Genesis 2:8, “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden.”

Do you like to enjoy pleasures in your life? I am sure you do. Well, listen to this. God wants you to enjoy pleasures too. He wants your life and your home to be filled with pleasures and delights. When God created the first home for Adam and Eve, He called it Eden. The Hebrew meaning of this word is, “pleasures, delicates, delights.” Knox translates it correctly, “God had planted a garden of delight, in which he now placed the man he had formed.”

Everything God did in the beginning, He did as a pattern for the future of mankind. God made the first home a place of delight. This was his intention for all future homes. He wants your home to be a delight too.

Yes, it is true that God put Adam in the garden to work. This is the pattern of life. Work and pleasure. We have to work hard in our homes to keep them in running order. But God also wants them to be filled with joy and delight.

This should be a top priority in our thinking.

How can I make my home a more delightful place to live?

How can I bring more enjoyment into our marriage relationship?

How can I bring more pleasure into the lives of each of my children?

How can I make my home a treasure house?

Proverbs 15:6 says, “In the house of the righteous is much treasure.” I believe this treasure is more than beautiful furnishings and wealth. I believe it is the true treasures of love, joy, peace, harmony and the richness of fellowship. I have walked into homes with beautiful décor and felt unmoved. And yet I have dined in humble homes where the atmosphere was rich with the joy of fellowship.

Isaiah 51:3 says, “For the Lord shall comfort Zion… he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” Maybe it’s like a wilderness in your home. It doesn’t have to stay like that. If you will let Him, God wants to help you make your home a place of joy and gladness. He wants you to fill it with thankfulness, instead complaining; songs of praise instead of grumbling.

He wants you to take care of the relationships in your home too—with your husband and your children. Eden also means, “delicate”. Relationships can easily be broken or damaged. A few hurtful or negative words or a mean look and the relationship is weakened. We must handle each one delicately, considerately and with loving care.

What about children? I think they are the greatest treasures we can have in our homes. They are eternal treasures. They are the treasures we don’t have to leave behind. We can take them with us into eternity. Isn’t it unbelievable that many families have more TV’s in their homes than children? This is in the case of Christian homes too!

No wonder the CJB translation says, “The home of the righteous is a storehouse of treasure.” What do you have stored up in your home? Are there lots of “things”? Or is it filled with children and the delights of joy, thanksgivings and praises?

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Prayer:

“Lord, you had a plan for the first home and you have a plan for my home. Please fill my home with your presence that it will become an Eden. Help me to see that one of my greatest roles is to bring pleasure and delight to everyone in my home. Amen.”

 

Quote:

Genesis 2:18, "And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone: I will make him a help meet for him."

Last week we wrote about the powerful influence we have as women, especially negatively. God created us with enticing charms that can sway the hearts and thinking of our husbands. But He did not give us this power to use negatively, but positively.

God created us to be a helper to our husband. We are to make his life great. He can't do without us. God said that it was not good for man to be alone. He cannot survive without a helper! If we think that we can just look after ourselves, we are missing out on the purpose for which God created us. If we think that we have the freedom to influence our husband to do what we want him to do, we are on the wrong track. If we think that we can say what we like and put our husband down with negative words, we are at cross purposes with God!

Let's get it straight. We were created to help him in the great task that God has given to both of us to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue and take dominion for God in this world. (Genesis 1:28) We have been given a powerful mandate. There is no room for pulling down or leading our husband on a deviant path. To fulfill this world-encompassing Genesis command we cannot be anything else than positive, uplifting, encouraging supporters!

God uses the word "help meet" to describe his purpose for us. The word meet is the Hebrew word neged and means 'part opposite, counterpart, mate, in front of.' In other words, she is opposite to man, but fits him perfectly like a glove.

The word help is the Hebrew word ezer which means 'helper, to come to the aid of'. The amazing thing is that it is the same Hebrew word that is used when it speaks of God being our help! Here are just a few examples:

"God is our help and shield." (Psalm 33:20)

"O God, thou art my help and my deliverer." (Psalm 70:5)

"Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 124:8)

How wonderful to have God for our help. God is always available to help us when we cry out to Him. Are we the same kind of help to our husband? Are we always available to help him? The psalmist proclaims, "Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for his help ." (Psalm 146:5) If we walk according to God's plan, we will have a happy husband! What about your husband? Does he confess, "Happy am I because my wife is my companion and help."?

Even more amazing is that this word ezer is first used regarding a wife, before it is used regarding God! In "the law of the first mention" the word help is given to a wife! This puts much importance on this issue. We reveal the image of God when we help our husband.

How can we help him?

We help him by being alongside him to help him as he need us.

We help him by speaking sweetly, kindly and positively into his life.

We help him by fulfilling the role that God has given to us rather than competing for his role of provider of the home. We don't help our husband when we seek to take his responsibility of providing. This undermines his manhood.

We help him by caring for the children and making our home a place of joy and sweetness.

We help him by making life easier for him to do his work.

We help him by caring for him physically and nutritionally.

We help him by having an aroma-filled nutritional meal ready for him when he returns to home at the end of the day. This is one task of our great motherhood career on which we cannot slip! It is more important than we realize!

We help him by having the home ready for him when he arrives--toys and mess cleaned up and thrown out of sight!

We help him by being excited to see him when he arrives--even if we have had a lousy day! It is a strong woman who can put aside her self-pitying spirit and by faith put on a smiling face. Greet your husband with joy and talk about the troubles later on--after the evening meal and time with the children.

We help him by being his counter-part--the part that he hasn't got that he needs!

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Prayer:

"Father, please help me to fulfill the purpose for which you created me. Help me to use my feminine influence to support my husband in the work you have given him to do. Please help me to understand how to help my husband just as you come to my aid to help me. Amen."

Quote:

Genesis 3:17 RSV, "And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you."

I wonder if you are aware of the influence you wield over your husband--for good or for bad. We have feminine power and charms that can subtly turn the hearts of our men.

Satan knows this and he makes the most of it! He used this knowledge to tempt the man in the very beginning. Satan knew that if he was to tempt Adam first, that Adam would have stood up for truth and told the serpent to get off! It was a different matter with Eve. She was more easily persuaded, but more than that, the serpent knew that she had the power to sway her husband.

Basically men want to please their wives. They want to make them happy, because that makes them happy. Just as women have a weakness to deception; men have a tendency to be influenced by their wives. This may not be obvious in their initial reactions and response to what we say, but in the end, our words and influence can determine their behavior and course of action. We can build up our marriage or we can destroy it. We hold this power. It is in our hands. No wonder Proverbs 14:1 says, "Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands."

We see the influence of women right through history. Through Marxist thinking, feminism and humanism, Satan has duped the minds of millions of women to turn away from their home and God's original plan for marriage and motherhood. But that is only the beginning. He has used them to seduce the men. We now have an epidemic of wimpiness--men who are afraid to lead their families in the ways of God; men who do not take up their responsibility to provide for their family; men who hand over the teaching and guidance of their children to the government or even the church. They have forgotten that they are patriarchs with the anointing to build a godly dynasty and take dominion for God. This has come about through the subtle influence of women.

Even King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, turned from the living God to serve idols because of the influence of his wives. We read about this in 1 Kings 11:1-11, "But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh (gave his heart to them): women from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, 'You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. For surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.' Solomon clung to them in love... For it was so, when Solomon was old that his wives turned his heart after other gods ; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David... Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab and for Moloch the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives , who burned incense and scarified to their gods. So the Lord became angry with Solomon..."

Do you see Solomon's weakness? This was a strong man, the leader of a nation; a wise man to whom people came from nations round about to receive wisdom; a man of vision and order, of whom the Queen of Sheba exclaimed, "the half has not been told"! And yet he was influenced for evil by women! I am sure it did not happen over night, but their continual subtle wiles wore him down until in the end, instead of pleasing God, he pleased his wives and made shrines for them to serve their foreign gods! We can cite many more examples. Samson was duped by Delilah. King Ahab became a wimp by seeking to please his wife Jezebel.

No man is exempt from the influence of a woman!

I find this scary! I am aware of my own influence as a wife. I am guilty of having influenced my husband negatively instead of in a righteous way. I find that I must walk in the fear of the Lord and be continually aware of my feminine, but powerful influence.

We must also remember that our influence is not only in the big things of life, but the little daily things. By our attitude and the words we speak we have the power to affect our husband's attitude to life, to his home and family, to his work and to the people in his life. If we speak negatively about family or people he is associated with he is likely to take up a negative attitude and speak and do things that will be detrimental. If we speak degrading and negative words to him personally, he will never rise to be the man God intends him to be.

As a woman we have power to make great men or little men.

In the same way, we influence our children, and ultimately the whole of society. In most cases, after each new king of Israel or Judah is introduced to us in the Bible, it gives the name of his mother and then immediately states whether her son did "that which was evil in the sight of the Lord" or whether he did "that which was right in the sight of the Lord." The influence of his mother not only determined the future of her son, but the outcome of the whole nation!

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Prayer:

"Lord, please help me to be aware of the feminine power you have given to me as a woman. Help me to influence my husband and children to righteousness, to love, to joy and to positivity. Save me from being a negative influence. Amen."

Quote:

Psalm 139:14, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

You know that God is a miracle-working God. You believe it. You are in awe at how God stretched forth His mighty right arm to deliver the Israelites from the clutches of Egypt and how He brought them through the Red Sea on dry land. Yet, do you sometimes wonder why God doesn't do any personal miracles for you?

You don't have to wonder any longer! You already have miracles in your home. You are looking at them all day long! You are a miracle. Your husband is a miracle. Each one of your precious children are miracles, created by God's miracle working power.

David was certainly writing under the inspiration of God when he wrote that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made.""wonderfully" is the Hebrew word palah. It means "to distinguish." In other places in the Bible it is translated, "put a difference", "separated", and "set apart". He did not have access to ultra sound to see the intricate workings of the baby being formed in the secret place of the womb, but God wrote though him. The word translated

God reveals to us in this Scripture how He makes every new person in the world different, a special unique person that has never lived before or will ever live again! Each one is distinguished from everyone else. Each one is set apart to be someone special and to fulfill a destiny that no one else can fulfill. Now that's amazing! That's awesome!

Look at each one of your children now. They are a special, only one of its kind miracle! Start thanking God for the all the miracles in your home! Look upon them as miracles. Each one is irreplaceable. Each one has different gifts and callings and a different personality from you! That's why some children don't seem to "fit" the family strain. God created them differently! Allow them to be the unique miracle that God created them to be. That's why you can't be a stereotype parent. You need to call upon God for wisdom for each child individual child.

Of course you will still see family traits coming through. That's another miracle in itself. My daughter Pearl is not like me. She looks like my mother and has a very similar personality to her--and yet she is uniquely Pearl. Pearl's daughter, Meadow has strong traits of my personality, and yet she is distinctively Meadow! I am amazed at the different giftings in our children. They are continually being and doing things that are different to the bent that Colin or I have. This keeps life from getting boring! It enlarges our thinking and our coasts! It makes us give honor to God that He is the Creator!

What about your husband? God created him exactly in the mold He planned for him! Can you stop trying to make him like you want him to be? Can you, instead, start looking at him as a God-planned miracle too?

Charles Spurgeon says, "We need not go to the ends of the earth for marvels, nor even across our own threshold; they abound in our own bodies." He also writes, "If we are marvelously wrought upon even before we are born, what shall we say of the Lord's dealings with us after we leave his secret workshop and He directs our pathways through the pilgrimage of life?"

It is interesting to note that David did not talk about his parents when he wrote of His creation. He ascribed it all to God. No matter whom the parents, every new baby is a new miracle, created by God Himself. Even if a child is born of incest or prostitution, it does not change the fact that they are a special miracle, masterminded and fashioned by God for His glory and praise. They are a separate entity from their birth parents. As S. D. Gordon says, "The new-born babe is a fresh act of God. He is the latest revelation of God's creative handiwork."

Surely we must exclaim again with the Psalmist, "Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves." (Psalm 100:3)

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Prayer:

"Lord, I am sorry that I have taken my husband and children for granted. I acknowledge that they are miracles of your creation. Lord, I thank you for the miracles in my home. Help me to always see them as miracles. Amen."

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