Today

Today is National Jelly Filled Doughnut Day. It is the anniversary of the patent of the vacuum cleaner and the building of the first indoor swimming pool. It is the second day of Headache Awareness Week. It is the birthday of Barbara Bush, Johnny Depp, Francis Crick, and Frank Lloyd Wright. It is part of National Superman Week. It is Best Friends Day. It is the day that Andrew Jackson and Mohammed died. In 2007, the space shuttle Atlantis began its mission, and in 1998 Nippon announced that painting eyeballs on jets decreased bird collisions by 20%. The US and Saudi Arabia signed a military-economic contract on June 8, 1974. It is the anniversary of Bermuda’s constitution and the day that Siam changed its name to Thailand. Walt Disney graduated this day, and the element neptunium was discovered. In 452, Italy was invaded by Attila the Hun.

     Why am I telling you this? Most likely, you couldn’t care less about Headache awareness week, you haven’t the faintest idea who Francis Crick is, and you never see eyeballs painted on jets. So what’s the point?

     The point is, today is a very special day because of many people and events. But the biggest reason that today is import is because today is TODAY. Today is the only day you can use to do anything. Today is the only day you can make a difference. Yesterday is only a memory, and Tomorrow never comes. I challenge you to take Today and do something that honors God. Do something to make someone smile. Use your Today well!

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Just in Case You Never Knew

Last week, I was talking to a friend who has grown up in the church all her life and was surprised to discover that she was completely unaware of the most beautiful truth of Christianity. I realized that perhaps some of you also might not know, and I thought I’d take a moment to share with you.

       You will all agree that everyone one of us has done bad things at some point. God is a perfect being, and our wrong doings (sins) separate us from God and from the hope of living in Heaven with him after we die. The problem now is that we must find a way to get rid of the sins (become righteous). This can only happen if we find forgiveness from God, and our sins must be completely “wiped off” of us. The only way sins can be wiped out is if someone perfect took our punishment for us.

(Ephesians 2:1-3)

     Jesus Christ is the son of God. He is fully God, and fully man. He came to earth to live a perfect life and to take our sins. Good news! He took the punishment for your sins. YOU ARE FORGIVEN! All you have to do is believe this and let Jesus take charge of your life. The book of Romans in the Bible says, “Because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heat that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).” Once you do this, you become a Christian you are “saved;” your sins are forgiven. All of them. Forever. Period. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO ANYTHING. The Bible says in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one can boast.” In other words, because God had mercy on you, he allowed you to be saved, and all you have to do is trust Him and believe that you are forgiven.

Nothing you do will make you more or less saved. If you could do something to save yourself, you would have a right to boast.  No matter how big your sins are, A SIN IS A SIN, and they are all forgiven. Not just the sins that were made before Christ died or before you became saved. ALL YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN, even the ones you haven’t made yet. Hebrews 9:26 says, “He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.” The Bible is very clear when it says that salvation comes through Grace by faith alone (Heb 9:24-26; Heb 10:10,14; Eph 2:1-10; Rom 10:5-11; Acts 11:15; Rom 3:24; Rom 11:6; Rom 1:17; Gal 3:22….). The Bible also says that true faith ought to and will be accompanied by good deeds (James 2:26), but it never mentions formal confession and memorized prayers, and it never says that good deeds help to save you. You can’t try to outweigh your bad deeds by your good deeds; it doesn’t work that way. Actions don’t cancel each other out. You can’t “help” God to make you righteous.  You literally can do nothing to save yourself. Only God can. And He did! Sound simple? That’s because it is.

If you have questions, comments or you want to know more about how God can forgive you, don’t hesitate to email me breezie@becominggodlymaidens.com

http://www.blueletterbible.com/

A Letter to the Girls

A letter

To a girl who will soon enter high school from a girl who has recently exited:

 Dear you,

You have a new chapter ahead of you. It can be the best time of your life, or it can be the worst. It will be whatever you make it. Make it wonderful! The next four years of your life will be the fullest years you have experienced to date. You have so many things to look forward to: learning new things, making new friends, a chance at your driver’s license, new opportunities. Your brain is still young enough to soak up information almost effortlessly, but you are mature enough to be responsible and make a difference.

