A Woman's Worth

Who can find a virtuous woman? (Proverbs 31:10a) Women come a dime a dozen, (according to the old saying) but a virtuous woman is a rare jewel that must be sought after diligently. She is a treasure buried amongst costume jewelry, cubic zirconia, and fool's gold. Her beauty transcends beyond the flawless CoverGirl face and you will never find her walking with the Jezebels of her day. When a virtuous woman is discovered she becomes her husband's good thing.

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor in the LORD.

                                                           - Proverbs 18:22

His good thing's price, according to Proverbs 31:10b is far above rubies. A virtuous woman's worth exceeds that of precious jewels and stones and she is a blessing to her husband as well as her entire household. 


But one thing that I have come to know is that a woman's value can depreciate because of sin. Whether it is because of life's circumstances or personal choices that we make; we, as women, often find our worth decreased. Sometimes childhood events devalue us or maybe we choose the wrong path in life. But far too often we fail to turn to our redeemer, who not only gives life and life more abundantly, but He also adds value to our lives. It is a fact that childhood wounds , such as physical or verbal abuse, rape or molestation, abandonment or neglect are catastrophic to a woman's worth. We further exacerbate those wounds by DISALLOWING the stripes of Jesus to heal our broken hearts and spirits. We do allow, however, our wounds to lead us into rebellion, riotous living and spiritual decay. We become defiled by bitterness and unforgiveness while Satan begins to whisper in our ear that we are worthless. Even worse, we believe his lies. Almighty God does not create worthless beings after his own glorious image. In Christ Jesus we have value. It is only outside of Christ that we are worthless. To break away from the bondages of sin and escape the horrible effects of it we must meditate upon 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:old things are past away; behold all things are become new.

When we yield our lives to the life that we have in Christ, we are no longer valueless creatures who carry around the years of baggage that we have collected from our sinful past. When He cleanses us, he cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. We are not the labels that Satan ascribes to us but we are NEW! Our lives become transformed, our minds are renewed, and our hearts are purged of all the junk that devalues us. A strong (virtuous) woman understands that she is ONLY valuable because of Christ living in her. When Christ abides in us, it is then that we become the rare ruby that God created us to be. My desire is to beg God to search the secret places of my heart. Whatever is in there that takes away from my worth, I am asking Him to remove it, so that I can be the ruby that my Father has designed me to be. I encourage you to do same, as well as, walk in the NEWNESS that God has given you.   

His Good Pleasure...

I know that it has been a while since I have made a post. But tonight I come with a testimony of how truly amazing God's grace is. We have a Father who cares for us so deeply and one of his greatest desires and pleasures is to give us, as his children, the kingdom of heaven. However, we often forget this promise as we go about our busy daily lives. Well, my sister and I have been visiting one of the elderly mothers of the church body that has been hospitalized. A sobering feeling comes over you when you see a once lively, joyful, and feisty loved one lie in a bed with so much pain. At times it is a struggle and we are often at a lost for words because we are not accustomed to her inability to talk and respond. But we continue to go. My 8 year old daughter (a true prayer warrior and soldier for Christ) accompanied me on one of these trips and I asked her to pray over our beloved mother before we left. One of the requests that she begged God for is still freshly embedded in my heart today just as much as it was the day she prayed it a week ago. Her petition, "Lord let her know that people love her." That penetrated to the core of my heart and struck the cords of my soul. It gave meaning and understanding as to why we are to obey God's command to "visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction," James 1:27. It extended value and purpose as to why we continue to go. We do it all because of LOVE! It is love that compels us and it is that same love that has helped us to overcome every bit of anxiety, awkwardness, and uneasiness that we often felt as we approached her room. 


TODAY, as we walked in, we saw the answer to one of our prayers. Even though she still cannot talk; she was alert, aware, and communicated to us with uhhh huhs and hmm hmms. It was amazing. For the first time since we have been visiting her, my sister and I were able to see the sparkle in her eyes as she recognized who we were and she assured us that she is still keeping the faith in the midst of her trial. I am eternally grateful for that and I thank God for allowing us to be a part of this journey with our mother. A journey that will be taken in love and walked out in faith.

But he shall receive and hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 

                                                                                                                                            Mark 10:30

This love that I have for a spiritual mother that was given to me as a gift by God and the love that I have for a heavenly Father whose grace is truly amazing is a part of the promises that he gives to us freely. It is His "good pleasure" to allow us to experience this kind of love because only this kind of love can come from the kingdom of God. 

Thank you Daddy!!  

LOVE MUCH!!

