Elizabeth George's Blog, page 40

Walk in the Spirit

[image error]I don’t know about you, but it comforts me and gives me solid assurance to know that the Bible is always relevant to my challenges as a woman. It is filled—and overflowing!—with God’s wisdom and 100 percent guaranteed guidance. And it never fails to offer help for the many choices you and I are facing today. Here’s what I’m talking about!

Frustrations with Others

Who is the most important guest you have ever had in your home for dinner? Well, just imagine what a stir was caused when Jesus and His disciples showed up for dinner at the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Martha went immediately into high gear and tore into preparing food for her VIP guests. At some point Martha became frustrated. Without thinking, she complained to Jesus because Mary, her sister and helper, was sitting at His feet listening to Him while He taught instead of assisting with the serving.

Sure, preparations for dinner needed to be made. And 12 guests for dinner is a houseful! But this is how Jesus evaluated Mary’s choice to stop her busy serving, sit at His feet, and listen to Him: “Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (verse 42).

It’s sort of like Jesus was saying, “Listen, Martha, you have all your life to fix and serve food, but today you have Me. Don’t berate your sister. Mary made a most excellent choice.” (And I know it’s not in the Bible passage, but I like to imagine that perhaps Jesus moved slightly to one side and made a place for Martha to sit down right next to Him.) 

Faithfully Walking

Tomorrow, when a fresh morning greets you, it will come with a multitude of choices both (big and small), activities, and distractions. Go ahead and congratulate yourself for just being up! But once things get going — and you get that cup of coffee — you must begin. Now you have a big choice to make: Do I let my busy day — no, not my busy day, my crazy, hectic, full of moment-by-moment decisions — drag me down? Or do I choose as the Bible tells me to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16)? This, my friend, is an important choice. And, with every command from God, it also means we can choose not to walk in the Spirit.

When you walk in the Spirit, you have God’s Holy Spirit guiding and instructing you. He is by your side as your helper as you make your decisions. With the assurance of God’s guiding hand, you’ll be well on your way and more confident as you tackle your options.

RESPOND

Dear Lord, please help me today to walk forward in Your Holy Spirit with a renewed spark of commitment. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

A Woman’s Guide to Making Right Choices —You’ll love the hundreds of helpful tips and biblical insights all designed to help you experience greater productivity and spiritual blessing. Click for your copy of this women’s Bible Study and study guide.

REFLECT

What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? When you choose to walk in the Spirit, your life, speech, actions, and reactions will be marked by what is referred to in the Bible as “the fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23.

REMEMBER

When you walk in the Spirit, you have God’s Holy Spirit guiding and instructing you.

How Can I Become More Christlike?

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Another birthday has come…and gone. I’m painfully aware that there’s less and less time for becoming the kind of woman I want to be. But it’s also comforting to know that God knows the desires of my heart.

In fact, Psalm 37:4 says He’s put them there. He knows the daydreaming—and praying—I do about serving Him. And He knows your heart too.

Acknowledge the Lord

Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” But what does that look like in your daily life? The phone rings and it’s bad news or a decision needs to be made. This is where you stop and pray, “God, what do You want me to do here?” Or you’re going merrily through your day—and someone says something that really hurts. Before you blurt out a smart retort, sit mentally in God’s presence. Ask, “Okay, God, what do You want me to say?” When you do your part, God takes over and does His part: He directs your path…and your mouth!

5 Ways to Grow More Christlike 

Here are 5 ways to acknowledge the Lord and become more Christlike.

Choose to stay close to Christ. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Choose to spend time in God’s Word. “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me” (Psalm 119:97-98).

Choose to spend time in prayer. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man [woman] avails much” (James 5:16).

Choose to obey God’s commands. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10).

Choose to deal with sin. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Whether you’re pushing a stroller, a grocery cart, or an aluminum walker—your life counts. It counts mightily as you face life’s challenges with a heart full of devotion to God. Keep choosing to love God, and follow after Him with a whole heart each day.

RESPOND

Dear Lord, in You is my hope, in You is my desire, in You is my strength. I love You and want to reflect You in all I do and say for the rest of my days. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

A Woman’s Guide to Making Right Choices—You’ll love the hundreds of helpful tips and biblical insights all designed to help you experience greater productivity and spiritual blessing. Click for your copy of this women’s Bible Study and study guide.

REFLECT

Choose one of the five ways to become more Christlike to focus on each day for the next week.

 REMEMBER

Keep choosing to love God, and follow after Him with a whole heart each day.

5 Reasons to Pray

[image error]Prayer is an act of faith. Prayer is talking to someone you can’t see, about something you don’t have, with no visible means of obtaining it. So, why should we pray?

Prayer guards you against taking matters into your own hands.

