God is Good...All the Time?

Scene 1: A happy-go-lucky Irishman sitting in his fields of ripe, golden wheat with a huge smile on his face.  The sun is shining brightly, the sky is blue with white, puffy clouds lazing around, and birds are chirping gaily.  It is the perfect day.  "God, You are just absolutely amazing!  This day is perfect, my fields are ready to be harvested, and I feel so happy to be alive!  Life is grand, and God, You are so good to me!  Yep, God is good."  He nods his head in affirmation of what he just said as he looks about his beautiful wheat once again.  "Yes, God is good, all the time!"

Scene 2:  The puffy white clouds have tuned black and menacing, while the sun no longer shines.  The wind begins to pick up dangerously as storm clouds threaten to unleash their fury.  The happy-go-lucky Irishman now has a furrow between his brow as he gazes up into the sky and then back at his wheat.  Harvesting was to begin tomorrow. Thunder roars, startling the Irishman.  He runs for cover as the clouds suddenly open up and let loose torrents of pouring, gushing rain.  He ducks into his barn, soaked to the skin.  Worry lines increase on his forehead.  What had happened to his perfect day?  Stark fear springs into his eyes as he hears an unwelcome sound.  He prays his ears deceive him.  But no, his eyes confirm it.  It was hail.  "No, oh no, my wheat.  God, why are You doing this?!  What happened to doing what is best for me?  Don't You understand, that wheat is my livelihood!  What will I feed my family with if I haven't any money?  God, You're supposed to be good all the time!  No, please no.  God, if You truly do what is best for me, stop this hail before it completely destroys my crop!  God?  God!"



Just what is a fair-weather friend?  Someone who is not steadfast; able to be relied upon only when things are going well, much like the Irishman in the story.  When everything was going according to his plan, he trusted and relied upon God.  Yes, God was good then.  But as soon as things didn't go according to the man's plan, he lashed out at God.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." -Romans 8:28

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The Life of a Slanderer

"It is one thing to lie to others.  It is still another matter to lie about others.  This involves slander.  To tell lies about other people is to cause them grave injury.  The Devil himself is the master of slander.  He encourages his disciples to engage in gossip, backbiting, and slander.  To steal a person's good name may be more harmful to the person than to steal their property.

"God is so concerned about slander and lying about others that He included a prohibition against it in His Ten Commandments: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor' (Exodus 20:16).

"The prohibition includes more than falsely accusing someone in a law court.  The responsibility in Israel to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in a law court was taken very seriously.  If perjury was committed in the courts, the penalties ranged all the way to the death penalty.

"Justice cannot be maintained in the land unless the courts can be certain of the honesty of witnesses.  But on a more daily basis, injurious lies can take the form of slander.  Let us consider briefly the meaning and force of the verb 'to slander.'  To slander someone is to tell lies about him, lies the injure him.  Slander involves making an unjust accusation.  We have all felt the sting of being slandered.  It is one thing to suffer injury for sins of which we are guilty.  It is another thing to be punished for something we did not do.  No one enjoys the pain of false accusation.

"I labor the point of slander's being an injurious lie because it is one of the chief works of the Devil against God's people.  To slander a person is to injure that person's reputation.  Our reputations, our 'good names,' are important to our lives.  Life is difficult enough without trying to operate with an evil reputation."1

"Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile." -Psalm 34:13

"He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool." -Proverbs 10:18

Slander is an ugly word.  Slander.  What do we think of when we hear the word?  Insult.  Smear.  Character assassination.  A once good name thrown in the mud.  Hatred.  Lies.  Cruelty.  Pride and jealousy.  Resentment.  Disgrace.  Tarnish.  Slander.

Slander is much like the cruelty seen in the classrooms of public-schooled kids.  Snooty high school girls picking on the one lonely outcast because of jealousy.  Rumors of character-slight.  Lies spread so that someone else looks bad and is discredited from teenage society [i.e. pride: a promotion of self].  From kindergarten to high school, kids sure know how to slander.  Another word is backbite.  Slander is much like grabbing a knife and stabbing someone in the back.  Most times slander will hurt much more than a protruding knife will.  Words have force.  Words have power.  And if used for evil, words cause wounds much deeper than a blade can go.

But it isn't just public-schooled kids who know how to be cruel.  Think about it.  Pride is a sin in everyone's life, and because pride only wants the promotion of self—for self to look better than everyone else—it is only a logical follow-up that the cruel words of slander and degradation will pursue.  Not just the world and its people, but Christians as well, our own friends and families even!  The life of a sibling is constantly filled with jealous lies about a sister and hateful, stinging words of degradation to a brother.  The same is said of life amongst friends. In an instant someone whom you thought loved and trusted you turns into a conniving, slanderous, roaring lion, seeking to devour.


"Lie not to one another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him." -Colossians 3:9-10

Lying creates a vast majority of tension and even hatred between people.  The guilty party who does the slandering, miserable are they!   "That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified" (1 Thessalonians 4:6).  As for the innocent to whom the slander is against, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:43-48).

For those of us who have had to deal with friends or family creating rumors behind our backs, loving that person is a hard thing to do. Sometimes it seems impossible even.  Why would they do such a thing when they were once a good friend?  Why would they pretend to love us, and in the next instant stab us in the back?  These are difficult questions to answer.  Perhaps some kind of jealousy and resentment on their part.  Maybe they were never really the person we thought them to be in the first place.

It still hurts.

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." -Ephesians 4:31-32

Forgive them?

Why should they be forgiven when they have spread lies about me, hurt me, caused strife between us, ruined friendships, created division, and slandered my once good name?  They don't deserve my forgiveness!

"Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.  For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." -1 Peter 3:8-12

As we have seen many times, the tongue can be the unruliest member of our body (James 3:6-18).  First of all the sin of envy, jealousy, or hatred causes unrest in the heart, which then proceeds in slander, lies, and evil words from our fire-of-a-tongue.  There is no other cause for this, except pride and self-love.  Self-love is angered when we think another person looks better than us in front of other people.  Pride is miffed when someone else is better than we are.  Therefore, the tongue begins to wag, degradation causes catastrophe, and before we know it, the situation is out of hand and people are hurt because of our slander.  Our pride and self-love can't stand for someone else to be in the limelight.  "I can do better than that!"  Self says.  "I am better than that!"

Unfortunately our personal pride is strong.  Pride is happily uplifted when someone else is degraded.  We think that it makes us look good when we make others look bad.  However, we don't realize that no one likes a slanderer.  No one lasts long in a friendship with slander.  A true friend is one "that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor" (-Psalm 15:3).  A true friend dies to self, and that means he will not care whether another person looks better than him in front of others or not.  It is only those with evil intentions of heart who will spread the rumors, start the gossip, and create the lies.  A mean word is like a cruel slap in the face.  It stings, it burns, it causes embarrassment, but the one who looks the fool is the one who did the slapping.

The Lord abhors the lies of a slanderer.  "Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer" (Psalm 101:5).  Instead, He demands a loving heart.  "To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing meekness unto all men" (-Titus 3:2).

The effects of slander are very dangerous.  Therefore it is our duty to beware of the trap we all so easily fall into.  Whether it is a look, a glance, a whisper, a cutting remark, it is to be removed far from us.  Slander creates more problems than we know what to do with.  Slander is the treacherous enemy of friends and family alike.  It separates the very best of friends and the closest brothers and sisters, if it is loosed.  Slander destroys, whereas love creates.  While slander is forgivable, first of all it must be repented of.  Our tongues must be guarded by the Word of God, and the sins of envy, jealousy, pride, and self-love—which causes slander—must be isolated from our heart.  No good thing comes from the maliciousness of slander.  It is a life of wounds and friction.  And it is not a life worth living.

"A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends." -Proverbs 16:28

"The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly." -Proverbs 18:8

"Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer the strife ceaseth." -Proverbs 26:20

"The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly." -Proverbs 26:22 (Repeated from Proverbs 18:8)





Footnote 1.  R.C. Sproul, Pleasing God: Overcome the obstacles that keep you from honoring God, pg. 196-197, 199; Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois, 1988.

Just What My Big Idea Is...

Just so that there isn't anyone confused about my big idea...

My topic will be dealing with the issue of brothers and sisters.  You know, why we can't get along, what the Bible has to say about sibling relationships, what the answers are to problems in the home, how we can actually like our siblings, all the trouble little brothers and sisters cause...

Oops.  Okay, all the trouble that oldests can cause too.

I know that there is already a tremendous book out there on the market, but because we can't have too much material on the subject (especially from different perspectives, and I have a good one with seven siblings)—and there isn't much to choose from anyway—I have been urged and propelled forward by my parents with a "go ahead" sign.  Or rather, "go ahead" words.  Anyway, there you have it.  My big idea.  Pretty big indeed.  So far things are looking good, but how can I say that when I know how critical I am of my own writings?  Well, okay, going good in the aspect that at least I'm finding things to write about.

On a serious note, I have determined to make this journey (let's call it a quest) one that will transform my relationships with my siblings.  I'm tired of the sub-par standard of just trying to get along.  It isn't enough any more, and it hasn't satisfied through the years.  As I grow older I see the damage I have caused in the lives of my siblings, and I don't want to live with the regret that I didn't fix the problem when I had a chance.  What are oldest sisters for (or brothers for that matter)?  So this book is a really a test of myself: do I have enough courage and fortitude to admit when I'm wrong, correct my mistakes, and press on toward making my siblings my best friends—truly?  For I genuinely want to be their best friend, and they to be mine.  But there are many bitter roots to weed out first.  Mostly from the deeds that I have done, because, after all, I am the oldest siblings who is the example (once I hated my mom constantly telling me that I was the example to the rest of my siblings, but just as it can be used for bad, it can definitely be used for good).

Pray for me as I write.  Pray for me as I attempt and resolve and conquer the obstacles before me.  I want to be able to persevere at the end of this book and say with all honestly, "My siblings are my best friends."  Of course, I may have many good outside friends, but I want my siblings to be my best friends.  Forever and ever.  Just like Anne and Diana in Anne of Green Gables.  They were inseparable.  They did everything together.  They shared secrets, passions, pursuits, hopes, dreams, ideals, expectations and thoughts for the future, fears, likes and dislikes, and spent all of their time together, from when they were little girls until they grew up.  Though they had other friends, they were the best of bosom friends.  That is how I want my siblings and I to be.

Just a summary so you don't leave my blog with a perplexed look.  Then again, you still might.  At least I tried.

Just How Close Death Can Come [or] A Tale of A Tornado

It was 1:00 A.M.  Sweet, dreamless slumber was roughly interrupted as Daddy woke up everyone in
the house.  Foggy-brained and sleepy-eyed, we kids followed him, almost blindly we groped though the lighted house.  Yawns that could not be suppressed almost split our faces.  Not until Daddy's pressing "Hurry, no time!" did we actually begin to understand the urgency.  Earlier that day the weather forecast had warned of the late-night upcoming storms, even an issued tornado warning.  Daddy had stayed up that night to keep an eye on the imminent storm while the rest of us went to bed, very unaware that we would soon be shaken abruptly awake from sleep.  Nervous, hurried, and even scared, we all grabbed pillows frantically and followed Daddy and Mama to their spacious closet.  There we all (excepting Daddy who was keeping a constant eye outside) huddled down together.  A big possibility of a tornado heading our way was the weather forecast's message.  The weather radar on Daddy's phone confirmed this.  The atmosphere was tense and our apprehensive chatter did nothing to calm jittery nerves.  Beside me sat Reb, and I put my hand affectionately upon his head.  Clara Mae, just in front of me, had her pillow held tightly over her head.  Her lips were white with fear as her seven-year-old brain mulled over one thing: tornado.  Her slender little body quivered and trembled. Liberty, who's sleep had been so rudely broken up, cried, more from sleepiness than fright.  The older ones, if they felt any fear, did not show it much.  With my knees pulled up to my chest, I looked from one family member to another.  Truth be told, I was crazy with fear inside.  I did not show it because I did not know for sure whether the tornado would actually hit us.  But fear nevertheless coursed through my body, making me feel cold and hot at the same time.  A mattress resting outside the door lay in wait for Daddy to throw over us just in case the tornado came.  Dread rose in my throat as I thought about that specific detail.  What if Daddy didn't make cover trying to save us?

A terrible realization hit me.  What if our house was beset by the raging tornado and we all perished?  Put rather bluntly, what if we all died and did not live to see another day?  The thought upset me.  No one wants to die, no matter how much faith they may have in Christ or how much they may want to escape life's problems.  In the bleakest moment, no one wants to die.  Although death is inevitable for everyone eventually, we all will try everything in our power to delay the inevitable.  I felt that I, at sixteen—almost seventeen—years old, had no right to die.  My whole life was ahead of me.  There was so much I wanted to do and experience in life.  Or what about little Liberty, who had even more life ahead of her, only almost two years old?  "It's not fair!" my heart cried as practically certain death seemed to stare me in the face.  Perhaps I was a bit hysterical and imaginative, but that is what fear does to one.  Someone looking at me from the outside would not have guessed my inner struggle.  Perhaps from the outside I was cool, calm, and collected, but inside I was scared, shaking, and stiffened with fear.  But what am I to judge who should and should not die?  Only God has that authority.

Then the thought hit me.  I had not spoken one prayer to the Master of the [seemingly] uncontrollable storm.  As a matter of fact, He had every bit of control over it.  I wanted to cry.  My first thought should have been a prayer to the Lord, but instead I had been assailed by doubts and fears.  As I looked from face to worried face, the only thought that flowed through my brain was "God, save us. Lord, protect us. God, save us."  As much as my flesh didn't want to admit it, God held our lives in His hand, as well as the direction of the storm.  I had no real reason to be frightened, for He would do everything according to His will, whether our lives would be surrendered for His glory or not.  We may not know what tomorrow brings, but we can know that it is always completely in His hands.

The Aftermath

To sum up a long and descriptive story, the tornado did not come within a mile of our house.  However, as the next day came, we learned that it had reached the outskirts of Barnesville, a small town about five miles from us.  That sobered me.  Just how close can death come and just barely miss the target?  My record experience is five miles.  And it was all by the grace of God that my family and I escaped.  I was sobered beyond anything that I had ever experienced.

A tornado's wrath is extreme and horrific.  When I awoke at 10:00 A.M. the next morning after a long and eventful night, I cannot begin to describe how thrilled and excited I was to see the blazing spring sun shining brightly through the window.  As I basked in the sunlight for a moment I stopped to give God thanks for His mercy, grace, and the blessing of a new day.  I'll admit that usually I take my life for granted—all the busyness and daily routines—even my time with my family.  But the night of April 27 was sort of an epoch in my life, making me realize that life is fleeting, truly fleeting in the sense that we do not have much time on earth.  Every day God gives us is an immeasurable blessing, one we should not throw away lightly.

We also learned later in the day of April 28 that a couple was killed in the storm's path right outside of Barnesville.  Other tragedies have occurred throughout the entire South.  Those who have lost loved ones need our heartfelt prayers to the Almighty.  May we all have the courage to say, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away: blessed be the name of the Lord!"


Tales of Tragedy here and here. 

You can listen to Covenant Commission's radio broadcast the Just and Unjust Alike.

Preacher's Kid

There is a lot of pressure on preacher’s kids.  (Face it—we're oddballs.)  We are supposed to act different, talk different, think different, watch different movies, listen to different music, wear different clothes, have different friends and families, read different books, and so on.  It all comes down to behavior.  Sometimes we may be referred to as weird.  On the other hand, if we don't live up to our expectations, we're scoffed at even more for not being a representative of Christ.  Suddenly, we're ironic.  Perhaps there isn't any truth to this Christian business after all.  Isn't that a truce broken in our Salt and Light mandate? (Matthew 5:13-16)

Being any kind of Christian in a humanistic world is hard.  I'm not talking about wishy-washy hypocritical Christians who proclaim good works in the streets and practice sin in their homes.  They may write a bestseller book with a big cheesy smile on the cover, but it doesn't mean they are right, honest, or Christ-like (Matthew 7:15, 21-23). Recognition by the secular world does not mean they accept Christianity.  In fact, Jesus said that we would be persecuted and reviled for His sake.  (Matthew 5:11; 10:22)  If the world didn't accept its Saviour when He came, why should it accept His disciples?

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."  ~Matthew 10:16

Yes, I'm a preacher's kid.  In addition, I am also a young woman living in a secular world.  I feel the pressure hitting me like a ton of bricks.  But I'm no different from y'all.  There's only one thing that makes me different from the world's young people.  Yep, you guessed it.  I'm a preacher's kid.

No, I'm not ashamed of my heritage.  My father is a pastor, my grandpa is a pastor, and one of my great-great-great-grandfathers was a pastor.  There are even more scattered throughout our ancestors.  The point is this: my life has been intertwined with God in the midst of it.  I'm a preacher's kid of a preacher's kid.  Where's the shame in that?  I'm proud of it.

The only thing I regret is my poor ability for handling certain situations.  I've stuck my foot in my mouth, I've stood back and followed the crowd, I've not been a leader, and I've spurted some pretty crazy ideas. (Just ask my mom.)  Right now I wish I had charged full ahead into my insecurities...but I didn't.  There have been many times I've wished to go back and redo my life.  Of course, we always wish for the impossible.

Although I may not be where I wish to be, I'd say I've come a long way in some areas.  Two years ago I never would have imagined this blog, my writing, our traipse through Georgia, the beginning of Covenant Baptist Church and Covenant Commission, the birth of Liberty (my baby sister), my 16th birthday (two years ago it seemed like forever), the crazy ups and downs of life...hey, even my photography!  Life is peculiar sometimes, isn't it? 

However, I could really better myself.  I may be swept up into the pressure of being a preacher's kid sometimes, but I don't have to be.  What I am can be a good thing.

Every aspect of this world has tribulation.  We may be hit with tragedy, trial, sorrow, or pain, but Christ foretold that these things would happen.

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."  ~John 16:33

 Isn't that comforting?

"What shall we then say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against us?"  ~Romans 8:31

The world’s opinion should not matter to us.  Why should we care about the opinions of those who reject our Saviour and faith?

While we are to be God's witnesses for the gospel, the world just hardens their hearts against us.  From history, we can learn that tribulation worketh patience (Romans 5:3).  From the lives of the martyrs we see glory and fortitude and everlasting life.  They received their crown with the words "well done, thou good and faithful servant" for their service in the kingdom.  What is our persecution compared to theirs?  True, mental stress can be just as horrible as physical pain, but have we ever suffered starvation in a cold, damp dungeon, or felt the flames rise higher and higher around our legs?  Nor have we been tortured for Christ's sake in a country wholly hostile to Jesus.  Think again when all seems lost.  We live freely (for the most part anyway), breathe the clean air every day, walk wherever we please unconstrained, and worship God wherever we will.  How long our freedoms will last, God only knows.  For now we ought to be profoundly thankful that we live, and move, and have our being, for it is all through Jesus Christ. 
Anyway, Paul's words should give us comfort: 

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  ~Romans 8:18  

That is saying a lot, considering all that Paul went through - beatings, a stoning, being left for dead, thrown into prison, and eventually beheaded—all for Christ's sake.  Surely we can bear our burdens easier when we really give it some thought.

So, I may be a preacher's kid with all its peculiar pressures, but I've found out that life is much better when I have a positive outlook.   Who cares if I'm a little bizarre?  I'm a preacher's kid, what do you expect?

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place."  ~2Corinthians 2:14

There is nothing sweeter than Scripture for a troubled heart.  God really is good.  But He is also just.  He destroys the wicked and cannot tolerate sin, yet He is faithful to those who love Him.  His words to us are sweeter than honey. (Psalm 19:7-11)  I believe He would rather see a smile on our faces and joyfully praising Him than to have a "woe is me" mentality.

I'm sure preachers kids can relate.  It's awfully hard to live up to high expectations when our nature is sinful.  Sometimes we are given bad names because of what we are.  The bad names really come from preachers kids who don't fulfill their God-given duty.  I may fail many times, but I don't like being categorized in that lot.   Sometimes it seems like we have to endure more than we can handle.  However, Jesus said we will not be tempted with more than we are able.  Hallelujah! Through Christ, we will conquer over all!

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written, for Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither heath, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate s from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  ~Romans 8:35

The Importance of Womanhood

What woman understands the definition of courage?  Who has experienced real hardship?  When life is put to the test, when wealth is stripped away, and love seems forsaken, would we still rise to the height of our calling?

Womanhood is an essential important factor in life.  Although we are more frail and weak than men, the strength of our hearts can overcome even the greatest obstacle; then we are strong.

Such a caliber of womanhood is unheard of today.  In a society where women are men and men are women, we don't see motherly and wifely zeal.  Wives and mothers are no longer wives and mothers.  Instead, they are smokers, drunk drivers, and workmen all rolled into one.  They aren't submissive unto man, and especially not unto God.  Most women don't even know what femininity is.  Have godly feminine women ceased to exist?

To find such aforesaid women, we have to jump back into the 1700's.  Our country (then only 13 English colonies) was in the midst of a war with Great Britain.  The Continental Congress was desperately struggling for the right principles to lead a new nation.  55 men signed the Declaration of Independence.  But what was happening behind the scenes?  On the home front, how were the families of these men living?  Were they living in peace, or did they sacrifice much?

The women of yesterday were strong, brave, proud, and ultimately courageous in all that they did.  They too sacrificed their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.  Many had to flee from house to house, always a step ahead of the British.  Many lost their homes, wealth, and livelihood.  Some even lost their lives.

Benjamin Rich, a signer of the Declaration, said this about America's women of that time:  "The women of America have at last become principals in the glorious American controversy.  Their opinions alone and their transcendent influence in society and families must lead us on to success and victory."   You see, the women didn't cower down in fear when they heard the tramp pf British feet or the thundering sound of cannons and musket fire.  They weren't "sissies."  Their lives and the lives of their families were at stake.  If the small 13 colonies had lost the War, the signers would have been hanged or beheaded.  As it was, during the War, their lives were forfeit.  What self-respecting women would wish such a cruel fate upon her husband?  That's why the women had to fight back.  They weren't wimpy crybabies.

Without firing musket, and without marching into battle, the women of colonial America did something even more valuable.  Their purpose was simple yet strong: to uphold the spirits of their men, support them in every action, take care of their families, love, honor, and obey till death did part them, and remain strong and passionate in the cause they were fighting for.  When they had to flee for refuge, when they kissed their husbands goodbye, not to see them for months upon months, when they prayed without ceasing...that took courage.  Yet one thing must remain clear: their courage came from Jesus Christ.

America would have lost the War if not for her faith and prayer.  God was with the little colonies, and eventually made them big and great states.  Everyone understood the power of prayer, which explains why George Washington would kneel down in the cold and snow of Valley Forge to cast his every care upon the Lord.

The women behind the Declaration of Independence are patriots not fully recognized by historians and people today.  If not for the women, the men would have fallen under the weight of all they had to bear.  However, the women readily shared the burden.  They weren't going to resign their posts, for they too longed for peace and freedom.  All they had to do was succeed.

David Barton said this:  "These women, although not pledging their "lives, fortunes, and sacred honor" in writing, nevertheless willingly sacrificed all for their country, their families, and their posterity.  We are that posterity, enjoying all the benefits of their sacrifices."

To recount the lives of each woman would be impossible. (For a summary, read Wives of the Signers, by Harry Clinton Green and Mary Wolcott Green.)  Each woman was important and took drastic steps toward freedom.  For example:

Mary Bartlett: forced to flee with her family from her burning home.

Elizabeth Adams: supported her family with needlework.

Elizabeth Lewis: imprisoned for months by the British, and suffered great hardships that eventually led her to her death.

Mary Morris: driven from her beautiful home.

Annis Stockton: homeless after the British burned her home.

Deborah Hart: driven from home, watched anxiously as her husband was hunted as a criminal, and finally died from exposure and anxiety.

There are countless others.  Take Abigail Adams for example, wife of John Adams, mother of John Quincy Adams, and the first lady of the White House.  She was constantly separated from her husband, yet she remained patriotic and cheerful.  She taught her young children at home, and wrote to her husband frequently.  She was strong in spirit and influential in life.

Every woman from that period deserves high praise for the sacrifices they made.  From their lives we see the pattern we are to follow.  Instead of following the world's model of "womanhood," we can learn better from the past.  Only, we have to realize one intrinsic detail.  It takes courage.

Poor As Church Mice

Living in this economically, socially, ecclesiastical, and civilly failing nation, life is hard.  Food and gas prices rocketing more than this generation has seen, Barak Obama's presidential election, moral anarchy, the bouncing stock market, our enormous debt and the money being printed without any security, thousands of jobless Americans, and many other countless problems occurring in the U.S.  Why don't we give up?  After all, the way things keep reoccurring, we're going to end up being a third-world nation with a Muslim dictator who forces our every move.  Why don't we find someplace to hide - somewhere where we can burrow our heads in the sand and never be forced to move?  Sound like an idea?  Okay, let's go! Where to...Scotland or...

Wait a minute.  We certainly cannot hide from God's omnipresence.  Jonah already learned that lesson for us.  If we can't hide or run away, surely there is something else we can do.

I love America, my beautiful homeland country.  But (small as it may be) I am so tired of hearing about our problems.  Sometimes I can pretend nothing is really happening...and I live my normal crazy life.  However, every once in a while "what-ifs" jumble about in my head.  If you want to feel deeply melancholy, start delving into America's numerous problems.

I don't want to focus on pain or sorrow or tribulation.  Life is plenty full of that.  Imagining what America used to be is even worse.  After everything our Founding Fathers did for us, this is what we've done to repay them.  Some gratitude.

Terrible things could occur that I don't even want to think about; things that make me shudder with dread.   We're faced with the issue anyway.  But for once, let's look at the bright side of things.  Optimistically, I prefer joy and happiness over gloom and despair.  As Ecclesiastes says, there is a time and season for everything.

Although life can be gloomy, troublesome, and downright hard, let's attempt to smile at our gloom, laugh at despair, and love during the hard times.  What is worth more than love, and a sparkling smile on a rainy day?  We can be the comfort of those who have given up all hope.  Through our lives Christ can be shown.  That takes real courage.

I've never known what "being rich" is like.  We all can be poor economically.   But what do true riches entail?  Many times life seems to defeat us with problems, but we can still be rich in the factual sense.  Remember when Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19: 23-24)  Perhaps that is why the poor and needy are always (most of the time anyway) reliant upon God because they have not riches to worship.  There is a reason for everything.

Being rich in God's grace, mercy, and love is worth more than all the jewels the world can produce.  As Jesus said in Matthew 4:4,  "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."  Here is proof that we need spiritual food.  Getting enough to eat everyday cannot sustain us.  We need the nectar of God's love.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."  ~Matthew 5:6

We as Christians in the Church are the Bride, the Beloved of Christ.  Therefore we should trust Him in every aspect of life for He holds tomorrow in His hand.  He gives and He takes away, yet blessed be His holy name!  While we are to do our part as salt and light in this world, God directs the hearts of men.  He is our sustainer, so, "cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."  ~Psalm 55:22

Although we might be "poor and needy; yet the LORD thinketh upon me; make no tarrying, O my God."  ~Psalm 40:17

David said in Psalm 37:25,  "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."

God sees America's problems.  He sees our personal problems.  And He cares!  Although America has turned her back upon the God of her fathers, He still cares for His own people.  Astonished though we may be, He still loves us with a deep and profound love.  That alone should put a song in our hearts.

"O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me.  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thoughts afar off.  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether."  ~Psalm 139:1-4  If God is acquainted with all our ways, don't you think He could possibly have a plan?  I know He does, which is why I determine to trust Him.  This world isn't getting any better yet, nor are we getting any richer, but God holds tomorrow - though we may not know what it brings.

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience."  ~Romans 5:3

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"  ~Romans 8:35

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)  If we therefore know, live it joyfully in every way!  Laugh a little, dance a while, and determine to live faithfully according to God’s Word.  Scripture is clear: if we love God we will obey Him.  Then we will reap rewards and blessings. (such as peace from this troubled world?)  But if we disobey and continue to disobey (as America has done) God will rain curses down upon us that could flatten any nation.  Even this unsinkable America.

When we are weak, then Christ can work through our weakness to display His strength. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) Therefore we can live life fully and steadfastly, abounding in His work, for our labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58) Don't we serve an amazing God? 

God’s Surpassing Grace to Sinners

John Bunyan's spiritual struggle up through the younger years of his life is a considerably interesting subject.  His autobiography, Grace Abounding, is just the story of that struggle.

John Bunyan was born to a considerable poor family in England of neither fortune nor noble blood.  Although lacking in means, his parents were able to send him to school.  However, Bunyan himself said that he "lost" all that he had learned, showing that in his boyhood he cared naught for his education. 

Sadly, during those years of boyhood, Bunyan tells of his exceedingly wicked young heart.  A reckless and heedless youth, he had an impulse to swear, curse, lie, and blaspheme the name of God.  He said his heart had been "filled with all unrighteousness."  Bunyan said, “...so settled and rooted was I in these things, that they became as a second nature to me...”

During those dreadful young years, Bunyan tells of his "greatly afflicted and troubled" mind, tormented with dreams and thoughts of hellfire and damnation forever.

However, as time flew by, the dreams passed.  Bunyan erased such terrible memories from his mind, and lived "as if they had never been."  He admitted his transgressions in his book by saying that he became the ringleader "in all manner of vice and ungodliness."  Thoughts of religion were "very grievous" to him, and he put aside all manner of Christianity.  He wanted nothing to do with Jesus Christ.

But God wanted everything to do with him.  Twice Bunyan was saved from the dreadful fate of drowning, all by the merciful providential hand.  Nevertheless, through God's many acts of mercy, Bunyan continued in rebelliousness.

Soon after living a soldier's life for a time, Bunyan married a poor woman of godly ancestors.    He became influenced by some good books which had been her father's.  Slowly, the "religion of that time" crept into his life.  He went to church twice a day, yet held onto his wicked life.  Thereafter he was influenced by a poor, religious man to read the Bible.  He also began to follow the Ten Commandments—believing that his good works would earn his way to heaven.  He actually believed that he "pleased God as well as any man in England."  Yet he had "not Christ, nor grace, nor faith, nor hope."

The one day, a year later down the road, Bunyan listened to a conversation about the "new birth."  His curiosity was aroused, and his trust in his good works began to weaken.  He was greatly affected.  He began to believe he truly wasn’t a good man.  Something was missing in his life.  He had no ambition, no fulfillment, nor peace and rest.  Bunyan began to read and study.  He prayed diligently for the Lord to open his eyes to the truth, so that he might find the way.  Very soon his eyes were opened, and he began to read the Scriptures with new eyes.  He daily cried to God for guidance.  Faith, a new word to him, troubled his spirit.  Did he have faith?  His mind became confused with so many details.  Was he one of the elect of God?  Would he be called?  Could he ever attain peace and assurance?  Doubts littered his mind.

As time drew on, his mind became weary with his doubts and fears.  What if he wasn't one of the elect of which he read?  What would happen is he should not be called?  Deep despair entered his soul.  Dark, blasphemous thoughts continually betook his mind.  He felt utterly wretched and hopeless.

Yet, throughout it all, hope still remained.  Slowly Bunyan's mind began to understand more and more that salvation comes through Christ alone (John 14:6), not of good works (Ephesians 2:4-9), but of faith and repentance.  However, though Truth quietly spoke, his mind was still overcome with temptations, doubts, and sorrow.  He felt that peace would never come to quench his fiery spirit because of his heinous sins.  He believed himself to be the most miserable sinner.

Years passed.  Bunyan believed only damnation abode with him.  He was constantly "full of sorrow and guilt."  He believed he could no longer be pardoned, as he said, "I had sold my Saviour."

Bunyan struggled bitterly with his doubts.  His sins were too dreadful for Christ's forgiveness, so he thought. Through it all he searched, but wandered on hopelessly, believing all was lost.

As time, passed, Bunyan became like unto a scale, as he said, "sometimes up, and sometimes down."  Peace and trouble fought desperately.  He would believe the words "My grace is sufficient for thee," but then doubts would arise, and his heart would sink back into despair.  Again and again this would happen: quiet, then torment; torment, then peace.

Finally, however, even through anguish and terror, hope and peace finally broke through.  Bunyan began to realize that God's grace is all sufficient, and can cleanse all ungodliness.  As he daily searched the Scriptures and prayed, he found complete assurance in God's love.  Then was his heart filled with unspeakable joy.  Doubt was no longer an enemy, for Christ had washed away every conflict that had ever raged within his mind!  The wonder and the glory!

