A STRAIGHT PATH

“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low:
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.”
(Isaiah 40:3-5).

We read in Luke 3:3-6 that John the Baptist came as “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” to prepare the way of the Lord. Each one of the Gospel writers confirms this—Matthew 3:1-4; Mark 1:1-2; and John 1:23. The last verses of the Old Testament also prophesy it and Luke 1:16-17 and 76 fulfill the prophecy.

These Scriptures explain in more detail exactly what it means to prepare the way for the Lord: “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

To prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, John had to make the way straight. He was anointed to “turn the hearts of the fathers (which includes the mothers too) to their children.” But the prophetic word of Malachi 4:5-6 says that it will happen again “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.”

We are getting closer to this time. It is time to prepare. It is time to straighten the paths.

When the hearts of fathers and mothers are not turned to their children, they are on a crooked path. There are many deviant paths in this humanistic world. There are luring detours off the straight road. They may look enticing. They may even seem the right way, but they are often subtle “windings” to steer us away from God’s perfect plan.

Are you on a winding path? Sometimes you don’t even realize it until you get lost. You wake up to find that the devil’s tempting ways are not what they seem. Your family life is out of order and you wonder why. Perhaps, without realizing it, you have landed up on a winding path of independence from your husband. You are too busy to serve him and your family.

Perhaps you veered on to a crooked path of busyness—running here and there, attending this meeting and that, getting involved with this organization and that. You are in a whirlwind of activity. It seems great, but where is this winding path taking you? What is the end result?

It’s a long way off the path God planned for you as a mother—to be nestled in the heart of your home. And what are your children learning? That life consists of going to this and that, being involved in this sport and that organization, and rarely having time to sit around the dinner table together?

Are they learning the ways of the home? It is in the home they learn the patterns to pass on to the next generation. They have time to create, think great thoughts, and bask in the joy of home and family life.

Our children will generally follow the path we take. We dare not take them down winding paths of deception. The decisions we make and the paths we choose will determine the course of not only our children, but generations to come.

Keep alert for these crooked roads and remember that we only prove the salvation and deliverance of the Lord on the straight path. It is only on the straight path that His glory is revealed.

He wants to show His power in your life—to bridge the lonely valleys with His love and compassion; to level every mountain that looks impossible in the natural but can melt away in the power and presence of His Spirit, and to cut a straight path of truth through all the windings that crisscross over and back through God’s straight road. Will you let Him lead you?

I love the Way’s translation of 2 Timothy 2:15: “Be earnest . . .  a laborer who needs not to blush for his work, but who drives the ploughshare of truth in a straight furrow.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

PRAYER:

“Father, I ask You to help me to keep on Your straight path, never turning to the right or the left. Please expose every winding path that beckons me away from Your truth.” Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I will plough a straight furrow in my life and the life of my family.

Did you know, I am now doing a podcast for you each week called FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell? I know you will be blessed and encouraged. Go to www.aboverubies.org and you’ll see the icon. Or go to http://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com

THERE'S A LOT MORE!

"Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people"
(Psalm 96:3).

We know how important it is to hide God's Word in our heart, don't we? We understand how imperative it is to make sure our children get God's Word in their hearts. I'm sure you have taught your children Psalm 119:11: "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I night not sin against thee."

I agree with the old saying: "Sin will keep you from God's Word, or God's Word will keep you from sin."

However, IT'S NOT ENOUGH! There's MORE! God not only wants us and our children to hide His Word in our hearts and souls. He wants it to come out of our mouths, our hands, and our feet-out of every part of our being. We are God's living letters, to be known and read by all men (2 Corinthians 3:2). It's only when it affects every part of our body that it truly works in our lives. Let's check it out:

OUR MOUTHS

God gives a mandate to us and our children and children's children in Isaiah 59:21: "As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy MOUTH, shall not depart out of thy MOUTH, nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed, nor out of the MOUTH of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever." I don't think we could get the vision any clearer than that, do you?

It is only what we speak that we keep. "I believed; therefore have I spoken" (Psalm 116:10 and 2 Corinthians 4:13). We are born again into God's family, not only by believing, but by confessing that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9, 10). We must speak God's Word and His truths out loud with our mouths for them to become part of our lives. And how can we pass them on to the next generation and to others if they don't not flow out of our mouths?
 
OUR FEET

David confessed in Psalm 119:59, 60: "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments." God's Word got into his feet. It kept his feet from evil. God wants to get His Word into our feet to work out in our lives, too. Instead of sitting on the sofa with our feet up (except when we are nursing babies, reading stories to our children, and talking to them of God's ways which are great works) our feet walk around the house to make things happen and keep it in ship shape. They walk to people who need our help and encouragement.

When God's Word gets into the feet of our children they will not want to walk in the way of evil or worldly places. They'll walk a straight path. We'll know when they have got God's truth when we see them walking in righteousness.

