Tuesday, January 14th

What do you do when things just aren't going well in your life?  Sometimes it seems like it can go from a really bad day to an awful week.  There's no stopping that, girls, for that is life.   Circumstances aren't always fair; people aren't always kind; and quite frankly, it can seem like the battle just isn't worth fighting.  But it is.

I'm not going to tell you the name of the young woman in the Bible that I am referring to yet, but I will tell you her story.

Born into a poor family, her lot in life was to be a servant.  I wonder if she ever thought that wasn't fair??  After being sold to a wealthy family, she was forced to leave her home country of Egypt to travel to the homeland of those whom she would serve.  Imagine, leaving behind your family to be a servant!  She had no way of knowing whether she'd ever see her loved ones again.  Surely she cried in anguish about the unfairness of it all.  What a life, right?  Her woes didn't stop there.  She was given the news that she would now be required to marry an 86-year-old man and have his child.  In our culture, this is so foreign and hard to imagine.  But, in middle-eastern culture during this time period, it wasn't uncommon at all.  This particular young woman obeyed what her owners asked of her and bore a son.  Even then though, it still got worse.  After her son was 14-years-old, her owner's wife miraculously also had a little boy.  When the new baby boy was born, the servant girl and her son were put out of the home.  As this woman drudged through the blazing hot desert sand with a teenage boy in tow, she  cried out in anguish.  Finally, with her water supply gone, she left her son under a bush to die and found a place where she wouldn't have to watch him take his last breath.  But...he didn't die.  In fact, The Lord spoke plainly to Hagar,

Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. Genesis 21:18

Just when Hagar thought her circumstances couldn't get any worse, they did.  Sold as a slave, torn from her family, forced to marry an old man, and now kicked out of her home with nothing more than a loaf of bread and a bottle of water, if anybody ever had a right to cry out, "But, it's not fair!", surely she did.  And, if Hagar had insisted on wallowing in self-pity, she might have missed the saving voice of God.  

Her life's lot wasn't of her choosing; yet, God's hand was in the middle of it all.  The circumstances of your life may not be what you'd like.  But just as the Lord knew of Hagar and her mistreatment, He knows where you are.  And, He won't let you down.  Had Hagar never been sold as a servant and forced to leave Egypt, she may have never come to know the true God.  She likely would have continued with her pagan,  idolatrous worship,  God used her circumstances to draw her to Himself.  He will use the unfair things in your life, too, girls.   He'll use those things to shape you, to humble you, and to direct you.

Scripture Reading for the Day:

Proverbs 14
Titus 2

Monday, January 13th: Guest Writer, Mrs. Lois Ormsby

To the Glory of God with our Time

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” ~ Ephesians 5:16

God has given us 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week.  He lets us decide how we use the time He has given to us.  But why can’t He just make us use our time wisely, Miss Lois?  Wouldn’t that be simpler?  Our human mind tells us that this makes sense.  However, the reason that God doesn’t make us do anything is because that would be because of His power that we do things and not because we love Him.  He gives us the choice because it helps us grow in our love for Christ.

“Redeeming” – that’s talking about using time wisely, buying back time we might be used to wasting, making our time count for something.  It is TOO easy to waste time – whether it’s watching TV, texting someone, reading novels, browsing Pinterest (oh that’s a hard one! Yes, for me too J ) or catching up with everyone on Facebook – the era we live in has all sorts of easy ways to waste time.  Now, notice, girls, none of the things I just mentioned are sins in and of themselves; but, when we do these things mindlessly, instead of spending our time on purpose, that’s when those things can become sin.

As a young single girl, you have prime time for yourself.  And this is not a bad thing!  God has given you these years to draw close to Him, to increase your abilities through learning, and to prepare yourself for adulthood.  To help determine how you should spend your time wisely, ask yourself:

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What is something that I can learn now that will help me be a better wife someday? Cooking, housework, paperwork, finances…

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What is something that I can learn now that will help me be a better mother someday? Health tips, wise money-spending, childcare…

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What is something that I can learn now that will help me be a better Christian adult someday? Memorizing Scripture, daily walking with the Lord, helping around church on a weekly basis…

Each one of us can come up with more answers for these questions on our own.  Be specific!  Be adventurous!  And be courageous J

Scripture Reading for the Day:

Proverbs 13
Titus 1

Sunday, January 12th

Question Girls:  What does it say about your testimony for Christ if people who are running from God are comfortable around you?  

There are normally two trains of thought on Biblical separation.  One is that you must be so separated, so holy that you'd not think of lowering yourself to spend time with someone wicked.  The other thought is that you must not be separated at all because in order to win the world, you must be like the world.  Which of these convictions is right?  Based on Scripture, neither.  

We are not to 'fellowship' with this world or those that insist on living worldly.  By fellowship I mean spending our leisure time, hanging out, or relaxing.  Those things are to be done with those who share the same values or convictions.  "Why is that, Mrs. Kim?"  Simple.  You will only be as spiritual as your mentor.  So, if your closest confidants are those who don't give a hoot about God or His ways, how long do you think you'll care about Godly things?  My mama said it like this, "Lay down with the dogs, you'll get up with fleas."  Scripture says this,

"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."  Proverbs 27:17

There are times that you will have to draw an invisible line in the sand.  You'll have friends that are going one way, and you'll have to decide whether to go their direction or God's.  When you do, you will be called names; you will be ridiculed.  

On the other hand, to convince yourself that your worldly lifestyle is "ministering" to others because it helps them feel "comfortable" is deceptive.

Quick question:  Are those who live contrary to God comfortable around you?  If they do not feel some sort of rebuke, not so much by your words as by your testimony, then you must question whether your life is actually reflecting Christ.  The Lord Jesus, by His very presence, brought conviction.  What does your presence bring?  

Scripture Reading for the Day:

Proverbs 12
II Timothy 4

Saturday, January 11th: Guest Writer, Mrs. Lois Ormsby

Our Attitude to the Glory of God

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:”

~ 1 Peter 1:21

Attitude – unfortunately, we females are pros at this one. Good attitudes, sweet attitudes, bad attitudes, nasty attitudes…you name it, we’ve got it!

A time when it is most difficult to have a right attitude, though, is when the person we are dealing with does not have a good attitude to begin with, either. If you’re like me, that just makes me more mad and frustrated with that person. I easily clam up and silent treatment is unfortunately something I am good at --- and that is so wrong!

Glorifying God in our attitude is not easy…and God never said it would be. Look at the verse above: we know we are to follow Christ’s steps. How does the verse describe Christ’s steps?

He suffered.

Yes, Christ was without sin, and did not have to battle the flesh like we do. However, the Bible does say that He was tempted in every area that we are tempted – He was God and man at the same time. And, He bore our sins for us…I don’t know how much more suffering a person could endure than that.

How do we have a right attitude with others? We seek to respond as Christ did. To our human hearts, this answer might almost feel like a cop-out, but truly, there is no better One we can turn to for an example. He endured more bad attitudes from others than any one of us will ever have to endure - His own brothers thought He was crazy until after He arose from the dead; the soldiers kicked Him, spit on Him, pulled His beard out; the Jews screamed for His crucifixion; one of His own disciples betrayed Him, one whom He had invested 3+ years in; we sin against Him even though He has given us eternal life. The list goes on and on! Yet what did Christ do? He responded in a holy, Godly, and meek manner.

Responding like Christ takes effort, daily concentration. Sometimes, we fail. But if we on purpose ask God for His help in this area, He will help us to walk more like His Son!

 

Scripture Reading for the Day:

 

Proverbs 11

II Timothy 3

Friday, January 10th: Guest Writer, Mrs. Lois Ormsby

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” ~ Matthew 5:16

Recently one of you asked me a great question: why does the world judge Christians for things that they (the world) do themselves? Things like drinking, going to a night club, missing church, etc…

The reason that the world judges us is simple – they know that we are supposed to be different. They might not know why, but they know that “real Christians” do things differently. Maybe they are looking to see a Christian who follows what he says he follows, not a Christian who goes to church on Sunday and Wednesday but then hits up the lottery machines on the week days. The world is looking for the real deal – because in their hearts, they want to be the real deal too. More than once, the Bible even talks about how sometimes the world is wiser than Christians, because the world knows how Christians should act better than we do!

But why do we have to be on “display” all the time? The Bible verse above answers why. Like it or not, we, as children of God, represent Christ! We are always representing Him, either in a good, glorifying way or in a bad, shameful way. God calls us to be holy; He doesn’t give us a choice about that – it’s a command! He gets sad when we, as His children, do not obey this command and instead live life the way we want to. He is hurt when we live life on the “edge of the rules”, so to speak, because our heart is more interested in pleasing ourselves than it is to glorify God in everything that we do.

If we are following the verse above, the world will look at our life and think, “Wow, maybe there really is something true about their God.” Do you think there are people in your life who might be thinking that? Wouldn’t it be awesome for one of your friends at school or at work to get saved because you lived a faithful, different, holy life before them?

So, before you do something in public – whether it is at school, at work, at the mall, at the gas station, at the grocery store, at the theme park, or wherever! – ask yourself: Would I want Jesus Christ to come with me to this place and do this with me? Would it cause people to look to God if I do this?

 

 

Scripture Reading for the Day:

 

Proverbs 10

II Timothy 2

 

Thursday, January 9th: Guest Writer, Mrs. Lois Ormsby

Our Speech to the Glory of God

“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” ~ Exodus 20:7

When I was twelve years old, I came across a tract entitled, “Is It Swearing?”. This pamphlet covered some words that are common in today’s vocabulary, but words that should not be part of our vocabulary at all. Here are some of the words it covered:

- Gosh, golly: “used as a mild oath, slang replacement for God”

- Gee: “used as an introductory expletive, a slang replacement for Jesus”

- Darn: “a slang term for ‘damn’”

- Heck: “a slang term for ‘hell’”

Did you know that? I certainly did not, until I read that pamphlet. Growing up, my parents did not let us use such language, but it was not until I was 12 that I understood why.

“Oh my ____” “_______it!” or, just plain old “________” --- we all know that is how the world speaks today. But did you know that every time someone uses gosh, golly, or gee, they are blaspheming the name of God – taking the name of God in vain? People today would call this “wooden swearing”, or basically, not swearing at all. But, girls, God does not change, and He says that it is wrong to swear mildly or strongly:

“But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” ~ Matthew 5:34-37

Seriously, Miss Lois, that’s not what that means…Really? Look it up in two or three dictionaries and see if I’m wrong. The reason I wanted to share what I learned with you is because what we say is to be to the glory of God. How is it glorifying God when we’re using His name – or damn, or hell – as swear words?

Well if I shouldn’t say those kind of words, what CAN I say? That is certainly a natural question – and it is a question we should ask! I think we Christians sometimes are too good at mimicking the world’s ways and not even realizing it. We hear each other say things like “oh my word” or “oh my goodness” --- but did you know that “Word” and “Goodness” are either names or descriptions of God? That is something I realized recently and came under conviction about. The only thing I might say now is “oh my soul” because David used that term in Psalms more than once. However, even then, I am trying not to even talk like that, because – why do we even HAVE to talk like that in the first place? Just because it is “normal” doesn’t make it right. If we have a habit of talking like the world but we didn’t realize just how worldly it is, God is ready to help us get rid of this habit! His mercy and patience is abundant.

Scripture Reading for the Day:

Proverbs 9
II Timothy 1

Wednesday, January 8th

Today we will finish our mini-study of the characteristics of the woman in Proverbs 7.  Before we cover today's material, let's recap yesterday's devotion.

The first 3 traits we looked at were these:
1.) Dressed to advertise
2.)  Loud and stubborn
3.) Busybody

 So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows.  Proverbs 7: 13-14

This young woman's behavior was far from what you or I would consider ladylike.  She had no problem at all being flirtatious and forward with this young man.  Young ladies ought not to flaunt themselves in such a way that it tempts young men.  You know what I mean, girls, so let's skip to the chase.  The way you stand with your hand on your hip, the nonchalant way you toss your hair when a young man is watching you, that little pout on your lips: all of these are subtle signals to young men.  In other words, flirting. 

Notice also verse 14.  This young woman had a total disrespect for God and spiritual matters.  She boasts that she had "made things right with God" so everything was fine.  What dangerous ground to make a mockery of the things of God!

Finally, verse 19 gives an indication of the young woman's lack of respect for the head of the home.

 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

She was basically saying, "Listen, we're all alone.  Nobody's going to find out."  The final result of all her actions and speech?  Verse 21 gives us the end:


With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.

That's right, girls, the Bible uses the words, she forced him.  Of course, this young man will obviously give an account for his wrong choices; but, this young woman will stand before God and answer for the way she led him into sin.

Flirting is something that no one ever has to teach a girl; rather she has to be taught how to NOT flirt.  Even though it may seem like harmless fun, it is detrimental to your reputation and most definitely harmful to a young man who may very well be trying to walk uprightly.

Scripture Reading for the Day:

Proverbs 8
I Timothy 6