Category Archives: Proven Path Ministries

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

>Another View

>I am typing this right now as someone who is totally spent… yet filled up and overflowing with a joy that brings tears to my eyes even now as I type…

God is good.

Having read many of my dear brothers and sisters in Christ blog posts over the past few weeks about the dangers of “celebrating” the Halloween thing and that we should just stay home and not acknowledge the day in any way… some even under the conviction that a simple fall festival should not even be put on by a church due to the fact that it was just a twisting for us as believers to be able to celebrate the season and not feel guilty about it just to get what we want…

This was one of my responses to just one of the post I read:

“The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.” (Psalm 24:1), “Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity …of God who makes all things.” (Eccles 11:5), “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” (Col 1:16-18), “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42)Every day belongs to God… even October 31st. I refuse to bow down and let Satan have any claim on anything that belongs to God. Satan takes what belonged to God and perverts it and twists it and makes it crooked… he created nothing.
We as the church are to make straight the way, clear the path in the wilderness… we can’t clear the way or shine a light shut in and hunkered down in our homes.
We are to be a testimony and witness to Christ everyday and especially when and where darkness abounds. Those who celebrate this day of darkness as the Day of Darkness do so because they desperately need Christ.
Our church does a fall drama called The Judgment Seat

this week and we have had the opportunity to share Christ with over 35,000 people on this day, this season, just because we have refused to give this day over to the enemy…
I personally had the opportunity a couple of years ago at JS to spend over an hour sharing the gospel and the Word of God with two Wiccans who came through our drama… our theme that year was about witchcraft… I would have not had that opportunity if I had of been at home.
In the words of AW Tozer…”It’s all about the motive”

October 31 at 8:23am” 

You see The Judgment Seat is my church’s largest outreach project, financially and in every other way. It consumes our entire church body and we also must have help from our surrounding churches in the area. So it pulls the entire body of Christ together. We had Methodist serving with us, Assembly of God serving with us, and so on…. It was the entire body of Christ pulled together focused on one thing… the exaltation of Christ. 

We have chosen not to ignore this day, but to take it and use it for the Kingdom of God. Making the most of every opportunity (Eph 5:16, Col 4:5). This is what we do… and it is by no means to twist this day and use it for what we want. It is for us to be spent for Christ.

Each year our theme is prayed over and the theme for the next JS is usually chosen within weeks of the finished JS. This years theme was domestic violence and the God given responsibility of the father as the head of the household. I cannot begin to tell you the number of kids who came through who were counseled over their home life or lack of. We have a generation of orphans due to absent parents. Fathers who think they can abdicate their headship and mothers who have decided a boyfriend is more important than raising their children alone…

It is indeed heart wrenching.

This year at Judgment Seat we were able to present the gospel to 2088 souls. We know that 38 of those received Christ as their Savior this week. We know that 12 souls rededicated their lives to Christ this week. We know that 7 souls came forward to make sure they really did know Christ this week. Countless others just needed to talk…

These are who we know of because they were so moved they took the extra opportunity at the end to step out of their crowd and come and talk with one of of our counselors… however I don’t know of one that came through untouched.

Here is a testimony of one of our visitors… and this is why we, at our church, do what we do…

First Time Visit At The Judgment Seat

Yes, my children dress up and go out to participate in truck or treat’s.
No, we do not dress up in the gore, no witches, no vampires, no ghosts, ets.
However this year my ten year old chose to serve in Judgment Seat. She chose changing dirty diapers and helping take care of the workers kids over the candy, over the dressing up, because although we do not forbid the recognition of this day in our home, we don’t build it up either.
When my kids hear Halloween, they think Judgment Seat and they can’t wait for the day they are old enough to be a part of this amazing ministry to our community!

Proven Path Ministries

>Obey All The Way

>God never ceases to fail to teach me right along with my girls during their Bible study time.

My girls are studying in the book of Esther still. Today during the lesson we were digging further into the life of Haman and his ancestry… we began with the review of 1 Samuel 15 which covers Saul’s disobedience to God’s command.

 Then Samuel said to Saul,
“The LORD sent me to anoint you
as king over His people, over Israel;
now therefore,
listen to the words of the LORD.
Thus says the LORD of hosts,
‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel,
how he set himself against him on the way
while he was coming up from Egypt. 
Now go and strike Amalek
and utterly destroy all that he has,
and do not spare him;
but put to death
both man and woman,
child and infant,
ox and sheep,
camel and donkey.’”  
1 Samuel 15:1-3
 
This was the Lord’s command to King Saul.
It was rooted in Exodus 17:8-16.
 
Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim
Exodus 17:8
 
Now how did Saul follow this command,
this instruction,
this open door
given to him by the Lord?
 
But Saul and the people spared Agag
and the best of the sheep,
the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs,
and all that was good,
and were not willing to destroy them utterly;
but everything despised and worthless,
that they utterly destroyed.
1 Samuel 15:9
 
Yeh… Saul did not fully obey the word of the Lord.
Here God had opened the door for the people of Israel to take out this enemy. He had made the way for them to utterly destroy this evil among them… yet they decided to do what seemed right in their own eyes and despised the word of the Lord. They had blew their opportunity to utterly remove this enemy from their lives… because they saw profit and wealth in the possessions and power over the capture of the king.
 
So what were the consequences of this moment of disobedience?
 
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He has also rejected you from being king.”
1 Samuel 15:23 
 
Saul then went after his rebuke to do the right thing… but the blessing was gone. The opportunity had passed, the right now would not fix the wrong back then.
The damage had been done.
The choice had been made.
The consequences for the actions would come.
Partial obedience is whole disobedience.
 
How long and how far would these consequences reach?
 
  Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus,
“There is a certain people scattered
and dispersed among the peoples
in all the provinces of your kingdom;
 their laws are different from those of all other people
and they do not observe the king’s laws,
so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. 
If it is pleasing to the king,
let it be decreed that they be destroyed,
and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver
into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business,
to put into the king’s treasuries.” 
Then the king took his signet ring from his hand
and gave it to Haman,
the son of Hammedatha
the Agagite,
the enemy of the Jews. 
The king said to Haman,
“The silver is yours,
and the people also,
to do with them as you please.” 
Esther 3:8-11 
 
600 years is how far in this case…
 
So let’s bring this home.
As I was studying through all this with my girls what hit me was this…
 
How many of my current struggles are the result of my very own Saul moments?
Moments when God had opened the door…
made the way…
went before me…
and said now go and utterly destroy all of it.
Don’t save any of it. 
Spare nothing.
I don’t care how cute and harmless it appears or how valuable it appears to you.
Destroy it!
It will mean death and destruction and turmoil to you from now on if you do not do this complete now. This is your chance. Seize it. Go! I am with you. I will fight for you. You will have victory if you do it now and you do it My way…
 
I wish I could sit back and criticize Saul and shake my head at his rebellion and foolishness with a feeling of superiority because I would have never been so stupid and arrogant and rebellious… but I can’t.
 
I shake my head, but I shake it because I can see myself in him…     
 
One of the reasons I rejoice so much in the words grace and mercy and forgiveness and redemption and hope and new…
 
And He who sits on the throne said,
“Behold, I am making all things new.”
And He said,
“Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
Revelation 21:5
 
  
Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

>Remembering Priorities

>We can be saved but choose to spend our lives in fruitless activity (1 Corin 3:15). On the other hand, we can understand our salvation to such a depth that every moment becomes an offering given back to God. Our works will not be tested by their appearances, our level of enjoyment, or others’ opinions. It’s the fire of God that will reveal if we have lived with this world or the next in mind.
—Regina Franklin

The other day my girls had basketball practice. I was sitting and spectating the practice. I brought my current Precept study to work on while I was there. I am better able to sit back with my mouth shut if I bring something else to focus on while I am there. The coach in me has a tendency to just rise up and I am always so thrilled to see dad’s involved in things these days that I try to keep my mouth shut when there’s actually a dad, a man, leading. 

Anyway I am sitting and watching and there are also other teams practicing and other kids just in the gym. I spot a mom working with her daughter on her shots and dribbles and instantly I feel condemnation. I think how I haven’t worked with my girl out in the yard or in the gym like I should have. I know basketball. I played. I know the game. I have even helped coach in the past. My girls are both very athletic and determined and competitive. I think at this time that I am failing them because I am not helping them reach their potential in this area and that maybe I need to devote more time to teaching them basketball skills.

As I am feeling all this condemnation one of the little girls in the gym comes and sits beside me.

She sees my Bible open and my Precept notebook and she asks me what I am doing.

I shared that I was working on my Bible study homework and I told her how I was teaching a study on spiritual gifts. She looked at me like a deer in headlights. I then explained how God gives us all a spiritual gift when we receive Jesus as our Savior so that we can serve Him and His body.

She still looked lost and said “what?”

So I shared that a spiritual gift is how the Holy Spirit works through us and shows Himself in and through us.

She still looked lost.

I then shared that when we understand that we are a sinner and we believe that Jesus was born and that He lived and that He died on the cross for our sins and we ask Him to forgive us our sin and we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He then puts His Spirit in us so that He is always with us and our spiritual gifts come from His Spirit in us.

