"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" ...
Matthew 4:4
In my quest for healing and restoration, there are certain truths that have stood out to me in His Word that I suddenly see differently than I did before. If I was to rephrase that scripture, it could say "without every word that comes from the mouth of God, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE..." Eating bread or nourishing our physical bodies, does not produce life. That is interesting because I spend an awful lot of time focusing on what I eat, what I should eat, what I want to eat, what I have eaten and what I should not have eaten!!!! Eating God's Word produces life. Hmmm...fasting makes a lot of sense in this perspective. Eating disorders anyone???
Being a mom is hard enough without the constant opinions of other people. Everyone has "wisdom" for us in the way we handle our children, cleaning, family, husband, or even our own opinions! The words of others can become overwhelming as we measure ourselves against them. We begin to mold the way we look, the way we think and the way we act based upon the things other people say and do. If someone challenges us, we become defensive and take the challenge as a personal attack. When I say "we", I am simply referring to the unhealed areas of the hearts of the typical mom! Even the typical Christian mom.
God has been dealing with me in this area. While I think I am confident and others percieve me as being so, I hadn't realized the amount of value I put on the words of other people. Social networking has contributed to the business of "word value". Over time, I've become more and more "fired up" as I interperet comments, posts and responses to issues. Forming opinions about those poeple and myself, based upon the constant flow of WORDS. Whether just checking in periodically or spending my "off days" escaping my household noise on the computer, every word typed or spoken takes root.
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
Whatever we meditate on is the way we will direct our success or our desire for success. Have you changed the way you parent or the way you percieve yourself based upon the opinions or judgements of another person? Before making this change, did you meditate on the Word of God? Neither did I!!!
I had a dream with many parts the other night. I knew the dream was supernatural and there were some demonic implications. In one scenario of the dream, I had become aware of a demonic "source" and began to pick up statues and throw them to the ground because I had identified them as gods. I kept saying "we have to get these out of here, they are gods." The dream stuck with me and I couldn't figure out what these "gods" were. A couple of days later I had a prayer deliverance appointment with my favorite counseler!!! In prayer, God was able to show me how guilt and condemnation had been woven into every peice of fabric in my heart. Pulling that thread of guilt unraveled a whole pattern that the enemy had woven together as a rope of bondage that was holding me back. Pastor Scott asked me "Where is God taking you?" and I was brought back to that dream of throwing the idols on the ground. He asked me what God was telling me and this is what He clearly said "You have made people's words gods above me and my word!" Now this is hard to take because I KNOW God's word. I know His truth and I believe and proclaim it as truth, but I had not put His truth ABOVE others. I am quickly reminded of the first AND second commandments!
Exodus 20
1. "...You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. "...For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..."
In addition, the Bible says; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1John 1:1
So who's words have I made my god???
For the past two days, God has been trying to speak to me through a song stuck in my head by an unlikely source!!! It's long, but I think it's worth it to post the words to this song.
"Who Says" by Selena Gomez:
Wouldn't wanna be anybody else, hey.
You made me insecure,
Told me I wasn't good enough.
But who are you to judge,
When you're a diamond in the rough.
I'm sure you got somethings,
You'd like to change about yourself.
But when it comes to me,
I wouldn't wanna be anybody else
I'm no beauty queen,
I'm just beautiful me.
You've got every right,
To a beautiful life.
Come on!
Who says,
Who says you're not perfect,
Who says you're not worth it,
Who says you're the only one that's hurting,
Trust me,
That's the price of beauty,
Who says you're not pretty,
Who says your not beautiful,
Who says?
It's such a funny thing,
How nothings funny when it's you.
You tell me whatcha mean,
But they keep whiting out the truth.
It's like a work of art,
That never gets to see the light.
Keep you beneath the stars,
Won't let you touch the sky.
Who says you're not star potential,
Who says you're not presidential,
Who says you can't be in movies,
Listen to me, listen to me,
Who says you don't past the test,
Who says you can't be the best.
Who said,
Who said,
Would you tell me who said that,
Yeah~
Who said?
I'll tell you who said, God said...
John 1:12 You are His child.Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
John 15:15 You are a friend of Jesus Christ.I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 You have been bought with a price, you belong to God.Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Ephesians 1:4-8You have been chosen.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
Ephesians 2:10 You were made BY God.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Philippians 4:13 There is nothing you cannot do.I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Psalm 139:14 You are wonderully made!
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
Jeremiah 1:5 He has always known you.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
These are the things we ought to learn and pass on to our children. If we tell them something but don't believe for ourselves what we tell them, they will get mixed messages.
My faith is affected by the words I choose to read and listen to. Where does my faith come from? "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!" Romans 10:17
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Philippians 4:8
