My mind was wandering this morning as I thought about feminine beauty and the pitfalls that those who possess it can fall into. For some reason, Angelina Jolie came to mind and I began to think about the movie roles she has played. Over the years, she has played a number of roles where she is a woman acting in a typically male capacity. She is the female Indiana Jones in the Lara Croft role or she is a hunter as in the movie Wanted. I find it interesting that these kinds of female characters usually have a very cavalier attitude towards sex as well, as though being strong means treating sex as if it doesn't matter.
As I pondered this, I thought about heroines of the past; women who filled a masculine role in society, such as Queen Elizabeth or Joan of Arc. These women were associated with virginity. Their abstinence made them more powerful to the human mind. The Greek Goddess Artemis (Diana in Rome), the virgin hunter, was frightening. One of the myths tells of a prince named Actaeon who happened to catch sight of her taking a bath. She was so furious that she turned him into a stag and his own hounds tore him to pieces. Other myths about her show a similar fierceness in her reaction to threats to her purity or the purity of her attendants.
I had always found Artemis the least likable of the Greek/Roman gods, and now I think I know why. She had no need for human (or divine) love. Her judgments were quick and decisive. She existed completely independently of us. It was this, her holiness, that made her so frightening. By contrast, Zeus, the king of the gods, was not like this. He may have been much more powerful that Artemis, but he craved human love. He also feared the wrath of his wife and snuck around to fulfill his needs. Zeus' sexuality made him weak. How much more fearful would he have been if he had not "needed" human beings?
This is God's holiness: He is completely pure and does not need human beings. He exists completely independently from us. We cannot change his mind, we are not his counselors, we cannot sway Him or influence Him. He does not need what we can give. And no human argument can possibly distract Him from executing exact and divine justice and divine justice requires the death of every one of us. It is God's holiness that makes Him terrifying.
But He also loves us. We have a God who is terrifyingly holy, yet loves us and wants a relationship with us. So, rather than immediately executing that divine justice, He delays it, and gives us a way out. Jesus said, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved." God provided a way for us to escape divine judgment in Christ Jesus, but he only gave us one way out. As reasoning human beings, we want to convince Him otherwise. We want Him to make concessions and allow us to escape in other ways, but He is holy. He doesn't give us the opportunity. He formed a plan in the beginning, a divine plan, and He will not accept any human alteration or alternative to His plan. But to everyone who accepts His plan, who opens the door, He says, "I will come in and dine with him and he with Me."
Do you think this is unfair? If you do, you're right. Fairness would require that we all face eternal death because we have all turned away from Him. He did not offer His Son on the cross out of fairness, but out of mercy. It is out of mercy that He has given us one way, because justice demands no escape. But God told Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy." And He offers that mercy to us.
Have I sounded harsh? If I have, I apologize. I did not intend to offend anyone, I have just simply worked through my thoughts. The holiness of God is a difficult concept and I don't think I've seen it as clearly before as I did this morning, thinking about the Greek goddess Artemis. But as soon as it becomes clear how little God needs us, it is all the more amazing that He wants us and has provided a way for us, his disobedient children, to return to His Love. So I echo King David by saying, "What is man that you remember him, and the son of man that you look after him?"
Oh Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name in all the earth!
If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With 60 second's worth of distance run - Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
This week, my oldest son Stephen (8 yrs.) had to write a scene from a play. He chose to write a play based on a biblical scene. In writing the play, Stephen had a revelation about death. But before I throw in my 2 cents, the scene is short, so here it is:
Nebuchadnezzar: Maybe you didn't hear me? Next time you hear the trumpet sound you will bow down to my statue and honor it!
Abednego: No way, I don't have to listen to you, my GOD is my only god.
Meshach: My GOD can save us from this fire but even if he doesn't, we won't bow down to your statue.
Nebuchadnezzar: Seize them! Make the furnace seven times hotter than normal and throw them in!
(In they go) Shadrach: Thank you GOD we are not burning!
Abednego: It's not even hot in here!
Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego: Who is that? It's the son of GOD!
Jesus: You will be greatly blessed because you had faith in me, honored me, even if it would have cost you your life.
Meshach: We thank you for protecting us, loving us, and for all you do for us.
Shadrach: Will we go to heaven today?
Jesus: No, not yet, I still have work for you here on earth.
Nebuchadnezzar: Did I not send three men to the furnace?
Servant: Yes, Lord.
Nebuchadnezzar: I see four and one is like the son of GOD! Get them out now!
(Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are standing before the king)
Nebuchadnezzar: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, your god is truly GOD, if anyone does not honor him, he will be burned in the furnace.
THE END
As he wrote this scene, Stephen burst into excitement at the realization that if they had died in the fire, they would have been with Christ in heaven. He immediately wanted to go there himself! But my mom pointed out to him, that just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, God still has work for him to be done here on earth. But what Stephen has learned is one of the most beautiful truths of the Christian life; death is not something to be feared, but to be anticipated.
I know that to some of you this will seem rather morbid. But human beings generally have three categories of fear: pain, hardship, and death. For Stephen, and for all who embrace Jesus Christ, death should no longer be a source of fear. I don't want my children to suffer, and I can't even begin to express how comforting and exciting it is to me as a mother that Stephen will have no fear of death. One of the great handicaps of life has been removed from his heart because he realized the truth that Jesus "shared in the same, that through death He might... release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." So I quote on behalf of Stephen, "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" !!!
Of course, Christ offers to remove all fear from us, including the fear of pain and hardship. For as the apostle John says, "perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." So I look forward to watching Stephen and his brothers "realize" these additional truths as they grow in "wisdom and stature." What a privilege it is to be given charge over my young brothers in Christ!
I sometimes worry that I will not be able to teach my sons what they need to know to face the world on their own. The most profound truths cannot be understood by the mind that is not ready to hear them. What an incredible blessing to see evidence that I have underestimated my son and my God! If they leave my house with nothing else, I pray that they will leave with a deep, sustaining relationship with God. A relationship that is independent of me. Blessedly, a relationship that has already begun.
Bible Verses quoted in this blog: Hebrews 2:14-15 1 Corinthians 15:55 1 John 4:18 John 16:33
Wednesday night, I told everyone at our Bible Study what a blessing it is to yourself and others when you share how God speaks to you. Well, I must say that it is also a blessing to share how God works in your life. So, I'm going to brag on my God for a bit. Many of you know how difficult this year has been for us financially. Work has been too slow and, when you own your own business, that means you starve (in a way). Well, this is our slow season, work has been almost nonexistent and our savings have dried up. But we have been trusting God.
It hasn't been easy trusting God. But we have decided this winter that, come what may, we would we would enjoy life, have faith that God will provide, and not let our situation prevent us from doing the things we should be doing. Did I say enjoy life? I mean it. That is what is different this winter. We had a choice; we could be broke and miserable or we could be broke and happy. We have chosen "happy."
So, last week in church, I told God that I would not let anything prevent me from doing what He wanted me to do (meaning I would not allow myself to get depressed and shut down). That night, Austin busted his head. It wasn't a big deal because, as any mother of young boys knows, these things happen. But when I took him to the ER, thinking I had LACHIP (Louisiana's Children's insurance program), I had the unpleasant experience of learning that it had expired regardless of the fact that it was issued January 28, 2008. Now, we didn't qualify this past year because our income was too high, even though we could not afford health insurance. So, the very same day I make a commitment not to get too upset, we get a brand new ER bill... and those aren't cheap. But I wasn't too worried about it. I am hoping that when I do our taxes, we will qualify again this year and they will pay us back for this trip.