She then said, “oh… we don’t go to church, we just don’t have time, you know how it is…”

I smiled and said, “yep, it’s very easy to get out of the habit of going to church, but it’s really important that we find the time…”
She then grabbed her basketball and was off to play again.

I then remembered my priorities.

Yes, I could devote hours out in the yard or in the gym with my girls perfecting their lay-ups and jump shots, but in the light of eternity is that really time well spent if it means I sacrifice the hours needed to perfect them in Christ?

Yes practice on the court can make wonderful memories and yes it is good to be an active part of teaching our children in every area and aspect of life.
Yes I can teach my children eternal spiritual things and temporal things and sports are wonderful to teach our children discipline, determination, teamwork, and how to win and lose in life…
But let us always be purposeful to keep all things in the right place of priority.

But Martha was distracted with all her preparations;
and she came up to Him and said,
“Lord, do You not care that my sister
has left me to do all the serving alone?
Then tell her to help me.” 
But the Lord answered and said to her,
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 
but only one thing is necessary,
for Mary has chosen the good part,
which shall not be taken away from her.”
John 10:40-42
Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

>Tongue Taming

>

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:21

As I serve in ministry in the church and share with others outside the church the most common complaint against the church, the most ready reason for not attending or getting involved in church, and the most heralded hurt that happens in the church, seems to be rooted in words. 

The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.
Proverbs 18:8

Whether it be gossip or just others using their words as a weapon or even worse taking God’s Word and twisting it and using it as a weapon to hurt another person. This weapon is to be used to defeat the spiritual forces of darkness it is not to be unsheathed to defeat and destroy man or as an attempt to beat someone down. The Word is to be used in love not in spite and not in a spirit of superiority.

How long will you torment me
And crush me with words?
Job 19:2
 
We ladies have been given the stereotype of “gossipers”, yet please know that I am well aware that men are just as gossipy. Male and female, we need to watch what we say and we also need to be careful what and who we choose to listen to…even if, no especially if, we personally know we don’t believe a word they say… 
 
An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
Proverbs 17:4
 
This is the way of the world…
 
…we live in a day of hearsay, when few people pass along information that is precise and reliable. Do you? Are you careful about what you say? Do you have the facts? Do you offer proof that the information you are conveying is correct? While there are occasions when it’s appropriate to pass along needed and serious information to the right sources, there’s a growing preoccupation with rumor and slander. Half truths and innuendos become juicy morsels in the mouths of unreliable gossips. There is no way to measure the number of people who have been hurt by rumor, exaggeration, and hearsay.
Perhaps you have suffered this yourself.
Be careful what you say. Be careful how you say it. Be careful that you send the right message, that you send it to the right person, and that you do so with the right motive. ~ Swindoll
 
My husband and I have often discussed that one of the hardest parts of parenting is teaching our children how to discern between “need shared information” and “tattle-telling”. We have tried to teach them when and as the opportunity arises because we just have not discovered another way to get the point across.
 
One thing we do is ask them to seek out the reason they are sharing the information they are sharing.
 
Is it just to get someone caught and in trouble?
Is this something that will hurt this person if not shared?
Is this something that the person asked you not to share?
And if they did why and would you want them to share this on you?
And if you are sharing it, why are you sharing it?
Is it just to show what you know about them?
Or is it because you know they need help concerning what they shared and you know you can’t help?
Are you sharing up or side to side?
 
We try to teach them that there will be times in their own lives that they will want someone to keep a secret for them. There are times when we can address an issue with an individual and correct them and keep it all between them and us. And if they are truly sharing to help someone, they will share up, not side to side. Which means they will share with someone who has the power to help not just another “friend” who can do nothing.
 
We try to teach our girls that they need to be each others best friends not each others worst enemies. An enemy seeks to get you caught, a friend seeks to help you out of the trap. An enemy wants to throw you in the fire, while a friend seeks to snatch you from the fire. An enemy will reveal your secret to hurt you, yet a friend only reveals when they realize it is the only way they can get help.
 
There is a time to keep a secret.
I love what Swindoll says in the following quote,
 
There is an unexplainable air of mystery about a woman, an unpredictability that men find intriguing. Esther’s ability to restrain herself only heightens the mystery—especially her verbal restraint. She knew much more than she told. She could keep a secret. Verbal restraint is fast becoming a forgotten virtue. ~ Swindoll
 
A woman who can control her tongue is indeed a woman of virtue.
Ladies are you a friend who can keep a secret?
Can you be trusted with the hurts and failures and frustrations of another without passing judgment or without fueling a fire?
Are you still stuck in the toddler/child cycle of the tattle-tale?
Can someone come to you and share their hurts or are you the one that causes others to cringe because they know you just saw them fail, falter, or stumble?
Can you correct, rebuke, exhort, and keep it between you and them?
Or do you always feel the need to share what you saw, what you did, what you know?
 
