LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 207: THE LAND OF MOTHERHOOD, Part 18

The land of motherhood is also a HOLY land. I talk about holy marriage, holy mothering, and a holy home. It's also a CHALLENGING land, and a FAT land. No, I'm not saying you'll get fat!

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Thank you for joining me again today in our wonderful journey through the land of motherhood.

We’re currently on point number 12: IT IS A HOLY LAND. We spoke last time about how God wants us to have a HOLY MARRIAGE. He also wants us to have HOLY MOTHERHOOD. We actually looked at that Scripture last time, last week, 1 Timothy 2:15, that we will be “saved through childbearing, if we continue in faith, love, and holiness, and self-control.”

The Scriptures combine motherhood with holiness. God wants us to be holy mothers. This word is often translated “sanctification,” or “sanctified.” It means “to be sanctified, to be set apart, to be sacred.” This is what motherhood is. It’s a set-apart calling. It’s a sacred calling. It’s not common or inferior. No! It is sacred. It is very special.

There’s an interesting Scripture in the Apocrypha. Now the Apocrypha was not chosen to be part of the Word of God, but some of the books are very interesting reading. In Ecclesiasticus 1:16, it says: “Wouldst thou be wise? The first step is fear of the Lord. It goes with holy motherhood.” I love that phrase, “holy motherhood.”

It’s important to know who we’re meant to be, and to be aware that we are meant to be holy mothers. As we have this awareness, we will seek to walk more in holiness, and also to realize that everything in our home is holy, because when Christ comes to dwell in our hearts by His Spirit, He is dwelling within us. He dwells within us with His holy life. His life is holy, and He is walking about our house in us. That’s an amazing, incredible revelation, isn’t it? We sometimes forget all about it, and we’re not aware of that. But it’s so important to be aware of these things that God wants us to embrace holy motherhood.

I love that Scripture over in Zechariah, the last chapter of Zechariah. Zechariah 14:20-21: “In that day,” it’s talking about a day that is to come, “shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots . . .” Most other translations say: (and the cooking pots) in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts.”

The Message Bible, which is a paraphrase, says: “And all the pots and pans in all the kitchens of Jerusalem and Judah will be holy.” I love to think of my utensils, and the bowls, and the cooking pots in my kitchen, that they are holy, because if God dwells in my heart, and if He dwells in my home, that means that everything in my home is sacred. It’s set apart for Him.

Even when I come to prepare meals, I’m not doing a job grudgingly. “Oh, better cook another meal.” No! I am doing a sacred task. Christ dwells in me, so therefore He is working with me. As I pick up a pot, it’s sacred. It’s set apart. It’s for God’s glory. As I’m preparing this meal, I’m doing it for His glory. It’s a sacred task. It’s as important as I am talking to you now. It’s most probably even more important, as I am there, preparing a meal for my family.

Begin to see your tasks in the home, dear mother, as sacred . . . to changing your baby’s diaper. It’s a sacred task. As you’re preparing meals, cleaning the house, doing all the things that you have to do in your home, see them as sacred. Oh, it totally changes your attitude, as you realize that you are living in a sanctuary! You see, God had His sanctuary on earth. It was the tabernacle, later the temple, where He dwelt. Now we no longer have a tabernacle/temple today. God doesn’t dwell in temples. He dwells in our fleshly temples.

We go over to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

What incredible words! And it says that your body is the temple. Now, that word “temple” there is the Greek word naos. That word literally means “the holy of holies.” It’s that special, sacred place in the tabernacle, and later the temple, where God dwelt between the cherubim, in all His shekinah glory.

Now God is saying, “I no longer dwell there, but I dwell in you! Your body has become my holy of holies.” Oh, ladies, it’s pretty hard to take in, isn’t it? You know, sometimes we know, “OK, I’m born again. I’m saved from sin. I’m going to heaven.” But we forget that Jesus not only died to save us from our sins, but to come and dwell in us, and live His holy, glorious life through us! Oh, and this is what He wants to do every day in your home, with your children all around you, whatever you are doing. He wants to live through you.

We also go over to 2 Corinthians 6:14-18: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 

“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 

There again, same word. You are the temple, the naos, the holy of holies of the living God! Whoo! That is just so amazing, isn’t it? We can’t not walk in holiness when we are His “holy of holies.”

Let’s move on, shall we, to our HOLY HOME. Not only does God dwell in us, but He wants to dwell in our homes. Oh, let me take you to a glorious Scripture.

Hebrews 9:1: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” Now, that’s King James language. It’s not very easy to really understand what it’s saying.

Let’s go to another translation, the J. B. Philips Translation. This Scripture is talking about the tabernacle, back in the wilderness. The tabernacle, of course, was a type of the tabernacle, the temple that is in the heavenly realm, that is there right now. It was all a type. It says: “And the tabernacle had a sanctuary, a holy place in this world for the eternal God.”

Oh, don’t you love those words, dear ladies? Can I say them again?

“A holy place in this world for the eternal God.”

God chose this place, this tabernacle, where He dwelt in the holy of holies. It was where God was dwelling on this earth, on this sinful earth. There were sinful nations all around. Sadly, there was even sin in the camp of the Israelites. They were always sinning and turning away from the Lord.

But in the midst of all sin and degradation, there was this sanctuary for the holy God. Oh, He made His presence known. It was His footstool. But now God dwells in us, and He wants to dwell in our homes. Dear ladies, can you get this? He wants to make our homes a dwelling place for Him in this world. He wants our homes to be a holy place for the eternal God, in the midst of this sinful and deceived world.

We live in a deceived and sinful society. We live in a nation, oh, it’s so hard to believe that this nation, which is supposed to be a Christian nation, is a nation that has now made homosexuality law. That it’s made abortion law. How can we even accept it? How can we ever get used to it?

But in the midst of all this degradation, and sin, and murder, and hate, and evil, and horror, God wants light in this darkness. He wants holy homes in the midst of this sinful world. We are His light. We are a glimpse of God’s holiness in the midst of all this world.

This is what He wants you to make your homes, ladies. Can you get a vision for this? To make your home a holy home. Let me say it again. It’s worth typing these words out and pinning them up on your wall:

“My home is a holy place in this world for the eternal God.”

Amen? Oh, yes, yes.

Let’s go over to Ezekiel 43:12. This is talking about Ezekiel’s temple. It says: “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.” What was the law of the house in Ezekiel’s temple? That not only the temple, but all the land round about, it was all to be most holy unto the Lord.

As I believe, as we read the Scriptures, we first read it on a literal level. This is speaking about Ezekiel’s temple, which is yet to come. But there are levels and levels, and God speaks to us His truth personally through every Scripture, through every Scripture He makes known His truths. Oh, and sometimes there’s more than one. It goes down and down. There are more levels of revelation.

I believe that God not only wants us to build the holy home in the midst of this sinful world, and that’s not easy. Especially when we’re not perfect creatures, and we’ve got all these sinners in and out of our home. And our children are certainly not born saints. They’re born sinners.

But in the midst of this, oh, we teach God’s holiness. We teach His grace, and His forgiveness of sin. How wonderful that the power of the cross, and the power of the blood of Jesus is absolutely able to cleanse us from all sin! Every sin that we confess and repent of comes under the blood, and is not only forgiven, but is forgotten. That is the power of the blood of Jesus.

So, although we are not perfect, we seek after holiness, and we embrace the power of the blood of Jesus in our lives. We seek to not only make our homes holy, but all around our homes. You may only have just a tiny, little, wee section or little plot of land, or you may have many acres. But whatever God has given you, you’re responsible to keep it holy.

We not only know what’s going on in our home, but around our home. What are our children doing inside the home? What are they doing outside of the home? What is going on outside our home? Oh, yes, we as mothers are watchdogs, always watching, checking things out. We have a responsibility to pursue holiness in the home and all round about. Amen? Yes.

Holiness in the home begins with us. We are the heart of the home. Dear ladies, will you make it your vision today, to make a holy place for God in the midst of this sinful world?

Hebrews 12:14: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”

All right. Let’s move on to the next point.

No. 13. IT IS A CHAELLINGING LAND

Deuteronomy 1:7: “Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south” which was speaking of the desert, which is south Israel.  

It wasn’t all plain sailing. There were hills. There were valleys. There were deserts. God said, “I want you to go in and take it all.” Yes, even the challenging situations.

What about Deuteronomy 9:1-2? “Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!”

And there’s an exclamation mark, right after it, because the children of Anak were the giants. The Anakims were the giants. God says, “Here you are. You’re going to go into the land today, my people! But you’re going to face challenges greater and mightier than you are. Yes, there are cities with fences that are walled up to heaven! Yes, there are giants there! But go in and possess.”

My, sometimes we have fears and concerns about embracing the whole of the land of motherhood. Young mothers go into the land and sometimes they go in with fear about having babies. So many young people today have grown up in small families. They’ve never been around little babies and mothering. They don’t even know anything about this realm!

They have lots of fears and questions. They’re scared that they might have too many children. They’re scared of this. They’re scared of that. They worry about this. They worry about that. All these little things loom up as giants in their minds.

But what does God say to His people? When he said, “OK, you’re going in to face these greater and mightier nations than you. You’re going in to face giants.” Then He said, “Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is He which goeth over before you.” God goes before us. God is with us.

