Little Things

"This song is dedicated to every kid who got picked last in gym class...to every kid who never had a date to no school dance...to everyone who's ever been called a freak. THIS IS FOR YOU!"

This is the opening to a song by Good Charlotte that was very popular when I was a teenager. It really hit home with a lot of kids because how many of us felt this way? Like a reject or a loser? I know I sure did. That song came back to me this evening and I thought about the intro and how that can apply to us as Christians too. Christ calls out to all of us who have ever felt like trash, those of us who aren't anything special and don't know where to turn with all of the pain and ugliness that comes at us in the world. I think of Him on the cross with His arms outstretched, in agony and pain, and He could be looking right at me, saying, "THIS IS FOR YOU!!" Because it truly was. So instead of continuing in that self-pity and feeling like a loser and a reject, let's look at what words of truth Christ left with us.

Eph 2:19-22 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

1Pe 2:9-10 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

1Pe 2:24-25 Who his own self (the SON OF GOD!) bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

So, to any of you out there who were picked last in gym class; to those of you who never had a date; to those of you who were ever called a freak, or ugly or stupid or worthless...THIS IS FOR YOU, so listen up!

1. God made you and He doesn't make mistakes. "marvellous are thy works"

2. God thought that your worth was so much that he sacrificed his only Son, king of the whole world, so that you might have eternal life with Him. "By whose stripes ye were healed"

3. God has chosed you to take on His name and show His glory to the world. "ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood..."

4. AND God has made you part of an eternal family built on faith "ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints"

That is the truth of what Christ has done for you and for me!

The "Good Girl" Syndrome

As most of you are probably aware, I am somewhat of a nerd and I really love words. The definition for stagnant is very interesting to me. In Merriam Webster's Dictionary, there are three:

1. not flowing in a current or stream

2. stale

3. not advancing or developing

From this definition, it would seem logical to deduce that if we are not advancing or developing, then we are equal to the nasty, filth-infested water that we sometimes see in an old cow pond or other similar source where there is no "current or stream".



James 4:17

"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."



We all know the parable of the talents and the fate of the one talent man who buried his talent in the dirt to return to his master in the same condition he received it. This was not pleasing to the master. Now this servant didn't do anything BAD with the talent; he didn't steal it or use it for evil enterprises. He simply did nothing. And that was sin.



If I want to please God, therefore, I cannot simply be a "good girl" by the standards of the world. Keep myself away from the bad guys and live in my little bubble of goodness. James has some more wisdom for us in 1:27, when he says that yes, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this.....to keep himself unspotted from the world." Oh but BEFORE that phrase about being unspotted is "to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction". My job as a Christian is not simply to refrain from doing bad things. It is also, to DO GOOD THINGS, to be like that current that continues to advance and develop, so that God might be praised and the gospel might be furthered. Today the world tries to tell us that we need to do what feels good and natural, and not to push ourselves in ways that make us uncomfortable. This is not what God says!



Philippians 3:13-14

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

"The Vocation Wherewith Ye Are Called"

We have all probably read the first two verses of Ephesians 4 many times. It is something that has been on my mind a lot lately, so I thought that I would share some of my studies on what my vocation is.

Ephesians 4:1-2
"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love"

It is apparent how we are to walk in our "vocations": worthily, humbly, meekly, patiently, lovingly. But WHAT IS MY VOCATION? There are so many opinions out there in the world coming at us from all sides as young people, telling us who we need to be in order to matter in the world, and what sort of vocation (aka paying job) we should pursue in order to be "successful". So, what is the truth? What does God say about a Christian's vocation?

First, I want to take a step backwards and look at the meaning of the word. According to the Greek definition in Strongs (#2821:klesis), vocation means "calling, station in life". Vines Dictionary expands this a little further to state, "to be called by a name or to bear a name. Thus it suggests either vocation or destination". If our vocation is our calling from God and also the name that we bear, this indicates to me that our true "vocation" has very little to do with how we earn our living and everything to do with how we wear the name of Christian. Do we walk worthy of that name?

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."

If we choose to walk in the vocation that God has chosen for us instead of the one the world would choose, there will be so many times that people will try to make us feel foolish, weak, base and despised. But good news: that's the type of person God usually calls, so that means we're probably on the right track! There is no reason to be ashamed of this, but remember that, like Paul, we must "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14). There is NO higher calling than that of a servant of Christ!

I know you've already read a lot about contentment on our blog here, but I think it's interesting to note another verse that addresses our calling in Christ and how we shouldn't be envious of another's calling or resent our station in life.

1 Corinthians 7:17
"But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches."

We are all given certain gifts and talents from God that are to be used to glorify Him through our lives. Even if you feel as if you do not have anything special to offer, look at these verses! "God hath distributed to EVERY man"...."God hath chosen the weak things of the world". It doesn't matter if we amount to anything in the world's eyes, because God does not look at us like man does. He's not impressed with how much money is in our bank account, what kind of car we drive or how powerful of a crowd we hang out with, what matters to Him is that we walk worthy of our TRUE vocation and bring Him glory by being the true definition of a Christian: Christ-like.

