Preparation for the spring garden

About a month ago our family all sat down and started to plan what we will need for the farm and how we could get it with no money. As part of building up our soil for the spring garden we knew we needed to bring in lots of organic materials to add nutrients to our soil. We also knew that we are not going to use chemicals or man made fertilizer. Also we have limited time, which gardening requires alot of, so how will we do it.........

Wood chips were high on our radar as well as old hay from local farmers. But the problem was we didn't know where to get them without spending alot of money. three weeks later I am driving home from work and right at the end of our driveway was a truck with the name Tree's Inc. on the side of it. They were trimming our power lines and as part of that they grind up all of the limbs into fine particles. I went out and had a really good conversation with them men and they agreed to come dump all of their wood chips onto our property. About six loads later we have mounds of wood chips. Perfect for our garden!!

The next item that we were focused on getting was old used hay from some of our local farmers. We are first generation farmers and we are pretty new to these things. A local farmer said he had more hay then we new what to do with, so I took him up on his offer. I loaded the gang up in the Excursion, pulling our trailer, all the while not having any idea the amount of work we were getting into. Lets just say it was a pice full night of sleep once we went to sleep that night.

So once we got all of this organic matter, we had to decide how we were going to spread it all out over our garden site. I used a tractor to move the big majority and then used a little thinking to get the rest spread out........

Yes that is chickens! We built a portable fence measuring one hundred feet by one hundred feet and the girls love it. We are doing a few things using this method. First our organic matter is getting spread out very efficiently and while that is happening the chickens are also fertilizing the garden site. These laying hens are just now starting to lay eggs as well, so we are getting the most out of what the Lord has given us. We should have a nice spring garden Lord willing, all we can do is till the ground spread the seeds and God will give the increase. More to follow...........

God Bless's us with a building!

The blessings are still coming! D'Lane and Myself decided we would need a storage building to bring out to the land, along with our camper. This would be used to keep the washer, dryer, deep freeze and the kids school room. Also we wanted to install a small bathroom and shower as the ones in the camper are very small for a BIG guy! We set out on various journey's looking at different buildings and prices. After looking at the cost of these buildings it didn't take long to realize that with the money we had we would be getting a small building. Something along the lines of a 12'X12'. After spending several days looking at buildings we found the one God wanted us to have! We were talking to one of the old ladies about our vision for our family and the urgency of our plans. So she said she would sell us her 3 year old building which is a 12' X 30' for about the same price as a 12' X 12'. D'Lane and Myself just kinda starred at each other for a minute to see if this was really happening again? We told her we would get back with her today and let her know of our decision.

The difficult thing was we wouldn't have the money for the building until we sold our house. We pondered different ideas about what we would offer them,  to get them to let us have the building before we sold the house. D'Lane told her a few ideas we had and she stated that she would like to speak to us in person with her husband.

Sorry for the poor image quality!  I (Shelby L'Rae)
just snapped these pictures with my phone and thought
Uncle Henry would like them on his post! 

Mr. Vernon stated he didn't want any money up front, as long as we would sign paperwork stating we were going to give them the money upon closing of the house. He opened the building and let us walk into it so we could really see how big it was. After we walked out he hands me the keys and says to give him a couple days and he will clean it out and deliver it  out to our property. Not only will he deliver it, but he will set it up for us, block it up and level it for us. D'Lane and Myself just stared at each other not realizing what just took place, again before our eyes! After we sat down with them and filled out all of the paper work, they were eager to hear more about what we are doing and our Christianity. We went through many topics ranging from our Multi-Generational vision, child training, farming and taking it to the nations. Now we have a storage building that is 1/3rd the size of our OLD house! 

To God be the Glory!

Cottage Food Laws in Texas

visit texascottagefoodlaw.com

Thought some of you might want to know where we stand, in Texas, on the Cottage Food Law issue.

Cottage Food Production Operations (up to date)

New Rules - §229.661. Cottage Food Production Operations

During the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session 2011, the Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 81 that amends the Health and Safety Code (HSC), Chapter 437, by adding provisions for cottage food production operations. This law is effective September 1, 2011.

A cottage food production operation is exempt from the requirements of a food service establishment and does not have to comply with the Texas Food Establishment Rules. Health departments do not have regulatory authority to conduct inspections of a cottage food production operation. Health departments are required to maintain records of all complaints against a cottage food production operation.

