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A Biblical Review of Willy Wonka

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Today my two youngest girls will have their full dress rehearsal for the College Street Players production of Willy Wonka. Yesterday was my first opportunity to see the show in full run through. Up to yesterday I had only had the opportunity to view the scenes my girls were rehearsing, but last night the entire cast was able to sit and be the “audience” for the run show dress rehearsal.

So just as I do anything I see with my eyes or hear with my ears I began filtering the production through my biblical understanding.

The play begins with giving the viewer a clear picture of the poverty of the bucket family according to worldly measures… but you also see the contentment in this family as they place their true wealth not in worldly gain, but in their family and love and respect for one another.

If we have food and covering,

with these we shall be content.

1 Timothy 6:8

As the play unfolds you will also see that no matter what disappointments or opportunities comes the Bucket’s way, they continue to lovingly remind one another to focus on the riches of family and they choose to rejoice in what they have instead of wollering in the misery of what they do not have. The character of the family is not based on accumulating more… their decisions are not based on their love of money, but on their love for one another.

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money,

being content with what you have;

for He Himself has said,

“I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

Hebrews 13:5

 

One of the key songs in this production of Willy Wonka is the Bucket family motto and we hear them sing, “think positive…”  Now I am not a proponent of the whole positive thinking movement. I don’t believe we can think something into happening to fulfill our own selfish desires. I don’t buy into the name it and claim it of popular hype in christendom… but I do believe that we must cast down any thought that is not in accord with the Word of God (2 Corinthians 10:5) and we are to dwell on the truths of God and not the lies of the world.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true,

whatever is honorable, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,

whatever is of good repute,

if there is any excellence

and if anything worthy of praise,

dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8

 

One of my favorite scenes in the play is at the Candy Man’s Store. You see, Charlie Bucket visits the Candy Man’s store quite often, the Candy Man know Charlie… he has watched him and he has seen the heart of this young boy. He has watched as Charlie has proven himself to be a young man of moral character. What Charlie does not know is that the Candy Man is the Willy Wonka…

Now as we watch Charlie’s hope begin to waver as he watches one kid after another reveal their golden ticket to the world we see the “Candy Man” ask Charlie to retrieve something for him… and then we see the “Candy Man” offer Charlie the newest greatest Wonka Bar… and then we see him encourage Charlie to go ahead and have a bite now… and before Charlie opens it we hear him sing his Bucket family motto as he digs down deep and hopes against hope that maybe, just maybe, this time he will peal back the layers of paper and discover a beautiful golden ticket wrapped around that chocolate bar.

Much to his amazement… there it is! He has the last Golden Ticket! But it was not the power of positive thinking that delivered that ticket into his hands… it was the intervention of the one who knew his heart and had the power and authority to put that ticket in his hands.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights, 

with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

James 1:17

As you meet Charlie you also meet the other golden ticket discoverers. You will meet them one by one. Oh my, let me tell you they are a handful. I could break down the character of each of these, but I believe they will be clearly portrayed in the show. Selfishness, disrespect, greediness, unruliness, its just plain nasty and nasty is always easy to spot. The bottom line is that these characters are kids that have had their fleshly desires fed and fed and fed and fed. Their is no restraint given to them or expected of them.

There is a clear distinction between the character and integrity of the Bucket family as opposed to the families of these other Golden Ticket holders.

The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived,God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Galatians 6:6-10

In the play we child after child show their true colors more and more as they are faced with the objects of their desire… Their greatest temptation is faced before all of them and they succumb every time… even Charlie.

Charlie faces the fizzy lifting drink… could the object of Charlie’s desire be to be lifted up out of poverty? Could it be that he desires to have the freedom of provision that he sees so many others abusing? I think maybe so… yet here lies the test… how will Charlie seek the fulfillment of this desire?

As we see the fizzy lifting drink temptation of Charlie… we see that it is a test placed before him by Willy Wonka himself. What on earth would Charlie do when or if he chooses to fulfill a legitimate desire in an illegitimate way? What would he do if he failed?

Would he hide it?

Would he deny it?

Would he lie about it?

Or would he own it and reveal it and confess it and ask forgiveness for it?

As the play progresses you will see that these children do eventually reap what they have sown… Charlie reaps an eternal inheritance that can be passed from one generation to the next, one that he can share with the world, and he gets an even larger family as he now is entrusted with the care of Mr Wonka’s beloved Oompa Loompas… and well the others get all they are going to get in this life, a lifetime supply of chocolate.

 Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

Matthew 6:2

I highly recommend coming to see the College Street Players production of Willy Wonka (Not just because my children are in it) but because you will see the picture of a family that holds on to hope as they face the trials of this life. You will see the contrast between a family that places its wealth in integrity, honesty, love, respect, and hope as opposed to families that place their wealth in the ability to meet the selfish desires of their flesh.

May we learn from the example of the Bucket family and choose to be content with what we have and yet still hold on to the hope of a better day ahead.

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

Philippians 4:10-12

wonka

 

 

Children's Ministry, Names of God Series, Proven Path Ministries

Names of God: Agapao

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We continue in our names of God study today.

