Decisions Determine Destiny - My Son, Give Me Thine Heart

The Lord trieth the righteous... Ps.11:5

It seems like God has been teaching me some deep, hard lessons lately. I have come to see that God will take every child of His through dark valleys and trials of fire that will test our faith in deep and painful ways. He does this in love to try our hearts and to purify us of all dross in our lives. He wants to know without a doubt that He is first in our hearts. Through this refining process I have come to see so many areas in my in own heart that have needed deep purging and cleansing. If we are His children, we must expect this refining process in our lives. 

If He is not Lord of all, than He is not Lord at all.

As young people, we all have desires, ambitions, and aspirations for what we want our future to be and to look like. We are always looking ahead to what God has for us next, a greater place of purpose and work for us to do. Our desires and ambitions tho must be in accordance to what the Lord would have for us, and we must be able to hold them out with an open hand before Him. If we are looking to find fulfillment in something other than Christ, we will never be satisfied. We must be satisfied in Him first, or we will be sorely disappointed when any earthly desire or place of service is attained. In life we find that things don't go as planned, and that God doesn't always give us what we want when we want. And if those desires or ambitions are not surrendered to Him, we become discontent, antsy, and frustrated. We feel that the circumstances around us or the people in our lives are hindering us from being the person we want to be or living the life we want to live, and when things don't go according to our time frame, we try finding our own way instead of waiting on God. What we don't recognize is that it is God's hand dealing with us. He has placed those people and even the most trying circumstances in our lives for one purpose only - to break us of our will and to get a hold of our very being. The place God has us may seem insignificant, and maybe we can't see much purpose in it at all. But He has us there because He's trying to do a work in our hearts that needs to be done before He can move us on to greater things. He allows all the hurt, and pain, and frustration and tears in our lives to bring us to that one place He wanted all along, and that is a yielded heart to say, 'Not my will, but Thine be done.'  Only until He has our will can He move us on. We can try to run and  escape this working, but life only gets harder and more bitter when we do, for God does not give up easily on His children. In love He will send more heartache and disappointment, and frustration until we learn to love the Hand, and kiss the Hand that deals with us. For some of us, it takes years to learn this lesson.

My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. Proverbs 23:26

One of the ways God uses to try the hearts of us young people and bring us to an area of brokenness is in the area of authority, especially with our parents. The authority God placed in our lives is for our good and protection. We may not always understand our parents and their reasoning for things, but they have wisdom we sometimes know nothing about. God made no mistake when He gave us the parents He did. Throughout Proverbs we are told to hear the instruction of a father, forsake not the law of thy mother, and attend to know understanding, but he that refuseth the instruction despiseth his own soul and he that refuseth reproof erreth. Give your heart to your father! I really believe this is a major key that will give way to huge blessings in your life! It is something I have failed miserably at and it has caused for many bitter tears. Our parents may not be perfect, and they may not do everything how we think is right, but that's ok. God is using them and their imperfections in our lives. Let's remember that none of us are perfect. We all fail. I have failed my parents a thousand times over, and yet they still love me and have abundant grace for me. May we love our parents, and have grace for them, honour them, and obey them, as Scripture tells us. May we be humble and teachable, receive correction from them. Listen to their counsel and instruction, even in the smallest matters, and seek to understand their viewpoint. It is for our good, even when we can't see it. God has placed them over our lives not to hinder us in the way, but help guide and point us in the right direction. If we think we know better than them and we try at all to take our own way without their blessing, it will be a bitter end, believe me when I say I know. I really believe that as we learn these deep lessons, we'll experience the fullness of God's blessing and goodness in our lives.

