When is Christmas Over???

Ok…today is the day after Christmas.  I have been reading my Facebook friends pages and how most have already taken the decorations down and put  them away.  I cannot do that…I love the tranquility of the tree and the lights shining in the evening.  I began to think about this and that is dangerous!!  This is what my brain began to think:

When a baby is coming, we have showers for the mother to be, become busy decorating the nursery in anticipation, have family all together at the hospital pacing while the mother delivers.  There is organized chaos! The baby is born and all go and see it…some wanting to hold it and the new mom and dad stare intently at this creation of God until the nurse comes and gives them some rest. Then BOOM…reality hits!  This little family goes home.  There are sleepless nights and the awesome responsibility of raising this child who comes with his/her own agenda!!!  The how-to baby books are thrown out the window and for many frustration replaces the joy of that anticipation.

Doesn’t sound very encouraging does it?  So, why do we have a desire for these little ones if they bring a mixed bag of emotions?  Because deep inside this little one is the spark of life that God created and the hope that things can be better.  The frustration turns into patience…the sleepless nights cause a reliance on something other than ourselves.

Preparing for Christmas is much the same way…we decorate, have parties and family gatherings and then boom it all disappears…much more quickly than it appeared.  We return to “real life” where there is frustration and stress and tend to wonder why we even desired to celebrate that little baby.  This wasn’t the Christian life I thought it was going to be!  Why am I hurting?  Isn’t it suppose to just be “the most wonderful time of the year?” Was it worth it?  Oh, dear one…when we stop and reflect on this baby we see more than a spark of life---we see LIFE abundant.  We, in our stress, see the peace of God.  We hear His words that yes, there will be trouble on this earth but He has conquered this earth.  We grow stronger and more patient and more loving because of this baby.  We can’t put Him away with the decorations any more than that new mom and pack her child away until next year!  Intentionally see this birth as your hope.

I am keeping my decorations up a little longer…to reflect…to relax and to rejoice in the fact that this is not about a “day” but a life! 

TBA Part 2

Friends, it was amid all of the disobedience and wailing that there rose up a young king of Judah who did some pretty incredible things.  II Chronicles 34-35 is where we find his story. This young king had come from an evil family line. II Chron. 33:10 “The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people but they paid no attention.”  Manasseh, Josiah’s grandfather, was a extremely wicked king of Judah…he so disregarded the ways of God, he put pagan gods into Solomon’s temple for worship.  It says, “Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations of LORD had destroyed before the Israelites” II Chronicles 33:9.  Manasseh died and his son Amon, Josiah’s father, became king.  We read in vs22, “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done.”   Like father like son…Judah was in a bad way.  They were pompous, arrogant, loved their idols and their lifestyle…when God spoke, they did NOT listen. (Sound familiar?) Amon was assassinated after only 2 years of reigning but God’s everlasting love was shown in the next verses:

II Chron. 34:1-2 “Now, Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 31 years.  He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.”

What???  Here was a young boy, whose father and grandfather were evil idol worshipers, and yet he decides to follow the LORD (YAHWEH.)  Yes, God had heard the prayers of His prophets and the wails of the women and answered by providing a young king who followed the ways of David.  

Wait though, before you think Jerusalem was saved, history shows it did not escape the destruction predicted by Jeremiah and Habakkuk…things for Jerusalem did NOT get better so you might wonder, “Why Josiah?” God had pronounced judgment on Judah.  Jerusalem WAS destroyed because the people had strayed too far from the ways of God.  BUT those who turned back because of what Josiah did, were protected….we call them “the remnant”…those who individually followed and kept the statutes of the LORD… God provides a “way out” in every generation in order to provide for a remnant of believers…and He is calling His church to revival today! I don’t know where we are going as a nation but I believe we as a church need to begin to stand on God’s principles and return to Him.  We all are in a battle but this is not a battle of nations, political parties, or religions…it is an internal battle.  We must quit blaming others for our situation…WE are responsible for where we stand with God…Are you ready to face your battle? How can Josiah’s life help us? This is what he did:

·      Vs. 3 In the eighth year of his reign (he was 16!) he began to seek the God of his father David.  We must begin to seek the God of the Bible…not the gods of this world.  We must not be deceived…this world has so many conflicting words about who God is and what He requires and we are falling for it!! He is a God of love but also of judgment.  We have forgotten that! When I hear Christians say, “A loving God wouldn’t do that.” I wonder how they know. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts!”  His Word is evidence of what He can and will do and Jesus did not negate God’s judgment…Jesus gave us a way of escape. Josiah began to seek out this God that neither his father nor grandfather showed him and God was found!  Jeremiah says,

