Rebecca M

Our church is very sympathetic. The people are extremely unselfish and carry one another's burdens. I'm sure our church could benefit from a more hamonious atmoshpere...giving up what one wants for the benefit of all. "Purpose driven, not preference driven." To advance our church in this area, we can work toward our missions without complaint or concern for how the minor details are carried out that don't have an impact on the greater good.

The sin of treating a spouse wrongly separates us from God and therefore hinders our communication with Him in prayer.

In both cases, the sin against your spouse separates you from God, therefore hindering your prayers.

Inner beauty, or personal growth, requires consistent effort as does anything worth cultivating. Bible studies and biblically based books are wonderful tools to stay on track with the values and characteristics of inner beauty. Prayer is also necessary in this pursuit. Character is developed through experiences God gives us - the more we communicate with God during those experiences, the more we develop godly characteristics. True character is important to God because it cannot be corrupted...just as Jesus wasn't tempted by Satan. I believe that a godly woman who continues to develop her inner beauty and who marries a discerning and righteous man will not just "hang on to him", but make the marriage very positive, loving, and fulfilling for both of them.

I think all people, not just women, should make an effort to be physically healthy, neat, and clean. Excellence in one area of life transfers into others and so does sloppiness. Our bodies are a temple and an example. We should strive for that example to be appropriate as a display of our devotion to Christ. When we put too much emphasis on our looks and when the goal is to call attention to ourselves, we lose focus on Christ. I think the goal of the effort reveals the correct balance. When it becomes all about oneself, it's gone too far.

Submission is difficult because we are taught that leading is better than following and making your own rules is okay as opposed to obedience. Our actions have more power than our words, so words must be chosen carefully and in love when speaking up if we don't agree or could improve upon something. Submission is wrong when it leads to sin, causes others to fall, or comes between you and God.

Sin still has power over us because we have free choice and we are fallible. Also, Satan can try to tempt us. We are to die to sin and replace that negative activity with living for righteousness. When we live in Christ and practice the disciplines, we can live out dying to sin. Live for righteousness means focusing on all that is good and of God. It doesn't include fear, negativity, gossip, and unclean living. Those are not of God.

It means the promise of the Bible is true...that He knew me before I was formed. What an awesome and humbling concept!

Without the sinlessness and purity of Jesus, we wouldn't have the example to follow that we do. It's especially helpful to see how Jesus reacted when he was tempted. It also shows that his crucifixion was purely for our sins since he had none and allows Christ to mediate between us and God. I never thought about our sinds being poured into his soul. I can't imagine how horrible that would have been for him...expecially since he was sinless. He probably stood this corruption because he knew it was a part of his Father's plan and that was part of his purpose to fulfill it! He trusted God and submitted himselft to the Lord's will.

Obviously Christ suffered physically with the brutal force used by his tormentors. He also suffered mentally because of the evil accusations they hurled. He didn't even retaliate or try to defend himself. He suffered spiritually when he asked why God had forsaken him.

Being a Christian these days in this land is so much more "convenient" than in other times in history and in other places. Sometimes the lack of persecution can make us soft and apathetic. When a confrontation arises, it's hard not to tell the person off and go gossip to others about how awful what they did was. Jesus' example will help me hold my tongue and resist retaliation.

According to this passage, Christians are to be more aware of God's presence and honoring Him than reacting to injustices at work. So we don't react as a result. No, complaining isn't part of what that would look like. We're to do all things joyfully, as if we're doing them for the Lord. I now have a wonderful job where I'm my own boss, but in the past, I would react not by responding outwardly, but by looking for other options for employment.

It is God's will that we do everything as if we are doing it for him. Christians should be so radically different than everyone else that others take notice, such as not reacting to a harsh employer the way most would. I believe mediocrity dishonors God...like not doing our best.

Jesus modeled the quiet submission we are to emulate. This allows others to respect the name of the Lord. If we become rebellious, it becomes a mockery.

Our good deeds are a form of "marketing" for God's kingdom. It brings more attention to the Lord and His ways and hopefully leads others toward that path. This marketing is actually the glorification of God as in extoling His ways by our good works. Blending in may cause others to stumble. They see a "Christian" doing XYZ and that leaves a bad taste in their mouth because we are supposed to be better examples for Christ.