Kim E.

Non-Christians, or anyone who is confused by the difference between grace and law can make life truely hard on you. You can do this to yourself also. Most people just like to see you loose control, especially if they do. They either don't believe they are sinners or they believe they are forgiven and so can do as they please. In the Christian life there are two extremes, legality and license, and satan doesn't care which one he pushes you into as long as it's one or the other. I believe grace is right down the middle. True grace commands us and provides us with a motive to obey. Every human, no matter what they say, resents being told what to do at one time or the other, but if you know grace it awakens in you a desire to do what is right, to comply with the commands of God. We're all tempted at any given time to become rebellious and out of control, but Christians can resist temptation because if grace is at work in them they will think to themselves, "I must give myself a chance, a chance to exert control through grace." I have a much greater sense of sin under grace.

I immediately thought of the spiritual warfare studies and II Corinthians 10:2-6. Truth, Love, Righteousness, Faith-Prayer are the weapons we must be armed with. We have to face it, there are strongholds of evil that we must have broken down by God. Only God can capture the man. But then there comes the time when we as Christians must take responsibility for capturing our thoughts for Christ. If we do not examine our thinking and bring it under control our Christian relationship will be weak. If you want permanent victory, it is absolutely necessary for you to do this. This is the attitude Christ had. He knew the mighty power of these weapons. Once we know freedom in Christ, we must set out to obey or we will end up right back where we were. I'm glad we had this question. I really need to study this again. And I think that is what it takes, to read and re-read the Scripture and meditate on these life giving principals which we have to learn from and remind ourselves. Our responsibility for keeping the fortress that God has broken down the walls of.

I made a pledge to Christ when I was 10 and was baptised. I felt the love of Christ and knew the dedication in that pledge and baptism at 10 years old and was sure I would follow Christ all the days of my life. When I got a little older the world beckoned. I backslid for a long time. Everywhere I turned the Lord was always calling to me to turn around and come back. I believe that on that day when I was 10, I made the most important choice of my entire life. I had given myself to Christ and He promised to be with me that day. His Holy Spirit was with me. I was selfish, downright uncontrolable, but He never gave up on me. He knew my heart. We talk about God knowing our hearts and revealing what is in the heart of man all the time and most of the time we mean the deceitfulness of the heart. But all through my life God knew what was really in my heart no matter how I acted out. He knew I loved Christ and He knew I would stand up for Christ if ever called upon. This is truely a personal experience, unique to each individual. My experience may sound strange to someone else, but it means everything to me. To know that I am loved so much, that the Lord would stay with me through it all and was sheparding me back home to the great rejoicing of all the friends of Jesus. I was united to the Lord that day and He kept His promise to me, to be with me always.

The scariest thing in the world to me today is knowing someone who refuses to believe that they are a sinner. Knowing and accepting that I am a sinner and that Jesus died for me, to make me righteous in the eyes of God so that I can be reconciled to God gives me great comfort. I believe that God impresses on me daily that I am reconciled to Him through Christ. I am but a wretched sinner and on earth I will be a sinner all my life. I have accepted the fact that no matter how I try I will never be without sin. But Christ has washed me clean in the eyes of God. God doesn't see my sin because Jesus has written his name across my name and become my advocate. This gift of reconciliation give me hope today and for the future. I pray that everyone will realize that they have all strayed and that they need Christ today and everyday.

I have a hard time witnessing because first of all, I'm scared of rejection, and I'm afraid that I will get no response at all. I find myself not being direct about witnessing, I'll find some way to work it in, instead of being really direct about Christ. But because of fear, I think some Christians just withdraw and give their money to missionaries and call that witnessing. I've considered that option myself. I'm learning this is not imitating our Lord, who gave up all things. People ignore me most of the time, or they always interupt me and some have come right out and told me "now is not the time or the place to discuss spiritual things". I have to say that witnessing is harder than I thought it would be. I know that juggling several different principals at the same time is really difficult too. It may be easier for you than me but I can't imagine. So when I'm out in the world and trying not to be of the world so my light will shine through I'm afraid I'm going to get lost in the world. So to say it's easy to be the wrong kind of witness in tough places is an understatement. The Holy Spirit is trying so hard to help me work on my worldliness right now. You can bet that most Christians today are not like the early Christians who loved not their lives unto death. I find that I need all of Peters' instructions to me at all times. I would pray for witnessing to become easier but I think the Lord would just tell me that if it were easy I would lose the spirit of glad sacrifice.

My husband and I live in a small community in Texas. When we first moved there people were slow to open up to us. I think that is just backlash from the world we live in. I can't possibly blame anyone for being cautious. But we wrote a note to all our closest neighbors and invited them to come over and join us for a bar-b-que. Two of our neighbors came over and said hello but no one joined us for the bar-b-que. We started going to the church down the street and the people there were definately friends of Jesus. They rejoiced when we showed up and they haven't, in my opinion, stopped rejoicing yet. When I'm faced with any difficulty in church, no matter what it may be, I try to remember that Jesus accepts us just as we are. I try to be that accepting and I believe the people in our church do the same. How humble is that? I know that they are compassionate, they have great compassion for me, a poor lost sinner. They were always sympathetic to my needs and affectionate towards me, and still are. True colors shine through with time. The people in our church are still shining. For the most part everyone is harmonious and hold no grudges, but we are talking about humans here. There are some problems, but they do not persist. You can't have so many together in one place and not have any disagreements. But they seem to agree to disagree and hold no grudge and go on. We must try to remember that the church is not a place for perfect people, it is a hospital for sinners. We're all there for the same reason. I've seen this church serve many, and have been asked to serve also. I've given my support willingly to many programs and have had great examples to follow in my fellow church members. We are called to be Christ-like and that is the only way we will ever change anything. We must be a good example to all those around us.

When you read Zechariah you get the full impact of what it means to not be heard by God. It is true for both the husband and the wife that to pretend not to hear God and deliberately disobey God and then act as if their behavior is justified will lead to blindness to the truth. We must be open and honest before God. I know I'm not able to handle every situation that comes up in my marriage without God. I don't want to be alone when dealing with everyday life with my husband and he doesn't want to be alone when dealing with me either. If we stay in the Word and don't pretend that we don't need God to help us treat each other right then we are repentant and humble before God. We admit that we are incapable of living the kind of married life that God intends if we are without Him. I want God to hear me and my husband when we pray. Every commonplace thing is touched with the glory of His presence when the Lord is the center of your life.

Jesus relates to women with knowledge and wisdom, so should her husband. Husbands who relate to their wives in this way bring her glory and honor. We all deserve to be loved in this way. When we avoid sarcasm and criticisim when relating to our spouse we are showing courtesy. To be courteous is a demonstration of love. I know my husbands

To cultivate beauty takes a daily commitment to walk in the Spirit. I believe you must love yourself as God loves you and realize that the other people in you life love you, especially your husband. When you know you are loved and appreciated the inner beauty just comes out in you. You are responsible for developing inner beauty but the people around you must also bear some responsiblity in loving and appreciating you. Your relationships should be nourishing. For me to gain character I had to first become aware of my spiritual need, mourn over my spiritual poverty and abandon myself to Christ. When I realized my life was nothing without Christ, I was lead by the Spirit to the Beatitudes and believe me those are some character building Scripture! I still need character building Scripture everyday of my life. To continue to build character we must remain in the Word and obey God. I believe true character is important to God because it determines what our life and witness are about. Do we stand or do we cave in? Do we rejoice when we are persecuted? It is important that my attitudes and behavior be conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. A Christian woman can get and hang onto her husband simply by understanding that you get back what you give. We should love like Jesus loves.

I'm the kind of girl who is wash and wear. I am very fair, so when I tried to use makeup it looked fake and cheap to me. So I am a natural woman now. I've never spent a lot of money on cosmetics because of this. So trying to look my best means that I'm constantly aware of how clean and bright my face looks, how clean my hair is, that my smile is bright, my body is always clean, my clothes are clean and respectable and I always smell good. That's a lot. My husband was drawn to that naturalness. He saw exactly what I was physically and he observed my beauty of spirit. No surprises. Women make a unique contribution to humanity. Our beauty of spirit brings beauty to everything around us. Our inner beauty reaches out to touch all of life. It is our unique ability to contribute beauty to life. Our capacity to love and support our husbands brings glory to him and to God. I only look my best when I'm doing that. Seems to me that the problems to look our best can not only affect us physically but mentally. You don't look your best when your competing with someone else. Trying to outdo someone else is always the wrong way to go. Women have problems with trying to look or act better than the next gal. If you're trying to do that then you've got a problem. My hope is that all women will ultimately be as beautiful as Sarah. A well balanced beauty would be to me a woman who is devoted to God and is submitted to her husband. Her relationship to God and her husband affects everything around her.

Well, considering that we are all selfish by nature we are going to have some problems with this stronghold of sin. Submitting or subjecting ourselves to each other has been made out to be such a negative relational character flaw in this society that people are believing it and insisting on their own way. I don't think of submission in relationships to be negative. My submission is a measure of the degree to which I am submitted to Christ. What a relief to be free and to be what I was made for. I was made to be helpful, so, no, I don't feel that I have to remain silent if I think things can be improved or I don't agree. I am not a rival, I am a helper. This submission does not make me weak, it strengthens me through Christ. Now if someone suggests that I disobey Gods' Word then I will take a stand if necessary or I will walk away, because then I am submitting myself to God first in all things.

We have inherited selfishness from our ancestors. It is whats' wrong with human nature. You don't have to teach a baby to be selfish, they just are. This is an unpleasant fact which man does not want to face but which the Word of God clearly states. We are not carrying on a worldly war, we are constantly struggling against the flesh. It will always be so. But we have the blessed assurance that through Jesus Christ we may be transformed. We cannot face sin in the typical worldly way, we have the divine power of Jesus Christ to confront and conquer our sin. We can find Scriptural solutions by staying in the Word. We can die to sin with truth, love and righteousness. We must live the truth of the Scripture, love unconditionally, and be obedient to Gods Word. We must have faith and prayer. If we rely on God to lead us and pray for His will to be done in our lives then we have assurance that we will break down strongholds of sin in our individual lives. To live for righteousness is to be obedient to God. It is not making excuses for our weaknesses anymore and justifying our failures. Live for God to be at work in you. Show tenderheartedness, acceptance and forgiveness for Christs' sake.

Well that question does not seem simple to answer. I start out saying I can not imagine the entire scope of Jesus bearing my sin. I believe God has provided for me the greatest gift I can ever receive in my life. I know that I will never be perfect as I walk on this earth, so Jesus bearing my sin is so significant to me. He bears my sin daily. Even though, sin is sin, no matter what, some sin can take time to overcome. Some sins are sins that are generational. There are sins which I may not be aware of that He is trying to bring to light as He helps to transform me daily. He is protecting me as I grow. He has given me the sight to see and to understand the scripture so I can grow in Him every day. If I have truely given my life to Jesus then that will be my priority, to grow in Jesus everyday and to seek to live a holy life. There is nothing I could or ever can do to earn forgiveness so living for the Lord is what He has called me to do. I'm so grateful for this gift of salvation and that He loves me that I can do nothing else. That I am forgiven for my past makes perfect sense to me, but that I am forgiven for the future transgressions is so awesome. I don't want to take that for granted. Jesus calls us to be transformed in His image. He is our priest, so we have someone to atone for us, someone to turn to in our difficulties, and has made it possible for us to approach the Father with boldness even as we are being transformed, because Jesus covers our sins so we can come to the Father. See I told you it's hard to explain something so awesome. It's a confidence, an understanding that only comes with living for the Lord.

The sacrifices of the old covenant could not take away sin or produce moral transformation because of the frailties of men, shown by the necessity of repeating the offerings. They were just shadows of the true one great sacrifice by Christ. The Levitical sacrifices could not permanently take away sin but Christs sacrifice is final and complete. Christs' offering of a pure and spotless life opened up spiritual access to the holy presence of God. That is how important Jesus sinlessness is to my salvation. Now I can draw near to God with spiritual confidence and a transformation can occur in me. When my sins were poured into Jesus soul I can only imagine that He grieved for me in His heart for the sin I have committed in my life. I know it grieves me. Jesus knew what His death on the cross meant to mankind. He saw His own death as a sacrifice for sin. He regarded His suffering and death as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. I can only believe that His willingness to do this for mankind made Him strong, His love made Him strong. Knowing that He was obeying His Father made Him stronger than we in our human minds can understand. I can't really explain how He could stand this kind of corruption except to say that He knew all along that He was supported by His Father because this was the will of God.

When I think of Jesus suffering for me personally my mind goes to the Garden of Gethsemane. I feel a powerful personal connection to Jesus in the Garden. He felt the anxiety I feel, He is deeply distressed and sorrowful in His soul, He knew the terrible agony and separation that awaited Him on the cross. Right at that very moment I feel that Jesus identified with me, a sinner, completely. He felt what it was like to know the Fathers will for Him but felt the anxiety of the conflict that goes on inside us personally about the will of God for us at times. Gods' will for our lives is not always easy for us to accept. He did the Fathers will and went to the cross to die for us. But we know that daily we are confronted with different decisions we have to make and sometime we make the wrong choices. For example, when someone needs our help in some way and we say "no, I can't do that" or "I don't have time right now", "I just don't have enough to go around". I feel the Spirit right at my side sometimes telling me, "don't say no". That's how personal it gets for me. I try to remember Jesus in the Garden when I feel anxious about the will of my Father for me. And these things are small things compared to what Jesus suffered and felt. I love to have Jesus that close to me. "Not my will, but thine"

Well here is where the road hits the rubber so to speak. We are told explicitly that we will suffer and be persecuted as Christians. Personally we can feel the bitter sting of opposition against us. It is not just people that we battle against, but satan. While I admit I have wanted to lash out when in situations like this, I have turned to God and prayed about situations that will make me angry or hurt. I have Jesus to guide me, his example is forever stamped upon my mind and is immediately in the forefront in situations where I don't know how to react properly. I'm human and I have been made angry and resentful but I don't know how someone can get through life without the divine presence of our Lord. I can't imagine how it would be anymore without knowing He is here to guide me. I have looked into my own heart and the Spirit has helped me discover the reasons why I'm so weak. The Lord is with me working through the pressures in my life. I am confident that my faith will keep me secure in the knowledge that God will give me the power and love that I need. I remind myself that these pressures didn't come to stay they "came to pass". If you wait, it will pass. Paul says to wait in cheerfulness, triumph and quiteness of heart. I'm going to keep going to Christ to work out my pressures and help me grow. I want real transformation, not just a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

The first thing I would do is pray about any adverse situation that comes up at work. I've been in these situations. I had a boss who was very had to work for years ago. He made life unbearable at times when I was at work. I prayed about that situation. The answer I got was "God puts His strongest soldiers in the most adverse situations." Now, I didn't think I was one of those soldiers!! God had something for me to learn and I feel I am blessed now because of going through that time. Then I've had to deal with other employees who were attacking me. I've found that if you're doing the right thing at work, that the truth and prayer will win. I believe even if you lose that job because of some injustice that you should be ready for whatever God has in store for you next and thank God for blessing you with being conscious of God in your workplace. This is a test, only a test. Hope you pass. I have complained before, but that got me nowhere. I don't complain anymore, I've found a better way. Prayer and the truth!!! That's the way to go. Lately, I've had little or no reaction to any unfair treatment, but like I said, I've always told the truth and that works. I'm aware that God is with me and He is protecting me no matter what the outcome. I haven't been in these situations of late. My job now has been great. I can say that the one time that another employee accused me of something, I told the truth to my boss and the other employees in that office knew what my character was all about and they backed me up. That poor girl lost her job. But I have to believe that even God is looking out for her. Maybe He's trying to teach her something about being conscious of God in her workplace. I pray for her.

God should receive the glory, honor and power for the abilities He has given me. God blessed me with these abilities and He expects me to use them to the best of my ability. God didn't shortcut me so I expect I will not shortcut Him. We bring enjoyment to God when we respect Him and respect others by giving our best. He gave His all to us. You have to have that attitude of gratitude to perform well and have respect. If you don't do a good job you may have a problem with being grateful for what God has given you. I have to tell you a story. This winter my husband got layed off. This happens periodically in his line of work. Together we prayed for God to provide for us during this time. But we were grateful for what we had. We're convinced that when God answered our prayer a few weeks later that He put my husband in the job he got just to help someone else. When he went to work, immediately there was a young man who needed his help and my husband helped him. After all, this is the attitude of gratitude. God has answered our prayers and blessed us abundantly so we gratefully turn around and help others. The foreman on this job ended up not being such an easy person to work for. But my husband did his best and helped this boy. After a month the job ended and he went to work somewhere else where God has blessed us again and again. God is in charge. We work for Him. Since we work for God, then anything less than the best He gave us is dishonor to Him, no matter what the circumstances.

"For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry." 1 Samuel 15:23. Saul was full of pride and he caved in and God rejected him as King. Saul grieved the Lord. We are commanded not to grieve the Spirit. Inwardly or outwardly we may rebel, either way we will loose blessings if God has to choose someone else to do what He has set out for us. We cannot hide from the Lord. When rebellion becomes manifested outwardly it can stir up troble for others as well. You may cause others to stumble or fall. When we submit ourselves to the Lords' instruction we bring Him glory. Grieving the Lord is enough in itself, but when you do your evil before mankind you hurt the message of love and salvation that God is trying to get to all mankind through us.

Servants are most like Jesus. We want Jesus to live now through us. When we are aware of the needs around us and meet those needs without being asked, with no expectation of a return and a willingness to serve even those who reject us we do even as Jesus did, to Gods' glory. Jesus washed the feet of His apostles, even Judas feet, knowing what the future would hold. I believe when we make ourselves available as servants of God it won't go unnoticed. If you help one person there is no telling how far that will go. It could lead to them hearing the gospel from you or that service may lead you to open doors you never knew existed. You don't ask or expect any glory yourself for the deeds you do with a humble spirit, but God honors true service. If you know these things you are blessed if you do them. Blending in reminds me of when I was a teenager and I wanted to dress like the crowd and do the things the crowd did. Just because the world is doing it doesn't make it right!! It might be easier at first, but it eventually takes its toll on you. If your relationship to God is right then you will be outstanding in spirit and able to refuse to blend in with the crowd or the times. It is impossible to have a strong witness when you go along with the world.

This hits very close to home with me. The reason we are told to abstain from the desires of the flesh is because as soon as you fall into a habit of this world it will be very hard to break. Once the devil convinces you to drink, smoke, take drugs, spend your money unwisely, have sexual contact outside of marriage, etc. you get trapped into these habits. If you are weak or an unbeliever or fall in with other weak or unbelieving, the rationalizing starts!! If you have habits you should be examining them closely to see what drives you to do them. You should be seeking the help of stronger brothers and sisters in Christ and praying to the Lord to help you put these things behind you. I ask the Lord to help me with these things. I have habits that I will struggle with the rest of my life because I did not abstain at one point in my life and even though you can pull the nail out the hole is still there. Even though I think I have a handle on it, something else will confront me. It is a constant war and only the Lord can help us say no to the world and yes to His commands. When I am confronted with habits, I will ask the Lord for help no matter what it may be.

Amen Sister kas! I've got a long way to go! Jesus said, " You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other." We are not of this world, we were chosen out of the world and so we should not have the attitudes of the world but of the spirit. We are the friends of Jesus and to reflect being true friends of Jesus we should be loving. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." When you understand the reality of this statement and that Jesus did just this then you will understand the attitudes and actions of Gods' chosen people. I will always owe my life to Christ to do what He commands. Thank the Lord, I have the written Word and the Holy Spirit to guide me.

I agree with so many of you that praise is everything we do, what we say, that we worship, etc. They didn't supply us with enough words to express what praise is. In the Psalms God is praised for everything, with everything and everywhere. I want to think of my life as one constant moment of praise. God made everything and gave me life and salvation through Jesus Christ. When He brought me into this world everything I would need was already here. He gave me everything in my body and soul that I would need to praise Him! How can you not praise God all day every day of your life for this! I'm over joyed with praise. I can't think of anytime when I'm not praising Him, even when I work, because He gave me the abilities I have to do this job. He has given me everything. Praise the Lord!!

This question reminded me of a poem I love: Father, Where shall I work today? And my love flowed warm and free. Then He pointed me out a tiny spot and said, "Tend that for me." I answered quickly, "Oh, no, not that. Why, no one would ever see No matter how well my work was done. Not that little place for me." And the word He spoke, it was not stern. He answered me tenderly, "Ah, little one, search that heart of thine. Art thou working for them or me? Nazareth was a little place, and so was Galilee. I love this poem because it came at a time when I was unsure what God wanted me to do for Him. I thought something specific was sure to come up on a daily or at least weekly basis. It occured to me that I was His priest daily, redeeming the time at hand. I think that's why some people are consumers of Christ. They sit around wondering when the next blessing is going to come around instead of starting everyday with worship and moving out to redeem the time at hand. We are called where we are. There's nothing wrong with that. God has put us all in a unique place in our lives where He needs us. So when He calls us or puts something on our hearts it does us well to hear Him and obey. Though things are not perfect, I don't dwell on that. I'm not always looking for the next blessing. If I'm carrying out my priestly duties where I am then I know God will bless me. And, I always remember that the true blessing is victory in Christ and my home in heaven that awaits me. When God needs me I'm ready, He knows what I'm ready for, too. I'm inspired everyday, knowing with great joy that God will be with me and will have something for me to do for Him everyday of my life.

At one point in my life I must have thought I wasn't worth much because I didn't care. I didn't care about anything. I didn't care where my heart was. I don't think I even cared what anyone thought or what the world expected out of me. But I wouldn't have ever admitted that I thought I wasn't worth anything at that time because even I didn't know what I really thought. That's a lot of not caring!! There was a definate end to that life and the life I have now in Jesus Christ. It took tragic circumstances beyond all bad things that have ever happened to me my whole life. I know that I am worth more than anything to God because Jesus died for me and when things were about as bad as they could be He came to find me. He convinced me I was worth more than all this uncaring and that He didn't want me to die with that attitude. That is a profound and personal experience to realize that you are worth more than you could ever imagine. Gods' love is way beyond my understanding and that renders everything of this world totally invaluable. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also". Matthew 6:19-21. Jesus was a people person, He served, He serves and we serve. Now people are important to me. The people who are around me everyday are important to me. You are important to me. If God gives me a little place to work, I'm happy. That is true treasure. If I'm working for God then that is the best investment I can make. My heart is with Jesus today and He wants me to work for Him.