Who is Man – Part 5

If paradise has been lost – it can be regained. Man can be regenerated. The image that we had can be regained. This is one of the great truths in the Word of God. Instead of the devil’s image of pride, malice and envy, the righteousness and goodness of God’s image can be recovered. “…and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Colossians 3:10

 

This image repair can be accomplished only by God. In Hebrews 1:3 it says, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” He, who is the image of God is the only One that can restore the image in us. How did He do this? This is what the Cross of Jesus is all about. This is why reformation is so important. It brings us back to the Cross and what it means. In Adam we die, but in Christ we live. (Hebrews 2:6-8) “But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything under his feet.’” Psalms 8:4-8.

 

It is through His grace that those who are ‘in Christ’ will share in His glorious reign. When God raised us up in Christ we possess a dominion that Adam would never have known had he remained innocent all his days.

 

We will be given a new name. It is interesting to see that what Nimrod and the people of his days wanted was to make a name for themselves, yet God gives us a great name through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Genesis 11 they are wanting to make a name ‘for themselves,’ but in Genesis 12 where Abram is chosen we read, “I will make your name great.”

 

Later in life we read that God gave the name Abraham to Abram. “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” Genesis 17:1

 

Most of the world, with the different religions, are like Nimrod leaving God and His Word out of the picture and trying to gain their own righteousness, but true righteousness is being offered to us by grace through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Needless to say, that reformation brings us back to this truth: IT IS ALL GRACE AND NOTHING OF WORKS.

 

 

Who is Man? Part 4

When we think of man we cannot forget what evolution has done. However, evolution did not start with Darwin, but with philosophers known as the ‘pre-Socratics,’ around sixth to mid-fifth century BC. These are philosophers bouncing ideas back and forth before the coming of Socrates.

 

They were not interested in ‘who’ created the earth, but ‘what’ the universe was created of. They thought that all of life was ‘matter’ (stuff). For them even if the ‘gods’ did exist they too came out of the same cosmos soup.

 

This type of thinking has been with us ever since and today it shows up in our class rooms as evolution. In this type of thinking and here in the West especially, it is not that they are against God, but that He does not really matter. He is insignificant. Man has evolved and has taken the place of God and can manage on his own.

 

Yet when we read the Bible we find that it is completely different than what we are learning in the class rooms of our universities. Some will say that evolution does not oppose the Bible account of the origin of man.  However, they are wrong and here are a few questions by Herbert Lockyer that they can give us an answer to.

 

  1. At what point in the ascending scale do moral questions emerge, or where does irresponsible animal passion pass into moral obligation?
  2. At what point does a spiritual nature, carrying the gift of immortality, appear?
  3. At what particular stage in the development of a semi-animal, semi savage creature, can we apply the words, “made in the image of God”?
  4. How does the theory affect the “Person of Christ,” and how far back along the process of development does His redemptive work take effect?”

 

I am reminded of the philosophers of Paul’s day when he said, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”  (1 Corinthians 1:20) What Paul is doing is putting out a challenge and saying to these people that if you have the answers to life’s questions then step forward and let us hear. But they have nothing to say. Reformation brings us back to who man is and why he is here, according to God and God’s own Word.

 

Why is all of this important? It is important because we need to see that we are the creatures and He is the Creator. Man’s own philosophies have penetrated the churches here in the West and it is causing untold damage. That somehow we can do the work of God in the flesh. Paul said: “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Galatians 3:3

 

How much of what we do: programs, missions, evangelism, etc. is a direct result of waiting on the Lord for HIS direction for our own plans that seem good to us? God’s work done, if done in the flesh, is nothing more than ‘dead works.’

Seek the LORD your GOD

Seek the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. Be strong and courageous for you will be successful if you carefully obey all that He tells you, and do not lose heart. Now begin the work He has for you. He is watching over you. Trust His words for they have power. He will be with you, and answer you when you call to Him.

The Proverbs 31 Woman – Chapter 14 – Works With Eager Hands

The word eager shows that the heart is enthused about the work at hand.

 

The plans of the diligent lead to profit. (Proverbs 21:5) Diligent hands will rule. (Proverbs 12:24)

 

Diligent: duteous, honorable, meticulous, reliable, observant and opportune.