But all this information was to set the backdrop for what happened yesterday. Now, God has never let us down. We have been broke and had a few bills bounce, but we have never missed a meal, and still own our house and business. Nevertheless, going into February, we don't yet have the money to pay our house note and I'm not sure we will be able to cover the bills which are automatically withdrawn from our accounts. As of today, it will take all that we have in our accounts not to lose our business insurance and hopefully not to bounce anything this week coming. I tell you this to say that we have nothing available for emergencies or extras and will be eating what's in our cabinet until a few of our clients pay us. So Wednesday night, when Seth sounded hoarse and had some chest congestion, I prayed a little prayer to keep him healthy enough not to have breathing problems. He's been on breathing treatments before and I really didn't want to face the situation of choosing whether to keep him home and take our chances when I knew he should go to the doctor or borrowing money I would have little chance of being able to pay back anytime soon.
Seth slept well Wednesday night, but Thursday morning when he coughed, he undeniably had the croup. Croup gets significantly worse at night and nothing is scarier than a little one who can't breathe. I knew we had to do something before nighttime came or we might be looking at another trip to the ER. We searched for croup medecine (a steroid is the only thing that helps with croup) and found some, but it expired in February 2007. I couldn't take the chance. At that moment, I knew we had to see the doctor... and I knew we couldn't pay for it. I sat down at the desk and stared at the phone, desperately searching for a way, and knowing there wasn't one. I had done so well trusting God through all the troubles we had faced this winter, but at this one, I stumbled. I cannot tell you what it's like to have a child sick with a potentially life-threatening illness and no money for a doctor. It is the most heart sickening feeling I have felt. I knew it would work out somehow, we would certainly borrow money before we would let our children suffer, but facing that decision alone is crushing. And I felt crushed.
But our God is the God who provides. He is the one who performs miracles. He fed 5 thousand with 5 loaves, he paid taxes with a coin from a fish's mouth, and he gave a widow an endless supply of oil from one little oil jug. He did miracles then and He does miracles now. My mom went outside to put mail in the mailbox, picked up the newspaper and saw something lying in the street by the golf course. She went to investigate it and brought to me a $100 bill. I took that $100 bill and Seth to the doctor's office. The doctor charged us $20 for the visit and gave us his medecine from samples she had. We now have $80 overflowing. What a mighty God we serve.
Do you not know my God? This might look to you like a coincidence, but I ask you how many coincidences would it take to convince you that this was no coincidence? I have seen so many. My life is full of these "coincidences." They do not always involve money, but they always involve meeting needs, mine or those I love. He says, "When you search for me with all your heart, you will find me." (In the book of Jeremiah, chapter 29) This the work of my God; and I just had to brag on Him.
God calls Israel the “land flowing with milk and honey” 16 times
God specifically chose MILK and HONEY
Flowing with Milk •Well-fed, multiplying livestock • New life • Nurturing, safety • Nourishing • Prosperity for the livestock owner
Flowing with Honey • Beautiful flowers • Sweet fruit trees • Fertile grasslands • Desserts and delicacies
Science is teaching us more about the beneficial properties of milk and honey • Throughout Genesis 1, God declared what he made good • Renewed interest in natural healing and beauty products
What we see is a shadow of spiritual reality Each of these substances also has spiritual significance
Olive oil
Beneficial Qualities • Absorbs UV radiation • Efficient in lowering the metabolism rate of body cells • High in antioxidants, including vitamin E • Helps relieve itch, stings and bites • Heals dry brittle nails and softens cuticles • Conditions and adds shine to hair • Great make-up remover
Spiritual significance • An ingredient in the sacred anointing oil (Exodus 30:22-33) • Anointing oil foreshadowed the coming anointing of the Holy Spirit • Saul (1 Samuel 10) and David (1 Samuel 16:12-14) • The lampstand – olive oil (Leviticus 24:1-4) • We are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14 – compare with John 8:12; 9:5)
Honey
Beneficial Qualities • Honey is a humectant • An anti-irritant • Has anti-bacterial and healing properties • Has sun-blocking properties
Spiritual significance • The Word of the Lord • Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:3) and John (Revelation 10:10) ate the scroll • David called the word “sweeter than honey” in Ps. 119:103 • How sweet are Your words to my taste Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Milk
Beneficial Qualities • contains Vitamins A and D, which helps to make your skin soft, yet strong • lactic acid in milk has natural beta hydroxy acids which not only exfoliate your skin, but soothe it • adds essential moisture to your skin • it seals up the small scales on your hair follicles that can cause hair to look dull
Spiritual significance • The Word of the Lord • 1 Peter 2:2 “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
Salts
Spiritual significance • The Covenant of God and Israel • Leviticus 2:13 “Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.” • 2 Chronicles 13:5 “Do you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?” • Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth” and “Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.
