Invisibility

"If He goes by me, I do not see Him;
If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;"
Job 9:11

I read this verse and thought, "What's so great about that?"

Often times I view God's invisibility as an inconvenience. It would be so much easier to follow Him if He were visible. The fact that I don't see Him doesn't inspire a feeling of awe, and yet, this verse is part of a long list of God's amazing attributes.

It set me thinking. If I were reading a story or watching a movie where the hero could move without being seen, if this hero could be invisible - wouldn't i think that was amazing, cool, or even wicked awesome?

God's ability to be invisible is as much a sign of His power, an indication that He truly is God, as walking on water.

Constellations Then and Now

"He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;"
Job 9:9

Some part of my mind got this idea that the sky looks very different to us now than it did back in the beginning and yet this verse references some of the most well known constellations.

In our world where nothings looks the same as it did in bible times (society, government, day to day life), it is amazing to realize that we still look up into the same night sky. 

Without Him Nothing

John 1:3
"All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."

Over time I find myself losing my grasp of the full weight of certain truths.

For example:
"God is good"
"For God so loved the world . . . "
 and "God made the world."

Yes, I know that God is good, but if I were to truly sit and try to comprehend how good He is or acknowledge the magnitude of His love - I would doubtless find myself overwhelmed with awe. I easily throw around the "God made the world" bit, but when I really stop and take in the words "without Him nothing was made that was made," I am forced to see how everything around me is a testament to His awesomeness.

Impossible Foretold

"He alone spreads out the heavens,
And treads on the waves of the sea;"
Job 9:8

It's amazing to me to think that Job made reference to God walking on water so long before it actually happened.

Had Jesus not walked on water, I don't think I would have associated walking on water with God. After all walking on water is about as possible as swimming in lava. Yet Job doesn't say that he swims in lava, but that he "treads on the waves of the sea" and that's exactly what he did.

Pawns

"For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's
And He has set the World upon them."
                  1 Samuel 2:8c
Every other day, it seems, you hear about another nobody who rocketed from obscurity into somebody. A budding new author, a lucky unknown in a lead acting role, the heroic marine, all around us in every area of life there are individuals coming to the forefront while others are moving back.

People struggle year after year to attain these positions of influence and the greatness that accompanies them, but these positions are God's to fill. He can replace them in a blink of an eye with whomever He chooses. If God wishes to lift you up - He will, but if God wishes to bring you down, that's just as easy.

As I watch the people around me move up and down it just serve to amaze me with how Big God is and how small we really are. We are but pawns that can stay lowly or become a queen as it best suits the overall outcome of the game. Either way I am just honored to be a part of His game. How about you?

Water into Wine

I already know the story of Jesus turning water into wine, so when he tells the men to pour in the
water I think "Of Course!" But what if I was one of those men, and I didn't know the water was going to be wine in a matter of seconds. Would I have followed orders or would I have argued? So often following God feels like pouring in the water. We don't see how what He has asked of us is going to fix the problem at hand. Just remember that the water did turn into wine. God always follows through on his end. Do we always follow his directions?

John 2:1-10

      "On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”it.” Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

A Virtuous Wife (3 of 3)

Quality Number 2:

"She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life."
Proverbs 31:12

Doing good to your husband is different from simply not hurting him. As wives we have the ability to build our husbands up or to tear them down.

How do you build him up?

• Show him unconditional respect. This means you respect him even when he fails.
• Unconditional support and encouragement. This is what it meant when you said for better or for worse.
• Unconditional love. This one is important, but focus on the two points above. He will feel loved if you are respecting and supporting him. 
• Encourage hum in his interests, strengths, and to be the best he can be in whatever he tries. 
• Don't let him feel belittled in your eyes.
• Let him know how much you respect him and appreciate what he does or tries to do. 
• A man should not be ranked by his success in his wife's eyes.
• Never say I told you so when he fails and don't expect perfection.

Marriage isn't made great by only putting the work in when you are feeling it - the love born through marriage is the love you learn through choosing to love, respect and support your spouse even when it's hard.

Be his rock. He wants your respect and he needs your strength. With you behind him, he can tackle anything.

A Virtuous Wife (2 of 3)

Does your husband trust you?

"The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain."
Proverbs 31:11


A virtuous wife can be trusted because she is honest.

• She doesn't lie, intentionally mislead, conveniently forget to mention, or intentionally hide things from her husband (no hiding those shoe purchases) 
• She is trustworthy with finances (honest)
• She doesn't hide who she spends time with or what she does with her day.

If you do anything you feel you have to hide from your husband in any way, you probably should not be doing it and are most likely not being trustworthy.

Most importantly, a trusted wife does not publicly humiliate, criticize, or disrespect her husband.

If your husband criticized you to his friends, coworkers, family or anyone else for that matter - Would you trust him? No, because we do not trust people who hurt us, or air our weaknesses to the world.

Disputes or disagreements are between the two of you and few things can do more damage to a marriage than airing private matters publicly.

Above all a trusted wife desires her husband to be respected, protects his reputation, and his heart as if it was her own.

Are we worthy of trust?

A Virtuous Wife (1 of 3)

"Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies."
Proverbs 31:10

Every new bride would love to be described by this verse...so what happens? Why are so few wives actually considered virtuous? Why don't husbands sing their praises?

What makes a wife so valuable to her husband? It's not beauty - or else Hollywood would be full of happily married couples. So, ladies, you can throw your looks out the window. While your appearance is no doubt a perk it isn't what makes or breaks the virtuous thing.

Wives: What does your husband value most about you as his wife?
Husbands: What do you value most about your wives?

The next two posts will focus on two of the qualities proverbs mentions in a virtuous wife.

Salvation in Scriptures?

"You search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 

But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life."

     John 5:39-40

  
     It's amazingly easy to lose our focus of Jesus, our living Lord, in favor of Jesus, the man in our bibles. While I do believe these verses were initially directed towards the Jews that did not recognize Jesus as the messiah, they seem equally applicable today. Our salvation doesn't come from the scriptures. Jesus wants us to come to Him. Our bibles are simply the means to the end - not the end itself.

Sleep in the Harvest

"He who gathers in summer
   is a wise son;
He who sleeps in harvest is
   a son who causes shame."
                     Proverbs 10:5

I found this verse thought provoking because of it's dual application.

Certainly it applies literally to our responsibilities/work, but does God also have a harvest he wants us bringing in, and we're just sitting at home?

I find it easy to say things to the effect of, "It's just not my gift" or "He hasn't put me in a place where I can help." But I don't for a second expect those lame excuses to hold up on heaven. Am I sleeping? Are you?

Do I fear God?

I've asked myself this question many times. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," but does God become such a comfortable concept in our heads that we lose our sense of fear?

I offer a test: Proverbs 8:13 says, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate."

In thinking about this verse I realized that part of the reason I hate evil so much is because I have a healthy respect for God's wrath. Is it possible then, that when we are getting desensitized to sin we are actually losing our fear of God?