This note is the "Sequel" as it were to my other note on here entitled " A stone's throw from the Israelites of Moses' day."
I have been reading in Psalm 78 for the past week for my devotions. This is a psalm of Asaph and he reflects on Israel's complaining in the wilderness
and states very clearly in vs. 19 the seriousness of complaining in that
it is speaking against God. But he also states God's reaction to Israel's complaining. In that though they complained He still provided for their needs and not only that but He provided them to the fill, they had the exact amount they needed as seen in verses 22-25:
22. Because they did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
23. Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
24. Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of heaven.
25. Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to the full.
I don't know about you but if I were God I would have just taken them out first thing that they started complaining, forget sending them manna! I would have stated the fact that I have lead them up to this point all the way out of Egypt, and that I had parted the red sea and just get angry at them. But I am no different than them! In fact as stated in my last note I am worse than them! For I have it WAY better than they did and yet I complain more than they did and not just for daily needs like food and water! I too like them forget the works that God has done, they forgot that God delivered them from Pharaoh, they forgot all about God's glory and power displayed through the plagues. They forgot His leadership through the wilderness (Ten Commandments, the pillar of fire and the cloud that lead them.)
But I too forget God's works; I too choose to not live in the light that God sent His son to die for me! I choose not to live in the light of about just who I serve! You see every time I complain I not only speak against God, but I also am choosing not to live in the light of all I have been given. It is like as if I am right at the foot of the cross, with Christ dying and suffering there for my sin, and all I do is look at Him and say "I don't care, because I don't have what I want and you dying is not enough, I want MORE."
And as I have been reading through this passage i have been convicted over and over again about my complaining. It has literally been a spiritual spanking for me everyday! And it has been exactly what I have needed, because I never saw complaining as serious, and I never realized how much I complain! I do it all the time 24/7, and it comes WAY too easy for me. I praise the Lord for bringing this to the forefront, because complaining is serious and something that I am steeped knee deep in!
So I have saw that the Lord provided for the Israelites needs by sending them manna ( bread like substance) but He also sent them what they desires. The God I serve not only supplies for the needs of His children but also their wants!! He is so intimately aware of what I go through that He not only knows my needs but He also knows my desires…my wants.
After the Israelites had been eating Manna for awhile they got tired of the "same ole, same ole" so they wanted some meat. So they complained again and so God sent them meat, He sent quail to them Psalm78:27-30a:
27. He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28. And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29. So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
30. They were not deprived of their craving,
Though they complained, He not only provided for their needs but also their desires. But the end of verse 30 reveals that complaining does anger Him.
And He did punish them. And if He thought that their complaining was serious and punished them, how much more serious is mine? Because as I stated I have it way better than the Israelites and yet I complain more! Psalm 78:30-31:
30.They were not deprived of their craving;
But while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.
He struck them down! And though He may not do this to me, it does not mean that He could not! My life is totally in the hands of an almighty God who at any moment could call me home, should this not affect the things I do and say? Should I not more readily fear Him? Should I not want to please Him? And not just to keep Him "happy, so that I won't get struck down" but rather to be able to know that He can use me here on earth and that I am of use to Him here on earth, for this is the only chance on this earth that I have to serve Him. Should I not be making the most of it?
God's frown was not enough to keep the Israelites from wrong and His smile was not enough to compel them to do right, thus He was left with no choice but to strike them down. Though I have been worse than they in my complaining, may I not continue in it. May God’s frown be enough to keep me from wrong and His smile enough to do right! May I learn from their mistakes and strive for better, for God’s glory!
These verses also show that God does not miss anything; I cannot "hide" my complaining from God for He knows me better than I know myself.
He heard the Israelites; He knew what was in their hearts. He knew that they thought they deserved better than what He had given, but the truth is they did not even deserve what they had been given. And I am no better or any different than they!
And after reading of the seriousness of complaining, and of the Lord showing me that I am worse toward Him than the Israelites were, it has been wonderful in that I am more able to correct my life, because I can see my faults…my shortcomings.
You see for this past week in Psalm 78, it has been like getting up every morning and looking in the mirror (the mirror being God’s word___), and the more I have looked the uglier I began to look (in that I realized and my eyes were opened to the seriousness of my complaining)
He has revealed my matted hair and all of my blemishes that I have just been letting grow and have neglected to take care of. And when looking in the mirror of God’s word and seeing all these problems I was shocked that I had been walking around like that and did not even notice or care or try to change it ( for I was not really trying to change my complaining because I never even realized how much I complained!!)
But today was especially wonderful because God gave me the brush and facial cleanser to clean myself up!!
For Psalm 78: 34- 35 reads:
34. When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
And at first glance one might think “How in the world did you get an application for complaining from these verses?” (Or maybe you like I saw it at first glance ;)
You see in verse 34 it states the first way that I turn from complaining. First it shows that I have to return. It says that “they returned” (vs. 34b). So I see that I have to acknowledge that by my complaining I have wandered from the Lord, I have disobeyed Him and sinned against Him. And thus I must confess and ask His forgiveness and by confessing I “return” as it were to Him. I must acknowledge that complaining is a sin, and take it for the serious matter that it is.
The second way is also found in verse 34b. You see complaining is Satan’s counterfeit (like all sins are) of a good virtue that God’s REAL DEAL.
