Join us for the Women's Retreat!  

Date: Friday & Saturday September 7-8 2012

Time: Check in begins at 5 p.m. Dinner is served at 6 p.m. and Session 1 will start at 7 p.m. We will end Saturday by approximately 4 p.m.

Location: Westminster Woods (Fall River, KS)

Cost: $60 (includes meals, lodging, retreat goodies!)  some scholarships are available!





Join us as we dig into the story of Ruth and Naomi and see how we can find shelter in God!

Session 1: Making God your firm foundation
Session 2: Learn how to approach changes (which we all face) through the account of Ruth and Naomi.
Session 3: The importance of supportive friends. 
Session 4: The hardships of Ruth and Naomi. (Service Project!)
Session 5:  Jesus, our Redeemer. He’s our covering and protection.
Session 6: Reflection and Prayer (Prayer stations!)
Session 7: Time to celebrate! (Affirmations!) 

Friendships are important. Critical, even! The best way to encourage friendships is to give opportunities for them to develop! Activities, worship, and time together all contribute to women sharing stories and growing closer to each other. The Cozy Mountain Lodge retreat will help you do just that!   We hope you will consider joining us for this years retreat! 

A Woman's Heart Bible Study! Week 10: Mended Hearts, Eternal Ties!

Day 1 : A Peek at the Promised Land
Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Exodus 25:8 
Psalm 116: v. 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.  


Are you standing at your own Kadesh-barnea? Have you found yourself on the brink of the place for which God has long been preparing you? A Location? A place of Service? A Circumstance? A Position? Something for which you sense  He has been preparing you for a long time?  Now that you see God fulfilling His promise to use you and have  gone through  excruciating  preparation toward that end, are you filled with fear?  An overwhelming  feeling of  unreadiness? A sudden emotion that this may not be what you wanted?  A little sorry you volunteered to go wherever and do whatever? Do you feel like a grasshopper beside the task?  God will deal with those feelings and will bring them to a place of dismissal if you confess them to Him and invite Him to give you the courage to accept His personalized plan for you.  




Day 2: Home to Jerusalem
Joshua told the people, Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.  Joshua 3:5


Imagine that. Throughout Joshua 7-18 the Lord's Army  took one piece of land after another.  It enjoyed the ecstasy of victory when it obeyed God in battle and the agony  of defeat when it failed to follow its Victor.  The land divisions began, and the Israelites settled into a strange land that God had called their own.  




Day 3: The True Tabernacle
Before God breathed a soul into the first man, the blueprint for a Tabernacle had been designed --One that would somehow, someway miraculously  encase the Creator of all the universe inside the parameters of human flesh.


Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God. Hebrews 10:5-7


The Word became flesh and {Tabernacle} among us. John 1:14




Day 4: The New Tabernacle
Do you not know that your bod is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is  in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20

A healthy, holy tabernacle provides the best environment in which a healthy  holy soul and spirit can thrive.  




Day 5: The Intimacy of the Holy of Holies
Blessed are  those you choose and bring  near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. Psalm 65:4


If you stop short  of a willingness to fellowship in His sufferings, you stop short of the indescribable experience of His Holy of Holies! 




Philippians 3:10: I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.


My friend, how He beckons you. How he longs for you to enter through the veil He tore for you.  We only have this one experience to know Him as mortals.  We can live our lives on the outer perimeters of our salvation, in Christ but not with Christ, or we can accept the challenge to enter and behold His glory.  






Ladies I hope you have gained so many truths from this study, that God spoke to you and showed you His truth!  I have so enjoyed our journey together! 

Have a Beautiful Day! 

Christina 

A Woman's Heart Bible Study! Week 9: The Heart of the Testimony

Day1: The Mercy Seat
Jesus is the Mercy Seat.


This is Love: not that we loved God but that He loved us  and sent His Son as a Mercy Set (atoning sacrifice) for our sins. 1 John 4:10


But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8


In the depth of our depravity Christ died for us.  He did not wait for persons to get as close as possible through obedience to the law and righteous living.  Never once did He proclaim to His Father: "Close Enough! This one made it !"  In the breadth of our separation from God, Christ died for us.


