Come join me at my new blog!

January 24, 2008 in Uncategorized by Priceless Woman | 1 comment

Jan. 24, 2008 – It’s just me . . . it’s just life

Just My Life

 

So, you might be wondering to yourself, "Why the new blog?"  And this is where I give a rather lengthy explanation . . . but not before I tell you that I’m a perfectionist.  I think they call it the type A personality.  It’s usually all or nothing with me.  If I can’t have a whole 6 or 8 hour stretch to clean the attic, write a blog post/Bible study, or work at my craft desk, then I just won’t do it.

So, what does that bit of information have to do with creating and keeping a new blog?  Well, two years ago when I set up Jesus is Enough, I had the notion that it would be an extention of my Priceless Woman website that I was having trouble keeping current.  I wanted to post new Bible studies on the blog, share links, blah, blah, blah.  What I found was that just living life didn’t really allow me much time to realize that dream.  It was then, and is now, just something that I cannot realistically do.  Y’all just don’t know what I put into writing a Bible study sometimes.  Hours and hours of writing and studying; and then there are more hours of revision.  I just can’t think that much and homeschool as well!  I realized that I could just post little thoughts here and there but stubborn me, as I said above, lives for all or nothing!  If I couldn’t post a huge, thought-provoking Bible study, then I just wouldn’t post anything at all.

However, after reading blogs rather regularly, I have come to realize that keeping a web log is simply sharing your heart with friends and strangers on a regular basis.  I love, love, love to write and share my heart and soul with others.  I do still need some quiet time each day to think in order to do that.  If I don’t get that time, then you won’t get anything from me about life!

I guess I am a thinker.  I am forever thinking about everything, anything, all the time!  I could probably spend hours every day just writing down what’s on my mind, but then we’d all starve and have to wear dirty underwear.  Of course, if it came to that, maybe my sons would decide it was time to learn how a washer and dryer work!

So, why the NEW blog?  Well, first of all, the old one is still up and running.  I will have to post something soon so that it doesn’t get erased.  It’s likely that I will post things dealing with my website there (links, inspirational things, and Bible studies, too).  I just wanted a fresh start so that I can focus on the real purpose of a blog . . . a journal of my life to share with the world.

Is my life so very exciting and my thoughts so very inspiring that I think the whole world needs to know about them?  Not likely.  But God did not give me the gift of gab, teaching, and writing to be squandered on the notion of all or nothing.

My promise to you is this:  each day I will share something with you about life and about the Lord that will encourage you.  We are to provoke one another . . . to love and good works, that is!  LOL . . . and that is what I will do each day.  My gift to you.

Love in Christ,

What are you looking at?

September 13, 2007 in Growing in the Lord by Priceless Woman | 4 comments

Ever feel like there is something wrong with your and your family because of all the clutter and craziness going on?  What woman hasn’t?  I love magazines like Country Living, Country Home, Victoria, and Martha Stewart Living because of the beautiful, cozy homes they often feature.  How I would love to have a cute little romantic country home decorated in the style I’ve seen so many times in these magazine!  But one thing I’ve had to learn is not letting those "perfect" homes get me down & discouraged at my home, which will never be featured in such magazines, for ours is a very lived-in home!

Don’t get me wrong, I try to keep it a neat, peaceful place, but it takes so much energy!  And I get so tired!  I sweep five times a day (both inside and out), wash dishes and wipe down kitchen counters numerous times, and wash and fold mounds of laundry that never seems to get caught up.  No exaggeration.  I do have the kids’ help in keeping the house in decent order, but then they are the reason it looks like a tornado crashed through! As hard as I try to keep a livable home for us, the bathrooms don’t always get cleaned as often as they should, and I try not to venture into the kids’ bedrooms unless it is just absolutely unavoidable!

