Haritha

I Don’t Mind If I Do – Eve’s Story

Okay, so I know I said we’d do this in no particular order, but since Eve is first, we will start with her.

Eve’s Story

We are all created by God for God, but Eve is first woman created and the only woman not created by God in her mother’s tummy. Those go without saying. But Eve had several other firsts. Eve was the first woman…

• To sin
• To lie to God
• To have a child
• To be in a man/woman relationship
• To experience grief

Let’s take these one at a time and see what we can learn from the woman God created with his own two hands.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.

God created and blessed Eve. He provided for her every need; placing only one stipulation on her. Just one. But Eve couldn’t hold up under the pressure from Satan to live up to God’s expectations and guidelines for her.

I’d like to think we have the short version of how things went down between Eve and Satan, but unfortunately, it doesn’t look that way. I mean, seriously, did Satan only have to tempt Eve once before she caved?

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say,

‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”‘

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

This event was the first sin which was quickly followed by the first lie—the lie Eve and Adam told God when he asked them why they were hiding from him.

After God pronounces the punishment for their lie, we don’t read anything specifically about Eve. Instead, we only hear about Eve’s family, but I don’t think I have to tell you that what happened to Eve’s family directly affected Eve’s life. Take the incident with Cain and Abel…

Eve’s grief over the loss of one son was coupled with the grief over knowing he died at the hands of another son had to be heart-wrenching. As a mom, you know she had to be asking herself what went wrong.

Had she done something (or not done something) that caused Cain to have so much animosity toward his brother? Was her son’s death part of her punishment for past transgressions? And not only was Abel gone, but Cain was gone, too —banished from home in punishment for his crime. Her grief, to be sure, was overwhelming and nearly unbearable.

God did not leave Eve childless, however. In fact, the Bible tells us in Genesis chapter five that God blessed Adam and Eve with several more sons and daughters. Now while this undoubtedly brought happiness and joy back into their home, you can be sure that Eve never saw these children as replacements for the two sons she lost because a mother’s love never dies— even if her child does.

Joy And Grief. Happiness And Sadness Fear and confidence. Eve all of these emotions and more. Like any other woman in history, Eve struggled in her relationship with her husband, her children, and with God. She struggled with guilt, and self-esteem, and experienced times of doubt as well as times of confidence in her abilities as a wife and a mother.

Eve really isn’t all that different from every other woman, is she…including you?

What We Can Learn From Eve

We don’t have to worry about talking snakes and wrapping leaves around us so God doesn’t see our… But that doesn’t mean Eve’s life doesn’t hold a few life lessons for women everywhere.

Lesson One:

The fact that Eve was so close to God, yet at times so far from him (spiritually speaking), teaches us that God is patient with the fact that we aren’t always quick to pick up on things. It also speaks to the fact that he desires a relationship with you and that he sees you as a beautiful aspect of his creation.

Lesson Two:

You cannot hide from God. He knows everything—including your thoughts and emotions. So…don’t try to hide from God. Lay it all out there for him to hear. He’s big enough to handle it AND to see you through it all.

Lesson Three:

There are no winners in the blame game. Eve undoubtedly went back and forth between blaming herself and Adam for the tragedy of Cain and Abel. She couldn’t help herself. But it wasn’t her fault.

Even if she wasn’t a perfect mom (which she wasn’t, because there is no such thing), there comes a time in every person’s life when they must take full responsibility and accountability for their actions—your children included. Cain and Abel weren’t little boys. They were old enough to be on their own and making their own living.

As a mom, your kids deserve nothing less than your best, but ultimately they make their own choices. Just like you wouldn’t be able to take credit for your child’s discovery of the cure for cancer, you don’t have to take credit for the negative choices they make. Playing the blame game only serves to:

• Lessen your self-esteem
• Prevent you from giving your children (even adult children) wisdom, advice, and a Christ-like example
• They distance you from God by filling your heart and mind with doubts, anger, and bitterness

Lesson Four:

Being a mom isn’t easy and it’s not always fun. In fact, it’s been described as the best and worst job in the world. It’s also the most important job you’ll ever have.

Lesson Five:

Grief will eat away at your heart, soul, and mind if you don’t give it over to God. While Cain and Abel were never erased from Eve’s heart or mind, she was able to allow joy back into her heart and to express that joy and love to her husband and the children that were born to her in later years.

You, too, can recover from your grief. What seems to be unbearable and never-ending sadness can and will be replaced by an ache in your heart for what you are missing coupled with the happiness of the memories you have of your loved one… If you allow God to work in your heart and in your mind.

To Sum It All Up

Eve was imperfect, emotional, hard-working (you try raising all those kids

without running water, and baby wipes), devoted to family, and she loved the LORD.

God knows you, too, are imperfect and emotional and he wants you to be devoted to your family and to him.

What Have You Gotten Us Into – Job’s Wife

We don’t know her first name. We only know her as Job’s wife, aka, Mrs. Job.

Mrs. Job’s Story

The Old Testament book of Job relays the account of how God allowed Satan to purposely and vengefully attack Job—a faithful man of God.

This attack was physical, spiritual, and emotional in nature. But think about it. When Job lost his wealth, his health, his children, and his grandchildren, so did Mrs. Job!

Mrs. Job gets a lot of bad publicity for getting upset with God and with Job, but who among us wouldn’t do the same? She was grieving a terrible loss, fearful of the future, and distraught at seeing her husband’s condition deteriorate overnight for no apparent reason.

Mrs. Job was hurt, angry, scared, and full of questions that couldn’t be answered.

What we don’t ever talk about, however, is that Mrs. Job was obviously a submissive and loving wife. I say this because:

• She didn’t argue with Job when he set her straight about getting mad at God for what was happening to him/them.
• She and Job had other children together once the whole ordeal was over.

What We Can Learn From Mrs. Job

While we have to admit Mrs. Job had her moments of anger and frustration, when push came to shove, she was a submissive, loving, and faithful wife. She stood by her man when the chips were down and didn’t bail on him just because times were tough…really tough.

From Mrs. Job, we learn…

Lesson One:

Bad things happen to good people. While some of the bad things that happen to us are the result of our own poor choices and decisions, some of the bad things that happen are the result of a fallen and sinful world and just life in general.

God didn’t cause you to lose your job when the place went out of business. He allowed it to happen, though, because he is God…not a puppet master.

The death of a child or your spouse at an early age isn’t God’s punishment. It is his plan; a plan that we are incapable of seeing and understanding the wisdom of more often than not.

So rather than blaming God and being bitter and angry at him when bad things happen, trust him enough to know that he will give you the comfort, strength, and courage to face every situation and that when you do so, you will receive his blessings in abundance.

Lesson Two:

Material wealth is not security. Money and things really don’t bring happiness and you really cannot take it with you.

Lesson Three:

Marriage is difficult but worth the effort.

While the culture of the day didn’t leave Mrs. Job a lot of options, she could have made Job’s life miserable (or more miserable), but we have no indication that this was the case.

Job is repeatedly described as a good and righteous man, so the fact that they had another family tells us that she recognized these qualities in her husband and appreciated them.

Your marriage is going to have its share of difficulties, too. Don’t give up. Instead, make God the center of your home and see your marriage as a ‘til death do you part’ kind of thing and work to make it the best it can be.

Lesson Four:

Mrs. Job was resourceful.

This woman also went from being a sort of matriarch in the community to having nothing.

This would not have been easy and it was necessary for her to become resourceful in getting by, but the fact that God blessed them so abundantly once Job went through his time of struggle and pain, tells me that Job was not the only reason God did this.

Being prudent with your money (having and sticking to a budget) isn’t always easy or pleasant, but the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from doing so is tremendous.

Also, realizing that the newest, latest, and best doesn’t make you a better person is essential for any woman who wants to know her true worth because this can only come from knowing and believing how precious and beautiful you are in God’s eyes.

This woman had grit and tenacity.

And finally, who was there to comfort Mrs. Job when she was grieving the loss of her entire family—except her husband? It certainly wasn’t Job.

He was too busy feeling sorry for himself, trying to figure out why these things were happening, dealing with his friends…and in the end, having a very intense conversation with God.

She had no one who really understood her pain. When she needed Job most, he wasn’t there for her. Yet somehow she managed to work through her pain and see hope for the future.

Unfortunately, the people we love and who love us are going to disappoint us from time to time. They aren’t always going to be there for us the way we want or need them to. That’s just part of being human. The great news,

To Sum It All Up

Life is not always going to go the way we want it to. We are going to have our share of heartaches and difficulties—even a tragedy or two.

These things are not God’s way of punishing us. Life happens and all he wants is for us to trust him to handle it for and with us.

We also need to remember that true happiness cannot be found in material possessions or even in the love of another person.

We are all human and capable of messing up. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the only one who will never disappoint.

It’s My Way or the Highway – Sarah’s Story

The husband is to be the head of the family and as Christian wives, we are to be submissive to our husbands. This is nothing to be fearful of or to feel humiliated by. After all, a Christian husband is to love his wife as much as God loves the church. But for some reason, Sara didn’t get this message.

Sarah’s Story

For anyone not familiar with who Sarah is, Sarah was married to Abraham. God chose Abraham to be the father or beginning of the entire Israelite race. There was just one problem with that in Sarah’s eyes-she was over eighty years old and was childless.

It’s easy to see why Sarah would have these thoughts, but God had been actively working in her and Abraham’s life, so she could just as easily trust God to do what he said he was going to do.

