Sufficient Grace for Suffering Saints

Sufficient Grace for Suffering Saints

The Aroma of Change

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Heart Research

Heart Research

By Marsha Iddings

Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

In an article about the heart, Dr. Arthur Agatston, MD states, "Researchers at the Institute of HeartMath claim to have discovered more than 40,000 neurons, or brain cells in heart tissue, fueling speculation that the heart may be capable of intuitive guidance. In fact, a few heart transplant patients report inheriting memories from their donors. We've long had the sense that the heart is more than just a pump; whether it's actually capable of "thinking", though, is a question that merits more research…"

I found this article to be very interesting in light of Scripture. The Bible repeatedly talks about the heart of man. I was told that when the Bible speaks of the heart it isn't talking about the organ that pumps your blood but rather the "seat of the emotions". However, in light of what this article from Prevention Magazine has to say I am beginning to think that when the Bible speaks of the heart, that might be exactly what it means. Consider the following:

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Given the heart is found to have brain cells, and Scripture constantly talks about the heart as if it has the ability to think, what do you think? It seems to me that science is just confirming again that the Bible is true.

All of this begs the question, How is your heart today? Where does it stand in relation to Jesus Christ? I'm not asking where your heart is in relation to your church or in relation to your religion or all the good works that you do. I 'm asking about your heart's relation to Jesus Christ. Have you accepted His once for all sacrifice for your sin and salvation? Do you love him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Don't make the mistake of confusing devotion and love for Jesus Christ with serving your church or practicing religion and/or good works. They are very different things. You can do the latter three without true love for Jesus Christ, however, true love for Jesus Christ will produce those things. So, how is your heart?

This is a weekly devotional. Feel free to forward this to your friends.

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The Aroma of Change

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Marsha's Musings:Jesus' Indictment of the Pharisees

I've been reading in Luke some of the time lately and came across this verse:

Lu 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

I was puzzled about the word judgment, thinking it meant that the Pharisees were not exercising judgment. So then I thought maybe it meant discernment. After a lot of research I finally found the answer. If you read the verse literally as it is in the Greek, there is one little word that the translators left out. The word "the". Young's Literal Translation says,

But woe to you, the Pharisees, because ye tithe the mint, and the rue, and every herb, and ye pass by the judgment, and the love of God; these things it behoveth to do, and those not to be neglecting.

It refers to God's judgment (the judgment of God) and the love of God. It's all one connected phrase referring to God. The Pharisees failed to take into account God's judgment on their actions and hypocrisy. Binding those under their authority with rules and commandments beyond what God had commanded, they were passing by the love of God in treating people wrongly.

I wonder how many churches there are today where the leaders fall into this category. They take lightly the judgment of God. There is no fear of God in their hearts. They bind their congregations with many extra rules and commands than what God has laid out in His Holy Word and threaten them with consequences or make them feel inferior if they do not follow them to the letter. In effect, they are passing over judgment and the love of God in how they treat their congregations. This is very sad, but I have seen it many times.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Marsha's Musings: FDA black box warning on testosterone gel

Recently, an article appeared in our paper to which I responded by sending a letter to the editor. Here is a similar article on the same topic with my responce to our paper below:

A black box warning is considered the FDA’s most urgent warning and is intended to highlight the dangerous risks associated with a particular drug. The boxed text is displayed more prominently then the text surrounding it and therefore provides a better safety warning to users.

Since December, the agency said it had received eight reports of secondary exposure to testosterone in children ranging in age from nine months to five years. Additional reports of potential secondary exposures are still under review.

Adverse events reported in children included inappropriate enlargement of the genitalia, premature development of pubic hair, advanced bone age, increased libido, and aggressive behavior.

Testosterone replacement therapies are used by men who either no longer produce the sex hormone or produce it in very low amounts. Doctors sometimes prescribe it to women to increase sexual drive, although the FDA has not approved that use.

“We must ensure that the adults using these products are well-informed about the risks and precautions needed to protect children from secondary exposure,” Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

The signs and symptoms dissipated in most instances once the gel was identified as the cause. Although there were a few cases in which enlarged genitalia did not fully return to age-appropriate size and bone age remained modestly greater than the child’s age.

In 2007, prescriptions for AndroGel and Testim were well over 1.8 million, according to data cited by the FDA.

To minimize the potential for secondary exposure, the FDA advises taking the following precautions:

Adults who use testosterone gel products should wash their hands with soap and water after every application;

Once the gel has dried, adults should cover up the application site with clothing;

Prior to any anticipated skin-to-skin contact, users should wash the application site with soap and water;

Women and children should avoid contact with application sites on the skin of men who use these products; and lastly

Similar, but unapproved products, including those sold online, can result in the same serious adverse effects should be avoided. #

Dear Editor,

I read with interest the article titled, "FDA: Kid's are at risk from adult's testosterone gel" on the FDA issuing a black box warning on testosterone gel being transferred to children. The article said nothing about it being transferred to their spouses.

What's worse is the article only said if adults don't wash their hands well it could be transferred to children. This is not entirely the case. People need to know that even if the adult using the gel IS washing their hands carefully, testosterone can still be transferred to other family members via the hand towel if they are sharing it. This was the unfortunate case for myself.

My husband applied his testosterone gel, then thoroughly washed his hands with soap and water and dried them on a bathroom hand towel. I was using the same hand towel after washing my own hands. Over a period of about two months I began to notice strange symptoms in my own body which included severe hot flashes, severe insomnia resulting in sleeping only three hours a night, mood changes and many other symptoms. I did not understand what was happening until I consulted with a doctor who had me take a saliva hormone test. When the results came back a note was attached that said I was supplementing with testosterone and did not declare it on the requisition form. Normal saliva levels of testosterone are 20-50. I was at 167. After some detective work, we traced the problem to the shared hand towel.

Please print this as a warning to men using testosterone gel and their families. It is important that not only should the person using the testosterone gel wash their hands well with soap and water, but they should also use a towel separate from all other members of the family. The warning in the article did not go far enough to protect anyone from the effects of testosterone.

Marsha

Marsha's Musings

Ideas for Studying the Bible with Your Kids

1. Pick a regular time and try to stick to it. We gather each night as a family before bed to read the Bible, a devotional, go over what happened in history for that day, read a quote for the day and then we pray together.

The only exception is when something in the schedule keeps the kids or us out later than usual. Then we just gather to pray before going to bed.

2. Choose a devotional guide that is appropriate to your family’s needs. We tried doing some Bible study books that were just too detailed and time consuming and it fizzled in the end. Try out several things and stick with what works best for your family. 15 to 20 minutes is just about right, so be flexible with the materials you use. If it is too lengthy, divide it up between nights or skip certain parts and do others. Don’t be a slave to the resources you are using. Let the resources serve you instead.

Resources We Use

· Daily Truth for Godly Youth by Howard Bean. This is 365 practical devotionals for Teen and Adults. It is arranged with 5 to 7 devotionals to a topic. Some topics are: Aims; God’s Guidance; Why Be Saved; How to Be Saved; Understanding Envy; Value of Respect for Authority; Inferiority Feelings; Work; Fear of God; and many more topics that are relevant to teens and adults. Each devotional starts out with a chunk of Scripture to be read first. We like this because it gets us into the Word as a family. This is put out by Christian Light Publications, a Mennonite company, so there are a few devotionals that highlight Mennonite missionaries, martyrs and deal with head coverings for women. But over all we have really enjoyed this devotional. It has spurred good discussions in our family. The devotions are dated, but we ignore the dates because if we miss a night, we don’t want to miss a devotional.

· The Christian Almanac by George Grant & Gregory Wilbur. After we read the Scripture and devotional for the day, then we look up the page for that day in The Christian Almanac and read what happened in history for that day and we also read the quote for the day. We’ve enjoyed some good discussions as a result of some of the events from history that we have read in this book. If you use this book, use some discretion with what events you might read about. If you have young children, for instance, you might choose to skip over events referring to abortion or murder until your children are older and you can discuss those things with them. I don’t read every event listed for each day because it would drag things out too long. Use your own judgment.

Sufficient Grace Publishing

Sufficient Grace for Suffering Saints

The Aroma of Change

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Devotion: This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him

This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him

By Marsha Iddings

Luke 9:35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

Our verse comes in the context of Luke 9:28-36 where Jesus and three of his disciples have gone up to a mountain to pray and Moses and Elijah appear there with Jesus. The disciples wanted to make three tabernacles, one for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. In essence, they were making Moses and Elijah equal to Jesus and God suddenly interrupts them and says, "This is my beloved Son; hear him." And when they look around, they see only Jesus.