One can go wrong in many ways, but right in only one.   -Aristotle 

We only get to live this life once, and something I have learned is that the decisions and choices I made yesterday, last month or a year ago from seemingly small and insignificant ones to some on a larger scale, affect my life today; and the choices I make today will affect my tomorrows. Not only do those choices affect ourselves, but they affect those around us, too. Because I tried escaping the Hand that was trying to break me, and didn't give my heart to my dad, I made poor decisions, and now I must live with the consequences them. I am thankful that I have a merciful and gracious Father, who has also blessed me with parents that extend the same mercy and grace in my life. But if I had things to redo, I would. These have been deep lessons God has been teaching me lately. Let's not try to get away from the Lord's dealings in our lives. It's not worth it. One thing I am learning is that God wants to move us on in life, He wants to do good things for His children. He has work He wants us to do, but He cannot until His first work of brokenness and surrender is accomplished in us. How we respond to His work of being broken determines how long the refining process will take, and when He'll move us on to other things, for God will not stop short of His perfect work. He wants to bring us to a place of humility and absolute dependence on Him, emptying us of all our pride, arrogance and self-will. He will go to all lengths to make Himself a vessel of honor and beauty, one that glorifies Him in all things!
If you, like me, find yourself surrounded in darkness and being tested, trust God, and let Him have His way with you. Wait on Him and use this time to grow in Him. His work and timing in your life is good and perfect, because God is always good.

   

A Strong Woman (In Light of International Women's Day)

I happened to notice in trending topics yesterday that it was International Women's Day. I scrolled through the trending posts, of which mainly consisted of women's rights, equality with men, and the feminist idea of all a woman should measure up to be. It was everything I expected to find.

What a contrast the feminist ideal of womanhood is to that of Biblical femininity and virtuous womanhood as set forth in Proverbs 31, Titus 2, and 1 Peter 3, and many other examples in Scripture. In trying to be "something" or "someone," women have lost the whole meaning and purpose it is to really be a woman. In believing the lie that has gained momentum since the days of Karl Marx, that women have been suppressed, and are equal in every way to man, our whole society is now in shambles.

As women boast of their success in business and their equal or better performance than men, they fail to recognize that their own homes and families, which is the foundation of any culture, is in a crisis. With every fight to be as men, they break down their homes brick by brick.

I just wonder how long this will go on before women and our society will look back, and in tears and anguish, regret the push of gender equality. There is a misperception that to be a lady is weak, and she who tends the home and raises children lacks ambition. It is this mindset that now creates the push for women to join the draft.

We shake our heads at the downward spiral our culture has been on, but fail to recognize where we have gone wrong. The future rests on the children who come forth out of our homes. Are we to complain that they do not share our beliefs, morals, convictions and worldview if we send them out to be trained and taught by those who do not believe or think the way we do? Do we complain that men are not men anymore when women have done nothing but knock them down, and compete for their position?

Our God-given roles of men and women do not make either of us any less or any more of a person. Each is unique and perfect in their own way, and to try to change that, to be something God didn't intend, only causes turmoil. Ladies, if you want purpose, embrace the role God gave you! Be women so men can be men! That doesn't mean you're dumb, it doesn't mean you have to be pristine, or that you're weak. It means you have a beautiful opportunity to glorify God every day and do a far greater work than you ever could by running a business, holding a degree, or trying to be one of the men!    

                          

Bless the wives and mothers who have stood against the feminist movement, who have put their families and their God-given role above making a name for themselves. Who have stood against the mocking and jeers of the world to be women of God!

Love and Grace

Is there not a more beautiful or more powerful testimony we bear of our Lord than when we demonstrate His love and grace to the world around us? Among the religions of this world, ours is the only one whose God is a God of love, and teaches His children to walk in love, to extend grace, forgive, to bear in mind that there is none without sin among us, to bear eachother's burdens, to serve one another, to esteem others better than ourselves, to remember the poor, turn the other cheek, love our enemies, and do good to those who hate us and pray for them that despitefully use us, to bless and curse not! This is the way we win the world to Jesus, to walk as He walked! This is what makes real the Gospel message!!
In a cold and cruel world, the warmth of God's love and grace can soften the hardest of hearts, lift a down cast spirit, turn someone's world around and set a man on a whole new life!

Modesty Mentionables

What are we advertising when we dress? Are we out to display ourselves, and the fashions of this world, or a life hidden in Christ? A little bit of a challenging thought for myself.