In the moment in all of history  when humanity  could not have been  further from God, Christ died for us.


He who  knew all things  died in advance for the most  depraved deed I would ever  commit. Although I was not present in the crowd that dreadful day , my sins most assuredly were.


His holiness had to forsake His own Son so that through His sacrifice Christ could intercede on our behalf. Jesus experienced  the excruciating pain of being forsaken by God so that  we might not have to.  And because  He did "we have peace with  God" (Romans 5:1)


Day 2: The Gardner's Shears
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11


The budding rod foreshadowed the fruit that would be produced to preserve Christ's witness after His physical departure from earth.  


In John 15 We read about the task of the gardener.  The Gardner has one main task; to  create an environment  in which the best crop can be produced.  The conditions for fruit bearing are twofold: (1) The branches must stay attached  to the vital lifeline of the Vine so that they can be nourished. (2) The branches must be pruned so that they can produce a greater crop of fruit. 


God has a perfect image planned toward which He is  growing us. 
What is He pruning? Dead works and sucker shoots!  Dead works are services that will not stand up under the cleansing fires of  Christ's judgment.  Sucker shoots ate activities and energy consumers that grow wildly out of control and contribute nothing  to God's intended image for us.  


Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.


When God uses His Word as our pruning  instruments, it is a lot less painful because it is sharp and quick. 


When we refuse to learn the precepts in the Word, He is sometimes forced to  transfer that lesson outside the Word. 


No matter which tool God uses, His Word is still the key to our growth in His image.  Allowing our Gardner to prune through His Word sometimes helps us avoid pruning through our circumstances.  But even when  it does not, the Word makes our circumstances far more bearable. 


People will know us by our fruit!






Day 3: The Ten Commandments
Read the 10 Commandments
Aren't you thankful for absolutes, for black and white? Some things are right, and some things are wrong. Period.

To be perfectly honest, if God were not caring through us, we would probably not care about others. Without being rightly related to God, we are not motivated to make right relationships with others a priority.

God is not the only who never changes.  Human nature never changes.  With all my heart I believe that human nature cries out to  be stopped, to be saved from itself, to be confronted by a standard, to discover pure black and white, to  realize the importance of  absolutes. God delivered those words to Moses without apology or hesitation.

If we could only accept that God's commands are for us, not against us.  The Ten Commandments were not only given to provide a pure standard for living.  They  were also given to evoke fear and reverence for  the Holy One, who possessed the authority to give them, so that obedience and blessing might result.




Day 4: Finished Work
Let us  not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 


Moses: Aaron! What have you done?
Aaron: I just pitched a few earrings in a fire and look what popped out! 


Moses: Say, God about those tablets....
God: Get back up here.
Moses: What do you mean we're going without You?
God:  I'll Kill them if I go on!
Moses: I'll kill them if you don't!  If You're not going, don't send us away from here. Look at them.  They're mourning.
God: OK Moses. I will do as you asked.
Moses: We will build a place for Your name.
God: I will accept no disobedience this time, Moses.




It had been the worst year of his life and the best year of his life.  Funny how often that happens when the Lord is your God.  (I can so relate to this!)


Day 5: A Cross in the Desert

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  Galatians 6:14


Not on the basis of your freewill offerings, not on the basis of your good works, not on the basis of your obedience, not even on the basis of your burnt sacrifices but only  on the basis of the cross will I  come and dwell among you.  

Have a Beautiful Day! 

Christina

A Woman's Heart! Bible Study: Week 8 Hearts Beyond the Veil

Day1: Radiant Intimacy:


2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.


So great was God's glory that entrance behind the veil for the masses had to be withheld 
The light of the glory of His presence shines two  ways: it sheds light  on the knowledge of God Fod so that we can learn to see Him more clearly, but it also sheds light on us so that we can  see our own sin more clearly.  Remember, the closer you approach the Light, the brighter it shines on you.  This is the marvelous two-edged sword of intimacy.  We see Him more clearly . and  we see ourselves more clearly.  It is the perfect safeguard against pride.  


