Why Did You Have So Many Children?

I have learned a lot from Kelly Crawford over the years. I agree with her on this point as well.





Why Did You Have So Many Children?

How to Fight Fear of Man

Nehemiah 4:1-6 KJV

1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. 4 Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity: 5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. 6 So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

Whenever we do something against the norm or against the wishes of others, the first step to get us to stop is ridicule. Nehemiah experienced the same.

Sanballat and Tobiah both made condescending remarks to the Jews in an effort to get them to stop building the wall. Did Nehemiah allow that to stop them? No! He didn't even combat their ridicule by responding to them. Instead, he took the matter to God. He allowed God to fight back for him.

He took it to God, left it at His feet and then they continued with the work. They didn't dwell on what others thought of them. They knew what God had called them to do and they did it.

I'm ashamed to admit how many times I allow fear of man to stop me from doing God's work. I need to be more like Nehemiah-ignore man, take it to God, leave it there, and then get back to work.

How do you react when the world seems against you following God's commands?

Words of Wisdom Wednesdays

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

We know the beginning of knowledge is to fear the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). Here, we learn what the fear of the Lord is. We must hate what He hates.

3 Weeks of Sermons

I had difficulty uploading sermons for the past couple weeks. I finally got it to work today so I was able to get all of them uploaded.

5-6-18 Sermon-"Faith" by Abraham VanDunien

4-29-18 Sermon-"Not By Works"

4-22-18 Sermon-"Your Wilderness"

Working in Unity

Chapter 3 of Nehemiah is such an encouragement. Everyone worked together to accomplish something that would please God.

You have ordinary men and women (yes, even women worked (3:12)), priests, princes, and rulers all working on a section of the wall. They worked alongside each other and all worked until their section was complete.

There is one group of men who did not work (3:5), but others piked up their slack. It also seems that they picked up the slack without complaining. They saw a need and filled that need.

When we face a task that seems impossible, may we remember Nehemiah 3. When we work together in unity, we can accomplish much! Many hands make light work. We also need to remember that no one is above the work of the Lord and that everyone is capable of helping in some way.

Sunday Psalms

Psalms 4:1-8 KJV 

1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. 

2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. 

3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. 

4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. 

6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. 

7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 

8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Serving Unto Jesus

Over the years, I have marveled at how much this world opposes service. Yes, it looks like people accept it because they talk about how we have to pay taxes to fund the services for the poor, the public schools, etc., but in reality, they are seeking the easy way out. They just want to give money instead of giving of themselves.

When our family tries to serve our neighbors, they often insist on paying us. They tell our girls that they have to know what they are worth and then demand they receive it. My heart breaks for them because they do not truly understand love.

Matthew 25:40 KJV 

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

How do I regard my having run upstairs with tea, or having served breakfast in bed, or having continued for years to do this kind of thing for a diversity of people, as well as for husband and children? How do I look at it? Do I feel like a martyr? Let me tell you exactly how I see it.

First, I say silently to the Lord. . . : "Thank You that there is a practical way to serve You tea [or breakfast in bed, or whatever it is I am doing for someone]. There would be no other way of bringing You food, or doing some special thing for You. Thank You for making it so clear that as we do things that are truly in the realm of giving of ourselves in service to others, we are really doing it for You."

 ~ Edith Schaeffer, Common Sense Christian Living, pp. 88-89

I encourage you to seek ways to serve others. Serve them with your whole heart as if they were Christ because His Word tells us that is exactly what you are doing!

Be a Wellspring

John 4:14 KJV

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

My husband and I recently had the privilege to attend a Right to Life benefit dinner. One of the speakers spoke on how people desire to be loved and we should be spreading God's love to help fill their needs. My husband then connected that to this verse.

What is a spring? A spring is a place where water will come up out of the ground continually and on it's own.

I have yet to hear of a spring running out of water. It just flows out of the ground and usually starts (or adds to) a creek that goes out.

We should be the same. God's love is continual in our hearts and is should go out from us. It should flow and nourish others. It should join with other creeks and grow into streams and rivers and continue to multiply.

Another trait of a spring is it is natural and the water just comes up on its own. It isn't anything we do. Isn't it the same with God's love? He gives His love to us whether we "do" something or not. It is available to all if we would just accept it.

We should do the same. God's love is so great; it should just flow out of us to others. It should help nourish and sustain them in their needs. It should always be available to everyone. Others shouldn't have to act a certain way or do a certain thing to receive our love because it should be available to all.

I keep getting the image of Kitch-iti-kipi (The Big Spring) in my mind while thinking of this. Kitch-iti-kipi is actually a bunch of small springs right near each other to create a lake that then flows out into a river. It is a great image of what Christians can do if they work together to show love to the world!

Photo credit: ©2009 John Wanserski for Creative Juice LLC

A Good Leader and Encourager

Nehemiah 2:17-20 KJV

17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. 19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? 20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Here we see the attributes of a good leader and encourager.

First, Nehemiah puts himself right in the people's shoes. He says "we" and talks about the whole nation. He doesn't say that he is better than them.

Then, he goes on to tell them that not only do they have God's favor, but also the king's favor. He joins them in the task of rebuilding. He gets his hands dirty right alongside them.

Finally, he again stands on God's promises! He knows God is for this project as evidenced by what has already occurred so he is not afraid of what the naysayers are saying.

Do we ever get discouraged when people of the world tell us we are being foolish? We need to stand on God's promises. He is faithful to uphold us!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Proverbs 7:11 KJV 11 (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

Here I see characteristics that we, as women, should not strive to have. Loud, stubborn, and not home describe someone who is not a godly woman. Honestly, the picture that comes to mind for me is the feminist women "protesters." Instead of being like that, we should strive to be quiet, calm, loving, and keepers of our homes.