I didn't come to watch.
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Posted:Dec 1, 2009 9:49 am
Last Updated:Jan 16, 2010 6:10 pm 3591 Views
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I didn't come to watch
by
Duke G. Taber
a donkey for Jesus
While I was waking this morning, in that fuzzy state we sometimes are in between dreamland and coherence, I had an interesting experience. Was it a dream, a vision, imagination, one can only guess for sure, but I know it was a message to me from Jesus. I was thinking on the good things God has given me over my life and I started to think of the good times in Bible College, when my friends and I would go to Dodger stadium and sit in the nose bleed section and eat dodger dogs and watch the game. In all honesty, I am not a big fan of baseball. But the closer you move to the game, the more enjoyable it is. It is totally boring on TV. I mean if you need something to put you to sleep for insomnia, golf comes first, followed closely on it's heels by baseball. However live, baseball becomes much more enjoyable, however the real love and joy of baseball is not in viewing, or being a spectator in the stand, but in actually playing the game. As I was remembering the good times with my friends, I felt the Lord prompt me with this question. What would you rather do? Watch or play? Well obviously my answer was to play. I think many times we get so caught up in those that play real well, that we stop thinking we can play at all. That is a crying shame! Baseball, and our faith is not about superstars in my opinion. That is man's perversion of the beauty of it. It is about getting out and playing the game. They joy is in the playing!
So once again I set out to find a game that is in my league. I know that my curve ball goes straight, and my slider has done slipped and that I may no longer be able to point to where the ball is going to go out the field as the Babe did, but I still love to play the game, and as such, I am going to play with joy. And if you haven't figured it out, none of this really has one thing to do with baseball.
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Out of the Ashes
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Posted:Nov 29, 2009 12:17 am
Last Updated:Nov 29, 2009 3:21 pm 2837 Views
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Out of the ashes
by
Duke G. Taber
a donkey for Jesus
1 Sam 2:8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
"For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's;
upon them he has set the world.
Many of us have once again had a stark reminder of how fragile life and the things of this world really are. Most of us have seen on TV and of course the people of LA daily watched as homes and lives were destroyed. The wildfires that consumed homes and neighborhoods turned hopes and dreams and even lives, into ashes and dust. We all watched in horror as it seemed that there was no way to stop the onslaught of the flames.
People escaped only with the bare essentials and with the things that really mattered.
I find those flames and the devastation that was caused by them, a very poignant illustration of what the enemy of our souls does to lives on a daily basis. I do not believe that there is one person reading this, that has not been touched at least once by such devastation. Whether it is a life that has been consumed by meth and crack. Or the family that has been destroyed by infidelity, unforgiveness, and divorce. Or the man or woman who has tried to numb inner pains with alcohol, pornography, or the pursuit of riches. All over this land and even those that are reading this today may have found themselves in this position. Broken, shattered, destroyed and all they can see is ashes and dust. Many may have even started out good. Gave their heart and life to Jesus, and somewhere down the line got derailed by wounds received from church or even from the pulpit, or got distracted with a unspiritual love interest and soon that led them to a flirtation with the world and the things of the world, only to find themselves once again in bondage.
As I write this, I want to make sure everyone understands something here. I am in no way pointing fingers. In fact, my hands are clasped closed and all fingers are pointing at me. You see, this note is not a message I am preaching, but an experience I am sharing. For I was once in that position, I had the flames of the enemy steal everything from me. Yet as sure as I am writing this, God is sovereign! He is in charge! And if we will allow Him, he will raise us out of the ashes! If you were hurt by the church, He will raise you up and cause you to be a healer of the wounded. If your marriage was destroyed, He will heal your broken heart and make you a defender of the sacredness of marriage. If you have been a captive to addictions, He will make you a jail breaker. If you have suffered the loss of a loved one, He will make you a comfort to those who are mourning.
