Women of Promise

This past weekend was our girls' dance finale for the school year. We are blessed to have a church in the area which offers several dance, music and art classes. The goal of this program is to encourage the students to use these artistic expressions as a means to glorify and worship the Lord. The finale was an entire worship service, full of beautiful music and dance. The theme was the hope that comes from our Lord.  One thing was mentioned during this beautiful service, that has given me food for meditation. Galations 2:20 was quoted, but there was a slight change in wording from what I was most familiar:  "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." KJV Newer translations read "... faith IN the Son of God..." and this is what I am used to hearing.  I had to look into this more closely. ...

    Wherefore come out from among t hem, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,  2 Corinthians 6:17   I have often heard this verse taken out of context from the pulpit over the years. It has been used to dictate minutia regarding appearances and lifestyle. Some have even taken this as living in almost complete isolation from the world as much as possible. This is often taught in a manner akin to legalism, which places faith in actions rather than the finished work of Christ on the cross. In learning what legalism is, my fleshly reaction was to bounce in the opposite direction from that teaching as a young adult. That was equally in error. I pray that I am slowly understanding more of what God was saying through Paul to the church of Corinth.     First, it is always important to understand the context of any verse that is being studied.  Paul was calling the believers of Corinth to separate themselves from the idol worship that was rampant in their c...

      Do you ever struggle to know what to pray?  I do. God hears our heart. We can pour out our feelings to Him. Praise God for His Spirit who takes our feeble words and thoughts and brings them to the Father. However, there are many times when words fail to come. What do I pray when I don't have a clue what God's will for this situation or person may entail?     Something that I have been challenged to learn lately is to pray Scripture.  What a blessing this is!  First, this requires me to be reading His Word. I must be familiar with Scripture. Time spent in God's Word is always a blessing. I learn of my Savior as I am searching.     Next, I have great confidence that my heart and spirit are aligned with His will when I am praying the Words of God. So much of the Bible is the records of the prayers and heart-cries of Christ, or types of Christ. He is our model in all things, including prayer.    How does this work? ...