OUR HANDS

When we read God's Word, our hearts burn within us. But it can't stay in our hearts. We lift up our hands with praise to God for His wonderful commandments. In response to reading about our great God we lift up our hands in worship. David said in Psalm 119:48: "My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved."

God wants His Word to be so practical in our lives that it comes out of our hands. As mothers, we minister God's love from our hands all day long as we
caress babies, hug children, nurture children, hug our husbands, and work hard with our hands to make our home a delightful place. Cooking, baking, cleaning, shopping, and caring for our children are the practical outworking of God's living Word (Psalm 128:3; 1 Timothy 2:15; 5;14; Titus 2:3-5 and many others).

We can also write or type God's Words to bring encouragement to others. In Psalm 66;16 the psalmist says: "I will declare what he hath done for my soul." The word declare means to be a scribe. He not only confessed God's goodness, but He wrote about it. Write about God's Word and His Word to people to encourage and bless them.

May we let God's Word flow out of every part of our being today.

Be encouraged,

Nancy Campbell

Painting by Sharon Wilson.

PRAYER:

"Dear Father, I want to fill my heart with Your Word but I also want to have
my mouth filled with Your Word too. I want it to flow from me, from my
mouth, my hands my feet, and my very being. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I will be a Word-confessor, a Word-declarer, a Word-writer, and a Word-doer.

FOR THE BEREANS (those who love to search the Word):
Further Scriptures for to check out. You may like to take a few Scriptures
each day and look them up and talk about them with your children.

Hide God's Word in your heart and soul:
Psalm 119:11, 80, 111, 112, 129, 145, 161, 167.

Confess God's Word with your mouth:
Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:6, 7; 11:18, 19; 30:14; 31:19, 21; Joshua 1:8; Psalm
9:11; 18:49; 22:22; 40:9, 10; 66:16; 71:17; 78:1-7; 96:3; 107:21, 22;
116:10; 119:2, 3, 13, 27, 43, 46, 171, 172; 145:4-7; Isaiah 12:4-6; 38:19;
43:10-12; 44:8; Joel 1:3; Matthew 10:32, 33; 24:14; 28:19-20; Mark 16:15;
Luke 12:8; John 12:42; Acts 1:8; 4:19, 20, 29; 5:20, 40-42; 8:37; 14:3;
20:27; 22:15; 26:22; Romans 10:9, 10, 14, 15; 15:9; 2 Corinthians 4;13;
Colossians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 2;1-4; 1 Timothy 6;12; 2 Timothy 2;12, 25;
4:2; Hebrews 4:14; 10:23; 11:13; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 John 1:1-5; 4:2, 3, 15; and
Revelation 12:11.

Walk out God's Word with your feet:
Deuteronomy 5:33; 8:6; 10:12; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16; Psalm 37:31; 44:18;
81:13; 86:11; 119:32, 59, 60, 101, 105, 133; 128:1; Isaiah 2:2, 3; 30:21;
Jeremiah 6:16; 11:7, 8; 13:10; 44:23; Ezekiel 18:17; 20:19; 36:26, 27; Micah
4;2; Matthew 7:21; James 1:22, 2 John 1:6; and 3 John 1:3, 4.

Write or type  God's Words with your hands:
Deuteronomy 6:9; 11:20; 17:18, 19; and Jeremiah 30:2.

IT’S TIME FOR CHANGE
Part 4

“Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good”
(Romans 12:9).

LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO BRING CHANGE

In the last three devotions, we have been talking about the reasons many young mouthers are depressed when they have their babies. Now, what are we going to do about it? It’s not much use talking about all the reasons unless we take some action, is there? We’ve got to get building again.

David cries out in Psalm 11:3: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Well, there’s only one thing to do and that’s build them again! So let’s get going.

We cannot let things carry on the way they are. Unless we rise up and make known the truth, the next generation will degenerate further away from God’s plan. You may not feel you can do this in a big way. But you don’t have to. Be faithful in the little opportunities. Start with your own family, filling them daily with God’s truth and His plan for family life. Give them a love and awe for embracing life from God, Teach them to love babies. If God blesses you with a new baby, it I such a wonderful way for older children to experience the joy of a new baby.

Help your children to understand the horrors of abortion. Give them strong convictions to live by.

We cannot allow ourselves, or our children, to get used to evil in society. Abortion is the murder of precious life in the womb. We can never take it for granted., Romans 12:9 tell us to “ABHOR that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” The word “abhor” means “to shudder with horror.” We must teach our children to shudder with horror about abortion and other evils in our nation such as same sex marriage and transgender, etc.

When you and your children see things wrong in society, don’t let it go without speaking about it. Teach your children what is wrong. Help them to have discernment between the right and the wrong, the clean and the unclean. I don’t think there is anything sadder that seeing a young person grow up in a Christian home without godly convictions and without courage to stand up for truth.

