God, My Father

"Jesus used the word 'father' more than any other description or name for God. And He taught us to address God in the same way: 'Our Father who art in heaven....' " 
Mary A. Kassian, Biblical Womanhood In the Home

I'm sure this is probably not a new idea to most of us, but I was thinking last night about God as our Father.  When all we want is for someone to be intimately involved in our lives, He is right there wanting nothing more than to share everything with us.  He is interested in all of the little things that concern us.  And when we desire someone strong to sternly direct us down the right path, we can go to the letter He has written to hear all of his loving directions.  Then, when we need comfort along the way, His Spirit is there with us, holding us.  I thank God that whether we have a wonderful earthly father or have never experienced the fatherly affection we longed for from our earthly father, we can know that God is right there, just waiting to father us.

Are We Overlooking Faithfulness?

Many times I have heard testimonies that begin with “I was into drugs,” or “I slept around,” or “I was an atheist,” followed by the dramatic impact coming to Christ had on these lives. These kind of stories may even be what come to mind when you hear the word “testimony,” and men and women who have followed Christ all their lives sometimes feel that their testimonies pale in comparison. The testimonies of Christians who were once far from God bring him great glory and delight, but I am troubled by what seems to be a tendency to glorify something other than God's ideal. Let's explore what the Bible says about these testimonies and work to build a proper biblical perspective.

First, we must establish how much God is delighted when those who are living in darkness accept Jesus and turn to God. In Luke 15, Jesus says

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

Jesus made it very clear how important these people are to him, and how happy it makes him and the Father that they have turned to him at last. As God's priorities should be our own, it is important that we also value these individuals' salvation.

While we see that Jesus rejoices over someone turning to him, the Bible makes it clear that God's desire is for individuals to have their hearts turned to him. In Psalm 95:10, God says of a group of people, “For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways." On the other hand, Acts 13:22 records God's words concerning David, whom he had chosen to be king: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything that I want him to do.’ God's word instructs parents to teach their children about the ways of God, and we are cautioned against falling away and falling into sin. God's ideal is that children would grow up to know Him and would continue to serve him faithfully, never having cause for a testimony of a rescue from sin. So much emphasis is sometimes put on the dramatic testimonies of the prodigals, I fear that Christians begin to get the idea that such testimonies are in some way superior. Perhaps it's because they make better stories than things like “I've followed God all my life,” or maybe it makes us feel better about our sinful pasts. Whatever the reasons, we need to make sure that we are embracing and glorifying nothing other than God's will, which has been revealed to us through his Word.

Other than simply being less than what God desires for us, living a portion of one's life in a state of fallenness has worldly disadvantages. Time that has not been spent in God's will cannot be gotten back. Negative influences one has had on others over that period of time cannot be taken back. Virginity, a God-given gift to give to a future spouse, cannot be regained.

Webster defines a “virgin” as a person who has never had sexual intercourse. Some Christians encourage those who have made mistakes in the past to embrace a second, or regained, virginity. This may be possible in a spiritual sense, but not in a physical, mental, or emotional one. If a man or woman sacrifices their virginity before marriage and receives God's forgiveness, they are still not “a person who has never had sexual intercourse.” Sin often brings pain and consequences, which we must live with even after forgiveness has been given. In the case of lost virginity, there are lingering emotional ties and memories and a sense of loss when one does not have the gift to give to their future spouse, to name just a few repercussions. In Deuteronomy, the severe penalty of stoning is given for women who allowed the man they married to believe they were a virgin when they were not. No condition is given for women who were forgiven for their immorality, as virginity is a very real physical state (Note that the penalty isn't for the lost virginity, but for the deceit). Since we see that all cannot be restored after sin, it is better to be able to say that one is a virgin than to be able to have a testimony about the amount of sexual immorality one was involved in before coming to know Christ

Now, in all of this, I do not mean to belittle God's grace or be discouraging to those who have made mistakes. The Bible talks about forgiveness so much because, at some point, all of us badly need it. 1 John 1:9 ensures us that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The word purify means to rid something of impurities or pollution. In a figurative sense, this means that when God purifies us from all unrighteousness, we are made righteous and pure by his grace once again. Virgins in God's eyes, if you will. God's cleansing power is a beautiful and undeserved gift and we can be comforted that we can once again be, as David said in a psalm, “whiter than snow.” How beautiful second chances are!

