Leading Ladies: Abigail

One of my favorite women from the Old Testament is Abigail. She is the picture of grace, virtue, and beauty. Her story is intriguing, gripping, and shocking. Mostly, though, I love Abigail because she makes me question everything about myself. Could I be the person she was? Do I have the character to react the way she did? Let's examine her life a little closer today and see just how much we can learn from this Old Testament woman.

The text in which we find Abigail is 1 Samuel 25. In verse 3 we find out that she is married to a man named Nabal, and he's not exactly a great person. Short-tempered, rude, and disrespectful are just a few of his less-than-desirable traits, and yet it is to such a person that the altogether lovely Abigail is married. In verse 13 we see that Abigail's entire family is about to be wiped off the face of the planet because of her husband's blatant disrespect and pride. Alas, by verse 33, Abigail's quick thinking, poise, and smooth-talking have won over the heart of David and have saved her entire family! Well, except Nabal, who would die sooner rather than later. Still! Abigail saves the day! Hooray!

So what, exactly, can we learn from this super woman?

1: Abigail is the definition of prepared. As a pretty new player in the game of housewifery, I can attest that being ready at any given moment to feed more people than just me and my husband is a difficult things. Some days, just being able to find the time to feed us seems like a huge undertaking. And yet, in verse 18, the text tells us Abigail 'made haste' and 'took' 200 loaves of bread, 200 cakes of figs, and five sheep 'already dressed'. What's the significance? Oh, she had all of that on hand!

We know from 1 Peter 3:15 that we are to be ready always to give an answer and defend the Word of God and the hope that is in us. It is vital that we, as children of God, have knowledge of His word 'on hand' already. We shouldn't wait until someone asks us a Bible question or until we run into a certain temptation that we find the time to see what the Bible has to say about it. Instead, we should give ourselves over to study constantly, so that whenever a trial or question comes our way, we are ready to 'make haste' as Abigail did! Who knows but what our preparation may save us from some scheme the Devil has ready for us.

2: Abigail is the definition of a peacemaker. What is the reason that David is coming after her family? Is it not because her husband flew off at the mouth and disrespected the future king? But in verse 24 Abigail says, "On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be!". You read that right! She took the blame for something that most certainly was not her fault.

Romans 12:18 tells us to live peaceably, as much as depends on us, with all men. Sometimes, that means taking the blame for something that isn't your fault. Sometimes, that means placing your pride aside and seeking forgiveness when someone else is to blame. While Abigail could have sat back and waited for something to happen, because after all it wasn't her fault, she was instead proactive. She made peace, even for something that wasn't her fault. I know that I can learn from this woman of God. How easy it is to sit back and wait for things to "play out" because we have been wronged and thus don't want to make the first move toward peace. Yet, Abigail reminds us that sometimes, being a peacemaker (and we are all commanded to be) means apologizing for something that isn't your fault.

3: Abigail is the definition of persuasive. As soon as Abigail dismounts from her donkey, she falls on her face and begins an epic speech. Throughout her spill, David says nothing. Instead, this lowly woman has a commanding presence, with words (and beauty) that halt a warrior in his tracks.

Perhaps verse 35 says it all, when David says, "See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person." Truly Abigail was a woman with a great sense of persuasiveness. As children of God, we ought not try to persuade people to follow Christ with false pretenses. We must not ever try to conform the Gospel message to fit the needs and relevancy of the culture. Instead, we must show our world, with powerful and persuasive words, the relevancy of the Gospel! Peter is a great example, declaring on the day of Pentecost, "This Jesus, whom you crucified (Acts 2:36)." How could you not be moved by such passion and zeal? How could you not be persuaded to follow after this One who died for you?

No doubt Abigail was as persuasive as she was because her and her family's lives depended on it. We must persuade those around us to follow the Gospel as if our life depends on it. Because in all reality, their eternal life does!

There are so many great lessons we can learn from this powerful woman of God. Perhaps the greatest lesson of all is that Abigail, because of her faithfulness, was chosen to be David's wife after Nabal died.  Likewise, if we are faithful, and will die to our old self and our covenant with sin, we will be called the bride of Christ (as members of His church - Eph. 5).

Leading Ladies: Eve

Eve was the prototype of women. When God designed the female species, He made Eve exactly how He wanted woman to be. She was perfect. She was handcrafted by God to meet the needs of man; to be his helpmeet and companion. We know that Eve, prior to sin being entered into the world, had a perfect relationship with God and a perfect relationship with her husband. Truly, she was 'living the life'. 

And then Genesis 3 happens. Eve is tempted (and lied to) by the serpent, and she partakes of the forbidden fruit, then shares in that sin with her husband. We know the rest of the story: their eyes are opened, they hide from God, and they are banished from the garden as well as cursed and plagued with a death they weren't designed for. 

