Author: teachwhatisgood

Matthew 11:28-30
“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.”

Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

God is a constant being of apparent contradictions. He is both full of mercy and judgment. He is both all-powerful and humble. He is both invisible and everywhere.

The Christian life, as well, is full of these same apparent contradictions. We are to both work for the Lord with all our hearts and to wait patiently upon Him.

But as I see it, this is where the greatness of God leaps out at us. As we humble ourselves, as we cast all our cares on Him, as we take His yoke upon us, this is where we find rest for our souls. This is where we are still and know that He is God and that we are not.

Sisters, my right elbow/arm/hand is really acting up and I am trying to figure out how I am going to be able to “keep at it.” How am I supposed to keep typing, writing, driving, cooking, phone talking, cleaning, and disciplining with only my left arm?

And this is where God grabs me. This is where the rubber meets the road. Is He sufficient? Is His strength made perfect in my weakness? Will I be still and know that He is God? Will I be thankful for two working legs and a working left arm?

This is where the choice is made. I have to choose to take up His yoke, to cast my cares on Him, to humble myself, to make my requests known to Him.

Lord, thank You that You are the giver of rest and peace and life to the fullest. In my weakness is your strength made perfect. As I humble myself, I am exalted. Magnify Yourself in me. Father, I pray You would use this time of weakness to show Yourself mighty, both to me and to the world who is watching. Whether this is displayed in healing me in an amazing way or in blessing me with a gentle and humble spirit, please Lord work in me to exalt Yourself. Sustain me and my family by Your grace and love. Amen.

This weekend I was telling a friend how black and white I see life … And yet I somehow also see life as a series of ideals. This just didn’t make any sense to me. How could I have it both ways???

For example, I truly believe that homeschooling is the best way to train up our children. Black and white.

And yet, I also know that not everyone is able to homeschool for one reason or another and I know without a doubt that God can work good in even the worst of situations. I remember how hard it was for me when my son went to our local public school for part of his 2nd and 3rd grade years. Yet, I am firmly convinced that God used that time for each of our good.

I am loving my Scripture Typer memory verse app. One of the passages I am working on is this:
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20

In this passage, I see that black and white. That life vs death. That blessing vs curse.

Yet I also see that series of ideals – that loving the Lord, that obedience to His voice, that holding fast to Him.

I can already hear some of you screaming, “What??? That’s still black and white!”

And yes, that is still black and white. We are each either in obedience or disobedience. We are each either loving Him or not loving Him. But I have learned that each of us in our daily lives are being called to a different ministry, a different deed.

Noah was called to build an ark and he obeyed. Abraham was called to leave Haran and strike out on his own, to go where God told him. David was not called to build the temple, but his son, Solomon, was.

We each are called to walk in the obedience of faith. Each of us have life and death, blessing and curse, laid before us. All of us are commanded to love God, to obey His voice and hold fast to Him and yet that may look different from the outside for each and every one of us. All of us are commanded to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourself. This is black and white. Yet how that is lived out will look different for each of us.

So, I tell you, as your sister in the Lord, CHOOSE LIFE! Make the tough choices. Obey His voice for He is good. Hold fast to Him. He is your life and length of days. I desire to see you in the land of the living. I desire to walk alongside you as each of obey the Lord’s call.

Don’t all of us want to please God? I think even when I didn’t believe God existed, I would have wanted to please Him if He did. (Does that even make any sense?)

God has placed in us an inborn desire to please Him.

And yet, in our natural state, I find that we want to please Him by following some kind of list, by checking all the boxes, by doing all the right things and making ourselves acceptable to Him. This is rooted in PRIDE, sisters, and God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. No wonder He desires us to come to Him as little children.

Here is how God says you please Him — by FAITH, by BELIEVING that He exists and BELIEVING that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). But that is too simple for us. No. That is too extraordinary for us. That is too humbling for us.

Today I found myself diving into Galatians 3. I would encourage you to read the whole chapter – or several chapters – or the whole book today. (It would be profitable for each of us to make reading the book of Romans from beginning to end a regular part of our Bible reading time. But I find that Galatians is in many ways a condensed version of Romans, especially Galatians 3-5.)

I can’t get over Galatians 3:3 “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

When my old self died and I was born anew, this was a miraculous act of the Spirit. There was nothing I could DO to make myself righteous before God. Nothing. No single act or series of acts could cleanse me of a lifetime of sin. God gave me a new heart as I came to Him humbly and asked Him for it.

And yet, I find in myself, that now I somehow think that I can be “good enough,” that I CAN earn it.

O foolish Kim! Who has bewitched me? Having begun in the Spirit, am I now being perfected in the flesh? Does He who supplied the Spirit to me and who works miracles before my very eyes do so by works of the law???? Or by hearing with faith???

Please join me, sisters, in walking by the obedience of faith, submitting our lives to Him and His calling on us, not trying to earn salvation as our wages, but believing in Him who justifies the ungodly. (See my former posts related to Romans 4:4-5 on Wages Due)

Thank you, Lord, that You use all the junk and trials and pain and grief in our lives. Thank you for giving us beauty for ashes, that you work all things together for GOOD for those who LOVE you who have been called according to Your purpose.

Today I had the amazing experience of sharing at the Shine Women’s Conference in St. Charles, MO. I stand in awe at how the Lord uses a broken vessel like me to share stories of my own pain and His goodness in a way that I pray blesses those who hear.

I hope that the audio recording worked and that I will be able to post that for others to hear. I’ll keep you posted.

As I shared today – God is indeed REAL and He is indeed at work all around us.

May we have eyes to see Him, ears to hear Him, minds to understand Him and mouths to tell of Him. May we be His WITNESSES here on earth and proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of the darkness and into the glorious light. May we SHINE brightly, cities on a hill, pointing others to the grace and mercy found only at the foot of the cross.

No amount of work.
No amount of scrubbing.
No amount of sweat and effort on my part.
I can’t clean myself.
There is a way. Jesus has made a way. He, Himself, made the way by His own blood.

NOTHING BY THE BLOOD
What can wash away my sin
What can make me whole again
For my pardon this I see
For my cleansing this my plea

Oh, precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow
No other fount I know
Nothing, nothing, nothing but the blood of Jesus

Nothing can for sin atone
Not of good that I have done
This is all my hope and peace
This is all my righteousness

Oh, precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow
And no other fount I know
Nothing, nothing, nothing but the blood of Jesus
Nothing, nothing, nothing but the blood of Jesus

Now by this I’ll overcome
Now by this I’ll reach my home
Glory, glory, this I see
All my praise for this I bring
All my praise for this I bring
All my praise for this I bring

Oh, precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow
No other fount I know
Nothing, nothing, nothing but the blood of Jesus
Nothing, nothing, nothing but the blood of Jesus

As we looked at yesterday, the wise woman builds her house, but the foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

The word translated “builds” in Hebrew is banah. This is the same word used in Psalm 127.

1 A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds (banah) the house, those who build (banah) it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. [Psa 127:1-5 ESV]

It is the LORD I want to build my house. If it’s me doing the work, then it is in vain. I am laboring in vain if I’m trying to build my own house.

The children in my house are a GIFT of the Lord. They are a reward. They are my inheritance. I am blessed by God when my house is full of them. They are a blessing. A gift. I cannot make myself have them. I have to receive them because they are from Him. If I work, strive, labor, connive to get them, I am laboring in vain.

If I am being anxious, toiling over my house, I am missing it. It is the Lord who is building my house, though YES, He is using me to do it. I work faithfully, by faith, through faith, to serve the Lord and the call He has laid on me and the blessings He has placed under my care.

Thank you, Father, for each of the children You have blessed me with. Thank You.

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him (God) for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”

On October 13, I am going to be sharing my testimony and speaking on this verse at the Shine Ministries conference in St Louis. I am so excited.

In preparation, I have really been studying each word and that word REWARDS just keeps jumping out at me. I keep thinking, “So, if the wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23), if to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due (Romans 4:4), then how does this all fit together? How am I to be rewarded if I really deserve death?”

The way I see it is this – the adoption piece is what’s missing. Our adoption in as sons and daughters is a gift. Our faith is a gift. Becoming children of the very real God, that’s a gift.

And yet, after becoming His children, He rewards us.

There are several Greek words that are translated as ‘reward’ but let’s focus on “misthos“.

This word is used in 1 Corinthians 3:14 “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward (misthos).”

Or how about Matthew 10:42, “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward (misthos).”

And Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward (misthos) is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

One last one, 2 John 1:8, “Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward (misthos).”

I pray I haven’t lost you already, but do you see that each of these verses are promising a heavenly reward for the work that we have done on earth? This word misthos is translated as a REWARD.

But get this, look with me again at that amazing verse Romans 4:4, “Now to the one works, his wages (misthos) are not counted as a gift (charis) but as his due.”

Misthos is not only translated as reward, it is also translated as wages. This got me thinking — what really is a reward? Is it a gift?

Suddenly, I understood. A reward is not a gift. A reward is actually something you earn. Something you merit. Something you deserve.

I’ve won my share of awards over the years, and been rewarded with my share of plaques. Whether in debate or art contests or science fairs or school competitions (no sporting events, mind you) but every single time I have earned those prizes. I wasn’t just a spectator in the audience who was chosen at random.

In fact, just last week we went on a tour of the Memphis Metal Museum and I won this cool hook.

But this was my REWARD, my wages earned because the tour guide asked, “What are the three things a blacksmith needs?” And I shot my hand up in the air faster than anyone else and she chose me to answer and I got it right: a hammer, an anvil and a forge. And because of that work, I earned the reward of the very hook we had just watched the blacksmith create.

God is our good father who blesses His children with rewards for our deeds done in this life, in this body, but salvation is not one of those rewards. Salvation is a gift. Charis. Grace. Favor.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace (charis) you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift (doron) of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

I urge you to go grab your Bible right now and read Ephesians 2 in its entirety. You won’t be disappointed!

And if you’d like more on this topic, you might enjoy this article. (Click on that blue word. It’s a link.)

Maybe tomorrow we will dig into this new word, doron. Stay tuned.

TWIG