Category Archives: Uncategorized

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>What’s Your Name

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“…Now they may say to me,
‘What is His name?’
What shall I say to them?”
Exodus 3:13
For four generations the Israelites had been in Egypt. Egypt was a polytheistic nation. They worshipped many gods, all who had a name. In all honesty if Moses had announced to the Israelites that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and appeared to him, most all of Israel would have been satisfied with this name. I believe Moses was still searching for more strength to be obedient. He was trying to cover all the angles and answer all the possible questions.Which can be a good thing when it comes with the attitude of obedience.
God answers Moses with “…I AM WHO I AM…” (Exodus 3:14). I heard a pastor preach on this glorious name of God and he shared that God could not look around at anything or anyone and say “I am like that” or “I am like him.” God is incomparable.
I AM WHO I AM translates in Hebrew to YHWH and appears in Scripture as LORD. When God gives Moses this name He does not remove the part of His name that designates Him in this time of the sons of Israel. Exodus 3:15 declares, “God, furthermore, said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.”
Why did God continue to include Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
He included them because of covenant. God is in covenant with Abraham and his descendants and this covenant still holds. This covenant is what distinguishes Him for us from all other gods. Many claim that they serve the same God as Jews and Christians. Many say it is the same God just a different name. The Word of God, however, is very clear, any god is not God. The One True Living God is the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In John 4:22 Jesus is speaking with a Samaritan woman and He tells her, “You worship what you do not know: we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”
Now as we take this memorial-name of God and we remember that there was no one to whom God could compare Himself, we go through the time of man, through the generations, through the covenants, and we stop at the birth of Christ. “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” (Matthew 1:23) Finally God would look down from heaven and say I AM like HIM. Jesus, God in the flesh, God with us.
Jesus first appeared to His own, to those who should know His name. He said “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
Jesus went on to say to them in John 8:58, “…Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” The Jews knew that Jesus was declaring Himself the I AM because they picked up stones to throw at Him.
He used God’s memorial-name to all generations and attached it to Himself. He could because He was and is God.
And He is the radiance of His glory
and the exact representation of His nature,
and upholds all things by the word of His power.
When He had made purification for sins,
He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Hebrews 1:3
Oh Father,
I bless Your name. I bless Your holy name. I thank You my LORD, for You have revealed yourself to me. You have revealed Yourself to the world. You have revealed Yourself through Your creation, Your Law, Your Word, Your covenants, Your prophets, and finally through Jesus Christ. You have left us without excuse to claim ignorance. My Jesus You are the I AM. I believe that You are God with us and I believe that You made purification for my sins by Your blood. I believe that You rose again and that You now sit at the right hand of the Majesty on high, interceding on my behalf. I believe and therefore I know that I will not die in my sins, but I too will rise again and join You for all eternity. Oh Father, in this I rejoice and in this I praise Your name, for You are forever my LORD.
My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,
Amen
Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>Who Am I

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But Moses said to God,
‘Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah,
and that I should bring the sons of Israel
out of Egypt?
Exodus 3:11
Who am I?
Have you ever responded to God with this same question?
Oh I have. I did so with these very devotions that I am writing. God said to me “Write a book.” I replied, “No, God I can’t do that…who am I to do that…no one would want to read it.” For two years I argued with God, asking “who am I.” As you can see from Devotions From Genesis, God won the argument, as He also did with Moses, as He also will with you.
I read this part of the Scriptures and it brings tears to my eyes and a knot to my chest, because I truly can place myself in Moses bare feet. I stand in those feet asking “who am I” not only when God has called me to a task, but also always when I think about the cross. I continually ask, “who am I” that God would send His Son to die in my place. How could He love me so much, when He knows who I am.
I have walked as a redeemed child of God for a decade and still I am amazed. I am humbled even more as I grow in my knowledge of God and His grace. As I begin to get a better grasp of His holiness I understand even more the greatness of my sin. I see how far He had to humble himself to meet me in my wilderness and I weep tears of joy and thanksgiving because He was willing to go the distance.
Now I ask myself am I willing to go the distance for others as Christ went the distance for me?
God told Moses that He would be with him. God does not ask us to go the distance and then send us out alone, unarmed, and unprotected. God always goes with us (Hebrews 13:5-6). He has prepared our armor (Ephesians 6:10-17). God always sends us out fully equipped through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 13:21).
Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
Not that we are adequate in ourselves
to consider anything as coming from ourselves,
but our adequacy is from God,
who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant,
not of the letter but of the Spirit;
for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 
2 Corinthians 3:4-6
It doesn’t matter who we are or who we were. Our ability does not come from within ourselves it comes through Christ. God is well able to accomplish whatever He wills through us. If God has come to the wilderness to seek you out, if He has called you to go and be His instrument, then you can trust that He knows how to play.
You know, an instrument has no purpose on its own, yet when someone comes, a musician, and breathes their breathe into it; beautiful music that can move the world comes out of it. My friend, when we are without Christ, we have no purpose. We are instruments of sin and Satan is the conductor, but oh precious one, when the Master Musician takes hold of us, when we are instruments of righteousness and the Spirit is our conductor, the music we play is life-changing to all who hear.
Oh Father,
How I praise You for Your grace. I can only grasp Your glory in small increments of time and even then I am overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with Your love for me. Overwhelmed with Your provision for me. Overwhelmed with Your blessings upon me. You are God and there is no other. You are the only God who laid aside His glory to come to save His children. You sought me, and bought me, and called me Your own. I now call You “Abba Father” and what a privilege that is to be able to say. My Abba, may I be a willing instrument in Your hands. Forgive me when I forget and believe that Your calling is dependant on my own strength. Quickly bring me into remembrance of the truth. The truth that if You have called me, You will go with me, care for me, and fully equip me. Your Word tells me that I can do all things through Christ, and I trust Your Word.
My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

Uncategorized

>Not Fearing Any Man

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Men of God, women of God… look in his eyes… he means what he says and he says what he means… he was willing to lay down his life for the will of God… are you?

I can honestly tell you that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would have walked beside this man. I feel it in the core of my being. Because he stood for the truth of his convictions. He was not swayed by a gallop poll. He did not take back a word he said and re-word it to make people happy.

He wasn’t doing what he did, or saying what he said to make someone happy. He was obeying what he believed to the core of his being to be truth and knew God was with him.

Did you notice the end of the video. Dr King walked away and those gathered around grabbed him and were all smiles and reached out to slap him on his back with a “good speech” kind of slap, but Dr King did not return this. His arms remained stiff at his side and he stood firm, solid in his words. He did not say them for the accolades of those around him. He said them because they simply were to be said.

This my dear friends is the picture and the example of a man.

This was not our politicians of today who will only speak what their party tells them too. The ones that don’t have the backbone to tell you what they really think. They will not share their own personal stance but will only regurgitate their parties platform. The ones that stand behind a podium with a stupid arrogant grin on their faces making empty promises and speaking flattering lies…

I watch this man, Dr Martin Luther King Jr… and my stomach churns when I see those who claim to be the leaders of our country today. They simply cannot compare.

So I look at him and I wonder is there anyone out there who is willing to stand up and lead us as a nation with as much strength and boldness as this man. Where are the men who are willing to stand up and say that you will not legislate God our Creator out of our nation… because if you legislate Him out then how can the rest of our constitutional rights stand since they are based on the fact that they are endowed to us by our Creator and entitled to us by God?

So men and women of God are we really more worried about losing our 401K rather than our country? Do we really value our paychecks more than our freedom? Our houses more than our homes? Our immediate relief more than our children’s future sufferings?

I was in a store once several years ago on MLK day, a store I used to shop in quite often, it was a small antique shop, and there was a group of 4 or 5 people standing there, one of them being the owner. They were discussing Dr King and how he was just a “trouble maker”. I was younger then, not a believer, and not quite as bold as I am today. But I loudly placed down my items for purchase and turned and walked out of that store and have not set foot in it again, nor will I ever.

All I can say is we need some “trouble makers” like Dr King in our day. 

If God called you to stand and it meant your job, your house, your comfort, your very life… would you be willing to stand for the will of God?

Devotional Studies Through the Bible, Uncategorized

>Holy Fire

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“The angel of the LORD appeared to him
in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush;
and he looked, and behold,
the bush was burning with fire,
yet the bush was not consumed.” 
Exodus 3:2
The angel of the LORD, the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, He has always been, always is, and always will be. It was God who called Moses. Moses had already given up, he tried in his own strength to be his people’s deliverer. When he failed he ran and thought he had began a new life. What Moses did not yet know was that “…the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29).
It was now time for Moses’ part in history, or His story, to be put into action. What we see in these first few verses of Exodus 3 is evidence once again that it is God who seeks us. Moses did not flee out into the wilderness to seek God. God however did come to the wilderness to seek Moses.
In Romans 3:11 we read an excerpt from Psalm 14 that declares that there is none who seeks for God. Jesus tells us in John 6:65 “…no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” Jesus also declares in John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you…”
Oh precious one, if you are seeking God know that it is because He has already sought you. Know that you have been chosen, appointed by Him. God had appointed Moses to bring Israel out of Egypt, and this appointment Moses would keep.
God gets Moses’ attention through a burning bush. This bush, burning yet not being consumed by the fire, is a picture of God’s people. Both the nation of Israel and those who are His according to the promise, according to Christ. Many nations throughout time have tried to consume and destroy Israel, but they have not succeeded.
You see Hebrews 12:29 declares that “our God is a consuming fire.” In Isaiah 33:14 we read the questions “…Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?”
Fire is an interesting thing. It destroys what is worthless, but it refines precious things. In 1 Corin 3:13 we read that our work will be made evident and the truth of our deeds will be revealed with fire. The fire will test the quality of our works, in the fire do our works burn up, do they go up in smoke, or do they remain as gold and silver and precious jewels?
Friend, this fire does not test our works until it has first tested us. Isaiah 48:10 states “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” God tests us with His holy fire.

If we have been redeemed, called by His name, then we are precious in His sight, honored and loved by Him. If you are His, when you pass through the fire, like this bush that Moses beheld, you will not be consumed. You will not be scorched and the flame will not burn you (Isaiah 43:1-7).

Oh Father,
You are holy and You require me to be holy. This is what I can know, that when I am in the midst of the furnace of affliction, it is for my holiness. You are refining me, cleaning out the dead works, and preparing me to bear good fruit. My God, I can trust that You have not left me alone. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego where thrown into the furnace, they were not consumed. They were not left alone. When they exited they did not even have the smell of smoke on their clothes. Oh Father, they trusted in You whole heartedly. This is my desire, to trust You without wavering. To never curse You when the fire is surrounding me. To know to the very depths of my soul that You are in control and the outcome will always be Your glory shining in and through me.
My Jesus it is in Your name that I pray,

Amen

Uncategorized

>Something’s Missing

>My husband works a swing shift. He swings from days to nights. Before the swing shift he worked nights or second shift. I have to keep his work schedule in the kitchen to keep up with when he works and what shift and if he is working overtime or swapping with somebody and he also travels a good bit with his job. So obviously we have never been a family of routines or perfectly kept tight schedules. We don’t know if we are coming or going half the time.

With this crazy life we have there is nothing strange about me going to bed alone or waking up alone. On day shift he is up and out the door before I am awake and on night shift he is in the car and gone before most families are even beginning to cook supper. I say all this to share my moment this morning.

It happens to be an out of town time for my husband {so our Amos is going to get to sleep out tonight even though the stupid (this was a bad word in our house until Amos moved in… there is no other word accurate enough to describe him) dog decided he would sneek on the couch a few days ago after we went to bed and then when my husband caught him early the next morning and told him to get down, the dog chose to mark his territory on the couch cushion. I shall brave the possibility of a peed on couch for peace of mind as I sleep and trust the ferocious, yet stupid, beast to pee on any intruders}. Anyway, I woke this morning enough to tell my man goodbye and that I loved him… and then I rolled over to catch my last hour of sleep before my alarm went off.

Then my alarm went off and I rolled over and started my day, I was up and fixing my coffee, and gathering my stuff for church, and considering my plans for the day… and then I realized I had went back to sleep and was dreaming all of this. (Yep, I do that.)

So now I am fully awake, feet on the cold floor, socks in my hand, and heading to the bathroom. I turn on the light and look to the sink and then my heart falls. I see it. I see the evidence. I see my reminder, my sign, that my husband is gone out of town not just to work. His toothbrush is missing. Who would have ever thought that a toothbrush could do that?

For some reason I saw my sign and then my mind went to my grandparents. You see I remember when my Papaw Harris went to be with the Lord. My Mamaw Lola could not sleep in their bed. She had slept on her side with her back up against my Papaw’s back since she became his wife close to sixty years earlier at the age of fifteen. Now his back was missing. She chose to sleep on the couch because she could put her back to the couch and when she closed her eyes… she could imagine it was him.

So I saw my sign, my husband’s missing toothbrush, and I thought… I will never throw it away. Sixty years from now if the Lord calls my man home before He calls me… don’t you dare touch his toothbrush. It will stay in its place and my heart will leap with joy each morning because at least for a moment, before I fully awake I would forget that he was gone. It may seem silly… but it is what it is.

So what’s your sign that something’s missing to remind you that someone’s missing?

Proven Path Ministries, Uncategorized

>God’s Amazing Grace

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One of the things I am most thankful for is the grace of my God. If not for it… well, there is nothing… no good thing… no hope… nothing. So in honor of Thanksgiving I have pulled out a study I did on the grace of God to share with you all. May it be a blessing.
God bless the study of His Word.
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The first use of the word grace in the Bible is in Genesis 6:8.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

This word favor in Hebrew is chen -it means favor, grace, kindness, beauty, precious. It comes from the word chanan –which means to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior, to have mercy on or to have pity on.

The last time the word grace is used in the Old Testament is in the book of Zechariah.

Then he said to me,
“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying,
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
says the LORD of hosts. 
‘What are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain;
and he will bring forth the top stone
with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
Zechariah 4:6-7
 
and
 
 “I will pour out on the house of David
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the Spirit of grace and of supplication,
so that they will look on Me
whom they have pierced;
and they will mourn for Him,
as one mourns for an only son,
and they will weep bitterly over Him
like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
Zechariah 12:10

 In all of these uses grace is equated with salvation and our beautiful Savior.

In 1 Peter we read of how God’s grace was prophesied through the prophets. We also saw how this amazing grace was longed to be looked upon even by the angels!

As to this salvation,
the prophets who prophesied of the grace
that would come to you
made careful searches and inquiries,
 seeking to know what person
or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating
as He predicted the sufferings of Christ
and the glories to follow. 
It was revealed to them
that they were not serving themselves, but you,
in these things which now have been announced to you
through those who preached the gospel to you
by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—
things into which angels long to look.
1 Peter 1:10-12

The first time that the word grace is used in the New Testament is in Luke 2:40

The Child continued to grow
and become strong,
increasing in wisdom;
and the grace of God was upon Him.

Once again it is in a verse that is teaching of our Savior. In the Greek, the word grace is charis –which means gratifying, of manner or act, the divine influence upon the heart and it’s reflection in the life.


The next mention is in John 1:14-17. We read of how grace and truth were realized in Jesus. In the KJV this verse (Jn 1:17) reads “grace and truth came” by Jesus. The word “came” in this verse is ginomai –and means to cause to be generate, to be finished, follow, be found, be fulfilled, grow, be kept, be married, be ordained to be, partake, be performed.

What we see from this is beautiful!
The Law is indeed truth, but it came with no grace.
Yet in Christ grace and truth are married, they are one.
Grace and truth are finished in Christ, they are performed in Christ.
They are brought to life in our lives in, through, and by Christ.

As we move through the New Testament and continue our study of the grace of our God we can discover beautiful truths:

*We discover that grace is free – Eph 1:6, Rom 4:4
*We discover it is by God’s free gift of grace that we are saved – Rom 3:24, Rom 5:1-8, Eph 2:5-8
*We discover that not only is it by grace that Christ offers Himself but it is by grace that God even accepts this as propitiation for our sins – Heb 2:9, Rom 5:15-17
*We discover that it is grace that calls us to salvation –Gal 1:6
*We discover that it is grace that covers our sins – Rom 5:20-21, 1 Tim 1:13-14
*We discover that all that we are in Christ is by grace – 1 Corin 15:10

So what effect should this amazing grace have in our daily lives?
Remember that it is “the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life.” (look at Acts 4:33, 2 Corin 9:8)

*Grace should be recognized in you by others – Acts 11:23, 2 Corin 1:12, Gal 12:9
*Grace should be shared with other – Act 20:24, Eph 3:2, Eph 4:29 (with believers), Col 4:6 (with unbelievers)
*Grace should empower you – Titus 2:11-14
*Grace should build you up – Acts 20:32

God also gives us warnings concerning His grace:

*We are not to receive it in vain – 2 Corin 6:1
*We are not to fall from it – Gal 5:4
*We are not to insult it – Heb 10:29
*We are not to come short of it – Heb12:15
*We are not to turn it into licentiousness – Jude 4

God also gives us commands concerning His grace:

*We are to be strong in it – 2 Tim 2:1
*We are to run to it – Heb 4:16
*We are to fix our eyes on it – 1 Peter 1:13
*We are to stand firm in it – 1 Peter 5:12
*We are to grow in it – 2 Peter 3:18

The last mention of the word grace is the Bible is in Revelation, the very last verse in the word of God.
 
“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.”
Revelation 22:21

How great is our God and how abundant is His grace!

Proven Path Ministries, Uncategorized

>I Am My Beloved’s

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

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

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

– me
(inspired and written in Sept 2004 when studying the Song of Solomon while teaching Sex According To God, by Kay Arthur -> O how He loves us! Will we love Him in return?)

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Uncategorized

>Vaughn Elementary

>When I first began homeschooling our girls I was programed to carry out this mission according to the current public school system, the one I and my husband graduated from, and the one we had purposely pulled our girls out of. I would test my girls every week and what they got was what they got…

Then one day it hit me.

Wait a minute.
This is not public school.
This is Vaughn Elementary.
What am I doing?

Thank God I had a “lightbulb” moment. It just hit me out of nowhere in mid test (yeh it just hit me out of nowhere, but I know exactly Who it came from). I remembered what the whole point of a test was in God’s eyes.

In the wilderness He fed you manna
which your fathers did not know,
that He might humble you
and that He might test you,
to do good for you in the end.
Deuteronomy 8:16

The object of the test was not to leave my children in failure in a particular area and then move on to the next thing. The test was not the final word. I was.

The object of the test was to see if I had done my job well enough that they understood and learned. If they failed it was my job to go back and go over the information again. My job is to teach. The test is to show me what I need to teach again. The object of the test is to do good for them in the end.

For a period of about forty years
He put up with them in the wilderness.
Acts 13:18

Yes it may seem like it takes 40 years to get my child to understand how n = 3009 but if it takes 40 years… well that means we’ll just have to do school right on through summer and on Saturday too, but they will finish in victory, not marked as failures. The test will be for their good in the end. We will take as many trips around the math mountain as we must for them to get a grasp and understanding of the material and do our very best to keep the joy of learning alive and well.


Examine me, O LORD, and try me;
Test my mind and my heart.
For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have walked in Your truth.
Psalm 26:2-3

When the Lord examines us He does not pull out our flaws, our sins, and our failures to point them out and then leave us in them. He tests us to refine us, to perfect us. He tests us in love in order to make sure we fully understand truth. This is what I decided should be my goal in testing my girls as well.
  
Consider it all joy, my brethren,
when you encounter various trials, 
knowing that the testing of your faith
 produces endurance. 
And let endurance have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect
and complete,
lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4
So yes at the end of the year my girls will be “straight A” students, not because the grade was handed to them by their mommy, but because they have the privilege of living with their teacher and having my full attention so that they might go over and over material until they understand it. They can move ahead or stop if they need to, because the goal at Vaughn Elementary is for them to learn the material. I do not have a school board or a union telling me what, when, where, how much or how far.
Granted I do believe that my stand on testing will change and adjust as my girls pass from elementary into the high school years so that they might begin the transition into college, but right now this is where I am…testing to perfect not just to point out failures, focusing more on building a solid foundation than just passing on to the next scheduled lesson. At this point in their life keeping learning fun is vital.
So if you homeschool what’s your stand on testing?
How often do you test?
What is your grading style?
Did you change how and when you tested as your children grew older?

Confessions of a Christian Wife, Uncategorized

>Warning: Nagville Next Exit, All Roads Dead End

>Those who have no interest in turning from their destructive ways must, through the prayers of others, be turned over to God. Ultimately, they are responsible for their own actions; it is not our responsibility to change our loved ones. We can try to have a positive influence, but in the end it’s up to them to seek God for the necessary changes. Pressures, nagging, complaints, criticism, scolding, and similar actions aren’t going to do a thing. Instead, pray that you’ll see something supernatural happen. Your mate has the capacity to change, but he or she can’t be beaten in to restoration.
~ James Robison from Living in Love

 In the same way, you wives,
be submissive to your own husbands
so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word,
they may be won without a word
by the behavior of their wives, 
as they observe your chaste
and respectful behavior.
1 Peter 3:1-2
This can be a hard one can’t it…
This is one of those commands in Scripture where we have to prayerfully choose to take God at His word and walk by faith. 
It is so often in our nature as women to be the “nag”. And depending on our husbands the levels on which we reach Nagville can vary. For some husbands, just a mention makes you a nag, to others you have to have actually reached the point of following behind them with a wagging finger giving them your what-for. Regardless of where or when you reach this with your husband… it is not pleasing to God. We need to be sensitive to when God says… “Honey, you’ve hit Nagville, find a place to turn around and head the other direction immediately, there is no profit for anyone in Nagville… ever. All roads are a dead end. They will get you nowhere.”
It is better to live in a corner of a roof
Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
Proverbs 21:9
It is better to live in a desert land
Than with a contentious and vexing woman.
Proverbs 21:19
It is better to live in a corner of the roof
Than in a house shared with a contentious woman
Proverbs 25:24
A constant dripping on a day of steady rain
And a contentious woman are alike;
Proverbs 27:15
Okay ladies… did you count those?
Four cross-references all concerning nagging women.
You know if God says something once it’s pretty important. If He repeats Himself it’s very, very important. He has repeated Himself four times within a seven chapter span on this issue… I believe that puts this in the “Girl you better pay attention or else” category.  
Now the word contentious in these Scripture references is Madown. It means strife, contention, object of contention and it comes from the root word Diyn which means to judge, contend, plead, to act as judge, minister judgment, to plead a cause, to execute judgment, requite, vindicate, to govern, to contend, strive, to be at strife, quarrel.

Precious one, you are not, nor will you ever be your husbands Holy Spirit, you will not ever even be his conscience. He my dear is on his own. It’s all between him and God. All you can ever do is muddy the waters and harden his heart. So dear sweet one who might use her tongue as a lashing tool…

The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent.
Exodus 14:14

When you choose to hold your tongue, then you are choosing to walk by faith and you show that you trust that God has got everything under control…

Personally I have never felt that I was much of a nagger, my husband just is not the kind of man that would take that too well… so I have never really felt like I was a contentious woman in the nag side (my husband might have a different opinion on that, lol).

However, I have to admit that I have at times passed judgment on my husband in my heart, refused him grace, refused him mercy, refused him forgiveness, and punished him with the silent treatment and by withholding my affection. I get hurt and I through up walls of self-protection and forget that I am already protected by my breastplate of righteousness, my helmet of salvation, my belt of truth, my shield of faith, and I am already within the walls of the strong tower of my King.

I would give the silent treatment (and yes there is a difference in simply being silent and giving the silent treatment) because the truth is I had/have a fear of confrontation with him. I know I can’t out argue him, I am not quick witted at all. I know I cannot manipulate him. It’s just not in my ability to “handle someone”. I am the person who gets blindsided and stunned and then spends the next days and nights thinking of all the things I could have done or said at that moment instead of just standing there and taking it.

When we were first married and he would do something or say something that hurt my feelings and I hadn’t the nerve to address it in an appropriate way and time, I would try to show him what the issue was by doing it back to him.
I do not recommend this.
It does not work… at all.

See that no one repays another with evil for evil,
but always seek after that which is good
for one another and for all people.
1 Thessalonians 5:15 

So what do you do if you know something is off kilter with your spouse?
What do you do when you see them in destructive behaviour?
What do you do when that behaviour is toward you?

You address it kindly, when the time is appropriate.
You pray without ceasing about it.
And you leave it in the hands of a mighty God.

In marriage we get a first hand, front row seat, to every character flaw and deeds of flesh that our spouse has… but just because we see it and experience it doesn’t mean we have the power to fix it, nor is it necessarily our job to point it out, especially repeatedly point it out over and over and over and over.

Your mate has the capacity to change, but he or she can’t be beaten in to restoration.

However, it is without a doubt our job to lift our spouse up in prayer and listen closely to the leading of the Holy Spirit and only speak when He says speak and how He says speak and what He says speak.

It will never do any good to keep on addressing it.
It will however do good to keep on praying about it.
You can’t change anyone’s heart… but God most certainly can.

**** Disclosure: In cases of mental, emotional, or physical abuse seek wise counsel immediately. You are not alone and help is available and waiting.

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Would you believe this word from Chuck Swindoll was in my morning email devotions… so I had to come back and add it to this post.


“Always guard your words when your husband is going through terribly hard times. I want to confess something about us men. Mainly, I want you to remember: going through sustained hard times weakens most men. For some reason, hardship seems to strengthen women; we admire you for that. But we men are weakened when times of affliction hit and stay. In our weakened condition we lose our objectivity, sometimes our stability. Our discernment is also skewed. Our determination lags. We become vulnerable, and most men don’t know how to handle themselves in a vulnerable state of mind. So in light of all of this—hear me—we need your clear perspective, wisdom, and spiritual strength. Most of all, we need you to pray for us as you’ve never prayed. We need not only your prayers, we need your emotional support. We need you to take the initiative and step up. We need your words of confidence and encouragement.”

Names of God Series, Uncategorized

Names of God – El Elyon

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Before we learn about this next name of God we have to do a little context review to get the whole powerful punch of the moment.

If you recall in Genesis 12 God called out to a man named Abram from Ur of the Chaldean’s. He didn’t explain who He was. He didn’t give any detailed message. He simply said something like, “you Abram, go now” and Abram said “okay“. I often wonder exactly how God appeared to Abram. I mean Moses got a burning bush… I guess I’ll have to ask for that first hand account when I see him in eternity 🙂

Okay back to Abram. So the Lord calls him out and sends him to a place that He will show him when he gets there. Now that’s our God for us, “here, go, and I am not going to tell you where, but if you will listen closely as you go, then you’ll get there… and you will learn lessons all the way… because I already know that you are not a very good listener… but you will learn to be as you go.”

Abram heads out, in slight obedience, which is full disobedience. God told him to leave his family, but he took them with him… yeh the not so good listening skills part. So there were things that needed to happen to help Abram get back on the right track and you can read all about it in Genesis 12 and Genesis 13.

Now by Genesis 14 God has Abram and Sarai separated from all the rest of their family. So now here is Abram following a God he does not know all that well and now all his family is gone. They might have thought he was crazy in following this God, but they at least loved him anyway, right. Now it’s just him and Sarai.

Then the word comes that his nephew has been taken captive and so Abram and his men and his God go to battle against five kings, yes that’s right five kings. Guess who wins? Yep, ding-ding-ding, Abram! The amazing thing in this chapter is who Abram gets the opportunity to meet after the battle is over.

Finally after all this time he gets to meet a man who not only follows the same God he has been following, but this man knows Him and can teach him about this God.

Hmmmm what a coincidence… 🙂

This man’s name is Melchizedek and he is king and priest of Salem and he introduces Abram to God as God Most High or El Elyon.

Abram learns this day that this God that has called him out and that he has been following is not just any god. He is not one of the many gods that Abram has heard about throughout his life and travels… this God is El Elyon, God Most High.

Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
Isaiah 46:9

He is the God of gods.

Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth; 
 And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.
Genesis 14:19-20 
From this encounter with Melchizedek we learn right along with Abram that our God is not only the Creator God who created the heavens and the earth, but He is the Possessor of heaven and earth. He owns it, it is in His hands and all that it is in it.
 For the world is Mine, and all it contains.
Psalm 50:12

We also learn right along with Abram that his victory over the enemies was not his, he did not accomplish this in his own strength and strategic planning. God Most High delivered them into his hands… as He will our enemies if He will just trust Him.

To know that God will deliver us from our enemies we have to recognize that we will have enemies. We will face enemies in our life. Difficult days and people and trials will come, but we must remember who the Possessor of each day is and trust that He is with us. Our difficulties are for a purpose, our battles will teach us more of who our God is if we will just face them and let Him fight for us.

That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is no one besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other,
The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing well-being and creating calamity;
I am the LORD who does all these.
Isaiah 45:6-7
Our El Elyon holds us in His hands and He holds our nation in His hands. No king rises or falls without the permission the God Most High. Nebuchadnezzar is another one who had to learn this lesson the hard way…
this is the interpretation, O king,
and this is the decree of the Most High,
which has come upon my lord the king: 
that you be driven away from mankind
and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field,
and you be given grass to eat like cattle
and be drenched with the dew of heaven;
and seven periods of time will pass over you,
until you recognize that the Most High
is ruler over the realm of mankind
and bestows it on whomever He wishes. 
And in that it was commanded to leave the stump
with the roots of the tree,
your kingdom will be assured to you
after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.
Daniel 4:24-26
I don’t know about you but I had rather learn about my God through stumbling through obedience than leg striping disobedience. Crawling around on all fours and eating grass just doesn’t sound like much fun to me…