A Breath of the Mouth

Proverbs 31:30 says, "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."

In this culture, we hear a lot about this Proverbs 31 woman. She is the woman every Christian wants to be. And this verse is one of the verses that is quoted often because appearance is so elevated in our society. Christian blogs of all kinds tell us that life is not about beauty; it's about fearing the Lord. Motivational pictures  quoting this verse are the backgrounds on our phones. You may even have a sticky note of it on your bathroom mirror. Christian women are more than familiar with this verse.

But what is it really saying to us?

This is the question that has been plaguing my mind recently, so I decided to study this verse out on my own. I used this website to see what the words really mean.

Favour: charm, elegance, acceptance; to find favour in the eyes of someone, to be acceptable to him
Deceitful: lie, deception, disappointment, falsehood

Favour is deceitful: The idea that we have found favor in someone's sight, that we are acceptable to him, is a lie. It's not true.

Beauty: beauty, gracefulness
Vain: a breath of the mouth, vapor

Beauty is vain: Breathe in. Now let it go. Our beauty and grace is gone just like that.

Feareth: reverence
Praised: to shine, to be clear, brilliant; glory, boast

A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised: The woman who reverences God, who gives Him the glory in her life, she in turn will shine, will be boasted of.

We often focus on the favor and beauty part of this verse, the part that we're not supposed to be focusing on. Don't wear too much makeup. Don't spend too much time in front of the mirror. Don't spend so much money on your appearance. Don't. Don't. Don't.

If you focus on what you're not supposed to be focusing on, aren't you focusing on the wrong thing?

So where should our emphasis be? Fearing the Lord. The acceptance that you receive from others because of your beauty isn't real. The beauty that you do possess is gone like a breath of the mouth. Why focus on things that are so...meaningless and quickly gone. The focus is on what you should do; not on what you shouldn't do. Focus on completely committing yourself to an unrelenting love and fear of God. A woman who is sold out for God, who holds Him above everything else in her life, she shall be praised.

Missing God

Have you ever really missed someone? It's really not been that long since you've talked to him. Just a few days. You just wish you could see him again. It feels like it's been forever, but it's only been a week! You just want to sit down and talk to him face to face.

We value our relationships with other people so, so much.

But have you ever just missed God?

It hasn't really been that long since you've talked to Him. Just a few days. You wish you could see Him again. It feels like it's been forever, but it's only been a week! You just want to sit down and talk to Him face to face.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

I just love this verse because it tells me that I don't have to go around missing God. He says that He is there, and when I search for Him, I will find Him. I can find Him in His Word. I can find Him in prayer. I can find His hand in all kinds of little ways throughout my day.

You know, we may not be able to sit across from the coffee table with God face to face right now. But He did let us know that He is right there for us all the time. And one day, hopefully soon, we will be able to talk to God face to face. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will get to be with Him every day for...well, forever. You won't ever miss Him again.

Lethal Christian Living

I'd like to introduce you to a man named Phinehas, Aaron's grandson. This man has quite the interesting story. It's fascinating, actually. Being familiar with Old Testament stories, this isn't necessarily one of those that you heard in Sunday School growing up, but I think it is so very important, and we can apply it very practically in our lives. You can find this story in Number 25. Please take some time to read it for yourself. Here is my summary:

Israel was in a mess. Many had turned to worship other gods, specifically the gods of Moab. Men were marrying the daughters of Moab and allowing them to bring these gods into their households; before long, these gods were worshiped instead of and along with the One True God. God was so displeased, so angry that He commanded all that worshiped Baalpeor (Moabite god) to be killed. He sent a plague on Israel.

After this event, an Israelite man still had the audacity to bring a Moabite with him into the camp before those who were weeping; he walked in front of "Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel" (v. 6). He took this woman to the tent. And one man, Phinehas, stood up for God. The Bible describes a gruesome scene (probably why it isn't told often in Sunday School). Phinehas goes after the man and the woman with his javelin and kills them.

The result: "the plague was stayed" (v. 8). Why? Because "he was zealous for My sake" (v. 11).

Phinehas had to take an extreme stand for God. A deadly stand for God. He swiftly and soundly cut off the problem. He gave no excuses. He gave no explanation. He stopped the problem. He loved God enough that He would not allow His name to be dishonored.

How many of us have a sin problem in our lives that needs to be drastically killed? How many times have we dishonored God in front of others with obvious problems in our lives? Our life needs to be filled with lethal Christian living. I think that we could all admit that there are some things in our life that just need to go. If we would only have the courage of Phinehas to cut off the sin in our lives, think about how much God could be glorified.

So, what needs to go? I'm not going to give any specifics; you probably already know. It's funny how God points out exactly what we need to fix. Take courage. Ask God for His strength to help you get rid of sin and choose right.

Being Real

A little taste of spiritual heaven on earth.

This is the phrase that I use to describe the place where I get to serve this summer. The Wilds is a Christian camp where I'm counseling elementary age and teenage girls this summer. After a week of staff training, you would think that I would be completely prepared, right? Well, I don't know. There are going to be situations where I need help this summer, and I definitely need God with me each step of the way. But there are a couple of things that stand out to me from this week. One is that I have to be real. 

We listened to a session about the kind of Christianity that young people are witnessing. The speaker made these three points: teens are witnessing a lifeless, loveless, and legalistic Christianity. 

When I first went to the Wilds as a camper, one of the biggest things I noticed was that these people were real. They really do love God, they really do love me, and they really have fun doing both of these. A ministry at the Wilds is all about serving God and serving others. It's doing what's right even though it's hard. It's loving even when someone is very difficult to love. It's completely surrendering to God's Word and doing what He says. 

As a counselor this summer, I know that I have to be real. Teenagers can spot a phony so fast! I have to have genuine love for God and those around me. But this application isn't just for camp. God calls us to love and obey Him no matter where you are! What difference would it make if others looked at your life and said, "What you see is what you get. He is really trying to please God with his life." 

Would others say that your talk about God matches your walk with God? I hope so! Be real today!

No Devos, No Facebook

Consistency is one of the hardest challenges of the Christian life. Hypocrisy is something that many outside the church complain about. This is exactly why they don't want what we have. Our mouths say one thing, but our lives say another. We may not drink, smoke, or be caught up in some major sin, but what about all the little every day things, the things that people around us really notice?

Probably one of the most over-looked areas that Christians struggle with inconsistency is in their devotional life. It's easy when you have a routine. Wake up, do your devotions, get ready, eat breakfast, brush teeth, go to work, etc. But what happens when the routine changes? For me, I've been at school the last several months, and it was so easy to get into a routine! I had it all figured out, and I was able to spend time in God's Word and prayer. Now that I'm home, I have to develop a new routine. One that will keep my devotions in check. So, I decided to sit down and figure out how to do this.

Here is where you come in. I once was challenged to a “No Devos, No Breakfast” challenge. That didn't have much effect on me because at school I don't really eat breakfast (I know, not good). Needless to say, it didn't work very well, so I decided to change it to something that will affect me. For the next two weeks, I want to challenge you to with the “Consistency Challenge.” I have decided that for the next fourteen days I will take on the motto “No Devos, No Facebook.” If I don't have my devotions, I don't have Facebook that day. It may be something else that will work for you, Google+, Pinterest, or maybe your favorite TV show or hobby. I really think that if you accept the challenge with me, you and I will see God work in great ways! You'll see that the more you get to know God, the more you love Him. We often underestimate how amazing He really is.

Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” God wants us to seek Him. He wants to spend time with you! Let's not pass up the privilege we have to spend just a few minutes every day getting to know our Savior.

Are you up for the challenge?