Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

A young man recently shared this testimony with us. He was driving to our home, came to the lights which were red, and obediently followed the car in front of him. All of a sudden he realized he was going through a red light! Why? Instead of looking up at the lights, he followed the person in front of him. This could have got him into a lot of trouble.

How easy it is to do this in life. We subconsciously follow people around us. We assimilate into the ways of our humanistic society. Unless we diligently keep our eyes on Jesus and follow Him, we follow the crowd around us without realizing it.

Have you read the words to the Newsboys song, “Guilty.” They wrote this song for the new movie, GOD’S NOT DEAD 2. However, they have received flack for the words of this song. There are some Christian radio stations who will not play it because they don’t want to offend! I beg your pardon! If we cannot stand up for Christ and for the truth, we should not use the name “Christian.”

May we never be ashamed to own Christ and to lift up His name. May we be Christ up-lifting families, never compromising with the spirit of this world.

Do you remember when Jesus walked with the two disciples on the way to Emmaus? The two disciples were totally dejected and disheartened because the One who they thought would save them from the Romans was dead! But Jesus came along and began to speak to them from the Scriptures “the things concerning himself.” Oh how their hearts rejoiced and “burned within them” as He spoke to them.

But they still didn’t know it was Jesus. They came to Emmaus and although Jesus would have walked on, they begged him to come and eat with him. Then what happened? It was as they SAT AT THE TABLE and Jesus broke the bread, blessed it and gave it to them, that THEIR EYES WERE OPENED! Now, this was not communion. This was a daily Israeli meal where they broke the flat bread and dipped in their dishes to eat.

The amazing thing we see here is that it was when they were sitting together at the table that their eyes were opened. Did you know, dear ladies, that the table is a place of revelation? God loves to come and sit at our tables with us each day. He wants to be present. And He wants to bring understanding and revelation of Himself.

The table is not only a place to feed the body, but to feed the soul and the spirit. God comes to feed our spirit and open our eyes to Him and all that He wants to tell us. I believe the table is the most powerful place in our home.

But what happens instead? Do you think the devil wants us to come together as families? Do you think he wants us to strengthen our family ties as we eat and fellowship together? And do you think He wants our children to feel the presence of God at our tables as fathers read from God’s Word and we pray together? No. The devil knows the power of the table, the power of God’s Word, and the power of praying families. He will do everything in his power to keep you from these daily sacred moments.

He won’t use bad things. He knows he could never tempt you that way. He just gets you busy. He gets your children involved in all the curricular activities that take you away from the family meal table and the opportunity for God to visit with you and speak to you and your children.

Dear mother. Take a stand. Rise up against everything that would hinder this time with your family. Make it happen. Put aside anything and everything that interferes with this time.

You are the one that can make it happen in your home.

Love and blessings from Nancy Campbell

P.S. Read the story in Luke 24:1-35.

A cheerful heart will make such a different to your home today. But you don’t FEEL cheerful? That’s not the point. I hope you don’t live by your feelings. That’s a miserable way to live. In fact, it is a false way to live. Feelings are deceiving. They come and go. But truth is real. And the truth is that if you have received Jesus Christ into your life, you have living joy bubbling up within you. Jesus, who lives in you, is JOY. Hebrews 1:9 tells us that Jesus has more joy than anyone else in the world--and He lives in you!

May you have a blessed Sunday as you fellowship as a family with the people of God today. We all need to be encouraged and we all need to encourage one another, don't we?

Are you speaking encouraging words to your husband and children today? Proverbs 12:25 (TLB) says: "Anxious hearts are very heavy, but a word of encouragement does wonders!"

Your words can release miracles into your home. You can expect wonders to happen when you start speaking encouraging words.

~ Nancy Campbell

When we stood at the altar and confessed our marriage vows, we were not only doing it in the presence of family and friends, but GOD. The Bible tells us in Malachi 2:14: “The LORD WAS WITNESS between you and the wife of your youth.” Our covenant-keeping God silently witnessed the covenant we made before Him. Our marriage vows are scared; we cannot take them lightly.

~ Nancy Campbell

Picture: Arden (our grandson) and Esther who were recently married. As I looked for a picture to reveal the sacredness of making our marriage vows, I could not find one that showed the true awesomeness of this occasion. To me, this picture reveals something of this holy moment.

Don’t deprive your family of this daily blessing. Be blessed by this encouragement from James Russell. Miller (1840 –1912), Christian author and pastor of several churches in Pennsylvania and Illinois:

"Hearts that are drawn together at God's feet every day in family devotions cannot drift very far away from each other. The domestic frictions of the day are forgotten when all voices mingle in the same heavenly song. As the tender words of Scripture fall with their gracious counsels, all feeling of unkindness melts away. The family altar in the midst wondrously hallows and sweetens the whole home. Besides, the family altar . . .
puts new strength into every heart,
comforts all sorrows,
is a shield against temptation,
smoothes out the wrinkles of care,
inspires strength for burden-bearing,
quickens every holy sentiment, and
keeps the fires of devotion burning on every heart's altar."

Jesus Christ was our supreme sacrifice. He became the sacrificial Lamb, slain upon the altar for our sins. His ultimate sacrifice gives us forgiveness of sins, victory over sin in our daily life, sweet fellowship with Him, and eternal life. Romans 12:1 beseeches us that our logical and reasonable response should be to yield our lives to Him as a living sacrifice. What does this mean?

Jesus laid down His life to be our sacrifice. We have to lay down our lives to be a living sacrifice. We face this principle every day as wives and mothers. Constantly we choose whether we will demand our own way, decide to do that which pleases us, or lay down our life for our husband, our children, and for others. Every day we sacrifice our own selfish desires.

We know how important it is to hide God’s Word in our heart, don’t we? We understand how imperative it is to make sure our children hide God’s Word in their hearts. I’m sure you have taught your children Psalm 119:11: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I night not sin against thee.” I agree with the old saying: “Sin will keep you from God’s Word, or God’s Word will keep you from sin.”

However, IT IS NOT ENOUGH! God not only wants us and our children to hide His Word in our hearts and souls. He wants it to come out of our mouths, our hands, and our feet. It’s only when it affects every part of our body that it truly works in our lives. Let’s check it out:

Our Mouths
God gives a mandate to us and our children and children’s children in Isaiah 59:21: “As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy MOUTH, shall not depart out of thy MOUTH, nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed, nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever.” I don’t think we could get the vision any clearer than that, do you?

It is only what we speak that we keep. “I believed; therefore have I spoken” (Psalm 116:10 and 2 Corinthians 4:13). We are born again into God’s family, not only by believing, but by confessing that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9, 10). We have to speak God’s Word and His truths out loud with our mouths for them to become part of our lives. And how can we pass them on to the next generation and to others if they don’t not flow out of our mouths?

Our Feet
David confessed in Psalm 119:59, 60: “I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.” God’s Word got into his feet. It kept his feet from evil. God wants to get His Word into our feet to work out in our lives, too. Instead of sitting on the sofa with our feet up (except when we are nursing babies, reading stories to our children, and talking to them of God’s ways which are great works) our feet walk around the house to make things happen and keep it in ship shape. They walk to people who need our help and encouragement.

Our Hands
When we read God’s Word, our hearts burn within us. But it can’t stay in our hearts. We lift up our hands with praise to God for His wonderful commandments. David said in Psalm 119:48: “My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved.” They also write and type God’s Words to bring encouragement to others.

God wants His Word to be so practical in our lives that it comes out of our hands. As mothers, we minister God’s love from our hands all day long as we caress babies, hug children, nurture children, hug our husbands, and work hard with our hands to make our home a delightful place. Cooking, baking, cleaning, shopping, and caring for our children are the practical outworking of God’s living Word (Psalm 128:3; 1 Timothy 2:15; 5;14; Titus 2:3-5 ad many others).

May we let God’s Word flow out of every part of our being today.

Be encouraged,

Nancy Campbell

FOR THE BEREANS (those who love to search the Word):
Further Scriptures for you regarding the post below, IT’S NOT ENOUGH. You may like to take a few Scriptures each day, look them up, and talk about them with your children.

Hide God’s Word in your heart and soul:
Psalm 119:11, 80, 111, 112, 129, 145, 161, 167.

P.S. Norman Rockwell picture.

“I beg your pardon. Are you talking to me?” I hear you say. “That’s not me. I’m for ever failing and getting angry with the children.” Yes, I understand. The Bible says: “There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3 and Romans 3:10). True!

“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). True!

The original wedding vows state: "I take you . . . TO HAVE AND TO HOLD from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part." The words “to hold” are strong and powerful. What do they mean? What do they mean to you? I’ll share a few thoughts, but I’d love to hear from you too.

1. CONFESS YOUR LOVE AND COMMITMENT CONTINUALLY
The Bible tells us that we hold on to our faith by confessing our faith. I believe this is also a very important way to hold on to our marriage. Confession is a huge part of our every day our lives. We keep what we confess. Therefore, every day remember to say “I love you” to your husband. Many times a day is better. Confess your commitment to your marriage to your husband and to others.

How do we stay strong in faith? How do we stand fast against the ungodly influence of others around us? God has the answer for us of course. The way to do it is to continually confess your faith. We are born again into the family of God by believing and CONFESSING that Jesus is our Lord (Romans 10:9,10). But we don’t stop there. We keep on believing and CONFESSING every day of our lives (Colossians 2:7).

You only keep what you speak out. Both David and Paul stated: “I believed; therefore have I spoken” (Psalm 116:10 and 2 Corinthians 4:13).

Do you really believe what God says? Do I? God’s words are eternal. He doesn’t give us a different set of plans for each generation, but His plans work for all generations. Yes, even in 2016! In fact, no generation is exempt from God’s plans and purposes. Every generation is without excuse.

Psalm 33:10, 11 says: “The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the LORD standeth forever. the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”

It’s so important to have a right spirit, isn’t it? Our spirit is who we really are. Our body is only the house of our spirit. The attitude of our spirit determines how we live our lives, tearing us down or lifting us up. It determines the atmosphere we create in our home.

After David sinned with Bathsheba, he cried out in repentance and confession, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:11). The word “right” is "kuwn” and means “erect, standing up straight, faithful, fixed.” It is the same word that is used in Psalm 57:7 and 108:1: “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed.” Also Psalm 112:7 speaking of those who fear the Lord and delight in His commandments: “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.”

Your home doesn’t suddenly become a home of tranquility and joy. Your home doesn’t suddenly become orderly. Your husband and children are not assured of your love and affirmation without your telling them. Nothing in life just happens. You have to make it happen.

Make beautiful things happen in your home today. Your attitude, your words, your doing what you have to do instead of dreaming about it, and your love and smiles will determine the blessing in your home.

There are those who would spurn the vocation of
mothers
And say of careers, it’s inferior to others,
I'll have to admit that it's not easy work,
It's relentless and from it you cannot shirk.

A while back I asked our readers to share the little things they do to show their husbands they love them. The following are the replies I received. Each one of us are different personalities and therefore we show our love in different ways. You may not do all the things written in this list, but take time to read it through. You are sure to find some new ideas. Never be content with a boring marriage. Always be thinking of new and exciting ways to love your husband. Surprise him with something you’ve never done before. And why not do it today.

Do you think you married the wrong person?

Zig Ziglar gives some good advice:

“I'll be the first to admit that it's possible that you did marry the wrong person. However, if you treat the wrong person like the right person, you could well end up having married the right person after all. On the other hand, if you marry the right person, and treat that person wrongly, you certainly will have ended up marrying the wrong person. I also know that it is far more important to be the right kind of person than it is to marry the right person. In short, whether you married the right or wrong person is primarily up to you.”

1. DIVINELY

The Creator of male and female divinely designed His perfect plan. It is God who joins the man and woman in marriage: “What therefore GOD hath joined together.”

2. PROPHETICALLY
God revealed His plan in the beginning for all future marriages: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Where were the father and mother? They were nowhere on the scene when God spoke these words. Adam and Eve had never seen a father and mother! God was prophetically revealing His plan and how it would work for all future mankind.

