The Little Words

 Exegesis - Adiaphora - Immutability - Amanuensis - Cessationism - Pantheism

Ever feel a little “less than” because you don’t recognize all these theological terms?  Believe me in this friend. Jesus doesn’t care if you know those words or if you ever know how to use them!  Instead He provided a fine list of important words that we can all understand.  

Words like love, trust, honesty and kindness.  They are simple and foundational just like the people he chose to surround Himself with, here on earth.  Without a clear understanding of these little words, using the “big” words puts us at risk of becoming nothing more than a (a) banging gong.  Jesus doesn’t want a banging gong.  He wants YOU (another small word!)

**sourced from the Holy Bible, the actual Living Word of God! 

(a)1 Corinthians 13:1

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Side Note: My favorite little words straight from the Holy Bible…. But God!  When you see them it always means that something amazing and wonderful is on the way...

Claim Your Voice

 

“She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” Proverbs 31:26 (NIV)

It takes courage to find your voice, especially when you've felt silenced.

The Bible tells the story of a woman who could have stayed quiet … who could have chosen to be hidden, suffering in silence. Instead, she spoke up, and by finding her voice, she changed history.

Her name was Bathsheba.

When we read about Bathsheba in 2 Samuel, we might think of her as voiceless. (2 Samuel 11-12) For so much of her story, she was battered by the voices of the powerful. Taken by messengers just after bathing. Losing her first husband at a king’s word and a general’s order. Married to that same king upon his demand. She suffered more than most people could bear.

But she was not destined to stay voiceless. She had a decision to make — the same each of us has when we face pain.

It's hard to claim your voice sometimes. You don’t want to cause problems or make a scene. You might feel afraid or unimportant. But finding your voice means more than just saying words. It means speaking up for yourself and speaking life into those around you. It means knowing your worth because of who you are … and whose you are.

God asks us the same question I believe He surely asked Bathsheba: Will you stay silent and become a victim of your suffering, or will you speak up and choose to change your story?

How do we know Bathsheba changed her story? Her son Solomon grew to adulthood following God. This suggests that Bathsheba clung to God and defied her wounding rather than let it define her. Years passed after the moment Bathsheba was taken into David’s home. She seemingly didn’t have a voice that day, for he was king. But eventually she advocated for her son, Solomon, to be set upon the throne. (1 Kings 1:15-22)

Bathsheba spoke clearly and boldly. She made her case so well that the king of Israel listened and agreed. And after Solomon became king, Bathsheba continued to use her voice, honored with a seat at her son’s right hand — a place of privilege and influence.

We’re told that Solomon honored his mother with this position: “So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her and bowed down to her. Then he sat on his throne and had a seat brought for the king's mother, and she sat on his right” (1 Kings 2:19, ESV).

She had a voice not only in family matters but in matters concerning the whole country. Through his actions, her son — famous for his wisdom — recognized wisdom in turn.

As a matter of fact, Bathsheba may make one more important appearance in Scripture — at the beginning of the famed Proverbs 31 passage. Jewish and Christian theologians debate whether King Lemuel, who wrote Proverbs 31, may have actually been King Solomon. And if that theory is true, and Proverbs 31 is “an oracle that his mother taught him” (verse 1, ESV), who was the mother who spoke words of wisdom over him? Bathsheba.

If so, Bathsheba’s voice is still heard and her legacy lives on in King Lemuel's words about a wife of noble character: “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue”(Proverbs 31:26, NIV).

Let’s be women who claim our voices, stewarding our wisdom and influence for generations to come. We can be women who rise above  our  pain  and  speak  up — stepping  into  the story              God is writing.

God, let us be women who speak from the wisdom You offer. No matter the pain of our past or the fear of our present, let us claim the voices You have given us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Written by Teresa Swanstrom Anderson

 for Proverbs 31 Ministries 11/9/22

I love it when God drops little gems of hope into my lap.  He does this so often for me...  The above article is just one of MANY MANY examples!!  Have a wonderfully blessed day ~ Wendy

Slander & recovery

I think we all know that we were born into a broken world.  Before we drew our first breath crime, hate, & deceit existed.  We grow up with it and a lot of it slips under the radar as “normal”. 

Jesus calls us to something different, He even goes so far as to say ‘believers’ are “not of this world.”  So as forgiven and forgiving believers how much are we supposed to take?  How much evil are we to quietly endure?  The wisest man to have ever lived taught “…If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.   For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”(Proverbs 25:22) This is reiterated in Romans 12:20 by Paul.

First Peter 3:15-17 (my emphasis added) addresses those who seek to do us harm with verbal backstabbing  “…But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ. 17For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.…"

Are you slandered, fellow siblings?  Are you keenly aware of the enemy lurking around you, prowling about, looking for someone to devour?  Do you see and feel the fiery darts coming at you?  I am hoping they are bouncing off of your  “Armor of God”.  But we are flawed and it goes without saying that some of those darts get through.

I enjoy reading out of the Old Testament and I especially enjoy Judges, Samuel & Kings.  I think about David a lot.  I think about how he was mercilessly hunted by Saul.  He did nothing to warrant Saul’s ugliness towards him.  In truth Saul was consumed with pride and jealousy; making himself an easy target for the father of lies.  Saul spoke lies, he was deceitful and he lay traps to snare David in hopes of eliminating him.  As if that would make anything better for Saul. Do you have someone laying traps for you?  It is a miserable way to live, even as a believer. 

I was listening to Pastor Mark Job recently and in the telling of King David’s saga, Pastor Mark pointed out Saul’s hypocrisy.    How Saul declared time and again his devotion to God, enforcing laws and judgment on his people but then thought nothing of doing the condemned things  himself.   Pastor Job said we as Christians should hate (he heavily emphasized this) hypocrisy!  We should hate it and RUN from it as fast as we can because it tends to be insidious.  Tolerating even a little of it can begin to infect and influence us.   

Hypocrisy is a form of dishonesty really.  Chastising others for not being grateful enough and then living out the victim card even in the best of times.  Criticizing efforts & ideas in the attempt to humiliate & beat down instead of nurturing & encouraging.  (please don’t confuse praising with encouraging!) 

Proverbs 6:16-19 “16There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:  17haughty eyes, a lying tongue,  hands that shed innocent blood,  18a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,  19a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”

I don’t know about you, but I count 4 of them as being flat out dishonest!!  In other words, lies!  This is how we know that lies are absolutely not tolerable, not even little ones!  They tend to be infectious and the damage done by them can last for generations.  Just ask Adam & Eve.

As I think about the sneaky liar in my life, (well, he was in my life when I wrote this, I have since removed myself from that unhealthy environment). I wonder what his chances at true redemption are.  Sometimes I can pray earnestly for his salvation and sometimes I am mostly asking God to help me be earnest & loving when it comes to him and all of the strife he takes so much delight in spreading. 

Again, I am back to King David.  King David honored “God’s anointed” and never did him harm, even though pursued, even though he had the chance.  But then he became full of himself believing the big lie, that he was powerful enough to avoid consequences; and he took something that was not his… Bathsheba and later her husband Uriah.  It would seem that King David had so much power and glory he could unlawfully take what he wanted without penalty.  He was brave and admired by many, so he believed the deceit would be easy to hide.  But luckily for David there was someone even more brave than him...  That would be Nathan, his friend and prophet. 

Nathan was aware of David’s lies and transgressions.  Nathan also knew that displeasing the king could easily be met with execution.  But Nathan was too brave to cower under a lie, even if it meant his life.  Have you ever been told, “Done is done”?  Especially in a situation where something awful has happened and an ugly hearted person wants to kick it under the rug? 

Well our brave Nathan would have none of that!  He was a true friend to David, calling out the sin and requesting repentance.  He knew that doing so would not un-kill Uriah and the other mighty men who’d died shamefully that day.  It wouldn’t take away the sin with Bathsheba or undo her resulting pregnancy.

BUT --  It would please God.  

This leads me to believe that everybody needs a Nathan!!  Not many of us are lucky enough to have someone who loves God & us like that.  I have found that most people, even friends, will let you sit quietly in a lie, in order to avoid an awkward situation or mislabel it as loving or supportive.  How sad…  is it loving to watch a friend take the wrong airplane?  Wave, smile and wish them well when you see them standing the wrong line?  Oh my!  Jesus said truth in love! Not just love- and not just truth.  

Remember, Satan is the great accuser.  He doesn’t speak from a place of love and his words are always heavily shadowed with falsehood.  

If we accuse people without showing them the right path to follow then what have either of us gained?  

Would you like to know more about the exciting drama that happened in our world history concerning King Saul and King David?  I think this particular event starts in 1st Samuel but if you want to jump right into the thick of action start reading at 1st Samuel 15:10.  I think you're going to find yourself going back further to learn what happened to lead up to all of this!! Enjoy, be honest & be Blessed ~Wendy

In the Quiet

Dumbfounded silence, sometimes this is what my prayers sound like...

Too broken to comprehend - how can a million thoughts exist & yet leave my thinking space empty?

Romans 8:26  "....For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words."

Ugg!  I think we all know that groaning...

But, our small prayers, even broken or floundering,  offered with a sincere heart, can be the equivalent of the widow's two coins ~ sacrificially offered, even from a place of destitute despair.

Oh my friends - God provides us with so much hope, we only need to seek Him!  I encourage you to read all of Romans 8.  It is rich with blessing - RICH!! It is a quick read too (maybe even a great bookmark for those times we need to be reminded!).  

In closing I leave you with Romans 8:18-19  "I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.  19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God."

Be blessed and above all, remember you are never alone.

my emphasis added 

Would you like to know more about the widow and her two coins?  Here's the address, check it out & see what Jesus has to say about her pitifully small offering...  Mark 12:41  /  Luke 21:1