“You will find me when you seek me with your whole heart!” Jeremiah 29:13

·      VS 7  He tore down (with his own hands) the idols.  He knew that idols kept him for worshiping the true God.  Folks, idols are not always carved images but they can be good things in our lives…family, jobs, even our church…but if God isn’t first in our lives these things become idols.  God must be first…He will not share His glory with anything or anyone.  Not even your family!! GOD/FAMILY/CHURCH

·      Began to rebuild the temple…the place of worship.  We don’t have temples today to rebuild but Paul said, “We are the temple of God.” We must begin to worship again…in spirit and in truth.  In our hearts and in our minds. The word worship in the Hebrew (Shahach) and Greek (Proskuneo) mean in reality, to put yourself under the authority of God.  We mistakenly have limited it to music and satan has used music styles to change our focus away from worship….satan knows how important worship is and has done what he can to destroy it in our lives.

·      In rebuilding the temple, vs.14, Josiah found the book of the law…the Torah…the Bible…God’s plan for living.  We must know what is in the Word of God!  It is truth and our guide for this life.  I enjoy reading commentaries and books by preachers etc. but they are NOT a substitute for God’s word.  It is time we quit reading ABOUT the Bible and begin reading the Bible! It is time we quit listening to teachers who tell us how they think we should live and listen to God’s Word, which KNOWS how we should live.

·      Vs19 After reading God’s word, Josiah tore his robes…he repented…he wept over how far his people had gone away.  Read vs. 21 “Great is the LORD’s anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”  He was broken and grieved over what was happening both in his life and in the lives of his country...no excuses. Are you grieving over what you have done, or are you only afraid that your lifestyle might change?  There is a difference!! It is time we truly repent in our lives and become broken before God. When was the last time you cried over your rebellion against God?? I love this quote: ‎"There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who believe themselves sinners, and the rest, sinners who believe themselves righteous." -- Blaise Pascal

·      Josiah lead Judah back to God Where are you leading people?? You are leading them somewhere!  Very soon we will be asked to stand for God’s truth. It will not be easy but it is necessary. 

Part 3 will cover what the New Testament says we are to do to stand for righteousness in our world...I look forward to sharing it with you!!  

TBA---The Battle Awaits

Peace, Love and Happiness!!!  I was in junior high in the 60’s (yes, I am old!!!) and remember seeing the flower children and listened to the cries for peace…it seemed innocent enough and who wouldn’t want peace???  But these years later I realize how blind we were to the craftiness of satan.  Yes, our world is in terrible shape today because in part, to my generation.  The 60’s generation grasped the teachings of Nietzsche who decided that God had died so live anyway you want.  What we called “free love” was really “free lust” only to discover that it wasn’t free.  Humanism became the new religion…rational thought rather than faith.  IF God was alive, then He was distant and didn’t care about us.  Even the sign we most associate with this era, calling it a peace sign, was a reproduction of an Roman sign after Christ’s death…a broken, upside down cross which meant there was no power in Christ after-all.  None of us knew that then but that is the way satan works, ladies…he is crafty and slips in lies among even those of us who call His name.

There is nothing that I would rather share than, “Things are going to be ok so go about your lives as usual.”   Really, I would but the message God gave me is poles apart and  to write things are going to get better would mean I wasn’t being obedient to God.   Things are never going to be like they were but the good news is this is not a surprise to God and He has a plan for His children... one that offers hope.  Yes, this is a serious message but it is His message to the church…will we listen and respond?  Lest we think it has never been like this before, listen to this.

Habakkuk 1:2-4   

How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 

Why do you make me look at injustice? 
 Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. 

Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

(Sound familiar?)  Yes, our country is in trouble.  There is violence, immorality, selfishness, greed and lawlessness.  I expect this from the world…but these are also found within the church and it grieves my heart.   The books of Jeremiah and Habakkuk contain some scarily similar situations and while these prophets were sent to warn the people of Judah (God’s people) of God’s impending judgment, the people scoffed and continued living in sin.  They were wealthy, selfish and followed pagan idol worship…yet they thought it was all, “ok”... (Sound familiar?)  Warnings had been given but ignored. When tragedy comes, we ask, “Why?”  We thought we were good and we thought God was love!!  Listen to this:

Jeremiah 9: 17-18; 20 

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come; send for the most skillful of them. 

