Big Challenges

Good morning!

So, we are on a two-month hiatus from our study in Daniel. This is good, as my brain needs some time to catch up for this next section! So in the meantime, I thought I'd read up on some of these Minor Prophets. I don't know much about them and having read half of Daniel, they intrigue me. So this morning I started in Hosea.

I admit that I've never read Hosea before and only into the first chapter, I'm wowed. (Yes, it's a word...I'm an Engligh teacher and we can make 'em up!) I'll insert the first chapter for reference:

Hosea 1 (New King James Version; www.biblegateway.com)

1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
“ Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For the land has committed great harlotry
By departing from the LORD.”
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the LORD said to him:
“ Call his name Jezreel,
For in a little while
I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,
And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 It shall come to pass in that day
That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:
“ Call her name Lo-Ruhamah,
For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,
But I will utterly take them away.
7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,
Will save them by the LORD their God,
And will not save them by bow,
Nor by sword or battle,
By horses or horsemen.”

8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.
9 Then God said:
“ Call his name Lo-Ammi,
For you are not My people,
And I will not be your God.

10 “ Yet the number of the children of Israel
Shall be as the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered.
And it shall come to pass
In the place where it was said to them,
‘ You are not My people,’
There it shall be said to them,
‘ You are sons of the living God.’
11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel
Shall be gathered together,
And appoint for themselves one head;
And they shall come up out of the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel!"

And I thought I had it "rough" when my kids were born so close together.

Hosea was a prophet, which means he knew he'd have to follow-through in telling some people some bad news from time to time. Apparently, God would occasionally use His prophets as a visual object lesson to those who He was reprimanding. In this case, God told Hosea to marry a prostitute, then have three children and give them awful, condemning names.

Can you imagine? Trusting that your mate is the "right one" is hard enough...but to get married and know full well that the plan is for them to be unfaithful? And then to have three children very close together (she was JUST done weaning one when she had another) and to have them go through life with such condemning names.

The name "Jezreel" means "No-Mercy." This was to be a "reminder of the atrocities that had occurred at Jezreel. God would soon judge Israel for these sins, appropriately through a military defeat at this same city." (Hosea intro, Nelson's NKJV Study Bible)

Their daughter was to be named "Lo-Ruhamah," which means "Not Loved." This was an announcement that God was going to temporarily withdraw His love from Israel, who had turned astray.

The youngest son's name was "Lo-Ammi," meaning "Not My People."

Wow. Imagine being asked by God to do something so horrendous in your eyes, knowing that you will be ridiculed or shunned by society, and just having to do it for His sake.

Has God ever asked you to do something that you didn't think you had the stomach for? I think most of us don't realize God's asking us to do something huge until we're in the middle of it. We go along, asking God to give us strength and wisdom to go through it. Or we walk through life crying out, "It's Not Fair!" Either way, at some point it clicks in.

God wants us to go through these trials. Certainly not because He enjoys watching us squirm. But I think simply because He enjoys watching His children crawl up on His lap and ask for help. He wants us to depend on Him and to trust that He knows what's best for us at each stage in life.

Just because we can't SEE God's hand working doesn't mean it ISN'T.

Let's be encouraged today in our trials...big or small...that God is watching us and wants to know how we'll react.

Lives of Integrity

So, we're just about done with this first half of the book of Daniel and I'm a bit intimidated about this second half. This first section, Living Lives of Integrity in Today's Babylon, was fantastically overwhelming. The next section, The Ancient of Days and the End of Times, is downright head-swimming. I've enjoyed every bit of this study this semester.

Even in the times when I felt less like a Daniel in my own life.

These last few months have been hard. Physically, emotionally, mentally...very hard. But this morning I was reminded that spiritually-speaking, I'm still here. And I'm still standing. After emotional battle topped with physical frailty, He's still holding me up with His Almighty Hands!

We just wrapped up Daniel 6, the book that contains the ever-so-popular lions' den story. But we didn't spend a whole lot of time on that part. The part that grabbed me the most was based around Daniel 6:4:

"They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent."

Now this is referring to the city's sataps and administrators and such, looking for a reason to oust Daniel. They didn't like that King Darius noticed his loyalty and wisdom and that he planned to make Daniel part-ruler. So they looked for anything.

But they came up empty-handed. Not even a camel-parking ticket. So they were left with no other idea than to find an offense that had "something to do with the law of his God." (v. 4)

Wouldn't that be great? I've mentioned here before that I would love to come out of trials and not smell like smoke. This is even cooler. What a testimony we would have in this Babylon when they can't find anything "wrong" with us! In order for Darius to take to Daniel like he did, and for the jealous guys to come up short of findings, Daniel would have had to:

be loyal to his government
obey the laws
be faithful to his boss
be kind to other citizens
be respectful of authority
be without fault by their standards
perform his job well and without complaint
not talk bad about others
be blameless (without willful sin)

For those of you out there in the workplace, I don't doubt that this is a constant battle for you. I can only imagine how difficult it can be when people are people and you want to react. And for those of us at home with our kids, it is all too easy to lose our cool with one of them. I know I sometimes forget that the other one(s) is watching and will remember.

What kind of testimony would we have if we always reacted in the way our old nature allowed? I have a part-time seasonal job for a fellow in town who lives a lifestyle that Scripture and I do not agree with. What kind of testimony of Christ's love would I have with this man if I grumbled while I worked, openly criticized his life choices, talked about him behind his back with my co-workers, or did my work half-heartedly?

Not only that, but take a look at Daniel. Not only did he "stay out of trouble," so to speak, but he took a stand. From Daniel 1 on, Daniel has taken a stand to publicly believe in and praise his God. In Daniel 6, it might have been easy for him to compromise and obey the king for the sake of his own life. But the administrators out to get him even knew that though Daniel was a good citizen, he'd quickly obey his God before his king.

What a testimony to have. Today, I pray for strength for myself and anyone reading this. Strength to withstand the tendency to react in your workplace or home. Strength to resist showing others what God is NOT. Strength to live the same every day and not to live a separate life on Sundays and Wednesdays. And strength for integrity of heart and conviction of purpose.

Have a fabulous day and know that you are being prayed for!

Honey, I'm Hoooome!

Well, I'm back. I'm finally feeling healthy and back to my normal self. (Though my husband is skeptical to what "normal" is for me.) But I made it to the gym this morning, had a great time with the Lord, and I have some devotional thoughts I'd like to put up here.

But, I just got a phone call and now I'm expecting company in 20 minutes. So, I'm going to run the vaccuum while I formulate my thoughts and I'll be back on this afternoon.

It's good to be back...........

Seasons of Life

This is a popular phrase with some ladies in my church. When us younger moms talk about missing out on retreats and meetings and things because of our younger children, we often hear, "Yes, well, you're in that Season of Life. I remember those times...." I've taken "Season of Life" to mean, albeit subconsiously on their part, "ha, ha...your turn!!!" No solutions suggested and little compromise made. Each side wants the other side to cave "with love".

Along with this, I find it interesting how each person's reality is so subjective. I hear, "Oh, I did it with three kids, you can, too!" But they don't remember their kids are each 5 years apart now, just as they were when they were little. And even those who have been in similar circumstances...just because you could handle it doesn't mean I can. Just because I react well to something doesn't mean you will.

Does this make sense? I guess I'm babbling a bit. But what I'd really like to start hearing from people is not "Well, I did it, you can, too," but rather, "Yeah, I remember that and this is how the Lord got me through..." At the risk of sounding judgmental, didn't they only survive in the past in their circumstances because God led them through?

While we're doing this study in the book of Daniel, I've started to enjoy Old Testament history and how each kingdom of man thought it was the greatest. But they never realized that God gives kingdoms and God takes kingdoms away. And ultimately, each kingdom was created and given to fulfill its place in God's kingdom. These kings and rulers took pride in their conquests and in their successes. Nebuchadnezzar took a huge hit in Daniel 4 because of his pride in what he thought he alone created. Until he caved and recognized that the God of heaven and earth gave kingdoms and took them away, he was nothing.

In this present age, we see ongoing wars and constant societal battles and attribute it to "the end times." Everything that has happened since the beginning of time has been to fulfill its place in God's final kingdom.

Even my little place in this home is for His final kingdom. The trials I go through and the successes I think I can claim are all given and taken away by God alone. I can't pride myself in a productive day. But I can praise the God of heaven and earth for giving me the strength and health to accomplish what needed to be done. I can even thank him for this lack-of-sleep-headache because it reminds me to depend on Him for the strength and patience just for today.