Thin Skinned

"People with good sense are slow to anger, and it is their glory to overlook an offense." -Proverbs 19:11

Every now and then, one of our chickens will lay an egg that has no shell. Instead of a shell, the egg will literally be only a thin, leathery membrane of skin. For some reason or other, the egg didn't become calcified before being laid. With no shell, it doesn't take much to destroy the delicate innards of the egg.

It is easy to become offended. It's second nature to allow our innards to become scrambled by life's abrasive and abusive ways. We need to be prepared for the fact that our enemy is merciless and is seeking to destroy us. We must not be thin-skinned! We must put on the armor of God to protect our precious hearts. One of the greatest ways to protect ourselves is through basic obedience to God's Word and self-control.
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"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control." -Proverbs 25:28

Ruling our spirits and submitting them to God's ways protects us from most of what the enemy will throw at us. Life will happen, but how will we react? Men will betray, and many will hurt us without even trying. What will we do?

"For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will not forgive yours." -Matthew 6:14&15

Forgiveness protects us from not only destroying ourselves with bitterness, but also from the wrath of God. Forgiveness is like a shell protecting us. God will not forgive us our offenses if we do not forgive others. If a holy God can overlook our offenses when we humble ourselves and repent, who are we to not do the same to fellow people when we are no better than they are?

Let us not live like the "reject" eggs from my chickens. They are formless, floppy, and vulnerable to nearly every provocation. Instead, let us be conformed to the image of Christ who bore no bitterness despite the fact that he was the most wrongfully assaulted person ever. Let us not be weak and floppy, but strengthened and renewed by waiting upon the Lord and exercising ourselves spiritually so we are fit enough to do battle for others in the name of our Lord. As we bear the name and standard of Christ's righteousness, may we be found without chinks in our armor due to our own lack of self-government.
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Dearest friend, overlook offenses and rule your spirit. Our just Lord will surely settle all accounts and make all things right. We believe He is good and trustworthy, so let us act like it. (Psalm 17)

 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for giving me the tools to escape the temptation of offence.  Please help me to guard my heart from a root of bitterness and resentment.  Those things do not honor you in any way.  Amen.

 

Challenge:

Search your heart for any offences you might have taken. Spend time in prayer asking the Lord to clear your mind and heart.  Seek godly, trustworthy counsel if you simply are not making headway in this area.  The Lord wants us to walk with pure hearts filled with His love and mercy.

 

Adrienne M. 2010 - Provision Farm

Ezer

This week I am honored to share another beautiful writing from my friend Adrienne of Provision Farm.  Adrienne is able to take every part of life on a farm and find the deep spiritual lesson.  May we all be as observant in the place the Lord has called us.

How can I not write about my dog, Asher? Asher is a border collie, and he helps me move the livestock every day. Before I had him, I would run around like a fool, yelling and waving my arms trying to round up the sheep. They didn't take me very seriously. I didn't take me very seriously.

Asher does so much more than help me move the stock. Asher is a good friend. Ask anyone who has visited my home and they will tell you that he greets you with a hug. He will wrap his arms around your leg and squeeze. He is extremely obedient and will always go out of his way to obey. He not only answers to me, but to anyone. He responds even to my children as an authority. If you tell him to lay down, he will drop to the ground immediately with no hesitation. His desire is to please...always. I have even had friends bring their dogs to my home, and Asher keeps them in line and will not let them disobey their owner or chase chickens or whatever else naughty a dog may do.

When we need a job with the stock done, the first question is: "Where's Asher? I need him." He brings order to the barnyard and he carries authority. The very sight of him makes the sheep bolt into the barn, so I actually cannot have him out during feeding time or the sheep would never get fed. With all he does, though, he doesn't assume his own authority; but he submits to me.

The word "ezer" accurately describes Asher in my life. Ezer is the Hebrew word for "help".

One of the first uses of it in Scripture is when Adam meets Eve and she is called his "ezer kenegdo" (help-meet). This is found in Genesis 2:18. God says that it is not good for man to be alone. Man alone is a lot like the picture of me trying to round up the sheep without Asher. What I'm speaking of is that woman was created to help man do his job. Ladies, remember to submit to your husband and have a heart for pleasing him. If you are not married, do it for your father. If you are single, do it for God who is your heavenly Father and your Bridegroom. Be His ezer kenegdo...it's who you were created to be, and anything apart from that will leave you feeling incomplete because you are truly being delinquent against the very fiber of your being.

Help can also take on the form of something much stronger than something that comes alongside you that aids you in your tasks. The word "ezer" is used again in Psalm 121--

"If I raise my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come? My help comes from Adonai, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip--your guardian is not asleep. No, the guardian of Israel never slumbers or sleeps. Adonai is your guardian; at your right hand Adonai provides you with shade--the sun can't strike you during the day or even the moon at night. Adonai will guard you against all harm; he will guard your life. Adonai will guard your coming and going from now on and forever."

Come again? "...at your right hand?" That sounds like God is our helper! Not only do we come alongside God to carry out His will, He comes alongside us to aid us in what He's called us to do. What a beautiful design the Lord laid out for our relationship with Him! My dear Asher is much like this picture of "helping guardian", as nothing happens on my land that Asher is not aware of first. He alerts me so that I can be watchful. He makes me a better ruler over this land the Lord gave me.

Ezer. What a beautiful word.

"Two are better than one, in that their cooperative efforts yield this advantage: if one of them falls, the other will help his partner up--woe to him who is alone when he falls and has no one to help him up." -Ecclesiastes 4:9&10

Prayer:

Father, You are my All in all.  You are the One who gives me the opportunity to be a part in Your perfect will and plan.  Please help me to be mindful of what You would have me do and say each and every day.  Help me to remember that You are my Helper in time of need.  Amen

Challenge:

Are you walking fully in your calling as a woman?  That might be as a daughter or a wife.  It might be as a single woman on your own.  Embrace the place the Lord has you now, and look for ways to be His ezer kenegdo.

Adrienne 2010

Thorns and Sweetness

Some of God's most precious gifts come in packages that make our hands bleed when we open them."-Sheila Walsh
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Summertime in the country is a blessed time. It seems every other person's driveway has a vegetable stand outside or at least a sign for fresh eggs. About this time of year, the berries are ripening.
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This evening, we went to pick blackberries. We went to a local person's house who had a nondescript acre or two of uncleared brush with a few blackberry bushes hidden inside. Standing outside the huge wall of leaves, thorns, and saplings, one wouldn't likely suspect that there was anything worthwhile inside. However, I was told there were blackberries inside, so I delved in.
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Every berry literally had to be fought for. The blackberry branches were hopelessly intertwined with horrid thorn bushes along with the thorns that they themselves produced. I had branches clutching my clothing and snagging my hair. They raked across my skin and left me with the sensation that about 500 angry cats were biting and scratching me all at once. After battling this scenario for a sweaty, bloody 2 hours, I walked out of the thorn patch with about a quart and a half of blackberries.
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In the midst of my war with the thorns, the Lord spoke to me and said,"What are you thinking right now, daughter?" I impatiently pulled a thorn from my palm and said,"Well, Lord, I'm thinking that anything worth having is worth some trouble to get." Peace flooded me and God said,"Yes, daughter. A lot like you."
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"Like a lily among thorns is my darling among other women." - Song of Solomon 2:2 Though this verse is about a man loving a woman, Song of Solomon is in the Bible mostly because it's also a love letter from God to His beloved Bride, the Church(or at the time it was written, the people of Israel). The world is a nest of thorns, and he fought through the thorns around my heart to rescue what sweetness He could find. That sweetness was my hunger and thirst for truth and righteousness. I was that lily that drew His attention and affection. Hallelujah! My Lord found me and plucked me out from among those thorns.
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With a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye, I recount of another set of thorns my Lord endured in order to rescue me: "They stripped off his clothes and put on him a scarlet robe, wove thorn-branches into a crown and put it on his head, and put a stick in his right hand. Then they kneeled down in front of him and made fun of him: 'Hail to the King of the Jews!' They spit on him and used the stick to beat him about the head. When they had finished ridiculing him, they took off the robe, put his own clothes back on him and led him away to be nailed to the execution stake." -Matthew 27:28-31
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All beautiful things are worth rescuing. All great things come at a cost. All sweetness can only be enjoyed when fought for. We are worth it in the eyes of God.
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Prayer:
Father God, thank you for rescuing me. Thank You for giving me value. You are worthy of my very life and I give it daily to You. Amen.
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Challenge:
Take the time this week to contemplate each day how much God loves you and how He showed that love on the cross.
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Adrienne 2010

The Theology of Feet

Once again, I am delighted to share a devotional by my friend from Provision Farm. This article was slightly edited for length. You can read it in its entirety here.

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The most common problem I have ever encountered when I'm looking at someone else's goats is their feet. Many, many people don't trim their hooves often enough. Needless to say, they will grow grossly long and affect how they walk. People have given me their goats in the past (yes, I know, don't look a gift goat in the mouth, right?) and I consistently take notice of the fact that these goats often have seriously deformed feet.
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Let me take a moment to admit that I'm very particular about this issue. The first thing I do when I get a new animal is to trim its feet and give it wormer. Every spring, I catch my sheep and do this, as well. My goats get their hooves trimmed probably every couple of weeks, though. To me, it is one of the easiest things and one of the most beneficial things you can do. To keep a set of feet standing flat on the ground is to set the whole animal straight. The feet are quite literally the foundation.
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When I think of the implications of overgrown hooves, I think of my own laziness over proper 'trimming' in my life. This world is filthy and corrupt and I'm not impervious to its vices. If I don't consistently prune back my flesh, my entire alignment will be off. If I allow more of me to grow, I will by my very nature begin to trap junk on the inside of me. Pressing this corrupting matter close to myself, will in turn corrupt my insides. Trimming back my excess will expose what's pressing against me so it can easily fall away instead of becoming trapped to my insides. Allowing too much of me to grow will also simply offset a healthy balance in my life. Something so small as a hoof can throw off the conformation of the entire animal. To compensate for the malformation, the rest of the body must malform itself. I have found that if I allow myself to become less like the image of Christ and more like the image of selfishness, it affects everything around me. My malformation becomes the malformation of my entire sphere of influence. O woe is me when I not only cause myself to stumble, but those around me!
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Romans 8:28-31 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; those he called he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
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I come to my goats with a pair of hoof trimmers in my hand. I come to trim away their excess so their feet may be conformed to the image of correctness. Their feet were designed to be a certain way, same as we were created and predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. Trimming their hooves is much like the 'justification process' we undergo as sons and daughters of God. When we have submitted to the Lord's trimming, we can stand strong. When we have the image of correctness (Christ), who can stand against us? The answer is 'no one'.
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Submit to the Lord. Stand strong. Stumbling will become less of a reality if we do this.

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Prayer:

Father, help me to be mindful of what needs trimming in my life. Give me Your eyes to see what is overgrown and affecting my walk with You and my witness to others. Amen.

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Challenge:

Be mindful of the Scriptures that call you to holiness. This week, keep in mind the righteousness of the Lord and strive to walk in His likeness.

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Adrienne 2010

Bits, Bullies, and Bleeding Backsides

I am pleased to introduce a new contributor. Adrienne is a personal friend of mine whose writings spur me to deeper thinking and reflection. Enjoy more of Adrienne’s thoughts at Provision Farm.

Don't let love be a mere outward show...love one another devotedly and with brotherly love; and set examples for each other in showing respect." Romans 12:9, 10.
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Recently, our family acquired a third horse. To recap, we purchased an unbroken mare with a miniature horse buddy about a month ago. The unbroken mare has been coming along so beautifully in her training, that we were eager to have another full sized horse so that my husband, Daniel, and I could ride together. As it has been, Daniel's been riding the 'unbroken' mare every day with no bit and bridle and has successfully gotten her to obey his commands.
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Our newest horse is another mare that is white and fully broken. She's very sweet, but timid. Herein lies the problem. Our mare that we had previously has lashed out at her with a vengeance. She is deeply preoccupied with being the 'head mare' of the barn and denies access to it for the white mare. Feeding time has become a nightmare. The very first day here, the poor darling sustained a terrible kick to her rear end resulting in a cut in a very delicate place. This cut is still healing.
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Today, God spoke to me about this issue and said it's a problem in the church. He said that there are many who have submitted to Him because He is holy and trustworthy and is the only one who can sort out the mess of their life. However, these same people can still retain bitterness and a biting venom toward other people. We, brothers and sisters, are deeply imperfect. We hurt each other; often when we don't mean to. We can either be preoccupied with 'staying on top' of others or we can submit to not only God, but each other. My mare accepted me as master because I'm good to her, but she will not yield to a fellow horse.
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Paul goes on to say in Romans,” Be sensitive to each other's needs--don't think yourselves better than others, but make humble people your friends. Don't be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but try to do what everyone regards as good. If possible, and to the extent that it depends on you, live in peace with all people. Never seek revenge, my friends; instead, leave that to God's anger."
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My white mare is indeed 'turning the other cheek'. As many times as the other mare bites her and chases her, she simply moves along and minds her own business. How often are we the catty and immature one picking fights? And how often are we the submissive and docile one that keeps their nose clean?
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Today, I hit a breaking point; as one day the Lord will stop tolerating the evil that we endure at the hands of malicious or just immature people. I took the unbroken mare's buddy from the pen so she lost her sense of security. I put the miniature in with my sheep and goats and then stood back to watch. Her malice grew toward the white horse, so I had to step in further. I put her in a stall (which I never do) and I began to groom and pet and treat the white horse in front of her. She pawed the ground angrily and leapt at the dividing gate. I just calmly doted on the white horse and let her jealous foe watch. Then, I led the white one to the dividing wall so they could stand nose to nose. I held her there and forced them to 'hash it out' in an environment that no one could get hurt. Each of them sniffed and moved their muzzles up and down each other's necks. Often, one of them would open their mouths to bite, so the other would whinny and kick. They, therefore, set the proper boundaries with each other and are safe to be left alone with each other now. Beautiful success! God is indeed teaching me much about people through animals.
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I exhort you, dear friend, to prefer others above yourself. Instead of chasing someone out into the rain and mud, stand aside and give them your portion. Instead of taking offense at someone else's insult to you (whether intentional or not), be the grownup one and 'show the example of respect' by overlooking the offense. By the strength we receive by being sons and daughters of the Most High, we can do this. God will step in and level the playing field because He is just. If you suffer any persecution, you have an ally and His name is Christ. Stand with Christ and stand blameless in front of a Holy God. To honor God, we must honor each other. We receive power through praise to submit to the Lord's will toward each other. Oh, and without coincidence, the white horse's name is Praise.
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Prayer:
Father, You are good and worthy of praise! Please help me in this hard area. Preferring others does not come naturally to me. I want my own way and do not want to give others my portion. Help me to walk in the Spirit of Christ, honoring You in heart and actions. Amen.
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Challenge:
This week, search the Scriptures for verses dealing with being easily offended, becoming bitter, and holding grudges. When opportunities arise for you to take offence, take a step back and make the choice not to fall into the trap of the enemy.
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Adrienne Michelson 2010