Barcelona, Spain 1992 Olympics

Derek Redmond was one of the best. His awards were many and included World Silver and Gold Medals in the 400m and 4 x 400m competitions. He had trained and prepared for the 1992 Olympics. He knew the risks. As an athlete in the 1988 Olympics an Achilles tendon injury forced him to withdraw only a few moments before the race.

Four years and five surgeries later, he was determined to medal in the 400. Barcelona would be his opportunity. No matter what, he would finish strong. During each qualifying race, Derek ran well, recording the fastest time of the first round and winning his quarter-final heat.

Jim Redmond, his father watched in anticipation as Derek settled into the starting blocks for the semi-final race. Derek got off to a clean start and quickly took the lead. His win looked imminent. Then the unthinkable happened. With a pop, his right hamstring muscle tore, and he fell to the ground in agony. Jim, seeing his son in trouble raced from the top row of the stands.

Determined to finish, Derek lifted himself to his feet, his leg quivering, and ever so slowly, hobbled down the track, waving away the oncoming medical personnel. He limped onward, his tear-stained face twisted in agony. The race now over, the crowd of 65,000 rose to their feet and began to cheer. The volume louder and louder as Redmond, in searing pain took one painful step at a time.

His father finally reached the bottom of the stands, leapt over the railing, and with two security officers chasing after him, ran to help. “I’m here, son,” Jim said softly, as he hugged his boy. “We’ll finish together.” Sobbing, Derek placed his arm around his father’s shoulders.

Arm in arm, they continued their painful journey. Just before the finish, Jim released Derek. He completed the course on his own. The crowd in total frenzy responded with a standing ovation. With tears in his eyes, Jim Redmond told the press afterwards. “I’m the proudest father alive. I’m prouder of him than I would have been if he had won the gold medal.”

Derek Redmond’s name will be remembered long after records are broken and medals tarnish. He persevered, and with his father’s help, finished strong.

We too are in a race—the race of life. Our Heavenly Father is our ever-present help. He will never leave or forsake us. He will hold us close, welcoming us home as we cross our final finish line.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV).

Lisa Buffaloe is a madly in love with God, Christ-follower, happily-married, mom, writer/blogger/speaker. God has helped her through molestation by a baby-sitter, assault, rape, divorce, cancer, death, seven surgeries, and years of chronic illness due to Lyme Disease. For more information, please visit http://www.lisabuffaloe.com/

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

Giving Ourselves To God

We may think to not be self-seeking means that we have to please everyone. The Bible tells us to deny ourselves and lay down our lives for others, but if we learn from Jesus’ example, He didn’t live to please everyone. He lived to please God by doing His will, which was for the benefit of everyone.

In order to lay down our lives for the benefit of others we have to first lay down our will and submit it over to God. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

After trying everything I possibly could, I hit a point in my life where I gave up and basically said to God, “Here I am Lord. If You can do anything with my life and have anything planned for me, I’m all Yours.” I stopped trying to plan my life and stopped seeking my own will, and that is when I opened the door for God to live His will through me.

As we give ourselves to God, He works His love in us and enables us to love others. 1 John 4:7-8 says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Being married and having four young children who constantly need my attention, sometimes I feel like all I do is give of myself and at the end of the day there’s nothing left in me. I’ve learned that I need to spend time daily with God and allow Him to continually fill me with His love in order to keep giving myself to others.

We can’t give something that we don’t have. We can’t give ourselves to others when we’re spiritually empty. Jesus often went without food to keep preaching and meeting the needs of others, but He never neglected His relationship with God as we see in Luke 5:16, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

We will just be left spiritually and emotionally drained if we keep trying to do things for others without allowing God to work His love in us. We need to take the time to spend with God and allow Him to fill us with His love in order to share it with others.

Giving Ourselves To Others

As we commit ourselves over to God we can focus on loving others. God wants to fulfill our needs and desires while using us to bless others. I’m amazed at seeing how God meets my needs when He prompts me to commit whatever I’m facing over to Him and moves me to meet someone else’s need.

About a year ago, my husband and I were both hit with car trouble four consecutive times in a row. We would drop off one car to be fixed and then something would happen to the other and then we’d have to keep switching them out. By the fourth time my car needed to be fixed, my husband suggested that we wait since it was still drivable, and we had spent all we had on the other repairs.

A short time later, as the problem continued, I started to fall into self-pity. God quickly humbled me by informing me of a couple I knew who had gone through an extremely rough year, financially, emotionally, and physically. My problems didn’t even compare to what they had been through. I was moved by their situation and eagerly wanted to reach out and help them. I asked my husband even though I wasn’t sure we could even afford it. My husband was for it so I knew God was moving us to help them and He’d take care of us.

After reaching out to them, I got into my car to go home. When I turned on the ignition I instantly noticed the problem was gone. I was just amazed at how God took care of us while using us to take care of someone else.

God wants to meet our needs and bless us, but when our minds are on ourselves we miss out on what God has for us and miss out on meeting the needs of others.

There are many different ways God wants to use us to meet people’s needs. When we follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit He will show us what people need. Like Jesus, sometimes what God prompts us to do won’t necessarily make us feel good or please others, but it will be what is needed.

I had to do something for someone one time that was very difficult. I actually prayed for God not to have me do it because I knew this person wouldn’t respond well. Nevertheless, I ended up laying down my will and obeying God. And even though this person wasn’t happy with me, I eventually saw the changes God brought about in their life. This showed me that it was truly for their benefit.

People will not always approve of us, but when we lay down our needs for others, and seek God’s will, lives will truly be changed, ours included!

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 John 3:16

Amanda Beth is a wife and mother of four children, and author of an upcoming book titled: YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY FAMILY Steps to Enjoying Your Marriage and Children. She has been married for 14 years and has experienced transformation in her life and marriage since she surrendered her heart to Christ ten years ago. http://www.amandabeth.net/

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

There are three ways we can convey rudeness. We do it either by our words, our attitude, or our actions.

Rude Remarks
It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet.
Proverbs 11:12 NLT

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and then suddenly you’re hit by a rude remark that was meant to purposely bring you down? Then shocked and hurt, it takes everything you have to keep from striking back?

I have been on both the giving and receiving end of rude remarks. There have been people I’ve dreaded being around because their harsh, critical spirit leaves me feeling completely belittled. Yet I can’t judge them because I’ve done the same thing to others.

In the past, if I saw something wrong with someone, I’d let them know by criticizing them with a rude comment, hoping it would open their eyes. Every time I did that the big plank in my eye continued to grow, blinding me even more from my own faults (Matthew 7:4-5).

Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” We are walking around each day speaking death or life into the lives of those around us and reaping the fruit of it in our own lives.
 
James 3:6 says, The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. We reap what we sow. If we speak words of life that encourage and bless others, we will be encouraged and blessed in return.

Rude Attitude
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 2:5

Our attitude causes us to be rude to others. If we don’t change our attitude we will continue to spew out fiery remarks. Just last week, as I was preparing this message, I had to get up three times to open the front door for my husband because he either forgot something or had something to tell me. I started to get annoyed and by the third time I was rolling my eyes and shaking my head.

God quickly convicted me that I was getting an attitude. If I hadn’t yielded to that conviction I would’ve been rude to my husband. If God hadn’t helped me stop it that morning, I would’ve held on to it through my day and it would’ve continued to affect my attitude.

Even if we don’t physically say anything rude, our attitude and our tone of voice can convey rudeness. Rolling our eyes, huffing under our breath, being sarcastic, complaining, and being impatient, all convey a rude attitude.

We need to pray for our attitude to be like Christ’s and live by His example.

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
John 13:15

Rude Actions
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…
Matthew 7:12

We don’t always have to have a bad attitude or say anything wrong to come off as rude. Our actions play just as important of a role. There are many things people do today that is just plain rude. Here’s just to name a few:

Do you borrow things from people but never return them? My mother literally returns everything that is not hers. She will even drive thirty minutes to my house just to drop off something I accidentally left at her house.

