"The Same Sun that Softens the Wax Hardens the Clay"

My Precept Bible Study is studying Exodus 4-7 this week so, when I saw the verse listed in Greg Laurie's Daily Devotion, I was interested to read the Devotional right away!  As I read it, it hit home. I've highlighted the sentence that hit me hardest.  It made me really think.

While I think I am reading, studying and applying God's Word in my life, I realized there have been times (and probably will be again) when I read something I don't particularly care for and simply ignore it.  It is usually not a conscious effort on my part, but it happens none the less.  Wow!  This has made me way more aware of my need to continually ask God to open my mind and soften my heart to be totally open to His Word and what He expects of me in thought, word and deed.  I need to not play the role of Pharaoh when it comes to the Word of God.    

If you have a similar situation, perhaps you also would consider asking God to open your mind and soften your heart to hear and obey His Word.

TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2011 Be Careful How You Listen So the Lord said to Moses: "Pharaoh's heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go." — Exodus 7:14 When is the easiest time to get a hardened heart? The answer may surprise you. It is not while hanging around godless people, doing godless things. The easiest time to get a hardened heart—an attitude of indifference toward the things of God—is when you are hearing the Word of God. Of course that also can be a place to have your heart softened. But as I have said before, the same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay. If you have an attitude that says, "I don't want it. I am not hearing it," then your heart will grow hard. The Bible says, "He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy" (Proverbs 29:1). The idea being that the person who gets a hard heart is someone who hears the truth and rejects it. A good illustration of this is Pharaoh. He saw miracle after miracle performed by the hand of Moses. And what do we read? Pharaoh hardened his heart. He saw a rock turned into a snake, and he hardened his heart. The Nile turned to blood, and he hardened his heart. God sent plagues of lice and flies and frogs, and Pharaoh hardened his heart. Ultimately, we read that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Some people are confused by that detail. How is it that Pharaoh hardened his heart and then God hardened his heart? The answer is that God waits for us to make our move, and then He will confirm us in it. Pharaoh hardened his heart, and God strengthened him in that decision, even though it was wrong. So be careful. You can get a hardened heart while hearing the Word of God. It is all in how you listen. Don't let it happen to you. Have Pastor Greg's devotions blessed you? Write and tell him! Greg@harvest.org To subscribe to Paster Greg Laurie's Daily Devotional or to learn more about Harvest Ministries, please visit here. Blessings, Mary

The Bible Is Still Number 1!

It has been a really really busy couple of weeks.  But, I couldn't resist taking the time today to post on this:

Today Brother Steve's sermon was titled "Be Encouraged - You are Family!" teaching on 1 Peter 1:22-2:3.  One of the points he made is that scripture is a believer's food and we should feed on it regularly.  He talked about the Bible being #1 on a list of favorite books.  I searched and found the poll he was speaking about.  Here is what CompuServe What's New had to say (highlighting is mine):

Top 10 Favorite Books of All Time

When it comes to books, we are very old-fashioned. Our favorite book in the United States--across all demographic groups--is the Bible, undoubtedly the same book our great-grandparents favored, too.
That's the word from a Harris Poll that asked 2,413 U.S. adults to name their favorite books. While Margaret Mitchell's Civil War classic, "Gone With the Wind" came in No. 2, much of the top 10 list is dominated by fantasy fiction and mystery.
The top 10 favorite books of all time:
1. The Bible
2. "Gone With the Wind," by Margaret Mitchell
3. "Lord of the Rings," by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. "Harry Potter" series, by J.K. Rowling
5. "The Stand," by Stephen King
6. "The Da Vinci Code," by Dan Brown
7. "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee
8. "Angels and Demons," by Dan Brown
9. "Atlas Shrugged," by Ayn Rand
10. "Catcher in the Rye," by J.D. Salinger
While the Bible is number one among each of the different demographic groups, there is a big difference in the choice for the No. 2 favorite book:

• Men chose "Lord of the Rings."
• Women chose "Gone With the Wind."-
• Those 18 to 31 chose the "Harry Potter" series.
• Those 32 to 43 were split between "The Stand" and "Angels and Demons."
• Those 44 to 62 and those 63 and over both chose "Gone With the Wind."

