Beware the Dangers of Isolation
by Maria Simone
I recently read a newspaper article that shook me to the core. It reported the story of horrible abuse by a mother toward her 6 adopted children, which went completely unnoticed until the youngest, a 4 year old boy, was found dead at her hands. What struck me about this family’s situation was how isolated they were from the rest of society - they lived in a farm house many miles from town, the mother home schooled her children (please don’t take this the wrong way all you home schoolers out there), and they attended a very small church (about 20 people), where the pastor taught them to avoid all contact with the world, and to abuse their children in order to get them to behave.
Would this situation have continued, or even escalated to the point that it did, if this family were more connected to other people? Isolation is one of the major tools Satan uses to keep people in deception, and it is in direct contrast to what God tells us to do. Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10, 12 (Message) says “It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, but if there is no one to help, tough!.…By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst.” The enemy wants to get us alone so he can have our undivided attention, with no one to show us the truth. Sometimes it takes a friend to wake us up and stop us from going down a dangerous road.
The Lord clearly warns us in Hebrews 10:25 (NLT), “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” There are countless examples in the Bible where God tells us to encourage, comfort and pray for each other. And Jesus said “Go forth and make disciples of all the nations”. All of these commands require venturing out of ourselves and reaching out to others. God made us for relationship, not isolation. So next time you’re struggling with something, don’t let fear keep you from reaching out for help. Remember, “By yourself, you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst.”
The Eternal Holy
by Linda Lail
I ponder what it means to be holy. I try to wrap my finite mind around the infinite truth of the eternal Holy and I find that I am hopelessly limited in my ability to comprehend the “from everlasting to everlasting He is God,” the Eternal Holy. What difference does it make what I think of holiness? What does holiness have to do with ME? After all I am just one of millions of individuals living on this planet, and I certainly have limited influence in the culture in which I live. Yet the Eternal Holy calls me to holiness. He calls all His children to holiness.
If I am not careful, I can think myself into believing that holiness and behavior have nothing in common, that holiness is a feeling, an anointing that is separate from behavior. But the Eternal Holy says that our behavior is a reflection of our holiness. In Leviticus 10:3 God told Moses “By those who come near Me, I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified”. The reason for this command to His people was that two of Aaron’s sons had offered a profane offering to God, an offering He had not commanded. Because of their act of defiance, God sent fire down and killed them. That seems so far removed from our circumstances and culture today doesn’t it? Remember He is the ETERNAL HOLY, from everlasting to everlasting He is God. He does not change. He requires the same holiness from us today. The holiness He required from the Israelites when He led them out of bondage.
I am not talking about the law. We live under the mighty undeserved grace of our loving Father. I AM talking about walking out a life that is sanctified and acceptable to God in our day and in the culture in which He has placed us to live. Our “Babylonian” culture says that it is okay to be sexually impure, that it is okay to dress provocatively, that it is okay to be unfaithful in relationships, that it is okay to do whatever makes You happy. Our God says to us, His bride, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you”(2 Cor. 6:17). Then He declares to us His bride, “I AM the Lord, that is my name; and My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 42:8) and then the most glorious declaration of all, “I have redeemed you: I have called YOU by your name: You ARE Mine…Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, and I have loved you” (Isaiah 43:1,4). The Eternal Holy living within us, calling us by name, offering Himself so that we, as His bride, can also be everlastingly holy.
Even so, come Lord Jesus, come.
Best Friends at Home
by Beverly Mueffelmann
When our children were very young, my husband’s aunt, uncle, and cousins came to visit our home outside Washington, DC. My husband’s cousins, an older sister and a younger brother, are significantly younger than he, so these children were in their teens at the time when we were in our late twenties. As we visited, we were very impressed with the fact that there seemed to be none of the standard sibling issues between them. In fact, they seemed to be very good friends despite being teenaged siblings of opposite gender and having just made a cross-country trip from Colorado in an unairconditioned car in the summer!
After marveling at their behavior toward one another, my husband asked his aunt how they had managed to raise their children to love and appreciate each other in this way. Her response, though unusual and somewhat morbid, was that they had told their children that they had better learn to be best friends, because when their parents died, they would be all each other had! We were a little taken aback at first, but when we saw the fruit of their words, we were sold!
Obviously, making this statement doesn’t automatically make siblings the best of friends, but following the statement with practical applications of “what it looks like” can make a difference. In reality, I believe that sibling rivalry exists only if parents allow it. If siblings feel the need to compete with one another or to treat one another unkindly, it is because there is a felt need to be met by it, either the need for parental attention or the need for raising self-esteem at the expense of another. Identifying the need and taking the appropriate steps to meet the need will usually correct the misbehavior.
So, what does it “look like”? If your children are saying unkind things to one another, instead of letting it slide by, say “In our house, we choose to encourage one another with our words. That doesn’t sound like you are encouraging your sister. Are you being encouraging or discouraging? How could you say it differently?” (The catch in this approach is that you better be careful that your own words to your husband and children are encouraging as well, or you might hear these same phrases directed back at you!) Instilling a sense of cooperation between your children is also helpful. Give your children tasks they must do together in order to succeed and praise them at each step with, “Wow! Look at how cooperation gets the job done so much faster. I’m really proud of both of you!” I bet your children will be asking you for jobs that they can do together if these are the words that they hear from you.
Basically, children look to belong, to learn, and to contribute in their families and when any of these qualities are missing in their experience, you can expect poor behavior and communication as a result. If you value each of your children for who they are as individuals, if you encourage them each in their giftings without comparing them to one another, and if you give them equal opportunities to learn and to contribute to your family, then I believe that you will have the ingredients for creating best friends at home.
Healing Rain
by Tina Bruno
We have been in an interesting situation here in North Carolina for the last year or so. Drought has been the word we have all heard and feared. Lack of rain has been a problem and “man” has been trying to fix it. Water conservation, higher utility prices, even fines attached to those who wantonly waste water.
In the Word, water is an example of the flow of the Holy Spirit. There are over 620 references to water in the Scriptures.
How interesting that we would be in a physical drought that mirrors the spiritual drought that we’ve brought on ourselves as a nation by turning our backs on God. Have you been praying for rain? For our nation, or for yourself? I believe we must pray for a Healing Rain for both. Michael W. Smith has written a song that talks about God’s healing rain:
Healing rain is coming down
It’s coming nearer to this old town
Rich and poor, weak and strong
It’s bringing mercy, it won’t be long
Healing rain is coming down
It’s coming closer to the lost and found
Tears of joy, and tears of shame
Are washed forever in Jesus’ name
Healing rain, it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher
Healing rain, I’m not afraid
To be washed in Heaven’s rain
Lift your heads, let us return
To the mercy seat where time began
And in your eyes, I see the pain
Come soak this dry heart with healing rain
And only You, the Son of man
Can take a leper and let him stand
So lift your hands, they can be held
By someone greater, the Great I Am
Healing rain, it comes with fire
So let it fall and take us higher
Healing rain, I’m not afraid
To be washed in Heaven’s rain
To be washed in Heaven’s rain…
Healing rain is falling down
Healing rain is falling down
I’m not afraid
I’m not afraid…
We must not be afraid of what God is doing in us through His healing rain, and we must also be praying for it to fall.