God’s will — Page 12 — Woman to Woman Mentoring

Is Your Church Being Invaded?

Since the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden, Satan’s sole purpose has been to destroy God’s kingdom on earth and overtake the world with evil and his tactical invasion is succeeding, not just in the world, but also in the church.

In the past, Satan’s tactics to divide churches were things like, chairs vs. pews. Hymns vs. contemporary music. Guitars and drums vs. pianos and organs. A young pastor or a seasoned pastor? Central campus or satellite campuses? These strategies of Satan seem trivial compared to today’s divisive issues that attack the central heartbeat and foundation of Christianity. Satan has methodically and effectively:

Changed God’s definition of marriage. Shockingly, certain denominations embrace gay marriage and gay clergy and it’s dividing their churches.
Legalized the killing of unborn and born babies—many of whom might have been Christian leaders, presidents, pastors, evangelists, parents, and loud voices in the wilderness.
Removed God, prayer, and Bibles from schools.
Eliminated God from the public square.

What has the church done to stop any of this? Very little.

Instead of the church influencing culture, the culture is influencing the church.

So is it any wonder that we see Satan zeroing in for a strategic blow: destroying unity in the church body and causing bitter divisions even among evangelicals.

Liberal politicians and commentators tout that Bible-believing Christians haven’t kept up with world changes and are thus becoming extinct. There’s no longer a universal definition of evangelical. The current political arena is revealing many shades of Evangelicals and Christians in what traditionally was simply, “the church.” Some Christians find it necessary to distinguish themselves as “gospel Christians” or “Bible-believing Christians.”

For a fantastic discussion on the biblical meaning and foundation of Evangelical Christians, and what liberal secularism will mean for our country if it takes over, watch this interview with Mark Levin and Pastor John Hagee, “Secularizing of America Will Lead to Heartache and Chaos.”

In Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, I warn of Satan’s impending invasion of the church if believers, who comprise God’s church, don’t take a firm stand against the devil’s schemes (Eph. 6:18):

Satan won’t like you making a concerted effort to remember God. Satan wants you to forget God’s goodness. Let that sink in a minute. If you forget God and his role in your life, then Satan has you just where he wants you. Satan’s target is believers. He doesn’t care about those who love the world because he already has them in his grip. He focuses on luring believers to love something else more than they love God. Satan wants to break God’s heart. Unfortunately, he seems to be succeeding in many areas. If he can get believers to look to the world’s ways, and forget God’s ways, Satan smirks.

**Satan’s five strategic tactics to destroy churches with worldliness invading holiness.**

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” —John 10:10

Secularism

In an article in the Washington Post, Michelle Boorestein quoted Pastor Rick Scarborough, who is trying to politically mobilize evangelical voters: “Evangelicals are so divided….It’s because we are living in a growing age of secularism that is forcing itself on people who hold traditional values . . . .Some frame the split as Christian pragmatists vs. Christian idealists.”

No one, not even Satan, can force secularism or pragmatism on people who stay true to biblical values and principles. It’s a choice between compromise or commitment.

Satan is hijacking high-profile liberal pastors, speakers, authors, and several mainline denominations who expound that: the Bible isn’t inerrant or relevant, God is a myth, Jesus is a legend, and the church needs to catch up with the culture and abandon God’s Word regarding sin.

Culture never trumps Scripture.

Those who call themselves “progressive/liberal Christians” defiantly ignore Jesus’s warning that Christians are in the world, but not of the world. And Jesus didn’t come to conform to the culture; he came to reform the culture.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. —Romans 12:2

Selfishness

The center of all divisiveness is selfishness and pride. We want things our way, the way we think is right. The church often doesn’t agree on what Christ wants for His church.

No one likes admitting they’re wrong, but the heart of Christianity is admitting mistakes and misconceptions. Selfish pride is at the root of arguments, dissention, hurt feelings, gossip, and complaining. God hates pride; Satan loves it.

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.—1 John 2:16

Sin

When was the last time you heard a sermon on what Scripture calls sin? Parishioners often want a pastor who doesn’t challenge them. How many in congregations today are living a sinful life without feeling any pangs of remorse because the church isn’t confronting them? How many pastors are afraid of retaliation if they call homosexuality, living together, adultery, abortion, lying, or cheating a sin?

Satan is the father of sin and he has done well when the church cowers in fear of being called judgmental, haters, prejudice, legalists and the latest, racist. The very foundation of the church is that Christians confess their sins, repent, ask for forgiveness and turn their lives over to Jesus.

Why did Jesus have to endure the painful cross for forgiveness of our sins if the church now refuses to call sinning wrong? Jesus loves all people, but he hates sin—“the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

If a church doesn’t know how to love the sinner without embracing the sin, it may abandon the sinner or avoid confronting them thus condoning their sin.

Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!—Matthew 18:7

Scandal

Pastors, church leaders, and prominent Christians succumb to moral or financial failures. Some even lose all hope and commit suicide. Churches don’t always have, or enforce, a system of accountability and mentoring at every level of leadership. Church staff may think they’re safe and above needing protective measures, and that’s right where Satan wants them with a target on their back. When one of these Christian leaders or someone in their family falls, the media and many Christians and fellow pastors are quick to voice opinions and denounce them publically. The church may not respond biblically, which is why nonbelievers characterize Christians as the only group that “eats its own.”

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.—Galatians 6:1

Social Acceptance

Many voices are screaming louder than the church, which in its attempt to be culturally relevant, may widen the road that Jesus said is narrow. Political correctness and ideological inclusiveness overshadows biblical truthfulness.

The church should only seek the exclusive acceptance of, and answer to, the Head of the Church—Jesus Christ.

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.—John 15:19

Sensationalism

Cultural Christianity creates an entertainment church, emphasizing popular people more than Holy God. Churches try the latest trend rather than leading from the Holy Spirit. Concert-style worship can detract from the purpose of musical worship—inviting in the Holy Spirit and drawing close to God, an atmosphere Satan hates.

Satan loves it when earplugs accompany the bulletin, little children plug their ears, and only those on stage sing. Or people don’t bring their Bibles to church because it’s too dark to read them.

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. —Eph. 5:8-9 NLT

What should the church do to combat Satan’s divisive encroaching tactics?

Believers must agree to stand together united as the Christian church—led by Christ and based on biblical truths—and fight Satan using prayer and the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, as our battle plan and strong fortress.

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. ¹⁸They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. —Jude 1:17-21

Otherwise, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25).

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Cor. 1:10).

Is your church being invaded?

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July 29, 2019

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Has the Church Focused too Much on God’s Love and Not the Fear of God?

“God is love. He doesn’t care,” she continued.

Those are the words of a “gospel singer” who left her husband to enter into a lesbian relationship. I couldn’t help but think this woman has sung many songs about God over the years and certainly heard as many or more sermons. So how did she conclude that because God loves us He doesn’t care when we sin? He’s fine with it?!

You can tell that she knows this is wrong or why try to justify this relationship?

Then there’s the gay Democrat presidential contender, Pete Buttigieg, who explains his homosexual relationship/marriage, “At a recent fundraiser, he said of his same-sex “marriage”: “[it] has made me a better man [and]…moved me closer to God. If being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far above my pay grade.”

He then added, “That’s the thing I wish the Mike Pence’s of the world would understand, that if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”

“The reality, of course, is that the mayor’s quarrel isn’t with Mike Pence. His quarrel is with the clear texts of Scripture that both identify what marriage is and what it is for, as well as how homosexual behavior is sinful. His quarrel is with natural law, reflected in the biological roles our bodies play and the universally embraced connection of marriage and procreation, even by societies not influenced by Christian morality. And of course, his quarrel is with 2,000 years of unanimous Christian witness on marriage and sexual morality.”–The False God of Feelings: Mayor Buttigieg’s Pro-Gay Christianity

Buttigieg is rationalizing that how we live is God’s fault because He created us with the ability to make choices. Yes, it’s true God gave us free will, but we’re accountable for how we use it. We can’t blame God for the bad things we do or the sinful way we choose to live and then say He’s ok when I sin. Naught!

God made Adam and Eve too and He gave them a choice to follow His commands. And we know how their choice turned out. Following the politician and singer’s rational, it would be God’s fault for Adam and Eve’s bad choice so God was Okay with it. Again, naught!

