Bible Study

Bible study: What does that mean to you? A class on. Sunday mornings? A class you had on school? It means time spent alone truly studying God's word to me. The verse Psalm 145:13 says, " The Lord is faithful to all His promises." We can't claim this verse without knowing what the promises are. We must study His word to fully open the river of living water He freely gives. Studying and seeking God do not stop after you accept Christ, it just begins! We can't serve Him without knowing His word. Have you put the time into studying the Bible that you did studying for an exam in school? We should all have a great desire to know God's word. The Bible can be intimidating, but tell God and He will make it clear to you.

God is Calling

What is God calling you to do? Is he calling you into a ministry at church or is He calling you to minister to a neighbor? Could it be He is calling you to change careers? What have you done to try and hear what God is calling you to do? Have you felt unhappy in your current situation, but haven’t taken the time to be still and listen to God? I am asking all of the questions to get us all to focus on the real purpose for us being here on earth – not to make money, not to work, not to even raise kids – to serve our wonderful God! The people in the Bible from Adam to the disciples all faced struggles and temptations. Often times they had witnessed God’s awesome power first hand, but chose to ignore His callings and went the complete opposite direction (that got Jonah swallowed)! It is hard to listen to what God is telling us because most of the time it goes against what the world says is the right thing to do. Do you think the people in Bible days thought it was normal for Noah to build that huge boat – of course not! I am sure they teased him relentlessly until they were drowning! I want to encourage you to act on whatever it is that God is calling you to do no matter what anyone else says! Remember God is going to require a lot of faith for us to follow His lead, but when we listen He will make our paths very clear!

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways follow Him and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

God is Enough

God is enough is a short, but powerful statement that I have failed to live by the last month. I have slacked off on quiet time and have held my fears and worries on the inside. I have a true want/need to serve God through my home, but have not invited anyone to my house. I know God is in control of everything and He can use anyone for His purpose, but I haven’t been living like that. Instead of asking God to help me rest at night, I stopped doing my quiet time in the mornings because I couldn’t wake up. Instead of asking God for balance with work and home I stopped cleaning all together! I felt I had to have a clean house to invite people over. God started working on me this week and made me realize how wrong I have been! The following sentence is from Proverbs 31 Ministry’s website, “She was filled with such incredible joy not because life was perfect but simply because she had decided to make laughter, peace, and true happiness the hallmark of her life.” I am adopting this as my motto! I am going to praise God in all areas of my life and I will serve Him with all of me – imperfections and all! I am also going to open my home to people no matter how clean it is (neighbors beware)! If you are reading this and are stressed, tired, and confused with crying children and a dirty house, stop what you are doing and sing your favorite praise song. It will ease your mind and get your focus back on what really matters – our Wonderful, Loving, Awesome God!!! God wants us to spend time with Him daily and let Him make all of the pieces of our lives fall into place. Our God is a God of order (saying from a wonderful woman Adrienne Foster) and he will put your life back in order if you let Him! Praise God!

Love,
Carrie

Got questions, ask God

We had Vacation Bible School at our church this week. The motto of the week was "Got questions, ask God". How simple and awesome is this statement? So many times we worry and try to figure everything out on our own instead of praying about it. One of the skits was about someone flipping a coin to decide what they were going to be when they grow up. We may not flip a coin, but have you ever said, "If this happens, it was ment to be?" Instead if saying things like that or relying on fate, pray and put it in the hands of our very real, living God! We also learned the simple truths that God made us, God loves us, and God has a plan for us. Again, simple but very powerful statements. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." If He already knows the plans He has for us, doesn't it make more sense to ask Him to show us?



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Until the Whole World Hears

According to Rick Warren, new Christians are welcomed in China by telling them Jesus now has new eyes to see with, new ears to listen with, new hands to help with, and a new heart to love others with. This analogy really stood out to me and made me think. Have I used my entire body and mind to serve Christ today? Not at all! Have I spoken like Christ, seen with His eyes, or used my heart to love others like He does today? NO! But, I know with His help I can try and use the rest of the day to serve Him in some way. In Mark 16:15, Jesus gives us the commandment to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Our job in this world is not to earn money, have a big house, advance in our career, get married, or even have children; our main responsibility is to tell everyone about our Savior, Jesus Christ! Why wouldn’t we want to tell everyone about His overflowing love for us! He comforts the sick, gives strength to the weak, and empowers the hopeless! He is calling you today to come to Him! If you have drifted away, He wants you to come back to Him – Just as you are!!! He truly loves us in sickness, in health, and for richer or poorer! He is the only thing we have that will never leave or forsake us! If you don’t know Jesus as your friend, don’t waste another minute! Accept Him today! Cry out to Him and He will answer you!

“I call to you, God, and you answer me.” Psalm 17:6
“Never will I leave you or forsake you” Hebrews 13:5
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8

Red Shoes

A friend of mine was in a 4 car wreck on Goodman Road last weekend. A truck with 6 passengers hit a car, which hit my friend, who hit the car in front of her. The driver of the truck jumped out and started making excuses and complaining about the damage to his truck. Everyone in the other vehicles was fine. A woman passenger in the truck got out and had on beautiful red heels. She was complaining along with the driver and they were both yelling at the kids in the back seat to be quiet and stop crying. After a few minutes, they realized the kids had hit their heads and were crying from pain. The demeanor of the driver and the woman changed completely. The woman also realized she didn’t feel well. When everything was over, 2 passengers from the truck were taken away in ambulances – one being the woman in red heels. The man was left standing in the street dazed, confused, and holding the red shoes. My friend gave him a hug and he held on to her for dear life. This may have been the first time he had ever really realized what is important in life. So many times we get caught up in time, money, and stuff that we forget to stop and look around at what we do have. Instead of getting upset the next time your children are crying, say a quiet prayer to God thanking him for those children! Don’t wait until you are left holding red shoes to be thankful for what you have!



“Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Self esteem comes from God. A negative self image comes from straight from Satan. Satan loves when young girls starve themselves to look like the pictures in a magazine or an adult drinks themselves into a coma because they don’t have what the Jones’s have. God says we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and we are “made in His image”. We are his creation that he loves unconditionally. He also says the hairs on our head are numbered. With so many examples in the Bible of his love for us, we should never doubt our self worth! Don’t let the world get you down or make you feel like you don’t matter. God says he “knows the plans he has for us”. The next time you are putting yourself down, sing a hymn or recite a Bible verse and give praise to Him. This will change you whole outlook on your day!

Strength

How strong are you? I heard a story about one woman that is possibly the strongest person I have ever heard of. A coworker of mine is from a communist ruled country near Thailand. When she was 11 her family made the choice to escape. Her father got out first and her mother was in charge of taking 4 girls ages 2-11 out of the country. They had to travel at night and cross the Bangkok River in a leaking boat. They were imprisoned in Thailand, but eventually met up with her father in a refugee camp and later traveled to the US. What would you have done if you were faced with the same situation? I would like to think I could do it, but I don’t like having to take both of my kids to Kroger much less across a dangerous river! I wanted to tell everyone this story to encourage you to continue being strong no matter what you are going through. Seek out others that have been through it and most of all look to Christ and the Bible. If you ask God to help you and give you answers to questions you have, He will. Our problems may seem like mountains to us, but are no more than grains of sand to our Almighty God!
Love,
Carrie
“He will send down help from Heaven to save me because of His love.” Psalm 57:3

Seeds

One of my coworkers plants seeds in little trays and brings them to work to watch them grow. We all love watching the tiny seeds sprout into little plants as well as watching her take care of them. She waters, checks the heat and sunlight, and even talks to the little plants! This reminds me so much of our spiritual life. We have to feed and nurture our walk with Christ in order for us to grow into what He wants us to be – Mature Christians. Not only do we need to nurture our own spiritual walk through daily prayer and Bible reading, we need to nurture our families’ as well. We can encourage our spouses during difficult times, teach our children to pray, and help everyone learn Bible verses. Once we start nurturing ourselves and our families, we will begin to see the “sprouts” coming through the soil! God has a plan for each of us and wants to see us all grow into strong servants for Him, but we all start as small seeds! I encourage each of you to start as a family worshipping and learning about God.

“The sower went forth to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it. And other fell on the rock; and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And other fell amidst the thorns; and the thorns grew with it, and choked it. And other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit a hundredfold. As he said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 8:5-8

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. And those by the way side are those that have heard ;the cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. And those on the rock are they who, when they have heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among the thorns, these are they that have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. And that in the good ground, these are such as in an ahonest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit with patience.” Luke 8:11-15

Cloudy Day

While driving into work this morning, I noticed a one break in the clouds in a mostly cloudy sky. The sun was shining through this one break in the clouds. Even though I couldn’t see the sun at first, I knew it was still there shining just as bright. This made me think about Christ and his love for us. He is always there; whether we see Him or not is our choice. Sometimes during difficult situations we get so caught up in what is going on we “cloud” our view of our Savior. If during these difficult times we look up and through the clouds we will see His over powering love shining through!

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

God's Love

What is God’s love to you? To me it is like a solid steady oak tree. It is always there covering us with its shade and offering us peaceful music as the wind blows through the leaves. Since everyone has their own description of God’s love how do we show this to others? Jesus says the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all of your heart, all of your mind, all of your soul, and all of your strength. He also says the next greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). The only way to love your neighbor as yourself is to be a servant to them. If we are hungry, we get something to eat. Why wouldn’t we also fix food for the sick and needy? If we need clothes, we go shopping. Why wouldn’t we shop for others too? A servants attitude does not come over night (I really hoped it would). We have to practice and pray every day. It is not natural for us to put our own needs to the side, so serving will feel very odd at first. This is a life long journey to become more like Christ.

Christ is Perfect

Christ was perfect, we are not.
What does this mean to you? Once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we know this means he was a perfect sacrifice for our sins. He was perfect, but still paid the price for our sins. This means we do not have to do anything other than accept His grace and we will be saved. But what happens after we are saved. Do we continue to act the same or do the same things as before? No. We are to model ourselves after Christ. How do we do this? I struggle with this every day! I have heard for years that we are to die to ourselves every day, but don’t think I truly understood this until a few days ago. Even though I am saved and know that grace alone is what saved me, I thought I could work hard and become this perfect example of a Christian. So many times we try to model ourselves after someone we think is a good Christian, but they are still human and will never be perfect. “Suzie the Sunday school teacher” battles with sin just like everyone else. Our society is so caught up in being perfect and achieving goals that we often find someone that we think is a great example and try to imitate their life. There is only one life we should imitate – Christ. How can we imitate Him? We have to spend time listening to Him and spend time reading about His life. He ate, drank, and slept just like us. He walked on this earth! How awesome is it that our God actually knows exactly what it feels like to be us! The first step to becoming like Christ is realizing we can’t do anything on our own. Our best is still rubbish to God unless we allow Him to use us. We have to give Him all of our sins and failures and ask Him to make us whole and use us every day. We also have to ask Him to show us areas we need to submit to Him. This is a truly never ending process. Once we submit one area to Him, He will reveal more and more areas of our lives that we still try to control. If we ever start to think, “Wow, I did a great job,” (I am guilty of this), God will show us we really haven’t accomplished anything because pride has taken over and we need to start over by submitting our pride to Him. We are works in process until the day we finally see Christ face to face!

"So get rid of your old self, which amde you live as you used to; the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God's likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy." Ephesians 4:22-24

“Without the spirit of God, we can do nothing. We are ships without wind. We are useless.” Charles Spurgeon

God is Calling

What has God called you to do today, tomorrow, or with your entire life? Where and how can you serve Him? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, it is ok. You can answer this by first starting with a relationship with God. When you have a relationship with Him, He will show you where and how to serve Him. It may be as simple as sending a card to a friend in need or something as complex and committing as becoming a missionary, but God has a plan for you. He created us all in our own unique way to serve Him. There may be someone that will never hear of the saving grace of Christ because you chose not to use the gifts He gave you. You have talents that no one else has and will be able to reach people that no one else could. Will you choose to answer when God calls?

“Training your body helps you in some ways, but serving God helps you in every way by bringing you blessings in this life and in the future life too.” 1 Timothy 4:8

Quiet Time

Quiet time, what does that mean to you? Most of my life I have been told we are to have a quiet time with God. I thought this meant to take time each day to read the Bible and pray. While this time can be used for that, the majority of the time should be spent being quiet and waiting to hear from God. I was convicted of not being quiet this weekend. I heard someone on the radio say we should spend our quiet time waiting to hear what God has to say. If we don’t hear Him, we should read the Bible and ask Him to speak to us through His written word! I love to talk, so therefore, I spent my quiet time talking and not listening. My favorite verse is “Be still and know I am God,” but I wasn’t doing that at all! I challenge each of you to find a quiet place and ask God to speak to you and then actually get quiet and still and listen to what He has to say. It may just surprise how clear His voice will be!

“Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10

A Flower in the Rubble

I am sure you have all seen pictures of the devastation from the earth quake in Haiti. We can either focus on the tragedy and death or we can find the bright spots in this sad situation. I have read reports of orphanages being the only building not touched and of people being found alive and unhurt in the bottom of crumbled buildings. We can also apply this to our own lives. When faced with a terrible situation we can either choose to dwell on it or we can find the bright spot and hopefully show someone God’s love. When we allow God to guide us through an explosive situation, He will defuse it every time!

For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. Psalm 84:11 NLT

Our words do matter

So many times we say things and have no idea the words will have an everlasting impact on someone. When I was in high school , I had one teacher that loved telling us stories about her personal life. Most of the time I rolled my eyes and really didn't pay attention. One day I decided to listen and received advice that I still remember 13 years later. She said she and her husband wanted their children to see them show each other affection. For example, her husband always put his arm around her during church. This may sound very simple, but watch your children's faces when they see their parents love each other. I encourage you to show your children how much you love your spouse. This can also be applied to our relationship with Christ. Let your children see you reading the Bible and praying.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

We can Change the World!

Have you ever thought the world is so bad there is no way we could change it? Well, we can change the world and it starts with you and me. We have to start by changing our own thoughts and hearts. We have to try and see the good in people and treat them the way we want to be treated. This sounds so simple, but it is much harder than you think. My first response when someone mistreats me is to lash out. I am really working hard to see their thoughts instead of just actions. This kind of thinking makes it much easier to deal with people, but does hurt when we see what some people have had to deal with. Children should never wonder where their next meal is coming from or if their parents are coming back, but thousands of children have these very thoughts daily! We can’t change the world without starting in our inner circle of friends. We all know at least one person that could use an encouraging word or just to hear God loves them! It would be a great start to changing the world if everyone that reads this email would tell one person about Christ! You could also ask a stranger if they have any prayer requests. The look on their faces is worth it!

2 Timothy 4:1-2 “I charge thee in the sight of God and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”