Did they sin?

Rahab did not even stammer, she was trembling from her head to her toes. She could feel the heat rising. She knew what the soldiers of Jericho were going to ask…she could hear the two spies’ last shuffles as they discreetly hid themselves from view. Opening her door, she came face to face with not only the Kings’ soldiers, but also a moral dilemma. Would she tell the truth…or lie?

            “We come in the name of the King, bring forth the men that have come to you, to this house, for they are spies!”

Did she hesitate? From the passage it is doubtful since they believed her…her answer was simple and part truth: “They had come, but are gone now, but if you run fast you will catch them!” The first part is truth, they had come.

She chose to lie, but two lives were saved…does the ends justify the means? After all she was never rebuked by God.

(For the whole account/further study see Joshua 2)

David’s heart was beating something fierce. The fear within him rose until it was choking him, the pressure in his throat made it hard to swallow, and the heat of the moment was upon him. As he stood before King Achish, a fear swept over him. But he like Rahab not only faced danger but also a choice…would he lie or be truthful?

In a moment of time a choice was to be made, and as he stood trembling before this king, with the fear of death stinging him, he feigned a mental disorder.

Of course we know that David was in his right mind…so he therefore lied…but his life was saved, and God again never said anything against him for this…so do the ends justify the means?

Just because God does not say something specific, does it means that it is okay? What do we do with “Thou shalt not lie”??? Should that alone be enough evidence to show the sin of David and Rahab? The Bible is clear isn’t it??

“For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

( For the whole account/further study see 1 Samuel 21)

Abraham and Sarah were taking the long trek to Egypt. Watching Sarah’s beautiful features, Abraham’s love for her swelled within him, he could not imagine having her taken from him. And so he purposed in his mind to tell Pharaoh that she was his sister. “Then they won’t take her.” He thought he had it all figured out…leaning on your own understanding always seems to give that side affect (Prov. 3:5-6) but God has a way of brining us quickly down from that cloud and showing us just who is boss, Who is to be obeyed at ALL costs at ALL times! Turns out that Sarah was taken anyway, but God in His sovereignty protected her. Abraham lied…but Sarah was still protected so does the ends justify the means?? Did God let that lie just slip??

And there was I, arriving at work one day. I clocked in, nothing new and turned to head to my room, when my boss called me into the office. Walking in I figured that perhaps she wanted me to go on bus run…or perhaps if I am really lucky she has reassigned me to another room and I won’t have to spend my day with the 14 terrible twos! But neither of those had she in mind.

My co-worker and I had built a good relationship, she is a Christian and a very hard worker, and she always tries her best. But my boss had something against her, not sure why. She always seemed to be looking for the worst in my co-worker, even if it was a small things she would hone in on it and make a mountain out of a mole hill.

Looking at me, she simply asked “Has ____ ever done anything that she should not.”

Now in a daycare those are some words that you never want to hear, especially in todays day and age where false accusations are made by parents all the time. Without real thought, (I don’t always think well” on the spot” I often need to step back and think things through.)

I said “No”, but then an incident from about a year previous randomly popped into my head…and I had a moment just like David and Rahab…would I tell the truth or lie?

This time I told the truth, I shared the account which was nothing too serious and assured my boss, that I was sure that ___ had learned from it and would never do it again. She thanked me and promised me that she would never let ___ know that it was me that told.

So I proceeded to my room and began changing the endless diapers. Watching the clock I counted down the time till ___ would arrive. Before long she came through the door, and I could tell by her body language that something was amiss. She immediately started asking my other two co-workers if they had told our boss a story about her. They of course said “no.” Then came the moment in time when I again faced a moment to speak truth and trust God, or to take things into my own hands and sin.

I could feel the heat come to my cheeks, she turned and looked me square in the eye, she looked almost doubtful that I would do it but asked anyway “Bethany…did you tell our boss that I did this?” In that instant I chose to take things into my own hands….leaning on my own understanding of the situation (Prov. 3:5-6). “No.”

At one point she left the room, I turned to my other co-workers…”I just lied to her…I can’t believe I just did that…I should tell her the truth.” They both said “No, just leave it.” And so I did.

And the rest of the day went well as far as our relating to one another, but inside my stomach was turning and my heart was amuck.

That night the stories of David and Rahab came to my mind ( not a coincidence). And I knew that they both like me had faced the fear of man, and chose to fear man more than God and chose to take things into their own hands instead of trusting their Almighty Maker who is able to answer beyond anything we can ever ask or imagine.

Now I understand the debate on these passages…that God never rebuked them.

You know our God truly is amazing! He will always get the glory and His purposes will always be accomplished! Even when we sin, He is glorified! He has that wonderful way about Him to take sin…ugly and black as it is and use it for His glory…I mean think of Samson…of Paul before he got saved and all the persecutors of the Christians, the Bible says that they grew stronger under persecution…think about it they grew stronger in their faith because of someone else’s sin!

Think of JUDAS for goodness sake!
So whether you are a Paul, totally sold out for Christ, totally engaged in the battle for worship and service, or whether you are Judas who has started playing for the opposing team, or whether you are a Pharisee who is worshipping the true God but with the wrong motives, take NOTE you will still be used of God! He has a wonderful power to take and turn things inside out and use them for His glory!

So as I contemplated a lot of these things that night, I knew what had to be done!
I called my mom and she too told me the same thing. So the next day, with my good relationship and testimony to lose (but really it had already been lost because I had already sinned against God and her.) I told the truth. You should have seen the faces of my other two co-workers who had told me to just leave it…they were shocked. And to see the look of shock and anger on her face, to feel the weight of her anger the rest of that day, even the two year olds could feel it and knew something was wrong.

I love what my dad said, “you know Bethy, things will be different from here on out. Things will never be the same,  because you sinned. And just because you made it right does not mean that everything goes back to normal, there are always consequences to sin whether you see them right away or not.”

And how right was he! Things were different and still are. Oh yes she is no longer mad at me, but she def. does not treat me the same, there is still that density between us. But I am thankful that things have healed for the most part and I am thankful for the mercy and grace of my wonderful Father in heaven!

So I believe that what David and Rahab and Abe (and myself as well) was all wrong. I believe that God’s Word always stands true (“thou shalt not lie.”) and that there are never “loop holes” to the written and clear Word of God. Sure there are gray areas (music…playing cards going to the theater..) and the Spirit works in those areas.  But when it comes to the black and white it is THUS SAITH THE LORD and there is no way around that!
However I gladly welcome discussion, and would love to hear from you what your thoughts are! Thanks for reading, and may God shed the light of His countenance on this subject (or just help us to see the light that has been shining there all along??)

The Perfect mother??

No mother is perfect, no mother does everything right, this is due to the fall of man, due to our sin nature! So obviously I am not going to say that "my mom is perfect," or even that she "comes as close to perfect as this side of heaven you can be." But I will say that she is perfect for me!!

God is so amazing in that He always knows what is the very best for us, even down to the minor details such as who should be our parents, and because Sherrill and Jeff Duffy are my parents they are therefore the BEST parents for me! None other would do, because those two very special people were the very people God picked to be my parents!

Therefore I can wish for none other!! So I wanted to begin this note by stating that my mother is not perfect, but that she is perfect for me!! And I praise God that He chose her for me and me for her!!

You see God had it all planned out before I was born! He knew EXACTLY what it would take to bring me to Himself! He knew that it would take me being raised by a certain Jeff and Sherrill, none other would do! It is so amazing for me to stand back and reflect on all the little details of my life and see the sovereignty of God! He is so amazing, so far above me! I am so insignificant... nothing to note... nothing for the very God of Heaven the very creator to even look on let alone smile on! And yet He stoops down and notices little and awfully sinful me! And He not only notices me but knows me better than I know myself!! I like David am compelled to say

"When I consider your heavens,
       the work of your fingers,
       the moon and the stars,
       which you have set in place,

  what is man that you are mindful of him,
       the son of man that you care for him?" Psalm 8:3-4



Krista was my parents first child, and she was a perfect fit for them ( again God's sovereignty must be noted here:). She was so good, all they had to do when her sinful nature reared its ugly head was to give a stern look (just one) and she would start crying and stop whatever sinful action she was taking.
MY parents were just young pups then (in fact my dad was my age exactly!!! Hard to believe it!).

Anyway they were really young and my dad was still in college when Krista was born. So when I was born I can almost bet that they were expecting me to be just the same way as Krista! But boy were they wrong!! God must have a sense of humor, for He really through them a curve ball in giving them me!

Krista and I are as different as night and day! Where she was good and sweet, I was mischievous and a tyrant! It took a lot of force to get me to do what they easliy got Krista to do! So I can only imagine how hard it must have been for my mother! And yet I always remember having great patience with me! Oh yes I tested her waters, but somehow she always managed to keep those waters calm and peaceful!
Then Joe came, her first and precious son. What patience had she with his countless window breakings, and boyish antics of catching frogs and bugs and the like, and all the trouble we got into together.

And she thought she was to be only a mother of three. But as Joseph left toddler age and went into a young child she yearned for yet another. I remember when she told us she was pregnant, we were elated! For by this time we were old enough to understand (I was only three when Joe was born, so I really did not remember it).

Her and dad called us into his office at Fellowship Baptist in Des, Moines where he was the associate pastor at the time. And she showed us the test, Krista always having been interested in babies knew exactly what those lines meant, I was confused as was Joe, but after some explanation the room filled with our screams of joy as we jumped up and down. Dad of course in his usual manner looked on with joy as did mom.

But that happiness was cut short, as we lost that precious babe. Long about December we had a visit to the doctor and no heart beat could be heard. Little Joshy had gotten the cord wrapped around his kneck and he passed away before we could see his beautiful face. But one thing we know he will never stray from his Lord for he is always at his side in heaven!

For awhile we took time to heal from that. We were all so excited and then had our hopes cut short. But God knew exactly what He was doing and He had perfect reasons as to calling Joshua home, and I would not have it any other way.

Mom got pregnant once again, this time we were excited yes, but there was that unsaid apprehension of if we would lose this one two. But God in His matchless grace granted to us Andrew. The precious miracle boy was a wonderful delight to us all, but especially Joe, for now he had a playmate…well sort of.

The next two years were honestly some of the craziest years of our lives! Little did we know that when mom and dad said “four no more” that God would throw us a couple curve balls! Funny how we think we have things figured out then God says “Nuh-uh!”
Just fourteen months after little Drew was born, Caleb came into the world! And he was a mama’s boy from the start. Dad held him first and he cried and cried until he was in mama’s arms then all crying ceased, and to this day he is not ashamed to admit that mama still is really the only one who can calm him!

Then shortly after Caleb God surprised us again with the blessing of another little girl! Our precious Breanna was born! She has been full of life right from the start!
Boy were those some crazy years weren’t they mama? Three small children…the countless diapers…bottles…tussles…sleepless nights! It truly was crazy! But somehow you corralled all us kids! Homeschooling us, cooking for us, being a wonderful wife (Pastor’s wife at that!). It is hard to believe all the things you did and still do! Thankyou!

She has always been resourceful, and well organized. I took it for granted her choice and dedication to homeschool all six of us kids! She has always been loving, the one who I can go to with a problem and who always was ready to dry that tear, to guide and direct in loving ways! She has always been that good listening ear, to this day I still call her at least once a day to check in and tell her of what is going on!

So here’s to you mom! Thankyou for reflecting Jesus Christ! Thankyou for faithfully rearing my heart towards Him! Thankyou for being the one who lead me to Him that February eve when I was but four!

Thankyou for being the precious mother of:

Krista Michelle (Tee)
Bethany Renae (Boobopper)
Joseph Aaron   (Pud)
Joshua              (Heavenly child)
Andrew Levi ( Rubber Duck)
Caleb Scott      (Drool Bucket/mama’s boy)
Breanna Kae    (Pooka Butt/ nana)

WE ALL LOVE YOU MOM! HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Becoming like your god..

PSALM 115:4-8
“Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not; They have hands, but they handle not; Feet have they, but they walk not; Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them.”

Now if you are anything like me, your first thought after reading this might be:

 “Yeah well this does not apply to me, because I trust in the TRUE and LIVING God JEHOVAH, YAHWEH, ELOHIM! So these verses have nothing to do with me!

I mean after all you will never see me bow before a golden image, or even a rock, or tree. You won’t ever see me rub Buddha’s belly. No I do not worship idols! This does not apply!”

But perhaps with further meditation, and deeper searching of your heart God will reveal to you what He has to me.

No I don’t physically bow to any type of image, and I don’t physically rub Buddha’s belly, but in a metaphorical sense I do these things! No my idol worship is a lot more subtle, more hidden, and almost unrecognizable (were it not for the Holy Spirit!)

We as Americans don’t physically bow or rub belly’s, but we do worship at the feet of other gods, rather than the true and living God!

My idols are my own self. You only worship what you trust and love, and you only trust and love in something because you have a desire and you think that desire will be fulfilled in what you are trusting.

So for me it looks like this: I trust and love myself, and I do this because I have the desire for the praise of men (I want to be worshipped), and how I get that (or hope to get that) is to stay skinny (eating disorder/really it is just simply sin, but for the sake of clarification…eating disorder).

Wow! It actually hurt to write this out! To realize before my very eyes the sad state and endless cycle of uselessness!

 I believe that all false worship can boil down to quite literally a worship of self. Because whether you are an American worshiping yourself, or money, or a car, or a sport, or your job, or another person, or whether you are less sophisticated and you are an Israelite bowing to the calf while Mo is up on Mt. Sinai receiving the commandments, or you are a Buddha Belly rubber, all of us want the same things: to feel good, and to have our desires fulfilled! We worship the “thing” so to get what we want.

But the whole thing is backwards and wrong! Because first off we are worshipping the wrong thing, and secondly we are worshipping for the wrong reasons!

And when we do that, the verses I shared at the beginning tell us exactly what we will become, we will become like our idol, USELESS and hopeless!

Think about it! As a Christian this would mean that you would be rendered useless! How? You might ask. I mean after all, our hearts are always wandering. For we are always either, worshipping the wrong thing, for the wrong reasons, or the Right Person with the wrong reasons.

You see there are two battle fields that we will always fight on. Either we will be tempted to worship the wrong thing with the wrong reasons or the right Person with the wrong reasons and when we do this, every part of our life is affected by this!

How? You might ask. We worship every moment of everyday! So that means two things: First you will always be in battle! No wonder God exhorted us to put on His armor!

Every moment of everyday battle lines are being drawn, and many of them very subtly! Think about it, this very moment you are worshipping something…what is that something? Are you alert to this? Are you engaged? Or are you just “passively” worshipping (no worship is passive, though sometimes it may have the appearance.)

Secondly the fact that we worship everyday means that we are always serving that which we worship! So if we are worshipping the wrong thing with the wrong reasons, we are useless because everything we do is done for the wrong thing and with the wrong reason.

It is like as if we are playing soccer and we are the blue team going against the red. And we begin to hate the very team we are on (God) and we purposefully score a point for the red team (false god). We served the wrong team and it was no accident we did it for the wrong reasons, for the praise of the other team!

But you might say, well what about those who worship the true God, but for the wrong reasons. Meaning that they make Elohim to be but a mere genie in a lamp, pulling Him out only as trouble comes or as they need something. In other words He is just someone to fulfill our needs.

We are still rendered useless as servant’s to Him because everything we do will be for our own praise, and Jesus told the Pharisees’ that those who worship God for the wrong reasons will get one prize and one alone: the praise of men! Earthly praise. But as Christians that is never our aim! Our aim is to lay up treasures in heaven!

So you see that way, you are always in a battle for your heart, you are always worshipping, and you are always serving. We don’t have to be told to worship or serve, we always will, but we do need to be told Who and why to worship! It is always then not only just about Who we worship and serve, but WHY we worship and serve!

So have you been rendered useless? Have you become like your god?? Unable to do anything :

PS. 115:4-8 “They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; Noses have they, but they smell not; They have hands, but they handle not; Feet have they, but they walk not; Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them.”

But know this, no matter what God will always get the glory and His purposes will always be accomplished! Even if you are scoring points for the other team (by worshipping the wrong thing, for the wrong reasons) or if you are worshipping Him with the right reasons, He still will WIN!

So whether you are a Paul, totally sold out for Christ, totally engaged in the battle for worship and service, or whether you are Judas who has started playing for the opposing team, or whether you are a Pharisee who is worshipping the true God but with the wrong motives, take NOTE you will still be used of God! He has a wonderful power to take and turn things inside out and use them for His glory!
So no matter what He always wins! Are you on His side? It is a daily battle for your heart, are you engaged? Are you aware?? Or are you just passive, not taking note??

Psalm 116:17a "I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving."  And vs. 16 talks about our being set free from the chains of sin. Application of all this is we need to give God thanks for the sacrifice of His Son, for being our creator, because He is above us all (right reason for worship).
To give thanks for a sacrifice requires a sacrifce:
Romans 12:1-2 "I appeal to you brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your REASONABLE act of Worship!"