Encouragement For Women

Lesson/Week Eight In March of this year(2010) pastor John McArthur had the following to say to his congregation. “We enter into an undeserved, unearned condition of complete and total forgiveness by the sheer grace of God. That is the model for our forgiveness. We forgive out of grace, not because somebody earned it. We offer forgiveness freely, unconditionally, without restraint, without restriction. And with that offer of forgiveness, we abandon all animosity, all anger, all hatred, all desire for retaliation, all desire for vengeance, all bitterness. And this will guarantee for us a life free from the root of bitterness that it talks about in the book of Hebrews, free from carking anger and hostility that eats away at the joy of the soul. Forgiveness is the most godlike thing you can do. And He is the model. You forgive and you forgive again, and you forgive again, and you forgive again. As we learn from our Lord’s words to Peter, “You forgive seventy times seven, seventy t...

Lesson/Week Seven Pastor Neil Montgomery of New Heart Community Church in McKinleyville, CA exhorted his congregation October 10 th this year by reminding them of the following; We cannot focus on our own abilities, strength and status to accomplish God’s purposes. We must become profoundly aware that only God has the power to win the victory in the battles we face. Gideon is a great example of this truth. When we become so enmeshed in secular culture that we don’t even notice when we adopt ungodly practices- we reap the consequences. The solution: God’s word must be our standard and final authority for life and faith. Be like the Bereans. Make the time for God’s word. We cannot let our desires and impulses begin to rule our lives – rather that place should belong to the Holy Spirit. Samson is a good example of this. We continue in the cycle of spiritual entropy (peace, complacency, sin, pain, ...

Lesson/Week Six Now that you are riding your heart of bitterness (see, this will be an ongoing task) and you are seeking God’s forgiveness so that you will have a heart of forgiveness towards others (we cannot hold onto grudges, bitterness and records of wrongs – and at the same time be forgiven) be prepared for the “pop quizzes”. A quiz is a mini test, to show what you know. The “pop” portion is the unexpected hour at which the quiz arrives for you to prove your knowledge and show how to use it. These quizzes are like the aftershocks of an earthquake. The main test was the first time you faced a similar situation (the “earthquake”) and all the quizzes like aftershocks will follow. Some will be small, yet some will be almost as devastating as the action(s) that first threw you into the “pit of despair and bitterness”. In order to be prepared for the “pop quizzes”/aftershocks of life – you’ve got to be prepared. Once a year many Californians participate in th...