I was created for Him.

"...Everything was created through Him and for Him."  Colossians 1:16

Let's look at that again... EVERYTHING (everyone) was created through Him (He wanted ME, He planned ME, He designed ME, He created ME) FOR Him (with a plan, for a purpose).  

Let's look at that one more time...on a more personal level... TERESA BREEDING was created THROUGH HIM and FOR HIM.  Now put your name in there- __________ was created THROUGH HIM and FOR HIM.  Powerful isn't it?

So the question becomes: What are we doing to live out the purpose He created us for?  Are we just surviving?  Are we just getting up, going to work, running the kids here and there, cleaning house, and fixing dinner....  Are we just getting through each day?  Or are we living our lives on PURPOSE?  Not that we shouldn't do these things, but are we doing them FOR Him?  

Are we seeking real life opportunities to teach our children about the Lord?  Are we striving to be godly examples to our husbands and our children?  

Are we looking for ways to serve Him at work?  Maybe by reaching out to a co-worker....or by being mindful of working in such a way that honors Him as Paul advises in Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men." 

My Prayer Today:
Lord, help me to be more mindful of You today, that I may bring glory and honor to You through my words and actions.  That I will find ways to honor and serve You even in the seemingly mundane tasks of my day.

The Source of All Wisdom

So here's the story-  King Saul is the King of Israel.  He wants to kill David because the Lord has declared that David will become the King of Israel although David is not a member of Saul's family.  So, instead of following God and leading his people, Saul's life goal is to kill David.  


Well, that never happens and Saul ends up killing himself.  His grandson, Ishbosheth is declared King of Israel. But, David knew that God had promised the kingdom to him (David), and he knew that God would fulfill His promise in His own time.  


One day, two of David's men, Recab and Baanah, took it upon themselves to sneak into Ishbosheth's home and kill him during his afternoon nap.  They cut off his head and took it to David.  They told David, "Look!  Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you.  Today the Lord has given my lord the king revenge on Saul and his entire family!" (2 Samuel 4:8)


These men were on David's side.  They did this for him.  They told David that GOD had given them this  opportunity for revenge....that this was God's plan.  But it WASN'T.  And David was so connected with God that he knew it wasn't.  And so instead of going along with them and accepting this as God's will, he had them killed for murdering an innocent man.


This is a rather extreme story.  But, the point is, how often do we listen to what others tell us is God's will instead of trusting what God tells us Himself?  Many times we look to others for answers when we should be looking to God.  We often accept the advice and OPINIONS of Christian people as God's will.   


Yes, God can guide us through Christian friends but they are human and should never be relied on more than God.  If we are looking to God for guidance and direction we will find it through connecting with HIM through prayer and reading His Word.  Don't skip this essential connection to the Source of all wisdom.  

The Lord Looks at the Heart

The beginning of the book of 1 Samuel follows the reign of King Saul.  Geez, does this guy have his ups and downs with the Lord!  He continually tends to....shall we say..."modify" the Lord's instructions  to suit his desires and the desires of his people.  God is continually sending Samuel to get Saul back on track.  


Finally, enough was enough and Samuel told Saul "Since you have rejected the Lord's command, He has rejected you as king of Israel."   (1 Samuel 15:26)  He then informed Saul that God had chosen someone else to be king and that He would not change His mind.


And do you know what Saul's response was? It was this:
"Then Saul pleaded again, 'I know I have sinned.  But please, at least HONOR ME before the elders of my people and before Israel by coming back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.'"             (1 Samuel 15:30)


WHAT???  Saul was more concerned about public opinion of him than he was about his personal relationship with God.  He wanted to make sure that the people still thought highly of HIM and that they still thought Samuel supported HIM and that they saw HIM publicly worship God. 


Terrible huh?  But....do I do that?  Do you?


I'd like to think not.  But, I do find this passage as a good reminder to evaluate my heart and my actions.  I don't just want to APPEAR close to God, I want to BE close to God.  Yeah, admittedly, everyone has a "behind the scenes" where we definitely aren't perfect.  But, in reality, if our actions and behaviors "behind the scenes" are oftentimes different from our actions and behaviors in public.... then we need to examine our hearts and our motives.  We need to be less concerned with who people THINK we are and more concerned with who we actually ARE.  Remember- "People judge by the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  (1 Samuel 16:7)


My prayer today:  "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."  (Psalm 139:23)

Tomorrow....tomorrow....

James 4:13-15 " Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'"


It's true.  We don't know the Lord's will.  We don't know what tomorrow brings or even if tomorrow will come for us or for our loved ones. 


When I was 22 years old, I married my best friend.  We both worked more than full time Monday through Friday.  He got up at 4 am every morning and was in bed by 9. He did odd jobs for people several nights a week for extra income- mowing...painting...even scrubbing bricks one time.  I had a full time job from 8:30 to 5 and a part time job typing deeds in a law office from 5:15 to 8 or 9 most nights.  But we were both off on the weekends.  Saturdays were spent doing chores.  I worked inside.  He worked outside.  Sundays we went to church, spent the afternoon with family and got to bed early because Monday was coming.  


We spent the next 4 years of our lives working and dreaming about what we were gonna do when we had enough money to do something.  But that day never came.  His life ended abruptly in the wee hours of a Sunday morning in May of 2001 and I found myself widowed at the age of 26 wishing we had done a little less work and a lot more play. 


