In Genesis 3:17, we read that Adam listened to the voice of his wife.
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
The entire human race fell into sin with Adam’s disobedience- having listened to the voice of his wife.
In Genesis 16:2 we read that Abraham listened to the voice of his wife.
So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please have relations with my slave woman; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16:2).
The entire Arab world is forever fighting because of Ishmael, the result of Sarah’s scheme to get a boy child, who ended up being a wild donkey of a man who raised up his fist against everyone. (Genesis 16:12)
In Genesis 12:7 God told Abraham he would have offspring. In Genesis 15:5 God told Abraham he would have numerous descendants, and specifically that Eliezar would not be the heir. And yet Abraham disobeyed and listened to Sarah who connived a better plan, or so she thought.
The results of both men whom God Himself charged with listening to the voice of his wife, reverberates throughout history.
Now let’s get one thing clear. Women/wives are created to be a helpmeet. (Genesis 2:18). One of the ways they help husbands is that they give wise advice and have good opinions. Proverbs 31:26-27 is a verse admiring the wife precisely because “She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”
The difference between Eve/Adam and Sarah/Abraham is that their counsel directly contradicted God’s. It was unwise and unkind, the opposite of the Proverbs wife. And the men listened.
I mean, in Genesis 15:5 Abraham heard that he’d have offspring, and in Genesis 15:6, the next verse it was counted to him as righteousness that he believed and trusted God. But Abraham succumbed to…something. Impatience? Sarah’s beauty? Masculine weakness? Who knows. But Abraham was charged by God as having listened to the voice of his wife, and not in a good way. Adam too.
Wives, please make sure you are not pressuring your husband to do things that arise from your own carnal desire, as Eve’s was. Nor should we create schemes and machinations to further our own personal agenda, as Sarah did. Be a Hannah, who loved her husband and waited on God and appealed to God (not her husband as Rebekah did) to open her womb. A Lois or Eunice, teaching the young Timothy as they raised the boy to a man. Most importantly, be a Mary, who soaked up Jesus’ teaching every chance she got.
This is what makes a wise wife. A wife whose voice will help her husband and please God. When you open your mouth, is it in wisdom or folly?
I was thinking about the difference between wisdom and discernment, since I read Proverbs 4 today. Which is a good set of verses to refer to again and again!
Wisdom is the result of applying knowledge through discernment. There is a difference in knowing things and being able to use the wisdom gained to advance your holiness.
Abigail- is a good biblical example of how wisdom gained and applied thru discernment. Abigail was the wife of a brute of a man, that’s the Bible’s description. He was Nabal, a name that means foolish. He kept sheep near Carmel and he wasn’t well liked by anyone, including his servants or his wife. David had asked Nabal for food to feed his men and Nabal refused. Incensed, David swore to kill Nabal. Abigail pleaded with David, at no small risk to herself, I might add, and her gentleness and discernment, tact and wisdom calmed David. He was impressed. SO impressed, he married Abigail when Nabal died. (1 Samuel 25:1-42; 2 Samuel 3:3).
Hebrews 5:14 reminds us that discernment is a skill and as such, we must train ourselves in it.
Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that discernment is precise. There should be no reply like, ‘well nobody’s perfect’, or ‘eat the meat and spit out the bones’. If we train in discernment, apply it with tact and wisdom, it will do its job to hearts and minds, and in so doing will glorify the Lord.
Romans 12:2 tells us that discernment not only helps us train but it helps us find the will of God, which nothing on this earth is more important.
1 Kings 3:9- Solomon knew there was nothing more important, discernment was the one thing he asked for when given opportunity by God.
Hosea 14:9- discernment allows the God fearer to walk uprightly and it is something that makes the transgressors stumble.
But HOW do we train in discernment? How do we gain it? As Joseph said to the cupbearer, baker, and Pharaoh, it is not in himself, but God delivers wisdom (in Joseph’s case, to interpret dreams, but you get the point). We obtain discernment, according to Sinclair Ferguson at Ligonier, from his article What Is Discernment?
How is such discernment to be obtained? We receive it as did Christ Himself—by the anointing of the Spirit, through our understanding of God’s Word, by our experience of God‘s grace, and by the progressive unfolding to us of the true condition of our own hearts.
You knew I was going to say that, right? That gaining wisdom and applying discernment comes from steady study in God’s word? THAT is where all truth, knowledge and beauty lies. Add prayer, a constantly transforming mind, add alert to occasions where discernment can be used, then repeat. Just as a boxer trains his footwork repetitively, just as a basketball player throws the ball to the basket in practice again and again, so we train in discernment repeatedly.
Discernment is a skill and as the verse in Hebrews 5:14 says, we must train. Have you been to the spiritual ‘gym’ lately?
It is a day off from school and for that I am grateful, because I can watch the Inauguration and celebratory proceedings.
President Trump is about to take the oath of office shortly, for the second time.
It has been a long 4 years since his first inauguration. As one who is so active on social media, Biden’s term has caused me no small amount of anguish. I have had to avert my eyes often, guard my heart, and work at reducing the bitterness, outrage, and unhappiness of all that I have witnessed. At times I’ve felt that my beloved nation was imploding, reminding me of the verse where God had said, Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim, And like rottenness to the house of Judah. (Hosea 5:12). A moth silently eats away at the fabric, rot causes foundational collapse.
It seems that He has granted us a reprieve from the Alarics of the world from sacking Rome.
I’ve grown up as a political animal. My father ran for office and also helped in campaigns of others seeking office. From my earliest days I remember grange halls, bunting, that echo shoes make on the wooden floors, Sousa marching music, and more.
I love my country and participated in Project Close-Up as a freshman. We were taken to the Nation’s capitol and given a close up look at how our nation runs, and time with our senator and representative. Even a tour of the Supreme Court. I loved it.
I’ve always been happy and proud of our country. My grandparents immigrated from Europe, coming thru Ellis Island, made new lives, prospered. I’ve been able to speak freely, assemble, and practice my religion with no hindrances.
I’ve been able to vote. What a privilege. I’ve almost always voted third party. I have felt strongly that we need to be governed by someone with real world experience in business (and ‘community organizing’ doesn’t count). Someone who understands at the minutest level about the economy. Someone from outside the two parties, which increasingly to me looked like one party. My first election I voted for John Anderson, and then Perot, Forbes, and so on. (Not Nader though).
I stood on the shore of Newport beach in 1976 and was wowed by the Tall Ships passing, our national bicentennial was a superlative party and a great lesson in civics.
It has been a long slog just since July when Candidate president Trump was shot, his life spared by the One who governs all life, but by a hair’s breadth to our eyes.
As someone who loves my country and is proud of it (and I never forgot THAT comment, yes I’m looking at you, Michelle Obama) and someone who loves justice, truth, and beauty, the last 4 years have been difficult if not depressing. Perhaps it was to give us a minute glimpse into what it was like for 1st century Christians under Nero. Or 1st century Jews under Herod. And yes I am deliberately likening our immediate past president to Herod and Nero.
“It is He who changes the times and the periods; He removes kings and appoints kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, And knowledge to people of understanding.” (Daniel 2:21).
It is HE. I do not know why God in His sovereign will decided to give us this reprieve or what He has in mind for the near future. But for the first time in a while I have optimism, even while completely understanding that my hope is in Jesus.
I’ve been praying for President Trump’s salvation, first and foremost. Then, that he survives the swearing in, and the next 4 years. I’ve been praying for justice to be done. Oh what a balm to my soul that justice in all her glory would be served. What a grace if I don’t have to wait until Jesus returns to see leaders right some of these recent wrongs.
I also pray that Mr Biden will receive the elder CARE HE DESERVES. He is obviously suffering from dementia, and it is a grief to watch in real time a man used as a puppet, a prop, inhumanely manipulated for evil ends. I can’t wait for THAT injustice to be addressed by Jesus.
But still, my hope is in Jesus. However, I am excited for today. I pray our nation returns to its earlier vigor and founding values. My life is advanced but I do hope that this sojourn by President Trump in our Hall of History will establish something good and strong for the next generation.
We worship an orderly God, whose prophecies, whose seasons, whose mankind progresses according to His will. What a blessing it is to know we submit to a God who is perfect, whose mighty hand is outstretched to make Himself known and His works are a wonder.
See the poem by Kay Cude on the art below or transcribed below that. Enjoy your day of rest.
Swan landing on a lake
GOD’S PURPOSE IN THE SEASONS OF LIFE
Foamy crystal drops of damp, and he alights with ease; To rest upon a liquid bed, his heart content and pleased; To linger there and end his day, the journey hard and long; the banks call out to lay upon, this heart by rest made strong… kay cude, 2007 AD
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up. Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3
According to several passages in the Bible, it is believed that angels may escort believers to heaven when they die, (Luke 16:22). We read about the poor man Lazarus who was carried to heaven by angels after he died. After all, Hebrews 1:14 says that angels are ministering spirits who serve those who will inherit salvation. It isn’t a stretch to surmise that they might minister to us as our flesh fades away and our spirit ascends to heaven, guided along by gentle zephyrs in the company of angels who tenderly bring us to our eternal place.
It’s a soft, comforting, lovely thought of the care that Jesus has for our souls, even at the end and beyond.
The difference of how the lost’s souls are handled is stark. Far from being guided in love to safely and gently dock in pastures so green in heaven, only the fires await those who are not in Christ. The lost are THROWN away (from the presence of Jesus). They are CAST into hell.
When you blow your nose and wad a tissue do you gently deposit it into the wastebasket? No, likely you toss it. A wadded up piece of paper? Throw it…score! When you deem something trash or waste, you don’t handle it gently. It is of nothing to you. Toss without care.
EPrata photo
The word ‘cast’ or ‘thrown’ is used repeatedly in the Bible referring to those whose destination is hell. Every time. Sin and Hades itself are also thrown or cast into the Lake of Fire.
Matthew 5:29, Now if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Matthew 7:19, Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 8:12, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 18:9, And if your eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell.
Luke 13:28, In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.
John 15:6, If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
Revelation 20:10, and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:15, And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
EPrata photo
The word used here is ballo with an ek in front. Ek means out. The definition isTo cast out, to drive out, to send out, to expel. Expel is to remove something by force.
We are so used to the notion put forth by false teachers that Jesus is a boyfriend romantically pursuing us, or that He is a ‘gentleman’ who wouldn’t not force Himself on us. Neither of these characterizations are accurate. He is meek, yes. He is compassionate, yes. He is never soft on sin. He is angry at sin. He has no use for those who did evil in His sight and there is no need to gently lay into the fire those who rejected His gospel. They are tossed.
Yes, He has compassion on those who are without a shepherd, but when it comes time for the judgment, it will be rough, hard, and a display of the ultimate rejection, them against Jesus and Jesus against them.
Why write this? To awaken a renewed sense of wonder at Jesus’ gospel. To spark a deeper gratitude that He saved us from this. We who are in Him will be witnesses to it. During the Tribulation there will be silence in heaven for ‘half an hour’. (Revelation 8:1). It is a solemn silence of profound expectation of the final and decisive catastrophe- wrath unknown and unexperienced until now.
And yet, the final judgment of casting souls inside fitted bodies into the fires will be worse. Isaiah 66:24 says
“All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the LORD. “Then they will go out and look At the corpses of the people Who have rebelled against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be extinguished; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”
Most commenters take this as figurative language, of those viewing the bodies of the Jews who had rejected Jesus and lay rotting in abundance in their deaths in the aftermath of the battle at Gehenna. I personally think it is literal, that there is a literal lake of fire with literal bodies of the lost in a literal fire. It will be literally somewhere and occasionally the saved will view them and remember as a testimony to God’s mercy that there but for the grace of God, go I.
Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need says Hebrews 4:16. As we approach that throne of grace, let gratitude flow that He has dealt gently with us.
I wrote two days ago about the celebrity grandmother ‘Bible teachers’ who were adept at crafting a conservative persona on social media contrary to the lives they were actually living.
They had to craft their outward picture (in hypocrisy) because firstly, when they started out the faith was much more conservative than it is now. They could not openly say they were preaching or having a career at the office. They had to say they were ‘speaking’ and only occasionally because they were stay at home moms. They had a ‘ministry’ not an all-consuming, busy career.
Secondly 40 years ago there was not as much social media as there is now. Back in the day there was only TV, newspapers, and radio.
I wrote an essay in 2018 saying this push of preaching to men was going to be a problem:
I also said so two days ago that the evil example of these grandmothers in the faith (Moore, Shirer, Meyer, Caine…) during the last generation is a problem:
So, a couple of days ago a woman whose handle is Cia Cloud, put up an Instagram story and a TikTok talking about the “romantic heart of Jesus”. The short video is below and here is the transcript:
After you’ve experienced the romantic heart of Jesus, you cannot go back to casual dating. I got out of a relationship a while ago, and when I did I asked the Lord can you teach me what it’s like for You to be my husband? And before you get weirded out, it’s because the church is known as the Bride of Christ, and He’s the groom. I wanted to know what it felt like to truly be pursued so that I knew what to look for in a future relationship. Let me explain what God does so you don’t settle. I wish more people understood that God wants to romanticize your heart. He wants to win you over. He created you to delight in pursuing you. He is the ultimate pursuer. We just get distracted. The other day for example, the Lord told me he was going to take me out to lunch…”
She went on with two more examples of how Jesus spoke to her and shortly afterward the minor things he allegedly said came true.
No. But what can we expect when young women of this generation have had such an evil example for decades, with no rebukes coming from the grandmother preachers’ denominations?
It was sad to see the comments asking how to hear God like she does, one woman saying “because for me he has been so quiet”.
Let’s spot the falsities in her speech:
Falsity #1. “Jesus is my romantic boyfriend”. No. John Gacinski on Twitter replied to the person who had posted Cia’s video-
John Gacinski, @johngacinski: “God wants to romanticize your heart” No. Jesus wants us to surrender to Him and serve Him. He wants us to be born again so we can be worthy vessels in His house. He’s not wooing us like some twenty something who’s desperate for a girlfriend. I’m so tired of this “Jesus is my boyfriend/homeboy” trash.
Notice Cia said “I wanted to know what it felt like” not ‘what does the Bible say?’
Falsity #2. “He speaks to me directly.” No. The canon is closed. He spoke through His word as Hebrews 1:1-2 says. Justin Peters has a rebuttal to the ‘still small voice that speaks to me’ error.
Falsity #3. “Prophetic words given directly to me are coming ‘true’. No. Stop looking for signs and omens and back dating what you thought you heard in the ‘voice.’ Just live your daily life according to the word.
Falsity #4. Needing an experience rather than what His word says. The people followed Jesus when He spoke good things, and they clamored for the signs and miracles. But when he spoke hard things, they drifted away. Turns out they were only following Him for a show. The walk of faith begins and ends in the word of God, which will never pass away.
Falsity #5. He pursues with uncertain outcome rather than sovereignly electing (He “wants to win you”). Jesus is not wishing and hoping and wringing His hands hoping you come to faith as He chases you. He elected His people from before the foundation of the world and at the fullness of each elected person’s time, they are given the grace to repent and come to Him. (Ephesians 1:4-6)
This problem of prophetic words, still small voice, romantic boyfriend Jesus issues are not all the wicked grandmothers’ fault. Seminaries are doing their best to pump out women preachers rife with false doctrine. Witness Cia Cloud:
I am sad for her future because she is standing on sand building a house of sand
These nextgen women don’t even hide it anymore, not like the other false female preachers did in the 90s and early 2000s. They are ‘out’ as preachers. Immodest ones, at that. Apparently Cia attended Liberty University.
But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet, says 1 Timothy 2:12. See also 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, Ephesians 5:22-24 among other verses that clearly state what the woman and wife should do and not do.
If you have a teen or young adult daughter, I feel for you. Keeping the false doctrines at bay is difficult. Just as you put one doctrinal fire out, another pops up. I want to encourage you moms, grandmoms, young ladies, that if you stay in the word, Jesus will keep you on the center line of his doctrine. Guard your heart, keep your eyes on Jesus, stay in the Word.
Pastor Owen Strachan has some wise advice for women (men too, but I’ll post the women’s here) on what to do and what not to do.
You notice none of those pieces of advice say chase after signs, listen for a small voice, ascend the pulpit to preach, or treat the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE like a wooing, weak boyfriend.
Stay strong, ladies. Jesus will come back and He will raise us up. He will address the false doctrine and the people who promoted it. Meanwhile, be a pillar, upholding His precious true word.
When our sons in their youth are like growing plants, And our daughters like corner pillars fashioned for a palace,Psalm 144:12
Reading this by Michael Reeves from his book “What does it mean to fear the Lord?”
That large-heartedness is actually the overflow of a tender-heartedness toward God. It means that those who fear God have to use another much-misunderstood word—a jealousy for God. Such righteous jealousy should not be confused with selfish envy: it is a love that will not let go of the beloved or make do with substitutes. As God the Father is jealous for his beloved Son, and as Christ is jealous for his bride, the church, so too those who fear God find in themselves a loving jealousy for God. Adoring him, they cannot abide his glory being diminished or stolen. False teaching will distress them, not because it contradicts their views but because it impugns him. Self-righteousness becomes loathsome to them because of how it steals from the glory of his grace.
Actress and TV personality Oprah Winfrey was raised in church and knew the Gospel (presumably) but one little word set her off on a trajectory downhill to perdition. She was put off by the verse in Exodus 34:14,
—for you shall not worship any other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—”
She didn’t want to follow any God who was jealous of her. She said such a statement didn’t “feel right in my spirit”. She wanted “more than doctrine.”
Isn’t that where it all starts, ‘wanting more’ than the eternal word God already gave? Going on feelings rather than digging in to His word?
Of course Oprah’s is a total misunderstanding of the verse. If only she’d asked the question, ‘what does it MEAN to be a jealous God’ maybe she wouldn’t have made a false god for herself.
But people who are not saved look for reasons NOT to submit to God. They are unwilling to take up their cross. They do not count the cost. They want to retain their pride, or come to God on their own terms. They are stiff-necked with a bias confirmation- they use their weak excuses to confirm that ‘I knew all along God was a fraud.’
But deep down they know the opposite. Romans 1:18-20 says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
God is not jealous OF us, He is jealous FOR us. God wants us to be in fellowship with Him not for His benefit, but for ours.
Are you in fellowship with Jesus today? He who put on the flesh of man, came from glory to live the sinless, righteous life we could not? Then die for our sins so as to absorb God’s wrath for the sinful ones like us? This is an incredible thing, the most incredible plan, event, and doctrine in all the universe. Believe it today and repent, casting your sins upon Jesus and asking for forgiveness of them. He will forgive and you will be blessed by the protection of a God who is jealous for you.
Social media, man. What are you gonna do? It is a blessing, a curse, a minefield, reality, unreality. It is a window into the world that allows the Gospel to propagate, and it offers the sinful multiple ways to be hypocrites.
We’ve seen the rise and hopefully fall of the “trad wife” phenomenon, the microbakery revelation controversy, and tons of influencers who turn out to be totally fake just out to get your money. They weren’t living the life they said they were living, they weren’t experts in the thing they claimed to be experts in, or their entire persona was AI generated with an account full of bot farming and paid commenters in order to inflate numbers. There is a LOT of money to be made! You have no idea how much.
Influencer marketing has become a key part of modern advertising. In 2023, spending on influencer marketing reached $31 billion, already rivalling the entirety of print newspaper advertising. Influencer marketing allows advertisers fine targeting based on consumer interests by choosing a good product-influencer-consumer match.
Phew. Glad you’re a Christian where at least the online persona you’re following is safer. Right? RIGHT?!
Nope.
The hypocrites, the fake information, the unrevealed truth, the sly manipulation, their curation of only what they want you to see, the lack of authenticity, is also rife within the Christian community.
There are many false teachers, something we are not surprised at because God’s word repeatedly informs us of the danger. We must be wise but innocent, trusting but verifying, testing all through the purity of God’s word.
The ladies listed below claim to be focused moms and wives, some saying they are stay-at-home mom, but all have busy careers, small children at one time while they were in the throes of their careers, and teach errant doctrine in one form or another. They’re all hypocrites. They put one face on social media but are actually living a different life than the one they curate to the world.
To write exactly why they are hypocrites here and give the examples and proofs would make this blog novel length. I’ve included links of each woman if you care to see the examples of why they SAY they are a submitted wife and mother but really are not. Each one is violating one or more tenets of the Bible by their life and their doctrine.
Raechel Myers (founder of She Reads Truth). Diana Stone (formerly writer for She Reads Truth, conference speaker, magazine founder, writer for newspapers and periodicals, world traveler). Joanna Gaines (HGTV star of Fixer Upper, author, CEO of myriad corporations all named Magnolia Something). Priscilla Shirer (author, speaker, preacher, actress). Beth Moore (author, novelist, speaker, preacher, celebrity panelist)
These women by now after decades of teaching false doctrine and living an unbiblical life are the grandmothers of ‘ministry’ – AKA career. They were the trailblazers, showing the young women coming up how to do it. How to curate an image. What to say to keep the conservative segments of the faith off your back (pssst, say you’re ‘speaking‘ at a church, not preaching!) Actually, they have been at it so long that an entire generation of women have grown up seeing their lifestyle and hearing their doctrine and have internalized and normalized it.
They showed us how to carefully curate an image, they proved it was possible to live a double life, they walked the line between authentic and inauthentic.
Ladies, I have two points here. First, test everything, not only doctrine, but life too. If a woman claims to love Jesus and be a family mom, but is CEO of a dozen corporations, is on TV, authors books, goes on book tours, does interviews, sells real estate…is she living the Titus 2 motherly life in Waco that she claims? It does NOT stand to reason. Ladies, think. What they say and what they do must match up. Test their life.
Secondly, social media is only a tool. As with any tool, it is neutral. It can be used for good like a hammer pounding in a nail to hang beautiful art. It can be used for ill as a tool that murders someone. It’s the same with ALL social media. It can be used to edify with scripture or to comfort, or it can be used for slander or propagating false doctrine. It can be used to present a false picture of someone’s life.
Be wary about what you see from a Christian leader on social media. We think the best of people but we also accept that deception comes in many forms.
Hosea 14:9, Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But wrongdoers will stumble in them.
Further resources:
Just a few days after I published this essay warning about people identifying as Christians but leading double lives online vs real life, we read this sad tale of the once well respected J. Brandon Meeks, AKA No Jesuit Tricks, who spun tales of living in the south so well written he gained a huge following. His declarations of being a thelogian in residence and earning an advanced degree in Scotland discovered to be patently false (at least the Ph.D from Aberdeen U was false, maybe the rest of it was too). He had a huge online presence, but was lying about a lot of it. In real life, the situation was sadly…worse. Here is the story-
That day, I was trying photography from different angles. I give myself challenges. After I downloaded the pics from my experiment I chose this one. It was a big leaf.
The more I looked at it the more I thought about Jonah. How at the end he sat sulkily on the hill in Jonah 4:5-7,
“Then Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade, until he could see what would happen in the city. 6 So the Lord God designated a plant, and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head, to relieve him of his discomfort. And Jonah was overjoyed about the plant. 7 But God designated a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it withered.”
And the hole reminded me of the worm God sent eating the plant so it withered.
I was pleased with this thought, because aside from the self-set challenge of photography, I had also challenged myself to think biblically. Seeing and contemplating God in His creation and thinking of biblical scenes as I go about my daily life. I had been too busy and rushed lately, and I realized I’d ended too many days with nary a thought about Jesus.
We are told in Philippians 4:8 that “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
But how? What? Training my mind to align with the Spirit’s desire to think on the true, the noble, and the good took a while. I’m literal and don’t make connections easily. I mean, that when I see a leaf, it’s a leaf.
Resolve to think of Christ during the day. Pray and ask the Spirit to lead you in this. Don’t let the day get away from you without meditating on scripture and applying its righteous net to your mind to screen out the sinful thoughts and capture the good.
Then go a step farther. I was thinking about Jonah and the selfish self was laughing, ‘O that silly Jonah, he wanted bad for God’s people and God was displeased ha ha.’ So now it was time to think of ME, my selfish self. AM I like Jonah? Am I wanting something God would be displeased with? Am I praying errantly like Jonah did? Ask the Spirit to reveal sin in you that you may not have spotted.
Seek the good and the noble and meditate upon those things, and then actively seek to instill Godly desires and repent for the ungodly desires. Think…then act.
The love of God is greater far Author: Frederick M. Lehman (1917)
The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell. The wand’ring child is reconciled by God’s beloved Son. The aching soul again made whole, and priceless pardon won.
Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure— the saints’ and angels’ song
2 When ancient time shall pass away, and human thrones and kingdoms fall; when those who here refuse to pray on rocks and hills and mountains call; God’s love so sure, shall still endure, all measureless and strong; grace will resound the whole earth round— the saints’ and angels’ song. [Refrain]
3 Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill, and ev’ryone a scribe by trade; to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. [Refrain]
the-end-time.org 