And what is the opposite of complaining (the Counterfeit)?? Contentedness, or an attitude of gratitude is (these are God’s REAL DEAL). And how do we have an attitude of gratitude?
By seeking God whole heartedly!! You see when I am seeking “things” or anything besides God and His will then we are complaining because we cannot always get the temporal “things” that we want or think we need.
But when God consumes my life, in that I desire and want only what He desires and wants me to have, then my complaining ceases for He truly fills every gap, every need and even sometimes my desires (that is when they are aligned to His).
And finally the third way to overcome complaining is by remembering that I do not even deserve what I have and by choosing to keep before my eyes and in my mind the fact that God has redeemed me (the greatest need I have.) and also the fact that HE is ALL I will ever need verse 35 “Then they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer”
I must choose to be satisfied with God and God alone! I must rest in the fact that “There might be days where I have NO ONE ( people) and NOTHING ( material things) at ALL but GOD and that is ALL I will ever NEED.”
I must allow God to be enough for I do not even deserve Him!
I have looked in the Mirror of God’s word, He has revealed my problems, the matted hair, the blemishes, but He has also given me a brush and facial cleanser, may I USE THEM! May I not go away unchanged!
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” James 1:22-24
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
God can use ANYTHING!
Okay so we all would agree with the title of this post, I mean after all God created everything, so of course He can use it all right? YES! Would be our almost automated sunday school answer, like the recorded "leave a message after the beep." The typical answer to such a wonderful and powerful question!
But what about when the rubber meets the road? What about in the everyday issues of life...do we really believe this? Better yet, do we live our belief out??
I have found today that I too often then not, say and believe one thing, and then my actions speak to the contrary of that belief or profession.
Take the statement above, "God can use anything", simple yet profound and of course I believe it...or do I???
There I was arriving for yet another weekend with the older couple. You see I have the wonderful privilidge of going and staying at an elderly couple's farm on the weekends sometimes and just taking care of them (making meals...giving pills....ect.).
So as I arrived yesterday with my little sister, I was thinking to myself "you know I love coming here and helping them out, and I really do count it a privilidge, but I am gonna miss going to church tommorrow, I am going to miss being challenged from God, guess there is always next week!"
Today I awoke (later than planned) but just in time enough to get down stairs and get breakfast ready before everyone else was ready for it ;).
The morning went fairly normal, I read from God’s Word in Psalm 119:8, and was encouraged by the truth that God will never forsake me, but you see the omnipresence of God is never just an encouragement but it is also a challenge, to live out His omnipresence, (you see already I am diving into the truth that we must live out what we believe.)
Well what would this look like? One might ask, well you see if we truly lived out the presence of God (another way of saying this is “fear of God”) if I truly lived out the truth that God truly sees everything I do, hears everything I say, and knows everything I think, then everything I did, said and thought would be in total alignment with what He truly wants me to say, do and think!
In other words if I lived out the last half of the verse :that God will not utterly forsake me (although in the verse it is stated as a plea from the writer of the Psalm, but we always let scripture shed light on scripture so we know that this plea is always answered in the affirmative)
So where was I? Oh yes if I truly lived out the truth of the last half of this verse then I would truly live out the first half which states “I will keep your statutes.”
Now that is living FAITH! As I read that this morning I came away challenged from the Word of God, convicted of sin, and with a desire to set things straight!
I mean here is an elderly lady who has Alzheimer’s and yet she still remembers the sacrifice fo our lord and Savior and it drives her to tears!...I mean when was the last time I got emotion over that?
But what about when the rubber meets the road? What about in the everyday issues of life...do we really believe this? Better yet, do we live our belief out??
I have found today that I too often then not, say and believe one thing, and then my actions speak to the contrary of that belief or profession.
Take the statement above, "God can use anything", simple yet profound and of course I believe it...or do I???
There I was arriving for yet another weekend with the older couple. You see I have the wonderful privilidge of going and staying at an elderly couple's farm on the weekends sometimes and just taking care of them (making meals...giving pills....ect.).
So as I arrived yesterday with my little sister, I was thinking to myself "you know I love coming here and helping them out, and I really do count it a privilidge, but I am gonna miss going to church tommorrow, I am going to miss being challenged from God, guess there is always next week!"
Today I awoke (later than planned) but just in time enough to get down stairs and get breakfast ready before everyone else was ready for it ;).
The morning went fairly normal, I read from God’s Word in Psalm 119:8, and was encouraged by the truth that God will never forsake me, but you see the omnipresence of God is never just an encouragement but it is also a challenge, to live out His omnipresence, (you see already I am diving into the truth that we must live out what we believe.)
Well what would this look like? One might ask, well you see if we truly lived out the presence of God (another way of saying this is “fear of God”) if I truly lived out the truth that God truly sees everything I do, hears everything I say, and knows everything I think, then everything I did, said and thought would be in total alignment with what He truly wants me to say, do and think!
In other words if I lived out the last half of the verse :that God will not utterly forsake me (although in the verse it is stated as a plea from the writer of the Psalm, but we always let scripture shed light on scripture so we know that this plea is always answered in the affirmative)
So where was I? Oh yes if I truly lived out the truth of the last half of this verse then I would truly live out the first half which states “I will keep your statutes.”
Now that is living FAITH! As I read that this morning I came away challenged from the Word of God, convicted of sin, and with a desire to set things straight!
And this was just at the beginning of the day! So much for thinking that I would not be challenged from God while here on a farm out in the middle of nowhere!