Ponderings

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 

Malachi 3:10

Have I brought all the tithes into the storehouse? Not just of the profits I earn in the day, but what about the tithes of my heart? My love, my joy, my hopes, my ambitions, my dreams, my reputation, all that I desire and hope for? Have I given them over to God? He's not looking for just our silver and gold; He's looking for the deep part of who we are, the passion that drives us and the heart to trust Him unreservedly. What a challenge to my heart to trust Him, to try Him, to open my hands and let Him have all that I have clasped onto, the things that are near and dear to my heart. To let Him have His way in my life.

It's a journey of faith and it might mean laying aside my own logic and reasoning, and simply believing His way to be much richer and better than my own. All I can do is trust and obey as He leads each step of the way.

Is there a "tithe" He is asking of you? Have you brought everything into His storehouse? Do you know that He wants to bless? He wants to pour out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it! But we must be emptied, emptied of ourselves, of all that we have. Emptied of our pride and reputation. Emptied of all our own endeavors. Emptied of this world's delights and amusements. He wants to be our all in all. And when he receives all the tithes, just wait and see the blessing He's promised to pour out!
God is good! And He has good things in store for those who trust Him!


"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."   Isaiah 55:8-9

More Untold Truths of American History

 I find that there are two extremes when it comes to looking at history and especially the founding of this nation. We have one side, that in it's attempt to remove God from our society, they twist and manipulate history to meet their goal, making out the founders to be athiests, agnostics, and deists, who broke off from Great Britain because of taxation, and who killed or drove the Indians off their land.

Then we have another side that believe wholeheartedly and without question that America was founded as a Christian nation, by great Christian men, and hold the founders in high esteem, perhaps at times on a pedastal.

Rather than criticizing the founders for where they were wrong, or glorifying the facts to make them out to be more than what they were, I would like to just take an honest look at history and pull out some facts that are left untold.

Honestly, some of my own doctrines conflict greatly with the doctrines of the founders, especially in the areas of war and nonresistance. I do believe they tried to honor God tho, and were sincere in their way of following Him. You can see that in their journals, documents and writings. And God blessed them and this naton because of that.

True, they did break off from England and fought for their Independence. It is interesting to know that taxation was not the main purpose of breaking off like we've been told; it was in fact, a minor factor. It was actually number 17 in a list of 27 reasons for breaking off from Great Britain. The two major reasons for breaking off had to do with freedom of religion and to end slavery. Many bills were sent to King George the 3rd concerning these issues, but the king vetoed them all. Now true, slavery didn't end in America nationwide til after the Civil War, but what you might not know is that probably 70 percent of the founders were oblitionists.

Also, they wanted to evangelize the Indians, but the king wouldn't allow it. Now wait!! Why would they evangelize the Indians when they ran them out or killed them for their land? Truth be told, that's not what happened! True, the Indians were badly treated in later years, but that was not how it was from the start. The land was purchased from the Natives at their own set price, and every piece of property had a title to it. The pilgrims had the longest lasting treaty with the Indians. There was Rev. Thomas Hooker and his settlers who bought Connecticut, and Rev.Roger Williams purchased Rhode Island. And then we have William Penn. The King owed William Penn a great debt and to pay it off he gave Penn the land of which is today Pennsylvania. However, Penn came over and said it was not his to take; it belonged to the Indians. As it was, several tribes claimed ownership of the land and so Penn bought it from each tribe and had titles from each one.

In the Northwest Ordinance of 1789, article 3, it stated:

 'The utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent.'

Now perhaps some people did come in and take some land or kill some Indians. I am not gonna say that it never happened. The deal is, we always hear the exception to the rule and we don't get the facts that for the most part, it wasn't that way.

Now let's take a moment and look at Thomas Jefferson. There's been a lot of myths floating around out there that he had major issues with the Bible and cut out verses he didn't agree with. But did you know Jefferson was a lifetime member of the Virginia Bible Society? He also gave very large donations to the Bible Society because he couldn't imagine anyone in Virginia being without a Bible.
He helped fund the printing of the John Thompson Bible and the Charles Thompson Bible. He gave Bibles as gifts to each of his grandchildren. He was president of the Washington DC schoolboard, and helped plan the education. The Bible was used as a textbook and annual reports were given by the children using Old and New Testament readings.
So why did he cut out portions of the Bible? Well, after sitting under a message by William Bennet on evangelizing the Indians, Jefferson went away with an idea. Bennet said in order to reach the Indians, you must first start out with something small. There was no way they could take in the whole Bible at once, they must first begin with the highlights and basic teachings. Thus Jefferson went home and began cutting and pasting key verses and parables to create what we might call a Synoptic Gospel. It contained Jesus

