Chapter 6 Part 9

“And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither
did there remain anymore courage in anyone because of you,
for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and
on the earth beneath. Now therefore I beg you, swear to
me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness
that you also show kindness to my fathers house, and give
me a true token, and spare my father, my mother,
my brothers, my sisters, and all that
they have, and deliver our lives from death.”
Joshua 2:11-13

Notice how she recognized who God was and what He was capable of doing for not only her, but also her family. She had determined that God was God and that He had the power to do what He said He would do. Now remember this woman had been serving pagan gods her whole life, yet when presented with the evidence she knew the truth by faith. And of course she was saved along with everyone in her family. Though the whole city crumbled around them they were kept safe. Likewise for us though our whole society or our whole world is crumbling under the weight of sin, we must stand in our faith. We should stand not in who we are, but in who God is. The world may say it is ok to fornicate, to continue in sinfulness and that God does not care. That the only thing that matters is our own personal wants and desires. Rahab was willing to risk death for God. What are you willing to risk for God? Are you willing to set aside your selfish sexual pleasures for God, for your family, and for yourself? Just as with Rahab the thing we do not realize is that yes her eternal life was saved, but also her earthly life got better. She got saved and stopped being a harlot, she was able to join God’s people. Sin destroys our spiritual lives, but also our physical lives become more burdensome. How much more difficult is the life of an addicted person to the life of someone who is not? We should stop looking at spirituality as some pie in the sky when we die. It is for our earthly lives as well. The Bible says, “if we follow God’s commands our lives will be better today.[1] It will not only be better for us, but also our children and our children’s children. That it will be good for us as a people, as a nation.[2]

Remember the world is at odds with those that love God and attempt to follow Him. The world always has been and always will come against those who choose to follow God. We are not of this world, just as our Lord was not of this world.[3] Why do we continue to follow in the ways of the world? The world hated our Savior, but you think it will love you? If the world loves you that can only mean you are of the world, because the world loves its own. We continue to put our children in situations that are dangerous for them. Today, it is not uncommon to see gangs of children walking the streets late at night. Where are their parents I often think to myself? It never fails when one of these children comes up missing or dead the parent will say how much they loved that child and maybe they did but not enough to protect that child. This is not to say that there are not predators that will prey on children no matter how vigilant the parent, however we should not make it easy for our children to be prey. I know this is tough to take, but we should stop giving these parents free passes for not protecting their children better. You have mothers who not only know their sons are selling drugs, but they are either his best customer, dealer, or sharing in the proceeds. When these sons are killed by the street violence, these mothers are heart broken. Did these mothers love their sons? I am sure they did, but they allowed their own selfish desires to come before that child’s welfare. These decisions are based on a lifetime of other bad decisions. It is similar to when they allow their fornication to place their child at risk, especially their daughters. We have women in this society that have men in their homes who are sexually abusing their own daughters and refuse to acknowledge it. They will blame the daughter or profess disbelief in the daughter just to allow this pervert to stay in their homes. Your children are at risk because you have these men who you know little or nothing about around your children. You have no idea if they are pedophiles are what! All you know is that he says he “likes me and keeps me from being lonely. You put your children also at risk by showing them a lifestyle that is not only sinful, but dangerous.

We look up to these “celebrities” who are just as guilty of fornication for direction in life. We look to the world to speak out against the ways of the world. These people are no different than you are I, they were just willing to do what it took to be a “celebrity” Some of their souls have already been bought and paid for by their actions and decisions. If you are not following God you are following the world no matter who you are. No matter how much money or celebrity status you may have. God has no respect of person; sin is sin to Him. We take advice from people who are not following the Word of God, but their own moral compass. If that were sufficient we would have had no need for the redemptive work of Christ. God is our moral director through His Word. If you are getting advice that goes against the Word of God, it is not from God. God will never go against His own Word. This advice is of the world and may sound logical, but it will come to ruin.

Finally, there is the troubling trend of some parents to have their children picked up on Sunday or during the week by churches they have never been to themselves. While most of these churches are trying to do God’s work, there are some that may not be. We are reading daily about this church or that denomination having scandals. Even if the church is reputable, you have no idea what they are teaching your children. In addition, you are teaching your children that this is not important enough for you to attend. The lesson from this is that it is only important for children to attend when you become an adult you don’t need this church thing. How much do we love our children? Do we love them enough to put them first for a change? Mothers love and protect your children for this is the will of God for you.

“She opens her mouth with wisdom. And her tongue is
the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her
household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and Call her blessed.”
Proverbs 31:26-28

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[1] Deuteronomy 5:29

[2] Deuteronomy 28:1

[3] John 17:16

Chapter 6 Part 5

Again, how can we expect the world to do what we refuse to do? The people who create television, movies, and records don’t care about our children. To them they are just consumers, someone to be bought and sold. If we as parents are spending more time in seeking material success in the world than we are in teaching our children, then we are failing them. They may have the latest fashions or electronic gadgets, but what good will these things be in hell? What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul in the process?[1] No one said being a parent was going to be easy. We should stop following the instructions of the “academic community” concerning raising our children. It is time to stop being the friends of our children and return to being their parents. Sometimes being a parent requires saying no, not because we hate our children but because we love them. Parenting requires time and effort. Many parents today want to give their responsibilities to the school, the media, anybody but themselves. Many parents allow their children to spend hours at public places (malls, etc.) unsupervised and when the predators that now frequent these places violate them they seem shocked. Where was the security, the police, or somebody? The true question should be where were you? We as a society allow this to go unchecked too often. We allow parents to shirk their duty to protect their children, because not to do so would require us to look at our own behavior.

“Do not let your adornment be merely outward-arranging the hair,
wearing gold or putting on fine apparel-rather let it be the hidden
person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and
quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”
1 Peter 3:3,4

So where does true beauty come from? It comes from the inner beauty of the spirit. A woman will be known and judged by her character. I know this is not what the glamour magazines say, but it is what God is saying. The television and the “so called” celebrities say it is all about what you look like and what you wear. By the way have you ever considered who these celebrities really are, they are for the most part sell-outs to the world. Many of them for the right price would endorse asbestos underwear in hell. Just because you have fallen does not mean you have to stay down or that you must continue to make the same mistakes. Modest apparel is the hallmark of a chaste woman.

“In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest
apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or
gold or pearls or costly clothing but, which is proper for women
professing godliness, with good works.”
1 Timothy 2:9

I cannot say how many women I have seen in church, in church mind you, wearing the prostitutes uniform. Yet they profess to have godliness. They are in church on Sunday true enough and out all night at the club on Saturday. How can you find a godly man at the den of the devil? Rather than staying at home and praying for God to bring you a godly man, you come up with your own plan. God takes too long, He is working fast enough. When has your plan ever worked? And then you expect God to bless this mess that you have created and tossed at His feet. See many of you do not really want a godly man, you may claim this is what you want, but you keep choosing the slick talkers and fancy dressers that are going to impress your girlfriends and let them think that you are all that. In our scripture, it talks about women being in modest apparel; when you begin to cover yourselves, the world treats you with more respect. It shows that you have respect for yourselves. Will there still be sick people that will continue to harass you, of course but I guarantee the number will decrease dramatically when you change your attire. The scripture speaks of how a person is known by the “uniform” that they wear, if you appear gaudy and all made-up the world will perceive you to be a easy woman. Those who profess godliness should be exhibiting it in their lives by their dress, their actions, and their speech. You should not have to tell anyone you are a Christian woman they should be able to tell when you walk into a room, by your speech, your dress, and your actions.

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[1] Mark 8:36