The Law of Love III

“You, my bothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to
indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

This week we have been having a frank discussion (more like a
monologue) about modesty. Today I want to briefly discuss the difference
between men and women and the lack of understanding of each other and for
each other. If you are single, hang in there because this is just as
important for you to understand as for us “old married women”.

Men are visual. Women are tactile and relational. Men can be aroused
by someone they don’t even know simply by the way she looks, dresses, and
moves. Women are not so much aroused by the way a man looks but more by the
way he looks at her. Sexual purity for men involves discipline with their
eyes first and foremost. Sexual purity for women involves discipline with
their hearts and emotions.

Ladies, we may not understand how quickly a man can become aroused,
how quickly he can be drawn away and tempted to lust, but I believe Jesus
calls us to have compassion not contempt. Our lack of understanding does
not invalidate the reality of the struggle for men. I know if your husband
is involved in pornography, this hurts. Perhaps we can “talk” about that
another week.

How does this relate to our theme-the law of love? If we as women
seek to understand and to be compassionate, I believe we would be much more
mindful of our dress so as to not increase the struggle.

I don’t believe that contempt for people is ever the godly response.
Let’s get angry at the culprit-Satan and pray for his failure in this area.

Your challenge today is to pray for understanding and compassion.

Diane

Sisters, late last summer I wrote a week series of Victory Call’s on modest dress and sexual purity. Of all the VC’s I have written I recieved more positive comments on that series than any other. I have tweaked them a bit and am running them again this week as we move into the summer with Memorial Day today.

The Law of Love I
“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13

Warning!!! This week’s devotionals are on modesty and sexual purity and are written with frankness and forthrightness. I apologize in advance if my frankness offends anyone. I would not do this if it wasn’t a burden on my heart that I think God’s wants His daughters to hear. I hope my mother is not reading these!
It’s that time of year again, when the weather is hot and humid. For some of you this writing will draw a nod of the head, for others, I’m afraid I’m going to step on your toes. I am going to be bold today, bolder than usual that is.
It is time for Christian women to take a stand with regard to our dress. Hear me clearly; I’m not talking about being dowdy, unstylish or puritanical in our dress. I’m talking about just plain modesty. There are parts of a woman’s body that need to be covered, plain and simple. A woman’s breasts need to be modestly covered, front, middle and sides. Modestly covered does not mean with see through fabric, tight fitting or exposing the bra underneath. A woman’s pubic area, upper thighs, mid-drift and buttocks need to be covered. I’m nervous about being so pointed but I’ve long since learned forthrightness and frankness minimizes misunderstanding.
I have worked at America’s Keswick for almost 7 years. I have had my eyes opened to the sinful struggle of men and women, both which could be qualified as lust. I would venture a guess that the majority of calls I get from women relate to this issue of lust. It may manifest itself in ogling which means: to eye amorously or provocatively or to look at especially with greedy or interested attention (Merriam-Webster On-line Dictionary) or it may involve pornography, infidelity or inappropriate emotional ties. Statistics show that men are the primary offenders regarding the use of internet pornography sites, but there are a growing number of women falling into the same sinful trap. I did some research on-line to get some statistics regarding this problem – I was amazed. This is what I found: 28% of visitors to pornography sites are female, 1 or 3 visitors to all adult web sites are women, women, far more than men, are likely to act out their behaviors in real life, such as having multiple partners, casual sex or affairs, 9.4 million women access adult web sites each month.1 Thirty-four percent of female readers of Today’s Christian Women’s online newsletter admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn in a recent poll.2
I think you have had enough frankness for today, but we are not done yet. There is much more to be said this week. I will explain through the week, how our verse relates to this topic.

Your challenge for today is to ask God if there is any outfits in your closet that HE would like you to get rid of. If you’re courageous enough, ask your spouse or a close friend for an honest evaluation of how you dress.

Diane

1 http://www.familysafemedia.com/pronography_statistics.html accessed 4/28/06
2 http://www.blazingfrace.org/pornstatistics.html accessed 4/28/06

What am I supposed to do without my cell phone?

That was a line from a movie I saw recently. The dad was trying to talk to his teenage daughter, however she was in her room with the door locked, dancing to music that was blasting through her head phones and she couldn’t hear him knocking. So what did he do? You guessed it… he called her on her cell phone from right out side her room. Of course she heard that and answered right away. The story proceeded with her dad reading her the riot act that she was locked up in her room away from the family, dancing provocatively to loud music and he could not reach her in his own house unless he called her cell phone! To top it off while in her room he finds a report card that reflected some failing grades. When he asked her about it she told him it was private and he shouldn’t be looking at it. Are you done laughing…? I was hysterical! I mean is she kidding me! I was so…happy they did not portray this dad as a helpless bystander. He told her in no uncertain terms that he was in charge and she would comply with respect. As her punishment he took away her cell phone, to which she replied with a very sarcastic tone; “What am I supposed to do without my cell phone?” Here was the best part, he said; “Do I look like I care, look at me (very serious face) do I look like I care. Your right I don’t. No cell phone!” I think I applauded so hard my hands hurt. I am so tired of seeing parents portrayed as wimps afraid to discipline their children for fear it will damage them, or maybe the child won’t like them. Believe me; I do not think it is easy to discipline a child, but we shouldn’t be shocked and unprepared when the time comes to apply it. Like the dad in this movie, we need to correct and discipline our children or they will continue in their way and we will have not done right by them or by the Lord. He wasn’t upset she had a cell phone, he must have paid for it, but he was upset that she abused the privilege and dishonored him. This wasn’t a dad who ran his house like a drill sergeant with no mercy or grace!
. This w
as a dad who saw his daughter drifting away from the fold of the family into dangerous areas and in love said NO!

Ephesians 6:4; And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the LORD.

Proverbs 3:12
For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.

Dina

What is a Quiet Day?

A quiet day is a deliberate intention to be quiet, to rest from all your doing. I’m sure that the ways in which this can be accomplished are as varied as our individual personalities. For example, you may want to incorporate words of praise and adoration; choose to read from the Psalms; listen to the sound of the waves; pick up a long neglected sketch pad and draw whatever comes to mind; lay a blanket out on the lawn and watch the cloud…and so on and so forth. The possibilities are endless. But the quiet would be the special emphasis of the day.

A few years ago a small group of women from my church planned a quiet day. It’s hard to imagine, all of us women together without talking, huh? Nonetheless, the idea of a quiet day appealed to enough of us that we had two van loads. The plan was to drive “in silence” to Longwood Gardens in Pa., and once we arrived, we were to disperse and just spend the day in quiet. My personal goal for the day was to listen to God and journal whatever He said to me. Unfortunately the day never happened. Three weeks in a row we planned the trip and three weeks in a row it poured rain on the day that we were to go. After that, our schedules got busy and…you know the drill. It just never happened. Recently a few of us have begun to talk about again and hopefully this time we can pull it off.

Your quiet day doesn’t have to take you anywhere away from home, unless the distractions of home would make it virtually impossible for you to experience the quiet.

Maybe by now you’re asking yourself, “Why a quiet day?” The answer for me is simple. Our souls need times of quiet for the purpose of restoration. In Psalms 23 David writes, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul…” We must take the time to be quiet and still, to allow the Lord to give quietness and contentment to our minds.

I can’t remember any conversation I’ve ever had, with a woman regarding quiet and/or stillness, where she didn’t get a longing look in her eyes. Whether we take the time or not, our souls are longing for moments of stillness and quiet. Or…we could call them “Mary moments”. It’s possible that you are the rare one who has already learned the discipline of quiet. Praise God for that gift! I wish I could say it was me, but it aint! Life is full of constant, yet mostly joyful doing.

In the Gospel of Mark you can read the following account. The disciples had just returned from doing the work that Jesus himself had sent them to do. You know the everyday work of anointing the sick with oil and healing them; casting out demons and calling people to repentance. They had also taken the body of John the Baptist and laid it in a tomb. After returning to Jesus and telling Him all they had done, He says to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest awhile….and they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.” Mark 6:31
Ponder that. Pray and ask God to show you how “quiet” can become a part of your life.
Stephanie

I didn’t say it I only thought it…

Proverbs 23:7
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

Some thoughts to ponder:
What a big mouth!
She looks so fat in that outfit!
I wish they would shut up!
I really hope he doesn’t sit next to me…he smells bad!
What a pain that person is!
Oh no, here comes so and so I’m going the other way!

Ever had thoughts go through your mind similar to these? Ever say them out loud? No. Oh, well then I guess it’s ok if we only think them, right? Well, God’s word says; as we think (and our thoughts come from out hearts), so we are. Not only that, but did you know God was a mind reader? That’s right, He knows our every thought! Stop reading and ponder that thought for a moment…
I don’t know about you, but speaking for myself I have had thoughts like some of the above mentioned. And let’s call it what it is, sin. I really had a good dose of medicine in this area when my son was telling me a comment about a teacher that wasn’t very kind. I replied to him; “You didn’t say that did you?” and he said; “No Mom I didn’t say it I only thought it.”
Now where would he get the idea that this would be an acceptable practice? From me, where else! Here I was asking him if he verbalized it, being relieved he hadn’t then glossing right over the fact that thinking it was wrong in and of itself. We both can learn a valuable lesson from each other, we were both wrong. Sometimes the best thing we can do for our kids is come down from our high horses as MOM and humble ourselves before our God and in view of our children. I thank God I can go to the cross with all my sins and there is room there for my child to kneel beside me.

Here’s some ammunition for you ladies, when the thoughts that don’t honor God come, and they will come,we can have a power-filled store house of verses hidden in our hearts. A dear neighbor of mine is in the habit of writing down a verse on an index card and taping it above her kitchen sink. I have since picked up that good habit. Maybe you will too…And don’t forget to tell the kids why you do it!

Psalm 26:2
Examine me, O LORD, and prove me, try my mind and my heart.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into obedience of Christ.

Dina

“If you love me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15).

When there are only two choices.

God can use any number of circumstances to teach us about Himself and about ourselves. Recently when my son was traveling to Budapest alone, I was confronted with the reality that I literally had two choices. I could panic, or I could trust. Being somewhat familiar with panic, I didn’t like that option, in fact I hated that option. I would do just about anything to avoid panic. Each time it came to my mind that he was alone navigating strange airports and customs in a foreign country I purposely and intentionally chose to trust God. I was able to go home from JFK airport and sleep. I was comforted by the truth that God is God of the air and God is God in the Budapest airport.
This caused me to think about spiritual applications-as I am prone to do. It occurred to me that as God calls us to obey Him, we have two choices – to obey or to disobey. Why is it, that disobedience is not as distasteful to me as panic? I refused to consider panic, yet I toy with disobedience. It seems to me, if I had a genuine sorrow over sin I would see disobedience as undesirable as panic. If you have ever had an anxiety or panic attack, you know that the first overpowering feeling is the desire to flee. Scripture tells us to flee sin…Flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18), flee from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14), flee these things (1 Timothy 6:11), Flee also youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22). When we have a “temptation attack” why isn’t our first overpowering feeling to flee? When we toy with temptation, we are making provision for the flesh. Romans 13:14, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Since we have only two choices, to obey or disobey, let us choose to cling to obedience because the option of disobedience is as abhorrent to us as it is to Jesus Christ.

Diane

Recently, we began a new facet of our Heart-to-Heart Newsletter for the women and grads of the WOC Program. Every other month we plan to share a woman’s testimony who has experiences not just God’s saving power but also His transforming power. The first, “Thus Far…” testimony went out in April. The woman that wrote that testimony recently sent the following email to Stephanie:

“I just want to thank you for getting my testimony out there. I have experienced such wonderful healing from the Lord and it’s awesome that I had a chance to share it with others.
I never realized how ashamed I was of my self and my past until I started writing my testimony. I started to figure out that the reproach that I was wearing was not of God. He has a life of victory just waiting for me to embrace! It means so much to me to get all of the things I was so ashamed of off of my chest. I feel like the power I had given the enemy is GONE! When I started to get honest with myself and then others, his grip on me was defeated. PRAISE THE LORD!
I have tears in my eyes just writing this and thinking about how far God has brought me. HE IS SO AMAZING.”

I share that with you to encourage and edify your heart. Sometimes when we are going through a season of suffering or trial we begin to believe this is all there is. Every day will be like today. In Jesus Christ there is hope for genuine change, lasting change, heart change. This woman has experienced it. You can to!
Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Diane

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:3-5

Last week we looked at people from the Bible that started well but did not finish well. This week we considered Biblical examples of those that did not start well, but finished well. I want to close out this two week series by refreshing your spirit with promises to those who finish well.

Revelation 2:7; “…To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”

Revelation 2:11; “…He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”‘

Revelation 2:17; “…To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”‘

Revelation 2:25-26; “But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations…”

Revelation 3:5; “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

Revelation 3:12; “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.”

Revelation 3:21; “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Revelation 21:7; “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”

Whether you started well or not, if you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and set your affections upon Him, if you have been regenerated, saved, born-again… you can finish well. You can prevail and overcome and inherit all things. He will be your God and you shall be His daughter.

Diane

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Acts 8:3

This week we are thinking through Biblical examples of people that did not start well but finished well. We have considered Jacob, Rahab, and today we will consider Saul/Paul. Saul was a devout Pharisee, “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” Philippians 3:4-6 He was persecuting the very church that Christ came to establish. “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciple of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”
Acts 9:1-2
One day he came face-to-face with the Living Lord. “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'” Acts 9:3-6 “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” Vs. 20.

Who are the people in your life that appear as if they will never hear, never submit, never bend their knee to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Could there be a harder heart than Saul’s? Humanly speaking, salvation seems impossible. But we’re not humanly speaking. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:23-26

When was your time on the “road to Damascus”? Even after salvation, do we not have multiple “road’s to Damascus” on which we make decisions to follow Jesus or to go our own way? To finish well, we must be sensitive and obedient to the promptings of Christ, to follow Him.

Diane

Rahab the Prostitute

Start…
We don’t know a whole lot about the beginning of Rahab’s life. However, two things that most of us know are -she was a prostitute and she is named in the lineage of our Savior, Lord and Brother, Jesus Christ.
We know nothing of her birth or how she came to be a prostitute. And you know what, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that she was chosen, just as she was, for such a time as is recorded in Joshua 2-6.

Ponder that for a moment. Do you ever fall prey to thinking you have to clean yourself up, get yourself right, correct all your wrongs, etc., etc. before you can be saved? Rahab was used by God before she was saved by Him. Imagine that. She was born into a life that somehow led her to live as a prostitute. Not a very noble beginning and yet, in spite of that, in the midst of that, the Sovereign God of the universe was aware of her individually and He gave to her the opportunity of a lifetime.

Rahab, having no relationship with God, knew of God by His deeds. Before she believed Him, she knew who He was and she knew how much the people feared Him.

Without any apparent hesitation she gives aid to the spies whom Joshua had sent. She hides them and provides a way for them to escape. Even at great risk to herself she refuses to give them up to the king of Jericho and his men.
In spite of whom she was and how she made her living, this woman who had no relationship with the God, feared Him enough to obey Him.

Finish…
This, Rahab and all the family that was with her in her home were saved -her father, mother, brothers and all the relatives with her, were moved to a safe place.

“Then the Israelites burned the city and everything in it. Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the LORD’s house. So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day.” Joshua 6:24

So, what do we know from those final words. Rahab finished well. How do we know? We can surmise from the fact that she lived among God’s people, the Israelites, that she no longer worked as a prostitute. It was by faith alone that Rahab did not die with all the other inhabitants of the land. She was made right by God with her actions.
And thus, Rahab finished well.
May it be said of us, that in spite of how we began or where we are now, we obeyed God and in faith, we believed God. May we, like Rahab, endure to the end and finish well.

Stephanie