Intimacy with God shows! 






Day 2: A Room with a View


We had to draw again!  (I am regretting now never taking an art course in High School/College)  So here is another nicer drawing of the Tabernacle.






Every piece  of information we need to know about God is contained in this one small book.

You see, ours is a God of  few words.

When you consider His Word from  this perspective, you come to realize that every one  of the 66 books He inspired as a part of the whole is vital.  The Old Testament continually points forward to Jesus' life.The  New Testament Letters point back to His life on earth and forward to His life to come.

The walls   that witnessed the ark of the covenant from four different angles draw a  wonderful representation of the Gospels, which witnessed Jesus' life from four different angles .  Nothing in scripture is accidental or coincidental.

No Matter how deep I sink into a pit o f despair, His hand can extend that much deeper to lift me out .  No matter what heights  this human experience  can boast, God's ways are higher.  Everyday  I spend with Him, I am lifted out of insignificance to  ascend and take my place in God's high calling in Christ Jesus.


Day 3: The Ark of the Testimony
When God ascribes a name to anyone or anything, He expresses something specific about the recipients' character, nature, and destiny.

And because God approached us with His will for this bible study, He is obligated to use it as a tool through which we can approach Him.  Our approach is  always based on His approach.  And His approach is is always for the  expressed purpose of our approach.

  Read Psalm 103  out loud, as a praise to the Lord.
verse 8.  The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in Love.

Day 4: God on the Move
The Ark was formed in three layers: gold  on the outside, wood in the center, and gold on the inside.  The gold on the outside represented God the Father.  The wood in the center represented the One who became incorruptible humanity and thus the center of  our salvation: God the Son.  The gold on the inside could represent only the Holy Spirit.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

David sought the Word of the Lord!  When all else fails, read the instructions.  Better yet, before all else fails, read the instructions! How many mistakes I have made in noble endeavors by moving on impulse rather than according to God's Word.

The Tabernacle had to be a tent because Go chose to be on the move with His people.
No matter where the Israelites went, the poles bore constant witness that God would be their traveling companion, continually testifying : "God with us! Emmanuel!"

Isaiah 30:21Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.

Listen Carefully, God often whispers! 

Day 5: The Meeting Place
"There above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you." (Exodus 25:22  Many scholars believe that the mercy seat and the two cherubim represent  the Trinity.  (HMM!)

Had there been  no plan  for death, there would have been no possibility for mercy.  How fitting that both the first and last objects in the tabernacle pointed to access by death.  Whether in God's approach to persons or in our approach to God, there is no approach at all without death--the death of "the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.  (Revelation 13:8)

John 20:10-13 Tells us that two angels were present in the tomb after Christ's death.  One at the head and one at the foot.  Can you imagine the divine appointment  as God called out the names of two of HIs cherubim and beckoned them before the throne, then sent them to earth  to guard the most precious body that ever lived.

Ladies I hope this is blessing you as much as it is me!  

Have a Beautiful Day! 

Christina

A Woman's Heart! Bible Study: Week 7 A Heart that Interceeds

Day 1 The Holy Calling of the Priesthood




We are to be in the world, not of the world, and protected from the world.  


We are the light of the world!  We cannot hide our lamp-stands under the bushels of spiritual monasteries.  Yet we cannot let the darkness rub off on us.  How do we accomplish such a balance?  The answer is found in Matthew 10:16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.  Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." 


 God never called us to naivete.  He called us to integrity.  There is a very big difference between the two.  Like Paul, we must be aware of what is out there before we walk into the middle of it.  We must recognize situations that demand an extra degree of consecration, preparation, and protection.  


It is about purity--purity maintained in the midst of an impure world.  Understand this vital precept: Maintaining purity in ministry is the result of nothing less than deliberate devotion.  We must guard our minds and put on our armor.  A war rages out there.  And we are satan's favorite prisoners.  