In our last lesson we saw that Jesus is the Teacher.

Today we will see that He is the Agapao. 

In love He predestined us to adoption as sons 

through Jesus Christ to Himself, 

according to the kind intention of His will, 

to the praise of the glory of His grace, 

which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:5-6

 

Agapao is the Greek word for Beloved and it means to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly…

The beautiful thing about this name (or title) of our Jesus is that this is the name that God the Father calls Him from the heavens as He introduces and confirms Him to those He came to save.

After being baptized,

Jesus came up immediately from the water;

and behold, the heavens were opened,

and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove

and lighting on Him,

and behold, a voice out of the heavens said,

“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17

As Jesus was coming up out of the baptismal Jordan the heavens opened up and God declared to all… this is my Beloved…

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 

“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; 

My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; 

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Matthew 12:17-18

Here He was, the Beloved. The Promised One. The One in whom the soul of God was pleased because it was the soul of God in human flesh. Here God declared to all His Love for this One who would die a sinners death on that wretched Roman cross. The Father cried out from heaven and said Here! Do you see Him. I love Him. I dearly love Him. No matter what His accusers say of Him… No matter what human judge condemns Him… My soul is well-pleased in Him. In Him. The very soul of God, is well pleased in this One that is His dearly loved… the Agapao, the Beloved.

Then the crazy of crazy of all this is that even though much of mankind exulted with the demons of hell on the day that the Beloved bled and died on that cross, the Beloved still chose to return for us… Risen from the dead in resurrection power and glory and coming to the rescue of any and all who believe and call on His name, Jesus, Iesous, Jehovah-Saves.

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness,

and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son

Colossians 1:13

Not only does He rescue us, but now the Beloved calls us beloved…

So, as those who have been chosen of God,

holy and beloved,

put on a heart of compassion,

kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;

bearing with one another, and forgiving each other,

whoever has a complaint against anyone;

just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

Beyond all these things put on love,

which is the perfect bond of unity.

Colossians 3:12-14

 

What unites God the Father and God the Son is Love. Jesus is His Beloved, He called Him My Beloved. It is a soul to soul love. Then what unites us with Christ is His love for us. He, the Beloved, calls us beloved…

Before I met my husband, I did not know his family. My husbands family loved him. He was their beloved son… but then my husband united with me in love. Their beloved now called me beloved… and when he took me to his family I came in as His beloved, and then I became their beloved as well.

We become the beloved of God because His Beloved unites with us in love and He brings us to His Father and we become the Father’s beloved, holy and beloved…

It’s beautiful isn’t it.

This crazy thing called love… <3

Just for fun here’s a little Looney Tunes love… my favorite line is the last… “The game of love is never called because of darkness.”

Proven Path Ministries

Pondering Lent

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I usually do not pay much attention to Lent. I was raised in a Southern Baptist environment. Lent was not even really ever a topic of conversation much less observed. With that in mind I have been doing a little online reading in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

The Teutonic word Lent, which we employ to denote the forty days’ fast preceding Easter, originally meant no more than the spring season.

Still it has been used from the Anglo-Saxon period to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima (French carême, Italian quaresima,Spanish cuaresma), meaning the “forty days”, or more literally the “fortieth day”. This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakoste(fortieth), a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost (pentekoste), which last was in use for the Jewish festival before New Testament times. This etymology, as we shall see, is of some little importance in explaining the early developments of the Easter fast.

But the best modern scholars are almost unanimous in rejecting this view, for in the existing remains of the first three centuries we find both considerable diversity of practice regarding the fast before Easter and also a gradual process of development in the matter of its duration. The passage of primary importance is one quoted by Eusebius (Church History V.24) from a letter of St. Irenaeus to Pope Victor in connection with the Easter controversy. There Irenaeus says that there is not only a controversy about the time of keeping Easter but also regarding the preliminary fast. “For”, he continues, “some think they ought to fast for one day, others for two days, and others even for several, while others reckon forty hours both of day and night to their fast“. He also urges that this variety of usage is of ancient date, which implies that there could have been no Apostolic tradition on the subject. Rufinus, who translated Eusebius into Latin towards the close of the fourth century, seems so to have punctuated this passage as to make Irenaeus say that some people fasted for forty days. Formerly some difference of opinion existed as to the proper reading, but modern criticism (e.g., in the edition of Schwartz commissioned by the Berlin Academy) pronounces strongly in favor of the text translated above. We may then fairly conclude that Irenaeus about the year 190 knew nothing of any Easter fast of forty days.

This is just a little info… and from it we can see that Lent is a tradition… and that is it. It is not required, nor requested, by our LORD God to observe it… not in history… not in His Word. With that in mind, those who choose not to observe it have no need to concern themselves with whether or not they are shirking from any religious deed that would bring pleasure to our Savior.

Another interesting thing I read from the Catholic Encyclopedia…

But the ordinary rule on fasting days was to take but one meal a day and that only in the evening, while meat and, in the early centuries, wine were entirely forbidden. During Holy Week, or at least on Good Friday it was common to enjoin the xerophagiæ, i.e., a diet of dry food, bread, salt, and vegetables.

