Renovations
RenovationsAbout seven years ago we renovated our kitchen. That project rolled into the renovation of the dining room which rolled into the renovation of our living room. We decided we would never go through that again!

Recently, we thought it would be a good idea to renovate the bathroom. Renovating your house is sort of like giving birth. While you are going through it you swear you will never do it again!

But in time the memory of the pain fades away. Until we ripped out everything in the bathroom we had forgotten the pain of renovating. Every room is being affected by the contents of one room. My dining room has a new vanity sitting in it along with various strips of molding, wallboard and fixtures. My office is consumed with containers holding the contents of what was our bathroom closet. The door to that closet is in my bedroom. My kitchen is my new half bath where teeth are brushed and faces washed. Every room suffers from a thin coat of dust. It makes me wonder why we thought this was a good idea!

As I work on my Bible Study I am looking at what God thinks about pride. I look at my life through His Word and see that He desires to renovate my heart- again. He comes with the Words that will begin to strip away my poor thinking, my bad attitudes, my stubborn ways and yes, my pride. He sees in me a “room” that has broken down, a place where the beauty He built has started to fade. Note that it didn’t wear out from overuse but it faded from lack of use.

I don’t relish the fact that once again I am in need of a renovation but I find comfort in the fact that my Father loves me enough to continue to work on me. Pride is that thin layer of dust that finds its way into all other rooms. My pride is everywhere and in everything and it has to go.

Just as I will benefit when my bathroom is finished there are benefits to getting rid of my pride.Proverbs 3:34 says “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Benefit #1- Grace! Isaiah 57:15 says “I live in a high and holy place but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit.” Benefit #2- God lives with us! Isaiah 66:2 says “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” Benefit # 3- God esteems or respects us! * I look forward to my bathroom being finished but I know that I will not be finished here. Perfection comes in the next life but in the meantime God must do His work. Even though it is painful and disruptive for God to renovate us; will you and I choose to allow Him to be hard at work? What “room” does God need to renovate in you?Kathy*Living Free, page 53 by Beth Moore

Never give up hope

Sometimes it is difficult to imagine that things will ever be different than they are right now. Perhaps circumstance or a person has caused a heavy burden upon your heart and it seems as if it has become a part of who you are. Life looks endlessly the same. It is times like these that we tend to slip into praying not believing that change will happen. O, sure, we know it is possible but we don’t actually believe it. How can we? Our prayers have made little difference thus far, or so it seems. The hope we once had has dwindled to merely a thimbleful or has long since disappeared completely.

Hope. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

If we do not have hope, then how are we different than our unsaved neighbor or friend? What difference is Jesus making in our life?

Be encouraged by Manasseh. You may read his entire story in 2 Chronicles 33, here are some excerpts:

2 Chronicles 33 (1-2) Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel…(6) he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. (9) So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. (10-13) And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

Manasseh did evil – he rebuilt the high places, raised up altars to false gods, worshiped the host of heaven, sacrificed his sons, practiced soothsaying, witchcraft and sorcery; he did much evil in the sight of God. Imagine his mother or wife’s perspective watching him do much evil. It appeared hopeless and yet the Lord spoke to him and change happened.

God stepped in.

Never loose hope, because at any moment God can step in. God can change circumstances and hearts, even it it’s your own.

Diane

Precious Moments
Those sweet little statues (dust collectors) that for some have significant meaning. Maybe because they trigger a “precious moment”. I have a collection of small statues called “woodland creatures”, most of which are rabbits. When I was married, my husband bought this collection and started giving me one each year for Christmas. After we were no longer married, he had my son continue to give them to me. According to my son, this Christmas is the last one in the collection. The other day, he said; “I will keep buying you a rabbit every year anyway”. What a precious moment he gave me! One that will never collect dust. I keep the collection displayed in my home as a reminder for my son that his dad and I once shared some very precious moments and out of that love, he was born. It’s been a good reminder for me over the years when I could have let a bitter or angry moment take root. We’ve been divorced for seven years. Exactly one day less than I have been saved. Only just two months ago I extended my hand in peace to his wife and she received it. It too was a precious moment. Maybe today would be a good day to dust off some of your “precious moments”. Can’t remember any? What are you waiting for? Go make some.
Please pray for the salvation of John’s dad, George, his wife Kristy and her daughter Shannon.
Dina

Don’t Give Up!

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” ~~ Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

“So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.” (HCSB)

Do you ever get tired of doing good? Depending on how honest we’re willing to be with ourselves, some of us would answer with a resounding “yes!” Most of us have moments when our feelings have been hurt, once again, by someone who says they love us and sometimes, yes sometimes, we want to hurt back. We want to go against the spirit of Christ in us and lash out, repaying evil for evil. We want to pretend we never heard or read the Scripture about turning the other cheek.

Ah, but then we catch a glimpse of ourselves in the mirror of grace and what we see humbles us. We see not the angelic face of grace-filled holiness, but we see ourselves as we really are apart from redemptive healing, saving, transforming grace…and the reflection is not a pretty one. As we continue to look we see the empty cross, and we remember but for His grace we would not be saved.
And so, rather than lash out in bitter anger, we speak the truth gracefully in love.

Hey, I know how difficult life situations can be, most especially the ones involving people. We’re all a bunch of mixed nuts, aren’t we? And sometimes we rub each other the wrong way.
My encouragement today is for us -all of us- to keep the bigger picture in view. As sisters, let’s step up to the plate and determinedly encourage one another today to do good; to stay the course; to not give up or grow weary.

In due season, we will reap a harvest that is sweeter than anything we can possible think or imagine.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ~~ Hebrews 12:1-3 Stephanie

Who are you listening to?

When King Solomon died his son Rehoboam became king. Second Chronicles records how the people went to the king and asked that the heavy yoke his father had put on them be removed. Rehoboam consulted the elders. “But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.” 2 Chronicles 10:8 Peer counsel.

Seeking counsel from our peers can be a good thing if they are believers and if their counsel coincides with God’s counsel.

I can’t tell you how many women end up in my office sharing the counsel they have received from unsaved coworkers, family, neighbors or a best friend. Unless we are being directed back to Jesus Christ and the Word of God, I dare say we need to be wary. It is not that unsaved people can’t be wise, or give good counsel but it is our responsibility to confirm that what they are telling us is Biblical. If we are uncertain, we should consult the leadership of our local church.

People often come to me and ask if they can divorce their husband or some other significant life decision. I can’t remember one time I responded affirmatively. However, I do always encourage them to seek the counsel of the pastor or elder at their church and if they do not have a church I encourage them to find one.

Who are you listening to?
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly; nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2

Diane

Let’s Hear It For The “Older” Ladies!
I had the pleasure of being stolen away on an adventure! A dear friend offered to take me to Virginia to attend a Women’s Conference. I was up for the road trip and in need of a little get away. The timing was perfect!
Let me be honest by saying I was not going for the conference- just the time away. I have attended popular women’s conferences over the years and lately I have found them to be “fluffy”. They center more on the current speakers of our time and the celebrity of the year who happens to claim they are a Christian. At this particular event I attended in Virginia I expected the same. There were still the authors/speakers who shared their times of trouble and how God had worked in their situation. BUT, then a wonderful “older” woman, Kay Arthur, took the stage. So many things impressed me about her! Aside from her broken ankle and the wheelchair she spoke from, I sensed her determination to do what she came to do! I could tell right away what her purpose was from her first charge to the audience- “Get out your Bibles. If you have ever heard me speak you must know by now that you have to have your Bible!”
At that moment I was embarrassed and mad at myself- I didn’t bring mine! I am used to bringing my Bible only to lug it around at women’s conferences and then never cracking it open anyway! Kay Arthur doesn’t allow us to neglect the Word of God. She doesn’t just quote it to fit her story but the woman teaches it! It is her story- the only story she desires to tell and I believe this is lacking in much of what we hear today- yes each of us has a story but what about THE STORY? After Kay spoke I watched her on the floor of this stadium and I watched her pray with those who came to her. There was no rush to get to the “green room”, no entourage came to whisk her away from the crowd, there was no autograph given but a listening ear, love and prayers. There was real ministry going on there. Now that I can sit through!
So let’s hear it for the “older” ladies lifting up the Word! Thank you Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, Amy Carmichael, Elizabeth Elliot, and Susan Hunt- you inspire me to desire more of the Word of God! You make me hungry to feast on the Word! If you don’t know these ladies may I invite you to a meal? Dig in!
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, “That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the Word of the Lord, but shall not find it.” Amos 8: 11-12 Kathy

JUST BECAUSE I DON’T RAISE MY FIST

Recently I was reading an e-mail message from the Billy Graham Evangelical Association. Mr. Graham was talking about why we were created by God. He mentioned Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and talked about how God loved them and wanted them to return His love and fellowship with Him. But Satan entered the picture and changed all of that in an instant. Sin entered into paradise and forever changed how God was able to look at his creation. Mr. Graham used the term “rebellious” and said that just because Adam and Eve didn’t raise their fists to God, their act of rebelliousness was sin nonetheless.

And that got me to thinking about how subtly sin creeps in and causes a rift between God and me. I don’t raise my fist in outright rebellion toward God, but when I do what I want and fail to follow His Word, or do what He has commanded me to do, it is rebellion – pure and simple. Oh, I can rationalize it and make it sound less than what it is, but the truth of the matter is that I have raised my fist to God and said, in effect, I will do what I want; I will do it my way.

And still, just as God provided for a blood sacrifice to cover Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden, so did he provide the blood sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus, to cover my sin and yours. And praise God, that while sacrifices needed to be made over and over again in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us on the cross was once and for all. No longer is there a need for any additional sacrifice. The need I have now is to confess my rebellious sin attitude, and seek my Father’s forgiveness and be restored to the loving relationship a father has with his child.

So remember that while you may not be outwardly raising your fist to God, every act you commit, every thought you think, every word you speak that does not honor God and does not follow His Word is rebellious sin. And even more importantly, remember that the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin (I John 1:7). Praise be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lynn Randall

Life Through Death

We tend to think that death follows life, yet the Scriptures repeatedly reverse that order.
Proverbs 13:14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.
John 5:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:21 …so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
2 Corinthians 4:11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life…
Revelation 2:10 Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
John 12:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me …

Unless and until we yield or surrender our life, dying to ourselves we will not know the fullness of Christ’s life in us.

Life through death…
Diane

O COME LET US ADORE HIM