And, yes, all of us face challenging situations in different ways. I’m sure as I’m talking to you today, every one of you has faced difficult situations, challenging situations. Oh, you didn’t know how you would ever come through, but God has brought you through into a large place, into a glorious place.

Some of you are going through things now. You wonder, “Oh, my, how can I do this? How can I face this? How can we ever get through this?” I want to remind you, dear ones, God is with you. He will not let you go. Look up to Him. Trust Him. Confess that He is with you.

Say, “Oh, Lord God, I don’t know where to turn, but I thank You that You are with me. I thank You, Lord God. You’ve promised to go before me. You’ve already been before. You know what to do. I’m trusting You, Lord God. I trust You. I trust You. Thank You, Lord. Oh, my trust is in You! I look to You! I’m not looking to these circumstances. I am looking to you.”

Make this your confession. As you do, as you truly put your trust in Him, you will be amazed how God will bring you through. Many times, the problem doesn’t suddenly disappear. But God carries you through. He’s gone before, and He is with you, and He will never forsake you. He has promised. Yes, every single challenge that you face, He will be with you.

We see it again in Joshua 12:8: “Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession, according to their divisions.” Where did they possess?

“In the mountains,

and in the valleys,

and in the plains,

and in the springs,

and in the wilderness,

and in the south country (which is the desert).”

So, we see that all these are not all the same. It’s not only all plains. There are the springs. Oh yes, wonderful springs. There are the valleys. There are the mountains to climb. There are the wilderness times. They’re all there. But God is with us in every one.

I have another reference here. I must just check it out.

Joshua 11:16: “So Joshua took all that land” (that God had promised them)

“the hills,

and all the south country,

and all the land of Goshen,

and the valley,

and the plain,

and the mountain of Israel,

and the valley of the same.” and so on.

We see it over and over again, that there are all the different seasons and circumstances that we will face in our land. But we can be sure, no matter what we face, that God is with us.

God is with you, dear precious wife.

God is with you, dear precious mother.

He will never forsake you, never, never, never.

That is the understanding in the Greek of Hebrews 13:5-6, where it says: “I will never, I will never, I will never (three times for emphasis) leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Amen?

I love the lines of this chorus where it says:

“Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?

Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?

God specializes in things thought impossible.

He can do what no other can do.”

Amen? And amen!

Let’s go on to our next one.

. Isn’t it amazing, all the different descriptions that God uses to describe His land? Let’s look at Nehemiah 9:25: “And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.”

Here we have the description of it being a “fat” land. In fact, it tells us that they became fat. Well, I don’t think any of us want to become fat, do we? No. We’re all trying to keep slim. But I don’t think it’s meaning they just got fat. I don’t think that back there in those days, we saw any fat Israelites. They were so fit. Of course, the food that they lived on, although God called it a “fat land.”

But what was it? It was oliveyards, and fruit trees, and all the good things that He created. They weren’t living on all these fatty fast foods. They were living on the good foods that God gave to them.  

We go on to Nehemiah 9:35. Now if we move down the chapter, Nehemiah is telling the people what God did for them, and then what they did, and how they turned away in disobedience. Then he says, “For they have not served Thee in their kingdom, and in Thy great goodness that Thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which Thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.”

We notice in that Scripture quite a few things; how God gave to them their kingdom. He also called the land their “kingdom.” The land of motherhood is also our kingdom, ladies. It’s our realm that God has given us to manage, and to rule over. You are not some inferior person. You are a queen!

Yes, queen of your domain. Queen of your home, and all that goes on in it, and not only training and raising godly children, but opening your home in hospitality to bless people. The visions that you have of projects that God has put on your heart to do. Everything that’s happening in your home. It’s your kingdom, your domain, and you rule over it.

He's given us a kingdom. He’s given it to us. You notice that, again, yes, this kingdom that He gave to you. Of course, it’s called a “large and a fat land.” It goes on to verse 36. This is getting a bit negative now. “Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. . . Also, they have dominion over our bodies. We are in great distress.”

Whoo! That’s a very powerful Scripture. In the last couple of years, many, some more than others, and in some countries more than others, and in some situations, more than others, many began to experience that the government had dominion over our bodies. That is a curse that comes when we walk in disobedience in the land that He gives us.

When we walk in obedience, we experience the fat of the land, and the good of the land. We enjoy the kingdom He’s given us to rule over, and to manage, and to enjoy. But when we walk in disobedience, God brings that curse of a government taking dominion over our bodies. My, I hate that.

And so many, many people, because of fear, gave into a government, and to people who demanded that they be vaccinated for this so-called covid, which was another strain of the flu. That is so sad. There were many who entered hospital, mainly through fear, because fear brings on something and makes it worse.

The sad part about it was that there were many who did not return from hospital, because they were given remdesivir. We know that that was commanded by Fauci to all hospitals, to give those who came in with the C-O-V-I-D, I don’t even like saying the word. They were to be given remdesivir. They were not allowed to have hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, which had been proved, and has been continually proved to be a complete healer.

But instead, they gave them this poison, which poisons the kidneys. Most people who received that diagnosis died. They died, not through covid, but through remdesivir. They took dominion over their bodies. It was murder. I still cannot understand all that happened. Where will the justice come? Will justice come for all these precious people who died unnecessarily?

But that’s the negative, isn’t it? Oh, the positive is that God wants to bring us into this fat land to enjoy it.

One more Scripture as we close. Ezekiel 34:13-15; this is now where the people have been thrown out of the land because of their disobedience. But God has promised to bring them back, because He will never fail His promises.

He says, “And I will bring them. . .to their own land,” to their own land, “and. . . I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.”

God wants you to enjoy the fatness of the land of motherhood. God has given us a table of fatness. Every day that table is filled with nourishment for us, to come in and partake of. We can partake of it as we come into His presence. We can partake of that fatness as we come into His Word and receive what He has to say to us. The commands and the promises that He has given us for this kingdom in which we live, for this land in which we live. Oh, what a great and wonderful God we have!

Dear Father, we thank You. We are full of thanks for all Your goodness to us, for this fat and large land that You’ve brought us into, for all the good things You give us daily. We are so blessed. We want to be a thankful people. Help us to be full of thankfulness and gratefulness and joy every day as we mother in our land. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you have a moment, it would be lovely if you could email a little thank you letter to Darlene. She sacrifices much of her time to transcribe these podcasts for you and I know it would encourage her to know that you are blessed by her hard work. Thanks so much.

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 206: THE LAND OF MOTHERHOOD, Part 17

The land of motherhood is a land of BLESSING. God promises that He will not only bless us in the land, but GREATLY BLESS us! He promises 16 different blessings to us when we are IN THE LAND. Come on in and check them out.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Good to be with you again. I wonder what is happening around your home this week. Well, lots of things are happening around here as usual. Life is always exciting and full on the Hilltop.

At the moment, I’m planting my garden. I’m a little bit late. I should have had it all in by now. But this year, my husband got a very bad and painful leg. He was on crutches. He couldn’t even walk without them. So, we didn’t know what we were going to do because usually he will rotary hoe the garden, and I’ll plant.

He was able to do nothing. But he kept believing, and praying, and walking through it. Well, he wasn’t able to walk, but he began to try as he could. God is so good! Although he still has pain, he’s walking without crutches, and he even rotary hoed my big garden. That is so amazing!

Now I have most of it planted. Still a few small things to plant, but I am so glad. It’s so wonderful to get a garden in. Maybe you have your garden in too, unless you live Down Under. You’ll be in a different season to us here in the States.

But even though it takes work to get in the garden, it’s worth being able to enjoy a wonderful harvest throughout the summer and the fall. To go out every day and pick fresh, beautiful food out of the garden. I just love it!

Now, what else has been happening? On the sixth of May, we had another family wedding. Pearl’s son Rocky, Rocklyn, but we call him “Rocky” for short. He’s actually named after my son Rocklyn. So, we have two “Rockys” in the family.

Rocky married Mary Beth, from down in Alabama. We all had to go down to Alabama for this wedding. Once again, my husband was so blessed to take the wedding ceremony. Mary Beth is such a beautiful girl. She was one of our Above Rubies helpers who came to us about three years ago. Rocky and Mary Beth fell in love, but it’s taken three years for them to come to this place of getting married. It was a very beautiful occasion.

Then last Sunday, we had Addie’s baby shower. Now I think you will know who Addie is, because she is married to Isaiah, one of Serene’s children. Isaiah and Addie are on the front cover of the current magazine. They are now expecting a little baby in June.

It was so joyous to put on their baby shower here on Sunday evening. Cherish was the one who was organizing the baby shower. One of the things we love to do at baby showers, we love “Pass the Parcel,” where you pass it around. When the music stops, whoever gets it, they have to do whatever it says on the parcel.

Cherish really did a great one. Some of the things we had to do, acting out Addie in labor, and acting out if Addie was crying, “What would Isaiah do?” Acting out this and that. They were all so hilarious. We were all just about rolling on the floor with laughter. That was fun.

Yes, we are so blessed with all these beautiful little grandbabies coming on. We have about six little babies all around us now. Little great grandbabies that have been born in the last few months. And now we’re waiting for four more great grandbabies to come! (IT’S ACTUALLY SIX THAT ARE ON THE WAY)! And then we also have three babies of families in our Hilltop fellowship having babies too. So that’s about another seven babies coming. (THE CORRECT NUMBER IS NINE)! We are surrounded with babies! Oh, we are so blessed! It is just so wonderful. God is so good.

