Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Three times the Bible calls the brazen altar where the priests conducted the daily sacrifices “the table of the Lord.” It is interesting that God calls it a table.

However, I think that if the altar is called a table, then our table is also an altar.

I think it is a beautiful thing to see our family table as an altar. It brings greater meaning to the table. I think we look upon our tables too lightly. We don’t understand the power and significance of a family table. God is very interested in tables. In fact, God had a table in His heavenly kingdom before He ever introduced them on earth. They are a heavenly thing. They come from God.

When God describes the family that is blessed of the Lord, He pictures them all sitting together around a table (Psalm 128:3). This is God’s heart for families.

The altar in the tabernacle, and later the temple, was a place for sacrifices. I think our table is also a place of sacrifice. It takes thought, effort, and sacrifice of time to prepare a meal for our family. To prepare, eat together, and have family devotions at our evening meal often takes three hours out of my day! I must put aside other things that I could do, things that I might think are more important, but in God’s eyes they are of much lesser importance.

God sees our sacrifices to serve and bless our husbands and families with a lovely meal. It does not go unnoticed by our Heavenly Father who loves the meal table. I am sure that just as the aroma of the burnt offering upon the altar went up before the Lord as a sweet-smelling savor, so our sacrificial love comes up before the Lord as a sweet savor to Him.

He loves to come and join us at our table. He loves tables. He loves the discourse at the table. Jesus showed us this when He was on earth. So much of His ministry took place on the way to a meal, during a meal, or after a meal.

The altar was where the people brought their offerings to the Lord. The people brought five different offerings which the priests offered upon the brazen altar.

As we prepare the daily meals for our families, they are also offerings unto the Lord. Yes, they are an offering to our families (hopefully not too many burnt offerings!), but ultimately to the Lord. Therefore, we don’t prepare meals with resignation and grumblings and groanings, but with joy and happiness, knowing that we are serving the Lord Christ and making an offering up to Him.

The altar was also sacred. The Bible says that the altar was “before the Lord” (Exodus 27:21; 29:11; Leviticus 1:5; 4:6-24 and loads of other Scriptures. It means “in the presence of the Lord.” Ezekiel 41:22 says: “This is the able that stands in the LORD’S presence.”

Your table in your home is sacred. When you sit around your table for each meal, God longs to come and sit with you. He wants to bring His presence. Everything you do—all your conversation and interactions are in the presence of the Lord. That doesn’t mean it has to be like church. No, I am sure God loves to see us enjoying His food and enjoying one another. Laughing, talking, and discussing together, and then of course, ready to listen to God at the end of our meal. For the table is not only a place to feed the physical man, but the emotional, and spiritual too.

We never leave our table without my husband opening God’s Word and reading it to us. We then pray together. Everyone prays, from the oldest to the youngest! Our table becomes an altar as we connect with God to hear from Him and call upon His name.

Oh, what blessedness.

I pray that you will see your able in a new light.

In His love,

Nancy Campbell

God’s Word is true when it says: “You turn things upside down!” (Isaiah 29:16 (ESV). So much in our society today is the opposite to God’s original plan. It’s all turned upside down.

Let’s begin with the first institution God ordained—marriage. The average age for a first marriage for women is currently 27.4 years and 29.5 years for men. This is the longest Americans have waited to get married. And yet their desires for the opposite sex are awakened years before this.

I know so many beautiful girls in their mid-twenties, late-twenties, and even their thirties who long to be married. They truly are beautiful, inside and out, and long to have children and be the queen of their home. This is what God ordained.

But as I asked in a previous post, where are the men? Or perhaps I should ask, where are the men who are ready for marriage? Most young people today are not even psychologically geared for marriage. They are sent to college to train for their careers, but no one inspires them about the most basic of all careers, the career of parenting. It is rare to hear a pastor give a message about getting married and preparing yourself for marriage.

Because fewer couples are marrying at an earlier age, it becomes the vogue. Couples hang out together but don’t take the responsibility of getting married. Many are not truly ready as they are not ready to take on the responsibility of children. And if a couple are not ready for children, they are not mature enough to get married!

It’s not so much the age but the preparation of mind, hard work, saving (rather than flitting their money away on their entertaining lifestyle), and openness to the responsibility of providing for a wife and children that makes a man ready for marriage. I know many couples who have married young. They are so happy, providing well, embracing children, and more mature than many in their late twenties who are still too immature to even take on a wife!

