Good News!

 
  

 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes first to the Jew, and also to the Greek."  (Romans 1:16)

 Tomorrow is November 13th.  I am sure that date does not mean anything to you, but it is my son's birthday.  He will be 24 years old!  He has been married now for three years and has been a Doctor of Physical Therapy for one year.  Wow!   Twenty-four years have gone by since that evening he was born.  I am reminded of the joy and excitement my husband and I had as we shared the good news of his birth to all our friends and relatives.  (We were just as excited to share the news of our daughters, Kristi, Kari and Karisa :) )  We could not wait to call everyone on our list.  Then we told our close friends and family to call others and let them know of his birth.

God sent His Son Jesus to earth as a baby.  Jesus lived a perfect life and then paid the penalty for all the sins of you and me and the world by dying on a cross.  By believing in Him and trusting Him as our Lord and Savior, we have an abundant life on earth PLUS eternal life forever with Him!  Why do we not share even MORE eagerly the good news of the gospel. 

Lord, help me to be so excited about You and what You have done in my life that it just spills out to everyone I meet.  Amen.

giving our all

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts"  -Deuteronomy 6:5, NIV

What is our direction, our purpose?   Do we follow what God wants, even if it is temporarily uncomfortable?  Can others see how Jesus is our reason for living like we do?

I love how the verse in Deuteronomy 6:5 describes how our whole person can be devoted to God.  Our love for God impacts more than just what we say, what we give, or what we think.  Our love for God can permeate into every area of our lives.

How can we express what God is doing within us?  One idea is to give God the glory, when we are complemented for our character or a success.  We can reach out to that person who is hurting and explain how Christ has brought us hope. 

The artist Lecrae writes, in his lyrics for "Background:"
"I know I'm safest when I'm in Your will, and trust Your Word
I know I'm dangerous when I trust myself, my vision blurred
And I ain't got no time to play life's foolish games
Got plenty aims, but do they really Glorify Your name?"

Today is Veteran's Day.  Please pray for those who have given their lives for our country and its people.

If you want to learn more about how to live as a woman following God today, then I recommend going to the W Conference next weekend, November 19-20, in Louisville, KY.  It will be a gathering of women trying to seek God's Word together to see how to live in devotion to God in our culture today.  How to sign up? Go to W Conference Registration

(photo above from maryjaneryan.wordpress.com)

On My Face

“For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is God’s gift – not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation – created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10, HCSB).

Meet Gracie. She's the newest member of our extended family (my brother-in-law's puppy). She gains a pound about every other day and to say she is growing is an understatement. Gracie is full of energy but in this photo, you see her crashed and on her face after much activity!

I suppose if the truth be known, that's where I find myself - crashed, exhausted, and on my face! After much activity, I am flat-out tired. (I know you know the feeling!) While I could not do what I do without God's help, it is always good to be reminded that I am not supposed to be working my way to heaven or working for the Lord in my own strength.

I was in the "crashed on the bed state" on Sunday afternoon when the Lord brought this very truth to mind again. I am teaching on being gifted2go at the LifeWay National Women's Ministry Forum this week in Ridgecrest, NC and the key verses are found in Ephesians 2:8-10. It is amazing how God can give me new insights even when I am wishing I was asleep! God reminded me that HE is a free GIFT and that it is not by works that I come to Him (saved by grace alone) and it is not by works that I serve in Him. He IS my strength and He is the gift. He gave me the gift of Christ and it is Christ in me - through the power of the Holy Spirit - that does the work. I work and serve IN HIM, and not in myself.

Today, I pray that we don't work ourselves to death thinking that the world is dependent on us. It's not. The world is dependent on Him and be reminded, we just need to stay on our faces and let His strength work in and through us!

Thanks LifeWay Girls!

LifeWay Girls Ministry blog...thank you for blogging about the W conference! http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/girlsministry/?cid=RDR-girlsministry

We are excited about what God is doing with girls and young women! Looking forward to the Girls Minsiry Forum http://www.lifeway.com/event/330/ in February!

This week, Tracy Jones and I are gifted2go to the 15th Annual LifeWay National Women's Ministry Forum http://www.lifeway.com/event/27/  in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina (Ridgecrest)! It is not too late to come!

Please pray that we will continue to allow God to work in our hearts and lives!
Let's all be gifted2go!

Be Wise: Come to the W Conference

"Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser.  Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning."  (Proverbs 9:9)

Wisdom!  What a need for today!  Especially for the new generation of high school, college and young adults.  The W Conference November 19-20, 2010 is only two weeks away.  This conference will give the motivation and the practical "how-to's" to gain wisdom. 

"Toto, this is not Kansas anymore!"  Ladies, we are "not in Kansas" either spiritually.  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10)  We need to teach the gals in our circle of influence "to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that [we may teach them] to be sensible pure, workers at home, kind...so that the word of God will not be dishonored." (taken from Titus 2:3-5)

Contact the women in your church or community and bring them to this amazing conference at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary!  I will be doing this too!

> fresh paint

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV).

My housemates and I are excited about renovations to the outside of our house.  It has been more than a fresh coat of paint, since the renovators have chopped down rotting trees, replaced wooden panels and power-washed the walls to remove dead vines. Now, new paint is being coated on, helping our house look more alive.

It reminded me of how, when we let God work in our lives, He is able to strip away all of the mess within us and give us a new spirit.  He gives us the Holy Spirit, when we follow Christ, and we are able to have a new life with Him.  I believe we need Him to renovate our lives, on the inside and the outside.

"I say then, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16, HCSB).  Anthony Hoekema helped me understand this verse more in his book, Created in God's Image.  He explained that this verse is a promise, rather than a threat (page 109).  God helps us live today.  This does not mean that we will be perfect today, but it has helped me see that He is the one who gives us strength and hope to follow Him.   

Will we let Him renovate our lives today?  Will we help others see how He can change us, from the inside out?

Music video, Hillsong United:  "From the Inside Out" - YouTube

EVERY Christian is GIFTED2GO!

"..."I don't need you!" On the contrary..."
1 Corinthians 12:21b-22a (HCSB)


As we look at this picture of baby ducks, we see that one duck is different/unique/one of a kind and it is not in the group with the others...have you ever felt this way? Many people, especially Christians that your path will cross today, are feeling this way! The Good News is that God knew this would happen so He GAVE His Word to equip us in The Body of Christ. The truth is that EVERY Christian is able to learn how they are Gifted2Go and specific ways to make sure that they have opportunities to serve in their giftedness!

1 Corinthians chapter 12 is full of great wisdom about Spiritual Giftedness given by God. Please take some time to read this small but powerful chapter. The chapter begins (verses 1-11) with teaching about the uniqueness and the use of what God created through the different Spiritual Gifts that He has given to EVERY CHRISTIAN for specific purposes in The Body of Christ! The middle and end of chapter 12 teaches about the importance of each member of The Body of Christ working together and the importance of INCLUDING each one in the privilege of knowing Christ and sharing Christ!

This brings me to the point of my words today. In the last few weeks I have had many Christian women share with me how brokenhearted they are because they do not believe there is a place for them to serve in the local church. After much prayer God has laid it on my heart that there is a stronghold, a trap from the enemy, to DEFEAT the unique way that God created The Body of Christ to effectively work together with unity with each one serving God in the giftedness He created each one uniquely! If the enemy can not stop the local church, he sure will do anything he can to cause it to be fractured or ineffective...

Women that are in leadership roles in The Body of Christ must be very careful about decisions they make. It may be "easier" to get things done if the same women are invited to serve over and over, BUT what kind of message is that sending to those that may be new to the church, or those that are hoping to be invited/included to be a part of using their gifts to serve the Lord?

Questions are good to use as ministries are evaluated day by day, week by week, month by month, or year by year...There is an important question that leaders should ask themselves when organizing every evangelistic women's ministry gathering of any kind (purpose driven ministry). It is important to have a clear goal of a balanced ministry (Discipleship-Missions-Evangelism) in order to include EVERY gift and EVERY woman that is in The Body of Christ; this question could be something like this, "Have we invited every woman in our church (Body of Christ) to be a part of what God is doing, and what are some specific ways to make sure that everyone is included or recruited?" Balanced ministry leadership will lead to opportunities for every woman receiving the message that they are needed in some way to use their giftedness that is given by God for service!

Let's think about all the many things that need to be done at each gathering of women, here are just a few of the things that women can be asked to do: pray, teach God's word, reach-out to the unchurched or left-out and invite, encourage, organize, follow-up, name tags, decorate, make sure that The Good News is shared in someway at each gathering...and the list goes on!

The 12th Chapter of 1 Corinthians always reminds me of a city-wide event that God gave me the privilege to organize many years ago. In leadership preparation, I studied this chapter of God's Word and the rich text that helped me to take a huge group of women and help each one of them find their place of service, it was amazing to see how God took each gifted woman and found a place for them to serve! There was something for EVERYONE of them to do as each one of them as Christians has at least one gift given by God to SHARE and SERVE HIM with for The Glory of God...God raised up over 200 women to serve on the organizing team as this event was organized. And most of all many women came to know Jesus as their Lord & Savior and many Christian women experienced a life-changing touch from God's Word being shared!

So let's ask ourselves, especially if you are a woman in leadership, "When is the last time you have been given the message "you are not needed" in The Body of Christ?" "What does that feel like?" and most of all "How can we make sure we have plans in place so that no one feels like their gift is not needed?" If we fail to plan we are planning on failing to fulfill God's unique way He created The Body of Christ to make sure everyone has opportunities to use the way that He has made every Christian GIFTED2GO!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAWeHo8E70E&feature=related (If We Are The Body by Casting Crowns)

"...each has his own gift from God, one this and another that."
1 Corinthians 7:7b

"So the eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" nor again the head to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, all the more , those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are necessary..."
1 Corinthians 12:21-22