. He is a trustworthy man. She knows that she can rely on him to provide for her and their children and she trusts him with her heart. Submitting to his headship is not based on fear but on trust. They trust each other because they are trustworthy.
Are you looking for someone trustworthy? Are you trustworthy? Do you mean what you say and do what you say you will? Can you be trusted at work and are you trusted by people around you?
She greatly enriches his life and brings him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. This speaks to me of a unselfish woman. She cares for her husband, honours him and makes his life better. She does not tear down their marriage with words and she is a safe place for him to land at the end of a long day.
Marriage isn't 50/50 it is 100/100. Not give and take but give and receive.
Women be the kind of woman that brings richness to other's lives and build others up. Look for a man who is kind to others and who brings value to the friendships he has. Men look for a woman who has friends who are better off by having her in their lives.
A lot of the time in marriage we need to look at ourselves and what we can change and how we can better love our spouses and support them. When women say they don't need a man to make them happy I think they miss out on an amazing journey of character building and finding just what kind of stuff you are made of. Yes it is true that I will not lean on my husband to make me happy or expect him to be totally absorbed in my emotions (they make me tired just dealing with them myself) but having my husband in my life has enriched my life. It is more than just being happy. I trust my husband because he is a trustworthy man. He is a man of noble character and I am blessed to have him in my life.
There are some guys out there that have not been noble or trustworthy and who have harmed their wives but not all guys are like this and there are some really great ones out there who may just need a woman who will come alongside him and enrich his life.
Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
Virtue - Behaviour showing high moral standards.
A virtuous and capable wife is a great treasure to her husband. He trusts her and his life is made rich and good.
As women it is in our power to build up or tear down with what we believe and what we do. What is our attitude like? Are we trustworthy women? Do we enrich our husbands lives? Are we virtuous? Are we women of high moral standards?
A husband I am sure are so blessed by a wife of quality and virtue.
Now lets flip it and find out more about the husband of this virtuous wife. If his wife is virtuous then he too must be virtuous. You cannot be in a marriage that will last if one person holds moral standards highly and the other does not. If this is a quality that delights a husband then he too will be a virtuous husband not only in his marriage but in his workplace and in every area of his life.
Single people look for someone who has high moral standards and likewise know what you stand for. You will not be able to build a good foundation in a marriage until you are sure what you believe and the things you simply won't negotiate on. If you don't stand for anything you will fall for anything. Ask God to show you how to be virtuous. Read your Bible and learn what God says is a virtuous character.
There is trust within their marriage. He trusts her with his life, the home, finances, their children and his heart. The wife trusts her husband. He is a trustworthy man. She knows that she can rely on him to provide for her and their children and she trusts him with her heart. Submitting to his headship is not based on fear but on trust. They trust each other because they are trustworthy.
Are you looking for someone trustworthy? Are you trustworthy? Do you mean what you say and do what you say you will? Can you be trusted at work and are you trusted by people around you?
She greatly enriches his life and brings him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. This speaks to me of a unselfish woman. She cares for her husband, honours him and makes his life better. She does not tear down their marriage with words and she is a safe place for him to land at the end of a long day.
Marriage isn't 50/50 it is 100/100. Not give and take but give and receive.
Women be the kind of woman that brings richness to other's lives and build others up. Look for a man who is kind to others and who brings value to the friendships he has. Men look for a woman who has friends who are better off by having her in their lives.
A lot of the time in marriage we need to look at ourselves and what we can change and how we can better love our spouses and support them. When women say they don't need a man to make them happy I think they miss out on an amazing journey of character building and finding just what kind of stuff you are made of. Yes it is true that I will not lean on my husband to make me happy or expect him to be totally absorbed in my emotions (they make me tired just dealing with them myself) but having my husband in my life has enriched my life. It is more than just being happy. I trust my husband because he is a trustworthy man. He is a man of noble character and I am blessed to have him in my life.
There are some guys out there that have not been noble or trustworthy and who have harmed their wives but not all guys are like this and there are some really great ones out there who may just need a woman who will come alongside him and enrich his life.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Proverbs 31 - Week 1 - The Proverbs 31 Man
Proverbs 31:1-9 The sayings of King Lemuel contain this message, which his mother taught him.
