For His Service

The Fellowship of the Believers  (Acts 2) 42  They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44  All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. How cool!  God shows us in Acts the need for the church  to devote itself to  “fellowship.” What do you think about when you hear the word fellowship?   If you are a good old Baptist, you probably think of food. :)     We expect the church to...

There are times we just can't "figure out" the mind of God. We don't know why He would allow something or bless us with some HUGE blessing.  There are times that we aren't sure what He wants us to do, so what to do???    His word says His ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9).  However, He calls us to seek Him.  The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him . Lamentations 3 :25 This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel “Seek m e and live.” Amos 5 :4 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29 :13 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him . Hebrews 11 :6 The calling is clear.  Seek Him!  Know Him!  How?  Get into His word.  Spend time with Him in prayer.  Don't think someone else (a pastor, Bible study teacher, etc) can do ...

Elaine  and Ray Russell and Rachel The picture above is of my mom and dad when they were first married. Now in 2013, they are celebrating 50 years of marriage this year.  They were not believers at the time when they got married, but God..even then... had them model devotion and commitment to me and my two sisters.  After 23 years of marriage, I want a full, Christ filled marriage for all of my family and friends.  I see the importance of the younger women learning from the older women. Titus 2  says "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the Word of God." Titus 2:3-5 We need to know that certain struggles are normal. We need to know...

For four or five weeks, we have had several Bible lessons on how to have a marriage that reflects God's Character and love.   Today, our pastor focused on how to resolve conflicts in marriage.... or in any relationship.   After 22 years of marriage, Russell and I have had a few conflicts... and have to FIGHT (ironically enough)  not to ignore conflicts, but to resolve them.  Our pastor took his findings from Ephesians 4:25-32.   Ephesians 4:25-32 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin” [ d ] : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is help...

This week I tried to help a friend mend a broken relationship with one of her dear friends.   Relationships are fragile treasures; friends, not things, are the thing we can’t bear to be without.   However, friendships can fail for many reasons. Sometimes unintentional, misunderstandings tear relationships apart. Sometimes irresolvable conflicts explode between people causing great damage to all that are near. Sometimes fears learned through hurts in earlier relationships with different people undermine new investments in intimacy with new friends.   Other times, a person harms a relationship by cheating or lying. For these and many other reasons, we all have seen friendships, business partnerships, marriages, and family relationships break apart and it is distressing . When a significant relationship fails, a part of us feels like it dies with it. When our relationships break, our heart also breaks. While we grieve, we search for ways to understand what happene...

Today I am going to tell you about the next session with Linda Dillow.  She spoke on intimacy in our marriages. I imagine that some, if not many, of the ladies felt somewhat embarrassed to discuss this topic, but she felt and I feel that this topic is so necessary to maintain strong marriages and to not give Satan a foothold in our marriages.  So... get the kids out of the room, pull out your Bibles, and really think about what she said.   Randy Pope is our pastor at Perimeter Church.  He reminds us over and over to question what is taught; not to accept it as complete truth without researching it and praying about it for yourself.  I think everything Linda taught us is biblical, but I think it would be helpful for you to study this for yourself.  We as moms and wives, not only affect our own marriages, but also the marriages of our children and their children. Let's begin.....  First, she said to remember that we have heard "echoes of lies fro...