LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 309: Altar Building, Part 2

It is important to have our personal time with God, but God wants THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD to meet with Him. How does this work out in our homes?

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Here we are together and continuing our series on “Altar Building.” As we begin, I’d love to read you a lovely quote. In fact, I have so many quotes from some of the old preachers of the faith, where family devotions were just the norm at that time. This is a quote from Arthur Pink.

He says here:

“It is not enough that we pray as private individuals in our closets. We are required to honor God in our families as well. At least twice each day, in the morning, and in the evening, the whole household should be gathered together to bow before the Lord, to confess their sins, to give thanks for God’s mercies, to seek His help and blessings. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with this duty. All other domestic arrangements are to bend to it.

“The head of the house is the one to lead devotions, but if he be absent, or seriously ill, or an unbeliever, then the wife would take his place. Under no circumstance should family worship be omitted. If we would enjoy the blessing of God upon our family, let its members gather together daily, for praise and prayer.”

We are up to point number three today.

No. 3. WE BUILD A FAMLY ALTAR FOR THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD

This is a very powerful point. In fact, I noticed in this quote that I just read, he says here, “at least twice each day, in the morning, and in the evening, THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD should be gathered together to bow before the Lord.”

Well, that’s a man writing, but let’s see what God has to say, and what the Word of God has to say. We’re going to go back to Genesis 35:1, to this passage when God told Jacob to go up to Bethel and build an altar.

Here we are: “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar.” Go down to verse two: “Then Jacob said unto his household,” there it is, ladies. “Unto his HOUSEHOLD.” The word is right there.

It doesn’t stop there. “And to ALL THAT WERE WITH HIM.” Now, I want you to hear these words again, because they are very powerful. “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar.” Go down to verse two: “Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him.” Then he tells them things they had to do. We’ll talk about them later. But this is our point at the moment.

Now, Jacob’s household must have been pretty big, because it was only a few years later, after this, that the famine came. Then eventually he went down to Egypt to save his whole family from the famine. The Bible tells us in Exodus chapter one that Jacob went down from Canaan to Egypt with 70 souls.

Now there’s not only Jacob, but there are his children, and his children’s children. There’s at least three generations, maybe more. Then, of course, there are his servants, and helpers, and shepherds for all their sheep, and maybe even his soldiers.

Remember his grandfather Abraham had his own army in his own household. Remember when Lot was taken by these kings and Abraham went out to rescue him? He went out with 318 trained warriors in his own household (Genesis 14:14). I am sure that Isaac and Jacob carried on that same pattern of having soldiers so that they could protect their whole families. There obviously were a lot of people but God didn’t allow any to be missing. The message is to the household, and to all that were with him.

We see an example of this in Abraham. Genesis 18:19: “For I know him, that he will command,” (that word “command” again. Do you notice it? “That he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.”

We already know that Abraham’s household was as very big household. We see here that this is the pattern that God gave and it is the pattern for us, lovely ladies. God wants everyone in the household to be there for our family devotions, or our family altar, or whatever you call it. Family Bible time. Everyone must be there. It is for the whole household.

Of course, it is important for us, as individuals, father, mother, and children who are getting to the age of reading, to establish our own personal time with the Lord. I remember growing up, that we were encouraged and instructed from the pulpit  that we must have our Quiet Time. I don’t know why they called it a Quiet Time but that meant a time when you personally got away with the Lord, to pray and to read His Word.

You did it the moment you got up in the morning. You started the day. Before you did anything else, you had your Quiet Time. Well, you don’t have to call it your Quiet Time. You can call it your “Bible Time. You can call it your God and Me Time or whatever you want to call it. But it’s important for us to do that.

Personal times with the Lord are very important. I think I was sharing this with you a few weeks ago and shared how I do have an article called, “How to Read the Word of God in Your Quiet Time.” If anyone wants to get that, just email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I’ll be happy to send it to you.

It's very important to encourage our young people to have this time, and establish this time with the Lord. I was blessed that I did that as a young person. As a late teenager I began to do this. It became the habit of my life.

Of course, when I got married and children came along, it wasn’t so easy to do that. Maybe there are some of you lovely darling young moms, and you’ve got little ones all around you. You’ve got a little baby, and you think, “Oh, how on earth do I ever have time to get away with the Lord on my own?”

Oh, I know, it is so difficult to do that. I faced that as my children came along. First baby, and then second and third babies came at once. I had twins unexpectedly. Didn’t even know I was having them until they were being born! So I had three children in 17 months. Then I had four children under four. So, those were incredibly busy days.

I had been used, before I was married, to getting away and spending three hours with the Lord every morning, before I even went to work. That was my pattern. Now I couldn’t even find five minutes! I hardly had time to go to the bathroom! I said, “What on earth am I going to do? Help!”

I would put my Bible up on my windowsill where I was doing dishes and preparing meals. I would put it to Psalms or Proverbs. Every now and then I could look up and read one little Scripture. I would keep a Bible in the toilet and one where I was nursing the babies. Just to get a little bit here and there.

But God does understand our seasons, lovely mothers, and if you are going through that season at this moment, He understands. I love that Scripture in Isaiah. It says that He feeds His flock like a shepherd, and gathers them in His arms, and He gently holds them. He gently leads those that are with young.

I just hadn’t turned to it to read it to you properly. I’d like to get it exact. Here it is. Isaiah 40:11: “And He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” When you’re pregnant, when you have little babies, your Good Shepherd doesn’t expect you to be at the front of the flock. He doesn’t expect you to be up at five o’clock, having your three hours with the Lord in the morning. No, you’re still in bed, nursing your baby. Then your little ones are going to be waiting and all needing you.

God understands this time. He gently leads you. Gather what you can get. You know, just a verse here and there can give you sustenance. Listen to this podcast when you are doing something else and you can be getting fed and hearing the Word of God. But then there come seasons. Your children grow, and you’ll have time again to do that. But we don’t rely only on our personal time with the Lord. God is very concerned about the family, and the family gathering together, the whole household.

Let’s go over to Joshua 8. This is when Joshua came into the Promised Land with the Israelites. In fact, back in Deuteronomy 29:10-13, you can read there when God told them: “When you go into the Promised Land, I want you to make an altar and worship before Me there.” Now we’re reading from Joshua where they are fulfilling what God told them to do.

Here we go. Joshua 8:30: “Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal.” He built it right there. That was Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. It was an amazing place, right there in the valley between those two mountains. It’s one of the most amazing places in the world to be able to hear. A man can speak and it echoes all around. So, God knew the right place  where He told them to read all the Words of the Lord.

Joshua 8:31-35: “As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses,” that was Deuteronomy, “an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.

“And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. 

“And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before . . . ” Listen to this: “ALL THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.”

Did you notice that? God wanted everyone there. This was not only a family, but a gathering of all the families. God did not leave one person out. Now, let’s see: “All the women, and all the little ones.” Oh, but the little ones! Oh, goodness me! How do we cope with them? In fact, even at our own family altar, how do we cope with the little ones? Oh, my, they don’t know how to sit still. Then they cry, or they want something. How do we do it?

Well, lovely ladies, little by little, we train them. But we never leave anyone out. When we gather, we gather as a family, father, mother, the oldest down to the youngest. Now, maybe the baby is sleeping in another room. But also maybe the mother is holding the baby and nursing the baby as father is reading the Word of God.

That is such a wonderful thing, because as the mother is sitting near the husband, she’s nursing her baby, that Word, that Word is going into him. Baby doesn’t know what’s being said, but the anointing of that Word is going in. The sooner the Word goes into your little ones, the greater it is. In fact, that Word can be going into them even when you’re pregnant. Especially in those last three months of pregnancy, the baby can hear. When the baby is near the husband, and he's reading the Word, the baby, even in the womb, can hear the Word of the Lord.

I remember when my beautiful granddaughter Meadow was born. She was born at home. She began to cry. Charlie, her father came right up to her and held her and began to talk to her. She immediately stopped and became aware of him. She knew his voice, because he had spoken to her over and over in the womb. She knew his voice as she came forth from the womb.

So, our little ones can hear the Word of the Lord. They may not understand it, but they’re getting the anointing of it. I love that Scripture over in 2 Timothy 3:15. Can I just turn to it here, and read it to you again, because I think it is so wonderful. “And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

“That from a child,” that word in the Greek is brephos. That word is used of a babe in the womb. It was used of Jesus when He was in the womb of Mary. That word is used of a little baby that’s born. In fact, it was used when Jesus was born and lying in a manger. They said “You will find the Child,” and it was brephos, this newborn. It’s used of little ones.

Here the Word of God is saying: “That from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures,” even before the age of understanding. Even in the womb, even as a nursing babe, these Scriptures are going in. When the Scriptures are going into a little child, even from birth, those Scriptures prepare them for salvation.

Even as they get to three and four years of age, they can have an understanding of salvation. They can be ready for salvation because the Word says: “the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation.” So, children in a godly home, hearing the Word of God, from a very young age, can come to know the Lord at three and four years of age.

Watch over your children. Be aware of what is going on in their hearts, especially when it’s your devotion time. Sometimes you can see God working in their lives, and you know this is a moment when they can open their hearts and literally receive Jesus into their lives because they are prepared. The Word of God has prepared them and they’re open and ready to receive.

They are not too young. No. All of our children came to know the Lord at four years of age, except our eldest. He was older. But it was only at that young age, and every single one of them, that moment is still real with them today. They have continued to follow the Lord. It’s been part of their lives.

