"A wise woman builds her house, with her own hands the foolish woman tears hers down." Proverbs 14:1
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Prayer makes strong walls and tear down unwanted walls
I am reminded more and more of the battle I am in as a beleiver in Jesus Christ and as a woman who builds. Ep. 6 clearly lays out our battle isnt against flesh and blood but darkness, the dark principalities of this world, and of evil. As I build my home, the battle I face daily is the battle of the flesh! It is easy the to give into my fleshly desires rather then serve the living God in my building. I am reminded of my need to rise early to build, this is no easy task with a husband, 5 kids, a low thyroid, and one exhausted woman, yet I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and part of the building is building strong walls in my home through prayer. Walls seperate and protect. I must pray daily against the enemy of pride, selfishness, un godly anger, fear, anxiety, laziness, worry and discouragement. I realize these things destroy the home God so richly desires to build through me. What joy it is to cry out to the living God who hears the prayers of his saints, Christ has made this possible for us, his life, death and ressurection has made enemies friends, and alloweed us to come before the throne of God boldly. Prayer shows a dependency upon God and a vulnerability of self. May prayer be our defense against darkness and Satan as they lurk to devour us, we are weak, Jesus is strong. May we crown him as our captian in temptaions hour and pray and not lose heart while we build for in due season we will reap a harvest as promised. What are you praying about as you build?
Saturday, July 9, 2011
A house must have an architect
"A wise woman builds her home, with her own hands a foolish woman tears hers down." Proverbs 14:1
Before a house is built there must be an architecital designs., a person who draws out the plans of the way a home is to be built. I beleive God has already done just that for us. In Philippians and Ephesians we are told that God has prepared good works in advance for us, Isnt that encouraging? I love the fact that we arent just thrust into marriage and mother hood without first been given instructions on how to. The word of God indeed has everything we need that pertains to life and godliness. What great gain that is for us. We have an instruction manual before we begin any work God calls us to. He equips us. His word is the architectial design for our lives. Even before a woman begins to build her home she must first read the architecial designs, she must be familiar with the architects plans. I say study, memorize, and familiarize yourself as much as you can with the architects plans, that way you know exactly what you are to be building. When you know the architect it makes implimenting his plans so much more joyus. "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord plans of good not evil to give you a future and a hope. "Jer 29:11 We have such a great and gracious architect who wants to give to us a future and a hope. A future and a hope that is in Christ. May we women build upon the designs and plans of the Almighty God. May his word be our final authority!
Before a house is built there must be an architecital designs., a person who draws out the plans of the way a home is to be built. I beleive God has already done just that for us. In Philippians and Ephesians we are told that God has prepared good works in advance for us, Isnt that encouraging? I love the fact that we arent just thrust into marriage and mother hood without first been given instructions on how to. The word of God indeed has everything we need that pertains to life and godliness. What great gain that is for us. We have an instruction manual before we begin any work God calls us to. He equips us. His word is the architectial design for our lives. Even before a woman begins to build her home she must first read the architecial designs, she must be familiar with the architects plans. I say study, memorize, and familiarize yourself as much as you can with the architects plans, that way you know exactly what you are to be building. When you know the architect it makes implimenting his plans so much more joyus. "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord plans of good not evil to give you a future and a hope. "Jer 29:11 We have such a great and gracious architect who wants to give to us a future and a hope. A future and a hope that is in Christ. May we women build upon the designs and plans of the Almighty God. May his word be our final authority!