This in addition to homeschooling five (well, four, since Elizabeth graduated) precious souls, trying to maintain a marriage to a man who works extremely long days, and trying, but often failing, to get to bed early enough to get up before everyone else so I can spend some quiet time with the Lord (and with myself!).    Much to my dismay, I’ve learned that life just doesn’t always work out like I plan!  But that doesn’t mean it can’t work for my good.  If the floors don’t get swept, but I’ve been able to spend time "tying apron strings" to my kids’ hearts, then it’s been quite a successful day.  If hubby doesn’t have clean t-shirts and I don’t have a clean skirt to wear, but I’ve given my ear to listen to my chatty 13-year-old and 18-year-olds, I’ve accomplished quite a lot.  If the sink is full of bowls with dried-on oatmeal from breakfast, but I’ve take the time to teach my 14-year-old how to embroider a pillowcase to give a friend for her birthday, then a failure I am not!  If we can’t sit on the couch because of piles of clean laundry needing to be folded and put away, but I’ve talked with my boys about spiritual matters so that they can be godly young men, then I have a reward far greater than drawers full of laundry.

Time, once spent, can never be gotten back.  By the grace of God, every day that we live we are given time to spend molding, shaping, and nurturing the fruit He has given us.  Though I am not discounting the importance of keeping our homes as we are called to do by the Lord, in the end the relationships we have with our husbands and children are of far greater consequence than sparkling homes.  I believe that women who are committed to the Lord, their families, and their homes can have clean, peaceful, harmonious homes, as well as good relationships with those within their homes.  It just means that we must prioritize all those things on our plates.  But what is our priority as keepers of homes and bearers of children?

1 Corinthians 14:40 says "Let all things be done decently and in order." Though the context of that verse has to do with church services, I do believe that it can have an application in our live as well.  This verse simply means that all we do should be done well, and with honor, integrity, and comeliness.  In other words, do all to bring beauty to the home, soundness in your children, and esteem to the Lord.  However, what I want to concentrate on more is honoring the Lord.

If you think about it, everything we do in our lives is done to give or bring honor someone or something.  Often that person we are striving to bring honor to is "self" because we are afraid of what others think about us.  Sometimes we set unattainable expectations for ourselves for that very reason and end up feeling like failures.  At other times, we take on the standards and expectations of the world because we are afraid to be different.   We’re also afraid that we’ll be failures in the world’s eye because we don’t live like it does.  But Proverbs 3:9 & 10 tells us to "honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."  If our homes are not necessarily spotless and clutter-free (and magazine-quality) and decorated in a beautiful, stylish way, but the Lord is given a place of honor, then we are not losers!  If we educate our children in ways that are a little out-of-the norm, but they grow to be young men and women who love and serve the Lord, then we are not failures!  God says He will bless us when we honor Him with our substance (might, strength, ability, goods [homes and possessions]) and with the firstfruits of our increase (the children borne of our marriages)!  In fact, we’ll be blessed to overflowing!

Too often I live in a world heavy with discouragement because I have failed to live up to my own expectations, instead of living to honor the Lord.  I am learning that I need to change my goals.  Instead of achieving a home worthy of being featured in a magazine, I need a home worthy of Lord.  A place where His love, mercy, grace, long-suffering, and loving-kindness shines through.

Maybe you have set unrealistic expectations for yourself and you may be living with feelings of discouragement. Or it could be that you’ve taken on the expectations and standards of the world and feel like a failure because you have not been able to measure up.

In Romans 12:1, God calls us near and invites us in to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."  There is the beginning of a way out of our dilemma right there! 

 
God is asking each and every Christian mother to consecrate and surrender herself to Him.  Though the Lord says that it is not an extreme or excessive request on His part, it does require that we give up something, as a sacrifice always does.   And why are we asked to give our very lives over to Him?  1 Corinthians 6:20 tells us that "ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s."  He purchased us and He has the right to ask us to serve Him.  1 Peter 1:18 & 19 remind us that "ye were not redeemed with corruptible things . . . but with the precious blood of Christ."  God sent the most valuable thing He could to ransom us from sin and death!  His son Jesus, who spilled His blood to set us free from our bondage.  We who have trusted in Christ’s sacrifice are asked in return to make sacrifices as well:  a committed life in service to Him; giving up the lusts of the flesh by walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5); glorifying Him with our bodies & spirits, which belong to Him because He ransomed us from a dead life.  1 Corinthians 7:23 admonishes us to "be not ye the servants of men" because we have been bought at a great cost.  The previous verse says that though we’ve been set free, we are Christ’s servant.  Life in precious, and since Christ gave His precious life’s blood for us, it is not unreasonable on God’s part to ask us to give our lives over to Him.
 
But what about that pesky habit of ours to try to live up the world’s standards?  In verse two of Romans 12, the Lord tells us to "not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."  This verse reminds me of the Play-doh and Silly Putty my kids loved to play with as kids.  Actually, one of my girls still loves modeling clays and such.  It’s so much fun for her to put the clay or dough in a mold to shape it into pretend fruits, veggies, or animals.  You know, the very meaning of conform is to be similar or identical; obedient or compliant.  When my daughter plays with clay, she is working with a substance that conforms to whatever mold or cookie cutter she happens to be working with.  In like fashion, we are to be compliant & obedient, with the Lord as our mold.  We should strive to have characteristics common to the Lord, not to this world.  Our lives, actions, and desires are to closely resemble our Saviour, not patterned after the world’s standards. 
 
To be obedient is to comply to the will of another.  Obviously, this is often easier said than done.  If we are having trouble with conforming to the Lord, He says that we can be changed (transformed) by renovating our feelings, our will, and our way of thinking!  They all need to be restored to a better way by being cleaned, repaired, and rebuilt!  We need a spiritual makeover!
 
I’ve never been to a day spa, though my family did buy a gift certificate for me for Mother’s Day this year.  The little ‘menu’ that came with the card that describes all of the services is very overwhelming!  I don’t have enough on the certificate to do more than one or two things, so I’ve put off having to make a choice.  I’ve considered a pedicure, a hot stone massage, and maybe the foot & leg treatment.  Wouldn’t it be really fantastic to go in to one of those places and get "the works"?  Imagine getting a massage, a facial, a body treatment, your nails done, and your hair fixed all at once!  How invigorating that would be!  I would feel so renewed!  Unfortunate, these things don’t last.  Hair grows, nail polish wears off, and the skin on our face requires constant care.  Time and time again we must return to the spa to maintain our make-over.
 
Likewise, we must continually renew our hearts and minds to stay conformed to the Lord.  Even the Psalmist pleaded for the Lord to "renew a right spirit within me."  Keeping a right heart, spirit, and mind is done by constant contact with Him and living a separated life through prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17); reading the Word (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; Acts 4:29); wearing your armor (Ephesians 6); living by the Word (James 1:23-25); bringing your thoughts under the control of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5); thinking on the right things (Philippians 4:8); setting your affections on the right things (Colossians 3:1-3); crucifying fleshly affections and lusts (Galatians 5:24); praising Him and rejoicing at all times (Psalm 34;1; Philippians 4:6, 7); being thankful in all things (Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18); doing all as unto the Lord, not man (Colossians 3:23); and being obedient to the Spirit (Galatians 5; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). 
 
As you can see, the Bible is full of admonitions and examples for living a victorious life full of peace!  Though this life is not easy, God does not want us to live in defeat, fear, and turmoil.  Isaiah 26:3 says that He will "keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."  When the Lord is no longer our confidence and hope, that is when we have lost our protection and will begin to rest in ourselves and lean on the world for answers.  This is the time when we are most likely to conform ourselves and our thinking to the world’s standards instead of the Lord’s. 
 