Of course, someone from a non-saved home, even an atheist home, maybe they can come to Christ later in life, or even as a teenager, when they hear the gospel. But sadly, they don’t have that opportunity when they’re young, because they’re not hearing it. But you can expect that in your home, as you are daily reading the Word, because God wants everyone in the household there. The babies, the toddlers, yes, those toddlers! Yes, even those little ones.

Of course, the little toddler, a little one, can sit on your husband’s knee even as he’s reading the Word. If you have older children, they can hold another toddler or young one on their knee. When they’re little, you don’t have to make them sit up there in a chair, all on their own, with their back straight. No! Let father, or an older sibling, hold them and cuddle them, so they’re feeling comfortable and loved as they are listening to the Word of God.

It should be a beautiful thing. It should be something of such comfort and love as they are listening to the Word of God. Of course, they will be so much happier as they are being cuddled and being hugged, warm and close, as they are hearing the Word of God.

But God wants the toddlers there. The word in the Hebrew is taph  - T.A.P.H. It’s very interesting. This word refers to “the tripping gait of little children, their quick steps. It’s the toddlers.” It’s used 42 times in the Old Testament. Mostly it’s in the context of God bringing His people together to hear His Word being read and He will include the little ones. Isn’t that amazing? Of course, they’ve got to be there too.

NO EXCUSES

And, of course, all your older ones. No, they don’t have any excuses. It’s THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD. Of course, that’s normal, if you have started family devotions when your children are little. They grow up knowing this is part of life. This is habitual. If you are starting it when your children are older, it is a little more difficult to perhaps get them used to this. This is a new thing and you will have to ask the Lord for wisdom to know how to encourage them so they will be part of it.

Of course, one of the main things is for them to see the Scriptures that God wants them to part of it, that everyone in the whole family is there. Sometimes, as children get older, they can make excuses, but we don’t allow excuses unless they are legitimate excuses. Someone is in bed sick, or as I found with our own children when they were getting older and they were still living at home and yet already out working. I would always make sure that they knew that they had to be home for the evening meal, and then devotions, unless they let me know that something had come up that was important, and they couldn’t be there. But otherwise, that was part of their lives if they lived in our home. Anyone living in your home does what you do in your home.

What about people who are visiting? Or visiting, or maybe even staying in your home. Maybe they have different values to you. They don’t even do family devotions in their home. What do you do about them? Well, you include them too. I often wondered about this, because we have always opened our home in hospitality. We always had people visiting us for meals but also staying with us. Often you face different situations.

At first, I wondered, “What should I do in this situation? These people are not really people who want to be part of family devotions, but what do I do?” Then the Lord showed me His Word. Oh, lovely ladies, God shows us everything in His Word. I want to give you some Scriptures, because this helps us to answer the problem. I think I’ve given you these Scriptures before, actually, but oh my! I think we need to hear them again. I need to hear them again, because they show you God’s heart.

Exodus 12:48-50: “One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.”

Leviticus 24:22: “Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.”

Numbers 9:14: “. . . Ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.”

Numbers 15:14-16: “And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations,” listen to this: “As ye do, so he shall do. One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance forever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.”

And I have so many more Scriptures. If you want them all, you’re welcome to email me, and I will send them to you. But I think you can see, I have read enough there, that God shows us. It doesn’t matter whoever is in our household, they must be part of what we are doing. It’s the whole household, not just the immediate family, but the extended family, and whoever is living in your home.

Of course, we will adjust and use wisdom. In our home, when we are having family devotions, after my husband has read the Word, we all pray. Everyone in the family and who is living in our home. But if we had some people who were not Christians who we invited to a meal, we wouldn’t do that.

But we would still have our family devotions. My husband would read the Word, and then he would pray for everyone. We wouldn’t put visitors who are not used to such a thing. We wouldn’t put them on the spot and expect them to suddenly pray. Maybe they’ve never prayed in their life. We can still do it, but we will do it in a way that can encompass those who are living in our home at the time.

Are you getting this message, wonderful ladies? This is such an important thing, that we include the whole household. I remember one time I had a young man staying with us. He was a Christian, but I have to say, he wasn’t really walking with the Lord. He was a Christian in name only. He’d been with us for a week or so, being part of family devotions. He had been part of it, because he knew he had to be. But it was his last day, and he came to me. He said, “Oh, Mrs. Campbell, I won’t have time to have family devotions with you this evening because I’ve got to pack. I’m leaving in the morning.”

But I had noticed that he’d been sitting around all day, so I said to him, “Well, I see you’ve had plenty of time all day. You’ll have plenty of time this evening after devotions, so, yes, you will have to be with us.” I didn’t let his little excuse, I didn’t let him get away with it because it was only an excuse, and he had plenty of time to pack that evening. We have to watch out for excuses, even with our own children, don’t we?

Scott Pauley says:

“True revival does not start at the church house. It starts at our house.”

In fact, I think back to one of the great Puritans. I was reading about him recently. His name was Richard Baxter, who lived back in 1615 to 1691. He lived for 76 years. Now, we are 400 years later, after this man lived. But people are still reading his books and his writings.

He was a great man of God, but I must tell you the story of one of the first churches that he went to be a pastor at. It was a very wealthy community, but as one author says, the people were very ignorant, rude, and a reveling people. He came to this church, and really, there was nobody left. Nobody came to church. He thought, “Well, what am I going to do?”

This man, Richard Baxter, really believed in the family altar, so he decided he would visit personally every home in this town. The town was called Kidderminster. He therefore went to every home, every family, and spoke to them about the family altar, and taught them how to have the family altar, how to read the Word of God, and where to read, and how to pray together. He spent time individually with every family. And then how to worship. He established this in every home.

When he started, there was hardly a person coming to his church. About three or so years later, his church was full. They say that when he arrived at that town, there was hardly a person doing family devotions, but when he left, there wasn’t hardly a family in the whole town who was not having the family altar. In fact, the whole town actually came to the Lord!

It’s quite amazing. I was reading here. When he arrived, hardly anyone had an altar. After three years, there was barely a house on every street that was not having a family altar, morning and evening. He saw the whole, nearly the entire town of 2,000 people converted just by the family altar. Isn’t that amazing?

And then there was another great Puritan preacher too. His name was Thomas Boston. He also went to pastor a church. It was very much like Richard Baxter’s. The whole church was empty. But it was a different kind of people. These people were poor people, and they were in a slum. But he did the same thing. He went to every home of these poor people, and established a family altar in every home.

It wasn’t long before the church began to see revival and the church was packed. The church was full, because it started in the home. “The way to save the church, and the community, is to establish religion in the homes of the community, and build the family altar” one great commentator wrote.

And so, it wasn’t just preaching in the church. It was the family altar that changed the lives of these whole towns, in both these places where these ministers went.

I was reading recently something that really challenged me. It was about Lot. We know how Lot went down to Sodom and Gomorrah and lived there. Yet, he was a righteous man. The Bible says that Lot was a righteous man. Every day his soul was vexed by the evil that was happening in Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Peter 2:8).

But listen to what this commentary says, by John Morris: “Compare Abraham and his family to Lot and his family. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Lot built an altar, and recognized God as worthy of worship. No doubt, as a direct result, Lot’s wife and sons and daughters totally rejected these ideas, preferring the sinful practices and mentality of Sodom.

“Lot was a true believer, but his lifestyle and lack of altar-building rubbed off on his family, to the detriment of himself and the people of God ever since.

“Here is the question: do we want to be Christians who ignore proper worship and total submission to God, and have families who do likewise? We don’t build physical altars today, but we do need daily times of prayer.”

I thought that was a powerful quote because it is so interesting. All the patriarchs builded altars, plus many, many other men of God in the Word. But never did it say that Lot builded an altar. And Lot was the one who lost his family.

Altar building is a way to keep our families walking with the Lord. Altar building, morning and evening, is the way to keep the fire burning in our hearts. Just as God says, if you’re going to keep the fire burning, you’ve got to tend to it morning and evening. Otherwise, it will go out. It’s so easy for it to go out.

So, be encouraged again, ladies. Be encouraged to keep your family altar as a household altar. This is the Scriptural understanding. May the Lord richly bless you.

“We thank You, dear Father, for showing us Your ways, and showing us that You have made this a household command. It’s not just individual. It’s household. You are interested in households, in families.

“Father, I pray that You will help each mother and father of each family listening to strengthen their families, to strengthen their family altar, to repair their family altar if they need to. Lord, I pray that You’ll give them great wisdom as they seek to gather their children and whoever else is living in their home, to gather them into Your Presence, to meet with You.

“I ask again that You will begin to, Lord, teach them more and more of Your ways. Give them such a heart to seek after You, and to know Your ways. Lord, we’re living in a deceitful age. Help us, Lord, to stand on Your Word, and not to be lured by the ways of this world. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 308: Altar Building, Part 1

Maybe this is something you have not yet integrated into your family life. Maybe you have been doing it for years. Whoever you are, you are going to love this series as we look at 25 powerful points about “the family altar” that God reveals in His Word. Even if you have been doing it for years, you will learn new things!

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies, always great to be with you again. Today I am starting a new series called “Altar Building.” I know that many times I’ve spoken about our gathering together as families to read the Word and pray together. But today, I want to begin giving you the whole counsel on this subject. Recently, I went into the Word of God, and I found 25 different points about altar building.

We have been doing this in our family for years, gathering together as a family, reading the Word, and praying together. People have lots of different names for it. Some people call it “family devotions,” which we do. We usually say, “Come on, we’re having family devotions now.” Some people call it “Bible time,” “worship time,” “getting together with God time.”

In fact, one time I was ministering with my husband over in Belgium. We were speaking at an Above Rubies family camp there. While I was speaking, I happened to bring up the word “family devotions.” I was speaking through an interpreter because there were loads of people, not only from Belgium, but Holland, there. They all spoke Dutch, so it was being interpreted into the Dutch language.

