My husband and I have been keeping a couple of sweet kids for a week, while their parents take an anniversary trip. It has been a most enjoyable and profitable experience.
These children’s parents have made them behave since they were first born. It was not easy, either. The children have normal stubbornness and selfishness enough to test any mom or dad. But Mom and Dad have constantly and consistently met that test with something immoveable: the Word of God.
Therefore, the children know right from wrong. They also practice a strong grasp of mercy and overcoming, so that although the big brother may be right, he also may give in because he loves little sister, and she is much more apt to quietly point out his mistake to him, than to tattle. What an eye opener this has been!
The biggest lesson I have learned is in the area of sowing and reaping. It is the diligence and faithfulness of the parents that has formed these normal kids into such uncommon sweeties. No guessing was good enough for them; they went with the best child-rearing Manual and so far have done their best to understand and follow it. Though at times their decisions have been unpopular with friends or family, they have not backed down.
And we are enjoying a bit of their peaceful harvest.
Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
Psalm 119:129-136
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:10-11
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. Psalm 125:2
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:9
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7
. . . if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2b
It is time for you to act, O Lord; your law is being broken.
Psalm 119:126
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:12
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you may also believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
John 19:31-37
Let’s talk a moment about canning failure. Although any canned food that fails to seal is acceptable if refrigerated and eaten within 3 days, undetected failure gives you food that is spoiled. It is unusable, offensive, and poison.
Either way, we must empty the jar, clean it, and try to find and fix the problem.
If the only trouble was debris on the jar rim, or a defective flat, it is an easy fix. Refill it next time and it will work fine.
However, if that rim is the problem, the jar is useless the way it is. Unless you know someone who knows how to do the impossible job of fixing a broken jar, the best thing you can do is to get it out of your life so you can avoid those problems in the future. It’s best to place it inside a bag, break it, and throw it away, to prevent its accidental re-use.
Sisters, we are the jars.
Yes, we are the earthen vessels that God uses for storage. But instead of physical nourishment, the things stored within us are spiritual life-giving treasures.
He gives His Living Word (Rhema) to us (John 1:1-4). It is so refreshing, like fresh fruit to our bodies, satisfying thirst and energizing us, but must be handled with extreme care.
Then He sustains us with His Written Word (Logos), which is also life-giving to us, the routine staple diet every Christian needs and longs for (John 20:31).
He also desires us to contain His meat: obedience and righteousness (John 4:32, 34; Hebrews 5:12-14).
Why does God desire to store His heavenly treasures within us? So that much good can come from these treasures here on this earth. God’s ways are difficult for the unchurched to know of. As vessels, we make the Kingdom more available and more palatable to the spiritually starving.
There is much we can do to make careless people notice God favorably (Romans 10:14). You’ve heard the saying: “You are the only Bible some people will ever read.” Another Christian saying goes: “Do not force the reason for your hope upon those who don’t ask for it, but live so that they will ask.”
Oftentimes God also uses us to make His Kingdom more understandable to some who desire it but are confused (Acts 8:30-31).
He uses us to make the Kingdom more easily acceptable to others (1 Corinthians 9:19-22).
It’s that dinner invitation, soft answer, or offer of baby-sitting that can woo people to Christ who would otherwise never turn to him. We are always to be His containers.
Just like the food we pressure can, God’s treasure within us must be prepared for the process. We must be sure it is clean, pure wisdom; no dirt or bug spots allowed (James 3:17).
Sometimes we cannot receive it all at once, either, any more than a jar could receive a whole potato (John 8:31-32, 16:12-13).
Sometimes it simply “goes in” better once it’s been softened by teaching, summary, or example (Ephesians 4:11-13).
Enjoy this, the first published article I ever wrote, over sixteen years ago, for An Encouraging Word magazine, published out of Oklahoma. I got $20 for it, back then!
It is taken from Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 7, and John 12.
A Pretty Box
Once there was a woman who loved Jesus so much, that she did something so radical, that she incurred such unreasonable wrath from those around her, that the Lord Jesus was pleased to publicly defend her.
What she did was not illegal. She had not stolen anything, nor lied, nor killed anyone in the process of her actions. So why was she censored?
I believe it was because what she did was something that should only be done to God. It was an act of unadulterated adoration, totally unfitting to be performed for a mere human, however good that person might be.
This is what she did: She took something of hers that was worth around $50,000.00 and destroyed it at this man’s feet, all the while crying and kissing him. (He was not her husband.) She did this in public. In fact, it was before a large gathering of his friends and acquaintances.
“But He was God,” you say.
“He IS God,” you add.
True; how easy for us to have such excellent hindsight! But this woman had the gift of faith, Scripture tells us, to know Jesus as Messiah (before that telling moment of resurrection) and the crowd around her did not. Her actions were proper,but her critics simply were unable to agree.
In fact, her critics were embarrassed to the point of making up some fumbling arguments about the poor people in some poor place somewhere. Dollar amounts were rumored around. People were generally appalled.
Do you wonder how this relates to us?
I propose that most home educating parents are doing the same thing. Those of us who realize our children are the most precious things we have, are investing their entire lives at the feet of Jesus.
It is not illegal, but it has caused quite an embarrassed public stir. We hear all the traditional fumbling arguments about cost, socializing, college, etc. They say our children have been wasted and they cannot understand why. We have incurred wrath; we have critics who would love to censor us.
But you are right. He IS God.
By faith, somehow, we are able to know that our actions are proper. The telling moment of high ACT scores is upon us.
Rejoice with great joy! He is pleased to defend us!
“But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow, but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels.” –Job 6:15-17
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” –Revelation 3:15-16
My husband and I have been keeping a couple of sweet kids for a week, while their parents take an anniversary trip. It has been a most enjoyable and profitable experience.
Home's Cool! 