Unfortunately, Sarah decided to take matters into her own hands.

God said he would give SARAH and Abraham a child. But because Sarah didn’t think this was possible, she had Abraham sleep with her maid (Hagar) for the purpose of getting pregnant. In other words, she decided to do God’s job for him.

FYI: this never ends well.

It worked. Well, sort of. Abraham and Hagar had a son-Ishmael. But that’s not the way God had it planned, so a few years later, Sarah got pregnant and had The child God promised her and Abraham.

This is where things get really interesting (messy).

Sarah became insanely jealous of Hagar and Ishmael. It wouldn’t even be an exaggeration to say Sarah hated them- so much so that we read in Genesis, chapter twenty-one, that she demanded Abraham send them away; cutting all ties with them forever…

The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham.

The Bible gives accounts of other incidents in Sarah’s life following the mess with Ishmael and Isaac; incidents that portray her as being more submissive to Abraham and somewhat of a cohort in deceitful situations. We also read of the death of Sarah in Genesis 23 and how Abraham mourned and wept for her.

What We Can Learn From Sarah

Sarah was a complex woman. On the one hand, she was a faithful servant of God and a submissive wife who left her home and all that was familiar to her to go to a place God told them to. On the other hand, though, she was manipulative, selfish, and mean.

From Sarah, we learn…

Lesson One:

Trust God to do what he says he is going to do. God said Sarah would have a baby. That should have been enough for her. When you feel God’s leading or ask God for direction, trust him to point you in the right direction.

There will be times when what God wants for you will require action on your part-including making choices and decisions. In other words, God isn’t going to zap this or that to make things happen for you.

But hear this loud and clear: it will never be in God’s will for you to do things that contradict his Word. Furthermore, if you are seeking God’s direction and/or feel he is leading you down one path, he will make sure the way is clear for you to get where he wants you to go.

Lesson Two:

Family matters. The fact that nearly fifty percent of homes in America are blended homes or families doesn’t exclude the Church. Christians everywhere have either come to know Jesus post-divorce or have disobeyed God’s expectations for marriage.

Either way, if you are a step-mom, you have a responsibility and commitment to LOVE your husband’s children and do NOTHING to endanger or hinder your husband’s relationship with his children from a previous relationship.

The relationship between a stepmom and her stepchildren can be prickly, but it doesn’t have to be.

Even if the children involved are resistant, angry, or even bitter, you have the responsibility to love them in spite of themselves for the sake of your relationship with God, your relationship with your husband, and your relationship with yourself.

Lesson Three:

It’s nice to be nice.

Hagar didn’t ask Sarah if she could sleep with her husband. Culturally, Hagar didn’t have a choice. As for Ishmael, he didn’t ask to be born. Ishmael deserved to be loved by his father.

Likewise, both Ishmael and Isaac deserved the chance to have a strong, brotherly relationship. Ismael didn’t ask for any of this, but he sure paid the price for Sarah’s impulsiveness-a price WE are still paying today.

She put Abraham in a horrible position for nothing. God said he was going to give the two of them a son to be the father of the Israelite nation. It was going to happen no matter where Ishmael was.

If Sarah had owned her mistake and acknowledged that Abraham had a right to love Ismael, too, oh what a different place this world would be.

To Sum It All Up

Trusting God to do what he says he’s going to do is the surest way to live the life he created us to live. It won’t be a perfect life, but it will be a life full of blessings, promise, and the security of knowing God is always there for us.

If You Really Loved Me You Would – Delilah’s Story

What can we say about Delilah without sounding unkind or even mean? Let’s face it there’s not really anything nice we can say about her. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to learn from her, though.

Delilah’s Story

Samson chose Delilah to be his wife after his first wife was taken from him and given to another man. Both women were Philistines, and both were more committed to their people than to Samson, but Delilah was by far the most deceitful.

The Philistines were ruling over Israel at the time and were angry at Samson since he used his strength against them. They were embarrassed by his ability to outdo them.

It took a while, but Delilah finally convinced Samson to tell her the truth the source of his strength was first and foremost, God, but his long hair was the symbolic attribute providing him with his super-human strength.

And what did she do with this information? She ran straight to the Philistine thugs to cut a deal with them and put a plan into action to destroy her husband.

The plan worked. She cut Samson’s hair while he was sleeping so that when he was attacked, he was quickly overpowered and hauled off to prison.

FYI: For the rest of the story, read the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of the Old Testament book of Judges.

What We Can Learn From Delilah

The lessons learned from Delilah are simple and straightforward…

Lesson One:

Lies and deceit are never attractive or productive. Never.

Lesson Two:

Marriage is about being committed to your spouse and supportive of him. A solid marriage is one built on trust, integrity, and knowing your spouse can depend on you and you on him.

