Building up You, Family, and Country

Building up Yourself, Your Family, and Your Country

Barbara Henderson

Has anyone reading this noticed that civilization in general seems to be headed toward political totalitarianism, economic depression, and social injustice for all?

There isn’t a way that this trend can be reversed by any collective means.  It is up to the individual.  I don’t know what the earthly results will be, but the eternal results will be good.  There will probably be many earthly benefits as well.

First - Psalm 33:12 tells us, ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.’

Psalm 127:1 says, ‘Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.’

So obviously the way to blessed as a nation is to have a nation made up of people that chose to worship the God of the Bible in their hearts.  This will show up in their actions.  It has to begin in the hearts of individuals.   

To bring this about Christian Evangelism is the highest calling and of the utmost importance.  Do you want a life that counts for eternity?  Evangelize!  Tell the world that Jesus saves.  Jesus Christ alone can be the mediator between God and man.  Today you must be very clear regarding exactly who Jesus is.  Define the Jesus you worship.  He is the triune God of the Bible.  He isn’t a prophet.  He isn’t just a man.  He is the Word – who was with God – and who is God. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² The same was in the beginning with God.

³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:1-3

He doesn’t make mistakes.  He doesn’t have to continually revise His plans because of failure.  He is God who spoke the world into place.  He has power over life and death.  He is the only way into heaven.  He is fully able to save to the uttermost by His power.  By grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves – it is  gift of God.   (Ephesians 2:8)

Second – It is the individuals who make the difference.  Become an individualist.  That means you think for yourself.  Right thinking begins with a Biblical World View.  Everything should be considered within the framework of what the Bible has to say about it.  There is no other way that leads to any successful outcome in any direction. 

America’s beginning was definitely with people who were individualist Christians.  These Pilgrim Christians viewed the world through the Bible.  They crossed an ocean in a tiny ship, suffered 50% casualties in their first year, and still kept their mind on building a place where they could worship God according to the instructions in the Bible.

Today society places a lot of pressure on people to do certain things in a certain way and to accept what is not acceptable to God.  As a Christian do not let burdens be placed on your back that God Himself has not put there.  Your boundaries are set by God.  The Bible allows and dis-allows certain things.  It is your Christian duty to live within the boundaries set by God alone.  You are also to obey the laws of the land that do not conflict with the laws of God.  Other than these boundaries, you are free to make choices based on personal preference and circumstances.  Let me repeat this – you are free to make choices based on personal preferences and circumstances that do not conflict with how your Christian faith requires you to behave.  Don’t surrender your true freedom of choice regarding how you live and spend your life to the temporary goodwill of current social and political whims.  The boundaries set by God for proper behavior are enough. Speaking in Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says, ‘

‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

 Third – The ‘get the job done’ mentality is necessary.

Ecclesiastes 9:10a tells us, ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;’

 No matter where you work or what you do, there is absolutely no question that you will come across many who are so afraid of doing more than someone else that they don’t actually do anything.  Forget them.  They are chaff to the wheat.  Take precautions not to be snared by their lazy good for nothing attitudes.  They are the millstones that drag people, families, and nations down.  Your job is to get the job God places in front of you done!  It isn’t to pay attention to others.  This doesn’t mean to set aside the Bible instructions to be kind to others and treat others the way you want to be treated.  It simply means stay focused on getting the job done.

 Remember that working with lazy people doesn’t give a Christian an excuse to join the ranks of the lazy.  Dealing with an adult who has the mindset of a kindergarten student is definitely not easy.  Just do the best you can do every day considering the circumstances. 

Fourth – Be prepared.  You don’t know what the future holds, so it is your duty to be as prepared as possible in every situation.  This means that you do not want to be ignorant of everything outside your chosen profession.   Take the time to learn.  Learn everything.  When an uncommon situation arises consider how to best handle it, and then let your ‘get the job done’ mentality take over.  Honestly, in many instances you will need help.  However there will always be a lot you can get done on your own.  How do you think the pioneers crossed the American planes and the mountain ranges in a wagon or on horseback?  Every single day something unexpected arose.  They did not let these events distract them from reaching their destination or achieving their goals.  Their goal was always to get the job done.  That should be our goal as well.

Recap:

Evangelize – Tell the world that Jesus saves.  God is a loving Father.  He will provide for His own.

Individualize – Be the person God made you to be – not a copy/clone of what the world wants you to be.

Get the job done mentality – Whatever the task in front of you may be – do it with all your might.

Be prepared – learn to do everything!  Be aware of what is going on around you.  Prepare for any and all possibilities.

 To all this add ‘Enjoy life’.  There is joy in a life lived to please God.

 Isaiah 65:14 says, ‘Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.’ 

