Hebrews 4:12 JBP, “The Word that God speaks is ALIVE and active; it cuts more keenly than any two-edged sword: it strikes through to the place where soul and spirit meet, to the innermost intimacies of a man’s being: it exposes the very thoughts and motives of a man’s heart.”

As I read through Psalm 119 recently I noticed seven things that happen according to the Word of God. Shall we look at them?

1. CLEANSING ACCORDING TO THE WORD

Psalm 119: 9, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your word.”

We are exhorted in James 1:27 “to keep ourselves unspotted from the world.” Do you want to keep your life pure and cleansed? Come daily to the Word of God. Jesus said, “Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” (John 15:3) It is as important to wash our souls and spirits in the Word, as it is to wash our bodies. The Word of God will also keep our homes cleansed. Read it personally. Read it together as a family at the dinner table. The Word washes us from the deceptions of this world and the spots of sin that tarnishes our souls and the atmosphere of our homes.

2. REVIVING ACCORDING TO THE WORD

Psalm 119:107, “Revive me, O Lord, according to your word.” Read also verses 25, 50, 93, 149, 154 and 156.

The Hebrew word “revive” is “chayah” and it is one of those “re” words. It means, “to rebuild, recover, restore, relive, repair, refresh and revive.”

Do you feel as though you are losing strength, losing the joy of life and becoming stale? Do you need re-ing? The Word of God will “re” you! It is animating. It is life-giving. In fact, it is your very life. Jesus counteracted the devil with these words, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4 and Deuteronomy 8:3)

Jesus also said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are LIFE.” (John 6:63)

Every mother needs refreshing. She dreams of having some time on her own, taking a relaxing bath, going out to dinner or watching a wholesome movie. But the greatest way to get refreshed is often the way we think of last! It is opening the Word of God. It is your life. It will refresh you. It will restore you. It will revive you.

When Colin and I were first married over 40 years ago, we had the privilege of living in a home owned by the China Inland Mission in Whangarei, New Zealand. The only people who had ever lived in this home were missionaries. We ourselves were waiting on the Lord and preparing to go to the mission field. When we left this home a very dear couple took over from us. They had served the Lord in China for 40 years and continued in Formosa (which is now Taiwan) after China had closed. At last they were retiring. They were in their eighties!

Arthur Beard was such an inspiration to us. He loved the Word of God. It was his life. Every day he read The Daily Light, and without glasses, mind you! This book is a compilation of Scriptures for each day on a certain theme. The Scripture references are listed at the end of the page. As he read the Scriptures for each day, he would check to see if he could remember where each verse was found. He was nearly 100 percent right each time. Colin and I still read The Daily Light at our dinner table each evening.

At one stage, while on the mission field, Mr. Beard got cancer. But it didn’t stay in his body long. He read the Word of God out loud daily – and he was healed. His body was revived and made anew by the living Word of God! (Psalm 107:20)

Let the life-giving Word of God “re” you!

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, I thank you that your Word is life to my soul. Teach me how to read it in faith to receive your refreshing and reviving into my tired soul and body. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

Ephesians 2:4-6, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us uptogether, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”
 

Are you living it up? Come on now; let’s get with it. God is into the “living it up” lifestyle. He not only lifts us up, holds us up, builds us up but He also raises us up! One day we are going to be raised up to the eternal realm. You can read some of the Scriptures that tell us of this glorious hope in 1 Corinthians 6:14,15:49-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

However, even before God fulfils this ultimate promise to us, He has raised us up in this life. Yes, right now. When Christ died, we died with him; when He was buried, we were buried with Him; when He ascended, we were raised with Him and now positionally sit with Him in heavenly places. This seems too awesome to believe, doesn’t it? We may not be experiencing it, but it is Bible. It is fact.

How can we experience this revelation truth? By abiding in Christ. Notice that this does not happen to us on our own. It is only as we are in Him. And one other thing: we have to be buried first! Jesus died and was buried before He was raised to reign at the right hand of the Father. We also have to die to our flesh and be buried before we can live in resurrection life.  