When I said the word “family devotions,” the interpreter hesitated, and wasn’t quite sure what I was saying, so I had to explain it a little more clearly. Later on, I talked to the lady who had convened this retreat and I said to her, “Wow, why didn’t she know what I was talking about? Because I know that you do family devotions in your home. Many of the families here do.”

She said, “Oh, no, we don’t use that word.” I said, “Well, what word do you use?” She said, “We call it ‘Finishing up the Meal.’” Well, I had never heard that before. But I thought, that is a very wonderful name, because they wouldn’t leave the table after feeding their physical bodies until they had fed their spiritual man and fed the inner man. So, they called it, “Finishing up the Meal.” We don’t leave this table until we have filled the whole man, body, soul, and spirit. I do love that name.

But back years and years ago, the name that was most familiar was the “family altar.” Some of you will be familiar with that term, the “family altar.” Others of you may not have even heard of that term because it’s quite forgotten now in these days.

By the way, ladies, can I ask you, please stay with me, will you? Even if you are one who faithfully does family devotions in your home each day, or even if you don’t, please stay with me, because even though we have been doing this for years and years and years, I guess so many more years that you’ve ever been doing it, I am still blown away, as I have just recently gone into the Word of God again to see how much God says about it. I think we need to know what God says, don’t you?

We can hear somebody say, “Well, you should be having this Bible time with your family every day.” You know in your heart that’s a good idea. But unless you have the Word, unless you have in your heart and your mind what God says, you can easily let it go. I was amazed. I learned new things. I know that you will learn new things as we go through these 25 points. So, stay with me. Keep with me.

In fact, remind others to listen in, because this is something that is very powerful. It is meant to be part of every Christian’s home. And yet, it is so lost today. It reminds me of that Scripture in 2 Peter 1:12, when Peter was writing to the Christians. He said to them, “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them.”

Now, you may say, “Oh, I know everything about this!” Well, if you do, you know more than what I did before I discovered what we’re going to share with you from the Word of God. But even when we know things, dear ladies, we need to be reminded. Yes, it’s so easy to let things slip. We need to remind one another.

It goes on to say: “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” That’s an interesting phrase as well. “The present truth.” Every single truth in the Word of God is an eternal truth, from the very beginning to the very end.

Psalm 33:11: “The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.”

God’s truth is for every generation, but there are some truths that need to be brought out again, like “the present truth.” And why does that need to happen? Because it’s not happening! If there is a truth which is a truth which is in the Word of God from the very beginning, and it’s not being fulfilled in this time, it becomes a truth which is “a present truth” which must be spoken about.

I do believe that this is “a present truth,” a truth which we need to encourage one another in, because there was a time when it was normal, I guess, beginning really in the time of the Reformation, which began in 1517, way back then. But back then, in the time of the Reformation, it became the absolute norm, it became the habit, it became the requirement even, of every Christian family to  have their family devotions, both morning and evening.

That carried on for centuries, but it is lost in our century today. We do need to remind one another. I haven’t finished this Scripture yet. “And be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle,” that means “in this body,” “to stir you up by putting you in remembrance . . .  Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.”

Then over in 2 Peter 3:1, he says: “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.” So, lovely ladies, do you mind if I remind you about this wonderful subject? And also, at the same time, not only remind you, but give you new inspiration, new revelation and understanding, which I have been discovering myself. Isn’t it wonderful when we discover new revelation in old truths?

I was thinking about this the other day. In 1 Peter 1:23, and I was reading this in my daily reading the other morning, it says here: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”

The Word of God is a seed. It’s a seed which goes into our hearts, but we can’t leave it as just seed. That seed has got to grow. All seeds have to grow to come into their fullness. Every truth in God’s Word is a seed. It’s a seed which we take into our minds and our hearts but we’ve got to water it, and we’ve got to meditate on it. We’ve got to obey it, and we’ve got to apply it. It’s got to become part of our lives. The more and more that it does, the more it grows! We get more understanding, and more revelation. This truth grows into a glorious tree.

It’s always more and more as that wonderful Scripture I love to quote, Proverbs 4:18 says: “But the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth MORE AND MORE unto the perfect day.” It’s always more and more, isn’t it, ladies?

A few years back, Colin and I were speaking at a family retreat. We flew by plane to this retreat. When we arrived, we were a little bit late for our first meeting. As we came in the door, everyone was singing hymns. Then they began to sing this hymn called “God, Give Us Christian Homes.” I hadn’t heard it before. The words are so wonderful. But let me read to you the last stanza:

God, give us Christian homes,

Homes where the children are let to know,

Christ in His beauty,

Who loves them so.

Homes where the altar fires burn and glow.

God, give us Christian homes.

 

As we were all singing those words, I was arrested by the words “homes where the altar fires burn and glow.” I knew what the hymn was talking about. I thought to myself, “I wonder if everyone else knows what this hymn is talking about? It’s an old, old hymn, and maybe they don’t even know what it’s talking about.”

So, when I got up to say hi, I said to them, “We’ve just been singing this hymn, “Homes where the altar fires burn and glow.” Who can tell me what it’s talking about?” Well, there was no answer. Nobody put their hand up. Nobody knew what they were singing about! I had to tell them.

It was speaking about the family altar because that was the norm back in those days, where every Christian family had their family altar, not only once a day, but every morning and every evening where they gathered around the Word of God and prayed together.

The actual phrase, “the family altar,” comes from a Scripture in Leviticus 6, where God is speaking to Moses about the brass altar, and how it was to be made, and what they were to do.

Leviticus 6:8: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command,” do you notice, “command”? It’s amazing when you read the Word of God how many times you read the word “command.” It doesn’t ever say, “I suggest to you,” or “It might be a good idea.” No, command. “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.”

It goes on to talk more about how they were to attend to that altar every morning and every evening. Every morning and every evening they were to take out the ashes, speaking of all the junk, and all the stuff in our lives that is grieving to the Holy Spirit. They had to take that out.

Then they had to renew the fire, and build it up, and put on the wood. That speaks, of course, of the Word of God, which renews us, and sustains us, and builds us up.

In verse 12, it says: “And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it,” and so on.

 And then verse 13: “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” This was God’s plan for the altar, that the fire was never, ever, to go out. They had to keep it burning.

Now, the interesting thing is, He was telling them in this Scripture what to do. Of course, Moses obeyed, and they made the brazen altar, and everything else for the tabernacle. Then, when it came to bring everything into the tabernacle, and to have the consecration of it, that God, when they put the sacrifice upon the altar, God lit the fire. It was supernatural. Fire came out of the altar.

But then God gave the responsibility to the priests to then keep that fire going. We all know that was Old Testament. In the New Testament, we are now priests and kings unto God. We have now our priestly duties. We are now to keep our altar burning so that it never goes out. That was where the family altar saying actually came from. It was very, very biblical.

All right. Now we’re going to start looking at these 25 points. You know, I think by now, if you’ve been listening to my podcasts, that I can never, ever seem to be a point one, two, three preacher. Well, not that I’m a preacher anyway, ha-ha! That’s a job for the men. I am just an older woman, sharing with you younger women, and encouraging you in the ways of God, and in the ways of motherhood, and in the ways of the home, and in the ways of marriage, according to God’s Word.

Before I even get to point one, altar building is very, very much part of the Bible, from Genesis right throughout the whole Bible. The very first altar that’s mentioned in the Bible was the altar that was built by Noah. Genesis 4:4. No, it wasn’t Noah, of course, it was Abel, wasn’t it? Actually, yes, it was Noah, that the first altar that was mentioned, but obviously Abel did build an altar, although it’s not mentioned.

Genesis 4:4: “And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering.” They only did offerings at altars, so obviously both Cain and Abel built an altar. Of course, at Abel’s altar, there was obviously the shedding of blood, because he brought the first fruits of his flock, of his lambs, or his goats, whereas Cain just brought what came out of the ground. There was no blood shed.

We know how God had respect. He looked upon Abel’s offering, and He had favor upon it. We don’t know what happened, but God did something to show that He received Abel’s offering. So, that was obviously the first altar, but the first time we read the word “altar” was when Noah built an altar unto the Lord. But then, that was only the beginning. As I read through the Scriptures, I found 17 other men of God who built altars in the Old Testament.

Not only do we find so much teaching from all those men who built altars, but also from the altars in the tabernacle, and later the temple. The altar, that’s the outer court of the tabernacle, the brazen altar which we’ve been talking about, and the altar of incense. From these, we find all these amazing truths that we can learn so we know how to do it in our own homes. Amen? Are you with me?

Okay.

No. 1. WE MUST FIRST TAKE ACTRION TO BUILD AN ALTAR

Altars don’t just happen; you have to make them happen. The early patriarchs built altars of earth or of stone. I’m sure it was hard work. They weren’t just little altars. They built big altars. It took effort. It took hard work.

Now, today, lovely ladies, we’re not building altars of earth or of stone. No, no. We are building an altar. What are we doing? We are finding and making a time and a place where we meet with God because that was what the altar was all about. To meet with God.

So, we read Genesis 8:20: “And Noah builded an altar.”

And then we read, “And Isaac builded an altar.”

Then we read, well before Isaac, of course, we read of Abraham: “And Abraham builded an altar.” Well, Abraham built many altars.

“And Jacob builded an altar.”  

You notice that word “build.” The word “build” is banah, which means “to build.” The word banah actually has three meanings. First of all, it means “to build.”

