A Word to Women of the World by Anne Graham Lotz

January 22, 2017

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  Proverbs 9:10

My oldest granddaughter, Ruth Bell, just turned fifteen. She is spectacularly beautiful, with a sweet, strong spirit. One of the birthday traditions in our family is that each of us gives the one who is being celebrated a Bible verse. The verse can be one of blessing, challenge, instruction, promise, or exhortation.  My selection of the verse I felt led to choose for Bell this year was affected by what I saw on news reports the day after the Inauguration of the 45th President of the United States.

Various news outlets played video and audio reports of hundreds of thousands of women all over the world marching in protest of President Trump. It was an incredible sight to see women flooding the streets, not only in Washington, but also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, London and dozens of other major cities. They were peaceful, vulgar, at times obscene…marching for what? They claimed to represent all women, yet a common denominator seemed missing, unless it was fear of President Trump and the possibility that he may interfere with their right to easily accessible abortion for anyone and everyone, at any time, and for any reason.

When I opened my Bible the morning following the march of women, this is what I read in my previously scheduled devotions for the day: Proverbs 9:13-15, 18:  The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge.  She sits at the door of her house, (wives, mothers, soccer moms) on a seat at the highest point of the city (in the workplace, in leadership positions), calling out to those who pass by…But little do they know…that her guests are in the depths of the grave.  

My heart aches for many of the women I saw marching…women who have joined a “movement” that is deceptive and in the end, will be destructive and lead them to a spiritual and moral “grave.”[1] I pray earnestly for them to turn to the one, true, living God, who is the only One who can give them the deep, permanent peace, love, hope, and security we all long for.

With these sights and sounds still fresh on my mind, the verse that I have chosen for our beloved Bell is one I share with you, too: Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Proverbs 31:30

My prayer for beloved Bell…and for the women of the world…is that as she fears God and seeks to grow in her personal knowledge of Him, she would become a woman of great wisdom and understanding who shuns evil and serves Him faithfully.[2]

Abilities over Appearance... by Heather Clark

Today we're often judged on our appearance rather than our abilities. When will we say enough? I'm fed up with this whole surface over soul. T.V. commercials, radio, magazines, friends, and even partners too, all say and promote this be you, but be perfect too... And even worse in the midst of trying to embody the right amount of athleticism, beauty, brains, and popularity; we lose ourselves.

I mean after we have a face full of make up, the hair color for that month, and the body that's in style, do we even know who we are anymore? A society caught up in looks... for what? Can someone answer that for me? Why are looks so important and more important than being real, having a heart, and even great character? Being so caught up in my looks should've killed me. It robbed me of my identity. I became so disconnected with who I actually was at my core. Quit societys' standards and its definition of normal. Stop trying to be perfect in every way.

Perfection is unattainable. You lose more than you ever gain. You lose who God created you to be, and if we could reach perfection he would've never sent us Jesus. If you follow the world and define yourself by its standards, you will never be good enough. You will always come up short. All the security, worth, and confidence you will ever need is found in God. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be pretty, however we shouldn't focus so much on that, that we lose who we are. There's a balance with everything. Join me in quitting societys' standards that are forever changing, and instead focus on being drop dead gorgeous on the inside. Inner beauty, that beauty lasts forever.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. - 1 Peter  3:3-4

New Year, New You... by Heather Clark

We hear it every year, new year, new me…We set these goals to be faster, lose weight, become successful, and so forth. My question is always why… why do we wait for a new year to finally decide the changes we want to make and see happen in our lives? Is pointing out our flaws really a good way to start our year?

I personally don’t believe New Years day should be different than any other day. Don’t get offended with me, as I don’t mean to steal your joy or excitement for the New Year! I love holidays as much as everyone else, in fact any reason to get together with friends and laugh I’m all for. But how often do we set our New Year’s resolutions and then fail after a couple months? It happens all the time because without a serious mental breakthrough they will never work. You see it’s more than just saying and writing on your calendar your goals. We have to address the underlying issue.

For example, if you’re into double cheeseburgers on the regular basis and you want to quit fast food going into the New Year… you have to figure out why it is you order the cheeseburgers in the first place and go from there. I guess what I’m saying is; is that we should turn away from old resolutions and focus on going into the New Year with a new mindset or attitude that will allow us to make better choices. Stop being so harsh on ourselves and writing these long-to-do lists of what needs to change, and start doing things that feel right for us and our lives.

This year lets not get so caught up in all our bad that we forget all the areas in which we’re good. New Year resolutions are not meant to focus on our flaws but rather to keep improving. I hope everyone has a Happy New Year, and remember this life is a gift from God!

2017 here we go!

The Book of Hosea can teach us a lot! by Mandy Greer

In the beginning of the Book of Hosea it talks about God telling Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman. Hosea marries Gomer and conceived three children. The children were all named by God. But she was not faithful to Hosea. It then goes on to talk about God speaking to his people and the promises that were given to Abraham. A new leader will bring Israel and Judah back together. In Chapter 2 it talked about the punishment and restoration that took place. God is the ultimate judge in life. In this chapter Hosea mentions that God will decide what to do about Israel. In this case, he wants his children to argue with their mother and that he wants Gomer to return to him. Gomer will pay for her sins. But God never stopped loving her.

This parable teaches us that God is always in control. We will be judged for our lives. But God loves us with a very special love. A love that we cannot understand. How wonderful is that? Even though we can stray away in life, God will always love us and be here for us. We need to repent of those sins and start fresh daily.

We are God's people! When we are born, we need God. But throughout life, we allow things to take the place of God. It can be things like social media, our family, work, TV, and any number of things. But what we need to realize is that we need to make time for God, every day! This is not a "when I feel like it" statement. This should be a blessing to us. Being able to have time with the ONE who created us and who has so graciously given us life, should be honored and respected. We should look forward to that time. God loves us so much that he sent his Son to die for us. We may stray away but know that God is here and will never stop showing that love. We need to slow down in life and meet with him daily.

I pray for everyone reading this that you will allow your time with God to be special. I pray the Holy Spirit fills you and gives you peace and love in your life. You are so special and created for a purpose. You are God's child and are blessed. I pray we all can slow down in life and really take time to spend with our Heavenly Father and thank him for his love and blessings.

God bless each of you.

Naughty or Nice... by Heather Clark

It is make or break it. Your whole year has built up to this point. Children will wonder if they will get a car or celery? Candy or coal in their stockings. As Christmas gets closer, they will then try extra hard to suck up to the gift givers, call up relatives they haven't spoken to in a few months, refrain from attacking their siblings; no matter how annoying they seem to be, and try to make an A in their classes.

But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Is it the gifts, the trees, the lights, the cards, the dinners, the shows, family time, stockings, and Santa? For many people that is certainly not it. They don't have the money, they don't have the kids to buy presents for, or maybe they're missing a loved one no longer around. Despite these things Christmas is still a holiday that brings much joy, because it is a time when we're reminded of God's great love for us.

Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ. God sent his son Jesus into the world to be born. He sent his son into this cruel hard world so that one day he would bring salvation to us all, otherwise we all would've died in our sins. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Regardless of what is happening in our lives we can be happy knowing Heaven will be our home one day. I want to encourage you to invite Jesus into your heart this year, and to remember it's not the gifts, trees, lights, or even Santa but rather Jesus is the reason for the season. Enjoy your family and friends and thank God for sending us his one and only son. 

Have a Merry Christmas!

Do you Desire a Changed Life? by Debbie McGrath

Salvation is not the end - it is the beginning of a changed life.
A changed life involves a journey toward a deeper relationship with Christ.
Every day we should desire:

• To learn, understand and apply God's Word to our lives     
• To obey God's command
• To store God's Word in our heart
• To evangelize - sharing Christ with others
• To encourage other believers
• To renew ourselves spiritually every day

Every single one of us should be closer to Christ today than we were a year ago,

or even a month ago.  

How do you make sure that your spiritual life is thriving and not stagnant?

The first thing is you have to be a self-feeder and teach others to be a self-feeder.

We have to read our bibles - not just on Sundays - but we strive to read our bibles

daily!  Bible study and prayer are the basic keys to having a deeper relationship with God.  

When we spend time in God's word, the goal is not to learn new information, but also be transformed by what we are learning.  We should expect to be challenged by what we read. 

Note to remember: As you study and grow, being a self-feeder - you are not merely learning for your own benefit, but also for the benefit of others.

Living a life of Thanks-living!

While many associate Thanksgiving Day with family, overeating and over-shopping, it should propel us toward a heart of gratitude. It is a time to consider God's goodness, grace, and provision for us. He is the Author of encouragement, help, and hope. I like to think of Thanksgiving as trust-giving and thanks-living.

It is an act of trust-giving to be thankful even in the hard places of life. When things go well it is easy to forget to pause and say thank you to the Giver of those good things. Thanksgiving should not be a one day event, but a life committed to thanks-living each day. Paul exhorts us to give thanks in all circumstances. He said the Bible points us in the right direction. "Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom 15:4).

God's covenantal relationship with us is the basis for thanks-living. God said, "I will maintain My love to him forever, and My covenant with him will never fail" (Ps 89:28). The psalmist said, "He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever- holy and awesome is His name" (Ps 111:9). We partner with God when we affirm that we are holding on to Him and His goodness. Our thanksgiving testifies to others that He is worthy of trust.

Thanksgiving is a lifestyle, not a day. Can we commit to willing everything that God wills and cultivating a grateful heart that finds the goodness of God in all things even the hard things?

May you be blessed daily with a heart ready to praise God for all things in sincere trust-giving and thanks-living. 

Written by Sylvia Gunter