God does not want us giving equal devotion to anyone but Jesus Christ. We are to hear Him. This doesn't mean that God does not have his messengers that teach and preach His Word. But it does mean that they need to be teaching God's Word and God's Word alone, not their own doctrines.

We are not to set any human or angel up on a pedestal. We are to measure everything we are being taught by what the Bible teaches.

The Bible tells us in Act 17:11 " These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

They didn't just take the teacher's word, but they went home and searched the scriptures to be sure that what they were being taught matched up to it. We are to follow their example.

When the teaching we hear does not line up with what the Bible has to say, then we need to seek to clarify what we heard to be sure we heard correctly. One who teaches contrary to what the Bible teaches has no authority and we should seek to find one who teaches God's Word faithfully and put ourselves under their authority.

"This is my beloved Son; hear Him."

Sufficient Grace Publishing

Sufficient Grace for Suffering Saints

The Aroma of Change

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Marsha's Musings: Doctrine

I was reading in Deuteronomy 32 today and was struck by what God says here:

Deut. 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

Doctrine. Many churches and people today cry out that, "Doctrine divides!" They don't want to hear Bible doctrine because of this. They want peace at all costs even if it means avoiding Biblical doctrine.

As I read this chapter in Deuteronomy, here are some of the doctrines I find here, and many of them divide:

God is the Rock
God's work is perfect
God's ways are judgement
God is a God of truth
God is without iniquity
God is just and righteous
Man has corrupted himself
God made us
God bought us
Man forsakes God when his belly is full and he is prosperous
Man lightly esteems the Rock of his salvation
Man is unmindful of the Rock that begat him
Man has forgotten God that formed him
God kills
God makes alive
God wounds
God heals

Now, that is a lot of doctrine in one chapter! Think of all the doctrine in all the rest of the Bible and how much we would be skipping over if we were to ignore doctrine because doctrine divides. Dear friend, doctrine is meant to divide! It is meant to divide truth from falsehood. It is meant to divide the sheep from the goats. Jesus even said that he came to divide.

Matthew 10:34-40 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. "For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; "and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.' "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

The question is, who will you follow? Will you follow those who want peace even at the cost of God's truth and doctrine or will you follow the God of the Bible and what He teaches us in His holy Word?

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

The Dangers of Children Playing with Romance by Michael Farris

Michael Farris is a lawyer who started Home School Legal Defense. He has some very good things to say regarding the idea of courtship instead of dating. Read on….

The Dangers of Children Playing with Romance
Volume 88, Program 26
3/23/2009
Kids in love—it’s easy to see it as a simple, picture-perfect state. But there’s another angle we need to notice. Divorce, unwed mothers, abortion—all involve a form of romance gone awry. As Mike Farris shares today on Home School Heartbeat, many of these problems started back in childhood and early adolescence.

Mike Farris:
A federal trial centered around the circumstances that caused a 13-year-old girl to commit suicide after the break-up of a romantic relationship on MySpace. The national response focused on cyber-bullying and harassment—and of course, that needs some attention. But apparently, nobody worries about the potentially dire consequences of 13-year-olds engaging in romantic relationships.

Recent studies have found that teenage pregnancy rates continue to rise in this country. Notably, the highest rates are in traditionally conservative, so-called red states, including the Bible belt. Secular commentators have had a field day discussing the fact that evangelical teens have sex at a younger age and with more partners than non-evangelicals. Researchers focus on sex, but nobody talks about the danger of children playing with romance.

Pro-family conservatives have long preached that young people should practice physical abstinence before marriage. Liberals have labeled such advice as unrealistic. It is unrealistic to expect a teenager who’s been pursuing a romantic relationship since age 12 or so to have only a limited physical relationship for many, many years.

Children in their early teens are simply too young to handle both the physical and the emotional side of a romance.

Protecting our Children from Destructive Emotional Entanglements
Volume 88, Program 27
3/24/2009
Yesterday on Home School Heartbeat, host Mike Farris highlighted the dangers of premature romance. Today, he talks about how parents can protect their children from the emotional dangers of engaging in romantic relationships too soon.

Mike Farris:
Like many homeschooling families, my wife Vickie and I have chosen the courtship model for our children as an alternative to dating. Courtship requires young people to refrain from casual dating and wait until they’re old enough to seriously consider marriage, before entering into any kind of romantic relationship.

In order to successfully follow the courtship model, parents need to begin talking to their kids at an early age about the principles involved in courtship. We began talking to our oldest daughters about the subject of marriage when they were very young girls—7, 8, 9 years old. All along, I let them know that their mom and dad would be highly involved in their choice of a mate. And as my daughters grew older, I talked to them about romantic relationships and the principles I expected them to follow in more detail. My daughters understood these principles before they were teenagers and far before they were seriously interested in relationships. They never expected to casually date.

If your children are older, it’s not too late to begin following the principles of courtship. However, just as a young child can learn a language more easily than an adult, a young child can also learn a pattern of behavior more easily than a teenager. An early education in courtship principles will help protect your children from the myriad of problems that accompanies premature romance.

Delaying Romantic Relationships until Ready for Marriage
Volume 88, Program 28
3/25/2009
Courtship—as old-fashioned as the term may sound, many homeschool parents have recognized the practical benefits of guiding their children in the pursuit of healthy and godly relationships. Today on Home School Heartbeat, host Mike Farris talks about the first principle of courtship.

Mike Farris:
In high schools, middle schools, and even in today’s elementary schools, dating is an expected activity. Often kids feel that they must have a boyfriend or girlfriend in order to fit in with their peers. Rather than subject children to the pressures of the dating culture, many homeschooling parents have trained their children in courtship.

The first principle of courtship is this: all romantic relationships are reserved until the season of life when a person’s ready to be married. In order for a young man to be ready for marriage in a practical sense, he must be able and willing to support a family. And that normally requires him to delay any kind of romantic pairing off until he’s at least in his early 20s—late teens for young women.

When young men and young women reach this age, they’re far more likely to be emotionally and practically prepared for a romantic relationship. By avoiding dating through most of the teenage years and waiting until the season of life when they’re married, young people are free to be friends with members of the opposite sex, without worrying about the pressures of romantic entanglements. Courtship frees young teens to see each other as potential friends, rather than potential dates.

Casual Dating is Out; Friendship is in
Volume 88, Program 29
3/26/2009
Many homeschooling families have adopted courtship for their children, rather than the practice of dating. Host Mike Farris talks about the second principle of courtship, today on Home School Heartbeat.

Mike Farris:
Many young people begin romantic relationships when they’re just too young. Courtship first of all requires young people to wait until they’re old enough to emotionally and practically consider marriage, before entering into any kind of relationship.

The second major operating principle of courtship is that there’s no such thing as casual dating. Any date is undertaken with the mutual understanding between both the young people and both sets of parents that these young people are engaged in checking each other out with a serious belief that their relationship may lead to marriage.

Four of my grown daughters have gotten married to the only boyfriends they’ve ever had. They have known dozens of guys, because we encourage all kinds of group activities where there is a mixture of both sexes. But those committed to courtship have been the dominant force in their group activities, and so pairing off has been off limits unless the couple is prepared to declare themselves publicly ready for marriage and headed on that path with each other.

Every bride and groom say to each other, at least implicitly, that they love each other with all their heart. Little pieces of one’s heart are given away each time a romance of any magnitude has blossomed. When each of my daughters walked the aisle, her promise to love her husband with all her heart was literally true.

Courtship and Parental Involvement
Volume 88, Program 30
3/27/2009
This week on Home School Heartbeat, we’ve been talking about courtship. Host Mike Farris has already explained the first two principles of courtship. Today, he shares the third and final principle.

Mike Farris:
The third principle of courtship is implicit in the first two. Parents must be involved in the courtship process. Parents, particularly fathers, should give their permission before their children enter into any kind of courtship relationship. Likewise, parents oversee the courtship and set guidelines for the relationship with the couple. Before a couple decides to get married, both sets of parents should give their consent.

This aspect of courtship is directly related with one of the main reasons families choose to educate their children at home. Both homeschooling and the courtship model allow parents to responsibly direct the lives of their children. The benefits of parental involvement in homeschooling are well-documented. I believe that there are similar benefits for children whose parents are involved in their choice of a mate.

First, young adults benefit from the experience their parents possess about marriage and relationships. Second, young adults benefit from having a close relationship between their parents and their future mate. If parents have been approving the relationship all along, the chances for family conflict between in-laws are greatly reduced. Third, God promises to bless children who honor their father and mother. Parental involvement in courtship allows young people to honor their parents and to reap the benefits that this promise brings.

Sufficient Grace Publishing

Sufficient Grace for Suffering Saints

The Aroma of Change