 It also means “to repair,” because we know every building always needs repair. It doesn’t just last forever. Things break. They fall down. They begin to corrupt. So, we have to keep repairing even our own homes. You know, we’ve got to repair the roof, we have to repair a door, we have to repair something that’s breaking down.

I’m so glad that my husband is able to fix things. I call him “Mr. Fix-it”! I’m so glad to have a Mr. Fix-it around who can fix things that break down because I’m hopeless at doing that myself. If anything breaks down, well, I really don’t know how to fix it. But we have to keep our homes repaired.

We also have to keep our altar repaired. Yes, we can sometimes let that go, and let that fall, and forget about it. We have to repair it again.

There is a third meaning of the word banah, but I’m not going to talk on it today. In this meaning of banah, it also means “to bring forth children,” because one of the biggest things of the word banah is to build a home and a family. It means “the bringing forth of children.”

But at the moment, we are talking about building altars. Let’s go to where Jacob builded an altar, shall we? I could give you all the references of the others, but maybe I’ll put them in the transcript for you.

Now, when Jacob builded an altar, it was in Genesis 35. Let’s read from verse 1: “And God said unto Jacob,” notice “God said.” It wasn’t Jacob’s idea. It was God’s idea. “Jacob, arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God.” So, Jacob then went to all his family, and he said, “And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress . . . So Jacob came to Luz . . . that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place El Bethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.”

Now, we notice three things, well actually there are lots of things. And we will be coming back to this passage to see many more things about the altar in this passage. But the three basic things are here.

Number one, God told him to do it. Building altars is God’s idea, not our idea. It’s God’s idea.

Number two, he confirmed that he would do it. Did you notice that? God said, “Arise, and make an altar.” Then Jacob went to his family, and he said, “God has told me, so let us arise and go up, and we’ll make an altar unto God.”

Thirdly, he didn’t just say it. He didn’t only confirm it. He actually did it! Because we read, “And he built there an altar.” I love that. So, ladies, we get those three things there that speak to us personally. I hope that when you read the Word of God, you take it personally to you. It is a love letter to you, a personal letter to you. Yes, many times God is speaking about a person, or many times He’s speaking about promises to Israel.

But every word of God is alive and active. Every word has power to speak to us. Every word, every story, every Scripture . . . There is what God says on the surface, but there is what He is also saying to us personally. There are also deeper truths and more layers underneath, as we search, in every Scripture.

Here we get what God, He was saying it to Jacob, but He says it to us. “I want you to build me an altar.” If we are truly hearing God speak to us, we’ll say, “Yes, Lord,” and we’ll confirm it, and we’ll talk to our children about it. “We’ve got to make an altar to meet with God!”

You’ll talk with your husband about it. Well, you won’t tell him what to do. Oh, never do that! Because, have you noticed? If you tell your husband what to do, do you know what he’ll do? He usually does the opposite. Or, if he doesn’t do the opposite, he’ll just do nothing. No, somehow husbands don’t like to do things when they’re ordered by their wives. But we can talk to our husbands about it. We can ask our husbands.

After you’ve listened to this podcast today, if you haven’t got an altar in your home, you can say, “Well, I was listening today about building an altar in our home. Here’s some of the things that God says. What do you think about that? Do you think it’s something we could do in our home?” You have to approach your husband the right way.

And then thirdly, of course, he did it. We want to always be able to fulfill what God says to us. Everything God says to us in His Word is not only for us. It is for our children too.

Genesis 17:9: “As for you, you shall keep my covenant. You and your descendants after you, throughout their generations.” God’s Word is not only to us, but to our children, and our children’s children, and their children, and continuing generations. We must establish in our homes what God wants us to do so it will become part of their homes, and each following generation. Can you say amen with me?

No. 2. WE BUILD AN ALTAR TO THE LORD WHEN WE ESTABLISH A HOME

Yes, at the very beginning. If you’re a young married couple listening today, that’s one of the first things you do after you are married, to begin a family altar. You begin it before you ever have children. You start it as a married couple together. It will be something that establishes your children to come into this habit.

Let’s see some Scriptures here. Genesis 13:3-4, and this is talking about Abraham: “And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first.” That was the first place he had stopped, and therefore the first place he made an altar.

We go down to verses 17, 18: “Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.” You notice, when he moved, and he came to a new place, he established the altar again. When we move, we’re often moving. I notice that with Above Rubies. Every day, we get changes of addresses. People seem to be moving from one state to the other. All over the nation, it’s just a moving nation. We are always changing thousands of addresses. 

But every home we move to, we establish the altar. Isaac, Genesis 26:25. Isaac built an altar, even before he pitched his tent. Listen to this: “And he builded an altar there, and called upon the Name of the Lord, and pitched his tent.” Do you notice what he did first? He actually built his altar first. Then he pitched his tent. That’s the priority Isaac put on the altar.

What about Jacob? Genesis 33:18-20. This is before the passage I was telling about, of how he went up to Bethel. “And he (Jacob) bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent . . . and he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.”

Do you see the pattern, lovely ladies? Everywhere they went, they built an altar.

Samuel. 1 Samuel 7:16-17: “And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there . . . he built an altar unto the LORD.” So, at his home, he established his altar.

Matthew Henry, the great Bible commentator, wrote, “Wherever man has a tent, God should have an altar.”

Now I am ready for point number three, but I think our time is running out. I think we will have to finish now, because when I start on point number three, I’ll be talking to you for a while. So, let’s get onto that point next week, OK? Please come back, because there is more, and there is more, and there is more to tell you about the family altar. Amen? Let’s pray.

“Dear Father, I want to thank You so much, that You show us Your heart in Your Word. Lord, already we’ve seen that to build an altar is not our idea. It’s Your idea. You’re the One who established the pattern of altars.

“I pray, Father, that You will help all of us to be faithful in our homes, as we gather with our families to meet with You. I pray, Lord, for those who may not have even started, that You will give them this vision, and You will help them. And especially as we continue to talk more about how to go about it.

“I pray Your blessing again on all the precious families listening. Lord, just bless them, provide for them, encourage them. Lord, just give them new vision, and a whole new stirring in their spirit to strengthen their families, Lord God, especially in this hour of the fragmenting of families. We ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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DON’T FORGET TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT THESE PODCASTS AND TRANSCRIPTS.

“LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell”

DON’T KEEP THE BLESSINGS TO YOURSELF.

IT IS ENCOURAGING FOR ALL WIVES AND MOTHERS.

 

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 307: A Project for Your Family

Sonia Ramsey joins me today, and we talk about an exciting project you can do in your home that can affect the destiny of a certain nation! Oh, I do hope your family will get involved. What amazing miracles we could see if we all got involved.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Today I have with me Sonia Ramsey. Sonia actually did a podcast with us quite some time ago. Today this is podcast 307, but when we did it together, Sonia, it was 150. That’s quite a while ago. In fact, back then, Sonia was still living in Oregon, but happened to be visiting here so I grabbed her to do a podcast with her.

But since then, they have come to live down here in Tennessee, and living not too far away from us, they’ve become very much part of our lives. We are so blessed. They are such a wonderful family. If you didn’t hear it, you would love to go back and hear Sonia’s testimony. She shares how she went into motherhood longing for children, but it didn’t always happen so easily. She had infertility, miscarriages, then a difficult adoption.

And then, well, they ended their family with a little Down’s Syndrome baby, little Noah. Well, little Noah has become just the delight of everybody who even sees him. He’s the most amazing person, as young as he is, isn’t he? You don’t need TV when you’ve got Noah!

Sonia: Oh, no! Oh, no, he entertains us a lot.

Nancy: Oh goodness me! And yet, there was a time when you first found out, you wondered, “How will I cope with a Down’s Syndrome child?” What would you say now?

Sonia: Oh, if I had known that he was coming, oh, I’d be so excited! I’ve enjoyed every minute of having him in our family.

Nancy: Actually, the word “exciting,” really, that’s how you describe Noah!

Sonia: Oh, yes, oh yes.

Nancy: Exciting!

Sonia: Never a dull moment for that guy!

Nancy: He’s exciting! Life is just so exciting to him. I could spend all my day just looking at the excitement on his face. Then his actions! It’s so amazing!

Sonia: He loves everyone. He loves to be with everyone.

Nancy: And all the children are so great with him.

Sonia: They are.

Nancy: And it’s amazing. How long have you been now in Tennessee?

Sonia: Two years in December.

Nancy: In that time, I’ve watched the children grow. I can’t believe Asher. Is he 15 now?

Sonia: He’s 16.

Nancy: 16! But I’ve watched him. It’s like I used to watch our grandsons. You’d see them, and then one day you’d say, “Help! You grew two inches last night!” And then by the next night, they’d grown another two! In fact, he has joined all the tall boys.

Sonia: Yes, he has! He shot up this year.

Nancy: Yes, all the tall young men around here. It’s so amazing, isn’t it?

Sonia: It is.

Nancy: Today Sonia and I are going to share another project with you. This is an exciting thing, because they came to live in Tennessee, the Ramsey’s do a special thing every year. Colin and I were so blessed that they invited us to join them. Actually, you’ve only been here two years, but we’ve been to three of your special meals. How come that worked out?

Sonia: When we moved, it happened very soon after we got here.

Nancy: Well, we’ve been to three, and they have been so amazing. You tell us, Sonia, what it’s all about.

Sonia: OK. When my children were younger, about nine years ago, we would always wonder what to do for Valentine’s Day. I wasn’t very excited about just getting them a bunch of candy and stuffed animals. I thought, “There’s got to be something else.”

Then I heard about Saint Valentine, that he was a martyr, and that the day was named after him. I thought, “Oh, that’s interesting.” I had heard somebody say, “You can use the day as a day to remember the persecuted church.” I thought, “Oh, now that’s something I would love to do.” I started thinking about what that could look like. Our first year . . .

