JUST DO IT, only differently

"We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4)

posted this the other day.. but it's just such a powerful verse.. it contains the answer as to how to journey back to hope when hopelessness rules the day.. sometimes you gotta go backward to move forward.. it's like when you get off track in a maze and suddenly you see the way out. Keep your focus on the right path as you acknowledge the errors of your former way, until you get back to where you got off track. Then don't just "do it" like so many ppl love to say, but "do it different" until you get to that right place... boots on the ground.

Then as you look back to check yourself and to hold yourself accountable.. you will see that you are a person of character, who perseveres as a man of his word despite opposition and failure, and you will rejoice in that thing that caused you (as well as those who love you) great suffering.. not to rejoice that that evil thing happened, but because God used that attack of hell to press you deeper into the image of Christ.. and placed the HOPE of all the promises of God back in your line of vision <3

Submission Defined

Submission is not a matter of giving someone their way all the time, or spoiling them, or being a doormat to their selfishness.. Submission is wrestling through the hard stuff in life together, it is bringing the other half of the perspective, weighing and sifting all so that it can be measured to the Word and will of God, making an attempt to get the whole truth out on the table and then letting go of the final decision and giving someone else power over you and all that you love, trusting God with the outcome...

basically, it's being the bitch that rains on the fun parade in hopes that people will make the right decision for everyone involved.

An Inside Look (Gen 2)

Genesis 2

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ² And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The heavens and the earth were finished in this era of the Creation of Man as we know it. The heavens were the sky and atmosphere of the earth. The host were all the bodies of matter and the systems they operate in in the sky as they relate to the earth, such as the sun and moon and stars. When the planets and space were created, I’m not sure.

On the seventh day, God rested, which brings to mind the question, “How can God get tired so that he needs rest?” But rest does not necessarily mean that someone must be tired. Rest merely means to break from your work and to take some time to enjoy the fruit of it with the people you share it with. God rested, he finished his work and took the seventh day to enjoy it with his children. Perhaps God designed mankind as needing rest from his physical labor, to ensure that he would make it a priority to enjoy the fruit of it with the people he loves and with God, his Father. Idk… but I am sure it was not that God was exhausted and weak and needed a day to re-coop.

⁴ These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵ When no bush of the field^[a] was yet in the land^[b] and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶ and a mist^[c] was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— ⁷ then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground andbreathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. ⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Reading this initially, several questions came to mind. I wondered how man could be created before any bushes or plant life had been created. Then it occurred to me that Genesis 1 was a detailed and ordered account of creation.. the plant life was created, it just hadn’t begun to break forth out of the ground. The land was still barren appearance-wise, when man was created and given life. Then God created the Garden of Eden, with fully grown trees and plant life for food to sustain him until the rest of the earth had time to ripen. And here in this garden, God also planted the two trees which seemed separated from the rest of the plant life. I am not sure why. But their presence was clearly necessary if man was to be free to choose obedience and relationship  with God or not. They provided freedom to choose, and they protected the free will of mankind. The verses that follow go on to describe in more detail the placing of man in the Garden AFTER he was created on the earth. He was told to take care of it and rule and reign over it for God. With the exception of the two trees, the mandate was given that he was not to eat from them or he would die. That death would involve a complete death, physically (death of his body, returning to dust) and spiritually (second death, his eternal spirit separated from God).

¹⁰ A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat^[d] of it you shall surely die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for^[e] him.” ¹⁹ Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed^[f] every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.²⁰ The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam^[g]there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²² And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made^[h] into a woman and brought her to the man. 

²³ Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
    because she was taken out of Man.”^[i]

After man was put in the garden, the animals that were created were all brought to him (also put into the garden after being created on the earth as man was). Man was told at this point to name each one in search of a suitable companion, a helper. But none was found. So God caused Adam to sleep, and he took a part of him to create woman. This is such a great picture of the Godhead.. Father, Son, and Spirit. She was taken from the Man (earthly father) just as the Son (Jesus) was taken from the Godhead to perform a specific role, temporary, but having lasting effects on many things including himself. She was given the role of HELPER just as the Holy Spirit was sent by Christ from the Godhead to perform the role of paraclete (one called alongside to help). There are so many levels in which mankind was created in the image of God, but they are all rooted in being One, in relationship with each other, in helping and serving and being a part of guarding the wholeness of all that is Good. That’s pretty incredible. What a beautiful thing to be a part of.. family.

The animals were brought to Adam, God knowing that none would be a suitable helper or companion to man. Adam just needed to sense the absence of the woman, in order to appreciate the role that God would create her to perform. The revelation of his need of her, as a friend and a soul-mate. Perhaps, it was so that he could feel the difference between a relationship that is outside of your spirit as compared to one that is created from within, a part of you, that thing that completes you and brings that sense of wholeness. Perhaps it was also to help him to value her for more than just the role she performed, her works, but to value her for who she was and is... to treasure the internal rather than just the external. 

Perhaps it was so that he would not see his role of having authority as being greater than her role of submission.. rather that her value as a wife, as family, as part of himself, that other that completes him would be the treasure of her worth. Seeing her as his equal, causes a sense of humility when he glimpses the sacrifice of her role of submission. She gives herself for the good of the family, while the man wields his authority for the good of the family. Both a reflection of Christ, both performing specific roles, both of great worth to each other and to God. 

One in Christ.. that is what makes a marriage work.
Anything else is death.


²⁴ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

This closing passage is so key because it emphasizes the replication of the family, and yet the limits. Every family formed on the earth becomes another mirror image of the Godhead, and speaks the name of God just by being. It is made clear that after children are raised to maturity they are to leave that family unit and form another.. repeating the name of God in the earth.. replenishing.. filling the earth with the glory of God.. not just bodies.

Honor is to be given always to our parents for their role and sacrifice and love for God and for us. But as adults, it is our calling and purpose to leave that family unit and birth another.. every time a family is formed in the earth it is a continual declaration of "Glory to God!"

I also love that they were naked. There was no doubt or lack of understanding.. purpose was clear and beautiful and valued.. there was absolute freedom because there was absolute obedience and ownership of the will of God. Some day, that freedom will return to us, because of the sacrifice and price that God paid to redeem us back to him once again. Some day, everyone will have made their choices to accept that freedom.. or to reject the free, yet costly gift offered to them.



~ On a side note.. I think it is just another reason that Scripture says that God hates divorce.. it mars the beauty that God designed the family to declare.. adultery, fornication, homosexuality.. all those sexual sins moves the family and each of us further away from the image of God.. the character of Christ.. declaring the Glory of the Lord in all the earth.

~ Yes, there is mercy and forgiveness.. but scars remain.. the church must do some serious back pedalling concerning all such issues that make divorce so acceptable and popular these days.

 

Divorce Doesn't Make It Stop Hurting

~ "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy." 
(I Cor 7)

~ yes, you may have a reason for divorce.. but what if God says "just wait a while" and your children are blessed by your patience... your wedding vows were that "it takes three to make a marriage".. your vows at the dedication of your children were to ensure the home life of a family as God defines it not according to what anyone else says or does.. family is not dependent upon what any one person does or says except God.. you made vows to God concerning your marriage... you made vows as to the raising of your children concerning your family.. your vows are not just to your spouse.. if everyone breaks their commitments and vows.. will you keep the ones you made to your God and to your children?...

~ "Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." (Hebrews 10:35-36)

~ "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4)

~ When the ones you love and trust hurt and destroy You
You may be discouraged, certainly don't think of giving up
When you are broken, when you are wounded
Forgive those who persecute you
For it's alright to be broken, and it is no shame to cry
But I do not want you to remain in that place of brokenness
Even though I am in that place with you
Still I do not want you to stay there
Where you see bones, I can see the army

When you see floods, I see the shore
Where you see dry winds blow, I see new life grow
Where you see clouds in your way, it is the Lord
Like I delivered Moses out from the desert place
So I will lead you through
You will see a fire in the night and a pillar of cloud in the day
I will go before you
And if you can forgive then when your soul is really mended
You will see that there is gold, pure gold
Real gold of great worth
You will see there is gold, pure gold
Real gold of great worth in your life
But I do not want you to remain in that place of brokenness
Even though I am in that place with you
Still I do not want you to remain there
No, no, no, no I do not want you to remain in the land of your affliction
No, no, no, no I do not want you to stay there in the land of your broken dreams
To know that I the Lord your God dwell within you
Live beside you and walk behind you
This the pure gold I am talking about
That cannot be consumed by fire or stolen away by human hands
This is the gold of ministry that you have longed for
That you have laid awake at night on your bed dreaming of
And you need to know that I have been wishing for you
Dreaming in you, hoping for you
For my dreams are so much greater for you than yours
And to know my hand in Your life
This is the greatest prize
So much better than recognition
And as you rise up in me, many will know
Many will see, many will hear
Because I am your God
This is the pure gold that I am refining in you
That will shine within your soul
And your cup will run over
And you will see the fruit of your labours
And you will not be disappointed forever
For your toils and your struggles are not in vain
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

© 2001 : Brian Houston
KingsWay's ThankYou Music/MCPS

~ SONG ON YOUTUBE

Discern Rightly

⁹ But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

¹⁰ But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

¹¹ For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

¹³ Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

¹⁴ But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (Cor 2)

The natural man cannot know or understand what is right or what is the will of God.. because the ways of God seem foolish to him.. even we, who are called by the name of Christ as Christian, often times get it wrong and operate in our old nature, in sin, in the way of the world, reasoning and rationalizing in ways that are is such opposition to the Word of God.. we miss the mark...

Only when we humble ourselves and truly seek God for answers and understanding and direction.. only then will we begin to discern rightly, to do what is in the best interest for the good of all.. only then will answers come that bring peace to mind and body and spirit.. even if understanding and the completion of things remains beyond us, we will rest in knowing that our actions and steps are ordered by God and we have obeyed in faith, with a right spirit, rightly motivated rather than selfishly motivated..

but only when we truly do whatever is set before us out of love of God and love of people... only then will we discern rightly (make the right decisions).