Another beautiful moment of “WOW! God You are so awesome!” occurred in our zoology lesson this past week… and well I just thought I would share 🙂
We were still in the ungulates… discussing even-toed ones now. We talked about cows and camels and buffalo and camels and giraffes and pigs and hippos. There were “wow God You are so awesome” moments all through this study of his creation but my “WOW!” one was the pig… well it really isn’t a pig… it’s a peccaries.
Peccaries have are smaller and thinner than pigs. Their legs are longer and thinner and their tusks are different from a pig as well. Peccaries also live in herds that include males. Here’s the kicker… peccaries have a powerful musk gland on the top of their rump. Peccaries stink… they always stink.
So you may be wondering right now how a stinky pig would make me have a “WOW! God You are so awesome” moment…
Here it is.
Another huge difference between a pig and peccaries is that peccaries have a spirit of altruism. Altruism is the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others.
When a herd of peccaries is attacked a single peccary will step up and be willing to give his life so that the rest of the herd can be saved.
What does this sound like?
Or better yet, WHO does this sound like.
For you have been called for this purpose,
since Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH;
and while being reviled, He did not revile in return;
while suffering, He uttered no threats,
but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross,
so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness;
for by His wounds you were healed.
1 Peter 2:21-24
It never ceases to amaze me how our God has woven His gospel through all His creation… this is why He can say as He does in Romans 1… we are without excuse. His truth is spoken loud and clearly illustrated… even through a stinky pig.
This stinky peccary is probably not grabbed up to become a pet. It is probably reviled and ran from and considered distasteful and unpopular… just like our Jesus… but once you get to know him… once you see his spirit and get to know his character… oh I adore this pig… just like my Jesus 🙂
Another thing…
My Jesus put on this stinky flesh of mine… just so He could come and die for me… and for you. He didn’t have to. He was glorious, the Lord of hosts, the King of kings and Lord of lords, clothed in majesty and honor… yet He laid all that aside and took on my filth… my stink… and died for me… so that I might be saved… so that the world might be saved… the entire herd of us.
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood,
He Himself likewise also partook of the same,
that through death He might render powerless
him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
Yesterday we looked at freeing our mind as we talked about the importance of taking every thought captive as we guard our mind against the schemes of the enemy. We talked about how it’s not enough to just avoid trash intake… you must replace the trash with the Word of God.
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
We must be very careful what we allow our minds to dwell on… because our thoughts will become our actions. We must not allow our minds to think or imagine things that go against the Word of God. We are not to fantasize about men that are not our husbands, whether we are single or married.
Now before we go any further let me assure you that if you are married… honey go right on ahead and fantasize about you and your man! (Aghum, that is, as long as no one else is included in the fantasy.) We must remember that marriage is about becoming one. It is about becoming “known” and we’ll get deeper into the becoming known later in the challenge. Marriage is about intimacy with your spouse and only your spouse. If your fantasy begins to include any extra participant take that thought captive… it is a perversion of what is true, honorable, right, pure, and lovely.
Today we are beginning a focus on guarding our hearts… never forget that as a woman you must guard your mind and your heart… your mind follows your heart. When you emotionally connect with a man (fictional or real) then your mind begins to fantasize about him and then you desire to make your fantasy a reality. However a man, fantasizes in his mind and then seeks to emotionally connect so that he can make the fantasy a reality. Remember men give love to get sex and women give sex to get love.
Day Fifteen
Ladies, we must guard our hearts and we must teach our daughters and any other young women in our lives how to do this as well… victory IS possible and it is imperative.
“While the need to love and to feel loved is a universal cry of the heart, the problem lies in where we look for this love. If we are not getting the love we need or want from a man- whether or not we have a husband- we may go searching for it. Some look in bars and others in business offices. Some look on college campuses and some look in churches. Some women look to male friends while others look to fantasy. When love eludes them, some women seek to medicate the pain of loneliness or rejection. Some take solace in food; others in sexual relationships with any willing partner. Some turn to soap operas; others to shopping; and still others to self-gratification.
If you have tried any of these avenues for long, you have likely come to a dead end. Your pursuit has left you longing for something greater, something deeper, something more.”
~ Shannon Ethridge
Are you at that dead end? Honey I have seen it and it is not a pretty place to be… so if you are there or if you find yourself there one day… there is only one thing to do at a dead… turn around!
But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
Therefore remember from where you have fallen,
and repent and do the deeds you did at first;
Revelation 2:4-5
Repent, turn around, head back to your first love… to Christ.
