Thoughtful Thursday: Lord, let me help you.

Written by Kami Gimenez, Pastor's wife

(Source)

Let's face it.  We women like to help. That's really why we were created in the first place!  As a wife, we are "help"meets for our husband.  As Mommas, our days are filled with helping! (like today when my potty training two year old put a washcloth down the toilet and flushed it) and sometimes we women even like to help at matchmaking.  He he.

But, when it comes to the Lord, we often carry our quality of being helpful too far, and we try to help God.  I read about a woman like that this morning.  Beautiful Rebekah finds herself married and far from home.  Then, she finds out she is pregnant.  She learns she is carrying twins and they are quite active!  In fact Genesis 25:22 tells us that the "children struggled together within her."  This must have been more than the normal kick and nudge from a baby in the womb because she asked the Lord why it was so?  The Lord gave her a glimpse into the future and let her know that her older baby would serve the younger.

Now, fast forward some years.  Rebekah's husband is dying and as was the custom he was to give his blessing to one of his children and called for his eldest and favorite, Esau.  Rebekah, knowing what the Lord had told her about her younger son, decided to "help" God.  She used deceit and tricked her eldest son and her husband.  She thought she was helping God out, but in the end she caused even more division between her two sons that caused Jacob to have to flee for his life. Just think of the influence she had on Jacob.  I wonder where he learned to be such a trickster?  I'm sure there was some division caused in her marriage as well.  And by Jacob fleeing, she robbed herself of seeing him for at least 20 years.

Did God need her help?  Of course not. I wonder how things would have turned out if she had let God handle the situation.  I'm afraid that we often want to "help" the Lord out, too, and often make a mess of things.  There's two in particular that I'm thinking of:

~We try to "help" and be the Holy Spirit to our husbands.  You know how it is...you see something that you don't particularly like, or think he should do.  When I take it upon my self to nag and fuss and bring out a spiritual reason as to why he should _______ (you can fill in the blank), it can cause a division.  Now, of course, we need to communicate to our husbands our desires and wishes.  But, we need to be careful of how we communicate and when we should just let God handle the situation.  I learned early in my marriage that if I communicate a desire to my husband and he just doesn't agree, I can always go above his head and pray to God.  It's amazing the results!  Either the Lord will change my husband's heart on the matter, or I will realize how petty and silly I was being.  God sure does know how to handle it best!

~We try to "help" God when we pray.  My sister and I were talking about this not too long ago.  Sometimes, if we're not careful, our prayer time can be filled with us telling God how things should go and how He could make them happen.  Sometimes I have the situation down perfect!  "God if you would just let this happen, then this person do this, then the end result would be perfect!"  How foolish that can be.   It reminds me of Proverbs 3:5, "lean not unto thine own understanding."  The Lord's way is perfect and He truly does know best!

  I wonder how things would have turned out if Rebekah had let God handle the situation.  Sometimes it's not so easy to "Let go and Let God."  But, the rewards of a trusting heart have an amazing impact on our situation and the lives of those we truly want to help.

Teen Tuesday: Ways to Stay Pure

Written by Abigail Tardiff, a GBC teenager

                                                                                                                                   

            Statistics show us that more than half of all high school students have had physical relations at some point during high school.  Although physical relationships are approved by God, they are not approved when they are not done according to His Word.  In this article, I will be discussing a few things that we can do to keep our bodies pure and preserved for marriage. 

11.  Keeping a clean mind and heart

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

The Bible tells us that we need to have our thoughts in check.  God knows what we think.  In Philippians 4:8 we find that we should dwell on the pure things.  Often the words that we say indicate what the inside of our heart is like.  By keeping our thoughts and heart clean, we can be ideal Christian examples and show others who lives in us. 

22.  Being modest

1 Timothy 2:9 “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;”

In this passage, the Scriptures say that we should dress accordingly.  Dressing correctly is not only safe, but it indicates to others that we are Christians and that we hold ourselves to God’s standard.  Some Christians who live by these standards are often mocked, but they are just living what they believe to be true according to God’s Word.

33.  Having a walk with Christ

Galatians 5:16  “[This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

Having a personal relationship with God is vital to keeping your purity.  In Proverbs 22:3, we see that a prudent man sees the evil before it comes, and separates himself from that evil.  Being where you’re supposed to be, and knowing when to draw the line and say “no” when a situation arises can help make your relationship with God stronger. Having a relationship with God does not usually come easy.  It is something that you must strive to have.  For this reason, it is important to know what you believe and why you choose to believe it. 

Monday's Message: Hope

Most often, when we read the word hope in the word of God; it does not have the same meaning of how we commonly use the word hope today in our conversation.  For example, when we say: “I hope I get an A, or I hope it doesn’t rain”, etc.

The Bible word hope is actually stronger than faith, of believe.  The word hope is used in Titus 2:13  “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

The next prophetical event on God’s calendar is the coming of Jesus Christ; or more properly: our going to meet Him in the air.  And as the scripture teaches us, it is that blessed hope. It is with a confident expectation we look for the appearing of our Saviour.

This is the very same word Paul uses in his writing to the church at Corinth, in II Corinthians 1:7 “And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.” It is the very same word for hope.  This he speaks to them after teaching them and trying to console them concerning their personal sufferings.  He speaks to them with the hope of their steadfastness, even after going through some troublesome times, and heart aches.

He is saying to them ”I know you’ve had some tough times, I know some things have happened… but I also know, not only that you will be partakers of God’s great consolation, but also, I have confidence in you, and in your steadfastness, that you’re not going to faint.”

This is a great testimony of the relatively young Christians of the church at Corinth, that Paul would have such confidence in their character.

Oh, that the dear Lord Jesus knows this of me.  That if and when I go through some very tough times, He has confidence in me, knowing me and my character better than I know myself.

This is very similar to what God used Paul to write to the church at Phillipi in Philippians 2: 12a  “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,”

How important is it for us to have a good testimony with other Believers?

Family Friday: It is Okay to Fail

I'm much more impressed with a person who shoots for an A and fails and gets a C instead than the guy who aimed for a D because he knew he could hit it, and does. Failure is not the bad thing that we tend to think it is-at least not in the positive areas in our lives. Succeeding in becoming a drug addict is not the type of success anyone should shoot for. Failure is the process by which we learn. As toddlers, we failed and failed in our attempts to walk. Our failure even brought pain as we fell down, bumped our heads, and wailed for mommy and daddy, but this process of failure teaches us a very important truth. As you fail, you learn more than you thought you would. When a toddler fails in his efforts to walk, he also learns how to fall. Falling is part of life. We all fall, but when we do fall, it is important that we fall in such a way that we can get back up again. When you fall in life-a failure-you learn how to handle it with poise, dignity, and with the desire to get right back up again. I pastor a Church and as such I do a lot of public speaking. I can't help but make mistakes. But instead of turning red, stammering around and apologizing profusely, which only embarrasses everyone else, I crack a joke about it. Everyone laughs and the failure is turned into a success. I've learned how to fall in public speaking!  I can get right back up. The Bible speaks of this. It says, 'A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again.' This man isn't just because he never fails. He is just because when he does fail, he gets back up! That is the key. Failure toughens you up and allows you to try again! Imagine a person that has never suffered anything in life. He has never failed, he has never suffered a misfortune-he's never suffered anything. His ability to handle difficulties and trials is nil. He would be so weak and so ineffective that the first wisp of a storm or trial in his life will cause him to collapse. It is the failures in life that toughen us up, and makes us worth knowing. Failure is only failure if it keeps you down. Quitting is the only true failure in life. A marriage is a success if they keep trying and learning from their mistakes. But if they quit, yes, it has failed. Imagine a toddler attempting to walk and falling down, and imagine that same toddler saying, 'Well, I tried this walking thing. I really did. But it's just not for me. I don't think I'm cut out to walk. Besides, it's dangerous, and I think that people who want to walk are crazy!' No parent would condone such an attitude! Yet we live such an attitude in our daily lives. Failure is only failure if you quit! Failure can be very motivational! They say that the alley under Thomas Eddison's window was littered with hundreds and possibly thousands of his failed attempts to build a light bulb. When questioned about his failure, he responded with something like this, "I now know a thousand ways not to build a light bulb." His failure drove him on to succeed! But more than that, when we shoot for something we might fail at then we always go further and accomplish more than when we shoot for something we know we can succeed at. I'd rather shoot for the A and fail than succeed at the D because I knew I could succeed there. If I get a B or a C, I went further than I would have had I been scared to fail. Failure is not the end. It is just the beginning. Go on, give it a try. So what if you fail…at least you tried.

Thoughtful Thursday: Sin and Victory

Ever have one of those days where you feel distant from God?   I know that I’m not alone in this.

We all have those days, whether we realize it or not.  Maybe we woke up late and skipped our morning devotions or rushed through our prayer time without REALLY talking to God.  But honestly, as a child of God, what causes us to be distant from God, most of all?

 Sin.

We all sin on a daily basis, but I’m referring to a particular sin that we struggle with that comes between us and God.

We went to a conference a couple years ago and the speaker taught us something so life-changing.  He said that when you have a sin that you seek the victory over, go to Romans chapter 6.  Then read the entire chapter out loud and replace the word “sin” throughout the chapter with the specific sin that we want to defeat.  When you hear all of the promises and reminders in this passage, paired specifically with what you’re struggling with, it’s so powerful!

For example, using the sin of consuming alcohol, one that I personally struggled with for many years:

Verse 14: For (alcohol) shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace.

Verse 18: Being then made free from (alcohol), ye became the servants of righteousness.

“Shall not have dominion over you…”

“Being then made free from…”

Paul reminds us that as a saved child of God, we already have the victory over sin.  Whatever the sin may be, whether seemingly small or great, Jesus died for them all and we can use Romans 6 to reclaim that victory. 

Whenever I’m struggling, I read Romans 6, get encouraged and empowered, then turn to another passage.

Psalms 51:10 – Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me.

I ask God for forgiveness and a fresh start.  I love that we serve a God of “another chance”.  He knows we are not perfect and He doesn’t expect us to be.  He simply wants us to humble ourselves and realize that we need Him.

James 4:8a – “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”

This is when I realize that He isn’t so far away.  As I begin to take a step back towards Him, He is already there.