Do you park in a handicap spot when you have two perfectly well able legs to walk on? I remember as a teenager thinking it was so cool to take my friend’s dad’s car to the mall because he had a handicap sticker and we could get front row parking. I never thought about those who actually needed to be in the front row because of a handicap.

Do you interrupt people when they’re talking? Do you blurt out replies before listening to what they have to say? Proverbs 18:13 says, answering before listening is both stupid and rude (MSG). I am so guilty of this verse that I even find myself replying to an email before I’m done reading it.

Do you ever make promises and not follow through with them? People highly respect those who are reliable and trustworthy. It’s nice to have people you can truly count on to do what they say they are going to do, and to be there when they say they are going to be there.

Do you ignore the “Please RSVP” when you receive an invitation? I have had parties where I ran out of food because people showed up that never told me they were coming. I have also had parties where I had a lot of food leftover because those who said they were coming never showed up.

Do you ignore someone because you don’t want to tell them no? When I was researching the publishing industry I was amazed at how many people I had inquired for information that completely ignored me. I found such respect for those who took the time to answer me even when it was just to say, “Sorry, I cannot help you.”

We should think about others in every situation and do to them as we would want them to do to us. This is how we truly love others, by showing consideration and thinking of them.

For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:21

Amanda Beth is a wife and mother of four children, and author of an upcoming book titled: YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY FAMILY Steps to Enjoying Your Marriage and Children. She has been married for 14 years and has experienced transformation in her life and marriage since she surrendered her heart to Christ ten years ago. http://www.amandabeth.net/

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

Pride is something that we all struggle with because it basically comes down to not submitting to God’s authority in some area of our life.

The Bible gives us many warnings against pride and the repercussions it brings. I will only focus on a few but I encourage you to study it on your own asking God to show you and help you in the areas you struggle with pride.

Pride Deceives

When I worked as a server at a restaurant, I waited on a family one time that appeared to be very wealthy. While the father stepped away from the table the family cautioned me to do everything he requested perfectly and on time. They basically told me he was not to be disappointed at all.

I instantly felt intimidated and was on edge the entire time I waited on them. After they left I thought how deceived this man was. He thought because of his wealth he was higher than anyone else and deserved absolute perfection. Galatians 6:3 says,

“If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Pride blinds us of our true value and the value of others. When we’re caught in pride, we inflate our value and devalue others. When in reality we all have the same value. No one in this world is greater or less than anyone. Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The smartest, most successful man in the world is no different than a homeless drug-addict in God’s eyes. We’re all sinners and Christ died for every one of us.

When we measure ourselves to others we will either feed our own pride or tear ourselves down. When we see ourselves and others as God sees us, we will keep from thinking we’re better than or inferior to others. 2 Corinthians 10:12 says, “Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!” (NLT)

Pride Destroys

Pride is what led to Satan’s destruction. If he could become prideful after knowing God in His full glory, then how much more susceptible are we to pride. In 1Timothy 3:6, as Paul was giving warning against putting a new convert in the position of an overseer of the church, He stated, “he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.”

When we fall into pride, we stand against God who opposes the proud. When we ignore God and try to handle our life on our own, we open the door to Satan’s deception and influence. He deceives us by telling us we don’t need God so He can drag us down with him. Proverbs 16:18 says,

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Whenever I fall into pride, thinking I’m so wise, God humbles me by allowing me to fall. This opens my eyes to see my weaknesses, and it reminds me that I can do nothing without God. I am absolutely nothing without Him.

Praise God that even though we do fall, He is always there waiting to help us when we’re ready to humble ourselves and accept His help. Proverbs 24:16 says, “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.” (NLT) “Godly” means “righteous.” We are made righteous when we receive Jesus. Without Jesus, we have nothing to protect us when we fall.

Pride Humiliates

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve acted in pride and found out later that it only made me look stupid. Those who are caught in pride are blinded from reality. Everyone else but them can see their folly.

This is one of the reasons why God tells us to listen to advice, because when we’re caught in pride we don’t see our own faults. Proverbs 13:10 says, “Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”

God will often try to reach and humble us through others. If we don’t humble ourselves, we’ll continue to make a fool of ourselves. Proverbs 19:20 says, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”

Loving God Keeps Us Humble

Sometimes I think the more we grow with Christ, the more tendencies we have to fall into pride. We have to be careful that we don’t start thinking we’re holier than others and forgetting that it’s God who sanctifies us, not us. 1 Corinthians 4:7 says, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”

Those who are proud and compare their sins to others, instead of to God’s Holiness, will not be merciful to others. Pride does not promote love, it tears people down. We can’t love others when we think we’re better than them.

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 says, “…of course we know that all of us possess knowledge [concerning these matters. Yet mere] knowledge causes people to be puffed up (to bear themselves loftily and be proud), but love (affection and goodwill and benevolence) edifies and builds up and encourages one to grow [to his full stature].

If anyone imagines that he has come to know and understand much [of divine things, without love], he does not yet perceive and recognize and understand as strongly and clearly, nor has he become as intimately acquainted with anything as he ought or as is necessary.

But if one loves God truly [with affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, and grateful recognition of His blessing], he is known by God [recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love, and he is owned by Him].” (AMP)

All the knowledge and wisdom we receive from God does us nothing if we don’t love others. People aren’t interested in how much we know, they’re looking for true genuine love, the kind of love that only God can give. We have to love God in order to love others. As this verse says, to love God is to have reverence for Him, to be obedient to Him, and to be grateful for what He has given us.

I’ve found the best way for me to stay out of pride is to be continually filled with praise and awe of what God has done in my life. Just remembering where I used to be, and where I still should be, and seeing where He has taken me, fills my heart with gratitude and keeps me humble. We often think about all that God has not done for us instead of praising Him for all that He has done.

We can see this in Luke 17, where Jesus healed ten men of leprosy. Only one of them, when he saw he was healed, came back praising God and threw himself at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving. In verse 17-18 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

Also in 2 Chronicles 32:24-31, we see King Hezekiah’s pride. Verse 24-26 says, “In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.”

God does so much for us that He deserves our utmost respect and praise. Praise keeps us humble because it keeps us focused on God and not ourselves. When our hearts are filled with gratitude toward God we will stay out of pride.

Amanda Daubenmeyer is a wife and mother of four children, and author of an upcoming book titled: YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY FAMILY Steps to Enjoying Your Marriage and Children. She has been married for 14 years and has experienced transformation in her life and marriage since she surrendered her heart to Christ ten years ago. http://www.amandadaubenmeyer.com/

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

“Love does not boast” happens to be a popular saying in our household. Whenever one of my kids receives something special, or praise for doing good, they immediately run to tell their siblings. The siblings then get jealous and tell the one who is bragging not to boast. They usually then come running to my husband or me and squeal on the one who is boasting.

It’s hard not to boast. When we’re excited about something, we want to run and tell everyone. But just like with my kids, not everyone is going to share in our excitement. So does this mean we should never share anything good with anyone?

At one time, I made my mind up that I was not going to talk about anything that had to do with me when I was conversing with someone. This went okay for the first ten minutes, but when they’d ask about me, I’d give a quick reply and switch the conversation back to them. This made it uncomfortable for me and the one I was conversing with. I’d have to come up with a bunch of questions for them and they would have to focus on themselves by answering all my questions. This actually made me force people to boast about themselves.

It didn’t take long for me to learn that there has to be a balance and boasting is not completely wrong. 2 Corinthians 10:13 says,

“We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.”

Verses 17-18 say, “But, ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

I learned that boasting about the things I produce by my own effort only leads to pride. Whereas, boasting about the things the Lord produces in and through me, that will benefit others, leads to glorifying and praising God. If no one ever shared how God has worked in their life, we would never be motivated to press on and take hold of all that God has for us. It blesses me to hear how God works in others, because I know that He has no favorites. If I hear that He is working in your life, then I know He will work in mine. This kind of boasting stirs people’s faith. The other kind of boasting stirs nothing but our own pride.

This doesn’t mean we share with everyone everything God does for us. The Apostle Paul set an example for us to learn the proper limits of boasting. In 2 Corinthians 12:1-6 he stated,

“I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.”

Paul boasted in others and only things in himself that would benefit others. Even though he could boast about all the marvelous revelations he received from God, and be telling the truth, he still chose to refrain himself so that people wouldn’t think higher of him than they ought.

Not everyone wants to hear about all the good God is doing in our lives. We need to be sensitive to those we are conversing with and know when to refrain ourselves when we’re around those who don’t want to hear it.

When God called me to step out and write my first book on marriage, I was so excited that I wanted to tell everyone. I quickly found out that everyone wouldn’t share my excitement. This only brought me down and did nothing to help others.

A friend told me recently that God warns us about sharing our visions with everyone. It only hurts us and feeds other people’s envy and jealousy, as we can learn from the story of Joseph. He didn’t act wisely by sharing his dream with his brothers and father in Genesis 37, even though his heart was right and he was telling the truth.

2 Corinthians 11:30 says, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” Instead of sharing only the good God was doing in my life, I should’ve shared all the attacks and testing that came along with the great blessing. I should’ve shared how many times I fell and wanted to give up during that time. I should’ve shared how my marriage was tested to the point where I felt I was completely unqualified to teach anyone anything about marriage.

When we share our weaknesses and trials along with our blessings, it helps others relate because no one walks through life continually blessed and free of trials. When we only share our good, it makes others wonder what they’re doing wrong. Our weaknesses help others to know that they are not alone. I learn the most from those who share their struggles and how God worked in those struggles.

Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise and skillful person glory and boast in his wisdom and skill; let not the mighty and powerful person glory and boast in his strength and power; let not the person who is rich [in physical gratification and earthly wealth] glory and boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] riches;

But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24 (AMP)

Let us not bring glory to ourselves. Let us boast about the things of the Lord that will benefit others and bring glory to God!

Amanda Daubenmeyer is a wife and mother of four children, and author of an upcoming book titled: YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY FAMILY Steps to Enjoying Your Marriage and Children. She has been married for 14 years and has experienced transformation in her life and marriage since she surrendered her heart to Christ ten years ago. http://www.amandadaubenmeyer.com/

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

To be envious means to be discontent with who we are and what we have, and to be jealous of someone else and covet what they have.

The Amplified Bible defines envy as “an evil eye” because it is not of God, it is of the enemy. James 3:14-16 says, “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” When we allow envy into our hearts we open the door to the enemy and lead ourselves into deception.

I used to be constantly envious of others. If I saw someone wearing an outfit I liked or having a certain look I wanted, I’d be searching for that outfit and figuring out how to change my appearance. I remember buying eyebrow stencils that were shaped like my favorite movie stars’ brows because I wanted to look like them. I don’t know how I thought having their eyebrow shape would make me all of a sudden look like them. It actually did the opposite. It looked completely ridiculous on me.

I was young and naive and very insecure. I always had to have something that someone else had or had to be better than others to feel good about myself. I was in constant competition with others. I remember my husband and I even having car payments almost double our house payment because we wanted the best. We always had to have the latest and greatest new thing that was out, and when someone would have better, we would want it.

I look back now and see how much work and effort it was to keep up and stay ahead of everyone. How miserable it was for me to constantly live in discontentment. I praise God that He rescued me, changed my heart, and showed me my true identity and value in Christ. God has given me such freedom by teaching me how to be content with myself and not have to compete with others.

God doesn’t want us to be envious of anyone because He has something uniquely special for each and every one of us. We are each gifted and called to a special purpose. If we always want what someone else has, we will miss out on what God has for us.

I’ve found that most of the things I thought I had to have, and was envious of in others, I didn’t even want. Envy completely deceives and blinds us of our true heart’s desires. That’s why the Bible calls it an evil eye, because we don’t see the truth when we harbor envy in our hearts. We are looking through a distorted eye.

I could share with you story after story about how envy distorted the truth in my life. I chased after so many things that I never truly wanted because I was so blinded by envy. One example was when I was younger, before I knew Christ. During this time, I had been trying for many years to pursue a modeling career. People had told me since I was an early teen that I should be a model because of my height. As I got older, the more I heard it from people the more I wanted to pursue it. I did everything I could to pursue this career and spent a lot of time and money trying to make it happen.

Then one day, in my early twenties, I finally succeeded and got into an agency. When it actually came time to do it, and I learned I had to do all kinds of things to keep up my appearance and be ready to leave town when they wanted me to, I suddenly realized that modeling was not something I wanted to do. I had coveted it for so long that I never actually stopped to think about what it entailed.

Envy completely blinds and deceives us. It makes us think we need something that we actually don’t even want. Proverbs 14:30 says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”

Envy literally sucks the life out of us because it makes us never satisfied. I wasn’t satisfied when I finally succeeded and got into a modeling agency. I was actually mad that I wasted all that time and money chasing after something I never really wanted in the first place.

And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 4:4

I remember the freedom I felt when I finally laid down everything I was chasing after and gave my will in exchange for God’s will. When I stopped wanting what others had I became free to be me. It is freedom not to have to prove ourselves to anyone and not to have to try and chase after things that will never end up satisfying us.

By being content with what God has given me, He has been able to bring out His true heart’s desires in me. I could never see those desires before because they were buried under envy, greed, and worldly lusts. I can honestly now look at others who succeed and be truly happy for them because I know I will succeed in whatever God’s will is for me. I don’t need to chase after what someone else has because I have my own purpose.

Last summer, God revealed several promises and plans He had for me. As I was believing Him for these promises, I saw someone else have an amazing breakthrough in the same area I was believing for. Instead of being envious, I sincerely felt happy for this person. As I was telling God how amazing it was that He did this for this person, I instantly heard Him say, “Wait until you see what I do for you!”

I know without a doubt that was God speaking to me because I wasn’t even thinking about my breakthrough. I was just happy for this person and amazed at seeing God work. I honestly don’t think I would’ve been able to hear from God had I been envious of them.

God is speaking His will to us but we won’t hear it if we are envious of others and chasing after things that are not for us. We need to lay down our will in exchange for His perfect will. That is the only way we will be truly satisfied with our lives.

God is speaking this to you today, “Wait until you see what I do for you!”

Let not your heart envy sinners: but be you in the fear of the LORD all the day long. Proverbs 23:17 AKJV

Amanda Daubenmeyer is a wife and mother of four children, and author of an upcoming book titled: YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY FAMILY Steps to Enjoying Your Marriage and Children. She has been married for 14 years and has experienced transformation in her life and marriage since she surrendered her heart to Christ ten years ago. http://www.amandadaubenmeyer.com/

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

Colossians 3:12 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
 
We can’t put on something that we don’t have. If we don’t believe we are made holy by Jesus, and unconditionally loved by God, then we won’t be able to put on any of these characteristics of love. If we are constantly thinking God is disappointed in us, we won’t be able to move forward in allowing Him to work in us. We may show acts of kindness toward others, but we won’t be able to truly feel mercy for them when we’re not being merciful with ourselves.

We need to look at ourselves as God sees us. When God looks at us, He sees HIS perfection in us. He sees what His power working in us can accomplish. Philippians 1:6 says, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” And Psalm 138:8 says, “The LORD will accomplish what concerns me; Your loving kindness, O LORD, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” (NASB)

If God sees us as patient, kind, and loving already, then it should encourage and motivate us to live up to that. We too often think about what a wretched sinner we are, when we should be thinking that we’re God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.
 
When I’m always thinking about how bad I am, I find myself falling into sin because I’m so down on myself that I am easily led astray. I unconsciously live up to what I think about myself. I am a sinner so I live to that.

But when we see ourselves as God sees us, we will want to live up to it. It motivates us to live holy lives because we don’t have that constant feeling of failure. Galatians 5:13 says, “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.”

We don’t ever have to worry if we’re doing enough to please God. God has set us free because of His great mercy and love for us, so that we can show mercy and love for others.

Does this mean we should never feel sorrow for our sins? No, we are to confess and repent when we purposely do something wrong (1 John 1:9). But when God is working with us in an area, we don’t need to beat ourselves up every time we fall. When my baby was learning how to walk, I didn’t yell at him every time he fell. I just lifted him back up and encouraged him to keep trying. This is how God is with us. He doesn’t get mad at us whenever we fall. He lifts us back up and encourages and helps us to learn to walk in His Spirit.

Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand in support and upholds him. Psalm 37:24 AMP

We can look at the woman in Luke 7:37-38 who wet Jesus’ feet with her tears because of her sinful life. In verse 50, Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” She didn’t continue to cling to His feet, nor did she run back to Him in tears every time she slipped up after that. She went away in peace that day knowing she was completely forgiven for her past, present, and future sins.
 
Verse 47 says, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Only once we begin to grasp how much we have been forgiven for, will we be able to love others greatly. Once we realize how many times we have offended God and turned our hearts away from Him, we will have no excuse but to show mercy to others.

Our world needs to see true merciful kindness. There are not many people who are truly merciful, including, sadly, many Christians. You can’t dare make one mistake or say anything wrong or people will cut you off and turn their back on you. Or, better yet, when you actually do what is right, people will hate you even more because your loving-kindness convicts them of their own wrong doing. You can’t win either way with people.

Thank God that He’s not that way with us. He never gives up on us. He’s always merciful and kind to us. Isaiah 30:18 says, “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion….”

We need to follow His example by being merciful and kind to everyone, including ourselves.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

Amanda Daubenmeyer is a wife and mother of four children, and author of an upcoming book titled: YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY FAMILY Steps to Enjoying Your Marriage and Children. She has been married for 14 years and has experienced transformation in her life and marriage since she surrendered her heart to Christ ten years ago. http://www.amandadaubenmeyer.com/

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

So what is the fascination with a royal wedding? Simply one word – romance. This is a true life fairy tale. This is Kings and Queens in the making, it is the Royal family and all that entails.

But we all know how real a fairy tale truly is. Many of you will remember when Prince Williams parents were married. That royal wedding, also dubbed a “fairy tale wedding,” took place when Charles, Prince of Wales wed Lady Diana Spenser, whom the press called, “Shy Di” at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on the 29th of July 1981. The world watched as Diana turned from being a wall flower to a ravishing Princess whom millions tried to emulate. She was beautiful and had a sense of style and grace which matched her royal title.

But as the years passed, we saw the marriage fall apart and become riddled with affairs and betrayal. What seemed like a fairy tale had become such a nightmare that a once “Shy Di” suffered from bulimia and contemplated suicide. Ultimately as we all know that “perfect” union ended in divorce.

So if all the money, power and prestige is not enough to keep a marriage together, what is? And is there really any such thing as the “perfect marriage” or “fairy tale marriage?” I believe the only mature answer to this question is a resounding NO! But so many in society today strive to have all, do all, and be all. We base what our lives should look like by what we read in fictional novels and watch on TV or see in movies. Then when our spouse does not act like these characters, we get discouraged, angry or resentful wondering what we did wrong or if we married the wrong person.

Another huge detriment to a marriage is selfishness. Marriage requires a constant outpouring of self. Most divorces are caused by one or both partners insisting on having it their way or the highway. We have become such a throwaway society that even marriage is not longer sacred. We believe that if we are not getting OUR needs met by our significant other, THEY are the ones that need to change. We have become so self focused that we don’t even know the meaning of self sacrifice.

Being submissive has gotten a bad name due to the equal lib and women’s movements. As women we are told that if we get our husbands a cup of coffee in the morning that we are being submissive and taken advantage of. Yet wouldn’t you like the same from your spouse? What does gender have to do with it? Man has taken what God had intended for good and twisted it deceiving many and creating chaos. Ephesians 5:22-24 tells us,

“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”

Now this does not mean we are to allow ourselves to be treated poorly. In fact, the men have a huge expectation to live up to as well. In Ephesians 5:25-33 we go on to learn what is usually ignored by women’s rights activists and we learn what a husband’s responsibility is to his wife.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

God has a perfect plan for marriage. He would never ask us to do anything that would harm us, nor would he allow someone else the right to harm or treat us poorly. We are commanded to submit to our husbands, but with that our husbands have the responsibility to love us as Christ loves the church. That is total and complete selfless love.

But as humans we live with a sin nature and though we strive for perfection we will never achieve it while we are in these fleshly bodies. But we can work every day to bless our spouses and to not expect perfect spouses or perfect marriages, but enjoy the perfect moments of our marriages. Our model should not be that of the Royal family, or even the family next door. We need to work on living as God would have us live. Only then do any of our marriages truly have a chance.

So go ahead, watch, and enjoy the celebration of the Royal wedding on TV. I plan to. But I will be constantly reminding myself of the blessings God has given me in my own life and family. And I will remember to keep my eyes focused on Jesus and live in this world, not of it.

Lynn
Lynn Kennedy
Associate Publisher, Director of Women’s Ministry
http://www.ChristianTimesOnline.com

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

The first description of love just so happens to be the one thing I struggle the most with. My husband would probably tell you if you looked up the antonym for patience you’d find my name. In fact, I remember rushing through a teaching one time on patience and having to go back over it and read it again. I’m impatient even when trying to learn about patience.

It’s not a coincidence this is the first thing used to describe love. God knows patience is something we all need help with.
When I used to lead women’s Bible studies in my home, one of the ladies asked us to pray for her to have patience. Everyone in the room quickly jumped and responded with “Oh no! You don’t want to pray for that! You’ll be tested!”

No one wants to be tested with patience because that means we’ll have to wait for something. However, I am learning that patience isn’t really about the waiting, it’s about our attitude we display while we’re waiting.I was actually tested in this area while studying for this message. I was in a hurry one day when I quickly stopped to get my kids something to eat through the drive-thru. After I drove away, I realized they forgot to give me one of the items I ordered. As I was grumbling over the fact that I had to go back and wait in the long drive-thru line when I was already running late, my daughter calls out from the back seat, “Mom, aren’t you studying patience this week?” I responded with a yes and asked her how she knew that. Her response was, “Because whenever you study patience you get impatient. Here my nine-year-old daughter can see when I’m being tested. It doesn’t feel too good when God humbles you through your children. However, it shows me that I obviously need to be tested because I keep failing in this area.

Colossians 1:11 says, “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” (ESV)

If you think about it, we spend most of our life waiting, so we have many opportunities the devil can use to tempt us to lose our patience. We need to stand  guard against these traps by keeping a good attitude, especially when something comes up unexpectedly.

I remember losing my patience one time when my husband said to me, “The devil is just laughing at you because you fell right into his trap.” That angered me that I was making the devil happy by my lack of self-control.

 2 Peter 1:6, 8 in the Amplified Bible tells us… in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness  (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety)…For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will  keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

Self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit God has given us (Galatians 5:22-23). When we exercise knowledge (discernment) in situations where we are tempted to lose our patience, the fruit of self-control starts to develop. We don’t instantly walk in self-control; it has to develop in us. The only way to develop it is through times of testing, where we have an opportunity to use it.

As we exercise self-control, we develop patience. The more we exercise it, the more it develops. When we develop patience, we will display godliness and then Christ’s love can be seen through us. This is why the devil works so hard to tempt us to lose our patience. We lose our self-control when we are impatient and we don’t walk in love.

 Romans 5:3-4 in the Amplified Bible reads, Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings,  knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved  faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

Trials produce patience. We should face each trial with joy because we know that it’ll produce endurance, which matures Jesus’ fruit in us. For example, I used to be insanely impatient with my husband and children. They couldn’t do anything wrong without me losing my patience.

I’d always try to change but I only seemed to get worse. I didn’t change until I actually learned that I had the fruit of self-control in me and I needed to allow God to develop it in me. This knowledge is what helped me in situations where I had to use self-control. At first, it wasn’t easy and I failed many times, but the more I leaned on God and kept working at it, the easier it became because His fruit of self-control started to develop in me.

The Holy Spirit’s fruit works the same as edible fruit. It starts as a seed, and as you feed and protect it, it eventually develops into fruit. When God is working on an area in me, at times it feels like it’s always going to be a struggle. Then one day I suddenly realize that it isn’t so hard because that fruit begins to develop.