[Tweet “Death and hell became realities when Adam and Eve chose the Devil’s ways and since the day God kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, we all have the propensity to sin, but God is not okay when we make that choice.”]

Death and hell became realities when Adam and Eve chose the Devil’s ways and since the day God kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, we all have the propensity to sin, but God is not okay when we make that choice. The Bible proclaims just the opposite. God is never OK when we give in to Satan’s evil wiles.

But the singer and “Mayor Pete’s” comments are worthy of our discussion because there are many today, even in the church, who agree that our feelings and what we want to do, even sin, is fine with God because He’s a God of love. However, they conveniently overlook the fact that just because He gave us feelings and choices, He also gave us commands and Scriptures to guide us in making the right choices and avoiding the wrong ones.

[Tweet “To say that God endorses sin of any kind in his creation is blasphemy, even when said by those who should know better in the church.”]

To say that God endorses sin of any kind in His creation is blasphemy, even when said by those who should know better in the church.

Satan knows how to twist Scripture and tempt with, “Did God really say_______?” Fill in the blank with any sin. It’s not just the homosexual lifestyle. Last week I wrote about Abortion: The Crime of Passion.

It can be cheating on your taxes, lying, stealing, coveting, taking the Lord’s name in vain, adultery, abuse, and so many more sins of choice.

Scripture is “Inclusive”

A popular word in today’s culture is “inclusive,” which can be used as a weapon for forcing people to accept precepts that go against their faith and beliefs. The Bible also uses inclusive words, but in a different context. Everyone is born with potential to do many wrong things and we’ve all sinned. Absolutely everyone. Not just the singer or the politician, everyone. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). That’s pretty inclusive. We all have sin in common.

But God doesn’t want us to stay in that degenerate place of sinning. “If you love me,” Jesus says in John 14:15, “you will keep my commandments.”

[Tweet “Sadly, Satan makes evil look good and blinds to the Gospel.”]

Sadly, Satan makes evil look good and blinds to the Gospel. When he turns hearts away from Jesus, we become just as we’re born, selfish and self-determining. “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).

We want what we want and think a loving God would want that for us too.

Wrong!

Yes, God made us with the potential to do many things, but He doesn’t say everything is right. He doesn’t want us to stay sinful.

“No one is righteous—
not even one.
¹¹No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
¹²All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”^[^b^]
¹³“Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”^[^c^]
¹⁴    “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”^[^d^]
¹⁵“They rush to commit murder.
¹⁶    Destruction and misery always follow them.
¹⁷They don’t know where to find peace.”^[^e^]
¹⁸    “They have no fear of God at all.” Romans 3:9:18 NLT

There is an answer to our sinful nature: ask and accept God’s grace and forgiveness.

All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

⁴But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) Ephesians 2:3-5 NLT

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ²Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Romans 6:1-2

Buttigieg may feel that his same-sex relationship has somehow brought him closer to God, but if so he would know and honor God’s commandments and sense the Spirit’s conviction.

The singer might think because God is love, he’s ok with her sinning. He is not. He loved her so much John 3:16 says For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, so she could be forgiven to go and sin no more.

What Does It Mean to Fear God?

[Tweet “Have we forgotten how to fear God, but have turned Him into some fake God who loves us so much He has no problem with our sin.”]

Have we forgotten how to fear God, but have turned Him into some fake God who loves us so much He has no problem with our sin? My mom used to say, “Remember God is watching what you do.” That’s a good thing to remember. We’re not getting away with anything. God knows everything.

We always know our parents love us, but there should also be a healthy fear of them catching us doing something wrong because they’re going to discipline us. Not because they hate us, but because they love us. If they let us do anything we wanted from childhood, we would probably err on the side of selfishness and self-serving. That’s why they gave us boundaries and guidelines for life. And if we love our children, we should do the same.

That’s what the Bible is for Christians: a guide in how to live a life pleasing to God. And when we choose to live differently, it saddens Him because He knows we know better. But He will let us live with the consequences of our sinful choices. “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts.” Romans 1:18-32 describes God’s anger at sin. Don’t think that those words don’t apply to all of us.

[Tweet “the consequences on judgement day will be a horrible fate for those who have spent their lives trying to make God the Deity they want Him to be: trying to make God in their own sorry sin-loving image. “]

It’s tough love and the consequences on judgement day will be a horrible fate for those who have spent their lives trying to make God the Deity they want Him to be: trying to make God in their own sorry sin-loving image.

[Tweet “Never doubt there will be a judgement day and how we have lived on earth will define our eternity.”]

Never doubt there will be a judgement day and how we have lived on earth will define our eternity. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6:7)

That’s not fear, that’s fact.

Many try to describe the fear of God as simply meaning to be in awe of Him. That’s certainly one meaning, but the meaning of fear more prevalent in the Bible is reverent, respect, honoring, cherishing, fear of disappointing our Great God by doing wrong in His sight.

Just like we never stop being our parents children even when we hurt them by doing wrong, Christians will always be God’s children, but He will never be “ok” with our sin.

Dr. Jeremiah summarizes this contrast between the love of God and the fear of God in his book What Are You Afraid of?

“On many occasions throughout my forty years of ministry, people have questioned me about the subject of God’s judgement. Often they say something like this: “My God would never send anybody to hell or punish someone for doing evil. My God is a God of love.”

I usually answer by telling them that their God does not exist. There is a God to love and there is a God to fear, and He is one and the same! Did He not judge His own Son as a demonstration of His love for the world? And did He not then show His love for the Son he judged by raising Him from the dead? How silly to think that if He is a loving God, He cannot also be a fearsome God. The two attributes complement each other.”

I’m sure you’ve heard many sermons on the love of God, but when is the last time you heard a sermon on the fear of God?

Don’t wait to hear it from the pulpit, read it for yourself in your Bible. You won’t be held accountable on judgement day for what your pastor did or didn’t preach. No, you’ll be held accountable for how you loved God enough to respect and fear Him by obeying His commands.

For the honor of your name, O Lord,
forgive my many, many sins.
¹²Who are those who fear the Lord?
He will show them the path they should choose.
¹³They will live in prosperity,
and their children will inherit the land.
¹⁴The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
He teaches them his covenant. Psalm 25:11-14

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Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

June 10, 2019

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Abortion: A Crime of Passion

With all the discussion lately about abortion, the focus has been on the depravity of late term abortion now legalized in some states, and the life-saving efforts of other states to eliminate abortion completely. But what I haven’t heard in the public discourse is what leads to abortion in the first place: sex!

No one seems to want to touch the underlying cause of 59+ million babies murdered since Roe vs Wade became law at a time of sexual revolution with the advent of birth control pills and the availability of abortion to anyone who wanted it, regardless of age or reason. Though, originally abortion was supposed to be safe and rare, with the advent of Planned Parenthood it became another form of birth control and frequent. Approximately 20% of pregnancies end by abortion!

Boys and girls, men and women, felt the freedom to have sex with whomever they wanted whenever they wanted because if they got pregnant, all they had to do was find the money to get an abortion. And many girls and women have stories that they didn’t stop having indiscriminate unprotected sex after their first abortion. No, they did it again and maybe again…

Feminist actress Alyssa Milano by her own admission wanted women to go on a sex strike when Georgia passed a law prohibiting abortion after a detected heartbeat. She said women couldn’t afford to get pregnant because they couldn’t have an abortion. In other words, abortion, not protection, is your failsafe way to deal with the product of conception: a baby! “Our reproductive rights are being erased. Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy. Join me by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back.” So says Alyssa Milano.

What she and many others fail to address is that a few moments of sexual passion and pleasure can lead to a lifetime of living with the murder of their own babies. Today, you hear women, especially liberal actresses and politicians, celebrating the death of their babies, but I surmise that they’re actually angry, hurt, and anguished over what they’ve done. If they can get a group together with similar feelings, they can live in denial knowing they’re not alone. They find comfort in commonality. Like the old adage, “misery loves company.”

[Tweet “Today, you hear women, especially liberal actresses and politicians, actually celebrating the death of their babies, but they’re actually angry, hurt, and anguished over what they’ve done”]

My friend Patti Smith wrote a blog about the devastation of her own abortions: Nobody Told Me the Truth. Maybe that’s you and you were misled or misinformed. Patti learned that God is the God of forgiveness as she learned the truth. I’ve heard good things about Project Rachel: Hope After Abortion . After your own healing, like Patti, God may use your past to help another woman not let it become her future.