A house is only as good as its foundation..choose wisely
"A wise Woman builds her house, with her own house the foolish woman tears hers down." Proverbs 14:1
Every home must have a foundation and every house is only as good as it's foundation, if the foundation of a home is weak the whole structure of the home is in great danger. I remember when I first got married 10 years ago. It was of course an exciting time. I remember so vividly looking for our first home. We decided to go with new construction, which meant it would take six months to a year before it would be complete. That time while our home was being built it brought to mind some very parrallel pictures to that of the home I would be building for my family as a wife. As the foundation was getting ready to be poured for our new home, I was reminded of the foundation of that of the home I was about to build. My soon to be husband and I anxiouslly watched the concrete being poured and we patiently waited while the final inspections were made to insure that the foundation was secure for the rest of the home to be built upon. There were inspectors, who would even throughly inspect the foundation to reassure it's quailty and security. Boy, were we glad. One crack or mistake could have cost us our home. So much detail and work went into the pouring of the foundation, making sure there were no mistakes, and that all was okay to start the building. I cant help but be reminded that every wise woman builds her home, but she must builds upon the foundation of her identity in Christ, for all other ground is sinking sand. After a woman has been built by the gospel she must begin to build her house on the gospel, for this is where her identity lies. Her home is only as good as her foundation. The gospel must be her foundation in her marriage and in her mothering and in her building. So let me ask, how is your foundation? What do you build upon? Is your building flowing from the foundation of Jesus Christ? What I love about the foundation of Christ is that it is secure. Jesus is secure, and the quaility of the foundation in him is compared to that of a rock. For the wise man built his house upon the rock but the foolish man build his house upon sinking sand, both men heard the same message but one chose to obey and the other didnt. Simply put, one built upon the rock the other upon the sand, the man who built upon the sand never once conisdered the possibility of the rain, therefore his foundation was not a priority for him. Too often that is like us, we dont consider the rain. And let me tell you, there will be rain, and as I have often found when it rains it pours, yet ever still, Jesus remains the same, yesterday, today and forever more. The concrete in a wise womans home is the gospel of Jesus Christ, all that she thinks, feels, and does flows from this never moving, never shaking firm, solid foundation, and thus when those floods come, her home STANDS! And When a home stands because of a firm foundation you can be sure that the nation of the people will stand. When societies are broken down, and nations are broken down, you can inevitibly trace it back to the foundation of the home. Let it be in our homes as women to build upon the foundation that Jesus has freely offered through his life, death and ressurection. May it be of us to be wise women who build
Every home must have a foundation and every house is only as good as it's foundation, if the foundation of a home is weak the whole structure of the home is in great danger. I remember when I first got married 10 years ago. It was of course an exciting time. I remember so vividly looking for our first home. We decided to go with new construction, which meant it would take six months to a year before it would be complete. That time while our home was being built it brought to mind some very parrallel pictures to that of the home I would be building for my family as a wife. As the foundation was getting ready to be poured for our new home, I was reminded of the foundation of that of the home I was about to build. My soon to be husband and I anxiouslly watched the concrete being poured and we patiently waited while the final inspections were made to insure that the foundation was secure for the rest of the home to be built upon. There were inspectors, who would even throughly inspect the foundation to reassure it's quailty and security. Boy, were we glad. One crack or mistake could have cost us our home. So much detail and work went into the pouring of the foundation, making sure there were no mistakes, and that all was okay to start the building. I cant help but be reminded that every wise woman builds her home, but she must builds upon the foundation of her identity in Christ, for all other ground is sinking sand. After a woman has been built by the gospel she must begin to build her house on the gospel, for this is where her identity lies. Her home is only as good as her foundation. The gospel must be her foundation in her marriage and in her mothering and in her building. So let me ask, how is your foundation? What do you build upon? Is your building flowing from the foundation of Jesus Christ? What I love about the foundation of Christ is that it is secure. Jesus is secure, and the quaility of the foundation in him is compared to that of a rock. For the wise man built his house upon the rock but the foolish man build his house upon sinking sand, both men heard the same message but one chose to obey and the other didnt. Simply put, one built upon the rock the other upon the sand, the man who built upon the sand never once conisdered the possibility of the rain, therefore his foundation was not a priority for him. Too often that is like us, we dont consider the rain. And let me tell you, there will be rain, and as I have often found when it rains it pours, yet ever still, Jesus remains the same, yesterday, today and forever more. The concrete in a wise womans home is the gospel of Jesus Christ, all that she thinks, feels, and does flows from this never moving, never shaking firm, solid foundation, and thus when those floods come, her home STANDS! And When a home stands because of a firm foundation you can be sure that the nation of the people will stand. When societies are broken down, and nations are broken down, you can inevitibly trace it back to the foundation of the home. Let it be in our homes as women to build upon the foundation that Jesus has freely offered through his life, death and ressurection. May it be of us to be wise women who build
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
A wise woman is first built by the gospel then she can build. Knowing your identity
"A wise woman builds her house, with her own hands the foolish woman tears hers down". Proverbs 14:1
A woman can not build unless she has been built by the gospel and her identity flows from Jesus.
Identity... What exactly does that word mean? The dictonary defines identity as: 1)The condition of being oneself or itself and not another. 2)Condition or character as to who a person or thing is.
I beleive we are living in an age where the christian womans identity has been redefined and under great attack, not only from the world but unfourtently from inside the church. It is sad when christian woman are desperetly trying to find their identity in what they wear, how much money they have, what ministries they are in, what "spiritual gifts" they have, how vast their kowledge of scripture is, how mature and godly they are, how godly their spouses and children are, I have seen the other extreme of looking like the world, rather then living in the identity that Jesus gives.
So, what identity has Jesus given to us? What condition or character have we as Chrisitan women been given? Well lets go way back to the garden of Eden where humanity began and to the basics. We know Adam was the head of the human race and when Adam sinned we all sinned (Rom 5:12,19). When he disobeyed sin entered the world, and through sin death came. Causing the human race to be seperated/alienated from God. The consequence is the wrath of God, hell, and God no longer walking with man. And so man lives life according to his own way.
From Adam to Moses there was no law (Rom.5:13). Man was his own law (though still having a concience). God gave the law through Moses. Sin became alive through the law as man now is under the law. We were still separated/aliented from God the way to even approach God was through the law. Thankfully back in the garden God promised Adam and Eve that her seed would crush the serpent's head and his seed would bruise his heel. (Gen.4) Until then Gods law for humanity would be a tutor and a school master(As Rom.7 notes the Law is holy). All of humanity prior to the cross of Jesus Christ would all be under this identity, under the law. We would all be identified as enemies of God, law breakers and under the sentence of death, aliented from God, and no matter how hard we tried to rectify our hopeless state. Our hope for morality, our hope for anything good, our hope for what is right would only be found in the law of God. So the human race desparetly trys to obey the law, but only finds itself in a more desperate need. The law points out our depravity, our inability to live up to the holiness of Gods perfect standard and thus made sin alive in us. What a sad identity, what a sad condition to be under and what sad character to have. What a life of condemnation to constantly try to be pleasing to God and only find yourself to be unable to do so. Only to find yourself failing! Walking in defeat, knowing the good you ought to do because the law shows you what to do, but unable to do it. you find yourself desperate. This is exactly where I was, a desperate housewife, knowing the good I ought to do but having no power to do it. Have you ever noticed how when sharing Gods truth with and unbeleiver we often throw the law at them/ We tell them you shouldnt commit adultery thats wrong the Bible says so, and we throw out things like you shouldnt steal its a sin the Bible says so. and the list goes on and on how we do that with our unbeleiving friends and family. Yet all the while they cant obey the law, any more then we can. Oh, how the glorious gospel changes this. God, being so rich in mercy, sent Jesus. He was born of the virgin to live the life we never could in complete obedience to the law, died the death we deserved, and conquered death through his resurrection. Putting an end to it all. No wonder his words were, "IT IS FINISHED". No more law (for Jesus fullfilled the law), no more condemantion (for God made him who knew no sin to be sin and was condemned for our sin),no more alientaion/seperation from God (For the father forsoke and turned his face away from the son), no more death (for Jesus rose again). Instead Jesus cries, "It is finished", its as if he saying, I give you my life for yours. I give you my righteousness, in exchange for your unrighteousness, I give you my holiness in exchange for your unholiness, I give you my undeserving love in exchange for your failing love, I give you all that is mine, I give you my obedience, I give you hope, I give you freedom, the chains of sin and death are gone you are free, now go and be free to sin no more, no more trying to be right with the father by your own attempts to keep the law, its done. I am your righteousness, I am your wrath quencher, I am your hope, I am the lamb who takes away your sins, I am your glory, I am your King of Kings, I am your Lord of Lords, I am your water who quenches your thirst, I am your manna from heaven, I am your rock, I am your God who is with you never will I forsake you, I am your treasure your redeemer your friend, I am your groom you are my bride, you are safe and secure and all that you hope to be and all that you strived to be I have already given to you, all my promises are Yes and Amen, Here is your NEW IDENTITY, IT IS ME!!!!!! Now you can mount up
with wings like eagles and fly.
Isnt that such great news that God is pleased with us he doesnt look shamefully at us, Jesus has given to us women a new identity that is everlasting, ever pleasing and ever hopeful. He has built us to be worshippers of him. And when we are living through our identity we are able to be wise women who build our homes, women who love lavishly because we have a God who loves us so lavishy!
A woman can not build unless she has been built by the gospel and her identity flows from Jesus.
Identity... What exactly does that word mean? The dictonary defines identity as: 1)The condition of being oneself or itself and not another. 2)Condition or character as to who a person or thing is.