Moreover, at a somewhat later date, Bede tells us of Bishop Cedda, that during Lent he took only one meal a day consisting of “a little bread, a hen’s egg, and a little milk mixed with water” (Church History III.23), while Theodulphus of Orleans in the eighth century regarded abstinence from eggs, cheese, and fish as a mark of exceptional virtue. None the less St. Gregory writing to St. Augustine of England laid down the rule, “We abstain from flesh meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese, and eggs.” This decision was afterwards enshrined in the “Corpus Juris”, and must be regarded as the common law of the Church. Still exceptions were admitted, and dispensations to eat “lacticinia” were often granted upon condition of making a contribution to some pious work. These dispensations were known in Germany as Butterbriefe, and severalchurches are said to have been partly built by the proceeds of such exceptions. One of the steeples of Rouen cathedral was for this reason formerly known as the Butter Tower. This general prohibition of eggs and milk during Lent is perpetuated in the popular custom of blessing or making gifts of eggs at Easter,

Well, there. Now you know a reason why we share eggs at Easter 🙂

On a more serious note, as I pondered the fast, and read “But the ordinary rule on fasting days was to take but one meal a day and that only in the evening,…” I thought how very much sense that did make. Fasting only at the evening meal. If we fast for breakfast or lunch… we fast knowing that the next meal is coming soon… but if we fast our evening meal we fast knowing that we will go to bed hungry. This fast seems truer to me.

Now as I pondered whether or not I would personally observe Lent this year I first thought of foods I could give up for the coming forty days… As I thought food, I also thought, oooo I wonder how much weight I will lose before Easter if I fast bread, sugar, etc.

Ugh! Notice that the fast now became about me… not my Lord.

Then I thought I will give up coffee for Lent… and my husband shook his head and said, Uh, no. He does have to live with me for the next forty days and I am not so sure if sacrificing his sanity and my girls is really what would lead to a time of lifting up my Jesus.

Then I thought, God what have me and You been going round and round about?

I knew it was my health, specifically exercising. Yet getting down to the root of the matter it was excuses. I have always had a very good excuse for not exercising. I feel terrible. I am tired. I have no time.

I have decided to observe Lent this year… and although traditionally, the fast of Lent is to fast from a food, I am fasting from excuses.

This morning I got up, and yes, I felt horrible. I can’t breathe due to nasal congestion and cough… and I almost began my excuse. However I stopped. Instead of making an excuse because I could not jump into a Tae Bo routine… I said to my God, OK. I know I can’t make it through a 3o minute high impact workout yet, but I can stretch.

So this morning I began with stretches instead of excuses. 🙂

Then as Lent comes to a close I am seriously considering fasting my evening meal the week of Easter…

I will let you know.

The Lord utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word.
The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it?
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
And rend your heart and not your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.

Joel 2:11-13

Poetry, Proven Path Ministries

I Am My Beloved’s

confessions

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,

He who pastures his flock among the lilies.”

Song of Solomon 6:3

 

I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine
I am covered and protected
I am special in His eyes
I am lovely
I am beautiful
I am chosen by His hand
He holds me
He knows me
And still by my side He stands
He leads me through the waters
He guides me through the lands
He carries me through the wilderness
He never lets me down
I can trust in my Beloved
For His promises He keeps
He is faithful to me always
In Him my heart finds peace

I call to my Beloved
He answers with a voice both strong and sweet

He says, “I hear you My beloved
I have all that you’ll ever need.
I’ll never leave you nor forsake you
I’ll never degrade you when I speak
I’ll never hurt you or curse you
I’ll never bring you grief
I am here to love you
I am here to make you Mine
I am here to lift you up
And beloved the pleasure is all Mine
I see all of your potential
I see all that you can be
You were created to be special
Oh beloved, you were created just for Me
You were created because I loved you even before the world began
Oh My beloved, you are because I AM.”

 

(inspired and written in Sept 2004 when studying the Song of Solomon while teaching Sex According To God,)

O how He loves us!

Will we love Him in return?

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Showing His Victory

confessions

 

I am entering into a new day with my walk with Christ…

It began when my husband came home one day and said that he had sat and read through my entire blog in one setting (which floored me by the way because my husband is not a reader). He then looked at me and said, “you talked so much about all the sin you struggled with… and I just don’t see it.” (now I am speechless, because one of my fears is being a hypocrite in my home,)

Then I read this about a month ago:

You will meet well-meaning Christians who teach about crucifying oneself. But I have good news for you: That has already been done. You are in Christ. He was crucified once for all. He died for you so you never need to die again. Because we have our identification with Him, we have all the power needed to live the rest of our lives above the drag and dregs of slavery. Death to sin is an accomplished act, a finished fact. It has all been taken care of. A victorious walk begins with our knowing this fact. Christ’s “Emancipation Proclamation” has put to death the whole idea of slavery to sin. Having died to sin’s power, we are now free to serve our new Master.

~ Chuck Swindoll

I read it and my first thought was, Chuck are you getting a little senile in your old age? Of course we have to crucify our flesh… we have to keep that old man and that old self dead… Right?