I remember being a little girl and being so in love and in awe with my God. “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so…”
I loved Him, I did.
I didn’t know Him… but I loved Him.
Loving Christ but not knowing Him is kind of like that dream you have for that spouse, for that husband, you may not have met them yet but you love them… and even when you do marry them… you love them… but you still don’t really know them. Now the test comes when you have to choose to remember your “first love” for them as you get to know them… really know them.
As a little girl, I loved Him, I loved Jesus. Yet, I didn’t get to know Him. So my heart’s void was not filled with my love’s devotion to Him because I wasn’t seeking Him to fill that void… I forgot Him. I turned to other things to fill it. Things I could easily see and touch and feel… you know the things that didn’t require so much trust and work on my part.
I didn’t guard my heart and mind and save it for my Jesus… I gave it away… and my body followed.
I ended up at that dead end. However here’s the awesome and amazing thing about my Jesus, He can be found at the dead end.He doesn’t care how “lost” you are, He will get you turned around and headed in the right direction if you will just listen and fall into His arms. He will lift you up off your feet and carry you out of the muck of life better than any Richard Gere could his Debra Winger.
My First Love… He took me back. He didn’t care how dirty I was… He didn’t care about all the times I chose to fill His place in my life with cheap worthless things… He still loved me. He never stopped loving me.
If you are at that dead end… remember your First Love and turn around. When you fall back into His arms He will teach you how to guard your heart and to fill any void you have had with Him, the real lasting genuine deal. He will not reject you. He will not leave you lonely. He will not leave you empty. He beckons you to Him so that you can get to know Him… really know Him.
The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
Jeremiah 31:3
When you remember your First Love and return to Him and begin to fill your heart with His love, it is out of this love, His love for you, that you are now finally able to really love others… including your husband. If you are single it is out of this love, His love, that you are able to say “no” to anything that would pervert or prevent love between you and your future husband.
If we are ever to have the ability to guard our hearts and our minds against the lies of the enemy and the seductions of this world… we must start here. We must start with remembering our Jesus and making peace with our God. “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so…”
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
So today let us just examine our hearts.
Today focus on the oh so great love that Jesus has for you. Remember Him. Take the time today to write a love letter to Him. Tell Him about what you remember about that day you first fell in love with Him. Sing Him a love song. Take the opportunity today to get alone with your Love and dance with Him… Close your eyes and praise Him and use your mind and your heart to imagine His arms around you and His voice whispering His Words of unfailing love in Your ears.
when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening,
and bread to the full in the morning;
for the LORD hears your grumblings
which you grumble against Him.
And what are we?
Your grumblings are not against us
but against the LORD.
Exodus 16:8
Moses and Aaron have taken the grumblings of the people before God. The Lord says that He will give the people what they grumble for, so that He may test them, to see if they will walk in His instruction (Exodus 16:4).
Moses and Aaron return to the people and assure them that the LORD has heard them and is going to answer. However, Moses also assures the people that it is not him and Aaron that these people are grumbling against but God Himself. In two consecutive verses Moses tells the people that their grumbling is against the Lord. Any time God speaks in His Word it is something important. So if He repeats himself, we better make sure that we are paying close attention.
Have you ever really realized how much you complain? I know that God has brought me into my own wilderness journey many times to show me this very thing. We, if we belong to Christ, should be filled with peace, love, hope, grace, self-control, patience, and gentleness (Galatians 5:22-23). We are not to be filled with pouting, complaining, huffing, puffing, and grumbling. I have often found myself living in a spirit of complaint. I have found myself allowing the things that are not going my way to overpower every thankful bone in my body. Then I have complained even more because I don’t “feel” God like I used to.
Oh precious one, the snare was laid and I walked… no, I ran right into it. When the enemy gets his foot in the door through our grumbling there is no end to the damage that he can do. He can split churches, destroy marriages, tear apart life-long friendships, and make a canyon between us and our relationship with our Savior. This is not because God walked away, but because we like spoiled children, turn our backs and stomp to our room and scream “You don’t love me!”
Have you ever sat down and examined your heart by examining your words and realized how you must sound to the one who endured the cross for you? Oh my friend, I have and I must admit I was ashamed of myself.
If our praise is a soothing and sweet aroma in the nostrils of our God can you imagine how putrid the smell of our grumbling must be?
My friend, the next time you find yourself grumbling and complaining about what is going on in your life I suggest you take a moment to step back and see who it is you are really grumbling against. Especially when you find yourself in constant complaint about those in leadership. This includes your boss at work. This includes your parents. This includes your husband. This includes your pastor.
All those in positions of authority were allowed that authority by God (Romans 13:1-7), therefore, we are to honor them with the honor that is due them. The only time we are given the freedom to not honor them is when they attempt to demand us to be disobedient to God. Then and only then, do we have the right to refuse their authority over us.
Oh Father, Forgive me for the times that I have given the enemy a foothold in my life by grumbling. How easily the enemy can convince us that we have the right to complain against those who are in authority over us. Thank you Father, for Your Word. For by it You renew my mind and You open my eyes to the schemes of the one who seeks to destroy me and the ministry You have given me, that You have given all those who trust in Your Son, the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). May my heart always be Yours and inclined to hear Your voice. May I honor You by honoring those You have placed in authority over me.
Sow a thought, reap an action: Sow an action, reap a habit; Sow a habit, reap a character; Sow a character, reap a destiny. ~ Samuel Smiles
Day Fourteen
One of the first things I realized after I was wholly surrendered to my Christ was that my thought life had gotten me in A LOT of trouble. My thoughts ended up becoming my actions… every time.
I learned this playing ball.
I had a coach that taught me to lay on may back and shoot my basketball in the air and catch it and visualize it going in the basket, stripping the net. I did… and when game time came it worked. If I wasn’t practicing physically, I was mentally. I did the same in softball as a pitcher. I visualized where I wanted the ball to go then I pitched it.
I learned the power of my thoughts and mind as I read books. I honestly cannot tell you half the time if a picture in my head or a story line in my memory, is from a book I read or a movie I saw. It gets all tangled up in the filing cabinet of my brain because when I read it is just as visual to me as a movie.
I didn’t realize the danger of my thoughts until I began to grow in Christ. It had never really occurred to me that my thought life really mattered. I used it for sports and for getting into a good book… but I had never connected the fact that my failure in sexual and emotional integrity had anything to do with my thought life…
As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father,
and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind;
for the LORD searches all hearts,
and understands every intent of the thoughts.
If you seek Him, He will let you find Him;
but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
1 Chronicles 28:9
After becoming wholly surrendered to Christ I looked back on my life.
I realized that I had been playing out sexual immorality and impurity in my mind through the books I was reading and the songs I was listening to and the movies I was watching. So when you throw in a little alcohol with a mind full of trash… well I was powerless to fight.
I was deceived.
I was defeated.
I was in fact in the very process of being destroyed.
Satan’s plan was working… my inability to fight and my guilt and shame from being unable, plus the emotional and mental and spiritual damage that I was placing band-aid over band-aid over and self-medicating with alcohol, drugs, and illusion…
My thoughts turned from visualizing sexual immorality to visualizing my suicide.
What would be the best way. How could I do it without hurting my family. It would have to look like an accident. I don’t want my family blaming themselves because it’s not there fault… I just can’t live with me anymore.
Have you been there?
Are you there?
Wretched man that I am!
Who will set me free from the body of this death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 7:24-25
Praise God in Christ Jesus my Life and my Lord!
Yes! He can set you free from the body of this death!
This death of your soul that happens little by little through sin and fear and failure… your spirit is already dead without Christ… so Satan is after your soul… your hope , the very hope that will cause you to cry out to your God for help, for salvation, for life. He wants to silence your voice. To keep you from confessing the truth and finding life… he wants you to believe his lies and die.
Oh honey, don’t believe him.
Don’t let him silence your voice and destroy your soul.
Cry out to Christ and let Him save your soul and give you His Spirit so that you will be complete in Him. Whole in Him… mind, body, soul, and spirit.
When I cried out to God for help and called on the name of Jesus to save me and was wholly surrendered to Him I began to study His words of truth like a mad woman. I was tired of studying lies. I needed more Life in me… I was tired of death.
The more I studied the Word, the more I realized how dangerous my thoughts could be to me, to my relationship with God, and to my relationship with others. I realized it began in my mind and then was acted out in my actions… then I read:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh,
but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing
raised up against the knowledge of God,
and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
and we are ready to punish all disobedience,
whenever your obedience is complete.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Take every thought captive. I read this, and I thought, and I said to God… how? How do I do it? How do I take every thought captive? What does that mean?
Guess what He told me.
And He taught me.
