From the Lord to Us to Caleb.

There is a hierarchy of obedience in the Bible.

• God is at the top. 
• He gives commands to His children. 
• Believing parents must obey them. 
• Those same parents, in turn, give commands to their children.
• Their children, in turn, must obey them. 

All these commands are given in love and filled with grace. Both God and parents know their children will not always be obedient and must always go to the Savior for grace.

"...the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..."
(Paul, Romans 3:22-24 ESV)

(Also, since God reigns at the top, both parents and children are responsible for obeying Him above anyone else.)

All this said, I'm quite the hypocrite.

I do not obey God, and then I become angry when He disciplines me. At the same time, I do not hesitate to expect obedience from Caleb and discipline Him when he is disobedient.

Becoming a mom has revealed so much about myself. Mostly, I've seen the great deal of sin in my heart and my own great need of a Savior. (Both of which are incredibly humbling but so, so good.)

No matter what Mormons or Muslims or moral atheists say, we can't ever be good enough. We may be squeaky clean on the outside, being good and polite and nice, but our hearts are always stained with the dirt and grime of sin.

“Woe to you...hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
(Jesus, Matthew 23:27-28 ESV)

Is there any hope? For parents? Children? Any of us?

"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! ...There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
(Paul, Romans 7:24-8:2 ESV)

The End of the World As We Know It?

And yes. I feel fine.

Perhaps I should write great and profound theological truths that contradict the conviction that today's the Rapture. In stead, I'll post an R.E.M. video, because this song is in my head.

Enjoy!

P.S. If today is the Rapture, then this is my last post. 

Read This Before You Die No. Seriously. Read that before you die.

and I've heard it a hundred times.

I've read this story. I've heard it pulled apart in sermons. I've been saddened by it before, but today this account just broke my heart.
  
...And a great crowd followed [Jesus] and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”


And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’”


And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
(Mark 5:24b-34 ESV, paragraph separation mine)

A Non-Mommyhood Post

Two things:
1. I just figured out how to manage my comments, so I just saw that I had 6. I didn't realize anyone read my blog, much less wrote anything on it. Woohoo!

2. I didn't realize how huge of a deal it is that I'm even a Christian. God picked the Jewish people to be a light for the rest of the world. However, only when Jesus came and shook things up, was God's heart for the rest of the nations revealed.

Gentiles are non-Jews. I'm not a Jew; therefore, I'm a Gentile. However, the Bible says this...

"When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel."
(Ephesians 3:4-6 ESV)


Another "Woohoo!"

These words make my heart happy...

so I'm going to post them here for you.


"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.


But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.


For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

(Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV, paragraph division mine)

The lyrics are weighty, but the music completes the song.

Embracing Accusation Father of lies, coming to steal kill and destroy All my hopes of being good enough I hear him saying, “Cursed are the ones who can’t abide” He’s right, hallelujah, he’s right  The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed That I am cursed and gone astray I cannot gain salvation Embracing accusation Could the father of lies be telling the truth of God to me tonight? That if the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine I hear him saying, “Cursed are the ones who can’t abide” The devil’s singing over me an age old song That I am cursed and gone astray Singing the first verse so conveniently over me He’s forgotten the refrain. JESUS SAVES! by Shane Barnard