 Matthew 25:23 says, ‘His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.’

 Barbara Henderson

Please visit my author page.  I sincerely appreciate page 'likes' and postive reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/author/barbarahenderson

The 'Soul Wars Trilogy'
     Malachi and Ann Jones were raised without any religious training.  Their father believed in nothing, and their mother believed that if you are good enough you get into heaven,  Mal becomes a Christian and marries a Christian woman. Ann connects to a familiar spirit through a Ouiji game board and allows the evil spirit to become her guide in life.  Trouble follows!

Book one - Choosing - AVAIABLE  .99 CENTS
Book two -  Walking  -  AVAILABLE  $2.99
Book Three - Staying the Course - Coming in March

'Oh Worship the King'

A manuscript dating from the time of Christ is found on at an archeological site in Iraq by Elizabeth Newton.  Elizabeth translates the manuscript which was written by four people who lived at the time of Christ and saw Him living and preaching, crucified, buried, and risen again.  Part one is free at this link    http://tobarbara.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

My book 'Everyday Prepping for Beginners' has received 3 negative reviews because it was written from a Christian World View.  I would appreciate good reviews from my Christian readers.
 

Thank you all very much  - Barbara

Delegating Authority

Delegating Authority

Barbara Henderson

An effective leader is able to delegate authority.  He/she puts a competent person in charge of part of a project or an entire project; steps back; and lets that person do his/her job without interference.  If authority was delegated to a competent person then things go well.  If the person is incompetent, the project does not run smoothly.

No matter what our personal position in work, family, and friends, we all have some level of authority over those under us and some level of accountability to those above us.  We have to learn to obey authority without complaining or attempting to force our will on our boss!  I know that sounds ridiculous, but that is often the case.  Rebellious employees don’t want to do their job.  They don’t want to follow instructions.  They push every limit of authority and boundaries because they really want to usurp authority.  They want to dispose the boss and take over.  They really are unprofitable employees.  Everyone actually must learn to delegate authority.  There is nothing more frustrating than being given a job and having someone constantly looking over your shoulder and making changes for the sake of changes.  Christians also need to remember they are to do a good job whether their supervisor is watching or not because God is watching.

Every Christian has an ultimate authority figure – which is Jesus Christ.  He is the supervisor, financier, and owner of everything and everyone.  He is utterly and continually righteous, trustworthy, and able to do exceeding abundant above all that we think or ask.  This is wonderful news.  The down side is that very often God has rebellious workers.  They don’t want to do the job they have been given.  They worry about how well He is going to manage the project of their personal lives and the entire earth.  God has the authority and power to do what He wants to do and what He knows needs to be done.  That is the good news.  The bad news is that the earth is filled with little usurpers.  They want to run the project however seems good to them.  Christians need to sit down and consider what is going on in their lives.  God is able. God is willing.  God actually has the authority and power to do a good job.  Before an individual Christian can be effective in whatever job or task they are given, they must first acknowledge God’s authority and ability.  We have to delegate the authority to run the show back to God.  It is called surrender.  Ultimately God has that authority anyway, but if we are not working in harmony with our Heavenly Father, then things are not going to go smoothly.  Christians don’t want to be the rebellious employee constantly challenging the Savior/Supervisor. 

A wonderful thing about delegating the authority to run your life, your family, your job, and your country to God is that He knows what He is doing.  He doesn’t make mistakes.  His love is unfailing.  When we have authority to make decisions there is often an element of anxiety regarding the outcome, the path chosen, the amount spent, the people involved, and many other things.  We can only do the best we can do with the information and abilities that we have.  No matter how well prepared we are for the situation at hand, we cannot guarantee the outcome of any given situation wither it is something minor or major.  But, if we have put the outcome in God’s hands we can be confident that He is working things out for good.  As Christians we should be action oriented instead of outcome oriented.   Doing the best we can do is all we can do. The outcome is in God’s hands.  Delegating authority to Him in the first place makes life much simpler. 

God, like good earthly supervisors, delegates authority to His children as they progress in dependability.  Some have authority over only themselves.  They have to learn to keep their own bodies in obedience to God’s commandments and instructions.  Others have a little authority over others part of the time.  Parents have authority over children.  Supervisors have authority over a few people.  CEO’s have authority over an entire company.  But even they are subject to God’s authority.  The problem arises when someone is not satisfied with the level of authority they actually have. 