• Raising the dead
• Healing the sick
• Casting out demons
• Jesus the Son of God
• The Second Coming
• Heaven, Hell and Angels

The title he gave it:

'The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth Being Extracted from the Account of His Life and Doctrines given by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; Being an Abridgment of the New Testament for the Use of Indians.'

That was in 1804.

Jefferson was a critic. He critiqued the morals in other nations-what worked and what didn't.  He also critiqued the writing of Antoninus, Epicurus, Plato, Aristotle, and many others, all who had moral teachings in their writings. Jefferson compared every one of them and said nothing came close to the teachings of Jesus, and in 1820, he compiled 'The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth Extracted Textually from the Gospels.' It contained 50 moral teachings of Jesus including
• The Good Samaritan
• The olden Rule
• Tuning the Other Cheek
• Kindness to an enemy
• Forgiving offenders
• The Lord's Prayer
• The Great Commandment
• Morality we owe to God and man

Well there is just a tad bit of history that might be new to you. Some of it was for me! A lot more could be shared, but maybe another time.

In closing, a lot of debate could be made whether the founders were Christians or not. Certainly some were not, but I do think many were sincere in their faith even if their doctrines weren't all correct. In short, they did found a nation that is unlike all others and we can clearly see that God has blessed it. We have had freedoms like no other land, especially in our freedom of religion. No, they might not have been a perfect people, but let's not knock them down when we live here and have so enjoyed the religious liberties they passed down to us.

In Regards to the Last Post

In response to a comment on my last post from a well-meaning brother, and to anyone else who may have questions on where I am coming from on this subject of the Untold Truths of American History:

First off, may I say that this is a subject/doctrine I have thought over and over time and again. I admit, I was not raised with the "Two Kingdom" theology that is taught in plain circles.

I grew up a patriotess. American history was my favorite subject in school, and I was a die heart American. I reveled in the teachings that David Barton gave on America's Godly Heritage and the Providence of God throughout the founding of this nation.

We were introduced to Charity teachings when I was a young teen, and honestly, I thought the whole teaching of non-resistance and the separation of church and state was totally ridiculous. My heart changed over time tho, and I began really taking in their teachings. I went to YBS and soaked in all their preaching, including the teaching on the two kingdoms. I read David Bercot's book, "The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down" and Dean Taylor's "A Change of Allegience." I embraced the teachings despite any misgivings.

As time has gone by, I have come to see and understand that there are Christians on both sides of the spectrum, and I don't know that either one is in the "wrong." I think a lot of judgment is passed on sincere Christians outside the plain circles and it grieves my heart when I hear them referred to as "so called christians" just because they are not from a plain church.
 In all, I think it's a matter of following one's conscience and Holy Spirit guidance. For myself personally, I do lean more on the non-resistance side, but I am not going to condemn someone if they don't see it the same.

I realize I'm treading on very controversial ground here, but the truth of the matter is that this nation was founded on Christian principals, and there is an agenda to sweep God out of the government, the schools, and out of this land. And hey, I know the beginnings of this nation wasn't all perfect....no person, church, group or country is.....we can see that all through the Bible....but that doesn't mean we can't focus on the good and acknowledge that our founders were for the most part Christians and sought to put God first in this country. You may not agree with everything I have to share on the subject, and that's ok, but I think you would be surprised with the lies we all have been taught and that are circulated thru the education system, the media and anywhere else you turn. My heart is to share the truth that is covered up and expose the lies and misconceptions of our forefathers that are throughout the textbooks of America.

As for the matter of driving the Indians off their land, I will have a post for that topic coming that will hopefully answer your questions.

The Untold Truths of American History

Did you know...

 29 out of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence held Seminary or Bible School degrees.

Interestingly, we're told that our founding fathers were Atheists and Diests. 

Hmm, does that add up to you?!!