Restoring The Early Church ~ Lesson 7

"Oh, thank you...I appreciate your mentioning that. But, no Ma'am, we won't be needing it."

"Yes sir, they told us that you have a _____ (Children's ministry/Sunday school/Nursery). Thank you for mentioning it again...if we need it, we'll let you know."

There have been times, when visiting churches, that literally four or five people in a row (of steadily increasing "rank") have bullied pressured strongly encouraged us to utilize the programs that are available at their church when it became apparent that we were intending to ~ gasp ~ keep our children with us during the worship service. The pressure to parcel out our children was unrelenting, the stares of disbelief when we didn't were blatant and the overall disdainful atmosphere was thick as molasses.

For a girl who struggles with Fear of Man, each of these instances could have been a temptation to cave...to give in to the pressure, and go against my convictions and, in the words of my Firm-As-A-Rock-And-A-Little-Saucy husband, roll over and wet on myself. Had it not been for our (unknowingly) instituting the practice of halakah as described in this lesson, I surely would have caved.

We had already been taught Yahweh's plan for families by one of those few passages we had studied from the Older Testament. We had embraced a Deuteronomy 6 lifestyle which affected every area of our marriage and parenting. After determining through the written Word (logos) that we were to live this way, we had to determine exactly what that would look like walked out in our family. This is where the Word (rhema) came in. We so needed Yahweh to show us what He wanted this to look like for us.

Homeschooling? Check. That was logos.

What curriculum to use?
Would we use any public school programs?
What subjects to study?
What would our days look like?
Would we incorporate any other teachers into our children's education?
These questions were all rhema...not specifically stated in Scripture, but still things we needed to know.

Worshiping together as a family unit? Check. That was logos.

Would we be in fellowship that did not agree with this practice?
What if they made a stink about it and asked us to step out of the service?
What if they begrudgingly accepted it?
What about Sunday School, youth group, AWANAS, etc.?
These too, were rhema.

Because we had already walked through many of the big issues in our life, and were firmly grounded in the "Thus saith the Lord" of them for our family, we knew what we would do in each varied situation. There was no question at the time. Just as having a budget eliminates having to make so many financial decisions, having halakahs set up, prayed (and sometimes fasted) over, and ingrained in our walk, it eliminates a lot of temptation and stress. Whew.

On a side note, let me just discuss for a moment what we found rhema is not. It is not looking at the clearly stated Word (logos) and deciding that XYZ clear instruction doesn't apply to us. There are some things that are without question. "Do not murder" means do not murder...whether the victim is an unborn child or an elderly or handicapped person. "Be fruitful and multiply" means that married people don't have the option to "choose" to not have any children because it doesn't suit their career plans or "calling" in ministry. "Honor the Sabbath" means in the way and on the day He has stated...not in the way and on the day it is convenient to us.

This is also the reason why we have found it so crucial to decide based on the logos and rhema alone before trying to figure out how we will walk it out. When we determined that Yahweh desired for us to keep the Sabbath, there was no way, "on paper" that it was going to work out. We were so busy as it was, and had no time to complete all we needed...we had to just act on faith.

I am here to tell you that Yahweh is faithful to extend grace to those who walk with Him in obedient trust! We have experienced manifold blessings from this one simple act of obedience...just doing what He told us, without questions, and letting the pieces fall where they may. I will go as far as saying that it has changed our life. His grace to help us obey is unending.

Mike and Sue reiterate this here:

Grace is the power and desire to uphold God's truth in your life no matter what it costs you. (snip) God's grace will enable you to keep your new conviction because of your desire to lovingly obey Him. Continue to pray for grace. And repent of your failure for not having known these new truths or lived by them before this time.

It is a good thing, too. After a few recent events, it appears we have some more halakahs to make, and that grace will be put into use once again.

Here's the link to Lesson 7.

(Please note that this was a post in a series from a study we are working through on Restoring The Early Church. You are welcome to join us at any time! Please start at Lesson One, which is HERE.)