UNDER ATTACK

We all know it will come. To what degree we are not sure. In what area we do not know. It is coming though, sure as the world. Christ Himself told us trails will come (John 16:33). Today we will look at Job and how he decidedly dealt with his time of tribulation.
1. Read Job 1:1. What are we told about the character of Job?
Job was a good guy. Serving God, loving his family, doing what he was supposed to do day in and day out. Satan picks him out to test him and God allows it. That is an important point to note, God allowed it. Nothing happened to Job that God had not allowed and nothing caught God by surprise.
2. Read versus 13-20 and summarize what happens.
3. What is Job's response in verse 21?
Job had a choice. He could blame God, be angry and bitter, and turn away. However, he chose to honor and bless the name of the Lord. If you have lost your home and property of any form, you know how devastating it can be. Let me tread gently here. If you have lost a child, it can down right wipe you out. Having suffered a miscarriage after seeing a viable baby, I know this one first hand. Some of you know it at a much deeper level. To not give into the darkness that attempts to surround at that time is work. It takes conscious choices on your part, deliberately deciding that you will live, you will get out of bed, and you will get dressed. Yes, you will mourn and cry out, but you will ultimately choose for yourself if you surrender and stay in the darkness, or if you will honor and bless the name of the Lord. It will not be easy. It will take time, but you can choose today to get up, put one foot in front of the other, and to start chasing the Father.
In the second chapter of Job, his body is attacked. Not only has he lost everyone but his wife, now his body is ravaged. Many of you know this experience. You battle daily to get out of bed and go through your daily routine. You battle to not give into the fears of the "what ifs" (your and others).
In areas other than health, people often bring in the "what ifs". I don't know about you but I really don't need any help in that area. I have a ton of "what ifs" at my own disposal. As
Jennifer Rothschild would say my thought closet is full. How about you? Let's end today by taking a good look at ourselves in the mirror.
What fears do you battle and how?
If you are not battling them, what are some things you think you could do to start fighting back?
Fear is paralyzing, and it is from the enemy! It can be defeated in the name of Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

HELLO.. IS IT ME YOU ARE LOOKING FOR?

Bet you thought I had abandoned ship didn't you? Not true. Last week was extremely hectic. No excuse, just super busy. Also, I have been feeling a bit of a weight with this blog and I wanted to respond correctly. Honestly, I have no clue who reads this, if anyone. Regardless, I want this to honor God & Jesus Christ. I had been feeling a bit "weighty" about this blog. It is the best word I know to describe it. Not convicted, just feeling the weight of it. The sense of responsibility... the sense of who was I looking for. I never want to come across in a "Pollyanna" mode that oh well just pray it will all be ok. Everything will turn out how you want it. Although I totally believe that yes you pray and yes in God's hands it will turn out ok, I am fully aware that it may turn out nothing like we want it and that is very hard. My children are not walking in rebellion, but I know loved ones who are and it is hard. My husband is not walking in rebellion but there have been times when we both were and I have loved ones & friends whose husbands are and it is hard. Please understand that I know it is tough. Any suggestions I make are with that fully in mind. I can't provide all the answers. There is only One who can do that and His Name is Jesus Christ. What I can do is point you to Him, point you to scripture where He has shown Himself faithful and true, and tell you out of my own experience what He has done for and taught me. Having said that, we will pick up tomorrow with our "households" and will be looking at when we come under attack. That one I have first hand experience in my friend. That one I know all to well. Love you and have a great night. See ya in the morning.

REBELLIOUS KIDDOS

Now, I know that, sadly, many of you may have children in living in rebellion. Children who are not walking with the Lord. Obviously if they are living under your roof your influence over them can be more than if they are living on their own. Regardless, there are two scriptures I would like you to look up and meditate on if this is your situation.
1. 1 Corinthians 7:14
2. Acts 2:38-39

Just like we talked about with husbands and the other children in your life, your godly influence CAN and WILL affect these kiddos as well. Pray - pray - pray! Find a support group. Yes, kids in rebellion are tough. It is heartbreaking and gut-wrenching to watch them make choices that you know will lead them to destruction. Remember that the God of all Heaven loves them also and as hard as it is to believe, He loves them even more than you do.
I think Acts 2:39 is about to become one of my favorite verses,

"For the promise (the gift of the Holy Spirit) is to you and

your children, and to all who are far off, as many as

the Lord our God will call."

The promise- wide open for everyone and anyone. Praise His Holy Name!

KIDDOS

Hello Tuesday! So sorry about missing yesterday. After many trips to the vet for a couple of dogs, a trip to the dentist for some major pain and his diagnosis of a root canal, I was a little out of it. So back today after a few rounds of antibiotics and ibuprofen and ready to go. Hope you are too!
Today we will turn our attention to the children in our lives, whether they are ours or children we have influence over. My children's rearing is an area where I doubt myself the most. Am I raising them in a godly manner? Am I instilling in them the belief in Christ that I hope someday they will claim as their own?
I have also had influence over children who weren't mine. I taught high school for ten years. Let me just tell you now, trying to show unconditional love to teenagers who are not yours- not always so easy. I can't think of a bigger mission field in America than the public schools.
What about kids at church? Do I show Jesus when I keep the nursery or teach Sunday school? What about the younger women at my church? What am I showing them?
We have influence over many more people than we think. We have nieces and nephews, church kids, neighbors' kids, our kids' friends, etc.
1. Take a moment and write down all the children you have influence over.
We talked yesterday about having unconditional love for those in our house (our lives) and showing it. That includes our children. We will not always like the actions and attitudes of the kids in our life, and rightly so at times, but we can deal with those issues in love. Our responsibility to train our children is not negated by their behavior. Kids need to know we love them- period. This love not only provides them with security but also with a tangible model of Christ's love for us.
Would like today for us to look at a couple of examples from the Old Testament that model an aspect of that training.
2. Please read Exodus 10:1-2 and Joshua 4:1-7. What is the common purpose in both passages?
I hope you saw the shared expectation of telling the children. In Exodus, what God had done in Egypt was to be told "in the hearing of your son and your son's sons." In Joshua, the stones were to be used as a teaching tool recalling the river Jordan crossing.
3. Read Deuteronomy 11:1-7. Who was Moses pointedly addressing?
Notice how he focused on those who had seen the miracles of God.
4. Now read verse 19 of the same chapter. What were the children of Israel to do with the words Moses had spoken?
For the most part, our children (those we have influence over) have not seen the miracles of God we have. They do not have the life experiences we have had. It is our job to teach them about Christ and the ways of God. It is my job to train my sons up in the way of the Lord. I am responsible for guarding their hearts and minds regarding what they watch and what they listen to. It is my responsibility to speak over then the words and Word of life found in the pages of of the Bible. I can give them the testimony of what Christ has been and done in my life, how He has protected and provided for our family, how He continues to watch over us and how He has plans for us all.
I can do the same for the kids I come in contact with and so can you. A spiritual heritage is a worthy heritage- look at Paul and Timothy. Rise up today and being working on your spiritual family tree!

HOUSEHOLD CONTINUED

Today I would like to talk about husbands. Now if you are single, please don't tune me out because I said the "h" word. Yes, I am aware that many of you may not have a husband, for a variety of reasons. Just think of this as training (Titus 2), we are after all the bride of Christ who must ready herself for her "Groom" (Rev. 19:7)
1. Read Ephesians 5:33 and write down what a wife is called to do.
Respect, I am to respect my husband.
2. If you respect someone how do you treat them? List some ways you treat those you respect.
When I respect someone, I speak well of them. I don't run them down to their face or behind their backs. I value them and I let them know that. When my husband and I were first married, I told him on more than one occasion that I did not need him - I chose to let him stay with me. Yep, I said it. By God's grace, he stayed anyway! (He claims to not even remember- his mind has been renewed!) Have I been guilty of saying too much to a girlfriend about my marriage- yes I have. Have I said things to my husband that I wished instantly I could take back - yes I have. Have I not submitted to his will for our family and done what I wanted to do? You betcha. Do I regret those choices- Yes.
From this day forward I can be intentional when I speak to my husband. I can choose to speak praise and value to him. I can choose to vent my frustrations to the Lord God. I can choose to willingly submit to my husband's will for our family, trusting in God's provision and protection. Does this mean I never disagree with my husband? I do not think so. It does mean that I can be respectful, even in those disagreements. I can select a respectful place to disagree (from my own experience the church foyer not the best place). I can express my concerns with honor and then trust God to lead and protect.
Now I would think that 2 questions would arise:
1. What if I don't have a husband?
2. What if my husband is an unbeliever?
I realize that you may not have a husband. So what can you do? Practice respect on the men who do have authority in your life. How do you speak about your father, your pastor, your boss? Do you do so with respect and honor? Do you disagree and express your opinion with respect?
If your husband is not a believer, may I direct you to 1 Peter 3:12. Go ahead and look that up.
Restate it in your own words and write it down.
Continue to model reverence and respect to him and for him. He will wonder what causes you to do that - your answer - JESUS!
Now again, if you are in a dangerous relationship please seek help immediately. Whether it is police help, solid biblical counseling and/or removing your self from the situation, please do it and follow up.
Close out today by writing a few words of praise about your husband. No husband- write down a few words of praise for your Lord, Jesus Christ.
Have a great weekend and I will met up with you again on Monday:o)

THE HOMEMAKERS

HOUSEHOLD

1. Read Joshua 24:15.
We all have a "house", hopefully, of some sorts. May be an actual house, may be an apartment, may be a room in another house, may be a cot on the floor of someone's house, but we have a space, regardless of size, that is ours. The questions today is, "What am I doing with that little space, the people and the things in it, to serve the Lord?"
I am blessed to have a house that I share with my husband and 2 boys. It is a struggle at times, okay many times, to remember that my house is the number one place where I serve the Lord. How I speak and act toward the men in my house is the first example people look at to see if I am really following Christ. I guarantee you at times (many times) someone peeking in would have said I wasn't.
However, I can choose to start today and so can you. I can ask forgiveness, repent and turn form my sin, and make the conscious decision to guard my mouth and my heart better.
One of the first things I can do in my "house" to follow God is to show unconditional love to those in it. I can love them with the love of Christ regardless. Easier said than done - you bet. Are there people who make it very difficult, if not impossible, to love them? I am sure there are.
** Disclaimer: I am not talking about a situation that is dangerous to you health or anyone else's. Get out and get help fast. I am talking about the people who tick us off because they constantly leave the lid off the milk, because the make poor decisions that involve us all.
I am one of those people that is hard to love somedays. This is where choice comes in. I will choose to love them. Christ loved His persecutors, and asked the Father for their forgiveness. He chose to do this with His dying breath and we can chose to do it with ever living one of ours.
Think of the person in your house that makes it hard to love them? Write down a prayer for them now. Ask the Lord to give you His love for them. If you have had a hard heart toward them, ask for forgiveness and for God to open you eyes to see them in truth & love. You will blessed, I promise!

THE HOMEMAKERS - DAY 2

AS FOR ME....

Good morning! Hope you were productive in looking at your everyday choices. I also hope you were honest. That is the really hard part. Now please hear me. I am in no way trying to be legalistic about this. There is no set number, no list to check off. It is about the relationship between you & Christ Jesus. It is about your heart, because out of your heart, your actions will come, good or bad. So please don't think for a second that I am looking for certain things or a certain number or anything like that. I, too, am having to check my daily choices even as this goes up on the blog.

I promised some practical applications today. Now these are nothing new, so perhaps they are just refreshers.

First, learn scripture. Isaiah 26:3 says:
"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You. Because He trusts You."
I need peace in my life and I am sure I am not alone. With all the information on the web, books, bible studies, etc., you can look up scriptures over any topic. If it is money that has your peace in check, learn scriptures about money. If it is fear, learn scriptures on fear. Notice I keep saying learn- not only look up. Commit them to memory and hide them in your heart. Write them down on note cards, I like the spiral bound ones myself, and learn them one at a time. The Word of the Lord is our sword against the devil (Eph. 6). It is time we started sharpening it and using it.
Second, become aware of what you are feeding your mind. What are you reading? What are you watching? What are listening to? I would like to interject here that I am not talking about just the "bad stuff". Here is an example from my life. I love romance. I am up for a good Hallmark movie anytime. However, if I let it, the very movies that I love to watch can cause me to long for aspects of a romantic relationship that are fantastical, the whole grass is greener thing. Those longings can infiltrate my marriage and could cause me to make some unwise decisions. If you are feeding your mind with stuff that causes you to want things other than the things of God, or even good things that cause you to turn from the BEST God has for you, start today to choose not to put that in.
Third, take care of yourself physically. I know for me when I am not taking care of my body, it overflows in to other aspects of my life, mainly my emotions. I know I need to exercise. It makes me feel better, relieves stress, and if I drop a pound or twenty, well praise the Lord! Do I obsess about working out and let that take the place of Christ in my life? No. I do my 30 minutes and call it good. I know I need to eat better. Do I do it always? No. But I can choose to most days. Self-discipline is a portion of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) and that self discipline can help me through the day my flesh feels weak.
Finally, my last suggestion is journal. Doesn't have to be Shakespeare length. Could be just a few lines. Get some paper and just write. How are you doing? What is there to praise Christ about? What are you afraid of? Journals give you a safe place to vent and they give you a place to look back and see God's provision.
Looking back to Rahab, she impacted the lives of her family members by deciding what action SHE would take. Joshua was declaring the HE would be serving the Lord. WE can do the same. You and I can start today.
Go ahead and find a scripture to start learning. No time like the present.

Father God, I thank you that Your Word is alive & active. I thank You that we live by every word that comes from Your mouth. Help us all this week to begin fill our hearts and our minds with those words. Help us to be calculated in our training so that we might stand against the plans of the enemy for our lives. In Jesus Name, Amen.

THE HOMEMAKER

AS FOR ME...

So sorry this is so late in the day- busy morning. Okay- have all you need? Then let's get going!

1. Read Joshua 24:1-13. What do these versus give an account of?
The Lord was using Joshua to remind the people of Israel of all He had done for them. To remind them of His deliverance, provision and protection.
2. Reflect back over the past year and list what God has done for you. (He has done something I promise!)
3. Now read verses 14 -15 of the same chapter. Focus in on the last sentence of verse 15 (underline it if you are so inclined).
That short phrase, "As for me..", is the topic of our study. What are you and I going to do individually?
It is no wonder Joshua made his declaration after giving such a speech in the previous verses. I don't know about you, but when I take the time to list all Christ has done for me I fell a little holy fire start to stir. A holy excitement and a humbling gratitude. I am sure Joshua felt the same. Looking back over how God had moved in their lives, I am sure he thought, " I don't know or care what you guys are doing, but me & mine, we are going with God!"
Notice he did not simply say "as for my house...". Joshua started with "as for me". Would you not agree that it does start with us as individuals? I must choose myself to follow Christ before I can expect anyone else to. So that leads to the question:
What am I doing to follow Christ?
4. Take some time and think about the things you do in your own life to follow after God.
The list is not a ego booster. It is not a finger pointer. It is intended to have you & I to take an honest look at the decisions we are making daily.
We will pick up tomorrow with some practical suggestions we can implement into our daily lives. I would love to hear what you do that is special to you and the Father.

RAHAB - THE HARLOT

Good Monday to ya! Hope you had a great weekend. A couple of questions to review what we talked about last week.
1. Go ahead and re-read Joshua 2:1-21 and Joshua 6:23-25.

2. In your spiral or notepad or on a scratch sheet of paper write you thoughts on these questions and how we can apply them to our daily lives:

1. Rahab's decision - life or death?
2. Rahab's faith?
3. Rahab's impact?

Hope this will be a good refresher for you. Rahab's life is a beautiful story- one that should bring hope to us all. I would like to leave you with this verse, which sets the tone for tomorrow:

"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live."

Deuteronomy 30:19

You and I choose. Not just for us but for generations to come. That is a sobering and a powerful thought my friends. We choose - deliberately or not - we choose.

IN THE LINEAGE OF CHRIST

Today we get to celebrate a rescue mission. To recap, Rahab was a harlot in Jericho who hid the spies from Israel. In return, she was promised safety during the impending invasion. She hung her scarlet cord out the window as a signal, and the she waited.
1. Read Joshua 6:23-25
What happened to Rahab after the rescue?
Not only was she rescued, but she and her family were allowed to dwell amongst her rescuers. Can we say AMEN! What a day when we get to dwell with our Rescuer for all eternity.
Wait. That is not all- there is more!

2. Read Matthew 1:5. Whose familiar name do you see?
The first chapter of Matthew is the lineage of Christ. Rahab, that harlot, is one of only three women listed by name in the lineage. Not only was she allowed to dwell with the Israelites, she is in the line of Christ the King. Rahab is the mother of Boaz, the grandmother of Obed, the great grandmother of Jesse and great-great granny of David. Makes you want to shout for joy doesn't it?
Rahab the harlot made a deliberate attempt to draw close to the God of the Israelites. She made conscious decisions, perpetrated intentional acts and is now, for all eternity, mentioned by name in the lineage of the Savior of the world.
And we wonder what He can do for us? What are you needing Him to do for you?
End today with a prayer of thankfulness and confession. Thank the Lord our God for His saving grace in your life and confess your intent to follow Him with all you have.

Have a blessed weekend and we will pick back up on Monday!

TRUSTING THE WORD

Good morning. Would you please re-read Joshua 2:14-20.
Rahab had the word of complete strangers that she & her family would be kept safe. Her trust had to be in the honor of those men to keep their word. She had absolutely no idea when they would return to rescue her. Truth be told, she was not rescued for another 4 chapters (Joshua 6).
Can you imagine, day after day, looking out to see if this was it?Checking the cord to make sure it was still there? Ensuring that family members knew the plan? Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Replaying the conversation in her mind."They said they would come, they said the cord would be the signal. All in my house would be protected. Can I trust them? Are they men of honor? Will they honor me, a woman of shame?"
Sound familiar? Ever have trouble trusting Christ? I know in my legalistic prone mind I have thought these very things myself.
I am a woman of shame;He won't bother with me.
I have messed up BAD this time;He can't forgive this.
Surely He is tired of me by now.
Feel that scarlet cord getting tighter around my neck each time.

1. Write down a description of a time when you had trouble believing God.

I think we all have had those times in our walk with Christ, regardless of how far along you are in it. Here is where the deliberate part comes in. We CHOOSE to reject the fear and shame, and we CHOOSE to believe the word of our God.

2. Look up the following scriptures and write down what they tell us about God & Christ:
Psalm 96:6
Psalm 119:89-90
Psalm 138:2
Isaiah 40:8
We serve a God of honor. He will honor His word above His name. His word is infallible. It is not influenced by His emotions or by convenience. His word stands.

3. Look up the following scriptures and write what they say about our sin:
Psalm 103:12
Jeremiah 31:34
John 1:29
2 Corinthians 5:21
1 John 3:5

We can choose daily, moment by moment if needed, to believe the words of our Savior. If we simply did that Satan would lose so much ground! Can you imagine what your life would be like if you ACTED like you believed Him? Deliberately believing that my sins are forgiven and others can have their sins forgiven and then living it out!
Write a short statement declaring your choice to believe God's word.
Amen & Amen!

DAY 3 - THE SCARLET CORD

Well, our girl Rahab has had quite an adventure so far. Hiding spies, lying to the king, pleading for her family to men she feels sure will conqueror her country. I don't know about you but I would be scared to death!
Got your supplies? Okay here we go...

1. Read Joshua 2:14-21
Short version - the spies agree to save her and everyone in her house, but she must hang a scarlet cord outside her window so they will be able to identify her. Today we are going to focus on that cord.
Scarlet of all colors. They could have said blue or purple, perhaps a nice yellow, but no, they pick scarlet. Accident? I don't think so?

2. Read Isaiah 1:18. What is described as being like scarlet?
Here we have a harlot, who had been committing blatant sin in her life, hanging a big scarlet rope out her window. Almost as if she was saying "Here I am Lord- come save me." I think I may have a scarlet cord or two in my closet , no, I know I do , and one out the window as we speak. Isn't that what we really say? Lord, here is my sin- a big scarlet cord holding me to this world- come & save me. I don't know about you but when my sin gets found out, scarlet is a mild term for my shame. However, we must acknowledge our sin, before Christ, and at times before men, to be rescued. If the Holy Spirit is bringing unconfessed sin to your heart and mind now, confess it, repent and be done with it. Don't let the scarlet cord that is meant to save you be used to keep you tied to the world.

What intrigues me (to no end) is what Rahab does when the men leave her house.

3. Read Joshua 2:21. What does Rahab do as soon as the men leave?
She does not wait till morning. Heck I doubt she waited even 5 minutes. The spies told her what she needed to do to be saved and she did it immediately. She had no idea how long it would be until the Israelites invaded, but she knew she had to have her cord ready.
We have no idea of Christ's return, but what if we began to live with such a willing spirit? When Christ requires something of us, and He will, what if we immediately did it? How many plans of the devil would be shot down? You speak harshly to someone and are convicted to go apologize. Do you go back then or do you wait? You are prompted to buy lunch for a stranger. Do you do it then or argue it away?
See, those would be deliberate decisions. Intentional, calculated, conscious choices to follow hard after the King.

A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY

Welcome back! Hope you had a great weekend. Last week we met Rahab. Today we are going to look at one of her first calculated moves that put her in the family of God. Grab you pen, paper & Bible and let's dig in.

1. Please read Joshua 2:1-7
I am willing to guess that Rahab was well aware that these two boys were not locals. She became even more aware when the king required her to turn them over to him. What calculated move did Rahab make when she was instructed to give the spies over to the king?
I think hiding foreigners, who you know are spies, is pretty deliberate. She intended to do that. Scripture tells us that she hid them herself. She then set the king's men on a wild goose chase after them. She risked her life to save theirs.


2. Read Joshua 2:8-13
Psalm 111:10 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Rahab had heard of all that God had done for the Israelites. She knew that the Lord was with them and would give them the land. More importantly, she knew that in order to avoid death, she and her family needed to be on God's side.
Isn't that what draws us all to Christ? We read what He did in the lives of those in the Bible, we see & hear what He has done in the lives of people we know, and we want that for ourselves. We want to be spared from the death this world has to offer.
Rahab saw in these two young men an opportunity to save her family and herself. The same opportunity is offered to us through Jesus Christ. However, it is our choice. Our deliberate decision to accept Him as our Lord and Savior.


3. Read Revelation 3:20
What is required of us?
Jesus stands knocking at the door of our hearts and lives. We must deliberately open the door. We don't have to clean the house, mop the floors, and make everything shiny and pretty. All we are asked to do is open the door when we hear Him. He does the rest. If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior, He is knocking now. Open the door and He will do the rest. Do not believe the lies that everything must be in order before Christ will enter. The word tells us He will come into us. Ask Christ now to come into your heart and life. Let that be one of your first deliberate choices. Write down your request. It can be as simple as "Jesus I need You. Please come into my heart and life". In years to come, you will cherish having it written down to remind you of why you first turned to Him.
Perhaps you need to rededicate, to start anew. If that is you, take a moment to write a short prayer below. Let this be the day you start deliberately following Him with greater intensity.
Praise God for the work He is doing in all of us! If you asked Jesus into your life- welcome to the family! If you rededicated to run your race with greater intensity- join the club! BOTH causes the angels to heaven to rejoice!

FREEDOM

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

Galatians 5:1 NKJV

Happy 4th everyone! We will resume Deliberate on Monday. Be safe & God bless!

THE HARLOT

KNOWN

So glad you joined me today. Today we start the study of Rahab, who is hands down one of my favorite women in the Bible. Here we go.

1. Please read Joshua 2:1. How is Rahab introduced to us?

Nothing like just putting it out there. "A harlot named Rahab". A prostitute. A known prostitute. Not exactly how we would like to be introduced to the world is it?

2. Come up with your own definition of a harlot. Jot down your ideas.

We tend to think of a "harlot" as a prostitute, someone who trades sex for money. I think we can broaden that definition. I would propose we can define a harlot as someone who trades her time, her money, her attention, even her affections in order to achieve some "gain". That "gain" could be money, but it could also be social standing in the community or church, a promotion at work, or the attention of another.
May I be so bold as to say that some of us, if not all, have at some point in time traded something of ourselves for a "gain". We, if I may, have prostituted ourselves, given something valuable of ours away, in order to advance.

3. Write down a time when you feel you traded something valuable for a "gain". Describe what you did. How did you feel when you received your "gain"? How did you feel when others found out?

I am sure for many of us, this does not bring back a warm fuzzy feeling. We are often ashamed when we trade ourselves for something else. If the Lord is convicting you to repent, please do it now. His mercy is waiting. DO NOT take on the cloak of condemnation, however. Condemnation is from the enemy, one of his oldest tricks. See it for what it is and reject it in Jesus name!
We are going to stop here because I want us to have a glimpse of where Rahab started. I know some of us will have more than a glimpse. Some will know exactly how she felt. Other's, by God's grace, will have only known these emotions on a small scale, but we will all know them to some degree. We have all given away something that was valuable in order to achieve a fleeting gain.
However, there is hope! As we will study, God took Rahab out of the "harlot" lifestyle when she made calculated choices that drew her close to Him. He can and will do the same for you and me. Her life is proof!

DELIBERATE

You did that on purpose didn't you? Did you mean to do that? You did that deliberately!
How many times have we heard or said these words? To our friends, our family, our co-workers, even our fellow church goers, and it is usually not nice. What if we, as followers of Christ, could put a positive spin in them? What if we deliberately lived our lives following hard after the Father and His Son? What if we started doing things on purpose for the kingdom of God? What if we began intentionally thwarting the plans of the enemy?
The title of this blog has a two fold meaning. First, that God Almighty deliberately delivered us through His Son Jesus Christ. The second is that we have a choice to make. The deliverance is ours for the taking, however, we must do the taking.
Over the next few weeks I will be posting a study named "Deliberate". A couple of things to get you started.

1. What is the definition of deliberate? What are some synonyms?

2. Look up 1 Peter 2:11.

We are at war and you don't just wing a war, at least not one you want to win. We don't want to wing this one at all! We are armored (Ephesians 6), we have every spiritual blessing that was given to Christ (Ephesians 1), and we have the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). All of these provisions are given to us by our Commander in Chief; it is our decision to utilize them. See in war leaders have a strategy. Their actions are premeditated, intentional & calculated (look familiar?), and we, my dear friend, are leaders in this war.

3. Look up Hebrews 11:6

In this study we are going to look at people who made deliberate decisions to draw close to the Father and follow hard after His Son. They made deliberate choices, followed by deliberate actions, backed up with deliberate lives. May the same be said of us!
Oh - I do hope you will join me. I pray the Lord writes on your heart that you were saved for a reason - a reason designed especially for you to bring Him glory! See you tomorrow!