Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

One of our favorite stories. The million-mile journey of Arnold Pent, Jr. and his wife and eight children as they traveled through US and Canada together. The father preached along the way. But no matter where they were, or whoever they stayed with, they never gave up their practice of daily Bible reading and memorization.

Challenging and inspiring reading.

WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY?

“TEN P’S IN A POD should be required reading. I still count it among one of the handful of most important books I have ever read.”
~ Andrée Seu Peterson, World Magazine Columnist

“Your book is a breath of fresh air.”

“In a society where the Bible is rarely read, even in Christian homes, this book should be necessary (but enjoyable) reading for EVERY Christian family.”

“How this husband and wife were able to take a family of eight children across both the United States and Canada throughout the 1950s and early 1960s in various old cars is a story worth reading.”
—
“I read this book out loud to my husband while we were on a long trip. Reading it out loud made the Scriptures and stories come alive. I’ve been greatly affected by the book.”

To order now, go to: https://tinyurl.com/10PsBook

We must all learn the art of peacemaking to avoid chaos from taking over our families and homes.

Matthew 5:9 says: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Fathers, we are peacemakers, and we are raising peacemakers.

I think the family home is the most important of all places to have peace.

This is where we live together as a family.
This is where we eat and fellowship together.
This is where we find rest and a sense of belonging.

We all know Psalm 23:2 which says: “He maketh me to lie down in great pastures: he leadeth ne beside the still waters.”

I looked after sheep in the early days of my life on our farm in New Zealand where my father owned many hundreds of sheep, up to a thousand when the lambs were born. Sheep require a place of tranquility in order to lie down and rest. The pastures must be green and healthy so their stomachs will be full and satisfied. Only then will they cease to be restless and able to lie down and sleep peacefully.

This verse also mentions that they need to be led by “still waters,” not raging chaotic flood waters where we endanger their lives and they cannot drink of those dangerous waters.

As parents, we are in a real sense, shepherds of our families. God calls His people “His flock” and “His sheep” (Psalm 74:1; 79:13; 80:1; 95:7; 100:3; and Zechariah 10:3. Therefore, the whole of Psalm 23 is a shepherd’s manual for both pastors and parents. We are indeed the shepherds of our families.

“Still waters” are peaceful waters. A chaotic environment is not a healthy environment for children. “Still waters” are tranquil waters where your family can rest and be at peace.

Are you a peacemaker in your home? Or are you a troublemaker in your home? Even hidden sins can disturb the peace in your home such as looking at violent movies or watching secret pornography. Entertaining lustful thoughts or angry attitudes (even in secret) can disturb the peace in your home. Secret negative attitudes can be felt by those who walk in the light.

1 John 1:7 says: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

There is nothing worse than trying to hear something important when there is static of some kind or electrical interference (radio or cell phone). Secret, negative attitudes will create static and interference with the atmosphere of your home.

Parents, we have to get to the bottom of these negative attitudes, even when they are not verbally expressed for they will create static or a flickering light. True fellowship can only be enjoyed by those who walk in the light. Those who are peacemakers and light makers will automatically have the blood of Jesus Christ cleansing them from all sin. They are more than willing to confess their sins and faults to one another and to the Lord.

As parents, we must teach our children to confess their faults and sins so that they will forsake the things that hinder the fellowship.

How can we call ourselves the children of God if we do not actively engage in peacemaking?

Does Jesus Christ feel at home in your home?

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Painting by Ron DiCianni

Where there is righteousness there will be peace. Psalm 85:10: says: “Righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Peace has an intimate relationship with righteousness. It actually kisses righteousness. Kissing someone or something is a tangible expression of heartfelt emotion. The kiss of peace is given to those who seek to live righteous lives through their relationship with Jesus Christ who is the Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 says that He is called “The Prince of Peace.” Until Israel accepts Jesus Christ (Yeshua Hamashiach) as their Prince of Peace they will not know any true lasting peace.

As Christian parents, we must make Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace over our marriages and our homes. As godly fathers, we must teach our children to seek after the things that make for peace. We should pray daily that the peace of God will rule in the hearts and lives of our children. Colossians 3;15 says: “And let the peace of God RULE in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

We don’t want our homes to be filled with arguments, debates, discord, anxieties, defiance, depressions, fears, and bad attitudes. These things are opposite to the peace of God’s kingdom which consists of righteousness, peace, and joy! Romans 14:17 says: “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, a nd joy in the Holy Ghost.” Is this Scripture the testimony of your home?

