I KNOW, I KNOW

I know not everything that happens is a consequence of sin. Just wanted to clarify that before I started getting emails. Stuff just happens in life. But not everything is punishment. Trust me, for a gal who has spent 36+years trying to be good and follow the rules, the absence of punishment is a big deal. H-U-G-E. Still tossing it around. Will start 2 Peter soon. Thanks for reading my ramblings.

A CALL TO GRACE DAY 19

I have made no secret that I am struggling with this book. I struggle with grace. I think today Nasser hit the nail on the head with one of my reasons why.
"The fear is that a grace message this radical will give people license to sin." (p. 137)
I think this is what I thought. That if I extend grace, people will be allowed to sin, like I am giving them permission. They are punishment free. They are consequence free.
Oh I hope this makes sense.
Today as I was reading it hit me. Grace is not punishment free. The punishment has been dished out, and Jesus Christ took it. That is the grace part. He took the punishment for me. Grace is not consequence free. Those still have to be dealt with. But in grace I can say, and it has been said to me, "Yep. You messed up, and there will be consequences. Those we will have to deal with. But I still love you, that hasn't changed."
I think I saw God as a punishment God. When things were going wrong, I was being punished from some sin. So I had to strive to be good, to follow all the rules, in order to avoid the punishment. Knowing in my head that the price for my sin had already been paid but not having a full understanding of it in my heart. I think we have broken through that today. God is not out to dish out punishment every time I fall. If I am in Christ Jesus, the punishment for that has already been handled. He does allow the consequences to come so I can learn. So I have the chance for remorse which will lead to repentance.
The flip side is that if I am not in Christ Jesus, if I don't know Him as Lord and Savior, then the punishment will come. If I am not a part of Him, then the punishment He suffered has no value for me. How that should break my heart for those that don't know Him. How I should be burning to share with them what He has done for me.
I am not done with this page so I am sure I will have more. I am meditating on it and asking the Lord questions.
I think we have a crack in the wall though, and I think I see the smallest of light rays invading the darkness.
Shine Jesus Shine.

WRAPPING UP 1 PETER

"Therefore humble yourselves

under the mighty hand of God,

that He may exalt you

in due time,

casting all your care

upon Him,

for He cares for you."

1 Peter 5: 6-7

NKJV

Many of us, if not all of us, have things we want to accomplish. It could be professionally in your career of choice. It could personally. It could be in ministry. I know I have things I want to do. Things I want to accomplish. This I know. If I try to do what I want to do without God, I will fail. Oh sure I may accomplish what I set out to do, but it will still be a failure. It will be lacking. It will not be all I thought and hoped it would be. To be successful at anything, and I mean truly successful, God has to have done it. I have to lay it down before Him, give it over to Him, and let Him work it out. That goes for my work, my marriage, my kids, my ministry should there be one. Does not mean I am not an active participant or that I am not walking through doors He opens. I am just not busting my way through them or sneaking in. I am seeking Him and His guidance when to step and when to stop. It can be very frustrating and feel out of reach at times. That is okay. The rest of the verse tells me what to do with that. Cast my cares upon Him. Tell Him. Cry to Him. Vent to Him. MAINLY go to HIM. He can handle it. He wants to handle it. He cares about handling it.
So whatever you hope to accomplish, lay it down before God. Humble yourself and let Him open the way. Move when He says move and be still when He says be still. You have to be listening though. He tends not to scream. He tends to whisper.

1 PETER 4

Really one verse just jumped all over me from this chapter.
Verse 15
"Bet let none of you suffer as a murder, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters."
It went like this in my head:
Don't be a murder - check
Don't be a thief - check
Don't be an evildoer - kinda check
Don't be an busybody in other people's business - whoa - hold the door.
Murderer, thief, evildoer....busybody. Check please.
Back in the day, I liked to be "in the know". I thought I had grown out of that until recently when I realized that desire was still there. To the point I have had to make a conscious choice to stay out of it. I mean an everyday, I will not ask, I will not read blogs or Facebook about it, I will not bring it up or seek it out. It has been hard to be honest. It is a decision I make everyday, sometimes every morning, noon, and night. It has been the best thing for me as well. It is not that I wanted to know to stir up trouble or spread gossip. I wanted to know just to know. To have the knowledge. Remember that tree of knowledge of good and evil? I know it was Beth Moore who talked about it, and I think it was in her Esther study, but she talked about the fact there are some things we don't need to know, and our desire to know all is something of a prideful god-complex. Sound like anyone we have read about before? Maybe someone who wanted to rule all of Heaven and Earth? The very person we don't want to be like.
So that is what is bouncing around in the noggin' of mine. What is bouncing around in yours?

THAT DREADED "S" WORD

1 Peter chapter 3 contains the "s" word that makes many a woman cringe. For some it ranks right up there with the other "s" word for which I would wash my kids' mouth out with soap if they said it. To be honest, it made me cringe for many years as well; before and after marriage.

Submissive.

Some of you just got chills.

Don't be afraid of the word submissive. Remember, my blog, my point of view. It is actually intended for our good. Since I believe the Bible is inspired by God, then I must believe that if He let it in there, it is for a reason and that reason is good. The problem with the word submissive has been mankind (including women). Submissive has been twisted into complacent obedience at all costs. Many women have been browbeaten by men and doctrine that silences them as a marriage partner. Other women have been riled up by women to demand their rights and submit to no one. Both, in my opinion, completely unbiblical. Now remember, I am a right fighter. Submission is not easy for me, AT ALL. My parents raised my sisters and I to be very independent, self-sufficient, know what is right and fight for it, kinda gals. All great qualities, but ones that can, at times, makes marriage a wee bit tricky. None of us want to watch someone we love make a mistake, and we really don't like it when that mistake costs us. However, we sure do seem to like reaping the benefits of their decision when it blesses us. Those are the two sides of the submission coin. For better or worse. Good times and bad. Brilliant decisions and bonehead ones. I have found for me it is real easy to sit back and judge what my husband has done. To celebrate or complain. I have responded like my husband did not have the best interest of my family at heart. Notice I said my. At times I forget it is his family, too. His kids as well. His wife. His God-given burden to bear. I don't know much, or anything, about the psyche of a man. I know about my own psyche. I know for some odd reason I am hard-wired to clean house and nurture my kids. Honestly, I feel better after I have cleaned my house. Shocking I know. Does it make my husband's foot servant. Nope. It is how God has designed me. I also know my husband is hard-wired to work and provide for our family. He is not wired to clean house. God has placed the provision burden in his heart. Whether in be working or in his hunting, he wants to provide. Because God has placed that burden upon him, the responsibility is his as well. I am not negated of responsibility in providing for our family, I am just not it's chief bearer. I am the support team. It is how the Lord designed it. Me submitting to my husband does not mean I take over. It does not mean I demand my way or the highway. It does not mean I sit in silence. It means that I speak my peace in a timely and prayerfully considered manner, and then I zip it. I don't nag. I don't say I told you so with a prideful taunt. I pray. I pray and I pray some more. My flesh may scream;my mouth stays shut until the Lord prompts me to speak. Waiting is the hard part. Zipping that lip is the hard part. It is why we need the Holy Spirit, because our flesh does not die easily. It does not die easily for me and it sure ain't going down with out a fight for someone else. Jesus Christ is the only way. He must be paramount in my life first, and then in my marriage.

It is a struggle ladies, most definitely. The Christian walk is in many areas. Why else would Paul lament doing what he doesn't want to and not doing what he wanted to in Romans 7 verses 17-19. It is hard for all of us. So be encouraged if the dreaded "s" word strikes fear into your heart. Be encouraged if it strikes resentment. Many Christian women have been there. Many have had very valid reasons for feeling both emotions. They have experienced hurts of the Lord God Himself can heal. Let Him.
Now, please don't misunderstand and let me be very clear. Submission does not give your husband full reign to abuse you or your children, physically or emotionally, or to force into illegal or immoral activities. If that is your situation, get help now! Get you and your kids out and seek legal and Christian help. But just because his decision ticks you off, yeah, not reason enough to leave. Sorry. Same way he has got no grounds just because you made him mad. Covenant is a little more binding that that.
Don't be alarmed if you are tested in this area soon. It is the way it works. I am expecting it for myself. Be alert and prayed up. Recognize it, submit to God, resist the devil's prompting to respond in the flesh, and the devil must flee (James 4:7). Pick your chin up and keep on walking. You are not walking alone.

1 Peter 2

Hope you are fabulous this New Year's Eve! Grateful for 2009, excited for 2010.
Here are my thoughts on chapter 2. Again we see the word "living". May we never, may I never, forget my God is alive! Jesus is alive. We are "chosen". Not because we are good, as my A Call to Grace book points out so well, we were sinners before we ever sinned. Not because we are weak and God likes to let us get beat up so we have to come to Him. He chose us because He loves us. He knows we are weak and He knows that in that weakness, if we allow Him, His strength can makes us strong. He will be glorified and honored. Lastly, and this was a tough one, honoring your bosses. Even the not nice ones. I am not talking about the ones who threaten you physically and emotionally. I mean the ones who are just rude jerks. Or insensitive. Or proud and take credit and quickly push blame. Not that we sit quietly and let them do whatever, but even in the disagreement we can honor them for the position they hold. I have failed at this many times. I am a right fighter.... for my rights or what I deem to be right or for someone else's rights...especially students. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge proponent of individual responsibility for learning. I think we do kids, especially high school kids, a HUGE disservice when we coddle them and baby them instead of holding them responsible for their actions, but I also believe in equality of opportunity. They should all be given the same chance. If the commit the same offense, they should receive the same punishment. Consistency in expectations and in discipline. One of my favorite lines form Remember the Titans is when the white coach is asking Denzel to back of the kids and Denzel replies something like " I may be a mean old cuss, but I am the same mean old cuss to each and every one of them." Yes please. Anyway, I have had bosses over the years I have disagreed with strongly and I did not always disagree with honor. At times I bad mouthed, I argued publicly, I sinned. So obviously I need to work on that one (even for my boss at the house).
Whew that turned into a mini soapbox.
Hope you have a safe New Year.
May Lord be gracious to you in 2010.
May He show Himself strong on your behalf and may you be drawn and wooed into a closer relationship with Jesus.
He loves you so. So do I.

1 PETER 1

Hi there. Remember me? I finally have some thoughts on chapter 1. My sister gave me a MacArthur Bible Commentary for Christmas and I whipped it out for this chapter. Of course, I only got up to the "Background and Setting" portion of the introduction, so none of this comes from that. I did find it interesting that according to the MBC, Peter's wife ministered with him AND (according to tradition) he had to watch her be crucified. Just some trivia.
1. Verse 3 talks about our "living hope". Just another reminder that my God, my Savior, my Comforter are all alive. Living, breathing, full of life. Full of emotion for me and for you. Attentive to my every moment, my every prayer, my every concern. In the words of the song, "He's alive! He's alive! He is risen from the dead and He's alive!"
2. Verse 5 - I am protected by the power of God through faith. The scripture in the NKJV says "kept" and then translates that into protected. Like a military guard. Armed and ready to protect me.
3. Verse 6- My redemption was not cheap. MY REDEMPTION WAS NOT CHEAP. Christ's death was the greatest price that could have been paid. Flip it around, in the eyes of God, I was worth the price. That is how much He values me, He values you, and He values this world. Regardless of what the world tries to tell you and me, we are not worthless. We are not of no value. We are worth the very blood of the One True Son of God. Every drop. Every lashing. Every mocking. Not because we are worthy, but because He deemed us worthy. His grace deemed us worthy.
I am still walking through "A Call to Grace". I should say working through because apparently grace is a tough one for me. I am not even really sure what part of it is hard for me, but we are walking and working it out together.
Hope you had a blessed Christmas.
Get those Bibles out and let's talk about Peter. More importantly, let's talk about Jesus Christ.