I do want to point out something very important at this point.  If you cannot be content with the job(s) and level of authority that you currently have, you will not be content when you get a better job that you want.  More authority will also not satisfy you.  There was one being created just lower than God.  He wasn’t content.  He rebelled.  His name was Lucifer – Son of the Morning.  He led the most famous rebellion in history – the cosmic rebellion against the Most High God.  He is the example of the being who had everything possible in all of creation and still was not content.   So, if you cannot be content with where you are then you will not be content even though you get promoted to Lucifer’s former position.  And you can’t be content where you are until you delegate authority to plan your future on God’s timeline.  It’s called surrender.  It’s like the old song ‘I Surrender All – All to Thee my Blessed Savior – I surrender all.’

Delegating full authority over your life to God is not the same thing as giving up and living hopelessly somewhere in a time, place, and economic or social level that is not pleasant.  It is not to make light of difficulties or even tragic events you are facing.  It is about finding the joy of the moment.  I know some situations are so dire that we can’t really comprehend finding any joy in the moment.  The Bible example of Paul and Silas singing praises to God after being beaten and locked up in a dungeon is something to contemplate when facing difficulties.  All you can say is God helped them, and He will help you.  The poor men could have thrown a great pity party and griped at God about their circumstances until they died in prison.  I know they must have made a conscience decision to let God take care of them however He saw fit.  They possibly were thinking, ‘Well – God will either deliver us physically and we can go on to preach another day – OR – they will kill us and all our earthly cares will be over for ever.’  I don’t know what they were thinking.  But, we do know what they did.  They acknowledged God’s sovereignty over the situation.  The mentally gave God authority to work it out however He willed. 

Success factors for Christians include:

Surrender of authority over one’s life to God

Self-disciplining one’s own thoughts and body to live in obedience to God’s instructions

Diligent care to do a good job in every level of authority

To not usurp authority belonging to another (even the boss from you know where).

For more articles by Barbara Henderson visit Barbara’s blog ‘Everyday Christianity with Barbara Henderson.  http://tobarbara.blogspot.com 

Books by Barbara Henderson available on Kindle

My favorite book to write was 'Oh Worship the King' - a story of a manuscript found in modern day Iraq written by eye witnesses to the life of Jesus Christ.  
 http://www.amazon.com/Oh-Worship-King-Barbara-Henderson-ebook/dp/B007XW36UO/ref=la_B007YWIYFU_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389809545&sr=1-1

'Everyday Prepping for Beginners' is a non fiction book that was also fun to write.  It is written from a Christian world view - which offended some anti-Christians who left some very negative reviews regarding the Christian content of the first few chapters - which deal with self-definition, self-discipline, and self-reliance from a Christian view point.  The rest of the books is just simple preparedness help.  If you read the book I would really appreciate a kind review.    Thank you.  

Barbara

http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Prepping-Beginners-Barbara-Henderson-ebook/dp/B00A4LJMK4/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389809975&sr=1-2

Your Public Image Versus Your Private Life

Public Image versus Private Life

Barbara Henderson

In all of time and eternity there is One utterly and continually perfect being. That is of course Jesus Christ - the son of God. In Jesus - the Man and the image of the man were exactly the same person. It is always right to follow the example of Jesus. He merits hero worship. He is a hero.

For every other hero recorded throughout history, there is a less than perfect side. Some hero's have a better record than others for things done outside the limelight. A few were truly close to being the person the public perceived them to be. An example of a man who was good by human standards was George Washington. No matter how hard the skeptics may dig through history, they don't seem to be able to find any dirt on him.

That's good. Someone known as the father of any country should have a squeaky clean image. But, usually the hero's life shows some character flaws that should not be copied. The Bible is full of hero's and heroines, but in almost every case, some misconduct is included in their biographies.

Abraham - patriarch of the Jews - had a son outside of his marriage. Moses - leader of the people and writer of the first 5 books of the Old Testament - had a terrible temper. King David - a man after God's own heart - committed adultery and then murder in an attempt to hide his sin. I think God recorded these things to help us remember that those in authority or public position are still just human beings born with the sin nature like everyone else. They are going to mess up sometimes. It also shows that God forgives every repentant sinner - no matter what their station in life may be.

Today, like never before, celebrities of all sorts are thought of as more than mortal. The lives of these celebrities are very public. It seems the details of their private lives are forced on all the public, whether the public is interested or not. You cannot get through a check out line in the grocery store without being bombarded with magazines and tabloids that reveal the details of celebrities' lives. Headlines are 45% celebrity headlines' 45% weight loss plans; and the remaining 10% covers the rest of what is going on in the world. When Princess Diana died, her death was mourned globally as though she were the sister of everyone alive. Of course I was sympathetic. But I never met the woman. I was very sorry for her family and the people who knew her. At that time, my sister had just died; so I knew first hand what her loved ones and friends were going through. But what I saw around me was NOT NORMAL. How could people who never met her grieve as though they had just lost a beloved family member? I believe it was at least in part because she projected the image of being everything to everyone. She was everywhere you looked smiling from some magazine cover. She was what ever your fantasy might be. Some people may have pretended they were actually the princess. Others may have seen themselves as her good friend. To others she was the ideal woman - or what every man wants in a woman. She was anything their minds wanted her to be.

In real life she was just a mortal human being. She went through a terrible marriage. According to some reports, she suffered from personality disorders. Amidst all the glamour and publicity, there were some very sad aspects to her life. But her image was that of perfection and one living in constant delight. Maybe the public just saw what they wanted to see. Perhaps they were delusional. People are created with a heart that wants to worship the perfect God of creation. He alone is worthy of honor and worship. People who reject God will eventually find someone or something else to adore and worship.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 says:

10. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

12. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Celebrity obsession has created a delusional public. They love the image of a man or woman as though that is the real person. They have no concept that the IMAGE of a celebrity is NOT the real person. An example is John Wayne. His image was that of the great American hero. He was larger than life. In truth, he was never in the military at all. He had a legal exemption during WWII because of his family. Celebrity obsession may be so appealing to fallen man because it requires nothing of them except blind loyalty. No sins must be confessed, and no changes to the inner person are required.

There is a great danger for those involved in hero worship. They are filling a need to worship God by giving undeserved attention and devotion to a mortal. They have rejected God, His truth, and His righteousness. Their souls are in danger of eternal separation from God in a place called Hell.

Revelation has numerous passages referring to the image of the beast. It is puzzling to understand exactly what the image of the beast may be. The book of Daniel offers some help. First - the great king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream in which he saw an image of a man. This dream foretold of four kingdoms that would exist. His kingdom was the first. Median/Persian was next. Greek was third. And Roman was fourth. The king saw each as part of a human figure made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and then iron mixed with clay. He saw these kingdoms as great achievements of man.

But then Daniel also had a dream. He saw the four kingdoms represented by wild animals - beasts. Daniel saw the kingdoms more as they really were - earthly kingdoms in a world in rebellion against God.

This leads me to believe that it may be possible that the image of the beast spoken of in Revelation is the inward man. His image will not be that of the evil one he actually is. His image will be that of a good man; and a leader who is able to get things done. His image will be the image of the ideal leader that people have longed for throughout history. In truth, inside and outside, the beast will be the poster boy for the sin nature that came to mankind when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.

All through history there have been giants of evil whose outward appearance seemed benevolent or good in the beginning. But inwardly, they were servants of the devil. They were beasts.

An example of just such a man from recent history is Adolf Hitler. In the beginning to the people of Germany, his evil nature was not apparent. It seems that they saw not the real man, but an image or perception of what they believed a savior would be. This could not have happened except that first they had rejected the truth - and God then allowed a delusion to come to them. They believed a lie.

Eventually, the beast of Revelation will come on the scene. His actual name is not known. It is just prophesied that he will come, and he will be terrible. His personal image will not show the true character of his evil nature. His image will draw people to him like a magnet. Inwardly, he will be a beast.

To avoid worshiping him will be very difficult for those who come under his authority. People will WANT to worship him anyway. His image or personal charisma will be so appealing and strong that people will just want to follow him. They will want to believe him. They will have already rejected God. Having rejected the truth, they will be ready to believe a lie.

Something will happen to wake up some of the people living at that time. The Bible tells us some will refuse to believe a lie. They will refuse to worship the beast. Most of them will get their heads chopped off for refusing to worship the beast. It is pretty amazing that even though the beast starts chopping off heads, his followers will not notice his beastly nature.

Most of the rest who refuse to worship and take the mark will probably starve to death, or die of exposure to the elements, or be killed in some horrific natural disaster. Living conditions then will be overwhelmingly bad. The Bible just tells us that it is time of trouble such as the world has never seen. There are no words to describe just how bad it really will be.

All people have a private side. It is human nature to show one side to the public, another to those they work with, and another to close friends and family. Certain situations actually require different behavior. The problem comes when the character of the individual is presented as totally different depending on the circumstances and group which he or she is around at the time. But Jesus was the same person 24 - 7's. He has commanded Christians to be like Him. We are to love one another as Christ loved us. We are to treat others the way we want to be treated. We are supposed to show the love of God to others by the way we live and act. Our inner person is not supposed to be a beast. Who we really are, and our image or how we are perceived by others, is supposed to be the same thing. Honestly, we can't hit the mark of perfection. Like heroes of the Bible, we are all going to stumble and fall occasionally. Thankfully, God is willing to forgive us and still use us. So today is a good day to start improving our own image.

Thanks for reading this article.

God bless you.

Have a good day.