Nancy: You’ve been doing it for how many years?

Sonia: Nine years now.

Nancy: Nine years. That’s amazing.

Sonia: We chose India. We decided to have them dress up as Indian as we could get. We had saris on, homemade ones anyway. We took the legs off of our table and set it on the floor in the living room. We set it up, and I found some Indian recipes. We made some food from India and had a really good time.

A couple weeks leading up to that, we studied the country and studied what it was like to be a Christian there. I found videos online, so we watched those. Leading up to it, we had India on our minds. Then we spent that evening eating the food and having a good time. But then after the meal, we would spend time praying for them and the church that’s there, and the difficulties that they have, and encouraging for them.

I wanted to instill in our children a love for the church everywhere, not just what we have where we can just go to church. It’s no big deal. Nobody’s going to fire us, or murder us, or do any of those things for our faith. But that’s not the case for Christians around the world. I wanted them to be able to love the other Christians around the world.

Nancy: Now, tell us which countries you have done so far.

Sonia: I’m not sure they’re entirely in order. We started with India. We did Viet Nam, North Korea.

Nancy: Now Viet Nam would have been interesting because you have an adopted daughter from Viet Nam.

Sonia: Yes. We did it pretty early on. Actually, that’s one that I don’t remember as much. She remembers the recipes that we did, but I don’t remember focusing as much on that one, so it might have been the second year. I do remember the North Korea one very well. That one we had by candlelight since the country is dark at night. We actually found some interesting videos online of people interviewing those living there. It was interesting. It was an unusual one to do.

Nancy: North Korea is the number one persecuting country of Christians.

Sonia: Right. We did that one. We did China. That one was funny, because that year . . .

Nancy: You had an adopted baby son from China!

Sonia: We do! I think we may have done this when he was either really little, or before he came, because I know I couldn’t cook that year. My husband went and got Chinese teriyaki bowls from a restaurant and brought them home.

We did Turkey which was wonderful. We did Egypt, which I think is our favorite, our favorite food especially. That was wonderful. Afghanistan was the first one that you came to. Last year was Nigeria, and this year we did Eritrea.

Nancy: Eritrea. You know, I love doing this with the Ramseys. It was so inspiring. Of course, we had such a great night. I love trying different foods. In fact, I think this year the food was so delectable.

Sonia: It was good.

Nancy: It made you want to go to Eritrea to eat it! It was so wonderful. You really associate with the country when you eat the food, and you dress up as much as you can like they would be dressing up. Fortunately, I have quite a lot of African clothes in my wardrobe that have been sent from Liberia from relatives of my adopted Liberian children. We were able to spread those around.

But this Eritrea really got to me this year as we began to find out more about this country, and what it’s really like. Here, lovely ladies, here in the United States, we don’t know we’re alive. We live so blessedly and although we face problems, and even financial things, in everything we think we’re hard done by. Really, we’re not compared to the rest of the world!

Even those of you living in other countries, Eritrea is an absolute totalitarian dictatorship. Of course, there is no freedom in this country at all. Imagine living in a country with no freedom at all. This president of Eritrea is named Isaias Afwerki.

Sonia: Do you remember that Eritrea was one of the “hermit nations”? It’s a nickname, similar to North Korea, where they’re very closed off from the rest of the world.

Nancy: That’s absolutely true.

Sonia: That was fascinating to me. I had no idea.

Nancy: They call Eritrea “The North Korea of Africa,” because it is such a totalitarian state, ruled by this president. Actually, they got their independence from Ethiopia. What year was that? That was 1993.

Since then, there have been no elections at all. No elections, no cause for any freedom of speech, or any other political party, or anything. Imagine, ladies, living in a country where you’re in servitude. That’s the last 23 years. Imagine that! It’s been bad enough living under Biden’s regime!

Sonia: That was 30-some, right? 1993. Is that 31?

Nancy: [laughter] 31, or something like that. You’re right! 31 years!

Sonia: That’s a long time!

Nancy: 31 years! It’s been bad enough living under Biden’s regime for three years. Goodness me! Help! We hope we can change that! But they have no recourse to change! There they are. They have to, as soon as they have finished high school, all males and females have to be enlisted into the military. Not for so many years. It could be indefinite. They give no time when it’s over. Their lives are completely ruled.

There is no legislature, no media outlets, no independence. In fact, the government shut down all independent media in 2001. That’s 23 years ago. Yes, that’s what I was getting mixed up with. Twenty-three years without any other social media except what the government tells you. Freedom of assembly is not recognized either. A public gathering of more than seven requires a permit. If people protest, they will be faced with deadly force. Food insecurity and malnutrition are common. About 66% of Eritreans live below the poverty line.

So, ladies, it would be difficult to live in such a country. And yet, isn’t it sad? It’s such a beautiful country. If you don’t know where it is, you’ll want to go to your map of Africa and have a look. Go over to the eastern side, and you’ll see the Horn of Africa, as it is called. It’s right on the Horn of Africa. It is bordered in the east by the Red Sea, the beautiful Red Sea. They have such a beautiful long coastline of the Red Sea. Of course, opposite that is Saudi Arabia and Yemen. On the west is Sudan, and on the south is Ethiopia. On the southeast is Djibouti. That’s where it is.

Have a look at where this country is. Its’s a beautiful country, and yet people are living in poverty and servitude.

Then we get to the Christians. Actually, it was a Christian country. By the numbers, half the people are Christian, although it’s just by name. The other half are Islam. But if one wants to change from Islam to Christianity, they will be persecuted. Or even from their government Christianity, and they turn to really truly being born again, they’re going to be persecuted. The persecution is pretty horrific there.

Sonia: It was pretty intense, what we were learning about.

Nancy: You were sharing some about that, that night. Do you remember some of it?

Sonia: Well, yeah. We were talking about, and I can’t actually remember why this came about, but we were discussing holding containers. There were some holding containers for metal, like shipping boxes that were out in the jungle. It’s a very hot area. The Christians were left out there, locked in there to bake. Some of them survived. Some didn’t.

I can’t remember what the reasons for that were. This is the kind of situation where people might just disappear without having any word of where they’ve gone. Going against the government in their Christian faith is not tolerated.

Nancy: You have to toe the absolute line of the government. So, dear ladies, this is really the vision that the beautiful Ramsey family had, is to take a country, and then begin to pray for that country for the whole year. As we were there that night, I thought, “Wow, we’ve got to do a podcast about this. Imagine, if we could not only be praying but we could get all of you praying. We’re all praying for Eritrea, this country that is so desperate. Imagine what could happen!

We’ve been meaning to do this podcast for so long, but not getting on to it. But here we are.  I really want to give you a vision here, ladies. I want to give you, oh, such a vision, that you could take up as a family, a country. I’d love you to join with us for Eritrea this year. Then next year, you could choose your own country.

But I think the more that can be praying for this one country, I believe we could see God do something amazing, because you just think, since they got independence, 31 years of dictatorship. No freedom at all and persecution for Christians. It is on the top ten list of the persecuting countries of Christians. We do need to pray, don’t we?

What does the Scripture say? Hebrew 13:3: “Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.”

Let me read it from the New Living Translation. It makes it even clearer to us. “Remember those in prison as if you were there yourselves. Remember also those being mistreated as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” Wow, that’s something, isn’t it?

Well, the sad part is, I think that many Christians don’t even get to pray for the persecuted church. That is the very least we can do, to pray for them. I believe we have a responsibility, even as the Bible says, and to pray for them in such an intercessory way that we are feeling their pain, the pain of their torture, and the pain of their hunger, and the pain of the evil things they’re doing to their minds and their bodies!

Oh goodness me. I remember once, maybe I’ve told you this story before. It was a couple of years ago, and Serene was coming down from their third story, I think, on a ladder. She had a long skirt on, and somehow it got caught, and she fell to the ground, on her back! She was in such agony. It could have been so serious, but God delivered her and healed her.

But while she was there on her back, in absolute pain, what did she do? I was amazed when she shared it with me. She said, “Oh, Mom, I was in such pain that I cried out and cried out for the persecuted church!” She said, “Usually I feel so good that I don’t know how to feel their pain in my body.”

Sonia: Wow!

Nancy: “At last I was feeling such pain in my body, so I was really interceding for them.” I was really challenged by that. In fact, it was only a few weeks later that I fell and broke my ribs! Of course, ribs heal, but they are painful when you break your ribs. I was in such pain. I thought, “Well, what am I meant to do? Oh, pray for the persecuted church!”

But don’t let’s wait until we’re in absolute agony and pain, lovely ladies. Let’s make it a part of our lives. You know so well how I encourage you, as families, to come together in the morning and evening, to read the Word and pray together as a family. I think this is such a great time to pray for the persecuted church. How have you guys been getting on with praying?

Sonia: Well, we’re working on it. [laughter]

Nancy: I’ve got a confession too. Because I came home from that lovely evening with you, and thought, “Right! Every single day we’re going to pray for the Eritreans!” I told everybody in the household, and we started off with a bang. But I have to confess, we haven’t done it every day.

And yet, I do have some help. This is what I find, ladies. I do believe that we need help in reminding ourselves to pray. I may have shared with you before, but we have prayer boxes here in our home, right by our table where we have our devotions. We have our hymnbooks that we sing from, and we have our prayer boxes that we pray from. I have about nine different prayer boxes.

Of course, one of them is our “Praying for the Persecuted Church.” In that box, I have all the different needs of the persecuted church, and what is happening to them, and the different countries that are being persecuted. I also have another prayer box called “Countries and Capitals.” I have in that box all the neediest capitals and countries of the world. Of course, that includes the persecuted countries too. So, I actually have two boxes with “Eritrea” in them.

We don’t use nine boxes every day. We will just usually pick up one box. Then we’ll often get Eritrea and we’re praying for it. But I’m now thinking I’ll have to think of another idea, to remind us to pray every day.

My dear sister, Kate, is living with us at the moment. She and her husband are building a house out here on the Hilltop. While it’s being built, they’re living with us. I have to confess, she is faithful. Since that night, she has prayed in own prayer time, before she gets up every day, for Eritrea. Somehow, she remembers. It’s really on her heart.

So, I pray that you can think about it. I hope you’ll make some prayer boxes too. It’s great to have them on all the different subjects we need to be praying for—the nation, Israel, the persecuted church, and all these different needs in the world. But think of some idea of how you can remember, because I just feel lovely ladies, and young people listening, and children listening! If we could all begin to pray every day this year, from now on, this year, for Eritrea, well, what could happen?

Sonia: That would be so amazing! You’re making me think of Pam Fields and her bracelets. I think she’s written that in the magazine before where she writes the bracelets with her children’s names on them to remember to pray for them.

Nancy: That’s a great idea. Pam Fields has done podcasts with me. She has made bracelets where she has the names of all her children, which she puts on one wrist every morning. Then, as she has prayed for each child, she puts it on the other wrist. By the end of the day, wow! It shows whether she’s got through them all.

Sonia: She knows who to pray for at the end of the day!

Nancy: Yes! Yes! We so need reminders, don’t we? We really do. It’s amazing. And I find even our prayer boxes are things that we pray for, we would never pray for them if we didn’t take that little card out of our prayer boxes. We just forget. We’re so prone to forgetting, aren’t we?

I was looking up again this morning in Open Doors, because they’re such a wonderful organization for reaching out to the persecuted church. I thought I’d share with you a little bit of what they say about Eritrea. They also call it the “North Korea of Africa.” Actually, Eritrea does recognize Islam and Christianity, but anything outside of government Christianity is open to their persecution.

I’ll read this to you: “Raids to round up unsanctioned believers are common with church leaders, especially with church leaders. Those seized in raids are often sent into Eritrea's notorious prison network, where they can be detained indefinitely.”

They believe there are at least 1,000 Christians in prison currently—and they haven't been charged with any crime. They’re just there and forgotten. They just forget about them. Nobody knows if they’ll ever come out.

“Members of some house churches have been in prison for more than 10 years, enduring shocking conditions, including solitary confinement in tiny cells. Women face rape and sexual violence. The government watches every citizen of Eritrea, promoting a stigma against Christians. Anyone who converts from Islam, or joins a non-approved Christian denomination is likely to come under intense pressure from their family and community, along with the government. Women are particularly vulnerable. They risk abduction, house arrest, forced marriage to a Muslim.” (that’s what happens in these countries) “Or removal of their children.”

Can I tell you about the testimony of one, Abdullah? They share his testimony.

“Becoming a Christian in Eritrea cost Abdullah everything. It cost him his job, his freedom, and eventually his life. This persecution could have ended if he had renounced Jesus, but that was something he refused to do. He knew Jesus was worth the cost.

“Like most Eritreans, Abdullah grew up in a Muslim home. When he decided to follow Jesus, he could have been a secret believer, but he was so passionate about his new faith that he couldn’t keep it quiet. He told everyone about Jesus. He wanted them to know the Good New too. But, of course, through that, he was arrested and imprisoned.

“In prison, he was only given food three times a week. His wife wasn’t allowed to bring him any extra food or clothes, or even see him. She did receive letters in which she learned that he was getting increasingly sick in prison. Tragically, he died. Those close to the family say that Abdullah was imprisoned to discourage his faith. Ultimately, they wanted him to deny Christ and convert back to Islam. He was told that, were he to do this, they would drop the charges. But no imprisonment, hunger, torture, or sickness could separate Abdullah from the love of God.”

I think of these Christians in these countries who know they’ll face torture, they’ll face death, they’ll face being thrown of out their families. They face prison, they face forgottenness for the rest of their lives, but yet, they won’t give up their testimonies for Jesus.

Wow! They put us to shame, don’t they? But our responsibility is to pray. Yes. To pray for them. I’m wondering, are you getting the vision? Will you join with us in praying for Eritrea? Oh, I think it would be so wonderful if every family would do this. Ask the Lord what you can do to help you remember to do it, because we do need that help. Maybe you could tell other families about it too. And then maybe you’ll want to do what the Ramseys did. Every year, you’ll choose another country.

Sonia: Even now, they could choose Eritrea, and have their friends over, and have dinner.

Nancy: Yes! Great! They do it on Valentine’s Day. You could do it on New Year’s Day. You could do it this week. It doesn’t matter when. As Sonia was saying, what a great idea! Just look up the foods and get dressed up. Invite some other families over. Have a wonderful night together, and pray together that night, and then commit to praying together. Yes! That would be so great.

Sonia: And then preparing for those things, it’s really fun for the children to be able to go to the stores where they sell those seasonings that we’re not used to cooking with. We had to go into Nashville to find a store that had all of the things that we needed. That was part of the adventure. That was really fun for all of us.

Nancy: Oh yes! And you’re discovering about the world, with your children. And how blessed they are here in America. But we want our children, don’t we, to have a heart for the persecuted church, and a heart for others, and to learn to pray for others. And also, your girls, now that they’re getting older, they are doing a lot of the cooking. They’re learning how to cook in all these other wonderful ways. They’re such good cooks.

Oh, by the way, if you ever come to the THM, Trim Healthy Mama Café here in Tennessee, you will be served by Sonia’s beautiful daughters, Ellie, and Shailee. They work there and it’s always such a joy to go there, just to be served by them! They’re so beautiful, and so amazing! Maybe you’ve met them if you’ve been to the THM Café.

Is there anything else you wanted to say about this vision, Sonia?

Sonia: I don’t think so. I don’t think so. Just the daily reminder. I would say that’s one thing to ponder on. I think it’s good for all of us to have a reminder.

Nancy: Your vision gave me a vision. I can’t wait for next year, when we come to your next one. I think it’s such a marvelous idea. And to pray for this country. I trust you’ve got the vision. I trust you’ll join us. Let’s pray, and see changes come to this nation that is in such servitude to dictatorship. Oh, I would find it so hard to live under dictatorship! How do you live when you don’t have freedom? I don’t know! Although this is one of the worst countries. There are many that are like that.

In fact, let me just, as we close, give you the top ten persecuting countries.

North Korea, of course, number one.

Somalia,

Libya,

Eritrea,

Yemen,

Nigeria,

Pakistan,

Sudan,

Iran, and

Afghanistan.

There are about 50 persecuting countries of the world. Those are the top ten. We certainly need to pray for them. And how do we pray for them? Remember? As though we were feeling their pain in our own bodies. In fact, the Aramaic version of that Scripture says: “As if you were people who wear their bodies.” Isn’t that amazing?

Sonia: Wow!

Nancy: Let’s pray.

“Father, I thank You for this opportunity that Sonia and I could share this wonderful vision that You have given to them as a family. Lord, I’d love to see it multiply across the world, to take up a country that is in such servitude and suffering such persecution. Lord God, I pray that You will motivate these precious families listening, and they will begin to pray for this country.

“We pray for Eritrea today, Lord. We pray for this dictator, Lord God, Isaias Afwerki, that You will, oh God, bring him down from his high throne. We pray, I don’t know how it can happen, Lord God, but somehow that there can be freedom, Lord, for there to be elections somehow. Lord, it’s only You who can do this, Lord God! We pray for a miracle.

“We pray for the precious believers who are suffering there. We pray that You will encourage their hearts, that, Lord, You will surround them with Your love. And Lord God, those whose tummies are tortured with hunger, come to them. Lord, give them that feeling of a full stomach, Lord God.

“We pray for those who are being tortured and left abandoned, Lord. We pray that they will know that You haven’t forgotten them. We pray that You’ll put Your loving arms around them and bring Your presence to them so mightily. And Lord, we pray that in some miraculous way, deliverance will come to this country. We ask it in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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DON’T FORGET TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT THIS PODCAST,

“LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell”

DON’T KEEP THE BLESSINGS TO YOURSELF.

IT IS ENCOURAGING FOR ALL WIVES AND MOTHERS.

 

Podcast 30:

Pam Fields shares her wonderful idea of PRAYER BRACELETS and how they help her to pray for each of her children each day.

To listen to this podcast, go to:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/183665/905644-episode-30-should-we-make-new-year-resolutions

 

To find out how to make the bracelets go to this link: https://tinyurl.com/PrayerBracelets

 

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 306: Is There A Better Word Than "Kids", Part 8

Today we finish the last “P” of training our daughters to be royalty. And also, the last three of the 20 different words that God calls our children! God has so much to tell us about our children in His Word. Don’t miss it.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! We’re together again, and we’re still talking about our daughters as the PILLARS OF A PALAC E wall. We’re still talking about our daughters as pillars. We talked about how it is important for them to be strong physically and also strong spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

We want them to be strong in the Word of God, strong in their convictions, and strong in purity and holiness. That’s so important to encourage our daughters to walk in holiness and in purity of life. Of course, they will want to do that more as they are in the Word of God themselves.

But we must constantly, in this sexual world in which we are living, encourage them to live a pure and holy life. What does it say in Hebrews 12:14? “Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.” That’s rather a strong word, isn’t it?

In 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, it says these words: “Flee fornication.” That means run from it! We must encourage our daughters not to ever put themselves in any place where they could even be tempted. We must protect them from that too.

