>God’s Not Playing

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Now it came about
at the lodging place on the way
that the LORD met him
and sought to put him to death. 
Exodus 4:24
God has just given Moses this great commission to return to Egypt and bring out the children of Israel. God has been patient with his fear and insecurities. God has reminded him over and over that He would be with him. God has allowed Aaron to help him. Yet now we read that God seeks him to put him to death. What has happened?
Disobedience and disregard for the Word of God is what has happened. Now first of all we can not read this like a movie script. It is not like God is sneaking up behind Moses with a dagger and is about to slit his throat. That picture, my friend, does not line up with the character of our God.
Most likely God has allowed Moses to become sick and weak, and he is becoming sicker and weaker. This sickness and weakness comes from Moses’ blatant disregard to the covenant of God. This way of God has not changed.    
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord
in an unworthy manner,
shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
But a man must examine himself,
and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For he who eats and drinks,
eats and drinks judgment to himself
if he does not judge the body rightly.
For this reason many among you are weak and sick,
and a number sleep.
But if we judged ourselves rightly,
we would not be judged.
But when we are judged,
we are disciplined by the Lord
so that we will not be condemned along with the world
1 Corinthians 11:27-32    
In Genesis 17:11 God gave Abraham circumcision as a sign of the covenant that was between God and Abraham and Abraham’s descendants. This sign was to be performed on every male at eight days old. Those not circumcised where not in the covenant.
Moses had been hidden by his mother for three months and when the daughter of Pharoah drew him out of the water she knew immediately that he was a Hebrew. How did she know? Circumcision.
Moses was well aware of the importance of this ritual. Yet he had neglected to circumcise his own son. Possibly because he had not stood his ground against his Midianite wife.
As we look through the Scripture we see time and time again how a man of God has stumbled and fallen over putting the desires of a woman over the Word of God. This, precious one, goes all the way back to the beginning and it will continue until the end of the age.
We read in Revelation 3:20 of how Jesus is rebuking the church of Thyatira because they have tolerated “the woman Jezebel” and God warns that He is going to throw those who tolerate her onto a bed of sickness.
Ladies we must be very careful to not let our emotions lead above our devotion to the Word of God. Men you must be very careful to not allow your desires to lead over your calling to be the spiritual head of your household. We must stand firm on the Word of God and live in obedience to it. Our hearts will deceive us, but the Word of God is solid and true.
We read that Zipporah, the wife of Moses, circumcises their son in haste right before the LORD puts Moses to death. Zipporah throws the foreskin of her son at the feet of Moses and she declares “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.” (Exodus 4:25)
I believe Zipporah did this for two reasons. One, I believe Moses was too weak to do it. Two, I believe she was demonstrating her willingness to submit to the God of Abraham and the God of her husband.
Oh precious one, our God is serious about His covenants. He is serious about His Word. He is not playing with us. He does not care what position you hold in this world. He does not hold one person above or under another. His standard never changes and His standard is obedience to His every Word.
God is not legalistic. Legalism comes from man adding traditions and philosophies and extra rules to God’s Word. God’s commands are not too hard for us, “In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,” (1 John 5:3) and He will help us to walk in obedience when obedience is our desire.
Oh Father,
Thank You for Your Word. Thank You that I have this solid ground to stand on. The ways of man and the ways of religion change, but Your Word stays the same. Traditions and rituals of man can enslave me, but obedience to Your Word sets me free. Oh Father help me to constantly examine myself and judge myself, so that You do not have to. May I walk in Your ordinances and commands with a willing heart and a worthy manner. For You are worthy of my obedience.
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen

>The Good Wife’s Guide Review

>I was asked by Darlene Schacht to read the rough draft version of her new book The Good Wife’s Guide. I have been following her blog, Time-Warp Wife, for about six months. I love how she is trying to bring us ladies back to who God created us to be. In the past few decades I have to agree with her that we have gotten off focus as women.

You see I was once queen of the She-Woman-Man-Haters Club. To the point of writing college papers on the subjugation and degradation of women by our society. I researched and filled my head with every bit of information I could gather to fuel and justify my hate of men in general. I had decided that the only one of any count was my Daddy.

I despised the fact of the double-standard that I fully believed existed. I wrote a paper once that I was going to open a restaurant and call it Peckers. The woodpecker would be the store mascot and I would only hire male waiters and they would have to serve shirtless in tight red shorts. You see I decided that men should be just as objectified and degraded as women. Equal degradation was my plan.

My college papers on The Scarlet Letter and Maggie, A Girl of the Streets were asked to be kept by my professors to use as examples in future classrooms. Trust me, I was one fired-up, red-headed female. I was tired of the objectification of women. I was tired of not being physically strong enough to fight off an attacker. I was tired of being sexually harassed. I was tired of a woman being called a whore for the same thing that got a man called the hero of the locker room. I was tired of being a woman.

I was determined that I would never be dependant upon any man. I would never be a “kept” woman. I would do what I wanted, when I wanted, how I wanted. I didn’t need a man for anything. I mean nothing. I could even have a child without one if I wanted… they had test tubes for the only part of a man that was worth anything to me.

Oh me, I was tired.
I was tired, mad, and… broken.

I was so tired that I cried when I found out I was carrying a girl when I was pregnant with my Shelby. I stayed in denial the entire pregnancy. I wanted a boy. I did not want a daughter who would have to face this world that I had faced. I was scared to death that she would be hurt, abused, harassed, condemned. I was terrified.

In my terror I surrounded myself with invisible walls of protection and drowned my fears and demons in alcohol (btw-didn’t drink when I was pregnant) and “girl power”. My breaking point came in my second year of marriage.  My husband and I had been fighting and he walked out the door and he looked at me and said “Your problem is you hate men! Which means you will never really love me because I am a man!”

This hit me like a brick in the head.
This led me to really pick up my Bible for the first time in twelve years.
This truth led me back to the God-Man.

When I fell in love with the God-Man, I began to heal from my hate. I began to fall in love with my husband in a deeper and truer way. I began to learn what it really meant to be a woman. I began to learn how the fact that I was called a helper to my husband by God did not make me inferior to him or any other man.

I learned the beauty in Biblical submission and I learned the peace that comes in shifting a burden that I was never meant to carry over to the one who was designed for it. It has not always been easy nor has the journey always been fun, but it has been beneficial and profitable.

I don’t know were you are right now in your womanhood. You might still be a member of the She-Woman-Man-Haters Club or maybe you are a new bride or maybe you have been a bride for a while, but have been trying to pull the groom’s side for many years… where ever you are… you are woman. You are created in the image of God and you are of great value and worth and your place as woman in your home and in this world is of vital importance.

Discover what it means to be a woman as God created you.
Discover what it means to be a wife as God created you.
Discover what it means to be a mother as God created you.

A good place to get a start would be with Darlene’s new book, The Good Wife’s Guide.
There is much truth to glean from the book.
There are some pretty neat tips in how to work on your role as woman, wife, and mother.
No you may not be able to meet all the offered advice… all of our families have different routines and schedules… but you can take her ideas and suggestions and modify them to fit the dynamics of your family.

But precious one first and foremost… the best guide of learning how to be the woman that God designed you to be is found in His Word… back every bit of human advice you ever recieve up with His Word… if it can’t be backed up with the absolute truth of God… then throw it out. Declutter!