[Tweet “Before ultrasounds and heartbeat monitoring, women bought into the lie they were told that it’s just a blob of cells that can’t feel pain.”]

Before ultrasounds and heartbeat monitoring, women bought into the lie they were told that it’s just a blob of cells that can’t feel pain. But now, we know none of that is true. We can see the baby developing and hear the heartbeat at six weeks. We know, without a doubt, that life begins at conception. Yet there are still many lobbying for killing that human being, even after it takes its first breath! Inhuman barbaric depravity is actually celebrated in Congress and some state governments.

[Tweet “The Devil tries to seduce with deception by calling the baby a “fetus,” which sounds clinical and not like a human being.”]

The Devil tries to seduce with deception by calling the baby a “fetus,” which sounds clinical and not like a human being. But I’ve never heard a woman say she’s pregnant with a fetus or a blob of cells. She says she’s going to have a baby: a precious, fragile, defenseless human being that she can “choose” to murder or let live.

Liberals and abortion advocates try to couch the killing of babies by using terms like: A woman’s right to choose. Reproductive rights. Control over our own bodies. Healthcare. A decision between the woman and her doctor. Prochoice. A war on women.

Even a SCOTUS said you can’t call a pregnant woman a “mother”! A woman who exercises her constitutionally protected right to terminate a pregnancy is not a mother” – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. If she’s not a mother what is she?

Read a father’s reply to Ginsburg’s outrageous statement as he discusses that even babies who die in miscarriage still have a mommy and daddy.

[Tweet “Abortion is not a constitutional right.”]

Abortion is not a constitutional right. The Constitution says everyone has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and that includes everyone with a beating heart. You would think a Supreme Court Judge would know that. But that’s how delusional some people have become. Another sly deception is to confuse by denying biology that every baby has both a mother and a father.

Let’s look at some common deceptions.

“A woman’s right to choose.” In 99.9% of situations, a woman does have a right to choose . . . if she’s going to have sex or not. That’s her choice.
“Reproductive rights” start with the right to say yes or no to sex. Sex leads to reproduction. A scientific and biological fact and a right God gave to every man and woman who chooses to have sex.
“Healthcare.” There’s nothing healthy for a woman to have a baby poisoned, burned, dismembered, or sucked out of her womb.
“It’s my body.” It’s not her own body. She didn’t create herself. God did by her parents having sex to create her. Then she used her body to have sex and create a body separate from hers with its own heartbeat, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, brain, organs, skin, arms, legs, sensitivity to pain, and cry.
“Bodily autonomy is a human right.” Autonomy does allow a woman to choose to have sex with her body, but when she creates another body, that little body has autonomy and a human right also.
“Abortion is morally good.” When murder becomes morally good and justified, we’ve definitely regressed to barbarism and savagery. Promiscuous sex is morally wrong. Two wrongs do not make a right.
“It’s a decision between a woman and her doctor.” When a girl or woman goes into Planned Parenthood, they don’t see the doctor until they’re in stirrups and he’s killing her baby. And often it’s not even a doctor performing the abortion.
“Prochoice.” The argument is between prolife and prodeath advocates! That’s something no one wants to say.
“A war on women.” Hmm. How about we stop the war on babies, both male and female.

Why is the Movie Industry so Pro Abortion?

That answer is clear: money. Sex sells. Sex leads to unwanted pregnancy, which often leads to abortion. So Planned Parenthood, Hollywood, elites, and liberals are in the Devil’s circle.

[Tweet “Sex sells. Sex leads to unwanted pregnancy, which often leads to abortion. So Planned Parenthood, Hollywood, elites, and liberals are in the Devil’s circle.”]

Almost every movie and most TV programs show couples going on a date and having sex. Maybe not even the date first. Entertainment exploits explicit sex. Everyone sleeps together, hook ups, casual promiscuous sex is presented as the norm, and sadly, it’s become the norm. You don’t see women saying no or concerned with pregnancy.

[Tweet “Virginity is only said with respect at Christmas with the “Virgin Mary.””]

Virginity is only said with respect at Christmas with the “Virgin Mary.” Young people often don’t even know what virgin stands for today. Girls and women who’ve had multiple sex partners are still married in white, maybe pregnant or carrying their baby and no one blinks at it. I saw a program with girls picking out wedding dresses and one of them laughed, “Maybe I’m pregnant.” It was funny, not remorseful. I applaud the women who choose to keep their babies, I just wish they had also chosen to save God’s gift of virginity for the man they want to spend the rest of their life with because you can only give the gift of virginity away once.

[Tweet “Today’s culture considers abstinence until marriage archaic and laughable and scoffs at anyone who dares to suggest it, or chooses to live by God’s moral principles.”]

Today’s culture considers abstinence until marriage archaic and laughable and scoffs at anyone who dares to suggest it, or chooses to live by God’s moral principles.

And that brings us to a place those of us who have lived a while would never have expected possible in America: infanticide.

Abortion has become the accepted crime of unbridled passion and lust. Sex for murder.

[Tweet “Abortion has become the accepted crime of unbridled passion and lust. Sex for murder.”]

There’s only one entity who could bring us to this despicable time in history: Satan.

[Tweet “No matter how anyone tries to twist God’s Word, he designed sex to be between a married man and woman. That’s it! No exceptions. “]

No matter how anyone tries to twist God’s Word, he designed sex to be between a married man and woman. That’s it! No exceptions. Everyone who is having sex any other way is sinning. I didn’t make that rule, God did. Many today try to make God into their own image the way they want to live, but you’ll always be going against God’s will for you.

God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature . . . Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!” Gen. 1:27-28 The Message

There’s no right way to do the wrong thing. There’s no justification for having sex and killing a baby because the sex was convenient, but the baby is inconvenient.

So what can you do about these atrocities?

Let your voice be heard in your state’s legislature.
Be a voice for the voiceless. Boldly and unashamedly stand for prolife as an abolitionist.
Mentor women who are having indiscriminate sex, considering an abortion, or had an abortion. I give ideas about how to do this in my book Mentoring for All Seasons.
If you’re having sex outside of marriage, stop now!

[Tweet “Our culture today is playing God by choosing who can live and who should die. That’s not going to end well.”]

Our culture today is playing God by choosing who can live and who should die. That’s not going to end well.

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’^[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

⁹A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand,¹⁰they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

¹²This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

Revelation 14:6-12

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June 3, 2019

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Stepping Out in Faith to Mentor

You might have noticed there wasn’t a Monday Morning Blog last week. That was operator error. I had a guest blogger, but I didn’t hit “schedule” and so it only went out on social media but not to my email followers. It was such a great post that I wanted to resend it to all of you.

The reason I had scheduled a guest blogger was because last weekend I was speaking at First Baptist Church Riverview, Florida on the topic of Stepping Out in Faith. You can see me speaking and some of the ladies in attendance in the opening pictures, and Tammy Keene the founder of the Glory Conference and me finally meeting after two years of planning this conference, which was so blessed by the Lord. I told the story of how I stepped out in faith to start Woman to Woman Mentoring and then offered 10 Steps to Know You’re Stepping Out in Faith with God. I’ll share those 10 steps in a future blog.

But for today, I’d like you to read Andrea Chatelain’s post below because she talks about some of the reasons we might not think we’re equipped to mentor and how to overcome those insecurities.

Throw Out Insecurity and Cast Your Net

By Andrea Chatelain

I was a shell of a woman. Broken over miscarriages and lonely in faith, I called the one friend I had and asked her to gather some gals. We bought the shortest Bible study available, and strangers gathered in my living room. I had no idea what I was doing. Why had God prompted me to open my house and my heart to others when I felt so unqualified, imperfect, and weary? Truth is, He can work great things out of our vulnerability if we’ll be bold enough to follow.

[Tweet “God can work great things out of our vulnerability if we’ll be bold enough to follow.”]

Being a mentor starts with this motto: Throw out insecurity and cast your net.

Before Jesus’ disciples followed Him, many were fishermen. They spent their days casting out a net because they knew there were fish in the water–even if they weren’t biting. Some days the disciples hauled in so many fish the boat was overflowing, other times there wasn’t much to show for their efforts.

But they kept throwing their nets.

Then Jesus invited them to catch something better. “And He said to them, follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 ESV

To do the important work of mentoring others, bringing them up in love and truth, we have to believe two things: 1. God chose us fully aware of our shortcomings. 2. The outcome is in His control as we follow His lead.

If we examine the first disciples, Christ didn’t always choose the most qualified. He called those willing to follow and throw their net. And the same is true of us.

[Tweet “God has chosen each of us to cast our nets right where we are and mentor others in love and truth not because we are awesome, but because He is awesome.”]

God has chosen each of us to cast our nets right where we are and mentor others in love and truth not because we are awesome, but because He is awesome. Believing that perfection isn’t required to lead others emboldens us to step out of our comfort zone and do the sometimes intimidating job of mentoring. So we throw off insecurity and say yes to every crazy idea God gives us knowing it’s not about what we have to give, but about trusting the One who’s leading us.

[Tweet “To boldly say yes when God calls us to mentor or disciple others, we must also trust Him with the outcome.”]

To boldly say yes when God calls us to mentor or disciple others, we must also trust Him with the outcome. In the past, I didn’t open myself up to mentoring because I was simply afraid no one would show up, or that the group wouldn’t be successful. I believed the outcome of my leadership was all on me. And that left me paralyzed.

I was frozen in fear and insecurity thinking it was necessary to possess all the answers for the women I mentored. But when I changed my mindset, having faith God called me to that post, He provided me with strength and wisdom through His Holy Spirit, and the pressure subsided. And even if it didn’t turn out the way I expected, I learned to trust that was part of God’s plan too.

So no, I’ve never been a perfect leader, and I doubt I ever will be, but God showed up each week to that Bible study as I committed to love and serve others. As I continue to cast my net despite my fears and insecurities, God has built friendships, grown my faith, and healed my heart.

Who is God calling you to reach out to? What fear is holding you back?

[Tweet “Trust that God knows exactly who you are, your weakness and strengths, and wants to use you to encourage and mentor others.”]

Trust that God knows exactly who you are, your weakness and strengths, and wants to use you to encourage and mentor others. He will be glorified as you faithfully say yes!

If you’re looking at the following picture and wondering why I have stuffed animal sheep on the stage with me, read a little about my Feed My Sheep Story and my testimony.

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

May 13, 2019

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Climate Change Won’t Kill You, but Moral Change Will

Today, many are calling it a “moral obligation” to warn us about climate change before it “kills us.” But these are some of the same people who advocate legalizing immoral change destroying our country. They have no concern for killing babies, every second of every day; in fact, they champion it, but stop eating hamburgers now! That’s their real concern.

[Tweet “When’s the last time you heard a pastor speak on Romans 1:18-32 and speak about the truths of God’s anger toward sin?”]

Our pastor recently spoke on Romans 1:18-32. When’s the last time you heard a pastor speak about the truths of God’s anger toward sin, many of which our culture idolizes and tries to force on us as “tolerant” and acceptable. God is never tolerant or acceptant of sin. Never! I put a link to these verses because I want you to go read them and then think about the moral change happening in our country today.

You can’t study the great Book of Romans without addressing these verses, and yet many churches, pastors, and Christians are not only ignoring them, they’re trying to whitewash them out of the Bible. God’s Words ignored because the world tells us they’re irrelevant and don’t actually apply to a 21^st Century culture or even worse that they’re “hate speech!”

[Tweet “God’s Words ignored because the world tells us they’re irrelevant and don’t actually apply to a 21st Century culture or even worse that they’re “hate speech!””]

Many have applauded my last few blogs, and others have said I’m preaching to the choir. Well that’s exactly who I want to reach. I want the “choir” to get out of their safe pews, take off their protective, comfy choir robes, move out of the safety of like-minded people groups, and take a stand for God’s Words and God’s ways before moral change completely envelops our country.

[Tweet “Today the biggest problem facing America is how humans are redefining morality not how humans are changing the climate.”]

Today the biggest problem facing America is how humans are redefining morality, not how humans are changing the climate.

In my blog, 5 Examples of How to Join God in Bringing Good out of Evil, I made the point that everyone knows right from wrong and has a conscience. People who are doing wrong, know that it’s wrong, but they do it anyway for any variety of reasons: greed, power, social pressure, self-gratification.

[Tweet “People who are doing wrong, know that it’s wrong, but they do it anyway for any variety of reasons: greed, power, social pressure, self-gratification.”]

Romans 1:18-23 (NLT) reminds us that every living human being has to acknowledge God. Even those who are so worried about the climate change are looking at the air they breathe, the forests, the water, the animals . . . and so: ^{19 “}They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. ²⁰Forever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. ²²Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. ²³And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”

So anyone who doesn’t acknowledge God and his ways, leaves himself or herself wide open for Satan to take hold of their mind, will, and actions. They become dark and confused . . . “utter fools” . . . which aptly describes many of the secular population.

[Tweet “Anyone who doesn’t acknowledge God and his ways, leaves himself or herself wide open for Satan to take hold of their mind, will, and actions. They become dark and confused.”]

And don’t we see a flood of dark, confused, “foolish ideas” today. We’re baffled how adults can actually champion with a straight face the absurdity of “the new green deal” with no cows, no planes only trains, every building in America rebuilt and on and on…and if you don’t get on board you’re going to die in 12 years, which was also predicted in 1989, 1999, and will still be “12 years” in 10 years from now! Foolish!

Or foolish talk of Socialism for America. Or defending and lying about an illegal coup to take down a duly elected president. Or an actor who gets away with a sloppy contrived hate hoax. Or rich parents thinking they’ll never get caught cheating their children’s way into college. Foolish! Dark!

[Tweet “How deceived the churches, denominations, pastors, and Christian speakers/authors who are foolishly ignoring Romans 1:24-32 and trying to convince us that these sins aren’t really sin”]

But what about the foolish confused churches, denominations, pastors, and Christian speakers/authors who are foolishly ignoring Romans 1:24-32 and trying to convince us that these sins aren’t really sin. I just read an article “French bishops spokesman calls homosexual relationships ‘something of God’. Here’s what God’s something says about it:

²⁴So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. ²⁵They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. ²⁶That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. ²⁷And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God [and the way he created them sexually] he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. ²⁹Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. ³⁰They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. ³¹They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. . . .Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:24-32 NLT

So what are we to take from these verses that describe the same world today that Paul described in Rome? And almost every family today has one of these issues described in the above verses. God says he doesn’t release people to sin, but if they won’t listen to him, he does withdraw his loving restraint. (Romans 1:24) Like so many claim today, they do have a choice and a right to do what they want, and God will let them make that choice, but He’ll also let them suffer the consequences.

[Tweet “Like so many claim today, everyone has a choice and a right to do what they want, and God will let them make that choice but He’ll also let them suffer the consequences.”]

So does that mean we should give up on them? Absolutely not! But it does mean that we don’t get caught up endorsing what God calls wicked by redefining sin. That’s not helping them. If we say that because we love someone it means their sin is Okay, we’re essentially giving up on them and their eternal salvation.

[Tweet “If we say that because we love someone it means their sin is Okay, we’re essentially giving up on them and their eternal salvation.”]

C.S. Lewis summed it up this way: “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell.”

I would add that all who are in Heaven choose it too.

Climate change is nothing compared to eternity in Hell. That’s what kept me on my knees praying for my daughter, and I hope there’s someone you’re staying on your knees for too. Because if you’re truly a Christian, you know that Heaven and Hell are real. Pastor Greg Laurie recently wrote a devotional where he said:

“I want to do everything I can to warn everyone I know so they won’t end up in that horrible place. Tell them about what Christ has done for you. Tell them about the hope of Heaven. Tell them about the forgiveness of sin. And tell them what the repercussions are if they don’t believe. Don’t leave that out. Don’t dilute it. We have the hope of Heaven, but we don’t want anyone to go to Hell.”

But let’s make that clear. “You don’t get to Heaven by living a good life. And you don’t end up in Hell by living a bad life. Heaven is not for good people; Heaven is for forgiven people. Everyone who turns from their sin can go to Heaven. This is why God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross.”

[Tweet “We’re not helping or showing love to anyone when we condone their sin. And much of what the world endorses, God condemns. “]

This is why we celebrate Easter. This is the message churches should be sharing. We’re not helping or showing love to anyone when we condone their sin. And much of what the world endorses, God condemns. And so should we. When immoral evil is condoned and legalized, as Christians we don’t tolerate it or obey it. We fight it with everything we have in us.

O.S. Hawkins says in his book The Believer’s Code: “Yet the Bible gives clear instructions: we are compelled to disobey civil law when it is in direct opposition to God’s laws.”

[Tweet “Today, you will be called all sorts of horrible names when you don’t go along with immoral laws. But so what?”]

Today, you will be called all sorts of horrible names when you don’t go along with immoral laws. But so what? Jesus said: “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:20).

If we offend with the Gospel, then Glory be to God. Hardships and persecution are all part of a life devoted to Christ.

[Tweet “If we offend with the Gospel, then Glory be to God. Hardships and persecution are all part of a life devoted to Christ.”]

Don’t shy away from calling sin a sin. Even in our own lives. We sin too. Hopefully, not in the ways described in Romans 1:18-32, but in other ways unpleasing to God.

[Tweet “Don’t feel like you have to defend God. He can defend himself. He’s made his presence known to everyone, some just choose to ignore him”]

Don’t feel like you have to defend God. He can defend himself. He’s made his presence known to everyone, some just choose to ignore him. But God is always good in His invitation: His call to everyone is to repent and be saved. Not saved from climate change, but from moral change.

[Tweet “But God is always good in His invitation: His call to everyone is to repent and be saved. Not saved from climate change, but from moral change.”]

John 3:18 says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

It’s not just that someone is a sinner; it’s that he or she rejected God’s solution to moral change in his or her own life.

“God is saying, ‘I love you. I don’t want you to go to Hell. I put My own wrath on my Son, whom I love, so you can be forgiven.’ That rejection of Jesus is what brings judgment. It isn’t going to be a sin question in the final day. It’s going to be a Son question: What did you do with Jesus?” Pastor Greg Laurie

[Tweet “The most loving thing you can do as a church and as Christians is to not give up on someone you know who has rejected Jesus. Climate change is nothing compared to an eternity separated from God.”]

The most loving thing you can do as a church and as a Christian is to not give up on someone you know who has rejected Jesus. Climate change is nothing compared to an eternity separated from God.

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

If you haven’t already read last week’s post, Why You Should See #Unplannedmovie.

If you haven’t seen Unplanned, please go see it and take someone with you. Lives are depending on the truth of the immorality of abortion to be known.

April 8, 2019

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In Today’s Culture, I Might Have Been Aborted

“I wouldn’t have had you if I knew I would be passing on health issues to you!” My mom said to me.

As states are rapid-fire passing abortion laws that allow babies to be aborted for any “health” reason, even up through and after delivery, my mother’s words echo in my mind. I was just a young girl and I tried to frame her words in love. But I wondered then, as I do now, why wouldn’t she want me? Were her words coming from a point of regret or concern about my future? She’s gone now and I never asked.

[Tweet “Ultrasounds have made strides in helping to determine when a heart starts beating as new parent’s excitedly watch the development of their baby in mommy’s tummy.”]

Ultrasounds have made strides in helping to determine when a heart starts beating as new parents excitedly watch the development of their baby in mommy’s tummy. There are so many benefits of ultrasounds, especially in letting hesitant mommy’s know their baby is not just tissue or a fetus, but a kicking, smiling, yawning, sleeping, squirming baby boy or girl.

Ultrasounds and amniocentesis also detect early developmental issues. Often a baby’s life can be saved by intrauterine surgery or detecting that the mommy needs to be on bedrest.

[Tweet “Before ultrasounds detecting problems babies would have a chance at life. Today doctors encourage fearful parents to abort “and try again.””]

But these same tests can detect problems that can’t be treated until the baby is born, or maybe not treatable ever.

Before intrauterine technology, those babies would have a chance at life. Today doctors might encourage fearful parents to “abort and try again.” Even though we read story after story of the doctor and the tests being wrong and a beautiful baby boy or girl surprises everyone. A baby almost killed because he or she might not be perfect.

I would’ve been one of those imperfect babies.

Today’s technology could probably detect that I would have a spine with severe debilitating congenital scoliosis. Doctors might have told my first-time parents that without treatment I would be deformed and why not “get rid of me and try again for a better baby next time.” But my mom was pregnant before ultrasounds. Parents had to anxiously wait until their baby was born to even know if they were having a boy or a girl. So I lived.

But as I grew, my mother continually told me to stand up straight and had me standing for hours with my back against the wall hoping my spine would straighten on its own. But it only got worse until doctors told her if I didn’t have surgery to put a metal rod down my spine or be put in traction and wear a plaster cast from just under my ears to my hip bones until I finished growing, my left arm would eventually drag the ground. There was no way to correct the S-shaped curvature, only stop it from getting any worse and I would endure a lifetime of back pain.

She probably repeated in her mind, “I shouldn’t have had you.”

In Today's Culture, I Could've Been Aborted Because I had a deformed spine

At Christmas with my younger sister. The plaster cast you see around my neck went all the way down to my hip bones. I’m bracing myself with my left hand because I could barely sit up.

Or maybe she would’ve started experiencing many of her “health issues,” and when she became pregnant, she didn’t want to pass them on to me. I would be better off not being born. Aborted.

When I had breast cancer three times after she was gone, had she been alive, she might have said again, “I shouldn’t have had you.”

But praise God . . . she did have me.

[Tweet “God had a plan for me like He has for every one of His creations and none of us are perfect.”]

God had a plan for me like He has for every one of His creations and none of us are perfect.

Mothers often express in delight, “My baby is perfect as they count ten toes and fingers, four limbs, two eyes, two ears, one nose and a mouth, but no one really knows what awaits each of us. And that’s a good thing. If we knew a two-year old was going to get cancer, would we not want to have those two precious years with our child? What about if doctors could predict asthma or allergies? Would those be considered enough “health issues” to abort?

Now that they can detect Down’s Syndrome and cleft palates, should those darling children not have a chance at life? Savagely, doctor’s give parents that choice today.

[Tweet “Every life has a purpose, and while we’d like our life to be pure joy and happiness, we’re all going to have challenges.”]

Every life has a purpose, and while we’d like our life to be pure joy and happiness, we’re all going to have challenges. God’s plan is for all His children to be a part of human history for however long or short our time on earth or how imperfect our bodies or minds.

It’s not our call to play God.

[Tweet “It is not our call to play God.”]

Here’s some ways God has used my less than perfect body.

I had a beautiful baby girl, who could’ve possibly had scoliosis, but she doesn’t. I tried so hard to have her while I struggled with infertility and not once did I ever think, “Maybe God doesn’t want me to have a baby.” I love being a mother.
My daughter has three beautiful children. I love being a grandmother.
I have a godly husband who is devoted to Jesus and to me. I love being a wife.
I had the opportunity to start the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry over twenty years ago and only God knows the number of women throughout the world who have been, and continue to be, blessed by mentoring relationships. I love being About His Work.
At the age of 50, I became an author! September 2019 will be the release of my twentieth Christian nonfiction book, all written to the glory of God. I love being an author.
I’ve had the opportunity to speak and encourage women throughout the United States and Canada about how to live a life for Christ. I love speaking and mentoring.

It’s true I’ve had, and continue to have, many health issues, but I’m so glad my mother did choose to give me life.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

Psalm 139:13-14

In a recent post Don’t Just Cry About It, Do Something, I said one of the things we can do is put a face to the inhumanity of abortion by telling our stories. I’m sure all of you have a story to tell too of someone, maybe you, who might’ve been aborted today. Share with us your story in the comments and tell someone else today! You might just be saving an unborn life.

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*Opening picture is from the Christian Conservative

February 18, 2019

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Tell Me the Old, Old Story of Jesus and His Love

Several weeks ago, Dave and I flew into Alamosa, CO. to keynote at the Southern Colorado Women’s Conference. We met a wonderful group of women, and I’m pictured above with the sweet women who worked so hard to make this annual conference possible. Dave and I had quite an adventure as we took an 8-seater tiny plane from Denver to Alamosa. Let’s just say my 6’4’ hubby had to bend in half to get to his seat. When we arrived, only his bag arrived with us!

Treasured memories. That’s a cedar chest in the center made by the pastor for his lovely wife Kay!

The theme of the conference was “Remembering the Goodness of God,” which the conference coordinator chose after reading my book, Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten. The decorations were amazing designed to help us remember our treasures. Dave has traveled with me to many conferences and retreats and he said he’d never seen such beautiful and detailed decor.

On Friday night, I gave my testimony, and then Saturday morning, I talked about eight of the twenty-three ways I share in Forsaken God? to remember God’s goodness in your life, starting with sharing your testimony. There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what he has done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal experience.

[Tweet “There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what he has done in your life.”]

We often start conversations with questions like:

How was your day?
What’s going on in your life?
How are you doing?

Or when meeting someone new:

Where do you live?
What do you do for a living?
What church do you attend?
Where did you and your husband meet?

But when is the last time you asked:

What is your spiritual journey?
What’s your salvation story?

When’s the last time you told someone about your spiritual/salvation story?

Many think the Great Commission is just for the disciples and pastors, but it’s for every follower and believer of Jesus Christ. You don’t have to be an evangelist to share your story.

[Tweet “There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what he has done in your life.”]

God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:18–20 The Message)

You and I are Christians today because those twelve disciples did just what Jesus instructed them to do. They shared the gospel they had experienced with anyone who would listen . . . and with many who didn’t listen.

We receive the Advocate—the Holy Spirit—when we become Christians and our charge is the same as the disciples: you must testify with everyone you meet.

You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (Matt. 5:14–16 The Message)

[Tweet “Your spiritual journey is your testimony that describes your life before you turned it over—or returned—to God”]

Your spiritual journey is your testimony that describes your life before you turned it over—or returned—to God and how you’ve transformed into a new creation in Christ.

You may not think you have a testimony if you’ve been a Christian most of your life and life has gone smoothly for you. Well, that smooth life didn’t just happen. God has been walking beside you guiding your life every step of the way. That’s your testimony to others who worry about losing something by turning their lives over to God. You’re a living example of how good God really is!

[Tweet “God can use every experience for His good and glory”]

If you have a hidden past you’ve been too embarrassed to talk about, now is the time to deal with those buried hurts and hang-ups. God can use every experience for good, but not if we don’t let him. The Bible tells us “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), so hidden sin holds us in a death grip that silently destroys us spiritually, and often physically, from the inside out.

Exposed sin loses its power.

We don’t have to waste energy and emotion worrying about others discovering our past. We can “thank God we’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set us free to live openly in his freedom!” (personalized from Rom. 6:18 The Message).

Think back to an experience where you know it had to be God who rescued you and how you might make that a testimony to his goodness.

Ways to Remember God’s Goodness—Share Your Story—Make It Your Testimony

[Tweet “The most effective encouragement for trusting God in the present is remembering His Goodness in the past.”]

The most effective encouragement for trusting God in the present is remembering His Goodness in the past. As we mature spiritually, we move beyond just remembering God’s goodness for our own benefit and start retelling our testimony to help others.

Every time you give God the glory for something in your life, you testify to God’s goodness.

[Tweet “Sometimes God redeems your story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future”]

Sometimes God redeems your story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future.

When we don’t share our story, we don’t share His story.

Being willing to share how God helped you through difficult times requires vulnerability, approachability, and responsibility. It’s your witness to His faithfulness. It’s the opportunity to give purpose to a crisis.

Otherwise, you might spend your life feeling sorry for yourself—living as a victim instead of victorious.

[Tweet “Revealing is the first step to healing.”]

Revealing is the first step to healing.

Your story doesn’t have to have a “happy ending” for you to share it. You give your testimony to show God’s faithfulness regardless of the circumstances, and to assure others they’re not alone or to stop someone else from making the same mistakes you did.

Every day you encounter opportunities to share your testimony, and every time you tell it, you’ll remember how good God has been to you. Let your loving heavenly Father guide you.

Sometimes you’ll only share a short snippet—less than three-minute—an “elevator testimony.” Other times, the whole story.

Tell me the Old Old STory of Jesus and His Love as your testimony

Women sharing their 3-minute testimony with each other.

Don’t dramatize how bad you were; characterize how good God is!

Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you.

[Tweet “Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you.”]

Don’t tell graphic details or anything to make someone else or you uncomfortable. It’s not a tell-all, and it’s not a time to tell someone else’s story.

If you haven’t written out your spiritual testimony, think of it in five parts:

Your life before Jesus.
How, when, why you realized you needed a Savior.
Making the commitment, or re-commitment, and surrendering your life to Jesus.
The change in your life since becoming a Christian.
What being a Christian means to you. How does knowing Jesus help you do life?

In Psalm 71:15, the psalmist admits he’s not sure if what he says will help, but he’ll tell his story and let God choose how to use it: “My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long— though I know not how to relate them all.”

Some people may reject or rebuff your testimony. That’s not a sign to stop telling it; you plant a seed, and God does the watering. Peter reminds us always to be ready to share our testimony.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Pet. 3:15–16)

So don’t worry about how God will use your testimony, or how someone will receive it. Just be willing to speak up when you feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and He’ll use it for God’s purpose. Sometimes it will be in a spiritual setting, other times when you least expect it. Be ready to share with or within . . .

Bible study group or small group.
Mentoring relationships.
Others going through something similar.
Conversations acknowledging God’s goodness in your daily life.
Social media.
Unbelievers or skeptics.
Support Groups.
Where else?

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” —1 John 5:11–12

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

—Psalm 73:28 NLT

What testimony does God want you to share and who needs to hear it? Who needs to know the reason for your hope?

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

*This blog uses excerpts from Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten.

October 22, 2018

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God Is in Charge of His Glory—Not You! by Kathy Collard Miller

As I mentioned last week, my new book was due to the publisher on Monday and I had to stay focused on finishing it, which I did, so our Monday Morning Blog is again on Tuesday . . . but at least it’s in the morning this time. Kathy Collard Miller is a dear friend of mine, fellow author, and former mentor to me so I’m thrilled to have her share with you from her book, Pure-Hearted. Kathy is also generously offering a free book so make sure to leave a comment below by next Sunday, Oct. 21, to enter the drawing. We had a lot of fun last week with our comments and drawing and one blessed woman is enjoying her free book this week.

God willing, I’ll be back next Monday! Thank all of you who prayed for me during this writing marathon of Everyday Brave: Living Courageously as a Woman of Faith. It will release in September 2019.

God Is in Charge of His Glory—Not You!

by Kathy Collard Miller

I walked away from the coffee house berating myself. “Kathy! You must have said the wrong thing to her. See her response? How is God going to be glorified and her grow in Christ if you keep saying the wrong thing?”

I had been mentoring this new Christian for a month or two but felt like every time we met I said something wrong or something that could be misinterpreted. I just knew God wasn’t shining through me very clearly! When would I get it right? And the fact that my mentee was still struggling must mean I was doing it wrong.

[Tweet “The fact that my mentee was still struggling must mean I was doing it wrong!”]

Is My Mentee Talking About Me to Others?

Plus, I wasn’t quite sure if she was talking about me with others. I knew my desire was to help, but I felt tense thinking of other’s opinions about my ministry.

This scenario has occurred many times over the years of helping others in their spiritual walk, and over time, I’ve been able to counteract the lies with the truth: God is in charge of changes within others and He isn’t dependent upon me mentoring perfectly.

[Tweet “God is in charge of changes within others and He isn’t dependent upon me mentoring perfectly.”]

What the Apostle Paul Says

I’ve also been encouraged by the perspective of the Apostle Paul who wrote, But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me (I Corinthians 4:3-4).

Paul doesn’t jump into self-contempt like I do. He seeks God’s opinion. I think so many of us depend upon our self-evaluations rather than looking to God for his judgement of what happened with the person we are mentoring. We conclude we didn’t say the right things. But we don’t know what our mentee needed to hear. Maybe the very words we said—and are judging—were what she needed to hear.

[Tweet “Maybe the very words we said—and are judging—were what our mentee needed to hear.”]