Lesson Three:

Delilah couldn’t let go of her ties and loyalties to her people. When you get married, your first obligation (other than to God) is to your husband and children (once they come along).

Lesson Four:

Samson was hesitant to tell Delilah the truth. He obviously had trust issues due to the fact that he didn’t reveal a lot of things to his parents. But in this case, he was justified. Delilah was not trustworthy.

She nagged, pleaded, and plied him for the truth until he finally caved. The lesson to be learned here is to be a woman whose integrity is never questioned. Your family and friends should never have to worry or wonder if their secrets and confidences are safe with them.

To Sum It All Up

Delilah is an excellent example of the kind of woman we shouldn’t be. Deceit, cunningness, and a lack of respect are not at all desirable or attractive to God or to man.

When You Marry A Man You Marry His Family – Judith and Basemath’s Story

Two sentences. Thirty-two words, but thirty-two very powerful words that speak volumes.

Judith And Basemath’s Story

Judith and Basemath were Esau’s wives. If you remember, Esau was one of Isaac and Rebekah’s twins-his brother being Jacob. The same Jacob stole Esau’s birthright from him and tricked Esau and their father into giving him the inheritance that was Esau’s rightful ‘due’ since he was the firstborn son.

As if that wasn’t enough, Esau was blatantly passed over by his own mother because she favored his twin, Jacob, so much. And although Isaac seemed to favor Esau more, he wouldn’t take back what he’d been tricked into doing, which I’m sure was a bitter pill for Esau to swallow.

It is necessary to recap the not-so-high points of Esau’s life in talking about Judith and Basemath because the fact that these two daughters-in-law were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah undoubtedly had something to do with how Esau was treated by her parents.

First of all, both women were Hittites people group that lived in the land of Canaan when the Israelites took it for their own. In other words, the Hittites were not God-fearing. They were idol worshippers.

Secondly, they were troublemakers. This is not an assumption or judgment. The Bible tells us that they were a source of grief. If these two were mild-mannered, family-oriented, and about the business of lifting up their husband, his parents would not have seen them as a source of grief, but rather as loved family members.

What kind of trouble did they cause? While we cannot know or say for sure, what little we do know about Judith and Basemath tells us…

• They did not encourage Esau to worship God
• They did not raise their children to be God-fearing
• They did not encourage Esau to re-establish a relationship with his parents
• They were not kind to Isaac and Rebekah
• They did not embrace their role as wives of a first-born son

Being a source of grief to your family or your husband’s family is never in God’s plan for your life.

What We Can Learn From Judith And Basemath

The old saying that says when we marry we marry an entire family is true. Even if your spouse is estranged from their family, you still marry the genetics, the product of a childhood environment, and the foundation of how and why your spouse processes emotions, thoughts, and so on.

Keeping this in mind, let’s take a look at what you can learn from Judith and Basemath…

Lesson One:

Do not try to come between your husband and his parents/family. If there are problems they are his to deal with. Now this isn’t to say you shouldn’t support your husband, but you should never instigate or agitate the situation.

• Not going behind his back to fix the situation even if he is wrong. Instead, you gently share your thoughts and feelings with him without accusing him or putting him in a position to defend himself.
• Not demanding he take your side. Instead, explain how you feel and why you feel the way you do and ask that the two of you work toward a feasible solution.
• You don’t refuse to participate in his family events if he wants to do so. Instead, be gracious and hold your tongue. Remember…your in-laws are the reason your husband exists, so….
• Trying to see the good in his family because your family isn’t perfect, either.

Lesson Two:

Treat your husband the way God intends you to. While the evidence points to the fact that Esau’s wives were grievous to their in-laws because of the way Esau was treated, there are times when a wife does not give her husband the love, respect, attention, and care he deserves.

When this happens, it’s only natural that his momma is gonna get her feathers ruffled. That’s her little boy we’re talking about.

As a Christian wife, this should never be the case (but unfortunately it happens sometimes). If you are not a Christian, there is still no reason or excuse for not cherishing your husband as you vowed to do on your wedding day.

Now I know some of you are saying, “But what about an abusive husband? Or a cheating husband? How am I supposed to cherish him?”

However, if she chooses to forgive him and work toward saving her marriage, God will bless her for doing so.

As for abuse, a husband is directed to love his wife as God loves the church. God never abuses the church and he never intends his people to be abused by anyone. So to answer your question, it is never God’s desire that a woman be abused.

Getting back to treating your husband right…

As a wife, it is your responsibility to be submissive, loving, and attentive, and to make your home a pleasant place to be. You don’t have to wear an apron by day and sexy nighties by night all the time, but you do need to make your marriage your top priority right after your relationship with the LORD.

FYI: If you do, you won’t be disappointed. Your husband will be more than happy to return the favors.

