I love the story where Jesus comes alongside the two disciples who were walking dejectedly back to their home in Emmaus. They were disillusioned. They thought Jesus would have delivered them from the tyranny of the Romans. But, now he was dead.
The resurrected Jesus draws near and begins to talk to them. They don't know who He is but as He reveals God's plan for a Savior from the Old Testament Scriptures their hearts "burned" within them. Later, after they recognized Him, "They said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?" (Luke 23:32). Their hearts were actually "on fire."
Robert J. Karris talks how Jesus "seared their hearts." I love this thought, too. When an animal is branded with the name of the ranch to which it belongs, the name is seared into their skin so all will know who is their owner.
Ask Jesus to draw near to you. As you meditate on the Scriptures, ask the Holy Spirit to sear them into your heart and mind so they will become flesh and blood in your life. You will be so indelibly branded with His Word, that wherever you go and whatever you do, all will know to whom you belong! You will be so identified with His truth that you will always recognize deception. Your heart will be so seared with the revelation of His truth that all other pursuit of knowledge will seem empty.
And what about your precious children? Are you daily penetrating God's Word into their hearts that they will also be seared with His truth? So much so that nothing--either conflict, disappointment, persecution, or opposition--will ever cause them to turn away from their unflinching commitment to Christ and His truth.
Love from Nancy Campbell
What is the atmosphere like in your home? Is it filled with bickering, arguments, criticisms, and complaining? Or, is it filled with the sweet presence of Christ?
God wants us to live in an atmosphere of His sweet presence, just as He wanted His priests to live in the aroma of a sweet anointing in the tabernacle. The recipe for the incense in the holy place was to be made of SWEET spices that were to be tempered until they were PURE and HOLY (Exodus 30:34-38).
2 Corinthians 2:14 WEB says that Christ "reveals through us the SWEET AROMA of his knowledge in every place." Did you notice that it says "IN EVERY PLACE"? That means your home. That means in your kitchen. That means when the baby is crying, the toddler is having a fit, the pots are boiling over on the stove, and your husband is demanding your attention right now!
It doesn't matter what is happening in your life, Christ lives in you and His attitude is SWEET! Therefore, when you yield to His Spirit, you will be sweet! You can't do it in your own strength, but only as you acknowledge His sweet presence in you.
I love J. B. Phillips' translation, "Thanks be unto God who leads us, WHEREVER WE ARE, on his own triumphant way and makes our knowledge of him spread through the world like a lovely perfume! We Christians have the UNMISTAKABLE 'SCENT' OF CHRIST." Unmistakable!
Do your children recognize the sweet scent of Christ upon you? Does your husband smell this lovely perfume? I face the challenge, too.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
What kind of a table do you have in your home? Round or rectangular? Old and shaky? Or, shiny and brand new? It really doesn't matter what it looks like but the important thing is what happens around your table. Your table is the most central piece of furniture in your home.
Did you know that God loves tables? And do you know where they originated? Did you know they go back even further than the Bible?
Yes, they originate in heaven! They are God's idea. God has a table in His heavenly kingdom. When Jesus spoke to His disciples of His home in heaven, He promised them that one day they would "eat and drink at my table in my kingdom" (Luke 22:30). Check out Matthew 8:11 and Luke 13:29, too.
God's picture of a family focuses on them sitting around the table. I like the Living Bible translation of Psalm 128:3, "Your wife shall be contented in your home. And look at all those children! There they sit around the dinner table as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees."
Where are the children? Not sitting in front of TV. Not eating on the run. They are all together around the table. And this next verse says, "Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord."
It's a picture of the heavenly kingdom. What a blessing to make our homes a taste of heaven on earth now.
Nancy
What do you love to do when you get together with other believers? What do you love to talk about it?
Malachi 3:16 says, "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name."
This Scripture is a beautiful picture of the saints fellowshipping together. Not gossiping together, but discussing God's Word and sharing testimonies with one another of His goodness and daily mercies to us.
I am always excited to learn more of the Scriptures and love to hear what others are discovering.
"What has God been saying to you lately?" I will sometimes ask. Blank stares. No reply.
"What book are you reading in the Bible at present?" Once again there is no reply.
We are always eager to talk about what is on our heart, aren't we? Therefore if we are thinking about the Lord, don't you think we'll want to talk about Him? As we receive new understanding from reading God's Word each day, we'll be keen to share it. So, why the silence?
Surely, as believers, we are not talking more about movies, concerts, shopping, clothes, and anything but God and His Word.
Will our pages in God's Book of Remembrance be blank, or are we filling them up?
Blessings to you today from Nancy Campbell
We don't see as many people being born again today as we used to see, do we? I don't know the reason, but I wonder about a couple of things. Could one reason be that the majority of God's people refuse to have natural babies and therefore God is holding back spiritual babies?
1 Corinthians 15:46 tells us that the natural comes before the spiritual. God not only wants to bless us with a great spiritual harvest of souls, but with the blessing of babies, too. How can there be a harvest of souls if there are not natural souls to harvest? And how can there be a great harvest of souls if we haven't brought forth the laborers to harvest the vineyards that are ready to harvest?
Could another reason relate to the lifestyle of the early church?
In Acts 2:46-47 it tells us that the believers continued DAILY in breaking bread with one another in their homes. They did not live to themselves but freely opened their homes in hospitality.
What's our modern lifestyle? Do we show hospitality once a year, once every few months, or once a week? What about daily? Maybe this would also make a difference to souls being saved. The fruit of the early church lifestyle was that as they daily opened up their homes "the Lord added to the church DAILY such as should be saved."
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
One of the beautiful Hebrew words in the Bible is ta' anuwg and it means "delightful, lovely, precious, cherished, pleasant." This word is used in three different ways about family life.
1) The love of a husband and wife. In Song of Solomon 7:6 NLT the husband says to his wife, "Oh, how beautiful you are! How pleasing my love, how full of delights!" Why is she so delightful? Because she takes time to make herself delightful and pleasant to her husband.
2) A mother's love for her children. Micah 1:16 ESV God calls them "the children of your delight" Our children are to be "loved," "cherished," and "fondled." They are too precious to give to someone else to care for, aren't they? We treasure them enough to take this responsibility ourselves.
3). A woman's love for her home. Micah 2:9 ESV says, "The women of my people you drive out from their delightful houses." God was angry with those who would evict women from "the homes they love" (GNB). It is inherently within us to love our home. It is how God created us. Adam was created before God created the Garden of Eden, but He had the home waiting for Eve (Genesis 2:7-8, 18-22).
And what did God call His first home? Eden means "delightful." God wants us to make our homes delightful--a delightful place for His presence, for our husband, and children. And why would we want to leave our delightful homes? Why would we forsake something we love for something lesser?
Be blessed today, Nancy Campbell
My little four-year old granddaughter, Breeze (Serene's daughter) has just run into my office dressed up as a princess, twirling around with happiness as she shows me her dress. In fact, all the little granddaughters love to dress up. They run to the dress-up box when they come to my home and never fail to dress up as princesses. It's inherently within them to do this. It's a God-given instinct.
Breeze loves to wear princess dresses every day of the year, even at home. One night at their dinner table the subject got on to marriage. Breeze's sister, Cherish leaned over to Breeze and said, "Breeze, one day your prince is going to come to daddy and ask him for your hand in marriage."
Her eyes lit up with wonder. But then she looked down. "But, I can't be wearing this dress," she exclaimed and began to describe the princess dress and jewelry she would wear and how she would do her hair!
As we get older, we succumb to the fashion of this world. We become victims of culture. However, no matter how we change our style, let's always remember that we are daughters of the "blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1Timothy 6:15).
Because we are born in His image, we are stamped with royalty. We are representatives of a royal kingdom. Therefore, let's seek to speak, walk, dress, and act like one who belongs to His holy, glorious, and royal kingdom.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
I recently read that 47 percent of Christian women do not believe we should put emphasis on the roles of marriage and motherhood. I beg your pardon? What has happened to our Christian society that they no longer think like the Bible? In the first few Chapters of Genesis God establishes His plan for mankind which includes both marriage and motherhood.
