Tamara

One cultivates inner beauty by cultivating the source of it -- a close relationship with our Creator and Savior. Through Him we learn how to truly love others, and what is inner beauty but the light of perfect love shining through us through our thoughts, words and actions. One gains character through challenging circumstances which force us to choose the path we wish to follow -- laying down our lives as Christ did in order to walk with our Father, or following our own selfish desires. As we grow in our walk, and our characters are strengthened through testing, it becomes more natural to choose the former and ignore the latter. True character is so important and precious to God, because it is the true essence of what and who He created us to be. Our true Christian character can be likened to the silver or gold which has been purified in the crucible. When God looks into our true characters -- those which have been sanctified by Christ and purified through testing, He sees his own Perfect reflection shining back. True character applies to marriage as well as all relationships in that with it we are able to love unconditionally. We are thus more accepting of our spouses, less dependent on them to "make us happy" and therefore happier and more pleasant to be around. I believe, though I speak from the female perspective, that a man admires in his wife all of those traits which shine forth from true character -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control, and will reflect them back to her in kind.

I agree with Jude -- and the Bible affirms it (I can only paraphrase) God is willing that none should perish, but should turn from sin and embrace the free gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible also says that men prefer to do their evil deeds under cover of darkness. Evoking God's Judgment casts light onto situations/behaviors that men would prefer hide. This in turn angers them. Without God's Judgment we have no need for a Redeemer. Leaving final judgment out of the message of the Gospel renders it neuter... it is no longer the "Good News," but just another option in the smorgasbord of feel-good religious and pseudo-religious messages men have to choose from.

MrsLeeJT could have written my response - I really appreciate her frankness and openness in sharing her own struggles. And, like Kas, I struggle with doubts -- which is absurd, because upon examining my own life and the lives of others I know who have shared their testimonies, I am overwhelmed by the evidence of God's existence and love for all of His children. In fact, it (God's Love and my Salvation through Christ) is the only Sure Thing I have ever had in my life. So why does Satan constantly pester me with doubts? I know the answer - it is because I am still weak in the area of child-like faith, and my doubts are an inroad for him to get me to slide in the intertwined areas of obedience and holiness -- becoming like Christ, which is how I define it. I noticed many of you expressed a difficulty with being in the Word. I think it is a struggle for all of us -- so much *easier* (relaxing?) to pick up a worthless magazine than the Bible isn't it? But what a difference in the way we feel afterwards once we've steeped our minds in His Word, instead of this world. I don't know if recommendations are allowed, but it was an amazing and life-changing gift for me to pick up a copy of the One Year Bible. When I've fallen out of the chronology, and don't know where to begin, I can just turn to the reading for "today" and read it all, or choose from the Old Testament, the New Testament, or Psalms and Proverbs readings. I also find the language very accessible without being off-puttingly modern. Thanks to this wonderful version, I have read more of the Old Testament than I ever had previously (Samuel and Kings I and II are great reads), and I just love the Psalms as well as the great nuggets of wisdom found in the daily Proverbs. I pray this will be of help to some of you who also struggle with this area. Tamara

In response to the last part of the question, I could not say it any better than Helen.

Thank you for recalling for us the silversmith metaphor. This is probably the loveliest and most moving description of it I have ever read. I am amazed and awed by the trials everyone has shared and the glory given to God in every one of them. Thank you to all for your courage in sharing them. God has allowed me to go through trials, as He does every Christian, and I have sometimes failed, sometimes passed the test of turning to Him in faith to get me through. As time goes on, I am learning to make turning to Him an immediate and instinctive response to each new challenge -- of course I want to avoid the consequences I've reaped when I've failed to do so. I believe God gives us trials -- and also sometimes allows us to fail -- in order to refine our faith, to make us more dependent upon Him. Blessings to all, Tamara

The basis of Christian joy that is "inexpressible and glorious" is the knowledge that our sins are forgiven through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. I remember the joy I experienced receiving Christ and being baptised at age 11. I remember being brought up out of the water and feeling so new and clean inside - reborn. I could not stop talking about it - I felt like jumping and dancing - for joy, of course . I cannot recall a single moment in my life, other than my wedding day and the births of my children, that can bring me such renewed joy by just thinking about it. (These all have in common new beginnings, created and blessed by God.) This joy interplays with human emotions in all the ways described by others throughout this lesson's questions. It gives us peace in times of upheaval, replaces anger with patience, hate with love, selfishness with kindness and goodness, rudeness with kindness and greediness with self-control. It differs from the pursuit of "happiness" in that once you have it, you no longer need to pursue it. It is intemporal, it always is, all we need is to dwell upon it to feel its effects anew. Human happiness, as others have pointed out, is temporal and must constantly be "pursued." Genuine joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and will not be shaken by temporary circumstances. Counterfeit joy is wholely dependent upon temporary circumstances. The person who can draw upon the joy of the Spirit in times of hardship experiences genuine joy. The person whose joy falls away at the first difficulty has yet to know true joy. Joy in Him, Tamara

I think in our media-saturated times, the battle must be nearly constant for most of us to fight the urge to excel in this world instead of preparing for the next. Unless we focus on the race (to eternity) as Paul exhorts us to do, we Christians can easily get caught up in leading somewhat "double" lives. Behaving as the world expects us to when in our more secular surroundings, and reserving the light God has blessed us with for the times when we are in our Christian circles. I know that has been my struggle since recommitting to Christ 10 years ago. Preparing ourselves daily to enter the secular world, through reading His Word and through prayer, is essential to keeping our minds focused on eternity - on the next "real" life, instead of this temporary one. Blessings to all, Tamara

Hello to all, my name is Tamara, I'm 43 (gulp) years old, married to Eric for 14 1/2 years, and blessed with 3 beautiful children ages 13, 7, and 5. I'm thankful to be home raising them for just over 5 years now (since the birth of #3). "Home" has been near Lyon, France since June 2002, and prior to that was So. California -- so here in the middle of winter, I can certainly relate to Patsy in Idaho, at times longing for a beach and some warm sun. I came across the Joyful Heart Ministries webpage while searching for clarification on a topic I was to teach to my small group of 7 year olds. The website held the answers I was looking for, and helped make my teaching more meaningful that week. I signed up for the newsletter and subsequently for this Bible study. We haven't yet found the kind of sustaining Christian fellowship we were blessed with in So. Cal., and given French secularism it will take some time, so the online Bible study is truly an answer to prayer. I ask, with all of you, for God's blessings and illumination upon us all as we pursue His Truth together. Tamara