Thursday, July 12, 2007

392 - He Forgets Our Past or Does He?

Good Morning Savior - I am a little late typing out my bloggy thoughts as I have been reading about a young 27 year old mom of a 12 year old son that has been diagnosed with liver cancer. She is mad, angry, scared, distraught, did I say angry - and for just cause. You can see her thoughts here on her blog at www.nicole-austin.blogspot.com She is hurting bad right now and needs our prayers. Please leave her any kind of comment...I think anything will speak to her right now. There is even one reader that is Buddhist and trying to encourage her. My fear is that will be the one voice she listens to. Please pray - I can not even imagine! Oh Lord, forgive my attitude this morning - this puts me in my place! Thank you!

This morning i was in Joshua 2 and 6 and also Hebrews 11 just a tad. We studied the woman Rahab. That is a name you would think no one would ever name their child and my preacher in Charlotte even mentioned that one time. He said, "Rahab, now that is one name I am confident no one would ever name their child." He kind of said that giggling as did the audience. One of the girls in my singles discipleship class, Rahab!!!!!!!!!!!!, just laughed and thought how uneducated that sounded from a very educated man. Very assumptive and insensitive!! Wow!

Anyway - the thing that stood out to me was the way Rahab is described in all her accounts in the Word. It always seems to be Rahab, the prostitute. It is rarely Rahab with just her name. Beth Moore did discuss this unsettling description and it made me wonder even more. Beth Moore stated that it was left in there so often because God did not want us to forget who He used and what she came from.

As I sat there with my Word in front of me I began to think even more about that. So many times we hear about God forgetting our sins and of course not holding them against us. But I wonder if having the description behind Rahab's name was possibly a consequence of her sin as well. As if the Lord has said I forgive you, I forget it as far as the east from the west, but I am going to allow it to remain to glorify me and teach others a lesson through you. You made this bed, but I am going to allow it (the description of your past) to remain for My glory. Whenever one reads about Rahab in the Word they will know that I "deal" with all kinds, I redeem all kinds, and be careful because your sins may follow you by title if nothing else - Rahab the prostitute. I don't know, just a thought. But at the same time when God forgives and forgets our sin it is not that He now calls on Rahab the prostitute and wonders why she has that description following her name - He does forget I know He does because the Bible tells me so, but yet He knows good and well why others are referring to her by that................... I guess she was really pleased with her new body - clean, fresh, whole, purified - and name when she reached the throne and saw Him face to face. Oh how I wish I could talk with her now. That would be cool!

So ti is not fair to bring up Rahab's past with description without looking into my past and wonder what He has used for His glory in my description. Leigh the talker, complainer, gossiper, etc. - She now uses her words to speak Truth to others and make known what He has brought her through for His glory. Leigh the lazy, selfish, glory seeking, etc. - She now uses that energy to encourage others, serve others in ministry, and have an open door policy to whomever dares to enter the zoo (my house)! Do I ever fall back in those old descriptions - why sure - God will take me home when I have been made perfect and trust me - ask Clay my hubby - this girl ain't no where near perfected. I might get to see my great, great, great grandkids for the amount of work He has to do before I see Him. ha ha!!

But as each day goes by - i know He sees me as redeemed. For all those things that I have done and the labels i have allowed people to call me or describe me by - I know who I am in Christ. After all I am who He says that I am. I am forgiven and that is worth shoutin' about!!! I love you, Lord.

I had an awesome time at Mrs. Nancy's pool yesterday with Andrea and Rachel. This was a gorgeous pool, underground kind of thingy with a driving board and slide. It was awesome! In what i am finding out is normal Rachel style - she had fruit skewers, cookies made, homemade lemonade to die for, and chips as well. Not to mention the cutest hairstyle ever and bathing suit. She is just too much! While i was there her dad and brother went out in the fields and personally cut me a TON of sweet corn!!! They are real farmers (corn, pigs, beans - well, i don't know about beans, but it makes the story sounds good) and just about the sweetest ones i have ever met. And her momma sat with us talking while snapping green beans!!! They had a ton of dogs, a must on a farm, and even had 11 lab puppies. My kids were in heaven. You could look up through all the fields of corn and see her grandparents house on the hill. This family has got it all. Truly blessed!!! I love this family!! AWESOME!

Today is not much on the schedule EXCEPT Bible study Believing God gals tonight!! Yeah!!! We are probably going to McDonald's for lunch because they have the new Hello Kitty toys - yeah baby!! We are getting the girls hair cut at 4pm unless they can get us in earlier. I was hoping to take the kids to see Nancy Drew this week, but time has run out. Anyway - Life is sooooo sooooo soooo good. I am blessed and thankful!! Chin up and get my feet moving!! It is time for a praise dance. Want to join me?

PS - don't ask me why my signature block is way up at the top - i can not tell you why and don't kow how to fix it!! ha ha! who cares anyway - God is great!

5 comments:

Kelly said...

I just read your comment about mops crafts at Boomama's and had to pop over and say hello! Even though I really do love art, I never enjoyed the little projects they had us do at mops, so my girlfriend and I would never claim our items when they returned the completed items to us at the next meeting, all dry and ready to go home. So there were always these 2 little forlorn items left on the table at the end of the meetings- we still giggle about it years later!

Lisa said...

Thanks leigh for the post......my oh my oh my...thank you lord for forgiveness.

Love ya girl,
Lisa

Holly said...

Praying for your day, Leigh!

I look at Rahab and think that her name brings Hope...in the line of Christ, in the hall of faith in Hebrews and used by God in a nation-changing story. So when I think of Rahab the prostitute, I think, He used her...He can use me, too--warts and all. It certainly takes the "mask" off!

I hope you get to see Nancy Drew...it was really good! Some perilous moments that could be scary to your kids, though (bad guys chasing kind of thing). But I really enjoyed it and hope for a sequel.

Have a wonderful Day!
In Him,
Holly

Shelly said...

Haha....girl - the signature at top is just fine! Never mind it :)

LOVED the thoughts about leaving the descriptor of sin (following our name) as a reminder of who we were (are) apart from Christ, a reminder of His power, and how He intends to bring beauty from the ashes.

I always think about how often the Israelites were told to 'remember' throughout the OT. Remember where they came from. To remember where I came from keeps me desperate for more of Him, and in love with who He is to me.

Connie Barris said...

This was wonderful.. you are so right...
our whole sanctification process won't end until we stand before God totally glorified...

Rahab... David.. Moses... Not one of them had a clean slate...

neither do I.... praise God He takes me like I am..

thanks for this post