By geographical area, the No. 2 favorite book is:

• East: "Lord of the Rings"
• South: "Gone With the Wind"
• Midwest: "Gone With the Wind"
• West: "The Stand"

--From the Editors at Netscape

Given the secularism running rampant in the U.S. today, this is quite encouraging.

That brings me to one of the reasons I have been so remiss at posting to this blog:  I am juggling 3 bible studies and the resultant 8 to 10 hours of homework a week while filling in teaching more defensive driving classes after one of our instructors had unexpected open heart surgery.  Phew!  It has been a rough couple of weeks (for both me and the other instructor) but there is light at the end of the tunnel as the other instructor should be able to start taking back some of his classes little by little within the next 4 or 5 weeks and things should settle down a bit.

A friend sent me an email of "God's little notes." Of course, they aren't really notes from God but they are cute and several of them are thought provoking and good reminders.  The one I especially like today said:

Don't let your worries get the best of you; 

Remember, 

Moses started out as a basket case.

This caught my attention because one of my bible studies is just starting a study of the Book of Exodus which features Moses prominently in a very excellent role in the history of God's chosen people, Israel.  We're just starting so I don't have much to say from the study itself at this point but perhaps at a later date . . .

Blessings,

Mary  

Don't Wrestle, Just Nestle

Sometimes discerning what God wants us to do requires much prayer, study of His Word and patience.  Other times His will is totally obvious.  Personally, I tend to get quite frustrated when I am having difficulty discerning His direction for me.  Then I have to pray for patience!  And, sometimes we think we know God's will and we start off down the path we think he wants us to take only to discover that wasn't His path at all.

I once asked one of my favorite pastors how you can know what God's will is.  He told me we need to validate that it is consistent with His word and perhaps discuss it with a couple of Christian friends to make sure we are not fooling ourselves.  Sometimes, even when we do those things and start down the path, we find out it wasn't God's will at all.  I asked what we should do then.  The answer was to back up to the point where we knew we were in God's will and start the process over.  That may involve cleaning up some things along the way as we backtrack but we need and want to be in God's will.  Wouldn't it be nice if God would just send us an email?  :-)  I think he really just wants us to be in His Word and in Prayer; email would not accomplish that.      

Has God ever made it very clear to you what direction He wishes you to take but it differs from the direction you want to take?  I'm guessing most of us have been in that situation.  I particularly liked Greg Laurie's Daily Devotion today.  I liked it so much that I'm posting the entire thing here.  If you have an interest in subscribing or just learning more about his organization, you can find out more here. 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2011 From Resisting to Resting And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." — Genesis 32:28 Jacob, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham, was a conniver. He just couldn't wait on God's timing. On the day that Jacob and his twin brother Esau were born, Esau came first, with Jacob holding on to his brother's foot. That is how Jacob earned his name, which means "heel-catcher." When they were older, Jacob not only convinced Esau to sell him his birthright for some stew, but he also tricked their father into giving him the blessing that was intended for Esau. Esau wanted to kill him, so Jacob went into exile and ended up working for a guy he really deserved: Laban, who was as much of a conniver as Jacob was. Eventually Jacob made the journey back home again, and on the way, the Bible tells us in Genesis 32 that "Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day" (verse 24). It was as though God said, "You are always struggling and fighting with me, so let's go for it." Now Jacob was one tough guy, and he wouldn't give up. Consequently, God touched the socket of his hip so that it was out of joint. That made Jacob cling to this messenger from heaven, and he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" (verse 26). Jacob went from resisting to resting. Instead of fighting with God, he was surrendering to God, so God gave him a new name. Are you wrestling with God? We wrestle with Him when He reveals His will to us and we say we want our will instead. How much better it is when we surrender to Him. Corrie ten Boom said, "Don't wrestle, just nestle." Don't fight with the One who has your best interests in mind. Have Pastor Greg's devotions blessed you? Write and tell him!Greg@harvest.org Mary's Notes:   For those who are not familiar with this particular part of God's word, I thought it would be instructive to note that the man Jacob wrestled with was God Himself (most likely the Son).  Jacob would not have asked Him to bless him otherwise.  The name God gave to Jacob is Israel and from Jacob/Israel, God created the nation of Israel.  So, you see, the nation of Israel was not established in 1948 as most non-Christians believe; it actually began almost 4,000 years ago in the same location as today but the original Israel had a lot more land. I especially like Corrie ten Boom's quote "Don't wrestle, just nestle" which, of course, is why I chose it as the title for this post.  While we worship the one true God who created all that has been created, who is all powerful, all knowing and all loving (among other things), when I die I picture myself running and jumping up into my Heavenly Father's lap and nestling. Blessings, Mary

The First Snow-Fall

Last night was the first snowfall of more than 6 flurries that I have seen since I moved near Austin, Texas four and a half years ago.  It has been very cold here the past few days - below freezing all that time and very windy.  That is also unusual for this location.

As I was on my doorstep taking this picture this morning, I thought back to when I was a pup - probably no more than 7 or 8 years old.  My parents were members of the Oak Grove Grange in Poughkeepsie, NY back then.  I remember at one Christmas program I was given the task of standing on the big stage all by myself and reciting the following:

The snow had begun in the gloaming, 

And busily all the night 

Had been heaping field and highway 

With a silence deep and white. 

Every pine and fir and hemlock 

Wore ermine too dear for an earl, 

And the poorest twig on the elm-tree 

Was ridged inch deep with pearl.

From sheds new-roofed with Carrara 

Came Chanticleer's muffled crow, 

The stiff rails were softened to swan's-down, 

And still fluttered down the snow. 

Side Notes:  

1. The city of Carrara is in the Tuscany area of Italy and is famous for some of the world's finest marble, called Carrara, taken from nearby quarries and used by sculptors from Michelangelo to Henry Moore. 
   
2. Chanticleer is a rooster: used as a proper name in medieval fables.

Back when I recited this snippet of poetry, I new that Chanticleer was a rooster but I was not aware that Carrara referred to marble from Carrara.  I could most likely be forgiven for that since I was just a child - LOL!

What I did not know at that time, perhaps purposely designed by my parents is that this snippet of poetry was only about the first third of the poem "The First Snow-Fall" by James Russell Lowell.  I learned this bit of  information when I inherited my mother's school book of poetry titled Magic Casements which was published in 1928.  It is a wonderful compilation of poetry.  In fact, that's where I found The Deacon's Masterpiece, or The Wonderful "One-Hoss Shay."  

The remainder of "The First Snow-Fall" follows:  

I stood and watched by the window 

The noiseless work of the sky, 

And the sudden flurries of snow-birds, 

Like brown leaves whirling by. 

I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn 

Where a little headstone stood; 

How the flakes were folding it gently, 

As did robins the babes in the wood. 

Up spoke our own little Mabel, 

Saying, 'Father, who makes it snow?' 

And I told of the good All-father 

Who cares for us here below. 

Again I looked at the snowfall, 

And thought of the leaden sky 

That arched o'er our first great sorrow, 

When that mound was heaped so high. 

I remembered the gradual patience 

That fell from that cloud like snow, 

Flake by flake, healing and hiding 

The scar of our deep-plunged woe. 

And again to the child I whispered, 

'The snow that husheth all, 

Darling, the merciful Father 

Alone can make it fall! ' 

Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her; 

And she, kissing back, could not know 

That my kiss was given to her sister, 

Folded close under deepening snow. 


--James Russell Lowell   

God is always in control.  That is especially comforting in these days.

Blessings,

Mary

The Yoke of Jesus

After being without a computer for a couple of days, one of the first things I saw in my email tonight was a daily devotional from Greg Laurie Harvest Ministries that grabbed me so I thought I'd share part of it.  The short devotional began with a verse from the bible as always:


For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
— 1 John 5:3


The devotional went on to quote Jesus:


Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light -- Matthew 11:29-30.


And, for me, the whole think was brought home by the the last 3 paragraphs:


Some people think of the Christian life as a hindrance, as merely a bunch of rules and regulations. But I am wondering which of God's commandments they are struggling with. Does the fact that God forbids stealing, lying, and murdering people actually bother them?

Once I found a brightly colored little bird nestled in the grass of our backyard that looked like someone's pet. When my son borrowed a cage from a neighbor, the little bird hopped in, jumped on the perch, and started swinging away. He didn't see the bars of that cage as a prison that kept him in, but as walls of protection that kept predators out.

In the same way, we can either look at God's commandments as constraining, or we can see them for what they really are: a barrier of protection.


What a great comparison!  Does this change your view of the Christian Life?  If you don't know Jesus, I hope this little story makes you want to learn more about our Loving Jesus.


Blessings,


Mary

A Heavenly Father who is God and a Godly Father Who Was Human

Brrrrr.  It has been nippy here for a while now.  Enough is enough!  Of course, when we have many consecutive days over 100 degrees this summer, I'll complain about that also. The cold weather (don't laugh you East Coast and Northern people!) reminded me of my previous residence in New York State (no, not New York City - I shudder to think of living there).

This morning in his sermon Brother Steve used an analogy that tied my residence in New York State together with my father.  His sermon series is "Be Encouraged" and today's subject was "You Have Hope."  It was a good sermon, I thought.

One thing stuck out near the end though.  He likened the faith we have in God to that of a small child riding on his daddy's lap on a roller coaster.  The small child is scared to death as the roller coaster zips up and down and round and round but he knows his daddy won't let anything happen to him.  If we think of ourselves as the small child and the daddy as God, you get the connection.

We need to remember that no matter what we go through in this life and how scared we are sometimes, our Loving Father will protect us from evil and take us into His house when our time on this earth is done. Sometimes when strife strikes, we temporarily forget how God cares for us.  Perhaps we need to make a point of reminding ourselves each and every day.

So, how does this tie in to my father and my residence in New York State?  It made me think what a wonderful earthly father I had.  Of course, I didn't always think of him quite that way when I was a kid.  But, looking back I can see clearly he was a wonderful father.  As I've said before, my father worked full time at IBM at a blue collar job.  Before and after work he took care of our cows - usually 1 milk cow and a couple of black Angus calves we were raising for beef.  Some people will cringe when I say we played with those black Angus calves all year until they were ready to head to the butcher - then we ate them.  But, that's how it is on a farm.  My father was very good to his cows.  See spoiled cows  for more insight on how my father treated his cows.  For several years we also had chickens that my father cared for and collected eggs from each day.  One year we had 2 pigs (Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum) - we ate them, too.

My father also had a big garden each year.  We never lacked for fresh sweet corn and tomatoes (and other things I don't remember probably because they weren't my favorites). Every winter he would feed the pheasants in our back yard and every summer they would peck the heck out of many of his tomatoes.  He swore he wouldn't feed the pheasants anymore but then winter would come around and he would take pity on them and feed them.  He was truly a soft-hearted man.

One section of our pasture was kind of swampy.  One winter my father decided that would be a good place for us kids to ice skate.  He single-handedly by hand dug out the swampy area so it would make a barbell-shaped skating area for us.  We had many days after school and on weekends during the winter when we and our friends would be out in the field skating and having a great deal of fun.

My father was 50ish before he ever married for the only time.  My mother was about 20 years younger than he.  They had 3 children of which I am the oldest.  Looking back on all my father did, I am truly amazed.  He was in his mid-50's when we moved to that small farm.  So, he was not a spring chicken when he did all the work that he did.  I don't ever remember him complaining about it.  He was a truly Godly man although I did not recognize that at the time.  I have never met anyone like him in all my 65 years but I suspect there are 1 or 2 out there somewhere.

Blessings,

Mary            

The Story of Joseph Applies to Each of Us

I am currently in a Precept Bible Study Keeping Your Focus When Your Dreams Are Shattered - a Study on Joseph (Genesis 37-50) for 4 weeks and then Exodus - Let My People Go for 11 weeks.


Joseph was the firstborn of Jacob's second wife, Rachel.  Rachel was Jacob's true love although due to some subterfuge by her father he ended up marrying Rachel's sister Leah first and he didn't love her.  There was a "battle of the wombs" between the two women which eventually involved each of their maids.  Talk about dysfunctional families!  Among the 4 of them, Jacob fathered 12 children.  Joseph was Rachel's first born and Jacob's favorite son.  In fact, Jacob gave Joseph a special varicolored tunic (I think we've all heard of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat").  While poking around to see what was said online about this musical show, I came across a synopsis that tells much of the story of Joseph:

"In this retelling of the Biblical story, Joseph is a handsome young man who is his father's favorite child, able to interpret dreams, and the bearer of an amazing coat. These facts lead Joseph's eleven brothers to become insatiably jealous. Thus, they sell Joseph into slavery to some passing Ishmaelites. After refusing the advances of his owner's wife, Joseph is sent to jail. Once in jail, he quickly becomes popular due to his ability to interpret dreams. The Pharaoh soon hears of Joseph's ability and appoints him to the post of Number Two man in Egypt. Years later, Joseph's now starving brothers arrive in Egypt and ask Joseph, whom they don't recognize, for assistance. Joseph, in turn, gives his brothers a scare, but eventually grants them all they desire, reveals his identity, and reunites the family."


Joseph went through a lot of trials during his early years:  his brothers hated him and sold him to Ishmaelites headed to Egypt who later sold him to Potiphar who was the chief executioner for the Pharaoh.  God was with Joseph and he did a marvelous job looking after all of Potiphar's property UNTIL "Mrs. Potiphar" tried to seduce him and he rejected her and ran out of the house.  Of course, Mrs. P. was very upset so she decided to lie and tell her dear Mr. P. that Joseph came to her.  While Mr. P. was angry, it would seem from the wording of Genesis that Mr. P. probably didn't believe his wife.  So, rather than kill Joseph (which would have been the appropriate response), Mr. P. put Joseph in the jail which he controlled and he put Joseph in charge of everything there because he knew what a good job Joseph would do.  


Up to this point, Joseph's life is pretty much not his own.  He is owned and does what he is told.  He had quite a difficult life.


Skipping over lots of important stuff here.  Eventually, Joseph ended up working for Pharaoh and he became the second dude of Egypt answerable only to Pharaoh himself.

So, you may ask, what's the point?  Why relate the story of Joseph?  I have an answer.

When I returned home from my class, I read my email.  I came across a daily devotional that I get from Greg Laurie that I thought directly related to Joseph's story.  Here is a portion:


"A traveler who was visiting a logging area in the northwestern United States watched with great interest as a lumberjack walking alongside a mountain stream periodically jagged his sharp hook into a log and separated it from the others. The traveler asked the logger what he was doing.

"Well, these logs may all look alike to you," the logger said, "but I recognize that some of them are quite different. The ones that I let pass are from trees that grow in a valley, where they are always protected from the storms. The grain on those logs is rather course. But the logs I pull aside come from high up in the mountains, where they are beaten by strong winds from the time they are quite small. This toughens the trees and gives them a fine grain. We save these for choice work. They are too good to be used for ordinary lumber."

Maybe you are facing winds of adversity right now, and you wonder why. Could it be that God is saving you for a choice work? Could it be that He is allowing you to go through hardship so you will be able to do something unique that He has in store for you?"

This is exactly what God is doing with Joseph.  God has big plans for Joseph and He is toughening and molding Joseph to be ready to accept the heavy duties God has in store for him:  providing a safe place for Jacob's family (the Israelites) to grow and prosper until it was God's time to draft Moses to lead them out of Egypt towards the Promised Land.

Bringing that idea to today's world, are there times when you feel you just can't deal with where you are or what's going on in your life right now?  Perhaps God is molding you for something in the future.  Joseph was a God-fearing man filled with integrity, trustworthiness, honesty and all that goes along with being a Godly young man.  God grew him until he was able to do God's work in God's way.  Is that what God is doing in you right now?  Or perhaps your life is going smoothly right now but you may run into difficulties in the future.  When that happens, remember Joseph and move forward with integrity, trustworthiness, honesty and look upward to God for the answers.

Blessings,

Mary