Learn to keep confidences. Come to be known for keeping secrets! It’s part of having character marked by strength and dignity. ~ Swindoll
 
Taming the tongue…
A soothing tongue is a tree of life,
But perversion in it crushes the spirit.
Proverbs 15:4
She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31:26

 
But it’s more than just speaking in truth and with kindness, it’s also knowing when not to speak.
I read a quote somewhere that said something like, “never miss a good opportunity to shut up”.
 
When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.
Proverbs 10:19
 
The damage that has been done in and outside of the church, in families, in friendships, in workplaces, and even in our nation, over hear-say and over sharing information that needed not be shared… oh my it’s massive.
 
O LORD, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.
He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
Proverbs 15:2-3
 
I know the hurt of words well…
I imagine most of us do.
May we learn from our own hurts and make the choice to not use our own words to hurt another the way we have been hurt ourselves.


Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

>Cultivating Character

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>Encouraging the cultivation of character is exactly what wise parents do, nudging, urging their children toward maturity. As a parent, you have occasions in your life, brief vignettes, little windows of time, where you can step forward and help your children to understand the value of being brave. As they grow up and those hands-on occasions change to a more distant relationship, you must call upon your children to stand for what they believe, even if they must stand alone—and then trust them to do it without you alongside.
~ Swindoll

We had an eventful morning in the Vaughn household. My girls are playing basketball. We are playing in the area that we will be living in when our house sells. We began playing ball in this area this past spring. We received a phone call this morning that our girls would not be allowed to continue to play due to our current address. 

Oh I was heartbroke.

You see my girls missed basketball season last year because they spent it in the hospital and at my mom’s helping take care of their Aunt Tracy. My girls were wonderful if I do say so myself. They spent many days doing school in the STICU waiting room and then willingly were drug to my mom’s to do school in her kitchen while I cared for my sister. They got to see how a family takes care of each other and they loved being a part of it, even if it was just running up stairs to get a towel or holding a drink for my sister. They were not bitter at all, they understood when I explained how Aunt Tracy needed us now and basketball would be there next season.

So they were so excited to be playing this year. They had met there coach, their team, ordered uniforms, and had a practice… they were crushed when I delivered the news…

Now my first response in feelings was anger, then hurt, then deception. I thought, no I said, just let me refill out the paperwork I will put my parent’s address. I was ready to reach into my roledex and pull out whatever names I needed to in order to keep my girls on that team.

Then I knew that the only name I needed to pull out was Jesus Christ.

So I went to my girls and we stood in the middle of our living room and we held hands and we prayed. We prayed that God would open the doors for them to be able to play if it was His will. We prayed that He would do it according to the rules with no manipulation on my part. We prayed also that He would sell our house so we wouldn’t have to go through this again. We prayed that His will be done, and we said in Jesus name, and amen, and we began school.

Not even an hour later the phone rings.

Guess what? There is no 9-10 yr old girls basketball team in our current area so according to the rules Shelby could play any where she wanted! And also according to the rules Bekah could play up on Shelby’s team!!

I could not wait to tell my girls. I cried and looked up to my God and told Him, Thank You!!!

I came in and shared the God-news with my girls and Shelby ran and jumped in my arms and Bekah joyfully exclaimed, “Momma, God answered us quick!”

Oh how good He is!!

How thankful I am that God convicted my heart to turn this over to Him and trust Him with it. In doing so He used it as an awesome opportunity to display His glory, His love, His concern, and His realness to His girls!

Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

>Hurt By The Church

>Okay we are going back to the journal, today we are visiting April 17th, 2003. I am just going to share an excerpt here because this entry was a doozy!

Father, 
I need You so much right now. I feel like I am under attack from every angle. Since I committed to Save-A-Life it seems like everyone is out for me. You know the situation with *****. I just want to say How Dare You, Do You Have A Clue What I’ve Gone Through Just To Be Here At All? but I know that is my flesh and I need to ignore it, but that doesn’t make it any easier… 
I love You Lord and I trust in You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen

Whew, in this entry I was one hurting young lady. I remember the tears that flowed as I penned this prayer to my God. As I said, this was just the beginning, a small excerpt, of the hurts that I poured out that day in the pages of my journal.

One of these great hurts was coming from someone in my church. I had just been reprimanded for being late and due to this day I quit teaching the class that I was over. I was devastated and humiliated. Of course what the one who did the reprimanding saw was just me coming in late. What they didn’t see was the fact that I was a young mother who had a baby that had not slept more than 45 minutes at a time since birth and I had a husband who worked night shift and did not attend church regularly with me at that time. I also worked outside the home part-time.

