Category: Women’s Ministry

It is the Lord! – 2025 Day 21 (John 21)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 21, John 21

"That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!'" - John 21:7a ESV

I love that John just can’t bring himself to use his own name, but refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” This reminds me that my value, like John’s, is found in being loved by Jesus, my Creator, Savior, and Lord who knows all of my shortcomings and sins, yet He still loves me.

"When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea." John 21:7b ESV

I can picture it in my mind. Peter heard, “It is the Lord,” and rather than questioning John, he immediately puts on his outer garment, and jumps into the sea to get to Jesus. He wants to see him first this time!

While everyone else is working on bringing in the boat – dragging a heavy net loaded full of fish – Peter just wants to be with Jesus. I wonder if John was frustrated, disgusted, or irritated with Peter’s irresponsible, impulsive response… Or did his heart leap with Peter’s, praising God for making Peter so easily excitable? I hope it was the latter. I want to be able to thank God for the variety of personalities and temperaments that He has given to His children.

After thinking about this, it was particularly ironic to me when I read later in the chapter about Peter pointing his finger at John, asking “Lord, what about this man?” (John 21:21 ESV)

Did Peter ask this out of love and concern for John or out of jealousy? Pride ? Conceit? I don’t have any idea, but I do know how Jesus responded to Peter’s question, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22)

I want to hear Jesus’s words loud and clear and apply them to my own life. “Kim, beloved daughter, don’t worry about those other people.”

Jesus has a unique purpose for each of our lives. I need to keep my eyes focused on Christ, so I can follow Him well. If my eyes are looking over at my friend’s lane, how can I see clearly to drive in mine?

Let’s pray, sisters!

Heavenly Father,

Please help me not to be jealous, envious, covetous, or disdainful of my fellow servants or the tasks that You’ve given them to do. Help me to remember Ephesians 2:10, that I am Your workmanship and that I have been created on purpose for good works that You have prepared in advance for me to do.

Help me, Lord Jesus, to be about my Father’s business with eagerness and joy, not looking to the left or right, not looking behind, but with my eyes fixed firmly on Christ and the hope that is before me. Make me eager to trust and obey You, to look for You and listen carefully for Your voice.

In the blessed name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Click here for more information on reading through the Bible in Two Years.

When Not Seeing is Believing – 2025 Day 20 (John 20)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 20, John 20

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.”

But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

– John 20:24-31 ESV

When I was a teenage atheist, I refused to believe in anything I couldn’t see with my eyes, but now I see the many contradictions in my own worldview. Why did I believe my world history teacher when she taught about things that happened hundreds or even thousands of years ago? Why did I believe my chemistry teacher when he taught about how chemical elements worked?

At the time, my faith in an unseen, unknown event creating the universe seemed so intellectual and reasonable to me because I thought that the images of fossils and ape men I’d seen on TV and in my school textbooks were “scientific proof” of evolution. Now I’m astonished by the irony of my “faith” in evolution, which was just as much (if not more!) “a leap of faith” as my faith in Jesus now is. As a Christian, I’m believing the eyewitness testimonies of credible witnesses like John (John 19:35), but where are the eyewitnesses for evolutionary events?

Reading John 20, I noticed how John and Peter and Mary and Thomas believed because they saw.

I have such empathy for Thomas when I think about how much he had just been through. He just couldn’t fully trust his friends’ testimonies when they said, “We have seen the Lord.”

Judas, a fellow apostle, had just betrayed Jesus. Jesus, their messiah, had just been publicly beaten and executed on a Roman cross. And now Thomas has to figure out what is next for his life. How can you be a full-time disciple of someone who’s dead? Is this whole “Jesus is risen from the dead” thing real or just a hoax?

So Thomas demands, “Unless I see in his hands, the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Strong words. Strong demands. It’s not enough just to see the mark of the nails on Jesus’s hands. He has to place his own finger in those nail-pierced hands and place his own hand on His spear-pierced side. Merely seeing, apparently, is not believing, either.

And to think that Jesus then appeared to the disciples again when Thomas was there … And went directly to Thomas and gave him what he had requested. What a display of God’s grace and mercy and love!

And, even more so, what a blessing to have my own eyes opened, though I am among those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Will you pray with me?

Jesus, we are not worthy. I am not worthy. Thomas was not worthy.

With Thomas, we cry out, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus, You are not only our Messiah and Savior and Lord, but You are God. This is indeed the gift of faith, the precious, priceless gift to those who have not seen and yet believed.

Remembering the words of Hebrews 11:1, that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, we ask that You will open our eyes to have faith to be sure of what we hope for and fully convinced of the things that we have not seen, yet have read in Your Word. Help us to believe those eyewitness testimonies that have been passed down and preserved for us. Help us to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that by believing we may have eternal life in His name.

In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Click here for more information on reading through the Bible in Two Years.

A Prayer for Protection over Your Children – 2025 Day 17 (John 17)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 17, John 17

How amazing it is to hear Jesus pray to His Holy, Righteous Father. Surely if He needed to pray, so do I! To read Jesus praying for His disciples, praying for the Father to protect them, encourages me to pray for those that I disciple, especially my children.

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

John 17:15 ESV

Two years ago, when I did this two-year Bible reading plan for the first time, my younger daughter was beginning her second semester of college. I guess that’s why John 17:15 really jumped out at me. She had been homeschooled her whole life. Except for two years at a neighborhood church preschool and the occasional tutorial class, she had grown up under my constant watchcare.

Now I’m preparing to release my 6’2″ baby boy. My last little bird is going to be leaving the nest and heading off to college this fall.

I’m just as nervous this time around about what his transition will entail, but I realize that ultimately, the safest place any of us can be is in the Father’s will, whether that’s in their Mama’s house, or on the streets of Memphis, Tennessee, or in a college classroom miles from home.

No matter their age, your child needs your prayers.

Please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the precious gift that it is to be a mother, and the precious gift that these specific children are to me. Thank You for all the ways that I see Jesus in them.

I pray that You will be glorified in them today. So many people never crack open a Bible or step foot in a church, so I pray that they will see You in them. Make them a city on a hill that points people to You. Make them imitators of God as Your beloved children, walking in love as Christ loved them and gave Himself up for them. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

Protect them from the schemes and temptations of the evil one, so that Your light can shine brightly out of them like a million-watt lightbulb. Remind them of all that scripture that I have poured into them over their years in my care. Help them to hear Your voice whispering – or shouting, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Send Your Holy Spirit to be their counselor and guide, showing them which way to go and which way not to go. Send Your Holy Spirit to be their comforter and advocate, so that they will not give way to fear, but will remember, “I am a child of the Lord of heaven’s armies. What can man do to me?”

When they are tempted to hide their light under a bushel, to deny their faith, to deny the Lord Jesus, convict them! Remind them that they belong to You and that You are their ever-present help in time of need. Help my children to call out to You and to trust You when they feel afraid or discouraged or lonesome. Help them to remember that You are always with them, and that You have promised to never leave or forsake them.

In the good and righteous name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord, we pray,

Amen

Click here for more information on reading through the Bible in Two Years.

Believing from a Testimony … Believing from the Word – 2025 Day 3 (John 3:1-4:45)

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Proverbs 3; John 3:1-4:45

“Many Samaritans from that town believed in him (Jesus) because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.'”
John 4:39-42 ESV

Heavenly Father,

Please make me truly wise. I don’t want to merely read Your Word to grow in knowledge about You like someone researching the life and times of C.S. Lewis or Albert Einstein. I want to know You – personally, deeply, mightily. I want to sit at Your feet and drink deeply of Your lifegiving Word. I want to worship what I know, who I know.

I need insight and understanding and instruction. I need my mind renewed. Here I am. I want to see and taste that You are indeed good.

I want Your springs of living water to flow in me and through me. Help me to decrease, and You to increase, in my life. I want to be about my Father’s business. Make me a true worshiper, worshiping you in spirit and truth and helping other to know You, too.

Help me to be one who welcomes in the outcast, who notices the forgotten and neglected, who has to go through Samaria because there’s someone there that You want me to meet. I pray that my eyes will be open to the people in front of me, and that my ears will be open to Your voice prompting me, “This is the way, walk in it. This is the one, talk to her. These are the words, say them.”

Lord, I’m asking You to encourage my Chinese brothers and sisters. Help them to know that you see them and hear them and know them. Help them to dig into Your Word and find pearls of great worth, gold of great price, and diamonds of great value. We want You to be our greatest joy.

Father, help me to help others to sit at Your feet day after day and be transformed by the reading of Your Word. May my food be to do Your will. Send me to accomplish Your Work to the glory of Your Name.

In the Name of Jesus Christ who is my only Lord and Savior. Amen.

Click here for more on “Reading through the Bible in Two Years”.

A Resolution for Adulthood

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WHEREAS God is holy and righteous and true,
WHEREAS God is merciful and gracious and kind,
WHEREAS God is always with me, wherever I go, seeing my every step, knowing my every thought and every word even before I speak it,
WHEREAS I have been created for His glory and pleasure with good works prepared in advance for me to do,
WHEREAS my life is not my own, but fully His,

I purpose this day to live a holy life, pleasing to my Heavenly Father and Creator.

I purpose to draw near to my God and keep in unhindered relationship with Him, avoiding evil and pursuing righteousness, loving Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving my neighbor as myself.

I purpose to daily read His Word, consistently and persistently drawing near to Him, humbling myself before His perfect counsel, actively choosing to know and obey the Truth, submitting myself to Him rather than the wisdom of this world or my human emotions, so that I might be able to resist the schemes of the devil.

I purpose to treat my body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, being careful what I see, hear, and think about, where I go, and with whom I befriend, remembering the wisdom of Proverbs 13:20 that “whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

I purpose to abstain from alcohol and drugs so that my mind, will, conscience, and emotions will not be clouded or confused by their influence.

I purpose to be above-reproach in my relationships with the other sex, treating women as sisters and men as brothers, recognizing that they are my joint-heirs with Christ and fellow image-bearers, rather than objects or idols.

These I do endeavor, for the glory of God, as well as for my good and the good of my fellow man.

Signed: __________________________________

A Resolution for AdulthoodDownload

A Galatians 3 Prayer for your Children

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Galatians 3

Oh precious Heavenly Father,

Thank You for the gift of faith, the grace given to me through Jesus Christ, the righteous for the unrighteous. Thank You for the example of Abraham who was counted righteous by his FAITH, not by his works. I pray that my children would indeed be made sons and daughters of Abraham, being recipients of Your blessings because of their faith in Your Son.

Thank You for the gift of the law as a tutor and guardian to protect me and my children until our eyes might be opened by Your grace to the beauty of that Savior hanging on the cross. Please help me to be a good steward of the Law. Let me not breed little Pharisees who take pride in their own good deeds. I don’t want to raise better liars, better hiders, better sin-concealers. Rather may I point them to the perfect Lamb who kept the Law in every point, training them to be quick to repent, to run toward reconciliation with Jesus, with their parents, and with others.

Protect my children from believing the lie that they can be good enough to deserve Your mercy or merit Your grace. Help them to recognize that this is a lie sent from that liar, tempter, and accuser, Satan, who tempts us to sin and then accuses us when we fall.

I pray that my children would receive the gift of redemption found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. May they receive that inheritance found not in the blood running through my blood but in the blood of Christ poured out on the cross.

Help them to believe the truth of Galatians 3:26-28, that we are sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ, that when we are baptized into Christ, we are clothed in Christ, and that we are all one in Christ Jesus. Help my sons take joy in being boys, and help my daughters take joy in being girls. Protect them from the sin of pride, thinking they know better than You do. May they humbly recognize that their inheritance begins and ends in You.

For the glory of Jesus we pray, Amen.

A Mother’s Day Prayer for All of Us Moms

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May our faith be in Christ and His grace alone, trusting that He is able to do more than we can ask or imagine.

May we not grow weary of well-doing, knowing that at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not lose heart.

May we open our mouths with wisdom and may the teaching of kindness be on our tongues.

May we look well to the ways of our households and not eat the bread of idleness.

May we refuse to put our hope in wealth, beauty, or popularity because we believe that “charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

May our husband and children rise up and bless us, saying, “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”

From Ephesians 3:20, Galatians 6:9, Proverbs 31:26-30

Mark 9: Fame or Faithfulness?

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Mark 9

And [Jesus and His disciples] came to Capernaum. And when [Jesus] was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”

But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve.

And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Mark 9:33-37 ESV

For as much as I love teaching and writing for adults, I think my true calling is to teach children. They have my heart. There is something so special about the childlike faith of a child, their wonder and interest in learning new things, that really gets me excited.

I’m afraid that in the past I preferred focusing my energies on adults because it was a straighter path to becoming “known,” to garnering a larger audience. Like Jesus’s disciples who were arguing about which of them was the greatest, I fear that I was looking for fame, rather than simply being faithful to the Lord’s call.

Which reminds me of the lesson I taught this morning to the 5th-12th graders at my local Community Bible Study class. Here’s an excerpt from the lesson I shared after our study on Joshua 1-5. I hope it blesses you.

So, this week we began our study of the book of Joshua. This year we have already studied Ruth, 1st and 2nd Kings, and Job. These five books feature some of the most famous people in the Bible, people like Ruth, King Saul, King David, Job, and now Joshua.

But what about the two spies whom Rahab hid… Their names were not recorded for us in the scriptures, but they were still vitally important to God. Those two men’s faith was just as valuable as Rahab’s. Or what about the priests who carried the ark of the covenant, or the 12 men who carried the stones, across the Jordan – was their faith any less remarkable?

What about the parents who circumcised their children by faith? Or all those Israelites who kept the Passover by faith?

According to Statista.com, in a 2021 survey, 3,670 American teens between the ages of 13-17 were asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

What do you think these top 5 professions have in common?

Our culture is way too focused on being famous and way too lax about being faithful, simply doing the next thing that God has called us to. We are chasing after “fame and fortune,” instead of  “God and goodness.”

If you have been born again, then you have been given the gift of the indwelling of the Holy spirit. The Holy Spirit of God dwells in you. Think about that.

And now He is calling you to just do the next thing, do the next deed of faith.

That may be as simple as reading your Bible and completing your Bible study lesson and then coming here and sharing with your classmates what God taught you that week. That may be as simple as sitting next to or striking up a conversation with someone you don’t know very well. That may be as simple as telling the truth when you want to lie.

Whatever it is, I want you to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow Him. He will never lead you astray.

He might ask you to step out in faith someday, to follow the example of Rahab and hide a fellow believer who is being persecuted for their faith.

He might ask you to step out into your own Jordan River in sharing the gospel with someone, whether a stranger or a friend, trusting that He will keep His promises to be with You as you take that first step.

Your name may never appear on any timeline or any top 10 of anything. You may never be a world-famous athlete or gamer or musician. You may never be a social media influencer or have a YouTube channel with millions of followers and you may never invent anything world-changing.

But, oh think of it, think of this, your name, YOUR name, can be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life! And if your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you can KNOW beyond any doubt that He has a good plan and purpose for you!

Heavenly Father, I pray that You will raise up more parents and more teachers who will invest their lives in training up children in the way that they should go so that the next generation will place their trust in You. Please, Father, stop us from this crazy pursuit of becoming rich and famous, and help us instead to be faithful to do the next thing. By Your grace and for Your glory. Amen.

What Final Words Would I Share with My Children on My Final Day? Reflections from David’s Last Words in 1 Kings 2.

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: 1 Kings 2

David knows he is about to die, so he calls his son, Solomon, to him. What did David say to this son who will be the next king of Israel?

  1. Be strong.
  2. Show yourself a man.
  3. Keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in His ways and keeping his commands as it is written in the Law of Moses.
  4. Deal wisely and justly with Joab, Barzillai, and Shimei.

Now I’m not (and never will be) the king of a nation but I (like everyone else on the planet) will one day draw my last breath. If today were my last day, what final words would I want to share with my children?

What would I say to my children
if today was my last day?

  • I love you. I’m proud of you. You are a gift to me. I’m so thankful you’re mine. God made YOU on purpose, and He has a purpose for your life. Fear not. He’s not finished yet. God is on His throne. He doesn’t save people because they’re good. They’re not. None of us are. He saves them because He is merciful and has a purpose for them. You are saved by your faith in Jesus Christ, not by your works. (Psalm 139:1-16; Romans 3:10-12; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:3-8; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Romans 6:23)
  • Trust the Lord with all your heart. He is good. He is wise. Turn away from evil and do good. Choose to do the hard things out of love and trust for the Lord. (Proverbs 3:5-7; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37)
  • Love is both an emotion and an action. Love others as God has loved you. Bear with others. Forgive them, remembering how much God has forgiven you. He loved you while you were yet a sinner, loving you even to the point of death, death on a cross. Remember that love is patient and kind. God is patient and kind with you, and He is calling you to be patient and kind with others. Love is not arrogant, rude, boastful, or envious. Love does not insist on its own way. The Lord of the Universe humbled Himself for you, and He is calling you to humble yourself for Him and His creation. Love never ends. Love endures. Love bears all things. He has loved you with a never-ending love. Love others like that. (Colossians 3:12-13; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Philippians 2:1-8; Romans 5:7-8)
  • Children are a blessing from the Lord. Fill your home with them. Pour into them. Enjoy them. Train them up in the way they should go. Teach them diligently that they, too, will know and love the Lord. (Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 22:6; Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 78:1-8)

So, how about you? If today were your last day, what final words would you want to say to your children and loved ones?

Heavenly Father, How thankful I am for the hope that I have in my Savior, Jesus, who poured out His blood for me. How thankful I am to have the assurance that my last breath here on Earth is just the beginning of eternity with You. I pray that my children and grandchildren will have that assurance. I pray that You will strengthen me to be the mother and grandmother that You want me to be. Give me Your wisdom and lead me in when to speak and when to be silent. Make my words, Your words. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Make me a beacon pointing my family and my community to Him. For His Honor and for His glory I pray. Amen.