He’s a pretty good Father like that 🙂
The first thing He taught me was that I needed to stop filling my mind with the trash I had been feeding it. Then I needed to fill my mind with His Word. Cleaning out the cup does no good if you leave it empty… You have to fill it with a nutritious drink and actually put it to your mouth and drink. You have to swallow it and allow it to become a part of you and infiltrate your entire system.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
so that you may prove what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2
If I wanted my actions to be holy the first thing I had to do was get my thoughts holy… I needed a mind make-over. And ladies if you haven’t picked up on it yet… that’s what this challenge has been focused on thus far… a mind make-over. Thirty-three days to a new you… if you continue in what God is opening your eyes to as we go though this challenge.
Cause here’s the thing,
“No matter how well you try to prevent tempting thoughts from entering through the gate of your mind, some will slip through. Life brings temptations. The day you stop experiencing temptation isn’t the day you stop reading romance novels or watching R-rated movies or the day you put a wedding ring on your finger or the day you fast and pray for twelve hours straight. The day you stop experiencing temptation is the day you die. Temptation comes part and parcel with being human, and you are no exception to that rule.”
~ Shannon Ethridge
So your specific challenge until March 17th… take every thought captive. In your minds… when temptations invade…
Take. Them. Captive.
Rebuke them. Send them back to hell where they came from and then fill your mind with the Truth of God that refutes that sinful thought.
And ladies, single or married, don’t think on committing acts of sexual immorality with that guy… think on how to say NO when that guy wants something that belongs to THE guy.
Ladies practice this with the young ladies in your life. Teach them to rehearse saying no in their mind. I would go so far as to write out a script and rehearse a play by play. If he says this you say that, and if he says this, then you can say that…
Ladies, I do hope that you are pressing on through this challenge…
We are a little less than two weeks in… and for anyone reading this for the first time… feel free to join this challenge at any point. Or to go back to the beginning and begin it from Day One.
We have covered a lot of ground thus far in this Thirty-three day challenge, so today I want us to spend some time just soaking the stuff in…
Today let’s remember why we are doing this…
I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness;
but indeed you are bearing with me.
For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy;
for I betrothed you to one husband,
so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.
But I am afraid that,
as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,
your minds will be led astray
from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:1-3
We are doing this to open our eyes to lies and deception of the enemy that are so very prevalent in our society. We are doing this so that our hearts and minds might be cleansed and that we may draw ever so close to our Christ. We are the church, His bride, and we are to be making ourselves ready for the Big Day.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come
and His bride has made herself ready.
Revelation 19:7
We began our challenge with a trash fast.
We are to be abstaining from media fed lies and disillusions that make us feel bad about ourselves as women or our husbands as husbands. We are fasting from movies, magazines, books, music, and tv shows that misrepresent women and try to tell you who you should be and how you should be apart from the Word of God. We are spending this challenge digging into God’s Word and learning who HE said we should be and how HE said we should be. Before, or as, we watch, read, or listen…
Ask yourself:
* Does this glamorize ideas or situations that oppose my Christian values?
*Is it uplifting to my spirit, and does it make me grateful for what God has given me, or does it make me depressed and dissatisfied?
*Does this cause me to think about things that build my character, or does it tear it down?
We are challenging ourselves to remember that we are fearfully and wonderful made… Psalm 139
If we want to read a love story we are to be picking up the Song of Solomon and reading this beautiful book of love and romance… I hope by the time you finish this challenge you will be able to sit down with your children or the young people in your life and use the Word of God to talk to the about love and marriage… and waiting… and guarding their hearts.
The good man out of the good treasure of his heart
brings forth what is good;
and the evil man out of the evil treasure
brings forth what is evil;
for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
Luke 6:45
We have talked about learning to make decisions and choices out of love not law by learning how to ask questions of integrity instead of questions of compromise…
Questions of Compromise vsQuestions of Integrity
Are my actions lawful? Are my actions loving to others?
Will anyone find out? Is this something I’d be proud of?
Would anyone condemn me? Is this my highest standard?
Is this socially acceptable? Is this in line with my convictions?
Are my clothes too revealing? Am I dressing for attention?
How can I get away with saying this? Would this be better left unsaid?
Will this hurt anyone? Will this benefit others?
We have discussed how our bodies belong to our husbands… visually. And we have discussed how our minds belong to our husbands… emotionally. We have learned that as women… our adultery begins with emotional attachment… not sexual arousal.
We have been challenged to be committed to not compare our husbands to other men and to not compare ourselves to other women…
For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves
with some of those who commend themselves;
but when they measure themselves by themselves
and compare themselves with themselves,
they are without understanding.