For the next few weeks I will be looking at Proverbs 31. This Chapter of Proverbs seems to be directed only at married women and all the things they need to live up to, do and be. But I would like to dig deeper and bring out the secret, hidden message of Proverbs 31.
This week we will look at Proverbs 31:1-9. These are the verses before the Virtuous Women verses.
It starts with King Lemuel and it says that it is him retelling the advice his mother gave him.
His mother doesn't go straight into telling him what the right kind of woman he should be looking for is. Instead she says son of mine don't throw your masculinity and strength onto just any woman. Don't crave drink and become drunk. Speak up for those without a voice and speak up for those who are poor and helpless. Be just.
These verses speak of a mother advising her son as to how he should behave and what builds good character in a leader and as a King.
We see more and more young men today who do not value their own virginity and drinking and seeing who gets the most drunk is what makes you a man. They do not care about the little person and instead bully and harm others.
What type of man do you want to be? Moms and dads what kind of man do you want your son to be? Women what type of man are you going to let into your life?
What this world needs the most is men who will be strong in justice for the oppressed and poor. We need men that will rise up, stand and be counted as leaders of integrity, who do not allow drink to be their master. Men who respect themselves and respect women and do not throw their bodies to any women they can find to fulfill their fleshly desires. We need men who are pillars of strength who keep the roof from crashing down on us.
We need godly men who will open their mouths and speak up. Speak up for the one being bullied. Speak up for the unborn child. Speak up for the poor.
We need men who are not filled with wine or beer but filled with the Holy Spirit and not just filled with the Spirit but walking in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-25
Likewise women if you are to find a man to marry find a man who is filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit. A man who will stand up for you. But you too must be walking in and filled with the Spirit. You need to keep yourself from getting drunk and giving up your body to just anyone who fancies you.
Young women today are getting drunk and fall into bed with a new guy every week. These girls then end up in fights and brawls and if their great-grandmother saw them she would me totally mortified.
What happened to the ladies and gentlemen of old. You could say that we need to get with the times and that chivalry is so old school. We preach equality of genders but haven't we just traded one set of chains for another?
Feminism brought in some good things such as women being allowed to vote and equal pay and employment. But women have gotten so uptight over men opening the door for us and letting us go first and treating us with dignity and respect that now we are treated as common and just the same as men and thus not deserving of the red carpet we were once on.
I think we have confused equality with value. As humans we are equal but as men and women we are different. We need to realise our roles as different, unique but complimentary. Until we realise that a husband and wife are a team doing different things for the same cause we will never be ready for a Proverbs 31 Man or a Proverbs 31 Woman.
Married men and women what are the things you can change that will help your marriage? Are you the man or women that your marriage needs?
Single men and women are you becoming the kind of person someone would like to meet and spend the rest of their lives with. Have drinking and sleeping around become normal to you?
We are to love our neighbour as ourselves. If we do not love ourselves enough to stay pure how can we be sure we will be able to love others purely?
In the next few weeks we will look at what it means to be a Virtuous Woman and a Valiant Man. It might seem like Proverbs 31:10-31 is for women only but this women's husband is mentioned a few times and her children too.
O my son, O son of my womb,
O son of my vows,
do not waste your strength on women,
on those who ruin kings.
O son of my vows,
do not waste your strength on women,
on those who ruin kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine.
Rulers should not crave alcohol.
For if they drink, they may forget the law
and not give justice to the oppressed.
Alcohol is for the dying,
and wine for those in bitter distress.
Let them drink to forget their poverty
and remember their troubles no more.
Rulers should not crave alcohol.
For if they drink, they may forget the law
and not give justice to the oppressed.
Alcohol is for the dying,
and wine for those in bitter distress.
Let them drink to forget their poverty
and remember their troubles no more.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;
ensure justice for those being crushed.
Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,
and see that they get justice.
ensure justice for those being crushed.
Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,
and see that they get justice.
This week we will look at Proverbs 31:1-9. These are the verses before the Virtuous Women verses.
It starts with King Lemuel and it says that it is him retelling the advice his mother gave him.
