Saturday, July 16, 2011

A WOMAN'S POTENTIAL TO BUILD OR TEAR HER HOME DOWN



The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.  Proverbs 14:1

 This one verse packs a powerful punch!  Have you ever been struck by the potential you hold as a woman to build or to tear down your home?   I hold a picture in my mind’s eye of what a Christ-honoring and loving family looks like.  This picture is painted with strokes of Scripture and years of desire to grow a family who represents Jesus in all aspects of our lives.
 Proverbs 14:1 is  pounding at my heart’s door today.  What am I doing to wisely build or foolishly tear down my own home?  How dreadful to consider I have the potential to tear it down with my own hands!  Am I willing to sit still and consider it?  This is the work of Scripture and the Holy Spirit; to pour light upon any darkness in the corners of my life, and give me the opportunity to clean house!
 Have you considered what your bottom-line desire is for your family?  I encourage you to give it serious thought, then write those values on a piece of paper and tuck it away in your Bible or post it on your wall!  Do you desire a peaceful home, a rich and healthy marriage, children who are growing in wisdom and compassion? Do you desire your husband and children to have softening hearts to the Lord and others?  What are the foundation-values for your family that will keep your home from crumbling?  These are the timeless characteristics which battle against the daily lifestyle you may have created.
Brick by brick sister, we build our house with our words, our touch, our investment of time and money, our actions and reactions to people and daily trials. 
Day by day we hold the ability to tear our house down with our nagging, laziness, impatience, outbursts of anger, or bitterness.  Oooh, this is getting uncomfortable.  Our vanity, strife, sensuality, or waste of family resources can tear down that which we hold dear.  Matthew Henry states the woman who tears down her own house “indulges her ease and appetite”.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not talking about a vain pursuit for a perfect family.  I am talking about a life pursuit of lining our lives up with Jesus. The mortar we use to hold the bricks together is the fear (reverence) of the Lord.  It is He who gives us the insight into our families need. It is His Spirit who causes the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22) to grow within us and spill out into our homes.
Will you exercise the God-given wisdom to build your home today? Celebrate the great building blocks you have already created and make new goals to put an end to any destruction.  Invite the Holy Spirit into your home to shine light on those areas which need renovation.
Dear Jesus, will you search my heart?  Will you show me any hurtful way in me and lead me into the ways which honor You?  You know my heart’s desire to grow a home; a family who loves and serves You.  Please don’t let me get in the way.  I pray You keep my heart searching after You and help me be a wise and Spirit-filled woman You can use to build this house.
BONNIE CHRISTENSEN

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