I Apologized But It Wasn’t Needed

So many times, I’ve followed up on a conversation and apologized for what I said. Most of the time the person responds, “Really? I don’t remember.” Other times, she says, “No, I didn’t think anything bad at all.” I had been all upset, rehearsing what I said, but my friend wasn’t.

Paul continues, We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute (vs. 10).

Evidently, Paul’s opponents in Corinth are saying those things about him, so he is responding sarcastically. He’s basically saying, “Of course, you’re right. You are wise but we are fools. You are strong, but we are weak. You are held in honor, but we are disreputable. Shame on us.” Wink. Wink.

The Apostle Paul Is Making Fun of Others

He is making light of their opinions of him because he doesn’t mind others seeing him in those ways. His motive is not to be seen well, but to cooperate with God’s plan. What a lesson for us. We don’t have to be bothered by what others say about us either.

[Tweet “We don’t have to be bothered by what others say about us.”]

If we’re afraid of appearing as fools when we speak of the Lord, we might want to examine our hearts. Maybe our self-contempt is because we fear looking foolish or silly or unintelligent or whatever we have vowed to never appear as or feel like. When we have the purified heart of sacrifice for God’s glory, we will be wisely sensitive to the needs of others, led by the Holy Spirit, because our focus isn’t distracted by our own self-protection.

I Don’t Want to Be Thought of As Stupid

I have recognized my distracted focus of not wanting to seem stupid or insensitive. Both prevent me from boldly obeying the Spirit’s leading. I’m afraid I’ll reveal my stupidity by saying something my mentee can dispute from Scripture or her own interpretation of truth. My old childhood nemesis—don’t make anyone feel bad because then I’m bad—hampers me from having the freedom to respond however the Holy Spirit is leading me.

Yet, what is the truth? Paul states the truth earlier in this first letter to the Corinthians, But we have the mind of Christ (2:16).

The Corinthian believers must really be struggling with their image. Paul confronts those issues in so many ways. He writes, For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:2-5).

Paul seems to be saying, “I have known the fears of appearing weak and lacking wisdom just like you are experiencing. But my weaknesses mean you’ll rest in God’s power and not depend upon me being so wise.”

I Have a New Bold Sensitivity

To some degree, I’ve seen God newly empower my life with a bold sensitivity by being willing to sacrifice my own image or risk being misunderstood.

[Tweet “I’ve seen God newly empower my life with a bold sensitivity by being willing to sacrifice my own image.”]

I remember one time specifically when I berated myself after seemingly giving all the wrong responses to a friend about God and His workings. I felt defeated and wondered whether I had destroyed any possibility of her responding to God’s love. But then, God popped a great thought into my mind. “Well, if she grows as a Christian, it certainly won’t be because of my communication skills.”

I’m Not Responsible for My Mentee’s Growth

Then, the truth hit me. If her growth, or even conversion, isn’t because of me, who is the cause? And who will get the glory since I don’t deserve it? Jesus and his Spirit. If I had been brilliant and my friend suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, you’ve made it so clear. I do want to become a Christian,” it would have been easy to give myself credit rather than the work of the Holy Spirit. But He is the one who calls her to growth or salvation, it’s not about me at all. I’m just a weak and inadequate vessel.

Having pure motives for God’s glory doesn’t mean we won’t prepare as much as we can. It means we recognize God is completely in charge of His glory—not us.

[Tweet “Having pure motives for God’s glory doesn’t mean we won’t prepare as much as we can. It means we recognize God is completely in charge of His glory—not us.”]

What have you found helpful in resisting taking the growth of your mentee personally? Share in the comment section, and also enter to win a copy of Kathy’s book, Pure-Hearted.

If you received this blog by email, leave a comment here.

This guest blog is adapted from Pure-Hearted: The Blessings of Living Out God’s Glory.

Kathy is making a copy of Pure-Hearted available to the winner of a book drawing. Enter to win in the comment section below by Sunday, October 21, and the winner will be drawn and announced that afternoon. (US addresses only please.)

Pure-Hearted will help you bring more glory to God by purifying your motives. Author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean writes in the Foreword: “You will find the secret to the communion for which your heart was formed.”

Kathy Collard Miller is an award-winning author of over 50 books that include Christian living topics, women’s Bible studies, and Bible commentaries. She is a speaker who has shared in 8 foreign countries and over 30 US states. Kathy and Larry have been married for 48 years and are the parents of two and grandparents of two. They live in Southern California and often write and speak together. Visit her at www.KathyCollardMiller.com. She would love to hear from you.

Order Pure-Hearted

www.facebook.com/KathyCollardMillerAuthor

https://www.Twitter/KathyCMiller

https://www.Pinterest/Kathyspeak

October 16, 2018

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Hope for the Lonely By Jennifer Slattery

When I started the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry, the common theme I heard from women joining the ministry was, “I’m lonely!” Others said, they had friends, but no Christian friends and they felt lonely without another woman to share their faith. Our guest blogger today, Jennifer Slattery, has a passion for helping women discover, embrace, and live out who they are in Christ.

Hope for the Lonely By Jennifer Slattery

She’s the woman whose kids are grown and so busy launching their new lives, she feels there’s no room for her. She’s the young adult who, after accepting a job halfway across the country, spends every evening alone. And she’s the mother, the wife, or caregiver who, for countless reasons, spends her day engaging with hundreds of virtual friends on Facebook wishing one of them would step away from their screens to see her, truly see her.

[Tweet “She’s the mother, wife, or caregiver who spends her day engaging with hundreds of friends on Facebook, wishing one of them would step away from their screens to see her, truly see her.”]

We’ve become the lonely, disconnected generation. According to statistics, nearly one quarter of us don’t have anyone we feel we can rely on and half of us don’t have a single confidant outside of family. This means, on any given Sunday, there’s a 50-50 chance the woman sitting next to us is deeply in need of a friend.

[Tweet “From the beginning of time, God placed the need to connect deep within our hearts.”]

We weren’t meant to live in solitude. From the beginning of time, God placed the need to connect deep within our hearts. This need, embedded within us, was designed to draw us closer to one another and closer to our Savior.

In a perfect, grace-filled world, that’s exactly what would happen. But sin invaded the creation God once called very good and tainted our relationships and wounded our hearts, driving wedges between us.

Sins’ isolating effects

We long for connection, but we fear this at the same time, because true relationship requires risk. A risk that leaves us vulnerable to pain and open to rejection.

[Tweet “We try to change who we are to gain acceptance in an attempt to fill the gaping hole within instead of surrendering our hearts, longing, and pain to Christ.”]

So we hide, or strive to change who we are in order to gain acceptance in an attempt to fill in the gaping hole in our soul through our own strength. I’ve seen this again and again, and the casualty that results after years of defensive, destructive living.

I’ve seen the pain. I’ve heard the stories of abandonment and betrayal, of fear and self-protection. Of longing for relational intimacy.

What we fear

[Tweet “Statistics say women fear loneliness more than a cancer diagnosis”]

Statistics say women fear loneliness more than a cancer diagnosis

Think about that for a moment. They fear feeling insignificant, unknown, and unseen over contracting a potentially terminal illness. And yet, that doesn’t really surprise me. We all know the joy of spending a lazy, giggly day with someone we love. When a dear friend was dying of brain cancer, what pained her most wasn’t her loss of vision or speech or motor skills, but the time she’d never have with her three little boys. Those moments were precious, made all the more so because she knew they wouldn’t last.

[Tweet “Relationships matter. They’re a core part of who we are.”]

And so, I get it. Relationships matter. They’re a core part of who we are. Who we were created to be. Of course, we ache when that necessary piece of life is missing. But even in our pain, there’s hope, because we follow a reconciling, uniting God. The Hand that formed us from the dust, that breathed life into our mortal lungs, and created within us a need for connection, unites us by His blood.

God can help

He’s our Creator and Provider, which means, if He planted this need deep within us, He will fill it. But it might take time. It’ll take pushing through hard conversations, holding tight to relationships when others don’t behave as we’d hoped. It’ll take digging deep into our hurts and fears and insecurities and handing those over to Jesus.

[Tweet “Friendships require digging deep into our hurts, fears, and insecurities and handing those over to Jesus.”]