On Tuesday night, Colin and I went to another movie, called THE MATTER OF LIFE. Well, you’d think that we were movie-goers! A couple of episodes ago I told you how we had been to see 2000 MULES. Now, we found out that this movie about life, exposing the horrors of abortion, was going to be in the theaters. We were able to go.

It was such a powerful movie! It was only in the theaters for a couple of nights, so you can’t go to see it there now, but you can get the DVD. I would encourage you to order it. I think you can download, actually, too. You can screen it. I would encourage you to do that. It’s called The Matter of Life. Very well done. So much in it. I will have to watch it again, maybe a couple of times, to really get everything that was in that movie. There was so much. Oh, you will be so blessed!

This is another movie you need to show in your own home. Gather people in to watch it with you. We did that with 2000 Mules. We did it once, and we didn’t think enough people came, so Monday night, we actually screened it again in our home on our big screen. We were able to see it again. That was our third time for 2000 Mules. Once again, we really didn’t get enough people coming to see it.

At the theater on Tuesday night for The Matter of Life, I could not believe it! I was so sad, because the theater was only about a third full. I couldn’t believe it. Just some stupid, crazy movie, and they can pack out a theater. When there is something that is so powerful, and giving the truth, and something that is a subject that is so important, people don’t bother to turn up.

Where are we? I wonder. I do believe that we are plagued with a spirit of apathy. I don’t think that most of us really realize where we are in this country, and the state of this nation. We all know that at the moment, the Supreme Court is working on giving their answer about Roe vs. Wade, whether they will continue it, or whether it will be wiped out.

Oh, we are praying so much! That God will move, and He will move upon the Supreme Court judges. That the fear of God will come into their hearts, and they will vote to completely annihilate this horrific bill that has caused the deaths of over 60 million babies in our nation. How do we cope with that? Do we just carry on as though nothing is happening?

Our God is the God of life. God is the authorof life. God loves life. If we are on God’s side, ladies, we will be on the side of life. If we belong to God’s kingdom, we belong to a kingdom of life. We will promote life. We will speak for life. We will stand up for life. We will fight for life.

I believe it’s important for us to see these movies, to be reminded again of the truth, to be reminded again of the horrors of abortion, where precious little babies, babies with all their faculties, are horrifically dismembered limb by limb. You could shoot someone. That’s terrible. But there’s nothing as horrific as dismembering someone, limb by limb.

If we were to see this happen to an adult, we would be in outrage. But it is happening to little babies in the womb! We cannot sit by and do nothing! We must be praying. We must be fighting. We must be calling our senators, our congressmen, our governors. We must be asking them, and pleading with them, to stand for life in whatever state that we live in. We must be a voice.

We have to do something. We can’t just say, “Well, I don’t believe in abortion,” and not do anything! Precious ladies, organize this movie, and get people to come into your home and watch it together. Then talk about it at the end. “Now, what can we do?” Encourage one another in calling up senators and congressmen and so on. Let’s just keep one another on our toes.

Or if we just pathetically, pathetically allow these things to go on, well, really, we’re not standing against it. What are we doing? We’re allowing to happen. That means we’re standing for it, if we’re allowing it to happen! I pray that you can do that.

Have you watched 2000 Mules yet? If you haven’t, don’t forget to watch that one, and bring people into your home to watch this one, too. Although, I’ve just heard that, by public request, 2000 Mules is now coming back into the theaters this weekend. Actually, that’s before you get this podcast, because I’m speaking Thursday. It should come in on the weekend, and you’ll get this podcast on Tuesday morning. But hopefully it will stay in the theaters for a little bit longer this time.

Anyway ladies, let’s be those who are not overtaken by an apathetic, and mediocre, and status quo, and tolerant attitude. Let’s be those who rise up for truth, rise up for life! Rise up for the saving of our nation! Amen? I hope you are saying “amen” with me.

All right. Well, ladies, let’s get on to our walking through the land of motherhood. It is such a wonderful journey! We’re up to point number 11.

No. 11. IT IS A LAND OF BLESSING

Deuteronomy 15:4: “The Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it.”

Notice in that Scripture, He doesn’t say: “The Lord will bless thee in the land.” No, he says, “The Lord will GREATLY bless thee in the land.” Notice also, it says: “IN THE LAND.” We have been reading so many Scriptures, haven’t we, about the phrase, “IN THE LAND.”

This is where God wants us, to bless us. There is where He wanted to bless His people, in the land that He chose for them. This is the way He wants to bless us, and where He wants to bless us, in the land, in the land of motherhood, which He chose for us.

We’re reminded again in this Scripture: “In the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” You see, God gave the land to His people. God gives the land of motherhood to us. We may not have chosen it, but God chose it for us. As we embrace this land, and walk through this land, and take hold of everything in this land, He says: “I will greatly bless you.”

In Deuteronomy 23:20, it says: “That the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to, in the land whither thou goest to possess it.”

Deuteronomy 25:15: “That thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

Deuteronomy 28:8: “The Lord shall command the blessing upon thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto, and He shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

Do you notice the beginning of that Scripture? “The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee.” Command the blessing upon thee. “In thy storehouses,” yes! When we walk in obedience to His ways, which is verse one of Deuteronomy 28, he gets to verse 8, and He says: “The Lord will command the blessing of provision upon you.”

But then we go to Deuteronomy 28:21. This passage in Deuteronomy 28 is one of the curses. And here it says that one of the curses is that “until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.” Do you notice the opposite? All the blessings are in the land. But when God has to bring judgment because we walk in disobedience, the judgment is that He will take us off the land. The cursing is off the land. The blessing is in the land.

Well, let me give you a list of all the different blessings that I found. All these blessings are written of what God will do for us in the land, 16 different blessings. Now, I won’t read you all the references, ladies, because you may be washing dishes, on a walk, doing laundry, sitting nursing your baby, whatever. But I will put them in the transcript for you. So, if you get to read the transcript, or you want to check out the references, you’ll be able to go to the transcript. (I’ll list the Scriptures at the end of the transcript).

All right, number one: blessings of fruitfulness.

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. Notice that is plural. Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

Blessings of weddings and celebrations.

Blessings of the provision of bread and water, the most basic food requirement.

Blessings of God’s watchful care.

Blessings of peace.

Blessings upon all that we do.

Blessings of health. Deuteronomy 7:15 says: “the Lord will take away from thee all sicknesses.” What a wonderful blessing!

Blessings on our children.

Blessings if we live in the city, or in the country.

Blessings on our cattle and our produce.

Blessings on our daily walk.

Blessings of reigning instead of servitude.

Blessings of lending to others instead of having to borrow.

Blessings on our land and our garden.

Blessings on all the work of our hands.

How about that for 16 amazing blessings? All the blessings that are in the land. Isn’t that so wonderful? God is so good.

You know, sometimes women think, “Oh, to have more babies is not a blessing. Oh, it will be a negative to my body. I want to keep my figure perfect. I don’t want having babies to interfere with my life, or my figure, or my plans for what I want to do.”

The actual opposite is the case. Many women get on the birth control pill. That often causes them to put on weight. It has many, many physical negatives, even decreased libido, which is not a blessing at all! Every contraception has its negatives and is not a blessing at all to our bodies.

There are women who want to avoid pregnancy, lactation, and all these beautiful things that God has given to us as women. They think, “Oh, no, I don’t want that, thank you! I’ve got more to do with my life.”

Instead, they miss out on the blessings of all the hormones that God gives to a pregnant mother and a lactating mother. These beautiful hormones of oxytocin and prolactin. They are blessings that we, as women, are blessed to receive. Yet, many women reject them because they don’t understand that what God has given is a blessing. Let’s embrace our land, dear ladies, so we can enjoy all the blessings God want to give us.

The next point.

No. 12. IT IS A HOLY LAND

Now, I want to read you this Scripture here. Zechariah 2:12: “And the Lord shall inherit Judah, His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.” Here God describes the land as the Holy Land. God calls His land a holy land.

We go over to the New Testament where we read in 1 Timothy 2:14-15. We read about motherhood. “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety (or self-control).

This Scripture is talking about how Eve was first deceived but how she can still be saved. That word “saved” in the Greek is sozo. It not only means to be saved from sin and receive salvation. It’s used for that, but it’s used more often, to be healed. This word means “saved, healed, delivered, preserved, made whole,” Many times, when Jesus healed someone, the Bible then says: “And they were made whole from that moment.” It's the word sozo.

Now here in this passage, it’s in the context of Eve being deceived, but “she shall be saved” from deception if she embraces motherhood. It says “childbearing” here. That doesn’t literally mean “childbirth,” the actual giving of birth, although there are some folks who take this Scripture and say that you can be saved from pain and have a painless childbirth.

Well, I think there are some people who do experience that. I didn’t ever experience that, even though my births were my most wonderful experiences. Because birth is intense, and its labor. Many times, painful labor can still be a most glorious experience.

But this word means more than that. It means not only giving birth, but the embracing of all our childbearing, child-raising, child-training career. It’s the embracing of the whole of motherhood. This Scripture says that as she embraces this, she will be saved from deception, she will be made whole in her body, she will be preserved, and she will be delivered. It’s an amazing word.