Then there are those who just live together! We think of this as a worldly lifestyle, but it is creeping into the church. There are currently 18 million singles living with their partners! Sickening. Opposite to God’s plan. And what does God’s word say? “Know ye not that that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fonicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10).

I think its time to encourage marriage, don’t you? That’s thinking like God thinks! God loves to see a young couple coming together in a godly union, because He designed marriage, and designed it to be wonderful.

I love the Scripture in Jeremiah 33:10, 11 where God gives His promise of blessing upon His people. He says: “Thus saith the LORD; Again There shall be heard in this place . . . The voice of ojoy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good.” The joy of weddings is God’s blessing on the land.

Other Scriptures tell us about God’s judgment that there will no more be heard the voice of the bride and the voice of the bridegroom!

Well, I’ve been rambling on. You know, I’d love to set up a site with some profiles of some these precious young ladies I know and some young men who are also looking for godly wives – and perhaps they could connect! What do you think? Wouldn’t it be a good idea?

This is one of the secret visions I have for our Above Rubies Family Retreats, that when families come with all their children (including their teens and older ones in their twenties) that it will be a wonderful opportunity for them to meet other young people with the same vision and kindred spirit. Colin and I met at a Christian camp and I’m sure glad about that!

Love from Nancy Campbell

We know of course, that this is the opposite of biblical patriarchy. The dictionary calls a patriarch “the male head of a family or tribal line.” The Bible portrays a patriarch as a man who walks in his anointing to lead and govern his family. But how does he do it? Loving his wife as much as he loves his own body. Loving his wife as much as Christ loves the church and gave himself for it. But he also receives obedience, honor, and respect.

I read recently in Malachi 1:6 (NET): “A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects his master. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The LORD who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name!”

It is inherent within children to honor their parents. Yes, they will often try to rebel because of their sinful nature, but we have within us a God-given tendency to honor. It comes from God. If children do not obey and honor their parents, they will not know how to honor God.

If we as wives do not learn to honor our husbands, how can we honor God?

When honor is taken away from society, we become a godless society. The Bible says: “First that which is natural and then that which is spiritual”. As we learn honor in our earthly relationships, we learn how to honor God.

God has ordained honor in every earthly relationship. It’s a prerequisite to knowing and honoring God.

Let’s keep honor in our society.

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting by Alfredo Rodrequez

The situation was total devastation and destruction. This guy had nothing left, but God Himself. And yet he is still rejoicing.

What about us?

Have you been up all night with the baby? And you’re feeing lousy. Can you still say, “Even though . . God is good. I will rejoice.”

You wonder how on earth you can pay the rent! “Even though . . . I will rejoice in the Lord. I know that God will not fail us.”

You are burdened about a sick parent or child. “Even though . . . I will rejoice. I will trust my God.”

I think it all comes back to putting our trust in God and knowing that He is a God who cannot fail. Let’s trust Him more.

Let’s confess the right confession. Let’s be those who can say “Even though . . . “

The Lord abundantly bless you today,

Nancy Campbell

Praise God for His daily faithfulness and His mercies which are new every morning.

Blessings,

Nancy Campbell

Sharing my husband's post with you today from his Facebook, MEAT FOR MEN. I believe it is a powerful word.

THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION
I am very grateful that God has given us president Donald Trump. He is doing an amazing job of turning this nation around for good, even in the midst of major resistance by the main stream media, the extreme Democrat party, and some Republicans who hate his style and personality.

I heartily enjoyed his State of the Union speech. However, I was concerned over one of his achievements. He stated: “No one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the new jobs created in the last year. All Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before.” And continued: “We also have more women serving in Congress than at any time before.”

We noticed that immediately all “the women in white” belonging to the extreme left of the Democratic party begin to rejoice, dance around, and high five one another.

I wonder if our president and his daughter, Ivanka, who is a very strong advocate for the working women, realize that getting women out of the home and placing the children in nurseries and day care centers is one of the major agendas of the communist/extreme socialists.

The actual fact is that 76.8 million women are employed in this nation. Many are mothers. Who is caring for their children? The extreme socialists want to breakdown all traditional home and family values. They want all women out of their homes. They want to take total control of the human race, from the cradle to the grave. Both Hitlerism and Communism had this ideology in common.