Day 2 A Peculiar Priest


The responsibilities Jesus Christ assumed in His earthly ministry parallel those of  the priests.  He worshiped in the temple, He instructed the people in God's laws, He blessed the people, He determined God's will, He interceded for the people, and He sacrificed at the altar.  He sacrificed Himself at the altar.  


The Messiah would be both Priest and King! 


Because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood! (Hebrews 7:24)


Christ's indestructible life did not simply allow Him to assume a title of  honor.  It allowed Him to burst open every believer's grave and shout, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55) "Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection.  The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years" (Revelation 20:6)








Day 3 The Open Door


Because Christ has faced our every  temptation without sin, we never face a temptation that has no door of escape.  


Do you realize what it means to us that Christ was willing to become a man and be tempted as we are tempted?  

God became flesh so that He could dwell among us

Jesus faced every temptation known to humanity so He could identify with us

God the Father provided a door of escape for every temptation

Only Christ was in a position to unlock the door of escape (He became the door)

Two things  about a believer's temptation never vary: (1) We always have an open door, a way out. (2) Every door we refuse to walk through makes the next one harder to enter. 

God never convicts us of sin to make sure we know how wretched we are, for He calls us the righteousness of God in Christ.  Rather, God convicts us through His Holy Spirit because He is grieved when fellowship between us is broken.  

Day 4 The Right Hand of God

Hebrews 8:1-2  We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

Aaron could fulfill his duty to the letter of the law.  He could work His hands to the bone and never miss a sacrifice, but he could not truly meet the people's need.  He was powerless to make unrighteous persons righteous.  How could he?  He could not even make himself righteous.  But "we do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrew 8:1  


The old covenant was based on a shadow.  The new covenant was based on a Savior.  Christ made it possible for an external covenant to be obsolete and a new covenant to be injected straight into the point of our need: the heart.

My God will meet all your needs according to  the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus

Philippians 4:19

Day 5 Heaven, the Blessed Adoption Agency


As God's  adopted children. perhaps we  need more discipline at times than anyone to conform to our Father's house.


Romans 12:1-13 tells of why God wants us to be disciplined.  


verse 6 ~It's the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.


1 John 3:1-2


 V. 1 What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.


These verses overwhelm  me every time I read them. As God's children, we are the recipients of lavish love-a love that covers the lack of recognition this world system gives us, a love that motivates us to keep trusting even when we have no idea what God is doing.  


You are not illegitimate, my beloved sister. You have been planned and purposed. Your Father has acknowledged you as His child. "Let the  little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the  kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

Have a Beautiful Day!

Christina

Lesson with a Hairbrush (Beth Moore)

Knoxville airport all waiting to board planes:

I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say that because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego...

I tried to keep from staring but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy grey hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long. Clean, but strangely out of place on an old man.

I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered reading somewhere that he was dead. So this man in the airport...an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere?....

There I sat trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man.

I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. "Oh no, God please no." I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, "Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything.  Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!"

There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, "Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane." Then I heard it..."I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair."

The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, "God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am on him. I am going to witness to this man."

Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. "That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair."

I looked up at God and quipped, "I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I suppose to brush his hair without a hairbrush?"

God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: "I will thoroughly finish you unto all good works." (2 Tim 3:7) I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies.

I knelt down in front of the man, and asked as demurely as possible, "Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?"

He looked back at me and said, "What did you say?"

"May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?"

To which he responded in volume ten, "Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.

At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, "SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?" At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat.

I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, "If you really want to."  Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, "Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush."

"I have one in my bag," he responded.

I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair.

It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but I must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. 

A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair.... Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I—for that few minutes—felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's.

His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag, went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees, and said, "Sir, do you know my Jesus?"

He said, "Yes, I do." Well, that figures.

He explained, "I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior." He said "You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself what a mess I must be for my
bride."

Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it.

Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.

I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, "That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?"

I said, "Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!" And we got to share. 

I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted because you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need!

I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way...all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We

have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the

Father, full of grace and truth."