 

Certainly there is work we do each day as wives and mothers, tedious mundane work that never ends and rarely gets caught up. I don’t know many women who enjoy doing the laundry, cleaning house, preparing 3 meals a day, continually picking up and putting away, running errands and children around, etc. Some women would rather work outside the home where they get paid. But, where is the love in that? We’ll not get the most important things done in our lifetime, and neither will we receive any reward at the end.

 

In America we see girls growing up thinking that they are above the woman’s work of the olden days, but back then women put family and home first and they did not have all the modern conveniences we have today that women just won’t live without. It was noble of women to stay busy at home. Back then marriage was for life and you worked through your difference, offenses and hardships. Back then families were much stronger and dependent on each other, and it was beneficial for 3 generations to live together. Children were not doing the things that most children are doing today that are so shameful and destructive. Things that should never be done are being done by young children today. Children are raping and killing children. Children are hitting their parents and even killing their parents. Children are taking drugs and having sex. Children are trained to go to war; to fight, kill and die for a false religion.

 

Working with eager hands can be simply taking care of family and home and being fully satisfied with that.

 

I remember when marriages lasted a lifetime; when the whole family took pride in their everyday work; when families sat around the breakfast and dinner table talking to each other; when homes were open to unexpected company; when communities were safe because the family was strong and benevolent.

 

Lois, my mother-in-law, died at the ripe old age of 92. Cliff and Lois had and raised twelve children. They didn’t have most of the modern conveniences we have today that make our work at home easier and that give us more time on our hands. But, what have we actually done “with more time on our hands?” We have more adultery and divorces. We have more children raising themselves. We have more crime due to the breakdown of the family. We have more suicides and addictions. Etc. Etc. Etc.

 

Lois had a saying that she used all the time on her boys especially: “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” I tend to agree. We can see lots of evidence all over the world that Satan has found in every generation plenty of willing and eager hands to use effectively for his devilish will.

 

My precious mother-in-law taught me how to garden, to can my food and store it. She taught me how to cook my husband’s favorite foods. She taught me to crochet and quilt, even though I don’t do it anymore. She taught me how to stay busy at home with eager hands; something that is rare today.

 

Lois taught me the importance of continual prayer for your family, another rare thing today. I remember she always had that famous picture of a man sitting at the table with his head bowed over his praying hands. Lois was a prayer warrior for her family.

 

When I was in high school I was eager to have more clothes than my mother could afford, God bless her. So I learned to sew simple “a-line” skirts by hand. My mother finally bought me a used sewing machine which I sat on the floor to sew with. I took “clothing” in my senior year of high school where I learned to sew by using patterns. I went from basic designs to more detailed ones. After we had children I started making their clothes when they were little (and didn’t have anything to say about it). Back then it was cheaper to make your own clothes than to buy them. But one thing is for sure: Home-made is far better, and that goes for just about anything that you learn to do yourself.

 

If you don’t know how to use-leftovers, or to grow in a garden something to eat and feed your family with, to cook using basic ingredients and to store your own food, to mend and sew, to make do and be content with little, to use your imagination to alter something in order to make it work for what you need at the moment, to see little things with a special purpose – then what will you do when all that you have depended on that is of this world isn’t there to depend on anymore?

 

Your heavenly Father is more eager than you are to see the work of your hands produce good things for practical use.

 

The Proverbs 31 Woman – Chapter 13 – Strong for Her Work

It is to a woman’s honor to be doing the ‘dignified’ work that fulfills her and rewards her. Women can do all kinds of work, but most women are not fulfilled in what they do, mainly because they choose the wrong man to marry and/or the wrong work to do that is not in agreement with who they really are as God’s daughters.

 

Many women are forced to take any job they can find just to provide for themselves and their children because they do not wait on the Lord for whom to marry, ending up with a man who depends on his wife to provide, or in a divorce.

 

Give your heart to Christ and wait on the right man to marry. Give your strength to the work in your marriage; stick to your vows and look to Christ’s instructions and testimonies in the Old Testament of wise and godly women on how to be quiet and pray, how to claim God’s promises and entrust yourself and your children to God. God is faithful; so remain faithful in what He says He will do according to His Word; for what He will do because of your childlike faith in Him. This is a work that will pay off BIG TIME!

 

Right choices will follow as we read God’s Word daily to show us His perfect and acceptable will. Waiting in prayer on the Lord to direct us on anything is not always easy. Our natural tendency is to act quickly and then ask God to bless us. We’ve got it backward there.

 

There’s work and then there’s WORK. The work that our God has for us to do that will further His Kingdom – is not always easy for us to do because of the 3 enemies against us: the flesh, the world and the devil. We will need the strength and wisdom of God, and the humility to know our own weaknesses. God gave us our weakness so that we would always go to Him and find Him faithful to the faithful.

 

Anyone can succeed in work to please themselves in the earthly life, but remember what Jesus said: “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:34-36

 

Christ’s way is for us to prosper in what fulfills us as God’s true sons and daughters. There is a huge difference between prosperity God’s way and simply earning an income; between a worldly job and the work we are meant to do in this life as God’s children. Some jobs may be a stepping stone of acquiring knowledge and experience on the way for what you are meant to do. God will reveal that to you – if you have learned to listen to Him.

 

It is God’s will that we learn to be self-sufficient and not so dependent on what others do for us, and especially not on government hand-outs. There is greatness in every human being because we are made in the image of God. No other part of His creation has the abilities, inventiveness and assurance that He has put in mankind.

 

Most men do not know how to ‘properly’ provide for their wives and children, nor do they ‘truly’ understand why their wife and children need him to properly provide for them. Most men have not grown up learning how to work hard and earn their living, let alone provide for their wife and children. As I look out today I see that most girls are not being prepared for the work of marriage and family either. They work hard for a sport, or for a position in law enforcement or military, and for a successful occupation in the world. I watch commercials, television programs and movies today where the work that women do is recognized and honored in everything else but the work of their husband’s helpmate and the mother of children.

 

What young girls have been conditioned for is what I call the 3 w’s: worldliness, whoredom and waste. How rare it is to find a young girl who learns at home from her mother how to be a good wife, mother and homemaker, and to enjoy it. The work a little girl sees her mother doing can either make a young girl into a woman of great worth or into a foolish woman of the world.

 

You might think I’m old fashioned or stuck in the dark ages, but the truth is that God’s standard for manhood and womanhood has never changed, and “the true family” will be part of God’s “renewing of all things” when Jesus Christ returns to reign, “….until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He promised long ago through His holy prophets.” (Acts 3:21) “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.” Isaiah 9:7

 

The godly woman works with vigor knowing full well that even though she receives little to no praise now for all she does – she will later, and is why she is strong for her work as a wife and mother; determined not to allow other women to influence her otherwise.

 

I will work vigorously if I’m sure my work is valid and vital to God no matter how insignificant it seems to others in this world. I can be busy with many things, but if my work is not suitable and necessary, by God’s definition, then all I thought was so important to do will actually be what shames me later when all my work is revealed by the fire that judges it. My desire is that my work would come through that fire of God’s testing as “gold, silver and precious stones” so that it glorifies my Father’s kingdom.

 

God cares more than you do about your earthly prosperity, future honor and eternal inheritance. He has given us so much, but how are we using what we’ve received from our Father that we’re entrusted with?

 

When you are doing what you are supposed to be doing – you will see a whole lot of fruit come from very little effort. This is because God blesses the work of righteousness and faith in Him. He shows His favor by making people favor or submit to you, making circumstances work for you, and making doors open before you exactly when you need an open door.

 

The Lord has said to His children who seek to glorify His kingdom, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

 

God has assigned ‘woman’ the work that best suits her feminine nature. Our value and worth as a woman is rated by how well we do what we are designed and destined to do. You can be sure that if a woman tries to do ‘man’s work’ that she will be of no real value to anyone except the devil and his evil purposes. Yet, we learn that when there are no real men around to do God’s will – God just might call on a wise and courageous woman that listens to Him, trusts Him and obeys Him, such as Deborah in the Bible when the Israelite men were to go fight and conquer their enemy. (See the book of Judges)

 

Deep down inside every woman is true femininity longing to manifest and be glorified. She will not be able to enjoy a life that takes her ‘outside’ her true self, no matter how hard she tries.

 

I must work until the Lord shows me that I have accomplished all that I was to do because if ‘I’ don’t do it – it won’t get done. No one else can be my husband’s helpmate but me. No one else can mother my children but me. No one else has a testimony about my Savior and Lord, like mine that is to be shared, but me. No one else has the combination of talents, gifts of the Holy Spirit and life’s experiences, that I have and that God desires to use. It’s mine to put to good use, and my Father is holding me accountable.

 

After my children grew up, got married and left home, I thought my work was done in raising (teaching) them. My husband and I were thinking all was well with our children because we had married them all off to the ones we were certain God picked for them; our prayers being answered for all four of our children. One day the Lord said to me: “You are not done teaching and training your children.” Our parenting work wasn’t over as far as God was concerned. He could see what was ahead for each couple that would test their faith in Him and their vows to each other. They would need to hear our testimony and counsel, especially as they raised our grandchildren.

 

“The older women of God are to teach the younger women of God what is good, to train them to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”  Titus 2:3-5

 

Women today, even Christian women, don’t want to hear that there is such a thing as “woman’s work” or “man’s work,” that clearly defines the difference between men and women. Marriage and family becomes perverted when men are raised to do woman’s work and women are raised to do man’s work. (This is not referring to how we help each other at times.)

 

When wives/mothers hire out their work as a wife and mother, the true enjoyment of their marriage, home and family is not experienced. When you hire someone else to do what you are supposed to do – it won’t have the best result, in fact it will probably have the worse results with your marriage and children. Most women hire out their work simply because they do not like doing it themselves, or don’t have the time because they have chosen other work to do. (It’s not right but for most, a divorced woman must work outside her home to provide for herself and her children, and can’t afford to hire out the work of her home; she comes home from work and keeps working.)

 

What a waste of your life not to have known your true purpose in life. Jesus set free a woman when He said to her: “I do not condemn you, but go now and leave your life of sin.”  (John 8:11)

 

We need God’s Spirit to help us do the work we are meant to do, and to leave the “sinful empty life” behind to live the life that is worthy of who we are in Christ Jesus. The Proverbs 31 woman is our standard and encouragement in any and all generations.

 

Wisdom has built her house….let the simple come in and learn wisdom. Let those who lack judgment come in and learn to walk in the way of understanding. Those who come in – will live!” (Proverbs 9:1-6)

 

 

The Proverbs 31 Woman – Chapter 17 – Selective

“She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.” Proverbs 31:13

 

Most of you who read this verse in the Bible about the woman God honors and crowns would probably be drawn to the words wool and flax and think how irrelevant this verse is for most Christian women today. Let me show you the “relevance” of this verse for women in any generation throughout time, even throughout eternity. This verse is about being selective.

 

The word “select” suggests freedom and wisdom – which is eternal. My God-given selective right is to be motivated by my desire to honor my heavenly Father. What you “select” has distinct merit in your eyes; a special quality that you see even if no one else does.

 

The woman of vision sees value in what other women just naturally pass by or throw out. God’s daughters of His vision and heart can take something seemingly insignificant and use it to some good advantage. Her resourcefulness, inventiveness and assertiveness prompts her to take notice of and to appreciate the small things in life.

 

The fact that we can be selective reveals that God has given us the right and privilege to choose.

 

Ingenuity for family and home life has been weakened in women by the feminist’s movement and by so many other things that are made available for our vanities, comforts and indulgences. We have selected things for ourselves and our families that are not truly beneficial.

 

God’s daughter gives no thought to the many varieties of common vanities that other women simply won’t live without. She turns down invitations to join others in “pampering themselves,” “indulging themselves,” or “promoting themselves.” What is shameful to God is shameful to her. What matters to God, matters to her. She knows what matters most in life.

 

She gives no thought to those common vanities that other women simply won’t live without. She turns down invitations to join others in pampering themselves, indulging themselves, or promoting themselves. What is shameful to God is shameful to her, and this causes her to have very few friends, but she doesn’t care. She knows what matters most in life.

 

Women of old all knew a whole lot more than we do about all the natural benefits God put in His created things, but there has been a growing desire to get back to discovering all the many benefits in the nature God created for our well-being.

 

Be selective of who you date or marry as well. And never give up on your marriage when the test of commitment comes; remain confident in your selection by keeping your own heart right with the Lord, and remaining in prayer to God about your husband and marriage. Never forget that it is God who selects the children for the two of you.

 

Be selective in what you allow and don’t allow knowing who your heavenly Father is and who you are to Him.

 

Be selective about what you do for others outside your family at home. Not everyone you know with a need – is your responsibility. Not every job position that you see that you can do – is right for you. Not all places you get invited to – are where you should be. Be selective! Be honorably selective because of Who you represent on earth.

 

We can be selective because God was so very generous with creation; over the top you could say – in all He wanted to provide for us to live on, and to simply enjoy in life. There is a vast amount of variety in every kind of created thing! But remember as you make your selections: “All things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial.” (1 Corinthians 10:23)

 

Who is Man? Part 3

Genesis 2:17 “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

 

In our study of man it is important to understand what is commonly known as the “Fall” of man. Scripture testifies to this in many places. For example: Romans 5:12-19 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”

 

Through this sin man lost much of his original dignity. He was made to have dominion, to rule and reign. Still to a remarkable degree man still retains much of this dominion. However, sin has weakened his power to dominate nature. We see even today with all that man is and has that he cannot control nature: earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. and we see the havoc they have brought upon man’s world.

 

We do read that the PERFECT MAN: JESUS CHRIST – had complete control over nature. We also read that God will put everything under His feet, even death and He will reign supreme. We see His miracles, rebuking the storm, healing the blind and the lame, and many other incidences of His power being displayed.

 

At the FALL of man we see that every part of man became tainted by sin. Although man is not all together bad still we can see man’s total depravity. Man’s way is not up, but down. His whole being is corrupted. As someone said: “Man’s spirit is darkened (Ephesians 4:17-18; 1 Corinthians 2:14); his soul is debased (Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 4:19); his body is diseased and death-ridden (Romans 7:24); his will is weakened (Romans 7); his conscience is seared and hardened (1 Timothy 4:2). Sin brought a schism into man’s nature, the lower dominating the higher. Man, apart from grace, has “the mind of the flesh” (Romans 8:7, S.R.V.) and a heart that is deceitful (Genesis 6:5-12; Romans 1:17-24). He is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1); under wrath and judgment (John 5:28,29; Psalm 130:3; Romans 2:5-12; Ephesians 2:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Revelation 20:15; 21:8); utterly lost (Luke 19:10); a guilty sinner before God (Psalm 14:2,3; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:9-23); a child of the devil, and under the control of Satan (Ephesians 2:2).

 

Dr. R.A Torrey listed five steps in the “fall of man” given in Genesis 3:1-6. Adam was guilty of:

 

  1. Listening to slander against God.
  2. Doubting God’s Word and His love.
  3. Looking at what God had forbidden.
  4. Lusting for what God had prohibited (1 John 2:16).
  5. Disobeying God’s commandment.

 

Reformation can restore man. Yet, God does more than just restore. He takes us even beyond where man was before he fell.

 

 

 

Hostiles

I just watched the movie “Hostiles.” This is about two races of people who have hatred for each other and then are forced by an “government order” to travel together. In the end they come to a different view of each other, one of great respect and affection. What made the difference? Respect and kindness was shown to both of them.

Today we have so much hatred in America: mostly racial and political. To overcome this hatred will require people to simply show respect and extend a little kindness – understanding God’s view of His creation.

Remember: Respect is never earned; it is given. But trust and honor is earned.

My Time in God’s Word

Lord, when Your children were leaving Egypt – why did you tell them to plunder the Egyptians by taking their gold and silver into the desert with them?

 

Son, I was testing their character to see what they would do when things become difficult. When My children are faithful in little things I give them, then I will give them greater things. But if they are dishonest with little things, then I cannot trust them with greater responsibilities.

 

I gave them wealth in order to benefit others in need. Today when I given My children silver and gold, look how quickly they forget Me! They do not wait for My counsel! They do not believe My promise that I will care for them. Instead, they mingle with the world and accept their evil customs and idols of silver of gold. They even approve the shedding the innocent blood of the unborn.

 

Therefore, they will be handed over to those who refuse to acknowledge Me, and be ruled by those who hate Me. They will complain and shout to Me, “Are You here with us?” My answer will be, “No, I gave you what you asked for, and that is to be ruled by riches.”

 

Son, there is joy in My presence when a sinner finally comes to his senses and repents. When they search for Me they will find My strength in life. When they live by continually seeking Me and remembering My wonders, they can stand on this promise, “I keep every one of My promises.”

The Proverbs 31 Woman – Chapter 16 – Hands and Fingers

“In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.” Proverbs 31:19

 

Today’s worldly woman holds the iPhone and grasps her keys and purse with her fingers. God’s daughters need to return to the things that are truly worth knowing and doing.

 

A wife needs to know her husband, NOT know why her friend bought the red dress instead of the green dress. A mother needs to know her children, NOT know that someone said something hateful behind her back. A woman needs to know her God, NOT know how many people like her post on Facebook or Twitter. We work at connecting to people and things outside our family and home, but what are we really getting ourselves in for when we’re “connected?” More and more people’s lives are being ruined and even ended by all this “connecting.”

 

Gals, we simply don’t need to be informed about everything that we can get our hands. We only need to know what is good for us to know and do, and be content with that. Contentment with godliness is GREAT GAIN! Then God can continually bless us. Put your mind and hands to what God calls the work of women He will honor and crown one day.

 

In early times, the men believed that they could rise to public leadership and rise in godly prominence if they had a godly wife. A woman’s performance of her God-given tasks determined the failure or success of the family. Imagine that!  Most women today would not want to think that this is true; that the success of her husband and her children depends on her. They don’t see themselves as “helpmates” for their husbands, nor teachers of their children.

 

Just like thread is precisely directed through the eye of a needle the Proverbs 31 woman directs her children into God’s Word for the Lord’s path; that they know Him personally and are eager to serve His good will. We need to direct our children in how to go through God’s open doors of opportunities. We need to encourage our children in how to get through life’s problems and persecutions – following Jesus Christ. But, you can’t teach them what you have not learned to do yourself.

 

Before my grand-daughter was old enough to read or write she would get her pen and Bible out and do what she saw her mommy (my daughter) doing with her Bible each morning. This little child has grown to see and believe things about God that most Church-going people don’t see or believe. Many of our grandchildren are opening their Bibles early in the morning alongside their parents. Oh how this blesses us and God!

 

When our grandson was 4 years old I found him alone with the door shut in his mom and dad’s bedroom, on their bed. His little hands were holding his Bible, which he couldn’t read yet.  When I asked what he was doing he said, “I like quiet when I’m thinking about God.” Often they’d find him alone – listening and talking to Jesus.

 

All children are hungry to know God because they come from God. God creates us to know Him; to worship Him in truth and spirit. The faith of little children is real and strong because the world hasn’t influenced them yet, and the devil hasn’t deceived them yet.

 

As mothers we speak (stitch) into our children biblical teaching and praise for God. We reinforce (backstitch) each day to train them up – so that they will not fall apart with problems or disappointments. But, even if they do start to unravel we have a promise from God that they will return to the truth and love of the Lord one day no matter how old they are. (Proverbs 22:6) God knows how to mend and heal those we entrust to Him.

 

Most women don’t know how to sew or even mend clothing (let alone cook, keep house or discipline their own children). It’s too easy to replace something ripped or out of style. How many of us have thrown out a set of socks because a hole is in one sock? We don’t know how to mend it so we toss the thing out. How about marriages and families; do we do the same when they start to come apart? What about a government that starts to pull away from righteousness, from its moral constitution and covenant with God? We should know what to do as the true sons and daughters of God. This is why God gave us His Name, Spirit and Word.

 

When my marriage is falling apart, what should I do? When my faith is unraveling, what should I do? When my children are being pulled away from the truth at school, what should I do?  Do I dare test God at His Word? Will He prove faithful in my day? What will He require of me? Will I be faithful no matter what?