A few years ago, Germany teachers encouraged that this ideology should be adopted again because of what they observed as poor parenting in their country. These educators want the children from the cradle.

However, God gave children to parents, not governments or school teachers. He wants them to be nurtured by mothers in their homes, and not even fathers replacing mothers.

Extreme socialism seeks to destroy all godly, traditional roles by mixing them up. Without a doubt, young children need their mothers in the home—loving, teaching, and taking good care of them. Mothers are naturally and innately more qualified to accomplish this than fathers. It is mothers who create the best atmosphere in the family home.

What is a home without a mother in it? It is nothing more than a sterile, empty shell.

Homes are the best place for the ministration of motherhood, not the downtown office or the tough environment of a manufacturing warehouse.

Who told us that mothers at home were not working mothers? What a lie.

Who told us that motherhood was not a true bonified career? I’ll tell you who. The extreme socialists and feminists.

Women take away jobs from men and the traditional family home goes begging. It is vacant for most of the important hours of the day. Thousands of homes could have this placard on their door: “Unoccupied from 8.00 am – 5.00 pm.” Many are unoccupied for longer hours. The home, which is the hub of society if languishing.

Motherhood and fatherhood, from God’s perspective, should always be the foundational roles of every culture. When we forsake these roles or seek to destroy them, we do so to our own peril.

David asks the question in Psalm 11:3: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” The answer is, of course, to rebuild the foundations again.

President Trump boldly stated in his State of the Union address and I want to agree with him: “We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.” However, the promotion of women to come out from their career of homemaking and replace it with secular careerism is the socialist agenda.

America will only be as great as its foundations. It will only be as great as its homes, marriages, and families.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Painting: “Knowledge is Power” by Seymour Joseph Guy

When people say derogatory remarks to you about having more than the usual two children, don't be intimidated. You are not living by humanistic standards but by the eternal truths of God's Word. When folks ridicule you for homeschooling, don’t be intimidated. You are not going to allow your children to be brainwashed with transgenderism, leftist ideology, and Islamic lessons which are now all part of the public school system.

You have a higher plan than the world’s plan. Your thinking is dictated by God’s words, not by human reasoning (Isaiah 55:8, 9).

Never be ashamed of God’s plan. It’s better than man’s ways (Isaiah 1:22).

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

Picture: “The First Lesson” by Samuel Baruch Halle (1824-1889). German painter.

God said to Moses: “Say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” I AM comes to you right now, dear mother. Acknowledge His presence with you at this moment. No mater what is happening.

Every situation, no matter how frustrating or difficult, is sacred when I AM is with you.

Have a lovely day,

Nancy Campbell

Did you read the article by Randy Alcorn in the latest Above Rubies called IS THE UNBORN PART OF THE MOTHER’S BODY? He clearly shows that the baby in the womb is a separate person to the mother. It is not just a part of her. He or she is a separate human being with a different genetic code, different DNA, different fingerprints and on and on. Read this article again and encourage your children to read it so they understand the truth.

We could ask ourselves the question: when Jonah landed in the whale’s belly, was he then part of the whale because he was inside the whale? No, he was still a completely different person. He was still Jonah, not a whale!

How encouraging that our president stands for life. Did you thank and praise God when he spoke these words in his SOTO address?

“There could be no greater contrast to the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant child than the chilling displays our nation saw in recent days. Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth. These are living, feeling, beautiful babies who will never get the chance to share their love and dreams with the world. And then, we had the case of the governor of Virginia where he basically stated he would execute a baby after birth.”

He continued . . . “To defend the dignity of every person, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb. Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life. And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: all children – born and unborn – are made in the holy image of God.”

Our president is prepared to boldly stand for life in the face of ridicule and opposition? It’s the least we can do too.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

The William Barclay’s translation says: “Your BEAUTY must be the BEAUTY of your inner character and personality. It must consist of a gentle and serene character, a BEAUTY which the years cannot wither, for in God’s sight that is what is really precious. This was the BEAUTY with which once upon a time consecrated women, whose hopes were set on God, adorned themselves. They accepted the authority of their husbands.”

We live in a society of rebellion towards men, in fact toward all authority. Many modern women do not want to submit to anyone or anything! This is the same spirit of Lucifer who was cast out of Heaven because he did not want to submit to authority of God but wanted to be like God himself. It is an ugly thing and always ends in destruction, the destruction of marriage, home, and family.

