I Challenge You.....

I think we all love to be a little competitive at times, and so I thought it was time to give a little challenge.  If you complete the challenge successfully, you will be entered into a drawing to win a $10 Amazon gift card.  Are you up for the challenge?

Here it is:

I challenge you to read your Bible every single day in the month of March.  I am not asking you to devote hours and hours of your day to reading, just a few minutes each day.  March is only 31 days long.  If you spent an average of five minutes each day reading your Bible, you will have spent a total of 155 minutes reading.  This is not a huge time commitment.  Consider how much time you spend on your phone or social media each day.  Do you think you could take 5 of those minutes to read a little bit of the Bible?

Okay, I have given you the challenge.  Now I get to convince you to take it!

As Christians, it is vitally important for us to know what the Bible teaches so that we can "take our stand against the devil's schemes."  (Ephesians 6:11)  How will you know what to believe if you don't read God's Word?  In Jeremiah 29:13 it says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  Have you noticed that it is a little difficult to learn something without studying?  The same is true of God's Word.  Without reading it, we will never learn the depths of the truths in it.  If we don't learn the truths, how are we going to grow in our faith?

Are you convinced?  Reading the Bible is essential to the Christian life!

Now that you are convinced, let me give you the details on how to take the challenge.

If you are really committed to taking this challenge, then here's how you start:  1. pick a book of the Bible or passage that you want to read through.  If you want to start in a short easy-to-read book, try Proverbs.  The chapters are short, and it isn't too hard to understand.  Give it a go!  There are exactly 31 chapters, so it would perfectly match up with the days there are in March.  If you want to try the New Testament, try the book of Mark.  It isn't too long, and it is packed full of high-action stories.  2.  Send me an email at sistersinchrist.girlz@gmail.com with your name, age, and address.  (This information will not be used for any purpose other than this specific contest.)  I would love to know if you are taking the challenge so that I can pray for you as you take it.  3.  Be serious about it!  If you aren't committed to this challenge, you probably won't make it through to then end.  Don't hesitate to ask God for some help in doing this.  He will give you the perseverance to make it for the whole month!

Don't hesitate to challenge your friends and family to do this with you.  Some moral support can go a long way in accomplishing a goal!

As Far as the East is From the West...

Every Sunday night my family meets with a group of people from our church to discuss questions from that morning's sermon and to be in community with other believers.  Last night as we all sat in our living room, my Dad decided to do a little object lesson.  Each person in the room took two pieces of paper.  On the first piece, everyone wrote something that they had done in the past week that was Christlike.  On the second piece, we wrote something that we had done that was not Christlike.  Each person folded up their pieces of paper.  The papers with the Christlike action went into Bibles and pockets, but the pieces of unchristlike behaviors stayed out.  My Dad lit a candle that was in the center of the table and asked each of us to burn our second piece of paper in the flame.

You are probably thinking, "Okay, so her Dad likes to burn things...  Why is she telling me this?"

Do you ever feel like you have done something so terrible that God can't forgive you?  Have you ever thought that maybe you messed up your life so badly that there is absolutely no way God will ever forgive you?  If you have ever thought that, I can offer you hope!

Psalm 103:8-12 says, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

Because of our sins, we all deserve death (Romans 3:23), but because of God's grace we can be forgiven (3:24).  When you come to God and confess your sin, He removes it from you as far as the east is from the west and forgives you.  Don't ever let yourself be deceived into thinking that you can't be forgiven!

When each of us burned the piece of paper containing unchristlike actions, it represented the incredible grace and forgiveness that God offers each one of us.  Is there something that you need to ask God forgiveness for?  He is ready and willing to forgive you if you will repent.

A New Look at Valentine's Day

Every year on February 14, we celebrate Valentine’s Day—a specific day when people across the world celebrate their love for one another.  When someone mentions the holiday, we typically think of hearts, flowers, and chocolate.  At least, that is what the stores want us to think of…  While hearts, chocolate, and flowers are nice, there is more to love than the world realizes.

Take a look at what the Bible has to say about love.

“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.”  - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Wow!  There is a little more to the kind of love talked about in the Bible than just the chocolate kind of love that the world likes to celebrate on Valentine’s Day!  Look at the different ways that love is described in the passage.  It is patient, kind, trusting, not selfish, not angry, not proud.

The only person that I know of who can truly love like the Bible describes is Jesus.  As humans, we are sinners and are unable to love perfectly like Jesus did.  But the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:13)  I challenge you to try to love like Jesus loves—with patience and kindness.  Hope and trust.  We are human, we will make mistakes, but by God’s grace we can be forgiven and He will give us the strength to love like Him each and every day.