Be on Guard

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27

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Proverbs 4:23-27 was a passage I read often as a teenager and I have used it at least once a week with my children since they were old enough to understand it to some degree. In recent months the import of these verses has loomed greater in my heart.

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Being a homemaker is a wonderful calling. Your days are filled with hugs and kisses, pictures colored by little hands, ironing your darling's shirts, funny questions, tears that only a mommy can dry, errands for your husband, pudgy bodies to clean, and snacks to make. Sometimes, however, those things get old. You feel worn out, used, unappreciated, and taken advantage of. It becomes easy to become dissatisfied and wishful of another lifestyle. Maybe you start to check out emotionally and turn to the television, many mom's nights out, those racy paperback novels, or internet social sights.

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Ladies, if you are feeling discontent and drawn away emotionally from your husband and family please read Proverbs 4:23-27 again and again. Guard your eyes, your ears, your mind, and above all, your heart. It is easy to think that "getting away" in the form of a book or the computer is innocent. Sometimes it is, but when it becomes a constant draw and consumes your thoughts and time, be assured that a problem is growing. This problem can end up pulling you from your family and your relationship with the Lord. It opens you up for deception by the enemy. It can also destroy the beautiful life the Lord has given you.

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If you think this would never happen to you, do not be deceived. The enemy lurks about seeking whom he can kill and destroy. A discontent woman, focused on herself, is a prime target. What better way to tear apart the family than by targeting the glue - Mommy. Be on your guard. Stick closer to Jesus than you ever have before. Now is not the time to be drawn into old relationships, wistful thinking, and fantasies. The time is drawing closer to the Lord's return. Be intent on your calling as a wife and mom. Spend your time praying for the husband and children who at times frustrate you.

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Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God at this time is encouraging and supporting your husband as he leads your family, both of you raising godly children to send out as arrows. That is no small calling! What greater blessing than to be poured out as Jesus was for us? He came to serve others, knowing that it would take His very life. Oh, to be like Jesus every day!

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Prayer:

Father, please set a watch before my heart. Pull my face up to gaze at You when I am focused on myself. Remind me daily of Christ's sacrifice of His daily life for those who followed Him. Jesus, thank You for Your perfect example of sacrifice and service, even when it was not appreciated or understood. Help me to never give in to the enemy's lies of having a "boring life." Amen

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Challenge:

If you are struggling with being dissatisfied with your husband or children, turn to the Word and prayer first. Spend time each morning reading the book of John and studying the perfect example of servanthood in Jesus. Ask the Lord to help you capture thoughts of discontent and replace them with the joy of a family and the eternal impact you can make through them.

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If you are drawn to rediscovering old flames from high school or college on social internet sites, may I be bold enough to encourage you to cancel your accounts? If you are tempted to watch soap operas to get your romance fix, unplug the set or leave for the park with the kids. If you want to escape from your children far more than usual, visit a CaringBridge or St. Jude's site and pray for those mommies who would give anything to take their children home and have a reason to clean up their messes.

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Jen Gorton 2009

Choosing Peace

I am about to share something that may shock some of you.

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Occasionally, I am not peaceful.

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I could blame it on a child waking me during the night, PMS, money troubles - a myriad of things could claim the prize. Frankly, only one thing or person can be blamed for my lack of peacefulness. Me.

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Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 What Jesus gives to me, no one can take away. I can GIVE it up, but someone else can not steal it from me. I choose to part ways with peace. I choose to take on a burden that draws my attention and energy away from the Lord. I choose to put the cares of motherhood, marriage, friendship, finances, health, and ministry ahead of the promised peace of God.

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Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You." The solution to having the peace of God is pretty clear. If I am keeping my mind on the things of the Lord (Phil. 4:7-9) then I will be at peace. If I am not at peace, then I am not keeping my mind on the things of the Lord. Pretty simple and no way to get around it.

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I desire that those around me see the peace of the Lord in my life. Spending time meditating on the beauty and holiness of the Lord will cause that desire to become reality and the God of peace will be with me. What a wonderful thing!

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Prayer:

Father, I am so thankful that the way to that peace is by spending time in Your presence. There is no place I would rather be. Thank You, Jesus, for making the way for me to come directly to the Father. Help me to choose the beauty of Your peace over anything else. Amen.

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Challenge:

Begin each day focusing on the goodness of the Lord and His promise of peace. Post some of the peace Scriptures around your home to remind you of the way to perfect peace in the midst of difficult circumstances.

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Jen Gorton 2009

David's Mighty Men

Note: Jen’s article a couple of weeks ago and Granny’s article this past week show us that relationships are valued in our lives, and we do not take them lightly. People are important to us. Here is my contribution to this same thread.
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For the past several months, I, too, have been struggling with a relational issue involving someone I called “friend,” and this past week it finally got the best of me. I was so discouraged that I sat down for a moment, and while I do not recommend this method for studying the Bible on a regular basis, I randomly flipped open God’s Word, just to get a word of encouragement that was His choice to give. The passage I read was from I Samuel 22.
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So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him. Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Now there were about four hundred men with him.
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Believe it or not, these verses were immediately encouraging to my heart. Do you know why? Because the loss of this relationship had been especially hard on me – my inability to fix it left me feeling defeated as a one who claims to know God and one who thinks she can trust God for just about anything. The enemy had been bombarding me with accusations through all of this. I was distressed – the enemy had stolen my joy. I was in debt – I could not pay the price that was needed to fix this situation. I was discontented – I had struggled with wanting to cry to the Lord, “Why aren’t You doing something about this?!”
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But here were 400 men in my situation who submitted themselves to David’s leadership. And he accepted their service and devotion, even though it was imperfect and broken. These were not respected men who joined with him; these were men who had come to the end of themselves and who knew they needed something. They were people who are just like I am – distressed, in debt, and discontented. Yet David accepted their service and devotion, even though it was imperfect and broken, and he became their captain. Later, in I Chronicles, these people were called David’s mighty men, and they were his friends (see I Chronicles 11:16-19 for proof of this).
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In the same way, our precious Lord Jesus calls those to Him who know they need something. He calls those who are in distress, in debt (both spiritually and financially!), and discontented to come to Him. He will give us rest. He gave rest to my soul that day. The areas of imperfection and brokenness in my life that in any way might have contributed to the downfall of that relationship with my friend can be turned into something good if I allow Him to fill me with His joy, if I remember that He paid the debt for the things that destroy friendships, and if I put my trust in Him to heal. I can become mighty for Him because of His work on the cross, and I am called His friend.
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Prayer:
Lord Jesus, when I look at my husband, my children, and my own life, I see brokenness and imperfection. Help me to rejoice that I can see this, for only then can I turn to You for healing. Help me to submit to You as my Captain, and thank You that You call me “friend.” (John 15:15)
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Challenge:
As you see brokenness and imperfections this week, rejoice! You have a Captain and Friend who loves you despite it all.
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Julie Bailey 2009

Dig It Up!

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31, 32

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When the season of spring first bursts forth in all of its beauty, we have to pull up the weeds (especially the dandelions) by their roots lest they spread and spoil the whole lawn and completely cover the grass. So also do the roots of bitterness in our hearts spoil our souls, unless we pull them up, deal with them, and dispose of them. What better time than this beginning of spring to bring forgiveness into our hearts and reap the rewards of peace and love in our hearts.

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In the past, I have experienced roots of bitterness towards a woman in our church who sowed much discord among the members because our pastor would not include her new agenda into our doctrine. She then left our church and started a new group, taking quite a few people with her. She also continued to contact other members to join them. Since we lived in a small town, I would see her quite often in the stores. I would purposely avoid her, even if it meant going back to my car and going elsewhere to shop for groceries, etc. One day I was buying apples at a local orchard and she came up behind me and gave me a hug, acting as though she was my best friend. She then left as quickly as she appeared. I was dumbfounded. I had not even said a word and was shocked that she didn't seem to have a clue about all the trouble she had caused our pastor and the church.

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Here I was, suffering from the bitterness in my spirit and she wasn't even effected by what she had done. Then a scripture came to my mind. As Jesus hung on the cross this is what He prayed. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:24 The last thing Jesus tasted on the cross was the cup of bitterness. John 19:29,30 says, "Now a vessel full of vinegar was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with vinegar, put it on a reed of hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." If Jesus died for our sin of bitterness, can't we just let it go?

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In Matthew 5:44 Jesus taught: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them who hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you." And on the cross, Jesus practiced what He preached. He died with a forgiving heart, not a heart of bitterness.

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I now pray for this woman and when I see her I don't go the other way. I can't develop a relationship with her because she is still being deceived, but I can ask God to show her His truth. When we harbor bitterness in our hearts we are not pleasing God. At the first sign of bitterness or the emergence of any critical spirit I pray Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." A bitter heart needs to be taken to the cross and left there.

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Prayer:

Dear Lord, You have given us the antidote for every sin. May we, in the strength and power of Your Holy Spirit, replace hate with love and bitterness with forgiveness, praying for those who have hurt us. In the precious name of Jesus, who died for those very sins, Amen.

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Challenge:

Search your heart for any bitterness. Read over Luke 23:24 and John 19, meditating on Jesus' heart of forgiveness in the face of the severest betrayal and pain. Take on His spirit of forgiveness each day.

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'Granny' Witt 2009

Granny is my grandmother and the great grandmother of my children. She is an incredible woman full of wisdom and I am honored to share her writings with you.