A cottage food production operation is defined as an individual, operating out of the individual’s home, who produces a baked good, a canned jam or jelly, or a dried herb or herb mix for sale at the person’s home; has an annual gross income of $50,000 or less from the sale of the described foods; and sells the foods only directly to consumers. A cottage food product does not include any food that is potentially hazardous that requires time/temperature control for safety (TCS) to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation.

A potentially hazardous food (PHF) is a food that requires time and temperature control for safety (TCS) to limit pathogen growth or toxin production. In other words, a food must be held under proper temperature controls, such as refrigeration to prevent the growth of bacteria that may cause human illness. A PHF/TCS is a food that: contains protein, moisture (water activity greater than 0.85), and is neutral to slightly acidic (pH between 4.6 -7.5).

Food produced by a cottage food production operation must be labeled. The label must include the name and address of the cottage food production operation, common or usual name of the product, if a food is made with a major food allergen, such as eggs, nuts, soy, peanuts, milk or wheat that ingredient must be listed on the label, and a statement: “This food is made in a home kitchen and is not inspected by the Department of State Health Services or a local health department." The labels must be legible.

Food produced by a cottage food production operation may not be sold via the Internet.The Department of State Health Services adopted a new rule concerning cottage food production operations. The new rule, Title 25 of the Texas Administrative Code, Section 229.661, became effective on July 22, 2012.  

Last updated August 14, 2012 

To read the bill yourself, click the link below:
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/html/SB00081F.htm

Our season ON Covenant Acres Begins!!!

 After much prayer and hard work our journey to Covenant Acres begins!!


Proverbs 29:18  Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

After much studying God's law word on many aspects of our life, we continue to follow the path of obedience to His law! We decided early on that if we were going to shorten our children's learning curve, it would take drastic steps on our part to begin our vision!

This is not for most families........................or is it?


 Our journey would begin with selling our house (1098 sq. ft.) city home and moving into our thirty four foot R.V.  No it will not be an easy task, with three children under seven, most would say it is impossible! But scripture teaches other wise.

Luke 1:37  For with God nothing shall be impossible.

It was through much prayer that we cultivated the vision of taking back farming and bringing reformation to this area of our culture. I will post more on this as we transition to the farm!

Upon sitting down with our realtor and them doing a market analysis of the homes that have sold in our area, everything came back that we would not make very much off of our home. However we sold it way above market value!!! The Lord placed a number on our hearts and that's what we listed it for! In the housing market we are in now, one would think there is no way we would sell our house above market value. Well the house was on the market for eleven days and it sold! After a few minor repairs, we had to wait upon the termite inspection and a home inspection. Neither of the two found and significant problems with the house, which was built in 1962.

  Deuteronomy 28:1-2  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

God blesses obedience and curses disobedience! Father's must re-evaluate their vision and purpose for their families! Read Deuteronomy for more on this.

Our ceiling should be their footsteps!

Our journey continues.........

The Willowbank Declaration on the Christian Gospel and the Jewish People

THE WILLOWBANK DECLARATION ON THE 

CHRISTIAN GOSPEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE

"The Gospel is the power of God for salvation, to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)

"Brethren, my hearts desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved." (Romans 10:1)

PREAMBLE

Every Christian must acknowledge an immense debt of gratitude to the Jewish people.  The Gospel is the good news that Jesus is the Christ, the long-promised Jewish Messiah, who by his life, death and resurrection saves from sin and all its consequences.  Those who worship Jesus as their Divine Lord and Saviour have thus received God's most precious gift through the Jewish people.  Therefore they have compelling reason to show love to that people in every possible way.

Concerned about humanity everywhere, we are resolved to uphold the right of Jewish people to a just and peaceful existence everywhere, both in the land of Israel and in their communities throughout the world.  We repudiate past persecutions of Jews by those identified as Christians, and we pledge ourselves to resist every form of anti-Semitism.  As the supreme way of demonstrating love, we seek to encourage the Jewish people, along with all other peoples, to receive God's gift of life through Jesus the Messiah, and accordingly the growing number of Jewish Christians brings us great joy.

