I Will Not Be Silent--I Will Stand Firm

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. -Matthew 10:22

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. -1 Cor. 16:13

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place... -Ephesians 6:14

What images do these verses provoke? Is it the image of fear or of courage. The image of a mouse or a lion? A shout or a whisper?

Let me preface my post by saying that I know there are times when God calls us to be quiet, to be still, to whisper, to be mild as a lamb. I know that we are to approach all situations with love, compassion and understanding. With that being said let me continue.

I have noticed a trend among Christians today. It seems to be a passive  response to all the ails of today's society. If the Holy Spirit convicts us of something, telling us that it is a sin, that it grieves the Father, should we not try to reach others? Should we not try to share our message with children of our God or with those who are lost? I don't understand the attitude of not wanting to step on anyone's toes or offend anyone. True, as I said above, we have to do it with a spirit of love and gentleness but we still need to do it, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us or with those who we share the message. When Jesus threw of the tables in temple, was that wrong because it offended those who had made a mockery of His holy place? No, of course not! Our Savior constantly tested the waters, stirred the pot, ruffled feathers.

Let me approach this from a slightly different angle. Christ has called us to love others as we love ourselves. As a mom, I love my child deeply. Just because I simply love my child does not give him the direction he needs. The love exuding from my heart does not teach him right from wrong. I teach him these things because I love him. Does he always like them? Ok, rhetorical question there. Even though he doesn't like discipline, doesn't like to hear he is wrong, cries, gets angry, pouts and more when I have to show him the truth, it is worth it! It is worth it because I know that I am showing him the right way. It makes me uncomfortable, it makes him uncomfortable but I disciple and speak truth to my son out of genuine love for him.

Sisters in Christ, what I am simply trying to say here is that regardless of what society tells us, it is OKAY to make waves. It is OKAY to upset people sometimes by speaking your convictions. Furthermore, I am convinced that if you remain silent on your convictions you are not only hurting the people you do not share with, you are hurting our Father by not doing His will.

Lastly, let me just reiterate that I do believe there are times that we need to be silent because it is not the time or the place, because the Spirit has not moved us to speak. Yet, we cannot always remain silent because we don't want to make others uncomfortable, we must speak truth! Let me leave you with a few other verses.

Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. -Matthew 24:12-13

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. -Colossians 3:16

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. -2 Cor. 10:5

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. -John 4:23

 Please feel free to leave some feedback on this topic.
What are some examples of time you have remained silent, either with believers or unbelievers? What are some examples of times you have spoken up, even if it made every other person in the room (including yourself) uncomfortable?

Until next time, may Christ's love and blessing be upon you and yours.

Be still my child. Be still.

Earlier this week a page in my Facebook newsfeed posted, "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14. I felt like like God was piercing my very soul with that verse. In that moment Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" became so real for me! Since that time I feel like my life is revolving around this message from Him. On my walk the other night I had my iPod on random play and Be Still by Selah came on. If you haven't heard it, check it out on YouTube. Here are the lyrics:

It's so loud
I just can't seem to slow this down
I need you more than ever now
Let the silence be the only sound

Your glory
becomes the only thing I see
Your beauty brings me to my knees
the awe that you inspire in me

CHORUS
Makes me wanna be still
so still you can hear breathing in
so still you can hear me breathing out
let your calm descend upon me now

So now
I stand before you broken down
my feet upon this holy ground
I can feel your presence all around

(CHORUS)

Bridge
I hear you whisper softly
I hear you speaking to me
i hear you, in the silence you call my name

I wanna be still
so still you can hear me breathing in
so still you can hear me breathing out
let your calm descend upon me now
(x3)

I wanna be still
I wanna be still
I wanna be still
be still

It was, once again, as if God was sending me a personal message. It was such a beautiful moment. Ever since seeing that first verse, every time I start to get anxious about my fertility issues, it's like God is once again whispering to me, "Be still and know that I am God..." -Psalm 46:10

What's to come, I honestly have no idea but for now I know my Father is saying, "Be still my child. Be still"
 

Until next time, may Christ's love and blessings be upon you and yours.

LIfe is good...

It's been quite a while since I last wrote. Not much has changed in our lives. We are still facing the same challenges and still embracing the same blessings.
Our homeschool year is going smoothly and we joined a co-op this year! We are currently using My Father's World curriculum and have (to this point) found it to be the perfect fit for Austin's learning style and my teaching style. Joining a co-op has been so great for our school year. It has been a wonderful supplement to his education. Not to mention it is just plain fun!
 We are still working to sell our house but have not had many hits thus far. We trust that it is entirely in God's hands.
As for family life we are continuing to grow and learn about our Hebraic roots and how that is reflected in our daily relationship with our Lord. It has been such a strengthening time as we explore a world entirely unknown to us before this year.
I have no news as far as fertility is concerned. I am deepening in my faith that the Lord will soon bring us another child. We have settled on a name for what I feel will be a little girl (when God sends her to us). The fertility meds thus far have done nothing for us and so we have decided to once again stop outside treatment and just focus on healthy eating, exercise and total trust in the Father.
This is just a short update on our lives. I hope all of you are well and if you are in need of prayer please feel free to post in a comment so I can meet that need for you!
Until next time, may Christ's love and blessings be upon you and yours.