2 Corinthians 10:12
We also are to be searching out hearts for motives… as we dress… as we walk… as we speak… as we work… as we worship.
Are we doing what we do out of a desire to have power.
“Most of my single days are a tragic testimony of a young woman striving to gain some sense of power through inappropriate relationships with men. Rather than use what beauty God had given me to bring glory to Him. I used it as bait to lure men into feeding my ego. Rather than inspiring men to worship God. I subconsciously wanted them to worship me, and if I was successful in hooking a man with my charms, I secretly felt powerful.” ~ Shannon Ethridge
And we have the list challenge.
“I was seeking to understand why I still felt tempted outside of my marriage, so my therapist asked me to spend a week making a list of every man I had ever been with sexually or had pursued emotionally. I was shocked and saddened to see how long my list had grown through the years. At the next visit, she asked me to spend a week praying and asking myself, “What do each of these men have in common?”
“As I searched my soul to discern why such a common thread existed in my relational pursuits, the root of the issue became evident: my hunger for power over a man.” ~ Shannon Ethridge
And the last few days we have been learning and reminding ourselves that we are acceptedin Christ, we are securein Christ, and we are significantin Christ.
Yes, we have covered a lot of ground… I pray that it has been a time of cleansing, repentance, revival, and renewal. I pray that you continue on in this challenge with me… there is so much more to learn 🙂
Day Thirteen
Today is Wednesday, another day that has been set aside for believers in Christ to gather together in order to praise and worship our Lord and Savior and fellowship together.
Today your challenge is to remember that we need each other. I know many churches no longer meet on Wed night, but if yours does and you usually don’t attend, if you are able, attend today. If your church doesn’t meet on Wed nights, maybe send a text out to several ladies from your church and invite them over for fellowship and a devotional on what you have been learning.
Today, precious one, spend today praising your God and worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.
If you have a job or an illness that keeps you from attending today… don’t be frustrated by this challenge… are there others around you in the same boat? If so get in the boat together and have church at work, in the hospital, in the home, start an online women’s group Bible study… but if you have a choice and are able, then gather in the house of the Lord with the assembly.
Today worship Him… remember all that He has done… and bless His holy name.
Sadly, most believers do not understand who they really are, who God made them to be, the authority He intended them to possess, or how Christ can meet their innermost desires for acceptance, security, and significance. ~ Shannon Ethridge
The last couple of days we have been studying up on how we are accepted in Christ and how we are secure in Christ and today we will be looking at how we are significant in Christ.
First of all…what is significance?
The word significant means to have meaning, to be important, to have influence or effect. There is a song that I absolutely love and one of the lyrics is “When I don’t measure up to much in this life, I’m a treasure in the eyes of Christ…”
Day Twelve
Today I want you to take this list and print is off and keep it with you so that you might be reminded that you are important, your life has meaning, you can be used by God to have an influence and an effect on those who God allows to cross your path…
Don’t spend another day, another moment, listening to the lies like,
“Well what does it matter anyway?”
“No one would miss me anyway?”
“My life is useless”
“I don’t matter to anyone”
“I am not making a difference to anyone”
“What’s the point, it’s not like anyone will notice?”
“Nobody care’s anyway?”
These are lies!
Big fat lies.
Whispered to you by the father of lies.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.
Whenever he speaks a lie,
he speaks from his own nature,
for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44
Now the verse following this verse is very powerful. Jesus is speaking to the “church folk” when He shares this verse. He’s speaking to the one’s that have not only been reading His Word, the Scriptures, but also teaching them, and holding others to them… yet He lets them know here… that they do not believe what they teach or what they read and study. They do not believe Him.
But because I speak the truth,
you do not believe Me.
John 8:45
Below is a list of truth from the lips of Christ, the Word of God made flesh, the Scriptures.
Here it is in black and white, recorded in writing, and passed on for thousands of years, the question precious one, is who are you going to believe?
The father of lies or the Lover of your soul?
Watch yourself, because your life is going to reflect who you believe.
I am the salt and light of the earth You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden Matthew 5:13-14
I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of his life I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you John 15:16
I am a personal witness of Christ but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth Acts 1:8
I am God’s temple Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16
I am a minister of reconciliation Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20
I am God’s coworker And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain— 2 Corinthians 6:1
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:6
I am God’s workmanship For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
I may approach God with freedom and confidence in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him Ephesians 3:12
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
If you are a new creation in Christ… then you are accepted, you are secure, and you are significant. You are forgiven. You are not defined by your past, you are not trapped by your present, and you need have no reason to have fear concerning your future… You are safe in His very capable hands. Just trust His truth. Just believe Him. You are His treasure.