In making this Declaration we stand in a long and revered Christian tradition, which in 1980 was highlighted by a landmark statement, "Christian Witness to the Jewish People," issued by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.  Now, at this Willowbank Consultation on the Gospel and the Jewish People, sponsored by the World Evangelical Fellowship and supported by the Lausanne Committee, we reaffirm our commitment to the Jewish people and our desire to share the Gospel with them.

This Declaration is made in response to growing doubts and widespread confusion among Christians about the need for, and the propriety of, endeavours to share faith in Jesus Christ with Jewish people.  Several factors unite to produce the uncertain state of mind that the Declaration seeks to resolve.

The holocaust, perpetrated as it was by leaders and citizens of a supposedly Christian nation, has led to a sense in some quarters that Christian credibility among Jews has been totally destroyed.  Accordingly, some have shrunk back from addressing the Jewish people with the Gospel.

Some who see the creation of the state of Israel as a direct fulfillment of biblical prophecy have concluded that the Christian task at this time is to "comfort Israel" by supporting this new political entity, rather than to challenge Jews by direct evangelism.

Some church leaders have retreated from embracing the task of evangelizing Jews as a responsibility of Christian mission.  Rather, a new theology is being embraced which holds that God's covenant with Israel through Abraham establishes all Jews in God's favor for all times, and so makes faith in Jesus Christ for salvation needless so far as they are concerned.

On this basis, it is argued that dialogue with Jews in order to understand each other better, and cooperation in the quest for socio-economic shalom, is all that Christian mission requires in relation to the Jewish people.  Continued attempts to do what the Church has done from the first, in seeking to win Jews to Jesus as Messiah, are widely opposed and decried, by Christian as well as Jewish leaders.

Attempts to bring Jews to faith in Jesus are frequently denounced as proselytizing.  This term is often used to imply dishonest and coercive modes of inducement, appeal to unworthy motives, and disregard of the question of truth even though it is truth that is being disseminated.

In recent years, "messianic" Jewish believers in Jesus, who as Christians celebrate and maximize their Jewish identity, have emerged as active evangelists to the Jewish community.  Jewish leaders often accused them of deception on the grounds that one cannot be both a Jew and a Christian.  While these criticisms may reflect Judaism's current effort to define itself as a distinct religion in opposition to Christianity, they have led to much bewilderment and some misunderstanding and mistrust.

The Declaration responds to this complex situation and seeks to set directions for the future according to the Scriptures.

THE DECLARATION

1.  THE DEMAND OF THE COSPEL

ARTICLE I.1.

WE AFFIRM THAT the redeeming love of God has been fully and finally revealed in Jesus Christ.

WE DENY THAT those without faith in Christ know the full reality of God's love and of the gift that he gives.

ARTICLE I.2.

WE AFFIRM THAT the God-given types, prophecies and visions of salvation and shalom in the Hebrew Scriptures find their present and future fulfillment in and through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who by incarnation became a Jew and was shown to be the Son of God and Messiah by his resurrection.

WE DENY THAT it is right to look for a Messiah who has not yet appeared in world history.

ARTICLE I.3.

WE AFFIRM THAT Jesus Christ is the second person of the one God, who became a man, lived a perfect life, shed his blood on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for human sins, rose bodily from the dead, now reigns as Lord, and will return visibly to this earth, all to fulfill the purpose of bringing sinners to share eternally in his fellowship and glory.

WE DENY THAT those who think of Jesus Christ in lesser terms than these have faith in him in any adequate sense. 

ARTICLE I.4

WE AFFIRM THAT all human beings are sinful by nature and practice, and stand condemned, helpless and hopeless, before God, until the grace of Christ touches their lives and brings them to God's pardon and peace.

WE DENY THAT any Jew or Gentile finds true peace with God through performing works of law.

ARTICLE I.5

WE AFFIRM THAT God's forgiveness of the penitent rests on the satisfaction rendered to his justice by the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

WE DENY THAT any person can enjoy God's favor apart from the mediation of Jesus Christ, the sin-bearer.

ARTICLE I.6

WE AFFIRM THAT those who turn to Jesus Christ find him to be a sufficient Saviour and Deliverer from all the evil of sin:  from its guilt, shame, power, and perversity; from blind defiance of God, debasement of moral character, and the dehumanizing and destructive self-assertion that sin breeds.

WE DENY THAT the salvation found in Christ may be supplemented in any way.

ARTICLE I.7

WE AFFIRM THAT faith in Jesus Christ is humanity's only way to come to know the Creator as Father, according to Christ's own Word: "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6)

WE DENY THAT any non-Christian faith, as such, will mediate eternal life with God.

11. THE CHURCH OF JEWS AND GENTILES

ARTICLE II.8 

WE AFFIRM THAT through the mediation of Jesus Christ, God has made a new covenant with Jewish and Gentile believers, pardoning their sins, writing his law on their hearts by his Spirit, so that they obey him, giving the Holy Spirit to indwell them, and bringing each one to know him by faith in a relationship of trustful gratitude for salvation.

WE DENY THAT the blessings of the New Covenant belong to any except believers in Jesus Christ.

ARTICLE II.9

WE AFFIRM THAT the profession of continuing Jewish identity, for which Hebrew Christians have in the past suffered at the hands of both their fellow-Jews and Gentile church leaders, was consistent with the Christian Scriptures and with the nature of the church as one body in Jesus Christ in which Jews and non-Jews are united.

WE DENY THAT it is necessary for Jewish Christians to repudiate their Jewish heritage.

ARTICLE II.10

WE AFFIRM THAT Gentile believers, who at present constitute the great bulk of the Christian church, are included in the historically continuous community of believing people on earth which Paul pictures as God's olive tree (Rom. 11:13-24).

WE DENY THAT Christian faith is necessarily non-Jewish and that Gentiles who believe in Christ may ignore their solidarity with believing Jews, or formulate their new identity in Christ without reference to Jewishness, or decline to receive the Hebrew Scriptures as part of their own instruction from God, or refuse to see themselves as having their roots in Jewish history.

ARTICLE II.11

WE AFFIRM THAT Jewish people who come to faith in Messiah have liberty before God to observe or not observe traditional Jewish customs and ceremonies that are consistent with the Christian Scriptures and do not hinder fellowship with the rest of the Body of Christ.

WE DENY THAT any inconsistency or deception is involved by Jewish Christians representing themselves as "Messianic" or "completed" or "fulfilled" Jews.

III.  GOD'S PLAN FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE

ARTICLE III.12

WE AFFIRM THAT Jewish people have an ongoing part in God's plan.

WE DENY THAT indifference to the future of the Jewish people on the part of Christians can ever be justified.

ARTICLE III.13

WE AFFIRM THAT in prior to the coming of Christ it was Israel's unique privilege to enjoy a corporate covenantal relationship with God, following upon the national redemption from slavery, and involving God's gift of law and of a theocratic culture; God's promise of blessing to faithful obedience; and God's provision of atonement for transgression.  We affirm that within this covenant relationship, God's pardon and acceptance of the penitent which was linked to the offering of prescribed sacrifices rested upon the foreordained sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

WE DENY THAT covenantal privilege alone can ever bring salvation to impenitent unbelievers.

ARTICLE III.14

WE AFFIRM THAT much of Judaism, in its various forms, throughout contemporary Israel and today's Diaspora, is a development out of, rather than as an authentic embodiment of, the faith, love and hope that the Hebrew Scriptures teach.

WE DENY THAT modern Judaism with its explicit negation of the divine person, work, and Messiah-ship of Jesus Christ contains within itself true knowledge of God's salvation.

ARTICLE III.15

WE AFFIRM THAT the biblical hope for Jewish people centers on their being restored through faith in Christ to their proper place as branches of God's olive tree from which they are at present broken off.

WE DENY THAT the historical status of the Jews as God's people brings salvation to any Jew who does not accept the claims of Jesus Christ.

ARTICLE III.16

WE AFFIRM THAT the Bible promises that large numbers of Jews will turn to Christ through God's sovereign grace.

WE DENY THAT this prospect renders needless the active proclamation of the gospel to Jewish people in this and every age.

ARTICLE III.17

WE AFFIRM THAT anti-Semitism on the part of professed Christians has always been wicked and shameful and that the church has in the past been much to blame for tolerating and encouraging it and for condoning anti-Jewish actions on the part of individuals and governments.

WE DENY THAT these past failures, for which offending Gentile believers must ask forgiveness from both God and the Jewish community, rob Christians of the right or lessen their responsibility to share the gospel with Jews today and for the future.

ARTICLE III.18

WE AFFIRM THAT it was the sins of the whole human race that sent Christ to the cross.

