LOT'S WIFE

The story of Lot and his disobedient wife is very much an infamous one. Sodom and Gomorrah were two wicked cities. The cities were so wicked that the Lord wished to destroy them. But Abraham reasoned with the Lord and asked him saying, "Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?" Abraham asked the Lord this because Lot, Abraham's brother, resided in the city of Sodom. The Lord then answered Abraham saying ,"If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes."But the Lord could not find fifty. Abraham then asked the Lord for the same request except only to find forty-five righteous within the city. But the Lord could not find forty-five. This downward cycle continued until Abraham asked the Lord to save the city if only ten righteous were found. But yet again, not even 10 righteous souls were found in the city. Then, two angels of the Lord came to Lot by night and instructed him to take his family out of Sodom.The two angels explained to Lot that they were instructed to destroy the two cities because of the sin that both of the cities had were exceedingly great. Early in the morning Lot took his family and left the city of Sodom. The angels of the Lord instructed Lot "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains lest you be destroyed." Lot did just as the angels instructed him to do and set off away from the two cities. But Lot's wife did not take the word of the Lord seriously. As she was traveling away from the two cities with her family, Lot's wife looked back on the city where she once lived and immediately became a pillar of salt.
How can the story of Lot's wife help us today. Well it's quite simple. Lot's wife could have been saved if only she obeyed what the Lord said. The same goes for us! The Lord tells us we can be saved ."Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."Acts 2:38. But the Lord also says that if we do not obey Him we will also be condemned. "Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Another important lesson we can get from Lot's wife is the lesson of true repentance. Lot's wife had salvation in her midst but turned and looked back at the sinful life that she was once a part of. As Christians we must be different. We must totally leave the sinful life that we had before we were baptized, and live the Christian life that Jesus sets before us. Looking back should never be an option. We must press forward to the ultimate prize, and that of course is HEAVEN.

-Linzee.

HANNAH

Hannah is personally one of my favorite women to study about in the Bible. And each time that I have read her story I learn something that I can apply to my daily walks of life. Hannah was one of the two wives of Elkanah. Unfortunately for Hannah, the Lord shut her womb and she was not able to have children. Depressed by not being able to bear a child, Hannah went to the place of worship in Shiloh and made a vow to the Lord that if He gave her a son, she would in return "give him to the Lord all the days of his life." After she prayed her honest and sincere prayer, Hannah went away and returned to Ramah with her family. The Lord remembered Hannah and her prayer, and gave her a son.Hannah named him Samuel. Soon after, Hannah did just as she told the Lord that she would do. When she returned to the place of worship in Shiloh, she gave her son to the Lord. It was there that Hannah prayed to the Lord one of the most beautiful prayers of thanksgiving and praise. (1 Samuel 2:1-10)So what do we get from Ms. Hannah? Well I think that one of the most important lessons we can get from Hannah is thankfulness. Hannah did not seem to cease to give thanks to God for the blessing of a son. She gave complete credit to where credit was most certainly due. And what can we be thankful for today?!? Well everything of course. Anyone who is reading this has been blessed beyond belief physically. However the greatest gift that we have been blessed with is the spiritual gift of his Son Jesus Christ. The gift of salvation is definately the greatest gift one could ever have. 2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for His incredible gift!" And it truly is incredible. Continue to be thankful, God showers us with blessings.

THE SYRO-PHOENICIAN (CANAANITE) WOMAN

Although we do not know the name of the Syro-Phoenician woman, her faith is what she is most known for. By the time Jesus made his way to the region of Tyre and Sidon, his reputation and miraculous works were well known. However, as my Women's Study Bible states, "few in Tyre and Sidon would cross cultural and religious lines to approach Jesus." The Jews of that day and age did not associate themselves with Gentiles, or Canaanites, and it certainly was not good social etiquite for a woman to approach a group of men as she did. But this particular woman broke all of the religious and social barriers. The Syro-Pheonician(Canaanite) woman met Jesus and his disciples in the street and called out to Jesus to heal her severely demon-possessed daughter. And of course being who she was, the disciples were quick to get rid of her. In my opinion, it seems that the disciples were more concerned about how this woman would effect their reputation rather than the service they could have done for her and her soul. However, Jesus knew the woman's heart and could see her great faith. This woman believed in the name and works of Jesus before seeing any miraculous works. This woman believed in Him and his might before he preached anything. This is the faith that Jesus seeks from us everyday. In Hebrews 11:1 it says "Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The Syro-Phoenician woman believed before she had ever seen. We as Christians should have the same attitude. Another point that one can get from this is not look past the social barriers of today's day and age and look at the person's soul instead. "Red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight", really does sum up how Jesus views everyone in the world. As Christians, we too should look past how people look or what they do in their spare time, and see the soul that is underneath it all. That is really what matters the most.

THE WOMAN WHO LOST A COIN!

As described by my Women's Study Bible, the woman who lost a coin is "the second of three parables in which Jesus clearly pictured God's loving concern for each individual sinner." Luke 15:8-10 says "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin,does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together,saying, 'Rejoice with me for I have found the piece which I lost!' Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." How does this parable apply to us today? Well ladies, are there any of us who wouldn't turn our rooms upside to find one of our lost pearl/diamond earrings? Or would we not spend hours in a department store to try and find that perfect little black dress? The same should go for a lost soul. We should be just as diligent when trying to search and save lost souls as we would anything else. Evangelism should be one of our main priorities, because just like the woman was concerned and searched for her lost coin, so should we be concerned and search for our lost brothers and sisters. Matthew 28:19-20 says "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."Amen." What more can I say? Share the gospel, make yourselves disciples, and share the GOOD NEWS. The gospel isn't meant to be condemning but rather uplifting and encouraging. It's the greatest news you will ever share.
-Linzee

ABIGAIL

I have turned over a new leaf with the blog. Since this is a blog about helping girls/women in their daily walk with Christ, I figure it would be beneficial to study the women/girls in the bible who kept God/Christ their number one priority. The lessons that we learn from them are beneficial to even women in today's day and age. Having said that, the first beautiful woman I am going to discuss is Abigail.

Abigail ,unfortunatley, was the wife to the wicked man Nabal. Nabal was said to be, as 1 Samuel 25 describes, a very rich man who "was harsh and evil in his doings." When Nabal was so quick to deny King David's request to dine and relax in Nabal's house, David soon after condemned the house of Nabal to death. Abigail would ultimately be the one to save her household. Forewarned by a servant, Abigail was moved with determination and precision to try to avert the extermination of the entire household. As David and his men were on their way to the house of Nabal, Abigail met and greeted them with humility and warm hospitality. The Bible that I use in study describes this perfectly by saying "She used all her creativity to minimize the damage done by her foolish husband. In going against Nabal's wishes, she acted to save his life." Abigail used her wit and honesty to melt the hard heart of David, and in return save her household. What can we take from this particular part of Abigail's life? In my opinion there are many different lessons we can take from Ms. Abigail. However, the one lesson that sticks out to me the most would have to be the willingness to put others before herself. Even though Nabal was a wicked husband and ultimately sentenced his own family to death, Abigail thought about the safety of her husband before she thought about the safety of herself. It was very dangerous for a woman in that day and age to approach an army of men and ecspecially the king like she did, but it was Abigail's selfless atitude that pricked the heart of David. Abigail teaches us that we need to be selfless in our actions and serve others just as Jesus did in his daily walks of life. Galatians 5:13 says "For you,brethren,have been called to liberty;only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." So how can we be selfless and serve one another? Well, I guess that is really up to you. Volunteer for something. Do something for your boss/mom/friend/etc. without them asking. The options are neverending. Overall do a good deed. These things will not only glorify God, but in the process bring lost souls to Christ. Show others the loving nature of Christ by serving them.

-Linzee

"I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY"

Gavin McGee preached this lesson on gossip one Sunday Morning at Florence Blvd. Church of Christ. The lesson was on the topic of gossip, so I thought I would share. Let's face it, girls are gossip queens.

When it comes to gossip I think that the first thing one has to understand is the definition of what gossip is. Gossip is said to be "a rumor or talk of personal, sentimental, or intimate nature", according to Webster's Dictionary. The Bible refers to a gossiper as a talebearer or a whisperer. Ultimately if you are talking about someone in a way that is not going to help he/she spiritually, you are participating in some juicy gossip.

Let's figure out the nature of gossip.

1) Gossip springs from false motives. Phil 4:8, Romans 15:1 Most of the time if we are gossiping about someone it is not for their benifit, but for our own. When we gossip about someone the ultimate goal is to degrade the other person to make ourselves feel better. When we gossip we are not focusing on the things we need to have our minds focused on in Phil 4:8.

2) It finds its life in our tongues. In James 3: 5-8 the tongue is compared to a wildfire. in verse 8 it says "but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." This verse alone should be enough to tell us how damaging gossip can be. Think of how fast and how widespread a wildfire can be. Gossip can hurt and destroy someones feelings and reputation if the exact same way. In James 1:19 it warns us to be slow speaking, so maybe we can use our tongue for something greater than silly gossip.

