A PICTURE TO THE WORLD

“Let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself;
and the wife see that she reverence her husband”
(Ephesians 5:33).

One of my favorite quotes about marriage is from John Piper: “There has never been a generation whose view of marriage is high enough.”

I believe this is so true. The Bible reveals that marriage is a picture of the relationship of Christ and His bride, the church. That is a big thing for us to reveal in our marriages, isn’t it? And how can we reveal it when we don’t understand the fullness of what it means? I don’t think many of us really do.

Thinking about this, I was challenged when reading the Ten Commandments again in Exodus 20. I saw them in a new light. As I read again, I began to see something of God’s relationship with us which should also be revealed in our marriages.

Let’s look again, shall we? “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: thou shalt have no other gods before me.” God is saying to His people Israel and to us: I have delivered you out of the kingdom of darkness. I have made a marriage covenant with you and you and are mine. You now belong to me and no one else (Exodus 16:8-14; Song of Solomon 2;16; 6:3; 7:10; and Isaiah 54:5).

This commandment comes from God’s heart of love for His people. Because we belong to Him, He wants our total allegiance. Because our marriages are pictures to show this relationship between Christ and His bride, we should have this same attitude toward our husbands. When we are married, we belong to our husband, and he belongs to us, and no one else. The marriage vows say: “forsaking all others.”

The next commandment says: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image . . .  thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them for I am the LORD thy God am a jealous God . . .” God is a jealous husband over us. He gave His only Beloved Son to die and shed His blood to purchase us to Himself. It’s not wrong for a husband or wife to be jealous if either one is looking at someone else!

The third commandment says: “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

To take the name of the LORD in the Hebrew means to “carry His name or to bear His name.” We are created in His image to bear His likeness and image. We take on His name when we belong to Him and He wants to manifest His character and image through us.

When we marry, we give up our old name and take our husband’s name. We now carry his name wherever we go. As we live in a way that honors our husband’s name, we not only bring honor to him but honor to ourselves. If we dishonor his name, we literally dishonor ourselves.

But then God goes on to say that we must not take His name in vain. That means to speak of it lightly or worthlessly. This also speaks to us in our marriages. It is a serious thing to speak critically, dishonoringly, or lightly of our husband’s name.

How sad to hear a wife criticizing her husband, pulling down his image, or speaking of him disparagingly or lightly. It is the opposite of what God intends for us in our marriage relationship. He wants marriage to reveal to the world the same attitude we have to God and to Christ.

We honor God’s name because it is hallowed. It is worthy. It is holy. It is great. Maybe you don’t feel your husband is worthy and you can only think of negative things to say about him. Well, keep your mouth shut. If you can’t say something that is honoring, don’t open your mouth.

Because remember, we are to be a picture of the relationship of God and His people.

Isn’t it amazing how God reveals this even in the first few commandments?

I am challenged. Are you?

Be blessed. Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, please teach me how to reverence my husband like I reverence You. Help me to see that You planned marriage to be a picture of Your relationship with us. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am learning to reverence my husband as I allow the spirit of Jesus to reign in me.

YOU ARE A COURT JUDGE

“Therefore thus saith the LORD, if thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth.”
(Jeremiah 15:19)

Many people today belong to the “tolerant” church. They believe they must be tolerant of all things and never judge. This is ridiculous. We all judge every day. If we didn’t judge between right and wrong, we wouldn’t even know how to live properly—individually, in our families, or in this world.

Have you read 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3? “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the SMALLEST matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that PERTAIN TO THIS LIFE?”

Aren’t these amazing words? Dear mother, this word tells you that you are going to judge the world. And even angels! But don’t wait until them. You must also judge the things that pertain to this life. Even the SMALLEST matters. This gets right down to the nitty gritty of mothering in your home. Every day you judge matters with your children. In fact, you are a court judge!

Motherhood is a powerful career. It is not easy to be a judge. We need wisdom from God for every matter, even the smallest matters. We often judge wrongly and make wrong decisions. But as you seek God daily for His wisdom, He will give it to you liberally (James 1:5-8).

In Jeremiah 9:24 God says: “I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment (justice), and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” God is fully all lovingkindness, all justice, and all righteousness at the same time. We find it hard to exercise these attributes together, don’t we? Either we are too merciful or too judgmental. But as we seek God, He will help us. As we cry out to Him, He will pour out His Spirit upon us and teach us how to judge correctly.

God says of Abraham in Genesis 18:19: “For I know him, 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.” Our children will not learn to walk in justice and judgment unless we teach them the way of justice and righteousness. This means teaching and training them daily in even the smallest matters of their lives. Small matters eventually become big matters.

We cannot teach them unless we judge between right and wrong, the clean and the unclean, righteousness and evil, truth and lies. God wants us to teach our children the difference between the clean and the unclean. We cannot have shady areas. They must know what is right and what is wrong.

Leviticus 10:10: “That ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them . . .:”

Ezekiel 44:23: “And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean,”

It’s time for children to know the difference. In our deceived world today they must know the difference between male and female. They must know that God has uniquely made them different, and they must embrace their difference. Young men must never be feminine. They must be brave and courageous and protecting of the weaker sex. They must know how to “play the man.” They must learn how to do men’s work. Our young women must not be masculine. We must teach them to embrace their womanhood and their femininity. To act and speak and dress femininely.

No wonder the Bible commands us to “flee fornication.” We teach our children to run from any situations where they could be tempted sexually. They must not live near the edge. When God told the Israelites to leave Egypt, He told them they must have a “three-day gap” between Egypt and where God told them to sacrifice. Teach your children in every area ot not to live near the edge of Egypt but to make a “three-day gap.”

Mother, please do not underestimate your high calling to judge your children and to teach them justice, discernment, and righteousness. Teach them that they must continually judge every day between good and evil, the clean and the unclean.

Cry out to God for wisdom daily. Ask God for wisdom in judging even the SMALLEST matters. In this way, you will not only train your children in righteousness, but you will be practicing for the future when you will judge the world and angels.

Be blessed, Nancy Campbell

ww.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“I thank You, Father, that you are the true Judge of all the earth. You only know how to judge truly. Please help me. Please give me wisdom to understand the truth, to have Your discernment, and to judge my children righteously and according to Your word and Your absolute truths. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am learning to judge my children according to the absolute truth of God’s Wotd, not by the standards of this present deceived world!

STRONG YOUNG MEN

“I have written unto you young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one”
(1 John 2:14).

We want this testimony for all our young men, don’t we? God doesn’t want our young teens to be week in the faith, vacillating in their beliefs, and more interested in entertainment and social media than following hard after God.

This Scripture says three things about our young men:

1. YOU ARE STRONG

We are to raise them to be strong in the Lord, strong in the faith, and strong in their convictions. Not mediocre or status quo, but STRONG! This takes serious effort on our part.

2. GOD’S WORD ABIDES IN YOU

This is the secret of their strength. They literally have God’s Word abiding in their hearts. It’s not enough to hear God’s Word at church or a few minutes at Youth Group. It’s our responsibility to get it into their hearts richly, strongly, and powerfully.

Deuteronomy 6:5-8 (NLT) says: “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” This is how our children learn to love the Lord by seeing your love and commitment to Him. If we are mediocre, they will be too. If we passionately love the Lord and He is our LIFE, they are more likely to do this also.

The Scripture continues: “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.”

If we are not passionate about God’s Word, how will our children be? If we don’t make a commitment to daily (morning and evening) read God’s Word, they will see that other things are far more important in our lives than God’s Word! Children imbibe our lifestyle.

There’re more: “Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” This is a daily lifestyle, not a weekly church service!

I like the Amplified version of this Scripture too: “You shall teach them diligently to your children (impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with his truths).”

3. YOU HAVE OVERCOME THE WICKED ONE

How do our young people overcome the devil? By having God’s Word written in their hearts. The word is their power and their victory over sin, evil, and temptation.

Psalm 37:31: “The law of God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.”

I love the New Living Translation which says: “They have made God’s law their own, so they will never slip from his path.”

Psalm 119:9: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

Psalm 119:11: “Thy word have I hid in mind heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Let’s seek to raise these kind of strong young men in our own homes. The church waits for them. The world waits for them. Beautiful young girls longing for godly husbands wait for them. But they don’t just appear, they come out of godly homes.

Let’s pray for all the young men and women of our nation. My heart cries out daily for the young people in our high schools, colleges, and universities who are are being daily brainwashed in socialism, homosexuality, and the transgender lifestyle. Lovely young people from Christian homes go to these “deception infiltrating” colleges and come out blatant socialists and no longer believing in God. We must pray  daily for a revival in the colleges of our land.

Are you praying too?

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

Dear Father, You Word tells us that You want us to raise “princes in all the earth.” You want men to be strong and courageous, protectors of women and children. Please help me to raise my sons to be those who will “play the man” and who will be godly husbands and fathers. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am not raising wimps. I am raising young men who courageous in the face of chellenge, who strong in truth in the face of all deception, and who will never cower or cave in to the temptations of the devil!

GOD HAS A HOME ARMY

"Who is she that looketh forth as the morning,
fair as the moon, clear as the sun,
and terrible as an army with banners?"
(Song of Solomon 6:10).

Should women go to war? I don't believe that mothers with children should leave their precious children and their homes to go to war. This is the opposite to God's plan.

God shows us something of His heart about this in Psalm 68:11, 12 (HCSB): "The Lord gave the command; a great company of women brought the good news: The kings of the armies flee-they flee!" She who stays at home divides the spoil."

What is happening here? The enemy has come to attack and therefore the soldiers (the men) prepare and go out to war. They are the army in the field.

But there is another army at home-the women. They are also called an army.
The word "company" means "those who are part of an army, a military, a war."
My KJV Bible gives the word "army" in the margin. It's the same word that is
used of God who is THE LORD OF HOSTS! The One who is the mighty, powerful
Warrior, ready to intervene for His people.

Where is this army of women? They are not out fighting the enemy in the
field. They are at home. Do you notice it says: "SHE who stays home"? It is
not the men who stay home, but the women. Some fathers stay home to look
after their children while their wives go to work. This is opposite to the
Scriptures.

While the men fight to save their homes and families out on the field, the
women fight to protect their families and "hold the fort" in the absence of
their husbands.

And when they win the battle, they go forth as a conquering force to
proclaim the good news! Back in Bible days they danced and sang. And when
the men brought back the "spoil," the gold, silver, and beautiful garments,
they didn't give a little to the women. They gave it all to them. They gave
them the authority to divide it and share it among their daughters,
handmaidens, the poor, and all around them.

They were all in the fight together, but each one doing the task God
intended for them!

French and Skinner's Translation states:
"The Lord giveth the word!
A great company of women announce the glad tidings!
Kings with their armies flee-they flee!
And those who dwell within the house, divide the spoil!
Although they lie among the hearth-stones,
They are become like a dove's wings overlaid with silver,
And like her pinions overlaid with yellow gold.
When the Almighty scattereth kings,
They glisten therein, as snow upon Salmon."

Dear mother, you are part of a mighty army of women. Your place to fight
against the enemy is in the home! You keep the home fires burning. You
strengthen your home, your marriage, your family. You keep pushing back the
enemy who wants to subtly come into your home with his deceptions and
destruction. If you are not there to watch, the enemy will take over!

You support your husband in his work. You release him to do his career and
you embrace your role of motherhood with all your heart.

You seek after truth and teach it to your children. You proclaim the good
news of the Gospel and your love for family wherever you go. You are a
proclaimer of truths!

Oh, for a great army of women to understand the power of their homes, to
come back to their homes and raise godly sons and daughters. Oh, for a great
army of women to proclaim God's truth in society instead of being deceived
by the humanistic values of today which are opposite to God's living Word.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:
"Dear Father, thank You for showing me that we are all enlisted in Your
great army against the flesh and the devil and the evils of this world.
Thank you for showing us that you need an army on the home front as much as
you need an army out I the field. Please help me to rise up as a warrior in
my home, never allowing the enemy to take the upper hand. Help me to be like
Jael who won the victory fo the Israelite army right in her own home! Amen."

AFFIRMATION:
I am a home protector, a home guarder, and a home warrior, pushing out all
evil ;from my home in the name of Jesus And in the power or God's might I am
"casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself  against
the knowledge of God in my life and in my home!