Has The Culture Worn You Out?

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And that which I can do, by the grace of God, I will do.” D. L. Moody

Do you feel small and inadequate in the world we live in? I do. Are you overwhelmed by what is going on in the culture around us? I am. Do you sometimes ask yourself, “What’s the point?” I do.

I liken this feeling to sitting in a leaky boat with water coming in through various holes. You try to plug them, but you don’t have enough hands. You can’t plug holes and bail at the same time, so your efforts seem futile; you’re going to sink.

The state of our culture has many of us feverishly bailing. I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle sometimes.

There are so many causes to get involved in, so many injustices to fight. We can wear ourselves out standing for righteousness and truth.

I have to ask myself though, should we really be worn out? Saddened by the evil that is running rampant, yes. Weary from the onslaught of opposition to God’s Word and truth, of course! But worn out? No, I don’t think so.

I tried looking for a scripture this morning that encouraged us to be worn out. Would you be surprised if I told you that I didn’t find a single one?

When we hear or say the phrase “worn out,” it suggests tired, empty, weak—all things that occur when we are physically spending ourselves. We get to the point at which, to rephrase a common saying, we become so earthly minded that we are no heavenly good!

My friends, it is easy to take on the burden of this world. But all through Scripture Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy, His burden is light. We know that the battle is not an earthly one, but oftentimes it’s easier for us to try and fight verbally and physically, through social media posts and protests, than it is to fight on our knees, where the battle is truly fought and won.

I do believe we have to take a stand and engage the culture. We are called to be salt and light in this world. We are to be the voice of righteousness. But not in our own strength.

We should not be taking on our shoulders a burden that only God can carry. We can’t plug all the holes and bail at the same time.

Our hearts should be broken for lost souls who believe the lies of the enemy, and that should drive us to pray.

Pray for those who are in such darkness that they believe they are something other than what God created them to be. Pray for the evil hands that shed the innocent blood of the unborn. Pray for those in authority in our nation who are pushing agendas that fly directly in the face of the Lord. Pray for churches that are watering down the truth. Pray for those who have a platform and claim to know Christ but are compromising for money, book sales, and popularity.

The question we need to ponder is, what has God called each of us to do?

For me, He has called me to raise my children to be a blessing and a beacon to the next generation. He has called my family to be a remnant family, a kingdom family. He has called me to proclaim truth in a culture that is saturated with lies. He has also called me to trust Him with the issues that are out of my control—to rest in His peace and remind myself often that He has not and will never fall off His throne.

For those of you who, like me, have been struggling to bail the water out of the boat, stop wearing yourself out.

Second Samuel 22:33 reminds us that it is God who arms us with strength, and He makes our way perfect! Believer, “the Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still” (Exod. 14:14).

Get out of the boat and keep your eyes on Jesus, because He wins in the end.

Lord, help us to trust You in a culture that is so adamantly against You and those who stand for righteousness. Help us to take up only what You have called us to take up. Help us not to become weary in doing good but to rest and gather our strength for the battle from You. May we be broken for the world around us, seeing people as You see them. Amen.

Cease Striving Precious Mom

Motherhood is the greatest job on the planet. It is also the hardest. It is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually draining.

Motherhood is filled with sadness, joy, triumphs, losses, anger, frustration, laughter and wonder. We oftentimes find ourselves feeling like failures- without purpose.

Motherhood is the most varied, exciting job, but it can also be the most boring, it really depends on the day!

Motherhood is full of crazy days. We deal with tantrums, attitudes, dirty diapers, fingerprinted walls and messy floors. Much of the time we feel frumpy and ugly.

In a nutshell, motherhood is a long journey. It takes you up mountains, through valleys, down the rapids, and sometimes, very occasionally let’s you relax on life’s beach. Regardless of where it takes us, it is one of the most rewarding and gratifying journeys you will ever take. 

God has given mothers a deep, protective instinct that once awakened, never goes back to sleep. We are strong and brave and will do anything to shield our babies. Even so, we sometimes still feel like we are not enough. But I have great news for you- we will never be enough. Doesn’t that kinda take the pressure off?

Unfortunately society has placed women under so much pressure to succeed in the career of motherhood, that we often set the bar too high, and then have a hard time forgiving ourselves when we fail to reach it. If we work outside of the home, we try to justify why it’s necessary. If we stay home with our children we have to prove that we can run our home perfectly, so we can justify not financially contributing to the family. Here’s the real problem; we are allowing society to decide what a good mother looks like, when really we should be looking to Jesus. His list of requirements for us is pretty short. They are:

• To love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Deuteronomy 6:5
• To teach our children His ways. Deuteronomy 6:5-11
• To commit our ways to Him. Proverbs 16:3

In return He promises that:

• He will give us rest, peace and wisdom & satisfaction
• We will succeed.

We need rest when times are crazy; we need peace when our nerves are shot; we need wisdom when our children are driving us crazy; and we need to feel satisfied that we are doing well.

I know many of you reading this may relate to the things written here. Outwardly you are successful in keeping up appearances, but inwardly you are crying out for someone to rescue you from the constant demands of your children. You fail to live up to the expectations you have set for yourself. The Lord is saying to you, precious mom, “cease striving, you are not alone.” God’s word is full of wisdom and guidance, knowledge and instruction. If we could only learn to cling to and hold on to His promises, we would see that His requirements are few, and His rewards are many. “Come to me all you (precious moms) who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Lord help us as mothers, to come to You daily. Help us to look upon our children not as projects or pests, but as souls given to us in order that we might raise them in the knowledge of You. Help us to rest in the promise that you are there to carry our burdens and struggles. May we look to You for our value, and not allow society to steal the joy we should have in our children – Amen

Are You a Hater?

Hate. Haters. Hate speech. All words commonly heard or spoken in our society today.

Any opinion, belief or thoughts contrary to our liberal culture is immediately branded as hatred. Especially if those thoughts come from Christians.

The Bible tells us to hate and also to love. We are to hate what is evil and cling to what is good (Amos 5:15). We are also called to love people, practice kindness and hospitality, even lay our lives down for others. So how do we, as Christians reconcile the two. Hate and love simultaneously?

The Bible NEVER tells us that we are to hate any person. Jesus came for ALL that are lost. Gave His life for EVERYONE! Not just a select pre-chosen few. But we ARE to hate sin, godless behavior and the things that separate people from relationship with Christ.

Through the years, I have often disciplined my children for using the word ‘hate’. It is such a strong word! “The only thing we should hate is the devil” I would say. However, as I’ve been thinking over the last few weeks and months about this issue, I wonder if I have taught them correctly. If our children grow up thinking that hating is wrong then how can they possibly have a biblical world view? We must teach them what and what not to hate.

According to God’s word we are to hate:

Evil – (Romans 12:9), Hands that shed innocent blood, Haughty eyes, Lying, A false witness, A person who divides, Feet that rush into evil, Robbery & wrongdoing. (Proverbs 6:17-19)

We are not to hate:

Our brothers (1 John 3:15) Our enemies (Matthew 6:43-45)

Pretty much sums it up, don’t you think? Hate the behavior (sin) not the person (God’s creation).

Our job is to call people out of sin. To hate it so much that we are compelled to pray for people to turn their hearts towards their Savior. We are to be uncompromising in our hatred of sin and love of the truth, but unrelenting in our love for others.

“Lord, help us to be a people that will call sin for what it is, but love the sinner unconditionally. Help us to love them asYou love them, and enable us to teach our children to do the same. Amen.”