Category: Guest Bloggers

Rahab’s Sunshine

Tonya3 Comments

I once saw a Judge Judy show and she said, “the truth has a certain ring to it”. That has stuck with me over the years. I have even taught my preschoolers about what I call the “truth bell” as a result of this comment by this famous judge.

How hard it can be to believe and act on the truth that we know and hear. Not so with Rahab.

Joshua 6:25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho

Joshua had sent spies to Jericho. ‘They were, however, preserved by Rahab, a woman of Jericho, at the peril of her own life. In return for her kindness they gave her a promise of protection when the city should be taken.’ Patriarchs and Prophets pg.483

My thoughts on Rahab’s Sunshine:

1. She believed God. Rahab had heard enough about the God of Israel to know that He is God. When the spies came she knew that whatever they said would happen just as they said it would.

2. She helped those in His service. She was willing to risk her own life for these men…greater love hath no man than this than a man lay down his life for a friend.

3. Her decided actions saved her mother, father and all her family. Her decision to believe and help the spies resulted in her family being safe.

4. She was kind. Love is kind.

Lord, help me to believe Your servants and act decidedly and quickly for the cause of what is true and right.

Further Thoughts….I do not know if Rahab was a mom. I do know that I read that “when mother is away the older sister is to be the mother to the younger ones”. Now, I do not know if Rahab was an older sister either. But, I listed her on Momma’s Sunshine because her character/faith/actions are worthy characteristics of any mother! I hope someone is encouraged by this post!

 

 

Grandmother’s Sunshine!

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“When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”  2 Timothy 1:5

After reading this verse, I find that the faith you have can be passed on to your child/grandchild simply by living it out. And, that is what Lois did for Timothy. She lived a life that was:

1. Genuine

2. Sincere

3. Real

4. Natural

5. Pure

6. Unaffected

7. Heartfelt

8. Unforced

9. Wholehearted

10. Dinkum

Those ten words were found in the Thesaurus to describe “unfeigned”. How about that for an unfeigned faith?

Sunshine Tip #2 – Be genuine, pure and sincere.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. -2 Timothy 1:5

The Little Maid’s “Momma’s” Sunshine

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2 Kings 5:2 We know not in what line our children may be called to serve. They may spend their lives within the circle of the home; they may engage in life’s common vocations, or go as teachers of the gospel to heathen lands; but all are alike called to be missionaries for God, ministers of mercy to the world. . . .

The parents of that Hebrew maid, as they taught her of God, did not know the destiny that would be hers. But they were faithful to their trust; and in the home of the captain of the Syrian host, their child bore witness to the God whom she had learned to honor.

From My Life Today – Page 227

Below is my perspective on the Little Maid and her Momma’s Sunshine

The Little Maid’s parents taught her to:
1. Honor God
2. Be Faithful
3. Have Faith in God
4. Discernment–I mean she knew that the power of God was with the Prophet Elisha.

Think about it for a minute. Today everybody claims to be a prophet, but is not. This little girl KNEW and was RIGHT about Elisha.

Sunshine MOMent-teaching your child to honor God.

Tonya regularly writes and shares about sunshine in the home on her blog, Momma’s Sunshine.

 

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A Restful Home of Sunshine

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Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. John 11:5

There was one home that He loved to visit–the home of Lazarus, and Mary, and Martha; for in the atmosphere of faith and love His spirit had rest.

At the home of Lazarus, Jesus had often found rest. The Saviour had no home of His own; He was dependent on the hospitality of His friends and disciples; and often, when weary, thirsting for human fellowship, He had been glad to escape to this peaceful household, away from the suspicion and jealousy of the angry Pharisees. Here He found a sincere welcome, a pure, holy friendship. Here He could speak with simplicity and perfect freedom, knowing that His words would be understood and treasured.

Our Saviour appreciated a quiet home and interested listeners. He longed for human tenderness, courtesy, and affection. Those who received the heavenly instruction He was always ready to impart were greatly blessed…. The multitudes were slow of hearing, and in the home at Bethany Christ found rest from the weary conflict of public life. Here He opened to an appreciative audience the volume of Providence. In these private interviews He unfolded to His hearers that which He did not attempt to tell to the mixed multitude. He needed not to speak to His friends in parables.

From My Life Today – Page 213

Sunshine Tip #3- Create a home of rest. Be peaceful. Stay close to Jesus through prayer and meditation.

Tonya regularly writes and shares about sunshine in the home on her blog, Momma’s Sunshine.

The Importance of Telling/Reading Bible Stories

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In  his childhood, Joseph had been taught the love and fear of God. Often in his father’s tent, under the Syrian stars, he had been told the story of the night vision at Bethel, of the ladder from heaven to earth, and the descending and ascending angels, and of Him who from the throne above revealed Himself to Jacob. He had been told the story of the conflict beside the Jabbok, when, renouncing cherished sins, Jacob stood conqueror, and received the title of a prince with God.

A shepherd boy, tending his father’s flocks, Joseph’s pure and simple life had favored the development of both physical and mental power. By communion with God through nature and the study of the great truths span handed down as a sacred trust from father to son, he had gained strength of mind and firmness of principle.

In the crisis of his life, when making that terrible journey from his childhood home in Canaan to the bondage which awaited him in Egypt, looking for the last time on the hills that hid the tents of his kindred Joseph remembered his father’s God. He remembered the lessons of his childhood, and his soul thrilled with the resolve to prove himself true–ever to act as became a subject of the King of heaven.

Education pg. 52

Tonya regularly writes and shares about sunshine in the home on her blog, Momma’s Sunshine.

How to Spread Sunshine to Your Children

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1. Give a look of approval. Look at your child with an “I am so pleased with what you did”!

2. Give a word of encouragement. “I am so proud of you!” “I knew you could do it!”

3. Give commendation. “You are so smart!” “Wow! You made that!”

Ministry of Healing, pg.388

 

 

Tonya regularly writes and shares about sunshine in the home on her blog, Momma’s Sunshine.

The widow of Zarephath’s Sunshine

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And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. -I Kings 17:15

Here is what I see as sunshine from the widow of Zarephath:

1.Her obedience kept her and her son alive during a famine.

2.She was a “doer” of the word…she made a cake for Elijah first.

3.When faced with a decision, she chose to live by faith and not by signt…I mean really…she gave to Elijah first…during a famine.

And let see…how many of us would give our last during a recession? Would we continue to return tithe and offering during a recession? Would we host a dinner during a recession?…To me, that is what this widow woman did.

She gave what she had and brought many days of sunshine and life to her home.

Her meal was not running over, but it did not run out!!! Her obedience made the difference between life and death for her and her son.

In this poverty-stricken home the famine pressed sore, and the pitifully meager fare seemed about to fail. The coming of Elijah on the very day when the widow feared that she must give up the struggle to sustain life tested to the utmost her faith in the power of the living God to provide for her necessities. But even in her dire extremity she bore witness to her faith by a compliance with the request of the stranger who was asking her to share her last morsel with him. -Patriarchs and Prophets
O the difference obedience makes!!

Tonya regularly writes and shares about sunshine in the home on her blog, Momma’s Sunshine.