The time came when Bunyan was called to the ministry, six years after he had been fully "awakened."  At first he was skeptical, believing he wasn't worthy of so high an honor.  He didn’t think he had the eloquence or ability.  He wondered who would listen to him. But soon he came to the realization that he might have that gift after all.  Humbly he began to preach.

A few years went by.  Bunyan continued preaching to all who would listen.  At times, hundreds came to hear him preach the Word of God.  As he preached, he spoke boldly and truthfully.

His boldness and honesty brought about consequences.  After five years in the ministry, Bunyan was apprehended and sent to prison.  His accusers wanted to stop his preaching.  Therefore accusations of the like were made: Bunyan, "an upholder and maintainer of unlawful assemblies and conventions," would not conform "to the national worship of the church of England."  Because he would not "conform," Bunyan was sentenced to a "perpetual punishment."

Twelve years he spent in prison.  But as those weak and feeble minded might do, he did not lose all hope, or become bitterly discouraged.  He tried to remain content, though he "met with many turnings."  Sweet Scripture passages ministered unto him, and comforted his soul.  Then he would "laugh at destruction."

In 1688, Bunyan contacted a violent fever.  For ten days he struggled on, but his end on earth had come.  Sixty years had he lived upon the earth, and, even in his wicked youth, God had a pan for him.  He died on August 12, 1688.  He will be a man, and a Baptist preacher, reverently remembered forevermore.

His life's story had been one of triumph through trial.

In Times of Trial

"The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." ~ Job1:21

Job's story is a sad one.  He was a righteous man, called "perfect and upright, one that feared God, and eschewed evil." (No, don't be silly here. He did not chew evil literally. What were you thinking? Ha! He shunned evil.)  God blessed him greatly with ten children, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen,  five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household.  Verse three of Job chapter one says that he was the greatest of all the men of the east.

However, as we all know, disaster was to strike...

I'm sure Job started out that day feeling pretty splendid.  Another day to praise God and live in contentment.  He could have woke up feeling refreshed and eager for a new day, until...

A servant came running up to Job with the news: the Sabeans raided  a section and took away the oxen and donkeys, killing the servants who tended them.

Another servant comes running in haste with more news: a great fire from heaven burned up all the sheep and servants.

Another servant brings yet even more news: the Chaldeans raided a different section and took away the camels, killing the servants with the edge of the sword.

How terrible Job must have felt after all this!  All of his worldly possessions--gone.  Still, he must have sighed with relief at the thought: at least my family is safe!

However, another servant came with the last news: a great wind came and smote the house of Job's eldest son, crashing it down upon all of Job's children.

The agony of Job's heart must have been bitter indeed!  His precious children were lost from his grasp forever.  Surely hot tears of sorrow must have flowed from his eyes, hitting the dusty ground as they fell.  But what was Job's attitude through all this?

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." ~ Job 1:20-22

What amazing forbearance and fortitude!  Would that we had his faith and trust!  However, this still is not the end.

Job is then struck with severe, sore boils.  Imagine your whole body covered in aching, burning, itching, big red boils.  Even Job's own wife told him to curse God and die!  He seemed alone and forlorn.  His grief was great.

But he was not alone.  God Almighty was near.  He was not going to let His faithful servant Job die in despair.  The Lord had a purpose in Job's suffering.

How could Job have blessed and praised God in the midst of his trial?  How could he have continued on in his grief?

He rested upon God, placing all his trust in the One who has everything under control.  We too must place our trust in Jesus Christ.  

Can we truly question His motives?  He, who created the entire universe with His word, who died the cruel death upon the cross for our salvation if we would believe, He who sets everything in motion, and even knows the number of hair upon our head, who are we to question Him?  We are nothing but fallen and depraved human beings.  He is the all-powerful God who is everything.

"Behold, He taketh away, who can hinder Him? who will say unto Him, What doest Thou?" ~ Job 9:12

"For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." ~ Hebrews 12:6

We were created for God's glory. (Revelation 4:11)  Everything we do is to bring Him honor and glory.  Our trials are part of His plan.  His glory is to be shown, our faith is to be tested, and our sin is to be removed.  We cannot question Him, for He truly has our benefit in mind.  He wants His glory to be know throughout the  world.  He wants our faith to be true and strengthened.  He also wants our sin removed so that we may not be hindered in our relationship with Him.

One day "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:4)

In the end of Job's story, God again blessed him, but with much more than before.  God gave him fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.  God also gave Job ten more children, just as before.  Isn't God wonderful?

Do we have courage to stand up tall, throw back our shoulders with determination, look our trial in the eyes, and keep marching forward?  Do we have faith to trust God in everything?

Do you?