I know that all women will not marry, but some of the greatest examples of mothers are women who have never married or born children. We immediately think of Mother Theresa, Corrie Ten Boom, Gladys Aylward, Mary Slessor, Amy Carmichael and the list goes on--women who embraced their motherly anointing. They poured out their lives to nurture and mother the hurting and needy and in turn were totally fulfilled women.
God only made two species of humankind--male and female. He didn't make two Adams to both do the same job. That would have been superfluous. He gave male and the female a different assignment each and they both fit together perfectly.
If we are female, we should seek to embrace our femaleness. To do anything else is a waste of our life. The more we reveal our "femaleness" the more we give glory to God our Creator.
Let's be fully who God created us to be.
Nancy
There was once a Shakespearean actor who was known everywhere for his one-man show of readings and recitations from the classics. He would always end his performance with a dramatic reading of Psalm 23.
Each night, without exception, as the actor began his recitation, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want," the crowd would listen attentively. And then, at the conclusion of the psalm, they would rise in thunderous applause in appreciation of the actor's incredible ability to bring the verse to life.
But one night, just before the actor was to offer his customary recital of Psalm 23, a young man from the audience spoke up. "Sir do you mind if tonight I recite Psalm 23? "The actor was quite taken back by this unusual request, but he allowed the young man to come forward and stand front and center on the stage to recite the psalm, knowing that the ability of this unskilled youth would be no match for his own talent.
With a soft voice, the young man began to recite the words of the psalm. When he was finished, there was no applause. There was no standing ovation as on other nights. All that could be heard was the sound of weeping.
The audience had been so moved by and amazed by what he had heard, the actor said to the youth, "I don't understand. I have been performing Psalm 23 for years. I have a lifetime of experience and training, but I have never been able to move an audience as you have tonight. Tell me, what is your secret?
"The young man humbly replied, "Well sir, you know the psalm, but I know the Shepherd."
~ Unknown.
The Lord is my Pacesetter. I shall not rush.
He makes me to lay down my worries and rest in His love.
He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity.
He leads me in ways of efficiency through calmness of mind and His guidance is peace.
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day, I will not fret, for His presence is with me.
His timelessness, His all-importance, will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity by anointing my mind with His oils of tranquility.
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours for I shall walk in the pace of My Lord and dwell in His house forever.
No, I am not trying to scare you. I'm just reminding you of 2 Peter 3:17 where it exhorts us to "BEWARE lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness." We cannot afford to be status quo. We cannot afford to be average. This Scripture reminds us that even those who are steadfast in the faith can fall if they are not purposefully pressing on. The word "fall" also means "to be driven off one's course." 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, "Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall."
How do we keep on course? The next verse in 2 Peter 23:18 tell us, "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." We must keep growing--increasing and enlarging in our faith and walk with God. If we are not growing, we are in danger of falling.
We must guard against deception. We cannot imbibe every new doctrine we here. We must be like the folks in Berea who "searched the Scriptures daily" to check if Paul and Silas' teaching was the truth (Acts 17:11). We must keep in fellowship with other believers so we can sharpen one another. It is easy to get into error when you keep to yourself. Ephesians 2:20-22 tells us that we are to be "joined together" and "built together" in order to grow into a holy temple in the Lord. This is the way we lead and guide our children, too.
Love from Nancy Campbell
Colossians 2:7 NASB encourages us to be "OVERFLOWING WITH GRATITUDE." Gratitude to God. Gratitude to your husband. Gratitude for your children. Not just a little bit of gratitude, but OVERFLOWING, ABOUNDING, and SPILLING OVER with gratitude.
Enjoy a day of being grateful for every little thing. It will change the attitude in your heart and the atmosphere of your home.
Love from Nancy
Do you sometimes wonder what you are accomplishing each day? You do the same things over and over again. You deal with the constant immaturities of little ones. You wish you could be doing something more worthwhile.
