Its been a minute

 I have not blogged for a very long time. It's time. I finished my senior year in college amid the beginning of the "pandemic"2020. Spring break started and we never got to go back to the classroom, classes were all done remotely online. Routine gone.. friends not seen...hearts yearning for normalcy. It wasn't what I wanted but it is what was. I pushed through and graduated "Cum Laude" at Columbia International University, where I double majored in Communications & Bible with a Minor in Media Arts. What's next?

I am praying and seeking Gods guidance for the next steps. 

31 Days of healing Day 2 "A careful examining of my heart"

This process is going to take a careful examining  of my heart. I wrote an earlier bog post that I reread a few days ago that really made me think about how I got where I am emotionally.You can read it here Beauty For Ashes.  My own words stung me.  I knew it was time to take a closer look at my heart and confess any sin that I found. One thing that jumped out at me was when we are hurt by our circumstances or people we need to choose how we respond in our hearts. When we hang on to the hurt and try to justify our anger or other feelings and allow them to remain unchecked then our thinking may become clouded and we will not see truth.  We will want to keep carrying our hurts like a prized possession instead of dealing with them. 

"Sometimes, the pain we have worked so hard to avoid is the one thing that leads us to where God calls us to go. Sometimes, feeling our need is the greatest work of faith we can surrender to". ~Bonnie Gray, Faith Barista

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
(Luke 9:23-25 ESV)

31 Days of Healing Day 1 "Intro"

I have endured many trials, tribulations and sufferings this last year. I will be writing for 31 days about my healing process. The road that is now required of me will require my dying to self and putting absolute trust in God and His absolute truth. I hope that you will join me each day as I travail along this path before me. I am excited about what God will be teaching me as I yield myself to Him. 


And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 
(Luke 9:23-25 ESV)

The Heart

Desperately wicked: The heart is not only deceitful, but also wicked - and desperately so. Many have been led to rebellion, disobedience, and great sorrow by following their heart, without challenging their heart and judging it by the measure of God's truth. "Follow your heart" is poor advice when the heart is desperately wicked. (Guzik)

Jeremiah 17:5-10
Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
“I the LORD search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Below is commentary from David  Guzik on this pasage:

a. The heart is deceitful above all things: To this point the Prophet Jeremiah has given some reason to be cautious about the inclinations and direction of the heart. He noted how the evil heart of the people of Judah had led them astray.

·      Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart (Jeremiah 11:8)
·      They prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart (Jeremiah 14:14)
·      Each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me (Jeremiah 16:12)

b. The heart is deceitful above all things: Our hearts often deceive us, presenting heart-fulfillment as the key to happiness. What we desire is often not what we need. The advice "be true to your heart" fails when the heart is deceitful above all things.

i. "In the OT usage the heart signifies the total inner being and includes reason. From the heart come action and will." (Feinberg)

ii. "The pravity and perversity of the man's heart, full of harlotry and creature confidence, deceiving and being deceived, is here plainly and plentifully described; and oh that it were duly and deeply considered." (Trapp)

c. And desperately wicked: The heart is not only deceitful, but also wicked - and desperately so. Many have been led to rebellion, disobedience, and great sorrow by following their heart, without challenging their heart and judging it by the measure of God's truth. "Follow your heart" is poor advice when the heart is desperately wicked.

i. The sense of the Hebrew for desperately wicked seems to have sickness more than depravity in mind. "Unregenerate human nature is in a desperate condition without divine grace, described by the term gravely ill in verse 9 (rsv desperately corrupt, neb desperately sick)." (Harrison)

d. Who can know it? The heart's deceit and wickedness are advanced enough that even the individual may not know or understand their own heart, and outsiders have even more difficulty in discerning the heart of others.

e. I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind: Though knowing the heart of one's self or others is difficult and sometimes impossible, God searches, tests, and knows the heart and mind. It is wise to trust what God says about us more than what we think or feel about ourselves.

i. I test the mind: "A second word is here set in parallel to heart, literally, 'kidneys', hidden depths. These, Yahweh assays or 'tests'…the two terms 'heart' and 'kidneys' cover the range of hidden elements in man's character and personality. Nothing is hidden from Yahweh." (Thomspon)

ii. "The Lord is called by his apostles, Acts 1:24, kardiognwsthv, the Knower of the heart. To him alone can this epithet be applied; and it is from him alone that we can derive that instruction by which we can in any measure know ourselves." (Clarke)

Day 5 Biblical Womanhood "Different Kinds of Love"

Today I want to  go back to 1 Cor 13 and look at the word love.

 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I shall dole out all my goods in food, and if I deliver up my body that I may be burned, but have not love, I profit nothing.

(1Cor 13:1-3)

 Love
The ancient Greeks had four different words we translate love.  It is important to understand the difference between the words, and why the apostle Paul chose the Greek word Agape here.

 1. Eros was one word for love.  It described, as we might guess from the word itself, erotic love.  It refers to sexual love.

2. Storge was the second word for love.  It refers to family love, the kind of love there is between a parent and child, or between family members in general.

3. Philia is the third word for love.  It speaks of a brotherly friendship and affection.  It is the love of deep friendship and partnership.  It might be described as the highest love of which man, without God’s help, is capable of.

4. Agape is the fourth word for love.  It is a love that loves without changing.  It is a self-giving love that gives without demanding or expecting re-payment.  It is love so great that it can be given to the unlovable or unappealing.  It is love that loves even when it is rejected.  Agape love gives and loves because it wants to; it does not demand or expect repayment from the love given.  It gives because it loves, it does not love in order to receive. The word has little to do with emotion; it has much to do with self-denial for the sake of another. It is Unconditional.

This is the kind of Love that we have to let God do through us. It is a fruit of the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, self-control: against such things there is no law.
(Gal 5:22-23)

Can you think of some ways to show your Husband Agape Love?

Join me again tomorrow as we explore some ways we can show our husbands Agape love.

Day 3 Biblical Womanhood "Older Women"

Today we are going to focus on the older women and what scripture has to say about them and how they are to live their lives in order to effectively minister to the younger women. Let’s take a closer look.

The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they admonish the young women. Titus 2:3.   

                            

•           Reverent in behavior: This older woman sees her entire life as a worship to God. Some Commentaries call this sacred service. I love this picture of one’s whole life as a worship to God. We are an open testimony to His work in us over the course of our lives, so we need to behave as Christ would. In this way we live to be an example to those who come behind us.

•    Not slanderers: not raising false reports or, bringing false charges against members of the church, making differences and divisions among them.

•         Not given to much wine: This was a common failing of older women in Roman and Greek culture. Paul recognizes that this special challenge needs special instruction.( Guzik Commentary on O.T. and N.T.)  But even today there is the temptation to drown out your sorrows with wine. Let us be Sober in heart and mind able to discern the will of God in our lives. Therefore girding up the loins of your mind, being sober, perfectly hope for the grace being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (1Pe 1:13)

•       Teachers of good things : If the older women have special challenges, they also have special opportunities. God can use their wisdom and experience as they admonish the young women. This gives the older women something positive to live towards, instead of the negative things of slander and alcohol abuse. (Guzik Commentary on O.T. and N.T.)

 I am challenged to live my life as a worship to God and  be a positive influence in today’s society. How about you?  Join me tomorrow as we study verse 4. See you soon.

Day 2 Biblical Womanhood "The Why"

The Why of Biblical Womanhood

In Titus 2:3-5, Paul calls for the older Christian women to teach the younger Christian women in how to live. These verses are instruction for all Christian women about Christian womanhood. We are not born knowing how to be a biblical mother, wife, and woman, it is not a matter of inclination . Biblical womanhood is developed through biblical teaching and training. It is something that you are trained in by those who have done it before you. Training in womanhood begins with sound doctrine.*1 
    Christian instruction does not begin with what you ought to do, but with what you ought to believe. Sound doctrine will always bring us to what our lives should look like in Christ. Gods word trains us how to live. A mind full of Gods word should result in a life that manifests Gods Word in our daily lives and actions. Titus's task as an elder is to teach sound doctrine that calls the older men and the older women to live godly lives. They then are to teach the younger men and women, respectively, how to live godly lives. Mature, godly women are called  to teach the younger women, training them to embrace biblical womanhood. In our verses, the older women are to be deliberate in encouraging and exhorting the younger women by setting an example in word and in deed of what it means to be a biblical woman.  This will mean an older Christian woman investing herself in the lives of younger Christian women with the intentional purpose of helping them to apply the Gods Word to their lives as women.
So, let me ask you:

• As a mature Christian woman, are you deliberately  teaching and training the younger women in what it means not only to be a Christian, but also to be a Christian woman, wife, and mother?
  
• As a younger Christian woman, are you actively  seeking out teaching and training from a mature Christian woman in what it means not only to be Christian, but also to be a Christian woman, wife, and mother? *2

Join me tomorrow as we start examining and applying Titus 2:3-5. 

End Notes

 *1The use of the term "doctrine" in Scripture is important for at least three reasons. First, it affirms that the primitive church was confessional. The first generation of believers confessed apostolic teaching about the significance of the life of Christ. They delivered a body of information that included facts about Christ with interpretation of their importance. Second, the use of the term reflects development of thought in the primitive church. Didaskalia [didaskaliva] is used in the Pastorals with reference to the sum of teaching, especially of that which had come from the lips of the apostles. Doctrine plays a small role in Judaism and in the New Testament apart from the Pastoral Epistles, and yet is very important in the latter. By the time of the Pastorals the apostolic message had been transformed into traditional teaching. Third, it affirms the indispensable link between spirituality and doctrine. Christianity is a way of life founded on doctrine. Some disparage doctrine in favor of the spiritual life. Paul, however, taught that spiritual growth in Christ is dependent on faithfulness to sound doctrine, for its truth provides the means of growth ( Col 2:6 ). The apostle John developed three tests for discerning authentic spirituality: believing right doctrine ( 1 Jo 2:18-27 ), obedience to right doctrine (2:28-3:10), and giving expression to right doctrine with love (2:7-11). Faithful obedience and love, then, are not alternatives to sound doctrine. They are the fruit of right doctrine as it works itself out in the believer's character and relationships.

Sam Hamstra, Jr.

Bibliography. J. G. Machen, Christianity and Liberalism; D. F. Wells, No Place For Truth: Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology; TDNT, 2:160-63.

*2  This Introduction  has been adapted  from a sermon given on Titus 2:3-5 – Biblical Womanhood
by Eric Schumacher 

Glad Game

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
~Winston Churchill

I am by nature an optimist. I am a "Pollyanna" always looking to play the "Glad Game "
Just in case you don't know:  
Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter

 ("The Glad Game", is an optimistic attitude Pollyanna  learned from her father. The game consists of finding something to be glad about in every situation. It originated in an incident one Christmas when Pollyanna, who was hoping for a doll in the missionary barrel, found only a pair of crutches inside. Making the game up on the spot, Pollyanna's father taught her to look at the good side of things—in this case, to be glad about the crutches because "we didn't need to use them!"Pg 38-39) 

 Some People however are not optimistic and do not play the "Glad Game" it is not their nature. They can be very negative and hard to be around.

The Church Hill quote reminds me of how much we need Christ Like attitudes.

Obedience is about pleasing God, doing "what is well pleasing in His sight."  This is why Christ died for us. "He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again" (2Co 5:15). 

Living to please self is the ultimate disobedience to God.  ~Bob Hoekstra

 For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light  (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),  and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. (Eph 5:8-10 ESV)


 We need  have proper heart posture  in order to please Him.

By abiding in Him we can choose to be pleasing and to do His will no matter what our nature is.

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
(1Th 3:11-13 ESV)

 Are you Glad? Let God live through you and be a light and love to those around you.

Direction

 I have been trying to figure out what direction to take my blog.  I have visited many other blogs in the blogoshere  to "see" how to have an effective blog.  There are many types of blogs that cover many topics. I have found there is not a "right way" to blog. You just have to be your self. For me I have to also be true to my convictions and beliefs.

I am not here to be a braggart and tell everyone how many laundry loads I have done today and how many loaves of fresh homemade bread I cranked out in my homey little cozy kitchen. . I want to be real and be used of the Lord to encourage others in their Christian walks. That means transparency, it means being able to say "I blew it"  It also means seeking Godly counsel  and be willing to accept that counsel.   I will Keep Timeless Treasures Direction to reflect What God is teaching me about walking with Him With an occasional  recipe or frugal find.
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
(Pro 3:1-8 ESV)