His mother doesn't go straight into telling him what the right kind of woman he should be looking for is. Instead she says son of mine don't throw your masculinity and strength onto just any woman. Don't crave drink and become drunk. Speak up for those without a voice and speak up for those who are poor and helpless. Be just.
These verses speak of a mother advising her son as to how he should behave and what builds good character in a leader and as a King.
We see more and more young men today who do not value their own virginity and drinking and seeing who gets the most drunk is what makes you a man. They do not care about the little person and instead bully and harm others.
What type of man do you want to be? Moms and dads what kind of man do you want your son to be? Women what type of man are you going to let into your life?
What this world needs the most is men who will be strong in justice for the oppressed and poor. We need men that will rise up, stand and be counted as leaders of integrity, who do not allow drink to be their master. Men who respect themselves and respect women and do not throw their bodies to any women they can find to fulfill their fleshly desires. We need men who are pillars of strength who keep the roof from crashing down on us.
We need godly men who will open their mouths and speak up. Speak up for the one being bullied. Speak up for the unborn child. Speak up for the poor.
We need men who are not filled with wine or beer but filled with the Holy Spirit and not just filled with the Spirit but walking in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-25
Likewise women if you are to find a man to marry find a man who is filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit. A man who will stand up for you. But you too must be walking in and filled with the Spirit. You need to keep yourself from getting drunk and giving up your body to just anyone who fancies you.
Young women today are getting drunk and fall into bed with a new guy every week. These girls then end up in fights and brawls and if their great-grandmother saw them she would me totally mortified.
What happened to the ladies and gentlemen of old. You could say that we need to get with the times and that chivalry is so old school. We preach equality of genders but haven't we just traded one set of chains for another?
Feminism brought in some good things such as women being allowed to vote and equal pay and employment. But women have gotten so uptight over men opening the door for us and letting us go first and treating us with dignity and respect that now we are treated as common and just the same as men and thus not deserving of the red carpet we were once on.
I think we have confused equality with value. As humans we are equal but as men and women we are different. We need to realise our roles as different, unique but complimentary. Until we realise that a husband and wife are a team doing different things for the same cause we will never be ready for a Proverbs 31 Man or a Proverbs 31 Woman.
Married men and women what are the things you can change that will help your marriage? Are you the man or women that your marriage needs?
Single men and women are you becoming the kind of person someone would like to meet and spend the rest of their lives with. Have drinking and sleeping around become normal to you?
We are to love our neighbour as ourselves. If we do not love ourselves enough to stay pure how can we be sure we will be able to love others purely?
In the next few weeks we will look at what it means to be a Virtuous Woman and a Valiant Man. It might seem like Proverbs 31:10-31 is for women only but this women's husband is mentioned a few times and her children too.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Create
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and Renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Create. Some of my family and friends may be getting a little sick of hearing about it but if they haven't they may soon. So instead of my usual Blog I am going to tell you a bit about what has got me so excited. Hopefully it will help get the bits and pieces in my imagination matching up and forming the bigger picture of what God is doing.
Once a month I will be having an afternoon at my house where ladies will come and bring their unfinished things or something that they have been meaning to start or try out but have never got the time to do it. I will also have something set up for those who haven't got anything to bring or who want to learn something new.
Every six or so months we will have a big event at the church building. It hasn't taken shape yet but I have a rough idea of what it might look like and it might even end up looking completely different in the end.
I want it to be a totally unique thing. Completely organic and new.
There are four words that sum up what this is all about:
Renew
Restore
Relate
Create
The meanings of these words are as follows:
Renew - To give fresh life or strength to.
I want women to feel renewed, refreshed and strengthened. Most of a women's life is about caring and thinking of others needs and wants that we forget that we too have needs and wants and that it is perfectly okay to spend some time doing something we love.
Restore - To return (someone or something) to a former condition, place or position.
To give (something stolen, taken away or lost) back to the original owner or recipient.
I would like for women to return to the condition, place and position they were created for. God has put amazing talents, gifts and abilities within us that have gotten squashed or pushed aside by things that have hurt, bruised and scarred us. They have been stolen, taken away or lost over the years. I want this to be a place of restoration of hope, faith, love and trust.
