Women of Faith - MARK: a Lesson in Focus

His Gospel and his story-telling ability are among my favorites.  Again and again in the Gospel of Mark, he uses the word immediately.  Mark was clearly fascinated by the Man, Christ Jesus.  He paid careful attention to how He lived, what He did, and what was important to Him.  Mark watched Him closely and wrote it all down.  He focused on the Savior as a servant.  We benefit today from his detailed account of the miraculous and marvelous life of our Savior.

From Women of Faith Devotional Bible. Copyright © 2003 (Thomas Nelson, Inc.) Used by permission.

The words of a gossip are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.  Proverbs 18:7-8

This has been difficult to write as I can be a guilty party in gossiping.  I often participate in these harmful conversations with good intentions of understanding a friendship, out of care, or maybe even to vent.  At some point my humanness gets the best of me and I’m not able to control my tongue and pride.

My conversations become prideful by allowing myself to feel more of a wife, mother, friend, or colleague. Or I can feel like the more trusted friend because I was the first to know about something intimate. Or perhaps I just want to be seen as “right” by telling my side of the story. I’m sure there are many other examples. (In our church circles you can even occasionally see this in the guise of praying for each other, having the appearance of godliness in our gossip.)

It’s all a snare. There are many verses on the dangers of...

Faith in God

Here’s a secret: mommy’s beds are powerful. When my kids snuggled in bed with me, colds were cured, bad days got better, tears dried up, and no creepy thing or bump in the night stood a chance! For my kids, life was right in my presence.

Sisters, life is right when we snuggle in God’s presence, too Moses understood this power principle better than anyone; in Exodus 33:15, he said to the Lord, “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” In essence, Moses was saying to God: “Daddy, we don’t feel safe without you and we aren’t going to do life without you.” He flat-out refused to leave God’s presence. And so should we.

In our day-to-day lives as women, we feel we have to have the answers, we have to manage our homes, we have to take care of everyone’s needs and, honestly, it’s just too easy to forget that we are God’s child. Moses didn’t forget that there is safety, provision,...

Now then, we are Ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us;                                                      we implore you on Christ’s behalf,  be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20

Life Leadership is the second strand with our Women of Faith Ambassadors.

Click here to watch the "What is Life Leadership? video.

LIFE LEADERSHIP: As a woman of faith, a Life Leader leads herself well in all aspects of life, and she is also a good role model to help others do the same in her home, work and community. A Life Leader leads themself well.

Every day we are developing real life leadership skills, so that you stand out in your community as the light of Christ for others. We continually develop them in several ways.  

First of all, our Facebook community, is a great place to start.  Women in our group are...

Stumbling Through Life

I stumble my way through life. Recently at a conference, I tripped down the stairs.  At the bottom of the stairs stood the board of this organization, where they all turned to me. One of them said, “Beth. Beth can be our next President Elect.”  This is my life.  I struggled in school, but obtained my doctorate degree.  My selfishness impacts my marriage, but I have a wonderful marriage. I could give countless examples. And while my struggles are frustrating, they are helpful in my battle with pride and serve as constant reminders that I am with God and His grace.

Pride is at the core of what hurts our relationships and divides the body of Christ.  We’ve witnessed its many forms—obsession with notoriety and praise (titles, being right, possessions, numbers, sales, rankings, gifts, etc.). We see pride even in our care for the “least of these” or humble circumstances (serving the poor and inflicted,...

I never grew up in a church. The only time I went was with friends, which was not very often. There were many times I said, "I have accepted Jesus in my heart" or "I found Jesus." But I never felt anything. I was always under the assumption that you just say "Yes, Jesus I invite you into my heart" and then you would have this amazing, overwhelming presence of Jesus wash over you. (Which I never felt.) I thought I was supposed to accept him, and then he was supposed to do all the rest. And since I never felt that, I thought that I wasn't worthy of him . . . that he didn't want me.

I came with some family members [to Believe God Can Do Anything in Des Moines] because I felt obligated. But listening to the different speakers, it started to make sense. Listening to Christine and how she explained that you can't just throw everything at Him and say, "Here you go, now fix my problems." How things you've done in your past that make you feel broken does not disqualify you from having a...

MATTHEW: Prophecy Fulfilled

Nothing is more important in our Christian experience than understanding who Jesus is.  His life, His character, His ministry, His work on the Cross, and His death and resurrection are the most foundational realities of our faith.  Gracefully, God gave us not one, but four biographies of the most important Person who ever lived.  The first story, the Gospel according to Matthew, gives us the assurance that Jesus is indeed the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.  Matthew reveals Jesus as the Messiah, the One who had been promised to be the forgiveness for our sins.  And Matthew gives us marvelous insight into the incredible way Jesus lived and loved.

From Women of Faith Devotional Bible.  Copyright © 2003 (Thomas Nelson, Inc.)  Used by permission.

HAGGAI: A Matter of Priorities

The word consider is used again and again in this book of only two chapters. The phrases consider your ways, as well as consider now are recurring themes.  They are good reminders for us in our own day and age.  God’s Word challenges us to not be casual about our lives, taking them for granted, doing what comes “naturally.”  His encouragement to us is to live intentionally, make right choices, and be good stewards of all He’s given us.

In the days of Haggai, the task at hand was to rebuild the temple.  The people were busy about their own lives and dwellings. Haggai charges them to reconsider their priorities.  That’s a convicting charge even today.

From Women of Faith Devotional Bible.  Copyright © 2003 (Thomas Nelson, Inc.)  Used by permission.

The most answered prayer has often been called the prayer of the heart. As the Eastern Orthodox church sought to turn the prayer into a way of life, they discovered it is possible to know it by heart—literally. They say it’s possible to pray “Lord, have mercy” with every heartbeat.

Try it.

Tonight, when you lay your head down on your pillow, as the sounds of the day begin to fade and your body begins to settle, you’ll reach a point of quietness in which you can actually hear and feel your heart beating. You can begin to pray the mercy prayer in rhythm with your heart.

Lord, Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.

Lord, Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.

Lord, Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.

If you do this, you will find that you will continue praying in your sleep. Throughout the night, your subconscious will still seek God. And when you stir,Kyrie eleisonwill be your first waking thought.

With practice, we can build the mercy prayer into our...

People can be utterly rebellious and profoundly disobedient, yet God keeps coming back with clear warnings to them.  And, meanwhile, He assures the faithful they’ll be protected.  He never ignores the wicked, as we might consider doing.  Quite the contrary, in His great love, He gives them yet another chance to repent of their wickedness.

And through it all He keeps a watchful eye on those who trust Him.  He says to Zephaniah, “I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord” (Zephaniah 3:12).

He’s both fair and just . . . when it comes to the transgressor, as well as the righteous.  He has grace and a plan for both.

From Women of Faith Devotional Bible.  Copyright © 2003 (Thomas Nelson, Inc.)  Used by permission.