3) It spreads and grows. like said earlier, gossip can be so widespread, that the real truth of a story is so diminished and changed that a person's reputation can be ruined.

4) Hurts others. In Galatians 6:10 it says "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." In Galatians we are commanded to do good to everyone who we come in contact with. The same hold true when we talk about someone. If what we are talking about is not going to end with something Godly and good happening, then the likely hood of it being a good conversation about someone is slim to none.

5)Hurts our example. As Christians, the kind of example we should be setting is of someone who does not participate in gossip. How bad does it look to someone who might not be a Christian if we as Christians are participating in gossip. How are we then any different than non-Christians.

6) Hurts the Church. In Psalms 133:1 it says "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity." What would the chruch be if brothers and sisters in Christ were not able to dwell in peace with one another? The answer is simply nothing. A Church with divisions will not survive, it is not what God would want when he looks at his church. Gossip will ultimately cause huge divisions in a church.

7) Causes Strife. In Proverbs 26:20 it says" For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer quarreling ceases." I think that this sums the nature of gossip up in a nutshell. Where gossip is you can always expect quarreling and strife, and as Proverbs 26:20 says, where gossip stops the quarreling and strife ceases.

So now that we have covered the nature of gossip let's look at what the result of gossip is.

1) Makes one guilty of spreading lies

2) condems soul

There are many old testament and new testament refrences to prove that fact: Lev 19:16, Prov. 11:13, Prov. 16:28, Prov. 17:4, Prov. 18:8, Prov. 20:19, and Prov. 26:2o. Phil. 2:3-4, Titus 2:1, Titus 3:1-2, James 4:11, Romans 1:29, 2 Cor. 12:20.

So What can we do to Prevent Gossip?

1) Learn to mind our own business.- 1 Thess 4:10-11, 2 Thess 3:11-12

2) Look for the Good in ever situation.-Romans 3:10

3) Don't believe everything you hear.- James 3:8-10

4) When you hear Gossip, Handle it properly

a. Go straight to the Horses mouth

b. If it is not true, keep it to yourself

c. If it is true, keep it to yourself

5) Choose your associations wisely.- Prov. 20:19, 1 Cor 15:33

6) Would I want that said about me? -Matt. 7:12

7) LEARN TO LOOK PAST THE GOSSIP AND SEE A SOUL!

I thought this would be a good post because I figured it is something that the everyday girl struggles with on a day to day basis. I know I do for sure. Lets face it, its fun to talk about people! But that is just the kicker, sin is fun!!! Gossip is sin!! They go hand in hand! Just think of how much greater the world would be if we didn't gossip about people. Think about how many things would be different. The ultimate goal in life is to get to heaven and bring as many people as you can with you along the way. There is absolutely no way you can do so if you are gossiping. We can not expect to be uplifted if we ourselves are not willing to always uplift others.

-the girls-

Would You Kiss God With That Mouth?

When speaking of taming of the tongue during this day and age, I am guessing most people think about cursing. I mean let's face it, using dirty language is all around us. Whether it comes from movies, television shows, music, classmates, fellow employees, or family members, filthy language is all around us. And yes, refraining from using dirty language is a struggle and something we need to refrain from. However, I feel that another form of taming the tongue needs to take place in today's society and it takes the sly form of gossip. I have a feeling that gossiping about someone is becoming laxed in our conversations. Noone really stops to think "hey is what I am about to say going to hurt this person?" or "I shouldn't say this, it really isn't any of my business." Actually it is quite the opposite. Gossip is a juicy part of our everyday conversations. Look at all the gossip magazines for example. Does God consider gossip filthy language? I think so! In James 3, the idea of taming the tongue is being discussed. In verse six it says " the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness." Think of how a fire works, from the starting point of the fire, the flames only spread farther and wider. That is the same exact way gossip works. From the starting point of a conversation that is enthralled with gossip, the lives that are impacted by what is said is only going to get larger and larger. In James it says that no one can fully tame the tongue, but there are ways we can try. Bite your tongue the next time you feel the need to talk about someone. We are here to lift one another closer to heaven. So let's all talk about heavinly things. When it comes to using filthy language I have often times heard the phrase "Would You Kiss Your Momma With That Mouth"?. I found it humorous, but effective. Often times we wouldn't say the things we would say to others in front of our moms. So why would we want to act the same way towards our God. So when you hear the latest gossip or feel like repeating some, ask yourself and others the question " Would You Kiss God With That Mouth?"

-The Girls-