But here it says that she must also walk in faith, love, and holiness. So, here we read this word “holiness” again, in the context of motherhood. I notice in the Word of God, that the Bible talks about holy marriage, it talks about holy motherhood, and it talks about our holy homes. Let’s have a look at them, shall we?

YOUR HOLY MARRIAGE

Well, it starts out, well, no, it doesn’t start on their wedding day. It actually starts before our wedding day, doesn’t it? It is important that we teach our daughters to walk a holy lifestyle. That they keep their bodies pure. That they come to the wedding day as a virgin. That is God’s plan.

God talks in His Word about the virgin marrying the young man. It’s a virgin, a virgin. A virgin young woman and a virgin young man, coming together in holy matrimony. We must constantly talk to our sons and our daughters about keeping pure and walking in holiness. A holy marriage begins before marriage. It begins in walking in holiness, even before we are married, so we are kept pure for our marriage. We come as a pure vessel.

That’s why I believe we must constantly keep watch over our daughters and what they are wearing. Too many girls today put themselves in such a vulnerable place. Even the clothes they wear turn young guys on. Then that can end in all kinds of things.

OK, girls can wear shorts out playing and doing sports. But how short are those shorts? Goodness me! I just see young girls today, young people, their shorts just barely cover their bottoms, barely! I beg your pardon? That’s not holy clothing.

Make sure their shorts are longer than that, please. So that’s out there, playing sports, on the beach, and so forth, but what about going out? Make sure your daughters are clothed. If they’re wearing a dress, make sure it’s to the knee. They don’t have to wear a long dress, but make sure it’s to the knee.

And make sure that they’re not showing cleavage. This is just so prevalent today. It’s just everywhere. In fact, young brides come to the wedding day in their strapless wedding dresses. I can hear you say, “Goodness, what are you going on about? It’s so normal.” Yes, just about every wedding dress is a strapless wedding dress. Sometimes they will cover amply. Half the time, they don’t even cover the breasts amply.

This young bride, who’s meant to be a virgin, comes to her husband half-clad and showing, not just to her husband, but to all of the guests, much of her private parts. I go to weddings, and sometimes I don’t know where to look. The bride is in her strapless wedding dress, and all the bridesmaids are in their strapless dresses. Half of them are just about falling off. Some have bigger boobs, and they don’t fit properly. Some have littler ones, and they’re just about falling off. Oh, they all look ridiculous!

Why can’t a bride come to the altar, the wedding altar, dressed and covered? Surely that’s how God means it to be. Not coming, showing everything. And the wedding dresses are getting less and less and less and showing more and more. If we are walking God’s way, we’ll want to cover.

That doesn’t mean to say you will not have the most beautiful wedding dress.  In fact, some of those that have covered dresses are beautiful and tasteful. It’s so much more beautiful. Oh, I know it’s harder to find them because you go to the bridal shop, and there they are. They’re all strapless. Oh, sometimes you’ve got to find it online, or have it made, or whatever. But please come dressed appropriately.

If you own the name of Christ, let’s be a testimony to who we are. We come to the wedding altar clothed. We come in holiness, not trying to show off our body. Then we come to this beautiful state of holy marriage. And what does it say?

The Wedding Minister, officiating begins with the words: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here, and in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this man and this woman, in HOLY MATRIMONY.”

Have you noticed those words? “Holy matrimony.” How can you come to this altar to be married in holy matrimony, and you stand in a wedding dress that is exposing half the breasts? It doesn’t add up.

“Therefore, it is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, soberly, and in the fear of God. Into this Holy Estate (Did you notice that again? “Holy estate”) these two persons present now come to be joined”.

It’s a holy young virgin and a holy young man who are coming together to be married.

Then we read about marriage in Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage must be honored among all, and the marriage bed kept undefiled. For God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers.”

That word “undefiled,” in the Greek, because it’s the New Testament, is actually the same word that talks about Jesus who was undefiled. It says He was undefiled. He was pure and holy. That is actually the same word, holiness. It’s the word hagios, and it means “to be set apart, to be sacred.” So, marriage is to be holy. The marriage bed is to be holy and kept holy.

Another thing about marriage too, is that I believe in the EXCLUSIVITY OF MARRIAGE, where it is for you and your husband alone. Alone. You can read about that also in Proverbs 5. It speaks again about how the marriage is to be very personal. It’s between you and your husband. We do not allow other people to come in and take that place.

Another part of the wedding vows, I love these too, where they are actually reciting the vows: “I take you to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, and FORSAKING ALL OTHERS, keep myself only unto you as long as we both shall live.”

That’s an important part of a holy marriage also. There are some couples who think, “Oh, wow! Yes, I used to know that guy before I was married. We were great friends. OK, I think we’ll go out and have a cup of coffee together.” No. You are now married. You don’t do that. You don’t go out on your own without your husband with another man. There are many couples who think they can do that, and that it’s quite OK, but it does not work. Nor is it what God intends.

Of course, you can have loads of wonderful friends who are guys, with your husband. You can have single guys into your home, if you are showing hospitality with your husband. Of course, you’ll have many friends who are couples, and you will enjoy life together with them.

But you will do it together, as husband and wife. You will never ever go out alone with another man when you are married. That’s it. You are now in a whole different dimension than when you were single.

Sometimes men, and even wives, can have sinful thoughts, even in marriage. Sinful thoughts about another person. We have to deal very, very strongly with those. We cannot stop a crazy thought, or even a sinful thought, coming into our mind, because that’s what the devil tries to do. He’s always trying to bring thoughts into our minds.

It’s what we do with it. We can dwell on it, ponder it, think about it, hide it in our heart. Or we can RESIST it, in the Name of Jesus! We, as God’s people, must BELONG TO THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT. The moment the enemy comes to our minds with a sinful thought, a wrong thought, or in marriage a thought about another man, ooh! What do you do?

You immediately resist it in the Name of Jesus! 

You cast it out in the Name of Jesus!

You take authority over it in the Name of Jesus!

You deal strongly with it.

We’ve got to stop being so apathetic about our thoughts, and just letting them take control. No, we don’t. We must be in power over our thoughts.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6. Oh, you know this Scripture, don’t you? But can we read it again? All right. Actually, it’s a long sentence, a long sentence that takes one, two, three, four verses to get to the end of the sentence, before we get a full stop. Oh, and I see I’m getting to the end of this session. But let’s just read it.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down (casting down, casting down) “imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” Full stop. Period. Wow! That was a long sentence, wasn’t it? Powerful Scripture.

Let me read it to you in the Passion Translation. My husband was speaking on this very passage on Sunday. Wow! It was a powerful, amazing message. Anyway, in the Passion Translation it says: “For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide. 

“We can demolish,” get that word. “Demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience,” Whooo, did you get that? “Insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One. Since we are armed with such dynamic weaponry, we stand ready to punish any trace of rebellion, as soon as you choose complete obedience.”

That’s a powerful phrase there at the end. God says that we will have authority and power over the enemy in big things, and even things in the nation, to take them down in the realm of prayer. But first of all, we must overcome, and take authority, and cast out anything in our own personal lives that is disobedient to the Lord. Did you get it?

Back to King James. “And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” We’ve first got to have victory in our personal lives. Then we have power and authority over the enemy in other people’s lives in attacking evil, even in the nation. We first have to have the victory in our personal lives and in our thought life. Amen?

Oh, yes, well, time has gone. These sessions go too quickly. But let’s pray, shall we?

“Dear Father, we thank You that You have brought us into the land of motherhood. You chose it for us. Lord God, we embrace it with all our hearts. We thank You that You have told us it’s a land of blessing. Oh, You give us so many blessings.

Lord, You’ve told us that it’s a holy land, a land of holiness. Help us, Lord, to be holy women, holy in our thought life, holy in what we say, holy in what we wear, holy in how we act. We pray, Lord, that Your holiness will be part of us. We thank You, Lord, for teaching us and showing us the way. I pray for Your blessing upon every woman, old, young, listening today. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you have a moment, it would be lovely if you could email a little thank you letter to Darlene. She sacrifices much of her time to transcribe these podcasts for you and I know it would encourage her to know that you are blessed by her hard work. Thanks so much.

SCRIPTURES FOR THE BLESSINGS IN THE LAND

1. Blessings of fruitfulness (Genesis 1:28; 22:17; 28:3; Deuteronomy 7:13-14; Psalm 107:38; and 115:14).

2. Blessings of the breasts and of the womb (Genesis 49:25).

3. Blessings of weddings and celebrations (Jeremiah 33:10-11, cf. Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; and 25:10).

4. Blessings of bread and water (Exodus 23:25).

5. Blessings of God’s watchful care (Numbers 6:24-25).

6. Blessings of peace (Numbers 6:26 and Psalm 29:11).

7. Blessings upon all that we do (Deuteronomy 2:7; 14:29; 15:10, 18; 16:15; 23:20; 24:19; and 28:8, 2).

8. Blessings of health (Deuteronomy 7:15)

9. Blessings on our children (Psalm 115:14; 147:13b; and Isaiah 44:3).

10. Blessings if we live in the city or the country (Deuteronomy 28:3).

11. Blessings on our cattle and produce (Deuteronomy 28:4-5, 11; Psalm 132:15; and 107:36-38).

12. Blessings on our daily walk (Deuteronomy 28:6).

13. Blessings of reigning instead of servitude (Deuteronomy 15:16; and 28:13).

14. Blessings of lending to others instead of borrowing (Deuteronomy 15:16 and 28:12).

15. Blessings on our land and gardens (Deuteronomy 30:16 and Psalm 107:37).

16. Blessings on all the work of our hands (Deuteronomy 23:20 and 28:12).

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 205: THE LAND OF MOTHERHOOD, Part 16

The land of motherhood is a safe land and a plenteous land. Also, a special word to older mothers. 