It’ll take finding an imperfect yet grace-filled church family we can plant our roots deep into. Because here’s the deal—we don’t need random, superficial relationships. Those will only leave us feeling empty and depleted.

[Tweet “we don’t need random, superficial relationships. Those will only leave us feeling empty and depleted.”]

We need unity. Sisterhood. A strong and committed family.

And as much as we need this, our sisters do as well. You may have heard the phrase: If you want a friend, be one. The same sentiment applies here, because nearly 50% of the women you and I meet in a given day are lonely. Deeply lonely. Painfully lonely.

You can be their friend. You can help fill that hole. As you do, maybe you’ll find your hole fills as well.

Did anything resonate with you today?

How might past hurts and the fears those can generate be keeping you from deep and lasting community?
How might surrendering those to Jesus bring you to a deeper level of freedom and friendships?
Or perhaps God’s calling you to reach out to someone else. What might it look like to truly be Jesus to that person?

Share your thoughts, examples, and suggestions with us in the comments below, because we can all learn from and encourage one another!

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

Pictures above courtesy of Unsplash.

Jennifer Slattery is a writer, editor, and speaker who’s addressed women’s groups, church groups, Bible studies, and writers across the nation. She’s the author of six contemporary novels and maintains a devotional blog found at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com. As the founder of Wholly Loved Ministries, she and her team partner with churches to facilitate events designed to help women rest in their true worth and live with maximum impact. Visit her online to find out more about her speaking or to book her for your next women’s event. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband.

August 20, 2018

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Caregiving Lessons Aren’t Just for Caregivers by Cheri Swalwell

I have a big favor to ask. Would you take a short quick survey to help my publisher and me with the title of the book I’m currently writing! It won’t take five minutes. Thanks so much. Here’s the link.

This week’s guest blogger is Cheri Swalwell. I know you’ll enjoy her lessons learned from caregiving that we can apply to all areas of our life.
.

Caregiving Lessons Aren’t Just for Caregivers by Cheri Swalwell

This past spring, I co-lead my first life group. While we studied the book Caring for the Caregiver, God used the time to teach me multiple truths, which apply to many areas of life, not just caregiving.

I’m Not in Control

One lesson God has been teaching me through the study is “I’m not in control.” So true when providing care for another. While I may be able to control when I offer food, rest, medication, and/or bathroom privileges, I cannot force someone to eat, drink, sleep, use the bathroom, or take medication. I’m not in control of the other person agreeing and following through.

The same is true whether dealing with friends, family, or just strangers on the street. So, you may ask: What can we do when the control is out of our hands?

[Tweet “Pray – before, during, and after every situation we find ourselves.”]

Pray – before, during, and after every situation. When we invite in Jesus before we make any decisions, He takes control. I don’t have to control anything.

Knowing Who You Serve

Another lesson He taught me through caregiving: You must know the person you’re blessed to serve. Study their preferences. Introverted or extroverted? Prefer to spend time alone or crave the company of others? A high or low pain tolerance?

The same principles apply to everyday life. When we’re interacting with loved ones, friends, or strangers, pay attention, listen, and ask questions.

I like to start each day asking God to use me in whatever way He wants. I ask Him to help me slow down and see opportunities where He wants to use me as a blessing.

Approaching life this way, God will provide opportunities for us to bless others. He will give the “wiggle room” in our schedules to take the time to get to know others so our interactions with them are genuine.

[Tweet “We’re here on earth to share about God’s plan with those who don’t know Him and to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ who feel like giving up.”]

We’re here on earth to share God’s plan with those who don’t know Him and to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ who feel like giving up. Best done through relationships. Taking a genuine interest in those God puts in our circles.

Know Your Own Limits

Equally as important as knowing the person you’re called to serve, is staying close enough to God to know your own limits.

This past spring was a busy season for our family. We were dealing with a few serious health crises of family members, emotional burdens of other family members, and added busyness of “end-of-the-school-year activities.” Our oldest graduated from high school, with the added joy of planning his party.

One day, I was attempting to juggle a doctor’s appointment while fielding updates from another family member’s serious illness, while gathering prices at various stores for the party we were planning. While running errands, I looked up when a urinal caught my eye – I had walked into the men’s bathroom!

Two stores later, I “woke up” from my thoughts with enough time to stop from nearly shoplifting three containers of juice. I’d hit my limit. I couldn’t put one more thing in my brain. I shouldn’t make major decisions until I allowed myself time to rest and recover, if only for a few hours.

[Tweet “Fill up with God before you allow yourself to get completely depleted.”]

Know your limits and fill up with God before you get completely depleted. Sometimes, life hits hard and fast and we can’t fill up as fast as we have to pour out. That’s when relying on God’s strength is the best decision we can make.

My recent busyness has included obligations not usually on my plate. Most are good things like celebrations to enjoy and cherish. However, busy is busy and there are still only 24 hours in each day.

[Tweet “Too busy leads to stress. Stress can make a person act differently. Stress can give license to unleash their “crazy.””]

Too busy leads to stress. Stress can make us act differently. Stress can give license to unleash our “crazy.” During the busy, stressful times is when people around us take notice. How will she act in this situation? How will she handle such and such? Especially, if one professes to be a Christ follower.

[Tweet “When we’re at our busiest or when we’re faced with the worst trials, people tend to look the closest and our true character shines through.”]

When we’re at our busiest or when we’re faced with the worst trials, people tend to look the closest and our true character shines through. I had to look in the mirror and decide if I liked the character traits I saw, or if I needed to make some adjustments. More than anything, I want people to see more of Jesus and less of me at all times, but especially in the times of busy.

Busy seasons will always be a part of life. How we prepare ahead of time for them determines how much of Jesus others will see in us during those times. I, for one, want others to see more of Jesus and less of me as I mature and become closer to Jesus’ likeness.

What Characteristics Does Caregiving and Busy Bring Out in You?

I’m Not In Control?

Knowing Who You Serve?

Knowing Your Own Limits?

If you received this blog by email, leave a comment here.

Cheri Swalwell is a Christ follower who thoroughly enjoys her calling to be a wife, mother, and writer, in that order. She enjoys writing regularly for Book Fun Magazine. Her Spoken from the Heart Series is available through Amazon in both eBook and paperback versions. Her book, Hope During Heartache, a compilation of 13 men and women’s stories told from their viewpoint about hope after the loss of a child, is also available at Amazon in both paperback and eBook versions as well as her Bible study, Caring for the Caregiver. To read one of her many articles on life from a Christian perspective, visit her blog. She loves to interact with her readers and would love for you to visit her website or send an email to [email protected] or “like” her on Facebook or interact with her on Twitter, LinkedIN, or Goodreads.

August 13, 2018

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Satan’s five strategic tactics to destroy churches with worldliness invading holiness.

Secularism

Selfishness

Sin

Scandal

Social Acceptance

Sensationalism

Scripture is “Inclusive”

What Does It Mean to Fear God?

Let’s look at some common deceptions.

Why is the Movie Industry so Pro Abortion?

So what can you do about these atrocities?

You might have noticed there wasn’t a Monday Morning Blog last week. That was operator error. I had a guest blogger, but I didn’t hit “schedule” and so it only went out on social media but not to my email followers. It was such a great post that I wanted to resend it to all of you.

Throw Out Insecurity and Cast Your Net

By Andrea Chatelain

Here’s some ways God has used my less than perfect body.

Ways to Remember God’s Goodness—Share Your Story—Make It Your Testimony

God Is in Charge of His Glory—Not You!

by Kathy Collard Miller

Is My Mentee Talking About Me to Others?

What the Apostle Paul Says

I Apologized But It Wasn’t Needed

The Apostle Paul Is Making Fun of Others

I Don’t Want to Be Thought of As Stupid

I Have a New Bold Sensitivity

I’m Not Responsible for My Mentee’s Growth

Hope for the Lonely By Jennifer Slattery

Sins’ isolating effects

What we fear

God can help

Caregiving Lessons Aren’t Just for Caregivers by Cheri Swalwell

I’m Not in Control

Knowing Who You Serve

Know Your Own Limits

What Characteristics Does Caregiving and Busy Bring Out in You?

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**Satan’s five strategic tactics to destroy churches with worldliness invading holiness.**