WE DENY THAT it is right to single out the Jewish people for putting Jesus to death.

IV.  EVANGELISM AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE

ARTICLE IV.19

WE AFFIRM THAT sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with lost humanity is a matter of prime obligation for Christian people, both because the Messiah commands the making of disciples and because love of neighbor requires effort to meet our neighbor's deepest need.

WE DENY THAT any other form of witness and service to others can excuse Christians from laboring to bring them to faith in Christ.

ARTICLE IV.20

WE AFFIRM THAT the church's obligation to share saving knowledge of Christ with the whole human race includes the evangelising of Jewish people as a priority:  "To the Jew first" (Rom. 1:16).

WE DENY THAT dialogue with Jewish people that aims at nothing more than mutual understanding constitutes fulfillment of this obligation.

ARTICLE IV.21

WE AFFIRM THAT the concern to point Jewish people to faith in Jesus Christ which the Christian church has historically felt and shown was right.

WE DENY THAT there is any truth in the widespread notion that evangelising Jews is needless because they are already in covenant with God through Abraham and Moses and so are already saved despite their rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

ARTICLE IV.22

WE AFFIRM THAT all endeavours to persuade others to become Christians should express love to them by respecting their dignity and integrity at every point, including parents' responsibility in the case of their children.

WE DENY THAT coercive or deceptive proselytising, which violates dignity and integrity on both sides, can ever be justified.

ARTICLE IV.23

WE AFFIRM THAT it is unchristian, unloving, and discriminatory, to propose a moratorium on the evangelising of any part of the human race, and that failure to preach the gospel to the Jewish people would be a form of anti-Semitism, depriving this particular community of its right to hear the gospel.

WE DENY THAT we have sufficient warrant to assume or anticipate the salvation of anyone, who is not a believer in Jesus Christ.

ARTICLE IV.24

WE AFFIRM THAT the existence of separate churchly organisations for evangelising Jews, as for evangelising any other particular human group, can be justified pragmatically, as an appropriate means of fulfilling the church's mandate to take the gospel to the whole human race.

WE DENY THAT the depth of human spiritual need varies from group to group so that Jewish people may be thought to need Christ either more or less than others.

V.  JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS

ARTICLE V.25

WE AFFIRM THAT dialogue with other faiths that seeks to transcend  stereotypes of them based on ignorance, and to find common ground and to share common concerns, is an expression of Christian love that should be encouraged.

WE DENY THAT dialogue that explains the Christian faith without seeking to persuade the dialogue partners of its truth and claims is a sufficient expression of Christian love.

ARTICLE V.26

WE AFFIRM THAT for Christians and non-Christian Jews to make common cause in social witness and action, contending together for freedom of speech and religion, the value of the individual, and the moral standards of God's law is right and good.

WE DENY THAT such limited cooperation involves any compromise of the distinctive views of either community or imposes any restraint upon Christians in seeking to share the gospel with the Jews with whom they cooperate.

ARTICLE V.27

WE AFFIRM THAT the Jewish quest for a homeland with secure borders and a just peace has our support.

WE DENY THAT any biblical link between the Jewish people and the land of Israel justifies actions that contradict biblical ethics and constitute oppression of people-groups or individuals.

* * * * * * * * * *

To paraphrase Patrick Henry, "if this be anti-Semitism, make the best of it!"

 

 

The Church has lost her testimony

 “The church has lost her testimony. She has no longer anything to say to the world. Her once robust shout of assurance has faded away to an apologetic whisper. She who one time went out to declare now goes out to inquire. Her dogmatic declaration has become a respectful suggestion, a word of religious advice, given with the understanding that it is after all only an opinion and not meant to sound bigoted.” - A.W. Tozer

In response to and agreement with Bro Scott Head's post "the church has lost her testimony".

She has become introverted putting on the attire of big business and run by the elite businessmen. She walks in reproach and without power. Yet the Lord says "...the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". Who then is this strange woman?
Proverbs 2:16-19 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the COVENANT OF HER GOD. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.
Proverbs 5:1-8 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
Proverbs 6:20-24 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Proverbs 7:1-5 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
Proverbs 7:24-27 Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

So could I offer for your consideration that God's Word speaks of a counterfeit, emerging, adulterous and idolatrous woman?
My family and I are a small part of the catholic church, the Bride of Christ who is pure, holy and preparing herself for the marriage supper of the Lamb; not the rapture. Wanting and needing to restore the chastity, integrity and moral standards of our Lord and King Jesus Christ in accordance with His Word.
I appeal to you to come out from her who has subdued you with her flattering words and humble yourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from your wicked ways!
May God have mercy on our endeavors as we give Him glory in EVERYTHING that we think and do.