I am reminded of the story of Mary and Martha.  While Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, Martha busied herself with preparing the meal.  She likely spent the day cleaning and cooking and trying to make everything perfect.  She was so tired and busy that she couldn't even enjoy her guests.  But, JESUS reminded Martha that RELATIONSHIP is more important.  Relationship with Him but also, I believe, relationship with His people.  


There was a time in my life that if my house wasn't perfect, I wouldn't have guests over.  I'm still self conscious about that, but I am working on it because I learned the hard way that relationships...time....memories.... are what matter.  A little dirt never hurt nobody.  lol  


There was also a time in my life when I felt like it was wrong to leave a messy house and go do something fun.  That I was shirking responsibility and being irresponsible.  Not anymore.  Life is short.  Enjoy it.  Enjoy the PEOPLE in it.


Just so ya know, the Lord has blessed me with TWO GREAT MEN in my life.   I married again- to a man who doesn't care if the floor is mopped and the dishes are done.  He just wants to BE WITH ME.  I kinda like that.     

Inner vs. Outer Beauty

"Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. 

The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”

“Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels."                                       Genesis 24:15-20 
  

Good looks AND a servant's heart?  Wow!

Have you ever met someone who was beautiful on the outside but not so pretty on the inside?  I have.  And usually, I end up looking at their outward appearance and thinking-  "Ya know, they really don't even look all that great!"

But, I've also met people who were mediocre on the outside and after getting to know them and seeing how wonderful they were on the inside, I would begin to find them more attractive on the outside....

Rebekah apparently had it all, but it is clear in this scripture that outer beauty was not enough.  More importanly, Abraham's servant was looking for a woman who had a servant's heart....an inner beauty.  He found that in Rebekah as well.

I know we all have those moments when we compare ourselves to others and feel like we don't measure up.  It's a shame that we don't live in a "Shallow Hal" kind of world.  But, the truth is, inner beauty can do more for your appearance than makeup or hair spray could ever do.

What traits do you think add to a person's inner beauty?

I have Super Powers!!!

"Let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

Ephesians 6:16

I'm smiling as I read this verse because I am actually picturing myself as a superhero. I'm wearing a cute little leotard and a headband.... a brown eyed Wonder Woman if you will.... lol And I have this big shield attached to my arm and I swing around effortlessly deflecting flaming arrows coming at me from all directions.

It's a funny visual but it's so much better than the other visual....me.... haggard and worn.... barely even raising the shield at my side as I'm being plastered with arrow after arrow.....after arrow.....

....arrows of temptation.....arrows of heartache and loss..... arrows of busyness.... arrows of irritations....

.... arrows that say "Just do it".... "See you FAILED AGAIN!".... "You're not good enough"..... "God can't love you"..... " "If He loved you, you wouldn't be going through this"....."Just give up"....

The really sad thing is that a lot of the time, I am that 2nd person. Exhausted and beat down. But WHY???? When I can be a SUPERHERO! I can raise up my shield and boldly declare

"I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME"!!!!!! (Phil. 4:13)

and

"IF GOD IS FOR [ME] WHO CAN BE AGAINST [ME]"???? (Romans 8:31)

because

"GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN [ME] THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD"!!! (1 John 4:4)

I'm tired of feeling tired and defeated. I have a SUPERHERO living inside of me and through His POWER I can have VICTORY in my life!

You can too!

My kids love this song:

Jesus You're My Superhero (click to watch it on youtube)

Wives submit to your husbands...

"And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means to submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything." Ephesians 5:21-24

Definition:

SUBMIT- verb "To defer to another's judgment, opinion, decision, etc."

I don't know about you, but the word "submit" tends to make me...uh....uncomfortable. I tend to translate it as "hand over control". Which is not an easy thing for me to do. And I think about my friends with unbelieving husbands and I think- YIKES! Does this scripture apply to them? So, in reading this, this morning my mind was screaming....BUT....BUT....WHAT IF?

WHAT IF the husband is not a Christian?

"Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives." 1 Peter 3:1

Ok....BUT.... BUT....

WHAT IF the husband is making a decision that the wife knows is against God?

"We must obey God rather than any human authority." Acts 5:29

Ok so, we must submit to the authority of our husbands, BUT NOT if it leads us into sin.

So, being submissive to our husbands does NOT mean that we are to blindly obey his every whim without ever offering an opinion ourselves. But, it DOES mean that we must be respectful of our husbands REGARDLESS of their Christian walk (or lack thereof). We should allow our husbands to be the heads of our households.

John MacArthur sums it up well:

"You have a husband who is a trial to you, either because he's unsaved or he's a disobedient believer, he fails to fulfill all of your hopes and expectations for what you would want as a husband. He comes short for what you hope for and maybe what you thought he was. And you are gravely disappointed. You chafe under his authoritarianism. He cares little for how you feel, it seems. All the more reason to be submissive, all the more reason to demonstrate to him a meekness, a purity, a respectful kind of behavior, all the more reason not only to adorn the outside and please do that, we all appreciate it, but do more than that, more than putting on a pretty dress or wearing gold jewelry or doing your hair, adorn your heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God. And I might say every man's dream.

It doesn't mean you have to kill your personality. It doesn't mean you have to become a robot. It doesn't mean you have to become boring. It doesn't mean you never give your opinion. But there needs to be deep down in your heart gentleness, quietness, that hidden part is precious in the sight of God."

"Lord, help me to be more submissive to my husband. May I walk in your light in every instance so that I may influence and encourage his walk with You as well. Amen.