In fact, even sending our daughters off to college, goodness me!  We’re sending them off to brothels, just about. It is so sad to think of so many beautiful, pure girls coming from even homeschool families, and going to college, and coming home tainted, because they have got involved sexually. It just what’s happening there in those colleges, apart from all the brainwashing in socialism that’s going on.

I’m not sure how any caring parent could send their daughter to college today. There may have been a time when you could do that, but today, that is not the case. In fact, we need to be praying, I believe, for such a mighty revival to come to the colleges of our nation that God will raise up men and women who will be able to speak truth to these young people who are so brainwashed and living such very sexual and evil lives.

We’ve also got to be watchful over where we allow our daughters to go. To protect them is our responsibility. To protect them. They’re under our protection until we give them to the man whom God has chosen for them. Then they become under his protection. God has planned that a woman will always be under protection.

But continuing this verse: “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” We are encouraging them to walk in holiness.

We want them to be strong in commitment, understanding that when they get married, that it’s a commitment to marriage. It’s a covenant. Therefore, they have to marry the right person, don’t they? I have an article on the character of a young man that beautiful godly young ladies can look for. You can email me for that if you’d like to receive that. I’d be happy to send it to you.

But I think even before they get to marriage, we should encourage our young people to learn what commitment is, even in little things, because it’s always those little things that help us to become a committed kind of person. When we say something, we mean it. We will keep to it.

Maybe, if we say we’re asked to come to a certain function and we tell the host and hostess, “Yes, I’ll be coming!” Then something pops up, and you can’t go, and you don’t turn up. Is that commitment? No. Of course, it may be very dire circumstances, and you can’t turn up. Therefore, you would call and say, “Oh, I said I was coming, and I’m so sorry, but this is happening. I can’t get there. I just want you to know I won’t be able to come.” So, if you can’t be at a function, you let people know. You don’t just not turn up! That’s not commitment.

Even in the home, we’re committed to our family. While we’re living in a home, we’re committed to the home. We’re committed to the family. We tell our parents where we’re going. Young people, even as they get older, if they’re still living in the home, should never leave without saying where they are going. We are always committed to one another and communicating with one another. These are important things even as we prepare for the future.

Pillars have to be strong. They have got to hold up another story. They’ve got to be very strong. We’re training our daughters to be strong. But ALSO BEAUTIFUL, because pillars of a palace are beautiful.

The Living Bible says: “Daughters of graceful beauty, like the pillars of a palace wall.”

The New American Bible, “Our daughters, like carved columns, shapely as those of the temple.” Very interesting that the Word of God should use the word “shapely.” But yes, I think we should also be encouraging our daughters to keep themselves physically well and physically in shape. And to keep themselves beautiful.

This goes on to our last point, which is . . .

               6)  Another “P,” PRINCESSES

Of course, our daughters are princesses because this is in the context of royalty. It’s in the context of a palace. They are to be carved according to the pattern of a palace. It’s all in the context of royalty. Therefore, we are going to encourage our lovely daughters to live like royalty, to speak like royalty, to dress like royalty.

Don’t you think that is the right thing to do? Or do we have a different understanding of the kingdom of God? Do we think it’s some ordinary old thing? No, it’s the kingdom of God, a royal kingdom. We have been called into royalty. We have been made into a royal priest unto God.

It talks about that in 1 Peter 2:5: “You also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

Verse 9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people.” That means a set-apart, a very special people unto God. “That ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Do you notice there that there’s another adjective? We’re always noticing the adjectives. God doesn’t only call us into His light but His marvelous light! Oh, yes! Let’s get with it! Knowing what the kingdom of God is like!

And so, precious ladies, we ourselves, and our daughters, let’s begin to act a little more royally. In our homes, we are establishing a royal home, because we belong to the kingdom of God. Even as we encourage our daughters in the way they dress, how do we allow them to dress?

The sad thing is that I see that most, even Christian, lovely, lovely homeschooling mothers are dressing all their little ones in jeans and tops. That’s what everybody wears. But when you think about it, ladies, what are we doing? We’re training them from a young age, from a little age, “This is the clothing that women wear.”

But it’s not the clothing that God intends for women to wear, because God wants His female creation to be feminine, to be uniquely female, to dress differently from men. He wants the man to dress differently, and the woman to dress differently. Neither are to wear each other’s clothing. That’s what the Bible says, in Deuteronomy 22:5.  

And yet, we are so, so affected by our society. We just go along with the world system. Dear precious mothers, tell me, are we meant to be living according to this world system? No! We are not! Yet, we think it’s normal. And it’s not. Let’s read again the Scripture that you all know, Romans 12. Let’s go to it, because we all know it, but I think we need to read it again. Maybe you should make this a memory verse in your home, for everyone in the home.

OK, here it goes: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world.” Did you hear that? What did it say? “And be not conformed to this world.”

It seems to me that Christians today want to be look as much like the world as they can! But the Scripture says, don’t be conformed to this world, “but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Let me read it to you from the Passion Translation: “Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred.” (did you hear that word?) “Sacred living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in His eyes.”

And so, lovely ladies, why do we conform? I’m just thinking now. One of the most common things that young people turn up in these days, and can you believe that they even wear them to church? I cannot even believe it. But they’ll wear their holey jeans! Holey jeans with rips everywhere. Many times the whole knee is cut out so you see all the knobbly knees.

No wonder the Bible says we’re meant to have a sound mind. Even common sense would tell you, why pay money for clothes that are ripped or have great big holes in them? That’s clothes that are worn out! And why would beautiful princesses want to wear such ugly clothes? Because, dear ladies, I have to say, they are ugly. There is not one thing beautiful about them. But why do young people wear them, and even some mothers wear them? Because they’re the fashion. Because it’s what everybody’s wearing! It’s the fashion. They want to be cool and want to be like everybody else!

But is that the reason we wear our clothes, to be like the spirit of this world?? That fashion didn’t come from the Word of God. It came from the spirit of this world! And it’s ugly. Satan wants God’s beautiful princesses to look ugly. God wants them to look beautiful, like princesses in a palace. This is the picture that He gives.

I know I’m stepping on toes. But really, let’s face a few facts here. They’re nothing to do with royalty, nothing to do with beauty. It’s time we encouraged our daughters to dress beautifully, femininely, and like women. When they go out into this world, they should look like a woman, not like a man.

All we are doing is pandering to this transgender lifestyle. How did we get to where we are today? Because many years ago, it first started with one woman, who was rebellious, a feminist who decided she didn’t want to be at home. She wanted to be out in her career, and she didn’t want to be like a woman. She wanted to be in a man’s world. Therefore, she started dressing like a man, and began to wear pantsuits.

It was rejected. It was thought disgusting. But they continued, and now, even Christian women dress like that. We have followed the world! Not the Bible. Now, when it’s normal for just about every woman to dress like a man, well, you might as well just go the next step. You might as well become like men (or women). You see, we’re pandering to that transgender lifestyle.

We wouldn’t think about it like that, but it’s true. We are so fickle about truth. We’re so shallow about truth. It’s time we had truth in the very core of our beings, and know what it is! And know that we are meant to be women. We’re meant to be feminine. We’re meant to look like women. We’re meant to dress like women.

Forgive me, ladies, but I’m on God’s side. I’m on the side of the Word of God. So, let’s encourage our precious daughters to dress like princesses. OK, they can wear their old jeans when they’re out in the garden, riding horses, doing things like that, of course. But not when they go out. Not when they come to church. Oh, goodness me!

So, there it is, lovely ladies, our six points about our daughters, all starting with “P,” all relating to royalty and a palace.

OK, so now we’re got to go to our next point. Here we go, because that was point number 17. Do you remember? We’ve got 20 points about the different words God calls our children in His Word.

No. 18. REWARDS

We’re doing them in alphabetical order. That comes from Psalm 127:3, which says: “Children are the heritage of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is His reward.” Oh, aren’t we blessed, to have all these precious rewards that God has given us! Our children are the most glorious rewards we could ever receive from the Lord. You can remind your children that that’s what they are. “You are my reward from the Lord!” You can call your children these words from time to time.

No. 19. SIGNS AND WONDERS

This is found in Isaiah 8:18: “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.” What a wonderful Scripture, mothers! Isn’t this incredible? Everyone of your precious children are a sign, and they are a wonder from the Lord of hosts.

Did you get that? From the Lord of hosts. They’re given to you by God. They’re given to you as a reward. They’re given to you as a blessing. But they’re also given to you to be a blessing to the world, to be a sign and a wonder to the world.

The Hebrew word for “sign” means “a beacon, a flag, a monument, a miracle.” Yes, many of your children are miracles. They’re all miracles. Some are more miracles than others, because of things that have happened to bring them into the world. But they are a sign from the Lord.

And “wonder.” The word “wonder” in the Hebrew means “conspicuous, a miracle.” God wants us to show forth the children that He has given us, to be so blessed that He has given these children to us. Never to think, “Oh, goodness me! I’ve got so many children!” No, hallelujah! The more you have, the more you are blessed by the Lord! Amen.

And the last one, ladies . . .

No. 20. THE WORK OF GOD’S HANDS

Isaiah 29:23: “When he sees his children, the work of My hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify My Name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.” In this Scripture, God is telling us that every one of our children are the work of His hands.

We see that also, don’t we, in Psalm 139, that beautiful Psalm where it talks about how He creates the baby in the womb. I did a whole series on this passage a way back. You can go back and listen to it.

Psalm 139:13: “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. How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 

God is speaking here of the glorious, wonderful creation of the baby in the womb, and how He creates the baby in secret. Oh, I love that Scripture. You know, don’t you, that I’m such a stickler to the Word of God, and that’s why I’m one of those who believes in waiting until the baby arrives to know what the baby will be, because God said He’s creating the baby in SECRET!

He wants to give us a surprise. God is like a parent who loves to give His children surprises. Oh, I used to love to give my children surprises. I know you do too. I think God loves to give us surprises, especially when it’s a baby. There’s something so exciting in not knowing whether it’s going to be a boy or a girl. But today, everybody knows. They can’t wait. They can’t even wait for a secret! Oh, goodness me. Well, I’m just one of those who sticks to the Word of God.

Every one of our children are the work of God’s hands. How amazing! Remind your precious children. “Oh, little Isabelle, how I love you! We are so blessed that God has given you to us. You are the work of His hands. He created you marvelously in my womb, and here you are, as a beautiful creation given to us by God!” They need to know they come from God.

That word “marvelous,” oh, it’s a glorious Hebrew word. It’s the word pala, and it means “wonderful, miraculous, extraordinary, beyond the bounds of human understanding.” It’s such an amazing word.

There we are, precious ladies. Those 20 different words that God calls our children in His Word. However, there are actually more words, because when you go into the Hebrew, and then when you go into the Greek, you find even more words.

In my study of the Word of God on the word “children,” I found, can you believe it? I found 50 different Hebrew words that God uses for “children.” Isn’t that amazing? God loves children so much that He has so many different words to describe them. From just a baby in the womb, a baby being born, a baby that is growing. One that is a little toddler. Yes, did you know there’s even a word for the toddlers? That’s the word taph.

I love that word, because God often uses that word when He’s asking His people to come and assemble before Him, when He’s wanting everyone to come. The whole assembly, the mothers, the fathers, the children, the nursing babes, and He says, “And the little ones.” When we go to the Hebrew, we find it’s the word taph.

What does it mean here? I’ll give you the meaning. I’m not going to give you the meaning of the 50 different words. We’d be here all day, wouldn’t we? But this one, I thought you’d be interested. It means, “to trip, with a short step.” The term comes from the tripping gait and short steps of little children. The children are running around and playing although still clinging to the mother.

This word is used 42 times in the Bible, and often it’s used when God is calling all His people together. He mentions the little ones. Many times, we think, “Oh, if we’re coming to hear from God and hear the Word of God, well, we don’t want the children to be making a sound. We’d better have a nursery for the children,” so they’re away off there in the nursery. They’re not going to interrupt what God is saying in the church.

But no, God never ever said that. When God brought His people together, He brought the whole family, and He specifically said fathers, mothers, children, little ones, babies at the breast. He wanted them all there.

God’s ultimate plan, even when we come together at church, is that the whole family gathers together as a family. There are lots of family-integrated churches. But there are others that, no, they must have the babies out in the nursery, and the little taphs out in the nursery, so they don’t interrupt.

That’s true. We don’t want interrupting children, do we? Of course, sometimes we have to take them out if they’re interrupting. Then when they’re quiet, we bring them in again. Of course, it takes parents who are diligent about training their children and disciplining their children, so they learn to be able to sit in church. But it is possible. We have the families . . . we have in our fellowship, we have parents with nine children, ten children, eleven children, fourteen children, and they’re all there, right down to the little babies. And it’s glorious!

Then we go over to the New Testament, and I found in the New Testament 26 different Greek words for “ children.” What does that say to you, mothers? Doesn’t it show how much God cares about our children?

In fact, I did this little study one time, and this is pretty amazing, because we think of some of the great themes of the Word of God. Take, for instance, “faith.” Do you know that “faith” is only mentioned two times in the Old Testament? Can you believe that?

“Grace” is only used 39 times, although 170, including the New and Old.

The beautiful word of “love” is only used 131 times in the Old, 310 altogether in New and Old.

What about “prayer”? My, I’m a great believer in prayer, but in the whole of the Word of God, it’s only used 245 times.

Whereas, whereas, the word “ben,” that’s one of the most common Hebrew words for children. It means “the builder of the family name.” That’s a very common word in Hebrew. Many, many sons are called Ben Yochanan, Ben Yehuda, Ben this, Ben that. As I said, it means “the builder of the family name.” That word “ben” is used over 4000 times in the Bible, apart from all the other words!

Compare that to the amount of times these great, important themes of the Bible are used. The word “ children” is used more, far more than any of them. I think perhaps we need to be getting a little bit more in balance, don’t you think? Even in pastors giving messages to their congregations. If that word is used more than any other, surely our pastors should be giving more messages about children. What do you think?

Well, another incredible word about this Hebrew word for children is the word zera. This is an amazing word, because it’s a word that is used for the sperm. It’s right from the very, very, very beginning! It’s the word “sperm,” and yet, amazingly, God uses that same word, zera, for not only the sperm, but for children, and for older people, and even older people. He uses that word right through.

In fact, let me give you an example. Let me see if I can find an example here. Yes, this is Genesis 46:6, 7. This is talking about when Jacob came down to Egypt to be with Joseph, after Joseph had been reconciled with his brothers. It says: “And all his seed,” and the Hebrew word is zera. It means “sperm.”

In the King James, it’s the “sperm of copulation,” but it also talks about every stage of life. Listen to this: “And all his seed with him. His sons and his sons’ sons with him; his daughters, and his son’s daughters, and all his seed (zera) brought he with him into Egypt.” The Bible tells us that 70 souls came down from Egypt and they weren’t all little sperms floating down in clouds. No, they were people! They were little children, and mothers and fathers, and grandfathers, and grandmothers. They were all the word zera.

Ladies, ladies, do you see something there? The word “sperm,” zera, God uses that word for people. That word, that every sperm has the possibility of a human being that God wants brought into the world. And that’s how we must guard the seed.

That’s why God was so angry with Onan, because he spilled the seed on the ground instead of entering into his wife. What does the Bible say? God killed him (Genesis 38:7-10). In other translations it says that every time he went into her, he spilled the seed, so it wasn’t a one-time act. It was a thing that he continued to do.

The word “spilled” is not, well, just “spilled.” No, it is a very, very strong word which means “destroyed,” because when he spilled it, he destroyed it. That possibility of life being conceived, because God sees life before it is even conceived. You see, ladies, we’ve got to see where God sees life. We’ve got to get to see how precious God sees the sperm. Can I quickly, just at the end of this podcast, give you one or two examples?

What about when God was talking about Abraham and Levi? Yes, after he had gone and rescued his nephew Lot, he came back with all the spoil. He met Melchizedek, the king of Salem. The Bible says: “And he paid tithes to Melchizedek.” We read that in the Old Testament. Then we go over to the New Testament, and it talks about it again. It says: “And as I may say so, Levi paid tithes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.”

A modern translation makes it clearer. “Levi, the ancestor of every Jewish priest, who received tithes, actually paid tithes to Melchizedek through Abraham. For although Levi was yet unborn, the seed from which Levi came was present in Abraham.” Although Levi was not a twinkle in Abraham’s eye . . . he was Abraham’s great-grandson. Yet God said he was already in the loins of Abraham and God knew him before he was even ever conceived!

What about Solomon? There are a number of Scriptures where God spoke, and said how Solomon would come forth. Let’s read this one: 2 Samuel 7:12: “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.”

There’s another Scripture where God even names Solomon before he was born. God named him. 1 Chronicles 22:9: “Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon.” And he wasn’t even yet born, or conceived.

What about Josiah? Josiah was one of the great kings of Judah. In 1 Kings 13:2, the prophet Judah prophesied against the altar when they were sacrificing to false gods. He said: “Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.”

Now get this, ladies. Fourteen generations later after that prophecy . . . did you get it? Fourteen generations later, Josiah was born. God had spoken his name, fourteen generations before. His name! His name! Before he was even thought of! Except by God. Josiah was born. He became King of Judah. During his reign, he did exactly what that prophecy said, and cleansed all the evil from the land, from the altars where they sacrificed to the false gods. It was fulfilled exactly fourteen generations later after Josiah was named. Oh, it’s amazing.

One more. I know we’re late. Cyrus. Oh, Cyrus. Cyrus wasn’t even an Israelite. He wasn’t even a Jew. He was a heathen king. One of the greatest kings in history. He was called “The King of the Four Corners of the Earth.” And yet, he’s spoken about in the Bible. And God chose him, chose him for a purpose, that he would release His people back from Babylon to the land. And God actually named his name 150 years before he was even born! You can read about that in Isaiah 44:28, and Isaiah 45.

Oh, I could tell you so much more, but isn’t that amazing, ladies? Can we begin to think like God thinks? We think so humanly. Let’s begin to think like God thinks, like He thinks about children, like He thinks about the sperm, like he thinks about children who are in the loins of men. Children who He wants to come forth, children for whom He has destiny. And yet, there are many today who never come forth because men and women are stopping them. They’re stopping life that God intends to come into the world.

“Dear Father, we just thank You so much that You have brought us into Your kingdom. You have given us such a great salvation. And Lord, we thank You that we belong to Your kingdom. Help us, Lord, not to be ignorant subjects of Your kingdom, but to be those who know the ways of Your kingdom, know the truths of Your kingdom, and who know Your heart.

“Help us to understand Your heart about children, and about life, and about the sperm, and how You see things. Help us, Lord God, to see things as You see them, and not as the world sees them. We pray that You’ll put Your fear in our hearts, and in our minds, that we will come to Your Word with trembling, Lord, because we dare not take shallowly and lightly the things that You tell us. Help us to be true women of Your Word and true women of truth. We ask it in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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Genesis 38:9: The word “spilled” is “sahat” and means “ to destroy corrupt, to decay, utterly waste.”