      The next four years are designed to make you learn. So learn! Learn to teach yourself and to learn from others. Learn to love to learn! Studying can be enjoyable, I promise. You will need to study, and make sure that you do. Learn facts, and learn lots of them. Learn things that appeal to you as often as you can. It makes life more interesting. Learn life lessons, too. Over and over again in Proverbs, Solomon states that those who are wise are able to become more so, because such people are willing to take advice. Become wise, and behave wise. Listen closely when you are given sound teaching.

      Now is the season of life when one’s character becomes more pronounced. You will begin to see those around you for what they are. To your sorrow, you will have to let old some friendships die. But if you ask God for godly friends, He will send you dear friends to grow in faith with. You will discover that you can relate to all ages now; your friends may range from eight years old to ninety. You will have to be discerning, however. It is inevitable that you will meet people who are not interested in being a true friend. Never grow too close to someone. You cannot trust anyone on earth except your parents. They should be your confidants. You can trust them to keep your words to themselves, and you can confidently act on their advice. You cannot trust your friends completely; even the most pure-hearted friend will let you down. You cannot even trust me, much to my sorrow. I am quite certain that although I will try to always build you up and bring you joy, someday I may unintentionally hurt you or disappoint you. I, like anyone else, am only human. No, do not grow too close to anyone. Be on your guard, for there will be girls who pretend to be your friend to their own ends and who may discard your feelings and your reputation like so much trash. There will be boys who pretend to be your friend because they find you attractive, and then forget all about you when someone else catches their eye.

     Ah, yes the boys. Let me tell you about the boys. You may discover that boys find you interesting, but don’t let it flatter you. It is very flattering to receive attention, but you are still too young to think about boys and marriage. Don’t base your security and self-image on boys and their flighty fancies. Make sure that the way you behave and dress reflects a girl who tries to please her God, not the boys. Any boy who likes you only because you are physically attractive should be avoided. This kind of boy will only hurt you in the long run, even if he never means to. He is selfish if he tries to persuade you to have anything more than a friendship with him. The kind of man you want to marry begins with a boy who does not constantly focus on girls. The kind of man you want to marry wants a modest, godly wife who has character. Don’t flirt, and do your best to reign in your crushes. A little prayer goes a long way when it comes to this! I could write all day about this subject, but suffice to say that your high school years are not the time to engage in romantic relationships with boys. Wait until later. Your life will be far more pleasant, this I promise.

     The standards for teenage success are incredibly low. You don’t have to live according to the world’s expectation that you will be silly, flighty, and care only about the short-term. You can make a difference now. You can do big things! Don’t be afraid to try. Remember, with God, all things are possible. If you want to create a new charity, organize a concert, write a book, start a website, manage a campaign, receive your associate’s degree, whatever, you can do it! It will be work and you may have to jump through a few hoops and scale a few walls to get there, but if it is God’s will that you do it, you will succeed. Maturity, success and godliness do not have to begin once you hit the magic age of eighteen. It can, and should, begin before that. Keep your ideas and dreams in sight.

    Listen to advice and accept instruction and in the end, you will be wise. This is Proverbs 19:20, and it should be tattooed on your forehead. Not really, but you know what I’m getting at! You know more than you ever have before, but you know the least that you will ever know from now on. Your parents have been around the block a few times and you have barely made it to the corner. They are smarter than you are, and listening to their advice will save you a lot of trouble. Trust me, I know. I tell my dad that I should buy a t-shirt that says, “MY DAD IS ALWAYS RIGHT!” because every time I ignore his advice, I run into problems. In the same way, I know that I can trust my mom and talk to her about things because at one time, she was my age and she understands the way I think. The book of Proverbs is very clear when it repeatedly states that scoffers and fools ignore advice from wise people, but smart people heed advice, rebukes, and learning. Don’t be a silly foolish scoffer, be smart and learn from people who are wise and knowledgeable. Be respectful. Someday you are going to be thirty or forty or eighty, and I can guarantee you will want to be treated with respect.