A little while later nana and I had “church”, I read to her from a Bible story book, and the stories that I read all seemed to point to Christ’s return and how we need to prepare for it. Coincidence?? I think not! Because it goes with my devotions earlier this morning…how?
If I was truly living out God’s presence and thus my actions, words and thoughts would be righteous then I think it is safe to say that I would not have to fear Christ’s coming! I would be totally ready to meet my Savior and tell Him and recall with Him what all He was able to do through me!
WOW! Coincidence is just God’s way of remaining anonymous!
And this was just mid-morning!
After lunch I decided that it was probably time that I give the Mrs. Some Bible activity books and a children’s Bible story book that I had found while cleaning our basement at my home.
And you might be thinking…why would I give an elderly lady something like that? Well you see she has Alzheimer’s, but the amazing thing is that this godly Christian lady still reads her Bible and enjoys reading Bible stories and things related to the Bible!
After handing it to her, she kind of shocked me when she said “Shall I read it to you?”
I was elated at this, for it is not often that she asks me to do something, it is usually I that has to iniciate things to do.
Anyways I called nana down, and we sat Indian style on the floor in front of her chair. And she began. She started with Jesus’ birth. This story I have heard countless times (as have you I am sure.)
But the thing about hearing it again and again and growing up with it, is that far too often the totally wonderful and miraculous, too often becomes, everyday and mundane.
But not for this elderly lady!
She challenged my heart as she read because when she read the part about Jesus coming to earth as a baby she started crying, and it struck me that too often I don't fully grasp the truth and the love of Christ coming to earth! I mean this was the very SON OF GOD,
Leaving all the luxuries of heaven, the worship of the angels, to come to earth and struggle to survive as a poor carpenters son. To face ridicule from humans, to face his brothers day after day who denied His being God.
What it must have been like! To be able to show with the snap of His finger just Who He was, and yet to have to hold back! To ride a donkey instead of a horse. And this is just a small list folks, I could go on and on!
I mean here is an elderly lady who has Alzheimer’s and yet she still remembers the sacrifice fo our lord and Savior and it drives her to tears!...I mean when was the last time I got emotion over that?
Christ was worshipped today folks! Yes He was worshipped in many churches all across the world, but He was also worshipped today by an elderly lady at the end of her life, in a small farm out in no wheres ville, who cried over His sacrifice!
She reminds me of the lady with the two mites, both the Mrs. And that lady had not much to Jesus, but they gave what they could and that is where it really counts! That is where the rubber meets the road! Where faith is truly lived out!!
It was such an example to my sister and I and such a moving time something I wont forget and neither will my sister! Can't wait to read again with her ;0)
It was such an example to my sister and I and such a moving time something I wont forget and neither will my sister! Can't wait to read again with her ;0)
You see God can use ANYTHING! Just when I thought I would miss an opt. to be challenged by Him cuz I was not going to church, He uses my devotions and then He used something that most people would never think twice about Him using.
He used a simple child’s book and an elderly lady with alzheimers to show this girl a thing or two about true worship and living faith!
Here I was thinking “Aw I will listen to her read and it will help distract her from her troubling thoughts (it is scary not being able to remember simple things…like the fact that this IS your house….and that man lying on the couch IS your husband…and that your mother HAS passed on…and not knowing where you are.).
HERE I was thinking I can serve her today, when in reality it was her serving me and being used of God to teach me some more about Himself!
And so you see God CAN USE ANYTHING! And there are no coincidences, just God trying to remain anonymous, but don’t let Him!
“Open our eyes LORD! We want to SEE JESUS!.”
It is never that God is not at work…it is always just that we are not looking for it! If you look for HIM you will surely FIND HIM!
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God
“Draw near to God and He WILL draw near to you!
Funny because I was kinda stuck in a rut and I asked God to draw me closer to Him just this past week and already He has used this weekend to draw me close!
GLORY TO HIM!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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
“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
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
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.
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??)
Sunday, May 8, 2011
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!
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!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
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.”
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??
“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 :
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??
Sunday, April 17, 2011
A stone's throw from the Israelites of Moses' day???
The Israelites had been freed from Egyptian slavery and were wandering in the wilderness. While there God provided them with guidance ( a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night) , yet they complained about wandering, and that things had been better in Egypt.
God also provided them with food and not just any food, this was food that rained down from heaven, and was enough for each individual person, they we not starving. This food they called Manna: a bread like substance. But then we see that they also complained about this food as well, they claimed that they wanted something better, they wanted meat!!
So God gave them meat... and lots of it!!! He gave them live quail, in fact so much that it was 3 ft. deep!!! Now if that is not alot of meat.. I don't know what is!! This would be heaven for me just hand me a BB gun and I would go to town with killing them!!! That would be the perfect hunting day!!
Anyways where was I??? OH yes the quail!! So they complained about that later on! God also provided them with water when they needed it and also guidance through Moses, through His commands and also pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night!
Also let's not forget the very fact that He gave them freedom from Egypt, got them across the red sea and cured them from a terrible sickness that came from snakes ( lifting up the snake in the wilderness).
And He also restrained from punishing them time and again and they were in fact on their way to the promised land. They were SO SO blessed in many ways, and yet we find them in the book of Exodus complaining time and again.
And I as an American in the 21st century look at that and click my tongue as if to say "Shame, shame you Israelites!! Can't you see what God has and is doing for you?? Why are you complaining??" And in fact I am tempted to think that I am better then them, when in fact I am way worse then them!
For I have it far greater than they. After all I live in a nice dorm ( when at school) and a nice House ( when I am home) versus a tent. I really don't have to travel everyday like they did and when I do it most often is not on foot ( minus my walk to work which is prolly not even half a mile I am pretty certain that they walked MILES) I can just hop into a car and get where I am going.
I have plenty of food whenever I need it, and it is never just bread or quail I have way more variety than that. And though I have not been freed from egyptian slavery I have been freed in an even greater sense from the slavery of my sin!!!! Because of Christ the son of God's death on the cross I have been freed from the guilt and shame and punishment of my sin and am now a child of God's!!
And I too am headed to a promised land just as they were but my promised land is way better as well! For heaven you see is even greater than their promised land for this promised land is free of sin and it is the most perfect place.
So as you can see I have it even better than they did, and yet I complain just as much as they did if not more than they did! And when I really began to think about this I thought to myself "How could this be? How could I look down on the Israelites for complaining when I myself have it better off then they did and complain even more than they did!"
All this was brought to mind in my quiet time with God the past few days. My Bible reading has been in Psalm 78 and in versus 18- 21 it talks about the Israelites and how they complained against God. First it states what God had given them and then it states that they complained. And it just got me to thinking about the seriousness of complaining.
Psalm 78:18-21
18 They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
This verse shows me what complaining it. It states
that complaining is willfull in that they willfully complained. It is never mindless like sometimes I like to think it is.
I would sometimes like to dismiss my complaining as "out of my control" in that I say that "well If things were not this way, or if I only had this_____, then I would not complain" But that is never true for I would find something to complain about even if I had all the riches in the world!! But what is complaining?
Complaining is speaking against God when you think about it honestly!! WE would like to think that we complain because of our circumstances, because of not having what we think we need. Or complaing about the fact that there are things we want but do not have. Take the Israelites for instance, in this verse at the end it says that they were demanding that God give them the food they craved. Notice how it does not say by demanding for the food they needed, no it does not say that because they already had food, the problem was they did not have the food they really wanted.
Complaining is speaking against God because what I am saying to God when I complain is that "I deserve better than what He has provided" When in reality I DO NOT deserve even what He has given me!! You see complaing when taken honestly is a serious sin! It is speaking against God! This means that anytime I complain no matter what I am complaining about I am telling God that I deserve better, I am telling Him that who HE is and what He has done matters nothing to me and is not sufficent.
It is as if I am looking at Jesus on the cross suffering and dying for my sin and all I have to say is "I want more... give me more!"
I am but a stones throw from Israel... in fact I am worse because I have it better than they!
19 They spoke against God, saying,
"Can God spread a table in the desert?
We see here that complainig is as I stated before speaking against God, the creator of the universe and me and the savior of the world! It also shows that He is fully capable of providing for my needs ( food in particular) and it matters not where I am for He can and will provide for me no matter where I am!
20 When he struck the rock, water gushed out,
and streams flowed abundantly.
But can he also give us food?
Can he supply meat for his people?"
As stated earlier and as seen in this verse God provided them with water ( He does this for me as well for there is an endless supply of it with just a turn of a knob and any faucet nearest me, and I am never far from one. And to think I do not even have to strike a rock!!)
He aslo provided them with meat because they were tireing of the manna, and to think that I have more variety than that and yet I too still complain!! Just a stones throw folks... just a stones throw!!!
21 When the LORD heard them, he was very angry;
his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel
And finally were learn here that complaining angers God, and RIGHTLY SO!!!
Imagine, you make a good dinner for someone. Then after the dinner all that person did was to tell you how bad it tasted and what all you did wrong and then they proceeded to say what would have been better. And how angry you would be?? And don't say that you would not be because you would, we all hate it when we go to great lengths to do something nice for someone and all that person has to say is complaints about the thing we did.
Or imagine that you are in the hot desert, with a friend. And the friend gets thirsty and you are the only one with water left, so you let your friend have the rest, choosing to go thirsty just so your friend will have some water. And then after drinking it alll your friend has to say is to complain about the water and how much better the water at home was, the friend does not even thank you in fact he just keeps on complaing. All that sacrifice for him and all he has to say is complaints!!!
And yet we do the very same thing to God!! He provides me with far greater than what the Israelits had and yet I complain just as much if not more than they!
I am no better, in fact I am worse!!
And not only that but God has sent His son to die for me, I am permanately free from sin and will one day be with my Father in heaven FOREVER! What could be greater than that?? Even if I had nothing left but salvation at least I would have salvation!!!
You see the bottom line here is I must never think that I deserve better for I do not even deserve what I do have!! I have been redeemed, that is the greatest thing, the sin of complaining is serious and deadly and contagious ( it affected the entire tribe of Israel, and we see it happen everyday. A family is all fine and good until someone starts complaining and then it is like a stone has been thrown into a pond, the ripples go everywhere stirring up the once calm water.)
May I remember the seriousness of my complaining and never make excuses for it never let it consume mny thoughts and words. May I rememeber that I do not even deserve what I do have. May I be content with what I have, and may I live a life of thankfulness and gratitude toward the GREAT GOD,the sustainer, the provider of ALL needs, the lover and redeemer of this wretched prodigal (me).
