Challenge # 9 - Scripture Share

The word of God is the most impactful, influential words that have ever and will ever be printed on paper. In knowing this fact you would think that we would be quick to share it with anyone and everyone that came across our path. Sadly, for many of us, myself included, this is not usually the case. I can be slow to share these life changing words with those around me. In thinking about God’s word, I realized that it is LIFE to the dead (John 6:63), FOOD to the starving (Matthew 4:4), and WATER to the thirsty (Ephesians 5:26). This made me realize some things, by not sharing God’s word with others I am not sharing life, but promoting death, I am not feeding the hungry, but rather starving them, and I am not giving a drink to those who are dying of dehydration, but instead I am walking right by and watching them suffer. Ouch! I don’t know about you, but man does that hurt!

This is where this month’s challenge has originated. This month we will take at least one person each week and share at least one scripture with them. There are so many creative ways we can share God’s word. We can send an email, use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, write a letter, leave a note behind for someone to find. These are just some simple examples, be creative in the way you share God’s word. Now please note here, I am not talking about bombarding some unsuspecting unbeliever and beating them over the head with God’s word for an entire week. This is meant to plant a seed of encouragement. So whether we choose to share our verses with the sinner or the saint is entirely up to each one of us, but the point is to sow a seed of encouragement, not discouragement and distaste for the things of God.

I pray that each of us has the boldness God has already implanted into our spirits to spread the word of God, to share life, food and water. May you be blessed as you search out the scriptures to encourage and strengthen others this month!

Worry Wart

“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

“Consider how the wildflowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” Luke 12:22-31

I am a worrier by nature. I thank God frequently for my husband who brings such balance to me in this area! Since being married I have calmed down quite a bit, but I still have those moments when I can wear the name tage of “worry wart” quite well. So as I was working my way through the book of Luke and I came to this section of scripture and it struck my heart heavy as a good reminder about the problem with unchecked worry.

I love how Christ uses illustrations we can easily understand to vividly paint a clear picture of this whole area of worry. This passage of scripture uses the example of birds and how they are fed each and every day. As I sit here and write this post I hear the birds chit chatting away outside my window again bringing me a sweet solidification that God is taking care of them and how much more will He take care of me.

I heard it said that “Worrying is like telling God you don’t think He can handle it.” Not too many of us would be willing to look the Lord straight in the eyes and tell Him that He is not capable of taking care of our situations. Yet for so many of us, myself included, we are willing to worry about our problems and in essence we are saying “God you can’t handle this problem I am facing.” Ouch! How this must hurt the heart of our Lord who longs to have us cast our cares upon Him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). The Lord does not desire for us to carry around the weight of these worries on our shoulders. He loves us too much for that! I am so grateful that I serve a God who encourages us not to worry, but to cast.

Our weapons against worry

According to Luke 12:31 we are to seek His  kingdom, then all these things will be given to us. One of the most powerful weapons we have in this war on worry is to seek the kingdom of God in prayer. We are to seek His face and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27). When our focus is on the Lord as opposed to our problems our worrying will seemingly disappear.

Another weapon we have in this war on worry is one I have already mentioned. It is the ability the Lord has given us to cast our cares upon the Him (1 Peter 5:7). This enables us to let go of the things that are holding us down. He does not desire for us to hold onto the things that we spend our time worrying about.   

Those two weapons sound like such simple solutions right? That’s because they really are. The Lord has not made this life of kingdom living a complex thing. The kingdom of God really and truly is a simple thing. It’s just that far too often we want to bring our worries, into the picture and instead of getting a clear simplistic picture of birds or flowers of the field, we get our own complicated mess of worry. I know I have brought my complicated mess to the Lord’s feet more than once for the Lord to sort out and bring back to the simplistic place that it belongs. So when you find yourself in the complicated mess of worry, seek His kingdom in prayer, and while you’re there, cast your worries upon Him. This is what He desires from those of us who are bound up in the frustrating chains of worry. The Lord has made it easy for us to be free from our worries. It’s just a matter of us being willing to humble ourselves and cast!

Lord, I thank you so very much you have made it easy for us to be free for the bondages of worry. Help us to remember the simple weapons you have given us to break those chains when we feel overcome by worry. Help us to humbly seek you in prayer and to cast our worries upon you. Thank you that you desire us to be free for all worry!

For more related posts visit: Casting Our Cares

Confidence Boosting Glimpses

How often do we as parents ask the question “Are we getting this parenting thing right?” We worry about our children growing up in this ever increasingly evil world. Will they be the influencer or will they will be influenced? Will they be able to withstand the missiles of the enemy or will they be the ones who will be devoured by the enemy? We worry that when we send them out, are they going to take the initiative to put on the full armor of God, or will they walk out the door with only one or two of the items and leave the rest at home? Will they continue to write God’s word on their hearts or will they be hiding other things in their hearts? Will they fight the good fight of faith or will they be overtaken by the enemy? Will they be an overcomer, or will they be overcome? Will they take ownership for the principles that we have worked so hard to instill in their hearts, or will they toss them aside like an old toy, unwanted and disregarded?

As parents we have so many worries about whether or not we are “getting this parenting thing right” that it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. This is why I am so thankful when God sends little moments of reassurance to my heart that He is working in the hearts and lives of my children. It brings my mind such rest when I hear little reports that my children are taking ownership of the principles that we as parents have labored over to plant in their little hearts. I thank God for these little glimpses into their hearts. The Lord is faithful to show them to me because He knows that my heart and mind need a confidence booster from time to time.

I wanted to share with you one of my latest little parenting confidence boosters. It brought my worried heart such peace! My middle child is my social butterfly. She is one who as James says is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind, unstable in what she does. She is my one who has a tendency to be influenced by the crowed instead of influencing the crowd. She is not one to make waves, but rather rides them. She likes to fit in. She does not like to be different or stand out in the slightest. This has been a challenge for my husband and I because we have always told our children that they were not designed to “fit in.” They were designed to stand out. They do not belong to this world. They belong to the kingdom of God and the kingdom of God will never fit in with this world. Those who belong to the kingdom of God are to be a light in this dark world. They are supposed to stick out, and to be noticed. This goes contrary to her nature. She would so much rather blend in. I share this background with you so that you understand the significance to the my little confidence boosting story, so that you can see just how important it was for my husband and I to see just what is going on inside her little heart. My husband and I have been praying for her in this area of being influenced by the crowd for quite some time. We know that this could potentially be an area where the enemy might try to weasel his way into her heart. So, prayer was and still continues to be an essential part of raising her up.

She was riding in a car with some of our family members and a song came on the radio. Please note here, that my children rarely hear any type of music other than christian music. Their only exposure to secular music has been whatever is being funneled through the sound systems at shopping malls and grocery stores. Other than that, their exposure to this kind of music is just about non existent in our household. By now I probably have some of you asking “really?” Yes, really. We live by the idea that whatever we place in front of their eyes and ears directly affects them in one form or another. We take seriously what their little eyes and ears are exposed to. We want them to be a bright light for Jesus, not a dim one. Needless to say, everyone in the car was singing to this song except her and her little sister because they of course had never heard the song before. One other little girl in the car about her age asked her, “Don’t you know this song?” To which she obviously responded “No.” As she sat there feeling rather awkward, I think the Lord began to work on her little heart because the next song that came on the radio caused her spirit to feel quite uncomfortable. She asked the driver if the radio could be changed to something else and thankfully that was done so quickly without hesitation or question of my little girl's heart.

Here is what I want you to understand about this particular story. My husband and I were not in the car with our girls on this particular car ride. We were not there to monitor the situation and make sure their little hearts were protected from the devil being able to plant seeds that did not belong there. This story was told to us directly by our daughter herself. She shared with us how her little heart didn’t feel right. What she didn’t realize was this was the working of the Holy Spirit keeping her heart from danger. My heart about burst in humility when she shared this story with us because this could have easily gone a different way and we would have been none the wiser to the fact that the devil had taken a foothold into her heart. I share this to encourage you. As you are consistent in sewing God’s principles into the hearts of your children and hold them up in prayer, the Lord will do the work in the hearts of your children to make sure that those principles become part of their own personal set of values. This is why Proverbs says…

“Train up a child the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6

As our children grow we want to transition them from relying on mom and dad to lead and guide them to them taking ownership of the values they were raised in and using those values to govern their behavior. Mom and dad will not always be around to say “do this” or “do that.” So, when we see these little glimpses into the hearts of our children and we get a clear picture of what is really taking place, it is such a confidence booster when, by the grace of God, we are “getting this parenting thing right.”

Lord, I thank you for the confidence boosting glimpses you give us every once in awhile. Thank you that you are working in the hearts and lives of our children. We know that it is an investment for eternity. Help us to stay steadfast and focused on sewing Biblical principles into their hearts each and every day. As we are faithful to sew, please take those seeds and grow them in their hearts. Help those principles to become apart of who they are, so that they take ownership for those values. We desire for our children to be governed by your value system and not every whim that comes along. We do not want them to be a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. We desire for our children to be steadfast upon you Lord. Give us wisdom in raising up these little ones to be godly men and women who will not waver!

The Disciples

Jesus calls a rather eclectic group of men together to help Him in launching His work on this earth. They were a mismatched group of men that upon closer examination leaves us scratching our heads in wonder as to why Christ would ever have assembled such a seemingly clashing group of men. They rebuked children (Mark 19:13-15), they argued over who was the greatest (Matthew 18:1-5), they were riddled with doubt (John 16:21-22, Luke 24:25-27) and they continually questioned Jesus on everything (Mark 13:3-4, Mark 10:10, Matthew 24:3).

Upon closer examination of the 12 disciples and their backgrounds I had a understanding as to why Jesus would frequently rebuked them for being of little faith. It was so interesting to compare the disciple's the personality traits one against the next. Jesus truly had an intriguing group of men to train up in sending forth His gospel. I hope this background picture of each disciple helps you better understand the unique dynamics that Jesus was working with during His three years of teaching and ministry.

Background facts

One thing I found interesting in my research of these men was the uniqueness surrounding the names of that time period. It was common in the Middle East during the time of Christ for men to have two names. Many of the disciples had more than one name as you will see below.

11 of the 12 disciples were Galileans. Judas was the only one who was not, he was a Judean.   

Peter, James and John were the three disciples who were considered to be in Jesus' “inner circle.”

Andrew

Andrew was a fisherman by trade. He was an original disciple of John the baptist (Mark 1:16-18). He often times stood in the shadows of his brother, Peter. Andrew died a martyr by being crucified on an X shaped cross. He was bound but not nailed to the cross.

Bartholomew/Nathanael  

Bartholomew means "son of Tolmay" or "son of the furrow," which could mean he was the son of a plowman or a farmer. Nathanael means "God has given" in Hebrew. We don't have an abundance of information on him from scripture, but he did died a martyr. He was put to death by knives.

James (the older of the two James’)

James was inseparable from his brother John. In fact his name is never mentioned in scripture without his brother’s name being mentioned as well. He was labeled as a man of courage, great strength, full of forgiveness, a man without jealousy, and a man of great faith. He was the first of the twelve to become a martyr.

James (the younger of the two James’)

He was the brother of Jude. He wrote the book of James. Some scholars believe him to be the brother of Matthew the tax collector. He was a man of strong character, full of fire and exuberance. He died a martyr by being sawed into pieces.

John/Boanerges

John was the older brother of James. John was a fisherman. He was known as the beloved disciple. He wrote John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation. He was held was prisoner on the isle of Patmos. He was known as an ambitious man, and a man of action. John’s second name, Boanerges, means Thunder and he lived up to this name in his younger years. He was quick tempered, easily angered and explosive in his expression of his anger. As he got older he learned to embrace a Christ like attitude. John died of natural causes in his old age.   

Judas Iscariot

Judas was labeled as the traitor, because of his blatant betrayal of Jesus. He was the treasure. He committed suicide by hanging himself.

Jude/Thaddeus/Lebbeus

Jude is referred by different names in different parts of scripture. Thaddeus means “the man with three names.” He was thought to be a fisherman. He is the brother of the younger James. He died as a martyr by being clubbed to death.

Matthew/Levi

Matthew was a tax collector. Jew’s abhorred tax collectors. The tax collectors were notoriously unjust and dishonest. The Jews believed the only one they should give monetary tribute to was God. Matthew became the first man to write down the teachings of Jesus when he wrote the book of Matthew. He died a martyr.

Peter/Simon Peter

Peter was a fisherman. He was the only disciple that we are certain was married (1 Corinthians 9:5), because he had a mother in law. Peter was the leader among the twelve. He was strong willed and outspoken. He was known for asking some reckless and challenging questions. Peter died a martyr by being crucified upside down on a cross.

Philip

Philip was thought to be a fisherman as well. He had a warm heart but a skeptical mind. He wanted things done for others, but did not see how they could be done. He died a martyr by being hanged.

Simon the Zealot

Simon was a fisherman, devoted to the law. He hated Rome and anyone who would compromise with them. He did learn to overcome this hatred. He was a man of faith who died a martyr.

Thomas/Didymus

Thomas was also called Judas at times. We call him “Doubting Thomas” because he is the disciple who said unless he sees the nail marks in Jesus’ hands and his pierced side, he would not believe. Thomas was a man who did not believe until he saw. He was a pessimist by nature. He died as a martyr by the spear.

Can we see the vast differences that Jesus had to work with here? With these vast differences in personalities I’m not so sure I would have been as patient as Jesus was in training this group of men. In fact, it truly baffles me how He ever trained them at all. This just goes to show us that Christ never gives up on any of us. He has plans and purposes for even the most unique of individuals. His kingdom is never too full that He doesn’t have room for us to play a significant role in spreading the gospel. I am thankful that Jesus never gave up on the disciples. He is never going to give up on any one of us either! What beautiful encouragement that is to my soul! I hope this resonates with your spirit today as well.

Lord, we thank you that you took the time to invest in the 12 disciples. You even invested in the life of the one disciple who handed you over to be crucified and you did it with love and compassion. You have set such a beautiful example of just how miraculous you can work in the hearts and lives of people. You have shown us that you love and care for each one of us just as you cared for your disciples. I thank you that you desire for us to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15) just as the original 12 were called to do. You are also calling us to do greater works (John 14:12). We count it an honor and privilege to be part of such a heritage in the kingdom! Thank you Lord for training us, teaching us and trusting us with spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Submission

Biblical submission is often confused with forcing someone into a place of obedience or compliance. We assume that when someone is submissive they are not given a choice. Let’s take a look at both of these words and their meanings so that we can see the difference between these two words, obedience and submission. Both words are closely related, but different enough that it merits us examining them more closely. Obedience comes from the Greek word “hupakouo” meaning to line up under. This word is applied in scripture to children, slaves, soldiers and servants. This word implies a moral obligation, duty or command. Obedience is something we have to do, something we are commanded to do. In contrast, submission is something we should want to do. Let me explain why. The word submission comes from the Greek word “hupotasso” which means to line up under as well, but instead of lining up out of duty, it means to line up out of a devotional loyalty. This now shows that we have a choice to line up. It is our devotion to someone that is causing us to line up under that person rather than the fact that we are being commanded to do so. Submission requires a voluntary yielding. This is not to say that those previously mentioned (children, slaves, soldiers and servants) are not to be submissive, but merely be obedient. On the contrary, the Lord desires that we be submissive first then out of this place of love and respect we move in obedience.

Christ does not force us into following him. He does not beat us into a place of “submission.” That is not at all what submission is. Christ lovingly, kindly, and patiently waits for us to come to Him. He waits for our hearts to be ready to submit to what He has for us. The very core of Biblical submission is us being willing to make a loving, decision to follow the lead of another person, not because anyone is forcefully causing us to do so, but because out of love and respect we trust that person to make good decisions. Submission is also a two way street.True submission relies on the one choosing to follow as well as the one leading. They both need to be willing to love and respect the heart of the other person in order for Biblical submission to work, and to work well.

Scriptures
Since we now know what Biblical submission is and is not, let's take a look at some scriptures.

“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.” Ephesians 4:22-23

In other words, we wives should lovingly, willingly and respectfully follow the lead of our husband just as we would follow the lead of the Lord. We do not, or at least we should not spend our time with the Lord nagging Him, criticizing Him and comparing Him to other “gods.” So what is it that makes us think it is an okay thing to do with our husband? Not one of these three things is anyway shape or form shows submission. In fact these things are showing that we do not love, care about, respect or even like our husband. It is our responsibility as wives to be aware that our loving and willing submission goes a long way to encourage our husband and in building up his faith. If our husband is not saved then we are to simply continue to submit to the Lord and in doing so we will be able to show Christ to him.

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

This verse is actually sharing a two step antidote for being able to send the devil packing. First, submit, second resist. When these two things are done with the right attitude and in the right order, then the devil has no choice but to leave. Satan does not have a choice, he must obey!

First, we must submit to is the Lord. If we approach submission to the Lord with a begrudging attitude, out of obligation rather than out of love we are going to miss out on some very precious things in the kingdom and quite possibly miss the part about the devil fleeing. The devil is permitted to stay anywhere that an unsubmitted spirit is welcomed, no matter how hard we think we are resisting.

Submitting to leaders

“Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.” Hebrews 13:17

God will place leaders very strategically in our lives for specific reasons. Sometimes it can be blatantly obvious as to why our leaders have been placed there and other times we have to spend some time being patient with the Lord and His timing of things for those reasons to be revealed. Please bear in mind God does not make mistakes in those He has placed in leadership positions over us. If we find ourselves in a position where we don’t understand God’s reasons, than we need to spend more time praying for the Lord to reveal them to us. This verse is very clear that those whom God has placed as our leaders are responsible for the watching of our souls. So our submission, the fact that we are voluntarily yielding to their leading allows them to lead more effectively. It's our stubbornness and unwillingness to remain teachable that makes their job as a leader difficult if not impossible. Our hearts must be willing to yield before they can lead.

I feel as though this is where people want to sometimes get bent out of shape on the submission subject, because what do you do with a leader that wants to lead with a strong authority and not from a place of relationship? If we are doing what scripture tells us to do, pray for those in authority over us (1 Timothy 2:1-2), then we have already placed our leaders in the hands of the Lord. Not only is it our responsibility to place our leaders in the hands of the Lord, but it is our responsibility to leave them there and let the Lord deal with their hearts. Look at how many leaders in scripture were wrong, yet those under them chose to submit to the Lord’s authority. (Daniel with King Darius - Daniel 6, David with King Saul - 1 Samuel 19, Moses with Pharaoh - Exodus Chapters 7-12) In each one of theses examples those under the unjust authority were shown what to do and how to handle their individual situation according to what the Lord desired. It is not our responsibility to change the hearts and minds of leaders. It is our responsibility to stay faithful to what God has taught us about the biblical definition of submission and stay in a place that God can work in our own heart. The Lord has a way of revealing to our hearts what it is He wants us to do and say in light of the challenges we face.

Trust that the Lord is going to give you a clear understanding of biblical submission and how you can apply it to your life. Submission is truly a beautiful thing if it is functioning in the manner in which the Lord intended. It can be a vulnerable place, because as we submit to others in the faith we are saying I love you, I trust you and I believe you are going to protect my heart. On the same token their heart should also say I love you, I trust you, and I will be careful to guard your heart with all diligence. Submission really is giving someone permission to protect and guard your heart.  

Lord, I thank you for your word. I thank you that you desire for us to operate in submission not because someone is forcing us to do so, but because we desire to do so. Help us to understand how you desire this principle of submission to work in our lives. Help us to have a positive outlook on the area of submission rather than a negative one.

To read more on submission visit “A Mother’s Commission.”