seeking love.

Recently I began a journey with a dear friend through the book of Jeremiah. When she suggested Jeremiah, I wasn't sure why, but my excitement grew. Within the first two chapters alone, the Lord spoke to me.

"Why do you beautify your way to seek love? Therefore you have also taught the wicked women your ways." Jeremiah 2:33

The words practically jumped off the page at me.

Why do you beautify your way to seek love? I wasn't reading the verse anymore. Instead, I was listening to that still voice in my soul. And it hit me. Hard.

I do beautify my way to seek love. Chances are, you do too. It seems to me that there are two ways we beautify our way to seek love. We're either looking for love in all the wrong places and by using the wrong vehicles, or we're seeking the wrong kind of love, which ironically, isn't really love at all.

Sometimes I get so caught up in seeking the approval and affection of others and I completely miss seeking the Lord and His love. Then even as I realize that, I try and justify it or rationalize it, usually in the name of serving or ministering. Even when I have the approval and affection of others around me, I'm still left unsatisfied. We weren't made to find fulfillment in the love of anyone other than the Lord Himself. Really, seeking the love of anyone else above or before God is sin, and is therefore unproductive to our quest. I've talked before about my struggle with doing versus being, and fighting to find my identity and worth in works. Sometimes even if I'm seeking love from the right Source, I still go about it the wrong way. It's easy to get caught up in the checklist mentality and expect that once our list has been cleared, we should find fulfillment and satisfaction in love. In reality, God loves us not based on anything we could ever do to earn His love, but rather because He Himself is gracious and chooses to love us because of who He is.

Take a minute and let that sink in. I need to marinate in that for a minute too. The Lord loves me--and you--because of who He is, NOT because of anything that you could ever do or not do.

So what do you think, what's your story? Where do you seek love and affection? How do you beautify your own way?

God, forgive me for trying to make beautiful that which ultimately separates me from you. Help me remove the masks that I use to make my sin beautiful, and show me how to seek love, affection, and approval from You alone.

JH Memories

Lesson 9: Miriam

Did you ever see the Prince of Egypt? That was a while back, but it is the beautiful story of the life of Moses. The clip you watched shows Moses' sister, Miriam watching over the baby as he floated down the river. Miriam was a young girl with a big job, not to mention watching out for crocodiles. Can you imagine first of all putting your baby brother in a basket and sending him down the river in hopes the ladies of royalty would save him  and then having to dodge crocodiles. You see, the Egyptians were killing the male Jews during this time and Moses was in danger. Miriam's courage and boldness not only saved Moses life, but allowed him to live in the palace with his mother and sister taking care of him.

Most people forget about Miriam after the baby in the basket part, but read on in Exodus 14:21-31. Miriam was there when Moses parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross and the river drowned the Egyptians. In Exodus 15: 20 it says she was a prophetess and she was a role model for women. She led them in praise and worship. Wow! Miriam continued to grow in her faith through the years. Are you closer to God today than when you were younger?

Want to be a leader? Here are three traits of Miriam you can follow:
1) Be faithful in little. Be faithful in any task God has for you and in the day to day living we have to do. God will bless you with more opportunities to lead when you are faithful in the small things.
2) Live a life of praise. This means not just on Sunday, but everyday giving praise to God.
3) Lead others to God. We lead others because we are following the Lord ourselves.

Everyone makes mistakes. Miriam was a typical woman.. she had problems with her mouth. It is so easy to say the wrong thing or say too much. Miriam criticized Moses and his new wife. God grew angry and gave Miriam leprosy. It seems like a pretty severe consequence to running her mouth, but it is an important lesson for all of us. When we are concerned with something we need to take it straight to God in prayer, rather than discussing it with everyone we meet, or even just our close friends. Since we as ladies love to talk, we quickly can find ourselves becoming critical of others or passing on stories that don't build others up. This lesson speaks straight to the heart of us talkers.. that even when we have grown a lot in the Lord, we have to constantly be on guard about our mouths. We have to stay in prayer so that God can guide our thoughts and words.

As a happy note, Miriam was healed after a week and let back into the camp. The Israelites were then able to move again toward the Promised Land. God loves us so much that he does discipline us. What have you learned from the life of Miriam? What a great example of God's love and grace for us even when we fail him.

Lesson 8: Esther

Esther, one of my favorite stories in the Bible. A poor, common girl rises to power as Queen and stays true to her faith and beliefs. In the end her bravery saves a nation of Jews. Pretty awesome stuff, and I forgot to mention the mushy love part in between when she marries the king. Does God still do things like this today?

I believe He does. Our lives may not be quite as romantic or dramatic as the life of Esther, but I do believe God has a plan for each of us and when we trust Him He makes the perfect path for us.

Part of Esther 4:14 says, " And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" When things are rough and we don't understand why we are in the middle of them, how about thinking that maybe God placed us in a situation at just the right time for us to learn something or to serve in some way. For Such a Time as This! Will this school year be that time for you? Esther prayed and acted in faith when she knew of an evil plot to rid the country of Jews, even her own relatives. She was bold to do the right thing and tell the king. Faith is doing the right thing while trusting God to work it out for the best. She saved a whole nation because of her boldness. Are we willing to be that bold in our everyday lives?

This chapter lists character traits of Esther. Take a little quiz and see where you are with these traits in your own life.
1) She valued obedience more than comfort.
2) She sought wisdom.
3) She cared more for others than saving her own neck.
4) She was available to God to be used in His world.

Esther was a beautiful woman inside and out. It is pretty obvious from the story that she spent more time working on her inward beauty, rather than just the outward appearance. Are we spending quality time working on our inward beauty with the Lord? I hope you enjoy reading about Esther this week. Her story is full of romance, drama, and happy endings. What character traits will you take from Esther and apply in your own life?

GirlTalk: Pamper.

Ok, chicas, it's time to wrap up our summer GirlTalks. I can't believe that summer's almost gone! Let's go out with a bang!

You're invited to GirlTalk: Pamper

When: Thursday, August 5th, 6:30-8:30pm

Where: Lori Elliott's house

It'll be a night of relaxation and pampering just for you!

Bring your friends and any nail polish colors you may want to use or share!

To ride the shuttle to the Elliotts', meet at RBC in front of the FC at 6pm.

The shuttle will return to RBC by 9pm.

For directions to the Elliotts' house, click here.

Contact Jessie with any questions: jstone@ridgecrestbaptist.org or 417.885.5275.

See you Thursday!