May I repent of the sin of complaining and rely on God to rid me of that and to become a more true and thankful follower of Him!
God also provided them with food and not just any food, this was food that rained down from heaven, and was enough for each individual person, they we not starving. This food they called Manna: a bread like substance. But then we see that they also complained about this food as well, they claimed that they wanted something better, they wanted meat!!
So God gave them meat... and lots of it!!! He gave them live quail, in fact so much that it was 3 ft. deep!!! Now if that is not alot of meat.. I don't know what is!! This would be heaven for me just hand me a BB gun and I would go to town with killing them!!! That would be the perfect hunting day!!
Anyways where was I??? OH yes the quail!! So they complained about that later on! God also provided them with water when they needed it and also guidance through Moses, through His commands and also pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night!
Also let's not forget the very fact that He gave them freedom from Egypt, got them across the red sea and cured them from a terrible sickness that came from snakes ( lifting up the snake in the wilderness).
And He also restrained from punishing them time and again and they were in fact on their way to the promised land. They were SO SO blessed in many ways, and yet we find them in the book of Exodus complaining time and again.
And I as an American in the 21st century look at that and click my tongue as if to say "Shame, shame you Israelites!! Can't you see what God has and is doing for you?? Why are you complaining??" And in fact I am tempted to think that I am better then them, when in fact I am way worse then them!
For I have it far greater than they. After all I live in a nice dorm ( when at school) and a nice House ( when I am home) versus a tent. I really don't have to travel everyday like they did and when I do it most often is not on foot ( minus my walk to work which is prolly not even half a mile I am pretty certain that they walked MILES) I can just hop into a car and get where I am going.
I have plenty of food whenever I need it, and it is never just bread or quail I have way more variety than that. And though I have not been freed from egyptian slavery I have been freed in an even greater sense from the slavery of my sin!!!! Because of Christ the son of God's death on the cross I have been freed from the guilt and shame and punishment of my sin and am now a child of God's!!
And I too am headed to a promised land just as they were but my promised land is way better as well! For heaven you see is even greater than their promised land for this promised land is free of sin and it is the most perfect place.
So as you can see I have it even better than they did, and yet I complain just as much as they did if not more than they did! And when I really began to think about this I thought to myself "How could this be? How could I look down on the Israelites for complaining when I myself have it better off then they did and complain even more than they did!"
All this was brought to mind in my quiet time with God the past few days. My Bible reading has been in Psalm 78 and in versus 18- 21 it talks about the Israelites and how they complained against God. First it states what God had given them and then it states that they complained. And it just got me to thinking about the seriousness of complaining.
Psalm 78:18-21
18 They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
This verse shows me what complaining it. It states
that complaining is willfull in that they willfully complained. It is never mindless like sometimes I like to think it is.
I would sometimes like to dismiss my complaining as "out of my control" in that I say that "well If things were not this way, or if I only had this_____, then I would not complain" But that is never true for I would find something to complain about even if I had all the riches in the world!! But what is complaining?
Complaining is speaking against God when you think about it honestly!! WE would like to think that we complain because of our circumstances, because of not having what we think we need. Or complaing about the fact that there are things we want but do not have. Take the Israelites for instance, in this verse at the end it says that they were demanding that God give them the food they craved. Notice how it does not say by demanding for the food they needed, no it does not say that because they already had food, the problem was they did not have the food they really wanted.
Complaining is speaking against God because what I am saying to God when I complain is that "I deserve better than what He has provided" When in reality I DO NOT deserve even what He has given me!! You see complaing when taken honestly is a serious sin! It is speaking against God! This means that anytime I complain no matter what I am complaining about I am telling God that I deserve better, I am telling Him that who HE is and what He has done matters nothing to me and is not sufficent.
It is as if I am looking at Jesus on the cross suffering and dying for my sin and all I have to say is "I want more... give me more!"
I am but a stones throw from Israel... in fact I am worse because I have it better than they!
19 They spoke against God, saying,
"Can God spread a table in the desert?
We see here that complainig is as I stated before speaking against God, the creator of the universe and me and the savior of the world! It also shows that He is fully capable of providing for my needs ( food in particular) and it matters not where I am for He can and will provide for me no matter where I am!
20 When he struck the rock, water gushed out,
and streams flowed abundantly.
But can he also give us food?
Can he supply meat for his people?"
As stated earlier and as seen in this verse God provided them with water ( He does this for me as well for there is an endless supply of it with just a turn of a knob and any faucet nearest me, and I am never far from one. And to think I do not even have to strike a rock!!)
He aslo provided them with meat because they were tireing of the manna, and to think that I have more variety than that and yet I too still complain!! Just a stones throw folks... just a stones throw!!!
21 When the LORD heard them, he was very angry;
his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel
And finally were learn here that complaining angers God, and RIGHTLY SO!!!
Imagine, you make a good dinner for someone. Then after the dinner all that person did was to tell you how bad it tasted and what all you did wrong and then they proceeded to say what would have been better. And how angry you would be?? And don't say that you would not be because you would, we all hate it when we go to great lengths to do something nice for someone and all that person has to say is complaints about the thing we did.
Or imagine that you are in the hot desert, with a friend. And the friend gets thirsty and you are the only one with water left, so you let your friend have the rest, choosing to go thirsty just so your friend will have some water. And then after drinking it alll your friend has to say is to complain about the water and how much better the water at home was, the friend does not even thank you in fact he just keeps on complaing. All that sacrifice for him and all he has to say is complaints!!!
And yet we do the very same thing to God!! He provides me with far greater than what the Israelits had and yet I complain just as much if not more than they!
I am no better, in fact I am worse!!
And not only that but God has sent His son to die for me, I am permanately free from sin and will one day be with my Father in heaven FOREVER! What could be greater than that?? Even if I had nothing left but salvation at least I would have salvation!!!
You see the bottom line here is I must never think that I deserve better for I do not even deserve what I do have!! I have been redeemed, that is the greatest thing, the sin of complaining is serious and deadly and contagious ( it affected the entire tribe of Israel, and we see it happen everyday. A family is all fine and good until someone starts complaining and then it is like a stone has been thrown into a pond, the ripples go everywhere stirring up the once calm water.)
May I remember the seriousness of my complaining and never make excuses for it never let it consume mny thoughts and words. May I rememeber that I do not even deserve what I do have. May I be content with what I have, and may I live a life of thankfulness and gratitude toward the GREAT GOD,the sustainer, the provider of ALL needs, the lover and redeemer of this wretched prodigal (me).
May I repent of the sin of complaining and rely on God to rid me of that and to become a more true and thankful follower of Him!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Have we become sophisticated in our blameshifting?
It is true, we have been blame shifting ever since sin first entered the world. As we know Adam shifted the blame of his sin on Eve when God confronted him on eating of the forbidden fruit. Adam said that "the woman that you gave to me, she gave me the forbidden fruit."
So we see that men blameshift. Then we also see that women blameshift as well for Eve when God turned His attention to her blamed it on Satan. And Satan was never given the chance to shift any blame but one has to wonder if he would have tried.
( The account of the fall is found in Genesis 3).
So we can see from the history of man and sin that blameshifting has been around for since the beginning of sin.
So you are all probably wondering how we have gotten "sophisticated" in our blameshifting?
Well we learn from the account of the Fall that Adam and Eve shifted their blame on other people ( or in Eve's case on a fallen angel...Satan.)
And it is true we still do that today, we often say after we have sinned "Well if you had not done___" or "Well you did____ and that is why I ___" and you fill in the blank. This form of blameshifiting is all too common place. In fact believe it or not but I have actually caught myself not only giving this excuse to people but I have caught myself telling God this as well. After I have sinned it has been my practice to pray and confess it to God and ask His forgiveness ( either after or before confessing and asking forgiveness from the humans I have wronged).
And I must be totally honest because there have been times where I have actually begun to say to God "Forgive me Father for doing such and such, or for saying such and such, but if they had not done such and such..." and that is when the Holy spirit works in me and tugs at my heart letting me know that blameshifiting is a sin, and then I have to not only confess the first sin I commited but also the second sin of blameshifting. I am no better than Adam and Eve, for this is exactly what they did, they blameshifted right in front of the face of God. No we can't talk to God face to face as Adam and Eve did, but we do pray and sometimes in my praying I find myself shifting the blame of my sin on other people.
I have forgotten
( The account of the fall is found in Genesis 3).
So we can see from the history of man and sin that blameshifting has been around for since the beginning of sin.
So you are all probably wondering how we have gotten "sophisticated" in our blameshifting?
Well we learn from the account of the Fall that Adam and Eve shifted their blame on other people ( or in Eve's case on a fallen angel...Satan.)
And it is true we still do that today, we often say after we have sinned "Well if you had not done___" or "Well you did____ and that is why I ___" and you fill in the blank. This form of blameshifiting is all too common place. In fact believe it or not but I have actually caught myself not only giving this excuse to people but I have caught myself telling God this as well. After I have sinned it has been my practice to pray and confess it to God and ask His forgiveness ( either after or before confessing and asking forgiveness from the humans I have wronged).
And I must be totally honest because there have been times where I have actually begun to say to God "Forgive me Father for doing such and such, or for saying such and such, but if they had not done such and such..." and that is when the Holy spirit works in me and tugs at my heart letting me know that blameshifiting is a sin, and then I have to not only confess the first sin I commited but also the second sin of blameshifting. I am no better than Adam and Eve, for this is exactly what they did, they blameshifted right in front of the face of God. No we can't talk to God face to face as Adam and Eve did, but we do pray and sometimes in my praying I find myself shifting the blame of my sin on other people.
I have forgotten
Ecclesiasties 5:2
" Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few." I have too easily forgotten to whom I am speaking with!!
So you are probably thinking by now "okay Bethany so you so far have showed us nothing more sophisticated in the area of blameshifting" but may I say "just hold your horses I am getting there."
So we know that blameshifting has been here since the fall and that we have even been using blameshifting with God.
But the way we have become more sophisticated in our blameshifting is in the fact that we not only shift the blame of our sin on other people around us but now we also shift the blame of our sin onto our circumstances!
" Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and you are on earth,
so let your words be few." I have too easily forgotten to whom I am speaking with!!
So you are probably thinking by now "okay Bethany so you so far have showed us nothing more sophisticated in the area of blameshifting" but may I say "just hold your horses I am getting there."
So we know that blameshifting has been here since the fall and that we have even been using blameshifting with God.
But the way we have become more sophisticated in our blameshifting is in the fact that we not only shift the blame of our sin on other people around us but now we also shift the blame of our sin onto our circumstances!
We do not see Adam nor Eve blaming their sin on circumstances, but only on other people.
But shifting the blame on circumstances is all too common place today! It is seen in times when we get angry. Take me for instance, when I get angry and fly off the handle I say "Well I am just stressed." And what is stress?? It is caused by circumstances. Or better yet I say "I got angry because I had a bad day at work... or I am working on very little sleep right now."
And again sometimes I even try to use these when I confess my sin to God.
You see as time has gone on the curse and really sin has only gotten worse and worse. As time has gone on we have become more sophisticated and more deeply entrenched in sin, to where often times we have become numb to it. This is why praying for a heart like David, who in the Psalms when speaking of his sin said that the thoughts of it made his bones dry up. We must pray for a sensitivity to sin, to see it, and to have the courage to not blameshift but to rather call and see sin as what God calls and sees it as.
Blameshifting is the attempt to either convice yourself or others or even God ( or all three in many cases) that the sin that you commited was somehow out of your control. In other words you are trying to get others to think and see that the sin that you commited was totally out of your power to stop.
When we shift the blame to people we want others to think that it was someone elses fault, when we shift the blame to circumstances we want people to think that it was because we did not get enough sleep, or that it was inbred into our genes or because of our culture that we are living in.
Another way that we have become sophisticated in the area of blameshifting is in the area of emotions or feelings. We often hear speakers say that love is a choice and rightly so because love truly is a choice. But have you ever thought of why we as humans would ever want to think that love is a feeling?? Because it makes things easier for us ( as all blameshifting does). When love is dismissed as a feeling suddenly the blame for not loving someone is no longer in existance because most people see emotions and feelings as out of our control.
Whenever someone says that they "don't feel like loving someone" then suddenly they are not blamed for wrong actions toward that "someone" because we have all believed the lie that emotions and feelings are out of our control. You see blameshifting is a great thing to us fallen humans because it makes things seem like they are out of our control, which seems like a good thing.
But shifting the blame on circumstances is all too common place today! It is seen in times when we get angry. Take me for instance, when I get angry and fly off the handle I say "Well I am just stressed." And what is stress?? It is caused by circumstances. Or better yet I say "I got angry because I had a bad day at work... or I am working on very little sleep right now."
And again sometimes I even try to use these when I confess my sin to God.
You see as time has gone on the curse and really sin has only gotten worse and worse. As time has gone on we have become more sophisticated and more deeply entrenched in sin, to where often times we have become numb to it. This is why praying for a heart like David, who in the Psalms when speaking of his sin said that the thoughts of it made his bones dry up. We must pray for a sensitivity to sin, to see it, and to have the courage to not blameshift but to rather call and see sin as what God calls and sees it as.
Blameshifting is the attempt to either convice yourself or others or even God ( or all three in many cases) that the sin that you commited was somehow out of your control. In other words you are trying to get others to think and see that the sin that you commited was totally out of your power to stop.
When we shift the blame to people we want others to think that it was someone elses fault, when we shift the blame to circumstances we want people to think that it was because we did not get enough sleep, or that it was inbred into our genes or because of our culture that we are living in.
Another way that we have become sophisticated in the area of blameshifting is in the area of emotions or feelings. We often hear speakers say that love is a choice and rightly so because love truly is a choice. But have you ever thought of why we as humans would ever want to think that love is a feeling?? Because it makes things easier for us ( as all blameshifting does). When love is dismissed as a feeling suddenly the blame for not loving someone is no longer in existance because most people see emotions and feelings as out of our control.
Whenever someone says that they "don't feel like loving someone" then suddenly they are not blamed for wrong actions toward that "someone" because we have all believed the lie that emotions and feelings are out of our control. You see blameshifting is a great thing to us fallen humans because it makes things seem like they are out of our control, which seems like a good thing.
But as with every good thing Satan always has a counterfeit, and the counterfeit does exactly what a counterfeit should do. It acts and looks like the same as the "real deal" but then when you go and try to use it, suddenly it does not work and does not give the same results as the "real deal" does. For every good from God
(good virtues, commands that He gives) there is a counterfeit ( sin) that Satan will try to luer us with much the same way as a fishermen leurs a fish with a fake leur.
When we dismiss love as the counterfeit, just a feeling, then it never works as love should work.
Love in the real sense of the word is a choice, and when we admit that it is a choice suddenly "loving others" becomes a little easier because it is no longer out of our control like the counterfeit of love as a feeling.
(good virtues, commands that He gives) there is a counterfeit ( sin) that Satan will try to luer us with much the same way as a fishermen leurs a fish with a fake leur.
When we dismiss love as the counterfeit, just a feeling, then it never works as love should work.
Love in the real sense of the word is a choice, and when we admit that it is a choice suddenly "loving others" becomes a little easier because it is no longer out of our control like the counterfeit of love as a feeling.
Suddenly we learn that we can choose to love someone whether they are worthy of it or not ( which really they are according to Romans 13:8 which states that we owe every person on the planet LOVE) or whether we think that they are worthy of it or not.
Yes it becomes harder when we do not love someone because then we see that it is totally our fault because we chose not to love that someone. But as with everything there is a hard and an easy side to love when seen as a choice!
