Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.

Strengthening Families Across the World through the encouragement of women in their high calling from God as wives, mothers and homemakers.

CAN YOU DO IT?

ByMYSpiritYes, you can. Not in your own strength but by the power of the Holy Spirit.

How do we raise godly children in the midst of an evil world? The Bible gives us many examples. We think of Moses who was brought up to worship the pagan gods of Egypt. For 40 years he lived in luxury and all the worldliness of Egypt. History tells us that he would have been raised in the royal harem along with other children of royal blood and trained to become one of the high ranking nobles of the land (or maybe even a Pharaoh). And yet the Bible tells that Moses "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt" (Hebrews 11:24-27).

The early years he spent with his mother (three to five years), as she nursed him from her breast and daily instilled him with the knowledge of the God of Israel influenced his future life. Such is the power of a mother.

I think of Joseph who became next to the Pharaoh of Egypt in power. He married the daughter of the priest of On (one of the most influential and noble families in Egypt) who led the people in worshipping pagan gods. And yet, in the midst of idol worship, wealth, fame, and prosperity, he never forgot his family and his God--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His final destiny was not in Egypt, but with the people of God. When dying, Joseph took an oath saying, "God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence" (Genesis 50:24, 25). He did not want to be left in Egypt but wanted his bones to be buried in the Promised Land with his people.

I think of Noah who in the midst of corruption and violence raised children who refused to succumb to the temptations of evil around them (Genesis 6:9-13 and Hebrews 11:7).

We are raising our precious children and grandchildren in the midst of widespread deception, evil, and corruption where abortion is considered normal and homosexuality is being promoted as a "normal" lifestyle. Judgment is turned backward and justice stands afar off (Isaiah 59:13-15). But as you seek God for the anointing of His Holy Spirit to mother and train your children, to daily fill them with God's Word, and to pray fervently for them, you can also raise righteous young men and women who will not be lured by the deceptions of the father of lies. You can train godly children who will not be tempted by the gods of this world, but will stand true to the God of the Bible.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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WHAT'S THE REASON?

WhatsTheReasonTraveling to Washington State this last weekend to speak at the Above Rubies Retreat, I sat by an older couple. We got talking about children and he shared with me that his father was from a family of 13, he was from a family of six, but he only had two children! They were rather astounded when I told them we had over 40 grandchildren.

But why the decline in the number of children? This is typical today. The number of children per family is smaller each generation. What do you think is the reason? I believe that perhaps the greatest reason is that our concept of God has changed. We live life according to how we think of God. Many people love God, but often it is a god of their own imagination, a god who fits into their lifestyle, and who goes along with the current thinking of the day. They do not worship the God of the Bible who is I AM THAT I AM. The God who does not change. The God who reveals Himself through His Word and who does not fit into our human understanding.

God challenges us in Psalm 50;21 "You thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you."

People today seem to think that God is like our societal thinking that limits children because they interfere with our plans. But this is not the God of the Bible. He loves children. He loves life. He created us and plans for us to have children. We see the heart of God in Deuteronomy 7:12-14: "The Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land . . . Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle."

Don't you think it's time we began to think like God thinks instead of bringing Him down to our level? Colin and I had to change our thinking. Can you believe that in the beginning of our marriage my husband only wanted one child? After our first child, God gave us twins, so he gave up after that! But why did he think like that? He didn't dislike children. He came from a wonderful family of nine children and wasn't put off by a big family. He was conditioned by society and the thinking around him and was therefore deceived. God had to change his thinking and his heart (and mine).

And how does He change our thinking? By His Word of truth. Make sure your God is the God of the Bible, not your own imagination.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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I'VE DONE BY SHARE

DoneByShareI nursed a baby 'till he slept,
I held a toddler while he wept,
I played a game of hide and seek,
I squeezed a toy so it would squeak,
I pulled a wagon, sang a song,
Taught a child right from wrong.

What DID I do this whole day through?
Not much that shows, I guess it's true
Unless you think that what I've done
Might be important to someone
With bright blue eyes and soft blond hair.
If that is true, I've done by share.

~ Unknown

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GO TO BED

SerenePearlIn yesterday's post I talked about going to bed instead of staying up late, forgetting your husband, and wasting time on media. Here's another reason to go to bed at a reasonable hour. This is from my daughters, Serene and Pearl of Trim Healthy Mama. It's worth reading!

SLOW DOWN YOUR AGING!
Psalm 127:2 says, “For so he giveth his beloved sleep.”

Our Nana always said, “The sleep hours before midnight are the best.” We heard it all our lives but now science proves this true. If you wait too many hours after the sun goes down to go to bed, you interrupt the natural wake-sleep pattern God designed for our bodies.

Adrenal fatigue is a modern epidemic and the biggest blame can be placed on too many late nights. In a state of adrenal fatigue, your body cannot make sufficient amounts of the hormone cortisol, because your adrenal glands have been overworked. In healthful amounts it helps energy levels, improves digestion, eases joint movement, eases inflammation, stimulates the brain and heart, and even fights certain cancers like lymphomas. But its main function is to enable us to respond to stress and then bounce back to a calm state again once the stressful situation is resolved.

Cortisol responds to light. Levels of this hormone naturally lower at night as the sun goes down and we settle in for rest. If you stay up past midnight too often using artificial light, your cortisol hormone will not turn down. Instead it cranks up and turns from a healing hormone into a catabolic hormone that breaks down the body. It ages the body more quickly and has a track record of redistributing weight to a person’s middle.

Adrenal supplements and herbs may be of some benefit but they can’t hold a candle to the best remedy for this condition. Go to bed!

~ Serene and Pearl (Trim Healthy Mama)

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STILL IN LOVE

StillInLoveDon't you love this picture? I love hanging my clothes on clotheslines, although I am aware that most housing divisions today do not allow clotheslines. Isn't that sad? However, if you are allowed a clothesline, what a great way to tell your neighbors that you and your husband are still in love!

~ Nancy

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THE TREND

TheTrendI am sure we are all aware that about 10.00 pm each evening and onwards the activity on the Internet, and especially Facebook, escalates. This also happens on the Homeschooling media. It seems that this is "mommy time" for many women. After the day with the children mothers are ready for "time on their own" and to pan out.

However, I believe we have to watch this temptation. Maybe a couple of nights a week, but please, not every night. Schedules are different in every home, but most times this is the time that should be "husband and wife" time. It's time to go to bed together--talk, pray, cuddle, fellowship, and whatever else! When you leave your husband to go to bed on his own, you are not building your marriage relationship. It may seem insignificant, but when it happens night after night you give opportunity for the enemy to bring distance in your relationship, and even sexual temptation to your husband.

Now please don't think I'm preaching at you. I have most probably been the most guilty of all. I am a workaholic and for years, after the evening meal and devotions, I would work on Above Rubies until I could not keep my eyes open. I thought I had to drain every bit of life out of me before I hit the sack. But I have had to repent of this lifestyle. It's not conducive to the ultimate blessing of a marriage relationship.

We've always had a great marriage, but it's amazing how incredibly better it can be when you make time for your husband instead of yourself.

I know it's hard not to give into this media trend temptation, but building your marriage will bring far greater blessings to you and your husband, your family, and even to future generations.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND?

bestfriendsWhen you have an opportunity to go out to enjoy yourself, who do you want to go with? Do you want to go with girlfriends? Or your husband? We lways want to go with our best friend, don't we?

In Titus 2:4 the older women are exhorted to teach the young women to "love their husbands." The Greek word used here is not agape (God's divine love which goes beyond the love of man). It is not "eros" which is sexual love. We need to experience both these in our marriage, but the one God uses in this passage is "philandros." This is a friendly, affectionate love.

We are not only to love our husbands, but to be friendly and affectionate to them. Throughout the day we should take every opportunity to cuddle, kiss, hug, and touch. The more we do this, the more we release love to each other. We have to work at being friendly. We can so easily forget about it in the challenges of the day and the tiredness of the evening.

We should speak to them as though we were speaking to our best friend. Do we yell at our best friend? Do we give the silent treatment to our best friend? Exodus 33:11 tells us that God spoke to Moses "face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." He told things to Moses that He didn't tell anyone else. There is a special way we speak to friends. We are usually polite, sweet, kind, and with respect. This is the same way we should speak to our husband.

If our husband is our best friend, we'll love him even when he's not so nice; even when he's being difficult. Proverbs 17:17: "A friend loveth AT ALL TIMES."

Another wonderful thing about friendship is learning from one another, encouraging one another, and sometimes debating with one another to greater intellectual and spiritual heights. My husband and I love to discuss subjects together (especially from God's Word), and we don't always agree. How boring that would be. My husband says, "We don't have to agree with one another, but we do have to love one another." Proverbs 27:17: "Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

Forget Girls' Night Out! I'd rather go out with my husband (or stay home with him) than anyone else in the world. And that's after 52 years of marriage (in a few days)!

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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ENJOY YOUR WORK

EnjoyWorkDo you have lots of work to do today. I do too.

Ecclesiastes 3:13 says: "That everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil--this is God's gift to man." Maybe you have a big pile of laundry that must get done. Instead of sighing about it, take pleasure in it! Sing while you organize it. Gather some of the children and teach them how you do it.

You've got to clean a certain room. Enjoy doing it. Praise the Lord for the joy of accomplishing another task. This is the joy of work. God gives work to us as a gift. When we work hard physically, we enjoy a good night's rest. As we work, we get creative ideas on how to do things better or create something new altogether. New inventions and creations always come out of work. We revel in the joy of completing a task.

Your mothering is your greatest work. What a blessed work. It is a good work. It is the work the Lord has given you. Rejoice and take pleasure in it today.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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WIELD YOUR ROD OF MOTHERHOOD

RodMotherhoodAs Moses wielded his humble rod before Pharaoh, he received resistance, ridicule, and rejection. However, in the midst of this mockery and derision, he wrought mighty miracles--some of the most outstanding miracles the world has ever seen.

As you embrace motherhood and the precious children God is giving to you and stay home to homeschool them, you often receive resistance and ridicule too.

Be encouraged. Your rod of motherhood may seem insignificant to you, but it produces great miracles. The career of motherhood is full of miracles. Every child God gives to you is a divine miracle. There never has been another child like your child in the history of the world, and there will never be another one like him or her again. Your child is a unique miracle, divinely created by the hand of God for specific purpose that none other will ever do.

Every day God gives you miracles of His wisdom, guidance, and protection as you mother your children. You may not even be aware of all the times God compassionately sends His ministering angels to save your children from disaster. I acknowledge that my children and grandchildren are only alive by the miraculous protection of God.

You have not yet seen all the great things God is going to do through your children to bring salvation to people and to reveal God's image in the earth. Often we have to take our head out of the sand to see the miracles. Don't miss them. Thank God for them.

Take hold of your rod of motherhood--your humble but miraculous rod! Don't run from it. Embrace it. Wield it for the glory of God as you impact this earth and the eternal world. Amen!

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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WE ARE GETTING THEM READY

Leaving-a-LegacyWhat an amazing privilege, and yet enormous responsibility we have to prepare our children for their destiny. Ultimately, it is the moving of the Holy Spirit in their lives that brings this to pass. However, God has chosen us as parents to be His vessels to teach, train, pray, and prepare their hearts for God's service. We are not parents for a joke! We are not parents just to have the name of mother or father. God has chosen us for a job. A massive undertaking. A divine mission.

It's not enough to diligently teach and train our children. We live our God-fearing, God-loving, daily God-experiencing lives before them. More than anything else, they will emulate our lifestyle.

Why did God choose Timothy to be a vessel to impact many lives? Of course, we know that Paul chose him, but God was behind that choice. We find the reason in 2 Timothy 1:5, 6 (ESV) when Paul writes to Timothy: "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well."

Timothy grew up seeing faith first hand. Yes, his mother and grandmother taught him the holy Scriptures from the time he was a babe (2 Timothy 3:14, 15), but he also saw it revealed in their lives. It wasn't a faith that was only in their head. It DWELT in them and therefore affected every word and deed of their lives.

The New Living Translation says, "the faith that first FILLED your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice." He couldn't help but notice it as it filled their lives. Do your children see your faith FILLING you and overflowing into everything you say and do? This is what will impact their lives more than anything else. And think of how many lives they reached for Christ through Timothy.

Are you raising children ready for God to use? God cannot use everyone. Only those who are trained and ready! What a God-anointed task we have as mothers.

Blessings to you today, Nancy Campbell

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WORKING ON MY DEGREE

ApprovedA confession. Did you know I am still working on a degree? Actually, I have been working on it for years, since I was about 18 years, and I still haven't got to the end.

I'm not sure whether you are familiar with this degree or not. It's the A.U.G. It's a biblical degree and found in 2 Timothy 2:15: "STUDY to show thyself Approved Unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." I need to work on it daily. It is my greatest desire to be Approved Unto God and one day receive my A.U.G.

It's not enough to have a casual understanding of the Bible and what God says to us. We must dig in. We must study. We must learn to rightly divide the Word. This takes being a Berean. The Bereans didn't gullibly receive everything they heard. They "searched the Scriptures daily" to check out if the things Paul was saying to them were true (Acts 17:11).

You may have other degrees, or you may not have any--it doesn't really matter. What matters is that mothers have a degree in correctly teaching God's truth to their children. We can't give a cloudy message. We can't be duped by a humanistic worldview. We can't tell them what we think God says. We must know what God says so that we pass onto our children a biblical worldview. We must give a "certain sound" (1 Corinthians 14:8).

The word "searched" is "anakrino" and means "to scrutinize, investigate, interrogate, question, discern, examine, and judge." That's more than a casual knowledge, isn't it?

This degree is worth working on.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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SHOULD WE JUDGE?

bereansThis is a big question in this time when the religion of tolerance is becoming more and more prevalent. I find that whenever I post anything on an issue of morality and standing up for God's righteousness that I immediately receive comments of "Don't judge." Most people know the Scripture, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." However, I wonder if they are aware that there are many other Scriptures on this subject in God's Word. In fact, God's Word is filled with this subject from beginning to end.

I have a Berean spirit. Do you remember the Bereans in Acts 17:11? They searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul was preaching was correct. When I want to find out what God is saying on a subject, I don't rely on one verse. I search the whole Bible. God's truth on any subject is what He says about it from Genesis to Revelation.

Therefore, in the last few months I have been searching on this subject and would like to share with you a little more of God says. This little treatise is 20 pages. I know you won't have time to read it all at once, so I will share with you a couple of pages each day.

To read the whole treatise, go to this link: http://tinyurl.com/PermissionToJudge You may want to print it out so you have it on hand to refer to. When you have more time, you can look up all the Scriptures.

Blessings to you from Nancy Campbell

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THE MOVING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

MoveHolySpiritEvery morning my husband and I pray that God will pour out His Spirit upon our children, our children's children, and future generations. We all seek to be diligent parents, but ultimately it is only the moving of the Holy Spirit upon our children's lives and in their lives that draws them into a life of living close to God and fulfilling their destiny.

I also like to claim the promise of Isaiah 44:3 (ESV): "I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants."

And my favorite Scripture, which I think I must quote nearly every day, is Zechariah 4:6: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts." I am very aware that it is not my power or my working. I am totally dependent on God's Spirit to move in their lives and am therefore constantly crying out for His intervention.

Love from NANCY

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ENTERING A NEW WORLD

In reply to my post, DO YOU FEEL DOWNGRADED?, some mothers shared how they have faithfully stayed home to homeschool their children, but now the children have grown and left the nest. What do they do now? One mother mentioned that she feels scared about going back in the workforce after being home all these years?

WashedFeetDear older mothers, why do you feel you now have to go back to the work force? Your career hasn't changed. You are just moving into a different gear. God doesn't take away your motherhood career just because your children have grown! You have a greater realm of motherhood to enter into. There is a world of afflicted and hurting people waiting for love and encouragement. Ask God who He wants you to reach out to. Ask Him who He wants you to gather into your home to love and nurture. Now that your children are grown, you have more time to reach the broken-hearted and to uplift and strengthen the downcast and disillusioned.

What about the young mothers? As older mothers, we are commanded to teach them and show them the way God wants them to live. We don't show them the way by going out of the home and going into the workforce. That gives them a false picture. You can't do one thing and say another. You have to live what you speak. One of the greatest cries of mothers is that they have no one to encourage them. I hear it daily.

Rise up, older mothers. You haven't got time to waste your life earning a bit of extra pocket money. You have a world of young mothers who need encouraging and help; single mothers who need uplifting and strengthening; young singles who need inspiring in the ways of God instead of the ways of the world; older people who are lonely and have no one to care for them; those who sick and in prison; and all the hurting, troubled, and brokenhearted all around you (Matthew 25:31-46).

And dear older mothers, you have a home! Don't vacate it. Your home is the greatest place to serve God in all the world. Ask God who He wants you to invite into your home for a meal. Ask a family over to supper who need encouraging. Ask a young mother with her children over to lunch to bless her and encourage her. Open your home in hospitality. Open wide your doors. You will never be bored again.

And look out. The grandchildren will soon be coming. How wonderful. Encourage your children to have children. That's what the Bible tells us to do (Jeremiah 29:6) and be ready and waiting for them.

God gives the picture of His plan for women in 1 Timothy 5:10 (ESV). It speaks of the young mother embracing motherhood, but as her children grow, we see her growing more and more powerful in her anointing of motherhood as she opens her home in hospitality and reaches out to the needy. She is described as "having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work."

Lift up your eyes. A wonderful world of ministry awaits you.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell (your fellow older mother)

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DO YOU FEEL DOWNGRADED?

downgradedDo you sometimes feel despised by the world around you for choosing to stay home with your precious children? Often family members cause you to feel inferior and that you should be doing something greater with your life. Dear mother, please be encouraged. You are right where God wants you to be. You have the highest career in the nation as you train the next generation; as you make a stable, loving, peaceful home for your children; as you daily fill them with God's powerful words which are the greatest wisdom in the world; and as you prepare them for the destiny for which God has brought them into the world.

And there's more. Your career is an eternal one. You came naked into this world and naked you will go out, not taking anything with you, except your redeemed soul and the redeemed souls of your children which are eternal. Others pour their lives into careers outside the home which will all be left behind. Your are pouring into lives that will live forever. You are doing an eternal work.

1 Corinthians 1:27, 28 (ESV) says: "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

Are you feeling base and discouraged? Don't listen to these lies any longer. Lift up your head and embrace your mandate from God. You are not working for any earthly employer, but for the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Sovereign God of the universe.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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IS ANYONE SHUDDERING?

romans 12 9It's hard to believe that 36 states of USA have now legalized homosexual marriage. Alabama is fighting hard to stand against it. If it goes down, there will be only 13 states left!

How does this affect you? Are we desensitized? Or are we crying out to God for His intervention? Do you realize that our children and grandchildren will live in world where this lifestyle is considered normal? We must inform them that it's not normal. It is abnormal and against nature. It defies the sacred institution of marriage between a man and a woman which God ordained. It is an abomination in the eyes of God. Because it cannot bring children to birth, it ultimately destroys civilization.

Romans 12:9 says: "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." The word "abhor" means "to shudder with horror." Is anyone in the church shuddering today? Do we tremble at the atrocities of sin? Do we tremble when we read God's Word (Isaiah 66:2)?

I read recently: "Shallow are the souls that have forgotten how to shudder." These words were written by Leon Kass in the context of human cloning, but it applies to all rebellion against God's ways.

We are either on God's side, or the devil's side. We can't sit on the fence.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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DON'T MISS THE BLESSINGS

missblessingsWhat a joy and utmost blessing to be "saved" by the blood of Jesus Christ. The word is "sozo" and means "to save, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, and make whole." What a wonderful word. We have all these blessings through Christ who saved us.

It is the same word that Jesus used when he healed the sick. Some examples: "she shall be made whole" (Luke 8:50), "Thy faith hath made thee whole" (Mark 5:34), and "as many as touched him were made whole" (Mark 6:56).

And did you know? It is the same word the Bible uses about childbearing. 1 Timothy 2:15 says that women "will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith and love and holiness, and with self-control." Many women do not want to heed to this truth and consequently miss out on the blessings. As we embrace childbearing, for which God created us, we are saved physically, emotionally, and spiritually--and we are saved from deception.

To embrace childbearing is not a negative to you as a women. It is your glory. And God promises you will be saved, delivered, protected, healed, and preserved. I love the word "preserved," don't you? And you will be made whole.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell
Painting by Vincent van Gogh - "First Steps"

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WE DARE NOT KEEP OUR MOUTHS SHUT

Revelation-1-3Revelation 1:3 tells us: "Blessed is the one who READS ALOUD the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." We know this is talking about the book of Revelation, but I believe it applies to every word in the Bible. It is more powerful to read God's Word aloud than silently. It seems to penetrate our hearts and minds far more intently.

It is also powerful to listen to God's Word. God's anointing is upon the father as he reads out loud God's Words to his family each day. Isaiah 39:19 says: "The father to the children shall make known thy truth." How can the father make known God's truths to his family without speaking them OUT LOUD? "Make known" is "yada" in the Hebrew and means "to make them known intimately." We get the message again in Deuteronomy 4:9 (ESV): "Make them known (yada) to your children and your children's children."

Let's look at Psalm 78:1-7. In this passage God commands families to pass on His truths to the following generations. Fourteen times He reminds us to open our mouths and speak God's words OUT LOUD! Check them out:

"Give EAR O my people (your ears can't hear unless the word is spoken OUT LOUD), to my teaching: INCLINE YOURS EARS (once again, the ears are listening to spoken words) to the WORDS OF MY MOUTH.
I will OPEN MY MOUTH in a parable. I will UTTER (the Hebrew word is "naba" and means "to gush forth, belch out, pour out, abundantly utter) dark sayings of old.
Which we have HEARD (how can our children hear if we don't speak God's Words OUT LOUD?) and KNOWN ("yada" again), and our FATHERS HAVE TOLD US (the Hebrew word for "told" is "caphar" and means "to enumerate intensively, to recount, to celebrate, to declare, tell out").
We WILL NOT HIDE (we dare not keep our mouths shut because we have a commission from God to speak His truths to our children and following generations) them from their children, SHOWING (declaring) to the generation to come the praises of the Lord and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
For he established a TESTIMONY (witness) in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should MAKE THEM KNOWN ("yada") to their children:
That the generation to come MIGHT KNOW THEM ("yada"), even the children which should be born; who should arise and DECLARE ("caphar") them to their children:
That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments."

Do we taken notice of what God says? Do we speak God's words OUT LOUD and teach them to our children each day? We not only have to open our mouths, but have to get them into our children's mouths so they can speak God's Words from their mouths to their children and each generation following.

By the way, this is not a joke. It is God's command.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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LAMP BEARERS IN A DARK WORLD

lampbearersI was reading in Revelation 1:20 this morning how each golden lampstand represented a church, a body of believers who God wants to shine for Him in this dark world. We as families are also meant to be lampstands to our neighbors around about us and to all who come into our home.

How does a lampstand keep shining its light? God showed the way when He instigated the original lampstand in the tabernacle (Exodus 25:31-40; 27:2, 21; and 22-33). He commanded the priests to trim the wicks and pour in the oil for the light every morning and every evening. The light would go out if they didn't attend to it twice a day. If we want to be a family that is a lampstand for God in this world we have to attend to our lamps twice a day also.

The wicks speak of our humanity. As we gather each morning and evening for Family Devotions, to come into God's presence as a family, He reveals to us the things that grieve His Holy Spirit and that we need to trim off our lives--the dead, burnt works of the flesh that smoke everyone out in the home. But trimmed wicks are not enough. We have to be filled again with the Holy Spirit, which is represented by the holy anointing oil.

The lampstand was made of pure beaten gold, speaking of the divinity of Christ. We have no light of ourselves. We have no righteousness of our own. It is only His holiness and His light shining through us that gives hope to the lost, light to the darkened and deceived, and comfort of to the troubled and broken-hearted.

Can we be golden lampstand families in this dark world? Let us then, commit ourselves to attending to our lampstands every morning and evening.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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THE ROMAN ROAD TO SALVATION FOR YOUR FAMILY

SalvationFamilyThe following Scriptures are known as the Roman Road to Salvation. They are Scriptures from the book of Romans which show God's wondrous way of salvation. It is important that we know these Scriptures. It is most important that our children know these Scriptures. It shows them the way to experience salvation through Jesus Christ. It shows them how to lead another person to Christ.

It is so sad that many Christians today do not even know Scriptures that can help lead someone to Christ. When I talk to young people I find that most of them don't even know these Scriptures, and these are young people who have been brought up in homeschooling families. This is unbelievable! Don't let this be the testimony of your children.

I will list the Scriptures for you. Print them out. Go through them with your children. If they have not yet received Christ into their lives as their Lord and Savior, encourage them to do this. If they are already born again, they need to not only know about, but to memorize these Scriptures so they are equipped to lead another person to Jesus.

1. All have sinned
We have all sinned and therefore fall short of God's standard.
Romans 3:10; 3:23; and 5:12

2. There is a penalty for sin.
If we remain in our sin, we will die, but if we repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will have eternal life.
Romans 6:23

3. Christ died for us
Even though we are sinners, God loves us and sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die in our place and take the punishment of sin.
Romans 5:8

4. Call upon the Lord
We must call upon the Lord. God promises that when we call upon the name of the Lord we will be saved. There is no other name through which we can receive salvation.
Romans 10:13

5. We must believe and confess
We must believe in our hearts that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), but we must also confess out loud with our mouth that He is Lord and Savior.
Romans 10: 9, 10

6. It's a faith walk
We receive God's salvation by faith. When we are saved, we keep walking by faith which grows stronger as we read God's Word every day.
Romans 10:17

If you have never received Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God into your life and been born again, or if your children are not yet born again, here is a prayer to pray:

"Dear Father, I know that I have sinned and deserve the punishment of my sin which is death. But I thank you that you died in my place and took my sin upon yourself as you died upon the cross and shed your precious blood. Please forgive me for my sin and cleanse me with your precious blood. I thank you that you died, were buried, and rose again for me. I ask you to come into my life and to be Lord of my life. I confess right now that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD AND SAVIOR OF MY LIFE. Amen.,"

When you are born again into God's family, you are a new baby in Christ. A baby only grows by drinking milk. The more you feed from God's Word the more you will grow strong in your faith and in your walk with God. Read God's Word daily.
 
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Above Rubies Address

AboveRubies
Email Nancy

PO Box 681687
Franklin, TN 37068-1687

Phone : 931-729-9861
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