We are also exhorted to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6 says: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” Our Jerusalem, as Christians, is not only the natural city in Israel which we must definitely pray for constantly.

However, in another sense, our Jerusalem can be our homes and families where we live.

It can also be the churches we attend.

It can also be the individual bodies we live in for these bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:15 and 2 Corinthians 6:16-18). Wherever the temple are, that’s where the New Jerusalem is.

To be continued.

Colin Campbell

Bad moods, the silent treatment, a refusal to be bright and happy, straight-out defiance, dirty looks, and a negative attitude cannot be tolerated if you want to save your home from chaos and a bad atmosphere.

If you do not apply the rod when the rod is appropriate you will create a rod for your own back.

Shouting, anger, and temper tantrums must not be tolerated or allowed to prevail.

Pouting, hateful speech, and cussing must be dealt with quickly by a firm hand of righteous, godly discipline.

If we do not take appropriate action, our homes will quickly become chaotic, unhappy, unloving, and anything but a home of peace and healing.

Christian graces and righteous attitudes must be constantly taught and applied in our homes.

Around the table, both morning and evening, we must unfailingly share the teachings and admonitions of God’s Word and the instructions of righteous behavior that will save us from the chaos and evil that easily destroy homes and families.

As Christian families, we must actively pursue the things which make for peace. Romans 14:19 says: “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.”

There are things we can do, both in our individual lives and families, that make for peace. God’s home is a place of peace, not contention. This is where the rubber meets the road.

What are these things which make for peace? Are we actively finding out these things which make for peace? Is your home and marriage a place of peace? I am not talking about noise, for where children are, noise is inevitable. Happy noise is healthy noise.

To be continued.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Your home is a place where you have control over who comes and goes. Your home is not a place where you allow anybody to come in and eat the food they want from your pantry and refrigerator. You don’t allow people to come in and sleep in your bedroom and wear your clothes.

Your home is meant to be a place where the parents rule and not the children, or anyone else who thinks they are entitled to usurp your authority. Your home is a place where you rule and not your invited guests, relatives, or friends. If you let others take control, the home is no longer yours.

To those who think they can just come in and take over, you need to rise up and lay out the basic rules of your home. You need to inform them that if they do not comply, they are no longer welcome in your home. When, out of compassion, you bring folk into your home, it does not mean they have the right to dictate their own terms.

Your home should be HOME SWEET HOME.

Your home should be a place where LOVE AND PEACE REIGN.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

• Every Christian home needs a husband and father who will do his very best to demonstrate his love for his wife and family at all times, especially in the home.
• Every Christian husband and father must have the revelation of the great value of homeschooling, home-loving, home-training, home-safety, and home Bible devotions. To this end, he must work willingly and diligently to protect and provide for all the needs of his wife and family.
• Tremendous pressure is put upon the stay-at-home mother to vacate the home, at least five to six days of every week. Because of this, all Christian men, and especially pastors and church leaders, should go out of their way to strongly encourage the stay-at-home wife and mother.
• Every husband should affirm his wife’s great value and worth in the home. This can never be underestimated.

I believe the nation is as strong as its homes and families. Often the home is vacant day after day from 8 am to 6 pm. Nurseries, day cares, and state schools (including private schools) cannot make up for a mother’s loving smiles, understanding, encouragement, training, and discipline

• Without a mother, the home is nothing but an empty shell. The mother provides the loving atmosphere in the home.
• Without a mother in the home, the home is sterile and boring.
• Without a mother in the home, it becomes meaningless and without a rudder.
• Without a mother in the home, it loses its anchor and begins to drift to liberal ideologies and eventually crash on rocky shores.

Men, do not encourage your wife away from her nest of little ones. Even older children still need the stable guidance and security of their mothers in the home.

The socialists want woman out of the home. They want to destroy the value of the homemaker.

Every Christian man should daily encourage his wife in the home.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Have you read this story in the Bible? It’s found in 2 Kings 13:14-19 (NET):

“Now Elisha had a terminal illness. King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. He wept before him and said, “MY father, my father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!”
Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows,” and he did so.
Then Elisha told the king of Israel, “Aim the bow.” He did so, and Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands.
Elisha said, “Open the east window, and he did so. Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he did so. Elisha said, “This arrow symbolizes the victory the LORD will give you over Syria. You will annihilate Syria in Aphek!”
Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows,” and he did so. He told the king of Irasel, “Strike the ground!” He struck the ground three times and stopped.
The prophet got angry at him and said, “If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! But now you will defeat Syria only three times.”
Elisha died and was buried.”

This incident is probably why we are still fighting Syria.

This passage of Scripture never ceases to amaze me. Elisha, the prophet, despite his sickness and approaching death, wanted God to use him one more time. He wanted their enemy, Syria, to be completely destroyed and consumed. He would not be able to physically fight Syria, but as a prophet, he could prophetically pronounce the entire destruction of one of Israel’s greatest enemies.

Elisha, as ill as he was, asked the king to pick up his bow and arrows which he did. His arrows were most likely in his quiver. He asked the king to put his hands upon the bow and the king did. Then Elisha the prophet must have climbed out of his sick bed to stand over the king and place his hands upon the king’s hands.

He asks the king to open the east window. Joash the king would have asked his servant to do this as his hands were holding the bow and arrow. He shoots and Elisha prophetically pronounces: “The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria.”

When the prophet asks the king to smite the ground with his arrows, he only smites three times and stops! Elisha was angry and challenges King Joash, “Why didn’t you smite the ground five or six times? You would have consumed and destroyed Syria! Now you will only smite Syria three times.”

Having made this pronouncement Elisha died an angry man. Every man of God wans to go home to Heaven on the eve of a great victory. Sad to say this did not happen.

Why did King Joash only smite the ground three times? Many could say that it was not his fault. How could the king know how may times he should smite the ground?

The answer could be that . . .
1. He was spiritually out of tune with the prophet.
2. He was lazy and apathetic.
3. He may not have had a quiver full of arrows.
4. He used the only arrows he had.

The following are the lessons each of us fathers should learn from this story:
1. Be in tune with the prophetic voice.
2. The children God has given you (your arrows) are for the purpose of deliverance.
3. Never be ashamed of the number of arrows God gives to you.
4. Keep shooting out your arrows to get the maximum victory.

Be encouraged,

Colin Campbell

Photo: The beautiful Torkelson family.

Jesus Christ was Heaven’s best arrow, polished and prepared before the world began. He was shot forth into this world through the humble bow of the virgin Mary and Joseph the humble carpenter. The effect of His birth into this world over 2000 years ago has impacted the lives of multiplied millions of people.

Isaiah 61:1-3: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”

God the Father has never stopped shooting forth arrows of deliverance into this needy world. God did not stop sending arrows after the failure of Adam and Eve. Nor did He stop after Noah, the patriarchs, the prophets, the birth of Jesus Christ, and the New Testament church believers.

God still desires to send forth arrows of deliverance through all Christian married couples. He wants as many arrows as possible to bring forth the deliverance that Jesus Christ paid for on His cross at Calvary.

Psalm 127:3 says: “Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” For Israel to have a mighty army, married couples had to have the vision to bring them to birth and raise them.

I am very concerned that the Christian church has lost its vision for raising the sending forth arrows for God. There are many people who are bound by the prince of darkness. He has enslaved multitudes by drugs, alcohol, pornography, and all manner of sexual perversions. And what about depression, poverty, murder, rape, child abuse, and sex trafficking? Women and children are molested and multitudes live in fear and darkness. Millions are in pain and dying of all kinds of sicknesses and diseases.

The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ needs anointed arrows of diligence to set these captives free. The question is: has selfishness, fear, unbelief, and deception robbed the hurting world of God’s arrows who can bring them deliverance?

Who will bring forth and raise the arrows of deliverance and send them forth into this great, needy world? The good tidings are waiting to be preached to the meek so that the broken-hearted will be bound up and the captives will be set free from their prisons, etc.

The present-day 21st century church has been lied to in many subtle ways so that the arrows are not filling the quivers. Like King Joash, we will not shoot forth more than three arrows. Read the story in 2 Kings 13:14-20. Unfortunately, in today’s world it is much less than three arrows per Christian family (only about 1.8).

Where are all the arrows of deliverance? Our world has multiplied millions that need to be set free. The answer is simple. We have been lied to by the enemy.

Let’s get on God’s side and embrace His truth.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell