Tuesday, June 3- 1 Timothy 4:12

hey- and happy sun-shiny-day!!

I remember when I was 22 years old- I was asked if I would be willing to manage my own Chick-fil-A restaurant. I already had 6 years experience and could basically walk in and run it without much training. At first, I turned down the offer out of shear fear- then, I began to think about all the benefits of running my own restaurant...so I accepted the offer. On January 1, 1993, I became the 'head cheese' of the Chick-fil-A, Fairgrounds Square Mall. It was a crazy experience!! However, there was one thing I didn't really take into consideration when making my decision- I looked really young for my age (people still say I look young for my age- "Oh, you're the youth leader?"). When I walked in and began managing- something interesting took place, I realized I needed to prove my abilities as a manager, because I certainly didn't look like one. I didn't only have to prove by action, but also in word, attitude, and authority. I had to show confidence in myself and in my employees. I had to show the employees, the customers, and myself that there wasn't anything that I couldn't handle in that restaurant. I had to gain respect from all those I came in contact with every day.
Needless to say, I grew and learned a lot about myself during those 18 months. God really showed me what I was capable of doing- He placed those abilities in me and I did I my best.


Today's verse talks about this fact:
No matter your age, when God blesses you with gifts, talents, and abilities- use them in such a way that sets an example to those around you. When you are young, you can feel very intimidated, insignificant, and incapable. But, God can use even the youngest to impact people for His glory- if that's what He wants.

The young person in this verse had to live by example in the following areas:

• speech- this includes any type of conversation being sure to avoid lying, gossiping, fits of anger, and the like. Being sure to encourage and find the best in people.
• life- everyday choices such as how you handle tough situations, who you hang out with, what you do in your spare time. Actions speak volumes!!
• love- acts of undeserved kindness and grace, self-sacrificing of time and energy, making sure the hearts' motives are showing through.
• faith- when life's problems come, choosing to act in faith over fear will prove an amazing example.
• purity (or integrity)- at times when mistakes are made, being sure not to put the blame on someone else or deny the mistakes- but own up to them, be changed by them.

So, is setting a godly example difficult?
YES!!
And when you're young, there's a lot of growing and learning along the way- but, no worries because God has you right where He wants you-
so trust Him and the abilities he's placed upon you...you won't regret it!!

I love you guys and pray for you constantly,
Pam S.

Saturday, May 31- 1 Chronicles 4:10

hey everyone,

I have to say I absolutely love this verse- it's filled with inspiration.
First, it mentions quite specifically that Jabez was known as 'the brother who prayed to God.' How are you described by your family members? I don't know about you, but I want to be known by my family (and friends, and neighbors) as the one who prayed to God. The one who was known for depending on God in all things. We can't pray enough- out loud in front of our kids, peers, parents- in quiet time, while we're driving, in class, at work.

A few things I learned from the prayer of Jabez:
1. He asked for God's blessing- he didn't just expect God to bless him. How many times do we just expect God to bless us with good grades, good health, better relationships, better finances... when we aren't even doing our part in taking our requests to Him in prayer or when we aren't even faithful at keeping up with our end of our relationship with Him?

2. He prayed for three specific things:

• for God to help him in his work- this could mean your asking for help with school, with your attitude, with ministry, with your duties at home or work
• for God to be with him in all he did- do you pick and choose where you want God to intervene in your life? do you think, at times, that God doesn't need to be bothered with that? This part of Jabez' prayer shows me we need to ask God to be in all areas of our lives- we are never bothering God.
• for God to keep him from trouble and pain- WOW! this would save us a whole lot of anxiety if we would ask God to keep us from trouble and pain- that's praying proactively, instead of waiting until we are in the midst of the trouble and pain. We need to be praying for our safety and the safety of those we love at all times, asking God to keep us and protect us. Not just for physical safety, but spiritual safety (beginning with our thoughts, motives, and desires)- we live in a dangerous, relentless world.

3. We need to pray specifically-
Many times, my kids ask me for things- like candy for example. They may point to it (while I'm not even looking, hmmm- wonder why I don't respond), or say rather abrubtly, "Mom, can I have that!" Or they might make some kind of sound that is somehow supposed to mean, "Mom may I please have a piece of candy?" My response to them at this point is always, "Be specific, use words, ask politley!" Of course, I'm also thinking- do they need it or deserve it? I already knew what they wanted, but I needed to hear them ask for it in a civil manner. God is the same way, He knows what we want (and need), but he wants to hear us ask for it, He wants to hear our hearts.

4. Not only should we make our requests known, but acknowledging our need for God in all areas of our lives is vital. We have no right asking for blessings when he isn't in the center of our lives.

Notice the end of the verse-
"And God granted him his request."

Now, realizing that God doesn't always grant our requests- we need to see the importance of how Jabez prayed. Understand that he probably made a habit of praying like this and living faithfully to God in all areas of his life. What an amazing role model he was to his brothers...

Let this verse challenge you to take your prayer time up a few notches and to keep God as the center of your daily life- and I'm sure then you'll find that "God will grant you your request!"

love guys
ttyl,
Pam S.

Friday, May 30- Psalm 29:25

hey there!!


People often ask what it means to fear God. Does it mean we believe in him because we are afraid of what he might do if we don't? Does it mean we believe in him out of fear for our eternity?
The answer to both is NO.

When the Bible talks about fearing God- it means to be in awe of God, to have respect, reverence, and trust in God. When you fear God, you should feel liberated- not bondage or obligation. In which case, when you fear God- you should be at peace, knowing he's got your back.


What happens many times though, is we tend to fear people more than we fear God. This brings on bondage and sometimes sin. How? Let me elaborate.


Let's say you are feeling pressure from your parents, or guidance counselor, or friends about your future plans after high school. You decide to please them out of fear you may let them down- so, instead of waiting on God, you take things into your own hands. This could lead you down a path of unwanted twists and turns that you would've avoided if you had feared God more than people.


How could fearing people more than God bring on sin?
Let's look at the story of Peter in John 18. Peter, one of Jesus' disciples- a very outspoken follower, denied knowing Jesus three different times- because he was more fearful of what people would think of him, let's face it he may have been arrested.


A lack of trust in God means you are trusting more in yourself and others. If you are not in awe of God, you are in awe of yourself or others- and in doing so, you desire to be recognized more by others than by God.


Human recognition is temporal and could lead to harm, but God's recognition is eternal and leads to safety.


Do you have hopes and dreams? Give them up to God in prayer and sit back in his safety, trusting him enough to bring those hopes and dreams to pass for you as you walk in his guidance. This is not to say you can't take advice from people you trust or that you can't trust your own intuition- but the questions you need to ask yourself are:

Am I trusting people first and foremost?
Am I willing do anything it takes to please myself or others?
Am I more worried about honoring the expectations of others than I am of God's expectations of me?
Do I look for self gratification more than God's affirmation?
Is my success dependent on what people say about me?


If you answered yes to all or most of these, then you fear people more than you fear God.

You need to pray for God's liberating power to take over in your life- you need to read into the Bible about how awesome and amazing God is- be reminded why you chose to live for him. Capture the kind of fear in God that says, "I don't care what other people say, my hope and trust is in the Lord!!"



I love you guys dearly,
Pam S.

Friday, May 23- John 3:30

hi everyone and Happy Friday!!

There is something unnerving about being around a person who thinks they are better than those around them. They are always right, have the best ideas, always bragging about their abilities and possessions while putting others down. How frustrating is it to be around people like that?(I'm getting tense just hinking about it!) Sometimes, those people are family members- so, you can't always avoid them- you just stay silent and let them do their thing. But, when it comes to non family- you see them coming and take a quick exit somewhere...anywhere. You have thoughts like, "Plllleeease, give yourself a break!" or for some of you, you may actually find yourself jealous and wishing you were more like them.
What does a Christian who has this proud presence about them look like? They might be in ministry or in leadership- often called upon by leaders above them. They might be highly educated in theology or an expert of the Bible- acting like they have the answer for everything. A Christian teenager could be simply acting like they are better than their non Christian friends- like their friends aren't worthy of the same forgiveness and salvation they have in Christ. Some Christians may come across like their relationship with God is better than others, as though they've 'arrived.' Maybe they try to gain all the credit for the 'changes' in their lives or they are so caught up in their own world that they don't even see the needs of others around them. Does any of this sound familiar?

Today's verse is very interesting.
John, the writer, portrays an amazing amount of humility here. John was one of the twelve disciples and loved deeply by Jesus. Although Jesus' love is clearly communicated in other books of the Bible, in the book of John it is the central theme- probably because his own experience of Jesus' love was so strong and personal.
John could have very easily become full of himself, acting like he was the best of the twelve, pushing them aside, grasping at first privileges. And that could have trickled down into his ministry where he would've put more emphasis on his importance as a loved disciple than on what he was supposed to be doing for God's Kingdom. But, as you read in this verse, John chose to be the opposite. He chose humility- why? I think it was because John had a full understanding of who Jesus was and that automatically put his importance (or lack thereof) on a much lower level. This becomes clear in the next verse:
"He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. I am of the earth, and my understanding is limited to the things of the earth, but He has come from heaven."

I think when a person does not have a true and deep understanding of who Jesus is- I mean allllll that he is- and experience Him for real in their life, then that person just might live their life with their priorities messed up, blinded by their pride, and losing out on the true God-given purpose for their lives.

If you are like the person I described earlier- then you are dealing with pride- and that is a serious issue. You have to recognize the pride in your life and get rid of it by submitting to the sovereignty of God. Have the willingness to decrease in importance, as John did, and live in the kind of humility that comes from understanding your limitations and knowing that God doesn't have any.

I love you guys and pray for you constantly,
Pam S.

Thursday, May 22- Philippians 4:13

hey!!
just a shout out to all you Real Life graduates- you rocked my socks off last night!!! I'm so proud of you!

So, this verse pretty much 'says it all.'
Does it mean you can literally do anything through Christ? No, it means Christ will empower you to do anything according to his will for you. Have you discovered God's will for you? Does it seem way impossible for you? Are you saying things like- "Not me, you meant for that other person to do that, " or "What? that wasn't part of my plan, I'm too busy for that right now."
If it's God's will- and that's what you're after in life- then He will make a way for you, and you will prosper in it.
BUT- only by the strength of Christ.
Not your own strength, or the strength of your best friend, mom, or spouse- Christ's strength. This strength is not only to help bring to pass God's will for you, but also to help see you through any of the struggles along the way. Seriously, it could take years for you to see God's will come to pass for you, so drawing on His strength in the mean time is so important. God doesn't want us to live out any day in our own strength.

So, what does God have in store for you today, tomorrow, next week, and next year? Whatever it may be, don't attempt it without the strength of Christ. Call on it, cry out for it, pray for it all the time, and then don't doubt Christ's willingness to strengthen you.

If you try to do what you think God wants of you- all on your own, a couple of things could happen:
You could get burned out and lose sight of God's plan for you.
You could get your eyes off God's plan all together because you might start feeling inadequate. You could begin feeling defeat, in some cases, because there is only so much you can do in your own strength.

If you feel like everything in life is so over-the-top hard for you, ask yourself two things:
Am I relying on God's strength, or my own (or others)?
Am I going after God's will for my life- or am I going through life doing what I feel like?

If you haven't discovered what God's will is for you, don't give up. As you live in the strength of Christ everyday, He will reveal it to you at the right time. So stay strong and be ready.

love you guys,
Pam S.

Wednesday, May 21, Matthew 5:14-16

hey guys,

how have you been doing at letting your light shine brighter and stronger this week? What have you been doing differently? Perhaps putting the characteristics such as humility, compassion, forgiveness, or a hunger and thirst for righteousness into practice?
Jesus wraps up the teaching of The Beatitudes with telling us our duty to shine our light into the darkness.
Now, I know Pastor Eran dug deep into these verses last week, so I won't belabor the point. But I did want to add just a few more things:

First, if you are not a light in your world then the darkness around you isn't changing, its not being extinguished, you're not making a difference.

Second, Remember that being a light isn't only about what you do- but also how you act.

Third, let's look at some ways we hide our light:

• being quiet when we should speak- we are all guilty of that once in a while, but maybe we should be challenged to not keep our mouths shut concerning sharing the love and truth of Christ to others
• going along with the crowd- this is for real, we can't make a difference in this world if we act like the world
• denying the light- what does that mean? it means you are denying the impact you can really have on someone because you have Jesus in your life
• letting sin dim your light- this is logical, if Jesus is the light that shines out of us, then when we hide our light- or our light gets snuffed out, then we have allowed sin to take over the light
• ignoring the needs of others- we learned about all the Beatitudes, which are basically examples of where our characters should be if want to be like Christ- mercy and humility were two of them. And it would be impossible for us to be humble and merciful if we ignored the needs of others.

So, do a heart check today- do you feel like any of the above examples of hiding your light are evident in your life? If so, just give it to God right now and begin finding ways to bring your light out into the open, like a city on a hill.
Don't keep the light of Christ to yourself- get it out in the open and bless someone with it today!!

love ya's and cya tonight,
Pam S.

Tuesday, May 20- Matthew 5:13

hi there!!

Do you like to cook or bake? I do.

I started cooking about 2 years after I got married. Up until that point, I cooked all things out of a box, packet, or can- or we did what most Americans do, went out. I started grabbing those little cookbooks at the check out line and slowly became interested in cooking. I felt very accomplished as I began replacing the box of Alfredo noodles with my own homemade Alfredo sauce, replacing the Ragu with my own tomato sauce. Now, I try my best to cook everything with fresh and natural ingredients- the less processed the better. But that means I have to work hard at bringing out great flavor. One thing I learned in time was the importance of herbs and spices. I started collecting many spices and experimenting with them- learning how to season my food with fresh seasoning instead of pre-packaged seasoning.

If you know anything about cooking, you know this one thing- salt makes THE difference in all meals. It not only adds just the right flavor to a dish, but it helps to bring out the flavors of everything it is added to. I feel bad for anyone who has to watch their sodium intake- oh, how bland everything must taste. I didn't know this until a couple of years ago- but, I always saw salt as one of the ingredients in baking recipes and never understood why. Well, even in baking- just a pinch of salt is needed to help bring out a richer sweetness in the dessert. Salt is the key to a great tasting meal, without it- your left pretending that your enjoying your meal.

[[side note]]
We all know too much salt is bad for us- but, I'm gonna leave that alone in order to bring the point across here.

If salt has no flavor, it has no value. How can salt lose it's flavor? Well, I know that if it gets too diluted- the flavor is gone.
The same goes for our relationship with God. Jesus refers to us in this verse as the salt of the earth, but if we are allowing the worldly things around us to influence us, then our effectiveness as a Christian will be diluted- becoming invaluable and ineffective. We need to realize that our effectiveness as 'salt' of the earth is not only in what we do, but how we act.

Christians should not blend in with everyone else.

Instead, we should affect others positively, bringing out the best in people- just as salt brings out the best flavor in food.

love you guys,
Pam S.

Monday, May 19- Matthew 5:11-12

hey,

May 8th Bangladesh News: Muslim villagers in Mymensingh district eager to rid the area of the Christian work of a local pastor have gang-raped his 13 year old daughter, the girls father said. Pastor Das of United Bethany Church said that around 3 a.m. on May 2 the villagers sexually assaulted his daughter and left her unconscious in front of his house in attempt to drive him and his Christian ministry out of their village. Local residence have long been angry with him for his ministry and evangelism and he has received many death threats.
"I did not pay attention to any of the threats or hindrances- I continued evangelical and pastoral activities with prayer, " Das says. "When nothing stopped me, they wanted to leave me scarred for life, so that I would be upset and not be able to show my face, and therefore I would leave the village." Das, who became the first Christian in the area in 1986 and has been key in an increase to more than 250 Christians and development of 12 churches, said the brutal attack was pre-planned and calculated to stop further expansion of Christianity in Bangladesh. Das' daughter was always being teased by her fellow students, she was the only Christian in the school. "Five people lying in ambush in the pitch-dark near the outdoor toilet- where she was headed- snatched her by gagging her mouth, taking her about 400 meters from her thatch home, where they gang raped her, " said investigating officer. Das said he suspected friends of the rapists and perhaps the rapists themselves observed them as they went to the police station to file charges, as they later threatened to harm them if they did not withdraw the case. The family took the threats seriously and resided in the police station for two days. The daughter then identified two of the rapists. Fearful for his life and the lives of his family, Das along with his family relocated to the home of a friend. Das is being urged to leave his village.

This is but one recent story of a family being persecuted for their faith in Christ. There are over 35 regions all over the world that are in constant threat of persecution, America is not included. Christians being arrested, imprisoned, killed, tortured, assaulted, and taken from their families all for their belief in Jesus. These Christians are converts from many religious backgrounds and are shunned by their government, communities, and friends.

Do we know what persecution is? Not from experience, not the way the rest of the Christian world experiences it- and the way the early church mentioned in The New Testament knew it.
Who are we to be nervous about what someone may think if they find out if we are Christians? We hang our heads in embarrassment or all of a sudden forget what God has done for us. We might get laughed at, hear jokes about us, or a friend might treat us a little different. That all pales in comparison to the life Das has to live every day in his Bangladesh village or the thousands, perhaps millions of others like him.

Lets take a moment and pray for Das and his daughter, Elina, today. Lets also pray for God to help us rise above our insecurities in regard to our witness and strive to live in boldness with the light of Christ flowing out of us- with no reservation, no hesitation, and no regard for what others around us may think.

I love you guys and pray for you constantly,
Pam S.