A woman from a cold, dark city stands scorned by her sin. She is heavy-laden with guilt and engulfed by defeat. There is pain in her heart, tears of shame in her eyes, and desperation in her cry. She is empty and alone, yet seeking. Seeking to be free. She longs to be liberated. Yearning to be set free from her sin, only to know the joy that she once knew in her innocence. In despair, she comes to a gathering at a home, desperately looking for Hope. In her arms she carries the only gift that she can offer. An alabaster box filled with precious ointment. She enters the room and surveys the guests. Her heart is pounding, her knees are shaking and then... she sees Him. Her eyes behold the One who can restore her sin-sick soul. The One who can heal her wounded heart. The One who can forgive all her transgressions. Her ONLY hope for salvation sits at a table in the home of a curious Pharisee. The woman silently weaves her way  through the crowded room as a veil of tears begin to cover her face. As she approaches Him from behind, her tears began to fall uncontrollably. Realizing that she is now pouring years of anguish on this stranger's feet, she bends down to wipe her tears from His feet with her hair. She ceases not to kiss the feet of Him who has been given power to heal the broken-hearted. Her only offering is the ointment from her little box of alabaster.


As He discusses matters of the heart with her accusers, she wonders in AWE at the One sitting at the table. He talks with so much compassion in His voice; with so much love in His heart. She believes that He can deliver her. She knows that He is the ONE who can give her soul peace.  


THEN...


Jesus turns to her and says, "Thy sins are forgiven...Thy faith have saved thee; go in peace."


Only sinners can ever truly know this kind of grace. Only Jesus can ever truly show this kind of mercy. When we consider this kind of Love that our Savior has for us, there is only one way to respond; TO LOVE MUCH! 

Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loved little. 

                                                  Luke 7:47

Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." And the second one, "love thy neighbor as thyself." Matthew 22:37-39. Love is powerful and TRUE love that is given by God has the capacity to  change the most hardened heart. I know, because I was one of them. One of the greatest joys that I have known is when God gives me the opportunity to love. A scripture that I have been meditating on is James 1:27

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The biggest challenge in obeying this scripture is that we often place our own desires of gaining the whole world before the desire and will of our Savior. It truly amazes me that the earthly riches that we seek never bring us the joy that our soul yearns for. However, when we give up all we have to feed the poor and the orphans, visit the widows and those in prison, and when we lose our own lives so that we may follow Christ, it is then that we find the greatest antidote for depression and despair. When we seek to live the scriptures out in our daily lives, Jesus gives us so much more than what we give up. My prayer is that God gives me the kind of heart that is willing to step out of my comfort zone and love those whom He places before me. I desire to step away from James 1:27 seeking to live it out in my EVERYDAY life; seeking to be a DOER of His Word and not just a hearer. As I look at those who have gone before me, I see that they have often traveled this same road alone, yet, JOYFUL and in love with Jesus. I too, want to take this journey. Because my sins were many and because I have been forgiven; I also respond to such grace with love. My greatest desire is to love Christ and others just as much as He has loved me.  

Help me Lord Jesus!!

"Take Us the Little Foxes"

Friday morning my husband and I woke up and began talking about a scripture that I randomly chose to read the night before. That scripture was Matthew 19. Even though I randomly turned to that scripture I do not believe that it was coincidental that this scripture came up. The beginning of this chapter speaks of Jesus' teachings on divorce. My husband and I began to discuss the truth that because the flesh is weak, the world is wicked, and Satan is busy; honor and commitment within marriages is becoming devalued more and more each day. Infidelity, disrespect, and divorce has become a cultural norm. This not only holds true for those who are unbelievers but it also exists among Christian married couples. Marriage is beautiful when two people set out to glorify God in the greatest institution that He has set up since the beginning of creation. Yet, no marriage exists without struggle and each has its issues and obstacles that it must overcome. 

As my husband and I continued our discussion, a seldom read scripture came to mind. A scripture that I had also read to him only the night before. The scripture that came to mind was Song of Solomon 2:15.

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: 

for our vines have tender grapes." 

To overcome the many obstacles that become prevalent in a marriage, both partners must be willing to take hold of the little foxes that creep through the walls and begin to eat away at the vine; whose purpose is to bear fruit. Those little foxes can be sinful thoughts, neglect of a spouse, unappreciative attitudes, lies, fleshy indulgences, secret sins or anything that, if left unattended, will destroy the relationship between a believer and their Savior; between a husband and his wife. My knowledge of animal behavior is very limited, but one thing I know is that foxes work like thieves seeking to do their most damage in secret. Once exposed, they usually flee like a true thief. Likewise, the little foxes in our relationships seek to eat away and spoil the vines when the blossoms first appear; at a time when "our vines have tender grapes." They harm the vines causing them to yield less fruit or undesirable fruit. But if these little foxes are uncovered and exposed by the Word of Truth they WILL flee. To me, that means that we have to "speak the truth in love" in our relationships, involve ourselves in daily confessional living, and most of all, allow the Holy Spirit to lead us as we glorify God in our marriages. After all, marriage should be a crystal clear reflection of Christ's relationship with His bride; the Church.

Even though I have abandoned New Year's resolutions years ago, one thing that I will commit to the Lord this year is to take the little foxes that creep into my marriage and expose them for what they truly are; LIES, DECEIT, AND SIN. My desire is that love becomes the driving force of my marriage and that it produces fruit that is desirable. I admit, that in the past I have been guilty of letting the little foxes set up bunks in our marriage and eat away at the vines of our sacred union. There have been a few times that my husband and I have both looked up only to find that portions of our vineyard had become fruitless and lifeless. On several occasions we have found our marriage almost at its breaking point only because we permitted the littles foxes to wreak havoc in our field of love. But through God's AMAZING grace we have repaired those breaches each time and we are still here; still in love. With constant communication with our Heavenly Daddy and guidance from His Holy Spirit, we have set out on a journey to ravish each other with our love, build one another up with pure affection, and to glorify our Savior Jesus Christ.

And He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
                                                                                            Matthew 19:4-6

                                                  

Cross Roads

Before I begin this post I must start by saying that in August 2010 I made a commitment to Christ that I wanted to love Him with all my heart, soul, and mind. I set out to learn (from Him) how to love Him. Its been a remarkable journey thus far because I have done things that I thought I would always be afraid to do. I am coming to truly understand how HIS strength is made perfect in my weaknesses. 

Well, I have been reading Luke 14:25-35 over the last few days. I must admit that it is a scripture that will make you question your commitment to Christ. In this scripture Jesus tells us that 

"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." 

I have been a Christian for a while now, but I can honestly say that I have not ALWAYS honored this scripture in my words or deeds. I've fallen way short of this scripture many times. The truth is that I have, at times, placed my desires before the will of my Master. I am also guilty of allowing those who are closest to me to sway me from doing what God has given me to do. For the longest I avoided this scripture but what I find truly amazing is that He patiently has a way of bringing things that we avoid right back in your face (full circle). I can remember the time when I first read this scripture. It was about 12 years ago while visiting my aunt. I was new in my commitment to Christ and upon reading it I closed the bible, put it down, and never really turned back to that scripture again. Like the disciples in John 6:60 I thought to myself, "this is a hard saying; who can hear it? However, unlike those same disciples I could not just walk away from the ONE who has given me real love, abundant joy, and true peace. 

But now that I have walked this Christian walk for a while I do believe that God intentionally waited until THIS moment to have me sit and deal with this scripture. It has brought me to a crossroad. Today, I stand before the cross determining which road I will take. Those roads being: #1 to count the cost and follow Christ or #2, to walk away from my Savior because I refused to bear my cross. Well, the latter is definitely NOT an option for me. I love Christ to much to just leave Him.  

I can truly say that I am ready to forsake all and follow Christ. Of course I know I will have my failures and set backs and I am in no way saying that this will be easy. In fact I expect rejection (for which that has been happening quite a bit lately), I expect ridicule (especially from those who are closest to me), and I expect that my flesh will kick in and work against the Spirit. The former two has always been a fear for me, but lately my prayer is that He blesses me with the SUPERNATURAL ability to follow Him even when it looks crazy to the rest of the world. My desire is to love him wholeheartedly and to love those whom he places around me. Because even though this scripture may be hard to swallow for my flesh, my spirit tells me that Christ is worth it. Every bit of it is worth it.

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

                                                                                Romans 8:18 (KJV)

         Help me Lord!!! 

  

Christ the King

Christmas time is my favorite time of year. Christmas music, family gatherings, baked goodies, and food galore. But most of all this is the time that we have set aside to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Christ, born in a lowly estate of the virgin Mary. Born so that He may fulfill the purpose of the Father. Born to die for our sins and transgressions. As joyous as this occasion should be this is also a time of great depression in our country. More and more phone calls are made to the doctor to fill anti-depressant medications and suicide increases at an alarming rate during this time of the year. I truly believe that this is a result of taking our eyes off of the true meaning of Christmas. CHRIST! We stress ourselves to make sure our kids and loved ones have plenty of presents under the Christmas tree and yet we often times fail to even mention the birth of our Savior as we gather around the Christmas tree. WOW!  

Why Blog?

I have created this blog to share the wonderful things that God can do. Especially those things that He has done in my life. I have come to know that His riches are immeasurable, His love is everlasting, and His tender mercies are NEW each morning. I hope to share my journey with Christ to all whom will hear because there is no such thing as hidden light. My desire is to be a living epistle of God's love, grace, and mercy. This blog will be used as a tool of encouragement, witnessing, and as a testimony of God's (dunamis) power.

Enjoy