What is the first question you usually ask yourself when confronted with a decision? What can I do? This question looks at your capabilities. Or sometimes you may ask, What should I do? This deals with morality—doing what’s right, fair, just. When it’s time to make a decision, the best question to ask is, “God, what do You want me to do?”

Prayer guards you against making quick decisions.

In the heat of the moment and under the pressure of urgency, you might make a quick decision that requires months or even years to undo the consequences. If a quick decision is needed and there’s no time to pray about it, then the answer is no! No decision made without prayer!

Prayer guards you against being influenced by family and friends.

Sometimes it’s hard to make good decisions based on the advice of close family members. Your relationship can color your judgment. And sometimes family members aren’t as spiritually mature as they should be. As a result, their advice is often tainted by emotion, sin, selfishness, or worldliness. But when you pray, you’re able to seek the mind of God rather than the mind of man.

Prayer guards you against the influence of your culture.

It’s possible for many of your decisions to be influenced by the standards set by your culture. However, just because something is acceptable in society doesn’t make it right. Prayer forces you to ask, “God, what is Your standard? What does Your Word say I should do?”

Prayer guards you against missing God’s will.

When you don’t pray, your heart and emotions can dictate your direction and you can miss God’s will. What does the Bible say about your heart? It is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). To ensure that your feelings and desires don’t hinder you from choosing God’s will, make sure you pray. Pray until your heart and emotions are neutral. Then you can better “hear” God speak to you through His Word and through wise counsel.

Our trust at times may falter, but as the years go by and you see your prayers answered, as you taste more and more of God’s goodness, your faith grows. Doubts and fears will fade, to be replaced by a steadfast confidence in God. You can most assuredly say along with King Solomon, “There has not failed one word of all His good promise” (1 Kings 8:56).

RESPOND

Dear Lord, thank You that I can come to You in prayer. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

The Remarkable Prayers of the Bible (on sale now!)— Jim George looks deeply into the prayers of some great people in the Bible—and shares what readers can learn from others who loved God and desired to follow Him wholeheartedly. Click to view this wonderful book on prayer!

REFLECT

Memorize this verse: “There has not failed one word of all His good promise” (1 Kings 8:56).

REMEMBER

If a quick decision is needed and there’s no time to pray about it, then the answer is no! No decision made without prayer!

Waiting on the Lord

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Waiting. It’s so hard for us in today’s instant- access society. In fact, it seems impossible at times. But what happens while you and I wait on the Lord? Waiting gives us an opportunity to develop our trust in the Lord and to strengthen our faith in Him. We’re forced to come to grips with the fact that He— and He alone— knows what He’s doing. Waiting helps us grow in patience.

Reflect for a moment on the patience with which Noah and his family waited for the waters to recede and the land to dry. What would you do in a similar situation? Hebrews 11:1 gives us a beautiful definition of faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

We wait, wait, and wait some more . . . until finally we’re content just to be with the Lord. And waiting energizes us for the walk (or the race!) ahead. Are you waiting? Welcome it! No matter how it looks or feels, rejoice in your waiting time because you get to spend it with the Lord! 

RESPOND

Father, You know my temperament. You know how I hate to wait for anything or anybody. Grant me patience as I wait for Your wisdom. Also, give me a gentle spirit when I have to wait on people. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

A Woman After God's Own Heart Bible—Find fresh encouragement for everyday concerns and vision for a transformed life. 

REFLECT

Memorize Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

REMEMBER

We wait, wait, and wait some more . . . until finally we’re content just to be with the Lord.

Making Wise Choices

[image error]In Genesis 4, we see the example of Cain. Unable to control his anger, he killed his brother. With the decision to act outside the law of God, Cain sealed his fate forever. God punished him, saying, “A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

Dear friend, the importance of choices cannot be overestimated. If you want to know what you’ll be like in the future, check out the choices you’re making today. What you’re doing now, so you will be then. It’s something of a riddle.

Over time your choices change . . . for the better, I hope! The choices you make right now will determine whether you fulfill God’s design for your life. Whatever you’re dealing with right this minute, in the next hour, tomorrow, or for a lifetime, make positive decisions to love, honor, and serve the Lord. Make the choices that will alter your world and the lives of others in positive ways.

RESPOND

Lord, every time I turn around I have to make decisions. Should I get up early tomorrow? Should I eat this or that? Should I discipline my child for that behavior? Should I buy this? Should I volunteer for this project? Please give me guidance so I will choose Your path and do Your will. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

A Woman After God's Own Heart Bible—Find fresh encouragement for everyday concerns and vision for a transformed life.

REFLECT

What is one choice I will make today that will change my future for the better?

REMEMBER

If you want to know what you’ll be like in the future, check out the choices you’re making today. What you’re doing now, so you will be then.