We all know the famous quote: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." It was attributed to Edmund Burke and was recently judged the most popular quotation of modern times (in a poll conducted by editors of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations).

As you go out of your home, always be prepared to drop seeds of truth at every opportunity. Take a few Above Rubies magazines with you. Put them in a plastic bag in your handbag so they don’t get mutilated. Give them to people and to mothers when you meet them. You may not have a chance to say a lot, but you’ll never know how the Holy Spirit can speak to them through the pages of the magazine.

We need to get this magazine out in greater and greater ways. I’m tired of being bombarded with liberal and progressive jargon. The feminists and liberals do not keep quiet. Why do we when we have the truth? For more ideas of how to spread Above Rubies, go to:

http://aboverubies.org/magazine/ideas-for-distributing-above-rubies

Most of all, live the plan. As we embrace God’s plan for family life with joy and positivity, we are a testimony to all around us. Happy, united, loving, and God-fearing families are the biggest blessing of the nation.

When motherhood returns to normality in our society, we will see happy mothers instead of depressed mothers.

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, please help me to be part of building the foundations of truth again in our nation. Help me to be faithful to plant truth in the hearts of my children. Help my husband and I to be an example of family life to them. Oh God, please help us all to make Your ways known in this nation again. We cry out for the hearts of the fathers and the mothers to turn back to their homes and to children. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I will be a truth lover, a truth speaker, and a truth imparter to my children and everyone I meet.

IT’S TIME FOR CHANGE
Part 3

“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather REPROVE them”
(Ephesians 5:11).

Why do many mothers feel depressed after having a baby? I continue sharing the last three reasons.

7. THEY ARE PROPAGANDIZED TO DENY MOTHERHOOD

Liberal teachers and professors teach the students of this generation to despise motherhood. They direct them toward alternative lifestyles and that to murder the unborn babe is accepted behavior. Many states even sanction murdering the baby after it is born! They are leading them down a path of destruction. To get back to normality their brains must be reprogrammed again in God’s infallible truth.

8. THEY ARE NOT PREPARED FINANCIALLY

Rather than not have enough income, many young mothers entering motherhood may already be receiving a big paycheck. They are used to their own independent financial security. They are not mentally prepared to rely on their husband, to learn to economize, make ends meet, and be “content with such things they have” (Hebrews 13:5, 6). They expect to go into a home with all the things their parents have taken years to accumulate.

Young people have not been taught to start little and gradually build their lives together. They want it all at once. They haven’t learned to do without, to sacrifice, to cook from scratch, plant a garden, and start with a tiny house. They don’t need a huge home when they first begin their marriage. That comes with time as the Lord adds more blessings to their family.

9. THEY ARE ISOLATED

Another reason many young mothers feel depressed is because they are isolated. They don’t know many other mothers living around them. Their own mother is often working and not available. Or, even if she is, it is so long since she had babies that the is not confident herself. They were brought up pin the two-child family syndrome and there are no younger sisters or brothers to be willing babysitters and help with the baby.

Why do we have this scenario? Because mothering is not accepted as an important career in our society. I believe that when motherhood becomes the norm in society that depression will disappear (except for the genuine clinical PPD).

Mothers need one another. It is fun to have babies when family members, friends, and neighbors have babies at the same time. This is how God intends it to be. We are not meant to live isolated lives. God created us to want fellowship and company. That’s why the current mask wearing and social distancing is causing havoc. More suicides than ever. It is not the way God intended mankind to live!

When I was raising our children, I always had a Ladies’ Bible Study in my home. Every week, mothers, babies, and children filled my home. The children broke things and messed up my home, but we had great fellowship together. It was what kept us going through the difficult times. We could laugh and cry together.

I would encourage every young mother to find an encouraging Ladies’ Bible Study group where she can learn more about motherhood and find strength from being with other mothers. Make sure you find a group that encourages biblical mothering and not the opposite which is counter-productive!

Go to: http://bit.ly/PowertOfMotherhoodUS and order the manual, THE POWER OF MOTHERHOOD. Every mother in the world needs this manual which takes you into the Bible to see what God says about you as a mother. It is a great manual to use at Ladies’ Bible Study Groups to share and discuss together.

Many blessings from NANCY CAMPBELL * www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, I thank You that You created me to be a mother. I embrace it with all my heart. Please help me to not only rejoice in this great career You have given to me, but to encourage every other mother I know. Help me to always be a proclaimer of You ways. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am lifting up the status of motherhood wherever I go!

PICTURE:
Painting by Sharon Forbes
https://www.macys.com/shop/product/sharon-forbes-mother-child-canvas-art-18-x-24?ID=9048095&item_group_id=PG_781143427