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I'm Your Huckleberry - Joelton CoC Ladies Class - 5/26/10

I should hand out popcorn - I have 3 movies references this week!!

Have you ever seen the movie Tombstone? It is a retelling of the life of Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and Doc Holliday and their standoff at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. In one scene, a member of the Clanton gang threatens Wyatt Earp on the streets of Tombstone, challenging him to a gunfight. Wyatt Earp declines the invitation. Doc Holliday, played by Val Kilmer, eases into the street. The Clanton guy yells at Earp and his brothers, “Aren’t any of you brave enough to fight me??” Doc Holliday casually says, “I’m your huckleberry.”

The settlers knew of a European berry called the hurlteberry. Finding a fruit that looked similar, the Americanized version of that word became huckleberry. The word huckleberry then came to refer to a small, insignificant person, a person of lower standing. Hence the title of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. He wanted to evoke a feeling of lower stature. Then over time, a phrase came into being, “I’m just a huckleberry over your persimmon.” This means I’m just a little bit better than you at that. This was then shortened to what Doc Holliday said in Tombstone, “I’m your huckleberry.” This means that he’s just a little bit better than someone else for the job, just the right person almost like he was made for the job. You may be small and unassuming, but if you’re someone’s huckleberry, then you are just the right person for the job they need done.

You might ask how does this apply to a ladies Bible class at Joelton?

If you were here last week, you got a tiny glimpse at what has been on my mind lately. I discovered a new word in the Bible that has really been on my heart. It has truly inspired me and made me have a sense of peace about my role as a wife and God’s plan and purpose for me.

Genesis 2:18 says, “The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

We know that God is perfect, God is love, God is divine. Everything that he makes, says, and does is perfection manifest. The helper is the being that God made for Adam. We know that if God made the helper then it must be perfect and complete. It must be just the thing for the job. It must be Adam’s Huckleberry.

Helper in this verse is a translation of the Hebrew word ezer kenegdo. Here are some other ways it has been translated.

help meet - KJV

helper suitable - NIV, NASB

helper comparable to him - NKJV

a suitable companion - the Message

a helper fit for him - ESV

a suitable partner for him - CEV

a helper who is just right for him - NLT

huckleberry - MBS (that’s me!)

Kenegdo means alongside, counterpart, or facing. Ezer is derived from 2 words meaning “power” and “strength.” So it could be said that God said, “I will make a strength and power alongside for him” or “I will make a powerful and strong counterpart for him.” Verse 20 of Genesis 2 says that after being in the Garden surrounded by animals of every kind, trees and plants of every kind, “No suitable helper was found.” “No suitable strength was found.” “No suitable power was found.”

The word ezer is used twenty-one times throughout the Bible, and in every other instance it is used to describe God himself, particularly when you REALLY need him to come though for you.

”There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.” (Deut. 33:26)

"Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword.” (Deut. 33:29)

'I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.' (Ps. 121:1-2)

'May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help.' (Ps. 20:1-2)

'We wait in hope for the LORD, he is our help and our shield.' (Ps. 33:20)

When ezer is used to describe God, it is when the person in need of help is in desperate need of help, in need of a life saver. Most of these are in situations of life and death and God is your only hope, your only way out.

Why does man need an ezer?

It’s like the end of Pretty Woman. Julie Roberts tells Richard Gere all she wants is a knight on a white horse to come in with his banners flying to rescue her from the tower. In the last scene of the movie, Richard Gere shows up at her apartment and climbs the fire escape to her window. He is deathly afraid of heights. He says to her, “What happens to the knight after he rescues the maiden?” She says, “She rescues him back.” Why would man need to be rescued back?

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

Satan is on the move. He is looking for ways to undo us, to separate us from God. If Satan is on the prowl, looking to devour us, we need to be ready. So what does Satan look like?

I am reminded of a line from O Brother, Where Art Thou. The three heroes of the movie have just picked up Tommy at the crossroads. They ask Tommy what he is doing out there at the crossroads. He says he had a meeting with the devil. They ask, “What did he look like?” George Clooney’s character pipes us and explains that the devil is a red, scaly creature with a bifurcated tail and pitchfork. Tommy replies, “Oh, no, sir. He looked just like you fellows.”