I love this name of God.
This name of God is one that brings me peace and hope and relief…
The name we will be looking at today is Jehovah-tsidkenu.
We discover the meaning of Jehovah-tsidkenu in the book of Jeremiah. Now when the prophet Jeremiah was having the words of God written in a scroll it was dark in the days of Israel. It was a time when the people had forgot God. Oh they still did their sacrifices and they had their feasts… and they had them right along with their Baal services and Asherah festivals…
They had convinced themselves that as long as they kept the rituals and traditions they were fine. They did not listen to the prophets of God. They ignored Isaiah and they ignored Jeremiah. Instead they chose to listen to the prophets that told them what they wanted to hear.
Now judgment was coming.
However, even in this coming judgment God gave the remnant hope.
Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and act wisely
And do justice and righteousness in the land.
“In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’
Jeremiah 23:5-6
You see, many in Israel had decided that they were good enough because of their works, their deeds. They thought that keeping the law would be enough to satisfy God. They thought their tradition keeping would be enough.
Then the Lord said,
“Because this people draw near with their words
And honor Me with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote
Isaiah 29:13
It wasn’t.
It wasn’t because the system was never put in place to simply be a routine tradition. The whole point of the law was to draw the people’s hearts to their God and to make them aware of their need for Him as they became aware of their sinful state… but the people began to think that these traditions made them holy instead of their God. They had forgotten that we can never do enough good stuff to make us good enough to stand in the presence of God.
For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
Isaiah 64:6
All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment… all of them. And that filthy garment is actually the term used for a females used menstrual cloth… yeh… that’s as good as your best deeds get… so good luck getting to heaven on that.
But now apart from the Law
the righteousness of God has been manifested,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
even the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe;
for there is no distinction;
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
being justified as a gift by His grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
whom God displayed publicly
as a propitiation in His blood through faith.
This was to demonstrate His righteousness,
Romans 3:21-25
Praise God! I don’t about you but I am ever so grateful that my salvation is not dependant upon my own righteousness nor my ability to perfectly keep the Law… I would never make it.
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God were making an appeal through us;
we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
He made Him who knew no sin
to be sin on our behalf,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
Christ came and He traded His righteousness for my sin. I give Him my sin and He gives me His righteousness. It makes absolutely no sense to me why He would do this… I mean really… that is soooo not an even trade! But He knew there was no other way… and He simply loves us that much.
Now when I stand before God on my day of judgment because of the cross, because of the work of my Jesus, I will be able to cry as David cried…
Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness,
And do not let them rejoice over me.
Psalm 35:34
Even in my salvation as I live and breathe in this world… as I try to live a life worthy of my calling and worthy of His death… I fail so often. In these failures and stumbles I am able to go to my God and ask His forgiveness and I appeal not to any righteousness of my own, but to the righteousness of my Christ, my righteous Branch, my Jehovah-tsidkenu.
I wish I could say that the sons of Israel learned their lesson about grumbling at the waters of Marah, but I cannot. The grumbling at the waters of Marah was just the beginning. The children of Israel are a month and a half into their journey from Egypt. They are now in the wilderness of Sin somewhere between the oasis of Elim and Sinai and what we discover is that the name of this wilderness is very fitting.
The children of Israel have only less than two months ago experienced the mighty arm of God in Egypt. They have just watched God make bitter waters sweet. The children of Israel have had the Lord their Healer lead them to an oasis called Elim, where there were springs and date trees galore. The Lord has delivered them and provided for them over and over and now that it is time for them to set out on their journey again we also find them grumbling again.
The sons of Israel said to them,
‘Would that we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt,
when we sat by the pots of meat,
when we ate bread to the full;
for you have brought us out into this wilderness
to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’
Exodus 16:3
When the people grumbled at Marah about the bitter waters the Lord made them sweet. He then immediately declared to them that He was the Lord their Healer and if they obeyed Him then they would not experience the diseases that were put upon the Egyptians.
God not only shares a little more information about Himself to these people, and to us, but He also is reminding them that the way of life in Egypt was not according to God. Have you ever heard the saying, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl? Well, God was trying to show this mixed multitude that just being out of Egypt was not enough, He is going to have to get Egypt out of them.
