All Glorious Within

I discovered something interesting from reading the Bible lately.

In 2 Kings, we read of Jehu, a man that the LORD had anointed to be king over Israel—while the king of Israel was still alive. It was the LORD's intention that Jehu should "smite the house of Ahab" (see 2 Kings 9:1-7). Jehu killed many royal people—including Jezebel, the wife of Ahab. She had great evil influence over her husband. "But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up." (1 Kings 21:25).

 

Jezebel was a heathen woman, and very wicked (see 1 Kings 16:31; 2 Kings 9:22). In light of this, look at how she prepared to meet Jehu. "And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window." (2 Kings 9:30). That would be the ancient equivalent of our putting on makeup and doing our hair. It makes me wonder, Should Christian young ladies be doing something that this pagan queen did as well?

 

If the example of Jezebel isn't enough to make any girl who desires to be Christ-like question this practice, then look at what it says in the book of Ezekiel. In chapter 23, God speaks of Samaria and Jerusalem as though they were two sisters, Aholah and Aholibah respectively. He tells of their unfaithfulness to Him, and in thus describing the deplorable condition of these places, He says, "Moreover this they have done unto Me: they have defiled My sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned My sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of Mine house. And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger [was] sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set Mine incense and Mine oil." (vv.38-41, emphasis added). We see here that such activity is associated with apostasy.

 

In the book of Jeremiah is perhaps the most interesting way of referring to that subject. Speaking of the destruction that was to come upon Jerusalem because of idolatries, God refers to the city as a woman and says, "And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life." (Jeremiah 4:30, emph. add.). Again, God uses such comparisons to depict unfaithfulness to Him.

 

Notice the italicized part here, particularly the verb "rentest." It is a form of "rend," which means "to rip" or "to tear." What happens when something is ripped or torn? Generally, it is ruined. It would seem that in God's sight, wearing makeup ruins our faces. It would seem too, that the other things that tend to accompany it—jewelry and fancy clothes—are also condemned.

Could it be that this is because it focuses the attention on the outward appearance rather than on the inside? Peter was speaking to wives in chapter 3 of his first epistle, but his admonition goes for all women: "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." (1Peter 3:3-4). Character matters more than face to God.

 

Not only in the New Testament is this idea expressed. He tells us in the Old Testament too. "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. …Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised." (Proverbs 31:10, 30).

 

"The king's  daughter is all glorious within:" (Psalm 45:13). May we be daughters of the King, "all glorious within".

 

Blessings,

Jean

Thoughts from the Life of Jesus, Part 6: The Two Blind Men

Note: Posts formerly entitled, "Thoughts from the Hour" will now be "Thoughts from the Life of Jesus"

After Jesus healed Jairus' daughter from the dead, "the fame thereof went abroad into all that land." (See Luke 8:41-42, 49-56; Matthew 9:26).

In the following verse, we are introduced to two blind men. "And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed Him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us." These men were persistent; they followed Christ all the way to the house He was going to.

He then asked them a question. "Believe ye that I am able to do this?"

"They said unto him, Yea, Lord." (v. 28).

"Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened;" (vv. 29-30).

The actions of these two men give a living illustration of Hebrews 11:6. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." The two blind men believed that Jesus was. They believed that He was able to heal them—and that He would. They believed it in their hearts, because they kept persevering; asking not once, but again and again.

What happened? Jesus rewarded them with the gift of sight. How much more will He reward us with that spiritual eyesight, that heavenly eyesalve, if we seek for it as earnestly as the blind men did their physical eyesight?

Blessings,
Jean

Thoughts from Luke: "Wist Ye Not That I Must Be About My Father's Business?"

Note: I know I already focused on Jesus' childhood, but I wanted to share this thought.

Joseph and Mary had gone up to Jerusalem with Jesus to observe the Passover (Luke 2:41-42). After the feast, they began the journey home—but without Jesus. After traveling for a day, they discovered that He wasn't with their "kinsfolk and acquaintance." (see vv. 43-45). "And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions." (vv. 45-46).

Even though they were "astonished at His understanding and answers," they couldn't forget the grief they had felt while looking for Him. "And His mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing." (vv. 47-48).

"And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (v. 49).

Mary felt as though Jesus had left her and Joseph; but in reality, it was they who had left Him. They had become so caught up in what they were doing that they had failed to notice He wasn't with them anymore. They hadn't kept Him in sight, and as a consequence they lost Him for three days. It is the same with us. If we don't take the time to make sure Jesus is with us, we will lose Him too. We will feel as though God has left us. We will feel sad and discontented. And why should that surprise us? David wrote, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalm 16:11). We can't expect anything else when we leave behind the only Source of life and joy.