Moms often get tired, frustrated, and exhausted!  How can I go on any longer?, you ask yourself.  If you do, you think you just might lose your mind!  You don’t want to see another dirty dish, change another stinky diaper, fold socks that seem to have lost their mates, or sweep Cheerios off the floor.  Add homeschooling into the equation and you feel as if you’ll pull out those graying hairs if you have to do one more Chemistry experiment, diagram one more sentence, or work out any more Algebra problems.  Don’t even mention driving to even one more piano lesson, choir rehearsal, or 4-H meeting!  But there is hope and strength for you if this is how you feel!  Isaiah 40:31 tells us that those who stay in a place of expectation watching for the Lord will "renew their strength" and will "run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."  I believe what we are being told here is that when God is our expectation (not the world, not standards we have set up for ourselves), then we will be able to do what we have to do and not become exhausted and tired.  Fatigue, tiredness, and exhaustion happen when we wonder outside the will of God.  Peace, rest, and strength come when we trust Him and make Him our expectation. 
 
That word expectation has its origins in Latin.  Literally, it means to look at (ex- + spectare).  The Psalmist said "mine eyes are ever toward the LORD" (Psalm 25:15).  In Psalms 121, he says "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.  He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber."  Again, in Psalm 141 we read how "mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute."  It seems to me that these eyes that look upon the Lord are spiritual in nature.  And when we turn spiritual eyes on the Lord, we are showing Him that we trust Him to help us, to keep us on the right path with a steady step, and that He will not leave us lacking in what we need.
 
As I come to a close, you may be wondering how in the word you can keep a right way of thinking in the midst of all that you have been given to do.  Over the years I have often had those same thoughts.  But the Lord always brings one particular verse to my mind:  Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established (Proverbs 16:3).  With all my heart, I believe that this is the only way we can tackle the craziness that comes with being a homeschooling mother.  We must roll them over to Him and trust Him to bring quietness and orderliness to our thoughts and plans, There is so very much to remember, so very much to do, and so very many relationships to work on.  It is terribly easy to become overwhelmed with the amount the people, activities, and things to keep up with in our lives that we often shut down.  So much so that I am surprised that more homeschool moms don’t go on strike!  But, thankfully, it does not have to be that way.  Proverbs 21:2 says that "every way of a man is right in his own eyes".  Whether that way is right or not can be debated, but if we are to be successful in our calling and in the work given us, it all has to be committed to Him. 
Live for Him.
In Christ,
Julia 

© 2007 Julia Faulkner

What's on your mind? (Part 3)

June 21, 2007 in Uncategorized by Priceless Woman | Permalink

Titus 2:14 says that Jesus gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.  The difference between this verse and 1 Peter 2:9 is that one speaks of mercy and we are told how Jesus Christ gave His life in order that we might be redeemed (loosened) and purified from our iniquities.  And instead of talking of giving God the praise for bringing mercy to us, the verse in Titus 2 tells us that we are to eagerly pursue and have a burning interest in good works!  Instead of coveting those things which satisfy the flesh, instead of living for ourselves, hoarding things, we should desire something much more valuable to us in the long run (eternity); we should desire to do the good works that God has fitted & prepared us for.  

 

Now, think about what this all means.  Here we are, children of God, residents of Heaven who are living on earth.  That’s where the resident alien comes in that we talked about earlier.  What does a resident alien usually do?  Though they remain a citizen of their home country, they come to a land that is not their own to do some sort of work.  All the while the alien, stranger, and pilgrim keep the customs and ways of the place they belong.  Even though they are now living in an entirely different culture from their own, they tend to keep the ways of their homeland.  Likewise, Christians living here on earth are expected to shun the ways of this world and cling to God’s standards.

 

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto (used as a function word to indicate purpose) good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk (to pursue a course of action or way of life) in them.  THIS is our purpose!  This is what we were created for and what we are to be occupied with.  We are not her for the laying up of treasures that will last only as long as this earth is around, if that long.  We were not saved to live as if we belong on this earth, but to live for Heaven and God’s glory. 

 

The moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, so much is changed forever.  Not only do we become a new creature and receive a new nature, we become residents and citizens of Heaven, and we are given a new way of life and a real purpose.  First and foremost, we are to bring the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).  That is a job for all Christians.  Secondly, He has called us to good works as we have seen previously.  Beyond that, God has called and equipped us all for our own calling:  Sunday school teachers, pastors’ and missionaries’ wives, special singers, prayer warriors, and the list goes on.  God says that there are many parts of a body:  ears, eyes, heart, hands, etc.  However, they all work together as one body (1 Corinthians 12). 

 

Trouble enters our lives when we begin to live as if we are citizens of this world, living to satisfy the flesh.  You may be wondering how it is even possible for us to live as citizens of Heaven, living in a temporary body on a temporary earth.  Romans 1:1 gives the answer to that question:  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. YOU have a responsibility to God:  to yield & surrender the power, control, or possession of yourself in service to Him.  This is not an extreme request on God’s part, but fair (reasonable), because, rightfully, you owe your life to Him.  1 Peter 1:18 & 19 says that we are redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus.  God paid a ransom for your life with the most valuable thing He possessed.  Ephesians 2:1 & Colossians 2:13 says that He quickened you when you were dead in sins and has forgiven every one of your trespasses.  The most remarkable thing about it is that you weren’t even His friend.  You were an enemy of God, without righteousness or strength, a sinner reconciled (changed; restored to friendship & harmony) by the death of His Son. 

 

Romans 1:2 admonishes you not walk in the standards and customs of this world:  . . . be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.    Romans 13:14 advises us to put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.  Here are three ways to keep yourself separate from the world.  First, get a new way of thinking:  repair your thinking and renovate your intentions & desires!  2 Corinthians 10:3 tells us to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.  Don’t become prisoners of your thoughts, but reign them in under obedience to and a prisoner under Christ.  Next, sink into and take upon yourself Jesus, and, as Philippians 2:5 says, the mind He had, which was to serve:  Christ Jesus . . . made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant.  In other words, your motive, your very desire, should be to be as Jesus.  Finally, don’t do those things which satisfy the longings of the flesh.  Galatians 5 gives us a solution in that we are told to walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  This just means that you should follow the Holy Spirit of God as a close companion, which He is, seeing as how He lives in you!  But more than that, by walking in the Spirit, you will not carry out or make provisions for the lusts of your flesh.

 

What I have spoken to you about today is something that I have struggled with in since I was saved.  It is a difficult concept to come to grips with, living in one place when you really belong to another.  No Christian is exempt from the struggles of bringing their flesh under subjection to the Spirit of God as they live in a fallen world.  Maybe because we have never yet seen Heaven, except what we are able to read about it in the Bible, it is really hard to believe that we could possibly be going to live there some day.  It could be that because we lived in this world for so many years before we were saved, it is still so easy to think of this world as our home.  It’s hard to change that thinking we read about in Romans 1:2.  God says that there is a constant battle between our flesh and Spirit and that we are not fighting daily against flesh but against principalities and spiritual wickedness in high places.  One day, however, we will reach that country prepared for us that we read about in Hebrews 11 and we will receive a new body and will never again have to worry about fleshly struggles.  When we get there, 1 Corinthians 3 says that God will reward us for those works that we have built upon the foundation of our salvation and that will be tried by and withstand the test of fire.  As Christ sacrificed His life, we are asked to do the same.  That’s the way we have to live our lives in order to not be conformed to this world.   Not only that, we must guard our hearts and our minds.

  

Maybe you are here today and you suffer a different problem:  working to be accepted by God.  Galatians 2:16 says that we know that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.  Ephesians 2: 8 & 9 says by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.  Though there is nothing wrong with good works, only when we have been made new in Christ do they make a difference.  The same chapter of Ephesians says that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.  Those who are products fabricated by faith in Jesus Christ are called to be occupied with toiling for God.  Though the good works of those who belong to God through Christ please Him, those works done in the flesh as a lost man will never justify him.  It is only by faith in Christ that we can ever be acceptable to God.

 

You know, I am so blessed every day.  I have a loving husband, wonderful children, a lovely home.  But life isn’t without its troubles.  Sometimes I wonder if God doesn’t allow some unpleasant things to come our way so that we don’t become too attached to this world.  If all was good down here, who would want to go to Heaven?  Through writing this Bible study, God has challenged me about my attachments to this world.  For far too long I have been lukewarm and have allowed worldly thoughts to occupy my mind, and, in turn, I’ve not presented my body a living sacrifice to Him.  There have been too many times of satisfying the flesh and not enough obedience and sacrifice.  There has been too much living in this world and not enough looking forward to Heaven.  If this is how you’ve been living, then let’s pray for one another and encourage each other with thoughts of a better Country and that City prepared by God!

 

Your sister in Christ,

 

Julia

 

© 2007 Julia Faulkner

What's on your mind? (Part 2)

May 11, 2007 in Growing in the Lord by Priceless Woman | 1 comment

  1 Peter 2:9 tells us that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.  What this all means is that we did not choose God, but have been “chosen out and carefully selected” by Him as His kindred and offspring (chosen generation).  As His selected, we are also called a royal priesthood, meaning we are now of a kingly nature and ancestry dedicated and set apart for service and worship, devoted exclusively to the Lord.  We are an innocent, chaste, perfect race set apart for the work of God (holy nation).  As a peculiar people, we are distinct and separate, different from the usual or normal, presenting a clear unmistakable impression.  Very simply, we should be leaving the impression of God on others wherever we go.  As a separate people, we have been severed (divided) from this world and others should be able to distinguish us and notice a difference in us from those who are not saved.  We were made in such a way that we would be able to show how HE called us from the darkness into His light and how He forever changed our lives.  When we live like a royal priesthood and the peculiar people that we are, we show the world that we have found mercy in the sight of God.

Have you ever known someone who lived a terrible, wicked life who was born again and became a completely different person?  When you see them, it’s so hard to believe what you are witnessing!  A changed life!  A new creation!  Someone living and walking in a totally different direction! 

On the other hand, maybe you’ve known someone who has made a “profession” but they remain the same old person as before.  You are so excited for them when you hear about their salvation, but, sadly, you never see evidence of it.

Consider this interesting comparison.  What if you went to the beautician for a new hairstyle only to come home looing the same!  Everyone would look at you rather strangely when you told them you had just come from getting a new do.  Why would they want to waste their time and money going to a place like that?  In much the same way, if we proclaim to be saved but live pretty much the same lifestyle as before, what would everyone think?  Just as no one would want to visit the same hairdresser that you had gone to, what lost person would want to follow the God that you say you are now following & serving if your life has not changed or seems no different from theirs?   

However, come into church with a new hairstyle and everybody wants to know where you went to get it!  The next day, the phones are ringing off the hook at the hairdressers because there is clearly a difference in what your hair looked like before and when you came out of the place!  No matter how much they might have to pay, they are willing to sacrifice it all to get a new do.  In much the same way, you can have a marvelous influence on others when they see the difference that a relationship with God through Christ Jesus can make.

Continuing on, we find that 1 Peter 2:11 takes things further when we’re told how much different we really are than others around us.  It says that we are strangers in this world!  What this means is that we are resident foreigners, strangers dwelling in a foreign country.  While there is no denying that we live here on this earth, it is equally true that we are only temporary residents and we do not belong here!  Our allegiance, obligation, fidelity, faithfulness is not to this world!  Allegiance is the obligation of an alien to the government under which the alien resides.  As foreigners of this world, our duty and responsibility is to the government our true home:  Heaven.   