From Eve, the mother of all creation, there are some valuable lessons we can learn.

1: Sin ruins relationships. 

Eve's relationship with God and with Adam was perfect. And yet, the first thing that happens after partaking of the fruit: Adam and Eve are hiding from God, and are then deceptive by not offering up why they are hiding and how they know they're naked. Deceit is an ugly characteristic for a relationship, and yet after this initial sin has taken place, that is exactly the characteristic Eve implements into her relationship with God. As for Adam, he immediately blames Eve for his sin. We know that blame and resentment are divisive components of a relationship, and yet this is how this first married couple are now treating each other. All because of this newly introduced sin.

When we let sin into our hearts and relationships, it ruins them. Truly the Deceiver recognizes that strong, godly relationships are a great asset to salvation. That is why he does his best to ruin them! He tempts us with bad attitudes, harsh words, and blame. He tempts us to be deceitful and hurtful. These things ruin relationships: relationships between parents and children, relationships between friends, relationships between husband and wife, and even relationships within the body of Christ. 

Why is it that we often hurt those the closest to us? Why is it we have the worst attitudes with them? Perhaps it is because we let our guard down. We stop trying to 'impress' and 'be on our best behavior', and instead we start letting Satan creep in a little at a time. We must guard our relationships from Satan, because he is divisive and aims to tear people apart. 

2: Sin has progression.

Why is it that Eve is tempted to partake of the forbidden fruit? Had she been staying as far away from the tree as possible, would she have likely been tempted to partake? Or does it seem to you as it does me that Eve was inching closer and closer to the tree, getting as close as she could without actually involving herself in the sin. Perhaps she only wanted to look upon the fruit, or maybe even smell the fruit. Perhaps she just wanted to see what all this fruit fuss was about! Regardless, Satan gets to her because she has availed herself to such a temptation. 

Psalm 1:1 tells us, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful" The progression of sin is a very real and present threat to us! As soon as we start walking past it, we're tempted to stand right in the middle of it (though still not 'partaking'), and yet, before we realize, we're sitting down in the midst of all of the wickedness and are sharers in it. 

Satan gets to us inch by inch. He makes us believe that certain things are ok, when really they are evil and wicked, and we are just lessening them in our heads to justify our actions! For example: will Satan ever be able to make us fall into the temptation of drunkenness if we never take the first sip? Will Satan ever be able deceive us into being involved in sexual immorality if we have fled from even the appearance of such? Will Satan be able to lure us into lusting after the flesh if we will stop ourselves from going into those movies (Magic Mike?) or buying those books (50 shades of whatever?) or pinning those pictures of actors (onto an "mmmm!!" board, really?). If we will distance ourselves from the appearance of sin, we will be less likely to fall into such a temptation.

Had Eve stayed as far away from that tree as possible, would it have been as easy for Satan to bait her like he did? The same goes for us. Don't be easy bait for Satan. Stay as far away from 'the line' as possible. 

3: Women have a huge influence over the men in their lives. 

Was it very difficult for Eve to convince Adam to sin with her? It doesn't appear so. We know from history and even our own experiences that men tend to behave the ways they do in order to impress women. In high school and college, for example, the boys tended to dress a certain way and talk a certain way and participate in certain things to garner the attention of the females. They bathed regularly and wore cologne and dressed to the nines so that the females around them would notice. 

With great power, ladies, comes great responsibility. 

We have the ability to make or break the men in our lives. And so, if you are in the dating pool, make the boys/men around you behave a certain way. Require the guy you date to pray before the meal you share together. Require that he open doors for you. *As a side note, if the boy doesn't respect you enough to open a door for you, chances are he won't respect you enough to not touch you inappropriately or speak to you in certain ways.* We have the ability to make the men around us better, or worse, depending on what our expectations are.

Now, does that mean we should all have unrealistic expectations for the men in our lives? Absolutely not. But it does mean that we should require a degree of godliness in the men we are around. We should praise the boys in our youth group who lead singing or pray before the congregation. We should not give the time of day to the boys who cut up and text during Bible class or worship. We should praise the boys for seeking out wholesome, modest girlfriends, instead of tearing those girls down and making fun of them for dressing 'weird'. We should praise the boys for acting mature and including the smaller boys in the youth group, instead of acting put out by the immature children hanging around. 

We can make a difference in our lives and the lives of the boys/men around us if we will not settle for less than God expects. 

 

Leading Ladies: Leah

Jacob is a very well known Old Testament patriarch. He also has a beautiful love story. In Genesis 29 we read the story of Jacob wanting to marry Rachel, Laban's youngest daughter. Because Jacob loved her, he worked 7 years to be able to marry her. As the familiar story goes, Laban tricks Jacob and instead gives him Leah (the oldest daughter) to marry. Upon this realization, Jacob works another seven years to be able to finally wed Rachel. That's true love, people! Devotion at its finest for sure.

