DAY 25: Repentance 2 Chronicles 30:9

If you return to the LORD, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.

Let's say a friend lied to you and then said she was sorry. Would you think she was sorry if she turned around and lied to you again? No way, right? You now when someone's really sorry about something. Genuine repentance is more than just saying "I'm sorry." It means being willing to turn from lying or cheating or whatever to go in another direction- God's. That's what King Hezekiah wanted the Israelites to do. Repentance doesn't mean that you're suddenly perfect. Nobody is! But it does mean that you're back on track with God.

Thoughts?

DAY 24: Relationships Revelation 2:4-5

^4-5"But you walked away from your first love—why? What's going on with you, anyway? Do you have any idea how far you've fallen? A Lucifer fall!
   "Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I'm well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle.

When a couple first falls in love, they put a lot into their relationship. Sometimes after the "newness" wears off, they get lazy about doing things they once did to show how much they care, and they let other stuff crowd in. That's a critical point in the relationship. Jesus rebukes the church in Ephesus for forsaking their first love for him ( and probably for each other). And he tells them to do the things they used to do when they first started their relationship with him.

What about you? Do you take your relationship with Jesus for granted? How can you refresh your love for him?

DAY 23: Purpose Judges 3: 12-30

¹² Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. ¹³ Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.^[a] 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.

 ¹⁵ Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.¹⁶ Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a cubit^[b] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. ¹⁷ He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. ¹⁸ After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. ¹⁹But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

   The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.

 ²⁰ Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace^[c] and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat, ²¹ Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. ²² Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. ²³ Then Ehud went out to the porch^[d]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

 ²⁴ After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the palace.” ²⁵ They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

 ²⁶ While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

 ²⁸ “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands.” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. ²⁹ At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. ³⁰ That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.

Do you wish you could change something about yourself- make yourself taller, funnier, more outgoing? Maybe you suspect that God made a few mistake when he made you? NO WAY! Don't even go there, girlfriend!  As part of his perfect plan, God made each of us just the way we are. Take Ehud. Back then, being left-handed was considered peculiar or unnatural. Yet it was because he was left-handed  that he pulled his surprise attack on Eglon. God never makes mistakes and he has a purpose in how he made you- so quit being so down on yourself.

DAY 22: Purity Song of Songs 4:9-15

How delightful is your love, my

sister my bride!

How much more pleasing is 

your love than wine,

and the fragrance of your 

perfume than any spice!

Your lips drop sweetness as the

honeycomb, my bride;

milk and honey are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.

You are a garden locked up, my sister, my 

bride;

you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates

with choice fruits,

with henna and nard,

nard and saffron,

calamus and cinnamon, 

with every kind of incense tree,

with myrr and aloes

and all the finest spices.

You are a garden fountain,

a well of flowing water

streaming down from Lebanon.

I'm surprised my dad hasn't boughten me this shirt yet :)

Wow! They sure don't make them like this anymore! This guy is majorly  in love- deep, passionate, lasting, head-over-heels, till-death-do-us-part love. You can see that he absolutely adores his bride. And isn't that what every girl dreams of? Now if you look closely at the things he praises her for, you'll see that he virginity is one of them. He calls her a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain- and he loves that about her! While some people may put you down for waiting till marriage, the right guy- the one who really counts- will love that about you.

Thoughts?

DAY 21: Persistence 2 Chronicles 8:14-15

In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their duties, and the Levites to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God had ordered. ¹⁵ They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.

Oh persistence. We all know that there are many things which have been started but never completed. Sometimes it is due to a lack of funds. Other times it is simply because it was decided that they were too tough or taking too long. It ends up being a matter of diligence. How would you rate your diligence- the full-steam ahead quality you put into completing a task? For many of us (myself included), diligence depends on how interesting or fun an assignment is. The duller the task , the dimmer the desire we have to be diligent about doing it. The priest and Levites were diligent about their assigned duties-all of them. They didn't have to be coaxed, bribed or put on a guilt trip about them. They just did them. Diligence is a trait that a disciple of God develops to please him in everything she does.

Would you say that's your desire?

DAY 20: Peace Psalms 34:14

Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

Hey ladies! 

Let's take a look at peace. I don't know about you guys, but when I think about peace, I think of it as something that happens when nothing else is happening. In other words, no conflict plus no worries equals peace. But the Bible doesn't tell us to sit around and hope for peace. It tells us to seek peace and pursue it. Do you want peace in your life and relationships? Do something about it. Be calm and patient instead of argumentative and angry. try to change a situation rather than complain about it. "Peace isn't for passivists; it's for activists." I wish I came up with that line but I've got to give the credit to the True images Bible :).

Go and be activists!

Anne

DAY 19: Patience Psalms 40:1-3

 I waited patiently for the LORD; 

   he turned to me and heard my cry. 

² He lifted me out of the slimy pit, 

   out of the mud and mire; 

he set my feet on a rock 

   and gave me a firm place to stand. 

³ He put a new song in my mouth, 

   a hymn of praise to our God. 

Many will see and fear the LORD 

   and put their trust in him.

Happy Monday Ladies!

Today's trait of genuine living is one thing I've always had trouble with, patience. It's difficult to wait. You might even feel like you're becoming an expert- waiting to get your license, waiting for results from tryouts, waiting for test scores :( ,  waiting for that certain guy to notice you ;) , waiting till your old enough to be independent. Waiting is even worse when you are stuck in a difficult situation- a slimy pit that you need help escaping. So what's the quick fix? Sorry, Charlie , you've gotta wait it out. God knows your situation, but he has something for you to learn in the process. So keep waiting and start learning. Your patience will be rewarded. Gauranteed.

Have a good one!
Anne