 

The Church Walking with the World

The Church Walking with the World

The Church and the World walked far apart

On the changing shores of time,

The World was singing a giddy song,

And the Church a hymn sublime.

“Come, give me your hand,” said the merry World,

And walk with me this way!”

But the good Church hid her snowy hands

And solemnly answered “Nay!

“I will not give you my hand at all,

And I will not walk with you;

Your way is the way that leads to death;

Your words are all untrue.”

“Nay, walk with me but a little space,”

Said the World with a kindly air;

The road I walk is a pleasant road,

And the sun shines always there.

Your path is thorny and rough and rude,

But mine is broad and plain;

My way is paved with flowers and dews,

And yours with tears and pain.

The sky to me is always blue,

No want, no toil I know;

The sky above you is always dark,

Your lot is a lot of woe.

There’s room enough for you and me

To travel side by side.”

Half shyly the Church approached the World

And gave him her hand of snow;

And the old World grasped it and walked along,

Saying, in accents low:

“Your dress is too simple to please my taste;

I will give you pearls to wear,

Rich velvets and silks for your graceful form,

And diamonds to deck your hair.”

The Church looked down at her plain white robes,

And the at the dazzling World,

And blushed as she saw his handsome lip

With a smile contemptuous curled.

“I will change my dress for a costlier one,”

Said the Church, with a smile of grace;

Then her pure white garments drifted away,

And the World gave, in their place,

Beautiful satins and shining silks,

Roses and gems and costly pearls;

While over her forehead her bright hair fell

Crisped in a thousand curls.

“Your house is too plain,” said the proud old World,

“I’ll build you one like mine;

With walls of marble and towers of gold,

And furniture ever so fine.”

So he built her a costly and beautiful house;

Most splendid it was to behold;

Her sons and her beautiful daughters dwelt there

Gleaming in purple and gold.

Rich fairs and shows in the halls were held,

And the World and his children were there.

Laughter and music and feasts were heard

In the place that was meant for prayer.

There were cushioned seats for the rich and the gay,

To sit in their pomp and pride;

But the poor who were clad in shabby array,

Sat meekly down outside.

“You give too much to the poor,” said the World.

“Far more than you ought to do;

If they are in need of shelter and food,

Why need it trouble you?

Go, take your money and buy rich robes,

Buy horses and carriages fine;

Buy pearls and jewels and dainty food,

Buy the rarest and costliest wine.

My children, they dote on all these things,

And if you their love would win

You must do as they do, and walk in the ways

That they are walking in.”

So the poor were turned from her door in scorn,

And she heard not the orphan’s cry;

But she drew her beautiful robes aside,

As the widows went weeping by.

Then the sons of the World and the Sons of the Church

Walked closely hand and heart,

And only the Master, who knoweth all,

Could tell the two apart.

Then the Church sat down at her ease, and said,

“I am rich and my goods increase;

I have need of nothing, or aught to do,

But to laugh, and dance, and feast.”

The sly World heard, and he laughed in his sleeve,

And mockingly said, aside-

“The Church is fallen, the beautiful Church;

And her shame is her boast and her pride.”

The angel drew near to the mercy seat,

And whispered in sighs her name;

Then the loud anthems of rapture were hushed,

And heads were covered with shame.

And a voice was heard at last by the Church

From Him who sat on the throne,

“I know thy works, and how thou hast said,

‘I am rich, and hast not known

That thou art naked, poor and blind,

And wretched before my face;’

Therefore from my presence cast I thee out,

And blot thy name from its place.”

“...you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you

from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” Leviticus 20:26

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.  For what fellowship has

righteousness with lawlessness?  And what communion has light with darkness?

And what accord has Christ with Belial?  Or what part has a believer with an

unbeliever?  And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?  For you

are the temple of the living God.  As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and

walk among them.  I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’

Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord.  ‘Do

not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.  I will be a Father to you, and

you shall be My sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”  2Corinthians

6:14-18

by Matilda C. Edwards

Best Loved Poems (Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing, 1936), pages

345-347

This poem was not listed among those that required reprint permission.

