~YOU MATTER~

You matter to God! 

Think on that for just a minute. God, the all mighty Creator, in all of His Greatness, Glory, and Majesty, loves you with so great a love no man can understand! Think back with me to Creation; God merely spoke, and there was light, again He spoke, and dry land appeared, plants, fish, birds, mammals, stars, planets, sun, moon, all by the word of His mouth were they created. Then when it came man’s turn to be created, He stopped everything. The Almighty God stooped down into the dirt, and carefully with His hands molded, and fashioned man into His likeness. Then, He did something completely different than He had done with the rest of creation, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. We are so distinctly different from everything else God created! We are the crowning glory of His creation! You and I are so very special to him!

Psalms 139:15-17 describes how special we are to Him,

“15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 

16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!” 

            He has a book in heaven, were He has all of your body parts written down! The color of your eyes and hair, your height, your weight, your skin color, it’s all in that book! You were custom made! You are one of a kind young lady! And not only does He have a book written about you, but also He thinks about you so often there is no way to count!  

           What amazes me is that, even after all of the thought and love He put in to making us, we humans still turn our backs on Him, we still blame Him for the bad things that happen in the world, we get mad at Him because he didn’t make us taller, or with blue eyes, or because He put us in the family that He did. What’s even more amazing is that after all of our ungratefulness, He still sent His only Son to die a cruel death, so that we, ungrateful, despising, wicked, humans could live with Him for eternity!! If that isn’t a huge picture of how much He loves you and me, I don’t know what is. 

Not only did He make each of us with care, and sent His Son to die for us, He also placed us in this beautiful world! I think we sometimes take the world around us for granted. We are so used to seeing the same things every day, that we’ve become callused to the beauty that surrounds us. Look outside your window. Just stare up at those huge, puffy, lovely clouds! Look at the different colored leaves falling from the trees. Listen to all of those varying species of birds whistling. Smell the fragrance of the flowers, but don’t just smell them, take a close look at the intricate detail God put in each petal. Think of all of the activities we as humans can enjoy. We can go swimming at the beach, we can ski off of snow-capped mountains, we can ride horses through meadows, go hunting, fishing, bird watching, mountain climbing, we can enjoy sports like volley ball, football, basketball, baseball, we can go snorkeling and see the variety of fish in the sea, we can enjoy watching the clouds and the sky in the horizon turn flamboyant colors as the sun is rising or setting. Our heavenly Father added all of that to creation for us to enjoy. So don’t spend your time being depressed! There is so much to see, so much to live for in this gorgeous world the Lord has so graciously placed us in!  He loves you more than anything!! His greatest desire is for you to get to know Him better, and for you to live in eternity with Him! Get to know this loving God better! Learn about Him! He’s amazing! Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t loved! You are very loved; by God and by us! You matter! May God bless you and give you a Fantastic week!   

~Anna~

DON'T QUIT

Have you ever done something and wondered "Is it even worth it?" or even want to quit? 

I'm going to step out of my comfort zone and be transparent with you today. I'm a church pianist. I LOVE being the pianist at my church, it's a blessing in several different ways, and I just enjoy myself doing it. I love piano. But, I'll be honest and say, sometimes I don't love it so much and I don't necessarily "enjoy" it {Gasp!! Yes, I really just said that} sometimes I find myself thinking "Is it even worth it?" (I know, it's terrible of me. Go ahead and judge ;)

When this happens there is something I need to remember. And that is...Why am I doing it? I'm not doing it for people or praise, I'm doing it for The Lord. I'm doing it to honor and glorify Him. Not others. I'm doing it because HE put me here to do it. I'm human, there will be times I don't do everything perfect, there will be times I can't please everyone and do things exactly as they'd like it. And that's ok. What's important is that I'm doing my best. 

So when I start to get upset because I feel inadequate, or I get overwhelmed because I can't do everything just PERFECT or make *Everyone* happy...I need to step back and remember, I'm doing this for the Lord. I truly believe that this is what the Lord wants me to do. He has called me to do this, and I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. 

Have you ever felt discouraged in the ministry or something else that you do? Don't quit!! Just keep trucking on for the Lord! 

Galatians 6:9

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." 

Ecclesiastes 9:10 

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..." 

Colossians 3:23 

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." 

•God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called• 

I hope this was a blessing to you in some way! God Bless! ❤️

{<Elizabeth>}

{Life in Brazil}

Stranger- “Hi there! Where are you from?”

Me-“Hahaha well, that depends.” 

Stranger- “‘That depends’? You don’t know where you’re from?”

Me- “Well, when I’m in America I’m from Alabama, but when I’m in Brazil I’m from Minas Gerais!”

Stranger- *Awkwardly stares* 

Yep, that basically sums up how almost every conversation starts with a missionary kid. Do I hate it? Hahaha no, I love it!  My parents have been missionaries in Brazil for 31 years now. I’ve had the privilege to be born and raised on the mission field. I have loved every minute of it! The Lord has allowed us to do so many fun and crazy things, all the way from jumping off of waterfalls, to building tree houses, to having pet monkeys and toucans, to riding horses to church! You see, we’ve lived on a farm for most of my life, and at our farm over the years we’ve had horses, cows, chickens, dogs, monkeys, green parots, toucans, we even had an armadillo for a short time. When I was little my brothers used to run after the monkeys and chase them into our house and trap them in the bathroom so they would be easier to catch. After we caught them we would put them in cages and they would then become our pets.  Our toucans were lots of fun. They were very playful! We would put little balls in their cages and they would get them and throw them up in the air then catch them again with their large beaks. Even meal time is a game to them. They get the fruit, and throw it up into the air then open their beaks up wide and let it fall in, and down their throat. We had both the monkeys and the toucans for a while until it became illegal to keep them in cages. We then had to release them. But the monkeys still play in our trees, and every once in a while the toucans fly over our farm.  

The current farm that we have now is actually an answer to prayer! We had been renting a farm on the far side of town, and were looking for a place to buy so we wouldn’t have to pay rent anymore. We had been praying for a while, and one day a man from our church told us that he knew of a man that was wanting to sell his farm. The man and his wife were getting a divorce and he was willing to sell the farm for a lot cheaper then any of the other farms we had looked at. Another blessing was that the farm was closer to town, it was right by the main highway (so easy access). It not only had a four bedroom house, but also had a large building on the property which they had used as a restaurant for a while. It was perfect for what we wanted to use the farm for! Every year Brazil has a week long celebration called “Carnaval”. I guess you could say its like Mardi Gras in America. It’s a wicked time of the year!  To get the church people away from the city and the wickedness that goes on, we have camp during that week of the year. We invite churches from all over the country to participate with us! It’s definitely one of my favorite times of the year! Behind the large building that we use as a lunch room/ tabernacle, there was another building which we used as a girls dorm. We also built another building for the boys dorm.  Not only did the farm have those large buildings, it also had a soccer field, a pond, a barn, an orchard, and other large fields! It was the perfect place for God’s work!  One whole month before camp, we start preparing by cleaning all of the buildings, mowing all of the grass, preparing games, food,  and most importantly praying for God to do a great work that week. During the week we have preaching every morning and evening, bible games, skits, sports (like swimming, soccer, volleyball, etc.), and games (like water balloon fights, tug-of-war across a mud pit, capture the flag, flourball fights, etc.). It’s lots of fun! For the past four years we have had so many people attend the night services that we have had to hold the services out side, because there were too many people to fit in the building! God has certainly been blessing! Our goal for the future is to build bigger and better buildings to accommodate more people, and hold more camps, retreats, training sessions for young men and young women, pastors meetings, etc. more times of the year! This type of thing is so needful in todays day and age! Please help us pray that the Lord would provide the money and the labor that we might be able to do those things; not so we would be glorified, but that He might be glorified through our ministry! We’ve been holding camps, youth meetings, and retreats at our farm for the past 14 years! It is definitely one of my favorite ministries to help out with!!

Another one of my favorite ministries, is working with the children! Years ago, when my dad was the pastor at our church in the city of Formiga, he talked with the mayor in town, and asked if we could use one of the local schools to hold a children’s Bible club (Awana- or as it’s called in Portuguese “Oanse” ) on Saturdays, and he allowed! We had an old suburban that we would load up with kids every Saturday and take them to that school and we would have all sorts of different games in the gym, then we would separate the different ages into different class rooms where we would have the songs, bible verse, and bible story time! The kids loved it! It was the highlight of their week! Many children were saved, then their families were saved, and now lots of them are members at our church! Two of the kids that came and got saved are now grown and help out with the music at our church. Another girl that came and got saved, is grown and is a pastors wife, and another girl that was saved is now the youth pastors wife in neighboring city. Another young man who also got saved is now the right arm of the current pastor at the church in Formiga! Some of the families that got saved through Awana are now faithful workers and members at our church. It’s so rewarding to see all that the Lord has done through a “simple” little Bible club! Don’t ever underestimate what the Lord can do through your life in what ever ministry he has put you in! Invest your life for eternity and you will not return empty handed! 

Hope y’all enjoyed this post, and I hope it was a blessing to someone in some way!

~Anna~

Monkey and Toucan from Brazil... (The picture of the Toucan was taken by my eldest brother)

 The Farm that the Lord gave us: Picture taken from the air...

 Night service during one of the camps / and next picture is the children's Bible club...

Standards vs Convictions

Hey everyone! I thought today we would talk about/explain something that can be kind of confusing...The difference between a 'Standard' and a 'Conviction'

Many thanks to my dad who helped me with this post, and explained the difference to me! 

Let's get started! Let's first look at the definitions of each one:

Conviction- "An unshakeable belief in something without need for proof or evidence" (Wordbook Dictionary) A conviction is a belief...a decision I have made about a subject based on the knowledge that I have on that specific subject. (This includes secular and Biblical knowledge, as well as spiritual discernment.) For the Christian, a conviction is generally based on Biblical principle, and not on direct precept. 

*Precept-an actual law, for example: "Thou shalt not steal." Enough said. 

*Principle-explained by law, for example: Don't Smoke. There is no direct commandment given to not smoke, but the established principle..."your body is a temple..." (Found in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) 

Standard-"Established or well-known or widely recognized as a model of authority." (Wordbook Dictionary) A standard is a Biblical precept or rule that we are expected to keep. God gives us clearly defined rules of behavior, (precepts) and we use those as our basis for social life. "Thou shalt not..." or "Go ye..."

As example of this, let's look at how we dress. When we are discussing how we should dress, it must be the understood that styles of clothing have changed dramatically in the past few thousand years-but we have been given specific precepts and principles that should guide us in our dressing habits. 

For instance..."Thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach..." (Exodus 28:42) While there is no verse that says "Thou shalt not wear mini-skirts..." There IS a Biblical principle that shows us that the baring of the thigh is considered nakedness. The thigh is referring to your whole thigh bone, going from your hip to your knee. So from this we can gather that our dress should not include things that would bare the thigh. This would be considered a conviction that is based on Biblical principle and not direct command. 

Whereas, an example for a Standard would be..."Thou shalt not steal" or "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." There are no if's, and's, or but's about it, the Lord said "Thou shalt not..." That is a standard, clearly defined.

I hope this helped you see the difference between the two, I know it helped me! Have a blessed week!❤️

{🎀Elizabeth🎀}

~Friendship~

What kind of friend are you? 

My last devotional was on Daniel and the decision that he had to make. This week I’d like to take another lesson from the book of Daniel to share with you all. Reading through the book of Daniel, I found that a lot of his success was because of his friends. In Daniel chapter two, King Nebuchadnezzar had a weird dream, but when he woke up he forgot what his dream was about. This really bothered him, so he called in all of his wise men, the Chaldeans, magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers to see if they could tell him what he had dreamed and what it meant. Of course they were not able to tell him what he had dreamed, and they were definitely not able to tell him the meaning of the dream.The king furiously ordered that all of the wise men should be put to death. Daniel heard the order, and quickly requested that the king not kill those men, but instead give him some time to see if the Lord would show him the dream and the interpretation of it. What was the next thing Daniel did?  He went to his house and told his friends what had happened and asked them to pray. By this we see that, first of all, Daniel had loyal friends who would stop everything they were doing to pray for him. Second, we see that they had a walk with God. Daniel knew that they had a connection with the Lord and he needed their prayer support right then. He needed them to get ahold of God and plead on his behalf. 

Are you that kind of friend? Do you have those kinds of friends? As the story continues to unfold, we see the Lord answer their prayers just in time, giving Daniel both the dream and the interpretation. Daniel then headed over to the kings palace, and humbly told him everything. Being exceedingly thankful, the king made Daniel a great man (rich), gave him many gifts, and set him over the whole province of Babylon. Most of us know that as the end of the story, but its not! The last verse of Daniel chapter two says “Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.” Daniel could have taken all of the credit for the interpretation, but he knew that he owed it all to the Lord and to his friends. He basically told the king, “Ok, its fine if you want to raise me up and make me great and all, but you need to make my friends great too. They did the greatest part by praying, so how about if we set them over the affairs of the province of Babylon?”  The Bible doesn’t say he said it like that, but thats how I have imagined that the conversation went. 

So let’s recap. Are you being, and do you have the types of friends that:

1. Have a close walk with the Lord.

2. Would be there when you need them most.

3. Have a prayer life, and pray for you often.

And last but not least, are you being the friend that:

4.  Takes all the credit for something done? Or do you make sure that others rise with you?

Going back to the question at the start: What kind of friend are you?

<Anna>  

On Purpose, and With a Purpose.

On Purpose, and With a Purpose.

“…he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Most Christians either treat God like a genie in a bottle that they can rub and get their wishes, or they treat Him like Santa; they want to sit on His lap and give Him their wish list. They list out the things they want or want to happen in their lives—most of which are self-seeking. But neither of these describe what God is, nor is that how He works. If we are to seek the Lord diligently in prayer, we must first understand what prayer is, and what God expects from our prayer life. 

When the Disciples asked Christ to teach them to pray in Luke 11, He gave them a model prayer; it covered several specific areas…

1.      He expects reverence (Hallowed be thy name…)

2.      He expects us to be focused on His will (Thy kingdom come…)

3.      He is interested in our NEEDS, not wants (our daily bread…) Not donuts

4.      He expects us to be interested in showing grace, like He does to us (… forgive every one)

5.      He expects us to be interested in finding the exits from temptation, not excuses to sin (lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil)

So then, what does it mean to seek Him, and how do we do it diligently?

To do something diligently means we do it On Purpose, and With a Purpose. Not flippantly and haphazardly, but with a serious effort.

I remember when Matthew was young, I would have him go look for his shoes. Matt would look around—on the ceiling, on his bed, on top of the toy box… he wasn’t diligently seeking his shoes, he was just wasting time looking around, pretending that he was looking.

So, we must ask ourselves; is that our prayer life? Are we diligently seeking God, or are we pretending?

When we are diligently seeking Him, it means that we have an intentional prayer life. Not only that we come to Him with reverence, but also with the boldness that, as the children of God, we can have since we are assured that He cares for us, and wants what is best for us.

If we ever expect to get answers from God, we must be seeking Him—on purpose and with a purpose.

“Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying.”

― Paul E. Billheimer

-Written By Guest Poster: Steve C. Roberts 

~Decisions~

Daniel has been one of my favorite Bible characters for a while now. Last summer I went to camp and the theme was “Serving the Lord Continually”. The main speaker preached basically the entire week from Daniel 6:16b  “Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.”. King Darius said that right before Daniel was thrown into the lions den. Why was Daniel being thrown into the lions den? Because the king had passed a decree that no one was to pray to any god or person other than the king.  Daniel chose to serve God, instead of the king. Here is a man that was taken away from home at a young age. Taken away from parental guidance, taken away from everything that was “normal” and familiar to him. He was taken to a foreign land, and still did not quit serving the Lord! But what stuck out to me was that he didn’t just wake up that day that the decree went out, and think “Well, I guess I’ll serve the Lord this once.” or “I guess I’ll serve the Lord today.”. No! He had made that decision a long time ago! Have you ever come to a fork in the road of your life, and you had to make a decision, and whatever path or decision you took was going to change your life for ever? Yes! We all have. For Daniel, his “fork in the road” came soon after he was taken to Babylon. He and his three friends were offered the kings meat and wine. Now the kings meat and wine were normally offered to gods, and it was considered wrong for the Jew to eat of it. Their parents were nowhere around. None of the Jewish leaders and officers were around. They could have easily eaten of it and gotten away with it. But God had His eye on them! He was watching and waiting to see which path they were going to take. The Bible tells us “Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”  That is when he made his decision. And from then on the Lord began to bless him! Was his life a bed of roses? Far from it! Daniel had a lot more struggles then many of us face! But he had the comfort of knowing that he made the right decision, and because of that the Lord was right by his side through everything he went through! I have a feeling that had Daniel not made that decision at the start, his story would have been very different, and perhaps not even written in the Bible.  We make decisions every day. Are you making the right one? If you have and you are going through struggles, and the devil starts making you doubt if you have made the right decision or not, go back and read through the book of Daniel. You will see that you are not the only person in the world that the devil throws that to! I think it will encourage you. It encouraged me.  I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!! 

<Anna>

JOY

Everyone wants joy… and they are looking everywhere to find it. What people don’t seem to understand is that Joy is a choice...you make the decision whether or not you will be joyful each and every day.

You may say "But what if I have a bad day, or something bad happens? How do I be joyful then?"

THAT is the problem right there, because you are looking at Joy in the wrong way, thinking that Joy is dependent on what is happening to you RIGHT NOW, but it’s not.

As proof, let us consider the Apostle Paul...a man who was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, snake bit, imprisoned, etc...

2 Corinthians 7:4 says "Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorifying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation"

*exceeding joyful in all our tribulation* Wow....

Now, If you read on in verse 5 he tells us "For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest; but we were troubled on every side; without we're fightings, within were fears"

Sounds pretty rough...but look at verse 6 "Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us..." And it goes on through the next couple verses.

How was it that Paul was joyful through everything? First, Paul realized that Joy comes from God. Galatians 5:22 says "But the fruit of the spirit is love, JOY..." & 1 Thessalonians 1:6 says "And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with JOY of the Holy Ghost" Second, Paul had joy through faith. Romans 15:13 says "Now the God of hope fill you with all JOY and peace in believing..." & Philippians 1:25 says "And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you for your furtherance and JOY of faith."  Third, Paul knew that it was a command in the Bible to be Joyful. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 tells us "Rejoice evermore" and Philippians 3:1 says "...Rejoice in the Lord..." Fourth, joy comes from belonging to the kingdom of God. Romans 14:17 "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost"

As a side note, let’s consider that phrase, the kingdom of God, for a moment. People often think that this is referring to Salvation, but it is not. "The kingdom of God…” is a  phrase that is used 68 times in the NT, and I believe by its usage it refers to Christianity as a doctrine— We become Christians by believing in Christ, but the actual actions we do… the pure and undefiled actions… i.e. “true religion” is not simply partaking in/or in some case NOT partaking in, certain meat and drink, or any ceremonial observances whatever—it is a product of our righteousness; the righteousness of submission, sanctification and service to each other and Christ… WHICH IN TURN gives us peace and JOY through the Spirit!

Next, let's talk about some of the many reasons we have to be joyful! Here are just a couple...

•Joy in Salvation

If you can't find joy in ANYTHING else, be joyful in salvation! That precious sacrifice that Jesus made for YOU! You don't have to spend eternity in Hell. That right there is enough to make me joyful!

•Joy in serving God

You can be joyful in doing what God has called you to do! Going to church, soul winning, etc...

•Joy in Family

Whether it's blood family or spiritual family, you can joyful in, and grateful for them!

So, now that we've talked about joy being a choice you make...let’s plan to wake up every day purposing to be joyful!

-Elizabeth

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~Serving the Lord~

What is it like growing up on the mission field? Well, I've always thought it was pretty awesome! The Lord allowed me the special privilege of being born into a missionary family. My parents have been missionaries to Brazil, South America for over 30 years. Many people when they hear the word “missionary”  think, “poor people, they have to go and tell people about the Lord in strange countries.” But I don’t think of it has a “I have to go”,  I think of it more as a “I get the opportunity to go”.  Missionary life is not as bad as some people think! It’s pretty amazing! I mean, we get to go to different countries, learn different languages and customs, meet different people, make friendships with people around the word, travel to places most ordinary people will never be a able to go to, and still bring people to Jesus and get rewards in heaven!!! Now, don’t get me wrong, missionary life is not just a bed of roses. We have our hard times just like everyone else, and sometimes even worse then most people just because we are missionaries! But it’s at those times where we get to see the Lord come through for us and help us in ways that others don’t get to! If you feel the Lord calling you into his service, be it a pastors wife, or a missionary’s wife, or even a single missionary, don’t be worried or scared!!! Believe me you will have so many stories to tell about how God came through for you and your family at the last minute, or how God did the impossible, or how God was working and YOU were able to see tons of people get saved!!!  I know one thing, the most exciting stories that I have to tell people are ones just like that! And It also helps to strengthen our faith in the Lord! When you have no one else to run to, and God is all you have, you will find that He is all you need!! 

Another reason why you shouldn’t be scared or worried about taking this step of faith and letting God use your life as He will, is that there are so many souls out there dying and going to hell. And every minute you sit thinking and wondering if its worth getting up out of your comfortable chair, and leaving your air-conditioned house, and all of the comforts and conveniences you have, to go to another country, or even to just step our of your house and tell someone about Jesus; people are dying and going to hell! And their last thought is, “I wish I had someone to tell me what is going to happen after this life!” .  

Carnival in Brazil is a very wicked time!  It’s basically a week long party were they do everything immoral that they want, it’s kind of like Mardi Gras. After that time of wickedness,  basically the whole country pays a penance, kind of trying to “pay” for the sins they committed during carnival. For forty days they abstain from anything that they enjoy or that would bring them happiness. This week is called “Semana Santa” or “Holy week” , and many people don’t eat any meat this week. Some people will go up a very large mountain on their knees to pay for their sins!!! They have processions all through town trying to get forgiveness from God and Mary. Last Sunday (Palm Sunday) they went through town throwing down palm leaves in front of a cart that had a statue of Jesus on it, in remembrance of when Jesus went into Jerusalem on the donkey. Next Sunday (Easter Sunday) they will have a man dress up like Jesus, and they will “crucify”  him (he does not actually die, they take him down afterwards). They do all of this trying to get acceptance from God, and they think that this will make Him happy!! They are so blind!!  I’ve seen this happen year after year!!  These are the type of people that we have come to share the gospel with, and this is the type of people that maybe the Lord is calling you to share the gospel with!!! You may think, “Well, I’m not good enough” or “I don’t know if I can take it” . Well first of all, none of us are “good enough” . But if we allow God to use us, great things will happen! Not because of us, but because of Him in us!  And second, God is never going to call you into something or ask you to do something that you can’t take! He will capacitate you!!  So this week try getting out of your comfort zone! Try handing a tract out to some one! Only eternity will show how many lives you impacted with one simple gospel tract! 

Matthew 9:37 “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

Romans 10: 14-15 “ 14. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15. And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” 

Let the Lord you use you in a great way this week! I hope this was a blessing to someone! May God bless you and give you a good rest of the week! 

~Anna~

{*Modesty*}

There is a conflict in the minds of many young women today; they are torn between wanting to dress modestly and Godly, and fitting in with the people around them. The problem is that they don't want to be different from the world. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" It's ok to be different! A wise woman once told us to think of it like Kate Middleton/Princess Kate. Kate doesn't dress like a commoner. She's a princess. Is a princess different than a commoner? Yes! Is Kate dressing like a commoner just so she won't stand out and be different? No! Why? Because she has a higher calling. In the same manner, we as Christians have a higher calling. We are the daughters of the King! So why should we lower our standards just to be like the unsaved people? Ok, so you may ask, “‘Standards’, ‘higher calling’, ‘being different from the world...' what does all of that even mean?” Well, what many people don’t know is that the Bible talks a lot about how we should dress. The Bible gives us specific guidelines to follow concerning dress. In Deuteronomy 22:5 it clearly states that a woman should not wear the clothes that pertain to a man, and the man should not wear that which pertains to a woman. I know that many Christians buck at that and they don’t think that it's wrong for a woman to wear pants. They say, “Well, that's Old Testament stuff”. But in 1 Timothy 2:9 the Bible talks about adorning ourselves in modest apparel. Could you honestly tell me that pants on women are modest? When you see a women wearing pants that shows off her body do you think, “Wow, that woman must really love God! She has to be a Christian!” No! Nowadays it’s hard to tell who’s a Christian and who isn’t just by judging the way someone dresses. I think what it all comes down to is this simple question; Who are you trying to draw attention to? Yourself? Or God? When you are thinking about what to wear, you should ask yourself this question; “Would God be honored and glorified by my manner of dress?”  So you say, “Ok, fine. But there are some really immodest skirts out there too. So how short is too short?” Well, can you believe the Bible even talks about how long our skirts should be? It speaks about how the prostitutes uncover their thighs in Isaiah 47:2. The thigh is referring to your whole thigh bone, going from your hip to your knee. To show your naked leg is a shame. Nakedness in the Bible is always spoken of as shameful. You may be thinking, “What’s even the big deal about if I wear pants or not? Or if I dress modestly or not?” Well, there are two things you should know. First, at the end of that verse in Deuteronomy 22:5 it says, “All who do so are abomination to the Lord thy God.” So it's not that pants are an abomination. The person who wears them is an abomination to the Lord! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be an abomination to the Lord. And second of all, I go back to what we said at the start of this devotional. We are a chosen generation! A royal priesthood! Why dress like a commoner, when we could dress like a princess and bring honor to our King?! 

We've posted a couple pictures of modest outfit ideas down below :) If you have any questions feel free to comment below. We've set it so anyone can comment even if you don't have an account :) God Bless! 

{*Anna & Elizabeth*}

Forgiveness

Today I would like to talk about something that everyone has been faced with in their lives… the matter of forgiveness.

First of all, let’s talk about what forgiveness really is.

What is forgiveness? Many would say that forgiveness is simply excusing a mistake.

Understand, when I use the word mistake, I am using it loosely. Most of the time when people say they made a mistake, what they are really saying is, “…this wouldn’t be a problem if you hadn’t noticed, but since you did I need to look like I’m sorry…” In other words, it is a word they throw out in an attempt to minimize their guilt.

Fact 1: If it was done on purpose, it is NOT a mistake.

Fact 2: Whether it was on purpose or not has NO impact on your need to forgive.

Most people have an understandable need for the other person to be truly repentant before offering forgiveness, but instead of what we think, let’s look at Scripture. “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?” (Matthew 18:21)

Nowhere in this passage does Jesus tell the Disciples to judge whether or not the offender was “really sorry.” Nowhere does He tell them, “If he is not really, really sorry, then hold a grudge.”

Many times when we are faced with the command to forgive, we attempt to negotiate based on the other person’s actions or attitude; “They aren’t sorry, they are just sorry they got caught.” Is a common judgment we levy against people who have offended us.

When it comes to forgiveness, God has an expectation of behavior for us that He expects us to meet. He does not give us an option when it comes to forgiving someone who has offended or otherwise wronged us. While there is no “Thou shalt forgive…” in Scripture, (which is what most of us look for) the commandments regarding this topic are clear and unarguable.

First of all, we are told to “…love the brethren…” (I John 3:14) “…love thy neighbour as thyself…” (Leviticus 19:18) It is hard to love people and not forgive them; but He continues… We are not given the luxury of holding a grudge, (James 5:9) being bitter, (Ephesians 4:31) being angry without cause, (Matthew 5:22) or overnight (Ephesians 4:26) the list could go on and on. The fact is, we cannot argue about it.
We get ourselves in trouble, because not only are we clearly told to forgive; but there are stipulations if we refuse. Scripture even teaches us that God won’t listen to our Prayers if we refuse to forgive, (Mark 11:25) but also God will not accept an offering from us if we are refusing to forgive a brother. (Matthew 5:23)

Simply put, God has ordered us to forgive, because He has ordained us “…to be conformed to the image of his Son…” (Romans 8:29) Meaning that we should strive to be like Jesus.

So, what is forgiveness? Forgiveness is us trying to be more like Christ.

As a Christian we should try to be like Christ, using Him as an example. The question is, what was His example?

He was mocked, beaten, stripped, scourged and crucified, and after all of that, while hanging from the cross, said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Jesus was being forgiving even though THEY NEVER ASKED FOR FORGIVENESS. Their asking was NOT a prerequisite for His forgiveness.

I pray this was a blessing to you in some way! 

~Elizabeth~

Savor Your Time With God

  These past weeks I have been thinking a lot about prayer and my time with the Lord. Prayer is the means that God has created for us to communicate with Him. Not only that, but we get our strength and power from the time that we spend with God in prayer and in reading our Bible. That is why the devil fights so much to try to keep us from praying and spending time with the Lord. As long as he can keep us busy and occupied to where we don’t have time to spend with God, then we will remain defeated. The devil also knows that while we have God fighting for us, he can not prevail.  That is why it is so important to develop your time with God! Don’t let a day go by with out spending time with the Lord. And for us ladies that are still single, it is a great opportunity to really cultivate our walk with the Lord. If you don’t have a strong walk with the Lord before you are married, it most likely will be harder to have a strong walk after marriage. Use this time of singleness to get to know the Lord better. 

1 Corinthians 7:34b “ The unmarried women careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.”

James 5:16b “ The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” 

God bless each one of you as you seek to cultivate a healthy walk with God!  

~Anna~

While we are on this subject, I would like to mention that Elizabeth and I will be making a poll this week and will be placing it on the right side of the screen. We would really enjoy it if you would take the time to put down your opinion. Thank you!

NEW BLOGGER

Hey everyone!! Elizabeth here :) I just realized I never introduced and announced the new Blogger. As many of you probably already know, Anna is our new blogger for "Simply Seeking Him" She has done a couple blog posts already, and I encourage you to read them! Also, you can on over and read about her on our "About Us" section on the right hand side of the Web Version of the blog! 

I am so thrilled that she is able to do this with me, and we are both so looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do in 2016!! :) Thank you, and God Bless! 

{<Elizabeth>}