Relate - to make or show a connection between
to feel sympathy for or identify with
None of us wants to be lonely and yet this is a prevalent feeling of most women. We all want to be a part of something. We all want to be included and be connected. Women have emotions that help us sympathise with others and we have this deep need to nurture and be nurtured. There has been something lacking in our relationships with each other and I would really love to see new friendships made and connections made. I would like to see the Holy Spirit moving within women's lives and a strong network of prayer for each other established.
Create - To cause to come into being, as something unique
This is the name of this new thing that I am doing. Create.
Everyone is creative. Some will tell me that they are not at all creative. Well I am not creative with drawing people. I know my weaknesses and my strengths. Yes I have a lot of strengths and there is a lot that I do well but there is just as much that I do very poorly. Housework. I do not do housework well. I am first to admit that I suck at it. I never kept my room clean as a child and I have a terrible time of creating order in my house. Others are better at this than I am or they have become very creative (like I have) of hiding the mess.
Some are better at interior decor. This is a bit of a challenge for me. I have been given a bit of this and a bit of that over the years which I am most grateful for but honestly nothing really matches, or it does but I am not sure. If you come visit me you can decide for yourself.
You see being creative is more than just being good with a pencil and some paint or glueing something on the right way it is about being who God created you to be. It is about using the gifts given to you.
You may be really great at making a delicious meal or blessing others. These things all come out of your creativity.
I would like for every women to feel that they are creative. They cause to come into being, as something unique. Not a copy but something that is as unique as their own fingerprint and DNA.
So it is with these 4 words and Psalm 51:10 that I would like to inspire and encourage women to rise up and be all they are called to be.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and Renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Create. Some of my family and friends may be getting a little sick of hearing about it but if they haven't they may soon. So instead of my usual Blog I am going to tell you a bit about what has got me so excited. Hopefully it will help get the bits and pieces in my imagination matching up and forming the bigger picture of what God is doing.
Once a month I will be having an afternoon at my house where ladies will come and bring their unfinished things or something that they have been meaning to start or try out but have never got the time to do it. I will also have something set up for those who haven't got anything to bring or who want to learn something new.
Every six or so months we will have a big event at the church building. It hasn't taken shape yet but I have a rough idea of what it might look like and it might even end up looking completely different in the end.
I want it to be a totally unique thing. Completely organic and new.
There are four words that sum up what this is all about:
Renew
Restore
Relate
Create
The meanings of these words are as follows:
Renew - To give fresh life or strength to.
I want women to feel renewed, refreshed and strengthened. Most of a women's life is about caring and thinking of others needs and wants that we forget that we too have needs and wants and that it is perfectly okay to spend some time doing something we love.
Restore - To return (someone or something) to a former condition, place or position.
To give (something stolen, taken away or lost) back to the original owner or recipient.
I would like for women to return to the condition, place and position they were created for. God has put amazing talents, gifts and abilities within us that have gotten squashed or pushed aside by things that have hurt, bruised and scarred us. They have been stolen, taken away or lost over the years. I want this to be a place of restoration of hope, faith, love and trust.
Relate - to make or show a connection between
to feel sympathy for or identify with
None of us wants to be lonely and yet this is a prevalent feeling of most women. We all want to be a part of something. We all want to be included and be connected. Women have emotions that help us sympathise with others and we have this deep need to nurture and be nurtured. There has been something lacking in our relationships with each other and I would really love to see new friendships made and connections made. I would like to see the Holy Spirit moving within women's lives and a strong network of prayer for each other established.
Create - To cause to come into being, as something unique
This is the name of this new thing that I am doing. Create.
Everyone is creative. Some will tell me that they are not at all creative. Well I am not creative with drawing people. I know my weaknesses and my strengths. Yes I have a lot of strengths and there is a lot that I do well but there is just as much that I do very poorly. Housework. I do not do housework well. I am first to admit that I suck at it. I never kept my room clean as a child and I have a terrible time of creating order in my house. Others are better at this than I am or they have become very creative (like I have) of hiding the mess.
Some are better at interior decor. This is a bit of a challenge for me. I have been given a bit of this and a bit of that over the years which I am most grateful for but honestly nothing really matches, or it does but I am not sure. If you come visit me you can decide for yourself.