How many Hairbrush moments have you let go by?  I am sure I am not alone in my regret for not  obediently following through with things God has asked me to do.  But those few times when I have been obedient, will be in my heart forever like I am sure this is for Beth Moore.  

Have a Beautiful Day! 

Christina

A Womans Heart Bible Study! Week 6: The Heart of a Servant

Day 1: The Altar of Incense

A sacrifice burned on the bronze altar.  Incense burned on the golden altar. 

Only the high priest could go beyond the veil, and even he could dare take that step only once a year.  

The  altar of incense speaks to us of intersession.  Our great Intercessor is Christ Jesus. 

Prayerlessness is a sin because (1) It causes us to forfeit some of God's precious gifts to us. (2) it makes us weaker when tempted (3) it causes us anxiety (4) it closes our ears to God! 

Philippians 4:6-7

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Prayerlessness is a sin beacuse Jesus Christ our Savior lives to intercede for us!

Luke 7:36-50 talks about the lovely portrayal of fragrant worship. 

• It is costly, and comes only when whatis deep inside its lavished on Christ.
• It cannot be released until the vessel is broken
• It is not hindered by others.
• Places us in a right relationship with Christ.
• We cannot out-sin  God's ability to forgive

I am convinced the greatest cause of a believer's inability to offer fragrant worship is a feeling of worthlessness, wether self or environmentally impossed. 

ALLOW GOD to lavish His Love on you!

 

Day 2: A Hard Lesson in Holiness

God shares with us in Hebrews 7:25 that Christ literally lives to make intercession for us!  He intercedes not only with our petitions but also our praise. 

Those who share the privilege of being nearest to  God must also bear the awesome responsibility of exemplifying His holiness through obedience: "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." Luke 12:48 (KJV)

John 4:24 God is Spirit. Our Spirit gives us the capacity to know and experience God.  Our Soul, on the other hand is the source of our emotions and personality--that which represents our conscious selves.  The third componet of the triune human is the physical body. 

 When God says we must worship Him in spirit, He means that the only acceptable worship is that which is motivated and controlled by our spirits. 

Our bodies and souls may express praise as long as they only accompany a deep spiritual longing to know and reverence God. 

Spiritual worship comes from our very core and is fueld by an awesome reverence and desire for God.  Spiritual worship is focusing all we are on all He is, personally and universally. 

Acceptable worship proceeds from the Holy Spirit inside us only on the basis of the Savior who died for us. 

God the Father invites us to worship, God the Son Ignites us to worship, and God the Spirit incites us to worship. 

Day 3: The Inheritance of a Servant

Aaron and Moses were brothers and Levites.  The Levites were called out from  among all the other tribes and awarded a place of service before God in conjunction with the Aaronic priesthood.  The priest and the Levites shared a relationship not only on the  basis of kinship but also on the basis of calling.


God instructed the Israelites to set extra places at their tables during celebrations and feasts for His servants in ministry.  How wonderful to see the precious provisions God made for those who were called to give their entire lives in concentrated service to Him,  A few  weary saints in your church  might need to know that their service is not going  unnoticed by God or by you.  



Day 4: The Gift of Support

The Ministry God gave Aaron and his sons was a gift.  Likewise, God gave the Levites' support ministry to Aaron and his sons as a gift.  They did not earn it. Certainly , Aaron's actions while Moses was on Mount Sinai with God indicate that he had done little to deserve such an honor.  God literally called out the Levites as a support ministry to the priesthood and offered them to Aaron and his sons as a present.  


Israel could be victorious only if Moses held up his staff.  Moses could hold up his staff only if Aaron and Hur helped him.  Joshua and his army could experience victory only as long as Aaron and Hur held up Moses' arms.  Joshua could lead Israel's armies only as long as they followed him.  And the armies of Israel could slay the Amalekites only as long as God empowered them.  


God delights in allowing us the privilege of experiencing spiritual victories.  When we refuse to  allow anyone to share in our personal battles, we risk two negative consequences: (1) We often lengthen the battle, (2) We cheat others of the joy of victory.  

Hebrews 10:24-25     

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching

Day 5:  The Garments of the Priests


God is actively involved in the intricate design of your life.

Aaron the high priest of Israel, had to wear these custom-designed garments every time he entered the sanctuary.  As a representative of the Hebrew people, he bore their guilt as he presented their gifts to the Lord.  The gold plate on his forehead constantly reminded Aaron and all who saw him that Israel had been called out to purity.  What a Holy God He is! And how flippantly we often confront the words: "Be holy, Because I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 20:7)  My heart stands convicted when considering that I could dress in all of the holy robes designed by a divinely-inspired  seamstress yet underneath would remain a sin-prone woman in desperate need of grace.


As you can see, God is detailed.  He is not a God of generality.  He is a God of individuality: Do not let Satan convince you that God is not actively  involved in the intricate design of your life.  God has not missed a single stitch or left a stone unturned o your behalf; furthermore, His activity in the details of your life most often displays His glory and beauty.

Have a Beautiful Week! 

Praying for you girls! 

Christina

A Women's Heart Bible Study! Week 5: Hearts in Fellowship

Week 5 and we are almost half way through this study!  Did I tell you I am loving it!  I have had to really dig and study my bible.  I hope you are enjoying this study and it's making you grow and search the bible as much as it is me.  Praying for you this week!

Day 1: The Holy Place

He will Cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His Faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  Psalm 91:4

Most Scholars agree that  animal hides (Sea cows) were used to make the ceiling curtains.  Doesn't sound like a lovely sight does it?  But only those who dared to enter could behold the beauty hidden within.  How like our Savior's incarnate presence:  "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. (Isaiah 53:2)  Yet within Him "all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9)

How perfectly Christ portrays the nurturing wings of El Shaddai , the Caregiver.  God's wings covered His children with safety, security, joy, and affection.    

Learn to experience the warmth and protection of life beneath the  wings of the Almighty.

Day 2: The Golden Lampstand

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him--The Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

 the Spirit of counsel and of power, 

the Spirit of  Knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.  

Isaiah 11:2

The lampstand was the only means for seeing  evidence of God in His holy place.  

And God used Bazalel a common man to make the lampstand.  God in His infinite wisdom, did not desire for  those measurements to be recorded.  You see, His illumination cannot be measured.

Day 3: Filling the Lamp
You are the Light of the world Matthew 5:14

One major difference exists between the way a candle burns and the way a lamp burns: a candle burns by consuming itself, while a lamp burns by consuming a continuous supply of oil from another source.

When we receive Christ as our personal Savior, the fuel of the Holy Spirit sparks the life of Christ in our hearts.  Although that  light can never be extinguished, the brightness of our flame entirely  depends on how much oil (the Holy Spirit) we allow Christ to pour on us.

If we do not burn with a passionate flame, it is because we have limited God, who prepared us for victory.

God's entire being unites to produce in you the brightest possible flame.

Day 4: A Table Set Before Him

The table was undoubtedly a place of communication and fellowship.  Being asked to sit  at another's table was both a privilege  and a sign of acceptance.  The table was a center of fellowship, just as it is today

Our hearts are prone to wander and tempted to squander our Father's inheritance on the world's cheap amusements.  But when our eyes awaken to reality , when we lift our heads above the compromise, and  when our stomachs ache for the food of home, a certain Father will always  be standing at the gate, ready to prepare a feast for us, waiting anxiously for His prodigal to come home.  (Praise God for this!)


Day 5: The Bread of the Presence

Bread of the presence was  prepared by crushing whole kernels of wheat into fine powder.  The ancient ovens were heated by fire, so this holy bread clearly  qualified as an offering made by fire.

The bread of God was devoid of leaven or yeast, just like the Bread of life was devoid of spot or blemish.  He was the Manna from heaven offered to all who partake of the Lord's table.

Our communion table reminds us of  our deliverance from sin and the costly  redemption of our release, which allowed us to enter a new covenant.  The Hebrews'  communion table reminded them of God's atonement and deliverance through His covenant with Abram.

Have a Beautiful Week!  

Praying for you this week! 

Christina

A Woman's Heart Bible Study! Week 4: Hearts Approaching the Altar

Day 1: Breaking Ground for Construction

God gave Moses instructions for the tabernacle virtually from the inside out.  Because this sacred dwelling place reflected  God's approach to humans.

Today we attempt to draw the tabernacle! Find the instructions God gave Moses here.



 (Mine is not as nice of this but you get the idea!)

God may have had countless reasons for choosing the  east as the entrance to His presence; but surely, not the least is the fact that His perfect light interrupts the darkness every morning  from the east.  At the break of every new day, light shone on the gate for the tabernacle, beckoning the people to find refuge in God.

Psalm 30:5  says "His anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;  weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
We will discover quickly that the children of Israel were on the roughest battlefield of their nation's history, facing the most vicious enemy of all:themselves.


Day 2: The Altar of Sacrifice
Today we take our first steps through the tabernacle gate.  We come face to face with the altar of sacrifice, which occupied front-and-center priority in the tabernacle courtyard.  Elevated off the ground, the five-cubit-square alter constructed of acacia wood.  Acacia wood was well known for  its incorruptibility because it resisted decay.


One of the most remarkable similarities  between acacia wood and our Savior was that it bore heavy, sharp thorns--a likeness that deserves our attention.
Leviticus 6:12-13 God had lit the fire from His own holy hand.  Only fire originating from Himself could truly purify and consume, or approve, and offering. Therefore, the fire must never be allowed to go out.  Wood had to be added continually so that the original, divine flame would never be exhausted.  God lit the fire, but humans had to fuel it


2 Timothy 1:6-8 reminds us what our responsibility is after God lights the fire within us.
Power is up to God.  Participation is up to us!

Day 3: Acceptable Offer
All Salvation rests on this precept: Acceptance is always based on atonement.  Do not allow this fact to escape your mind for a moment throughout this study.

Guilt was  the emotional  tie between the Israelite and the animal.  Unspeakable love was the emotional tie between God and His Son.

The ashes invariably fell at dawn. Ancient Hebrew history records that the moment the last ash fell, the priests blew the trumpets in celebration, shouting, "It is finished!"  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished!"  With that, he bowed his head and gave up His Spirit. (John 19:30)

Day 4: Clean Hands and a Pure Heart
The first act of cleansing was initiated for them.  The second was initiated by them.  God was consecrating the priests for service in a one-time experience in which they were sanctified and deemed acceptable.

How fitting that the basin of cleansing was from mirrors!  The women contributed these costly mirrors to offer something that represented vanity,  It was a beautiful Old Testament expression of dying to self.

before we can truly come before God for cleansing, we must examine ourselves to discover how we have erred.

The crucial message is that the full cleansing they had  received on accepting Him (God) concerned regeneration.  The partial cleansing of their feet concerned relationship.   See John 13 to read where Jesus washed the feet of the disciples.  When we witness the disciples being forced to confront their egos, we may be strangely moved to confront our own.

LET CHRIST LOVE YOU TODAY!

Until you learn to let Him serve you at the point of your need,  you will never be truly to free to serve others.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, 

   the Mighty Warrior who saves. 

He will take great delight in you; 

   in his love he will no longer rebuke you, 

   but will rejoice over you with singing

Day 5: Contentment in the Calling

Psalm 84

¹ How lovely is your dwelling place, 

   LORD Almighty! 

² My soul yearns, even faints, 

   for the courts of the LORD; 

my heart and my flesh cry out 

   for the living God. 

³ Even the sparrow has found a home, 

   and the swallow a nest for herself, 

   where she may have her young— 

a place near your altar, 

   LORD Almighty, my King and my God. 

⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house; 

   they are ever praising you.

 ⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, 

   whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 

⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka, 

   they make it a place of springs; 

   the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 

⁷ They go from strength to strength, 

   till each appears before God in Zion.

 ⁸ Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty; 

   listen to me, God of Jacob. 

⁹ Look on our shield, O God; 

   look with favor on your anointed one.

 ¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts 

   than a thousand elsewhere; 

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God 

   than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; 

   the LORD bestows favor and honor; 

no good thing does he withhold 

   from those whose walk is blameless.

 ¹² LORD Almighty, 

   blessed is the one who trusts in you.

If you struggle with your importance in God's Kingdom,realize that one day at the task God has personally assigned only you is better than a thousand days at someone else's.

Only God's chosen task for you will ultimately satisfy.

Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your Holy temple. (Psalm 65:4)

Have a Beautiful Week! 

Christina

A Woman's Heart Bible Study! Week 3: Prepared Hearts!

Week three!  You are awesome!  Keep it up!  (I know this post is late but things have been a little crazy around our house this past week! ) 


Day1: The Freewill Offerings


Today's Treasure: Exodus 36:3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning.


Today we study the special instructions that God gives Moses for the tabernacle Read it here in Exodus 24-25  


God manifested His Glory before them by providing for them.  He gave when they praised Him.  He gave when they murmured. He even gave them the constant request of their hearts at the risk of leanness to their souls.  God gave not because of their faithfulness but because of His faithfulness.  


I believe the Israelite's knew the direct correlation between their willingness to prepare for God's presence and His desire to make evident His presence personally.  How often we expect big things from God without preparing for big things from Him! 


The motivation for an earnest freewill offering is the joy of giving.

Day2: Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones

Today's Treasure: 1 Corinthians 3:12-1 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. 


Precious Stones, or jewels , appear to represent  God's saints--His Treasured possession, His Children--Complete with the gifts of the Holy Spirit!  


Today we had to list the ways we spent our energy in a typical week!  Then go back to that list and circle the tasks/activities that will stand the test of the fire.  The more i wrote the more I realized that I spend entirely too much energy on things that aren't eternal! 


1 Peter 4:19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.


You are looking at a classic freewill offering.  No one can make you surrender your sufferings to God.  Only you can decide how your fires will affect you.  Will you be sanctified or scarred?  
Listen as He says to you: "My precious child, I bore My scares so that you would not have to !"  He has suffered enough for both of you.  


Day 3: The Colors of Love

Today's Treasure: 2 Corinthians 5:21  God made him who had no sin to be sin^[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.


Ephesians 4:23 to be made new in the attitude of your mind.  Are you storing anything of the old self in the new mind?  We are new creatures in Christ; but if we still think like the old creature, we will find it impossible to personify the new.  Most of our wars are fought on the battlefield of the mind.  

Day 4: A Worker Unashamed


Today's Treasure: Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”


You and I are not leaders, kings, and prophets over God's chosen Israel.  We are laborers just like Bezalel.  Names were very important to the Hebrew people, often expressing character and destiny.  The name Bezalel means in the shadow of God.  He was not taking a power hike or craving recognition.  He was happy to dwell in the shadow of the Almighty.  God's name was enough for him.  God wants wiling laborers! 


Bezalel's job was out of his league.  God purposely assigned a task beyond Bezalel's capabilities so that He (God) could  fill him with His Power.  


God places us in positions beyond our capabilities so that we will be at His absolute mercy, realizing that only He can succeed.  




Day 5:  Waiting on the Lord

Today's Treasure:  Ezekiel 22:30  “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one. 

Although Moses was out of sight, God was not.  He revealed Himself daily through manna.  Yet they still wanted/needed something tangible to worship.  (I really just want to shake the Israelites) 


How Typical of satan to steal the riches God has given us, melt them into golden calves, and beckon us to worship them.  God had other plans for those riches!  Divine plans!  Eternal Plans! As we so often do, the Israelites yielded to the temptation to worship the gifts instead of the Giver.  


A stiff neck hinders our looking far to the right or left and makes looking up nearly impossible.  Have you ever had a spiritual stiff neck and refused to look up?  

Wow! What a week! Girls I am praying for you!  

Have a Beautiful Day!

Christina