An Example of Godliness

[image error]It’s always good to see such an awesome, otherworldly, hard-to-define quality like godliness lived out and fleshed out in other women. After all, as the saying instructs us, “One picture is worth a thousand words!” So take a look at Anna. Her story is found in Luke 2:36-38. 

Luke’s words paint a poignant picture of this dear woman. From him we learn that Anna was an “older woman.” An 84-year-old woman (“of a great age,” explains Luke), Anna was widowed after only seven years of marriage. And Anna shows us what it’s like to live in a constant state of worship. What does a woman do who loves the Lord and is a widow? Well, our Anna devoted herself to the continual service of God and of His temple. She was a constant, faithful worshiper — not a casual attender or observer.

Anna lived her life in the temple. Anna’s life could have been a long, sad, and lonely one. But she filled it with glorious service to God. She centered her days on the temple, the worship of God, and the people who exalted Him there.

Anna lived her life in prayer and fasting. Both prayer and fasting are personal disciplines — quiet disciplines — that require commitment, dedication, self-control, and consecration to God. Anna devoted herself to these quiet disciplines and to a quiet, serious life of loving and worshiping God.

Anna lived her life in anticipation of the Savior. Anna looked for the Christ…and was blessed to see the baby Jesus when He was brought into the temple for the first time, to praise God for Him, and to speak of Jesus to all who entered the temple.

Can you imagine any more wonderful way to spend your life and your time and your days and your moments than to spend them in the Lord, immersed in Him, looking to Him, desiring Him beyond all that this poor world offers? You are most blessed to possess such a glorious calling.

The first step toward any noble goal is to desire it. And the “godliest” goal you can have in life is to set your affections on becoming this woman the Bible exalts so highly — a woman whose whole soul is absorbed in worshiping Him.

RESPOND

Dear Lord, I pray my life honors You and reflects the quality of godliness to others. May I use my time to Your glory. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

A Woman’s High Calling ($5.00 while supplies last!) – Elizabeth shares the simple steps a woman can take to make these essentials a joyous reality—

Growing in godliness
Developing personal discipline
Loving her husband and family
Deepening in wisdom
Managing her home 

REFLECT

Do I devote myself to the quiet disciplines of fasting and prayer? 

REMEMBER
We’re to be constant, faithful worshipers — not casual attenders or observers.

A Unique Masterpiece—Teen Tuesday

[image error]Moms, Grandmothers, Mentors … these monthly special devotionals are a great tool for you to use to talk about God and His Word with your girl!

Do you like to color? I do! I don’t know what it is about colored pencils and crayons, but something amazing happens when you get to work applying the colors of your choice to a colorless picture. Once your hand chooses a color and begins to put it on that page, a unique masterpiece begins to appear before your eyes.

Here’s something to think about—no one in the whole world will ever color your pages with the same choice of colors you select. As each picture you are coloring begins to take shape, it becomes a reflection of how special you are as a girl after God’s own heart. Your colorful page will be unlike anything else ever created.

And think about the fact that no other girl is like you. You are a special, one-of-a-kind, loved-by-God girl. In other words, you are SUPER-special!

RESPOND

Dear Lord, thank You for loving me. This is awesome…amazing…super cool! Help me remember that You love me more than anyone ever could. And help me remember to keep saying, “Thank You”! Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

A Girl After God’s Own Heart Coloring Book—Help your tween daughter, age 8-12, understand what it truly means to be a girl after God's own heart with the beautiful verses and quotes in this 80-page coloring book. (Sample page below)

REFLECT

Memorize this verse: “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35)

REMEMBER

You are a special, one-of-a-kind, loved-by-God girl. In other words, you are SUPER-special!

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You are Beautiful in God’s Eyes

[image error]Imagine yourself sitting back and enjoying your eightieth birthday. A host of people has gathered to celebrate with you at this special party in your honor. Suddenly a fanfare announces the arrival of your birthday cake. As it’s wheeled in, you marvel at how big it is! It has to be because it has 80 candles on it, and every one of them is lit. In fact, the heat from their blaze makes you wish you hadn’t worn a sweater!

Now for a challenge: If the Lord allows you to live to enjoy such a birthday party, what do you want to have accomplished by the time you blow out the candles that represent 80 years of life?

Your answer to this question will indicate your desire to be a woman of character, a woman who is beautiful in God’s eyes.

How does God’s beautiful woman become such a rare, exceptional, extraordinary treasure, such a woman of strong, godly character? In a word, it takes time. Nothing this grand happens overnight. It takes making daily time for reading God’s Word your highest priority. Maybe this story will help you understand why reading the Bible cultivates beauty.

When I was in Israel, I learned that one step in the process of diamond production is polishing the gem. A diamond is never released to the marketplace until the person assigned to polish it can see the image of his own face reflected in the jewel.

Well, think about it. You are a diamond in the rough. And you gain the power of character and begin to more clearly reflect your heavenly Father’s face as His Word smoothes and polishes your character. As you spend time gazing into God’s Word, the light of His truth brightens your motivation to live your life for His glory. When you read the Word of the Lord, He uses it to scrub and scour away your fears, your laziness, your doubts, and your sinful ways.

God uses His Word to transform you into a woman of divine power who reflects His beauty. 

RESPOND

Dear Lord, Scripture tells us what true beauty is—to love and revere You. Help me be a woman of strong, godly character … a woman who is beautiful in Your eyes. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

Beautiful in God’s Eyes — This resources guides you experiencing a richer, more exciting spiritual walk as you embrace God's design for true beauty in your life.

REFLECT
Write down one piece of truth from God’s Word that you read each day this week. Then, commit to let it polish your character. 

REMEMBER
God uses His Word to transform you into a woman of divine power who reflects His beauty.

Getting Through Difficult Days

[image error]One of my favorite words in the English language is “bittersweet.” It’s sort of like the well-known announcement, “I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?” This picturesque term always reminds me that many occurrences in life fall simultaneously into the glad/sad category, bringing forth both emotions at once.

When my husband pastored and taught a senior citizens’ Sunday school class some years ago, he heard many of these dear people share one particular verse that comforted them after a spouse or relative or friend died. It was from a description of “the new heaven”:

God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. {Revelation 21:4}

This scripture describes the reality and angst of suffering in life. But also the welcomed delights and promised well-being that await God’s people as they spend eternity in His presence.

We wonder, How can something be both bitter and sweet at the same time? It can only be so because of God’s great power and grace! As you have probably already experienced, it is God and God alone who is able to sweeten what is bitter (Exodus 15:23-25), to make the one who is sad become glad (Psalm 30:11), and to turn something bad into something good (Romans 8:28).

When you are wrestling with despair, when all seems hopeless put your God-given faith to work and trust in the Lord. And turn to Him in prayer. Your bitter ordeal will be sweetened. In your bad times — when your soul is hurting and your need for God’s gentle touch is at its greatest, when your heavy heart is the most sensitive — your prayers will be the most sweet and rewarding. 

RESPOND

Dear Lord, give ear to my prayer, O God, and do not hide Yourself from my supplication. Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily… My heart is severely pained within me (see Psalm 55:1-2, 4). Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

Finding God's Path Through Your Trials: His Help for Every Difficulty You Face —Pick up your copy of this wonderful book, which acknowledges the hard times we all face and reveals how we can "count it all joy." 

REFLECT

When your heart hurts… pray! Dare to step into the heart-wrenching cries of Psalm 55. It contains much-needed instruction for your own hurting, bewildered heart. Here you learn lessons for living life and about praying from a wounded heart. 

REMEMBER

Some of your most meaningful fellowship with God will come when you contend with Him over your hurting heart.

When You're "Done"

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“I’m done. This is just too much. I can’t believe this is really God’s plan for my life!” This is not an uncommon confession among Christian women. But it is true: suffering is part of this life.

Every one of us will face times of trial and loss. Job’s lament is a testimony to the physical, moral, and spiritual suffering he experienced. But through his trials, Job experienced a reaffirmation of his faith and, in the end, saw his life and family restored and his possessions doubled.

Are you enduring a time of suffering? Let Jesus’s words in John 16:33 encourage your heart: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Jesus does not promise you an easy life when you choose to follow Him. But in times of suffering, you can experience His peace and know great joy.

Whenever you are disheartened, look to the Lord for your peace and joy. Rejoice in the truth that He has overcome the world and its brokenness, and look to the future glory He promises His suffering children. These are promises for you.

RESPOND

Lord, You know my suffering right now, and You saw untold suffering during Your days on earth. But, all praise to You, You have overcome the world, and in Your strength I can persevere and overcome. Thank You that good cheer and great hope are available to me because You are my Lord. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES

A Woman After God's Own Heart Bible—Find fresh encouragement for everyday concerns and vision for a transformed life.

Encouraging Words for a Woman After God's Own Heart (only $3.00!) — A beautifully illustrated book with practical encouragement for living a life as A Woman After God's Own Heart. 

REFLECT

When life gets tough, we have a serious spiritual choice to make: to obsess over something earthly like our financial status, or to look up and count on God’s forever promises. When we opt for the upward gaze— the God gaze— then we can, with a clear mind and undivided heart, proceed to do the important work God has called us to do here on earth. 

REMEMBER
Life issues cannot always be understood in human terms.