Women of Promise

      It's that time of year again. The time where we look over the past year and make "resolutions" for the New Year. We are gifted a fresh start and it is a good time to focus on new disciplines or renewed focus on older disciplines.      As followers of Jesus, I hope that the importance of reading the Word of God is already a priority for each of us. If not, that is a great resolution for the new year! We cannot understand or know God and His great love for us apart from the Bible. His Word is living and powerful. It will cut to the bones and marrow. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. God's Word will bring light to your soul and you will never be the same. There is no substitute for spending time in the Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in your heart through it. (If reading is difficult for you, there are many wonderful audio versions available -- check them out!)     One of my areas of renewed focus th...

  image source: James Shulz at fineart.com      Growing up, one tradition that my parents created for our family was the playing of Handel's Messiah  every year throughout the Christmas season.  It is a classical oratorio piece that is absolutely jam-packed with Scripture put to beautiful music. You have probably heard "The Hallelujah Chorus?" We learned to stand for that section, in honor of the glorious entrance of Christ as King.  Even with the scratchiness of the old vinyl record, it just didn't feel like Christmas until we had heard this playing through the house as we went about our other Christmas traditions. This was just one way that my parents worked hard to keep Jesus the central focus of the Christmas season.      Recently, my oldest son (15 years old) had the opportunity to lead a ministry time for over 70 people.  He only had a few hours notice.  He was understandably nervous and trying to decide what to say. My o...

  Amazing grace! how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see. The Lord has promised good to me His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures. ~ John Newton      We all recognize these words to the beautiful hymn, "Amazing Grace," which has been sung for hundreds of years in churches around the world.  John Newton, the author, celebrates the 4th "Sola" that we come to in our study of the "5 Solas,"  Sola Gratia,   or Grace Alone. Mr. Newton knew that his soul's eternal security was a gift that he could never be worthy of receiving.      We have discussed that Scripture is our only authority.  Then we have seen that salvation from an eternal hell (justification) is recieved by faith alone, in Christ alone.   The doctrine of Grace Alone teaches us that our justification is offered on the basis of GOD's grace only. ...

     As part of our sinful nature, we humans tend to like to think that we are involved in everything, don't we? We often inflate our part in the retelling for it to seem as if we are just a little bit more important than we are.       As we look into the "5 Solas,"  we are going to take a brief look at Solus Christus today.  "Christ Alone."  We often apply this primarily to salvation. Justification --salvation from hell, or eternal separation from God, is made possible ONLY by the work of Christ on the cross. However, this applies to all areas of our life as we experience the sanctifying work of Christ in our lives -- transforming us into His image.  In both justification and sanctification, it is Christ alone who accomplishes this beautiful work in and through us.       Looking back at the time of Martin Luther, salvation was taught by the Roman Catholic church, who controlled what and how Scripture was accessi...

      Time. Don't you wish there was more of it?  I often think of how much I could get done if we just had a few more hours in a day! Mercifully, God is not limited by time.  He gives us an allotted time on this earth (we don't know what that time is) and is watching to see how we use the time He gives us.  As my children grow, I am finding that next to the gospel, the most important thing that I can teach them is to prioritize Jesus in their hearts and lives.       Haggai is an itty, bitty book in the back of your Old Testament.  It is only two chapters long!  God gave the prophet Haggai a message and it boils down to this: "Ya'll forgot about my house!  Fix it!" (Those are my words, not God's, in case you were wondering!)      You see, these Jewish people had been exiles in Babylon. They had returned to their homeland and started building for themselves some pretty nice houses. It had been eighteen years...

  This was first written 4 years ago. The dates have changed (this is the 14th Father's Day since my dad was taken to Heaven, and 4 years since Sam's dad's passing) but the truth of God as our Faithful Father is still the greatest comfort. May these words bring comfort and strength to your walk with Jesus this Father's Day.      Father's Day is a beautiful day to celebrate and honor our fathers.  Both Sam and I will celebrate our fathers, knowing that they are worshipping our Saviour in His very presence this year.  This will be Sam's first Father's Day without his dad on Earth, and it will be the tenth without mine.  Father's Day will be filled with sweet memories and pangs of sorrow from missing those sweet faces and hugs.  However, what we can both testify to is the faithfulness of God.  He is a Father to the fatherless and His love and mercy are never-ending.      Our earthly fathers are to be a picture of our Heavenly Fath...

       The seventh of our eight children made the most important decision of his entire life last week.  After VBS, he made the decision to follow Jesus.  River is only six years old, but I am sure he understands the basics of sin, Jesus' redemption, and salvation.  There has been much rejoicing in heaven, in our church and in our home.  So, what is our responsibility to ensure River grows in his relationship with Jesus and in his Christian faith? Discipleship. I am so thankful for a church that encourages our children to grow in their faith. God has blessed us with leadership that encourages growth in God's Word among all of us, from little ones to adult.       We have talked some recently about the startling statistics of children who choose to leave the faith in their later teen years as well as the sad state of Christian churches where the pastors and teachers do not even possess a Biblical worldview.  It is scary and ...