Dear precious mother, from what position do you run your home? From the bottom of the barrel? Are you looking up at all you have to do? Are you submerged by all your worries and concerns? Or do you run your home from your legal position (which has nothing to do with your feelings) of sitting together with Christ at the right hand of the throne of God? In this position you look down on your problems. You have victory over them. In this position in Christ, all things are under your feet. From this location you take dominion over all the inroads of the enemy that would seek to take over your marriage and your home. Read Ephesians 1:17-23 and Romans 6:4.

You were raised with Christ, not only to sit with Him, but also to reign with Him. Let this incredible truth sink into your soul - you were raised to reign! You were raised to live in resurrection life. In Christ you reign over all evil principalities and powers. In Christ you reign over all negativity, depression, laziness and sin in your home.

F.B. Meyer writes, “Abide in Him, and you are by necessity an inhabitant of these heavenly places, wherever your earthly lot may be cast… Not one foe can overcome us so long as we are in abiding fellowship with our risen Lord. If the ‘together’ of the inner life is maintained, the ‘together’ of victory is secure.”

How sad that we grovel around when we have actually been raised up together with Christ. We live the shallow life according to our feelings rather than reigning in Christ.

Can I entice you to live in your ascended state? Can I remind you that you have been raised to live in resurrection life? Can I encourage you to manage your home from your legal position of authority in Christ? It is your legal right, dear mother.

Why stay down in the dumps when God has raised you up?

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, I thank you that because you have been raised from the dead, I have been raised up with you.  Even though it is hard for me to believe with my human mind, I thank you that I am seated with you at the right hand of the Father. Help me to grasp this awesome truth. Teach me, Lord, to abide in you moment by moment, and live my life from my legal position in Christ. Amen.”

 

AFFIRMATION: 

P.S.

God also gives other promises about raising us up.

He raises the poor out of the dust. (1 Samuel 2:8; Psalm 113:7-8)

He raises those that are bowed down. (Psalm 146:8)

He raises the sick when we call for the elders of the church to pray and anoint with oil. (James 5:14-15)

 

Nehemiah 2:18, “Let us rise up and build.”

This week we look at the rest of the seven pillars of wisdom.

4. THE PILLAR OF YIELDEDNESS.

This looks like a weakly pillar doesn’t it? But not in God’s eyes. A willingness to yield takes strength. It builds a strong pillar. Here are some different translations -- “easy to be entreated” (KJB), “willing to yield” (RAV, NLT),(J.B. Phillip’s), “open to reason” (NEB, RSV, CJB) and “submissive” (NIV). Are you resisting your husband’s leading? This will weaken your home. As you yield, you will build your marriage. You will build a godly pillar into your home and your children will learn from watching you. As you reveal God’s plan for wives through your life, you will build a wisdom pillar not only for your home, but also for the marriages of your children and the generations to come. “approachable”

5. THE PILLAR OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUITS.

God is a merciful and forgiving God. Because He is merciful, He wants to reveal His mercy through us. He wants our homes to be filled with compassion, forgiveness and the good fruits of His Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. (Galatians 5: 22-23) The Message Bible translates it, “Overflowing with mercy and blessings.” We must have judgment, discipline and order in a home, but oh we need a mercy pillar too.

“How often do I have to forgive someone who sins against me? asked Peter. “Seven times?”

“Oh no!” replied Jesus. “Seventy times seven!” That’s 490 times! It actually means an indefinite number -- as many times as someone hurts you! (Matthew 18:21-22) Oh my, we certainly have plenty of opportunity to build a huge pillar of forgiveness and mercy, don’t we? When we refuse to show mercy and forgive, we tear down our marriage and home. When we forgive again and again, we build up this mighty pillar.

Did you have to forgive many times today? Perhaps you’ll have to do it again tomorrow!  Don’t give up. Remember, this is an endless command from our Lord and Savior. God extends His mercies newly to us every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23) As we allow His mercy to flow through us, we too will need to show compassion and forgive again and again each new day.

How strong is this pillar in your home?

6. THE PILLAR OF IMPARTIALITY.

Oh how we need the wisdom from above to act with fairness, justness and no favoritism. It is easy to see things from a wrong perspective when we use our own wisdom. Cry out for God’s wisdom as you guide and discipline your children.

7. THE PILLAR OF GENUINENESS.

There is no hypocrisy in God’s wisdom. There should be none in ours either. The word that is used here in James 3:17 is “unfeigned” which means ‘genuine, sincere, not counterfeit, not hypocritical’. Down in Australia they call someone who can be trusted and who is truly genuine, “fair dinkum” or “true blue”. This is how our children should see us. They should see that our faith and love are genuine and that we act at home the same way that we act at church on Sunday! The easiest way to turn your children away from God is for them to see hypocrisy in your lives.

Tune your heart to God’s wisdom as you daily build these seven pillars into your home and marriage.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh God, please help me to be “true blue”. I want my children to see that my faith is genuine. Help to wake each morning with a building mentality so that every word and every action will build up my home. Save me from being destructive and pulling down. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I’ve begun building a godly home and I will finish my course. I will not give up half way through, no matter how difficult the obstacles.

 

Proverbs 24:3, “Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.”

 

A builder cannot build a home without tools. He needs a saw, hammer, spirit level and plumb line etc. We also need tools in order to build a godly home? We cannot build without the tools of love, forgiveness, encouragement, understanding, positivity, prayer and intercession and so on. But the Word of God tells us that the main building tool we need is wisdom.

Proverbs 9:1 says, “Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars.” The tool of wisdom builds seven pillars that make a marriage and home strong and durable. What are these seven pillars? I believe they are recorded for us in James 3:17, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

A pillar is a strong support to hold up a building. As we seek with wisdom to build these pillars into our home and marriage, we will build a home that is strong and secure and that will stand the trials and storms that will inevitably buffet us.

1. THE PILLAR OF PURITY.

The word “pure” in the Greek is “hagnos” which means “freedom from defilements or impurities, pure in body, mind and spirit, unpolluted, clean, modest, chaste.” As we build the pillar of purity, we will seek to guard our home from all defiling movies, literature, Internet and anything that would taint the minds of our children. God is looking for clean minds, clean hearts and clean homes where He can dwell. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness (hagnos), without which no man shall see the Lord.”

Continually pray for the purifying power of the Holy Spirit to blow through your home. Regularly check your home for worldly books and videos, toys, pictures and ornaments that can infiltrate your home. God commands us in Deuteronomy 7:25-26, “Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it; but you shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.” Read also Deuteronomy 18:9-14, Psalm 24:3-5; 51:10; 73:1 and Isaiah 1:16.

2. THE PILLAR OF PEACE MAKING.

In every hurtful situation, there is always an opportunity to make peace. We can choose to thrust the sword in further, to make the wound wider or to demand the last say -- but the end result is destruction. The hardest thing to do is to give a soft answer, to respond with forgiveness and make steps toward peace – but this will build a strong marriage and home. This pillar will fill your home with blessing. Jesus Himself told us this, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)  Are you building the peace-making pillar in your home? Is it crumbling or standing strong?

3. THE PILLAR OF GENTLENESS.

This seems a paradox doesn’t it? How can gentleness be a strong pillar? David confessed in Psalm, “Thy gentleness has made me great.” (Psalm 18:35) A gentle spirit is very precious in the sight of God. It is very precious to a husband too. It is a very precious pillar in the home. (1 Peter 3:4) Man’s wisdom tells us to be self-assertive. The wisdom from above tells us to have a gentle spirit. The word literally means, “forbearing”. In other words, we should react with gentleness rather than sharply and rudely when our children or husband make us mad. This pillar will add divine strength to you, your marriage and your family.

The other evening our daughter and husband and their seven children sat around our table for supper. As we enjoyed our meal each one of us, including the children, shared the new revelation that God had been revealing to us. Because I was thinking about building pillars in our home, I asked the children, “How do you think we can build a pillar of gentleness in the home?” Ten-year-old Zadok responded, “No harsh words, no yelling, no arguing and no negativity to one another.” Five-year-old Crusoe answered, “No rudeness to one another.” They had the right answers, didn’t they?

Dear mother, you have a big job on hand. Don’t give up on this great task of building your pillars. We will talk about the rest of them next week.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh God, thank you for this great revelation that I am a pillar builder. Fill me with your divine wisdom as I walk softly before you in my home. Help me to build with your wisdom, not the wisdom of this world that is earthly, sensual and devilish. Save me from being tainted by this humanistic wisdom for I want to build godly pillars in my home. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION: