Our Brothers and Sisters

    
     This past week, I began a new Bible study/devotional book. It is a study on the Book of Philippians that goes in depth concerning experiencing the peace of God (Experiencing God’s Peace by Elizabeth George). As I read my portion of Scripture this morning, and read the study that went with it, the Lord graciously gave me something I am (and have been) in desperate need of right now, and I thought that, by His grace, I would share it with you! J

     The title of the chapter was “Giving Thanks for Others” and the Scripture that went with it was Philippians 1:3-8.

     “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:  Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.  For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.”

     Usually, and often over the past week or so, I apply verse 6 to my life in a personal way; how God will never give up on me. And I did so again this morning—and I encourage you to do the same! God will never give up on you, dear sister, even if you feel like you are so ready to give up on Him!!

Trust me.

I’ve been there.

Am there. L

So let’s claim this promise together!!!!! JJJ

     But! As I lay there on my bed, Bible open, it was as though God whispered, “This applies to your siblings, too.”

     …Woooowww…

     *tires skid noisily to a halt*

     (Let that baby sink in!!!!!)

     Often, it is extremely easy to become distraught over the misbehavior of your (my!!) younger siblings!L It is very discouraging and can very easily weigh down on ones soul. It (or they!!J) can be and is very frustrating.

     Sure some of you big sissy’s out there struggle with this as well, day in and day out. It is hard as a big sister to watch your sibling react to a problem, or worse yet authority, in a way you and even they know is not how Jesus would have them respond. It’s grating on your very soul to hear their constant bickering and arguing. It drives you up the wall to hear them complaining about having to do simple chores, when it seems you have a boatload of responsibilities!

     But the Lord showed me through this verse that even though it may seem hopeless at times, even though it may seem like a fruitless endeavor to try to encourage them, admonish them in Godliness—it’s not a waste, because…

…He’s in control!!! He’s still working on them!

… He’s got a handle on the situation!!

     No, not the handle, He’s got the lid on the situation—forget the lid—He’s got the whole pot!!! It’s simmering on His stove! According to His timetable (yes, I can imagine some of you cringing on that one… lol… I can too). You know the saying “a watched pot never boils”? That’s the way it is with me and my siblings and their walk with Jesus… that’s the way it is with you and your siblings and their walk with Jesus (and after, all, it is pretty unfair to expect them to be as mature or know as much as we are and do… preaching to the choir here!! J) In fact, this applies to us personally as well!!! Jesus is cooking all the bitterness and unpleasant taste out of our siblings (and us as well) so that He can present the world, His Church, and ultimately, His Father with “savory meat, such as He loveth”. (Genesis 27:4)

     But remember: The amount of “cooking time” He knows we need to make us a delight doesn’t necessarily coincide with ours! *Sigh* J

     Also, this devotion stated that God, the Author and Finisher, saw the people whom Paul loved and longed for as they would be one day in Christ and through His hand of Providence in their lives… not necessarily the unfinished state they were in right then. And that is how Paul also chose to see them and think of them—and that is how we, as set-apart, Princess Warriors, and Big Sisters, need to think of our siblings. We need to see them in the light of who they will be one day through Christ. What they will become through His hand at work in their lives (as they simmer on the heavenly Stove… can anyone else see Jesus in the kitchen with an apron on?? JJJ). But that is how we need to think of them and view them. We should also love them according to who they will one day be in Christ, when He has finished that awesome work that He has begun in your and my little brothers and sisters! We shouldn’t think of and define them by their current argumentativeness, disobedience, disrespect and other things that may pop up rather more than we would like! Lol

     I exhort you today, dear sister, to ask the Lord to help you view your siblings in the light of who they will be in and through Him! Also, to remind yourself, next time they pester you, disobey mom and dad, or argue to the point of driving you up the wall—He which has begun a good work in them, will (continue) to perform it until the day of Jesus Christ!!! Until they are complete in Him!!!! And if any of you have unsaved younger brothers and sisters, pray and ask the Lord to simply begin that work in them!! Let us claim and rest upon this promise together!!

(All Photos taken by and used with permission by Miss Rachel Melton )

Defeating {our enemy} Death

Today before begining my devotions, I prayed and asked the Lord to show me something new from the passage outlined for today. I've memorized it multiple times (school, awana, school... =D) and because the thought carried so well over today's Scripture with what I read yesterday, I had read it yesterday, as well! The passage is not new to me... aside from memorizing it before, I've heard it preached, I am sure, more than once. So I asked the Lord for something new.
And guess what?
He gave it! (our Lord is wonderful, is He not? How, no matter how small or weak our faith, He daily loads us down with benefits!!! (Psalm 68:19)
I thought I'd share here what He showed me! Nothing big, but from the Lord nonetheless!!!! =D
(which should make it big!!)

I read 1 Corinthians 15:51-58:

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?   The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

After reading verse 54 (" So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."), I was initially confused. Why, when i put on incorruption is the enemy Death defeated? I just got done reading that it is Christ who will receive the honor of "putting Death down", so to speak. (1 Corinthians 15:26, 28) So... why was I reading that when i reach heaven and receive an incorruptible, heavenly body Death would be defeated?? At this point, I totally interrupted God (have a habit of doing that... becoming so confused or inquisitive about a verse that I fret about trying to figure out what it means before actually going to the next verse where it completely explains the entire thing to me! lol) I figured that the reason I defeat Death when I put on an incorruptible body, is becuase I have thus shed my corrupted body, the one he (Death) had a hold of. A corrupted body of sin and death that i inherited by default through Adam('s sin). As death was the result of his and Eve's disobedience, I was defeating it by shedding it for an incorruptible sinless body as i entered heaven.
Then I went back to the Bible and let God finish talking lol =) The second verse following my questions answered them! Verse 56 tells us that "The sting og death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law."
So, why when I exchange rags for Christ's beauty, my earthly body for my heavenly one, my corruption for His incorruption, do I defeat Death??
Because the "sting" of Death is SIN, and this body is riddled with it's loathsome disease! Daily I sin in this body, through this body... with this body!! :( But that simply ceases to be so when one day in Heaven I exchange it for perfection!!!!! In doing so, Death is deafeted!! Whoo! =D
The verse continues with the thought that "...the strength of sin is the law." The Law (10 Commandments, Exodus 20:1-18 ) is the "strength" of sin because it reveals to me, to you, to us--everyone!!-- just how sick with this dreaded disease we really are!!
"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ" (verse 57)
He not only died for our sins, in our place, but He ROSE AGAIN!!! This makes us victorious in the battles we as His princess warrior's fight everyday! We will defeat Death one day, and we can defeat sin every day because our Jesus came out of that tomb!!! Halellujah!!!

"Therefore, {meaning because He did resurrect and because He is coming again} my beloved {sisters in this battle}, be ye

STEADFAST

UMOVEABLE

ALWAYS ABOUNDING in the WORK of the LORD!!!"

Why?

becuase you, me, we know {not guess or hope-- we KNOW!}that

our labor is NOT IN VAIN

IN THE LORD!!!!" 

Take Heart!!!

“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds…Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” (Psalms 147:3-5)

Do you ever feel as though your heart is breaking??? Take the pieces to THE ONE of “great power” and of ‘infinite understanding’; He alone can fit the pieces back together and heal your hurting heart! (Psalms 147:3 & 5) He collects your tears and puts them all in a bottle. (Psalms 56:8) He doesn’t miss a single one. Not a single tear you shed or pang of heartache you feel goes unnoticed by the Lover of your soul. (Revelation 20:12) (Matthew 10:30-31) (Luke 12:7) (Job 16:20) One day, He will wipe all your tears away! (Revelation 7:17) (Revelation 21:4) But until that day, please take knowledge in the fact that He loves you (1 John 4:10) and that He knows how you feel and what you are going through (Hebrews 4:15)! He cares about you!! (1 Peter 5:7) Is it always easy to believe this, to feel it as true, even though you know it in your head? Nooo…! So if that is where you are today, just let me encourage you that He is (with you—Hebrews 13:5) and He does (care about you and know how you’re feeling!) Don’t worry about the ‘what’s’, ‘how’s’ or ‘why’s’… simply try to set your eyes on Jesus, focus on Him, and bask in His amazing love for you today!!!! He loves you, child of God!!!!!

A Faithful, "In-Christ" Consistency

If there were one word that would describe my daily walk with Christ as of late, it would not be the word “consistent”. The comparison of a roller coaster ride would be more appropriate. What is really hard for me and makes the entire situation worse, is that at one time and for a long time, but only by God’s grace, my spiritual walk was consistent. But this is not the current case.
I’ve really been struggling with this the past couple of weeks, and God has been faithfully (Deuteronomy 7:9) (1 Corinthians 10:13) showing me things, teaching me things, gently guiding and leading me, I pray, back to a consistent and tender walk with Him. He keeps bringing me back to the same or very similar points in my devotions, through my pastor and youth pastor, lessons on a recent ladies seminar… God is good and will continue working on me until the day He returns. Until then, I won’t be perfect *sigh* J but I will continue to be molded into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Remember that song “He’s still workin’ on me! To make me what I ought to be… How loving and patient He must be!” (and they’re not kidding!!!!!)? Well, it’s TRUE! It’s a PROMISE from GOD!!! Check out these two verses! (Philippians 1:6) (Psalm 138:8)

Our youth group’s Bible Navigation (in case you’re wondering about the significance of ‘navigation’, it’s for “Navigating Through the Word of God” J) for this month is in 1^st Corinthians. Because it’s known as Paul’s harsh letter of correction to the Corinthian church for their wickedness, I had this negative connotation about it. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t grand things. Well, thankfully, God isn’t limited to our/ my expectations (if He was, we’d all be in trouble!! J) and He’s been using 1^st Corinthians to speak to me, encourage and challenge me in my not-so-faithful-as-of-late Christian walk, and this morning, I felt led to share the challenge the Lord laid before me this morning with you all. J

I read 1^st Corinthians chapter 4 this morning—something I encourage you to do! J Especially if you haven’t spent time with Jesus yet today, or don’t have any sent Bible reading schedule for today. A few of the verses really spoke to me, and I hope and pray that they are an encouraging challenge to you as well! (Especially if you are “driven with the wind and tossed” right now, and going through a dry time in what was once a lush, vibrant walk with Christ!! L)

1^st Corinthians 4:16 says this:

“Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.”

 Paul earnestly entreats, invites, begs even, you and I to follow his example that he shares with us in the following verse! Are you ready; are you willing to follow his example, by the grace of God?

1^st Corinthians 4:17 continues with the kicker:

“For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.”

Paul’s “ways” (his behavior; his words, actions, attitudes and thoughts; his ‘conversation’, meaning lifestyle) was “IN CHRIST”. And his character and message was the same—was CONSISTENT—from one church to the other. His character and Message did not vary with one synagogue visit to the next! OUCH! (Yes, I recommend Band-Aids with this chapter!!! Might need a little Neosporin and a Boo-boo Bunny as well L) His walk with Christ, His relationship with the King of Kings was real and consistent. Every action Paul had was emitted by Christ who dwelt inside of Him and Who ruled his life (which required Paul to be surrendered…ouch).

Oh that my behavior was “IN CHRIST” and that I had a CONSISTENT walk with my Savior!!

Also, Paul states in this verse that he is sending them Timothy, to remind them and as an example of FAITHFULNESS to Christ! Just as Paul was characterized by a Christ-like Consistency that ruled his life, Timothy, a much younger man, was characterized by his FAITHFULNESS (check out 2 Timothy 4:12!!)

What about YOU, dear sister in Christ!?!???? Do you have an “IN-CHRIST CONSISTENCY”? Is your life one of FAITHFULNESS to God and the things of God?? I know I certainly lack this L

 O God, please give me Your grace to have and help me to develop an “in-Christ Consistency”!!! Let everything I do be done by You “IN ME”! (Galatians 2:20) Please LORD! Help me to grow in this area! Please LORD! Live Your life through me!!

Don’t you long to have a consistent walk with The Savior!?!? Let us try to focus on this as we begin this next week!

Also, before I end, let’s take a quick look at 1^st Corinthians 4 verses 19 through 20:

“But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.”

(Also check out 1 Corinthians 1:18, and 1 Corinthians 2:4-5) “not the speech” and “not in word”~~ the words constantly emanating from my mouth are nothingtalking about doing right, to be discussing how we should react/respond in certain situations; we actually need to put them into action—live them out! So then why do I talk so much!?!??! All the majority of it tends to do is get me in trouble, and/or make it much easier to sin! L (Proverbs 10:19 – ouch!) “but the power” and “but in power” of the Holy Spirit is the Christian life lived!!!

I challenge you today, dear sister, stay strong. Keep at it. Deliberately spend time with the Lover of your soul today! Strive to live with an “in-Christ Consistency” (like Paul)—a life characterized by faithfulness to Christ and in the things of Christ (like Timothy)!  Ask the Lord to refrain your lips and to give you pure motives in serving Him and others!

Press toward the mark!! I hope you all had a blessed (i.e. happy) day and WONDERFUL RESURRECTION DAY!!! Love in our Savior!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥

Be careful... For NOTHING!?!?!?!?!

Many of you are familiar with the following verse; most, if not all of you know it by heart, or could quote it almost word for word, either because sometime in the past you purposely memorized it, or because you learned it from hearing it quoted so much from the pulpit, youth leaders, devotional booklets and whatnot. But I'd like to challenge you all to look at Philippians 4:6-7 in a new light this morning! It says,


"Be careful for nothing; but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (emphasis mine =D)


The word careful can be read (translated) as "anxious". So, through this verse, God is telling us to be anxious for absolutely nothing! Instead, when we are tempted to or begin to be worried, troubled, anxious, or scared, He wants us to turn to Him, tell Him our problems and ask His complete aid.
What struck me this morning, and what I hope you will carry with you today, is that what this verse tells us to do, to "be careful for nothing" and to "let our requests be made known into God", is NOT a suggestion. It is NOT an option. No! It is a COMMAND!!! It is an ORDER!!! It doesn't say, "Be careful for just a teeny-tiny bit, and leave the REST up to God." It doesn't say to "be anxious for nothing except for a specific, special issue, and obsess over that one all you want." NO! Warrior of the King, it commands us to "be careful for NOTHING!" and to in EVERY circumstance let your requests be made known into God with prayer and thanksgiving".


But the sweetest part of this verse is the PROMISE our God gives us! A promise of help and blessing comes with the command to obey! For God tells us through verse 7 that IF we are anxious for nothing and cast all our care upon and bring all our requests to HIM, that "the PEACE OF GOD, which passeth all understanding SHALL" (means it WILL; not "it might"! But it WILL) keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." !!!
The command to be anxious for nothing comes with the GUARANTEE that if we do, Jesus will keep our hearts! Keep them still. Keep them calm. Keep you resting in Him and in His perfect timing. Keep as in 'protect' and 'gaurd' from enemy intrusion. According to 'Family Bible Notes', the word originally denotes "as a military watch"!! (I didn't even know that as I wrote the first part of this post!!) See how GOOD our GOD is?!?!?! As an enlisted daughter of the King of kings, you have no need of fear as you go forth daily to fight the enemy, for your Mighty Commander keeps a militaristic watch and guard over you!!! You are PRECIOUS to Him, dear one!! He loves you, and wants to help you and calm your every fear and supply your every need! He WANTS to show Himself mighty in your apparent weakness!!! But He cannot do it if you don't bring these troubles and fears and desires and needs to Him!!! (Not to say that God is limited in what He can and cannot do because of anything we do or don't do. That's not what I'm saying =D) What I AM saying though is that you CAN have peace, peace that cannot be explained or fathomed, through Jesus Christ!


Are you weary today, dear sister? Are you struggling with fears, anxiety, possibly depression and/ or discouragement? Or are you or your family in sincere need of something? Do you long and desire to have a Godly romance with an earthly prince? I encourage you today to heed the command of the Master, and to be careful for nothing. Come boldly before the throne of Grace in prayer. Thank and praise the Lord for the things, the blessings you DO have and then spill out your heartache, your fears, your anxiety, your desires to the King who cares! Cast all your care upon Him, for He careth for you!! For He PROMISES hat His peace shall keep your hear and mind safe from the enemy, through Jesus Christ!!


I hope and pray that you have a peaceful and wonderful day, dear sisters! Cast your burden on the Lord, for He is strong enough to carry any load!!!!!

"Have to"... or "Get to"...??

I just wanted to take a moment to share with you a thought provoking question my Heavenly Father gave me the other day via my wise earthly father that challenged and encouraged me. (It was one of those two-by-four thoughts that leave you saying to yourself, “wow… needed that…”) I hope and pray that it encourages you as well!

The other day I was in a flustered, frustrated mood, as I hurriedly got ready to leave for work. Daddy had to drop me off about an hour and a half early, and I had planned to use that time to use the Internet, but because I had gotten in bed so late, I had the hardest time getting up and had had no decent time to do my devotions. I had haphazardly glanced over the passage of Scripture designated to read that day, but it wasn’t an in-depth quiet time, one-on-one with my Jesus. So I told my dad that I planned on using the extra hour for my devotions instead of the internet, because I hadn’t had time to do them at home, but I had to do them. He understood, and I went out to the car and waited for him there. He came out a few moments later, and as he climbed into his work van he posed the question:

“You have to do your devotions, or you get to do them?”

He looked at me with a knowing smile. I shot him back a “oh come on Dad!” smile back, but on the way to work, I had time to ponder that question.

I get to do my devotions~ I own my own Bible (…actually, I own several…)~ I get to read that Bible every day~ I get to spend time with the Almighty Creator of the universe…every day ~ I get to talk to a King—the King of kings—every day~ I get to spend time, listening to the God of all, without fear that He could strike me dead at His random fancy~ I have the privilege of spending time with Him, my Captain, my Prince!

And here’s the awesome part: the King of all kings, the Creator of the ends of the Earth, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End—he wants me to spend time with me! He wants me to tell Him everything, to hear me! He looks forward to those quiet moments I spend in His Word and in prayer! He isn’t angry with me or ready to smite me dead when I miss that time with Him, although it grieves Him to be sure! L No! He loves me! And the same is true for you, dear sister!

He loves you and me so much! He has given us all the privileges that I mentioned above! We don’t have to hide under our bed to read that Bible! We don’t have to constantly live in fear of being imprisoned or killed in order to read it, as so many of our brothers and sisters on foreign soil do! L

But neither to we need to live in mortal dread that if we don’t spend time with Him in a perfect manner, at an exact time, or in an exact pattern, that he will be angry at us. I often fear that I’m going to offend God; that if I don’t do something right, He will shut me off from Himself… won’t listen to my prayers, or won’t answer them… that He’ll punish me… that He becomes angry. L I know that this thought process is wrong (again, there’s that annoying “head knowledge” thing!!), but it’s my fleshly inclination to do so!!! (And even as I write that, I realize that that is no excuse to continue doing it! lol) But what I mean by that is, that it comes naturally! And it is so normal, that I don’t immediately recognize it, and even if I do, it still feels more right to me. Perhaps I’m not alone in feeling this way? J Last evening on the way home from work, my dad asked me what was on my mind because he could tell something was bothering me. That’s the way Jesus is. He wants to know your fears, confusion, even your outrage. He also wants to know your joys and praise! As I explained to my dad what had been troubling me, in a calm, gentle fashion, he reassured me of what really was true as opposed to I was feeling. He encouraged me. Strengthened me. Took a load off of my mind.

And that is also what Jesus does!! He doesn’t only allow you, a sinner, to spend time with Him and in His ultimate, holy presence; he invites you to spend time with Him! (Song of Solomon 2:13) (Song of Solomon 7:11) (Psalms 45:10) (Proverbs 9:6) (Jeremiah 33:3) (Matthew 11:28-30) In a calm, gentle fashion, He will reassure you of what is really true (John 17:17) (Romans 3:4) (2^nd Corinthians 1:18) as opposed to what you are feeling, as you read His Word~~ His Love Letter to you! He will encourage you and guide you! He will strengthen you! (Psalms 138:3) He will take the load off of your mind! Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” You have obtained favor in the sight of God (the same way Esther and Mary of Nazareth!) through salvation. But unlike Ester, “we do not have to fear approaching the King of Heaven. Our God is pictured as a King who invites His people to come before Him with our petitions. We come boldly before God’s throne, not with the sense of having to overcome fear, but rather boldly with the sense that God will answer out prayers! …Our God never tires of being “bothered” with out requests. He desires that we plead our cause and petitions before Him. Best of all, He never rejects our prayers!” (Taken from “Navigating Through the Bible” devotionals that our youth pastor makes up every month; emphasis mine)

I’m not sure if this will encourage any of you, but I hope and pray that it does. I wrote a very similar post, but was either Provedentially hindered or hindered by the enemy, from posting it, so in rewriting it, it has taken a turn. :)

 Remember, spending time with the Lord each day is an honor, a sacred privilege. Don’t feel tied down to it (either by duress or guilt!), look forward to it…He does!!

What a privilege to come into God's presence,

Just to linger with the one who set me free.

As I lift my eyes and see His awesome glory,

I remember who He is and bow the knee.

In His hand He holds the power of creation.

With His voice He spoke and all things came to be.

Yet He hears each simple prayer I bring before Him

When I humbly seek His face and bow the knee.

Bow the knee! Bow the knee!

He is king of all the ages

Bow the knee!

God alone on His throne,

See Him high and lifted up and bow the knee!

Kneel before Him

All adore Him

As you live to love Him more, bow the knee.

(Bow the Knee; Majesty Music)

Transformed Not Conformed

**phew!** Where has the time gone?! It’s been since JULY since I was able to sit down, type out, get internet, and post here on my little blog—and so  many things have transpired since then! I have some things to share in the very near future, but this post is going to be a little different!

As some of you may already know, and for those of you who currently do not, you’re about to J **winks**, I am the co-leader of an online ladies writers group, called Writing for God’s Glory! We recently had our first contest on “Being Transformed, Not Conformed”, and the winner(s)’ entries were to be posted on my and Bekah’s (the other leader! J) personal blogs!

This is the First Place winning entry, submitted by Miss Ashley L. I hope you enjoy her short story as immensely as I did, and I also hope that it stirs your heart and inspires you to share the love of Christ and to be Transformed by the constant renewing of your mind through reading the Word, and to be Conformed to the image of Jesus Christ!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Transformed Not Conformed

  "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2 

  By: Ashley L. Lichtenberg

        “Hhhhh…this will never do. No one’s ever going to take one of these tracts,” Leandra moaned to herself. She flung herself onto a nearby park bench and gazed into the deep blue, cloudless sky. The air was crisp; and brilliant red and orange leaves danced in the cool, autumn breeze. Leandra pulled her woolen skirt around her ankles and hugged her knees to her chest. Earlier she had been attempting to hand out tracts to people who were strolling through the park. However, every single person had turned her down. “No thank you, Miss. I must be going now,” is what they all had seemed to say.

Now, Leandra was feeling extremely discouraged, and she felt like giving up. “Oh, Lord,” she prayed, “please grant me the courage and confidence to press on. Please help me to be able to witness to at least one person today.” Feeling her zeal renewed, Leandra stood up and began to walk through the park once more.

  After she had been walking for a while, Leandra suddenly heard laughing and loud talking. She looked around, hoping that this would be her opportunity to witness. Finally, she spotted the little group of teenage girls who hushed their voices the moment they saw her. Leandra thought for a moment, “Maybe I’ll try a different approach with these girls.”

The girls began to whisper and point fingers in her direction, but froze when she approached them. “Hello there! My name is Leandra. Would any of you be interested in taking a small survey?” All of the girls just eyed her long dark hair and the skirt that was sweeping the toes of her boots, quite the contrast to their attire.

Finally, one girl asked, “What kind of survey is it?”

Leandra was getting excited, “Well it’s a kind of spiritual survey. I’ll ask you some questions about Christianity.”

A couple of the girls sneered, “If you want to talk about religion, then we’re the wrong people to ask.” Leandra sighed with discouragement, but just as she was about to leave, one of the girls placed her hand on Leandra’s shoulder. The girl gave a nervous glance towards her friends before speaking, “Wait, Leandra. I’m interested in taking your survey.”

Leandra smiled at her, “You are? Great! Okay, here’s the first question. How many of the ten commandments can you name?”

The girl thought for a moment, “Um…let me see. Thou shalt not kill… thou shalt not steal…um…thou shalt not commit adultery…um…I can’t remember any more.”

Her friends jeered at her, “Too bad for you, Tina! You’re just falling right into a trap! You’re making a fool of yourself, Tina, come with us.” Tina watched as her friends disappeared down the path.

Leandra put her hand on Tina’s shoulder, “Don’t worry about what they think, Tina. They’re lost and blinded to the truth. They can’t see what you see. Now, are you ready for the next question or are you going to follow them?”

Tina shook her head and stated firmly, “No. I will not go with them. I have to find out more about this Christianity. I’m ready for the next question.”

Leandra breathed a grateful prayer to God before continuing. “Alright, Tina, here is the next question: Do you believe that the whole Bible is true or just parts of it?”

Tina’s brow wrinkled in concentration, “Well if only parts of the Bible were true, than how would we know which parts were true? So, would it be that the whole Bible is true?”

Leandra was glowing with pleasure, “Absolutely, Tina! You’re right on! Now for question number three: Is eternal life a gift or do you have to earn it?”

Tina grinned, “That’s easy! You have to earn it, of course!”

Leandra pounced on the chance to explain the wonderful gift of salvation. “No, Tina, eternal life is a gift. You see, God loved us so much that He wanted to make a way for us to go to heaven to be with Him. Here, read this verse in my Bible.”

Leandra drew her little Gideon’s ^® New Testament from her pocket and turned to John 3:16. She handed it to Tina, who read the verse aloud. “‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’ Wow that’s amazing!”

Leandra nodded enthusiastically, “I know, isn’t it? Here, now put your name in where it says ‘the world’ and ‘whoever’.”

Tina looked a little surprised, “Uh…well…if you’re sure. ‘ For God so loved [Tina] that He gave His only begotten Son, that [if Tina] believes in Him [she] should not perish but have everlasting life.’” Tears began to flow down Tina’s face. “That can’t be true! I’ve done way too many bad things for God to love me,” she exclaimed sorrowfully.

  Leandra put a comforting arm around Tina’s shoulder. “Tina, listen to me. Did you know that there are stories of people in the Bible who have done terrible things? And some of them turned out to be very strong Christians.”

Tina looked slightly hopeful, “Really? Like who?”

Leandra thought for a moment, “Well, a very good example is the apostle Paul. Before he became a Christian, his name was Saul. He persecuted the early Christians by throwing them into jail and even killing some of them. One day, when he was on his way to Damascus, he was blinded by a bright light. He heard a voice say, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ The voice was Jesus, and it’s kind of a long story, but Saul ended up receiving Jesus as his Savior and walking in obedience to Him. After his conversion, God changed Saul’s name to Paul. Paul turned out to be one of the most amazing apostles and he traveled to many places, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.”

Tina looked very thoughtful, “Hmm…so Paul was a murderer..., and God forgave him and became his Savior?”

Leandra nodded, “Exactly; and He wants to forgive you too. Do you want to accept His gift of salvation, Tina?”

Tina pondered Leandra’s question only for a moment; then she answered confidently, “I do want to accept Jesus as my Savior. I know that I can’t get to heaven without Him, because of my sin.”

Leandra was so thrilled watching God’s hand at work in Tina’s heart. “You want to, Tina, but are you going to? Do want me to pray with you right now?”

Tina nodded vigorously, “I do, Leandra. Let’s pray right now! What do I say?”

Leandra tilted her head thoughtfully, “Well, just tell Him that you realize how wrong your sin is. Also, ask Him to come into your heart, help you to follow Him, and make Him Lord of your life. The Holy Spirit will give you the specific words to say.”

  The two girls bowed their heads, and Tina began to pray. “Dear Jesus, I’ve done lots of wrong things; and I don’t deserve to be forgiven. But Leandra says that you’ll forgive me no matter what. I know that I can’t get into heaven without You because of the wrong things that I’ve done. Please come into my heart and clean up my life I want to live for You from now on. I want You to be the Lord of my life. Amen.”

When she had finished praying, Tina looked at Leandra with shining eyes. “Leandra, I feel so good inside! I feel happy and free! I feel like my heart is bubbling with joy!”

Leandra wiped joyful tears from her own eyes, “Tina, isn’t that so special? You’re a child of God now! Now you need to live your life for Him!”

Tina looked confused, “Yeah, I know that I need to live for Him; but, how do I know what to do?”

Leandra recalled her memory verse for that week. “Well the Bible tells us in Romans chapter twelve verse two, ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ That means that we need to live separately from the world. For example, it’s important for us to honor our parents by obeying and respecting them. It’s also important for us dress modestly, and we must be careful about whom we choose to be our friends.”

Tina nodded, “I see; I’ll try to remember that. Could you be my friend and help me as I learn how to follow Jesus?”

Leandra gave Tina a hug, “Of course I will, Tina! Why don’t you come over to my house once a week and we’ll have a Bible study together! Would Wednesdays work well for you?”

Tina looked excited, “That would be great, Leandra! Could you say that verse for me again? I’d like to learn it too.”

Leandra smiled, “Sure! It is a very good reminder to all of us as Christians. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ There’s a flower blooming in your heart, Tina. Keep it well-watered with God’s word so that it will continue to grow.”                                                                                                                       

The two girls, silhouetted by the sun, were a part of a beautiful picture as they walked hand-in-hand down the path together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you'd like to check out our site, please visit the link below!And-- better yet!!-- if you are an aspiring or even published author, we invite you to join! For God's glory!

http://write4hisglory.webs.com/