A Stiffed-Neck and Adulterous People... Not Just the Israelites

When I am reading in the Old Testament, I am always astounded by the Israelites, and not in a good way. God promised them blessings if they obey His commandments and do not turn aside to other gods. And time after time, they turn away. They are referred to as a “stiffed-neck” and “adulterous” people multiple times, and trouble come to them because of it.

In my conceit, I always considered them to be such a foolish people. How could they continue in this pattern and face the same consequences over and over again? Then, when I what reading recently, I got a serious reality check.

I am the same way. I turn my attention off of God, worshiping other things in my heart, and I certainly face consequences for it. When I walk in my hardness of heart, I hurt both others and myself so badly. When I walk with God and am focused on Him, I have joy despite the circumstances, I guard my tongue, and I am not nearly so temperamental. When I am close to Him, I have His peace and he takes care of me. You’d think I’d learn, wouldn’t you. I realize I am just as foolish as the Israelites, as are many Christians today.

We drift away from God and then wonder why our hearts are so burdened and what has changed.

We blame God and ask Him what He’s doing, even though it’s our fault. Just like the Israelites.

Luckily, that wasn’t the way their stories ended, and it’s not how ours end either.

Eventually it heir oppression, the Israelites would always end up crying out to God. And He always sent someone to rescue them and to lead them back to Him. He never ignores their cry, despite the numerous amount of times that they turned their backs on Him.

The same can go for us. Even in our idolatry, God will rescue us out of it. He forgives us and brings us back.

It’s not an easy process, but we are God’s people, as the Israelites were. We are His children, and just as children who have gone astray, we need to be disciplined and brought back to Him.

It says in Proverbs 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but whoever loves him is diligent to discipline him.” We should not be resentful when He chooses to discipline us. We should be grateful because it is a show of His love and affection for us, as it was for His people in the Old Testament.

He is a patient God, but that is not to be taken advantage of. He disciplines us to draw us to Him, not to allow us to go in whatever path we deem is the most enjoyable for ourselves. He wants what is best for us, and that is walking in step with Him.

I was really humbled when I realized all of this. I think I’m so great, but in all reality, I’m not at all. I am not better than this group of people that I once thought so foolish. The more I read the Old Testament, now that I see my faults, the more I understand the hearts of the Israelites. It doesn’t excuse them, and it certainly doesn’t excuse me. It just reminds me to not be so prideful, because I am no better.

So many people when they think of idol worship think of making carven images and worshiping that. So they think things along the line of “Well I don’t do that. I’m not like the Israelites.”

I used to think like that too, until I realized that idols aren’t always carven images, As a matter of fact, in our world, they most of the time aren’t. An idol is anything that we spend most of our time on and consumes our heart more than God. We don’t even really notice, but we worship these things all the time.

Here’s a few of my idols-

-Myself (This is my biggest)

-Friends

-TV

-Food

-Music

-Grades

None of these things are bad in themselves.  Actually, on their own, they are gifts from God, given to us for our enjoyment. The problem becomes when these things impede on our relationship with God. That’s when they become our objects of worship.

We need to focus more on God and less on ourselves. That’s what God wanted for the Israelites and it’s what He wants for us. He wants us to love Him above anything else in the world. And why shouldn’t we? After all, He has given us everything. We should love the giver, and not the gifts. 

Where's Your Light?

I love inspiring quotes. They lift me up and make me think in a better way than I was. They allow me to see the world from someone else’s point of view that I may never have considered before. They cheer me up and I can use them to oftentimes encourage others.

I have one quote however that really makes me think. It makes me hesitate, challenges me to think about how I’m living and what I’m living for.

The quote comes from John Keith Falconer.

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light"

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like much, but really look at it. Every believer is a light in the world and we are called to share that light with others. In Matthew, we are told to let our light shine before men.

This quote also goes right along with why I aspire to be a missionary. There are very few people here who haven’t at least heard about Christ or who don’t have any access to His Word. Even if they reject His light, they have a chance to accept it, because they can know it should they choose to seek it.

Other areas in the world don’t have this luxury. They have no light, no chance for any unless someone brings it to them.

“But Rachel, living in the darkness doesn’t sound fun or safe.”

No. It doesn’t. It’s scary and safety is far from guaranteed. But it’s so worth it.

Think about it, if the sun’s out and it’s already bright, do you waste the energy to turn on a light? Of course not. It’s a waste of power. You wait until the sun has lowered and you need to be able to see better.

Now if you think of life as a candle, all of the sudden, wanting to live in the darkness makes a lot of sense. In the light, another light is wasted. Life is wasted where it’s already bright.

I would rather live my life where it is useful and my light can shine bright and bring light to others instead of just showing people light that they see every day and shut out.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

I ask you if you will to think about not only just letting your light shine, but also about where you are letting it shine, and if you are letting it shine into an area where it is most needed. 

Just Slow Down

I have been seeing more and more the necessity of slowing life down for a while. The culture in America is so hectic and it can seem impossible to take time out of our schedules to do things like pray or read our Bibles.

And that is exactly why we need to make time.

The strenuous lives we lead here are not conducive to slowing down and just basking in the Presence of God. And if we don’t find a way to make that time the stress and worries of life will overcome us.

In Matthew 11:28-30 is says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

We are supposed to come to Him and rest with Him. How can we do that if we never take any time to be with Him?

Our souls are constantly in turmoil. It is so difficult to make it through this life and we cannot do it on our own. Spending time with God gives our souls the rest they need and will strengthen us to face the days ahead of us.

And we are supposed to learn from Him. I know that as I have been reading through Matthew, I have learned a lot from Jesus. And one of the things I have taken from it is how willing He is to follow what His Father leads Him to do. How many times did someone ask for His help, and He turned to help them, instead of focusing on whatever plan He may have had. He also took time to be with God. People may have been seeking Him and following Him, but there was more than one occasion where He would withdraw from the crowds to be alone with His Father.

I think that is something we can learn from Christ; willingness to sacrifice our time so that we can be with God.

I know how difficult it can be to manage time so that you can enjoy God’s Presence, even for a few moments. I’ve taken to getting up earlier so that I can spend time in the Word and in prayer, and then I also know that I get to school early so I sit against the wall and spend time with Him there before class. Even in small moments like this I find my rest in Him and He reveals Himself to me. I carry my bible with me almost everywhere as well. It sometimes gets in my way if I leave it on my desk around my schoolwork, but what a wonderful thing to be in the way. It’s a constant reminder of my faith and my God.

I love sleep as much as the next girl, and probably more than some, but I have not once regretted losing some to spend time with God.

Just because you’re spending that time with God doesn’t mean life will be easier though. I know my life hasn’t gotten any less stressful. However, I’ve found myself to be more joyful and patient with my life as I rest in Christ and learn from Him as He has commanded.

There is no one who is as loving or cares as much about you as God. I know that I have some really good friends, but I can’t always be 100% honest with them or always expect that they will love me no matter what happens. They’re human, just like me and have their faults. But I can be that honest and open when I am talking to God. I can tell Him anything and nothing I can say will ever make Him love me less. And besides, He already knows whatever I have to say anyway.

So what I’m trying to say is we really need to just take a step back and slow down our lives. Take time to be with God. Be willing to follow His plans, whatever they may be.

Hit the pause button on your hectic life for a while and set your mind on the one thing that matters more than anything this life has to offer. 

The Beauty of Creation

To me, there isn’t a much more beautiful time than when it’s night, the moon and stars are shining bright and it’s winter. If the night is still and the moon is bright enough, the snow shimmers exquisitely and I am in awe. Even though it’s cold, I could stay out all night just so I could capture the image in my memories forever. 

It’s nights like that that Psalm 19:1-4 truly come alive to me. 

 “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours our speech and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through the ends of the worth and their words to the end of the world.”

In verse 3, (There is no speech, nor are there words whose voice is not heard) the KJV is actually a better translation- There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Everyone can see God’s glory, because He has revealed it to us through His creation. It doesn’t matter what tribe tongue or nation you come from; He has shown Himself to us through what He made. 

“For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

I love this verse. Creation does truly reveal the power and nature of its Creator. How much power must He have to make everything that lives and exists in this universe? Try to wrap your head around that one for a second. I know I can’t quite figure that one out. 

And His nature. Wow. First of all, it shows how creative God is. Look at a rainbow. So many colors blended into a curve across the color. Look at the stars. There are millions of stars and He created every one and put it into its own specific place. Look at the natural phenomena that happen. The wonder of an eclipse, or the Aurora Borealis’ beauty. The God that made all of this is infinitely creative. 

It shows His love as well. Look at everything He has provided for us. He gives us food to eat in the form of both infinite numbers of plants and animals. He has given us nature to enjoy in all its forms and the four seasons, each one holding a different joy for us. He has given us water to drink and plants that can be made into medicines for the sick. He has given us to each other to build relationships with, to have families and friends to care for us and to take care of each other. He has such love for us that He provided literally everything we need to live, and given us gifts for our enjoyment. 

Every human being can see all of this. We can all see the beauty of the worlds that God created to point to Him and Him alone. There are such clear designs in the world and the universe. How could they have come about by chance alone? The blindness of the world befuddles me as I see everything that God has made.

And out of all this creation God chose to put the human race as His chosen vessels to proclaim His glory. I just can’t get my mind around that. Out of all the beauty He made, God chose to love the broken most of all. We are a broken race, and not just that, we are the race that cursed the rest of His creation. 

Adam and Eve were commanded not to do just one thing. They could do anything they wanted except eat from a single tree. 

“She took some of its fruit and ate and she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate.” Genesis 3:6b

They disobeyed the one command and thrust the whole creation into the shadow of it that it has turned into. You would think after that, God would have turned His favor to something else. But He created us, knowing this would happen. He magnified His glory in the world by giving us a Savior to rescue us from our sin if we would accept and follow Him. 

It’s so amazing that the almighty, infinite, all-knowing Creator of the world would choose to make us in His image, even though He knew we would fall. He gave us the free will to turn away if we chose to, and the freedom to come to Him and love Him. It’s because of His love that He did this and continues to hold us in the palm of His hand.

I don’t know about you all, but I know that meditating on this makes me more and more grateful for everything God has done for me and for all of His creation. 

Our Spiritual Family. It's Not Just in the States

You step through the door into a small, but crowded room. Eyes look on you, fear clouding them. But there’s something else too. Anticipation… Excitement… Zeal for a belief that the world around them rejects, condemns and is trying to destroy.

A man, the leader of this secret church, stands.

“Welcome, brother.”

You return his greeting, exhilarated to join your brothers and sisters once again. You sit on the dirt floor and look at the few pages that this group had access to.

 Only a few pages of the Word. But these pages hold life. They hold salvation. They are the most important possessions to everyone there. You all wish you could have more. Have the Scriptures in their entirety, but you don’t. You can only pray earnestly that God will provide you with more.

The leader begins to pray. The earnestness and love in his voice is palpable. He again begs that God would send someone to bring more of the Word to you all and to teach you. He rejoices for God’s salvation and love for His children.

Others in the group join in. Many fall to their knees, glorifying God and exalting Him. A few cry. The one thing that all the people in that room have in common is their love for their God. You all love Him more than your own lives.

And you know you might be risking those.

The study starts. You pour over those pages for hours, writing down, copying and memorizing whatever you can. You drink in the Word now, because you don’t know when your next chance will be. Your thirst for it cannot be quenched.

Then a knock resounds through the room.

You all freeze. You know gathering together like this to study and pray is forbidden. It’s even illegal to just be a Christian. Doing this could cost you your home, family, even your life. But you know it’s worth it.

The owner of the small house, no bigger than the room you’re assembled in, stands to get the door. You all hold your breath hoping… no… praying for a miracle.

The door is opened and the man at the door visibly relaxes.

“Welcome brother.”

The room lets out the breath it’s been collectively holding. You all turn back to the study, relieved that you are safe for a little while longer.

We don’t often think about it, but this is the condition that many of our brothers and sisters around the world are forced to conduct their study. Thy gather with baited breath, never knowing I the next knock at the door may cost them their lives. And they are ok with that because they are ready and willing to give up everything for their faith.

They don’t get to gather often, but when they are able to be together, it’s not just a couple of hours at church on a Sunday morning. It’s hours and hours of honest fellowship and learning as much as they can in their short time. They want to know everything they can in the scriptures and will search for it fervently.

We get so bored of learning and easily get distracted. Imagine sitting for hours and learning about one thing only- God’s Word. I’ve done this twice for about 6 hours each, through David Platt’s simulcast, The Secret Church. It’s designed to give American’s a small taste of the study that our brothers and sisters take on. It’s not easy to sit through and can be very difficult teaching, but I highly recommend it. (If you want some more information, here’s the link- Secret Church )

It’s nothing like the fear for their lives and the danger, but it gives us a small understanding of the heart attitude of these people. For some around the world, these six hours would be a short study.

I’m just trying to ask right now for everyone to have awareness for our family in Christ around the world. They are in danger every day and need our prayers.

For more information on the persecuted church, here is a link that can provide more information- Open Doors

It Is Not Good for Man to Be Alone (And I'm Talking About Friends Here)

We are built for relationships. There is no way around that. We are built to have family and friends. Even from the very beginning in Genesis 2:18, God says “it is not good that the man should be alone”. He made a companions for Adam because God knew that He had not made Adam to live on His own. Neither has He made us to.

I used to think I was the exception to the rule. I was a complete loner and I didn’t open up to anyone, not even to my own family. I didn’t trust anyone and tried to avoid contact with people whenever possible. In short, if my parents didn’t force me to go to go to events where I would have to socialize, I didn’t go. I thought I was happy, but eventually it lead to my severe depression. I ceased to function for the longest time until I finally forced myself to open up to my mom and then to some of the girls in my youth group.

That changed my life. I found strength and encouragement from these people and was slowly able to come out of my shell. It made me happier and I felt like I actually had a place to belong. I wouldn’t have gotten it through my mom’s death without them. I can’t even imagine trying.

Even this past weekend, I was reminded of what fantastic companionship God has given me in my church family. I was having a rough weekend and was struggling, and it was pretty obvious. They all surrounded me and loved me, even though I really didn’t want to talk about it. One of my friends was getting ready to leave and when he noticed I was upset, he took the time to find out what was wrong (and after I stepped on his foot too). In all my friends, God has blessed me.

God has given me strength through my friends after I finally opened up to them. And I have come to realize that I can’t live my life on my own, like I used to try to do.

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

If we surround ourselves with the right people, we are better for it. It can strengthen and encourage us in the bad times and celebrate with us in the good. We are equipped to do more work and it is more enjoyable.

Think about something as simple as a workout. You start on your own, and it can get boring, monotonous and exhausting very quickly (unless you enjoy that sort of thing of course. Great for you if you do). But add a good friend to the mix, and suddenly it can become much more enjoyable. It can turn into a competition, a game, or just a time to talk while you are running on the treadmill. It doesn’t seem like as awful of a task.

It’s the same thing with any activity. On you own it can be difficult or annoying, but having good friends doing it with you can change your whole perspective.

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to his who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? Although a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him- a three cord fold is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 2:12

Solomon makes some very practical arguments for having close friends. They help you if you fall, they can keep you warm, and together you can stop a man from hurting you. Basically, if you have friends, you have help. There are things you can do because of your friends that you could never do alone.

We should be happy to help out our friends whether we get a return for it or not, and we should choose friends that we know will be loyal and loving, though we shouldn’t expect them to be perfect, because we certainly aren’t.

We are cautioned, however, to be cautious about our choice in friends. In Proverbs 12:26, it says “A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”

These are the people who we will invest our lives in and spend the most time with. We will influence them and they will influence us. It’s no wonder that we should be careful who we develop our closest friendships with.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be friends with people who aren’t Christian. Jesus Himself spent most of His time with sinners. And how could we spread the gospel if we didn’t ever interact with these people? What I am saying that you should save your closest and most intimate friendships for those who believe as well.

You should choose your closest friends to be people who will point you in the right direction, people who can give you Godly, biblical advice and who your conversations with are pure.

God gave us other people to be light in our lives and to have companionship, but we should remember that these friends will never replace the greatest light and friend we could ever have; God Himself. He is everything, our greatest help and our best friend. He knows everything that we have done, thought or been, and He loves us anyways. He gave us other people to be a reflection of that, even though He is the only perfect friend we could have. 

Something I felt lead to share about myself...

I want to share a part of myself that I haven’t really shared with too many people. It’s about my guilt for something that wasn’t my fault and my hatred of myself because of it.

It has to do with my mother.

As many of you know, my mother died from cancer about a year and a half ago. It hurt me more than I can put into words, but that wasn’t the only thing that hurt me then.

For most of the two years she was sick, I was my mother’s main caretaker. And I had to do a lot for her, but I enjoyed every moment because it brought us closer than we had ever been before. Every moment I was serving her or helping her, we were talking or praying or singing or just acting goofy. We worked together on a Relay for Life team and every meeting we would go out together beforehand and get dinner and talk for hours. I loved those moments.

Then, when I was coming home from Guatemala, my dad called me. He told me that my mother had died. I was only an hour away from home. And I cried. Herder than I ever have. I wasn’t mad at God, though. Not at all. I was mad at myself. I felt like it was my fault, because it had been my job to take care of her.

You failed her.

You just weren’t good enough to take care of her.

Those were some of the thoughts that plagued me when I found out. I blamed myself, even though there was literally nothing I could do.

And then the realization that I never got to say goodbye came. I didn’t even get to see her before she died, because I was off doing what I wanted to do. I hadn’t seen my job as caretaker through until the end.

I know these thoughts are foolish. She had told, practically ordered, me to go. She knew it was where I was supposed to be.

She told me to go, and didn’t tell me how bad things actually were going. She knew she might never see me again, and yet she told me to go. Because she knew that was where God wanted me.

I remember the day I left, she had been in the hospital and one of her best friends was there to see her daughter and me off. She started crying when she came and give me a hug. I didn’t know that she knew as well.

Every day I regret not being there when my mother died, even though I know I was where I had needed to be.

In my head, I keep telling myself these things.

It wasn’t your fault.

There wasn’t anything you could have done.

You were where you needed to be.

And in my head, I know these are true, but in my heart, I still have this deep loathing for myself. I know it’s not how I should feel, but I just can’t convince myself

Out of all my sinful thoughts, this one is probably the hardest to get rid of. It doesn’t matter if I push it away or ignore it, it’s still there, lurking in the back of my head, ready to strike whenever my emotions are on edge.

I know that I should not blame myself for this or hate myself, but I don’t know how to move past. I don’t even know why I felt lead to share this with everyone.

Bus at the same time, I know I can’t keep it inside forever.

Thanks for reading, and to all those who have stayed close to me the last couple years, I am so grateful for your support.