But are you willing to come out of the ashes? Are you ready to leave the dust? Have you gotten to the point you are willing to do anything to be restored to all the fullness of your destiny. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to be able to sit on the throne of honor? To be seated with princes?
Many of us when we made the decision to follow Jesus, actually did so out of ignorance. Now what I mean by that, is that we did not have a clue what following Jesus meant or would actually cost. We spiritually signed the dotted line, and made the commitment, but we could not comprehend what all that entailed. We just knew that God was speaking to us and that He promised that He would not leave us or forsake us, but would walk with us through all life had to throw at us. So we went down to the altar, or bent our knee beside our bed, or bowed our head with a friend and we said Yes Lord. We started walking, getting to know Jesus, and reading His word, and growing. Yet we did not seem to understand that God had predestined us to be conformed into the image of His .
Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his , that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
We all said that we wanted to be more like Jesus. But when we said that, we were talking about His power, His compassion, His love, His gentleness, or other great things about our Savior. But most of us did not think about being like Him in sacrifice. To willingly go as a lamb to the slaughter motivated by a love beyond reason for people that do not even care. How many of you have loved someone so deeply that you would die for them, and have suffered rejection or coolness or non responsiveness time and time again? And yet you choose to keep loving without reward or response. That is being like Jesus too! He loved us so much that while we were sinners, not giving a rip about Him, Christ died for us!
Now you may ask me. What in the world does this have to do with being raised up out of the ashes? Because until you understand that you are predestined by God to be conformed into the image of Jesus, you will not understand the purpose of the ashes and fire in your life. Jesus had everything stripped from Him. Not just His life, but his possessions, His dignity, His self respect, His physical strength, His freedom. Everything! He suffered every thing that we might suffer, not so that we would be spared from suffering, (sorry to burst the bubble of the purveyors of the prosperity gospel), but so we could be spared from the consequences of sin, so we could be in a true intimate relationship with the Father, so the Holy Spirit could come reside within us and upon us, so He could truly never leave us or forsake us!
Now when you come to this understanding it will release a lot of things in your life. First and foremost, it will stop both the accusations against God for having to go through these flames, and the constant questioning of why did I have to go through this trial. If you understand that God’s purpose in your life is not to make you happy wealthy and wise, but to make you into the image of His , those questions and accusations stop. Did you ever see Jesus blame the Father for the Cross? Did you ever see him complain that He had to walk that path? Nope! So that ends the heart struggle concerning the issue. No longer can you be angry that it happened. No longer can you waste your time trying to find out why!
Philippians 3:10
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
When you understand that God’s purpose for your life is to be conformed to the image of Jesus, then you accept that suffering is part of that process and that this too will work out for good for those who love God and are called according to His Purpose!
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
So do you want out of the ashes? Do you really want to leave them behind, to walk away and never look back? I know I do. I know I did! I know that as future trials by fire come, I will allow them to do the work God is trying to perform in me, rather than resisting and kicking and screaming like a spoiled brat! I will allow God to conform me into the image of Jesus the suffering servant.
So do you want to come out? Are you ready to leave those ashes. You know many people allow those ashes to become their identity. They have been there so long that it has become a familiar comfort to be known by their tragedy or trial. Whether it is divorce, addiction, financial ruin, the loss of a loved one, ect. They have taken on the label of whatever their dust and ashes is. So do you want to come out? Will you forsake all, including your label of yourself? If so then continue to read. If not, go back to whining and complaining and making excuses and getting your emotional fix’s from others and never moving forward.