How important is color to God? If you have done Beth Moore's "Believing God" Bible Study, then you already know that He values blue... you wore it for 12 weeks on your wrist in response to Numbers 15:37-41, "to look at, so that you will remember all the LORD's commands and obey them." But why blue? I would like to share with you what I learned today.
The history program I am doing with the kids, Tapestry of Grace, lists internet links for the time periods, people, and topics we study. Today, we were studying the Phoenicians and I saw a link called Fringes and Snails. I had to check it out, curious as to how it related to the Phoenicians. For once, I am going to give you the highlights and refer you to the site itself for more information.
Apparently, the Phoenicians were traders in blue dye derived from, what else, sea snails. These same snails also produced the royal purple dye worn by kings and noblemen. Because the process to extract the dye from the (small) snails was difficult and time-consuming, the dye was very expensive and this was a very lucrative trade. Very few people could afford this dye. Yet, God commanded the Israelites to weave this very rich cloth into their tassles.
Before I give you more information on the dye itself, which is fascinating and exciting, I would like to tell you what I learned about the significance of the tassles. Let me make it clear that I am taking my information from the Fringes and Snails website. That being said... here is the breakdown.
Ancient fringes represented the status, or position in society, of the man wearing the fringe. A number of Bible verses reference the hem or fringe of the a man's garment as being significant: from David cutting off the hem of Saul's robe (as a sign of David replacing Saul's place in society) to Jesus saying that the Pharisees lengthened their tassles (as a sign of hypocrisy). And while we have the ancient example of Ruth asking Boaz to cover her with his cloak, we have the modern example of the Jewish bridegroom covering his bride with his prayer shawl.
When God commanded the Jews to weave this special blue cloth into their tassels, he was ordaining a visual sign of the special status that the Jew has with God.
Now, of course, me being the skeptic that I am, I know nothing about the author of Fringes and Snails and I decided to do some further searches, until I came to a website called "The Association for the Promotion and Distribution of Tekhelet" Tekhelet is the name of the color produced from the special dye. Apparently, the art of making this dye was lost a few hundred years after the birth of Christ, when the Roman emperor made it illegal for anyone but royalty to wear the color. Since the 1800's, the Jews have been trying to identify the animal that produced the dye and recreate the cloth, which they have not worn in over a thousand years because they would not wear a substitute blue. About 20 years ago, they successfully reproduced the dye and have begun creating and distributing Tekhelet yarn and tassles. This is significant for them because many Jews believe that the revival of the Tekhelet yard is a sign that the Messiah is coming (not to mention that there EXISTS a national Israel).
They have produced a video showing how they make the yarn. They do it the ancient way because they want the yarn to be pure and holy, so they shear the sheep, dye the wool, and spin the yarn by hand. The videos are fascinating to watch.
But before I show you the videos, I would like to address what this means to us, the Christian. Obviously, we anxiously wait for the Messiah and anything that restores into practice something God commanded His people to do is exciting for us, as well as for the Jews. But there is a lesson for us here, as well. In the first video, a gentleman says that, for the Jews, wearing the tassle with the royal heavenly blue (the blue was the color of the heavens), reminded them that they were not poor. That whatever their physical status was, they were priests and kings... every single one of them. 1 Peter 2:9 says that, "you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession." We now carry that banner.
Imagine... when the woman with the issue of blood strained only to touch Jesus' tassle, it was woven with blue, signifying His priestly kingship... and she knew that. Now, we continue the work the Son of God began.
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