Lessons from before
Starting from New to Old:

~*What does the Bible say*~ September 15, 2002.
What does the Bible say about the Tongue? What did God make the tongue for? People don't realiz what God made in the tongue, the Bible gives us a whole lot to think about concerning the tongue. In Proverbs 12:18 it says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." If you think about it, how many times a day do you use reckless words? Proverbs 15:2 "The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly." Proverbs 15:4 "The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit." Proverbs 18:21 "The tongue has the power of life and eath, and those who love it will eat its fruit." The tongue has the power of life and death, that is something that most people don't realize! What you say to someone can change an eternity for them, either for good or for bad. Even if you smile at someone that is down and depressed, it can make a world of difference. It says in James 3:4-12 "Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
We never realize what a big impact our tongue makes, James says that it's not right that Salt water and fresh water bubble out of the same river... it's not possible! So it's not supposed to be with the tongue... your lips should be praising the king and to uplifting one another in the Lord. Ephesians 4:29-32 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another " Proverbs 10:32 "The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse." Matthew 12:33-37 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him." What is stored up in you? What are you allowing to come inside of you? If you put Jesus in, then Jesus comes out....

The Tongue is made for:
Prayer/Praise ~ 1Peter 3:12~James 5:13-16~Colossians 4:2~Philippians 4:4,6~
Encourageing/Uplifting ~ Hebrews 3:13~2 Timothy 4:2~1 Timothy 5:14~
Witnessing ~ 1 Corinthians 9:16-18~1 Corinthians 1:17~Romans 10:14-15~

Matthew 12:36-37 "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
Everything you say will be accounted for, whether for the good or bad. Do you think about every word you say? Or do somethings just slip out? If everything you say will be accounted for and JUDGED.... what does that tell you about what you say and how much of an impact it can have?
Colossians 4:6 "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

I don't know what else to tell you all, think about what I said in here... and I'll put verses at the end so that you can see what else the Bible has to say. I didn't write much (I know) but I wanted to give you all what the Bible says, not what I have to say about it.
God bless you all, a sister forever in the Lord....
~*HADDY*~

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Verses:

EPH 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. [30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [31] Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. [32] Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
JOB 5:21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes.
PR 10:20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
PR 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
PR 15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
PR 15:4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life,
but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
PR 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.
JAS 3:3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. [4] Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. [5] Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. [6] The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
JAS 3:7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, [8] but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
JAS 3:9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. [10] Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. [11] Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? [12] My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
PR 10:11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
PR 10:31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
but a perverse tongue will be cut out.
PR 10:32 The lips of the righteous know what is fitting,
but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.
MT 12:33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. [34] You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. [35] The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. [36] But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. [37] For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
MT 15:16 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. [17] "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? [18] But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man `unclean.' [19] For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. [20] These are what make a man `unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him `unclean.' "
Colossians 4:5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. [6] Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
RO 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary:"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."





~*What does the Bible say*~ April 1, 2002
How many times in the Bible did Jesus say "Follow Me"? I don't really feel like counting, but if you look, He told every person that He called His deciple to "Follow" Him. He was saying "Come and follow me, become like me, act like I act, do what I do, be like ME, follow me". He is the teacher, and we are the students. It is written in Matthew 10:24-25 "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master" John 13:13 "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am." Matthew 23:10 "Nor are you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ." So we are called to follow Him in His footsteps. To act like He acted, have compassion on others, show people love by actions, give hope to the hopeless, love to the unlovable, healing to the sick, a friend to the friendless, the list goes on. Are you being Jesus to people or are your words trying to convince people that you have Jesus?
* * * * *
You are in a store, and you see someone and God speaks to you about her, "She needs me, talk to her". So you go up to this girl--- STOP, what are you going to do? Are you going to tell her about how she is damned to hell, and that she HAS to repent? What are you going to do? What did Jesus do? He gave hugs to the ones who were down, he reached out in love, if God speaks to talk to someone, watch their posture, do they look sad, happy, preppy, lonely, hyper, what are they? ACTION--- so now you know what you are going to do right? This girl looks like she has had a bad day, what would you do? What would Jesus do? Would He give her a hug, ask her how her day was, smile at her? What should you do to show her Jesus?
* * * * *
Answer: By actions. You can't tell people that there is a Jesus out there who loves them if they have never had someone love them. You show them Jesus, by BEING Jesus to them, what would Jesus do if He were walking in your shoes?
What about that guy sitting alone at school eating lunch? What about that girl who is walking slow with her head down? What about the little group beside the store smoking away their life? Who will tell these people if no one cares about them? How can Jesus reach people who need Him if no one is willing to reach out in LOVE and NOT condemnation?
Think about it, how many times a day do we look at people who smoke and try to avoid them cause we don't want to inhale the smoke, or something like that? But didn't Jesus reach out and TOUCH those with leprosy (Mark 1:40-42)? Jesus had compassion on people, do we? He loved people so much, a world which hated Him, that He died for them, are you willing to suffer a bit of humilaition for such a world as this?
And there are even Christians who need love! They try to know God, but no one loves them for who they are, no one wants them. It drives them away from God when there is no love, no friends to show them God's love. I was once one of those people, no one would really love me, I did not really love God, I did not really want to. But then I went on my missions trip (Cause I thought it would be "cool"), and everyone loved me and loved me for who I was, THEN I saw that God loved me for who I was. I can now whole-heartedly believe that there is a God who loves me, and now I am determined to show others, people who were just like I used to be, the love of God. I want to be the friend to the friendless, the hope to the hopeless, give hugs to the down-trodden, etc..
Jesus called us to follow Him, here are some verses that illistrate:

John 12: 26 "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."
Mark 8:34-38 "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels"."
Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, "... go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
1John 4:16-17 "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him."
1John 4:19-21 "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."
1John 4:7-12 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

We are to love like He loved us, Jesus said in John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 15: 12 "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:17 " This is my command: Love each other." And how did He love us? John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." 1 John 4:10 "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."
So what do you think? What do these verses tell you? What does it speak to your heart?

I know that this is not very long, but I want you all to think about this. Take some time and just talk to Abba God about it.
I will leave you all with this verse:

PS 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
God bless you all,
Your sister in Him,
~*Haddy*~





~*What does the Bible say*~ March 27, 2002
"My love is not my own- it all belongs to you- and after all you've done- the least that I can do- is live my life- in every part- only to please my Father's heart."
This is a song by Rachel Lampa (called "My Father's heart"). God is calling (and has been calling us) to live our lives in Him, to give it all to Him, ALL. Like in Deuteronomy 6:5 says, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Did you notice how he wrote "All" not just "some" or "as much as you want to", and did He say "If you feel like it, then Love the Lord your God..."? No, look in the verse after this one, "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts." It was a commandment. But God is not going to force us to love Him (remember He said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15)"); we have a choice to love Him. He gave us a choice.
* * * * * *
How would you feel if you knew that one of your friend only loved you cause she/he was forced to? How would you feel? Would you rather that friend love you cause they "want" to love you?
* * * * * *
God does not want you to love Him cause you feel "forced" (Don't obey Him cause you feel like you have to) or cause you were grown into knowing God existed. He wants you to love Him because you make that choice to love Him. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I can admit that I do half those things wrong to God, when I am being tested, I can't suffer long till I get mad, I am not always kind, I envy things, I can be full of pride and puffed up, I can behave rudely, I am selfish, I think evil, I do not endure all things. Those verses point out what love is to God. Is your love to God that way? I know that mine isn't, and I am going to start working on it right now. In Galatians 5:17 Paul wrote, "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." But we are masters over our Body's, Paul wrote again in I Corinthians 9:26-27 "Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave..." You can control your thoughts (Hebrews 3:1), your actions (Proverbs 29:11), and your words (James 3:9-12).
God is looking for people who are totally devoted to Him, who obey Him cause they want to, not because they feel forced or a great need to help others. But because they truly want to serve and to love the Father, they want to please Him. That is who God is looking for. David wrote in Psalm 14:2 "The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if there is even one with real understanding, one who seeks for God." And then again in 52:2 "God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if there is even one with real understanding, one who seeks for God."
This week, focus on serving Him out of "Love". Not just because you feel "obligated", or because you think that is the right thing. But truly do it cause you want to. Yes we are servants to Him and are bound to do His will, but Jesus said in John 15:14-15 " You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." He wants us to be His friends, not servants. He wants to reveal His plan to you, but are you seeking? Are you asking? Are you listening? "Ask and it will be given, seek and you will find... (Matthew 7:7)".
I don't feel much more being laid on my heart to share, but at the end of this I will type out some songs that really show the heart of what I am trying to say.
Let me leave you with these verses:
MT 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4. Blessed are those who mourn,
For they will be comforted.
5. Blessed are the meek,
For they will inherit the earth.
6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they will be filled.
7. Blessed are the merciful,
For they will be shown mercy.
8. Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they will see God.
9. Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they will be called sons of God.
10. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.


God bless you all, and I hope that this lesson helped someone out there.
A sister in Christ,
Haddy
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Let Jesus be the center of your life, every thing you do. The way you walk, talk, act move, think, of every part. Also remember that it is all about Him; your life, your school, your clothes even. Jesus made you who you are for HIM, not for YOU! All of this is for Him, for His glory and His fame:

~*IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU*~
It's all about you- Jesus- And all this is for you- for your glory and your fame- It's not about me as- if you should do things my way- You alone are God- and I surrender- to your ways.
Jesus- lover of my soul- all consuming fire is in your gaze- Jesus- I want you to know- I will follow you all my days- for no one else in history is like you- for history itself belongs to you- Alpha and omega- you have loved me- and I will share eternity with you...

~* JESUS BE THE CENTER*~
Jesus, be the center, be my source, be my light, Jesus.
Jesus, be the center, be my hope, be my song, Jesus.
Be the fire, in my heart, be the wind, in these sails, be the reason, that I live, Jesus, Jesus.
Jesus, be my vision, be my path, be my guide, Jesus.
Be the fire, in my heart, be the wind, in these sails, be the reason, that I live, Jesus, Jesus.





~*What does the Bible say*~ January 22, 2002
Jesus, I want only what you want to happen in this lesson! I pray, Father, that you anoint my hands and my mouth, my mind and my thoughts to what you would have me to say today through your word... I love you Abba, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to share what You have to say to people today!
Ok... Now today I really want to stress about haveing Quiet Times (A time set aside just to spend time with God every morning). I really do not know where to begin. I guess I will just start by saying what ever God brings to my thoughts.
God is our Father right? And Jesus is His son, which is our friend. Do you say that you love God or Jesus (they are kinda the same "John 14:10 "Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.")? I know so many people who say that they "Love" Jesus, or they "Love" God... But will not take the time to spend with Him. Do you take time in the morning to show your love to God? Even at night? Or is your scheduel too crowded? And even if you do take time to spend with Abba Father ( Romans 8:15 "...but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." [16] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.") do you actually learn anything, do you get anything out of that time that you set aside with God? Or is it boring and the Bible is just the "same old book"? Or do you have them and you just read and then you say "well I had my time with God for today"... and go on with your day? If you say you love God, you should WANT to be with Him! If you truely loved Him you would WANT to be close to Him, you would WANT to have an intament relationship with Him!!! In Psalm David wrote "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" (That was Psalm 42:1-2). He was THIRSTY for GOD!!!! he asked "When can I go and meet with God?", is that your cry? You can meet with God in your room, on your bed, He is with you always ("Even to the end of the age" Matthew 28:20). Here is a story to illistrate what I am trying to say:

Imagine that there is a girl named Sandy, and she has a friend named Becky. Now they always "said" that they loved eachother to their friends, Sandy would say "Oh I love Becky, she is so awesome.", and Becky would say "Oh yeah, I really do love Sandy, she is really cool". But listen for a moment at what they think durring the week...
Sandy's thoughts: "Well, I love her, but.... I do not really have time for her! I hope she does not mind, I just really cannot fit her into my very BUSY scheduel. I have to work, go to school, clean the house, go shopping, I am just too busy."
Here are Becky' thoughts: "Oh man, I really want to spend time with Sandy, I think I will make room in my scheduel to spend time with her. I really do love her. I have soooo much to do this week, but I really want to spend time with her,"

Now, which one do you think really loved the other? Did their words match up with their thoughts? I know that this is not a true story, and it sounds down right silly to me to be honest! But, that is what we do with God, we say to every one at church "Oh I love Jesus" "Oh I love God" "Oh He is so awesome", but... do you really love Him? You know the phrase "Actions speak louder then words", well it is true! There is something that Jesus said that is kinda similar, but not the "Exact" same.. He said in Matthew 23:27 "... You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. [28] In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." I wanted to show you that to say this: Do not say you love God, till on your inside you truely do! When you love God for REAL (you show it to Him, not to men, Look in Matthew 6:6 "But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."), when you really love Him, then it will show on the outside, you will not have to say it, people will be able to tell that you really LOVE God! Spending time with Daddy, God, is very important in our daily lives. Just like when you spend time with someone, you become like them right? They influence your life, So it is the same with God, the more time you spend with Him, the more you become like Him! I know this from experience: Every morning I wake up (an hour or 2 before I have to go anywhere) and I spend an hour or 2 just talking to Him and worshiping Him, praying, and reading His word. Sometimes I will clean my room and pray or makeup my bed while I pray, and from all that, I have become more like Him. I do not have to tell people that I love God, people tell me "I can really tell that you love God". It shows when you really mean it, What is on your inside shines through what is on your outside! "Why do I need to have them in the mornings?" "What do I do when I have them?"... these are questions I have been asked by people before, here are my answers:

"Why in the Mornings"... because that is the beginning of your day, it starts you day out! You start out your day by talking to God and by 'giving' Him your day. Every morning before I finish each Quiet Time I say "God, this is the day that you have given me, and I thank you! But I give it back to you, do whatever you want with me day, it is all yours. Do with me what you will..." And I just go on like that, God gave you life! He is what allows you to live Day by Day, you could die any day... but it is by His grace that you are alive, so every morning I thank Him for that, and I give my day back to Him. And I tell Him that I will do whatever He wants me to do for Him, cause I am His. David wrote in Psalm 143:8 "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." David said, "the Morning", and he said, "Show me the way I should go", in the morning He wanted God to show Him the way He should go throughout the day. Then he wrote in Psalm 5:3 "In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."
Psalm 88:13 "But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you."
Psalm 90:14 "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."

"What do I do when I have them"... First pray! That is a must, and praying means "Talking to God", or actually "A conversation with God". Don't just sit and pray and pray, don't bring God your "Wish list" (all the things you "want"), but talk to Him! In Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." David wrote "WAIT" for the Lord, don't just talk and talk, (remember He is just like a friend, so with a friend you would not YAP and never let your friend talk, you would not be a good friend that way, you have to let the other person talk, so that way it is a 2-way relationship) let Him talk to you as well. Remember that verse I just showed you "In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation". He waits for the Lord to answer Him!!! Then, read His word! Read your Bible, remember that it is called "His word", sometimes God will speak to you through the Bible (He does to me a lot, I will have a question and I ask Him to answer me, I open the Bible and the answer lays rigth there in front of my eyes). And don't just read it, before you read it ask God "Open my eyes to see what you are saying through your word to me today", do not copy that prayer, but pray something like that, God will open your eyes, every morning when I pray that; His word comes alive to me, every verse I read I am like "!!!WOW!!!". And also memorize the scritpures, in the Bible it says: Psalm 119:10 "I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. [11] I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." If you hide His word in your heart, then it will remind you what He has said, that way you will not sin against Him! One verse that has been my favoritet (that I memorized) is James 1:2-8, but I will just repeat the first part for you: "My bretheren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience" (that is NKJV, here is NIV "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance"). Then after you read and memorize, you worship! Alway worship, you can read your Bible with worship music going on in the background (I am doing that now, I am typing this with worship in the background). And it really soothes your spirit and calms you down a whole lot! So: Pray, read His word (and Memorize), and worship!

Alright, I think I have written a bit much today huh? Sorry for the length, I really feel like this is what God wanted to speak about today. Here I will leave you with these verses:

Proverbs 3:3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.

3:4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

3:6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

God bless you all, a sister in Jesus Christ always,
Haddy





~*What does the Bible say*~ December 21 2001
What does the Bible say about Fear? In America fear is the main reason no one is witnessing to others, Every one has fear of what others think of them. But God did not make us with fear! It says in 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind". So God has not made us with a spirit of fear, but look what He said He *DID* Make you with, "Power, love, and a sound mind", SO he made us with the power to preach, the love to show His love to others, and peace to go about and witness with peace! God made us with a spirit of peace, we just have to trust Him and realize that He is really there, right there, in your room! Have you ever thought about the fact that God is always there? I mean really thought about it? Cause if you believed that God was always with you then you would probably not be afraid of witnessing right? So how do we know that GOd is always with us? Well lets look in Isaiah 41:10 God speaks "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." And then in Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus speaks is, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy spirit, Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." So first God says that he is with us, and then Jesus says that He is with us always. And look, He 'Commanded' us to preach to others and then He told us that He is with us always, He was saying preach to others and He will be with us while we preach! I love that. And also in Mark 10:27 it says "But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible"." In this verse He was talking about salvation. But He said that with God all things are possible! Also look in Luke 1:37 "For with God nothing will be impossible." If we have God and go to witness to others then it will not impossible! It says in Philipians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". That is pretty clear too, It is Chist who will give you the strength, not your looks, or your knowledge. But all of us humans have fear of what people think, and we never can grasp the fact that no matter what God is always by our side and taking care of us. Look back up at the verse Matthew 28:20 "Lo, I am with you always"! I think that is awesome that we have a Father (yes a father, look in Matthew 23:9 "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.") that we can depend on being here 24/7... But our human self cannot comprehend that something UNSEEN is with us. So all this adds up to mean that our "Dad", who loves and cares only for our best (Matthew 6:26-31 "Look at the birds of the air, how they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value then they?...So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomom in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tommorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you..."), is always with us. Then why do we still have fear when we witness? Cause we think too much about what others think! We need to overcome that area of our life if we are going to be an affective witness:
People have so much fear about what people think about them, for us wemon we say "If I wear enough makeup then I will be beautiful" or "I need to lose weight cause I am too fat". But you only think that because people say that you are fat, when really you are beautiful as you are, God made you the way you are. Or for you men you think "I need to get muscel and be all 'buff'" or "If I wear those clothes then I will look good". You have to change the way you talk, walk, act, dress, every thing just to please others. You do not think about the fact that God made you the way that you are! Kind David said in Psalm 139:13-15 "For you formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made... My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in the secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts od the earth." He knew what you looked like before you came out, and then in Jeremiah 1:5 "before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you..." He made you the way you look before you put on the makeup, or worked till you dropped trying to losing weight or getting the muscel. Now I am not saying to be lazy and become a ball of chub (Proverbs 10:4 "He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the deligent makes rich."), or that makeup is evil, or that wearing the fashion is wrong, I am saying that you need to find your identity in Christ (Which means that you believe that God made you beautiful as you are, and you do not look to others for your identity (who you are), you look to Christ for your identity). In my own life, I used to believe the world and thought that I was worthless, but when I looked to Christ for my identity I figured out that I am not worthless, I have a purpose! I can look in the mirror and thank God for making me the way I look. So in this area you need to trust God that He made you the way you are, and don't tell Him that He did a bad job on you! He did exactly what was best, and to Him you ARE beautiful, you are His Child. If you look back at Jeremiah 1:5, then you see that He FORMED you! And I do not think that GOd makes mistakes, Every thing He did was on purpose:)
So first we trust Him, the second thing is you need to believe that you are beautiful, one way to do that is to thank Him for making you who you are. Believe that you are beautiful, don't believe the world any longer! No matter what people may say or what people may think of you, you need to remember that Jesus loves us and made us perfect and in His image (Genesis 1:27). So we have:
1. Trust Him.
2. Believe Him.
But not only do we think about what we look like, we think "But won't they think that we are nuts? Crazy because we believe in God?" In the Bible it says:
Matthew 10:16-22 "Behold, I send you out as a sheep in the midst of wolvs. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.... But when they deliver you, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in the hour what you should speak; For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your Father who speaks in you.... And you will be hated by all for My names sake. But he who undures to the end will be saved."
So not every one is going to listen, but atleast you obeyed what God said to do! Atleast you gave that person a chance to eccept Christ, Look at Matthew 5:10-11 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake." So God said that you are 'blessed' when you go through persecution, sometimes when I read that it makes me want to get persecuted, well sometimes. And also he is with you even in the persecution, and remember that 'He' is the one that they are persecuting, not you! But many will listen and believe what you say. And some people think that they have to have lots of knowledge to witness but if you speak then the Holy spirit will speak through you... I talked about this in my last lesson (about missions) but I will show you some of the same thing, look back up at Matthew 10:19-20 "But when they deliver you, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in the hour what you should speak; For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your Father who speaks in you." so just open your mouth in faith and he will speak through you! So there is no reason to fear, but we are human and so we fear. But we need to ignore the flesh and listen to the spirit. In Romans 8:5-6 Paul says "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." So put your mind on the things of Christ (Colossians 3:1-2, "Seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.") My whole point in this lesson was to show you that God loves you as you are and that you can witness without fear!
Let me leave you with these verses:
Matthew 16:15 "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation",
Philipiens 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who streangthens me."
Romans 10:14 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? [15] And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Don't just be a light in your neighborhood and your school, but be a light to the whole world:o)
God bless you all, a sister in Christ...
Haddy




*~What does the Bible say?~* Wednesday November 14, 2001.
What does the Bible say about preaching his name to other nations and peoples? Basically what does it say about going on am missions trip! That is the main thing I want to talk about here. I have been on 2 missions trips already and I am going on my third this summer to Thailand for a month, and I have one thing to say about missions. God works on you when you go and obey Him! When I went I thought, "I am going to bless these lost people of Jamaica". But when I got there, I was the one that ended up being blessed! I came to show Jesus to these people, but they brought Jesus to me... in the Bible it says in Matthew 25:35
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, [36] I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Skip over to verse 40 "The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
But my point is that He blesses you, more then you could ever imagine. He said in His word, Deuteronomy 28:2-6
"All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
DT 28:3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. (Wow that is neat huh? keep reading!)
DT 28:4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. (Well we do not have cattle and stuff, but that means dogs and cats, but also livestock was money to them too. And sheep made clothes and their food... so that covers a lot.)
DT 28:5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
DT 28:6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. (wow, that covers every thing!)
See? God will bless you in every thing if you only obey... but read on...
DT 28:13 "The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your
God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. (Now that is quite a promise!)
[14] Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today.
Now that whole chapter is awesome to read, but if you read on you will see that it talks about what happens to those who do not obey God. But my point is that God will bless you when you obey Him... "Where does it say that he tells us to go and preach His name to other countries?" You may be asking that, so here is your answer. Look in Matthew 16:15
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. [16] Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. [17] And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; [18] they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
Now that is clear isn't it? Jesus Himself said to go into *ALL* the world and to preach the good news (The news of His death and resurrection and forgiveness and love). Now some people say, "Well America is a mission field in itself!" Does that sound like ALL THE WORLD? Or does that sound like you want to stay in your comfort zone? Now I agree that God can call you to witness to people here, but what do you do in the summer? Sit around, watch TV, swim, and be lazy? I mean you might actually do something useful, but is it going to be worth anything in Heaven? When you die, nothing that you had here on earth, no material possessions, money, guns, will be worth anything in heaven! God said it in the Bible,
1 Timothy 6:17 "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. [18] Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. [19] In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."
The coming age that he spoke of was heaven! But here is another one that is a bit clearer, Matthew 6:19
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Is that a bit clearer? Do not store up your treasures in on earth! It is what you do for Jesus that will last forever!!!
Here is are some verses that REALLY get to the heart of the matter:
1 Corinthians 9:24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. [25] Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. [26] Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. [27] No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Wow! Now I do believe that God can tell you to stay here for the summer instead of going somewhere else! BUT you need to make sure that it is God speaking that to you, do not just say "Well God 'could' want me to stay here." But rather seek Him about it and be honest with Him, ask Him what He wants for your life. I know that God is calling me to Thailand cause I asked Him if He was calling me anywhere and He answered me and told me where He wanted me to go.
Now some of you may not believe that God can actually speak to people, and that is in the Bible too! It talked about how God actually spoke to Samuel, and Samuel thought it was Eli (the priest)( 1 Samuel 3:4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." [5] And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.
1SA 3:6 Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
"My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."
1SA 3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
1SA 3:8 The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. [9] So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, `Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
1SA 3:10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening.")... He could hear Him! I did not hear God talk to me like that, but I heard it in my heart, I could hear that faint voice inside me telling me where to go. You can preach to your friends and neighbors, YES, but my point was in the summer or when you have nothing to do, what do you do? For the past 2 years in the summer I go for about 2-3 weeks on a missions trip! And you cannot tell me that you are too young, cause my first missions trip to China was when I had just turned 13! And I went to Jamaica this year and I just turned 14. And you cannot have any excuse, Cause the Bible says in Philippines 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." So it is not you doing the preaching, it is Jesus preaching through you! You just have to obey Him and let Him to do what He wants to, and you will see miracles, and you will be blessed (see Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 4:31 "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.)
That is all I am going to say today, God bless you all, and please think about what I said! God can use any one, just be willing!! If you want info about trips for Teenagers (ages 12-up) you can go to GlobalExpoditions.com And look at all there trips this year, and pray if God wants to use you in another country! Some one may be waiting in Africa, in Thailand, in China, in Jamaica, in Costa Rica, or even in Peru... just for you to tell them about Jesus, some they have never heard of, and will never here of if you do not go (Romans 15: [20] It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. [21] Rather, as it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.")
Think about it today brothers and sisters!
Your sister in Jesus Christ always,
Haddy
P.S.
Here are some verses about preaching if you want to read them and find out more! And if you do not have time to go and get your Bible to look up scriptures then go to Crosswalk.com and they have an awesome Bible lookup there:)
********VERSES:*************
Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners."
Mark 3:14 "He appointed twelve, designating them apostles, that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach [15] and to have authority to drive out demons."
Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,"
Luke 4:43 "But he said, 'I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent'."
Luke 9:2 "And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. [3] He told them: "Take nothing for the journey--no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic."
Acts 10:42 "He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead."
Romans 10:14 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? [15] And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those
who bring good news!""
Romans 15:20 "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. [21] Rather, as it is written:
"Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand."
1 Corinthians 9: 16 "Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! [17] If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. [18] What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it."
2TI 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: [2] Preach the Word; be prepared
in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction.
John 15: [14] You are my friends if you do what I command. [15] I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Here are some Websites that are really neat to go to:
Teen Mania Teen Mania is a really neat site, they have discussion boards to chat rooms, missions trips to look at and online devotionals. Really neat site to peek into:).
Global Expeditions If you are thinking about going on a missions trip this year, then look at all the places Teen Mania are goin to (Global Expoditions is part of Teen Mania).
Cross Walk Cross Walk is has a full Bible lookup (in all different translations) and has many other things that are really neat.