But He Gives More Grace (by Jessica)

We have been learning about temptation, sin, and confession. These were rudimentary issues to the first family (Adam and Eve's family) and they continue to be fundamental to family life today. Temptation comes first. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines temptation as: enticement by argument, by flattery, or by the offer of some real or apparent good.
Whenever we are faced with temptation we usually know what to do and what not to do. Take the example of Eve when Satan tempted her.

Genesis 3:2-3 ~ And the woman said to the serpent," We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said,` You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "

If we know the right thing to do then why do we sin?
James 1:14~ "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed".
We often find that our flesh is continually warring with our spirit/mind. While self control and restraint of our fleshly desires is helpful and necessary, and it is wise not to put oneself in the way of temptation, it is easy to fall into the trap of focusing entirely on "denying the flesh", that is, eliminating sin in our bodies by self-effort through the keeping of a list of do's and dont's. If it is the body that wants to sin and not the mind are we excused from accountability?
James 4:17~"Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."
We must always remember that the devil is seeking to destroy us. Many times he does that through temptation.
1 Peter 5:8~ "Be sober (self-controlled), be vigilant (watchful), for your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour".
We must never let our guard down. When we think we are safe that is when we are in the most danger. A soldier must always be on guard. If he would stop watching it could cost him his life. We are soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must always be on guard because the devil doesn't give us a warning; he wants our life.

Is there any way to overcome the temptations of the devil?
James 4:7~ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
1 John 2:14... I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.
To be able to overcome the devil we must continually be reading and studying God's Word. His word is sharper than a two edged sword, discerning the intents and thoughts of the heart and is profitable for teaching, reproof and training in righteousness.

Is sinning against another person the same as sinning against God?

Take the example of David. We would say that David sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba. But didn't God say "You shall not commit adultery"?( Exodus 20:14). A more practical example might be me taking my brother's candy. In doing that I would not only sin against him, I would sin against God, the One who said, "thou shall not steal", Exodus 20:15. But what if I only thought about taking his candy. Would that also be a sin? Exodus 20:17 "You shall not covet anything that is your neighbor's". We can never escape sin and we can never escape God, the One who we sin against.
Psalm 51:4~ Against You , You only have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight...

What about when we fall to temptation?
Psalm 32:1&5~ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, " I will confess my transgressions to the Lord", and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

When we sin we must confess to God our sin, ask for forgiveness and He will graciously forgive us. It is truly a privilege to serve a God who is... gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. Psalm 145:8-9
This doesn't mean that there are not consequences. Take the example of David. He repented of his sin toward Bathsheba and Uriah and God forgave him. The immediate consequence was that his child died. Whenever we sin there are consequences. When faced with the consequences from our actions we can be thankful that; 1. We were caught. 2. Those whom the Lord loves He corrects. 3. We probably won't do it again and we hopefully know why we won't repeat that sin.

God desires repentance.
Psalm 51:16-17~ For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken and a contrite heart- these, O God, You will not despise.
If we go through the actions of repentance but our heart isn't in it, repentance is useless. Yes, there must be outward actions of repentance, but it must be done with a heart that is broken and contrite and more desirable to God than burnt offerings. Only then are our outward actions pleasing to God.

Whenever we are tempted we have the privilege of being able to ...come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need(Hebrews 4:16). We are weak, He is strong. It is truly only in Christ that there is strength and hope in the face of temptation. We hate sin in proportion to how much we love God and find our delight in Him.
He gives us the strength to resist temptation when it comes, He gives us mercy and grace when we fall and He has saved us from eternal destruction and from eternal separation for God.

Oh that we would not take that lightly, that we would not serve our own lusts and desires, but strive to bring glory to His name with everything that we do.

Isaiah 53: 3-6~..."He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all".

Are we truly grateful for what He has done for us and are we striving to bring honor and glory to His name by our thoughts and actions?

Who do you belong to? (by Rebecca)

There is tremendous peer pressure on young girls today. The age at which peer pressure is experienced seems to be happening earlier. It is not uncommon for young girls to have a growing resentment toward their parents if the parents continually ask their daughter to be different from their peers. This resentment manifests itself in girls who aren't permitted to enjoy, without restriction, friends and peer approval. If a young girl is different from her peers, but does not understand why, she will get confused about fitting in when she is surrounded by her peer group. This is usually when and where the real battle starts (Prov.8:1-5), a battle in our heart to see who we really do belong to. John 5:44 says, "How can you believe, when you recieve glory (honor) from one another, and you do not seek the glory (honor) that is from the one and only God?"

Discontentment is the real reason a girl might be feeling restricted. The battle that goes on in our hearts will not happen if we know who we belong to, and why, and we are convinced of both in our hearts. When a girl decides who she is going to give her heart to, she is changing her relationship with her father, either "for better or for worse". "For better or for worse"- this sounds like marriage, and it is, preparing us for our relationship with our husband some day if we marry. If she decides to follow her peer group will she be able to look her father in the eye and see the disappointment? When young girls choose the peer group she is throwing away the love, protection, and leading of her father to follow a life that is hollow and empty.

What kind of women is our future husband going to be waiting for? A true maiden of honor. So why do we want to be like those who's words and actions do not please God? The young men who are giving attention to them are only being led by their visual and temperal desires, having no wisdom, depth, or standard. Jesus knows everything that we think. He knows when we have been coveting things that are not meant for us, or for any daughter of God.

Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship (masterpiece, work of art) created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Then it is our duty to show our peers, and others, what it means to be a woman of God and a daughter of our father. We can do this by obeying our parents and by the way we present ourselves to others. As girls reject the ways of the world God will help them to live a life that is above reproach (see 1Timothy 2:9-10).

Posted by: Rebecca

photo credit:allposters.com

A Good Romance Book for Girls (by Jessica)

Before You Meet Prince Charming is a book that every girl should read. It talks about the dangers of dating, using our "waiting" years for the Lord and to grow in the Lord. It talks about keeping ourselves pure, a concept that is foreign to our culture today. It made me see the importance of purity, not just physical purity, but keeping our thoughts pure as well. Here is an analogy of keeping ourselves physically pure: you spent the whole morning making a cake for a birthday party, you frosted it, decorated it, and it looked perfect. Later someone came into the kitchen saw the cake and took a small piece. Your cake was now ruined. You could put another piece in the gap and from a distance it would look fine, but it would not be perfect, it would always have a scar. It is the same way with us. Even if we just give away a little tiny piece our rose(body) it will always have a little tear, ruining it's beauty forever.

Keeping our thoughts pure is important. It is also very hard to do. Take for example romance novels. Romance novels are traps, covered in flowers, waiting for someone to pick them up and get sucked into their world of fantasy, romance and happily ever after. Many girls fall into that trap and spend their days dreaming about romance stories that, for the most part, aren't true. Many romance novels also give the wrong impression of "prince charmings". In real life not too many princes come riding in on a white horse with shinning armor to sweep you off your feet. Movies are also very dangerous. So many girls are looking to the movies to be their guide about what is a man. So many married women are asking, "Why isn't my husband like that, why doesn't he act like the guy in the movies?" What they don't realize is that the perfect man doesn't exist. We should not invest our time watching something that is going to make us discontent and unhappy with the real world.

Another thing talked about is, desire the very best. Don't lower your standards just because you think there is no one to meet them. Our culture has the tendency to "lower the bar". But don't take the one dollar now when you could have ten thousand dollars later. It is very hard to wait. But waiting produces patience, and patience produces character, and character leads to godliness. We often have to wait because God has something better for us and we need to use our "waiting" time wisely so that when "prince charming" comes, we are ready.

Posted by: Jessica

Before You Meet Prince Charming is available here