So this has been on the forefront of my meditation for months… since my husband’s comment. Then I received a message from a friend asking me about my thoughts on the mortification of sin… and I had to ponder again.

My conclusion and answer to them…

How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having beenraised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:2-11

Christ took care of our sin. He mortified it. If Christ made it dead… it’s dead. He pulled it out by its root… and maybe just like a weed pulled out by the root it might continue to appear alive in me for a little while… but dead it is and the obviousness of its dying death should be evident in my newness of life. If we are truly His we cannot help but pursue Him and to serve righteousness… not sin.

Then earlier this week my daughter was working on her Bible study and she asked me how/if we could not sin… (yes, these are the questions I get at 8am, lol). I answered her that as long as we live in this body we will struggle with sin… but if we belong to God, then we are to be in the process of being conformed to the image of His Son, Christ… and His Son did not live in sin, He did not sin at all, so if we are truly being conformed into the image of Christ… then sin will become less and less an issue for us.

Then another push from my God came through my husband again… as he came home again after blog read where I once again had referenced my past sins. He shared with me that he did not need to read this… and if I mentioned it so much, then their was still something to it. That stuck me. Pierced my heart. I left to head out the door to a sisters in Christ fellowship and all the way I prayed… and asked God to show me what I was missing.

To my heart he said:

Nicole, when your husband looks at you and says he does not see this sin, how then do you think that I see you, when I am the One who washed you clean? Let it go. You have been forgiven.

I then argued with God and said, but God if I let it go, I am afraid that I will forget your mercy and your grace.

He said again, Let it go. Show My victory. Show freedom. Your sin is dead. Show My victory.

You see, all these years, I have held on to who I was out of fear that I would forget who I am. I was afraid if I forgot all that He had forgiven that I would love Him less… and I never want to love Him less… I only want to love Him more. I thought I needed to remind everyone that I know what it means to be a sinner and to be forgiven and I thought people needed to know the depths from which He lifted me so that I could display how great His love and grace and mercy truly is… I feared losing the emotion of my salvation…

Silly me, I forgot that perfect love casts out fear…

This morning I watched a Precepts For Life message with Kay Arthur in the book of Matthew …

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 

“Take courage,son; your sins are forgiven.”

Matthew 9:2

As I watched she said, God wants you to know that your sins have been forgiven. You are now holy to the Lord, set apart, you don’t have to worry about your sin, you don’t have to fear… God has given you His Spirit… His Spirit will help you remember that you are holy unto the Lord…

I think God is making His point with me quite clear.

Therefore I am in a new day with my Lord… I am showing His victory. I am not yet perfect. I have not yet arrived. I have not yet obtained, but I am forgetting what lies behind and pressing forward to what lies ahead… and what lies ahead is victory. His victory!

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world;

and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

1 John 5:4

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries, The Romans Study For Kids

Romans Study For Kids (Romans 1:8-17)

The Romans project/study continues… I made it through Romans 1:17 with the kids this past Sunday, but I believe this coming Sunday we will go back and dig deeper into Romans 1:16-17 before we move forward into the next section of Romans.

Here’s some more of the study that I put together for the kids to take home and work on with their parents as we looked at Romans 1:1-17:

 

Read Romans 1:15, what is Paul eager to do?

He is eager to __ __ __ __ __ __ the __ __ __ __ __ __

 

Read Romans 1:16, what do we learn about Paul?

He is not __ __ __ __ __ __ __ to __ __ __ __ __ __ the gospel

 

THINK ABOUT IT….

If Paul was not ashamed to preach the gospel, then we shouldn’t be either! What is the gospel? What does it mean to preach the gospel? How can you preach the gospel?

 

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, what is the gospel?

Christ __ __ __ __ for our __ __ __ __ according to the S__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __,

and that He was __ __ __ __ __ __, and that He was

__ __ __ __ __ __ on the  __ __ __ __ __  day according to the S__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

Read Romans 1:2, what do you learn about the gospel?

It was __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ beforehand through His prophets in the __ __ __ __   S__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

Read Romans 1:16, what do you learn about the gospel?

It is the __ __ __ __ __ of God for salvation to everyone who __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

 

Read Romans 1:17, what do you learn about the gospel?

In it the righteousness of God is __ __ __ __ __ __ __ _ from __ __ __ __ __ to faith

 

Read Romans 1:17 again and write it below. This verse is the theme of the book of Romans.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Read Romans 15:19, where all has Paul preached the gospel? 

 

From __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ to __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

THINK ABOUT IT…

Where have you preached the gospel? Where can you preach the gospel? Draw a map from your house to the places you go (school, church, ballgames, friends, etc) and put an X on the places you shared with others about Jesus.

YOUR GOSPEL PREACHING MAP

____________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

____________________________________________________

 

Read Romans 16: 1-3 and 21-23, how many friends did Paul have with him who helped him share the gospel?

He had _______ friends helping him

 

THINK ABOUT IT…

Who are the friends that you have that will help you share the gospel with others?

 

Read Romans 1:7, who is Paul writing this letter to?