Touching and dramatic testimonies are wonderful because God especially rejoices when those who were once lost are found. However, we have also seen that ideally, God would have us continue to walk in his ways faithfully all our lives. We need to challenge ourselves in our thinking if we feel that those who have continued with God are in some way inferior because they lack a dramatic testimony. It is they who should be respected for doing God's will continuously. We must instill in our children an understanding of the value of a consistent, faithful walk with God, and begin to restore the respect that is due to Christian faithfulness. In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Every follower of Christ has this hope to share, this all-important hope which makes any testimony beautiful.

The Little Feminist

I strongly believe in the importance of men and women's complementary biblical roles, I find it frustrating that society no longer respects those roles, and one of my deepest desires is to be what the Word says a woman of God should be. I would call myself a staunch anti-feminist. And though I could explain to you what God says about femininity and womanhood, and tell you all the ways I would like to apply those things to my life, lurking inside me(in a not-so-very well- hidden spot) is a foreboding and unwanted personage. She hates submission. She is impatient and disrespectful. She is opinionated and mouthy. She often thinks she could handle things much better than all the men out there combined. And she wears pant suits. She, my friends, is the Little Feminist. (Okay, so the pant suits aren't absolutely necessary.)

This inner "feminist" is simply a manifestation of the sinful nature that we are all born with. It is the rebellious nature that balks at submission, and refuses to show respect to certain men in my life. It hinders every aspect of my journey to becoming a biblical woman of God, from the specific call to women to submit to fathers and husbands and cultivate a gentle and quiet spirit, to more general areas like showing forgiveness and patience. One can proclaim to be an anti-feminist, yet still have this small, but powerful figure controlling much of the way they live.

It is my belief that growth toward biblical femininity is largely impossible until the Little Feminist is acknowledged. This means recognizing that ugly part of you that does all the things you don't believe you should do, and only does the things you do believe you should do when she's not feeling particularly mulish. In their book So Much More, authors Anna Sofia Botkin and Elizabeth Botkin point out,

"We direct our rebellion at God through our rebellion to men. This means that all women are rebellious feminists at heart. Without God's help, it is impossible to overcome our stubborn rebellion. Before we can expect any fruitful results in our society, we must first work toward results in our own hearts, starting with repentance and humility, asking God to help us fight our flesh."

This process will not be effortless, but it will be worth it. It will include prayerfully examining our lives to identify the ways in which we are allowing our rebellious natures to keep us from becoming the women God wants us to be, and repenting. It may involve initiating a discussion with the male authority in our lives about our desire to change some of the ways we relate to them. Then by cheerfully being their helpers, we can begin aiding(rather than hindering) them in fulfilling their God-ordained role as leaders. Finally, we need to go on to learn more about God's design for womanhood. Until we know what God wants from us, we cannot experience the joy and fulfillment He has for us in doing His will. Some great verses to get you started are Proverbs 31:10-31, Ephesians 5:23, 1 Corinthians 11:3, and 1 Timothy 2:12-13. May God bless all of you ladies as you seek to be conformed to God's will!

visionarydaughters.com

And she's off!

Yesterday I officially began training for the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon. I went for 35 minutes, walking half a lap for every lap I ran, and ended up covering 2 miles altogether. Whenever I sit somewhere for awhile, then get up, my hips are way sore. Hips=those things that women always talk about that I thought I didn't have. I have 'em. Today's a rest day. :-)

20 Things I Love To Do

I read this blog that said you should make a list of twenty things you love to do, and that you should make sure you do those things to help achieve happiness in your life.

20 Things I Love To Do
Have a movie night with Mom
Fix and serve someone a meal
Cuddle with Rob
Read Christian non-fiction books
Pray outside
Write persuasive articles for my blog
Dance to music
Play with little kids
Think
Write poetry
Talking to Rob on IM
Get dressed up in a cute outfit
Listen to Christian music
Play tennis
Learn about a topic
Surprise people
Eat ice cream outside
Spend the night at Grandma's house
Praise God somewhere like Creation Fest
Hit a tennis ball against the wall

Been Writing

This is just something I wrote just now, and while I don't think it's awesome, I wanted to post it to feel like I had appropriately expressed myself. Sadly, I don't have a blog that *no one* reads. haha

Wistful melodies
float softly o'er to me,
and my pensive heart has learned
to declare love willingly.
I long for something sure,
not some fleeting nighttime dream,
I've had this tendency to jump
into any alien sea.
My frozen legs would stiffen
if move, they knew they should,
and my heart whispers, "Sweet love
is so good. It is so good."