You see being creative is more than just being good with a pencil and some paint or glueing something on the right way it is about being who God created you to be. It is about using the gifts given to you.
You may be really great at making a delicious meal or blessing others. These things all come out of your creativity.
I would like for every women to feel that they are creative. They cause to come into being, as something unique. Not a copy but something that is as unique as their own fingerprint and DNA.
So it is with these 4 words and Psalm 51:10 that I would like to inspire and encourage women to rise up and be all they are called to be.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Burdens
Numbers 11:10-12 10 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. 11 So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers?
What burden has been placed on your heart? I have a few burdens on me and these burdens can be very heavy and almost impossible to carry on my own.
Moses had the same problem. He was so heavily burdened for the people he was to lead out of Egypt who all they seemed to do was grumble and moan at him. They were never satisfied.
God had placed the burden on Moses to nurture, care for and carry these people to the promised land but the task becomes so weighty and he realises he simply cannot carry it on his own.
God then asks Moses to bring before Him 70 elders so that He can impart the same burden that Moses has on the 70 so that Moses no longer had to carry the burden on his own.
There are things we are being called to do that look to be more than we can handle. They are bigger than we can bear and not something we feel we can do on our own and we are right. God gives us a burden but He also gives us people around us that can help us and carry that burden alongside us. Doing everything on our own is unnecessary. Pray and ask God to bring people your way who can help bear your burden. Draw on their strengths to take the place of your weaknesses.
It would be unwise of me as a leader not to draw out the potential and abilities in others and to constantly be in control of everything. I am not to be the one in control of every aspect of my burden. When I receive a burden on my heart I pray and return it to God not to get rid of this responsibility but to accept the call and allow God to have full control and have me as a willing servant understanding that I cannot do it on my own strength.
When we assume all the responsibility is on us and we have to do this or that because otherwise there will be no one else to do it and it won't be done perfectly, we have a strong chance of burning out and not accomplishing that which we were burdened for in the first place.
Recognise the gifts and talents of others. Some people may do somethings better than you and that is ok. You might do something better than someone else and that is ok too. Gather around you a team of people who will pray for you, who have the same burden and vision as you and who have unique gifts that will help you carry your burden and do the will of God.
TEAM
T - Tribe with the same culture and language and same spiritual accent of Faith.
E - Equals with different gifts and talents
A - Attitude is healthy and edifying
M - Mature and growing in stature.
What has God called you to do that is a burden on you? Do you feel that you may crack or explode any minute if you are to bear it much longer? Know that Jesus' yolk is easy and His burden is light. Cast your burdens on to Him and He will give your rest and peace to continue on with the great call He has on your life. Don't forget to surround yourself with mature Christians who can pray for you and encourage you and prayerfully seek people who have gifts that need to be used and not buried.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
The Harvest
John 4:35-38 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
A lot of time I feel is spent on waiting for that day when revival will come. But revival comes when each of us steps out and lays claim to that which God has granted us.
The harvest, Jesus tells us, is not 4 months from now but it is now. It is white for harvest.
In order to harvest a field you need to first own the field or work for the one who owns the field. To just go hacking away and harvest a field that isn't yours is theft.
God has given us the field. He commands us to go out and preach the gospel and make disciples. God owns the field and the Harvest therein.
When we work for the owner of the field we need to take hold of the authority given us to harvest. We are given the same authority to harvest the field as the owner has. Not because we are simply working for the owner but that the owner is our Father and we His sons and daughters and thus heirs.
We haven't even sown this harvest. That work has already been done. All the ploughing, planting and watering and growing has been done. All we need to do is reap what others have sown.
It is something that seems a little hard to get your head around. That everyone else has done all the hard work and all we need to do is go out and gather the fruit of another's labour.
Why then is it such a difficult thing for us to do? All the hard work is done and we have been told to just go and do it now. Not 4 months, 2 years or 10 years from now.
I am 30 now and I feel like I have wasted so much time in fear. Yes maybe these years have been years of preparation for something I am to do in a few months or few years from now but right now? What am I doing right now? One of the reasons I have started writing my Blog is because I feel that I have so much I would like to speak out that is floating around in my head that I just need to get it out on paper. If I don't I become bogged down and miserable. This is not the only thing I am going to do in my life but it is a start. Grabbing a hold of every opportunity to reach others be it at church on Sunday as you serve and give out church notices or teach children or pour tea or preach. Be it while shopping for groceries or paying your bills. Are you slacking off on the field having a picnic or are you actively reaping the harvest?