He is writing to the __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of God in __ __ __ __, called as __ __ __ __ __ __

 

Read Romans 1:8, what do you learn about their faith?

Their faith was being __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ throughout the whole __ __ __ __ __

 

Read Romans 16:17-19, why is Paul writing the church in Rome?

He wanted them to keep __ __ __ __ __     __ __ __  on those who cause dissensions (fights, separations, quarrels) and he wanted them to be __ __ __ __  in what is __ __ __ __ and __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  in what is __ __ __ __

 

THINK ABOUT IT…

What do you need to change about the people you hang around, watch, listen to, and learn from in order to pay attention to Paul’s warning to the church?

 

Read Romans 1:12, what did Paul want the church of Rome to be? Unscramble the letters to find the answer.

EURGDEOCNA      __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

Read Romans 1:12 again, did Paul also need to be encouraged by the saints in Rome? Circle your answer.

YES                   NO

 

THINK ABOUT IT…

Paul wrote to the church of Rome to warn them, to teach them, and to encourage them. He also needed to be encouraged by them. Who is someone is leadership, someone who teaches you, encourages you, helps you that you could encourage today? Think about it and maybe send that person a card or just give them big hug.

Below is what my children’s church kids did to encourage our “Paul” our Pastor Charles 🙂

The kids all wrote encouragement on the post-it notes and then we snuck out during service and covered his office door with them 🙂

 

By the way, how’s that memorizing of Romans chapter 1 going?

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Satan’s Superbowl

 

WARNING: THIS IS A LADIES FOCUSED POST, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

I am not a Superbowl watcher… I do not even care for the commercials… when I hear the word Superbowl I think unrealistic beer commercials, scantily clad cheerleaders, crude halftime shows, fixed game, sex trafficking, and millions of people who profess to know Christ forsaking Sunday night Bible study for a football game.

No offense to you if its your thing, it’s just nothing good really comes to my mind concerning it…

This year was no different.

My man and I had plans to leave the Monday following the infamous Superbowl Sunday for a couple of nights away in Nashville… my man was at home getting clothes washed and I was at church cleaning up after Sunday night children’s classes and setting up for our Monday Co-op. I was looking for a message someone had said they had sent me and when I couldn’t find it in my emails I went on over to Facebook to see if it was there… but when I went, I ended up seeing something that completely threw me for a loop.

An offhanded click of the “like” button sent this redhead into a talespin of self-image deprecation.

I don’t know if people really understand the danger in their offhanded remarks and statements and how much danger they can cause by the open door and foothold they offer freely to the enemy of our souls…

To see the glory and praise and even worship given to that which grieves the heart of our God is a sad sad thing…

So yes even though I did not watch the Superbowl, not even a commercial, the halftime show still managed to find me and so did Satan’s spiritual forces of darkness. As the flood of nausea swept over me I felt every ounce of overweight on my body. I felt completely unattractive and undesired. I felt the wrinkles around my eyes and dark circles that have formed under them. I felt the aftershock wave in my arms and the fact that my bottom is a lot lower than it used to be. I felt the very unfirmness of my once tight tummy. I thought how on earth can I go on this trip with my man and actually think he desires this body? Not to mention the fact that the menstrual cycle that was supposed o have ended several days ago was still lingering on…

The weight of oppression fell on me and I knew the trip my husband and I had been looking forward to for MONTHS was doomed. We had been looking forward to this time alone and away. We both needed to be renewed and to rest in each others arms…

I confessed my insecurity to my man. I sheepishly apologized from my irrationality. Yet, condemnation still weighed on me…

My dear sisters in Christ saw me the next morning and knew I was not right… I confessed and shared how I could feel that slimy serpent on my back, just jumping and breathing down my back… I confessed and my dear sister prayed and we laughed. It’s amazing how obvious satan’s tactics become when we expose them and its amazing how silly some of the crazy things that we think become when we speak them and get them out of the darkness of self…

I knew then that Satan was trying to stir his Superbowl pot…

He knew my husband and I had this trip planned and he wanted to ruin it.

He tried, but he did not succeed.

I came home from Co-op and went upstairs to see my man and as I reached him, he grabbed my chin in his hands and he looked me in the eyes and he told me how beautiful I was to him and that I was all he ever desired… and guess what… I believed him. After fourteen years with this man he still desires me and I still desire him… and I desire for him to desire me. I don’t care if anyone else ever desires me. I am not dancing on a stage hoping that lust filled little men and boys will buy my records. There is only one man’s eyes I want looking at me with desire… and that is my husbands.

We went on our trip. When we pulled into the hotel parking lot the hotel sign said: Rest, Relax, Rejoice, Rejuvenate.

Wow… God knows what He is doing all the time.

We went on our trip and we enjoyed each other. We walked holding hands down the mall. He discovered a tickle spot on me that in fourteen years he had not yet discovered. We laughed. We kissed. We talked. We loved. We made memories.

Satan’s Superbowl tried to ruin it, but we had the last laugh.

What the enemy intended for evil, God intended for good.