Dear mother, don't listen to these lies that fill your mind. You are in the most powerful career as you train the next generation. Your mothering is not only for today. It continues down the years. It continues to influence thousands of lives as your children go out into this world--sharpened, polished, filled with God's Word and the Holy Spirit.
Your influence goes on into generations. Every day you are mothering for generations to come.
Genesis 5:24 tells us that "Enoch walked with God." Even more amazingly, we see in Genesis 6:9 that "Noah walked with God." Four generations after Enoch, his great-grandson, Noah is continuing to walk with God. What a great testimony.
Keep this vision in your heart, dear mother. Train your children each day with his in your heart. Pray for it. Believe for it, that even when you have passed on, your progeny will continue to walk with God because of your influence as a mother.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Do you want to be rich? I do. However, there are two kinds of riches. We can either be heaping up riches for ourselves, or heaping up riches toward God (Luke 12:21). Our true riches are in the eternal realm of course. However, there are godly riches we can have in this life, too.
What do you think are the riches we can have in this life? I want to hear from you and hope you will post your thoughts. In the meantime, I'll share some of the things I am thinking about.
KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING GOD ( Jeremiah 9:23-24). We were created to fellowship with God. If we do not know Him we miss out on what we were born for. We are poor and foolish.
A HAPPY MARRIAGE (Proverbs 12:4). A couple can live in the richest home and have money to burn, but if they are not living in harmony and happiness together, they are poor.
CONTENTMENT (1 Timothy 6:6). If you are content and happy with what you have, even if it is only a little, you are rich.
CHILDREN (Deuteronomy 7:13; Psalm 127:3-5). Our children are truly our greatest riches in this life (and praise God, we can take them into eternity with us, too)! If a fire came through your home, what would you try to save? You'd forget about all your material possessions; you'd only want to save your children. And yet, isn't it amazing how many people would rather have fleeting possessions than children?
GOOD WORKS (2 Corinthians 6:10; 1 Timothy 5:10; 6:18). When we self-serving and doing everything for ourselves, we are very poor. When we forget about our own life and serve others, always thinking of how we can bless those around us, we live a rich life.
FAITH (James 2:5). Faith is so rich because it trusts God rather than what we can see. We don't hold back having children because of unbelief. We know that God is able to provide. Hallelujah! What richness! We may not have much materially, but we've all we need.
GOD'S WORD (Colossians 3:16). If God's word dwells in us RICHLY, our spirit will be strong and steadfast. If God's Word is shallow in our hearts, our spirit will be starving and we will be weak and impotent to live this life.
I love the confession of Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:10, "As poor, YET MAKING MANY RICH; as having nothing, AND YET POSSESSING ALL THINGS." One translation says, "Penniless, we own the world!" That's my confession!
I'll look forward to your thoughts.
Love from Nancy Campbell
Our days are busy. Filled with many things. We are each working towards something. Investing in what is our passion. Therefore, we need to ask an important question: is my investment secure?
Jesus told the story of the rich farmer who had such great riches that he built bigger barns. What was God's response? Luke 12:20-21 ESV says, "'Fool! this night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure FOR HIMSELF and is not rich toward God."
What was the root of his problem? He was laying up treasure for HIMSELF! He was putting all his time and effort into "uncertain niches" that will not last.
It's so easy to get caught up with investing all our time and effort into that which will not last. Even as mothers we can do this. We become self-serving instead of serving. That which is self-serving is like a vapor that passes away. Jesus showed us what lasts when He said, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it" (Mark 8:25).
Our society pressures women to leave mothering in the home for jobs and careers outside the home. You can't take your career into eternity with you. It will be left behind. However, you will take your mothering. Every child God gives you is an eternal soul that will live forever. You are molding children for eternity. You are investing in a career that lasts.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Do you feel that you are doing the same thing day after day? It just feels like drudgery? Did you know there is a way out?
E. Stanley Jones writes, "While love takes on itself impossible tasks, yet it finds that love lightens all loads. It is the same burden that wings are to a bird, sails are to a ship. Nothing is hard if done for love's sweet sake. The yoke of love is easy; the yoke of duty is hard. There is all the difference in the world between being drawn by love and being driven by duty. The task may be the same, but love makes everything light, and duty makes everything drudgery."
Love changes your attitude. Seek to do every task in your home out a heart filled with love for God, your husband, and your children. You will be happier. Your husband will be happier. And of course your children will be happier.
Love from Nancy Campbell
We all want to be wise, don't we? And as a mother, we have to be wise. It is only the wise who build a strong home and family.
Praise God, we are not left in the dark. Deuteronomy 4:5-9 gives us the secret. Moses reminds the children of Israel about the statutes and judgments God has given to them and says in verse 6, "Keep therefore and do them; for this is your WISDOM AND YOUR UNDERSTANDING in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statues, and say, Surely this great nation is a WISE AND UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE . . . And what nation is there so great that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?"
What is guiding our lives? Are we conditioned and shaped by our humanistic society, or are we adhering to God's principles which are true wisdom and understanding? Yes, they are usually opposite to the ways of the world, but if we want to be a wise builder, we have to do it God's way. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:25 that even "the foolishness of God is wiser than men."
Jeremiah the prophet exhorts the people in Jeremiah 10:1-3 ESV, "Learn not the ways of the nations . . . for the customs of the people are vanity." But, God's ways are the ways of wisdom.
On which foundation are you building your home? [Matthew 7:24-27).
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Do you think it's weak to be meek? Perhaps you could try being meek for a week! Meekness is not for weaklings. Meekness comes from a soul that allows the Holy Spirit to work His grace in her heart. Meekness (to be humble and lowly) is a beautiful thing. God actually states that "He will BEAUTIFY the meek with salvation" (Psalm 149:4).
Meekness brings sweetness to relationships and the atmosphere of the home. It reveals the character of Jesus who is meek and lowly (Matthew 11:29). On the other hand, the opposite of meekness, which is stubbornness and pride is an ugly thing. It destroys marriages and wrecks the atmosphere of the home.
Does meekness make you feel miserable? No. Isaiah 29:19 tells us that the meek INCREASE THEIR JOY in the Lord, plus a load of other blessings.
Samuel Thodey writes states that "Meekness is that calmness of spirit which grows not out of reliance on self, but out of reliance on God . . . Christianity is a discipline of humility. In making men Christ-like it makes them meek."
Ask the Holy Spirit to work a spirit of meekness in you. It will bring such blessing to your home.
Love from Nancy Campbell
What do you do when you blow it? When you scream at the children? Lose your temper? Say something nasty you didn't mean to say? Or, you may have just spoken about someone negatively. It's all sin. And you feel guilty. If we don't, that's a bad sign.
The wonderful news is that we have an Advocate, our precious Lord Jesus Christ who is at the right hand of God interceding for us. He is our Redeemer who shed His precious blood to cleanse us from our sins.
Instead of wallowing in guilt, immediately cry out to the Lord for forgiveness. Ask Him to wash you with His precious blood. 1 John 1:7 and 9 says, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. . . If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Each one of us are sinners, constantly needing the mercy of Christ to forgive us and wash us when we sin. The more you keep a soft heart and seek forgiveness and cleansing, the less you will fall prey to these temptations. The more you allow Him to work in you and cleanse you the more you will be conformed to His image.
I love the words in William Cowper's hymn which we sang at our Family Devotions this morning, "There is a fountain filled with blood / Drawn from Emmanuel's veins; / And sinners plunged beneath that flood / Lose all their guilty stains." Amen.
Thank you, Jesus for the power of your precious blood to cleanse us.
Love from Nancy Campbell
P.S. I am sending you today a FREE DOWNLOAD of Serene and Pearl's [Trim Healthy Mama sisters] beautiful song, WASH ME. Play it as a prayer.
http://tinyurl.com/03WashMe
We live in this world as "sojourners and pilgrims" but we don't belong to this world system, so why become like it? It takes away our strength and power as children of God.
Let's build homes that are filled with the presence of God rather than the spirit of this world.
Love from Nancy