Okay so we have seen that we blameshift in the area of love, but we also do it in the area of Joy or happiness. We have probably all heard speakers say that Joy, or happiness is a choice, and RIGHTLY so because that is exactly what joy and happiness is. It is choice, you can choose to be happy.
Yes it becomes harder when we do not love someone because then we see that it is totally our fault because we chose not to love that someone. But as with everything there is a hard and an easy side to love when seen as a choice!
Okay so we have seen that we blameshift in the area of love, but we also do it in the area of Joy or happiness. We have probably all heard speakers say that Joy, or happiness is a choice, and RIGHTLY so because that is exactly what joy and happiness is. It is choice, you can choose to be happy.
But again have we ever thought through why we as humans would want happiness to be a feeling??
And again we have the same answer because it makes things seem easier. If you say that you do not "feel happy" then suddenly we do not blame you at all because as I stated before we have come to see emotions as out of our control ( which sometimes they may just be).
So we don't blame you.
But that is only because we have accepted Satan's luer or counterfeit as it were. We have come to see happiness as an emotion and therefore out of anyone's control.
But when we ackowledge and see joy (happiness) as what it truly is, a choice suddenly things become easier and we find that we can have happiness no matter what is going on around us, and no matter what we are going through!
Suddenly things get brighter, and start to look up when we neglect Satan's counterfeit and embrace God's "real deal."
That must be why James said in James 1, that we can consider it a joy when we face trials, because James saw happiness not as a feeling, not as dependent upon how we feel or how our circumstances or people make us feel, but rather as a choice.
So here is a question, what do love and joy have in common ( other than the fact that we wrongly call them both a feeling.)?????
The answer is that they are both fruits of the spirit! And they are both to be seen in the life of the Christian because Christ said that everyone will know we are Christians by the fruits that we display. But how could we as Christians display love and joy ( fruits of the spirit) if they are out of our control to display? How could we display something that we have no control over?? You see things get harder and more complicated when we accept Satan's counterfeit. Oh sure at first they seem easier in that we don't have to take the blame for not being happy or loving, but then when you really work that out we suddenly realize that the displaying the fruit of the spirit is no longer in our control. This is why we must never dismiss Joy and Love as just mere feelings. We must call them what God calls them: a choice!
Funny how we only do this to two of the fruits of the spirit. You never hear" well I just did not feel like having paitence" or I just "did not feel like pursuing peace with that person"
Gal. 5:16-18
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. "
You see we are always at war with our sinful nature. It is our sinful nature that wants to call Love and happiness a mere feeling. It is our sinful nature that wants to shift the blame of our sin onto people and to shift the blame of our choices on feelings.
But we must be led by the spirit! The sinful nature is contrary to the Spirit, as seen in the stark difference of love as a choice versus a mere feeling!
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Gal. 5:22-23
So we have indeed become more sophisticated in our blameshifting! But let's not continue in this! Lets call sin and emotions what God calls them ( sin= wrong and emotions=choice)
Let's put on the fruit of the spirit and choose to have paitence love happiness, kindness etc.
Let us accect God's REAL DEAL versus Satan's counterfeit!
And again we have the same answer because it makes things seem easier. If you say that you do not "feel happy" then suddenly we do not blame you at all because as I stated before we have come to see emotions as out of our control ( which sometimes they may just be).
So we don't blame you.
But that is only because we have accepted Satan's luer or counterfeit as it were. We have come to see happiness as an emotion and therefore out of anyone's control.
But when we ackowledge and see joy (happiness) as what it truly is, a choice suddenly things become easier and we find that we can have happiness no matter what is going on around us, and no matter what we are going through!
Suddenly things get brighter, and start to look up when we neglect Satan's counterfeit and embrace God's "real deal."
That must be why James said in James 1, that we can consider it a joy when we face trials, because James saw happiness not as a feeling, not as dependent upon how we feel or how our circumstances or people make us feel, but rather as a choice.
So here is a question, what do love and joy have in common ( other than the fact that we wrongly call them both a feeling.)?????
The answer is that they are both fruits of the spirit! And they are both to be seen in the life of the Christian because Christ said that everyone will know we are Christians by the fruits that we display. But how could we as Christians display love and joy ( fruits of the spirit) if they are out of our control to display? How could we display something that we have no control over?? You see things get harder and more complicated when we accept Satan's counterfeit. Oh sure at first they seem easier in that we don't have to take the blame for not being happy or loving, but then when you really work that out we suddenly realize that the displaying the fruit of the spirit is no longer in our control. This is why we must never dismiss Joy and Love as just mere feelings. We must call them what God calls them: a choice!
Funny how we only do this to two of the fruits of the spirit. You never hear" well I just did not feel like having paitence" or I just "did not feel like pursuing peace with that person"
Gal. 5:16-18
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. "
You see we are always at war with our sinful nature. It is our sinful nature that wants to call Love and happiness a mere feeling. It is our sinful nature that wants to shift the blame of our sin onto people and to shift the blame of our choices on feelings.
But we must be led by the spirit! The sinful nature is contrary to the Spirit, as seen in the stark difference of love as a choice versus a mere feeling!
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Gal. 5:22-23
So we have indeed become more sophisticated in our blameshifting! But let's not continue in this! Lets call sin and emotions what God calls them ( sin= wrong and emotions=choice)
Let's put on the fruit of the spirit and choose to have paitence love happiness, kindness etc.
Let us accect God's REAL DEAL versus Satan's counterfeit!
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