Sometimes it would be nice to join others having a picnic instead of doing work but when we reap we receive wages and gather fruit for eternal life so that both those who have sown and us who reap will rejoice together. I would rather forgo the picnic and store up treasures in Heaven and feast at the table of the Lord.
I say that I love people but what I really mean is that on average I actively love those who are nice people and who smile back and who are friendly and don't cut me off in traffic or aren't rude and offensive.
We need to actively love everyone who crosses our path. No one should be left behind because we are too busy.
You know how when you get a new pair of shoes or you win something or something really good happens or there is this really exciting secret that you are just busting to tell someone, maybe even facebook about? We take for granted that the gospel is called the Good News. We have forgotten that this is really exciting stuff.
We should be bursting with this news to share with anyone and everyone who will listen (or doesn't) but fear and other things we have made more time for and made more important get in the way.
The news of Jesus love and sacrifice and His restoration for all those who call on His name is way better than any pair of shoes, any secret, any win in the History of the whole entire world!
Are we going to be like the Samaritan who went out of his way or are we going to walk on the other side like the priest and the Levite did? They were too busy and full of excuses as to why they couldn't stop to help. The Samaritan saw this man as a person who needed help and he not only took him to Jericho but he took him there and got him cared for and said he would be back.
This is exactly what Jesus did for us. He saw you and I beaten up and dying looking terrible in our sin and yet He came, reached down and picked us up out of the dirt. He left us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and to heal our brokeness. Jesus didn't just leave us He said He would be back but that He is going to prepare a place for us.
This great thing has been done for us so why shouldn't we do the same for others?
The harvest is now. It is so white you cannot miss it. Lift up your eyes and look out over the field and see for yourself.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
You Are my All
Revelation 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.
When I heard this song it really spoke to me of who God is. He is my first and my last and my future and my past. He has always been with me, will always be with me. Everything begins with Him and everything Ends with Him.
The last few weeks have been very trying. I have had a whole lot thrown my way and it has taken a lot of fight and leaning on God to help me through. I have been determined to not let anything rob me this year of joy and of the call placed upon my life.
Lately I feel as though I am stuck on an obstacle course. The more I step out the more I need to step over what is thrown at my feet. I feel like my life is like one of my kids' rooms. To get from one end to another I have to step over 12 things.
I was praying for a young lady this week and got an image of God's hand reaching down and her hand being in His. That there will be obstacles but like a father or mother with a child He lifts us over obstacles. He cares for us and nurtures us. When we learn to walk we aren't blind-folded and left to run off in any direction only to trip and fall. God will never let you fail or fall. He holds your hand and guides you.
Stepping out has been so overwhelming and new and I feel so unprepared and ill equipped for what is set before me. I can turn around at any time and say it is too hard and I don't want to do it but it is a desire that God has placed in my heart. A desire that demands action.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Some think that what you desire will be given to you when you seek God but I read this as when you seek God He gives you the desires of your heart. In other words the desires of your heart are not the ones you put there but the ones God has put there.
The desire of my heart has been put in my heart by God. I would never have thought to put these things in my heart. I am a girl. On a regular basis I desire chocolate and coffee. But when I seek God I find a desire is placed in my heart for young women and those that need encouragement. I get the desire to speak and write.
I don't write too well and I do not speak that well publicly so not something I would be jumping at in my own steam.
What I do is all from the desire God has given me. And then because I desire what He has put in my heart He grants it to me with a resounding YES! 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
So through all the obstacles and calls on my life and the stepping out and fighting against the unseen things I am reminded that God is great. God is mighty. He is the greatest Author. He is the First and the Last. He knows my Future and He knows my Past. He sees what I have done and He knows what I will do and He still loves me.
In all that I do and all that I am God is my all. He is everything to me and without Him holding all this together it would be a complete disaster. So I give Him all the Glory and Honour and Praise for He is my First and He is my Last, my Furture and my Past.
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