I beleive we are living in an age where the christian womans identity has been redefined and under great attack, not only from the world but unfourtently from inside the church. It is sad when christian woman are desperetly trying to find their identity in what they wear, how much money they have, what ministries they are in, what "spiritual gifts" they have, how vast their kowledge of scripture is, how mature and godly they are, how godly their spouses and children are, I have seen the other extreme of looking like the world, rather then living in the identity that Jesus gives.
So, what identity has Jesus given to us? What condition or character have we as Chrisitan women been given? Well lets go way back to the garden of Eden where humanity began and to the basics. We know Adam was the head of the human race and when Adam sinned we all sinned (Rom 5:12,19). When he disobeyed sin entered the world, and through sin death came. Causing the human race to be seperated/alienated from God. The consequence is the wrath of God, hell, and God no longer walking with man. And so man lives life according to his own way.
From Adam to Moses there was no law (Rom.5:13). Man was his own law (though still having a concience). God gave the law through Moses. Sin became alive through the law as man now is under the law. We were still separated/aliented from God the way to even approach God was through the law. Thankfully back in the garden God promised Adam and Eve that her seed would crush the serpent's head and his seed would bruise his heel. (Gen.4) Until then Gods law for humanity would be a tutor and a school master(As Rom.7 notes the Law is holy). All of humanity prior to the cross of Jesus Christ would all be under this identity, under the law. We would all be identified as enemies of God, law breakers and under the sentence of death, aliented from God, and no matter how hard we tried to rectify our hopeless state. Our hope for morality, our hope for anything good, our hope for what is right would only be found in the law of God. So the human race desparetly trys to obey the law, but only finds itself in a more desperate need. The law points out our depravity, our inability to live up to the holiness of Gods perfect standard and thus made sin alive in us. What a sad identity, what a sad condition to be under and what sad character to have. What a life of condemnation to constantly try to be pleasing to God and only find yourself to be unable to do so. Only to find yourself failing! Walking in defeat, knowing the good you ought to do because the law shows you what to do, but unable to do it. you find yourself desperate. This is exactly where I was, a desperate housewife, knowing the good I ought to do but having no power to do it. Have you ever noticed how when sharing Gods truth with and unbeleiver we often throw the law at them/ We tell them you shouldnt commit adultery thats wrong the Bible says so, and we throw out things like you shouldnt steal its a sin the Bible says so. and the list goes on and on how we do that with our unbeleiving friends and family. Yet all the while they cant obey the law, any more then we can. Oh, how the glorious gospel changes this. God, being so rich in mercy, sent Jesus. He was born of the virgin to live the life we never could in complete obedience to the law, died the death we deserved, and conquered death through his resurrection. Putting an end to it all. No wonder his words were, "IT IS FINISHED". No more law (for Jesus fullfilled the law), no more condemantion (for God made him who knew no sin to be sin and was condemned for our sin),no more alientaion/seperation from God (For the father forsoke and turned his face away from the son), no more death (for Jesus rose again). Instead Jesus cries, "It is finished", its as if he saying, I give you my life for yours. I give you my righteousness, in exchange for your unrighteousness, I give you my holiness in exchange for your unholiness, I give you my undeserving love in exchange for your failing love, I give you all that is mine, I give you my obedience, I give you hope, I give you freedom, the chains of sin and death are gone you are free, now go and be free to sin no more, no more trying to be right with the father by your own attempts to keep the law, its done. I am your righteousness, I am your wrath quencher, I am your hope, I am the lamb who takes away your sins, I am your glory, I am your King of Kings, I am your Lord of Lords, I am your water who quenches your thirst, I am your manna from heaven, I am your rock, I am your God who is with you never will I forsake you, I am your treasure your redeemer your friend, I am your groom you are my bride, you are safe and secure and all that you hope to be and all that you strived to be I have already given to you, all my promises are Yes and Amen, Here is your NEW IDENTITY, IT IS ME!!!!!! Now you can mount up
with wings like eagles and fly.
Isnt that such great news that God is pleased with us he doesnt look shamefully at us, Jesus has given to us women a new identity that is everlasting, ever pleasing and ever hopeful. He has built us to be worshippers of him. And when we are living through our identity we are able to be wise women who build our homes, women who love lavishly because we have a God who loves us so lavishy!
"I feel like a construction worker...A wise woman builds.."
"A wise woman builds her house, with her own hands the foolish woman tears hers down" Prvb 14:1
I decided to start this blog, for many reasons, but mainly in hopes to encourage women in their identity in Jesus Christ that we all may be built up in love and may know Jesus and the power of his resurrection, in our lives.Perhaps you arent a wife or mother yet, perhaps you are one in the making, if so, I pray this ministers to you as well.
The verse above has been pondering and wrestling in my mind over the past 10years, I confess I have not always been a builder, which has led in part to the writing of this blog. I have had my share of defeats and by Gods grace, victories but I am learning that I am more than a conquer through Christ who strenghtens me, which is why I am able to be a woman who builds her house, and why I beleive you are able too as well. Being a wife and mother can be so demanding at times, wouldnt you agree? I often tell my husband that I feel like a construction worker. It isnt an easy job, but it is a job that the Lord has called us women to, and a job we get to do. It can be a very tiring, lonely, ugly, dirty, and at times just down right discouraging. There are times when there are no thank you's, no days off, no high salaries or pay raises, for what Dr. Phill says is equivelnt to 2 full-time jobs, meanwhile the world laughs and mocks at our attempts. However, the work we do I beleive is infact priceless, and a work that we have been equipped and called to do, and I beleive not just to do but to succeed and be victorious in. No wonder the enemy prowls around seeking to devour this God ordained institution. It has been said if you destroy the family, you destroy a nation.
However, I have found that in order to build a women must first be built. What I mean by this is:
I spent the first 5 years of my marriage trying to find my identity in the building of my house. I wasted alot of time comparing myself to other women, other chiristians, and frankly, tried to be them. I despretly sought to obey the scriptures, but only found my life to be that of a "Desperete Housewife". Desperete to be a better wife, desperete to be more holy, desperete to be obedient, desperete to be godly, desperete to have it together, desperete to look like other women in the church, desperete to have a husband who was a leader in the church, desperete to be leaders in the church, desperete to do great and mighty things for God, desperete to know more, desperete..desperete..desperete. This only left me hopeless and defeated and in great bondage to sin. I found that the root of all this stemed from a heart of pride, because when I was able to live up to any of these desperete ideas, I would look at other women and in my heart would be disgusted over their sin, yet not realizing my heart was full of it as well. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit who reveals our sin to us and our desperete need of Jesus.
In my next blog I will write about what it means to be a women who is built in order to be a woman who builds.
I decided to start this blog, for many reasons, but mainly in hopes to encourage women in their identity in Jesus Christ that we all may be built up in love and may know Jesus and the power of his resurrection, in our lives.Perhaps you arent a wife or mother yet, perhaps you are one in the making, if so, I pray this ministers to you as well.
The verse above has been pondering and wrestling in my mind over the past 10years, I confess I have not always been a builder, which has led in part to the writing of this blog. I have had my share of defeats and by Gods grace, victories but I am learning that I am more than a conquer through Christ who strenghtens me, which is why I am able to be a woman who builds her house, and why I beleive you are able too as well. Being a wife and mother can be so demanding at times, wouldnt you agree? I often tell my husband that I feel like a construction worker. It isnt an easy job, but it is a job that the Lord has called us women to, and a job we get to do. It can be a very tiring, lonely, ugly, dirty, and at times just down right discouraging. There are times when there are no thank you's, no days off, no high salaries or pay raises, for what Dr. Phill says is equivelnt to 2 full-time jobs, meanwhile the world laughs and mocks at our attempts. However, the work we do I beleive is infact priceless, and a work that we have been equipped and called to do, and I beleive not just to do but to succeed and be victorious in. No wonder the enemy prowls around seeking to devour this God ordained institution. It has been said if you destroy the family, you destroy a nation.
However, I have found that in order to build a women must first be built. What I mean by this is:
I spent the first 5 years of my marriage trying to find my identity in the building of my house. I wasted alot of time comparing myself to other women, other chiristians, and frankly, tried to be them. I despretly sought to obey the scriptures, but only found my life to be that of a "Desperete Housewife". Desperete to be a better wife, desperete to be more holy, desperete to be obedient, desperete to be godly, desperete to have it together, desperete to look like other women in the church, desperete to have a husband who was a leader in the church, desperete to be leaders in the church, desperete to do great and mighty things for God, desperete to know more, desperete..desperete..desperete. This only left me hopeless and defeated and in great bondage to sin. I found that the root of all this stemed from a heart of pride, because when I was able to live up to any of these desperete ideas, I would look at other women and in my heart would be disgusted over their sin, yet not realizing my heart was full of it as well. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit who reveals our sin to us and our desperete need of Jesus.
In my next blog I will write about what it means to be a women who is built in order to be a woman who builds.
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