And though we are told by Christ to render unto Caesar those things which belong to Caesar, we are also exhorted to render unto God those things which belong to God.  Namely, our hearts, souls, strength, and might; our love and service; and a desire to take up residence in our Eternal Home.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul had to admonish the believers there because they were carnal and walking as men.  He was telling them that they were succumbing to bodily pleasures and appetites, devoted to this world and its pursuits rather than the Lord.  Instead of minding eternal things, they were focused on that which was temporal and pertained to the flesh.  Temporal has the meaning of relating to time as opposed to eternity. 

I do wonder what Brother Paul would think of Christians today!  Whether or not these Christians ever knew the reality of 1 Peter 2:11, I do not know.  But what I do know, what we should all know and live by, is that this world is only temporary!  The things of this world will soon pass away and there is so much that we concern ourselves with that won’t even matter! 

Jesus told us in Matthew 6:19 & 20 that we should lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.  Instead, we are to lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.  What He was basically telling us is that the things of this earth will not last.  Sooner or later, they’ll all be gone.  All of the time and effort we have put into stock piling things on earth will pretty much be wasted. 

One interesting thing I noticed when I was looking to see what the word lay means is that it has the idea of applying oneself vigorously.  The example the dictionary used had a lot to do with really applying yourself to something and putting a lot of effort into it.  I think that this is what Jesus was talking about!  He did not want us to put so much effort into something that isn’t going to amount to a hill of beans when it’s all over!  And as we learned above, it will all be over one day because we will be leaving for our forever home!

The most telling thing Jesus had to say in this passage was the fact that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  I believe He was telling us that even though we live on this earth, our hearts can be in Heaven.  It just depends on what our thoughts, feelings, and mind (your heart) are focused on.  Treasures are things stored up or hoarded for oneself.  If this is the case, I guess we all know who our thoughts were on when we were filling our lives with meaningless things.  What a let down to get to Heaven only to realize that all the things we laid by to keep for ourselves was all in vain.

There is so much that we set our hearts on, so much that we concentrate our efforts on, and that doesn’t even matter.  One example I can specifically think of happens almost every Sunday morning at our house.  Without fail, one daughter or another will change clothes five times.  At 9:00 a.m., when I am checking to make sure everyone is on track to leave on time, I’m sure to find someone (sometimes myself) in tears of frustration or fuming because they cannot find anything to wear.  When I suggest a particular outfit, what I usually here is, “But I wore that last Sunday!”  My usual reply is something along the lines of, “When we all get to Heaven, nobody will remember that you wore the same outfit two Sundays in a row!”  Of course, that doesn’t always help matters any and most times I’m ignored because to the girls is does matter.  My point to them is that no one really notices those things we think are so important, carnal things generated in our flesh.

What, then, you may ask, are the things that will matter?  We’ll cover that next time! 

Until then!

Julia

© 2007 Julia Faulkner

What's on your mind? (Part 1)

April 28, 2007 in Growing in the Lord by Priceless Woman | 1 comment

1 Corinthians 2:16 . . . we have the mind of Christ.

  

First impressions are often the ones we remember and that makes it difficult for us to think of someone as anything other than what that first impression left in our minds.  It’s easy to make a first impression, good, bad, or otherwise, but quite difficult to shake it off. 

A few weeks ago my husband took me out to eat supper on a Saturday night.  While he was parking the van, I went into the restaurant to get a table for us.  Sitting there in the waiting area for Randall to come in, I noticed a young woman (probably in her 20’s) across from me with what I assumed was her boyfriend.  What caught my eye at first were her shoes:  strappy, three-inch high heels made of some sort of glittery material.  The shoes caused my eye to move upward where I encountered tanned legs that ended at the bottom of very short shorts.  The blouse she had chosen, though it had three-quarter length sleeves, left a lot to be desired in other areas.  Thankfully her dark hair was long enough to cover most of it up, though enough was still exposed to let you know that she was probably pretty proud of what she had and didn’t mind showing it off.  I was just glad we didn’t have our boys with us that night, though I didn’t particularly want my husband to see it either. 

As we sat there waiting for our table, a couple of thoughts crossed my mind.  First, I wondered what the guy with her thought of how she had put herself together.  Did he like it?  Did he think she was (excuse the term) hot?  But, even if he did, did he mind “sharing” his woman with every other man in public?  I’m sure that what she had on caused all sorts of thoughts to run their course through his mind, but did he realize that those same thoughts ran rampant through the minds of other men as well? 

What I wondered most, though, was whether or not this young woman thought that her provocative clothing is what being a woman is all about.  What had been her influence in deciding on how she would present herself that day?  I believe that she wanted to be remembered for what others saw in her appearance and she had allowed the world (television, movies, and magazines) to influence her.  No matter what it was, obviously her intentions were to draw attention to herself.  I believe that she probably thought she was quite beautiful with her revealing outfit, long silky hair, and tanned skin.  While there is nothing wrong with beauty, what I witnessed that night is that this world has a twisted idea of what makes a beautiful woman.   

Maybe if I had taken the time to speak to that young woman, I would have found that she was intelligent and well-spoken.  The impression I received, however, was far from that.   

As I sat there further contemplating the whole situation, God brought to my mind a startling thought:  many Christian women suffer the same plight as the young woman in the restaurant.  They want to be noticed and remembered for something.  They also seek to make an impression.  Most women, Christian or otherwise, often use their clothing, hair, nails, and shoes to bring attention to themselves..  In all honesty, what woman, no matter her age, size or figure doesn’t have a desire to be thought beautiful and attractive?  And what woman hasn’t at some point in her life enjoyed being the center of attention? 

 But here is my concern:  who or what is influencing Christian women in their daily conversation?  What is the intention of the Christian as they live each day on this earth?  What is it that YOU, Christian woman, will be remembered for?  What will the people who knew you in this life think of when you come to their minds?  Who shines and stands out more, YOU or JESUS?  Is your radiance from glowing skin and jewels or the glow of joy that comes from knowing and serving the Lord?  Do you consider anything other than the outward appearance when you’re putting yourself together?  Have you any care for the spiritual or is the world your standard for living?  A standard is something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model or example.  In other words, is the world your guidance, your example to be imitated and your pattern on how to live in this world? 

It is so easy to be drawn into the world’s ways, especially considering all that the media throws at us today.  In fact, I believe that Christians have made television, movies, music, magazines, books and other worldly pursuits their authority and custom more so than the Bible.  And why not?  How much more time is spent with these things compared to God’s Word?  Too many of us are probably in denial about the influence these all have over us.  I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with reading a magazine or book; watching a movie or a television program; or having hobbies or interests.  What I’m talking about today is the influence exerted over us and how much of it is taken to heart at the exclusion of God.

The danger is that the world and its devises, of course, aren’t concerned with godliness, but instead are consumed by the temporal:  fame, recognition, success, and to be the most whatever (beautiful, sexy, etc.).  Unfortunately, we have allowed ourselves to be drawn into this trap.  We’ve got to have perfect hair, nails and make-up.  If we’re not skinny, we’re not good enough.  We’ve got to have the latest fashions and look just like everyone else.  We’re too embarrassed by what’s conservative and modest because it is often considered “old fashioned”.

I’m not so sure that we even know who we are any more because we are so often drawn into the world’s ways.  What is unfortunate, however, is that the world doesn’t see Christians as different any more.  Many lost people have no need any more to be born again because they do not see Christians living lives much different from their own.  How very unfortunate this is because God has placed Christians in a very unique position.  

Next time I’ll talk to you about who you really are and let you decide if you’re making the right impression on people.

In Christ,

Julia

© 2007 Julia Faulkner

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