Yielding Rights

Recently, my daughter, has been talking to me about folks that have had the right to feel or do certain things. She is trying to justify in her mind why people have done what they have done. Being autistic, it is hard for her to understand "cause and effect". So, she was talking to me and trying to figure it out. I admit that most times I don't know why we do what we do, other than we just choose to do it and make our excuses later. All I can do is look at the facts of what has happened and usually don't even try to figure out why it happened. But my daughter has always been one to ask "why" questions. I think that is her way of trying to make sense of the world around her.

So, when I noticed that she was trying to rationalize everything by saying that folks had every right to do what they do, it made me realize that I had neglected to teach her the Biblical lesson of yielding rights. Well, I got right on that lesson. And I thought I would do the same in this posting.

Nowhere in the Bible do we see that we are to demand our rights. Nowhere in the Bible will you even find that we have rights. We do have blessings that are available to us. Many of those blessings are contingent on us doing something correct before we will receive those blessings. And many of those blessings are reserved for those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour. For example: John 11:25, "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" A promise of life after death for those who believe in Jesus. That is a conditional promise. You will have eternal life if you believe on Jesus. (Which means that the opposite is also true...you will NOT have eternal life if you do NOT believe on Jesus.) 

Now for an unconditional promise made to those who have already believed on Jesus and have accepted Him as their Saviour...Romans 8:38-39," For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." There is nothing that we need to do or even can do to have this promise once we have accepted Jesus as Savior. We are guaranteed that there is there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God.

Guess what? There are also some promises for those who do not accept Jesus Christ as Savior. They are found in Revelation 20:12-15," And I saw the dead (unsaved), small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened (you get to stand before God Almighty): and another book was opened, which was the book of life (if your name is not written in this book, then you are not saved from the judgment of God): and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works (yep, you will be judged for what you did while you were here on planet earth). And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them (guess where you get to go after you die if you do not accept Jesus as Saviour?!): and they were judged every man (and woman) according to their works (nope, this judgment is not to figure out if you were good enough to go to heaven; we already know that you don't). And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life (that is the book of eternal life for those who have Jesus Christ as their Savior) was cast into the lake of fire." (That is a literal lake of fire.)

So, you see that there are promises in the Bible for all people. Nowhere, I repeat NOWHERE in the Bible will you find that you have any rights. Instead, we have responsibilities. Those that are specifically for this day and age can be found throughout the books of Romans to Philemon. They are written by the Apostle Paul to the church. And if you have received Jesus, then you are a part of the church. 

It is our God-given duty to yield to and obey the Bible. If you want to demand something, demand that your soul and body do what it is supposed to do according to God's Word. Here is one such responsibility that I think covers all of the other responsibilities that we have, because it goes to the very heart of the matter..."the why". Colossians 3:17, "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."

The yielding of our rights (which we don't have anyways) and the taking up our responsibilities (of which we have many) that is what a true Christian should strive to do daily. It is the truth, and it will bring God's blessings.

Marriage

I was asked to do a devotion for the bridal shower of one of my friends. I thought that I would share it as a post on my blog. All praise goes to the Lord God for my marriage of 33 years. It would not have lasted this long if it hadn't been for God.

Dear Sally,                                                                 July 14, 2012

I was very honored to be asked by your aunt Alice to share a devotion for your bridal shower. However, since today is my 33rd wedding anniversary, I am not able to attend your shower. So, I thought I would write this instead and have it read by someone.

What is marriage? I think the best description comes from Ephesians 5 where Paul talks about how marriage is like the relationship of the church and Christ. (You may turn to the text and read the following.) Verses 22-25, and 28-33 explain how the wife and the husband are to treat one another. Basically, it is with love and respect and submission. If you want to have a successful marriage, then you need to obey God’s Word. Sometimes that is hard to do, but God not only gives the instructions for us to follow, He also gives us the ability to follow it. We just have to yield our will to do His will.

I know that your grandpa likes to use alliterations in his teaching and preaching, so I thought I would use his example and create an acrostic about marriage. So, here are a few things to bring into your married life.

M = Memories. Treasure each one because if you don’t you will begin to forget. Make each moment have meaning. Even if it is just sitting together watching television. It is amazing how quickly time passes and before you know it, you will have been married for years.

A = Admiration. A man needs to be admired by his wife. Give him lots of praise, even for stuff that you think is meaningless. To him it means that you love him and need him.

R = Respect or reverence. This goes along with admiration. You need to respect your man always. There will be times when it is hard to submit to him, but God says for us to trust in the Lord with all your heart. God can make it turn out for your good. Reverence means to be in awe of. Once you realize what a blessing it is to have your husband, you will learn to thank God for everything that your man does or doesn’t do. I remember several years ago when I was once again grumbling about picking up the dirty clothes left on the floor by my beloved. The Holy Spirit asked me if I would rather have my husband or a spotless floor. I decided right then and there that I would never again complain about my husband leaving stuff wherever. Those items are a daily reminder that I still have my wonderful man living with me.

R = Responsibility. Yield your rights and claim your responsibilities. Get into God’s Word and discover how to be the godly wife, and some day, the godly mother, that the Lord desires you to be. Also read good books written by godly women that can help and encourage you.

I = Ignore. Don’t look at the world. Don’t compare your man, your marriage, or yourself with those around you.

A = Admit. When you have made a mistake, when you have sinned, when you have really messed up (yes, it happens to all of us), then you need to admit your fault not only to Christ, but also to your husband. It is amazing what humility can do to lift you up.

G = Give. When you accepted Christ as you Saviour, you basically gave your life to Him. Once you become a wife, you are giving yourself to your husband. It isn’t a onetime occasion. You must give yourself always, even when you don’t feel like it.

E = Enjoy. Spend every moment together that you can. Have fun. It doesn’t mean that you have to do something elaborate. Just enjoy being with your husband. If the Lord should bless you with children, your time alone with your husband will be limited. But you need to make time to be alone. I know that there is no other person in my life with whom I would rather spend one moment than with my husband. We love being together. He loves it when I am with him even if it is to just sit there while he is getting his eyes examined.

There is so much more that I could say, but time is limited. And part of marriage is the learning. You can’t teach a child everything that they need to know before they are ready to learn. The same is true in a marriage. There are lessons that God will want you to learn, but He won’t teach them to you until He knows that you are ready for them. Some of the lessons will be hard, just like trying to learn trigonometry. And some of the lessons will be easy, like learning to count. Some lessons will be fun, and others won’t. But in every situation, trust in the Lord, wait patiently on Him, obey when He directs, and praise God for His love.

As I close this letter, my prayers go with you and Matt. May the Lord richly bless you and your new life together as husband and wife. Love, Alice J.

Corrupt Communications

Ephesians 4:29, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."
Corrupt: (Strong's Concordance) rotten, worthless, bad, corrupt.
Communication: (ibib) something said (including the thought)...

About a month ago I was reading through the book of Ephesians in the Bible when the verse above just really convicted me. Actually it was the Holy Spirit that convicted me through this verse. (Whatever!) For some wicked reason I have had a real problem this year with how I talk to my beloved husband. There was a whole lot more complaining coming out of my mouth that I could imagine. (Sin comes in so many ways. And the enticements are so irresistable at times.) I hated that I was being such a nag and such a complainer. I would hate myself whenever I realized what I was doing, but it seemed like I couldn't help myself. I tried to blame it on one of the medications that I take for my fibro. (One of the side effects is that it causes irritation to the brain and can make you feel more angry.) But I wasn't taking that much of this medication anymore because of that side effect. So, I couldn't use it as an excuse. Then I tried to blame it on my spouse. That he was deliberately doing things that he knew irritated me. But he wasn't doing anything new. So, I couldn't use that as an excuse. Then I tried to blame all the extra pain that I am in, but I have been in pain before and haven't been this sinful. So, that excuse didn't work either.

Plain and simple...the only one to blame...myself. I had chosen to sin by the actions that I took. And the Holy Spirit lovingly, but boldly showed me my sin through Eph. 4:29. (I love it when He does that.) Right then and there, I confessed and repented of my sin, put my full trust once again in the Lord, and have chosen to obey His Word.

In doing the further "research" in the Strong's Concordance on the Greek meanings of the two words obey, I am further convicted that my communication isn't just what I say but also what I think. So, I choose to obey this verse fully. Let NO corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is GOOD to the use of edifying (building up and encouraging), that it may minister grace to the hearers."

So, what are you saying? What are you thinking? Is it good? Does it edify the hearer of it?

Four steps

My daughter told me that I need to do a new post on my blog. That it has been too long...and she is right. I should post as soon as the Lord gives me an idea, because if I don't, then I forget what it was I meant to post. But this time, I remember because it is a new truth that I am trying to not only learn but to also implement in my life.

In our church's Bible Institute, the instructor was talking about how to have change and real victory in our lives. So, I want to share that with all of you.

It is easy to read the Bible and then think, "Oh, I needed that. I am going to do that in my life." or "The Lord is showing me that I need to stop doing this other thing." We can read God's Word and have the very best of intentions. We can even memorize verses that we think will help us. But it takes more.
I know in my own life that there have been many times when the Holy Spirit has encouraged me to start doing certain things. I have tried, but then it seems to fall by the wayside.

 
So here are the four steps that we were taught in Faith Bible Institute:

1. You need to read the Bible. You can never know the will of God for your life if you aren't in His Word.

2. You next need to believe the Bible. James is pretty clear that if you don't have faith, you won't succeed.

3. The first two steps are where most of us do just fine. But we must have this next step and that is to yield to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to you through the Bible. You have to yield your rights and expectations. You must yield to the Lord control of whatever area He is desiring.

4. This one seems simple enough, but it isn't. You now need to obey the Word. (I also add that you need to rightly divide the Bible so that you do not try to apply to your life instructions that do not apply to you. Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour need to keep our focus on the books written by Paul. He is the apostle to the "church".)

I would also add that you do not need to be "hyper obedient" to be righteous. You already are righteous when you accept Christ in your life. It is His righteousness that becomes your righteousness. What God wants is for us to be more and more like His Son. He wants us to love one another and be His ambassadors in all that we do. And one more thing that I want to add...you need to confess your sins. If there is something that the Holy Spirit shows you in God's Word and if it has been a sin in your life, then before you try to change, you must confess your sin. And of course, whatever you do, you must pray. Prayer allows you to realize that you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you.

Priority of church

"We are pleased to let you know that we have decided to offer you the position. The job starts next week." I loved to hear those words when I was trying to get a job...especially if it was a job that I really, really wanted. Then comes the meeting with HR to get the policy manual, fill out all the paperwork, and go through orientation. By the time I was done, I knew what the employer was expecting from me. Every day I went to work and did my best to be the best employee that I could be. They told me the hours that I had to work, and I was never late...even on snow days. If ever I couldn't remember what a part of my job description was, I could always look at the manual. If ever I had a question or concern about something, I could always look at the manual. And if it didn't have the answer or if I couldn't fully understand what was in the manual, I could go to a supervisor or HR, and they would help me.

It just amazing me that we can put such a priority on doing a good job at our workplace and then neglect what should be a much higher priority...going to church. I have heard so many excuses about why folks don't go or why they seldom go or why they don't go to Sunday school or why they don't go to evening services. I wonder if I would have still had a job if I had used the same excuses?! So, why don't we put a higher priority on church attendance? I believe it is because we don't love the church.

This last semester in Faith Bible Institute we studied the book of Ephesians. Again, I was struck by chapter five and the duties that wives and husbands have to each other. (But that is another post.) The verse that really touched my heart is verse 25," Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it." Christ loved the church and gave himself for it! The church didn't even exist when Jesus died on the cross, but he still loved her and knew that she would come into existence soon. Jesus, God loves the church and gave himself for it. Are you starting to grasp what grasped my heart? JESUS CHRIST, GOD, LOVES THE CHURCH AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR IT!!!

How dare I get my priorities mixed up and put my job above the church. Jesus did not give up his life's blood for any job. He died for the church. How dare I make myself conform to the policies of my job and then turn around and do whatever I want when it concerns the church. Jesus loves the church. How dare I bite my tongue at my place of employment when someone offends me and when it happens at church, I get offended and leave. Christ loves the church and gave himself for it.

If I can discipline myself for work every day, then I can do the same thing for church. I used to get to work by 7:30am five days a week even though I didn't have to be there until 8:15. I used to leave work at the end of my workday, and not a minute early. I used to even go to extra classes so I could be a better-informed employee, even though it was not required of me. When I was at work, I would give it my full attention. (Sadly, I can no longer work due to disabilities.)

So, what is my point? What is the truth and blessing that I am trying to convey? Discipline yourself. Love the church. You won't be able to love it as much as Jesus does, but you can still love the church and give yourself for it. Go to Sunday school. Go to worship service in the morning and in the evening. Go to Life-group. Get involved in anything and everything that the church has to offer. Get into the "manual"...the Bible. And I believe that God will bless you with not only truth, but blessings in every area of your life.

Truth and Blessing

Lately, well, actually for the last several months I have been rereading the book titled, "Telling Yourself The Truth" and now "Finding the Freedom of Self-Control" both by William Backus. It is eye-opening and humbling to see how far I have fallen.

Years ago, many, many years ago, our Ladies' group studied "Telling Yourself the Truth". It was then that the Lord was able to begin a very mighty work in my life. I had been so used to the lies that I believed and was so miserable that I didn't want to go on living. But when I realized the fact that I had been lying to myself and believing those lies, was when I finally received freedom from them. My life changed for the better. God showed me sin after sin and forgave me of each and every one as I confessed them. It was like having weights removed from my heart and mind. I was able to live in freedom and victory.

But over the years and especially more recently, I once again began to lie to myself and believe those lies. Once again, life was miserable. Not fun! Then one day, the Lord motivated me to reread that book. It was again the truth that I needed to see.

 
The Truth? What is the only Truth? God's Word, the Holy Bible. That is the one thing that we can believe. Of course our lies may tell us to not trust the Bible. But I say, why would I choose to trust my lies instead of the Bible? I choose to believe God's Word. That is the real Truth and Blessing.

Bekah turns 30

As most of you know, I have one child, my daughter Rebekah. She is such a blessing in my life, and I thank God every day for allowing me to be her mom. The Lord has used this special child to change me in so many ways. I know that I have wrote about this before, but I just have to say again, that I love my precious daughter and wouldn't trade her for anything.

She is the "middle" child of all the pregnancies I had. I miscarried twice before she was born and at least twice after she was born. After I had my hysterectomy, when I was only 27, I was told that I shouldn't have even had her. The doctor said that my insides were so messed up that he said it was a miracle that I could carry a child to term.

Of all the children that I could have had, the Lord allowed me to have a "special" one. Rebekah is autistic and has mental illnesses. But more than anything else, she is a blessing and that's the truth.