From Chapter 7 of Martha Peace's book the Excellent Wife.
We've reached Part II: A Wife's Responsibility...Uh oh.
Chapter seven I think is aptly named...Christ the Wife's Heart. The heart is the seat of our will and our emotions. As such it becomes a battleground where a spiritual war is waged. It is definitely where my battle is waged.
Has Christ completely captured your heart? Are you ruthless with anyone, anything or any desire that attempts to gain influence or worse yet control your heart? Is your heart Christ controlled or over run with the influences of the world and day to day living? Having read this book through many times I have noticed that the themes are intertwined and repetitive and have come to see this as a good thing. Scripture is also repetitive. We as humans maybe need to hear things more than once so they can reach our heart. I exhort you now to examine your own heart and ask Christ to show you where your desires and His desires are not in alignment.
What is your heart set on? Is it so set on a certain thing that you are willing to sin to get it? Are you willing to tear down your house for it, disrespect your husband, or make your children listen to you rant and rave. Remember circumstances don't cause us to sin...our idolatrous hearts that meditate on wrong things do! Set your mind on the things above. Ask yourself that (what is your heart set on) in the middle of an argument with your husband. Ask yourself that when there is strife with your children. Ask yourself that when you feel discontented with your lot in life or feel that you have been slighted in some way. Ask yourself that when you are not getting what you want. (I wish I had done this last night when I attempted to bring something back to an unnamed store in accordance with their return policy...although I outwardly remained calm, I inwardly seethed...my desire was thwarted and I got angry!) Having done this repent of any wrong desires and ask God to give you the right desires (see pages 65-69) and by faith make the decision to move in the direction where Christ is leading you. Do it whether you feel like it or not, asking and counting on Him to align your will with His. Little by little you will see the fruit.
This process is the key to the whole Christian life. It is a moment by moment dying to self and living for Christ. Putting off the old man and putting on the new. Remember you are part of God's plan. You have works that He has prepared beforehand that you should walk in them. You can't fulfill his perfect plan for you unless you are living for Him and dying to your wants and desires. You can't do that without surrendering moment by moment to God's Spirit and allowing Him to live through you. As a believer God promises to work all things together for you for good, but imagine what he can do with a Christian wife who is fully submitted to Him and His desires. Imitate Christ who fully submitted Himself to His Father making our redemption possible. Put all your energies and efforts into living for Christ not just outside your home where people can see you but more importantly live for Christ inside your home.
Earlier I asked if you were ruthless with those things that might attempt to gain influence over your heart. This can be subtle. Be aware of what you are reading, watching, listening or even who you may be keeping company with that may influence your heart in the wrong way. When your heart is under any other influence but Christ you and your family will suffer and Christ will not be glorified.
Do this and watch the Lord work and your life become like the tree that is planted by rivers of water in Psalm One.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
You Are What You Think...Uh oh...
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Woe is me, my mother, That you have borne me, A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent for interest, Nor have men lent to me for interest. Every one of them curses me. --Jeremiah 15:10
Jeremiah was a persecuted outcast among His own people because of the destruction he foretold as God's prophet. People avoided him like they would avoid calls from a collection agency today. The Lord then encourages him by telling Him that it would be well with the remnant and that he himself would not be turned over to the enemy. He would not, however, relent from bringing judgment on His people nor would He shield Jeremiah from the persecution that came and would come would from his own people.
In response Jeremiah says this:
Remember me and visit me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke. Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, For You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail?--Jeremiah 15:15-18
Remember God had just finished telling Jeremiah that destruction would come...He would not relent. Jeremiah then tells God what is on his heart. He asks God to remember him, protect him, and take vengeance on his enemies. He tells Him that His word was like food to him and that it was the joy and rejoicing of His heart. But in the next sentence he reminds God of how much His people are suffering and how much he is suffering and how difficult a job God had given him. He even says that God is like an unreliable stream...as waters that fail. Uh oh...Jeremiah called the fountain of living waters an unreliable stream. Now I like how Jeremiah did not pretend and just speak the words that he knew he should...he truly did pour out his heart. I was "with" Jeremiah at first...especially when he was talking about how difficult a job God had given him. Jeremiah was, however, God's spokesperson and as such more was required...Here was God's reply...which I was a little shocked at...but God really spoke to my heart through it. After all....we who name the name of Christ are all ambassadors of Christ...we need to represent Him truthfully. Here is God's reply:
Therefore thus says the LORD: “ If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, But you must not return to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; And they will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the LORD. “ I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”--Jeremiah 15:19-21
Did you notice what the Lord says in verse 19...I had to look three times...and then make sure I knew who He was talking to. The Lord tells Jeremiah "if you return, then I will bring you back". Wow..God is saying Jeremiah needed to repent! Now in the reread I understood why. Jeremiah was not speaking words of faith...and He was misrepresenting God's character. (My guess is that the meditation of his heart had not been on what is right in the hours before he spoke those words either). God told Jeremiah that He would restore him if he would stop uttering worthless words and begin to utter worthy ones...take out the precious from the vile. (15:19)
Girls, this is such an important lesson for us! What are we meditating on? Do we speak words of faith to one another when we are discouraged...do we think or speak them to ourselves...do we remind ourselves when we get discouraged of who God is and what He has done?? Or do we whine, complain and doubt? Now if you are hearing from your lips words of doubt, whines and complaints, especially in your unguarded moments, the chances are very good that you are not meditating on the right things. Your mind is on yourself rather than God. Look at what Jeremiah said and see where He went wrong. "I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, For You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail?" His words are saying that he thinks he deserves better because of what he has done and what he has been through. He questions God and even tells Him He is unreliable!
So many times I find myself thinking like Jeremiah here. Focusing on what I am not getting instead of being thankful for what I have. Meditating on doubt or whining and complaining against God. When we do that, we don't even have to call the Fountain of living water an unreliable stream because we are already telling Him by our complaining and whining that we can't trust Him. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, as a man thinks so he is and anything that is not from faith is sin.
Our access to His grace is by our faith....when we speak or meditate on words of doubt or when we question God we quench the Spirit and do not walk by faith. Listen to your words and thoughts, girls, in unguarded moments...they will reveal much about your heart. If you are complaining against God...feeling dissatisfaction or perhaps even anger for where He has you and what He has you doing and/or facing, then you need to repent. I know God does not want us to ignore what we are feeling...that would be self-deceit and He Himself tells us the keep our hearts with all diligence. So what do we do...exactly what Jeremiah did...pour our heart out to God...He is not surprised at what we are going to tell Him. Repent, ask God to align our will with His and increase our faith. When we falter, we are to renew our minds with Scripture and remember what He has done for us in the past and the hope we have for the future. God promises us tribulation, but He also tells us that He will be with us and that we are more than conquerors...the battle has already been won and the battle is not ours anyway. His grace is sufficient. His love is perfect. We are to trust Him through it all. I end with some verses in Philippians.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.--Philippians 2:12-18
Love
Mom
Woe is me, my mother, That you have borne me, A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent for interest, Nor have men lent to me for interest. Every one of them curses me. --Jeremiah 15:10
Jeremiah was a persecuted outcast among His own people because of the destruction he foretold as God's prophet. People avoided him like they would avoid calls from a collection agency today. The Lord then encourages him by telling Him that it would be well with the remnant and that he himself would not be turned over to the enemy. He would not, however, relent from bringing judgment on His people nor would He shield Jeremiah from the persecution that came and would come would from his own people.
In response Jeremiah says this:
Remember me and visit me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke. Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, For You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail?--Jeremiah 15:15-18
Remember God had just finished telling Jeremiah that destruction would come...He would not relent. Jeremiah then tells God what is on his heart. He asks God to remember him, protect him, and take vengeance on his enemies. He tells Him that His word was like food to him and that it was the joy and rejoicing of His heart. But in the next sentence he reminds God of how much His people are suffering and how much he is suffering and how difficult a job God had given him. He even says that God is like an unreliable stream...as waters that fail. Uh oh...Jeremiah called the fountain of living waters an unreliable stream. Now I like how Jeremiah did not pretend and just speak the words that he knew he should...he truly did pour out his heart. I was "with" Jeremiah at first...especially when he was talking about how difficult a job God had given him. Jeremiah was, however, God's spokesperson and as such more was required...Here was God's reply...which I was a little shocked at...but God really spoke to my heart through it. After all....we who name the name of Christ are all ambassadors of Christ...we need to represent Him truthfully. Here is God's reply:
Therefore thus says the LORD: “ If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, But you must not return to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; And they will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the LORD. “ I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”--Jeremiah 15:19-21
Did you notice what the Lord says in verse 19...I had to look three times...and then make sure I knew who He was talking to. The Lord tells Jeremiah "if you return, then I will bring you back". Wow..God is saying Jeremiah needed to repent! Now in the reread I understood why. Jeremiah was not speaking words of faith...and He was misrepresenting God's character. (My guess is that the meditation of his heart had not been on what is right in the hours before he spoke those words either). God told Jeremiah that He would restore him if he would stop uttering worthless words and begin to utter worthy ones...take out the precious from the vile. (15:19)
Girls, this is such an important lesson for us! What are we meditating on? Do we speak words of faith to one another when we are discouraged...do we think or speak them to ourselves...do we remind ourselves when we get discouraged of who God is and what He has done?? Or do we whine, complain and doubt? Now if you are hearing from your lips words of doubt, whines and complaints, especially in your unguarded moments, the chances are very good that you are not meditating on the right things. Your mind is on yourself rather than God. Look at what Jeremiah said and see where He went wrong. "I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, For You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail?" His words are saying that he thinks he deserves better because of what he has done and what he has been through. He questions God and even tells Him He is unreliable!
So many times I find myself thinking like Jeremiah here. Focusing on what I am not getting instead of being thankful for what I have. Meditating on doubt or whining and complaining against God. When we do that, we don't even have to call the Fountain of living water an unreliable stream because we are already telling Him by our complaining and whining that we can't trust Him. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, as a man thinks so he is and anything that is not from faith is sin.
Our access to His grace is by our faith....when we speak or meditate on words of doubt or when we question God we quench the Spirit and do not walk by faith. Listen to your words and thoughts, girls, in unguarded moments...they will reveal much about your heart. If you are complaining against God...feeling dissatisfaction or perhaps even anger for where He has you and what He has you doing and/or facing, then you need to repent. I know God does not want us to ignore what we are feeling...that would be self-deceit and He Himself tells us the keep our hearts with all diligence. So what do we do...exactly what Jeremiah did...pour our heart out to God...He is not surprised at what we are going to tell Him. Repent, ask God to align our will with His and increase our faith. When we falter, we are to renew our minds with Scripture and remember what He has done for us in the past and the hope we have for the future. God promises us tribulation, but He also tells us that He will be with us and that we are more than conquerors...the battle has already been won and the battle is not ours anyway. His grace is sufficient. His love is perfect. We are to trust Him through it all. I end with some verses in Philippians.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.--Philippians 2:12-18
Love
Mom
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