The people grumbled for water at Marah and now in the wilderness of Sin they grumble for food. They do not give God praise and thanks for the water at Marah and then now seek Him for food, they choose rather to complain.
My friend, this is nothing more than this group of people thinking that they can emotionally manipulate Moses and God to get what they want. They are testing God, just as every child tests his parents.
God showed mercy on the children of Israel at Marah and He made the bitter waters sweet. However, we must remember that mercy softens some but it hardens others. Let us pay close attention as we go through this wilderness journey with the children of Israel.
The Word ofGod warns us in 1 Corinthians 10:6, “Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” God’s mercy on Pharaoh in Egypt during the plagues only hardened Pharaoh more and now we see the same pattern beginning here in the wilderness with the children of Israel.
God gave them mercy at Marah and made the bitter waters sweet, so that they would have sweet water to drink. Yet this multitude does not give God praise. They do not give Him thanks. They come now expecting that they will grumble to Moses even more and receive what their flesh craves.
Did you notice how distorted the view of the past is to this multitude? This group looks back on their life in Egypt and they are completely ignoring the cruel bondage that caused them to call out to God for deliverance. They look back and all they are recalling at this moment is pots of meat and eating bread to the full.
Oh precious one, see how the enemy of our souls can mess with our minds?
Have you been there?
I know that I have.
As a believer, a redeemed child of God, I have spent time in my own wilderness. I have grown weary and frustrated in that wilderness and my mind has went back to the past when I would dance the night away while intoxicated by alcohol and all the cares of the world would seem to be a million miles away. My mind would take me there because my flesh cried out for what it lusted after and the enemy was whispering lies in my ear. “See how carefree you were then? See how much fun you always had? Go on, don’t you wish you had that at least one more time?”
How thankful I am for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Romans 8:5-6 declares, “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.”
When the Spirit of God who is in you, if you do indeed belong to Christ (Romans 8:9), divides through the lies of the enemy and the lust of your flesh with the truth of the Word of God, then you are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
When you know the truth, it is that truth that sets you free (John 8:32). It is being intoxicated with the Spirit of God that brings you peace- mind, body, and soul. Oh precious one, your body can be free, but if your mind is still enslaved then you have gained nothing. You must be “…transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
Oh Father,
Forgive me for the times I have attempted to emotionally manipulate You to get my way. Thank You for opening my eyes to the truth, for I did not even realize what I was doing. Thank You for being patient with me. As You carry me through wilderness journeys, to remove the world from me, may I not forget to give You thanks and praise. For I know that You are working in me and through me to bring about Your perfect result and complete me in You (James 1:2-4).
I hate insecurity.
I have seen it bring out the very worst in me and in others.
It is crazy how we can be insecure about how we feel about ourselves or the way someone else feels about us and that insecurity will cause us to lash-out instead of love-out.
Instead of showing an abundance of love to the ones we are insecure toward we put up a wall of defense and go into attack mode. Fight or flight kicks in every time.
Insecurity.
It’s rooted in fear.
It takes perfect love to cast out fear (1 John 4:18).
I don’t know about you but I don’t have perfect love on my own. There is nothing perfect in or about me… That is at least until the day that perfect love accepted me and came to dwell in me and with me.
When I accept that Christ has accepted me and given me His perfect love… then His perfect love for me can cast out fear. As His perfect love cast out fear in me and as I learn to trust His perfect love for me, then my insecurities begin to lessen, and fade away, as I begin to learn that I am indeed secure in Christ.
Are you secure in Christ?
Are you secure in His love for you?
Is His perfect love casting out fear in your life?
Day Eleven
Today we are going to focus on learning to trust our Savior’s perfect love. We are going to be reminded today that we are secure in Christ. We do not have to live our lives in the darkness and fears of our insecurities. We don’t have to continue to hurt others or ourselves as we live in fight or flight mode due to insecurity. We are secure in Him… and honey… if God is for us who can be against us?
Just like yesterday, here’s a list to print off and read daily… study these Scriptures and let the perfect love of your God cast out every fear that creeps into your heart and mind and spirit.
I am free forever from condemnation Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:1-2
I am assured that all things work together for good And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
I am free from any condemning charges against me Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us Romans 8:33-34
I cannot be separated from the love of God For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
I am a citizen of heaven For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; Philippians 3:20
I am hidden with Christ in God For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
I can find grace and mercy to help me in time of need Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me
We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 1 John 5:18
I am reading slowly through Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan. I was reading in it yesterday and Mr Bunyan was sharing how he was in the midst of a great temptation to be insecure in his relationship with Christ even with his salvation, and the validity of the Scriptures, and the truth that Christ is the only way unto salvation. He shared how this temptation lasted for at least a year.
I wish that I could tell you that if you go through this challenge and you learn exactly who you are in Christ you will be fixed forever… I can’t. The tempter still seeks to devour you, to condemn you, to make you doubt, to discredit you… He still will seek to destroy you.
However you will be stronger. As you strengthen your faith muscles by walking in the Word and living by the truth of God rather than your feelings. As you grow in knowledge of Him and His grace, you will grow in His love and as you grow in His love, that perfect love will begin to cast out insecurity…
The children of Israel and the mixed multitude that just finished singing the praises of the great Redeemer have been three days now on their journey to the promised land. Moses has led them into the wilderness of Shur. Psalm 77:20 says, “You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” My friend, do not miss that it was indeed the Lord who led them into this wilderness.
Three days into this wilderness and the people see no sign of water. Three days, a mere seventy-two hours, since the children of Israel, since the people who journeyed out of Egypt, witnessed the greatness of the arm of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Three days, no water in sight, then the people come to a place called Marah.
Marah in Hebrew means bitter. The people finally find water only to discover that it is bitter and not safe to drink. Now how do these people who witnessed the LORD turn the Nile into blood and then make it water again respond to this bitter water now? Do they immediately cry out in faith to God and ask Him to make the water pure?
No, sadly they turn to Moses and they attack him with their complaints, “So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?” (Exodus 15:24).
In Moses response to the people’s grumbling we see why he is the one leading these people. Moses does not attempt to fix the situation himself. He doesn’t begin grumbling with the people. He doesn’t crumble in the presence of the people or fall into despair at their complaints against him. He doesn’t pace about and scratch his head doubting his ability to lead these people. He has already been through that at the burning bush before God, and before his people and before Pharaoh. We read that he looks up and cries out to the LORD. The people look to Moses, but Moses looks to God.
The Lord shows Moses a tree, and Moses throws this tree into the water, and the waters become sweet. Oh precious one this is a beautiful picture of the cross of our Christ. When Moses threw in this tree, the tree soaked up all the bitterness of the water and then the waters were sweet to drink. On the cross, on that cursed tree, Jesus Christ took upon Himself all our sin, all our hurts, all our failures, all our bitterness, “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24).
The Scripture goes on to say in Exodus 15:25 that it was here at Marah that the Lord made a statute and regulation to the people. It is here that He begins to teach them how they are to walk with Him. It is here at the waters of Marah that the Lord tests them. My friend God does not tempt us, but He does test us. The test is not for Him, the test is for us, so that we may know our hearts and learn if we really trust the One we claim to serve?
The Lord then says “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.” (Exodus 15:26).
*If you write in your Bible, underline this verse for we have just been introduced to another name of our God, Jehovah-rapha, the Lord is our Healer.
We also need to underline “if you will.” This goes back to the test and the question of trust in the Lord our Healer. For without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). And my friend let others say what they may, but our obedience to God’s commands proves our faith in Him. If we refuse to walk according to His Word, then we do not trust Him, and He is under no obligation to heal us of anything.
Jesus tells us in John 14:23 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;…” In John 15:10, He says “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 that we are saved if we hold fast the gospel that has been preached to us. He shows us it is possible to believe in vain.
Now how would we know if we have believed the gospel in vain? We cannot look into our hearts and see the seal of the Holy Spirit upon it. So how would we know, how could others know? Hebrews 3:14 declares, “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”
It goes back to the test. It goes back to that very big word, if. “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:3) Oh precious one, from Genesis to Revelation the message has not changed. If we trust Him we will obey Him, and if we do not obey Him, we never really trusted Him at all. We simply were just following the crowd.
Oh Father,
I can look at these people who have just witnessed Your awesome acts and yet now fear death from lack of being able to see water and I could judge them for their lack of faith, but then I look at myself. I realize that I have responded the same way many times before. Forgive me for the times that I have grumbled in the moment of testing. How quickly we can forget all that You have done and doubt Your love and even Your very existance. Thank You, Father, for being a God who is longsuffering and has everlasting lovingkindness. You are the LORD my God, and when my times of testing come, may I respond in obedience to Your Word. May I show my love for You and prove to myself that I am indeed Your child and that I have not just followed the crowd. How thankful I am that proof is found in repentance not perfection.
My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,
Amen
The writing and teachings of Nicole Love Halbrooks Vaughn