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Podcast 205! As I share this with you, I’m looking out the window, and everything is just beautifully, brilliant green. In fact, here in Tennessee, no matter what window I look out, everything is green. It’s so beautiful.

No. 8. IT IS A LIFEGIVING LAND

We are up to point number eight in our journey of going through the land of motherhood. It is a life-giving land. I wanted to give you a few more thoughts on this, before we go to the next one.

I wanted to say that when we take on being a life-stopper instead of a life-giver, we not only stop one baby, but we stop dynasties. This is the amazing thing. Sometimes we don’t think into the future. But when we close off our “time of life,” and maybe stop a baby coming into the world, it’s not just one, because that baby can grow up to marry and have children, and their children will marry and have children. We stop a whole dynasty. There are so many dynasties that we are eliminating, even in our nation today.

In the Bible, it was a very, very important thing to God, that the name of a family continue in Israel. That was why God had the practice away back then, that if a man died, his brother, his next brother to him who was not married, was to take his brother’s wife to be his wife. The first child that they would have together would take on the name of the brother who had passed away, so that, as the Bible says: “His name will not be blotted out of Israel” (Deuteronomy 25:5, 6).

It's interesting how God was so interested in the names, the family names. I think of our own experience when we started having grandchildren. We actually got to 15 grandchildren before we had a Campbell grandson. We already had grandsons, but we didn’t have a Campbell grandson. It wasn’t until grandbaby number 15 that we actually got a grandbaby who carried on the family name. So, there’s something very, very powerful about passing on the family name.

You usually need more than one son to do that, because otherwise it’s hanging on by a thread. I think of my maiden name, Bowen. I came from a very little family of only three children. I think I was deprived.

As we grew up, we were all living in different countries. Colin and I moved from New Zealand to Australia, and then America. My brother moved from New Zealand to, well, he went on the Anastasis, the YWAM ship. Of course, they were in many countries of the world. Then my sister immigrated to Canada and became a Canadian citizen, although she is now here nearby me in America now.

My brother, he’s away back in New Zealand now. So, we’ve always been quite apart. I think you need quite a number of brothers and sisters to keep having them around you and also to keep that family name going.

My father only had one son, my brother. He lives in New Zealand. He only has one son, and his son actually lives here, nearby us, here in Tennessee. But he only has one son with the Bowen name. This young man, it all hinges on him. May he be spared, and may he marry, and have more than one son, to keep that name going. Otherwise, if he marries, and he has no sons, that’s the end of that name. It's rather interesting, isn’t it?

A WORD TO OLDER MOTHERS

Another thing that I think is so important, and that is, if I could have a little word to older mothers who may be listening today. Dear older mothers, we have such a responsibility to encourage and teach and train the young mothers in God’s way, not the world’s way, not the way of our humanistic society today. But God’s way, according to His living Word, which is alive, and which has never become stale, and which is eternal. His Words are for every generation.

We go to that famous passage in Titus 2:3-5, where it says the older women are to teach the young women. It doesn’t say they’re to go out, taking great big seminars teaching Bible doctrine. No, they are to teach the subjects of marriage, and motherhood, and homemaking. This is what God has given them to teach.

There are very few who are doing this. I don’t know. I’m trusting I’ll live to 120, but I am getting a little older. I believe there needs to be raised up an army of older women who will become encouragers and teachers of the young women in God’s ways, teaching them how to love their husbands, and teaching them how to be life-givers, and embracing life, and enjoy motherhood, and know that it’s God’s highest career to women.

The trouble is today, most older women have no idea. I don’t know. Do they not read the Word of God? But if we read the Word of God, we’ll soon see that this is what we’re meant to be doing. It’s not time to pack up, and think, “OK, mothering days are over!”

No, we are in our mothering days until we meet Jesus, because this is who He created us to be. He created us to be mothers, nurturers, life-givers. So, we keep on mothering and nurturing when our children grow. Then, of course, the grandchildren are coming. But also, we don’t minimize motherhood, we maximize motherhood.

Because we now have more time. We can open our eyes and look around and see the fields that are white unto harvest. We see all these needy women. We see needy young mothers, and needy single moms, hurting moms. They all need help and encouragement. They all need truth! They need to know God’s ways. How can they receive them? Only through the older mothers!

We are seeing such a dearth of this in our society today, as mothers just, “OK, my children are grown. I can go and do my thing now.” They’re not taking up their mantle. The sad thing is, God holds us responsible. Even more sadly, many of these older mothers are not only not doing anything, but they are passing on the wrong message.

Most older women today are negative about a young mother having children, or having more than two or three, perhaps. They give a negative message. They encourage them to be life-stoppers, not life-givers. One day, we will stand before God to give an answer to this, because we hold this generation in our hand. We’re responsible for passing on His truth to this coming generation.

I have been doing Above Rubies now for many generations. Now there’s a generation that, they don’t know about Above Rubies. Please, I hope you do get more than one magazine. One magazine is so lovely to just read and be encouraged. But, oh, we’ve got to have a bigger vision than that!

This nation is bereft of mothers in the home. Most have gone AWOL. There needs to be a great returning of mothers to the home, where they will raise strong young men and women, and raise strong families, and strong homes. Because the nation is only what its mothers are.

If the mothers are out of the home, the homes are being fragmented. If the mothers come back with a vision in their hearts to know what God has called them to, we will not only raise great young men and women, but we will raise a strong and mighty nation. I would encourage every older mother to take up your mantle, to be an encourager and trainer of the young women, encouraging them to be life-givers.

But it’s not only the older women who are vacating their tasks that God has given to them, but even the pastors and the elders. They’re giving a wrong message. So many young couples who are courting, they go for counsel as they prepare for marriage, and what are they told?

“Well, you must prepare yourselves and get your home ready, and get everything before you think about children.” Of course, if they say that, then they’ve got to tell them what to do to stop having children, so they’re going to be talking about birth control, and contraception.

Can I ask, where do they get all that stuff? Do they get it in the Word? No, it is not there. It is the opposite to God’s heart who wants us to be fruitful and multiply, who every time He says, “I will bless thee,” He then says, “I will multiply thee.” The One Who created us to be life-givers. This is the Word of God.

Stopping life is on the devil’s side. We’re either on one side or the other. If we belong to the kingdom of God, which is the kingdom of life, we will be open to life, we will promote life, we will encourage life.

But on the other hand, if we are stopping life, if we are against life, if we are negative to life coming into the world, we belong to the devil’s kingdom. The devil hates life. He wants to stop life. That’s what he's in the business of doing. He just wants to bring contraception, sterilization, and abortion. That all belongs to the devil’s kingdom.

I think of when the children of Israel were taken, well, it was the children of Judah, really. They were taken to Babylon. There they were captives in Babylon. The Lord wants to speak to them and encourage them.

He brings a word through the prophet Jeremiah. So, Jeremiah speaks this word, saying: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the Lord of the armies of heaven, the God of Israel.” Then he begins to tell them seven things that He wants them to do while they are in Babylon.

Here they are, captives! Actually, what He’s doing is just telling them, “I want you to do what I told you to do, always! It doesn’t matter that you’re now in a strange land, that you’re captive. No, that’s not the point. You never stop doing my commands. They work, no matter where you are, no matter what generation. You keep obeying.”

It's so amazing actually. We go down to Jeremiah 29:5, and the first thing he says is: “Build houses and live in them.” Number two, “Plant gardens and eat the fruit of them.” Number three, “Take wives and have children.” Number four, “Have grandchildren,” and number five, “Don’t diminish.”

Here they are, captive, in a strange land. But God says, “Even there, don’t diminish! You have children, and then you get your children to get married!” He’s very proactive, yes. Jeremiah 29:6 says: “Give your daughters to husbands that they may bear sons and daughters, that ye may be increased, and not diminished.”

Then the next point is to pray for the peace of the city in which they live. The last one was to not be deceived. Now, we would think that would be an important one. God would say, “Now, don’t you be deceived by Babylon. It’s just filled with everything that’s against My ways, and deception and delusion. Don’t.”

But no, that’s not what He said. He said: “Don’t be deceived by the prophets who are in the midst of you.” Sadly, today, we have pastors, elders, who are in the midst of the church, who are counseling young couples to do the very opposite than what God has told them to do in His Word. We have to watch out for those deceptions, because we are in the land of motherhood, which is a life-giving land. He has chosen us to be life-givers.

UPSIDE DOWN

Let me just give you one or two Scriptures here. I love giving you the Scriptures. Let’s go to Isaiah 29:16. Here is says: “You turn things around. Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay? That what is made would say to its maker, ‘You did not make me.’ Or what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding.’” That was the New American Standard Bible. The King James says: “You turn things upside down!” Yes!

Let me go to Isaiah 45:9-10: “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioned it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?”

All right. Let’s go to Isaiah 64:8: “But now, O LORD, Thou art our father; we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand.”

Well, let’s go over to the New Testament, to Romans 9:19-20: “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”

Here we see in these Scriptures, that how can we question God, the way He created us? He created male and female. He created us female. He created us to be life-givers. Why would we go against the way that He has created us? Let’s be life-givers.

No. 9. IT IS A SAFE LAND

Well, the next point, number nine: it is a safe land. That’s good, isn’t it?

Leviticus 25:19: “And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.”

Micah 4:4: “But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.”

God wants our land of motherhood to be a land of safety. Then we go over to the New Testament, in 1 Timothy 2:13-15: “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.”

The context of this Scripture here is that Eve was the one who was deceived. They were both in the transgression, but Eve was first deceived. The Bible says here that however, notwithstanding, if she embraces her childbearing, “notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing.”

“Saved,” the word is sozo, S-O-Z-O. This word actually means more than “saved.”  The full meaning of the word is “saved, preserved, healed, delivered, made whole.” It’s exactly the same word that is used in the New Testament when many times Jesus healed people. The Bible says: “And they were made whole from that moment.” Made whole—body, soul, and spirit. It’s a beautiful, all-encompassing word of wholeness and healing.

It’s a glorious word, the word that was used when Jesus healed people. But it’s used right here for us as women. We will be saved. Yes, we can be saved and born again, but it’s more than that here in this Scripture. It’s in the context of Eve being deceived. We will be saved and delivered from deception if we embrace our mothering role. We will also, as we embrace it, we will be preserved and healed and delivered.

It’s a glorious word, a wonderful promise to women. And “childbearing” there, it can mean “childbirth,” but that is not the full meaning. The actual full meaning of the word there is the whole aspect of childbearing as a career of embracing children, and nourishing children, and feeding children, and teaching children, and raising children. It’s embracing the whole understanding of motherhood. In doing that, God promises that we will be saved. We will be kept safe from deception.

Now, in the last days, we are explicitly told that we are to watch and pray, lest we enter into deception and into temptation. “In the last days, even the elect will be deceived.” Deception is such a subtle thing. Often, when you’re deceived, you usually don’t know you’re deceived.

The only criterion to expose deception is the Word of God. If we’re not in the Word, if we’re not filling ourselves with the Word, if we don’t know the Word, we can be deceived. If we don’t know what the Word of God says about motherhood, we can be deceived.

That’s why I’m taking you through the land. All the 20 different points that God speaks about the land, every one of them is a truth for us to embrace so that we will not be deceived. Dear ladies, if you want to live in safety, if you want to be safe from deception, embrace your mothering role. Embrace your homemaking role. Not, “Well, I guess this is what I have to do. I’ve got these children, so I have to be home looking after them.”

No, you’re not going to get much out of that. No, it’s embracing the joy, knowing I’m in the very perfect will of God, knowing I am doing the most powerful thing any woman could do, knowing that I’m in a career that is going to impact the nation, and generations to come, and come, and come, because I’m involved in establishing a dynasty with my husband, and impacting eternity. As I embrace this, I will be in the very place where God will keep me from deception, because when we move out of the home, we’re moving out of the place where God wants us to be.

IN THE LAND

It’s like if we read through Deuteronomy, we read this phrase over and over again: “In the land.” God says “I will bless you in the land. I will do this for you in the land.” It’s all in the land. When we move out of the land, we’re moving out of where we have God’s safety and covering, and where we’re saved from deception.

So, women get out, they move out of their role in the home. They get into their career out there in the workforce, in the marketplace, out there in the man’s world, where God intended for the man. He didn’t intend it for the women. But as they are out there, they can slowly, subtlely, little by little, be brought more and more into deception. They eventually come to that place where they believe this is where they are meant to be.

In fact, I find, every day as I post a little post on Facebook to encourage marriage, to encourage motherhood, I will often talk about coming back to the home. I cannot believe the reaction. These are from Christian women. They’re supposed to be, I would hope, Bible-believing women. But they’re not really believing the Bible because what they’re doing is the opposite.

And because they’re out of the land, they’re in a place where they can be deceived, where they believe that what they are doing is perfectly right! But, you see, they haven’t got the Word that’s backing them up. We have to be in the Word, dear ladies. As we’re going through this, the land of motherhood, I’m constantly giving you the Word. Let the Word go into your heart and into your very being. Begin to live the Word and you will be in His perfect will. Amen?

No. 10. IT IS A LAND OF PROVISION

Deuteronomy 8:9 calls it, “a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness. Thou shalt not lack anything in it.”

Deuteronomy 28:11, and also chapter 30:9: “And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.”

Oh, there’s so much in that one Scripture there. Not only how He will provide for us, but it talks about where He will provide. In the land. Did you notice that? That phrase that comes over and over again, “in the land.” Yes, “the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the land, which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee.”

Once again, we’re reminded of His promise that it’s a gift to us, just as it was a gift to the children of Israel. They didn’t go and buy it. They didn’t go and purchase it. It was God’s gift to them. The land of motherhood, we may not have chosen it, but God chose it for us. It is His gift to us.

Now this word “plenteous,” “plenteous in goods,” and “plenteous in the fruit of your womb,” and “plenteous in the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of your ground.” What is that word “plenteous”? It’s yathar and it means “to jut over.”

It’s not just, OK, just right there measuring it right to what you barely need. No, it’s “jutting over, exceeding, excelling, abounding, that which is left over.” So, it’s more than enough. That is the promise. Of course, that promise starts out in Deuteronomy 28, where it says: “If you will obey His commandments, and you will walk in them, then these blessings will all come upon them.”

As you know, Deuteronomy 28 is the blessing chapter. I love the blessing chapter. Don’t you? Do you often read it? Deuteronomy 28:1-14 are all the blessings that will come upon us if we hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord our God, to observe to do all His commandments. Then it goes on with all the blessings.

But it’s also the cursing chapter, and the curses are from verse 15 right over to verse 68. My! So much more than all the blessings! But let’s keep in the blessing part, shall we? And here we see, too, in this beautiful blessing part of Deuteronomy 28, we see how God blesses. Just have a look. Come on with me, ladies. I want you see how God does it.

GOD PUTS FIRST THINGS FIRST

OK. Here we are. We started in Deuteronomy 28:4: “Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, the fruit of your womb.” Did you notice? The first blessing. God always puts things first. Nothing is haphazard in the Word of God. This is the very first blessing that God gives. It’s His ultimate blessing, the fruit of the womb. God loves this. He loves the fruit of the womb.

But then, He doesn’t stop with that blessing. He keeps on giving blessings, and it goes on to say: “And the fruit of thy ground.” Wow! Your garden is going to grow so prolifically! “And the fruit of thy cattle. And the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.”

Do you notice the progression, ladies? First, the blessing of the womb, then God blesses the ground, and blesses the cattle, and blesses our basket and our store. What for? To provide for the first blessing, the blessing of the womb. There’s no need for the other blessings unless we have the blessing of the womb. That’s why God provides them! To provide for the blessing of the womb.

You see, you’ve got to get it in God’s order, lovely ladies. So often we are so concerned, and we’re just living, you know, just on our budget. We’re hardly making it. Well, I found that I could hardly ever keep to a budget. In fact, can I tell you a little secret, ladies? Colin and I have been married for 59 years, and we’ve never ever had a budget. I think we did try it in the beginning, but it never worked. We gave up, and we have never ever had a budget.

Well, the main reason is because we have always loved hospitality, loved having people in our home. If we had kept to a budget, we would never have been able to have anybody! Because we would never have made it on a budget. We have always lived far beyond our means. We just lived!

We just ask people, and because God is a hospitable God, and He loves to bless His people as we reach out to them, He comes down and blesses so we can see them! We usually find the more we bless people, the better we eat. That’s just how it is with God.

It’s the same with our having children. We think, “How could I have another baby? We can hardly survive now!” Well, you haven’t got the next baby yet! Forget it! Don’t worry about it! If God gives you another baby, what will He do? He blesses. He blesses the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, and your basket and your store. Oh, He just blesses it all to feed that fruit of the womb! That’s how it is.

Each baby that comes on, you think, “How will we ever manage another baby?” And God blesses! It’s just how God does it! It’s just so exciting!

We just have to do it God’s way. So, lovely ladies, trust God! This land of motherhood, it’s a land of provision when you trust God and you do it His way.

Well, let’s pray, shall we?

“Oh, dear Father, we just thank You for this land that You have given to us. Lord, it’s a wonderful land. You have given us everything we need to live in this land. Your promises and your blessings are not for out of the land. They are for in the land!

“So, Lord God, help us to embrace the land, and live in this land, and make it the most wonderful life for our husbands, and our families, and all those we bring in to enjoy it with us. We ask it in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you have a moment, it would be lovely if you could email a little thank you letter to Darlene. She sacrifices much of her time to transcribe these podcasts for you and I know it would encourage her to know that you are blessed by her hard work. Thanks so much.

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 204: THE LAND OF MOTHERHOOD, Part 15

Motherhood is a life-giving land, life-giving from the cradle to the grave. We are life-givers, life-embracers, life-nurturers, life-feeders, life-speakers, life-restorers, and life-refreshers. We are created to bring life to the world!

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! How are you today? I wonder what you are doing as you’re listening to this podcast. I know so many of you are listening from all around the world. In fact, when I mentioned those who have listened to every single podcast, right up to number 200, the messages that I got were not from people in the USA, but from people overseas, in European countries, such as Slovakia and places like that. It was so exciting to think that these wonderful ladies are listening so faithfully in all these countries of the world.

A TASTE OF HEAVEN

Well, what’s been happening in our end of the world? We recently returned from our annual Above Rubies Family Retreat down in Florida, where we have it at Laguna Beach in Panama Beach, a lovely place. Of course, everybody wants to come to the beach. But, oh, we do have the most wonderful retreat. This was no exception.

I think it was perhaps the most glorious we have ever enjoyed. About 800 folks came together, more than 100 families joining together. Loads and loads of young people and children. And, of course, the meetings were wonderful. But the fellowship was so rich, so wonderful, like a little taste of heaven. Everyone was so blessed that I think just about everybody booked in for next year, before they even left.

So, if you want to get in on this wonderful retreat for next year, you have to start thinking about booking in right now, because we were actually completely overloaded this year to fit into the auditorium. But we are thinking of next year hiring a huge tent so we can fit up to 1,000 or more in that tent.

If you want to be part of this wonderful, glorious assembling of families together, encouraging one another, being blessed and inspired and encouraged, look into it. You’ll love it! We had families drive all the way from Canada, all the way from Montana, and all these different states. Not only from around Florida, but all over the nation. If you’re interested, you can contact Allison Hartman, 850-221-1222. I know you won’t want to miss out.

THE “HANG OUT” REUNION

We’re also having an August reunion. That’s the 10^th to the 17^th of August. We have started that now. The families who are getting to know one another can’t wait a whole year. The August retreat is not so packed as the April one with things that are happening, it seems as though it’s go, go, go, go, go, the whole time, although the weekend is the main time for the meetings, and the volleyball contest, the basketball contest. This year we had tug of wars down on the beach. That was something so amazing! We’ll be making that a yearly thing, too.

But the August one is more, people just come to vacation and to get together and fellowship. We usually arrange one thing for each day. Like last year, about three times us ladies got together just to share for a morning tea. One night all the young people cooked a beautiful meal for all the couples. That was so cool. So, we do different things like that. Just be in, and don’t miss out on the blessings.

ANOTHER FAMILY WEDDING

This last weekend has been a great weekend. Friday night we had another family wedding. How we love our weddings! This was Pearl and Charlie’s son, Rocklyn Barrett. I have a son called Rocklyn. I also have a grandson called Rocklyn.

Rocky and Mary Beth were married on Friday night, down in Alabama where she lives. Mary Beth was also an Above Rubies girl. She came about three years ago to be an Above Rubies helper. I think it was love at first sight! But it’s taken a few years for it to all come together. And now they are married. It was such a lovely wedding.

BABY DEDICATIONS

And then Sunday being Mother’s Day, we had a most beautiful service. We dedicated seven babies. Oh, that was so wonderful! Then my husband gave such an amazing message to mothers. It was so encouraging and inspiring. I so wished we had recorded it so you could have heard it.

WILD TURKEY IN THE FREEZER

And then, this morning, I knew I had to prepare for this podcast today, but I got a call from my grandson Arden. He said, “Nana, I’ve shot a turkey for you!” He’d been out early this morning, and he came over with this great big, huge, huge turkey! It had a great big, long beard which he cut off for a souvenir. But then he said, “Sorry, Nana. I’d like to fix it up for you, but I’ve got to rush into the city. I have an appointment. I think you’d be better skinning this one, rather than plucking it.”

Well, I’m used to plucking chickens and plucking turkeys, but I hadn’t skinned one before. So, I thought, “What would I do?” OK, call another grandson! “Hey, Arrow! Got a few moments? Can you come and skin this turkey for me?” He came over, and we skinned this turkey. Now I’ve got it all cut up and in the deep freeze. That’s good.

I just love getting some real good wild stuff in the deep freeze. I was brought up on wild meat. In fact, I don’t think we rarely ever bought from a butcher shop. Well, today you go to supermarkets! Back in our day, you went to the butcher shop.

But my father would always kill our own meat. He’d kill a sheep, or kill a cow, and cut it all down. We’d throw it in the freezer. Also, he was a great hunter, deer stalker, duck shooter. We used to have all this wild game in our freezer, too. So, I was used to all the wild game.

In fact, before we ever had deep freezes, in the days when we didn’t have such things, I can remember duck shooting season was only for three weeks. My father would go out every morning for those three weeks. He’d leave early in the morning to go out, and he would always get the number of ducks that you were allowed to get. He’d always get a full bag and come home.

We had so many ducks! We’d have to pluck all these ducks. We couldn’t keep them all because we had no deep freeze! When you get a limit bag every single day for three weeks, what do you do with them? Well, of course, my father would give them away.

But also, we would eat duck every single night for the three weeks of the duck shooting season. The first night, there was only three of us children, but my mother would cook three ducks! One for my father. He’d eat the whole duck, and the rest of us would eat the other two. But I don’t think it was ever quite the same when we got a deep freeze, and we could have them throughout the year and space it out. There was something about just duck for three weeks. It was quite a great memory.

2000 MULES

Oh, yes, another thing. Last week, Colin and I went to see in the theaters the documentary movie that is now, well, it was only out for a couple of nights. Dinesh D’Souza’s movie, 2000 Mules. I wonder if you have heard about it. It’s no longer in the theaters. It was only there for a couple of nights. But now it is available digitally. You can go online. I would encourage you, go online, look up 2000 Mules, M-U-L-E-S. This movie exposes our stolen election.

Now, I know we’ve all known that it was stolen. We knew the cheating that went on with the Dominion machines, and so many other things that happened that were totally unbelievable. Yet, although this has all been proved, still nothing has happened.

But this movie doesn’t go into any of that. It has exposed another whole realm of cheating that people didn’t know about. It is unbelievably amazing. You have to see this movie to see it, and how you actually see what they called these mules, these people who get these ballots, which are illegal. They take them to these drop boxes in the dead of night. They were all being sent. They were not legal. You see it all happening. It's actually quite unbelievable.

I believe that every single person in the nation needs to see it. I have been very saddened to be on some threads on social media and see that even in the conservative community, people say, “Well, why should I have to pay for it? I can’t afford $20 to rent it, or $30 to buy it.” I beg your pardon? Our country is at stake! We, at the present, do not have a constitutional republic. We do not have it. We have a stolen election.

We do not have WE THE PEOPLE, because WE THE PEOPLE voted, we voted, even as this movie proves, well beyond the stolen vote of Biden. But we don’t have the legal president in the White House. This is not what America is! It is not even, at this moment, a constitutional republic.

In fact, at this moment, unless things are changed, unless people see this movie, and unless people are awakened, and unless people do something and begin to write to their senators and congressmen, and make a voice in their state, and federally, it’s not going to change. It’s only WE THE PEOPLE who can change this. If we don’t, we’ll have another stolen election.

Because, at the moment, there has been nothing changed to change what happened. All these things will happen again! Therefore, we are not a free people. We are just going down the drain, into communism and dictatorship. They are dictating who wins.

I trust that you will get it. You can gather in friends and family to watch it with you. We did that on Saturday night. We played it downstairs where we actually have our church, and where we have all our big family gatherings. We played it on the big screen. We’re going to do it next week as well, and get in as many, many people as we can. I don’t think we got enough in the other night, so we’re going to go for it again, and get more people.

If we can all do this, and then do something about it, we can see change. Sometimes people think, “Well, can anything happen?” Well, it can, if we do it! We are the people. This is how this country is meant to be governed. We the people. But at the moment, we are being dictated to. I’d encourage you to check that out, OK?

ENJOYING THE JOURNEY

All right, ladies. We’re still going through this land of motherhood. Are you enjoying the journey? We haven’t got through yet! There’s still more to go as we discover the land.

Today we are up to . . .

NO. 8. IT IS A LIFE-GIVING LAND

Yes!

Last week we were talking about how IT IS A FRUITFUL LAND. Well, today it is a life-giving land. Before we even look into that Scripture, because every point I have is taken from the Scriptures, I want to remind you ladies that this land, this promised land, this land that flows with milk and honey, this land that God gave to His people Israel, He gave it to them for an everlasting possession. This land is a GIFT! Yes.

GOD’S GIFT TO YOU

I’ve just been reading through Deuteronomy again. I finished it this morning.  Chapter 34 is the last chapter. It was just a joy to read through again. I noticed that 70, SEVENTY times in this one book, God reminds His people that it is a land that He gave to them. Let me give you just a few Scriptures here.

Deuteronomy 1:25. This particular Scripture is in the context of when they have gone out from the wilderness to explore the land, before they were going to possess it. They came back, the twelve spies came back, and they said: “It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us.” They acknowledged that God was giving it to them. God had promised it to their fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so many times.

These are not the only Scriptures. I’m just taking the book of Deuteronomy, where it speaks about it 70 times. But, of course, God promises them in other places as well.

That’s a good confession, isn’t it? They said, “It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give to us.”

What we’re doing, ladies, as you know, we’re taking the Scriptures about the literal land of Israel, and we’re likening them to our land of motherhood. We can also liken them to this land of the kingdom of God that He has brought us into.

This is the wonderful thing about the Scriptures. We read it, and as we read the top level, it’s just the literal, the literal thing that it is saying. But there’s always deeper and deeper levels. So, these Scriptures apply to us who now live in the kingdom of God. “It is a good land that He has given to us.” It applies to us as mothers. It is a good land that God has given to us as mothers.

But wow! This Scripture goes on to say: “Notwithstanding” Moses was talking to them all, and he said: “You would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and ye murmured in your tents.” Isn’t that amazing? The spies came back! Wow, “It’s a good land, everybody! It’s amazing!”

Just look, they came back, and there were two spies carrying one cluster of grapes. It took two men to carry it. That’s how prolific the land was. But they noticed there were giants there. They put fear into the people, and the people rebelled.

Moses reminded them, “You would not go up. You didn’t obey the Lord God, who told you to go up and possess it. And instead, you murmured in your tents. You murmured behind the closed doors of your houses.”

Oh, my, we’re not so much different to the people of Israel, are we? The land of motherhood is a good land! We talked about that, it’s a good land. It’s a land that God has given us! He’s given it to us. And yet, what do we do? We murmur, and we complain. “Poor me, I’m just home all day with these children. I don’t know. If only I could get out and get a job. We’d survive much better.” We groan about this, and we murmur about that.

And yet, motherhood is God’s gift! It’s His gift. It’s the land He’s given to us. It’s the land He planned for us. And it’s given! Yes, and He didn’t tell the people of Israel only once. He told them just here in Deuteronomy 70 times! To remind them. We need reminding. Ladies, I want to remind you today, the land of motherhood is God’s gift to you.

I won’t give you the 70 verses. I’ll just give you two or three.

Deuteronomy 12:17: “The good land which the Lord giveth you.”

Deuteronomy 7:13: “He will love thee and bless thee and multiply thee. He will also bless the fruit of thy womb in the land which He sware unto thy fathers to give thee.” Yes, He sware unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “I am giving you this land for an everlasting possession.”

Deuteronomy 9:23. Moses was reminding them again: “Likewise, when the LORD sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.”

So many mothers today come into the land. God has given it. But they think, “I can’t survive in this land! Help! I’ve got to go out, and I’ve got to work. I’ve got to join my husband, providing for this home because we can’t survive unless I do.” And you forget the Lord God has given you this land. He’s given it to you, to be in it, and to dwell in it, to mother your children in it, and to make this beautiful home. That’s what God wants you to do.

But they didn’t believe that God could do it! And so, we’re much the same. We don’t believe that God can provide and He can do it. Just wanted to remind you that this is your gift. This land is God’s gift to you.

Now we’re looking at, IT IS A LIFE-GIVING LAND.

WE MUST BE LIFE-CHOOSERS

We go to Deuteronomy 30:15-20. Let me read you verses 19-20: “I call upon heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore, CHOOSE LIFE, that both thou and thy seed may live. . . that thou mayest dwell in the land.”

Now, when Moses spoke the words in Deuteronomy to the people of Israel, 34 chapters, it was all God’s words through Moses to His people as they are poised to go in and possess the land. They didn’t do it the first time. Now, for 40 years, they’ve been wandering in the wilderness.

Now God says, “It’s time to go!” OK, but He has so much to say to them. It’s about a month before they’re going in and they’re all assembled to hear the words of God through Moses. He says to them, “As you go into the land, you are to be life-choosers. Always choose life.” Look up that passage again later on, when you have time, and read it over. Powerful words.

And, dear ladies, in this land of motherhood, we are to be LIFE-CHOOSERS. This is who we are as women.

WE ARE LIFE-GIVERS

It starts right back, as we go back to the beginning, Genesis 3:20: “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” Eve. The word “Eve” in the Hebrew is chavvah. It literally means “LIFE-GIVER.”

Dear precious ladies, this is who we are. When God created the woman, He created her to be a life-giver! We are blessed beyond measure. We have the privilege to conceive life! And to grow life in our wombs. Of course, it is God Who is doing it, but we are this sanctuary, this house, this beautiful place where He grows this baby, this life! It's life! It’s life from conception, dear ladies.

And we are to be life-givers, not only from birth. We are life-givers from the moment of conception. No, it goes even before that. We are life-givers, even before conception, because we are open to life. To receive life, we have to be open to life. We are open to life, even before conception.

From the moment that baby conceives, a life is growing in the womb. And we are privileged to house that life, a life that is not only for this world, but a life that is eternal, and will live forever. There is nothing more powerful that you can do. You are doing something eternal. It’s not something that you do and it’s just going be destroyed or left behind. No, it’s an eternal soul who will live forever. This is so powerful.

The word chavvah comes from the root word chavah, which means “to make alive, to revive, to repair, to restore, to recover, to nourish, to preserve, and to be whole.” That encompasses the whole mothering anointing. We are always giving life. We give life through our wombs.

And then we continue to give life, as we then begin to nourish this little babe at the breast. We give life to this babe as we suckle this babe at the breast. Oh, it’s so incredible, who we are! No wonder God called us “life-givers.”

The amazing thing is, it’s unbelievable. Yet so many women today, even in the church, instead of life-givers, they are life-stoppers. We’re not meant to be life-stoppers, ladies. We are to be life-givers to the world.

“THE TIME OF LIFE”

I’m thinking as I talk about this in Genesis 18. This is when God came to visit Abraham and Sarah. Three men came. Was it the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit? Well, maybe, because it was God. First, let’s look at it.

Genesis 18:1: “And the LORD appeared.” You see, the Lord appeared unto Abraham: “And he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground.”

But what did the first verse say? “And the LORD appeared.” This was God appearing, coming as three men. And Abraham said: “My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away.” And then he talked about, “Look, I’ll get some water for you to wash your feet, and I’ll get a morsel of bread, and I’ll prepare some meat for you. I’ll get this meal ready for you. Just sit there in the shade while I prepare it all.”

We go down to verse seven: “And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them,” and so on.

And then, verse nine: “And they said unto him,” THEY, the three men. They, plural, plural, but it was the Lord, and He is plural, three in one. “Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.” She’s there, in the home, in the heart of the home.

“And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to THE TIME OF LIFE; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself.” She didn’t laugh out loud, just within herself.

“Saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did,” (remember? “And the LORD said unto Abraham,” it was God who was visiting them), “Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is anything too hard for the LORD?”

And then He said it again. “At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to THE TIME OF LIFE and Sarah shall have a son.” Two times here He mentions a phrase, “the time of life.” “According to the time of life.”

What is the time of life, ladies? The time of life is that time during the month when we are ovulating, when we are open to conception. You’re not open to conception all throughout the month. Your most fertile time is during that time of ovulation. That is your time of life that comes each month. Isn’t that a beautiful thing? God calls it “the time of life.” He also mentions it again in another story in the Word of God.

During this time of our monthly cycle we should be open to life. Imagine if Sarah had not been open to life. Because I believe the miracle that happened, was that Sarah, her cycle was restored to her. And because her cycle was restored, even her youthfulness came back to her. She began to cycle again. During that cycle is the time of life. God was able to come and bring conception.

Well, God could have done this at any time. God is miraculous. He can do anything He wants. But God, I believe, keeps to that which He has created. He created the woman with this monthly cycle, which includes the time of life. “The time of life.”

And later on, we read how God uses the word: “And God VISITED Sarah, and she conceived” (Genesis 21:1). God came and visited her, and she conceived. I believe that happens with every conception. God visits, because even in the time of life, we may not always conceive. It is God’s doing. It is God who gives conception. During that time of life, God can visit us.

And yet today, so many women will not allow that time of life in their month. They do everything in their power to stop it. It’s got to be stopped! It’s closed off. It’s shut. When God comes to visit, well, even when the husband and wife come together, there is no opportunity for life. That is opposite to God’s plan because we are life-givers. Amen?

Life-givers before conception, life-givers open to conception, life-givers as we’re growing this baby in the womb, and life-givers as we nourish this little baby. And then, of course, as the baby eventually weans, we continue to give life-giving foods. Because we’re life-givers, ladies, we are always giving life-giving foods to our families, to our husbands, to our children.

LIFE NOURISHERS, LIFE FEEDERS AND LIFE SPEAKERS

We’re not giving them junk food, devitalized food. No! We think of life! What is life? What is wholesome? What is going to be nutritious for them? We’re always thinking life, because we’re life-givers, we’re going to be seeking life-giving words! Yes, because it’s who we are.

Well, let me close, shall we, with an acrostic about our being a life-giver. I’ll just take the first letter of each word, each letter of life-giver. OK, LIFE:

L –          Life-giving to the world through the power of your womb.

I –           Inspiring your husband and children daily with life-giving words.

F –          Feeding your husband and children life-giving foods, never dead or devitalized.

E –          Embracing your life-giving role of birthing and nursing babies.

Next word: GIVER

G –         Giving freely as you pour out your life for your family and others.

I –           Interceding for your children and the strengthening of families in the world.

V –         Valuing life in the same way God values life.

E –          Engraving God’s life-giving Word into the hearts of your children.

R –          Reviving, repairing, restoring, reconciling, recovering, refreshing, renewing, and rescuing lives and relationships.

Be a life-giver.

“Lord, we thank You that this is Who You named us. The first woman was named Eve, who was the prototype of all women to come. Lord, You named her “Life-Giver.” You have put this name upon each one of us. We are all life-givers to the world.

“Oh, dear Father, please help us to understand and see who we are, and who You created us to be. And Lord, that we will never be in the camp of the life-stoppers. But we will always be those who are life-givers from the cradle to the grave. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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