The Freedom Factor Found in Sarah

My daughter Jess pointed out this passage of scriptures a while back and at the time, while I understood these verses, it wasn't until later that it really struck me. This is a beautiful explanation of how the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar is a picture of Christ and His Church. It's the message of grace which was given to us through Abraham so many years ago.

In this passage we see God unfolding this drama into a captivating lesson of God's grace.
Old Covenant = Bondwoman = Hagar = Mt. Sinai = Torah/Law = Bondage = Works of the Flesh
New Covenant = Free woman= Sarah = Jerusalem = Christ= Freedom = Fruits of the Spirit

Galatians 4:21-31, "21Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?

22For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. (Genesis 16:1-2) The Bondwoman is Hagar and the free woman is Sarah.

23But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. (Genesis 16:15 and Genesis 17:17:15-16) The son of the flesh is Ishmael and the son of the promise through Sarah is Isaac (Genesis 16:11 and 17:19)

24Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. (Exodus 19:1, First Covenant at Sinai)

25For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. (Genesis 16:6-9)

26But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (Genesis 16:1)

27For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. (Isaiah 54:1)

28Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. (Genesis 17:19)

29But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. (Genesis 21:9)

30Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. (Genesis 21:10)

31So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. (Isaiah 61:1)

God shows us that the Old Testament Law kept us in bondage. We were kept under The Law, but when the Law of Christ came, we were set free. The results of living under The Law, (fulfilling the Lust of the Flesh), produce the Works of the flesh and the result of living in Christ, (walking in the Spirit), is the Fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-25, "¹⁶This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

¹⁷For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit(Gal 4:29), and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

¹⁸But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

²⁴And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

When I lived under The Law, I felt condemned. I felt as though I could never measure up. Yet that is true. We can't measure up. We can't live up to God's standards, that's why He allowed us to have His Son, Christ our Lord. The Old Covenant gave animal sacrifices until the Messiah would come. He HAS come and He lives today. We were given the Law to show us our need for Christ. When Christ came and died on the cross, He bore our sins an fulfilled The Law. We now live under the Law of Christ.

John 1:17, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

Romans 8:2, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

Galatians 2:21, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

Galatians 3:13, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"

Galatians 3:24, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

Philippians 3:9, "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"

When we live under The Law it breeds boastfulness, arrogance, judgmental thoughts and words, and a lack of grace. Be cautious of trying to live up to Christ. There is not amount of righteousness we can do to please God. We must simply put our faith in Christ, "for without faith it is impossible to please him."(Hebrews 11:6)

We are not, however, to use grace so that sin will abound. We must still live a holy life, but we can not do so without Christ. For Christ is our holiness, our righteousness, our only way to the Father. No amount of obeying the Law will ever get us a relationship with the Father. It must only come through Christ, His Son.

John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

This is the freedom, the liberty, that Christ offers us today. The story of Sarah was the beautifully written handiwork of God our Father, to show us the freedom we can have in His Son. To trust in Christ is not a bondage. To live in bondage under The Law is not freedom. Christ offers freedom. Sarah is the Freedom Factor for us today, given by Christ.

Sisterlisa is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Growing in Grace Magazine and owner of AGMinistries, a devotion blog for women. She is married and homeschools her four children while remaining active in serving the Lord in her community.

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It's The Body That Matters

by Sisterlisa

Over the years we have seen friendships come and go and most of those times it has been painful. I have seen friends move on in ministry and move away to fulfill God's plan for their lives and although I was happy for them, my heart grieved over the thought of not fellowshipping with them as often anymore. I have had times when I volunteered in church nursery with other women that I grew quite close to. Then a ministry change happens and that intimate fellowship gets interrupted. I have learned through the years that what we do for the Lord may not always be what He wants for us for a lifetime, but rather for a season.

Something that my family has come to understand in a deeper more intense way is that The Body is not a one denomination inclusive group. In the Rescue Ministry we serve the Lord in, we have had great opportunities to meet fantastic Believers in a variety of church fellowships.

My husband has surrendered to the Lord to travel with this ministry to help introduce the kind of help we offer at The Well Ministry of Rescue and The Sarah Home for Women. This journey for us has been an amazing one, to say the least. We are still just at the beginning of this journey, but watching the Lord open doors that were firmly shut for ten years, suddenly become wide open and has been triumphant!

Although this journey for us is exciting, I was made aware of the feelings that others feel about our decision. The Holy Spirit reminded me of what it was like for me when friends moved on in the past. A dear sweet friend of mine came to me in tears over us going in this direction, because this journey involves us not being in the same fellowship as often as before. She told me how she is sad, but happy at the same time and it became evident to me how much she truly loves me. I had not known she had such a deep abiding love for our friendship.

Yet, not everyone has come to us with those same feelings. Most people don't like change, especially a change that comes between the frequency of those sweet fellowship times. I have seen over the years that many people don't quite know how to respond. Some show angry emotions, some critical and judgmental, and some don't seem to show any response at all. Perhaps they just don't know what to think or how to feel about it.

The fellowship that we won't be frequenting as often, is one that involves hundreds of people and there is no way we can adequately keep in touch with each family individually. Yet there are networking opportunities to all of us on the internet that makes it a lot easier to keep in touch.

There are some people who are reluctant to logging into a social network like Facebook or Twitter, but are two that we enjoy and know how to use in a safe manner. Some people choose to build blogs or message board forums to get all the latest updates on friends and family. I feel these are good ways to keep in touch with The Body all over the world.

Our family has been so blessed in so many different ways by our Father since we responded to the Lord in the calling He has given to us. While this is an exciting time for us we do not want to lose touch with the Body of Believers we fellowshipped with for fourteen years and we want to keep in touch with the other Believers we are finding along the way. Social Networking on the internet is NO replacement for fellowship in person, but it sure helps keep the lines of communication open and keep each other up to date on prayer requests and praise reports!

We have come to understand more deeply that The Body is not limited to one building in one corner of town, but rather all over the globe. I feel that many times we get tunnel vision, in our busy lives, and forget the rest of The Body that is living all around us. Denominations sure have come to build up brick walls all around us and have kept us apart for so long. I came to discover that there are no denominations in the Bible.

1 Corinthians 1:11-13, " ¹¹For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. ¹²Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. ¹³Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? "(KJV)

I think I knew that already, but it became very evident to me recently.

1 Peter 2:5, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (Geneva Bible 1599)

We may not like the same meals, but one day we will feast together with the Father around His table and the choices between enchiladas and cheeseburgers won't even matter. Let's not forget the rest of The Body. We are everywhere! Don't forget The Body, we all matter in God's eyes.

2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; ⁹ but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."(Geneva Bible 1599)

Sisterlisa is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Growing in Grace Magazine and owner of AGMinistries, a devotion blog for women. She is married and homeschools her four children while remaining active in serving the Lord in her community.

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Acceptable Communication

by Sisterlisa

Many people today spend a lot of time communicating with others. Some choose different ways to communicate and with modern technology, communication has become more frequent and fast paced than ever before. When I was a young girl, the home telephone was the most reliable source of communicating when not in the presence of another person.

I could pick up the phone anytime and have a conversation with a friend. When the cordless phone came along, young people could take the phone to a different room and have conversations without supervision. That led to many inappropriate conversations.

A young person today has this ability at the touch of the finger with personal notebooks and text messaging. Now their conversations are less
accountable to their parents now than ever before. Yet we must be aware of our conversations as instructed by God in Psalm 34:13, "Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile." I have no doubt that He also means your fingertips.

So many young people don't think about what they say, text, or instant message, but God does. Proverbs 20:11, "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right." If you take the time to look up and write down verses from His Word about the tongue you will see how important it is to God that we have acceptable communication. In the past I may have taken all the verses about how angry God gets when we misuse our tongue for ungodly communication, but let's focus on what God is pleased with rather than displeased with.

I was so happy to read how God felt about acceptable communication that involves talking about Him to other believers and even thinking about him.

Geneva Bible 1599: Malachi 3:16, "Then spake they that feared the Lord, everyone to his neighbor, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name."

You can take all the verses of judgment from the Bible about how much God's anger is kindled against those who speak unacceptably, but just knowing that God LOVES to hear us talk about Him and THINK about Him makes me want to do so all the more and have acceptable communication.

The very best form of communication is the humble communication we have daily with our Lord God Almighty. Yet prayer is not just intimate between the believer and God, it also involves other believers Acts 2:42, "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

Our prayers are precious to God Almighty Revelation 5:8, "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints." May your communication among believers be acceptable in His sight, but that your conversations also be about our Jehovah and to His Most High.

Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."


Sisterlisa is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Growing in Grace Magazine and owner of AGMinistries, a devotion blog for women. She is married and homeschools her four children while remaining active in community service and serves the deaf among the local Church.

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The Culture of Cults and Cult-Like Behaviour

**Disclaimer: Please have parents permission to read. Some material may be suited for spiritually and mentally mature readers only.


In April of 1993 America witnessed a battle between Law Enforcement and the Davidian Branch Compound while innocent, but indoctrinated, women and children shook with fear over the battle that was raging over two distinctively different goals. David Koresh’s goal was to resist Law Enforcement under his belief that he was the Messiah and was willing to die for his ‘faith’. He also trained his captives to die for their ‘faith’ as well. Although Koresh indoctrinated his followers with his beliefs and ordered them to fire against the officers, he failed to teach them that Jesus himself said in

Matthew 22:21, “They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.”

Romans 13:1-3, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: "

Many times when someone is new to a religious organization they are innocently ignorant of the philosophies being taught. It is important to search the scriptures and know for yourself what the Lord has taught. Even the noble men of Paul’s time were diligent in knowing what the Bible really said in

Acts 17:11, “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

April is also the month in which Virginia Tech and Columbine both suffered from a gun battle that ended with many lives lost. Since the beginning of time Satan has had his talons deep into the lives of humans over his rage against God. His focus seems to have always been parents and young people, since the time of Cain and Abel, and their parents. If that ol’ enemy can’t get the parents to falter, he will seek the children as his victims. He is always at work against young people, and it is evident when we look at the world around us. When young people and their families won’t succumb to the world’s enticements the enemy uses religion to get them entangled in his plans so they will be distracted from the Lord Jesus Christ. He does this through the manipulation of false religions, also known as cults.

Cults are not only religious in nature, they also are found in a variety of other avenues. You can find cults within music, businesses, organizations, etc. The word cult comes from the word culture, an integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning. It is a set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group, yet in today’s society we see cults as dangerous breeding grounds intended for harm. Many times people who are involved in a cult are naïve to what is at the root of their group.

Some cults result in physical harm or death of themselves by suicide or by attacking others. Most cults result in isolation from family members and friends, and we must be cautious of modern cults that contain the Christian label.

A cult is a group or person who leads many people in a direction that is not honoring to a parent’s authority as well as the Lord Jesus Christ. One such cult that is not of a religious nature is that of musicians. When a young person has been hooked into a music group that would cause them to disobey their parents just to listen to their music or attend their concerts, it is considered a cult. Many parents remember when The Beatles craze hit American shores. Scores of teenagers were rebelling against their parental authority when they disobeyed their parents to loyally followed their group, began using drugs, and resisted Law Enforcement when they tried to control the crowds.

Another cult that is not of a religious nature is that of fantasy and science fiction. As early as the 1960’s people began testifying of alien abductions, just a few short years after the first Alien film, ’20 Million Miles to Earth’. An interesting fact to ponder is the fact that these testimonies of alien abductions describe them as being lizard-like in appearance and performing demonic ‘investigations’ of human sexual organs. Aliens became a hit in American culture and people created organized groups that followed the stars and NASA explorations diligently. When Steven Spielberg’s film ‘Close Encounters of The Third Kind’ hit the theaters, people saw a glimpse of what those testimonies must have been like. Those who were enticed to believe this science fiction phenomena as being real became consumed with seeking extra-terrestrial life outside of Earth. In doing so they became a cult, who ignorantly followed a dangerous occultic practice known among early Egyptians.

Many Christians are unaware of a cult that is an organized group which is portrayed as one that assists the community around them. This cult is known as Freemasonry, or The Masons. They appear to be a local group of men who meet weekly or monthly for fellowship and community efforts to help their neighbor. To most people they seem to be ‘Christian’ in nature as they allow their members to ‘pray’ in the meetings to their ‘God’. Women are not allowed in their lodge, nor are any atheists. They created a group that women can participate in called The Rainbow Girls and Job’s Daughters. They also created The Shriner’s Hospital that helps millions of handicapped children throughout our world. Just as with most cults, they seem to be harmless groups that claim to have a desire to ‘help their fellow man’. Upon further investigation of this cult The Masons, as with many others, you will find a deep-rooted demonic force that intends to destroy the person’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

There will be many who do not believe what I am writing in this article, yet you owe it to yourself and your families to know what you believe and why you believe it. Some of the most popular, well known, and widely accepted cults are within churches that use mind control to bring their followers into mental and emotional bondage. It becomes so powerful that the followers lose the ability to think for themselves. This kind of mind control involves a severe social influence conditioning program which may include:

• an exclusive system of authoritarian control,
  
• manipulation,
  
• a program of punishment and rewards,
  
• information control,
  
• fraud, and
  
• coercion.
  

Depending on the number and intensity of undue influential tactics, and a person's own naivety, one may experience:

• a false personality change and
  
• marked mental or emotional weakness,
  
• compliance, and
  
• servitude.
  

Cult-like leaders will keep a person:

• so busy that they don’t have time for life outside of the cult.
  
• Many times the leader or cult group will drive a wedge between the family unit by coercing them into separate activities and
  
• drain them of energy so they are too tired to think about what is happening to them.

Here is a list of things to keep in mind in regards to religious cults:

• Breaking down a person's mind by mental abuse.
• Putting a simple minded person in leadership positions. These people will blindly obey and follow their leader over what anyone else says and will demand loyalty even when the leader is wrong.
• Control the person's time and environment.
• No outside recreation without the group.
• They create a powerlessness in people.
• As the group attacks the person's worldview, it causes the person distress and inner confusion; yet they are not allowed to speak about this confusion or object to it - leadership suppresses questions and counters resistance.
• Mind control increases as the people in the group are kept busier than usual in order to keep them under their control and too tired to think clearly.
• Old healthy life patterns are not accepted and must suppress them.
• Members get positive feedback for conforming to the group's beliefs and behaviors and negative feedback for old beliefs and behavior.
• Good behavior, demonstrating an understanding and acceptance of the group's beliefs, and compliance are rewarded while questioning, expressing doubts or criticizing are met with disapproval, redress and possible rejection. If one expresses a question, he or she is made to feel that there is something inherently disordered about them to be questioning.
• The only feedback members get is from the group; they become totally dependent upon the rewards given by those who control the environment. Striving to perform in order to get these rewards or positive feedback shows the dependency the person has been created to expect. When the rewards cease to be given, the person becomes hurt, confused, or disgruntled.
• Put forth a closed system of logic and an authoritarian structure that allows no feedback and refuses to be corrected except by leadership approval or executive order.
• Members are not allowed to question their leaders.The follower is treated as if they are in defiance and the leadership is not to be questioned and trusted to make the right decision. If their judgment is questioned the follower is either ignored, rebuked, or quieted through various forms of manipulation or blackmail. Sometimes their attention is redirected into another direction such as a new special form of leadership created for them in order to keep them busy.
• Flattery is used to puff up the follower in order to make them feel accepted and valued. Most times the new, simple minded, or those who are catching on to what is happening are the most likely to become flattered. Psalm 12:3, "The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:" and 1 Thessalonians 2:5, "For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:"
• Spying on other members and asking for reports on their lives.
• Manipulation of a followers emotions. Downplaying their feelings as unimportant or in error.
  
• Faults are never the leaders fault.
• Leadership is backed even when in the wrong and often times covered up. When a follower catches on and tries to question or expose the wrong doing the leader will often rebuke the follower of being critical or defying leadership.
• Emphasizing irrational fears about ever leaving the group or even questioning the leader’s authority. The person under mind control cannot visualize a positive, fulfilled future without being in the group. Such as telling testimonies of people who left and suffered from death or illness and that is told to be their punishment or consequences.
• Defying unwritten rules are considered rebellious and often rebuke is given to the follower.
• Instant friendships. True friendships develop over time. Flattery such as "my dear friend" and they really don't know each other very well at all.
• A cult leader will try to persuade you to reduce or eliminate altogether outside friendships and even family.
• Any information that could lead followers to the clear understanding that their teaching is wrong is destroyed or followers are told that to read it is considered critical and punishable by authority through public character assassination.
• Keeping the members so busy that they don't have time to do anything other than support their groups cause. This kind of busyness causes families to be divided and not able to have adequate time together at home.
• Followers are sometimes reprimanded for not participating in every meeting or activity or told their loyalty is being questioned.
• Leaders often times discourage parents from believing what their children report to them.
• Followers are told to always side with leadership even if they are wrong.

Some things to keep in mind are:

1. It's important for a follower to be able to have the freedom to research about the group without the group leading their research.
2. If the follower has been told to refrain from researching about them, then you may want to go ahead and do so.
3. An honest group will not be opposed to a follower reading critical information about them.
4. If the group has nothing to hide then they will not mind you seeking outside information.
5. There is no perfect group, yet anything negative a former member may say should be willingly discussed by your leader. If the situation is covered up or ignored then be cautious in dealing with this group.
6. A real honest leader will openly discuss any concerns you have about the group with humility. They will have nothing to fear by you asking.

So how can you protect yourself from becoming involved in a cult?

• Know the Bible.
• Question and compare the teaching to the Scriptures.
• Cults who claim to believe in the Bible, but use alternative sources for doctrinal teaching are dangerous. Be sure all the teaching and practices are in agreement with the Scriptures.
• Keep in mind that although Jesus taught that we are to abstain from all appearance of evil, we are to share the gospel, even with your own family. He never said to isolate yourself from family members who don't believe the same as you.
• If you believe you are in a cult and are just realizing it, there is help for you.

2 Peter 2:1-3, “ 1But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”
Galatians 1:6-9, “ 6I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The Lord Jesus Christ would not want you to participate in a cult. His expressed desire as put forth in scripture is to freely choose Him as your Saviour. What kind of relationship would he have with you if you felt forced to love him? Proverbs 8:17, “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”

The Lord Jesus wants us to live in freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. " Galatians 5:1, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

He is interested in your willing desire to help others come to know him. 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

God doesn’t want you to give begrudgingly through coercion. 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

The Lord Jesus wants you to be free from the cult. 2 Corinthians 6:17, “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”

Your best defense in escaping a cult is to find help. Breaking free from mind control is not an easy task all on your own. Some people have broken free from that bondage by weaning themselves away from the group a little at a time, while some seek outside help, break free immediately, and move away. Whatever the case may be with you, firm support is needed as is a strong relationship with the Lord and a working knowledge of the scriptures. If you feel your knowledge of the scriptures is not strong, find someone who is that is able to help you.

Sisterlisa is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Growing in Grace Magazine and owner of AGMinistries, a devotion blog for women. She is married and homeschools her four children while remaining active in community service and serves in the deaf ministry at her church.

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Search the Scriptures

by Sisterlisa

There are days when I don't get enough sleep, don't have time to sit and eat a nutritious meal, and last minute things spring up just in time to stop me from having my prayer time and personal devotions for the Lord. Many times all this rises all before I get my first cup of coffee in the morning. The enemy knows he has but a short time to pack us with his biggest punch before the return of our Lord. For a wife and mother, he will attack us first thing in the morning, so that we will begin our day with frustration and full of negative emotion. This also happens to young girls as they wake up on the 'wrong side of the bed'.

God's Word says that the enemy is as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, and he is actively seeking to devour a young lady before she can protect herself from the onslaught of today's culture. Yet, in most homes I have seen the culture trap isn't from the world itself, it comes from their own circle of friends within their own homeschool or church groups.

Many people have said that the Body will not be scattered by the outside world, but rather from within itself. We need to be very careful to not compare our growth in the Lord against another Christian. We are not to compare ourselves with another person, when we do so we interfere with what the Lord has for us. He wants us to compare ourselves against scripture and grow in HIS grace.

Proverbs 6:20-22, " ²⁰My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ²¹Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. ²²When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee."

It is a nice thing to be able to have someone we can look to as our example, yet we must be very careful with that. Just as young girls desire to have a lady to look to as their example, adult women need a godly example too. Women need to have a godly example to help guide and mentor them. My three girls look to me for their example, yet even I look to another to help me stay on the right track. We will never 'arrive' in this life here on earth. There will not be a time when we will 'have it all together' until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, until then we must always have a teachable spirit.

As we seek the Word for God's guidance in how we should be living, we should have support from those who will lift us up to that level of accountability. If the people we are spending time with do not support our growth in the Lord, and cannot have a conversation with us about God's Word without demeaning our decisions for Christ, then we must pray for God to send us someone who will.

2 Timothy 3:5-7, " ⁵Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. ⁶For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ⁷Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

I have been so blessed to have my sweet deaf friends in my life. Although I've been walking with the Lord for fourteen years, I have grown so much since I have known them. Their own desire to walk with the Lord inspires me to work even harder. There have been times when they have brought something to my attention in my own life that needed adjustment and I have needed to humble myself and swallow pride in order to keep a right relationship with them and our Lord. It has been a long time since I have had a friend apologize to me with such sincerity, yet I got such an apology just today that pierced my heart about my own sin. These is the kind of friends we need to have!

I have heard marvelous speakers before and read awesome books by seasoned Christian authors, yet having a person to talk to that can keep you accountable and mentor you to walk closer to Christ our Lord is a very special gift. When the Lord shows you who that person is, accept that gift as God is giving them to you. For such a gift is a very rare find indeed.

Be sure your mentor is someone that gets their own influence right from scripture, and not from the culture they may have been infected with in their own past. It's sad to think that Christians will teach their cultural philosophies to others by words or actions, so we need to be careful who we allow to influence us.

Titus 2:4-5, " ⁴That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

Every bit if mentoring we receive must be diligently compared with scripture. Acts 17:11, "¹¹These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so."

Although some leaders may seem to know the Bible, we are responsible and accountable to God to search the scriptures to be sure we have the right information being given to us. Searching the scriptures is something we should make a habit out of. I know the Dixon family and Miss Charlene do such a thing. Each week they speak to me about areas of their lives and scriptures in which they are seeking diligently and it is such an inspiration. Quite contagious in fact!

Let's all know what we believe and why we believe it, as we diligently seek to know the Lord's answers for life's queries.

Sisterlisa is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Growing in Grace Magazine and owner of AGMinistries, a devotion blog for women. She is married and homeschools her four children while remaining active in community service and serves in the deaf ministry at her church.

Fact of the Matter: Eating Yourself Out of a Pit

by Sisterlisa

I grew up in the world as an unsaved person, in the public school and very much consumed by how the actresses looked on television. I inherited my hips from the females on my side of the family and when I would compare myself to the other girls at school, I felt big. My self-esteem was as close as being completely delinquent. My family was not health conscious and all my friends seemed to be able to eat anything they wanted and not gain weight. I joined an aerobics class and although I could feel myself becoming stronger, I was not slimming down at all. I figured I must be a reject. It didn't take long before I started forcing my food up after a meal.

Several years of binging and I could no longer control it. Any time I would eat, my body would automatically follow the pattern I had set. I was not losing weight. I was afraid I'd get caught. After I got married, I was able to stop during the time I carried my first child, but as soon as she was born my body got right back to it. I was determined to lose the pounds I had gained during my pregnancy, but what I wasn't prepared for was the amount of control this eating disorder was taking in my life.

I began going to church and attending a weekly prayer meeting with some other people from the church I was in at the time. Week after week we were asked to pray for a girl. We were told it was an unspoken prayer request regarding her health. We weren't sure if it was cancer or a broken limb, we just didn't know. After praying for her for several months she came one Wednesday night to thank us. She stood before us and began to share how an eating disorder had taken over her life and that she was hospitalized. She explained the details of how God delivered her from this 'ugly beast that controlled her'. What she was describing was exactly what I was beginning to go through. It was evident that she had been battling a personal demon and I knew I was headed straight for destruction. Her testimony changed my heart and I immediately stopped! I am thankful that by her testimony I was able to cease from abusing my body like that. however there are thousands of young ladies who do get caught up in their eating disorder that they need to get medical help.

Anorexia-Nervosa and Bulimia are two very serious eating disorders. Your body was not created to starve or vomit up it's food after eating. God created our bodies to process food and use the calories as energy to live each day. When we stop feeding ourselves healthy foods, our body thinks it needs to hold onto the fat that it has in order to survive. So while you 'think' you are losing weight, you are actually stopping yourself from shedding those extra pounds and depriving your body of the energy it needs to function each day. When you find ways to vomit your meals, the acid from your stomach flushes through your esophagus and teeth, eroding tissue from your throat and enamel from your teeth. Tooth decay sets in and you increase you risk of cavities. These are just a few side effects of these two eating disorders.

Anorexia also causes shrunken bones, mineral loss, low body temperature, irregular heartbeat, permanent failure of normal growth, development of osteoporosis. Using laxatives as a form of weight loss wears out the bowel muscle and causes it to decrease in function. Some laxatives contain harsh substances that may be reabsorbed into your system. One percent of teenage girls in the U.S. develop anorexia nervosa and up to 10% of those may die as a result.

The best thing you can do if you feel your health is at risk by being overweight is to talk to your parents and they can help you talk to your physician. Our bodies need essential things in order to remain healthy. Depriving ourselves of nutritional foods is not going to help us become strong healthy ladies. If you believe you are overweight and struggle with high calorie temptations there are things you can do to help.

1. Talk to your parents about your temptations.
2. If you're an adult find an accountability partner, who does not struggle in this area, to support you.
3. Read God's Word and study the topic of gluttony and temperance.
4. Pray for God to help you have the victory.
5. Exercise! Just get up and go outside for a 30 minute walk every day until you can increase your stamina to do more.
6. Refuse to buy high calorie goodies.
7. Avoid soda pop.
8. Drink plenty of water.
9. Eat fresh veggies. In the cooking process of veggies you can lose valuable vitamins you need in order to lose those extra calories you body is holding onto.
10. Eat whole grain breads and grains. White grains have been processed and the nutrition has been removed.

These are just ten tips that I have used in the past and I was able to lose the extra pounds and gain the strength I needed in order to increase my physical stamina to burn more calories. If you think you need serious intervention talk to your parents and your family physician.


Sisterlisa is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Growing in Grace Magazine and owner of AGMinistries, a devotion blog for women. She is married and homeschools her four children while remaining active in community service and leads the deaf ministry at her church.

Is it the Journey or the Destination That Matters?

by SisterLisa

You may have heard people say that it's the journey that matters and not the destination, however in some cases I disagree. There are people who pride themselves in living a 'good life' but that doesn't mean they will get to heaven when they die. People have the misconception that their 'good outweighs their bad' and that simply is not true.

Who are we to judge for ourselves if we have lived a life that is not only acceptable but also pleasing unto the Lord? Who are we to decide on our own that we have done enough for Him or that our works are 'good enough to be with Him for eternity'?

Something that made me think was when I saw Pastor Ray Comfort explain about the Ten Commandments. When he speaks to people about their eternal security he asks about the Ten Commandments. He asks if they even know the Ten Commandments. If you do not know the Ten Commandments then how do you know you have lived by them or if you have violated them?

When people say they 'live a good life' he goes through each of the Commandments and asks if they have obeyed them. There are a few that we all have committed and I believe they are 'Thou shalt not lie', 'thou shalt not covet', and 'thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain'. We have all lied, wanted what someone else has, and used the Lord's name improperly.

"No way I certainly have not!"

Well let's take a minute to think this through. Have you ever told your family, when they answered the phone, "Tell them I'm not home."? Have you convinced your children or siblings that really is a Santa Clause or Tooth Fairy? Have you ever not told the 'entire' truth?

Have you ever seen something at the store and thought "I want that!"? What about the possessions that your neighbors and friends have? Ever have a covetous thought about why 'she gets the bigger house and I don't'?

Have you ever said, "Oh G*d!" when angry or scared? What about, "Oh J*sus"? What about , "What in G*d's name?" or "Oh L*rdy!"?

These are just the tip of the iceberg. Any violation of the Ten Commandments is a violation of God's law plain and simple. We are to have no other gods before Him, yet how often have you turned on your computer or read the newspaper before truning to God's Word for your morning inspiration?

Maybe this seems too 'legalistic' to you, but yet how does God view our obedience or rather disobedience? Yes this is why my articles are called 'The Fact of the Matter'. They are meant to grab your attention and give you a good challenge to step up in your walk with the Lord. My articles are just as convicting to me as they may be to you.

As we enter a new year may we take a deeper look into our lives and ask the Lord to show us where we can improve. Maybe you say, "Oh good heavens no I don't want to be told what I need to change. I have enough to deal with as it is." Yet that's the kind of attitude that stops growth. You may think ignorance is bliss, but God does not miss a beat.

So is it just the journey that matters? No, because we all need to KNOW that we will be entering heaven one day.

1 John 5:13, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

Is it the destination alone that matters? No, because although we may accept the Lord's death on the cross as the payment for our sins, believe on Him in our hearts as our personal Saviour, we still displease God each day and suffer consequences for our disobedience.

Romans 5:19, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Hebrews 2:1-3, "¹Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

²For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;

³How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;"

Galatians 6:7, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 2 Corinthians 9:6, "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

Whatever we sow we will also reap. If you sow disobedience we reap disobedience. If we sow an obedient spirit we reap the benefits given to those who walk in obedience.

We know that we are born sinners, yet once we have received the grace of God's gift, His precious Son, then we have forgiveness of sin. Yet we must also CONTINUE therein. To trust Christ as Saviour means to REPENT of the life of habitual sin and strive to live in accordance with God's Word. Trusting Jesus as Saviour is not just a get out of Hell card. Accepting Christ is accepting His law and choosing to walk toward Him and with Him.

We willfully chose to disobey, yet if we are willing to quickly repent and seek forgiveness He bestows His grace upon us. He knows we will make mistakes, but we must also be willing to rectify those mistakes by immediately confessing to Him and to another godly person for accountability.

James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

So in my opinion it is BOTH the journey AND the destination that matters.

Sisterlisa is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Growing in Grace Magazine and owner of AGMinistries, a devotion blog for women. She is married and homeschools her four children while remaining active in community service and leads the deaf ministry at her church.

Grafted in The Magic of Christmas

by Sisterlisa

As I venture out into the community I can already sense the spirit of Christmas that we have become accustomed to each and every year. Yes, that spirit presents itself as early as October in some stores. We see the shelves lined with shiny red stringed beads, mistletoe, and velvety stockings laced with glitter.

We have begun hearing the music over the loud speakers and radio announcements rushing us out of the house for those sales that tell us we MUST have those items and we MUST get them now while we still can! The ‘count down’ to December 25th has us all wound up in a tight ball of string that gets us so easily entangled as it begins to unravel.

Yet they tell us it’s the spirit of Christmas, that we should allow the ‘magic of Christmas to capture our hearts’, so why do we become the Grinch this time every year? I believe that what we see today as the ‘spirit of Christmas’ is a wolf attempting to disguise itself in sheep’s clothing, but the Bible tells us that the sheep know the voice of their shepherd.

John 10:4, “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.”

Now we must ask ourselves this question, is it really the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ that we are hearing? What magic are they talking about? Is it His Spirit telling us to rush out and purchase the Wii our children have begged for or go into debt just to have a Christmas tree that is overflowing with gifts under its branches?

Christmas started out as a simple day to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. Now we know that Jesus wasn’t really born in the dead of winter. The Bible tells us that the sheep were out to pasture that night and we know they aren’t doing that in such cold weather.

Luke 2:8, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.”

The origin of the ‘Christmas’ we see today in America was founded by the Catholic church in Pope Liberius in 354 and became the rule in the West in 435 when the first "Christ mass" was officiated by Pope Sixtus III. This just as happened to coincide with the date of a celebration by the Romans to their primary god, the Sun, and to Mithras, a popular Persian sun god supposedly born on the same day. The Roman Catholic writer Mario Righetti candidly admits that, "to facilitate the acceptance of the faith by the pagan masses, the Church of Rome found it convenient to institute the 25th of December as the feast of the birth of Christ to divert them from the pagan feast, celebrated on the same day in honor of the 'Invincible Sun' Mithras, the conqueror of darkness" (Manual of Liturgical History, 1955, Vol. 2, p. 67). (credit to http://www.new-life.net/chrtms10.htm)

Here we have a ‘Christian’ holiday that was founded on the same date that the pagans celebrate their god. It seems to be apparent that the Catholic Church was attempting to sway their followers away from such celebrations, so they created Christmas to divert their attention back to the Roman Catholic Church. This Catholic Born celebration was set ablaze into what we see in society today. Our culture now celebrates ‘Christmas’ without the name of our Saviour, as they attract crowds to their celebrations that honor the best decorated light shows and who gets the best gift.

Stores all over the country are denying any music over their loud speakers that share the gift of Christ’s birth and remove anything that bears His name. So is this ‘spirit of Christmas’ really the Spirit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Or have we just allowed a wolf in sheep’s clothing to sneak into our homes and become a hard fast tradition that has held us bound by the culture trap?

Hear what the Lord has to say about decorating trees:

Jeremiah 10:1-5, "1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good."

So what is it that captures our hearts this time of year? As we enter the stores we hear music about Santa Clause, Deck the Halls, Frosty the Snowman, and Oh Christmas Tree. We are being fed with the songs that promote a gluttonous old man that wants children to sit on his lap, decorating our homes in mistletoe, building a snowman who smokes, and singing praises to a pine tree covered in lights. This sounds very much like the same propaganda that Charlie Brown and his friends became victim to in his Christmas special. Amidst all the confusion and arguing over Christmas he finally shouted, “Is there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” We then see Linus step up to the plate and set everyone straight. “Sure Charlie Brown I can tell you what Christmas is all about.”

Now if you have seen Charlie Brown’s Christmas you’ll know that the children still surround the tree and sing, but their hearts did become more sensitive to the real reason for Christmas. There are some families who do not participate in the culture agenda for Christmas. They have no tree in their home, nor gifts under that tree, they do not acknowledge the Christmas that our culture is trying to force into our minds. Now before you say that I am becoming a Scrooge, let me explain a few things. These families have chosen to have a simple kind of Christmas and that is honorable. There is nothing wicked or sinful about a family who chooses not to acknowledge this modern day Christmas.

Yet when we place our focus on the materialism of the holiday season, gather around a tree, sing praises to that tree and sing the secular songs of Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer then that’s when we have entered the realm of wickedness. It is then that we have fallen victim to the enemy, it is then that we have been deceived. I can understand why many families have chosen to forgo the Christmas we know of today. This modern holiday is indeed magical. This magical day has millions of people falling right into it’s trap. The Bible warns us about magic and those that cast their spells on mankind.

Acts 8:9-11, “But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

10To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

11And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.”
In this passage we see that Simon had bewitched the people for a great long time. We also know that the magicians had captivated Pharaoh’s heart and cause him to become hardened to the truth.

Exodus 7:22, “And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.”

In 2 Kings chapter 17 we see the evidence of what happened to the people when their hearts were given over to the idols that they have chosen. Verses 13-18 are quite alarming in light of this culture Christmas we see today.

“Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.

14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.

15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.

16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.”

God sent a messenger to warn them about their sin and they refused to listen, their necks were hardened. Imagine riding a horse that refused to obey the command of its rider as he pulls on the reigns to turn that horse, and the horse hardens his neck.

These people made molten images and do we not do the same thing with statues of Santa or Frosty in our homes? These same people made their sons and daughters to pass through that ‘fire’ and partake in the enchantments as well. Are we not also following that same path of feeding our children with the Culture of Christmas? Now maybe you don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, after all you’re not praying to Santa, but are your children believing that Santa can provide for their desires? Should we allow our children to seek Santa at all? So maybe Frosty is a nice guy, but he has a bit of magic himself, can we really expect that our children will not be deceived into thinking that life can be brought forth through the magic of a magician’s top hat? Let’s not forget that both Santa and Frosty participate in smoking through a pipe.

Now don’t get upset at what I am bringing forth to you today. God’s people had a stiff and hardened neck back then and they certainly do today as well. It’s not an easy step for people to go ‘cold turkey’ with any tradition or habit that is both physically and spiritually unhealthy. Yet why is it that we have such a hard time doing what God has asked us to do for centuries now?
Perhaps it’s because we have been brought up living in this culture for so long that we have become accustomed to it and grafted in it. But who should we be grafted in? We have been grafted into a Culture of Christmas and yet God is able to graft us in to Him again.

Romans 11:17-25, “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.

20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.

24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. ”

Will you pray about this Culture of Christmas and seek the Lord about being grafted in again to the fullness of the Almighty God? May the spirit that indwells in you no longer be that spirit of the world, that ol’ serpent himself, which has been clothed in the magic of Christmas. For it is not the spirit of Christmas that we need, it is the Spirit of the one and only true living Word of God, the Christ himself.

Sisterlisa is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Growing in Grace Magazine and owner of AGMinistries, a devotion blog for women. She is married and homeschools her four children while remaining active in community service and leads the deaf ministry at her church.

Now here I am, a lady who has been fully clothed in that very same Christmas for all of my life. I believe everything that God has given to me in this article. I know the words of this article are true and I must follow and obey this understanding that the Lord has shown me today. Yet it is not just I, but my children and my husband as well. Pulling a child away from something that we have allowed to be grafted into their lives for many years is not an easy task. Their hearts will certainly experience rebellion and resistance to a change such as this. We do not want to breed resentment in the hearts of our children. Their hearts have been wooed over and handed over to that disguised enemy that calls himself the spirit of Christmas.

We must WIN their hearts back and pray for their hearts to be grafted in again to the Living God and His Spirit. Can you begin to make changes towards that goal? Can you at least eliminate portions of your holiday that are the most obvious sampling of the spirit of this culture? As we grow in Christ, we do not become all holy and all righteous in one day. Growth takes time, but can you begin growing today? Can we do some weeding of our garden this holiday season? I pray that God gives you wisdom as you embark on your journey back to the original lifestyle that God so genuinely wants us to have.

Are You Comfortable With Persecution?

Note: This month's article is on the serious issues of persecution. Please know that I have worked diligently at not writing graphic details of the events that took place at Columbine High School, but I have included links to news articles and factual information about that day. Please have your parent's permission before reading.



Many years ago on April 20th, 1999 we heard of the fatal massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado.

You may have heard about Miss Rachel Scott, the young Christian girl who was shot multiple times, then killed after she was asked by the gun man ,"Do you believe in God?" to which she replied, "You know I do."

Most Christians don’t think of America as a place that suffers persecution, yet on that fateful day we saw it unfold before our very eyes. After Miss Rachel’s parents heard the tapes of the gunmen speaking about their daughter, they were convinced that she was targeted for her faith in Christ.

After Miss Rachel’s death her parents began to read her journals and found that their daughter seemed to have a sort of premonition about her death one day being over her faith. Millions of Christians realized that we do indeed suffer from persecution right here in the United States.

Something that we desperately need to understand is that those two young men who attacked Columbine High School that day had a thought life of death for quite some time before they committed their crime.

Maybe you have never felt ‘persecuted’ for your faith such as Miss Rachel did, but perhaps you’ve had ‘friends’ who have shunned you for your Christians standards to avoid sin. Miss Rachel certainly suffered from social persecution long before she died for her faith. Miss Rachel believed in being kind to others and had a goal to end prejudice in her community. Miss Rachel wrote an essay on her thoughts and desires to make a difference in her community. Friends and relatives began 'Rachel’s Challenge' in what I believe to be an attempt to bring honor to their daughter’s desires to change her nation. You can join Miss Rachel’s Challenge here.

Perhaps you don’t attend a public school and are living comfortably in a Christian School or in the safety of your own home, being educated by those who love you the most, yet that doesn’t change the fact that there are Christian teens that need your prayers.

Your generation IS the next generation of this world. Should the Lord tarry His coming, you will be an adult living in this world with the teens that are your age right now. What kind of future do you want to have for yourself and for your family? Do you understand the importance of making an impact on your generation NOW? Do you currently pray for your generation?

I believe that if Miss Rachel had a chance to grow up that she would’ve become a phenomenal lady. What she wrote in her journal shows the intensity of her love for our Saviour and she had a fervent spirit of fulfilling her relationship with Christ by sharing about His Word and salvation message to those around her.

Do you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ who are currently suffering persecution in other countries? Miss Amanda shares an inspiring interview between her and a gentleman from VOM, Voice of the Martyrs, in her article in The Daily Newsroom. When was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone and saw them trust Christ as their savior? Miss Monica June shares some important tips on sharing the Gospel at her column The Faith Factor.

Let’s not be comfortable in our faith. Jesus did not sit in the comfort of a home simply enjoying life, He taught daily to everyone he came in contact with. Certainly there are safety measures that a teen needs to follow when sharing their faith with others, yet we must educate ourselves on how to share our faith. Most of us live in countries where we DO have the freedom of speech and we should be taking advantage of that while we still can.

We have brothers and sisters in the faith who are daily persecuted for spreading the news of Christ’s salvation and yet we sit in the comfort of our homes and rarely speak to those standing in line at the store. I’m thankful that someone spoke to me about Jesus’s death on the cross and how much he loves me. I am glad to know that the woman who shared the Gospel with me didn’t cower under the fear of bringing it up. We have nothing to fear when sharing the salvation message with those around us. Although the Scott Family misses their sweet Miss Rachel very much, they are proud of her for being bold in her faith and the impact her life and death brought to Americans has grown to reach many for the cause of Christ. I pray your life is one that reaches beyond boundaries in order to save a lost soul.

It Doesn't Matter

Many of us know the story of Job and how much he suffered. He lost his children, his home, all his cattle, and even suffered from boils all over his body. We hear about the 'patience' of Job, yet we forget to take notice that he also exemplified the Spirit's fruit of longsuffering.

When Lady Jess was about four years old, she suffered emotionally from her daddy not being in our lives. Some of you know our story of how God delivered my husband from an unhealthy lifestyle of drug abuse. We don't hold that back as a secret from the public eye. It is very much a part of our testimony in how God has changed our lives. Whenever I write or speak about this story, it all is to the glory of God and not to be a detriment to my husband's walk with Christ. His desire is that the Lord would use his story as a way to reach other men so that their families can also be restored through the power of Christ's resurrection.

One night, when Lady Jess was four years old, I tucked her into bed in my room. My mother was over for a visit and she was going to be sleeping in Jess' room. My mother and I stayed up later than Jess so that we could talk. A while later I could hear talking from my room. It was a slight whisper, or so it seemed from where I was in the living room. I thought she was being disobedient to me tucking her in for the night, so I slipped quietly over to the door that was cracked open. What I saw caused me to freeze in my steps. I motioned to my mother so that she could come see what I was seeing. There in my room, on her knees, beside my bed, was little Lady Jess. This four year old little girl had her head bowed and her hands firmly folded and cried in agony to the Lord. I had never, and still have never, seen a small child such as this, agonize in prayer like that. She cried and sobbed out her words to the point where she could barely breathe. These were the words she prayed,

"Dear God..Oh Dear God(sniffle).........(sobs and deep breathing) won't you PLEASE bring my daddy back home?!?(long sobs......) I miss him so much! Wherever he is right now, please tell him that I love him(silence......) and bring my daddy home. please God, Oh PLEASE bring my daddy home soon. Help him to love you and make his heart right with you....."

I quietly crept back away from the door to allow her to have that moment alone with her God. That night I realized that my four year old daughter had a very real and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. As much as I wanted to rush to her side to bring comfort to her and hold her in my arms, I knew that honor belonged only to the Lord himself. His Holy Spirit is the only one who could bring comfort to her little aching heart. I don't know how many nights she prayed like that, but I do know that she was bearing the fruit of longsuffering.

Now maybe you question the Lord, because after all how could a loving God allow such a heartache in a small child like that? This is a serious question that many people find themselves asking time and time again. Our dear friend Marsha does not get to snuggle with her little son, Christian, anymore and his brothers feel that loss. Christian went to heaven just a few weeks ago. This last month may have felt like a year to their family, yet the pain can sometimes feel like he just left yesterday. Our other dear friend Miss Megan has been without her precious daughter Kelly for some time now and her sons miss their sister. Another friend of ours, a single mom, just went to heaven and left behind three teen boys. Why do children go through such suffering?

I can tell you this, my daughter Jess exhibits the fruit of longsuffering and it has enhanced her walk with God and her faith in Him as well. She may have gone through a tremendously difficult time at such a young age, but God is always working! Shortly after that night when she prayed, she was sitting in Sunday School. Next to her sat a girl who could not stop the flow of tears from her eyes. Every second her crying became stronger until the teacher could no longer teach through her sadness. Their teacher was our Pastor's Wife. She told me about this later that night. Our Pastor's Wife said that this story was the topic of conversation around Pastor's dinner table that day.

She looked at the new little girl and said, "Sweetie, why are you crying? Are you ok?" The girl replied with tears streaming down her face, "The police came to my house last night and took my daddy away. I don't know when I'll get to see him again." At that moment, before the teacher could say anything, little Lady Jess, at the age of four years old, wrapped her arm around the little girl and said these words, "It's ok. I'll be your friend today and I won't leave you."

Little Lady Jess stayed by her side ALL morning and never took her arm off the other girl's shoulder. God has used her own grief and sorrow and turned it into a precious fruit called longsuffering. She knows that God is faithful. She easily could have lost her faith and cried over her own sadness, yet she was filled with the Spirit and showed compassion to a little girl who was experiencing a similar loss, the loss of her daddy being at home.

Little Lady Jess continued to pray for her daddy and did not give up hope. Not only that, but she continued to pray through her pain and when the day came that her daddy finally did come home, she experienced that sweet answer to prayer with tears yet again. Only this time her tears were of joy. The Spirit had brought a relief to her heart and her burden was lifted.

Psalm 126:5, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."

A few years after our family was reunited, Lady Jess had an opportunity to participate in 'Show and Tell' at her Christian School. It was near Christmas so she wrote a story about why Jesus is better than Santa Clause. At the end of the story she says, "and Jesus is better than Santa Clause because Jesus changes lives. He changed my daddy's life and so this is why my show and tell is my daddy." Then her daddy walked into the room and the teacher cried. Her daddy spoke to the kids for a minute about hod God does change lives still today and then went back to work for the day. Two kids in class rose their hands and with tears in their eyes asked Lady Jess, "Can God help my dad too?" Both of those children had dads who were in prison. She was so happy to know that what she had suffered through for so many years, was bringing encouragement to other people.

I know it's hard to live day to day with a heartache, but God is still in control. He knows our pain and Jesus still prays for us today. He suffered through a cruel death on the cross for us. Thinking about how much pain we suffer, does not even compare to what he suffered for us. We can take one day at a time, pray to the Lord, and bear the fruit of longsuffering. It really doesn't matter what we go through in comparison to what Jesus went through for us.