He hates God

It's true. Satan hates God. Therefore, it stands to reason that if I love God, and have asked Him to come into my life, then Satan hates me as well. This is a sobering thought. There is part of me that knows that I must trust God and believe He will guide me safely home to heaven one day and yet there is also the undeniable truth of God's Word that says:

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

This is the reality I must live in everyday of my life here on earth. But can I do both? Can I trust God while at the same time stay self-controlled and alert? Absolutely! Just look at Nehemiah. Although the gracious hand of God was upon him (see Nehemiah 2:8), when he left the citadel of Susa to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, the opposition from the enemy was immediate and very real (2:10). There was mocking and ridicule (2:19), the enemy became angry and incensed (4:1), and they plotted together to fight and stir up trouble for Nehemiah (4:7-8). We must be aware that the enemy is persistent (6:4), he uses fear because he knows this weakens us (6:9), and he tries to intimidate us (6:13). But Nehemiah shows us how to respond. First, he sees the enemy for who he is (6:11-13) and then he prays and asks God to strengthen his hands (6:9) and to take care of his enemies (6:14). Then he gets back to work trusting God! And what happens?

"So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God." Nehemiah 6:15-16

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Someone has got to die

I took the title of this blog post from what I frequently say to women who have come to me about some trouble in their marriage. "Someone has got to die," I say. Then I add, "Preferably both of you." What I mean, of course, is that for a marriage to work, each of us must die to our sinful, selfish desires. It means we give up what we want, so our spouse gets what they want. Most often (not always) when we do that out of obedience to our LORD, our spouse responds by dying to what they want. A win-win. However, when we both choose not to die to our selfish desires, the relationship will likely dissolve.

This Sunday, my husband will be speaking on Romans 6:23 which says:

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD."

In our relationship to Christ, someone had to die. He has already made the first move. He willingly laid down His life so that we may gain eternal life. We can choose to accept that, and respond by receiving that gift, or we can say "No thank you," and dissolve that relationship. Death or life - our choice.

Mother

I find it interesting that there is not much in the way of instruction for mothers in the Bible. There are clear commands for women in general, but not specifically for mothers. Of course there are examples of good and bad mothers in the Bible. We would all do well to take note of women like Jezebel (Ahaziah's mother) and Eunice (Timothy’s mother), and try to figure out what character traits we should or should not copy.

Proverbs 31:28 says that a mother’s child will arise and call her blessed  (and her husband will also). The older I get, the more meaning this has.

As a mother, those who know you best are your husband and children. So it carries a lot of weight if they are the ones who rise up and call you blessed, because they are the ones who have watched your life most closely.

In her book, The Shaping of a Christian Family, Elisabeth Elliot says “A mother is a chalice, the vessel without which no human being has ever been born. She is created to be a life-bearer, cooperating with her husband and with God in the making of a child. What a solemn responsibility. What an unspeakable privilege—a vessel divinely prepared for the Master’s use.”

Mothers are care givers, teachers, nurses and taxi drivers, but most importantly, we are models. We are each called to model faith, hope, love, obedience, discipline, determination, courage, holiness, etc. to our children. We strive to show them how we love to read and study God’s Word. We show them Who to turn to when trouble comes. We pray and never give up. We ask for forgiveness when necessary. We teach them the Word of God. We lead them to Christ when they are ready.

As Elisabeth said; what a solemn responsibility!