Downloaded from www.crossroad.to/victory/poems then click on “church”

________________________________

By the 1930s the apostasy had digressed as indicated by this poem, Today, in

the 2000s the digression is much nearer to judgement.  Let those of us who love

the Lord separate from today’s worldly religious system and unto Jesus Christ

personally and individually.  Revelation 3:20

Rousing from Slumber

"I sleep, but my heart waketh." 
Song of Solomon 5:2 

Some sort of lethargy entangled me like a thick quilt that would hinder one from embracing the new day.

My step was as heavy as my sigh and even washing the dishes felt like toilsome labor.  

I couldn't understand. I was supposed to be the one who brewed the first cup of coffee before daybreak, who had her quiet time in the stillness of the morning, who was energized by the breath of dawn.

And yet, for more than a fortnight I would struggle with this unexplained illness that would cause me to drain energy from the home instead of contribute to its supply.  Mysterious fevers accompanied every night's sleep while the alarm clock invited a headache to pound.  It was time to prepare lunch by the time I would wake to take breakfast; even when I succumbed to my drowsiness and retired early, I never felt quite rested.

Neither fresh air nor cold showers would shake the languor.  I just couldn't wake up. 

Was it spiritual or physical? I did not know. Perhaps my spine was misaligned or I needed badly to detox.  We began back therapy more regularly. I quit drinking coffee and consuming sugar. There was a slight improvement, but the fevers still came while the energy would not.

And what was worse: I began to lose the desire to improve my condition, and this frightened me.  When had I fallen into this slump, this valley? Why was it so difficult to muster the zeal to advance the Kingdom? Why was I becoming more complacent with my sin? Why was I becoming comfortable with strained relationships and selfishness?

I sleep. Through sin that dwelleth in us we may become lax in holy duties, slothful in religious exercises, dull in spiritual joys, and altogether supine and careless. This is a shameful state for one in whom the quickening Spirit dwells; and it is dangerous to the highest degree. 

Even wise virgins sometimes slumber, but it is high time for all to shake off the bands of sloth. It is to be feared that many believers lose their strength as Samson lost his locks, while sleeping on the lap of carnal security. 

With a perishing world around us, to sleep is cruel; with eternity so near at hand, it is madness. Yet we are none of us so much awake as we should be; a few thunder-claps would do us all good, and it may be, unless we soon bestir ourselves, we shall have them in the form of war, or pestilence, or personal bereavements and losses. 

O that we may leave for ever the couch of fleshly ease, and go forth with flaming torches to meet the coming Bridegroom! 

God was incredibly gracious in delivering my "thunder-clap".  I was scheduled to travel with Daddy to New Orleans for week-long business trip.

We were hoping that I would have a chance to catch up on sleep and become diligent in daily exercise. I would have time to quiet my mind with steady reading while I sunned beside the hotel window. I would have a week to rest, to think, to create, to write, to pray.  

And I did. Physically, I was rejuvenated.  

But God was pleased to jar me from my state of spiritual apathy as well. 

First, the time was provided for Daddy and I to talk deeply over matters that were weighing on my heart. I gave my heart anew to my father, and he gave me his instruction. This was not a thunder-clap, but rather like a refreshing rain that washed a few worries away.

The "thunder-clap" came in a second Providence. Daddy wanted to try to take me to dinner someplace else than the hotel restaurant. So we took to the streets of New Orleans. He gave me instructions in deportment and I did my best to heed his advice. 

He suggested that we might browse a souvenir shop to see if we could find any decent gifts to bring home. I found a bottle of hot sauce for my brother and was perusing the sun hats for my sister when Dad suddenly told me I needed to hurry.  We hastily paid for the bottle of hot sauce and left the store.  The chaotic music that they were playing in the stores made him uneasy. I felt the same way, and was glad to be out of there. 