But God says that submission is a beautiful thing. I wonder . . . do we think like God thinks? Or do we embrace the thinking of the enemy?

Do you notice that it talks about the women who lived “once upon a time”? Peter was talking about women who lived two thousand years previously. To us they are women who lived four thousand years ago. Our generation is completely opposite to these women.

And yet who is right? God’s Word never changes. It is an eternal (and therefore never goes out of date) and was given for every generation.

Psalm 119:160 says: “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.” The margin of my Bibles says: “The beginning of thy word is true.”

I notice the last verse of 1 Peter 3 where it says that all the angels and authorities in heaven are subject to God and to Christ. What about on earth?

Are you living a beautiful life today?

Love from Nancy Campbell

Painting: Leonid Pavlovich Baranov

Therefore . . .
To love your husband and to be submissive and devoted to him is a beautiful thing.
To love your children and raise a family is a beautiful thing.
To be pure, good, and self-controlled are beautiful things.
To be a keeper of the home and manage it well is a beautiful thing.
To practice hospitality is a beautiful thing.
To humbly serve others and help those in distress are beautiful things.

Dear mother in the home, you are worth more than rubies and precious gems! Your God-given mandate is beautiful and valuable to your home and to the nation. And even more importantly, to God.

Blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

Painting by Helen Allingham.

A You are ANOINTED by God to mother and nurture your children. This is more powerful than any career you can have outside the home.

C You are CALLED by God to this great career. If you turn away from it, you miss your highest calling.

K You are the KEEPER of your home. You are keeping your marriage and family strong. Homekeepers are definitely the backbone of the nation. As mothers build strong homes the nation becomes stronger. When mothers vacate their homes, the nation becomes weaker.

B You are the BRIGHTNESS and glory of your home. A home is only truly a home when mother is there, making it a beautiful place with her presence.

O You are an OVERCOMER. Building a godly home, family, and heritage is no easy task. It takes strength and courage. It takes fortitude and endurance. But God is with you moment by moment, giving you the power to overcome in His name.

N You are a NATION CHANGER. When mothers get back to the home, embrace the children God wants them to have, and train them to be godly sons and daughter, they change the course of the nation.

E You are an EDUCATOR. There is no one more powerful than you, mother, to influence your children for God, to reveal to them the awesome wonder of your God and His universe. As you seek after truth, you teach your children the truth and you become an educator not only to your children, but to the rest of society.

Together, mothers, we are the BACKBONE of the nation. Let’s not give up influencing this nation and generations to come.

Blessings to you today,

Nancy Campbell

Ebed-melech took his life into his hands to stand up for right. He could have landed in the dungeon himself, because the king had just given the palace officials permission to do what they liked with Jeremiah! But Ebed-melech was not a wimp! He was not afraid of the consequences. He acted righteously and saved Jeremiah. It only took one brave man!

Often people are accused wrongly. Are we afraid to stand up for them in case we face the same consequences? Often we face an evil situation. Will we stand against the evil?

Psalm 84:16: "Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?"

May God save us from being those who turn a blind eye because we would rather not be involved. May we always stand against injustice and wrong
doing. We must be a voice for the unborn who are murdered every day.

Proverbs 31:8, 9: "Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy."

And let's teach our children to support and stand by those who are accused falsely. And to stand against all evil. Read the story of Ebed-melech to your children in Jeremiah 38:6-13 and 39:16-18 and teach them to be brave soldiers for righteousness.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

When children disobey their parents, they disobey God. When children speak back to their parents and dishonor them, they dishonor God. It is a serious offence. Do not allow your children to get into the habit of talking back to you or being cheeky. If you allow them to do this when they are younger, what will they be like when they are older?

"One of the most dangerous contributions a parent can make toward the spiritual delinquency of his child is a failure to instill within him a wholesome respect for authority. If the parent neglects to set the proper example as an authority figure, or refuses to exercise discipline with love, he might well be rejected as an authority-figure by his child, and thus, by transference, the child ultimately may come to disdain all authority, including the Supreme Authority, God." (From Surveying the Evidence by Wayne Jackson, Eric Lyons and Kyle Butt).

Acknowledge the anointing God has given you as a parent and walk in this anointing and authority.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell