Enslaving is VERY different than killing

As I read through Judges 1 this morning, the Lord began to blow my mind (as always!). Judges is a book written at a rough phase in Israel’s history. The nation of Israel kept pursuing other gods and abandoning the Lord. He would allow them to be over-taken by another nation, then raise up a judge to redeem them after they repented.


In Judges 1, it describes the nation of Israel overtaking several nations and conquering them as the Lord instructed. However, something subtle changes in the text as we read through it. The soldiers started by driving out all of the inhabitants, or killing them. Then, they slowly transition to allowing the conquered peoples to live among them, then using them as forced labor. This is NOT what the Lord had told them to do! They were supposed to rid the land of all the people in order to cleanse it from idolatry. However, over time, the people began to stop taking the Holiness of God seriously. They allowed the pagan to live among them. They quieted their conscience by using them as forced labor. They probably assumed, “If we rule over them and master them, then they will not have any influence over us. I am still the master.” Over time, we see that the Lord is displeased, and the Israelites are led (once again) into idolatry.



Is it not the same with our sin?



How many times have I fooled myself into believing that I have mastery over my sin nature, only to see it rise up and consume me?

The Lord has commanded us to put sin to death. It is not to be toyed with. It is not a joke, not to be taken lightly. And we certainly can never assume that we are master over it. Look how that mindset destroyed the Israelites!

They assumed that making the pagan nations slaves would prevent them from being influenced. But they were sadly mistaken. Judges tells us that the Lord “gave them over to other nations.” They were conquered, and the hand of the Lord was against them.

Romans 1:24,26,28 tells us a similar story about humanity. The Lord “gave them over” to their sinful desires, allowed them to be consumed by their sin nature. That is a staggering thought. Let that sink in for just a moment: He gave them over to their sinful desires. That makes me quake in fear! God forbid that I be given over to my own desires! How terrifying! There is nothing good in me apart from Christ! Which is why I must be completely “given over” to HIM!

I must drive out every remnant of sin in my life so that it will not have influence over me and lead me astray. I must wage war and put it to death.

"Mother of the Living"

When reading through the book of Genesis, there is a ton of information we can drink in.  Studying Eve in particular reveals a great deal about Biblica womanhood and what women were created for.  One phrase in particular that I want to focus on is when Eve is named.  She is called Eve because she will be called "the mother of the living" (Genesis 3:20).  However, if we look closer at the text, we can see that she is named "Mother of the Living" before she is a mother. We can therefore determine that her name is not only referring to her ability to bear children.  In my opinion, it speaks more to her ability to inspire life.  She should invite life from others.  To be the mother of something means that you have produced something; therefore it isn't a huge leap to say that her name infers that she produces life around her.
So what does that mean, and what does that look like?
First, Jesus is referred to as the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  In order to produce life in others, you must first know true Life, amen?  Proverbs 19:23 tells us that "The fear of the Lord leads to life." For women to call forth life, we must first be hidden in Christ. We must seek to know HIm and make Him known.  We have to be generous in how much we speak of Christ and share Him with others!  Share what He is teaching you, new facets of His character that you are experiencing, and be willing to be open and vulnerable in order to share Christ and impart life to others.
Let's look at a few examples of what that looks like from Scripture:
In the Gospels, we see that Mary Magdelene is one of the first people to see that Jesus's tomb is empty and He has risen from the dead.  However, if you notice in Luke 24, the women RAN to share the good news with others.  Peter ran to the tomb to check it out- then went home marveling.  He didn't go out and share, but the women couldn't contain themselves!  It was through the mouth of a prostitute that the first people heard the Gospel that Jesus Christ had conquered death and sin.  She brought life by bringing Christ.
The Samaratin woman at the well has a similar story.  She had lived in sin for years and been isolated from her community (hence she was coming to get her water from the well in the middle of the afternoon, in the heat of the day- most likely in order to avoid being seen by others). But once she encountered Christ, she left her water at the well and told the whole town about the living water.  In telling others about Him, she had to expose her shame and reveal the things He had told her about herself- but she counted it as worth it in order to bring others to the Christ.
We could go on and on recalling stories of Esther, Ruth, Abigail, Rebekah, but hopefully you can see the point. Christ is the source of life, so to give life, we must point others to Him.
Another way to give life is to be an encourager. We know that Scripture and the Spirit both bring life (2 Corinthians 3:6).  We should heed the warning from James 3 about blessing and cursing coming forth from the same mouth. Use your mouth to bless the Lord and His children; steward your speech in order to bring life.
Ask yourself, are you a part of the problem, or part of the solution? As Christ's ambassadors and representatives, we should be breathing life in to the situation we're a part of, just like how God breathed life in to Adam. He is our ultimate example! We must be aware of our affect on others and seek to strengthen and encourage.
My favority verse to illustrate this point is Song of Songs 2:2- "Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the young maidens."  Awesome imagery!  The stark contrast created between a lily and a thicket of brambles is startling.  That is what we are called to be in the world.  Let's take a moment to look at the science behind the analogy.
All plants are quite self-centered.  They seek only to reproduce and spread thier seeds.  Makes sense, right? Flowers typically do this by attracting bees to thier nectar. As the bee feeds, pollen rubs off on it, allowing it to cross pollenate, which is strengthens the general flower community.  It's seeds can spread because of the flowers beauty, shape, aroma, and availability. It is beneficial to each creature involved in the process.
STARK contrast to the briars.  They seek agricultural success and prowess by stifling all life around them. The thorns prevent anything from coming close enough to wound, they smother out all other life forms in a near proximity, and they make an area uninhabitable. 
We don't want to be brambles!  We want to give life by being invitational, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord, but allowing others to get close enough for us to rub off on them.  We must love enough to be vulnerable to injury. We must be willing to sacrifice ourself to bring life.  Abigail is a great example of this.  Her story in 1 Samuel 25 is a humbling study. Her husband, Nabal, was ignorant and offended King David by refusing to feed his troops.  Abigail hears about this and she rushes to her husbands aid as David and his army come to slaughter him and his entire household. She falls on her face before him and begs for mercy.  She has prepared a meal and ministers to the armies' needs.  And you know what David's immediate response is?  "Bless the Lord!"  She brings life to the situation, and it points him to Christ. She brings both literal and spiritual life!  What a woman!  May we be the type of women who bring life to a situation to the glory of God. May we be women worthy of the title "Mother of the Living."

Jesus the Ultimate Fighter and Forbidden Fruit

In Downline, we're going through Genesis. Mind-blowing doesn't even cover it.  The Lord has provided such a deep well to drink from, which is so refreshing to my broken cisterns. Jesus has been punching me in the throat with Truth after Truth that I have failed to see and experience- He's like an ultimate fighter!  I looked a head at our notes from Abraham's story, and saw something that radically affected me.  A summary sentence said, "Sarai decides to 'help God' and takes charge, and offers her husband the forbidden fruit." 

Throughout the Bible, we see countless women offer up a forbidden fruit: Eve (fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), Sarai (Hagar), Job's wife ("curse God and die!"), Naomi ("Go back to your homeland").  In offering a forbidden fruit, we are imitating Satan and not Jesus.  Hopefully we can all agree- that's bad.

Which led me to think: what is the forbidden fruit that I am offering?  Obviously if these women of Scripture were offering forbidden fruit, then I can't safely assume this is something that I am immune to.  In what ways am I seeking to undermine God, to take care of myself, seek my own gain, my own security, instead of trusting in the Lord?  What are the things I do that could harm another believer, or lead them away from Christ? How do I seek comfort and security instead of sanctification?

Our wickedness and weaknesses are revealed in the smallest decisions.

The first forbidden fruit I thought of was how I dress.  I'm not sure if you all relate to this, but hopefully you can atleast glean and infer an application for your own life from it.

When I get dressed in the morning, do I consider my brothers? My sisters?  The Lord?  Not nearly as much as I should!  Thankfully the Lord has brought a great deal of growth for me in this area, but it is still a battle I can not ignore. I fight for these considerations to become a natural inclination, a daily victory.

However, my natural tendency is to first consider:

Does this make me feel pretty?

Does it make me look pretty? 

Is it flattering?

Comfortable?

Do you see what's wrong here?  I'm seeking my own glory over the glory of God.

 Not only that, but many times in my own vanity, I trust in my beauty and have pride in myself! (Ezekiel 16:14-15).  In this moment, not only am I seeking my own glory over the glory of God, but I am delighting in offering up a forbidden fruit to my brothers.  I am seeking to present them with the opportunity for lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes.  Surely in my pride I would never want to say it like that! Instead I sugar coat it with "I want to feel pretty" instead of "My intention is to lead men in to lust."  And I have been so deceived by the enemy that I still struggle with arguing to defend this!  I don't typically equate "feeling pretty" with approval from men, and I DO want to feel pretty, lovely, and delightful. I don't think that is sinful. But that must come from the Lord, not a silly outfit; not the lust of a man; not the shape of my body. 

Do you see the sin, the forbidden fruit?

In realizing this about myself, I have been quite humbled to say the least. Exposing these motives of my heart exposes the fact that my flesh still delights in sin.  How shameful! And all of this is revealed through a simple process of selecting an outfit. It seems so simple and harmless that I scarcely used to give it a thought. Yet if I can not honor Christ with the smallest choices in my life, then how can I ever expect to honor Him with the big choices?

What are the forbidden fruits in your life?

What are the forbidden fruits that I am putting in front of my brothers and sisters?  How am I inviting others into sin and not into Christ?  How am I inviting others (and myself) to rely on flesh and not on God? 

This could be a simple outfit choice and our motives behind how we dress.  An outfit may be sinful for me, and not for you; it's a matter of the conscience.  How have I been convicted? Do I listen to convictions?

It could be how we speak. Do I invite Godly conversation? Do I only talk about myself? If/when talking about God, is it for His glory, or my own? Is it to praise Him or to use Him for my own selfish motives? Do I invite gossip? Am I humble enough to let the conversation center around someone else?

It could be how I act.  Am I guarding my heart? Do I try to guard my brother's heart? Am I seeking to be a light and an image bearer of Christ?

Am I seeking the good of others?  Do I consistently look for ways to encourage and serve others, or am I chiefly concerned with my own comfort and benefit?  Do I serve consistently or only when it's comfortable or convenient? How often do I serve others? Do I iniate service or wait to be asked? Am I a helper, or a burden?

I pray that we would lay our forbidden fruits at the foot of the Cross and ask for forgiveness. I pray that our forbidden fruit would be replaced with the Fruit of the Spirit. I pray the Lord would expose sinful motives and wretched hearts and fill us with His Spirit.  The forbidden fruit leads to death, but the Spirit of God leads to life.

Get mad!

This morning at church, the pastor taught on the story from Matthew where Jesus flips the temple tables.  Side note- definitely one of my favorite passages about Jesus.  As we read through the passage, I noticed something I never had before.  As we read the story, we can see that after Jesus flips tables and all that jazz, Scripture says the blind and the lame came to Him.  Two main points:

1)   Notice that merely being angry is not sin. In Ephesians, Paul tells the church to be sure that they “do not sin in your anger.”  Consequently, we can infer that merely being angry is not sin.  Obviously, there is qualifications for this statement.

a.     Your anger reveals what you are passionate about.  Don’t get upset over trivial things!  Jesus was angered because the Temple was meant to be a place of worship, not a place of extortion.  Additionally, the area of the Gentiles was meant to be a place of outreach, where the Jews proclaimed the Name of the Lord to those who didn’t know about Him.  Those two purposes were not being met.  We have a duty to have a righteous anger; we also have a duty to control our emotions and learn what stems from sin. 

b.     Do not sin in your anger.  Anger can quickly become consuming.  Just look at the Hulk!  We must have the wisdom to know when to take a step back and calm down. I would say that applies to both righteous and unrighteous anger.  We must exercise the wisdom and discernment to know when we need to take a step back and calm down.  In unrighteous anger, we must surrender it to the Lord and confess our bad attitude and repent. But we must be carefully guarding our actions in the heat of the moment.

2)   Jesus’ anger doesn’t isolate Him; it invites ministry.  The pastor today made an excellent statement today while talking about our attitude toward churches.  To summarize, he essentially stated that instead of complaining about the problems, we should seek to be a part of the solution.   That is precisely what Jesus did! 

He not only redeemed the purpose of the Temple, but He also fulfilled many of the purposes of the Temple.  The blind and lame would not have been allowed in the Temple; but once they saw the Lord redeeming the purpose of the Temple and restoring it to its original place, it drew them in.  They couldn’t resist it.

A key factor we should look for in our anger is to watch its affects.  Are we working passionately for the justice from the Lord and battling against those who would twist and malign His Word?  Or are we seeking out a personal vendetta?  Is our anger resulting in invitation or isolation?  When battling against injustice, it invites the trust from the ones we are defending.  It builds and establishes relationships; it lets them know that you are truly for them.  If you are anger out of vain conceit and selfish reasons, there is nothing restorative about it.  You seek your own advantage and retribution, not the Lord’s glory.  In the end, that will lead to isolation.

We must seek to be like Christ, both in the cause and the affect of our anger.

Wage war, because Jesus loves you, and He is sufficient.

God loves you.

Sounds simple, right?  But how fully do you believe it? How frequently do you live in light of that?

I’m starting to learn how much I fail to grasp this essential truth in my daily life.  And Satan has a field day with it. 

Not only is it of utmost importance for me to understand that God loves me, but I must also be aware of when I am not believing it. I must know when I need to speak Truth to myself.  The enemy is always seeking to steal, kill, and destroy; he is merciless, unceasing, and makes the most of every opportunity for the advancement of sin.

Which is why I need to be on guard.

A good opponent always knows his enemy.  Sports teams spend hours studying film; generals study other armies’ battle strategies.  You must know your enemy to be able to anticipate him.  We must recognize when our enemy is attacking; we must recognize his lies, his schemes, his tactics.  There are several ways to do this, but I am only going to cover a couple today. 

First, we must familiarize ourselves with his previous attacks. The Bible describes several to us, and we have seen his schemes in our own lives. We must study Scripture to learn the enemy’s schemes in order to defeat him. Likewise, we must reflect upon our own sin and stumbling to determine where we gave the enemy a foothold.  Combining these two methods will give us an upper hand in recognizing attack.

Additionally, we must learn to recognize situations that open us up for attack, as well as lies that the enemy tells us.  Then we can recognize when we’re under attack!  Why is this so important?  If we don’t realize we’re under attack, we can’t fight back!  It sounds simple enough, right?  We’ll see.

I was reflecting on this Truth this morning, and the Lord really opened my eyes to battles I don’t even try to fight, areas that I fail to wage war.  One in particular is insecurity.  Girls especially, I’m sure, have all had that moment where we look at someone and think to ourselves, ‘There’s no way I can compete with that.”  Whether it is with someone we like (who likes someone else), applying for a job, a scholarship, admiring someone’s talent- whatever the situation may be, we have all felt vastly inadequate. 

One particular situation that I struggle with is beauty.  I see so many girls walking around who are either naturally beautiful, or they wear scandalous clothing to attract guy’s attention.  On my good days I’m not phased by it; on my bad days, I wallow in self-loathing and self-depredation.  I think to myself, “There is absolutely no way that I can compare to that!”  But that is a lie, straight from the pits of hell and whispered by the devil himself.

So the first step is to acknowledge that it is a lie.  I MUST examine my thoughts to be sure that I am dwelling on Truth like the Bible instructs us to.  Second, I must replace the lies the enemy wants me to believe with the Truth God has revealed to us in His Word.  When I hear the enemy whispering lies that I am inadequate, ugly, and unworthy of affection, I must know the Word of God and use the sword of the Spirit to wage war.  As this thought crept in my mind this morning, I had to rebuke it, and quote 1 Peter 3:1-6.  My beauty is not from outward adornment, but from the presence of God dwelling in me. My redemption and worth is found only in the Cross of Christ- not the lustful look from some man’s eye.  It is shameful the sin that I seek out.  It is shameful that I seek the attention and praise of man at the expense of honoring God.  May I dwell so richly in His Truth that this is no longer an issue.  Until then, I’m just a work in progress waging war on my sin by the power of the Word.

Invitation or Manipulation?

Alright ladies, just a few things on my mind- get ready for some word vomit.

We recently studied Genesis1-6 in Downline.  Crazy stuff. My brain may be exploding a little bit.  As we went through this familiar passage, the Lord laid a few things on my heart that I want to share.  These aren't necessarily new things, but He is faithful to teach AND to remind us of lessons learned, amen?

As we read through the curse, we see that Eve's section explains that women will desire to rule over our husbands, but we must instead submit to them.  Translation: we want to manipulate each and every situation in a way that will surrender power and control to us.  We don't want to be vulnerable; we don't want to be at the mercy of someone else- even if that someone is God, or a Godly husband.  We have within us a desire to manipulate and to seek and maintain control in most (if not all) circumstances.

Second thing God has been bringing to my attention constantly lately is to seek to be a woman who invites masculinity, rather than forces it or castrates it.  Both can be deadly.  Eve was called to be the mother of the living, a nurturer, a care-giver.  She enhances Adam. She is his help-mate, his ezer-kenegdo, a word used to describe the Holy Spirit's role as helper.  That is one essential partner!  As women, we should try to be this to our brothers! Be encouraging, be helpful, aid him in waging war on the enemy.  Obviously this has boundaries for purity sake, but it can take many forms.  Dress modestly!  It is not any kind of secret that men are physical beings- respect their struggles and try to help a brother out!  Don't be a stumbling block.

Here's where things get tricky: Satan will most definitely use the curse and schemes to trick us, to manipulate God's Word, and to lead us in to sin.  Let's look at part of the curse: As a result of sin, men must work much harder to earn a living, and women desire control.  We can see in Genesis 3 that men have a desire to be passive, and women have a tendency toward trust issues AND control issues. Great combo, right ladies?  We tend to believe that God doesn't have our best interest at heart; we can't trust Him to look out for us, or take care of us- so we decide we should take matters in to our own hands. Whether intentional or unintentional, we try to exert control so that we are not left helpless and vulnerable.  At the same time, men want to be free of obligation and responsibility.  Look how quickly the enemy has allowed us to switch roles!  Women want to be independent anyway, so we will just take over for a boy, rather than invite him to step up and be a man!  That is hard on both genders, and here's why:
Women want that control.  We want to manipulate.  Men want to avoid responsibility, so they're content to let us take over and thus fulfill the curse and believe the lies of the enemy.  But it can get even trickier- even in inviting men to step up and lead, we must absolutely resist the urge to manipulate them in to stepping up. This is especially true in a marriage. We must attempt to create an environment/situation that allows the man to initiate, not one that places him in a position where he can't do anything but respond to a situation you've placed him in.  Proverbs 31 says a noble wife does good to her husband all the days of her life. That includes before you meet him, the days he's out of town, the days he isn't meeting your needs, the days he falls in to sin: you are a benefit to him.
Do we live that way with our brothers in Christ? Do we practice that as single women?  Am I a benefit to my community, or a leech?  Do I invite men to grow in to authentic Biblical manhood, pointing them to Christ the ultimate example? Or do I attempt to manipulate them in to performing tricks for me and performing chores?  God can redeem either motive, but I don't want to be the person He has to work in spite of- I want the be the blessed vessel that is marked by Christ, an ambassador of the Lord, a light in the darkness.  I want to encourage men to be men, and women to be women, to the glory of God the Father.  This masculinity and femininity is not based on culture- it is based on the Truth found in the Word of God.

Family War Tactic

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the body of Christ as a family.  As Christians, we are brothers and sisters.  Different aspects of that relationship have been brought to my attention over the past few months (particularly between brothers and sisters), but one of the more recent ones is how we interact, and our intentions behind those interactions. For so long, I simply tried to not be a stumbling block to my brothers in Christ, trying not open opportunities for sin.   However, God recently showed me that I need to get on the offensive side with my brothers and sisters!  I shouldn’t leave them to fight battles on their own.  Those are my brothers and sisters!  I need to be praying for them on a regular basis, helping them fight the sin that lies in us all.  We have to be for one another. Obviously I won’t know a brother’s struggles as much as other guys would, but we must wage war together.  It is one thing for me to not attack them, but I must also be willing to get in the trenches with them and fight on the offensive. Together, we are more effective against the devil’s schemes.

I was reminded of this today while talking with a guy friend.  We were talking about the tensions that can arise when there is a lot of physical proximity between guys and girls.  In Downline, we agreed not to date anyone for the extent of the program, so obviously, this is something we must be aware of and cautious of.  My friend wanted to be sure to set the precedent that if there was ever any type of situation that may potentially open the door for our thoughts to be led astray, we would be comfortable enough with each other to say something and put an end to it.  We must never take sin lightly or treat it like a joke.  We must mortify it with all the strength provided by the Spirit. And we must assist one another in the battle.  I must be guarding my brothers and my sisters, and I need them to guard me. 

It’s similar to the Spartan war tactic. If you’ve ever seen 300, there is a part where the king tells a man that he cannot fight the battle with them, simply because he cannot raise his shield.  He explains that the shield is an integral part of their defense- each man’s shield serves to protect him and the person next to him.  As Christians, we are the same way!  I should be on guard to prevent the devil from gaining a foothold in my life, but also be looking out for my family.  I can’t let my sisters and brothers fall victim to the devils schemes! And it is so important for us to look out for one another because it is usually easier to see a weakness in someone else than it is to admit weakness in our own selves.  It’s so essential to have the type of community where we can be honest with each other (and ourselves) and name sin as sin, then fight it.  Sin has no place among believers, and we must work together to wage war against it in every facet of our lives.

Eve vs. Jesus

Ladies, I didn’t forget you!  I haven’t ever seen a study examining Christ for a picture of true femininity, but let’s take a stab at it anyway.  First though, let me be perfectly clear- Jesus was a manly man.  He is the ultimate example of masculinity. He wasn’t some pansy, metro, effeminate, girly-man. 
But we are all called to imitate Christ, and God is a beautiful mix of masculinity and femininity; we are ALL made in the image of God, MALE and FEMALE.  We both reflect Him. So it stands to reason that He also reflects both masculinity and femininity well, right??

Well, let’s dive right in.  In my last post, I mentioned that Eve failed to trust the Lord to love her well.  Ladies, can I get an “Amen” on this one? I think we all struggle from time to time with trusting that the Lord wants what is best for us.  We seek out our own pleasures and try to find our own security in the fleeting things of this world.  We try to manipulate situations to our advantage instead of trusting the Lord.  That helps explain why Eve took the fruit and ate of it in the garden- she wanted to be like God.  She felt like maybe He was holding something back.  Now let’s compare that to Christ.  Before going to the cross, He pleaded with the Lord to find another way.  And it wasn’t just a fleeting thought- He prayed so hard he was sweating blood!  That has yet to happen in my prayer life, and I’ve been super passionate in some prayers.  Jesus was pleading with the Lord. Yet He went to the cross with out defending Himself; He could have taken Himself off that cross at any point, yet submitted to the will of the Father, trusting that it was worth it, that it would redeem the Bride.  THAT is the type of trust I want to have in God.

Also, Jesus was an amazing example of a humble servant. As Christians, we are slaves to Christ, and therefore humble servants toward others.  Uniquely as women, we were also created with more of an inclination toward this.  Eve was created as a “helpmate” for Adam.  The Hebrew word for this denotes someone who is of the utmost help and assistance to someone.  Eve was created to encourage and help her husband in a uniquely feminine way.  Christ exemplifies this in countless ways; He washes the disciples feet, He defends the sinners and the needy, He heals the sick and meets people where they’re at.  One time He was talking and it was brought to His attention that it was dinnertime. Instead of sending the people home to eat on their own, He provides food- enough to feed 5000 men and their families.  But, if you look at the passage, there were also 12 baskets of food left over.  Not only did He care enough to serve dinner to the people who came to hear His teachings, but He also made sure that His disciples were fed as well.  God takes care of His people! We need to serve well, trusting Him to provide for our needs. 

Additionally, Eve was called the mother of the living, and Christ is called the Living Word.  He came to give life!  Just as Christ gives life to others, as women, we should be giving life as well.  Are you the type of person that is refreshing to be around? Do you give life, or suck the life from others?  As women, we encourage and give life in a different way than men, but we tend to have a pronounced calling toward giving life.  We usually have a maternal instinct, a compassion for others, sympathy, and encourage more frequently.  We are called to be life-givers! Song of Songs refers to it as a “lily among thorns.”  Is that the type of woman you are?  It’s the type of woman we should strive to be.  We need to emanate Christ in a uniquely feminine way.  Follow His example; point others to Him, and give life!  Whether that’s through encouraging words, actions, or any other method you think of- follow the example of Christ. Be intentional, and fulfill the calling He has on women.  KNOW women of the Bible.  You can check out a general study from the blog here.  But ladies, I can’t encourage you enough to know how God has created women, what the Bible describes as Biblical femininity as compared to culture, and what are admirable qualities of a Biblical woman.  If you don’t know the answers to those questions, that leaves the door wide open for the enemy to come in and distort your view of what it means to be a woman.  It is a high and unique calling, one that the Lord has given specifically to women, and one that we should not take lightly.  We are representing Christ as women; so first we must know Him, then know how we reflect His character as women.  Then go hard for the Lord. J

Adam vs. Christ

As I was studying through Romans 5 this morning, something began to strike me.  In this chapter, Paul spends a good portion comparing Adam and Christ.

Through the chapter, Paul points out the distinctions between Adam and Jesus, with the ultimate point being that through Adam we experience death and sin, but the Jesus we receive grace, redemption, and life.  I’ve recently started a program through Downline ministries, and at our last class the speaker, John Bryson, made the statement that boys take, but men give.  Men contribute to a situation, seek the benefit of others, encourage, and pour life in to the situations they are placed in.  Boys take; they do not add benefit, they don’t offer solutions but instead add to the problem.  They seek their own needs above the needs of those around them.  The combination of these two studies led to an interesting comparison as I read through Romans and my commentary this morning.

If you compare the life of Adam and Christ, we can see a wonderful picture of masculinity.  Unfortunately for Adam, we can also see a picture of a man-child, a boy who is masquerading as a man.  Romans explains that we find our racial head in Adam; his sins condemned us all (but let’s be real- even if we were individually responsible for sin nature, we would all still sin.  The verdict is completely fair. We are all guilty.).  However, this works to our advantage!  Because our sin nature was found in Adam, our racial head, we were able to be justified by one man, Jesus Christ.  We don’t have to live a perfectly righteous life in order to receive grace.  We fell in to sin as one unit, and Christ died for us so that His righteousness may be imparted to us in one unit, for those who believe. 

Essentially, Adam brought death; Christ brought life.  In Genesis, as it lists the “generations of Adam,” one phrase is painfully repetitive: “and he died.”  Through the sin of Adam (and our own sin), we are condemned to death!  But glory to God for Jesus Christ-He has made us alive in Him and imparted His righteousness to us so that we do not have to stand condemned.  Essentially, Adam takes, but Christ came to give life, and give it abundantly.  Definitely one of the countless ways Christ points men to greater authentic, Biblical manhood.

Another way is that stands out is through Christ’s boldness.  Larry Crabbe points out in “The Silence of Adam” that men are called to speak truth in to a situation.  Adam was given the law first and then it was passed on to Eve.  He was designed and created to lead his household, to wash his wife with the power of the Word.  In the garden, the instructions that God gave to Adam were the Word!  It was the only Word they had, yet we see our legalistic nature already begin to creep out in the first couple chapters of Genesis.  Adam and Eve add to the command. God instructs them that they are not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Yet by Genesis 3, they’ve also said that they can’t touch the fruit at all!  We don’t know if Adam added the command as he was telling Eve, or if they both added it after hearing the true command, but one thing still remains true- they had added to the Word of God. Not their ultimate downfall, but still worth noting.

Additionally, Adam failed to remind himself and his wife of the true command!  Then, after deceiving themselves into additional legalism, they also gave the enemy a foothold in their lives.  They engaged the very enemy of God in a conversation!  I am guilty of this more frequently than I care to think about.  We must not even engage the enemy and give him an opportunity for deception!  Adam failed to speak truth in to the situation, Eve failed to remember the Scripture and trust the Lord to love well, and humanity fell in to sin. 

Yet let’s look at Christ- He spoke truth in to every situation He was placed in.  He WAS Truth.  He trusted in His Father even to the point of death on a Cross. He is the ultimate picture of masculinity (and femininity in a cool way….but more on that later).  Men, model yourselves after Christ, not after Adam.  We have far too many Adams. Man up. Take the lead. Point to Christ and Truth in every area of your life, to the best of your ability.  Lead toward justification, righteousness, and give life in a uniquely masculine way.  Then teach and invite other men to do the same. Imitate Christ.5

Song of Solomon

This past week, I’ve been listening to Tommy Nelson’s sermon series teaching through the Song of Solomon.  One of my faves, by far.   Going through this sermon series again has taught me a lot.  One thing that has really stuck out to me is the purity required in a relationship.  The man in Song of Solomon is consistent in constantly guarding the purity and integrity of the relationship.
This takes many different shapes and forms, and changes with the relationship.  However, one thing struck me about the start of the relationship: the woman starts by speaking well of the man’s name and his character.  When falling in love, we need to fall in love with the Christ within a man, then the man himself.  A man should so clearly emanate Christ that is saturates his character.  It should be the attributes of Christ that attract us to the opposite sex; how well they serve others, the integrity they possess, the way they fight for justice, wage war on sin, and, most importantly, how they honor the Lord.  Those are the attributes that should attract us to a mate (guys or gals).  How do they portray Christ with their lives?  How are they growing more in His likeness?  How am I portraying Christ and growing more in His likeness? In a relationship, how are we growing closer and more Christ-like as we grow closer to one another?

These are important things to consider in a relationship!  We must be able to discern what it is that attracts us to a person, and if it is something that will last.  If it is not Christ that is attracting us to a person, then it will inevitably disintegrate.  However, we must also be attracted to their personality, their interests, their character and integrity.  You could be spending the rest of your life with this person!  You need to be sure it is someone you can live with.  You need to be attracted to things that last.  You must be sure this is someone you can submit to, someone you trust to lead you well.  As a man, you need to be sure that this is a woman you can love well, lead well, and don’t mind sacrificing for.  You must love her as Christ loved the church- which is a high calling.  It’s a calling not given to all men- it’s a calling you must earn.  Ladies, same deal.  If you can’t submit to authority in your life now, don’t expect marriage to be easy!  You must know how to work hard, serve well, and honor others and their authority, despite disagreements.  Which means that if Christ is not the center, then things can quickly fall apart.

Be sure you are looking for the right things, and that you’re doing it at the right time.  Song of Solomon also says “do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”  We need to wait for the right time!  When both people are mature enough to handle a serious relationship, and when life situations are conducive to a relationship.  Be sure you are going in the same direction in life; run hard after Christ, and look to see who is following Him hard in the same way. Then pursue Him together.