In a world bent on worshiping and following every detail of actors and politicians, minds can be skewed on what is good, right, and fruitful.
Our culture is constantly dictating to us how to behave, what is right, and where our efforts should be placed.
It is a wonder to me that we know what to do first on a day to day basis. As a mother we get the input that we should do everything to ensure our children are happy. Then a news article comes out claiming parents do to much for their kids. Another article exclaiming that stay at home moms are vital for society. The very next day a magazine cover talks about the importance of a working mother to the self-esteem of our children.
Which thing is right? Keep a clean home or play with your children all day. Teach chores or do all the housework so your children can study and do sports. Teach your children a second language at birth or wait till they learn it in high school.
How about religion? Make your child memorize Bible verses!?! Another mom screams "No, don't do that!" Claims of making children burnt out on God or hating God.
Feed them only this or that. Food talk galore and what is right for our own bodies. We are all wading through the information overload.
The list can go on and on. The mothering guilt being piled higher and higher. Or even if you aren't a mother or father: teenagers are told to work hard but then YouTube shows every possible indulgence and TV keeps a running commentary of negative stereotypes and attitudes.
You know where I'm going with this...The Bible. It truly is a time-tested code of conduct and living water for our lives.
John 7:37 Now on the last day of the festival, Hoshana Rabbah, Yeshua stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking! 38 Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!” 39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who trusted in him were to receive later — the Spirit had not yet been given, because Yeshua had not yet been glorified.)
The Bible should be our barometer against everything we do. We must stand against the tug of not reading it. We must hold it up so that it can be a lamp unto our feet to light the path that God wants for us.
We are told to be in the world but not of the world. We are guided by the specifics and the generalities within God's word.
Thankfully, God didn't dictate to us to keep a spotless home or to work 40 hours a week or to be a stay at home mom as the only way to live. No, His word gives each of us flexibility to be who we are and to live the life that God our Abba has called us to.
Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us as we read the Bible and see how to apply it to our lives. Jesus is our ultimate guide on action. He acted with love. He acted with compassion. He was constantly communing with God The Father. He worked but not constantly. He knew how to enjoy life and laugh—all the while knowing that He was coming ever closer to being put on the cross for my sins and your sins.
Jesus spoke boldly. He stood His ground when people called into question how He behaved.
So many of us do not stand our ground when people tell us or "should" on us to act or do differently. We vacillate back and forth about how much time to spend at work or at home. We allow the TV to deaden us every night like a sick opioid addiction, never cracking open our Bible or spending more than a few seconds in prayer if that.
We are blown by every change in fashion, food, and fancy. I'm not saying you can't change out the acid washed jeans for dark wash 😉 I'm talking about trading your ideals on clothes every other second. I've caught myself in this more times than I care to admit.
We need to stand firm in our beliefs as TV tells our children how to behave. We need to be their barometer pointing them to the word of God as their ultimate barometer.
Isaiah 55:11 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth —
it will not return to me unfulfilled;
but it will accomplish what I intend,
and cause to succeed what I sent it to do.”
We need to nod and smile when friends and family should all over us. They can take the very wind out of our sails and leave us depressed and wondering if we are good at anything or good enough at all.
What you choose each day should be dictated by God and yourself. Keep resolved and keep firm in your faith. Your faith must come from hearing and reading. Your faith to be firm must come from reading the Bible and prayer. There is no getting around this step—I know I have tried 😉
Everlasting joy in how our lives comes from leaning into God and standing firm on what He is leading you to do and act like each day.
14 Fill us at daybreak with your love,
so that we can sing for joy as long as we live.