Lesson Three:

Don’t marry someone whose background is too different from yours.

The eye rolling and head shaking are almost palpable on this one, but hear me out, okay? While it isn’t impossible for couples with extremely diverse cultural, economic, social, and religious to make it, the odds are greatly against such unions.

God started warning against this when the Israelites were traveling to the land of Canaan.

He told them not to take their daughters for wives or sons for husbands. Why? Because they were idol-worshippers and he knew their faith would be tested and destroyed in doing so.

Our relationship with God should always be first and foremost in our hearts and minds. When this is so, God will make sure there are plenty of people in your life to love you and for you to include opening your heart and mind to the spouse he wants you to have.

The other differences in cultural and socioeconomic status bring unnecessary stress to a marriage, but like I said earlier, as long as they don’t hinder or take away from your relationship with God, they certainly aren’t insurmountable.

You just need to be prepared to compromise and be willing to accept and embrace traditions, foods, and expectations different from what you are used to. You also need to be prepared to provide a stable environment for your children rather than a dysfunctional, confusing home for them to grow up in.

To Sum It All Up

Whose family you can embrace (or at least tolerate), someone whose faith, values, and expectations for life and marriage are compatible with yours, and someone who understands what it means to love you as God loves the Church.

Lord, I Trust You To Give Me The Desire Of My Heart – Hannah’s Story

Few women in the Bible have a heart and faith as beautiful and pure as Hannah’s. Hannah wasn’t afraid to pour out her heart to God. She also had faith that he would give her what she asked for. But
Hannah’s faith went even further. She loved God so much that she was willing to give back to him the very thing she longed for.. a child.

Hannah’s story

Hannah was married to Elkanah, but unlike his other wife, Peninnah, Hannah was unable to give Elkanah any children.

Peninnah took great delight in Hannah’s misery, but Elkanah did not. He treated her with love and tenderness. Hannah most assuredly took some comfort from her husband’s kindness, but her longing for a child was indescribable….

There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of

Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.

Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord.

Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah, he gave a double portion because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.

One year, as they were making their annual sacrifices at Shiloh, Hannah could take the pain no longer. She poured her heart out to the LORD; her prayers being little more than moaning and groaning.

Eli, the high priest, noticed Hannah, heard her, and proceeded to reprimand her for being drunk. She quickly assured him that she wasn’t drunk.

She explained that she was desperately pouring her heart out to the LORD. Eli didn’t ask for any particulars or details. He simply told her that God had heard her and would give her what she had asked for.

Sure enough, shortly after returning home, Hannah and Elkanah discovered that they would finally become parents. Hannah was elated and thankful.

She was so thankful, in fact, that she told God she would give the child back to him once he was weaned and able to communicate (most likely 3 to 5 years old).

When the baby boy was born she named him Samuel and devoted herself to being the best mom and wife she could possibly be.

But true to her word, when the time came, she took Samuel to Eli at Shiloh, reminded him of their encounter, told him of the promise she had made, and left her son to live with Eli.

She went to see him often; never letting him doubt her love. And when God blessed Hannah and Elkanah with other children after that, it is safe to say she made sure they knew their big brother.

What We Can Learn From Hannah

Hannah was an outstanding woman of God. Don’t you agree? Not only did she trust God to answer her prayer, but she expressed her thanks in a most sacrificial manner.

What do you take from Hannah’s story? Hopefully, you learn…

Lesson One:

God does answer our prayers. Always. Sometimes he says yes, sometimes, no, and sometimes, he says wait until the time is right.

Lesson Two:

Everything we have is Gods-he is merely sharing with us. All too often we lose sight of this truth.

We take credit for our abilities and talents. We falsely believe our successes are due to our efforts and ours alone. We give ‘luck’ and ‘fate’ credit for many of the blessings God graciously gives.

Instead of having an ‘all about me’ attitude, you would do well to give credit where credit is due and share back with God in all things and in all ways.

This doesn’t mean you have to drop your kids off at the preacher’s house and say “They’re yours now.”

But it does mean you need to offer your children up to God; praying his will for their lives and that you can be an instrument in making that happen.

Lesson Three:

The greater your faith the greater (and more obvious) God’s blessings will be. God loves us unconditionally no matter who we are or what we do. It is impossible for him NOT to love us. His blessings, however, are conditional on how close we are to him.

Think about it like this: you love your children every single day of their lives. Your love doesn’t hinge on whether they go to bed on time or how little they sass you. These things don’t measure your love for them, but they do affect

your relationship and your ability to extend measures of goodwill (blessings).

For example, if they are obedient and well-behaved and don’t turn your house into a war zone at bedtime, you are more willing and able to see the value in reading that extra bedtime story, saying yes when they ask to have a friend over to play.

It is important to say, at this point, that even tremendous faith doesn’t guarantee you’ll get everything you ask for, but when your faith is such, you know that you will always get what you need and what God knows is best for you. And you’ll be completely satisfied with whatever that is.

Lesson Four:

Samuel was Elkanah’s son, too. He had to have faith like his wife’s in order to allow her to give Samuel to God and to Eli.

The point to be made is that your spiritual life will thrive best when you have a spouse who not only holds you accountable, but who also shares your desire to be ever-growing closer to the LORD.

To Sum It All Up

Hannah didn’t have any ulterior motives or an attitude of tit for tat when she gave Samuel to God. She just wanted to thank God for her son the best and biggest way she knew how. We should strive to do the same.

But What If I Can’t – Esther’s Story

Of all the women in the Bible, few are as admired as Esther. She was humble, unassuming, obedient, a lover of God, willing to do the right thing even when doing so was risky and to top it all off, she was beautiful.

Esther’s Story

The Old Testament book of Esther should be at the top of your reading list, but for the sake of time and space, let’s look at the condensed version…

Esther was a young Jewish girl being raised by her cousin, Mordecai, because her parents had died when she was a very young child. Esther and her family lived in Susa during the time Israel was under the rule of the Persian Empire- specifically King Xerxes.

The King found himself in need of a new queen, so he ordered all the young single ladies to participate in a beauty pageant. The grand prize? The title of queen.

Esther had no desire to be a part of the contest but didn’t have the option of saying no. Her beauty, humility, and simplicity won King Xerxes over and she was declared the winner.

During one of Mordecai’s visits to the palace to visit his adopted daughter, he ignited a deep-seated hatred for himself in the king’s right-hand man, Haman. As a result, Haman tricked the king into issuing a decree that all Jewish people would be executed.

Now the king didn’t know his beloved queen was also a Jew, but when Esther found out about the law, Mordecai convinced Esther that the responsibility for saving the Jewish race rested on her shoulders.

Going to the king wasn’t easy for the queen. She was literally taking her life in her hands in doing so, but through a series of events, Esther revealed Haman’s evil plot to King Xerxes; saving her life and the life of her people. Queen Esther was both a heroine and a Godly young woman.

What We Can Learn From Esther

Esther was a woman of principle who didn’t let fame, money, or position change who she was. Instead, she used all these things for the good of others and she remained true to herself and to God.

From Esther, we learn…

Lesson One:

God’s plan for us doesn’t always make sense in our eyes, but if we are listening and watching, we will realize he always has a reason for what he does.

Esther couldn’t imagine why she of all people should be queen, but God did and that was enough. It should be enough for us, too.

Lesson Two:

Being fearful is not an excuse for not doing God’s will. The king could have given the “off with her head” edict had he wanted to because Esther came to him uninvited.

In a similar fashion, there are Christians dying daily around the world because they proclaim God as the one true God and Jesus as Savior.

There are even Christians in this country serving time in jail, being persecuted, stalked, harassed, and bullied because they are holding to the moral principles given in the Bible.

Are these things scary to think about? You bet they are, but so was being nailed to a cross. We just have to train our hearts and minds to see these events as a way to witness and know that no matter what happens to us, God will bless us for our faithfulness.

Lesson In Three:

Less is more is usually the better route to take when it comes to talking.

Esther’s ethnic background wasn’t something she talked about all the time. There was no need to. It didn’t matter. She was a citizen of Susa, young, single, pretty, and sweet.

That was all anyone really cared about in regard to the queen contest. She wasn’t being deceitful. There simply was no need to make it an issue.

People see the color of our skin, hear our accents, and can usually tell by the neighborhood we live in, and other such indicators what nationality we are and where we’re at in relation to socio-economic ‘placements’ (I don’t like that word).

It shouldn’t be a topic of conversation.

Instead, we need to focus on letting people know who we are in regard to our hearts, our minds, and our desire to be like Jesus.

To focus on these other things (as we can see on the news every night) brings dissension, resentment, hatred, and conflict. That’s not what we are to be about.

Lesson Four:

It’s always right to do the right thing. Being tactful, truthful, and having the right motive for doing something is never wrong.

To Sum It All Up

Esther was able to use her station in life to save the Jewish race. While it’s probably safe to say none of us will ever be a queen or a princess or the leader of a nation, we have a responsibility given to us by Jesus Christ to use our station in life (no matter where or what it is) to share the message of Jesus and salvation with those around us.

You Are My Favorite – Rebekah’s Story

Our friends are our friends because we have things in common and enjoy spending time together, but when it comes to our children, showing favoritism is the wrongest thing you can do. No, ‘wrongest’ isn’t a real word, but it works in this case….

Rebekah’s Story

Rebekah was Isaac’s wife, Abraham and Sarah’s daughter-in-law, and the mother of Jacob and Esau. She can also go down in history as one of the worst moms ever.

When she was pregnant with Jacob and Esau (twins), God told her that when the twins were born the older would serve or be in submission to the younger one.

She didn’t know how this would come about or why God would say something like this, but when her boys were born Esau was born first and was a very hairy baby.

Jacob was born last and came out of the womb with his hand holding onto his brother’s foot. favoritism toward the son they loved the most. WOW! It’s hard just writing that much less thinking about how awful this must have been for both boys.

Any way… Rebekah is said to favor Jacob because he prefers to stay home with her. But was there more to it than that? Was it because of what God said and she wanted to make sure she was on his good side?

Was it because he favored her family in looks and/or personality? Was it because they had similar personalities? We don’t know. We only know Rebekah’s actions destroyed her family.

Not only did she have a son who had to live with the knowledge that he would never measure up in her eyes, but she strongly favored Jacob to the point of plotting to lie to her husband and to make sure her precious little Jacob got everything his brother was supposed to get (because he was the oldest).

Rebekah took the matter of doing God’s work into her own hands and made a complete and utter mess of things. She made sure her favorite child got more than he deserved and that he obtained the position of prominence in the family SO THAT the older would have to serve the younger.

Oh; Rebekah, shame on you.

Lessons We Can Learn From Rebekah

Rebekah is one messed up mom. She could easily be the spokeswoman of the “Here’s What NOT to do When You Are a Mom”. From her we learn…

Lesson One:

Showing favoritism toward a child is wrong on every conceivable level. There is never a good reason for doing so…only really bad ones. But what is favoritism? Favoritism is…

• Making rules and guidelines that don’t apply to all of your children
• Giving one child more than you do the others in regards to time, attention, praise, money, gifts, and/or help in the way of housing, education, etc.
• Not expecting one child to do the same amount of chores as the others (age appropriately)
• Talking about one child to another child
• Extending special privileges to one child, but not the others

What favoritism is NOT is this: Every child deserves their time in the limelight. This is NOT favoritism. Favoritism is giving these times to only one child or giving more of them to one than you do the others.

This isn’t to say you cannot enjoy spending time with one of your children doing something you both enjoy, but when this is the case, you need to find common ground with the rest of your children (individually) and spend time with them, as well.

Now I know some of you may be thinking that some children excel more often than others. True. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of reasons to praise those children who are shyer or less athletic or who don’t make the honor roll. As a parent, though, you should know that.

Lesson Two:

Your attitude and actions decide the dynamics of your family.

Remember that saying, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy”? It’s true. ‘Nuff said.

Lesson Three:

Children shouldn’t come between you and your husband.

Rebekah was the driving force of this family catastrophe, but Jacob went along with her schemes even though he knew it was not the right thing to do. She allowed her own desires and extreme favoritism for Jacob to come between her and Isaac. She lied to and deceived her husband over and over again for the sake of her son.

When a child knows he/she has you wrapped around their little finger, they will not hesitate to pull the old divide-and-conquer technique to get what they want.

You are the parent. It’s your job to train your child to honor you and your spouse as parents AND to teach them how to treat their future spouse. Accomplishing these important tasks happens only when you present a truly united front as parents and when your children see how much you treasure your marriage.

Lesson Four:

Don’t try to do God’s work for him. God wanted Jacob to be the father of the Israelite nation. He didn’t need Rebekah’s interference. He just needed her and Isaac to raise Jacob to know and love him (God).

When you feel God’s leading or ask his guidance, remember this: Nothing in God’s plan for your life will require you to do anything ungodly.

To Sum It All Up

Showing favoritism to one of your children and putting your children before your husband is never God’s desire for a woman. God’s desire for women is that

They are fully committed and obedient to him

They make their home a Godly, happy, and safe haven for their family.

Do Not Let Him Out Of Your Sight – Jochebed’s Story

The Pharaoh of Egypt either didn’t know or didn’t care that Joseph’s wisdom (courtesy of God) saved Egypt and its people from a horrible drought. The Egyptians weren’t the only ones saved from the drought, though. Joseph had welcomed his father, Jacob, the father of the Israelites, along with his eleven brothers and their families into the land so that they wouldn’t starve, either.

Over the years the number of Israelites in Egypt grew to the point that the new Pharaoh was afraid he and his people would be overpowered by them. To ensure this didn’t happen, he made slaves of them and ordered all baby boys under the age of two to be slaughtered.

Jochebed’s Story

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch.

Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants walked along the riverbank.

She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” “Yes, go,” she answered.

So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son.

The woman who hid her child; saving his life from a murderous ruler, was Jochebed.

What We Can Learn From Jochebed

Jochebed was a courageous woman who exhibited a tremendous amount of faith and motherly love.

Lesson One: Think Before You Act.

