BIBLE LANGUAGE OR
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Part 2

“But I say unto you,
That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified,
and by thy words thou shalt be condemned”
(Matthew 12:36, 37).

To speak a language fluently, it needs to be part of us. Part of our minds, our hearts, and to come freely from our mouths. God gives parents a mandate in Isaiah 59:21 (NRSV): “And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD; my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the LORD, from now on and forever.”

So, what is coming out of your mouth? What is coming out of your children’s mouths?

Let’s look at a few examples today. The Bible tells us to JUMP FOR JOY with ecstatic joy and delight, not just when everything is happy and great, but when we are going through trials. When people persecute us, revile us, and say all manner of evil against us falsely (Matthew 5:1, 12 and Luke 6:22, 23). What kind of language do we use when we go through trials? Grumbling and complaining and “poor me”? Or do we rejoice in God’s unfailing goodness no matter what we are facing.

What is our daily language? Pessimism, “down in the dumps,” negativity, and even self-pity? Or do we speak Bible language? Jesus came to not only give us life but life ABUNDANTLY. Over and over again, the Bible tells us to ABOUND in our lives – in joy, hope, love, faith, self-control, patience, thanksgiving, and so on. He wants us to “abound in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58), and of course the work that God has given us to do is our realm of motherhood.

The Greek word for abounding is “perisseuo” and means “more and more, to excel, to exceed, to go beyond that which is necessary, superabundant in quantity and superior in quality, over and above, enough and to spare.” This is Bible language, dear mothers. I know you don’t hear many people talking with this overflowing joy and cheerfulness.

I wonder how many Christians truly speak Bible language. Do the people around us hear our “kingdom” language or do we talk the same humanistic language as everyone around us?

This is how God wants us to live and the language He wants us to speak. It’s over the top! It’s beyond the normal. In fact, how can we be anything less when we are indwelt by the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Normal Christianity is abundant, abounding, and beyond the norm. It is sub-normal Christianity to be average, normal, status quo, and fitting in with the crowd. If we are not speaking an abounding language, we are not speaking Bible language.

What about the answer of most mothers of two or three children when asked if they are hoping for another baby? “Help, No. I’m done!” Christian men talk about “getting the snip” like having a cup of coffee.

Is that the language of the Bible? No, it is the opposite to God’s heart. It is opposite to the very first words God spoke into the ears of man Genesis 1:27, 28). Whenever God speaks of blessing His people He speaks of multiplication. The Bible is opposite to the language of the church today. Many Christians openly confess that they could never afford to have any more children. And yet the Bible says the opposite!

Deuteronomy 28:4: “Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.” All these blessings come AFTER the fruit of the womb.

Psalm 37:25: “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”

Philippians 4:19: “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And so many more Scriptures.

Don’t you think it is time for us to line up our language with the Bible?

Love from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, You have brought me into Your kingdom. The least I can do is speak the language of Your kingdom. Please help me to be richly filled with Your Word. Even though I live in a humanistic society, please help me to see it as a foreign language. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I’m practicing my Bible language daily. I want to be a fluent speaker of God’s kingdom language.

Don’t miss the podcast for wives and mothers each week:

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

https://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com

BIBLE LANGUAGE OR FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Part 1

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you”
(Matthew 6:33).

Above everyone else, mothers primarily teach their children to talk. They not only teach them their first words, but by their example, influence their way of speaking throughout their lives.

Although I speak the English language, I still have a New Zealand accent and continue to say many words we use Down Under that are unheard of here in the States. It’s amazing that even though nearly all of our grandchildren have been born in America they often come out with New Zealand words. Sometimes you can detect a New Zealand accent which they have received from their mothers.

I noticed the power of this the other day when reading Nehemiah 13. I have always loved the book of Nehemiah because it reveals how Nehemiah did not give up but continued building the walls and the gates of Jerusalem in the face of ridicule, opposition, and persecution. His enemies did everything to stop him building the wall.

We are also in a building career of building godly marriages and families. The devil doesn’t want us to do this and constantly seeks to thwart us from our great and high calling from God. We must also have the attitude of Nehemiah who when his adversaries tried to get him to come down from his building project, he replied: “I AM DOING A GREAT WORK, so that I CANNOT COME DOWN: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it hand come down you?” (Nehemiah 6:3).

Back to Nehemiah 13 which somehow, I hadn’t noticed before with all my reading of Nehemiah. Nehemiah became aware of a huge problem. Many of the Jews had “married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab” (v. 23). And guess what? Their children “could not speak in the Jews’ language, but each according to the language of each people” (v. 24). Wow! The children were growing up speaking a foreign language. They didn’t even know the language of the land, the language of their heritage!

And who was teaching them these foreign languages? THE MOTHERS! The mothers were not only influencing the children but the whole nation!

Nehemiah soon put a stop to this. You can read what he did in verses 25-28. He certainly didn’t “beat about the bush.”

But dear mother, this incident is also a challenge to us. I know you are teaching your children the English language because you live in America but are you also teaching them the language of the kingdom of God. Ultimately, this is the most important language we must teach our children. If we belong to God’s kingdom, we should certainly teach them the language of His kingdom.

Of course, we can’t teach our children language of the kingdom if we don’t know it—if we DON’T KNOW WHAT GOD SAYS IN HIS WORD! Sadly, I hear most of the church speaking the language of the kingdom of our enemy, Satan. They spout forth more ideology of his kingdom than they do of God’s kingdom. They are more familiar with the lifestyle and language of our humanistic society than of the lifestyle of the God’s Word.

God’s kingdom language should roll off our tongues. It should be familiar to our children so that they grow up speaking it. Instead we are often guilty of Hosea 8:12: where God says: “I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a STRANGE thing.” Isn’t that such an indictment to the people of God? That God’s words are strange to us and the language of humanism, liberalism, materialism, and the things of this world are more familiar than God’s ultimate truth?

What language are you speaking to your children today?

Love from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear God, in Your love and mercy, You have delivered me from the kingdom of darkness and brought me into Your kingdom of truth and light. Therefore, I want to know and speak the language of Your kingdom. Teach me Your ways. Teach me Your truths. I want the language of Your kingdom to constantly roll off my lips. In Jesus’ name, Amen.,”

AFFIRMATION:

Don’t miss the podcast for wives and mothers each week:

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

https://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com

CHEER UP!

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me”
(John 14:1).

“Please don’t give me these words,” you reply. “You don’t know what I am going through. I’m depressed, discouraged, and disappointed.”

BE OF GOOD CHEER

Listen to these words from Jesus in John 16:33: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but BE of GOOD cheer; I have overcome the world.” Some translations say, “Cheer up!” Others say, “Take heart!”

Jesus says these words to you when you are going through tribulation, not just when everything is rosy. He has the authority to say them to you because He has already overcome the world! He doesn’t only say “Cheer up,” but “be of GOOD cheer.”

BE OF GOOD COURAGE

God is an affirming God. He is always encouraging us through His Word. Psalm 27:14 says: “Wait on the LORD: be of GOOD courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Perhaps you feel weak and inadequate. Not only physically, but emotionally, and spiritually? Look up to the Lord. Wait on Him. He will bring courage and strength to your heart. Not just courage, but GOOD courage!

BE OF GOOD COMFORT

2 Corinthians 13:11 states: “Be of GOOD comfort.” And please read 2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17: “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.”

 Are you sorrowing or grieving? Have you lost a loved one? Have you suffered a miscarriage? Who can comfort the ache in your heart except God? He will comfort your sorrowing heart if you let him. And His comfort is GOOD comfort.

BE FREE FROM CARES

Are you cheered up yet? Just in case you haven’t taken hold of God’s wonderful promises to you yet, here is another one. 1 Peter 5:7 says: “Casting ALL your cares upon him; for he careth for you.”

Why can you give Him all your anxieties and troubles? Because, dear one, He cares for you. The word “cares” means “interested in.” God is interested in everything that happens in your life. He is Omniscient. He knows your every thought. He knows your thoughts next week and next month even though you don’t know them yet. He knows what is happening in your home right now. And He cares about it.

But He can’t do much about it until you give Him your anxieties. Instead of clasping them to yourself and constantly worrying about them, give them to Him. He is a GOOD God.

You don’t have to stay in the doldrums. God waits to cheer your heart.

Love from Nancy Campbell

www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father God, please forgive me for worrying about everything. I do not have to fret over one thing knowing that You are in perfect control. Help me to trust You completely. Amen,”

AFFIRMATION:

Because Jesus Christ lives in me, I can be cheery and full of joy instead of being in the doldrums and down in the mouth.

Don’t miss the podcast for wives and mothers each week:

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

https://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com

WHICH WORLDVIEW?

“Thy word is true from the beginning;
and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever”
(Psalm 119:160).

Are we teaching our children from a biblical worldview or a humanist worldview? Here are some scenarios:

1. Your car is stolen. What is your response?

a) Mother: "Isn't it terrible that our car is stolen, children? However, even though it is so inconvenient for us we must not judge the one who stole it as God doesn't want us to judge anyone."

Or b) Mother: "Children, last night our car was stolen. We must pray for the person who stole it that God will convict him, and he will return it. You can see, children, how stealing is very selfish because it hurts and inconveniences the people they steal from. God's Word tells us that we must not steal (Exodus 20:15; Leviticus 19:11 and Ephesians 4:28). In fact, God says in 1 Corinthians 6:10 that no "Thieves . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God." God's puts His laws into the universe to bless us.

2. Your children lie to you. What is your response?

a) Mother at the breakfast table: "Remember yesterday I told you all that no one was to take any of the special cookies I baked for the party we are going to tonight? This morning I find that three cookies are missing. Who took them?"

Jacob: "I didn't, Mommy."

Ethan: "Neither did I!"

Olivia: "I would never do that."

Mother:  "There is no one else in this house who could take them. We're not starting breakfast until you own up." After a long time and children getting rather hungry, they own up!

Mother: "I'm so glad you owned up, but we shouldn't judge one another, so let's just get on with breakfast."

Or b) "Thank you for owning up children. But even worse than stealing the cookies is the fact that you lied to Mommy. Did you know that lying is very serious to God? The Bible says that "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" (Revelation 21:8). When we are on God's side, we love truth because He is the God of truth. When we lie, we are on the devil's side because THE Bible tells us that the devil is a liar and the father of lies (John 8: 44). I want you to be children who are always on God's side. Therefore, Mommy is going to have to discipline you so you can learn the importance of not telling lies. We are going to cancel going to the party tonight." (Or whatever discipline is appropriate).

3. Neighbors are different. What is your response?

Emma: "Mommy, who are those people who moved in over the road from us? They have a little child, but they have two mommies instead of a mommy and a daddy."

a) Mother: "Yes, they are different from us, Emma. They are "gay" people, but we mustn't judge them. We wouldn't live that way, but today people are free to live whatever alternative lifestyle they want."

Or b) Mother: "Emma, I am so very sorry to have to tell you that these people are living the opposite way God intends us to live. God tells us in His Word that if two men or two women live together like a husband and wife that it is an abomination in God's sight. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:3 that these things shouldn't even be mentioned among God's people. We'll look up some Scriptures later so you can see what God says. Of course, we will love them and pray for them because Jesus loves them, died for them, and wants to forgive them of their sin if they will repent and turn to Him. But we must always stand on God's side and stand against what God says is an abomination."

Dear mothers, of course you are seeking to lead your children in the ways of righteousness which means standing with God's Word, no matter what society says. We are either filling our children with the truth of God's Word or being sucked into the mantra of the humanists and the "religion of tolerance."

It doesn't matter whether it is disobedience, lying, abortion, euthanasia, "dying with dignity" or sexual immorality, we must always check out what God says in His Word and stick by it. And we must always remember that the truth of a subject in God's Word is not one Scripture, but what God says about that subject from Genesis to Revelation. Don't be mesmerized or propagandized along with so many in the church today who have succumbed to the "judge not that ye be not judged" chant in reply to all judgment of evil.

NANCY CAMPBELL

www.abovewrubies.org

PRAYER:

“Oh God, please save me from being caught up in the “t      tolerance movement” in our society today. Please help me to always be strong and stand fast to the truth of Your eternal Word. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I refuse to be dumbed down by the foolish philosophies of this world. I am living my life by the truth of God’s Word. It is my plumb line for every subject and every situation.

SSCRIPTURES OR SCENARIO 3:

Leviticus 18:22; 20:13, Romans 1:26-28, 32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-12; 1 Timothy 1:10; Jude 1:7; Revelation 21:8.

Don’t miss the podcast for wives and mothers each week:

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

https://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com