There are 2 qualities that are listed in this scripture. Poor and Needy! Yeah I told you that it would take a commitment and it would take walking a path that few choose to follow. It is not the type of thing that is taught on Christian TV or by our Mega church feel good preachers. It is a path that is less followed. If you want to come out of the ashes you first and foremost must humble yourself. You see whether you need emotional healing, or you need addictions broken, or you need to have depression and mourning lifted, it takes the grace of God and God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Do you want to sit on that throne of honor? Then you must humble yourself. Now this is different for different people. Some people are givers, so they naturally give, so obviously giving to someone would not show humility, and some people naturally love people, so loving people would not show humility. It is when we are asked to do something that is not natural to us, or easy, or part of our everyday character, that shows humility. God always knows what it is that we are proud about, what is the place in our hearts that are not yielded to Him. For many of us it is self determination. Being in control of our lives and what we want to do. He will always call us to give up that self determination when He is raising us up out of the ashes. Just as Jesus gave up His life, and trusted the Father to raise Him from the dead, so we have to give up our life, so that God can raise us up out of the ashes.
John 12:24
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Now I am not one that believes that God calls us to drudgery. In fact I believe the opposite. I believe that He wants all of His to have joy unspeakable and full of glory. However the path to that joy is not always what makes sense to our minds. Most of the time, the path to that joy lies through the door of dying to ourselves and living to Christ. So for many of you reading this, ask yourself. What are those areas of my life that I keep fighting about? What are those things that I know I am resistant to God. What are the things that maybe I need to sacrifice? Self respect? Self control? Stubbornness? or on the other side, impulsiveness? harshness? or maybe even deeper, resistance to healthy intimacy with people of the same sex? Mistrust? ect. See the list can go on and on. God knows you and knows your heart. What areas is He calling you to lay down, to humble yourself about, and allow Him to begin the process of forming you into His image?
Neediness. I have off and on been on the internet with ministry for almost 10 years now. It has been my outlet when I did not have any other outlet. I knew that God had hidden me away so to speak for a season, similar to what He did with the apostle Paul. Not that I am anything in stature to Paul, but for the same purpose. To reveal to me His heart for His people. During my time on the internet, I have run across 1000’s of needy people. In fact I would say that a large percentage of people who hang around either Christian chat rooms or dating sites are the walking wounded and very needy. However they are trying to fill that need with something other than what will satisfy and remove the need. They are looking to people, emotions, and sex to fill the void in their life caused by the fires they have went through. It never satisfies. There has to come into your life a neediness for 1 thing. The presence of God! Nothing else will do. You have to stop looking to man, drugs, both prescription and non prescription, (let me put in here that if you are taking prescription medication for legitimate illnesses, that I am not talking about that), recreation, and all the other things that we all fill up our time and heart with, and you have to come to the point that you know that the only thing that will restore you and cause you to rise up out of the ashes, is if God will come down and touch your heart and life with His finger.
Luke 11:20
But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.
Now I am not saying that you are demon possessed, but I am saying that there is a spiritual battle, and in that battle, the enemy of your soul, the one that wants to keep you in chains and bondage, the one that wants to keep you lifeless and listless, the one who would like nothing better than for you to live a dead and unproductive life, is doing everything he can to keep you in those ashes and to give up on life and God. So yes the finger of God needs to drive the demons out. It needs to come down and set you free. This finger of God, the precious Holy Spirit of God has to be what you become needy for! Nothing else will do. Nothing else will satisfy. Instead of reading the latest self help book, going to the latest seminar by some human psychobabble salesman, you need the Spirit of God to move in your life, and when you become needy, like a drowning man in the sea needs a life preserver, like a burning man in the desert needs water, like a newborn infant needs the warm milk of life from his mother, then is when you will truly get what you need and desire. You must become that desperate and needy man or woman.
Joel 2:25
"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten–
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
27 Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the LORD your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.
28 "And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
God promises He will restore or repay the years that have been eaten. His heart is to restore you to all that you are meant to be. He will bring you up out of the ashes. He will work wonders amongst you. He will do mighty things. He will give you joy for mourning, beauty for ashes, freedom for bondage, and hope for despair. And when He does that He will pour out His Spirit on you. He will equip you for the very final last days.
Humbly presented by your donkey in Jesus
Duke G. Taber
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A single woman's guide to a godly man's heart. (written from a male perspective)
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Posted:Nov 26, 2009 4:49 am
Last Updated:Dec 2, 2009 5:05 pm 6466 Views
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A single woman's guide to a godly man's heart. (written from a male perspective)
By
Duke G. Taber
A donkey for Jesus
Recently I read a quote and it just didn't sit right with me. As many of you know, I love quotes, and read a lot and gleam truths out of them. Well this one just bothered me. But I let it go. Then today, as I was praying for things that are daily prayers of mine, the Lord revealed to me why the quote bothered me. Here is the quote. "A woman's heart should be so lost in God that a man needs to seek Him in order to find her" ~Anonymous. Now on the surface that sounds great and quite spiritual doesn't it? However I believe it is unscriptural and I will show you why in a second. I believe that the quote has the wrong focus for a woman. It should read this way. "A woman's heart should be so lost in God that she needs to seek God in order to be given to a man" Do you see the difference?
Now I know that immediately, you ladies that are reading this are already reacting. We all have been trained that the man is supposed to woo, perform, win, the heart of the woman. However in Scripture that is not the model that is shown. Let's take a look at 4 examples of godly relationships in the scriptures that are well known and used. Adam and Eve, Isaac and Rebekah , Jacob and Rachel, and Boaz and Ruth.
Adam and Eve.
Gen 2:18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,'
for she was taken out of man."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Isaac and Rebekah
Gen 24:3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my Isaac."
5 The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your back to the country you came from?"
6 "Make sure that you do not take my back there," Abraham said. 7 "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my back there." 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and left, taking with him all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.
12 Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'-let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."
15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the of Bethuel of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. 16 The girl was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever lain with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."
18 "Drink, my lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
19 After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking." 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21 Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. 23 Then he asked, "Whose are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"
24 She answered him, "I am the of Bethuel, the that Milcah bore to Nahor." 25 And she added, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night."
26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, 27 saying, "Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."
28 The girl ran and told her mother's household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. 31 "Come, you who are blessed by the LORD," he said. "Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels."
32 So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. 33 Then food was set before him, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say."
"Then tell us," Laban said.
34 So he said, "I am Abraham's servant. 35 The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master's wife Sarah has borne him a in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37 And my master made me swear an oath, and said, 'You must not get a wife for my from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, 38 but go to my father's family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my .'
39 "Then I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not come back with me?'
40 "He replied, 'The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my from my own clan and from my father's family. 41 Then, when you go to my clan, you will be released from my oath even if they refuse to give her to you–you will be released from my oath.'
42 "When I came to the spring today, I said, 'O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43 See, I am standing beside this spring; if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar," 44 and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too," let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master's .'
45 "Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'
46 "She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
47 "I asked her, 'Whose are you?'
"She said, 'The of Bethuel of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.'
"Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master's brother for his . 49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn."
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, "This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master's , as the LORD has directed."
52 When Abraham's servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD. 53 Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.
When they got up the next morning, he said, "Send me on my way to my master."
55 But her brother and her mother replied, "Let the girl remain with us ten days or so; then you may go."
56 But he said to them, "Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master."
57 Then they said, "Let's call the girl and ask her about it." 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Will you go with this man?"
"I will go," she said.
Jacob and Rachel
Gen 29:9 While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. 12 He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.
13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's , he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. 14 Then Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood."
After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, 15 Laban said to him, "Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be."
16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. 18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger Rachel."
19 Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me." 20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her."
22 So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. 23 But when evening came, he took his Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. 24 And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his as her maidservant.
25 When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?"
26 Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger in marriage before the older one. 27 Finish this 's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work."
28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his Rachel to be his wife. 29 Laban gave his servant girl Bilhah to his Rachel as her maidservant. 30 Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
Ruth and Boaz
Ruth 3:1 One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My , should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? 2 Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do."
5 "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet.
9 "Who are you?" he asked.
"I am your servant Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer."
10 "The LORD bless you, my ," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my , don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, "Don't let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor."
15 He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and put it on her. Then he went back to town.
Now did you pick up on what I picked up on? There are 3 principles at work in each situation. The woman was A. willing to be given. B. Showed a servant's heart, and C. was living the grace of submission.
Recently I was told the story of how a popular American preacher named Rod Parsley met and eventually chose his wife. Even though personally I am not a big fan of his ministry, I found that this story showed great wisdom. Rod was in the process of starting the mega church that he now pastors. He was the up and coming thing and had great attention being paid to him. As such, and is typical of all men who show leadership and success, he had many women trying to catch his attention. They would flirt and try to say the right things or catch his eye with their looks ect. He paid them no attention. However 1 woman followed the scriptural principles listed above. She was willing to be given to this man, so started to demonstrate a servant's heart and a submitted lifestyle. She would come over and just ask him what she could do to bless him, no strings attached. She would wash his car, take his suits to the cleaners, straighten his office, just whatever he needed her to do. She was not the most outwardly beautiful woman, but took care of herself to the best of her ability in modesty. Over time she caught the attention of Rod, and soon He saw that God had sent her to be by his side. He married the woman with the servant's heart and submissive lifestyle.
So let's look at that quote again. "A woman's heart should be so lost in God that a man needs to seek Him in order to find her" ~Anonymous
Notice that the woman thinks that a man needs to do something to find her? What was Adam doing? Sleeping! What was Isaak doing? Minding his own business while Abraham's servant found her! What was Jacob doing? Visiting relatives not seeking! And what was Boaz doing? Being a man of character and generosity, not seeking! When a woman buys into the idea that the man has to win, or woo, or do something to earn her affection, what she is actually doing is usurping control and authority from the man. No where in scripture do you find an admonition for a man to chase the woman. Nor for that matter for a woman to chase a man. There is a difference between chasing and presenting yourself as a submitted servant.
I would submit to you, that both sexes are engaging in worldly practices that is ultimately keeping a majority of us single. A man who chases, especially those that chase too hard, actually repel a godly woman. And a woman who expects a man to chase and woo her, repels a godly man. He knows he is the leader and as such is not interested in a fight for leadership. Lack of submission prior to marriage is a recipe for lack of submission after marriage.
So here are a few key things that I would suggest both to men and women as they are praying for God to give them favor with a mate in their life.
Make sure you are following biblical principles in regards to your particular sex. Do not be conformed to the world.
A godly man will pay attention to the actions of a woman over her physical appearance or right sounding words.
A godly man will work on being a servant leader, and will notice when a woman follows that leadership.
A godly man will not allow someone to take or usurp his God given authority. Thus he will be looking for a woman who says yes or gives a better idea rather than just say no.
A godly man will not be seeking God for a woman, but will be about his Father's business when he finds a woman. And when He does find a woman, He will know that He has obtained favor from the Lord for his faithfulness in doing it right.
I hope all of this has helped you.
Under His Grace,
Your Donkey for Jesus.
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Authenticity
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Posted:Jun 18, 2009 1:36 pm
Last Updated:Jul 11, 2009 6:35 pm 3193 Views
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Recently I have been pondering about what makes a person authentic and real. We live in an age where there is so much hype. So much show. So much putting on masks because people may not like the real us or because we are expected to be or act a certain way. Just the other day I was involved in a situation where the authenticity of my faith and my calling were called into question. So once again I had to do some soul searching. Here is what I found.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source au·then·tic (ô-then'tik) Pronunciation Key
adj.
Conforming to fact and therefore worthy of trust, reliance, or belief: an authentic account by an eyewitness.
Having a claimed and verifiable origin or authorship; not counterfeit or copied: an authentic medieval sword.
Law Executed with due process: an authentic deed.
Music
Of, relating to, or being a medieval mode having a range from its final tone to the octave above it.