3. INTENTIONALLY AND FACTUALLY
God unmistakably states His plan: “They two (the man and his wife) shall be one flesh. Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh.” It does not matter what mere man thinks, it is what God states! His Word is eternal. It doesn’t change from the beginning to the end.

4. EMPHATICALLY
There are no “if, buts, or maybes,” but “And God said.” Not man (the created), but God (the Designer and Creator) has the last say!

5. PHYSICALLY
The coming together of male and female to be “one flesh” in marriage is a perfect fit. The sexual organs of male and female are opposite, (the man’s external and the woman’s internal), but they fit perfectly by God’s design. Male and male or female and female are not a perfect fit. This lifestyle is outside the Creator’s design.

When Jesus answered the questions of the Pharisees He said: “Have yet not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, FOR THIS CAUSE. . .” It was FOR THIS CAUSE (because He created them male and female) that the man cleaves to his wife. Please notice the words “man and wife,” not two of the same sex.

6. GENERATIONALLY
The coming together as “one flesh” results in the potential procreation of children and children’s children. From the two come one, or many, each bearing genetic genes of both the father and mother. This is impossible in a homosexual relationship which is outside of God’s blessing. These relationships end in nothingness and future destruction. It is the male and female oneness that God blessed: “Male and female created he them. And God BLESSED them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” Children only come through the blessing of God.

7. DELIGHTFULLY
God must have been filled with joy and delight when He designed the “one flesh” marriage. Who but our amazing God could plan for the man and his wife to experience such ecstatic joy, fulfillment, and wonder together? Proverbs 5:18,19 speaks of the married couple ravishing and intoxicating one another with their love.

8. EMOTIONALLY AND MENTALLY
Human beings are not animals. We are created in the image and likeness of God. We are body, soul, and spirit. Because God created us with a heart, mind, and soul, the “one flesh” statement is more than physical. It is also a oneness of soul. I am not whole without my husband. He is not whole without me for “they are no more two, but one.” We complement one another and each one brings different strengths to the marriage to make it complete.

9. SPIRITUALLY
Our bodies are only the house of the real person, the spirit--the part of us which was made for fellowship with God. God’s highest purpose for us in marriage is to become one together in spirit--connected to one another by our spirits and God’s Holy Spirit. We are to be glued together as one.

10. PURPOSEFULLY
God brings the male and female together to accomplish His purposes. God’s primary purpose for male and female is to have children. As husband and wife, and together with their children, they are to be fruitful, fill the earth, and “subdue it: and have dominion.” Purposefully together they advance God’s kingdom in the earth, reveal His image and likeness, and bring more of His love, truth, justice, and peace to the earth.

11. UNDEFILEDLY
Marriage is called “holy matrimony” and the marriage bed is holy and sacred. At the beginning of the wedding vows, the minister says: “Into this ‘holy estate’ these two persons come now to be joined. Therefore; it is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly.”

Marriage is God-mandated and to be enjoyed according to God’s pattern, but it is designed only for male and female. Hebrews 13:4 (ESV) states: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” God created the sexual act to be totally fulfilling without the use of “toys,” alternative methods, or anything that violates the conscience.

12. UNENDINGLY
The traditional wedding vows state: "I take thee . . . to love and to cherish, till death do us part (or, as long as we both shall live), according to God's holy ordinance.”

Sadly, we don’t live in a perfect world and there are times when it is no longer safe to live in a marriage where one of the two continues in a despicable, ungodly, and unrepentant lifestyle. Jesus admitted when talking to the Pharisees that Moses allowed divorce because “of the hardness of your hearts,” but He continued, “From the beginning it was not so.” It was never God’s plan.

Jesus also forcefully stated: “What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder (or separate).” Or, let no man or woman, no organization, no church, no Facebook, or anything at all separate a man and wife from each other. They are to be fused as one.

~ Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

Read the following Scriptures referred to above: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:23, 24; Proverbs 5:18, 19; Matthew 5:27, 28; 19:4-9; Mark 10:2-9; 1 Corinthians 6:16,17; 7:1-5; Ephesians 5:31-33; and Hebrews 13:4.