I was worn out and doing the best I could. I had a desire to serve and to teach and to be an active serving part of the church and at this moment I could have said fine see if I’ll be back ever. But that was not the call I made.

I chose grace.

I was hurt, but I chose forgiveness.

And the thing is the one who made this reprimand is to this day one of the dearest people I have ever known and I love them greatly still.

They were not evil. They were not out to get me. The enemy attempted to set up destruction, but he failed, and the love of God prevailed. I still continued in my church and continued teaching my other class.

Had I walked away from God and His church at this time in 2003… oh my the blessings I would have missed! The friendships I would have never gained, the eternal lives I would have never been a part of, the opportunities to love, laugh, cry, encourage, serve, grow… all missed if I had of chosen to hold this hurt in bitterness and throw my hands in the air and turn my back to the church.

I wish I could say this was the last hurt I ever experienced in the church, but it’s not. I’ve lost count of the times I have been on my face before God in tears over the hurt delivered to me through someone in the church, in my church, the one I am still a member in. We just don’t leave because of hurt feelings, because this is where God has planted me and my family. Feelings lie. Feelings don’t see the whole picture. They are selfish and nearsighted and prone to exaggerate and manipulate.

Jesus does not forsake me because I have hurt His feelings… so I shall not forsake Him because someone in His body hurt mine. His body is immature and in a growth process. It’s not attained perfection yet, it’s not complete yet, there is still lots of growing up to do in the church and if the parts of the body keep forsaking the body then how on earth is it ever to grow up?

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:11-16
 
If the joints and ligaments keep checking out because of a bout of arthritis the body is never going to get anywhere. We don’t forsake our earthly bodies because a part of it is hurting us and not working right so why should we forsake our spiritual body because it’s hurting us and not working right? When it’s our physical body we try to get to the bottom of the hurt and fix hit, we don’t just walk away from it.
 
I can guarantee you that if you regularly and actively attend a fellowship of believers at some point and time someone will hurt you.
It’s a family.
Families hurt each other sometimes- but the love always outweighs the hurt.
 
To share a quote about the home:
 
A true home is one of the most sacred of places. It is a sanctuary into which men flee from the world’s perils and alarms. It is a resting-place to which at close of day the weary retire to gather new strength for the battle and toils of tomorrow. It is the place where love learns its lessons, where life is schooled into discipline and strength, where character is molded. ~ J.R. Miller
 
There is a reason we say “This is my church home”
If we can’t learn to model and give grace and mercy and forgiveness and love within the church to fellow believers, how on earth do we expect to learn to give it to those who are lost and know God not?
 
Before you leave a church because you have been hurt by the church… seek God.
Ask Him to give you eyes to see past what your flesh feels.
Bring the hurt to Him.
Seek Him in His Word.
Talk to a trusted believer who will not begin a gossip ring, but will speak truth to you and keep your confidence.
Whatever you do, don’t just leave to be leaving.
 
Then Peter came and said to Him,
“Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me
 and I forgive him?
Up to seven times?” 
Jesus said to him,
“I do not say to you, up to seven times,
 but up to seventy times seven.
Matthew 18:21-22
 
Let us also not forget that we were told that there would be tares among the wheat until the day Christ comes to reap.
 
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying,
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.  The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Matthew 13:24:30 
 
 
 
Proven Path Ministries

Honor Follows Honor

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PPM-3.jpg

I want to share an excerpt from The Pursuit of God by AW Tozer:

Sometimes the best way to see a thing is to look at its opposite. Eli and his sons are placed in the priesthood with the stipulation that they honor God in their lives and ministrations. This they fail to do, and God sends Samuel to announce the consequences. Unknown to Eli this law of reciprocal honor has been all the while secretly working, and now the time has come for judgment to fall. Hophni and Phineas , the degenerate priest, fall in battle; the wife of Hophni dies in childbirth; Israel flees before her enemies; the ark of God is captured by the Philistines, and the old man Eli falls backward and dies of a broken neck. This stark, utter tragedy followed upon Eli’s failure to honor God.

Now over against this set almost any Biblical character who honestly tried to glorify God in his earthly walk. See how God winked at weakness and overlooked failures as He poured upon His servants grace and blessings untold. Let it be Abraham, Jacob, David, Daniel, Elijah or whom you will; honor followed honor as harvest followed seed. The man of God set his heart to exalt God above all; God accepted his intention as fact and acted accordingly. Not perfection, but holy intention made the difference.