Let them come quickly and wail over us till our eyes overflow with tears and water streams from our eyelids.

Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord; open your ears to the words of his mouth. Teach your daughters how to wail; teach one another a lament. 

 Jeremiah is saying do more than cry out; wake up and grieve over the circumstances surrounding us.   Wail…Weep.  Things are bad…teach your daughter’s to grieve.  But, what can grieving accomplish??  It will accomplish God's protection for His children.

It was amid all the disobedience and wailing that there rose up a young king of Judah who did some pretty incredible things.  II Chronicles 34-35 is where we find his story. This young king had come from an evil family line. II Chron. 33:10 “The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people but they paid no attention.”  Manasseh, Josiah’s grandfather, was a extremely wicked king of Judah…he so disregarded the ways of God, he put pagan gods into Solomon’s temple for worship instead of God.  It says, “Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations of LORD had destroyed before the Israelites” II Chronicles 33:9.  Manasseh died and his son Amon, Josiah’s father, became king.  We read in vs22, “He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done.”   Like father like son…Judah was in a bad way.  They were pompous, arrogant, loved their idols and their lifestyle…when God spoke, they did NOT listen. (Sound familiar?) Amon was assassinated after only 2 years of reigning but God’s everlasting love was shown in the next verses:

II Chron. 34:1-2 “Now, Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 31 years.  He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.”

What???  Here was a young boy, whose father and grandfather were evil idol worshipers, and yet he decides to follow the LORD (YAHWEH.)  Yes, God had heard the prayers of His prophets and the wails of the women and answered by providing a young king who followed the ways of David.  

Wait though, before you think Jerusalem was saved, history shows it did not escape the destruction predicted by Jeremiah and Habakkuk…things for Jerusalem did NOT get better so you might wonder, “Why Josiah?” God had pronounced judgment on Judah. Jerusalem WAS destroyed because the people had strayed too far from the ways of God. BUT those who turned back because of what Josiah did, were protected….we call them “the remnant”…those who individually followed and kept the statutes of the LORD… God provides a “way out” in every generation in order to provide for a remnant of believers…and He is calling His church to revival today! I don’t know where we are going as a nation but I believe we as a church need to begin to stand on God’s principles and return to Him. We all are in a battle but this is not a battle of nations, political parties, or religions…it is an internal battle. We must quit blaming others for our situation…WE are responsible for where we stand with God…Are you ready to face your battle? How can Josiah’s life help us? In my next post I will give you the steps Josiah took to bring the "remnant" back!!

We've Been Duped!

We have been duped!!  You see satan is clever…he never would have made the headway in our churches that he has if he had just said, “you must compromise what the Word says!”  We would have fought tooth and nail but instead, he did the same thing he did in the Garden when he caused Eve to doubt with the words, “Did God really say??”  A call to purity today is met by screams of “Who are you to judge?”   The result is that often Christians are no different as a whole than those who have never heard His name.   There is not a clarion call to live holy lives…only a call to live as we think without anyone saying a word about it.   “Yes, Jesus accepts us as we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay that way!” Max Lucado.

Again this week, I have been amazed at what is acceptable to Christians.  I don’t want to get too specific but look at the movies people (yes Christian women) are flocking to.  Colossians 3 clearly states that once we take on the name of Christ, we are to “kill” or “Put to death” lust in our nature.  Lust is defined as: a sensual appetite that must be fed.  There was a time when we knew what was right and wrong as Christians…there was black and white and we were taught to live in purity.  If we slipped up (as most of us did!) it was done privately…then we felt guilty and confessed it. We weren’t proud of the slips but strived to live holier from then on.  Compare that to today…Lust is celebrated as freedom and anyone who doesn’t participate is “judging.”  Even as this is read, some of you are thinking I am judging.  I am not…I am grieving over a loss of purity and innocence.  The freedom that satan says he offers is really a trap that will one day come back and bite us. The voices calling for living godly lives are fading in the cacophony of the enemy’s lies.

The group Casting Crowns has summed up what my heart is feeling in their song,

 

 "Slow Fade"

Be careful little eyes what you see

It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings

Be careful little feet where you go

For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear

When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near

Be careful little lips what you say

For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands

Is shorter than you're thinking

Be careful if you think you stand

You just might be sinking

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away

It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray

Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid

When you give yourself away

People never crumble in a day

Daddies never crumble in a day

Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see

Oh be careful little eyes what you see

For the Father up above is looking down in love

Oh be careful little eyes what you see

So, what can be done? Believe me, I have had my share of sinful living and I know the traps that are at the end of that journey.  My deepest desire is for true freedom in Christ…He is all I need and has fulfilled all my desires.  He has proven faithful in my life. But, as we grow closer to Him we begin to see the things that grieve Him…we are to reach the unsaved…absolutely.  We are to reach out to those who don’t know Him and guide them to truth. When we don’t do that He is grieved, but he is also grieved when His bride (believers) live in sin with no remorse.  He grieves because He knows that we are being just as Eve was in the garden…doubting Him and desiring more than what He gives. King David said that he loved the laws of God because they were for his good…he understood what it meant to fall and the repercussions of that fall.  

May his prayer be ours: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. PS 139: 23-24

Oh, Be Careful Little Eyes what You See!!

I was called into women’s ministry to lead women in biblical living.  There is more to that than just teaching a Bible study or doing events.  The longer God allows me to minister the more I understand Paul when he said, “I am jealous FOR you with a Godly jealousy.” Paul wanted those who heard his words to grow closer to Jesus and to understand the incredible life we have in Christ.  Through lots of breaking in my life, I finally understood that a life lived for Christ is fulfilling and abundant.  He has had to do a LOT of work in me, let me tell you.  I was one messed up Christian girl! By His grace I can tell you His ways are best!  Today, please let me share my heart to the church.

The Bible clearly states these words:  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” I Peter 1:15-16

If I read that right, Christians are to be holy just as God is holy.  Does that mean we are to be perfect?  No, it means to be “pure” and “set apart.”  The word “pure” actually means without foreign matter (things of the world) and obviously the “set apart” means to be different than the world.  Christians are to be different…God has, through the death of His son, intentionally set us apart for Himself…for a special purpose and we are to fulfill that purpose.   So why am I so grieved?  I see precious young women in our churches falling for the lures of this world seemingly without regard to what it means to the Father.

Now don’t think I think I am above this…I am not. I know the temptations and I know what happens to the mind when we don’t protect ourselves.  I wish to goodness I could remove from my mind things that I allowed to enter when I was young. Godly people warned me but that didn’t stop me because “I could handle it” or “I wasn’t hurting anyone!” (that was my justification!)  Oh, to have listened to wise counsel.   

Be assured our mind is the first place satan goes to destroy us!!  God knew that and he inspired Paul to write these words: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8   If a thought comes into your mind that is not one of the above, it is not of God so take it captive.  Don’t let it go any further in your thought process.  Run!! 

This “taking captive” our thoughts requires work because so many of us just think without thinking!!  I am not talking about thoughts that creep in but what we actually invite in.  I mean the kind of movies we watch, the kind of books we read or the sites we visit on the Internet etc.  Our brains are amazing; they record every single thing it sees!  We might not be able to pull up the information at will but it is in there.  There is great wisdom in the song I remember singing as a child, “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see”.  How many times does a thought or a picture from years ago come to your mind at the strangest times?  Pretend you read a very racy novel…you do it alone in the privacy of your home so it won’t hurt you, right??? You justify reading it because “so and so” read it and she is a Christian.  It’s your business isn’t it?  But is it?  God sets the standard for holiness and it doesn’t include things like this. Satan, on the other hand, loves this for he knows once something is in your mind it can be used against you and you never know how or when.  God desires purity in our lives NOT for Him but for US…all His commandments are for our good. He knows when we get really tired and our defenses are down, the subconscious things in our brain begin to surface.  That is why I have become so adamant about the movies and television programs I watch and the books I read. Those images I wished I could erase from my memory from when I was younger, only the Lord could remove but I am intentionally taking captive the images that enter my mind now.  I am taking this seriously.  How about you? The scripture I claim is Romans 12:2 “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  There is hope of renewal in the mind even after we have put ungodly things into it. (Praise Him!!)

We need Christian women who will take a stand and help their sisters in the faith.  Have we been so engrained with the term “do not judge” that we have forgotten that we are commanded to help our fellow Christians flee from sin?   The tiny book of Jude states that we are to “snatch” from the fire those who are being swayed.  I truly hate with everything in me to tell a fellow Christian that what they are doing is harmful but I am commanded to do just that.  I am compelled to do that because I love them and because Christ loves them not because I want to hurt them or “judge them”.  I am in women’s ministry because I love our young women and …I love them too much to not warn them of the dangers this world presents to the Bride of Christ.  Revelation 19 says

 “Hallelujah!

For our Lord God Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and be glad

and give him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come,

and his bride has made herself ready.

The Bride is the church and we who bear the name of Christ are the church. Are we making ourselves ready or are we just playing a game…a game of being one thing at church and another away from church. It doesn’t really matter that everyone is doing it…God has a standard and He knows our inward being.  Yes, I am grieved--- over what I know grieves my Lord. 

Itching Ears!

 ‎"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." --2 Timothy 4:3

I am so sad today in light of where it seems our country is going. The way I can combat this growing sense of dread is to write about it and today I am writing to my fellow believers. I know my views will not be shared by all but the views I share are not built upon what I think but what the Bible has taught.  


I am a Believer in Christ and His word is my compass as to how to navigate living in this world.  I am His bond-servant and He has brought me such joy and freedom I can't put it into words.  Jesus said "In this world we are going to have troubles!"  I know deep in my heart that this world is not my home and that one day I will be free from the devastation sin has built around me.  But today I am sad...not because the world is a sinful place but because those of us who have been set free from the grip of the world are compromising HIS Word in all areas of our lives.  I am sad about what we are calling right and wrong and where this will lead us.   Growing up (even in California) there was a great sense of right and wrong and it was obvious...we all knew.  Today, however, our kids are confused.  We have leaders who support "freedom from morality" and the results are pain, anger, jealousy, hatred and the list goes on.  


I believe the words of George Santayana when he said, "If we do not remember the past, we are doomed to repeat it!"  Today, I am reading the Old Testament...for even though I am part of the New Covenant for salvation, the lessons learned from the past are relevant.  I am drawn to the story of Abraham and his nephew Lot.  Briefly, God had promised them land but they needed to separate because their families and flocks were too big to live together.  Lot chose the best land because it pleased his eye!  Then, and this is where I shudder, "He pitched his tent toward Sodom!"  Sodom was an immoral city where anything went...a city with absolutely NO restraint.  Sodom was a pagan city...and it was doing what pagan cities do...but Lot was a part of the family of Abraham and were Yahweh fearing people...yet Lot pitched his tent TOWARD Sodom.  This simply meant, he wanted to watch...to see what was going on...and even though at the start, Lot lived a distance from this evil place we soon find that he lived inside the city gates.  When God's messengers came to warn Lot of impending doom, Lot was forced to offer his virgin daughters to the men of Sodom who came to his door to rape the new men.  How far he had come from just pitching his tent.  Would Lot say he had found freedom???  I think not.   You can read the whole story in Genesis 18:20-19:29.


The lesson is simple.  God has called believers to live a life of holiness.  There are statutes He has given...not to punish...but to protect us.   God's law are always for our good not our harm. He made us and knows what is best for us. The one thing we seemed to have forgotten in all of this is God's greatest enemy...satan who wants to destroy everything God loves and cherishes.  He wants to take what is beautiful and pervert it and call that freedom.  God's laws are the "sound doctrine" Paul was speaking about and satan has said they are old-fashioned. God's laws bring freedom but satan says they are to take away our fun.  Satan is at our door screaming the words he first used in the garden with Eve, "Did God really say???"  He has caused us to doubt God's love and protection and instead follow our desires which have led us to the place we are today.  As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that workin' for ya?" 


Are we peaceful within our souls as believers?? 

 James 4 says, 

"What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?  You want something but don't get it.  You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.  You quarrel and fight.  You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.  You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.  Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely.  But he gives us more grace.  That is why Scripture says:  God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Submit yourselves, then to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Grieve, mourn and wail.  Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and HE will lift you up.  

We don't get to make the rules, fellow believers.  We can't allow what we think is right to usurp the Word of God.  When we do, in essence we are saying we know more than God and that in a word is PRIDE! That in a word is what got Lucifer kicked out of heaven. 

Yes, I am sad. I am praying for the Bride of Christ, the church to stand firm for her Bridegroom.  It is not popular but it is right.  We will be persecuted and hated and our earthly rights are going to be limited...oh but the glory that awaits us for those who stand firm.  

Be ye holy, as I am holy says the LORD. I Peter 1:16

We Are All Called to a Purpose!

Maybe the most under publicized character in The Help was Constantine Jefferson played by Cicely Tyson.  When I saw the movie, it was her character that showed me the truth of what God wants of us.  Oh, yes, I know the heroes were Abilene, Minnie and Skeeter but in reflection, it was Constantine that was the strength of all of them.  This great woman of faith taught them all.  Constantine knew the truth-- that women needed each other and that we learn from each other. 

Her life was one of service…perhaps for money but I don’t think so.  She found joy in serving…she understood people.   Her conversation in speaking to Skeeter after Skeeter wasn’t asked to the big dance spoke worlds to my heart:

Skeeter: All the boys say I'm ugly. Mama was third runner up in Miss South Carolina and I just...

Constantine: Oh, you quit feelin' sorry for yourself. Now, that's ugly. Ugly is somethin' that grows up inside you. It's mean and hurtin', like them boys. Now, you're not one of them, is you?

[Skeeter shakes her head]

Constantine Jefferson: I didn't think so, honey.

 Everyday...everyday you're not dead in the ground and you wake up in the mornin', you gonna have to make some decisions. Gotta ask yourself this question; am I gonna believe all them bad things them fools said about me today? You hear me? Am I gonna believe all them bad things them fools say about me today? Alright?

[Skeeter nods her head in understanding]

Constantine Jefferson: As for your mama, she didn't pick her life. It picked her. But you, you gonna do something big with yours. You wait and see.

Here is real power!!  The power of encouragement and of teaching those younger than us that life is not about feeling sorry for ourselves but in believing the truth.  Here are a few wonderful truths God has for us:

            • I am loved with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)


• I am the apple of His eye. (Proverbs 7:2)


• My name is engraved in the palm of His hands. (Isaiah 49:16)


• I am carried through every storm. (Mark 4:35-41)


• I am wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)


• I am watched over day and night. (Psalm 121:1-8)


• I am forgiven. (1 John 1:9)


• I am rejoiced over with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Women pass on to their daughters about what they think is important.  

We taught our daughters: 

• Recipes
• How to iron
• How to load a dishwasher
• How to get along with other women!!    
• Table manners
•  How to dress and talk
•  How to get good grades so we can get good jobs
•  That we should always look like things are ok?  
•  To not embarrass our family
• How to get the “right” husband.
•   Etc.

·      These things had been passed down through generations but what about godly things and the Word of   God???

The Bible is NOT silent about what our legacy is to be as followers of Christ!!  It is not dependent upon what society says but what God has told us very clearly in His word.  God understands us better than we do ourselves and He gave a command to the Hebrews in Deut. 6: 1-9 (read) Verses 4-9 is called the Shema and was extremely important to the Jewish people.  They were to teach their children morning, noon, and night that God was the only God and the only one to worship.  Somewhere along the way, we quit teaching that to our children.  Yes, we took them to church and Sunday School but at home? Leaving a legacy of Christ is more than just going to church.  Today we are saddened by the numbers of young people who no longer go to church…could it be that we passed off our responsibility to others? 

What else does the Bible have to say???

PS 71:15-18

PS 78:1-4

PS 119:89-90;111

PS 145:4-5

Why?

Amos 8:11

 What are we to do?

Read Titus 2

Everyone is older to someone!!

Now, I am going to meddle!!  We older women have not been obedient to this.  I hear all the excuses:

•  I have done my part
•  They don’t care what I say
•  They wouldn’t listen anyway

We have thrown our younger generation into the fight without any training at all and then we sit back and condemn them for not doing things the way they should be done.  We talk about their dress, the way they raise their children, etc. but never once think that they have never been taught.  Paul understood this.  We gain wisdom as we get older. 

We do have a purpose. The way we live will affect everyone who comes into contact with us.  We are influencing someone and our influence will influence them and those with whom they come into contact.

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.

It is not too late to change your legacy.  You will not be finished until somebody leans over your coffin and says, “Don’t she look natural!”  It might be hard…Satan will tell you that it is not worth it.  But God’s word is clear that if we don’t spread the great news of who God is…then no one will. 

I want my legacy to be that I loved Jesus with every bit of me and that I told everyone who He is.  Today, become intentional in teaching your family but also those in your church.  If you have trouble, then first renew your own relationship with Christ.  If He isn’t everything, then He is nothing.  Take care of your own relationship and then get busy building your His legacy of faith onto the generations to come. 

We Are All Sweaty Messes

James 4:1-10

Ok, let’s talk about the villain in The Help!!  The woman we loathed:  Hilly Holbrook!!  We see that she is controlling, selfish, cruel, more concerned with what people see than what is inside her heart, and covers it all with a covering of spirituality… taking up donations for people far away.  Aren’t we glad we are not like Hilly???  Well, that is what I thought until I truly started looking at myself…Controlling???  Moi???  I like to call it taking care of people but if I really look deep inside, it is because I want things to go my way…always.  Edith Ann, the 70’s little girl in the great big chair said, “I am not bossy…my ideas are just better!”  But there is much more to Hilly than her controlling nature.  Much more…when we see this in us we must begin to ask our selves why we need to have so much control…not only on our situations but on others as well.  Could it be that if she let go, people would see her as she really was? Could it be that she was so doubting of being loved that she wanted to keep others around but used control and fear in doing it?  Could it be she couldn’t trust anyone or anything??  Could it be that she’d rather swim in a sea of denial rather than admit that she needed the other women, too?  Hilly’s problem is one of Pride…and it is the downfall of most of us! Last week we spoke of the woman at the well…I mentioned that there were other women, too…the ones who came in the morning who looked down on her, who lived “above” her and shunned her so as not to “catch” what she had.  I am afraid this is where a great number of us live our lives.  Last week we said that admitting gave freedom…well, denial gives us only bondage and eventually we will discover we never really had control at all; it was an illusion.  

I think one of my favorite lines in the movie, The Help, is when Skeeter’s mother comes onto her front porch to confront a “wet-hen-mad- Hilly “with these words, “Why Hilly, you are just a sweaty mess!!”  The “always in control president of the Junior League" had discovered she was not infallible!! Truth had hit her in the face and her life was falling apart.  She reacted with rage, violence, and threats.  That is what happens when we have built our lives on perception instead of reality!   

Jesus was confronted with lots of Hillys!! People who wanted life to be just the way they wanted it to be…they wanted the honor from the world but wanted to keep their spiritual lives as well. They weren’t the president of the junior league but they were the leaders in the synagogues. We call these people Pharisees. Let’s read what Jesus had to say about them:

Mark 7:1-9. 

They had everything wrapped in a pretty little box and as long as no one came along to disagree with them, they were fine.  They smiled and walked through life with arrogance…swimming in a sea of denial.  But Jesus came along and spoke truth to them…just as He had spoken to the woman at the well.  Instead of being glad someone had finally released them from the ball juggling they had been accustomed, they fought back.  They fought with anger so great that murder and violence was the only thing they could think of to retaliate.  When we don’t want truth and we prefer delusions we find ourselves in a sweaty mess.

I am very familiar with these people for I often refer to myself as a recovering Pharisee.  Being a person like this comes from deep inside…it comes from feeling completely inadequate and empty…to fill that emptiness Pharisees take control…they put burdens on others that they cannot fulfill.  They have all the answers even though they haven’t clearly understood the questions. All that matters is what people perceive…not what is truth.  Women do this through mask wearing!!  I was an expert at putting on the masks…I believed perception was reality until my life fell apart and my masks were cracking all to pieces.  Hilly’s denial led her into a false sense of security and that lead to her downfall and her looking like the sweaty mess she always was.  At the end of the movie…Abilene asked a very important question:  Mrs. Hilly, Aren’t you getting tired??

Maintaining this delusion is tiring.  No, it is exhausting. Jesus asks of us authenticity and that requires admitting the truth and giving up control…control we never really had anyway.  I don’t know how Hilly’s life turned out after the movie but I do know how my life did!! I now know freedom I never knew existed.  I have discovered I can only control me and I freely give that over to the Holy Spirit!!   The masks are thrown far away.  When Jesus said in John 8:31-33:  To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

When we experience this freedom, then we truly can experience the next phase of spiritual life…that Jesus came to give us!

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  Or as the KJV says:

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The thief is the same thief that was there in the garden with Eve…wanting to destroy us.  Do Not allow this in your lives…get rid of pride for it is a delusion.  Accept the truth of what Jesus says about you and live this life abundantly!!  Then you will begin to understand your true purpose and meaning in life…which is what we will discuss next week.