Women of Promise

  Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me,   and that thou bidd'st me come to thee,      O Lamb of God, I come, I come.    2 Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot,                     to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot   O Lamb of God, I come, I come 3 Just as I am, though tossed about   with many a conflict, many a doubt,   fightings and fears within, without O Lamb of God, I come, I come.   4 Just as I am, thou wilt receive,   wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; because thy promise I believe,                                             O Lamb of God, I come, I come.        The author of this beautiful hymn, Charlotte Elliott was an invalid for over fifty yea...

     I am not sure if you have realized this yet or not, but words fascinate me!  Reading the Bible provides me with ample opportunity to look into new words. These times of study never fail to produce a special, new understanding of our Savior. As you know, I love to share with you lessons that I come across in my studies.  Today's thoughts are no different.  It all started with a look at a strange to me word:  PREEMINENCE.  What on earth (or heaven) does that mean?  It is certainly not a word used in everyday vocabulary.  My curiosity (more likely, the Holy Spirit) led me down this path of blessing.  Colossians 1: 18-20 reads:  And He {Christ} is head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have preeminence . For in Him the fulness of God was pleased to dwell and  through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether in heaven or on earth, making peace by ...

      The past two years I have had the privilege of joining our Women of Promise to the yearly luncheon at Milligan University.  Last year the featured speaker was Pam Tebow, and this year it was Nicole C. Mullen. Both are gifted speakers with a clear passion for the Lord and His Word. It was a blessing to hear the stories of how the Lord has worked in their lives and hearts over the years.  Both ladies have incredible testimonies to the goodness of God and are using the platforms that God has given them to edify and encourage the body of Christ.       One thing that stood out to me was that both of these women of God had large amounts of Scripture hidden in their hearts.  It was evident as they quoted large passages of Scripture without referring to their notes or PowerPoints.  Both of these ladies testified to the Word of God lifting them up in times of great darkness.  Both of them also shared their personal aids for Bible ...

  Image Source: truthforlife.org     One of my favorite ministers of the gospel to hear on the radio or podcast is Alistair Begg.  He pastors in Ohio, but comes from Scotland originally.  He has a unique way of making Scripture come alive with his storytelling style and his lilting Scottish brogue. To hear Brother Begg is delightful and he always has a way of making you think and reflect on Scriptural truth. As is always the case with the Word of God, hearing Scripture will lead to conviction, repentance, gratitude and worship.       One such sermon that Brother Begg includes an excerpt that is powerful.  I am including the link, so that you may hear him share it, if you wish. The Man on The Middle Cross . Here is the transcript of that section of his sermon from Truthforlife.org  : Think about the thief on the cross... I can’t wait to find that fellow one day to ask him, “How did that shake out for you? Because you were cussing the...

  I have no greater joy than to hear that  my children are walking in the truth.  3 John 1:4     The topic of raising children who are spiritually grounded in the Word is of vital importance and has eternal consequences. Current events have brought to light the urgency of the next generation knowing the foundational truths if Scripture, which will form the worldview for all of their beliefs. Furthermore, this responsibility reaches beyond just the parent, but to the extended family and to our church's ministry to our young people. We must look at children as Jesus looks at them, and realize that how we approach child training matters.      We have talked briefly about the fact that each life is created with purpose by God.  Each child is entrusted to us for a short time. Our instruction manual is the Holy Bible, and there is, in fact, much said in Scripture about how we are to shepherd these precious hearts. The problem is that many parents, ...

       With seven children, I have clung for years to the promise in Proverbs 22:6:  Train up a child in the way he should go;  and when he is old, he will not depart from it.        A question has always nagged in the back of my mind: Can I REALLY trust this? I mean, I have known of so many Godly parents, whose children have strayed away from the truths they were taught. Does that mean I can't trust God's Word? In my mind, it came down to two things: either God cannot be trusted to keep every single promise He has made, or there was a key parenting element that God expected parents to act on that sincere, Christian parents were missing every day. Which was it?  How can I parent in confidence?  I decided to search it out.      I was floored to learn that I had been taking Proverbs 22:6 out of context all these years.  The importance of understanding all of Scripture in context as well as looking at the origi...

       Happy Valentine's Day!  February 14th has been a day dedicated to showing those closest to us our love.  Like many holidays, it has become commercialized and cheapened over the years by many. Others celebrate it to its fullest.  I love holidays and I love to have any reason to celebrate anything!     Did you know that there actually was a man named Valentine who has been granted the status of "saint" by the Roman Catholic church?  Did you know that Valentine was a martyr for the Christian faith?  While much of his story is clouded in legend, there are several snippets that have been confirmed by historians. Anyone who stood for Jesus in the face of death deserves the highest honor. Here is Valentine's story:     In the third century AD, there was an emperor of Rome, named Claudius III.  He was a very cruel emperor.  One of the cold decrees he made outlawed marriage in the Roman Empire. His reasoning was th...