From the Bible Study on the prayer in John 17 part 1

NIV Bible - John 17

Jesus Prays for Himself

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.

All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world,so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctifythem by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."

The Lord's Prayer

Luke 11

The Model Prayer

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

God- who is HE?

Here is a comprehensive list of the different names and characteristics of God and the meaning of each.

Names of God

How Can I Hope in God if I don't Believe? What Proof is There Of God's Existence?

Luke 19:10 tells us that, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”…

This is the heart and soul of the gospel message. The gospel message of Christ and the Bible in general, can be explained using “general revelation” as evidence of the truths that are proclaimed in God’s “specific revelation” of the Bible. I believe that we are surrounded by the testimony of God both internally and externally. This testimony supports discussion of the “truths” declared in the Bible.

Let’s first look at the definition of “general revelation”. Revelation is defined as, “God's disclosure of Himself and His will to His creatures”. The word general is defined as, “not specific or definite”. What we are dealing with is a broad-based disclosure of God. How has God disclosed himself to humankind and in a manner available throughout all time, to all of humanity, in a broad way?

In all of creation, from the beginning of time God has revealed himself to us. In Romans 1:20 Paul states, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse". What is it about this creation that reveals God to us?

We can start with the sky which is “clearly seen” by everyone. Proverbs 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands”. The beauty of the dawn breaking as the sun rises and explodes into light that saturates the sky; the silent witness of a billion stars burning from ages and eons ago, twinkling in a blanket of ebony; the ominous dark clouds that gather as thunderstorms crackle with lightning, saturating the earth with rain; the soft frozen snowflakes that fall silently from above; the violent power of winds ripping through the air, carrying away everything in its wake- all of these reveal a power that is greater than anything humankind can imagine. Jude 1:25 says, “to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen”. The heavens indeed declare glory, majesty, power, and authority over the all the elements of the skies….of which we can attribute to God.

The earth joins in the testimony. Hebrews 1:10 tells us, “You laid the foundations of the earth”. The earth, comprised of hills and valleys, mountains, caverns, and caves, along with rock, sediment, stones, and sand. These all make up the foundation on which God created and laid everything else. All eyes can see and observe the foundations of the earth.

The creatures of the earth also give witness. God has created each kind of creature according to its own kind, “All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another” (1 Cor. 15:13). Each creation is unique in its design…not only in species but also in variety, reproduction, and form. God gave minute detail and attention to each and every aspect of his creatures. He even tells us to watch them and learn from them.

“Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6). Ants are common insects and occur all around the world. They are known to work together in community and, according to National Geographic, are “enthusiastically social”. They are governed by one leader, the queen whose sole job is reproduction. They all work for the good of the colony as they “forage for food, care for the queen's offspring, work on the nest, protect the community, and perform many other duties”. From the greatest whale to the smallest insect, God has designed, planned, orchestrated, and cared for each living thing. We can all observe the ways of the ant and glimpse the attributes of God…his design for order and plan for community and harmony with others.

God’s attributes are likewise apparent in our emotional reaction to his creation. Psalms 92:4 tells us, “For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what you have done, I will sing for joy at the works of your hands”. When we see God’s works we have joy. Look out at luminescent rainbow after a rain shower and you can sense the joy in your heart. The Psalms are full of exclamations of joy, praise, and honor to God for the works of his hands.

So we have seen that in nature, in the creation of God’s hands, there is evidence of a majestic and powerful God. This evidence is not only in creation and the creatures, but in humankind also. We are creative beings, created in the image of a creative God. Genesis 1:27 tells us, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”. Just as God is our creator, the creative spirit of God resides in mankind.

For what child has never played in the mud, forming and making creations by their own hands? This creativity grows and can become works of art, seen throughout the ages in any group of people. We see creative expression in pottery, furniture, clothing, jewelry, homes, roadways, cities and the like. In Exodus 35:35 these creative abilities of mankind are attributed as coming from God as, “He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers”. Not only is humankind a creative being, she/he is an emotional being too just as the creator is.

The Bible speaks of God’s emotions and personal attributes, in Exodus 34:6, “"The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth”. And, again in Galatians 5:22, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness”. What man, woman, or child doesn’t desire love and is filled with joy when it is found? What country does not cry out for peace in times of war? What anger does man have at injustice inflicted against those he loves? What parent wouldn’t want goodness bestowed on their children? Who has never seen the patience of a mother as she encourages a child to walk? And at the end of his years, what man cannot look at his wife’s time worn hands and face and not be grateful for the faithfulness of sixty years of love? God’s attributes are displayed in man’s actions, thus reflecting God’s image.

We have seen the heavens and the earth declare the glory of the Lord. We have witnessed the creation as evidence of a detailed and orderly God. We have proclaimed the personal attributes of God the creator and have seen humans reflecting those characteristics. But above and beyond all of these things is the very conscience dwelling in all of us that bears witness within our own hearts and minds that there is a God. Romans 2:14-16 tells us:

“For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

As creation declares the reality of God…our own hearts quietly bear witness to his truth. In all of these things, each one bears out that humankind is surrounded by testimonies of God, the God of the Scriptures. And he will meet all who seek him as told in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart”.

The gospel of God is all around us. His laws are in our hearts. We only need to take the warning from Psalms 32:9, “Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” Anyone who has ever ridden a horse or a mule can attest to this truth. It is only our stubborn heart that causes us to choose to ignore the general revelation that surrounds us daily…always and for all time…and in doing so, we miss the Gospel message Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”. So how does all of this help us to explain what was lost? And why it needs to be found?

In Genesis we are told that God created man and woman and put them in a garden. In this garden, they had communion with God. They knew no shame, they were innocent of evil. But through deception and pride, Adam and Eve did what they were told not to do, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:15). We are all inflicted with this death from the sin of Adam. But “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God gave his Son to redeem us from death and corruption.

This death can be seen in general revelation also. Our world no longer is a pristine and beautiful place. It too has been corrupted and seeks to be redeemed, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:20-21).

In our world we see the decline and alteration of the earth. Our waters are polluted; species are dying off; the ozone layer is in trouble; weather patterns are changing causing famine in some areas from a lack of rain, while destroying others with too much rain; global warming is a concern, the icecaps are melting; for each disease we conquer, new ones seem to take their place. Even the universe itself is in danger.

In a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled, When galaxies collide, fate of Earth dims, experts say. It is reported that our galaxy will at some point in the future collide with another galaxy:

The galactic collision won't happen for a few billion years, but when it does, the entire solar system will be expelled from its current place in the bright galactic "suburbs" into the galactic boondocks, where there will be far fewer stars to guide sailors and to inspire the romantic. Never again will the night skies be as pretty as they are now (Davidson, 2007).

The Bible states that “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26). Creation will not only testify, but will shout.

All of these things seem to be ominous to the casual observer of general revelation. However, the good news…the Gospel message…is the finale of this story… “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:27-28). He comes to save what was lost…if we only will believe.

General revelation points us to the entire story of creation and redemption, from the time of Adam, to the time when Christ returns. General revelation, especially to someone in the twenty first century, gives great evidence of the truth in the Bible. And as science advances and life continues to change, it seems that general revelation is coming ever closer to the specific revelation of truth in God’s word as the world waits in eager expectation for God’s children to be revealed.

The Role of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit”. We all enter this world through the natural birthing process (the water), but in order to be a part of God’s eternal Kingdom, we must also be born of the Spirit. The works of the Holy Spirit are continuous throughout our lives as believers: through his gifting, his guiding, empowerment, and teaching. However, there are specific roles He plays in our conversion process- in that moment in our lives when we make a decision to become a follower of Christ and the Holy Spirit of God comes to live within us. First, the Spirit convicts us; then He regenerates us; and finally, He indwells us, and seals us.

Conviction is the first aspect of our conversion- to know that we have a need in the first place. Jesus told his disciples the Holy Spirit would convict the world. “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment”. The Holy Spirit convicts our hearts of the truth- we are guilty of sin, we have missed the mark of God’s perfection. This conviction becomes the driving force for us to seek peace with that verdict.

The Holy Spirit convicts the whole world, yet not all will listen to this conviction. Some people will simply ignore it, never questioning what the nagging feeling is in their conscience, eventually hardening their hearts to the truth. There are also those who will agree that they are “sinners”, a term often used to simply mean, “hey, I’m not perfect, but I’m not so bad either”, excusing away how they live their life. They will often have the hope that when they die, the good will have outweighed the bad and heaven will receive them. These same people will not seek the pardon from conviction. They are without peace and remain captive to sin. They will spend their lives seeking relief from the weight of the guilt by any means that will mask or divert it. They are relying on their own righteousness to bring them into God’s presence.

However, for those who seek relief and pardon by the redemptive work of Christ, we accept in faith the need for forgiveness and new life. It is through the Holy Spirit we are regenerated or “made new”. Titus chapter three, verse five tells us: “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit”. It is through this washing, or baptism of the Holy Spirit, that regeneration takes place.

Regeneration defined as “The act of begetting by God, which imparts eternal life” (McCauley). This life is our “new life” in God’s Kingdom, beginning here and now on earth. The old life of sin has passed away. We are born again, pardoned and set free from sins captivity. Second Corinthians chapter five verse seventeen tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

This regenerative process takes place by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Holy Spirit actually resides in our hearts. First Corinthians chapter six, verse nineteen asks the question, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own” The Holy Spirit is in us, indwelling us. Now that He has come in and made his home with us, He “seals us”.

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory”. (Ephesians 1:13-14). What does this mean when the Bible tells us He seals us? The word “sealed’ brings to mind a jar that is closed tightly. In Ephesians, from the original language, “sealed” is transliterated, Sphragizo.

Sphragizo, used fifteen times in the New Testament and is defined as the following:
to set a seal upon, mark with a seal, to seal for security: from Satan since things sealed up are concealed (as the contents of a letter); to hide, keep in silence, keep secret in order to mark a person or a thing; to set a mark upon by the impress of a seal or a stamp; angels are said to be sealed by God; in order to prove, confirm, or attest a thing to confirm authenticate; place beyond doubt of a written document; to prove one's testimony to a person that he is what he professes to be.

When the Bible tells us we are “sealed”, it means we “are securely hidden” from the reaches of Satan. The seal of the Holy Spirit brings great hope and joy. It acts as an assurance of the thing that we hope for: the redemption of our body and spirit for eternity. It is one of the greatest actions of the Holy Spirit in our conversion process. For in it, we can rest in His work and not our own. As stated earlier, it is by God’s mercy, and not our own righteousness, that we are born again.

It is also a permanent action, “Believers may lose the filling – but not the indwelling”. Once the Holy Spirit has makes His dwelling with us, it is by His seal upon us that we know we no longer belong to ourselves. This is an area often misunderstood as we confuse the” indwelling of the Holy Spirit” with the “filling of the Holy Spirit”. The filling of the Holy Spirit is one of those actions of the Spirit that is continuous over our lifetime.

It is reliant on many things. “Being filled means being controlled by the Spirit”. The role of the Holy Spirit at conversion is to indwell us. Afterwards, how much He fills us, has to do with how much of our lives we give over to Him, living a Spirit filled life. This is probably why so much of God’s word instructs us on how we behave and live in this life. He knew our struggles after conversion would be the battle of either walking by the Spirit, or walking in the flesh.

The role of the Holy Spirit is truly a gift. He first makes us aware of our need. He then gives us the ability to have faith to turn from sin; allowing His regenerative work in us; bringing about our new life in Christ. In addition, His seal upon us is our assurance, our hope. As we walk through life, He gives us the power to live and be like Christ. He gives us gifts to use for the good of others. He teaches us, leads us in the way of Christ. But, it all starts with the work that He does when we first feel that prick in our heart, and begin to seek the new life that we come to believe is there for us in Christ.

If you have any questions or want to seek a new life in Christ, I would be happy to pray with you. Please email me dear friend at:
L.Wrede@verizon.net




sunny side of truth, shall set you free

God's Righteousness Becomes Ours

Taken From The Book of Romans










How does the righteousness of God, become righteousness from God, and credited to us as righteousness? What does Paul mean by this and how does it happen? Here we will briefly look at these questions and see why God may have established this means of counting us righteous as opposed to another means.

When we speak of righteousness, what are we talking about? The word is used in both the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament word in Hebrew is “hqdc” and refers to “justice, justification, and salvation”. In the New Testament the Greek word is “dikaiosune” and refers in a broad sense to the “state of him who is as he ought to be… righteousness, the condition acceptable to God. The doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God”.

Within this state that God approves, are character qualities of “integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting”. So here, we see that righteousness is our position in life that is approved by God, and based on the character qualities of God... imparted to us. How does this affect us?

Paul declares in his opening statement in the letter to the Romans in chapter one, verse seventeen, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’ “. Paul declares that the gospel reveals, or shows us, what it means to be righteous- a “condition acceptable to God”. The words, “live by faith”, tells us that to live in this condition acceptable to God, we must do so in faith. James R. Edwards, in his commentary on Romans said that, “righteousness comes as a free gift of God and is received by faith alone” (Edwards, 1992).

In defining faith, Paul uses the word “pistis”, a Greek word for “faith” that in general terms means:
The conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. Conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the New Testament of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it.
So here, we see that God provides righteousness from himself and we obtain it by faith. But how does this happen? Romans 3:10 goes on to say that, “There is no one righteous, not even one”. If no one is righteous, how can we be counted as righteous?

Now if Paul is making the statement, that no one is righteous and that we have all sinned, then how do we obtain the condition that is acceptable to God? By faith. By faith indeed, but faith in what? If we don’t have the ability in and of ourselves- because we have already seen, according to Paul, that we are all unrighteous…everyone from the beginning of Adam until now…where or how do we obtain it?

Some will say that we obtain righteousness by observing and obeying God’s laws. We are acceptable to God when we do “good things”. However, Paul goes on to tell us in Romans 3:20, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin”. Here we see that we can’t place our faith in the Law, and carry out the deeds of the Law, in order to be in proper standing with God.

The Law only causes us to become aware of the fact that we are sinners. Furthermore, the Law came many years after Abraham (who God declared righteous as it says in James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God's friend”). What then do we have faith in?

Paul continues on to address this, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe”. Paul declares that we are to have faith in Christ (in the work he did on the cross), and by doing so, our relationship, or our standing with God, is now as it should be. How then does this take place?

Paul maintains in Romans 3:24-25 that we “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement (or propitiation as it says in the NAS translation)”. There are four terms we need to define here in order to fully understand how this works: Justified, grace, redemption and propitiation.

The term ‘justified” comes from the Greek word “dikaioo”. It means “to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be”. Grace comes from the Greek word “charis’ and means “good will, loving-kindness, favour”. The term redemption comes from the Greek word “Apolutrosis” and means “a releasing effected by payment of ransom”. And, finally, the word propitiation (atonement) comes from the Greek word, “Hilasterion”, defined as:

"Relating to an appeasing or expiating, having placating or expiating force, expiatory; a means of appeasing or expiating, a propitiation used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins expiated); hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory".

So then what can we surmise from these definitions? That it was through God’s love and kindness that he freely (without charge to us) paid the price of our unrighteousness by the sacrifice of Christ’s blood, in order that he may declare us righteous and that we now have been restored, and “our standing with God, is as it should be”. God (being in his character fully righteous) took that righteousness, and through faith in Christ, counts us as righteous.

Our part in this is having faith in what he did. Moreover, because of this, we have no room for pride in the matter, only a humble posture of gratitude because we did nothing to deserve or earn it.

“Where, then, is boasting?” Paul goes on to ask (3:27). Why would Paul be concerned about people boasting? It is perhaps for similar reasons he would be concerned today. People want to have credit in their salvation (especially the Jews at that time who believed they were God’s special people, not realizing the reason behind their chosen status as God's witness on earth). Humans want to be the ones who have earned and deserved it.

“Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation” (4:4). Therefore, if a man can earn his right standing with God by the things he does, it nullifies the concept of it being a gift freely given. It also places mankind on an equal footing with God as if to say “God you do your part and I will do mine”.
By doing this, we no longer need faith, however.

If our salvation was based on our works then that begs the question of why Christ had to die. No…our desire to do good works in order to be righteous goes all the way back to the original sin, “you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). We have a desire to discern what works are good and which are evil making us “like God”. It is our desire to be like God that caused us to be unrighteous in the first place!

So we see that God, in order to restore us to the place we ought to be, had to be the one in whom the solution would come. In our act of faith in what he did are we considered righteous according to the book of Romans:
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (5:1-2).

We have seen that there isn’t anyone who is righteous except God. In order for us to be in right standing (righteous) with God, he had to be the one who made that possible otherwise we would be going back in a circle to what broke our standing with him in the first place-that we would be like God. In addition, because of his righteous character and justice, he paid the price through Christ, and by faith in Christ, we are justified (it is not through the Law or good works). God’s righteousness becomes our righteousness,he paid the ransom, our part is to believe and be thankful, believe in what Christ did, follow him and give him all the glory.

The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (NIV Bible). What does it mean to be created in the image of God? What does this image look like? To answer this question, is to answer who we really are.

As women, we grow up with many ideals of what our lives are supposed to look like, both inside and out. The opinions come from many places. Fashion and Hollywood demand certain looks, perhaps telling us we need to diet because we are overweight, or buy skinny jeans because that is what is in fashion this season.

Our family may have its own requirements in how we dress... who we date...how we speak... what education to have. Doctors tell us what is best for our health...what foods we should eat, how much exercise to get, how much sleep...what the warning signs are of disease and which drugs to take for them.

Schools and media educate us on how to think, vote, work, raise our children, and how to be a good citizen.

Our churches and religions dictate how to look and act, sometimes confusing us with advice different from our families, friends, counselors, and childhood beliefs.

But what does God have to say about it? What is His truth in the matter. What does He want our lives to look like as His image bearer?

It is here we will search honestly for the truths in the Bible that tell us who we really are as Christian Women. While we shed our pounds to conform to our latest fad diet, let's shed some lies that we have grown up believing about ourselves as women.

The main focus is to look honestly at the Bible... to gain insight in redefining our image as we become free to be the woman "made in the image of God". Let's begin by searching for answers to our questions. Post your question here.

Also- may I pray for you personally? If you need prayer- please email me at:

L.Wrede@verizon.net

God, Bible, Women, Men, Family, Dating, Friends.....

Women are affected by many circumstances in life. But circumstances are just that...they are things that happen to us. They are things that may affect us...but shouldn't define us. So how do we deal with these circumstances?

The first thing to remember is God loves us.
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

If we face these circumstance from this view point, it can help us have a different perspective of the things we go through in life.

The next time you are in the middle of a difficult relationship, having financial trouble, health issues, whatever the situation...God is there, He loves you and there is nothing that can change that. God is there. He knows what you are facing. He will bring you through it.