2 Cor 11:12-15 says “And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

We are told right here what Satan looks like. He can look like an angel of light. His servants can look like a servant of righteousness. Or as Tommy in O Brother, Where Art Thou said, he can look just like you fellows, just like me.

Acts 13:10 tells us some of what he is up to. “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?” He is trying to trick us, to lead us astray. He is seeking to destroy us at every turn.

Mark 4:15 says he wants to rip the word out God out of our hearts, “Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.”

For those reasons, man needs an ezer. Man needs a lifesaver. It is a dangerous world for a person seeking God’s will. Just ask Joseph, Moses, Esther, Job, David, Abraham, Paul, Stephen, John the Baptist, ask Christ.

Last week I used the song Night with Ebon Pinion to describe the love Christ had for the church. This week I want us to listen to a song that I use to empower myself to stand against Satan. This song helps me remember from whom I should derive my power. It is not from my schooling, not from my achievements at work, not from my net worth, not from my family name. It is only from Jesus Christ himself.

IN CHRIST ALONE

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This Cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My Comforter, my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh

Fullness of God in helpless babe

This gift of love and righteousness

Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Till on that cross as Jesus died

The wrath of God was satisfied

For every sin on Him was laid

Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious Day

Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

'Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from his hand. Here in the power of Christ I stand. Through Christ’s power I will figure this out. I will be molded into the person God wants me to be.

I have mulled this new word, ezer kenegdo, over for the past couple of weeks. I can’t figure out how to adequately express to you how much this means to me. I can’t figure out how to transmit to you the gravity of this word.

There are moments in my life when I feel almost like I am floating above myself and viewing my life from the outside. I can see the big picture. I can catch a glimpse of the design. I guess really what it is is seeing a piece of God. When I get very still and quiet and let this word, this verse seep into me, I can see the big picture. I can see the point.

I know that not everyone in this class struggles with the submission issue. Like I said last week, there are certain things that do not tempt me, that are not stumbling blocks to me. This just happens to be one for me.

I feel like this word and the true meaning of it, and not the meaning assigned to it by the translators, is who I am. I feel refreshed by this word. It really has brought me a great deal of peace when thinking about submission. The God who designed me to be like Him – to provide a strength and power to someone in need – asks me to arrange myself in order under my husband. He designed me perfectly, made me my husband’s Huckleberry. So how can I question his request to arrange myself in order under my husband? And furthermore, I know that hupotasso (submit) is a military term. With Satan roaming around like a lion seeking to devour me, I get that my family will only succeed if there is order in the ranks.

I was sharing this word ezer kenegdo with a friend last week and wondering why I had never been told by anyone as a child, in Christian marriage counseling, in ladies classes, that I was designed to be a strong counterpart, a life line for my husband. She said that she had some of the same questions. Why she was taught that the only definition of a good wife was to completely forsake your identity, to become a martyr? I hope that everyone else in this class is getting a least a smidgen of what I am receiving personally from this. My eyes have been opened, my heart softened, by what I have learned. I can be myself and have my opinions and still be every bit as much of a Christian wife as one who isn’t as opinionated. I can be a powerful, strong lifeline for my husband – actually I am designed to be so! I hope that you can find your strength and power and that you have clarity and a glimpse of God’s plan. Thank you for working through this with me.

Submission and the Married Man - Joelton CoC Ladies Class - 5/19/10

We are obviously a ladies class, particularly interested in what the Scripture holds for us. We have already learned that everyone is called to submit. Our favorite verse is the one stating that wives are called to submit to their husbands. So perhaps a good way to set up a study on what that means is to first look at what a husband’s responsibility is. And it’s always easier to look at what someone else is supposed to do, rather than what I am supposed to do…

Also, I have been torn about how to strike a balance in this class. At first I thought this topic would be too married women focused. I didn’t want that because there are members of the class who aren’t married, and sometimes there will be people in our lives who may need guidance who aren’t married. So I think we need to learn about how the Bible applies to people in circumstances unlike ours, but even so, I didn’t want this to seem like a married ladies class. But the topic tonight is a little narrow. I can only hope that those of us who aren’t married can still take something from the topic – I believe that you will still learn about the heart of God and his plan for our life, even if this doesn’t directly apply to you.

As we have learned, God designed the world with a system of authority. Those in authority will be called to answer for the exercise (or lack of exercise) of that authority. This extends to husbands, wives, parents, teachers, elders, etc. When you are put in the role of leader, whether it is as a husband, as a parent, or as a teacher, you are to exemplify God. You are to be a model of God. Failure to model God properly is what will lead to a harsh judgment because it will mean that you have misrepresented God.

Ephesians 5:22-28 - 22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

In 1 Peter 3:7 another requirement of the husband is found. “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

So the list that we have now of the requirements of a husband include:

1. Be the head of your wife

2. Love your wife

3. Be the spiritual leader of the home

4. Live with consideration and respect

HEAD OF THE WIFE

1 Corinthians 11:3 - Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

This seems like a pretty simple directive. The problems come in with self gets in the way. People want what they want, almost like children. I can tell Joseph not to pull my glasses off my face and he cries. He wants what he wants. Grown ups act the very same way. God devised a simple plan for us, but we insert our selves and mess it up.

Christ is the leader of the church. All decisions made are for the benefit of the church. Did we ever see Christ exhibit selfishness toward the church? Did he make a decision so that he could personally gain? Did he make decisions that benefited the church in the present, but set it up for failure in the future? You can imagine there were tough decisions to be made for the church by Christ.

This is all just my imagination at work, but do you think Jesus wanted to call Judas as an apostle? Knowing the result of that decision, can’t you imagine that there might have been a part of Christ that dreaded making that decision? Here are some verses about the result of that decision.

John 6:70 -  Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!"

John 12:3-6 - 3Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Luke 22:3 - Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.

Matthew 26:14-15 - 14Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.

Matthew 26:25 - Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."

Matthew 27:3-5 - 3When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4"I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." 5So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

What was the benefit of selecting Judas as an apostle? Why was this leadership at work?

Christ made a decision which he knew would result in pain, torture, humiliation, and eventual death. Why did he do that?

The end result was Jesus death on the cross which was the ONLY way the church could receive eternal salvation. We are told time and again that Jesus was the only avenue by which the church would be saved.

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all …” (1 Timothy 2:5)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

LOVE YOUR WIFE AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH, SACRIFICING YOURSELF

We know that when Jesus was on the earth he was a spiritual being in an earthly body. The fact that he was in an earthly body meant that he experienced earthly feelings and temptation.

I can tell you that there are some things on the earth that simply do not tempt me to evil. I have never been tempted by alcohol. The idea of allowing a beverage to make me act recklessly or to make me careless with my money just holds nothing over me. Satan cannot use alcohol to tempt me. Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of other things that he can use, just not alcohol. For a temptation to exist, there must be a desire in your heart. When we read in Matthew 4:1-11 about the temptation of Christ, we need to keep in mind that the things presented to Christ by Satan had to have been things that appealed to Christ’s earthly body or there would have been no temptation. The text would have possibly read that Satan showed Christ things that he hoped would provide a temptation. But instead the text said that Christ was taken to be tempted by Satan.

In this instance Christ made a decision to forego what would be immediately gratifying because to do so would be the ruin of the church. If he had turned the stones to bread, had chosen to show Satan that the angels would save him, or had chosen to pledge allegiance to Satan in order to rule the whole world, there would be no church today. There would only be evil. Instead, 2000 years later there is still a church, a body of believers to stand for God.

The ultimate sacrifice, of course, was on the cross. I know we have probably all read or been told the verses from the Bible recounting the last supper, the prayer in the garden, the carrying of the cross, the beating, the piercing of his side, and his ultimate death.

Even though it is not Scripture, one way that helps me envision the act of his death is the song Night with Ebon Pinion. The lyrics say,

Night, with ebon pinion, brooded o’er the vale;

All around was silent, save the night wind’s wail,

When Christ, the Man of Sorrows,

In tears, and sweat, and blood,

Prostrate in the garden, raised His voice to God.

Smitten for offenses which were not His own,

He, for our transgressions, had to weep alone;

No friend with words to comfort,

Nor hand to help was there,

When the Meek and Lowly humbly bowed in prayer.

“Abba, Father, Father, if indeed it may,

Let this cup of anguish pass from Me, I pray;

Yet, if it must be suffered, by Me, Thine only Son,

Abba, Father, Father, let Thy will be done.”

Christ knew how terrible this was going to be. As we’ve already talked about, he had an earthly body. The nails driven into his hand actually hurt. His thirst on the cross felt to him the same way it would have felt to us.

This is the same level of love that a husband in submission to God is to exhibit to his wife. That’s a lot to live up to.

SPIRITUAL LEADER

Joshua 24:14-15 - "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

The husband is to lead his household by the word of God. This should involve leading the family in devotion, prayer, worship, singing, etc. But how is it that he is to lead the family? As a servant.

Philippians 2:5-7 - Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Christ could have come to earth and said, “I’m God’s son. Do as I say.”

But instead he chose to be a servant. A Godly husband desiring to be like Christ will choose to be a servant. In John 1:1-15, Jesus washes the apostles’ feet. Verse 15 states, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” He didn’t just tell the apostles what to do, he showed them. A husband is to Practice What He Preaches.

LIVE WITH CONSIDERATION AND RESPECT

I am a big fan of this one. I also like Proverbs 31:28 - "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."

• Be considerate refers to treating a spouse with the utmost care and love. It is the husband’s responsibility to set the tone of love and care! Keep in mind that this was called for in a time and culture that considered women lower than farm animals! It was taught in a culture where the male ruled in absolute dominance. The mandate to love in 1 Corinthians was abnormal.

• Weaker partner refers to the physical condition of women or perhaps their social standing. The application is to show more consideration. This is not because of inferiority or that one is better than the other. We have different strengths and weaknesses, but we are all heirs.

• As heirs means we can fellowship together in Christ. We both receive love from Christ and are equal participants in salvation.

• Hinder your prayers means the husband who fails to show consideration jeopardizes his ability to communicate effectively with God. When we refuse to follow God’s plan, we become separated from God and his blessings.

So this week we saw that the husband has four basic requirements in his relationship with his wife:

1. Be the head of your wife

2. Love your wife

3. Be the spiritual leader of the home

4. Live with consideration and respect

And we also saw that to understand how a husband is to act, we have to look to how Jesus treated the church. We saw that Jesus made tough decisions that only served to benefit the church. We saw that Jesus sacrificed his personal comfort for the good of the church. We saw that Jesus sacrificed his life so that the church could have eternal life. We saw that Jesus lead by example with the heart of a servant. We know that Jesus lives with us in consideration. Despite our flawed condition, we are all joint heirs.

Our memory verse for the week is not pulled from the lesson, but is just a reminder of why we are here, what our goal should be. It is Psalms 119:10-11 - "I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

From the Mouth of Babes

On the way home from church last night, I was talking to Robert about how I tied a Rolling Stones song into our Bible study.  He is a budding musician and is beginning to have an interest in classic rock and roll.

I was telling him how Sympathy for the Devil talks about Satan's presence at every evil thing from the beginning of time; about how any time someone ever committed an evil act throughout history, Satan was there.  He was at the Holocaust, he was at the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr, he was at the Crusades.

I said, "Satan was there for every evil thing man has done."  From the backseat, Marina said, "So was Jesus."

Wow.  That is true.  Every time man has committed an evil act, two beings were present, Satan and God.  The transgressor chose to commune with Satan rather than God.  Think about that the next time you are tempted to sin.  Satan and God are both there.  Whom will you choose?

And to think that this profound observation came from my 6 year old... 

Lost in the Garden - Joelton CoC Ladies Class - 5/12/10

DISCLAIMER - I borrowed MUCH of this lesson verbatim from Internet resources and didn't keep track of all the sites I used to be able to give them proper credit, so if you've seen portions of this elsewhere, it is the product of that person, not me!  Thanks!

Have you ever had one of your children or a coworker rush up to you and start sputtering out the pieces of a problem in a way that you can’t really follow because you just don’t know what they are talking about? You might say to them, “Wait. Let’s go back to the beginning.” You need a foundation to even begin the discussion.

We are in the same situation. The best way to understand submission is to go back to the place where submission was instituted – the Garden of Eden.

We know that God spent 6 days creating the earth and all of the things in it. He knew the value of his creation – Genesis 1:31 - God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

Genesis 2:4-9 - 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The pinnacle of this creation was man and woman who lived within God’s care. He provided them with everything they needed – food, shelter, companionship. It was a perfect paradise.

Question to class: What things are present in your life today that are the result of removal from paradise?

Answer: cancer, diabetes, alzheimers, floods

There was only one requirement placed on Adam and Eve.

Genesis 2:15-17 - The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

So this is the beginning. The beginning of mankind. The beginning of rules, of order. In verse 15, it says God placed the man in the Garden to work it and take care of it. That is the first time anyone was given a job, an order, a responsibility. Verse 17 is the designation of the tree of knowledge. Adam is told that he is not to eat from that tree.

Question to class: Why would God even put a tree in the Garden from which Adam could not eat?

Answer: in order for Adam’s obedience to God to be from Adam’s heart, there had to be a choice for Adam to make. If there were no choice, Adam wouldn’t be a true follower of God. He’d be more like a robot. God didn’t create a robot, he created a human.

Why did God give us free will then? Wouldn't it have been easier and nicer to create mankind as inherently good.

It seems to me that God's purpose with mankind is to have eternal fellowship with those who truly love Him. Therefore, to create us as inherently good robots, without the potential for the opposite character, evil, would not allow for true love. For only love that comes from a free choice of the will is TRUE LOVE. Voluntary choice is the key - love isn't genuine if there's no other option.

Part of this discussion is also, not just why did God make us with free will, but why did God even make us? The short answer to the question is “for His pleasure.” Revelation 4:11 says, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Colossians 1:16 reiterates the point: “All things were created by him and for him.” Being created for God’s pleasure does not mean humanity was made to entertain God or provide Him with amusement. God is a creative Being, and it gives Him pleasure to create. God is a personal Being, and it gives Him pleasure to have other beings He can have a genuine relationship with.

Being made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27), human beings have the ability to know God and therefore love Him, worship Him, serve Him, and fellowship with Him. God did not create human beings because He needed them. As God, He needs nothing. In all eternity past, He felt no loneliness, so He was not looking for a “friend.” He loves us, but this is not the same as needing us. If we had never existed, God would still be God—the unchanging One (Malachi 3:6). The I AM (Exodus 3:14) was never dissatisfied with His own eternal existence. When He made the universe, He did what pleased Himself, and since God is perfect, His action was perfect. “It was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Also, God did not create “peers” or beings equal to Himself. Logically, He could not do so. If God were to create another being of equal power, intelligence, and perfection, then He would cease to be the one true God for the simple reason that there would be two gods—and that would be an impossibility. “The LORD is God; besides him there is no other” (Deuteronomy 4:35). Anything that God creates must of necessity be lesser than He. The thing made can never be greater than, or as great as, the One who made it.

Recognizing the complete sovereignty and holiness of God, we are amazed that He would take man and crown him “with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:5) and that He would condescend to call us “friends” (John 15:14-15). Why did God create us? God created us for His pleasure and so that we, as His creation, would have the pleasure of knowing Him.

So all we know is that God made us simply because he wanted to. He wants fellowship with those who love him. Loving God is determined by making an informed decision to follow his Word.

BUT… We all know that Satan tempted Eve. Genesis 3:1-7 - “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

Unfortunately, the serpent tempted the woman into believing that submission to God’s will wasn’t good for her, that God was only trying to keep her from something wonderful. Sound familiar? I’ve said in here before, this is the same lie that Satan tells me every day. “You will be like God,” he told her.

It makes me think of the Rolling Stones song, Sympathy for the Devil. The lyrics of this song outline how Satan has been there at every evil thing throughout history, the Holocaust, the massacre of the Russian czar and his family, the Crusades, etc.

Pleased to meet you / Hope you guess my name / what's puzzling you / Is the nature of my game

Satan is there in every evil thing. He just uses different characters, different names, different theologies, different movements. He might have a different name and try a new strategy, but do not be fooled. It is still Satan at work.

Who knew you could pull Biblical insight from a Rolling Stones song?

There was the obvious consequence of being removed from the Garden, but this would turn out to be the least of Adam and Eve’s problems. The ground would become hard, making survival difficult, there would be pain in child birth, etc.

Genesis 3:16-19 - To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

The good news is we can escape Adam and Eve’s curse by submitting to God.

A primary example of this is King Solomon. Old Testament heroes are known for their trust in God, but Solomon’s story is unique in that at a very young age he is to lead Israel at its peak of power. He had every right to riches and military might, but instead of asking for these things, before he ascends to the throne he simply asks God for “a discerning heart to govern and to distinguish between right and wrong” (1 Kings 3:9). As a result of Solomon’s passion to seek and submit to God’s wisdom, he is blessed.

“I will give you what you have not asked for,” God tells him, “both riches and honor – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings” (1 Kings 3:13). Just like in the Garden of Eden, human submission is accompanied by financial provision.

Solomon’s Proverbs are full of wisdom concerning God’s provision.

“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25

“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3

More good news is that by Christ’s submission on the cross, the curse on man has been reversed.

2 Peter 1:3-4 - 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The first verse of this is going to be our memory work for next week. Hope to see you there!

Thought Provoking Comments from 4/28/10

In last night's ladies class at Joelton, two comments were made which I feel need some particular attention and contemplation.

First, after some of us younger ladies were going on about how just the word "submit" makes us feel anger and bitterness, Nancy looked at us and basically said, "What's the problem?" She said it with an absolute pure heart, just trying to understand why we had such a visceral reaction to the concept. That moment has not left me yet. All I can say is, "I don't know what the problem is." I can tell you all my history, familial examples of women in my life, cultural icons who have influenced me, etc. But I cannot put my finger on why I don't want to follow God's plan for me in this area of my life.

In other areas of my life, I am perfectly willing to stand out from the world. We do not let our daughter wear provocative clothes, we do not let our children go to areas of the park unattended, we rarely let the children spend the night places, we homeschool. We do all sorts of things that people in our life sometimes think is "weird." I embrace those things. I am ok with my friends rolling their eyes at me when I say, "No, Marina cannot go to the playground without me." Why is it that in this one area I can't overcome my raising and just do what God wants me to do?

Next, Andrea said that she has a sketch at home of Jesus holding a lamb. Jesus has the lamb in his arms with its head over his shoulder. The lamb is resting peacefully, not flailing around and struggling. Andrea said that looking at that image brings her peace.  She wants that feeling.  She wants to be in the arms of Jesus, like a lamb protected by the Shepherd.  She is completely willing to submit to Jesus because it brings that level of comfort and peace.  

She then noted that submitting to those in authority is, in essence, submitting to Jesus.  It is the SAME thing.  She suggested that perhaps when we find ourselves in a situation where we are called to submit we should superimpose the face of Christ on that person and realize that we are not submitting to THAT person.  We are submitting TO CHRIST.  Wow. 

After voicing my feelings on submission for the past couple of weeks, I feel like I need to make it clear that I do not think I am just a constant pain to my husband and / or boss.  I just know that deep down inside of me there is this tiny little spot that is just mine, a tiny little speck that sits there waiting.  It's waiting for my husband to make what I think is a wrong decision for the family.  It is waiting for the elders to choose something for the church with which I do not agree.  It is waiting for the boss to have me do something in some ridiculous manner.  It then grows a little.  It is as if I can feel if taking on a life of its own wanting to well up and escape.  Intellectually I know that this is Satan.  I have never been drawn to alcohol or drugs or fighting or jealousy, but I can imagine that it must feel kind of the same.  Satan finds a tiny little chink in your armor and just starts picking at it, one little speck at a time.  Eventually what was a tiny little crack becomes a fissure which becomes a crater.  So this class and this study is a way for personally to shine the light on that speck inside me.  As Paula said, if I keep my sin in the darkness, it will just grow unchecked.  I want this speck in me to run and hide from the Light.  Thanks for accompanying me on the journey and hopefully you'll get something from it as well!  

Faith + Submission = Power - Joelton CoC Ladies Class - 4/28/10

This is a picture of the waterfall toad. He lives in South America and is the size of a postage stamp. This toad has no poison or strong back legs or any other obvious protective mechanism. When a snake or other predator comes around, it just leaps out into the air with only one goal in mind, escaping the predator. It has no landing spot already mapped out. It just leaps off into space from the top of a waterfall. You’d think at the bottom of the waterfall there’d be a pile of dead waterfall toads, but instead on the way down the toad puts his little legs out and grabs a vine or branch and catches himself before he hits the ground. When the toad leapt off the waterfall, he didn’t know which branch he would grab onto. He just knew that if he jumped two things would happen. 1) There WOULD be a branch and 2) he wouldn’t be eaten by the snake. I saw this toad on a Discovery channel program. I thought to myself, “Do I have as much faith as the waterfall toad?” I looked this guy up online and read an article by the producer of the program. He said in four days of filming never once did a toad not find a branch or vine to grab onto. Each and every time he found a branch to break his fall. Do I have that much faith, to believe that each and every time God will break my fall? I read an e-mail quote recently that said when you take a leap of faith either God will catch you or teach you to fly.

So let’s see if I can put my money where my mouth is…

Review: we learned last week that throughout the Bible everyone is called to submit in different aspects of their life – as a child, as an employee, as a wife, as a husband, as a citizen, as a church member, etc. We learned that a block to our willingness to submit is a sinful mind. The mind tells us that we don’t need to submit to be what God wants. It actually tells me the opposite – that if you submit, you are less of a person and less able to lead your family. We learned that some sinful thoughts that lead to rebellion include leaning on our own understanding, lack of faith in God, preferring my desires to God’s desires, and receiving our ideas about submission from the wrong sources. We combat a sinful mind by following 2 Corinthians 10:5 and taking hold of each thought and comparing it to a biblical truth and bringing our thoughts into submission with the will of God.

This week we are going to look at what happens when we have the faith of a waterfall toad, when we believe in our heart that if we simply take the leap that God will provide a branch for us to grab onto.

Does submission mean just giving in to whatever we are told by those in authority? Does it mean becoming a door mat and not having an opinion or any say in our lives?

Ephesians 4:14-15 – “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

I believe that this verse says the opposite of doormat. We are not being called to simply blindly follow authority without an opinion. We are called here to not be blown about by every wind or the craftiness of man. We are instead called to stand up and speak the truth in love under Christ.

So let’s say that we encounter a situation at work or at home where we absolutely know that we are right on a topic. There are times that I truly believe that my perspective is better and sometimes even that it is more like what God wants from my family than the position from my husband. What do we do in that situation? First, we speak the truth in love. Ok. So now I have spoken the truth in love. What if the boss, the husband, the President still persists in doing things his or her way even after you spoke the truth in love? What should we do?

We can choose one of two options – 1) continue to press the issue which will probably just lead to anger, bitterness, and resentment or 2) we can go along and listen to Philippians 2:14-15 - Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

What?? Just give up?

No. We should just give it up to God. We should adopt the attitude of the waterfall toad and just take a flying leap!

Now, I don’t know about you, but this just goes against my nature. I am nothing like the waterfall toad. I want a roadmap of exactly how I am going to get down from the waterfall. I want to get online and make sure that is the best way, I’m going to need to call my dad and get his opinion, I am going to need to do some research to make sure the branch will hold my weight.

It’s then that I have to take hold of that thought. Who is more powerful, me or God? One of my favorite passages from the Bible is in Job Chapters 36-40. For four chapters, the Bible covers all of the things that God has done which I have no power over. When the birds lay eggs, how the lion hunts, where the tide ends and land begins, how a locust leaps, how the clouds hang in the sky. In Job 38:21, it says, “Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!”

That hurts! Chapter after chapter, verse after verse about my insignificance and then throw in there a verse basically saying, “What’s the problem? You should know these answers, right?”

Obviously, God is more powerful than any of us could ever be. Yet I challenge His authority by questioning His plan for my life?

I have to have enough faith in God that even when I know I am right, even when I know my way is better than the one to whom I am called to submit, that He will resolve this. I need to give it up to God and take the leap.

One problem I have with that is that sometimes things won’t get resolved in my lifetime or even before Judgment Day. I need to internalize that when the issue gets resolved is God’s decision, not mine – Proverbs 21:1 – “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.”

1 Samuel 15:23 – “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king." More than likely God would fix my relationships, but I get in the way. I tie his hands with rebellion and stubbornness. I would be king, except for my rebellion and arrogance.

Really defying authority is as if I am saying this situation cannot be fixed unless I take over. It is incumbent upon me to recognize that it will be resolved on God’s time and in God’s way. He laid the foundation of the earth, I think he can handle my husband or boss – or even me!

Last week we talked about the fact that even Christ had to submit to something he didn’t want to do. He had to go to the cross despite the pain and sadness that he knew he would endure. He prayed to God: Mark 14:36 – “Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." He submitted to God’s authority. Our salvation depended on Jesus’ submission. Have you ever thought what if someone’s salvation depended on your submission?

Let’s say that again – what if someone’s salvation, whether they spent eternity in heaven, depended on your submission to God’s will?

Let’s look at a legal analogy – let’s say you were wrongly accused of a crime and had to go on trial for the crime. You’re in court, the judge is there. The person accusing you is on the witness stand recounting the way you committed the crime. You yell out and defend yourself. The judge tells you to be quiet as he begins again to listen to the accuser. You yell out again. Now you are found to be in contempt of court and taken off to serve your sentence for that crime. Initially, you were innocent. You hadn’t committed a crime, but due to your rebelliousness and inability to trust that the situation would resolve itself, you are now guilty.

Another of my favorite passages in the Bible is in 2 Kings, Chapter 6. In this chapter, Elisha is assisting the Israelites in battle. He is telling them where the enemy will be waiting for them. The enemy finds out that Elisha is helping with battle plans. He surrounds the camp to take Elisha. A servant cries out to Elisha when he sees the camp surrounded. Verse 16 says, "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Elisha prays that the servant’s eyes will be opened. The servant looks again and sees the reality – the hills behind Elisha are full of horses and chariots of fire. Elisha had God on his side. The servant saw hopelessness and powerlessness. Elisha’s eyes were open to the reality that God was with them. I am nothing on my own. With God and in submission to God’s plan, I am powerful.

So do you believe that God could do anything he wants? If so, couldn’t he change the heart of the one in authority? Don’t you believe that God can change lives? This will be the test of your faith. This will be the moment where you decide that the words of the Bible are true, that God can and does change lives, that Jesus is alive. Are you willing to leap off the waterfall in the belief that God will provide a branch for you?

Our memory work for this week is 2 Kings 6:16 - "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." I am going to encourage you this week to know that the hills behind you are full of horses and chariots and that you should have the faith of a waterfall toad and know that God will provide the branch if you are willing to leap. His plan is the right plan, we just have to have the faith to follow it and to let God do the rest.

***Next week we are going to look at the Garden of Eden and the beginning of submission.