But in reading this familiar story, it's hard not to feel sorry for Leah. I mean really, how often do you think about Leah when you think about Jacob? It's not that often! Instead, we think of Jacob and Rachel, of the love that they shared, and the way he demonstrated that love to her children. So where does Leah come into that picture? Here's why I feel pretty bad for her:

1: Jacob didn't want her. Now this one is mostly Laban's fault, as he shouldn't have fooled Jacob into marrying Leah, but that's beside the point really. While I know that times were different then and that people didn't commonly marry for love, Jacob wanted to. And guess what? He didn't love Leah. So how would you feel knowing that your now husband not only doesn't love you, but loves your sister?? When I was in high school, one of the guys I was dating thought that my sister was the most gorgeous female on the planet. Even though this was just a high school puppy love type of thing, it still devastated me, because she was my sister. Maybe it's just a sister thing, but there is this jealousy/self-esteem weirdness involved and I just flat out feel sorry for Leah having to deal with that.

Not only that, but the Bible makes it seem like Leah wasn't as good as Rachel. When reading their first descriptions, the Bible says, "Now Laban had two daughters, the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance (Gen.29:16-17)." While I'm not 100% positive what the "delicate" or "soft" eyes comment means, from the "but Rachel was beautiful.." makes it seem like it was not a great quality to have. I imagine that Leah has felt inferior to her beautiful younger sister for her entire life, and now she's going to be subject to those feelings for the rest of her life. Don't you feel sorry for her?

2: Jacob loved Rachel's children more. So I don't have kids yet, but from what I can deduce, having kids is a game changer. Suddenly, you'd rather people hurt you than hurt your kids. You'd rather suffer or have less of something than to have your kids go through that. Now look at Leah: she's been the lesser of the two wives (and probably the lesser of the two sisters all her life!), and now her kids are the 'lesser' ones. Jacob shows favoritism to Rachel's kids in very obvious ways (see coat of many colors). All of the children can tell that their father loves his sons by Rachel more (see entire story of Joseph's life). How do you think this made Leah feel? Like I said, I feel pretty sorry for her.

But, when I read the story of Leah and Jacob and Rachel, if I will only step back, I can feel at ease with Leah's lot in life. If you've read the story of Esther, you see that God is directly involved, though not directly mentioned. I feel that it's the same in Leah's life. God is directly working in this story, but we don't always take the time to find out where. So that's what we'll do now.

1: God provided for and blessed Leah. While it's completely my own speculation, I feel that Leah (as normal women do) may have worried about getting married. Her physical limitations probably made her nervous that she may never be married, and if you didn't get married back then, it was a bad thing. But God took care of Leah. While the circumstances that led up to her marrying Jacob might not have been the best, and even though her situation throughout life might not have been ideal, God took care of her. He provided for her and met her needs.

Even though Jacob loved Rachel more, God opened Leah's womb. For the first time in Leah's life, she had the advantage over Rachel. No doubt this was God continuing to look out for her. He knew that Jacob loved Rachel more, so He gave her children that she could love and be loved by. And it wasn't just the children that she was getting to spend time with; obviously she was getting Jacob's attention and affection during this time. Sure, the situation still isn't ideal, but God was blessing Leah's life.

3: Leah's family endured. This is basically the end-all argument for feeling sorry for Leah. Now we know that once Rachel had Joseph and Benjamin all of the other kids were mostly forgotten, or at the very least neglected. I mean, they were so bitter that they tried to kill Joseph. But, while Jacob had always favored Rachel and then always favored her children, God favored Leah's child. Judah was the tribe that lasted; the tribe that Jesus would come from (Lion of Judah - Rev. 5). So Leah had it a little worse off than Rachel in this life, but her family's legacy would be the lasting one. It would be her lineage that would one day save the world. We can obviously draw from this that Leah trusted in God in her life. Just like God blessed Abraham, He blessed Leah. God takes care of those who trust in Him--even if there earthly life doesn't seem blessed (though there are always blessings from God).

I think we can learn a lot from Leah's situation. God is going to take care of you and me no matter our lot in life. No matter if the situations and circumstances are against us, God is going to be there for us, and He will never forsake us. If we're limited in this physical world--it doesn't matter, because God will provide for us eternally.

The more I think about it, the less I feel bad for Leah. God took care of her, and He promises to take care of those who are faithful to Him...which makes me realize I should probably never feel bad for myself, either.

And one more nugget of thought: don't let bitterness overtake you. It is so easy to become bitter because of what we go through in this sinful world. Choose to look on the bright side, and like we learn from the story of Leah, know that God will provide for you and take care of you. You will no doubt have many physical blessings while you're on earth, but even if you don't have any...God will bless you eternally: "Heaven will surely be worth it all."

A Month of Thanks: Hope and the Old Testament

In the very worldly sense of the word, November is a month of hope. We sit around, hoping someone makes our favorite dish at Thanksgiving--hoping that our candidate is picked for President--hoping that we get what we put on our Christmas list. Really, we're wishing. We're crossing our fingers and thinking that maybe, if we're lucky, our wish will come true.

Biblical hope isn't a wish; it is an expectation.  Psalm 119:166 says, "Lord, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments." The psalmist isn't wishing for salvation. On the contrary, the psalmist is confident in the salvation that God has promised to the faithful. Why is he doing the commandments of God? Because he knows that God will give eternal life to the one who keeps His commands. Again let me emphasize that biblical hope isn't a wish--it's an expectation. 

Proverbs 10:28 tells us this: "The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish." When we die, if we're been faithful to God, our hope will be realized and we will be glad. We will have attained our salvation and we will be eternally joyful. On the other hand, if we are not faithful to the Lord, we cannot have such an expectation. The wicked will perish. If you are choosing to live outside of God's commandments, you are choosing to expect (hope for) torment when you die. 

I know that I've been pulling our 'hope' verses from the Old Testament, so let's use one from the New, shall we? Romans 15:4 tells us, "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." The reason that we still use (and love) the Old Testament today is not because its laws and precepts are binding, but because we can draw lessons and hope from the text. I, for one, fall more in love with God when I read about Him in the Old Testament. When I see, through the minor prophets, His love for His people and His pleading for them to return to Him. And, as we see in Romans, one of the reasons we can even have hope (an expectation to live with God one day) is because of what the Old Testament teaches us about His love for us and His plan for us. 

So today, I am thankful for the Old Testament. I am thankful for the stories of old and their relevance to my life today. I am thankful for the psalms and their comfort; for the proverbs and their wisdom. I am thankful for the account of the life of David and his beautiful heart, and the account of Abraham and his faithfulness. I am thankful that I can read about God's love for His chosen people, and realize that He's chosen me (1 Pet. 2:9). 

However, I am also thankful for the hope that the Old Testament provides. I am thankful for all of the promises God has made to us that He has already fulfilled, such as the promise to send a Savior to heal mankind once and for all. And, because He has made good on some of His "big" promises already, I can be all the more confident that He will deliver me when this life is over. 

We can go to heaven and we can know that we are going. We, like the psalmist, can have a hope in God's salvation. Ephesians 2:12 says, "that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." If you are without Christ, you are without hope. If you don't have this kind of hope...this kind of assurance in your soul's final abode...talk to me. I'd love to share with you how I know and how you can, too. 

Leading Ladies: Esther

Finally--back to our Leading Ladies series! Sorry for the hiatus! Election season puts me in a tizzy!

I'm going to trust that you are familiar enough with the story of Esther that I don't have to quote it at length. If you aren't, I would encourage you to read the book in its entirety, as it is a beneficial study (and very intriguing).

So, what kinds of things can we learn from Esther:

1: She was pure. Those chosen to 'go before the king' after he dismissed Queen Vashti were virgins. Had Esther not remained pure in her young life, she would have never been under consideration to be the new queen. But, since she'd purposed in her heart to remain pure before God, she had this opportunity. As Christians, we have an opportunity every single day to decide whether or not we will be pure--from the clothes that we wear and the way we present our bodies to the things that we listen to and shows that we watch. There may be opportunities for us to teach others about God's beautiful word, but if our lives aren't pure, we may take ourselves out of the running for helping that person's soul. How sad if we were to take opportunities away from ourselves! Sadly, though, Christians do this.

For example: if we're on our way into the movie theater to watch something that isn't wholesome and we see someone we know (who may be a struggling Christian, a babe in Christ, or a person we've been 'working on' for quite some time) -- are we negating everything we promote/teach based on the way we are acting--based on the way we're living? Our lives must be pure (and subsequently our hearts--Mt. 5:8) so that we can take hold of every opportunity to do good in God's service.

2: She used her position for God's glory. Had Esther not listened to Mordecai, the entirety of the Jewish population might have been wiped out. Mordecai so eloquently states in Esther 4:14, "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

God's providence is something that I whole-heartedly believe in, yet don't quite understand how it works in my life. Still, I trust that God has a plan. Like Esther, I believe that there are unique opportunities afforded to each of us. Perhaps you are placed in a certain job just so you can influence your co-worker. Maybe you are in a certain town so that you can help an entire population of people. Whatever your lot in life, be willing, as Esther was, to use that position to God's glory.

And note that Esther did not use her position because it was easy. She displayed an amazing amount of courage by going in to the king's chambers without being summoned--this could have gotten her killed! Still, because she was willing to put the greater good ahead of her own lot, she went in anyway--not knowing how the king would respond. Had she not been willing, people would not have been saved. Likewise, if we are not willing to boldly proclaim Jesus in our lives (to our friends, family members, co-workers, cashiers, etc.), people will not be saved.

3: She remembered who she was. This one will be similar to our last point. You see, when Esther became queen, she could have forsaken her Jewish heritage. She was beautiful, rich, and in a powerful position. Quite frankly she could be whoever she wanted to be, have whatever she wanted to have, and do whatever she wanted to do. We know, though, that she didn't. She kept Mordecai close (and listened to his council), and ultimately saved her entire 'family'.

We live in a sinful world and there's no escaping that fact. As Christians, when we go out into the world in our day to day activities, we must remember who we are. It is not ok for us to 'forget' and let a few curse words slip when talking to our co-workers or when a car pulls out in front of us. It is not ok for us to 'forget' when there's a popular movie coming out that doesn't adhere to God's guidelines for things we should think upon (Phil. 4:8). It's not ok for us to 'forget' because the weather is warm or we're taking a trip--and modest clothing just isn't practical. It isn't ok to 'forget' when we're out shopping for Christmas presents and someone cuts us off, takes too long in line, snatches the last of an item, or anything else. First and foremost, we are Christians, and we must always remember that. That is why Paul urged the brethren at Philippi to mediate on pure, lovely, true, right things. The more you meditate on something, the more likely it is to stick.

4: Her inner beauty mattered more. While Esther was beautiful, there was something else about it that made the king love her. The text tells us that not only did the king love and favor her, but so did all of the other people who came into contact with her--even the other young women who had been chosen to live in the king's palace. Now, think about what you know about beauty pageants. Are all of the beautiful contestants best friends and super nice to each other the entire time? Or is the jealousy, envy, and backbiting? Had Esther simply been outwardly beautiful, I'm sure the majority of people around her would have felt the latter--jealous, especially in light of the special treatment she was receiving. And yet, Esther is loved by all. That speaks volumes for her character!! She truly must have been a beautiful woman on the inside for every person to love her.

I believe this point is especially pertinent to parents of teenage girls. I have been extremely disappointed recently in the outfits that I'm seeing on Facebook of 'Christian' teenage girls. While I am friends with some of the girls, mostly I am seeing these immodest clothing choices put on display by their own parents.

As a former teen girl, I know how impressionable they are--especially when it comes to their bodies. Every thing that you praise or put down will stick with them for a long time. Why not, then, put a little less emphasis on their physical beauty and more on their inner beauty? Challenge them to have a pure heart--it will make enforcing a modest dress code easier. Challenge them to remember who they are--it will make the discussions about dances and parties easier. Above all, though, encourage them to beautify their hearts. Esther spent 12 months preparing for the king. Encourage your daughters to spend time preparing for their King.

This isn't an exhaustive list by any means. There are so many things we can learn from Esther. I challenge you to read more about her and find more ways to implement lessons from her life into yours.

God Means What He Says: Adam and Eve

The story of Adam and Eve may be the most familiar in all of the Bible. For time's sake (and not to insult your intelligence), I will quickly recap one of the most famous stories ever told.

• Adam is placed in the Garden of Eden, and after seeing that everything else had a mate, God gave Adam a wife--Eve. 

• God tells Adam and Eve to eat of any tree in the Garden sans one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

• Satan tempts/deceives/lies to Eve, and she ends up eating the fruit, then taking it to her husband, Adam, who also eats it. 

Let's pick up there, shall we? Now, in our feeble minds, we may try to rationalize things. After all, it was one mistake. Should one mistake cost them everything they have? God seems to say yes. Hadn't He warned them? Hadn't He told them that they weren't supposed to eat of the tree--just that one--yet they decided they wanted to anyway? But still--it was just once. Surely one little teeny-tiny mistake wouldn't upset all that they had known.

Wrong.

God speaks to Adam and Eve, even though they're trying to hide, and asks them why they're hiding from Him. They say they're naked. God asks who told them they were naked, and then directly asks if they ate from the tree. Then the blame game starts. "This woman whom YOU gave me..." then "The serpent...". No accountability. No responsibility.

God commands them that they must leave the garden. Now, do you think that God was happy to do this? I don't. After all, He first made them adequate garments to wear before sending them out--an act of love.  I don't think God was happy that they had eaten the fruit, and I don't think He was happy that they had to leave the garden. Don't you think He was enjoying walking with them in the cool of the day? Yet it was necessary to send them out--it was justice. God couldn't be a liar. If they ate of the tree, they had to be banished, simple as that.

Does God still mean what He says?

Our society tends to be very permissive. So long as you want to do it or you think it's ok, it's fine. There will be no repercussions, and no other group who may disagree has any right to tell you otherwise. We aren't the first society like this. Moses said in Deuteronomy 12:8, "You shall not at all do as we are doing here today--every man whatever is right in his own eyes...". In the times of the Judges things were the same:

"In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" - Judges 17:6, 21:25

Even the wise man spoke of this kind of society:

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts." Prov. 21:2

Was this ever ok? Just because the majority felt this way, did that mean that God accepted it? No. God has always meant what He said. Throughout this study we will look at different instances wherein God stated His will, it wasn't done, and the consequences surrounding it. Hopefully, we can all come to the understanding the God does mean what He says and we will all answer for any deviation we take from His will. Just because our society or the religious world around us accept things does not mean that it is ok, or that God will overlook it. We will be accountable, just like Adam and Eve.

Leading Ladies: Miriam

Chances are you're familiar with the birth of Moses. During those days, the Pharaoh had ordered that all  of the male children be thrown into the river (killed) while all of the female children could be saved. You see, Pharaoh was afraid that the nation of Israel was becoming increasingly too large and powerful, and would soon overthrow his nation.

Moses's mother, after giving birth, decided that she would hide him instead of casting him into the river. For three months she hid Moses, no doubt growing only more attached as the months went on. Finally, she felt she could hide him no more, so she made a basket for him and she placed him in the river. It is at this point that we are introduced to our leading lady of the day: Miriam.

There are only three verses that directly deal with Miriam in this context (Ex. 2:4, 7-8), but the lessons we can learn are innumerable.

The story tells us that Miriam stood at a distance to see what would happen to Moses. When Pharoah's daughter goes down to the river and finds the baby, Miriam immediately and somewhat impressively makes her presence known and even manages to go get Moses's own mother to be the nurse for him, even though he will now be known as the princess's son.

So what can we learn from Miriam?

First, she was obedient. Do you think that it was Miriam's own notion to go and follow baby Moses as he floated along in the river, or could it have been her parents' request? Miriam ran the risk of being killed, put into slavery, or a number of other punishments as a result of protecting this male child. Still, she obeyed. The Bible tells us that "all who desire to live godly will suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12). Regardless of what physical consequence we could suffer for being obedient to the will of God, we must submit to Him. Times are changing, and in our lifetime it may very well be that Christians will be severely persecuted, even to the point of death (as is already the case in some countries). Should it come to that (and God forbid it does), Christians must be willing to suffer, even to die, in order to keep being obedient to our Father.

The second lesson we can glean from Miriam is that we, as children of God, have a responsibility to our siblings. As a young girl, Miriam took care of her family. Her boldness helped to save one of the greatest leaders of all time. Without her, Moses may have been brought up entirely Egyptian, and the nation of Israel may have been in bondage for years and years. While we must take care of our physical families, we also have a responsibility to our spiritual family. As Christian women, we have an opportunity to look out for our brothers in Christ. Miriam looked after Moses to ensure that he did not fall into physical harm, and we can do the same for our brothers in a spiritual way. We can wear modest clothing, keeping them from the temptation of lust. We can keep ourselves from impure situations, guarding them from the schemes of the devil.

Third, we must be clever. Had the Pharaoh's daughter looked over at me, I may have been tongue-tied or scared or simply run away. Not Miriam. She thought on her feet, and told the princess that she would find her a Hebrew nurse, then cunningly went back to her own mother, never giving away what was happening. We know from scripture that Satan is a master deceiver (Eph. 6:11, 1 Pet. 5:8, Rev. 20:10). We must always be on guard, ready at any moment to side-step his schemes.

A final lesson we can learn from Miriam is that we cannot let our age hinder our service. As a young girl, Miriam made a great impact on the nation of Israel. As younger people (I mean, I'm only 24!), we have the same opportunity. We can use our talents and energies to impact our nation. America is turning, so rapidly, away from her Creator, and we must use any way we can to try to turn this nation back and save it from destruction. Had Miriam decided to do nothing, Moses may have perished, or at the very least, never have known his Hebrew heritage. Instead, Miriam was obedient, brave, and cunning, and we need to be the same way today.

Don't Get Too Attached

Yesterday morning I had the honor of teaching the teenage girls at our congregation. We are in a study on topics that are pertinent to teenagers: gossip, modesty, entertainment choices, how we use our tongues, friendship, dating, and a host of other things. Friendship was our topic of choice yesterday, and we talked a lot about our responsibility to our friends, the purpose of friendships, and why it's important to have Christian friends. While studying for the lesson, and while listening to the girls' comments in class, I was re-awakened to something that I think is so valuable for all of us: the topic of worldliness.

When you think of the story of Sodom and Gommorah, you probably think of a couple of things: homosexuality and Lot. You may think of a few other details, but the main character we think of is Lot, and the main problem we address is homosexuality. If we stop there, though, I think we are missing some key lessons.

Yesterday in class, we talked specifically about Lot's wife (Gen. 19:26) and Lot's sons-in-law (19:14). The Bible tells us that all of the aforementioned people were destroyed with Sodom. Why do you think that was?

When we think about worldliness, we tend to think of materialistic things: money, clothing, toys, houses, cars, retirement funds, etc. We think of tangible things that this earth has to offer. I believe that Lot's wife and sons-in-law were struggling with worldliness, too, but I don't think it had a lot to do with the stuff that was in Sodom.

It is possible for us to become too attached to people. God has beautifully designed marriage and families and friendships, and aren't we all thankful for those blessings? But Jesus said in Luke 14:26 that we cannot place even those God-designed relationships above our relationship with God.

Relationships are important to us. We need them to survive. Robert recently used an illustration in one of his sermons about a study that was conducted on newborns to try to find out their natural language. These infants were placed in a room that was isolated, and the nurses had to promise not to speak to the children, that way the words that the children used first would be a 'natural language', and the world could finally find out what that was. Guess what happened? In three months, all of these infants had died. Why? Because we need relationships to survive. We need intimacy and friendship and love.

What happens when we love the wrong thing, or we love the right thing too much? I believe it's a form of worldliness. Lot's wife and his sons-in-law didn't seem to be caught up necessarily in the sins of Sodom, they just seemed to be too attached to their lives there: their friends, their neighbors, their day-to-day routines. Perhaps if Lot had chosen (when Abraham gave him the opportunity) to go a different direction other than Sodom, all of this could have been avoided; Lot could have saved his family. But, when we choose to surround ourselves with people who are worldly, our relationships turn into a form of worldliness.

We must be careful who we associate with, and who we choose to get close to. In class, I asked the girls if this meant that we couldn't have any friends who weren't Christians. They said no. I asked why, and they said, 'How would we spread the gospel?" and that's exactly right. But then one of the girls piped up with this: "But we have to have boundaries in our relationships with people who aren't Christians".

We must set boundaries in our relationships. We cannot ever let a person get so close to us that they pull us away from God. That could be someone who isn't a Christian, or that could be your spouse, your kids, your parents, your preacher, or any other relationship in your life. We cannot let our lives be so wrapped up in a person that we neglect our relationship with God.

Think about your life: are you letting a relationship with someone on earth get in the way of your relationship with your Heavenly Father? Maybe that relationship is taking up all your time, thus leaving you with no time to study or pray. Maybe that relationship is one that God deems unacceptable (it involves adultery, fornication, sexual immorality), and thus you aren't close to Him because your sin separates you. Maybe the relationship tempts you be involved with things that are sinful (drinking, gossiping, cursing, using crude humor, skipping worship services) and thus your relationship with God has suffered because you're no longer interested in pursuing godliness.

Take an inventory of your relationships, and don't let anyone get you so attached to this world that you forget that your citizenship isn't here, it's in heaven (Philippians 3:20). If you are involved in a relationship/friendship with someone who is pulling you away from God or forcing you away from Him because the relationship is sinful, please get out of it. When we think of Lot's wife and sons-in-law, it's easy to wonder--why would you choose to be utterly destroyed when you could have life? You had been given a way of escape! Why didn't you use it?

You have been given a way of escape. You have been given a choice. Choose to follow after God, lest your worldly relationships lead you down a path that destroys you. No relationship is worth that. No relationship on this earth is worth compromising your eternal soul.

How Do You Spend Your Time?

It is so easy to be consumed with ourselves, isn't it? With our schedules, our routines, our interests?

Solomon was a great king. When God asked Solomon what he wanted, Solomon didn't respond with wealth or fame or anything like that: no, he asked for wisdom. We all know the story: God made Solomon the wisest man to ever live, but He also blessed him with wealth and land and fame and peace within his kingdom. 

It isn't long, though, until Solomon starts building the temple. That in and of itself is a blessing because his father, David, wasn't allowed to build it. In 1 Kings 6:38 we read this:

"And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it."

Wow Solomon! You spent seven years hammering out details and making the temple perfect. We all know that Solomon's temple was highly esteemed by the people of his day and also those to come. And if we stopped there, we might be impressed too. After all, seven years is a lot of time to dedicate to God, right? 

Look at 1 Kings 7:1:

"But Solomon took thirteen years to build his own house; so he finished all his house."

Sure, building God's temple was important and it needed to be done just right....and thus seven years were taken to ensure that all was perfect. But when it came time for Solomon's own house to be built? Well, that would take more time. 

Now I'm sure that it could be the case that Solomon did nothing but prepare and build the Lord's temple, and when it came time for his own house, he let things get in the way of the project and therefore it took more time. It seems, however, that Solomon started investing more in his projects and his desires. It seems that his focus, his priorities, had shifted.

You and I must be careful not to do the same thing. It is so easy to get caught up doing our own thing. Recently, Robert and I bought a house and did the whole moving/unpacking thing. Needless to say, it was very easy to get wrapped up in that. We had things we needed to do for our house. Did I neglect serving the house of God? Probably sometimes. A better question may be do I spend as much time tending to the house of God as I do tending to my own home?

When things aren't inherently wrong, it's easy to place them above God. It's not difficult for me to look at something that the Bible deems sinful and then stay away from it. For me, it's difficult to look at something the Bible says is good (having a home, spending time with my husband, maintaining friend relationships, resting) and not overemphasizing that in my life (ie: placing it above God). 

My prayer for today is that I will spend more time serving the house of God than serving myself and my own wants. Sure, those things may not be sinful, but if I place them above doing God's will then I am sinning. 

Today, look into your own life and your own schedule. Find the things you spend the most time doing (Facebook, blogging, crafting, texting) and ask yourself: do I spend more time in these things than I do in God's word and in service to Him? If so, let's all realign our lives and our priorities so that we're being pleasing to our Father.

God Loves YOU Specifically

A new favorite verse of mine has got to be Isaiah 49:16. Here, Isaiah records the Lord saying the following:

"See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before me."

Before iPhones and iPods and electronic devices of any kind, people wrote on paper. And when something was of the utmost importance? They wrote it on their hand. Have a major homework assignment that you CANNOT forget? Write it on your hand. Remember that you must do something when you get home? Write it on your hand. When something is written on your hand, you don't forget it. And normally, you put only the most important things on your hand.

This verse says that God has inscribed us on the palms of His hand. To me, this verse comforts and strengthens me. It gives me courage to face whatever things this life may throw at me, because the Creator of the universe knows me, intimately, and cares for me, deeply.

There are ways, though, that I can erase my name from His hand. I can choose to abandon Him--to walk away from Him and ignore the blood of His Son. Or I can choose worldly, temporal things over Him. I can choose drugs, alcohol, fornication, gossip, crude "entertainment," or to simply sleep in on Sundays and avoid Him. I can choose to put other things ahead of Him, like a relationship or a hobby. He wants a relationship with me, and Has made every provision to have one, and yet He has given me a choice.

While there are ways I can choose to ignore God, there is nothing I can ever do to deserve a relationship with Him. After all, He made and controls everything. And so, I will do all that I can to stay in His favor. I will do what He says (put on Christ in baptism, flee sin) and I will pray every day that He will forgive my failures and shortcomings. I will do my very best to "overcome" so that I can inherit all things (Rev. 21:7).

My brain cannot comprehend why God would ever love me--why He would ever send His perfect, sinless Son to die for me. But I know, I KNOW, that He does love me. And not just me in the generic sense, either. God knows me personally. He loves me, Emily. After all, He has me inscribed on the palm of His hand.

Please don't forget that God loves you, too. He has made a way for you to be with Him for all of eternity. Don't miss that opportunity because something worldly seems better right now. Some relationship, some form of pleasure, some hobby, some status. Listen when He says He loves you and He wants to be with you. And when you listen to and understand that, give up all of the things in your life that you're either putting ahead of Him or that you're doing in spite of what He's said.

God Meant It For Good

I stumbled across this post from my tumblr account, and I thought I'd share it with you (mostly because I needed to read it again).

So many times life gets to us. It beats us down, throws rocks at us, hurts us, tramples us. And sometimes it isn’t just life. It’s people. People that mean to hurt us and knock us down and make us feel bad for whatever reason.

Be it circumstance and life, or just mean people, isn’t it the case that we sometimes question God for the bad in our lives? Maybe we don’t only question, we blame. Multiple times in my short life I have heard the question posed, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” I feel like I finally have an answer.

Genesis 50:20

But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Joseph’s brothers had contemplated killing him. They sold him into slavery. He was then put into prison after being falsely accused. I doubt anyone would have thought that Joseph’s life was perfect. And you know what? He probably could have complained. He probably could have argued that God wasn’t with him. But is that what the text says?

No. When Joseph’s father dies and his brothers are begging for mercy, Joseph makes that profound statement. God meant it for good. The bad things that happen in life—the evil in people’s hearts, the bad circumstances that he found himself in—God used those things to SAVE people. 

Perhaps you’ve had some terrible experiences in your life. Perhaps life has thrown some nasty curve balls your way. Or maybe, people have done you wrong for no reason at all. Whatever is is, are you looking at that situation and blaming God, or are you looking at your situation and realizing that God could use you to save someone. 

I pray that we all use the latter. 

So your parents got divorced. God can use it for good. So someone you were incredibly close to died. God can use it for good. Don’t limit God. He is writing your story, and He will give you the happiest ending if you’ll walk according to His path.