When am I a Mother?

~Erin Blair

Ah Mother’s Day….a day of giving flowers and jewelry and recognizing those of us women who are mothers. It is a nice day to get recognition for something that we do every day. But something happened to me on Mother’s Day this year that left me puzzled. After worship services Sunday morning, I told a sweet elderly lady in the congregation, “Happy Mother’s Day! Are there any plans your children have made for you this afternoon?” She told me about the lunch her son has prepared and such. But then she pated my ever-growing belly and says with the kindest smile on her face: “Well, we’ll get to tell you ‘happy Mother’s Day’ next year!” I was shocked. I just stood there in the foyer of the building speechless as I watched her walk to her car. I stood there silent as I felt my son rolling around and giving me a strong karate chop above my belly button. This made me think…….and wonder…when am I a mother?

“And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” Gen. 3:20

This is the first time in scripture someone is given the title “mother.” But wait, at this point in time she had not given birth to a child yet. In fact, it isn’t until chapter 4 when we even are learn that Adam and Eve conceived a son. So she is given the title of “mother” before she gave birth.

“And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.” Luke 1:36

“And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; …” Luke 1:41

“And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.” Luke 1:43-44

In these passages, we see that Elisabeth had not yet given birth to a son, who we know later to be John. Did this mean she has a child already even though that child was only six months along in development in the womb (v. 36)? I certainly think so! What about verse 43 where Elisabeth calls Mary “..the mother of my Lord…?” But wait, Mary hadn’t given birth yet. So was Elisabeth mistaken? Was Mary not a mother yet?

When we think of a mother, we think of a woman who provides for and takes care of her children (Prov. 31:15, 27, 28). She prays for her children and teaches them about God. What about in the womb? What about a child that is only a few weeks old from conception? Or a few days old after being conceived? Is that not a child?

“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:13-16

I am sure we all agree that life begins at conception and becomes a living soul. When a child is in the womb, does the woman who carries that child not provide for that child? Doesn’t she protect that child and nurture him or her until it is time for that sweet baby to join the outside world? What about praying for the child in her belly and talking to the baby about God even before they take their first gulp of air?

I am so thankful for my amazing husband who made Mother’s Day a big to-do for me and acknowledging that I am a mother, but since our son can’t do much for me this year, “daddy will have to do it for him.” I am thankful for my sweet sisters-in-law who helped my husband cook lunch and prepare a nice Mother’s Day for me. I am thankful for the many family members who constantly pray for our son and my husband and I as we make our “game plan” to raise our son to be a man of God.

But as I stood there in the foyer and reflected on that comment, I began to think about how we, even in the church, view when motherhood begins, or what qualifies a woman as a “mother.” Are our views the same as God’s views? What qualifies a mother in our minds and when does that start? Does it start when, after that final push and we hear our child’s first cry and hold them in our arms? Or does it start when that baby is conceived and becomes a living soul?

Erin resides in Ben Wheeler TX with her husband, Jordan and is awaiting the birth of their first child, Judah Rae Blair. Erin has been involved with preparing and organizing the work of the church since she was a teenager by teaching all ages of Bibles classes, helping prepare and organize Ladies Days, Prom Alternatives, Youth Rallies and VBS.  She is currently works as a paralegal for a law firm. She and her husband also spend their time enjoying their garden, dogs, rabbits, chickens, ducks, quail…etc.  Life is never dull at her house. 

Women—As God Would Have Us (part 2)

~ Veronica Brown

 In this follow up article let’s continue our focus on three remaining groups of women from the book of Genesis.  Following the daughters-in-law of Noah and their example of being willing to be counted among the few we turn our minds to Sarah. Sarah is recorded by the Hebrews writer as one who judged God faithful in regard to His promises (Heb. 11:11). She trusted that God would fulfill what He had spoken to her with regard to a homeland and a heritage. Did she obey perfectly what God expected of her? No. She became impatient. She laughed. She faced doubt, discouragement, and difficulties. Yet she trusted. She waited. She complied. So, in like manner, God judged her faithful and He counted her among those great heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. What hope, encouragement, and strength we can gain from her very real example of faith in God and His promises.

Next, let’s look at Hagar the bondwoman. On the surface we tend to read about Hagar in light of Sarah’s attempt to facilitate God’s plan and the undesired results that followed. While we learn that any attempt to commandeer God’s will is futile, God reveals the true spiritual meaning of the bondwoman vs. the free woman. In Galatians 4 we learn that these two women and their two sons are symbolic (v. 24). They represent the two covenants (v. 25). The Old is represented by Hagar and Ishmael. The New is represented by Sarah and Isaac. Under the Old there is bondage—the bondwoman’s son was born according to the flesh and was therefore subject to the same bondage as his mother. But under the New there is freedom because the freewoman’s son was born according to promise (v. 23). “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise” (Gal. 4:28). True freedom from the bondage of sin can only be found in the New Covenant system and in the promised Son. Therefore, Paul exhorts us to “stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free” (Gal. 5:1). To return or adhere to Old Testament tenants is to return to bondage.  May we ever be mindful of the price that was paid for our true spiritual freedom.

 Finally, let’s notice the women in Lot’s life—his wife and their two daughters. While a casual read of their accounts in Genesis may raise more questions than answers it remains that what we can glean from their record is clear—sin always reaps adverse consequences. Living in such sinful cities as Sodom and Gomorrah undoubtedly left its fateful impression on Lot’s family. It clouded their minds and their eyes. Lot’s wife apparently couldn’t completely turn her back to such wickedness and she paid the ultimate price. Their daughters, likewise, followed suit with misguided judgment and sacrificed their purity. May we ever remember that sin always reaps gross by-products and is never an island unto itself.

From the dawn of creation to this present hour womankind has been and continues to be a most vital component to either the good or ill of humanity. Of course, God desires us to use our influence for good. Just as He expected from Eve, He expects the same from us. May we aspire to use our efforts and energies for good—to love our husbands, care for our children, and do good to all, especially those of the household of faith.  May God help us to be women, as HE would have us, and in so doing, not grow weary (Gal. 6:9)!

Women—As God Would Have Us (Pt. 1)

~Veronica Brown

 (Republished from 2011) 

In preparation for our Tuesday night Ladies Bible Class this week we read about various women from the book of Genesis—Eve, the daughters of men, Noah’s daughters-in-law, Sarah, Hagar, and the women in Lot’s life.[1] Then in our class together we tried to glean from their lives a small sample of what God would have us to learn from His record of their lives in history. So for this article (and for part two of this article later) I’d like to focus briefly on these women in order to encourage us to be the kind of women God wants us to be.

Beginning with Eve, the mother of all living, we learn just how important we are as women. God took special care in creating woman and we must take special care in maintaining that which God carefully constructed. Our roles as women are unique—we hold very sacred responsibilities as helpers who will be suitable for our husbands and as mothers who will be nurturers for our children. We are not the leaders of our homes but we are the keepers of them (Titus 2:5). And with this great privilege comes a great responsibility that must never be taken lightly. Consequently, we also learn from Eve how very real sin is and that its effects are serious. Sin robbed Eve of her purity, her innocence, and her life with God. The wages of sin is indeed death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23). God be thanked that through Jesus Christ we can be delivered from this body of death (Rom. 7:24-25)!

Next we looked at the “daughters of men” as referenced in Genesis 6. The “sons of God” took for themselves these daughters of men to be their wives and from the context we know that this was not a good thing in God’s eyes. Why not? The answer seems to be in the distinct phraseology God uses to distinguish between these two groups of people. The sons of God would have been those who were following their ancestor’s (and thus God’s) instruction from the beginning—beginning with Adam, followed by Seth, and so on. The other group, the daughters of men, had not adhered to their Creator’s instruction but instead followed in the footsteps of Cain, who “went out from the presence of the Lord” (Gen. 4:16). And so in Genesis 6 we see the two coming together and God was not pleased. It seems that the principle here applies to us today. “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” (James 4:4). “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (II Cor. 6:14). Therefore, God says, “come out from among them and be separate….and you shall be My sons and daughters” (II Cor. 6:17-18). May we strive daily to be set apart, sanctified, and separate as the daughters of God and not entangled, intertwined, and blended together with the world as the daughters of men!

Continuing in Genesis 6 we looked next at Noah’s daughters-in-law and tried to imagine what it must have been like to be three of only eight people saved from the flood. These three women were part of a small minority preparing to witness the destruction of the massive majority of humanity. These three women were willing to be counted among the few even though it meant giving up all that they had ever known. Does the same God require any less of us today? Jesus said, “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Lk. 14:33). Those are difficult words—difficult to grasp and difficult to obey—but they’re true and they’re for our good. The same God who called Noah and his family out of a sinful world and into the vessel of salvation is the same God who calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light (I Pet. 2:9). May we, like these three women, have faith enough and the will enough to enter His ark of salvation and be counted among the few for Christ (Mt. 7:14)!

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[1] Some of our ladies at Farmersville are currently involved in the Digging Deep in God’s Word study formulated by Cindy Colley. Currently, we are reading through her book “Women of the Genesis.” We discussed these women from the first six chapters of her book in our last class.

eronica is blessed to be the wife of Clint Brown. Clint currently preaches for the Farmersville church of Christ in north Texas. She is also blessed to be a stay at home mom to two boys, Jeremy (17) and Joshua (15). She has been a preacher's wife, Bible class teacher, missionary, and a host of other things for the Lord for these past 18 and she's thankful for every moment God uses to mold her into His image.

Get on the Boat

~ Tracy Frederick

We know so little about her. She is only mentioned briefly in a few verses in Genesis 6 and 7. I have wondered: What was her first name? How did she meet Noah? Who were her parents and what kind of relationship did she have with her parents? Her sister? Her brother? We have no idea. But, we do know that it was a terrible time in the world. We know that it was so evil that God felt the need to start over. It doesn’t get worse than that. But, at the center of all of this evil is that woman, Mrs. Noah, and I wonder.....

I wonder if she was lonely. She had three sons, but “the earth was filled with violence” and corruption ( Gen 6: 11) . Did she allow her children to go to visit their friend’s home, knowing that they would see evil things? or perhaps be in danger? Did she worry that they wouldn’t have friends? And what about her husband? I imagine that she had to listen to people talk about how her husband was just too “harsh” or “judgmental”...maybe even by her closest relatives... her father? mother? sisters? those who she thought supported and cared about her?

I wonder if she was weak at times and tempted her husband to doubt his belief in God. Did she try to convince Noah to stay home instead of warning people and preaching the mercies of God? Did she try to ease her embarrassment and tell Noah to just give up? I wonder if, as she prepared his lunch and dinner, watching him day after day work on that huge boat, she wished that he would just quit? Was she tempted to agree when others called him “crazy” or “radical" and agree when others ridiculed him?

I wonder what she thought when she saw the boat finally completed. Did she think about her family and consider that they would die? Did she love them so much that she considered staying behind? Did she blame God? Did she talk to her parents, sisters, brothers, cousins and beg them to listen to Noah (I Peter 2:5)? Then when the rain started to fall, did she ask her husband to make an exception? Did she beg him to plea to God for her family’s safety....just compromise for family....I mean, it is FAMILY.  What is it people say?.... “family first?”

So, I wonder quite a bit about this woman with no first name. But, I guess none of those details really matter, do they? Nope...All we need to know is: “Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his son’s wives with him entered the ark because of the water of the flood” (Gen 7: 7,13). I believe, after all of that “wondering,” that Mrs. Noah was chosen by God because of her strength and courage, to be Noah’s wife. I believe that she never looked back for a second. I believe that It was just that simple....no pouting, no complaining, no whining or begging to let her “family” come with her, and no “attitude” toward Noah when he didn’t open the door for her parents, cousins...”whoever” to climb aboard. All we need to know is that she just walked away from the world that she knew, everyone that she had called “family” as a child, and she got on the boat.

There are few women in the Bible that offer me more encouragement and instruction on how to be faithful. Although I wonder about Mrs. Noah, I guess I wonder more about me...about us...I believe that in order to survive the “flood waters” I have to be ready to give it all up just like Mrs. Noah...we have to be willing to give up everything.....our friends, social lives, our pride and even our family..... and just get on the boat.

Tracy is the wife of Greg Frederick and mother in law and mother to Jordan and Erin Blair. Tracy and Greg have served the Lord's church by teaching  Bible classes for over thirty years. She has taught cradle roll to ladies Bible class, but currently teaches the teen girls Wednesday night Bible class. She has held personal Bible studies, served as a counselor for Bible camp, spoken at Ladies Days, taught ladies Bible classes, written articles for Christian Women's magazine, Queenly Quest, and others. She taught high school students for six years, directed a debate and forensic program on the high school and collegiate level,, holds a PhD in Communication with an emphasis in Rhetoric, has presented at regional and national conferences, held office in regional communication associations and currently teaches communication full time on the collegiate level. 

Feminine or Feminist?

~Erin Blair

Our society today, especially with the feminist movement, has taught a skewed version of how a woman should be.  She should be a strong and independent woman “who don’t need no man.”  But is this Biblical?  Is society’s teaching of a brash and prideful woman what God had in mind when he created woman (Gen. 2:22)?  Are women in the Lord’s church to be callous and degrading of their brothers?

I overheard one day a woman telling her friend, “Yeah, he’s just another paycheck coming in.”  She was saying this about her husband! I was appalled at her poor outlook on her husband.  I have also heard the saying, “A husband is a person who, after having taken out the trash, gives the impression of cleaning the whole house.”  We laugh at these antics and brush them off, not giving them a second thought.  But this is what the society we live in is molding our daughter’s minds into thinking that women are the rulers of the house and we have to keep men under our thumb?  But what about what God has to say about how women are to be?

It pains me when I hear of and see women who say thing like, “I will never get married and have children. Instead I will do what I want when I want to do it and spend my money on myself.”  Or when people joke about the wife being the “boss” of the husband.  We could then continue this article in the direction of the roles of the wife and the husband.  But I want to take it another direction – is God’s woman to be feminine or feminist?

We read of many good and bad examples of women in the Bible, such as Jezebel (1 Kings 18) and the lovely Hannah (1 Samuel 1&2).  How does God want his women?  In 1 Peter 5:5 we read, “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”  Also, in the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord tells us, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5)  We are commanded to be humble and meek.  Does this mean we are to be a doormat, allowing others to walk on us?  Does this mean that we are commanded to have a low self-esteem, to think that we are nobody, that we are unimportant?  Not at all!  We are commanded to be meek, yes, but what does this mean? After all, it is not a word I use hardly ever! The best illustration I can think of to describe meekness is a huge draft horse such as a Clysdale or a Shire.  Those horses are huge and can very easily weigh a ton.  They could easily kill a man with one kick or stampede, but do they? No, they are under control, they are meek.  Meekness is power under control.  Just like that draft horse pulling the large tree stump out of the ground or pulling the plow, we are to have power (1 Cor. 1:18, Eph. 3:20, 2 Tim. 1:7) but we are to be gentle, or under control.  The feminist movement wants to empower women, which is all good and great until you question, power over what? Over men. Over the church. Over other women. 

God also wants his women kind.  In Ephesians 5:32 we read, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”    The key word there is kind.  I know many women who are not kind, who do not have that beautiful agape love for one another, even sadly in the church.  Being kind is a trait that is worked at, a skill that we must acquire.  In Acts 9 we read of a very kind lady – Dorcas, “Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.”  When we see someone in need, do we approach them offering our help and love?  The world would say “No, look out for yourself.  Look out for number 1.” 

Along the same lines as looking out for yourself, the Bible tells us of a beautiful woman who did the exact opposite.  We do not know her name, or what she looked like, but she was beautiful indeed.  In Proverbs 31:10-31 we read of a lady known only as the virtuous woman.  We read of her taking care of her family and her house, sacrificing perhaps much needed, or wanted, sleep (Prov. 31:15).  She goes and buys items her family needs and provides for her children and husband – she was not lazy! (Prov. 31:13,14, 16, 21, & 27)  Not only does she provide for her house, but she makes her husband look good (Prov. 31:11,12, & 23)!  How often do we make our husband look good to others? Do we build him up in front of others, recognizing his hard work for the Lord?  Are we a wife that he is proud to be the husband of (Prov. 31:28-29)?  What about our children?  The woman of God takes care of her children and loves them dearly, looking after their spiritual welfare (Prov. 31:26; 1 Sam. 1:11, 28).  She does not see her children as a burden, but as a blessing (Psalm 127:3)!  God’s woman also sees to those in need, providing for others who have nothing (Prov. 31:19-20).  I can almost guarantee you that this lovely woman would have been laughed at in our day and age for her feminine qualities, her gracious and kind spirit. 

So as we continue on in the corporate jobs and meet women who are brash and callous, let us remember the beautiful women of God listed in the Bible and model ourselves after them.  After all, the world has plenty of women who are harsh, callous, rude, and overbearing.  The world needs more women who are kind, gentle, soft, loving, and meek (1 Peter 3:4).

Erin resides in Ben Wheeler Tx with her husband who preaches for the Ben Wheeler congregation. Erin has been involved with preparing and organizing the work of the church since she was a teenager by teaching all ages of Bibles classes, helping prepare and organize Ladies Days, Prom Alternatives, Youth Rallies and VBS.  She is currently works as a paralegal for a law firm. She and her husband also spend their time enjoying their sweet dog, chickens, ducks, quail…etc.  Life is never dull at her house.

Til Death Do us Part

     I will never forget standing in the church building following our morning worship and watching her fight back her tears. I watched her unconsciously play with her wedding ring as she told me about her beloved husband. I didn’t know her husband, and had just asked what I thought was a casual question in passing, not really related to her husband, but somehow the conversation quickly turned to him. When I saw her reaction I felt guilty and mentally kicked myself for saying anything that could have caused her such pain. I listened, fighting back my tears as I watched her choked back hers, while a few she was unable to stop slowly rolled down her cheeks. Finally, I asked how long it had been since her husband passed. “It will be 24 years in two months,” she said. 

     Spring and summer is on the way and, of course, means weddings, weddings and more weddings! In fact, our small congregation will have five couples marry this spring/summer. Everyone is anxious to hear the latest details of the wedding plans, always assuring the bride-to-be that all will go well: the dresses will fit and the tuxes will arrive on time, etc. It is an exciting time. However, this is also a time when I am  mindful of our widowed sisters, our sisters who are left to walk this world alone. I am inspired by these women and their love for the Lord as I watch them walk into the church building alone, sitting alone as they worship their God. They understand that a happy marriage and perfect love for their mate can only be found in a strong abiding, submissive love for the Lord. I am mindful of these wise women. I seek their council when I need to know how to comfort a sister who is struggling in her marriage, and when I am ashamedly fighting my own selfishness in my marriage. I seek them out, I listen, and I watch.

               

     They understand the frustration, anger and hurt that can occur in a marriage, some have lived through the pain that Sarah must have felt when Abraham put her last, and looked after his own interests first, denying she was his wife, even to the point of giving her to another man (see Genesis 12:10-20; and Genesis 20). But, despite feeling neglected and unappreciated, these sisters, like Sarah, remained faithful and waited patiently on the Lord (I Peter 3:6).

     Some of my widowed sisters endured years of heartbreak like Abigail (see I Samuel 25) who all the while married to an ungodly, angry, and perhaps, abusive husband, remained steadfast to the Lord’s commandments (I Sam. 25:18-34). But they, like Abigail, because of their deep abiding faith in the Lord and their commitment to His will above their own (Gal 2:20), remained kind, gentle (Col 3:12) and faithful, serving their husbands as if serving the Lord (Romans 12), because the Lord asked her to (Eph. 5:22; Col 3:18); because she loved her Lord more than her own selfish desires (Eph 5:33b); because she never lost sight of her commitment and hope that her husband would see the Lord in her (I Peter 3).  

     Many of these widowed sisters lived through struggles to “make ends meet.” And they know the dangers and destruction that selfishness can have on a marriage. They understood the discouragement they could bring upon their husbands if they succumbed to the temptation of greed; wanting more than their husband could provide (Prov. 31:11). These are women who understand how important it is to resist the sin of discouraging their husband as they studied Job’s wife in Job 2:9; Job 19:17; or the sin of tempting their husband as they read about Eve enticing her husband to disobey the Lord in Gen. 3:6; or the sin of criticizing their husband as they read about Michael criticizing David in II Samuel 6.

     My widowed sisters understood the Godly commandment to leave their mothers and cling to their husbands as the Lord told them to in Genesis 2:24. Many of my widowed sisters followed Ruth’s example and left their families to follow their husband’s God (see Ruth 1). They felt that pain and knew it would cost them their families, but held tighter to their God and their husbands as the Lord directed them in Mark 10:6-9.

               

    I am always mindful of these wise women and try to visit a nursing home that is owned and managed by the Lord's church every week. Almost most every apartment on the assisted living wing is occupied by a widow.  I seek out these Christian widowed sisters, my widowed sisters I see sitting alone in the worship assembly each service of the church, and my Christian widowed mother and aunt. I seek them out, I watch, and I listen.  I think about oath they took on their wedding day long ago, and I think about the young women we will see walk down toward their future husband and take make their promise to the Lord.  

  

     I am confident that the marriages we all will witness this spring and summer will last a lifetime; all marriages can. I am also confident that each couple will have struggles and a few tears; all marriages do. However, I am more confident in the Lord’s boundaries regarding marriage (Gen 2:22; Matt. 19:9). My wise widowed sisters know that it takes a lifetime to learn to love perfectly, a spiritual love (I Cor. 13: 4-7), one that sacrifices willingly (Gen 22:2) for another (I John 4:10). These widowed sisters realize they did not do it alone. They know they were blessed by the Lord as they sought His will above their own, and looked to God’s great example of true love (John 3:16).

Human Guesses or Godly Wisdom?

~Tracy Frederick

In my opinion, the only time to shop in Wal-Mart  is 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. You have the store to yourself and there are plenty of checkers waiting for the crowds to arrive. That is why I was strolling (ok, for those that know me…hobbling) across Wal-Mart this morning  and glanced over at the book section. My eye was caught by a title:  Knowing the Heart of God.  My eyebrows raised ever so slightly and I stopped for a breather (you know they put everything you need a opposite ends)  and took a gander. I flipped through the book and read a passage or two in which the author “preached” his personal view of who God is. I flipped to the back and saw that it contained around 280 pages or so and then onto what others said about the book. I read:” J. I. Packer's classic has revealed to over one million Christians around the world the wonder, the glory and the joy of knowing God.” My eyebrows raised even more (they are now in my fuzzy hair).  I stepped back a bit and scanned the other “religious” books:  “Experiencing God”, “God is not Mad at you”, “Heaven is for Real” and the ever popular pop culture  phenomenon “Happy Happy Happy” in which there are a couple of chapters late in the book about the importance of teaching God. All of these books were well over 200 pages, even the book written by Phil Robertson. Who knew the guy could say so much?

Now, I understand that reading what a biblical (those who teach the precepts of the word, and “hold the mystery of the faith in pure conscience” I Timothy 3:9) teacher has written to gain encouragement and consider the word more close.  Jesus told His disciples to teach the word and that meant that they had to use their words to present His. Again, the biblical writer’s purpose is to consider the word more closely. Biblical writers point us TO the word not AWAY from it. They compel us to move AWAY from our computers and the blog, Facebook post, the paper book down and TOWARD picking up THE Book, the only text that gives Truth. I am always shocked when I hear brothers and sisters able to quote some religious teacher and then not be able to quote the plan of salvation. It is shocking to hear someone has read a 200+ page book written about God, or a 160+ page book written about a four year old’s view of heaven but haven’t taken the time to read the wonderful one chapter book, Philemon- a practical story about forgiveness in the words of the Creator of forgiveness.

But, don’t listen/read me anymore. Take a listen of our Father:

“the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:15-17.
“For whatever things were written before were writte
n for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Romans 15:4.
“…no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,  for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” II Peter 1:20-21.

Well, we could go on and on, couldn’t we? But, as I stood there in Wal-Mart at 7:00 a.m. this morning that overwhelming sadness turned into an ache as I considered all those books and how many copies had been purchased to read ABOUT the Bible. I stood there looking at the display and noticed the couple of Bibles on the bottom row at the far end kinda looking neglected. As I walked away I felt ashamed for us and thought about my students. I often get an excuse from students who failed to complete assignments correctly. It goes something like this: Johnny: “Why did I make a bad grade? Susie told me how to do it.” To which I reply: “Did you take the time to read my instructions?” Johnny always answers: “No, I thought Susie knew.”  Yeah, Susie doesn’t know…. and neither do we, but we better find out from the one who wrote the instructions. I don’t think He will take that excuse. But, someone said it much better, didn’t He?  “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” II Tim 2:15.  “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” II Tim 3:15. “Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes” Deut 11:18. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding” Pr 3:5. “Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Ps 119:11. I think you get the idea....God says it better every time.