You are not responsible for your dh's actions. He is. You are responsible for setting the best example that you can for Jeannie. I think Amie's suggestion of discussing wrong actions was good, just make sure she also sees postive things in your dh. You are in a very hard situation. I'll be praying for your family.
Yes, living with a preacher can be very confusing when you are young for sure! My folks were home missionaries involved in church planting and in most of the communities and a few of the congregations, there was always someone who thought we weren't "christian enough" because we sin just like everyone else. My Dad has always had a short temper and even though he tried desperately to change this and control over that has improved over the years, many, many people have told him straight to his face that he was a hypocrite. He never once stood up at the pulpit and pretended to be something he wasn't, in fact, he would recommend that people NOT follow his example of very little self-control over anger but that didn't keep people from judging him to be "unfit" for the pulpit. It is very heart wrenching to see someone full of love for what they do for the Lord and yet be humiliated for their humanness. God doesn't require us to be perfect in order to be a leader or to tell others of Christ. He tells us to follow His commandments and Jesus' examples as to how we conduct ourselves in order to show people who holds the place of leadership in our lives. There is no such thing as a perfect believer, just a forgiven one. There is a HUGE difference between being "religious" and living salvation. We are not responsible for anyone else but ourselves. Each of us will be held accountable for how we have lived our lives here.Your children will see the difference between you and your spouses behavior and as they grow older, there will be opportunities for you to be able to share with your kids. Be the example of Christ that you know He would appreciate and you will be the best Mother those children could ever have! Showing your children and others around you how YOU choose to honor Christ in your life by making sure that you aren't leaving Him at the church steps, is the best way to know without a doubt that you will hear those precious words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant". I can't wait for that day! (I have goose bumps typing those words)
MamaBear, in case I am in that group, I should let you know that scripture references are extremely hard for me to remember. I have a good concordance in my Bible which lists the main words of the verses; so any time I want to look up a verse, all I have to do is pick one or two words from it and go to the back of my Bible and use the concordance like a dictionary. It's such a practical, helpful resource! I would like to be able to quote chapter and verse from memory more often and greatly admire those who can. There will always be someone who appears to know the Word intellectually better than we do, but the main issue is what we let the Truth of that Word do in our lives. On another note, I think the responses to Becky's question have been good. It's great that we have each other to help us work through things. I know you all have given me a lot of things to think about when I've had questions, also.
I have a very good understanding of WHAT the Bible says, but not always WHERE. Yes, the concordance is INVALUABLE!!! And, if Rachael's available, I will ask her. She has learned SO MANY verses in AWANAS, and is great about knowing the WHERE. My pastor's wife has words of wisdom concerning the WHERE. She told Faythe (who has trouble remembering the WHERE for quizzing) that she ALSO has problems. But God says to "hide His word in your heart", and that's what she does. She tries to learn the WHERE, but doesn't worry about it. However, she says that if she's in conversation with someone and needs a verse, God will bring the WHERE to her mind when it's needed. Even though if you come up and ask her "Where does it say such and such....?" she wouldn't be able to tell you without looking it up.
I also do not recall verses from memory. Often times I will use Bible Gateway if I remember the key words. Other times I will use Google to look for the idea and see what others have written on the subject. I usually don't agree with what they've written, lol, but they do give verses that are often just what I'm looking for. Our Wed. night class leader gave us a quiz this week. It was 25 questions about discipleship. All of his references came from just one book: Romans. The questions where things like "which three books end with the Great Commission?" and "What was the first Jerusalem Council about?" There were also a lot of fill in the blanks straight from scripture. If it makes you feel any better, I came in third place for the whole class (about 30 people) with a score of 71/100 (each question was worth 4pnts.). The top scorer got 86/100.
I have a couple things here---In regards to memorization, Jesus said "it is written.." He did not say in the book of Isaiah.. Psalm 22 or anything he just said "It is written..." So don't get all stressed out about the address if you know what the Word says! and for Becky and those of you with spouses who 'don't seem to be walking the walk' Pray for them. Tell your children to pray for Daddy. Be honest and truthful with them, that what they see daddy doing may not seem right but God's still working on him! Tell them that they too should pray for daddy because this will teach them that God loves us even when we fail. That God loves and forgives us even when we sin after knowing the truth. We just have to remember to ask forgiveness.. and I don't say that in a way of OH gee lets go sin since all we have to do is ask forgiveness, just that our children need to know the verse "There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". and they can still look up to daddy, just know that God has shown them that daddy needs to change and so they should pray for him. What a blessing they will recieve when they see thier daddy drop a bad habit etc! They will see God at work in him!
I am also horrible when it comes to the address. But when you have a basic idea of the scripture, you can find it by looking up the main word on Bible Gateway. I love this site!
You ladies always seem to come up with the perfect scripture at the perfect time. It feels like I was showing my underbelly by asking. I do thank you for your kindness and your compassion and your spiritual guidance.
MamaBear, I'm still thinking about what you said about feeling intimidated. Maybe a new perspective would help: God is infinite--infinite in wisdom, power, love, etc. That means we will never, ever, ever exhaust the wealth of His wonder and glory. That means we'll always be just beginning to learn about Him. Even after being in His presence for "ten thousand years," we'll still just be beginning to learn about Him. Forever! So, matter how much it seems like we know now, we're all just beginners. Always will be! So, without embarrassment, join the rest of us beginners on our wondrous, never-ending quest to know more and appreciate more and celebrate more about our great big wonderful Creator-Redeemer God! His name is Wonderful Counsellor! Everlasting Father! Prince of Peace! Immanuel--God With Us! Almighty God is He! (Now, just a minute--I'll have to go look up where some of those names are found... *smiling*)
Praire, you, without a doubt, have the gift of encouragement. I love to read your posts! I wish I was blessed with that gift, but I know I'm not.
Yes, Katie, you're in good company--the apostle Paul wrote letters from prison, which later comprised much of our beloved New Testament! You never know how far your ministry will reach! SixCloar, God has provided some wonderful encouragers for me in times of need, and it's a thrill to think that I've maybe been an encouragement to someone else. Thank you for saying that!
That's what I believe also! 2 Peter 3:9 says God is not willing for anyone to perish. He gives opportunities in some way during people's lives for them to take a stand for or against.
Wow. I just read through this whole thread at once. I love these discussions! Especially since everyone here is so respectful. Many of the things I believe are different from others but I never feel uncomfortable posting here. That's a wonderful and rare commodity to find today. For the original question- If everyone needs to accept Christ to be saved, and if God is a just God, then everyone will have a chance to come to Christ at some point. Whether it be in this life or afterwards. Also for the question on people who proclaim to be Christian but don't live a moral life, one of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: It's clear to me that the Lord expects more from us then simply saying we accept Christ, He expects us to come to Him in our hearts as well. Amy
