Wander Woman

On the Metro Moms blog they are talking about “Spring Cleaning of the Heart.”  It was said that many of us tolerate reamining sin in our hearts because we’ve become so comfortable with it.  Because most of us are not dealing with murder, adultry, or other “really sinful” issues, we tend to tolerate our jealousy, self-pity, unforgiveness, anger, or gossip.  Bridges says, “Our acceptable sins are subtle in the sense that they deceive us into thinking they are not so bad, or not thinking of them as sins, or even worse, not thinking of them at all.  All sin is serious because all sin is breaking God’s law.”  There are sins that I continually fight against, but I’ve been thinking about sins that I may just be tolerating.  Metro Moms asked this: “What sin patterns in your life most hinder you from being a skillful, faithful worker in your home?”  They gave some examples that I think are applicable to me: procrastination, laziness, and selfishness.  A lot of times I can do what I want instead of what I ought.  I avoid chores that I dislike.  I think about them, but thinking doesn’t get the job done.  My home is normally picked up, but I want to be more organized and clutter free.  I know this would create less chaos especialy when my life is already so busy.  I would like my home to be presentable and not an embarassment should someone just stop by or decide to throw me a surprise party :)  I want it to be open to others at anytime.  A place of peace, rest, relaxation.  Some of the things I need to do, like organize a zillion pictures, can overwhelm me, but little by little it will get done.  I just have to start and make no excuse.  The less you do, the less you want to do, and the more useless you become.  To keep excuses from making you useless, stop making useless excuses. 

Lord, I pray that you will give me strength, energy, fresh ideas, and perseverance as I try to put off these sins.  Help me not to complain, but instead be content and satisfied and grateful for the home you have provided for me.  A lot of times, things get messier before cleaner.  Help me to keep the final result in mind.  Help me to set realistic goals and to know my limitations.  Help me not to eat the bread of idleness so that I can serve you and my family well.  Amen.

I found this and thought you may like it too.  I haven’t read them all but plan to.  Scripture references are from Proverbs.

THE DILIGENT                      THE LAZY                                             REFERENCE
Become rich                         Are soon poor                                            10:4
Gather crops early                Sleep during harvest                                  10:5
                                           Are an annoyance                                      10:26
Have abundant food             Chase fantasies                                         12:11
Hard work returns rewards                                                                    12:14
Will rule                               Will become slaves                                    12:24
Prize their possessions         Waste good resources                                12:27
Are fully satisfied                 Want much but get little                             13:4
Bring profit                          Experience poverty                                     14:23
Have an easy path                Have trouble all through life                        15:19
                                           Are like those who destroy                          18:9
                                           Go hungry                                                  19:15
                                           Won’t feed themselves                                19:24
                                           Won’t plow in season                                   20:4
Stay awake and have food     Love sleep and grow poor                            20:13
to spare
Make careful plans                Make hasty speculations                              21:5
                                           Love pleasure and become poor                   21:17
Give without sparing            Desire things but refuse to work for them     21:25, 26
                                           Are full of excuses                                       22:13
Will serve before kings                                                                           22:29
                                          Sleep too much which leads to poverty           24:30-34
Reap abundance through      Experience poverty because of                      28:19
hard work                            laziness

I thought this went well with my last post.  I really enjoy reading Spurgeon. 

“It is a curious fact that there is such a thing as being proud of grace.  A person says, “I have great faith, I shall not fall; poor little faith may, but I never shall.”  “I have fervent love,” says another, “I can stand, there is no danger of my going astray.”  They who boast of grace have little grace to boast of.  Some who do this imagine that their graces can keep them, not realizing that the stream most flow constantly from the fountainhead, or else the brook will soon be dry.  If a continuous stream of oil does not reach the lamp, even though it burns brightly today, it will smoke tomorrow, and send out a noxious odor.  Take heed that you do not glory in your graces, but let all your glorying and confidences be in Christ and His strength, for this is the only way you can be kept from falling.  Pray more often.  Spend longer periods of time in holy adoration.  Read the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly.  Watch your lives more carefully.  Live nearer to God.  Take the best examples for your pattern.  Let your conversation emit the fragrance of heaven.  Let your hearts be perfumed with affection for the souls of others.  So live that others may recognize that you have been with Jesus, and have learned of Him; and when that happy day shall come, when He whom you love shall say, “Come up higher,” may it be your happiness to hear Him say, “You have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for you the crown of righteousness.”  On, Christian, with care and caution!  On, with holy fear and trembling!  On, with faith and confidence in Jesus alone, and let your constant petition be, “Sustain me according to your promise.”  He, and He alone, is able “to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy.”

I Cor 10:12-13 “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

We are most likely to fall when we are most confident of our own strength.  Distrust of ourself, puts our vigilence and dependence on God which is the best security against sin.  We live in a tempting world, where we are compassed about with snares.  Every place, condition, relation, employment, abounds with them; yet what comfort may we get from this passage.  For “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful.”  Our trials will be proportioned to our strength, or strength will be supplied in proportion to our temptations.  Though Satan be a deceiver, God is true.  Men may be false and the world may be false; but God is faithful, and our strength and security are in Him.  “He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”  He knows what we can bear, and what we can bear up against; and he will, in his wise providence, either proportion our temptations to our strength or make us able to grapple with them.  He will take care that we are not overcome, if we rely on him, and resolve to approve ourselves faithful to him.  We need not perplex ourselves with the difficulties in our way when God will take care that they shall not be too great for us to encounter, especially when “He will provide a way out,” of either the trial itself, or at least the mischief of it.  There is no valley so dark that he cannot find a way through it, no affliction so grievous that he cannot prevent, or remove, or enable us to support it, and in the end overrule it to our advantage.  We cannot fall to a temptation if we cleave first to him. 

Found this from Spurgeon: “Fellow traveler, do not say in your heart, “I will go here and there, and I shall not sin;” for you are in the most danger of sinning when you are boasting of security.  Be on your guard.  In handling highly-combustible material, we must be careful to avoid any flame that could ignite it and set off an explosion; and you, too, must take care that you enter not into temptation.  There is nothing in this world to foster a Christian’s piety, but everything to destroy it.  You should be very anxious, indeed, to look up to God, that He may keep you.  Your prayer should be, “You hold me up, and I shall be safe.”  Be sober; be vigilant, danger may be in an hour when everything seems the most secure to you.  Therefore, be alert and self-controlled so that you can pray.  No one ever fell into error through being too careful.  May the Holy Spirit guide us in all our ways, so they shall always please the Lord.”

A couple of days ago I got a school catalog in the mail.  I found this article titled I Cor 13 in TRV (Teachers Revised Version).  I thought this was good for me to read since I have been struggling lately with not loving as I should.  Here is a little but of what it said.  I chose the sentences that really spoke to me.  Where the writer used the word student, I am going to use the word child. 

“Love for my child is patient, enduring all sort of strange behaviors; it is kind, not delivering an incredibly applicable, but nevertheless, snide comment when tempted; love is not jealous of my “private, personal” time; love for my child means I model humility to them, even though I do know more than they do and I encourage them to be open to correction, too, for love is not arrogant.” 

“Love for my child means I seek no glory for myself, it is not easily provoked, even by the upteenth time that little guy has done that!”

“Love hopes that my child will succeed and endures many set-backs to that hope, without giving up on him.”

“Love never fails, by God’s grace alone, in providing the strength and stamina I need to show my child love.”

“I need to remember that I, too, was a child.  I, too, acted and even thought like my child; I grew to adulthood, my child will too.  I did away with the thoughts, actions, and speech of a child, through the hard work and loving training of my parents.  My child, too, will one day lay aside these childish ways.”

A mothers love must be unconditional or the trying times will ultimately cause us to resent our children unintentionally.  Here is a test.  Stop and read I Cor 13 and insert your name each time you see the word love.  You will probably realize that love is not something we can assume we have in fullness for our children, friends, etc..  It’s something that takes commitment and time to mature.  How I thank God for those he has put in my life to learn from. 

Lord, Thank you for the work you are doing in my life through Tyler.  I need your help and strength to grow in love for my children and others.  Thank you for always being patient with me and for always forgiving me.  May Tyler and others see your love in me.  Amen.

2 Cor 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

A friend greatly encouraged me with this verse last week after my last post.  Spurgeon wrote about it in Morning and Evening and it was today’s devotional.  God is so good to give us what we need, right when we need it.  Here is some of what he said.  

“God’s grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers.  Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for our good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring - that our God will either work a deliverance for them speedily, or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep us in it.  This patience of the saints proves the power of divine grace.  The masterworks of God are those people who stand in the midst of difficulties, steadfast, unmoveable.  Those who would glorify their God must expect to encounter many trials.  No one can be esteemed before the Lord without many conflicts.  If, then, your path is marked with many trials, rejoice in it because your life will provide greater evidence of the all-sufficient grace of God.  As for His failing you, don’t even dream of it - hate the very thought of it.  The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end.”

Lord - You know all my needs.  You understand me.  Help me not to complain about my temptations and trials, but remember that you give me grace sufficient for them.  Thank you for displaying your power through my weaknesses.  May I find comfort, happiness, and strength for my soul in you even during times of affliction.  Amen.