We need to yield to the Holy Spirit whenever we get in a situation where we are tempted to lose our patience. The more we yield, the more fruit God can develop in us, and the more we will walk in love.

But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
James 1:4 AKJV

Amanda Beth is a wife and mother of four children, and author of an upcoming book titled: YOU CAN HAVE A HAPPY FAMILY Steps to Enjoying Your Marriage and Children. She has been married for 14 years and has experienced transformation in her life and marriage since she surrendered her heart to Christ ten years ago. http://www.amandabeth.net/

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

 Christmas Today

Can you imagine that kind of excitement and enthusiasm for our Lord, Jesus? Yet many don’t even stop to think that Christmas is anything more than a time to party, overeat, overindulge and exchange a bunch of useless, expensive gifts. Everyone wants to celebrate “Christmas”, yet many don’t want to acknowledge that Christ even exists, much less believe Him to be Lord and Savior. We have fought the existence and influence of Christ in our lives to the point where there is no prayer in school, nativity scenes are not allowed on state property and we have reduced “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays” in an attempt to not offend anyone, further eliminating Christ from the very holiday which was created in His honor. Yet these same people are the first in line to buy “Christmas gifts” and demand the time off from work to celebrate that which they do not even embrace. They base a good Christmas on the quality or quantity of gifts or how many parties they attended further reducing the holiday to nothing more than a social event.

 Christmas Spending

So with so much focus on shopping, what are people buying this Christmas? Everything. Never before in history have we had the variety or availability of merchandise. If we cannot find that perfect gift locally we can usually find it readily available on the internet. It is estimated that the average American will spend nearly 15 hours shopping and $700.00 for gifts this year. Imagine how God’s kingdom could benefit if each of us where to give that same amount of time and money to our local church.

 Most of the gifts we give comprise of frivolous items which contribute little to the everyday quality of life and in fact become distractions from what is truly important in life. Eventually our homes and our lives become overwhelmed with more and more clutter. Items such as video games, TV’s, computers, jewelry, and toys. Items needed for everyday living are rarely considered appropriate gifts and are seldom given. I mean, who really wants socks and underwear beautifully wrapped under the tree to be opened in front of Aunt Emma from Omaha.

And we have all heard the stories about the kids who open the presents and half an hour later are playing with the wrapping paper completely ignoring the expensive do-hicky they so desperately pleaded Santa for.  

 Yes, we have become obsessed with “stuff”.  But we must remember that everything we see on this earth will someday no longer exist. Matthew 6:19-20 tells us, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Luke 16:13 tells us, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” So what are we saying when we are willing to stand in line for hours and trample others in total disregard just to buy “stuff”? We are saying that these items have become all important in our lives. They have become our idols.

A New Perspective on Gift Giving

Now I am not saying we should not buy gifts for others. What I am saying is that we need to really think about the true meaning of giving and do it for the right reasons, not because of a specific date on the calendar, or because someone gave you a gift therefore you feel obligated to do the same. Have you ever felt guilted into buying a gift for someone because you felt they expected it, or you feared they would think poorly or less of you if you didn’t? I have and it does not feel good. This totally violates the essence of giving. I would never want someone to feel obligated to buy something for me. That is not the true spirit of giving. We also need to examine what a gift is. Too often we believe it must be something tangible purchased at the local mall, yet giving can be a warm plate of homemade cookies, a handmade card or bookmark, or even something as simple as a hug or a smile. A busy father’s time is much more valuable to a child than any video game, or high priced pair of jeans ever could be. Too many times expensive gifts are given as guilt offerings and sadly some have come to expect as much. The Beatles said it well when they sang, “Can’t buy me love”.

The Greatest Gift of All

This Christmas perhaps we should focus less on the presents and celebrate the greatest gift of all. Jesus Christ, whom the holiday is in honor, was born and delivers the gift of salvation for those who choose to receive it. We learn from a very young age that if we are “good” we will receive good gifts, if not we get a big lump of coal. Well, I have news for you, no one is “good” and we all deserve a whole mound of coal, yet God loves us so much he chose to give us the greatest gift of all, eternal life. There is nothing on this earth that we can buy that even comes close to this most precious gift. John 3:16 sums it up perfectly, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Now that is a priceless gift indeed.

Since we have already been given the greatest gift of all and in the true spirit of Christmas, let’s consider giving a gift this year that will truly make a difference in someone’s life. We live in a very prosperous country. The world’s average income – total world income divided by total number of people – is about $7,000. Still, only about 19 percent of the world’s population lives in countries with per capita incomes at least this high. The average income in the United States is nearly $40,000. Most Americans have no idea what real need is. Every year we hear about how retailers are opening their doors earlier and earlier on Black Friday, with lines of people blocks long who have camped out for hours just waiting to take advantage of the unbelievable bargains.

But the fact remains that there is much suffering in the world today and we have the means available to us to make a difference for those less fortunate.

A Challenge

As we approach this Christmas season I challenge you to make a change and make a difference not only in your life but the life of those in dire need. First spend time with your family learning more about our precious Savior. Read His word and learn more about who He is. Then I would encourage you to give a gift that could make the difference between life and death for someone less fortunate. “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25)

You do not need to look far to find opportunities to help others. There are organizations locally as well as worldwide in need. One of my favorites is Life Outreach International. Jim and Betty Robison’s Mission: Water for Life provides fresh water and supports the drilling of water wells for Asia, Africa, and South American people. You can visit their website at: http://www.lifetoday.org

If you are unsure where to help, ask God. Pray about it, He will give you direction. And continue to press into His word this Holiday Season. This year, instead of hearing about the shopping mayhem and just shaking our heads, let’s do something about it. Let’s put Christ back into Christmas.

May God bless you and your family richly.

Merry Christmas,

Lynn

Lynn Kennedy
Associate Publisher, Director of Women’s Ministry
http://www.ChristianTimesOnline.com

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

If this sounds like you, rest assured you are not alone. We live in a fallen world with a fallen economy. Let’s face it, life is just plain tough and it is not hard to find the negatives in our lives. It is also easy to compare ourselves to others. But we must remember that no one escapes difficulties in their lives and we don’t know what life is really like for them. We all try to put on a happy face to the outside world, but the truth is, we are all struggling. Despite what we are dealing with, we need to remember to, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Our culture constantly bombards us with images of what the good life should look like dictating what our homes should look like, (observed a Pottery Barn catalog lately), what we should wear (walked through a mall recently? $200.00 for a pair of New Religion jeans!) what car to drive, a BMW or Mercedes if you are successful. We pay huge sums to enroll our kids in all types of extracurricular activities and run ourselves, and them, raged running them here and there. Even going to the movies with a family of 4 will set you back $75.00.

The ideal Thanksgiving and Christmas day are also imposed upon us on TV and in magazines. Wouldn’t you love to spend Thanksgiving day at Martha Stewart’s farm with her recipe for the perfectly cooked turkey and trimmings then sit at a beautifully decorated table with people who love, respect and appreciate one another? How about Christmas (which we know will be here in a flash). Again, the whole house is decorated to mimic the pages of Better Homes and Gardens, there are gifts galore and all the children are perfectly neat and clean in their new PJ’s. Are you kidding? Christmas morning at my house involves my family desperately trying to pry me out of bed to partake in the joy of the day. I stumble out of bed, grab a cup of coffee and hope Santa cleaned up his mess before bed. (Side note: We may not look like the “Cleavers” but I do enjoy my family.)

If we don’t buy into or participate in this marketing minutia we believe that we don’t measure up, we are not successful enough, or are not blessed enough. The truth is we have become so addicted to the comfortable life, it has become nearly impossible to even recognize the blessings in our lives which are much more prevalent than we often realize. We miss these blessings because we focus on trying to gain and acquire more of our selfish desires or of the things we think we want. Do we even really know what we want?

We are not taught to be thankful. We are a spoiled, ungrateful nation. Few of us are immune. I sometimes fall prey to this attitude myself. But it is at these times that I must remind myself of what God told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient.”

If more Christians would believe that, take it to heart and truly live it, their lives would be blessed beyond measure. They already are; they just don’t realize or accept it. What greater gift is there than the sacrifice of Christ dying on the cross for us insuring our eternal life? If we would simply accept this fact, our lives would look different. We would live more peacefully and we would have grateful hearts giving thanks for the simplest of things and enjoying the sometimes mundane activities of everyday life. Remember what we are told in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

That which we thought we had to have in order to be happy such as the big house, expensive car, extravagant vacations, the dream job, and money to support them all, suddenly does not seem nearly as important. Our focus begins to shift from the noise of the world and we begin to find joy in the basics of life. The sun peaking through the clouds on a rainy day becomes a reason for celebration. We begin to recognize and acknowledge the blessings that God bestows upon us every day. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6).

Perhaps you have fallen into the fear of losing what you have worked so hard to achieve. By society’s standards you are a success, but deep down you know that it would take very little for the world as you know it to topple. Our lives are always at risk of destruction. Spouses and even children sometimes come down with life threatening illnesses. Jobs are lost, homes are devastated by natural disasters. We have no control over such events. But we do not need to despair. We know that God is always there to provide for us. He is Jehovah Jirah, God the provider. We have everything we need in Him and he will “never leave us or forsake us” (Hebrews 13:5).

So see, you have everything to be thankful for. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). What more could we possibly want or need more than eternal life with the creator and father of the universe?

This Thanksgiving I pray you will accept the greatest gift of all. That you would recognize the blessings that surround your life, and that you would learn to be a blessing to others as well.

May almighty God bless you always,

Lynn

Lynn Kennedy
Associate Publisher, Director of Women’s Ministry
http://www.ChristianTimesOnline.com

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

In exploring people’s views, we first encounter the “My Opinion Matters” group. Many people in this group say they believe in a Heaven. They feel everyone, except those who are really bad people, in their opinion, will go to Heaven. They really don’t believe that Hell is a place of torment, but rather a place of non-existence. Heaven, to them, is a good place where they will dwell as angels. They seem to think that Heaven is a lot of clouds, they turn into angels and just float around. They aren’t really interested in Heaven, because to them, it seems boring.

These type of people rely on their own opinion, and it shows in the character of their lives. They only become convicted of the things they think are wrong and praise themselves on all the things they think are right. They seem to be very judgmental of others because everyone, again in their opinion, must be living within their opinion. If you don’t fall in line with their view, then you are the one who is wrong.

But in exploring God’s truth we learn in Psalm 11:47 that, “The LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in Heaven: His eyes look upon the children of men. The LORD tries the righteous: but the wicked and those that loves violence his soul God hates. Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loves righteousness; His countenance does look upon the upright.”

Therefore, we must answer the question “Is Heaven real?” Yes!  Heaven is a very real place, just as the earth that we live upon is real, so is Heaven. God, Jesus, the angels and the saints of God who have died are in Heaven (extra study: Psalm 103:19-22, John 3:12-13). This one passage explains that Heaven is real, it also shows very clearly that God watches his creation and he knows all that each one does. We can see further that God loves righteousness (those who have received Jesus Christ as savior are made righteous through his divine blood and will live in Heaven).

“Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3

Further, God hates wickedness. The word wicked in the passage means morally wrong, those people who live on their own opinion and refuse to believe God’s word. Those who are judgmental and want to conform others to their opinion. To all that are wicked, God’s wrath will fall.

“All things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:41-42

Iniquity means Sin – people who cause others to sin and remain in sin themselves, people who have not received Jesus Christ as savior WILL go to Hell and those who have died without Christ ARE in Hell. My friends, Heaven is real. Hell is also real! Millions of people are in each place right now, and one day ,we too, will be in one place or the other. The only way to Heaven is through the gift of salvation offered by Jesus Christ while the one way to Hell is to reject Jesus Christ and his gift. It’s your choice. God’s unconditional love is being poured out upon you today.  He has given you the very breath you breath. With that breath of life, you can chose Christ and receive his salvation. Are we promised the very next second of life? No, we have only this very moment, for no one but God knows what our lives hold and how long we have. God also knows when he will allow Jesus to come back to earth for his children. In either event, death or rapture, where will you spend eternity?

“For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Please consider as you look around at all the beauty that God created in this world, how much more beautiful it will be in a prefect paradise, where God himself dwells. A place without sin, pain or sorrow. A place where beauty never dies and God’s very being is the light. And finally, remember what Matthew tells us in Chapter 3:2, “Let your hearts be turned from sin; for the kingdom of Heaven is near.”

Minister Lori Hull, along with her husband Minister Jeff Hull are the founders of Living Waters Outreach which is a non-denominational/non-profit organization with a mission to reach out to all people with the good news of Jesus Christ. They reside with their 3 children in Smithfield, Pennsylvania. http://livingwatersoutreach.com

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

Rarely does a secret have a positive effect. That which is done in the light does not need to be kept secret. We learn in John 3:19-21 that “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” With this in mind, why would anyone choose to keep secretes? Usually it is to cover activities or behaviors that are not appropriate, or that do not align with Godly behavior. Think about it, if there was nothing to be ashamed of why would it have to be “kept quiet”?

Now I am not saying that there are not times that secrets are not innocent, such as planning a surprise birthday party for someone. Or at Christmas, the gifts we buy are kept secret so that we may surprise our loved ones on Christmas morning. These secrets are not meant to harm anyone, but to bless them with our generosity and our desire to bring them joy. But few secrets truly bless anyone. If once the “surprise” is revealed, it does not bring joy, it should never have been kept a secret in the first place. The bible tells us:

“Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” Before keeping a secret ask yourself if this information, if made public, would bless or encourage another. If the answer is no, you may want to examine why it must be kept secret. Or whom the truth might hurt.” Ephesians 4:29

You might say that keeping a secret is to protect someone. But is it really? Or is it to protect your own pride. Consider a woman who does not want her child to know the true identity of his or her biological parent. Perhaps the pregnancy resulted from poor decision making and the father has never, and likely never will, be part of that child’s life. In fact, she has remarried and her new husband is the only father that child has ever known. Should she give up her secret? Most likely there are other family members who know the truth. It is possible that this truth could be revealed at some point in the years to come bringing shame, humiliation, and mistrust? What happens if the father has a change of heart years later and wants to re-enter his child’s life? These things do happen and having the situation swept under the rug only makes it more difficult to contend with later. We all make mistakes in life but trying to maintain secrets to protect our own pride or selfishness is like trying to cover a lie. You have to continually make excesses, always waiting for the truth to surface. You find no peace continually looking over your shoulder wondering who in the family may at some point, intentionally or not, spill the beans. This becomes bondage. Just what the enemy wants. Satan loves secrets because he understands the nature of their destructiveness.

No, the fact is, secrets are more often than not a way to cover up inappropriate behavior. Think about the wife that buys a new dress, shoves it in the closet and brings it out months later. When asked about the dress by her husband she comments that she has had it for months. Is it a lie? Well, technically no, but she did buy it, in secret, without his knowledge. The only reason to do so would be if she believed that her husband, for whatever reason, would not approve of her buying it. Therefore, by purchasing the dress “in secret”, her behavior has become deceptive, and deceptions breaks trust. Without trust you cannot have a healthy, solid, Godly relationship. So when it comes down to it, is a dress really worth placing a wedge between you and the person who is supposed to mean the most to you in your life? More importantly, is this the way God would expect you show respect to your husband?

Strong relationships depend on honesty. According the book, Love and Respect, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, Respect is what men most value in a relationship, while Love is most important to women. Now is keeping secrets from one another truly showing love and respect? Absolutely not. As a wife, would you respect a man who spends hours on the internet looking at pornography. He does this in secret because he know his wife would not approve. Affairs start by secret contact. If you are involved in an activity that you know your spouse would not approve of, you simply should not be doing it. Once trust is broken in a relationship it is very difficult to get it back.

Some situations could break trust in a person to the point where it not only disrupts their current lives but their future as it can alter their whole perspective of people in general. Once a child’s trust is broken they may never completely trust anyone again permanently effecting future relationships.

Those who violate children do so in secret. Again, they use the manipulation to gain the child’s “trust”. They may use guilt to keep the child from telling or they may use fear and intimidation telling them that something bad will happen if they tell, or that their parents or siblings may be harmed. Many times they are bribed. Anything to get the child to keep the secret. Again, only to hide inappropriate behavior.

Children learn about secrets at a very young age. Where do they learn such behavior? They usually learn it from us. Buying your child a toy and then telling them ,”shh, don’t tell daddy”, is not only teaching them to lie, but also teaches them disrespect. We must teach our children that telling secrets is very much like lying. Once they are comfortable telling small fibs, then it is just a matter of time before they become comfortable telling bigger and bigger ones until finally it simply becomes a way of life. Satan loves lies. He is on a mission to destroy and he knows the serious impact of lies. Secrets are a favorite of his.

So the next time someone asks if you can keep a secret, perhaps your answer should simply be, no!

May almighty God bless you always,

Lynn

Lynn Kennedy
Associate Publisher, Director of Women’s Ministry
http://www.ChristianTimesOnline.com

Love and Respect for a Lifetime: Women Absolutely Need Love, Men Absolutely Need Respect. It's as Simple and as Complicated as That. By Dr. Emerson Eggerichs / Thomas Nelson This coffee table edition of the popular Love and Respect book offers excerpts from the book, Scripture verses taken from the NASB, and romantic images. A perfect Valentine's Day or Wedding Gift. Compiled by Terri Gibbs. Jacketed hardcover.

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

Most people have come to treat Halloween as they do Christmas, or any other holiday our society has successfully commercialized. It is just another Holiday to celebrate, decorate, and commemorate. But do we really know what Halloween, or any other holiday for that matter, really means anymore?  Do we really know what we are celebrating? The facts themselves can be quite scary.

The tradition of Halloween comes from a progression and combination of the Catholic tradition of All Saints’ day, which was a day of observance and reverence to the saints, and the ancient Celtic pagan tradition known as Samhain (pronounced sow-en), which held the belief that the dead mingled among the living causing trouble, possessing people, ruining crops and searching for passage to the afterlife. This was a time that the living and the dead were most closely connected and occurred on the eve of their new year which was celebrated on November 1.

The Catholic celebration of All Saints’ day was originally observed on May 13th. In the eight century, Pope Gregory III moved the observance to November 1st, it is believed, to correspond with the tradition of Samhain.  It was a common practice of the Catholic church at the time to incorporate non Christian activities into the church as a way of attracting new believers into the faith. Once the date was changed, the church began to incorporate many of the traditions and rituals of Samhain into their own celebrations. Despite the uneasiness of the church, they continued to incorporate many of the supernatural traditions making the occasion a remarkable combination of Christian and pagan beliefs. By the end of the 10th century, the church tried to give these traditions a little more direction by establishing All Souls’ Day, an occasion to recognize all Christian dead by praying for those in purgatory. Through failed attempts to separate the pagan rituals the Catholic church categorized the spirits as those of the devil, which is where much of our imagery of evil, witches and demons come from.

Therefore, like the festivals of Samhain, All Saints’ day, and All Souls’ day, Halloween is the celebration of the dead and has become a conglomeration of all types of supernatural practices incorporating occult activity.  Many may argue that these traditions are so far removed from our current culture that they no longer have  relevance or effect on us as Christians. But is that true?  Let’s look at what the bible says.

We are very clearly told in 3 John 1:11, “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.”  and Romans 12:9 which instructs us that, ” Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Now I know it feels good to get dressed up, get together with friends and celebrate what seems to be harmless fun.  I have many fond memories myself of many Halloweens past. But I grew up in a non-practicing Christian home. My parents, like so many others, did what many parents are doing today by simply burying their heads in the sand. But is that an excuse? Matthew 18:6 tells us that, “if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Does that mean I believe my mother should be drowned in the depths of the sea?  Of course not. But it does give us a glimpse of the responsibility given to us as parents.  These children do not belong to us.  They are God’s children and I do not believe He would approve of us allowing His children to participate in what we call harmless fun when it incorporates evil or occult activities.  We cannot pretend that we don’t know. God has given us His holy scriptures but just because we choose not to read it does not make it no so. Hosea 4:6 warns that God’s people are destroyed for their lack of knowledge.  Therefore, as parents let’s remember to “train a child in the way he should go,” Proverbs 22:6.

Further, we are warned throughout both the Old and New Testament to avoid evil. Satan is known as the great deceiver. He is cunning and crafty and we must always be on our guard to turn from his evil ways. The Devil will use any opportunity regardless of how harmless you think it may be to enter into your life and wreak havoc. Everyday life has enough difficulties without inviting the antics of Satan or his evil ways into your life. This earth is Satan’s playground and we must “keep oneself from being polluted by the world” as we are told in James 1:27. Sometimes that means we may have to give up practices and activities that the world sees as harmless.  Or even celebrations we once participated in ourselves out of ignorance.  But once you open the word and read God’s will for your life, you no longer have an excuse. Therefore, as we draw close to yet another Halloween think about not only your responsibility as a parent but as a child of Christ yourself.

Perhaps this Halloween you should dress your little one’s in the amour of God.

God bless,

Lynn

Lynn Kennedy
Associate Publisher
Director of Women’s Ministry
Christian Times Online
http://www.ChristianTimesOnline.com

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

deprived as we wake far too early in order to organize our daily schedules. Waking children and readying them for school, then off to a full time job juggling time for domestic chores and errands. Finally home after a full day of work we prepare dinner, see to children’s activies, and finally bedtime routines. Then perhaps we have an hour or two to prepare for tomorrows schedule. The day is over. All this in order to bring home a paycheck to pay the bills and hopefully have enough left over for some recreational activies or to acquire the symbols of success; The beautiful home, the BMW in the driveway, private dance lessons for the kids, or the pool in the backyard.

Perhaps we define success as recognition. Recognition can be selfish, prideful, and boastful. Without God we can do

nothing and are nothing. I am not suggesting that it is wrong to be confident, but our confidence needs to come from Christ, not self. We are told in Proverbs 18:12″Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.” We cannot be prideful and successful. Likewise Jeremiah 9:23-24 tells us about boasting, “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things.”

I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong with aspiring to a specific lifestyle or enjoy being recognized for our work or achievements in our jobs. But if we use them as a measure or our success then perhaps we are confused by societies idea of success and that of the bible.

The bible says in Joshua 1:8, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from you mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Therefore the path to success is to meditate on the word. The better we know God’s word, the easier it is to do his will. Doing his will will always bring success. God wants to give us the desires of our heart. We know this by reading Psalms 37:4 tells us, “Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” David tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” God is our biggest cheerleader. He knows what we need and just as we want to shower our own children with gifts of love and praise, He wants to do the same for us. This life is like a puff of smoke and then it is gone. True success is eternal life. and we can only live eternally through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. John 3:16 states it best, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

This life is simply preparation for eternity. James 4:14 tells us, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Shouldn’t we be focusing on our success for our eternal life? To find peace in this life we need to look no further than Philippians 4:9-10 which tells us, “Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the peace of God will be with you.”

In Jesus’ name,

Lynn

Lynn Kennedy
Associate Publisher
Director of Women’s Ministry
Christian Times Online
http://www.ChristianTimesOnline.com

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

“You’re a funny boy!” Sebastian’s friends chanted.

Sebastian grinned and took another slurp from the straw in the bottle of ketchup. “What can I say? I just love ketchup.”

“Has anybody seen Charlie?” Ollie asked. “I sure miss him coming to the café with us.”

Billy took a swig of his chocolate milk. “The last I heard, Charlie was spending most of his time in his room because his legs still won’t work since the accident.”

Sebastian eyes widened. “And his mum refuses to have ketchup in the house. Can you imagine life without ketchup?”

“I only like ketchup on my hamburger.” Leo rolled his eyes and then took a big gulp of lemonade. “Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we take Charlie to see the Man who performs miracles?”

“Do you mean Jesus?” Billy asked.

“Yeah, that’s His name! He’s been saying and doing all kinds of cool stuff!” Sebastian continued, “Let’s take Charlie to Him and see if Jesus can make his legs work again.”

The three friends bolted out the door to find Charlie. Ollie jumped up so quickly he knocked Sebastian’s ketchup bottle over and splattered red spots all over Sebastian’s face.

“I’m sorry, Sebastian.” Ollie dabbed Sebastian’s face with a napkin.

“No problem. Accidents happen.” Sebastian licked his lips. “Mmmmmmm. Ketchup is yummy for the tummy.”

 The friends galloped up Charlie’s stairs and scurried to their friend’s room. They each grabbed a corner of his bed and ran back down the staircase.

Charlie rubbed his heavy eyelids as they raced out of the house and down the road. The bouncing bed made his teeth chatter.

“Where are you taking me so early this morning?” Charlie gripped his blanket tightly. “I still have my jimjams on.”

“It won’t matter to Jesus if you have your jimjams on.” Sebastian huffed and puffed. “He looks at the heart of a person and not at what they wear.”

The friends ran until they saw a house with a large crowd gathered around it. When they moved closer, they saw the rooms were crammed with people. In one of the rooms was an old lady who reeked of cabbage sitting beside a young mother cradling a baby in her arms. The baby’s nappy needed to be changed. An old man clipped a peg on his nose so he wouldn’t get sick from the stench. Men and women, boys and girls spilled out of the house into the garden and then out of the garden on to the street. There were chubby people and skinny people, short people and tall people, old men with walking sticks and teenage boys with donkeys, pregnant mummies, and little girls on roller skates.

Leo, Ollie, Billy, and Sebastian wondered how they were going to get their friend to Jesus. That’s when Ollie spotted a narrow path around the back of the house.

“I have an idea that just might work,” Ollie hollered loudly. “Maybe we can find a back door.”

So they carted Charlie in his bed down the path. As they were making the final turn, Billy’s curly hair got caught on the laundry hanging on the clothesline. “Yeow! I’m doomed to have a bad hair day.” Billy howled as he yanked his hair free.

“Meeeeooooow!” wailed a fluffy kitten when Leo accidentally stepped on its tail.

“Now is not the time to be collecting ‘cattails’!” Ollie teased.

The four friends came to an abrupt halt. “There’s no back door.” Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. “Now what are we going to do?”

Billy snapped his fingers. “Look! There are some dustbins.”

The four friends stared at each other. Charlie looked at the  dustbins and groaned. He didn’t like the idea of being carted about and climbing those wobbly dustbins, but his friends were determined to get him to Jesus.

They yanked and tugged on the four corners of the bed until they finally arrived safely on the top of the roof.

“Will somebody please help me get banana skins out of Charlie’s hair?” Sebastian ordered. “We want him to look presentable when he meets Jesus.”

The friends quickly removed the slippery banana peels from Charlie’s hair and started tearing the tiles off the roof. Ollie passed the torn shingles to Billy, who passed them to Leo, who passed them to Sebastian.

“All this hard work is making me thirsty.” Sebastian pitched the tiles on the ground. “Sure wish I had a big bottle of tomato ketchup to drink.”

“Sebastian, can you just forget about your beloved ketchup for a few minutes?” Leo scolded. “We’ve got to get Charlie to Jesus.”

After they removed a few more tiles off the roof, Billy said, “Now we’ve made a hole big enough to put Charlie through.”

Leo pulled a long rope from his tattered bag and tied it around Charlie’s bed. The four friends carefully lowered Charlie and his bed through the hole in the roof and placed him right in front of Jesus.

Sebastian cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, “Jesus, our friend can’t walk.”

Jesus looked up at Leo, Ollie, Billy, and Sebastian staring through the hole in the roof. “You must really love your friend and believe I can help him to go to all this trouble.”

The four friends’ heads bobbed.

“Because you went to all this trouble to get Charlie to Me, I will heal him.” Jesus turned and glanced at Charlie. “Son, your sins are forgiven. Take up your mattress and go home.”

Charlie’s toes began to tingle. He jumped up, grabbed his bed, danced a jig, and ran out the door.

“I don’t think he even cared if people saw him dancing in his jimjams,” Ollie giggled.

The four friends waved their hands above their heads and began dancing on the roof.

Crack! Creak! Crunch!

“Whoa!”

“Look out below!”

“Watch out!”

“The sky is falling!”

Splat!

The four friends tumbled through the roof and fell into the house. Sebastian sat on the floor looking dazed.

“Are you alright, Sebastian?” Leo inquired.

“I think so.” Sebastian rubbed his head. “Where’s Charlie?”

The lady who reeked of cabbage peeked out the window. “Charlie is marching down the street right now, and he has something in his hand.”

“What is it?” Sebastian asked.

The old woman crinkled her nose and squinted. “Why it’s a bottle of ketchup with a straw in it.”

“Now I know I’ll be okay.” Sebastian winked at his three buddies. “Ketchup is yummy for the tummy.”

About Katie Bodsworth

In my efforts to entertain and captivate a five year old with the adventures of Jesus and his friends, I have created a series of Bible adaptations designed to be funny and entertaining without losing the message within. Bright pictures, catchphrases and a look at some of the characters not always touched upon in Sunday School give my children, and hopefully yours, an active interest in their Bibles and a growing interest in their Church.

In the future I am aiming to have all stories available to buy with their illustrations, either as an ebook format or to order as full colour storybooks. The text of the stories, however will always be free, in the spirit of spreading the Word!

http://yummyforthetummy.webs.com

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.

Why do we as women feel so insecure? Is it our upbringing, the age old nature vs. nurture argument? Or Is it that as women we are wired differently from men? Maybe it is because we just simply don’t understand our value in God’s eyes. It is true that many of us grew up in homes where we felt devalued. Perhaps we were intimidated by a sibling who seemed to have more appealing or valued talents and abilities. Maybe our parents were not as nurturing as they could have been and we felt abandoned and unprotected. Perhaps there was strife in the household; a job loss, or divorce of our parents can confuse us making us wonder if we were somehow responsible. Maybe we are one of the estimated 3 out of 4 women to be sexually abused in their lifetime. These things along, with a myriad of life circumstances and situations, allow guilt and shame to creep into our lives completely decimating any sense of self worth.

As women we have made great progress with our civil rights in the last 100 years, yet it remains a fact that society continues to discriminate against us. We are looked upon as the “weaker sex” and in one way we truly are. Generally women are, in fact, physically weaker then men. That is simply a fact of life. Women were created to be nurtures while men were created to be hunters and providers. These traits were vital to survival at one time. Though gender roles have become somewhat more equal in modern times it still remains that despite legislation we still make only 75% compared to men’s salaries. But does that make us less valuable?

God did not make us to be a “weaker” sex. He created us to be man’s partner. When he created Adam he looked upon his work and saw that it was incomplete. He recognized immediately that it was not good for Adam to be alone. He tells us so in Genesis 2:18 where He says,”It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” God intentionally created us to be different. Woman was created and designed to ”compliment” man, to ”complete” him; not to compete or be compared to him. We are different, but no less valuable nor loved. Galatians 3:26 tells us,”You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

If Christ sees us as man’s equal, why do we allow society and other people to determine and define who we are. We learn that we are so important and special to God that “the very hairs on your head are numbered.” We must ask ourselves if we are trying to find our worth in Christ or man. Galatians 1:10 reminds to ask urselves,”Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” We will never find our value from others. We all fall short of the Glory of God. Only in Christ do we find our true and complete worth.

No one should rely on ”self-confidence”; our confidence comes directly from God himself. For without Christ, we are nothing; through Christ, as stated in Philipians 4:13,”I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.

With God’s blessings,

Lynn

Lynn Kennedy
Associate Publisher
Director of Women’s Ministry
Christian Times Online
http://www.ChristianTimesOnline.com

©2012 Christian Times Online :: Praise, Worship, Discipleship :: Free Christian Online Newsletter :: 213-325-0977. All Rights Reserved.