Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 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 15:18-19 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
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RealChristianWomen.blog
15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?
23 God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
28 And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.” Job 28:15, 20, 23, 28 NIV Read full chapter
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
“Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.
They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.” Psalm 112:6-8 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
In 1884 a young man died and after the funeral his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Dr. Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University. Dr. Eliot received the modestly dressed couple into his office and asked how he could help them.
After they expressed their desire to fund a memorial to honor their son, Dr. Eliot impatiently said, “You know, I don’t have much time today, what would you like to give? Perhaps a partial scholarship?’ The woman replied, “We are thinking of something more substantial than that. Is it possible to maybe build a building for our son?”
In a patronizing tone, Dr. Eliot indicated the idea was probably a bit too expensive and he asked them to consider giving a scholarship in their son’s name and come back to see him next week when he had more time. Dr. Eliot never saw them again.
One year later Dr. Eliot learned that this quiet, unassuming couple who were wanting to honor the memory of their son had gone out to California and established a $26 million dollar memorial named after their son. Then it was called Leland Stanford Junior University. Today it is simply called Stanford.
We all know the saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Perhaps truer words were never spoken. As you can see from the story above, that can be a huge mistake!
Yet perhaps we do it more than we think we do. My sister used to work for a home builder. People would come in and tour beautiful model homes. She told me that some of the wealthiest people looked the most ordinary. You couldn’t tell by appearances who could afford these extravagant homes.
Jesus says in John 7:24: “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Only God knows the heart of a person. Only God knows their motivations.
Assumptions can be dangerous. Jesus is warning us to beware of making assumptions about other people.
(This post was inspired by a post by Bruce Cooper in Reasoned Cases for Christ which you can read here.)
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
“Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.” Psalm 25:6-7 NLT
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”
Charles Spurgeon
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
“Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:4-5 NIV
My thoughts: God guides us in His truth through His Word.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
“The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.” 1 Peter 4:7 NIV Read full chapter
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
RealChristianWomen.blog
One of Satan’s favorite weapons is discouragement. I get discouraged sometimes, but the Lord always picks me back up. Sometimes encouragement comes through another person who is walking closely with God. This happened recently when I read Devotional Treasures by Alan Kearns. You can read it here.
Alan said, “It is not our ability that matters, but rather the Might of our Father God.” That hit me right between the eyes!
The Lord was showing me that if I have doubts and fears about my ministry (and we all have a ministry, you know) it’s because I’m taking all the responsibility on myself instead of depending on Him and trusting Him to accomplish His will. He has promised,
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8 NIV
Satan likes to attack our minds, making us think his lies are true. Doubts, fears, frustrations, distractions, and even fatigue may be the attack of the enemy. The following verses show us that the enemy attacks our minds.
“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV
“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV
I love the story of Nehemiah and how he led the exiles back to Jerusalem where they were obeying God and rebuilding the demolished walls of the city. You can read about it in Nehemiah, chapters 4-6 here.
These chapters reveal how the enemy tried to stop the work God had given them to do: rebuilding the walls. So don’t be surprised if the enemy tries to stop the work God has given YOU to do!
Whether you are writing a blog, teaching a Bible Study, going to the mission field, pastoring a church, working in the nursery, or building a wall, the enemy’s plan is, first and foremost, to STOP THE WORK.
Satan’s plan is to make you give up!
“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 NIV
If we depend on our own abilities and strength we will fail. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-11 NIV (emphasis mine)
Be strong in the Lord!
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
Pray for Israel
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