The question is how to find Him again. Jesus is always about His Father's business. That hasn't changed with the passage of time. If we seek to do God's will, we will find the Saviour. Any time we decide to do something besides this, we wander away from Him; but as long as we are about our Father's business, we will have Jesus' presence. Of that we can be sure.

Blessings,
Jean

Yet Another Pause: My Training School

Photo by Katie LeBlanc

The other day, I was talking with a new friend, who also has CP. I said that she her level of involvement reminded me of another kid I used to know. "And like me," I wrote, "he had an aversion to stretching!" She did too. I went on to say that the "normal" people always tell me they should exercise, but that most of the time, they don't--and I just don't see why I should have to. Again, she concurred.

The conversation continued, and later I went to Bible study. In my lesson, there was this quotation:

"The first pupils of Jesus were chosen from the ranks of the common people. They were humble, unlettered men, these fishers of Galilee; men unschooled in the learning and customs of the rabbis, but trained by the stern discipline of toil and hardship." Ellen White, Education,  p. 85.

The phrase, "stern discipline of toil and hardship" stood out to me. For a few minutes, I sat thinking about it, envying the disciples for the training they had received. It must have brought them many blessings, that helped them in developing strong characters. Where could I find such a training? I don't come from a posh background, but neither have I had the ability or opportunity to labor for my necessities due to my condition. How then, could I ever hope to learn the same lessons?

That's when it hit me once more, but with greater force than before: I had my own toil and hardship! What was it? Bettering my physical condition! I know it may be beyond the reach of an able-bodied person's full comprehension or appreciation, especially if they've always enjoyed good health; but it is no small feat. It has been about as difficult for me to dredge up the will to do something about it as it has for a normal person to do something about their problem.

That is, until I read that statement. It seemed clear to me then that God gave me these difficulties to teach me stern discipline and hardship. It seemed to me that this was my lot, my task, my training school, tailored to me. It had a vitalizing effect on me, and since then, I have been seeking to do something every day--mostly leg lifts and hand exercises, with some standing. It's not much, but it's a start, and it's actually enjoyable. I never thought I would say that. (If I have before, I don't remember).

What's your training school?

Blessings,
Jean

Pause: Getting Ready for His Coming

Photo courtesy of Katie LeBlanc

Our brother *Francis*, whom we haven't seen in two and a half years, is coming for a visit in the beginning of August. There has been a lot of preparation going on; indeed, the thought seems to have had a mobilizing power upon everyone here. We want everything to be as nice as possible for him.

Z. has cleaned the book room more in the past few weeks than she ever has in the rest of the two years we've been here. Dad is building what he terms a "simple bed"--it's not simple by any means--for Francis so he doesn't have to sleep on the sneeze-inducing couch. Dad was working on it quite a bit to begin with, but since he found out the day Francis is coming, he has been even busier. Mom is helping wherever she can. And I have realized that I need to overcome some bad habits before the end of July.

The hustle and bustle for my brother's coming made me think of something else, something we all should be preparing for. Whether we like it or not, our Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, is coming soon. The signs are all around us--natural disasters, increasing moral degeneration, and so on. Prophecy is rapidly being fulfilled. Soon, all the evil and suffering will be no more. All will be peace and rest and indescribable glory. Don't you want to experience that?

Jesus wants you to. He wants "all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). He wants all of us to be ready for His return! The only way we will not be, then, is if we refuse to let Him make us fit for the heavenly home. He is more willing to save us than we are to let Him, but He lets us decide our destiny. In light of God's love for you, and the times in which we are living, ask Him to forgive you for wasting so much time with sin; ask Him to come into your heart and change it completely, so that you will be ready to meet Him when He comes again. Read the Bible prayerfully, so that you can know the way to heaven. He will not turn you away. If we do our part, we may be sure that He will do His. He says, "For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee" (Isaiah 41:13). "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psalm 32:8).

What do you say? Won't you get ready for His coming?

Blessings,
Jean

Another Pause: A Blessing in Disguise

Courtesy of Katie LeBlanc

Most days, my physical condition doesn't aggravate me; but some days, it really bothers me. Some days I wish I could be like everyone else. I wouldn't need help virtually all the time. I wouldn't be so tired. It would be so much easier to drink more water. The list could get bigger and bigger if I thought about it long enough.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). As one that has cerebral palsy, I naturally think about physical running, physical walking. However, I believe there is a spiritual side to this verse.