Jochebed knew she had to do something. Her baby was no longer a newborn. He was becoming more vocal, as all babies do. The Egyptian taskmasters and guards would hear him! Or even worse, another Israelite might turn them in, in an attempt to find favor with the Egyptians. Jochebed had no choice-her son had to go. So what did she do? She put him in a basket…in a river…and left her young daughter to stand guard over him.

Now Jochebed didn’t just randomly set this baby to lose in the river. She knew exactly where the Princess bathed and she knew the odds of her finding him were strongly in her favor, and she trusted God to spare her child. She was putting her faith in God and in the heart of another woman to have compassion for an innocent baby.

Lesson Two:

The courage to do what’s best for our children isn’t always easy or pleasant.

In giving her son to the princess she was asked to raise him, but this only went to the point of weaning him-most likely between two and three years old.

The ache in Jochebed’s heart had to be tremendous when it came time to turn him back over to Pharaoh’s daughter. It doesn’t take much to imagine her lying in bed at night begging God to let her keep him. That was not to be, though. God had a plan for Moses and being part of the Egyptian royalty was part of that plan.

To Sum It All Up

The Bible tells us Jochebed saw what a special child Moses was. Did God give her this special insight or was she like other proud moms? We don’t know, but what we do know is that she understood that everything we have comes from God-including our children-and that she had the faith necessary to give her son back to God.

I Am Willing – Mary’s Story

God has done some amazing things by working through the most ordinary of people, but nothing he has done or ever will do compares to the gift he gave us in his son, Jesus, through a young girl named Mary.

Mary’s Story

Luke, chapter two, tells us the story of Mary and how God sent the angel, Gabriel, to her to tell her that she had been chosen to be the mother of God’s son, Jesus. Mary…a young virgin…a sweet, simple girl from a nondescript family… engaged to a carpenter named Joseph

She accepted the honor God bestowed upon her in spite of the ridicule, cruelty, and abandonment she experienced as a result of doing so.

Once the baby Jesus was born, she went about life raising him and the children she and Joseph had together afterward. She wondered. She watched. She waited.

When she and Jesus were guests at a wedding, however, she decided the wait was over. She told Jesus to take care of meaning and start living your purpose. This resulted in Jesus’ first miracle…

On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied.

“My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.

Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him.

Scripture also indicates that on more than one occasion Mary was part of the crowd following Jesus, and yes, she was there when he was nailed to the cross.

Other than Mary’s assertiveness at the wedding, the picture we get of Mary is one of being a follower of God’s Son just like many others with her. She went from pondering the things she’d been told by God in her heart, to putting all the pieces together.

It couldn’t have been easy, however, to watch him go from being popular and hailed as wonderful on what we call Palm Sunday, to becoming a victim of crucifixion the next.

And what about after Jesus rose from the dead? What communication and interaction did she have with her son then? We know from scripture that she was with some of the other women at the tomb, but we don’t know anything beyond that about Mary, the mother of the LORD.

Well, other than the fact that she was a true servant of God and selflessly gave her firstborn for us all.

What We Can Learn From Mary

No one will ever be called to do what Mary did because there is only one Jesus- one Savior. We can, though, learn many things from her…

Lesson One:

Obedience first. Questions second. That’s the way it should be when it comes to our relationship with God.

Lesson Two:

Miracles happen. Jesus isn’t walking on earth and the miracles we see and experience are much different than those he did when he was here, but he continues to do miracles, nonetheless.

The healing of someone sick or injured may come at the hands of a surgeon or medication, but where do you think those things come from? And what about all the unexplained healings?

The fact that you were five minutes late leaving for work avoiding being the car hit by the driver who blew through the light or crossed the median isn’t luck or fate.

Every child conceived is a miracle.

The ‘error’ in your bank account that makes it possible for you to pay your mortgage or utility bill after all is just one way God lets you know he is still paying attention.

Being able to find your smile after the pain of losing a loved one or getting that call saying you’ve been chosen by a young mom to adopt her baby are life-changing miracles experienced by many every single day.

Miracles happen.

Lesson Three:

A relationship with Jesus brings both joy and pain. In fact, the closer you are to Jesus, the more intense both these emotions will be.

The pain will come from being rejected by the world, ridicule, persecution, and the guilt of our sin (because even when we are in a personal relationship with the LORD we still sin).

The joy comes from knowing that we are forgiven and saved, that we can experience his blessings when we live a Godly life, and that we have the hope of heaven no matter what happens here on earth.

Lesson Four:

Obedience can be scary and difficult, but it is always the right choice.

To Sum It All Up

Mary was gossiped about, shunned by many, almost lost her beloved Joseph, and gave birth in a barn, but none of those things were worth more to Mary than being obedient to God. He spoke to her and she listened. We are called to do the very same.