New Braunfels Bible Church Women's Ministry

This week we remember the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His death should never be too far from our minds. But glory, we also celebrate His resurrection! Have you thought lately through the reasons why His resurrection is such an important foundational truth? You might want to take time to enumerate some reasons before you read on. This can make them more personally yours.

As I thought about my reasons, the first thing that came to mind was “He’s alive, and I’m forgiven!” This is from a powerful song written by Don Francisco in the early 80’s. It’s about the crucifixion and resurrection from Peter’s perspective. But just the refrain is a great truth that we can claim personally.

Jesus died for our sins, and His resurrection sealed the deal. In other words, when the Father raised Jesus from the dead, He agreed with His Son that, “It is finished!” The sinless, perfect life of Jesus was the acceptable, once-for-all sacrifice for our sins. When we receive by faith the gift of His sacrifice...

To truly know the love of God is the greatest thing. The Apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians is that we might be able to grasp how huge His love is for us. God’s love was never more fully expressed than on the cross.

But several questions come to my mind. Do we even begin to grasp the holiness of God? The Israelites had a reverential awe of Him. Do we? Do we realize how serious sin is? Do we understand how huge is the gap between holy God and sinful man...how nothing but the cross could bridge this gap? To grow in our comprehension of this is to grow in our knowledge of God’s love.

Before God sent His Son to our needy world, He did much to prepare His chosen people Israel to receive Him. He gave them His commandments, sent powerful messengers, illustrated dramatically the consequences of sin, and fulfilled all His promises to them. The sacrificial system and the feasts that He gave them meant that much of their lives focused on the seriousness of sin and the need for payment for sin. And yet most...

God’s Word warns us strongly about the troubles our tongues can cause. James chapter 2 tells us that our tongues, though small, can kindle a great forest fire. I’m not sure that my words have ever caused a huge conflagration, but I have certainly wanted to call some of them back. As the poet Carl Sandburg wrote, “When you let proud words go, it is not easy to call them back. They wear long boots, hard boots; they can’t hear you calling—Look out how you use proud words.”

Proud words, lies, slander, angry and malicious words, gossip, filthy words…all can muck up our lives, our relationships, and our testimony as believers.

Our words reveal our hearts, and our hearts are of primary concern to God. He knows that when our hearts are full of wrong thoughts, wrong words and acts will soon follow suit. If we are struggling with our words, what is in our hearts that needs fixing? As God’s children, we must put off anger, rage, malice, and filthy language. We can then put on compassion, kindness, humility,...

If you have ever researched the history of Valentine’s Day, you have to scratch your head. How did we ever get from remembering Christian martyrs to cupids and hearts, chocolates and roses? Well, never mind. Roses are lovely, but I did tell my husband the first time he brought me a big bunch that I could be quite happy with one or two in a bud vase. Roses are expensive and more so just before Valentine’s Day. I got two this year. Chocolates are very nice, too, but again not too many…for other reasons.

It is very nice to be remembered with treats and to receive loving words on this day, but older women are supposed to encourage younger women to love their husbands every day. (Titus 2:4) What an awesome assignment! Without God’s Word, I would not attempt it. My husband and I were newlyweds when we started walking with the Lord. I have often wondered what a foolish mess I might have made of our marriage without His principles. His ways are so opposite to the world’s that they may seem extreme to us. But no...

We had a chaotic, crazy Christmas this year. Our house was full of family, and at times family of family. Our grandchildren range in age from 18-months to five years. I am still finding objects out of place on a high shelf, where a parent put them after rescuing them.

One memory we cherish is that of Pippa, age 2-and-a-half, opening gifts. Everyone’s gifts. She would deliver them to the intended recipient, but she still thought it was her job to unwrap the gift for them. If a gift was for her, her eyes would light up, and hugging it, she would exclaim, “For me? Oh my!” It was delightful, even after several repetitions.

When I sat in our communion service this past Sunday, and heard an elder read the words, “This is my body which is broken for you,” (I Cor 11:24) Pippa’s words came to mind. “For me?” Broken for me? “Oh my!” I swallowed some tears. Somehow God’s indescribable gift was especially personal to me at that moment.

Do you suppose that when Jesus endured the cross for the joy set...

Do you have tea time at your house? If not, I’d like to encourage you to try it. Our family is over-the-top crazy about coffee. One son-in-law is a barista and has roasted commercially. My husband roasts coffee beans which he buys green on-line. Yet tea has also had a special role.

A teapot and teacup are symbols of comfort and cozy conversation. The Brits in particular tend to reach for the tea kettle whenever trouble strikes. I took my cue from them, and when our daughter had a disappointment or a trauma, I put the kettle on. We also had a tradition of sharing a pot, as we shared our days, when she got home from school. A thermos of tea once accompanied us to the ER.

Little girls love tea parties, even with only their dollies or teddy bears as guests. Our daughters and granddaughters started with plastic tea sets, and enjoyed graduating to china. If a brother is interested in joining the party, just give him a cup or mug that doesn’t require him to extend his pinky finger.

Inviting a friend...

One important courtesy that is often neglected these days is the writing of thank you notes.  This is too bad.  A well written thank you is a blessing to receive.  If you have taken much time and trouble with a gift, receiving warm thanks makes you glad that you did. 

I have a sister who feels thank you notes are so important that only nieces and nephews who write them continue to receive gifts, usually well-chosen books for their children.  Our daughters know this and manage to get their thank you’s off to her promptly.  I hope this is not just because they want to keep receiving those delightful books, but because they know it is important to her.  They aren’t always quite so good about notes to us.  Our younger daughter has been known to write a note, but then squirrel it away in her purse for quite some time.  Life is very full for her and her sister.  For many of us.

Thus, if we struggle with this matter, we need to be more intentional about it.  We should plan ahead.  Choose note cards that...

“Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

The prophet Isaiah penned this prophecy approximately seven hundred years before Christ.  The apostle Matthew quoted the prophecy, and added that Immanuel means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

What a wonderful name for our Savior!  Because He came in human flesh, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and died for our sins, God can abide with us.  Holy God with sinful man.

Midst the frazzle and flurry of this season, it is hard to keep this focus.  Faced with tempting trappings, I ask myself again and again, “What does this have to do with the Incarnation of God’s Son, our Immanuel?”

A Sunday school teacher once told us about two prisoners of war.  They were tied back-to-back in the dirt.  One of them remembered that it was Christmas day.  He reached his hand to the side and began to write in the dirt, “Immanuel.”  A guard saw what he was doing and kicked him, erasing the word with his...

The Apostle Paul wrote from prison, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:12-13)

Many in this country are currently facing serious financial need for the first time.  Some are angry.  They want to blame someone.  They haven’t learned Paul’s secret.  Have we?  It’s definitely a challenge.

We’re rather spoiled.  At least some of us are.  My husband and I have faced some lean times, but we have never experienced the kind of poverty that much of the world knows.  We’re now living in the realm of plenty rather than need.  God’s Word warns us that spiritually this is a more dangerous place. 

It’s good for us to remember that in those lean times the Lord faithfully provided.  Friends prayed and gave.  One couple told us when they gave us very large financial...

A friend used this expression when it was time to get ready to go to a corporate event with her husband.  What did she mean?  I knew her well enough to be sure she wasn’t talking about putting on a mask.  No, she was talking about her heart.

Some verses from Colossians come to mind: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”  (Col 3:12-14, NIV)

In the context of a corporate party this made sense.  My friend would need these attributes as she interacted with some of the difficult people she knew she was likely to encounter.

That we, as God’s people, can put on patience, humility, and love for difficult people is pretty amazing.  Sometimes, before we can appropriate these qualities which...

It’s very interesting to me that in God’s word, there are no perfect families.  There are a few men  that have nothing recorded to their discredit.  That’s not to say they were without sin.  That is only true of Jesus.  But some, like Joseph and Daniel, trusted the Lord and honored Him through thick and thin.

But families, no way.  Every family has a skeleton or two.  So does ours.  In fact when our younger daughter had an assignment to make a family tree for a sociology class in college, she used a double layer of poster-board and made doors that opened, some revealing a skeleton.  She got an “A.”  She and her sister both used to play my-family-is-weirder-than-your-family with college friends, and they usually won.

But both our girls called home as college freshmen to tell us how thankful they were for us, for our immediate family.  With the Lord’s help, we have been able to break the mold.  We have a great marriage and a close relationship with our girls.  They are very close also.

Some...

I really like this expression.  We tend to say, “God is good” when He answers our prayers, but in truth, He is good all the time.  He may not answer our prayers the way we want, but He always hears, and answers with our good in mind.  Sometimes He seems to be telling me, “This is not about you.  There is something else I need to deal with here.  Just trust me.”

Some are quick to say there is no God or certainly not a good and powerful one, or He would not have let some tragedy occur.  I would say that they have missed a few basics. 

First of all, from the beginning God gave man and woman free will.  This was a very courageous gift.  Man could either choose to obey, love and trust God or he could go his own way.  If he chose his own way, he would forfeit the blessing of God. 

Of course God could have created us without free will, but then we would have been puppets.  There is a huge dynamic missing from any relationship that lacks choice. 

God chose to graciously extend His love...

Being like-minded is a biblical goal that can make a big difference in our relationships.  Romans 15:5-6 says, “Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

My husband and I lacked this concept early in our marriage.  I remember one appalling occasion when we invited a single gal to dinner.  Somehow we wound up at odds, more or less competing with each other for her attention.  There was no unity.  After she left, I could only ask, “What must she have thought of us?”

Perhaps that evening was in the back of our minds when we found the above verses and embraced them as what we wanted for our marriage.  We then had the goal of together seeking the best solution, the best way, the best timing for all our decisions.  Of course, by then I’d also begun to grasp that my husband was to be the head of our marriage.  Hmm.

The Greek words...

I imagine that we all have interesting memories of family meals, especially those with small children present.  Our younger daughter was usually well-mannered, but she had a tendency to choke and then propel the offending article across the table.  My husband was usually across from her, and he developed a quick reflex of pulling his plate toward him.  Her range wasn’t really quite that good, but it was a natural defense maneuver.

Sandwiched between such unappetizing episodes, many good things can happen at family meals.  I can think of no better training ground for children in regard to social interaction.  They learn: to thank God for their food, to wait, to chew with their mouth closed, to say “no thank you” instead of “I don’t like...” or “I don’t want...”, to not interrupt,  to share their day and eventually their ideas, to listen to their parents share about the Lord and His ways, and to appreciate “the whole family all together”as a safe and supportive place.

With so much potential for good,...

Did you sing “Jesus Loves Me” as a child?  It is a great thing for a child to know this truth.  But for me, an even more precious truth is that He knows me, yet still loves me.  I saw the words “Jesus Knows Me, This I Love” on a plaque in a catalog, and decided I had to order it.   

A favorite verse is Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  As moms we know that though a baby seems so very innocent, this stage is very brief.  Even so, it seems more comprehensible to me that Jesus would love the little children.  But that He knows me through and through, all my sins–past, present and future–and still loved me enough to die for me on the cross, is too huge to take in.  (Tenses get a little tricky here.  Before the foundation of the world, Jesus knew that He would die for me.  Is that not awesome?)

Some of us had a long list of sins for Jesus to bear on the cross.  I did.  And though I have been walking with the Lord for many...