It is almost scary how much I love this man. I grow to respect him more each day. It is amazing, this beautiful thing called marriage. It truly is a mystery… when you think you can’t love someone any deeper, this lifewalk together takes you even deeper still… Marriage: a Beautiful Mystery.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother

and shall be joined to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh. 

This mystery is great…

Ephesians 5:31-32

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Head Tilting, Eye Twitching, Tongue Biting, Little Grace Giving Sin

 

You might think after a certain amount of time with the Lord, you would stop learning about yourself… but the fact is you don’t. I think if you stop learning, then that’s when you know you are in trouble.

There are things that I have grace for in abundance. There are sins that I can lovingly rebuke and can hear that others are struggling with and I never check up at how I see them or emotionally feel about them… however there are others that don’t break my heart… they downright make me mad. They make my head tilt, my eyes twitch, and I have to bite my tongue to be kind because I have little grace to give for these sins.

I have often wondered why these particular sins receive such a deep emotional response within me.

And well I have discovered the reason why…

These are the few sins at their base that do this to me…

1) Sexual Sin

2) Dishonoring Authority

3) Ingratitude

It takes a huge dose of the Spirit to keep me in wise counsel when confronting someone in the midst of these sins. As I asked God one day during my quiet time why these sins worked such emotion in me… He answered me…

Oh Nicole, these are the sins you hate because they were your sins.

These are the sins that I carried and these are the sins that Satan used to hold my chains and to control me for the first twenty-four years of my life. These are the sins that haunt me and these are the sins that Satan and his forces of darkness use to whisper condemnation in my ear… so I hate these sins with a vengeance.

I struggle to not give my “what fors” when I know someone is living in these sins… willfully when they profess to know Christ. I can’t help but question their relationship with Christ because these are the sins that were put to death in me when I met Him and became His.

I don’t understand how someone can say they love Christ and yet willfully practice sex outside of marriage.

I don’t understand how someone can say they love Christ  and then in the next breath cuss out and/or dishonor their parents, teachers, coaches, etc.

I don’t understand how someone can say they love Christ and then grumble and complain about everything and never say thank you or appreciate all that has been given for and to them.

I have learned that I don’t understand these things because these are the things that God in Christ saved me from… and still to this day I hate them. I hate these sins because I know the consequences of them. I have seen the hurt they cause up close and personal. So I hate them.

Yes, it takes every ounce of divine grace I have to hold my tongue and to show love and patience toward a professing believer that I see willfully practicing these… I have to remember that I professed Christ when I was in them as well… though I knew Him not then…

Yet I would know Him indeed.

Please don’t think for one minute that you will hear me say these sins are okay… or pat someone on the back with a there-there as they suffer the consequences of these yet choose to stay in them. I also won’t cast pearls before swine, I will wait for God to move in them though my head is still tilting, eye is still twitching, and my tongue is probably bleeding from the bearing of my teeth upon it. It’s not that they don’t know… they just choose not to obey and God doesn’t force obedience, so neither shall I. God has taught me to let grace and mercy be present in my judgment because it was grace that drew me to the cross and I will trust that it will be grace that brings the others I meet and know as well… I will try my hardest to keep my Bible from pounding upon their head and instead will use it to stand upon in faith and in hope that the love of Christ will triumph in their hearts.

And I will continue to hate these sins so they never rise in me again.

 

Children's Ministry, Names of God Series, Proven Path Ministries

Names of God: Didaskalos

 

Today we continue in our Names of God series with another one of my favorite titles/names of Christ… Today we will be learning that Jesus is Didaskalos.

Then a scribe came and said to Him,

“Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

Matthew 8:19

Didaskalos is the Greek word for teacher and it means: a teacher, in the NT one who teaches concerning the things of God, and the duties of man one who is fitted to teach, or thinks himself so, the teachers of the Jewish religion, of those who by their great power as teachers draw crowds around them, by preeminence used of Jesus by himself, as one who showed men the way of salvation.

Jesus is our Teacher. He is Didaskalos. Even those who deny His Deity will profess that His teachings are amazing. Even those who refuse to acknowledge Him as the Son of God and the Only Way unto salvation study His teachings and marvel at them. Many that deny Him as Lord still seek to understand His teachings on love, humanity, justice, and mercy.

When we go to the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah we see that God pointed to the day that the Didaskalos would come…

Although the Lord has given you bread of privation

and water of oppression,

He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself,

but your eyes will behold your Teacher.

Isaiah 30:20

When these words were spoken through the prophet Isaiah the nation of Israel was living in rebellion towards their God. Their worship of Him had become simply a religious ritual. They also had added the worship of false gods into the temple of the One True Living God… It was a sad day. God would discipline His people with bread of privation and water of oppression, but because He loved them with an everlasting love and was bound in covenant to them, He would one day also send them the Bread of Life and the Living Water… He would send the Teacher.

The word Teacher in the Hebrew, here in Isaiah 30:20 is Mowreh and it means, (early) rain, and it comes from  the word  Yarah which means to throw, to cast, lay, set, to shoot arrows, to throw water, rain, to point out, show, to direct, teach, instruct

I read this definition and I thought how true this is of the Word of God, the Word made flesh, Jesus came to throw water in our face…

When Jesus came on the scene teaching, His teachings came to wake people up out their slumber.

His watchmen are blind,
All of them know nothing.
All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,
Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber;

Isaiah 59:10

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For this reason it says,“Awake, sleeper,

And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5:14

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Jesus was going throughout all Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues

and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,

and healing every kind of disease

and every kind of sickness among the people.

Matthew 4:23

When Didaskalos showed up teaching, His words shot throw the hearts of those who listened. His teachings pointed out things the scribes and pharisees could not see. He came and He taught people the law of God in a way in which they had never heard it… He came and He taught and the crowds came to hear Him speak and teach.

When Jesus saw the crowds,

He went up on the mountain;

and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

He opened His mouth and began to teach them…

Matthew 5:1-2

People would come from all over to hear Him teach because He did not teach with mere repetition and rote…

Jesus did not teach in a way that left people staring into a zoned out space and drooling in their sleep… He taught with authority and power.

When Jesus had finished these words,

the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 

for He was teaching them as one having authority,

and not as their scribes.

Matthew 7:28-29

Now here’s the thing that got me as a teacher and writer and speaker… I tend to judge my efficiency according to how many “likes” and “shares” and “repost” I receive. The enemy of my soul is very good at heaping condemnation and ineptness upon me by using the lack of “crowd” against me. However as I studied this lesson my God brought me to tears and to my knees as He showed something I hadn’t really seen before…

Yes Jesus taught and the crowds came to hear Him… but it was the recorded one on one, face to face ,and heart to heart moments of His teaching that were the most amazing and life changing and poignant for humanity.

In John 3:1-21 when Jesus shared that one must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven, when He shared that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life… when He shared these truths of salvation it was with Nicodemus alone. It was one on one, face to face, and heart to heart… and Nicodemus would never be the same.

In John 4:7-26 when for the first recorded time in Scripture, Jesus reveals Himself as the Messiah. He says, “I who speak to you am He.” it was to one woman, the woman at the well. He was one on one, face to face, and heart to heart with this woman… and this woman would never be the same.

Precious one, we may join the crowds to hear someone speak an teach amazing things. I have been there at the conferences when the teacher taught and the people cried and shouted and walked away exclaiming how great the message was… but it only changed them long enough to get out to the parking lot. It only changed them long enough to meet their current need… it was not enough to change them.

If we choose to keep Jesus on the mountain, if we choose to leave His Word at the podium on the stage, if we choose to remain a part of the crowd… then we can take Him or leave Him. We can remain apathetic and unchanged… but if we choose rather to leave the crowd as the disciples did…

When Jesus saw the crowds,

He went up on the mountain;

and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

He opened His mouth and began to teach them…

Matthew 5:1-2

We cannot remain the same.

Precious one, don’t leave Him on the mountain! Don’t stay a part of the crowd. Don’t keep the Didaskalos at a distance. Come to Him and sit at His feet. If you are in a group that ridicules the Teacher, that mocks the Christ, that sets up legalism over grace, that preaches a religion instead of a relationship, and you might be afraid to come boldly out of the crowd because you are just not sure about this Jesus, this Teacher, this Didaskalos, then my friend come as Nicodemus came, come at night, come alone… open the Word of God and ask the Teacher to teach you one on one, face to face, and heart and to heart. He will!

Maybe you are involved in a lifestyle that has covered you in shame. Maybe you are shunned by society. Maybe you are mocked. Maybe you fear the rejection of the church, of those who profess to be Christians, maybe you even fear the rejection of Christ… maybe you have to come to sneak out to get nourishment for yourself when you know no one will be around because you don’t want to be subjected to the judgmental stares and offhanded remarks and sneers…  then beloved come as the woman at the well came. Come and open the Word of God and ask the Teacher for a drink. He will give you His living water and you will never thirst again.

When we come to Him He will teach us… He has promised He would… He will teach us Himself if we will just simply leave the crowd and come and sit at His feet. Then He will give us His Spirit and His Spirit will teach us all things and bring to remembrance all that He has taught us…

“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in My name,

He will teach you all things,

and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

John 14:25-26

I can testify to you that if you come with a seeking heart, the Teacher will indeed teach.

O how I love Your law!

It is my meditation all the day.

 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,

For they are ever mine.

 I have more insight than all my teachers,

For Your testimonies are my meditation.

 I understand more than the aged,

Because I have observed Your precepts.

 I have restrained my feet from every evil way,

That I may keep Your word.

 I have not turned aside from Your ordinances,

For You Yourself have taught me.

 How sweet are Your words to my taste!

Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

 From Your precepts I get understanding;

Therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:97-104

And never forget that it’s not about the crowds.

Mom… Dad… think about the opportunity you have to teach the beautiful truths of God one on one, face to face, and heart to heart with your child. Don’t leave the teaching of the Word of God to the preacher at a distance… don’t leave it at the podium on Sundays. Never underestimate the power of your one on one with your child.

Pastor, teacher, writer never forget its not about how many come… its about who leaves changed.

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Marriage Protection

A worthless man digs up evil,
While his words are like scorching fire.
A perverse man spreads strife,
And a slanderer separates intimate friends.
A man of violence entices his neighbor
And leads him in a way that is not good.

Proverbs 16:27-29

We live in a day where marriages are falling apart all over the place. I read these words of Scripture and I thought, wow… how many marriages have fallen apart that would have made it had this person described in Proverbs 16:27-29 not interfered?

Let’s break it down.

Whenever I read the warnings in Scripture that pertain to a person I look at them in at least three ways:

1) God, help me to recognize this person

2) God, help me to see if I am this person

3) God, help me to not be this person

We are warned that the person described as a “worthless man” in Proverbs 16:27-29 “digs up evil” and his words are described to be “like a scorching fire”. To scorch something is to cause intense heat or mental anguish,to burn a surface of so as to change its color and texture, to afflict painfully with censure or sarcasm…

Now who is the person as it relates to our marriages?

This is a person who comes up to you and says “you know before you married them I remember the time they...” and this is the person who says “how can you forgive them after they… I would have never been able to forget that” and says, “it doesn’t bother you that your spouse…”  You see this is the person who goes digging for something evil to speak about your spouse. They come at you when you are smiling… and there purpose is to wipe that smile off of your face. Their purpose is to discolor and distort the way you see your spouse. Their purpose is to cause you mental anguish over something that is in the past, or something that is assumed and may very well not even be true. God calls this person worthless.

The next person is said to be a “perverse man” and this person is someone who “spreads strife”

This is the person who sees that you and your spouse might just be on edge today. This person sees the tension and strife and instead of coming to you to help heal and mend and settle the strife… they come to spread it, share it, and increase it. This is the person who says, “oh honey, you don’t have to take that” and says “well you have every right to be mad, you better give back as good as you get!” This is the person that their eyes light up when they see that you and your spouse are fighting and they can’t wait to fan the flame… and God calls this person perverse.

The next person is a “slanderer” and they come to “separate intimate friends”

There is no friend more intimate than your spouse. Anyone who comes at you with words to bring down your spouse, to speak evil of their character, to make accusations against them… you need to walk away. Now please let’s get real and understand that family is family, your spouses mother, father, brothers, and sisters, etc… they grew up with them, they know them, they love them… I am speaking of the person that is especially not family, the “friend” whether they be male or female and comes at you with words to intentional make you disconnect with your spouse. They come to drive a wedge between you and your spouse by drawing attention to small things and making them appear bigger and worse than they truly are. God calls this person a slanderer.

The next person is called “a man of violence” and they come to “entice their neighbor” and lead them “in a way that is not good”

This person is the one who comes and is supposedly the answer to all your issues. They are the one who steps in and draws you to them and away from your spouse. They encourage you to walk away from the marriage. They tell you its not fixable. They tell you that you deserve better than your spouse. They tell you there is no hope, things will never change, they will never get better. They tell you its best to walk away and start over. Salvage what you have left of your life. If you have fallen out of love with them today you won’t fall back in love with them tomorrow.

Why is this person known as a man of violence? Violence is an exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse (as in warfare effecting illegal entry into a house), injury by or as if by distortion, infringement, or profanation.

This is a person of violence because they are physically and forcefully invading your house for the sole purpose of bringing injury and abuse for their own selfish pleasure or gain. They come into your house, your marriage, your union with this person, this person who you are now one flesh with and they come in to infringe on something that does not belong to them. They come to profane something that God has called holy. If this person succeeds, they kill. They violently rip through and destroy a home from the inside out. You cannot rip something that was once two and now has become one without hurt, pain, and destruction. God calls the person who does this a man of violence.

So let us pay attention to the words and warnings in this passage of Scripture in the Proverbs. Let it be used as our marriage protection and may it be a warning to us, that we be careful to help protect the marriages of others and not be a part of their destruction…

As people of God our desire should be to build up the house not tear it down.

I can look back on my life and see times when I have fit into one or more of these descriptions and it makes me sick to my stomach. I can look back on my marriage and I can hear the slimy voice of that slinky serpent as he accuses, distorts, and brings up past hurts in the midst of present trials and whispers, “see it will never get any better“. Let me tell you HE IS A LIAR! It can get better. It can get beyond better… it can get fairy tale butterflies in your stomach everyday better. It might not… but let me tell you that it indeed can. Don’t give up on God by giving up on your spouse.

In other words, in marriage you live hour by hour in glad dependence 
on God’s forgiveness and justification and promised future grace, and 
you bend it out toward your spouse hour by hour—as an extension of 
God’s forgiveness and justification and promised help.

~ John Piper

I am beyond thankful for the grace of God and His redeeming arm. I beyond thankful that He doesn’t count ignorance against us. I am beyond thankful that He never turns a deaf ear to a repentant heart and cry for forgiveness. I am beyond thankful that He never stops teaching those who seek Him. He is the God of second chances.

If you looking for a new perspective on your marriage… let me suggest you dig into This Momentary Marriage by John Piper.

 

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,

And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.

Psalm 86:5