Cleanliness is next to Godliness?

I have recently decided to read my Bible cover to cover. I had started reading in the New Testament and was going to read the entire New Testament and then read the Old Testament because the New Testament seems easier to understand. And then I went to Secret Church. And found out that Secret Church has online media resources allowing me to watch all the old Secret Church sessions. And then I watched the Old Testament session of Secret Church, thinking "Well, if I watch that, I won't have to read the Old Testament because that will teach me all I need to know about the Old Testament. . ." and instead, it made me want to read the Old Testament. The best laid plans LOL. . .

So I started at the beginning and I'm in Leviticus now and I'm of the opinion that the catch phrase "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" originated from the book of Leviticus. See, Leviticus is all about the guidelines the Israelites were given at that time period, what made them unclean, how to reattain cleanliness, and why it was bad to be "unclean". If you were "unclean" you could not go into the temple. You could not be in the presence of the Lord. If you were unclean and went in the presence of the Lord, you would die. You had to be clean to be next to God. So in the book of Leviticus, cleanliness was quite literally next to Godliness.

I highly recommend you check out Secret Church. It is a phenomenal resource in my quest to continuously learn more about God. If you have never heard of Secret Church, that's partially my fault as I have been meaning to blog about it for a couple months now and just haven't gotten around to it. You can all thank my cousin, Beth, for reminding me to blog. Its sad that I needed the reminder, but I did.

I attended Secret Church telecast session at FBCW this April. Secret Church is a in depth Bible Study. It lasts 6 hours, during which time the study is focused on persecution in a specific area of the world as well as a specific topic in scripture. Previous topics covered are "Survey of the Old Testament", "Survey of the New Testament", "How to Study the Bible", "Who is God?", "Exploring the Holy Spirit", "The Cross of Christ", "Angels, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare", "The Gospel, Possessions and Prosperity", "The Body of Christ", and "Crucifixion, Salvation and the Glory of God", which is the session I attended.

Secret Church sessions are held with the intention that those of us who attend or watch online will take what we learn and teach it to others, which is the intention of secret churches all over the world. The only difference is, we are blessed to live in a country where we are not persecuted for gathering together to learn about God.

I am so glad I attended in April and I hope to be at the next session in November. And between now and then, I hope to make it through all the other sessions. I have watched the Survey of the Old Testament and started to watch the Survey of the New Testament, got about halfway through and decided I really wanted to read through the Old Testament before going any further, so hopefully I will also have finished reading through my Bible cover to cover by the November session as well. I am really looking forward to being at the next session and learning more about God through his Word. Check out Secret Church yourself, watch a couple sessions and you'll see why I'm so excited about it. Happy Bible reading :)

My favorite Psalm

People are forever quoting Psalm 23. It is said to be the universal psalm, can apply to any situation, can comfort you no matter what situation you are in or what you are needing at the time. In it, it promises that the Lord will provide for you (I shall not be in want), give you rest, relaxation, peace, He will restore your soul, guide you, rescue you from death, protect you, lead you, make you victorious, give to you abundantly until your cup runneth over. Its a great Psalm. But its not my favorite.

My favorite psalm right now is Psalms 127. It tells me to prioritize my time and make sure I am using it for the Lord's will because only the Lord's will will be done and any efforts made not according to his plan are futile. "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." I don't know about you, but I do not want to spend my time doing anything -- even if its what I think is right -- only to discover later on that I accomplished nothing. I do not want to do anything in vain. Which is not to say that I am boycotting any of the many, many repetitive actions that are part and parcel of the whole mom lifestyle (cleaning up the same mess over and over, changing diapers again, cleaning up after kids period, washing clothes and putting up toys, etc), but I am making every effort to learn more about God, to discover what his purpose is for me and to do my best in everything I do as if I were doing it just for Him.

I also see in this Psalm the importance of sleep (which, let's face it, most of us moms don't get enough of). "In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat -- for he grants sleep to those he loves." There are so many places in the Bible where God reminds us that he cares for us and will make sure we are taken care of, but its a nice reminder that the Lord cares that we get enough sleep, too. I read this Psalm before I go to bed at night and I meditate on this part. I thank him for loving me and ask him to grant me the sleep promised in this Psalm. My neighbor, Lisa, once told me that she asks God to allow her to sleep in his bosom at night and I meditate on this image before I go to sleep as well. Its an amazing image, sleeping in the Lord's bosom, cuddled up, protected under his arm, right next to his heart. That is the most peaceful image I can imagine and usually makes for a great night's sleep.

And then come the verses known by Quiverfull mamas everywhere "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate." I am a quiverfull mama. I choose not to use any type of birth control, believing and trusting that God will not give me more children than I can handle. I am grateful for my 4 beautiful daughters and enjoy every minute with them. I am saddened by the thought that Rory may be my last child and treasure every minute with each of my girls. I hold out hope that one day I will meet a good, Christian man, will marry and have more children, at which time I will still choose not to use any type of birth control and still choose to trust God not to give me more than I can handle in any aspect of my life.

Sorry this is so rambling, but its late and I am tired. I'm going to go sleep in the Lord's bosom now. Have a great night, everyone :)