     Get ready, high school is just around the corner! It will go faster than you expect, so grab these years as hard as you can and squeeze them for all they are worth. Good luck, and have fun!

Love,

Breana

Empty Grave, New Hope

He has risen, He has risen indeed!

Hallelujah! Praise God for His gift of eternal life. This is a day to celebrate!

Maundy Thursday?! I thought Monday was three days ago, and why is it spelled like that?

     Today is the Thursday before Easter, the day we call Maundy Thursday. If you are like me, you have always wondered what “Maundy” means and what it has to do with Jesus. Today I learned what this word means, and that it has a lot to do with Jesus! It is actually quite profound.



     “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word for “command,” “Mandatum.” Mandatum the first word of John 13:34 in the Latin Vulgate Bible. John 13:34 reads,

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

     On the Thursday before Easter, Christ celebrated the Passover (also known as the Last Supper) with his disciples. He knew that later that night, Judas would betray Him, and in the next two days He would be given a trial, be flayed with bits of bone or glass tied to leather straps, be mocked and ridiculed, have a circle of briars jammed into his head, and finally be slain on an ingeniously torturous killing device with the agony of all the world’s sin on his shoulders. He did all of that for one reason: L O V E. He loves you. He loves me. He loves your annoying neighbor and that person who always tries to get your goat. And what is  His command? Love one another. Love them the same way I loved you. Love them enough to be willing to give up your life for them. Chances are, you will never have to give up your life for someone else. But in order to love someone enough to be willing to give them your life, you naturally have to be willing to give up lesser things; the best piece of pie, an afternoon in front of the TV, winning the argument. Your time, your plans, your dreams. 

     Today is Maundy Thursday. Command Thursday. The command is to love. Find a way to show Christ-like love today… and every day.

Becoming Like Francis

Today I am inspired by Francis of Assisi. I used to see St. Francis as the chubby monk statue that my grandma has in her garden… a man poor by choice who loved animals. That might be true, but there is so much more to him!

     I recently read a Catholic book on the Crusades, called  The Crusaders  by Regine Pernoud, that my friend loaned to me. It was interesting because it was told from a very different perspective than secular and even Protestant history books. The Crusades surely is a multi-faceted subject filled with heroes and villains on both sides. It is so confusing and I really don’t know what stance to take on the subject! I came to a chapter on Francis of Assisi. In the middle of a bloody war against the Muslims, this brave man walked unarmed across Christian borders and into Muslim territory. He asked to be taken to the Sultan of Egypt. He was. This is a miracle for two reasons: firstly, because he was not killed on the spot, and secondly, because he was actually allowed to see the sultan. He witnessed to the Sultan, and the Sultan actually said that he would like to become a Christian, yet could not because of politics and fear of assassination (oh, how our human affairs cloud out the glow of eternity! It is tragic).  In the darkness of warfare and bloodshed, St Francis was a shining example of how God wants us to deal with our enemies; with love and concern. This man risked his life to bring Christianity to the Muslims, while many of his fellow Christians were only interested in killing and fighting them over a single city.

     Application: What in your life seems so important that you neglect what really is important? Are you fighting a personal “crusade” over your “Jerusalem?” In other words, are you so focused on something (even if it is something good) that you neglect to fulfill the Great Commission? Be a Francis of Assisi and not a Richard Coeur de Leon!

A New Creation

    

    Olive Swan, an employee of AWANA, has written her first book, A New Creation. This is the story of Sean, a self-centered employer, who has a week to get a story on an embezzler by spending time with the embezzler’s daughter. Esmeralda is like no one he has ever met. He is attracted to her kindness, her resolve, and her forgiveness, but he can’t understand how anyone with her intelligence can really believe in a loving, almighty God. Sean has seven days to get the story. Essy has seven days to share the gospel with Sean. The result is quite interesting.

Find it here

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