I saw another shop filled with pretty long flowing dresses and asked to stop there. I knew McCauley would like quite a few things hanging on the racks. As I shopped, Daddy walked toward the back to ask if the attendant could suggest a good restaurant.  Before I'd made my way to the scarves, Daddy was urging me to leave again. When we were a safe distance from the store, he explained that they had bongs burning in the back and that the curious smell alarmed him. Were they really smoking marijuana?!  I reminded him that the name of the store had the word "Hippy" in it, so we shouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

We tried several more shops, and left each one just as suddenly for one shocking reason or another. I had to browse with downcast eyes (which is difficult!), glancing carefully at the bottom of every rack to determine if it was safe for viewing. You may call me sheltered if you like - I do not mind. I am infinitely glad that I am sheltered for when I did accidentally catch a glimpse of some very wicked things, I was anxious to escape the marketplace and Daddy was all too ready to oblige. I think this is how a Christian girl should be - sensitive to sinful paraphernalia and ever ready to turn her foot way from Vanity Fair. I only regret that I am not so sensitive to the manifestations of my own besetting sins and so ready to turn away from the snares of my pet temptations.

We continued to search for a restaurant. If it wasn't an unappetizing menu it was the music blaring or the smoke hanging heavy in the greasy air that kept us from settling on any dining place. The mound of garbage overflowing from dumpsters guarded other doors. By the time we found a suitable place, it was dark and the rowdy din of New Orleans nightlife was beginning to make me anxious. Couldn't we just eat at the hotel? Daddy agreed and we settled for another second-rate meal at 5 Fifty 5. After the kind waitress took our order, I remarked to Dad that I was glad we we'd chosen to eat at the hotel. I was getting so nervous on the streets because my mind was in hyper-drive because there was just too much to analyze. We both agreed I needed to mature in that area - I needed to be able to handle a challenging environment with Christian fortitude and a peaceful spirit. But I'd had enough practice for a day, and my mind enjoyed the rest of simply analyzing the aesthetic implications of mixing old upholstery with modern light fixtures and trying to discern if there was any kind of order to the jazz music they were playing in the background. 

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While Daddy was busy at the convention the next day, I observed the street from my hotel window. My mind was buzzing as I tried to assimilate the things I'd seen the night before. How could a city display its wickedness so openly? The influences of Christianity had faded in so many areas: voodoo was celebrated, putrid dumpsters gaped open at the entrance of restaurants, people dressed carelessly, chaotic noise was called 'music', licentious women were a main attraction, gambling looked like innocent fun compared to the other lures that were freely advertised, quality food and hygienic environments were concepts seemingly rejected by most establishments. The frequent appearance of the fleur de lis was a constant reminder of the Enlightenment ideology imported from Europe as well as the example of cultural compromise set forth by Roman Catholic missions.

Meanwhile, I had been reading a debate about abortion between Christian friends and scoffing atheists. How angry the liberals become when Christians endeavor to protect innocent life! I was saddened to think of the stronghold that humanism has in our society - so penetrating that the act of dismembering a baby in his mother's womb is not only conceivable... it's legal! I had just read a news article that announced that Chick-fil-A was caving under the pressure from the sodomite community. How close to Sodom and Gomorrah are we when it becomes a "hate crime" to declare God's Word!

As these things rolled over my mind, I began to weep for my country. A sense of responsibility began to fire my veins. Our generation will be receiving the baton. We will be obligated to make our choices in light of God's Word. Will we humble ourselves before God and pray? Will we seek His face? Will we turn from our wicked ways? If we do not, we call more judgement upon ourselves and our future children. But if we will do these things, by God's grace, then God will hear from heaven and heal our land. What will we do?

Whatever we do, we must not sleep.

My heart waketh. This is a happy sign. Life is not extinct, though sadly smothered. When our renewed heart struggles against our natural heaviness, we should be grateful to sovereign grace for keeping a little vitality within the body of this death. Jesus will hear our hearts, will help our hearts, will visit our hearts; for the voice of the wakeful heart is really the voice of our Beloved, saying, "Open to me." Holy zeal will surely unbar the door.

Thank You for the divine and merciful "thunder-clap", my Lord. You have answered my prayers, as well as those of dear friends and family. You have refreshed me with physical rest and have given me energy anew. You have also lifted me out of this valley. Let me ever rest in Christ, but let me slumber in spiritual lethargy no more.

There is a world that needs the Gospel.

By Your grace, I am awake and ready. What Kingdom work do You have for me today?

"Oh lovely attitude! He stands
With melting heart and laden hands;
My soul forsakes her every sin;
And lets the heavenly stranger in."

* Selections of text in lighter grey are taken from the evening's meditation for September 24th in Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening.