Tag: Beauty

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, For Such A Time As This, From the Insideout, God is good, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time

Victory Belongs to Our God

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Based on the study, For Such A Time As This, by Love God Greatly

Read: Esther 2:12-18 and SOAP verse 17/w2d2

 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval more than all the other young women. So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen in place of Vashti.

Esther 2:17

“And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval more than all the other young women.” Regardless of how often I have read this story, this line gets me every time. I think it’s because, for me, seeing God work behind the scenes is the real beauty of Esther’s story. As I read it today, I could not help but think of David and Goliath. Weird, right? Yet somehow, the odds that a young shepherd boy and his sling would take down the mighty giant with one stone seem very comparable to a Jewish girl named Esther, being chosen as one of “many attractive young women,” paraded before the king, and being chosen queen of Persia. There was something different about Esther that stood out, something that caused her to not only find favor in the king’s eyes but to be loved more than any of the other women. I believe that, as surely as God was with David, providing all that he needed to defeat the Giant, He was also with Esther, giving her all that she needed to capture the king’s heart.

Seeing God work behind the scenes is the real beauty of Esther’s story.

Friends, in the daily battles to slay the giants and come out on top of the demands of the day-to-day to-do list and challenges life throws at us, may we find God at work within us. May we trust Him to give us victory even when the way seems or looks impossible. May we remember that the battle, whatever it is, belongs to the Lord our God. May we never doubt that nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible with God!

From Such A Time As This, journal entry p71

Prayer

Father God, I am so grateful for all the ways I have seen You work in my life. I look back to my childhood and I see Your hand, through my teen years, my married years, childbirth, hardships, joys, and sorrows. Even in the days that I ignored You or fled from You – I look back and see how in love You pursued me. As a child, when I was hit by the car – you spared me. When I had the tubal pregnancy – it was You who brought me through the emergency surgery. When I struggled with overwhelming anxiety – You came to my rescue and delivered me from captivity to fear. Father the list is endless and each memory strengthens me for the battles of today – for I look on them with confidence that You my God are with me – You have gone before me and come behind me and have filled me a hope that pierces through the darkness and guards me from the pits that seek to engulf. Your purposes are trustworthy and and good. Blessed be Your holy name, O Lord God Almighty! The battles and the victories belong to You! – Amen and amen!

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, Triumphs over Trials

Beauty of the Heart

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based on the Love God Greatly Study, Trials and Triumphs / w3d1

The Journey(Scripture and Observation)

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:1-7 and SOAP: verses 3-4

Let your beauty not be external—the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes— 4 but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.

1 Peter 3:3-4 NET

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”? According to Wikipedia, it’s an old saying or “expression for an avoidable error in which something good or of value is eliminated when trying to get rid of something unwanted.” In full disclosure, this is what I found myself doing as I began reading today’s passage. Why? Because I’m no longer a wife, and because I’m not – I find myself mentally eliminating the portions of passages where husbands and wives are mentioned. The problem with doing this is that God’s Word is not meant to be diced up or thrown out according to what we deem necessary or unnecessary to/for our lives – for all Scripture has been breathed out by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that we, as God’s servants, may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So, while the photo we want to snap of this particular day’s journey is Peter’s emphasis on the comparison between external and internal beauty, we must be careful not to throw out the rest of the passage simply because it seems insignificant or makes us feel uncomfortable. Since the Love God Greatly journal entry1 today does such a wonderful job of explaining the entirety of the passage, I am sharing it with you (in its entirety, including the prayer) with the encouragement to take in the whole passage and allow God to use it to equip you for every good work.

In ancient Rome, societal norms dictated that husbands held absolute authority over their families. Imagine being a woman whose newfound faith in Christ wasn’t shared by her husband. While husbands who became Christians would bring their whole family to church, women did not have that authority. Wives who became Christians would likely have to walk a delicate path, navigating their way to church alone, possibly against the wishes of their spouse. For many women around the world, this is still a reality.

Peter emphasizes the fleeting nature of external beauty – a beauty that is meticulously crafted with the latest fashions and trends with the goal of impressing others. Instead, he encourages us to cultivate a beauty that radiates from within a beauty marked by the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). This beauty doesn’t fade; it matures and deepens with time.

Being “submissive” can be a touchy and misapplied topic. It’s often misunderstood and sometimes misused yet Jesus Himself exemplified it perfectly. He submitted to God’s plan, demonstrating immense strength and profound love. As Peter teaches, submission never compromises our obedience to God. It does not mean being a “doormat” or remaining in an unsafe or abusive situation or enduring harm or doing things that violate God’s Word or our conscience. But it does mean being meek enough to follow our husband’s leading (except into sin, of course). It is a resilient, godly posture motivated by love and done out of respect for God and others.

While there is not a specific list Peter gives of how a wife is to submit to her husband, he mentions Sarah, who submitted to Abraham, calling him “lord.” This showed an inner attitude of respect out of obedience to God’s commands. As Peter writes, women who did this well had their hopes resting in God, not on their own cleverness, charm, or beauty – not even in their own husbands. That’s why they could be fearless and strong, while at the same time having a quiet and tranquil spirit.

Living the Journey (Application)

Let’s ask God to help us have an inner beauty that points to Christ and leads others to know Him.

Prayer for the Journey

Dear Lord Jesus, teach us to prioritize the inner beauty that You cherish. Help us take care of the body You have entrusted to us, not out of vanity but as an act of worship to You. Amen.

The More We Know

For more insight check out today’s Love God Greatly Blog post

  1. Love God Greatly Digital Journal, Triumph Over Trials, p 94  ↩︎
Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

TRUTH OVER LIES: LIES ABOUT HAPPINESS

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Lie: Beauty and Health Bring Happiness

Read: Proverbs 31:30, Psalm 39:4 and SOAP: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Truth: So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.-

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NET
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
  • What lies do you believe about your body and your health?
  • What is the truth according to Scripture?

On average, an American woman spends $313 per month on her appearance. However, this high price of vanity does not guarantee happiness. Proverbs 31:30 tells us that our beauty fades. We cannot trust in it to bring us everlasting joy. –

For the full devotional

I would never tell Him that He made a flower the wrong color or made a mountain too tall or too wide but yet I looked at myself and could only see the flaws. –

you won’t want to miss the rest of this blog –