Have you ever wondered how God could possibly still accept you and love you and keep you when you seem to constantly fail Him?

I know I have.

I look back and see how far God has brought me and I think, well you know what I’m doing all right.
Then I stand in my present, and I see how I fail miserably, and I think, I am getting nowhere, why does God even bother to put up with me.

It is these moments, these thoughts, that bring me to praise God even more because He did not hide or cover up the failures of His followers.

David was a man after God’s own heart not because he was perfect, but because he truly desired to honor God. David failed miserably. David suffered greatly for his failures, but God never forsook him, because God knew David’s heart was set to exalt Him. David’s failures never came from him trying to set himself up as his own God, they never came from a heart that purposely disregarded the honor due his Creator. His failures came from the result of his sin diseased flesh and when his failures and sin were addressed he dealt with them according to the ways of God. He accepted his consequences and sought God’s forgiveness and he moved forward in grace.

When we try to honestly glorify God in our earthly walk the way those recorded in Scripture did, then God will honor us just as He honored them. He will look over failures and wink at our weaknesses because He knows that as we seek to glorify Him and continue to grow in Him, He will be the strength in our weaknesses and He will give us success in spite of our failures. He simply says– come and follow Me, don’t run from Me in your failures and don’t try to hide your weaknesses, come to my throne of grace and I will be your help…

  Therefore, since we have a great high priest
who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold fast our confession. 
For we do not have a high priest
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but One who has been tempted in all things as we are,
yet without sin. 
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 4:14-16
So the question never is- are you perfect?
But the question is- do you live your life to honor God?
Because honor will follow honor.However, on the opposite end, don’t think for one minute that any of us will claim to carry the name of God and hold a position of service or ministry in His name and yet fail to honor Him with and in our daily walk and think that just because we are getting away with it thus far that judgment will not come… as we saw with the family and ministry of Eli (1 Samuel 3-4) the law of reciprocal honor is always secretly at work.
Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries, Uncategorized

>Remaining Teachable

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>I just checked my Chuck Swindoll daily devotion and it’s one that I must share in its entirety not just randomly quoted.
So here it is:

Esther sustained a continually teachable spirit. “Mordecai had instructed her that she should not make them known . . . Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, even as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther did what Mordecai told her as she had done when under his care” (Esther 2:10, 20).
Even becoming a finalist in this frenzied competition, or later, becoming queen, didn’t cause Esther to flaunt her independence and strut her stuff. Not this lady! This lovely, dignified, wise woman was still willing to listen and learn.
She remains a sterling example for women today. Some of you are wonderfully gifted teachers. You have the ability to stand before a group and to open the Scriptures or some other area of expertise and hold an audience in rapt attention with your insight and creativity. Others of you have distinguished yourself in public service. You have played prestigious roles and offices in the community. You may be well-traveled and rather confidently move in exclusive circles with powerful men and women whom you know on a first-name basis. There is nothing wrong with any of that. But let me ask, has that changed your teachability? Do you now see yourself as the consummate authority? Or has it simply made you aware of how vast your ignorance really is? I hope it is the latter.
Someone has said, “Education is going from an unconscious to conscious awareness of one’s ignorance.” I agree. No one has a corner on wisdom. All the name-dropping in the world doesn’t heighten the significance of your character. If anything, it reduces it. Our acute need is to cultivate a willingness to learn and to remain teachable. Learning from your children. Learning from your friends. Learning even from our enemies. How beautiful it is to find a servant-hearted, teachable spirit among those who occupy high-profile positions of authority.
Are you, like Esther, still willing to listen and learn?

Yeh, so I read, “let me ask, has that changed your teachability? Do you now see yourself as the consummate authority? Or has it simply made you aware of how vast your ignorance really is?”, and I had to stop and think…
Yeh I am at the point that I have come to realize that I am vastly ignorant, that is why I am constantly digging in God’s Word and researching and seeking and asking, because I have learned that as soon as I think I’ve got something all figured out, God throws me for a loop. He’ll send me a curve ball flying by so quick that it knocks me on my rear end in a split second. If I ever begin to get too big for my britches He reminds me right fast that I still have a lot of growing to do and a lot of learning to do.

This is one of the scariest things about teaching. I have to teach on the knowledge that I have at that point. I teach according to the measure of faith and grace given me one day at a time, and I have to trust that God will take my efforts and use them for the building up of those I teach and I pray that they never look at me as the final authority on any interpretation of the Scripture, for the only final authority is God. There is a big difference between my opinion on a matter and the correct interpretation of Scripture.

 But know this first of all,
that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 
for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will,
but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 
2 Peter 1:20-21
As I am growing in grace, I have learned that I can learn from any person, in any situation, at any time, when I am willing to submit to God and seek Him in all things.
Every moment is an opportunity to learn and grow in Him, even those moments of enemy attacks, sometimes especially in those moments of enemy attacks. I can learn how to discern an evil spirit, a false teacher, a fake friend, or a wrong way. I can learn how to forgive, how to give grace, how to extend mercy, and how to trust in God to repay.
When I remain teachable, I remain humble, when I remain humble, I remain under the mighty hand of God, and that’s where I want to be, under Him.
I am a disciple of Christ, a learner of the Lord, a professional student of the Prince of Peace. My heart and my mind must remain open to Him and His potters hands. 
Therefore humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you at the proper time.
1 Peter 5:6
You see I have learned that I only know in part. I know more than I did yesterday, but not as much as I’ll know tomorrow… Lord willing. Then in eternity, and not until eternity, I will fully know! Wow, every question answered!
You know there really is absolutely nothing more annoying than someone who will not listen and refuses to learn anything new or different than what they already know. They are stubborn, hard-headed, hard-hearted, and make you won’t to smack them across the back of the head. That is not who I want to be before God or anyone else.
Sometimes I don’t like the way God chooses to teach me. Sometimes He allows me to be embarrassed. Sometimes He allows me to be angered. Sometimes He allows me to be hurt. Sometimes He allows me to be surprised. Sometimes He allows me to be shocked.
But He whispers “See what I have been trying to tell you… I couldn’t get you to listen before, but now I have your attention… listen and learn… and know that I love you…”
Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries, Uncategorized

>Praying For Our Children’s Marriage and Purity

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>It’s been a while since I stepped back in time with you to share from my journals, so I believe for at least the next few days I will be doing that… God has stirred the journals up within me and brought it to my remembrance so I think I just might ought to obey.

Today we are stepping back in time to December 30, 2002. At this point I had been on fire for my God for a whole year!
This journal entry is only one of many written prayers over my children and nieces and nephews and one of countless spoken prayers over them.

Father,
I just lift Shelby and Ashleigh and Emoni and Alex up to You Lord.
I just ask that You be preparing them all a spouse Lord.
A spouse who walks in Your ways and lives by Your commands.
I ask that You prepare Shelby, Ashleigh, Emoni, and Alex for these spouses.
I pray that they will have the strength and heart and fear and love for You Lord that they will wait for the spouses You have prepared for them.
I pray for Shelby, Emoni, and Alex’s salvation.
I pray that Ashleigh will keep her eyes fixed on You!
I pray that they will all seek Your face and seek to know You intimately!
I pray Your hand of protection over them!
Keep them safe and surrounded by godly people who truly love You and them!
I pray that they will serve You with their lives and that they will be mighty witnesses for Your kingdom!
In Jesus name,
Amen
(Yes, I pray in exclamation points. I don’t know why. I just always have since I began writing down my prayers )
It is never too soon to begin praying for our children’s marriages. At the time of this journal entry my Shelby was only a year and a half and my Ashleigh was eleven. My niece Emoni was five and my nephew Alex was two and a half. My list of marital and purity prayers has grown tremendously since this day in 2003. My Bekah has been added and many more nieces and nephews and cousins and children (and yes even my college and young singles) who are mine in the Lord, because once I have met you and taught you I claim you as my prayer priority especially in the area of marriage and purity. It is the area that I struggled with and failed at greatly and the scars are many, so these scars that I carry remind me often to intercede on behalf of others in this area. 
Our children and loved ones may stumble in this area, but it doesn’t mean we stop praying. Grace and forgiveness and a new beginning is always available in Christ. He will help them bear His indignation while He restores them and stands them up on their feet again. I know this is true because He did it with me and there is no partiality with God.
 For the LORD your God is the God of gods
and the Lord of lords,
the great, the mighty, and the awesome God
who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.
Deuteronomy 10:17
For there is no partiality with God
Romans 2:11
Scripture just can’t get more clearer than that 🙂
As parents we must not just pray for our children, but we must set clear standards and boundaries to protect our children’s sexual purity and future marriages. No we cannot stick them in a closet when they reach puberty and guard it with our semi-automatic and keep them there until we handpick their spouse and then take them from the closet bound and gagged and blindfolded until we get to the church to remove the gag right at the time for them to say “I do” at the altar, although we can dream…
But we can protect them and their innocence and guard their eyes and hearts. It is our job as parents to set the boundaries. I cringe when I hear of parents picking up their twelve year olds and dropping them off at the movies with a girlfriend/boyfriend. This is absolutely the worst time to leave your child in the dark alone with their hormones and a person of the opposite sex that puts butterflies in their stomach.
 We have a little sister,
And she has no breasts;
What shall we do for our sister
On the day when she is spoken for?
“If she is a wall,
We will build on her a battlement of silver;
But if she is a door,
We will barricade her with planks of cedar.”
Song of Solomon 8:8-9
We also cannot leave our children unaware. If they hear the whole truth from us, then we can squash the lies that come with curiosity and learning about the birds and bees from peers. If you are wondering how to approach the topic of sex with your children, just simply begin a family study in the book of Genesis. 
When I began this study with my Shelby we didn’t make it past the second chapter before the birds and bees were addressed.
 For this reason
a man shall leave his father and his mother,
and be joined to his wife;
and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24

My Shelby read Genesis 2:24 and said “Momma, I understand the one part, but what’s the flesh?”
Bam!
Open door…

Having baby nephews around that my little one had seen have diaper changes and given baths made it very easy and simple to explain how God made the boy and girl parts to come together as one flesh. There was no graphic detail needed, no fancy explanations, just the simple facts settled her curiosity and my honesty and openness let her know that she was free to come to me with any question she had about this issue or really any issue.

As we share the truth and set up boundaries and teach our children what God says about this beautiful thing called sex that was meant for the confines of marriage, if or when, our children fall prey to the lies of the enemy and the world, they will know it. They will have truth for the Holy Spirit to pull out and convict their hearts so that they might turn from the lie and take back hold of the truth.

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries, Uncategorized

>Always Watching

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“Is it a fast like this which I choose,
a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?
“Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
“Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
“Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
“Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
(Isaiah 58:5-9)

We can’t hide ourselves from our own flesh and expect to draw near to God. We have to come before Him in honesty and truth, trusting in His forgiveness and everlasting lovingkindness…
He already knows it all anyway.
For us to hide is showing that we really do not believe that He is omnipresent and omniscient thus we are denying who He is and trying to convince ourselves that we can pull one over on God.

Hmmmm yeh, like that’s gonna happen!
We become just like the child with chocolate all over their face that says, “No, Mommy I not get cake!”
Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD,
and whose deeds are done in a dark place,
and they say, ‘Who sees us?’
or ‘Who knows us?’
Isaiah 29:15
In Genesis 16:13 we are introduced to a name of God. The name is El Roi, and it means God sees (you can read a little bit more of my thoughts on this particular name of God at my through the Bible blog ).
Our God sees. He is a God who sees. He doesn’t miss a thing. We cannot hide from Him.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
Psalm 139:7-12
There just in no darkness dark enough to hide from God in. Jonah tried to run and hide in the belly of ship and then God stuck him in the belly of a fish and sent him to the darkest depths of the sea and let him know that, yep, He could still see him. There is no where to flee from His presence. He is always watching us.
For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD,
And He watches all his paths.
Proverbs 5:21
The thought of someone always watching us can creep us out. I have this weird thing that before I use the bathroom I check behind the shower curtain. I don’t know why. I just do. I have a disturbing feeling that I am going to use the bathroom and then find out someone was in there with me and I didn’t know it. So if there is a shower curtain or closet door in the bathroom at your house and I come and visit and I have to go, yes I am pulling it back and opening the door, but don’t worry I will never tell anyone about the soap scum in the tub and all the naked barbie dolls and molded squeaky toys or multiple wadded up washrags. Nor will I reveal the mismatched sloppily folded towels full of holes or the why in the worlds is that in the bathroom stuff (PS I am just describing my own bathroom, lol). I promise I won’t. I just want to potty in peace and I can’t until I take a peek before I pee.
Knowing that God is always watching us should bring us comfort. It truly does me. In many ways. It keeps me from making choices that I might have made if I thought I could have hid it and it also helps me from reacting wrongly in a situation because I can calm myself by knowing that God saw what happened and He will deal with it.
There really is no reason for us not to be completely open and honest with God. Every time I think of the verse in Isaiah 58 about not hiding ourselves from our own flesh I think of a Chris Rock stand up I watched once long ago (no I was not always a Christian). In the stand up, he was sharing about getting caught cheating on his wife and his wife comes to him and keeps saying “I know you did it, just admit it!” So when I think of trying to hide my sin from God I hear Chris Rock speaking for his wife “I know you did it, just admit it!”
And there is no creature hidden from His sight,
but all things are open
and laid bare
to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
Hebrews 4:13
He knows you did it, just admit it!
Yes God is always watching you, but not in a psycho stalker kind of way, but in the I’ll never leave you or forsake you kind of way 🙂
 …for He Himself has said,
“I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU,
NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,”
Hebrews 13:5