God told Abraham, "Walk before Me, and be thou perfect" (Genesis 17:1). He didn't mean an actual walking before, for Abraham couldn't always see Him; He meant for Abraham to follow Him in everything. Jesus admonished the people to walk while they had the light (John 12:35), and Paul spoke of walking worthy of our vocation as Christians (Ephesians 4:1). The apostle also speaks of running. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of [our ]faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2). He wasn't referring to a temporal race, but a spiritual race, which, if won, would give us an incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

With that said, I believe that what the Lord told Isaiah was a promise that if we wait upon Him, we shall renew our strength for this great feat; we will run the race to heaven, "and not be weary"; we will be able to walk in the light He gives us, "and not faint." Oh, what a beautiful thought!

I read this verse today also: "[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" (Hebrews 13:5). Paul is saying here that we aren't to be jealous of others, but content with what we have, because Jesus has promised never to leave us. In other words, He is all we need. His presence satisfies. I thought to myself yet again, Is it possible that if I never had or didn't have the CP, that I wouldn't see the need for Jesus? That I wouldn't care for heavenly things? Considering my temperament and the things with which I struggle personally, and the tendency of human nature to not care for things of a heavenly nature, that is quite probable. Perhaps God in His mercy has kept the privilege of walking from me even to now, that I might learn to walk the path to the heavenly kingdom. After all, that is worth more than one hundred years worth of ambulation on this earth.

I'm reminded once more that CP is a blessing in disguise.

Sincerely,
Jean

Thoughts from the Hour Part 5: "All These Things"

"Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me" (Matthew 4:8-9).

Every temptation that Jesus met, we too will have to meet. Therefore, it's not a stretch or a twist to say that the adversary says the same to us today: "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."

All these what? Most of us have never had the opportunity to lay eyes on a kingdom, so what will be ours? I suppose one answers that question by asking yet another: "Well, I'll never fallen on my knees to worship the devil, and don't plan on it anytime soon, so how does his statement apply to me personally?" Paying homage to the adversary doesn't just include doing him literal, direct obeisance. Whenever we want our own way; pursue our own plans, without considering what God thinks of them; we are serving him.

How is that? When the devil sinned, he sinned by wanting things done his way, not God's way. He is the originator of self-ishness. If we live life the way we choose, irrespective of God's Word and will, we are defying Him, and serving self--thus following the great rebel, because he came up with the idea.

Now that that question is answered, it's much easier to answer the first. If I live for me (and therefore the devil), I can have whatsoever I desire of this world, if I work for it. In theory, if I was able-bodied and followed this plan of living:

• I could have the latest clothes and shoes--because, I want them, and don't care about being feminine and modest (Deuteronomy 22:5; 1 Timothy 2:9).
• I could eat the standard American diet again--because, I like it, and I couldn't have it if I aimed to be so healthy (1 Corinthians 10:31).
• I could play video games, and read fiction again--because, so long as I'm enjoying myself, it doesn't really matter how I use my time, or if the activities are true and good (Philippians 4:8; Colossians 4:5)
• I could have my GED--because, I need it, and I can't afford to be so particular about little things (Proverbs 4:2, 27).
• I could have a boyfriend more easily--because, I don't know whether they are the man God wants me to have, or whether they believe in Him (Proverbs 3:5-7; 2 Corinthians 6:14), but I love them.
• I could have get a job with little hassle--because, I want this position, even though I'd have to work on Sabbath (Exodus 20:9-11).
• I could have a fancy house someday--because, I earned the money to buy it and I can spend it the way I want, no matter what (Deuteronomy 8:11-18).
• I could keep my terrible temper--because, I don't always feel like being nice (Ephesians 4:32). It's the way I am.

The list could go on and on and on, and on. You see, we can serve the enemy without even realizing it, if we don't make the Bible the ultimate standard.

Now, if I choose to follow the Word of God, regardless of whether it lines up with what I want to do, will I have license to do the things listed above? No; instead, I will be holding to principle, refusing to bow to the instigator of selfishness, and will have to pass through this world without as much pleasure or easy-going as I could have otherwise. It will be a life of so-called sacrifice compared to the apparent rose garden, but it will be worth it. As a result of resisting the temptation to bow to the devil via pleasing self, I will have the approbation of my Maker, and a perfect character--just like Jesus. Will you also refuse to bow?

Blessings,
Jean