Covetousness vs. Contentment

I have been thinking a lot about covetousness lately and the sneaky way it can creep into our lives without our realizing it. We recently heard a lesson at Highway on "Our Conversation", and this verse really jumped out at me:

Hebrews 13:5

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

It's amazing how often I catch myself being guilty of covetousness, and for years I didn't even realize that it was a problem for me! I thought that covetousness was being envious of other people's things and having a hateful, jealous attitude. But when I took a closer look at the Word, I noticed that right after the admonition to be without covetousness is the added command to be content with such things as I have. Uh-oh. How often have I been guilty of complaining about my job, my apartment, my clothes, my bank account. I thought it was ok because I wasn't begrudging anybody else's possessions; I just wanted a few nicer things of my own. But a truly focused Christian is content with the things that they have. Why? Because God has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us, and ultimately, that is all any of us really need.

The Greek word in Hebrews 13:5 is aphilargyros and is defined in Strong's concordance as "not loving money, not greedy". We also know from 1 Timothy 6:10 that "the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

So, if my way of life is supposed to be without love of money and not greedy, then how can I justify a lifestyle of buying new clothes for every season, having 14 pairs of shoes in my closet, and planning a future around career goals instead of spiritual goals? Can I look myself straight on in the mirror and honestly say that my lifestyle is without greediness?

Pitfalls

What are some pitfalls that we face as single women that distract us from serving God?

1. Idolizing marriage and focusing on snagging a husband rather than serving the Lord.
"If your focus is on getting married, if that is your ultimate goal and priority and it doesn't happen, then it is very hard to avoid bitterness and unhappiness and despair even. But if your focus is on glorifying God and building up His church and seeing the gospel advanced-and those are big phrases, and they are big concepts, and they're hard to break down. But on a day to day basis, the Lord brings people across your path who need to be encouraged and served and loved. When your focus is there, then the desire for being married is diminished just a little bit because you're finding fulfillment in God's purpose and these other relationships.

So by seeking to give your life away to glorify God and benefit others, it does make it easier to live with a hope deferred. I'm not saying that you'll ever get to that point of saying, "I don't want to be married."



2. Looking at men in the wrong way. (i.e. always as a potential husband rather than a brother in Christ.)

"Never picture yourself under any circumstances under which you are not." (aka DATING IN YOUR MIND!!! - We've all done it!)

Philippians 4:8 "Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virture and if there be any praise, think on these things."


3. Focusing so much on finding a potential husband that we fail to form other valuable relationships and reach out to our fellow Christians.

The Virtuous Woman- All the Days of Her Life

1 Peter 3:3-4
"Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel: But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."

Proverbs 31:10
"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."

As we see from the passages above, God has a very high calling for women to walk in a godly and virtuous way. It is also clear from these readings that it is difficult to find this kind of woman. These are habits that will take a lifetime to perfect, so let's be diligent to begin now on the journey to become the kind of woman who is of great price in the sight of God!

One thing that we've discussed in some of our previous blogs, as well as in our study at the camp meeting, is how it is mentioned in Proverbs 31 that this woman will do her husband good "all the days of her life." This just emphasizes the point that a true virtuous woman is a woman who strives to serve God and please Him all throughout her life. We shouldn't wait to think of becoming a virtuous woman until we become a wife, we should strive for a life of virtue right away! Solomon shares with us in this chapter that these are things he was taught by his mother. So this is the description of womanhood that she wished to imprint on his young mind as he searched for a wife to help him. Doesn't it make sense then, that in order to find the right kind of Christian man, we should first BE the kind of virtuous woman that would attract his attention? Don't wait to be the kind of woman you should be until you have a man to please; be a virtuous woman NOW for the glory of God. He knows what we need and He will ensure that everything else will fall into place as it should!

Matthew 6:33
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteouness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

The Gift of Singleness

Okay, we have already taken a look at some of the negative attitudes that we can have towards being single and we recognize that we should adjust our attitudes and use this time of singleness to glorify God. One way to start down that path is to accept that being single is a gift and believe it or not, there are actually some ADVANTAGES to being single! Let's start by looking at 1 Corinthians 7:34-35:

"There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your own profit; that that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction."

You see, we are actually very blessed to have this period in life in which we aren't tied down in so many ways. We aren't torn in several directions by our obligations to our husbands, our kids, etc, etc. When we are young and single adults, for a brief time we live only for God. Talk about an opportunity to maximize your service!

Psalm 62:5
"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him."

When we have time alone, we learn that God is the one who is always there and truly the one rock in our life that we can always depend on. We are never promised tomorrow and the people we love could be gone at any moment, but God is forever. When you are single, you have the freedom and time to spend alone with God and grow closer to him through prayer and study. I would encourage all of you young ladies out there to think of this time of singleness as a wonderful chance to grow in your closeness to God and to focus on Him instead of on pleasing men. Yes, there will be times of loneliness and yes, your heart will still long for that close relationship with a man. But it will be worth it to have the best kind of love there is; the love between our Creator and us. Cherish the time that you have rather than focusing on the things that you do not have! When we do this, we will open our lives up to joy and fruitfulness for God.

Isaiah 12:2-3
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."

2 Peter 1:5-9
"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

There is plenty of work out there for us to do, whatever stage of life we are in, and if we apply ourselves to serving God, then we will find that our life is one of abundance and grace.