Of, relating to, or being a cadence with the dominant chord immediately preceding the tonic chord.
Obsolete Authoritative
In dealing with authentic people the second definition applies. So am I authentic in my faith and calling?
My origin of authorship is not within me. Jesus is the author and finisher of my faith. He began it, He is working it out in and through me, and He will be the one that finishes it. As long as we keep our eyes upon Him, and our trust in Him, then we are authentic. It is when we rely upon our own self righteousness, our own abilities, our own talents, that we then become a fake.
Is my calling authentic? Since we are not called due to our greatness, our worthiness, our special status with God, but by the grace of God, then again the question is not about us but Him. Paul said he was called to be an apostle BY the grace of God. He also writes that God chooses the foolishness of this world to confound the wise. Along with the principle that when we are weak then He is strong. It is not about how good, how righteous, how impressive we are, it is about how good, how righteous, and how awesome God is. He is the one who enables us to minister to people.
So what is an authentic believer? Someone who has a real and personal relationship that is wholly dependant on Christ alone. Isn't it time to drop the hype, the show, the masks and just trust in the work of Christ, not only at the cross 2000 years ago, but trust in the work of Christ in us today? If we cannot believe that He is able to work in and through us, despite of our human failings today, how can we ever believe that He will get us to heaven?
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Balance
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Posted:Jun 7, 2009 8:34 am
Last Updated:Jun 20, 2009 10:01 pm 3443 Views
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Balance
Balance in life is sometimes a hard thing to find. It is especially hard to find as a single person. Most of us, if we will be honest, really do not like being single. Thus we have a huge emotional need to connect with someone or change our status away from being single. This makes us very prone to losing our balance in life and becoming distracted from all that life has to offer by being so focused on finding someone or when we do find a possibility, being so focused on doing everything right, making it work, that we lose our balance in the rest of our life and the rest of our life suffers. I have experienced this more than once. In fact I am beginning to wonder if I will ever learn my lesson! Life has 3 key elements. The Spiritual, The Emotional, and the Physical. The spiritual contains your relationship with God. If this is out of balance either with ultra fanatacism or lack of concern at all, then it will effect the rest of your life. You will either be so heavenly minded you are no earthly good at all, or you will be so self centered, because you have made yourself a god, that you will not be able to form healthy emotional attachments or you will be totally focused on the physical which we all know, over time fades. If you are out of balance in the emotional area, then all you will be looking for is your next "love" fix or expecting someone else to fill the void in your life and you will neglect the physical or the spiritual, and the same with the physical, you will be so focused on obtaining that hard body or super model figure that you will wall off the emotional and the spiritual.
So how do we maintian balance? Well I am no expert, but a few things I have learned.
Realistically know yourself and know that you are worth being loved. When you know your own value, which honestly comes from the understanding that God loves you more than you ever can, then you can relax and know that your happiness is not based on your performance. It is based on just being you and how you are uniquely and wonderfully made. When you understand this, then the need to have someone love before you can be happy is eliminated. Watch out for the distraction of performance.
Understand that all that glitters is not gold. I remember that line from the old Led Zepplin tune "stairway to heaven". They were wrong, All that glitters will not buy you a stairway to heaven. What I mean by this, is that there will be many times when something flashy, attractive, glitzy, will come your way, it will look like the real deal, the answer to prayer, the solution to your single problem. However it will be fool's gold and it will distract you from your balance in life. The old addage that says "if it is too good to be true, it is" applies here. Remember, if you are on a path heading somewhere, and what you see is not right in front of you, then you are being swayed off your path.
Finally keep your focus on what really matters, Faith, Family, Friends. and your own character. Those that lead you away from any of those things, are not for you no matter how lonely you are, no matter how beautiful they are, no matter how sick and tired you are of being single and how many promises they make. I hope some of the mistakes I have made on my journey and the lessons I have learned helps some of you.
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