Deliberate Women began in December of 2012. The concept of this ministry is to live out faith in God with purpose and diligence. For the past 18 months, the ladies I am in ministry with and I {Mandy} have purposed to live and write with that in mind. 

The past year and a half have proven to be fulfilling, refreshing, challenging, and so worthwhile. We have gotten to study scripture and share findings from those studies with all of you. I have had the absolute pleasure and awe of meeting strangers who said, "Oh, I've been on your website before!" and I have had the untold joy of getting to know every single lady on this team in a deeper, more meaningful way. 

And a year and half in....the ladies of Deliberate Women are very excited to launch something new on the site! With the end-goal of diligence, intention, and deliberately living a bold life of faith, we are beginning a new Devotional/Blogging method to study God's Word with you. This new format launches on September 1, 2014.

We will break down each theme into 4, 6, or 8-week studies that are then broken down even further into a Monday-Thursday format, which will include scriptures to study, memorize and meditate on. Each Friday, a different member of Deliberate Women will chime in and conclude that week's lesson by offering a life application of that week's theme. Included in this new method will be printables and downloads for all of you to aid you in your study--ALL FREE!

We are very serious about growing in our faith and in helping all of you to grow in yours. We believe that by being intentional in our studies and in providing all of you free resources, we will be diligent in the way we direct this website ministry. 

Acts 28:31 "Boldly and without hindrance he [Paul] preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ."

Until that time, we will continue on with Monday blog posts while the Thursday Devotional posts are on hiatus.

We look forward  to bringing this new vision to the website and we welcome any prayers for a smooth transition.

Thank you and God bless you!

The Ladies of Deliberate Women

Matthew 24:36-39  - No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.   As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.   For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;  and they knew nothng about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.  That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

1 Thessalonians 5:2  - For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

2 Peter 3:10-13 - But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Lately, we Deliberate Women gals have had some discussion about how many of us feel like we are running out of time.  While generations of people have thought the same thing and thought society couldn't get any worse, the truth is, we have no idea when Christ will be coming back.  It could be a thousand years from now, but it could also be an hour from now.

That should create not only a sense of excitement but a sense of urgency as well when you hear that.  Urgency to share the good news of salvation with others.  Urgency to reach as many as you can.  Urgency to make sure those closest to you know where they are going when they leave this world.

While I [Ginny] am not going to grow a beard and hold up a cardboard sign on the street declaring the End is coming, the thought that Jesus is coming any moment makes me want to get moving and sharing God's love to as many as possible.

                                  What can you do TODAY to reach someone for Christ?

- Do you have a neighbor you can invite over for coffee? 
- Check your Facebook and Twitter updates.  Do they reflect your love of Christ?  You can post Scripture or stories of how God is working in your life.  While I encourage you to be real, I often try to think if I am being a good witness for Christ by the things I share and post.
- Are you giving sacrificially?  Missionaries need your support.  Organizations reaching others for Christ need your support.  Individuals and families in tough situations need your support.  I know we can't give to everything and everyone, but are you giving to the point where it hurts? 
- When was the last time you shared your testimony with others?  Is there someone to whom you could share it with today? 

I think back to the time of Noah (Genesis 6-8).  God had told Noah that he would flood the Earth.  He gave Noah a way out.  I can only imagine how the wicked people on the earth made fun of him.  I also can't help but think that Noah pleaded with them to join him.  As they did not join him on the ark, one can only assume they did not listen.

Not everyone will positively receive the message you have to share.  During Noah's time, the people around him ignored him or made fun of him.  But that didn't stop him from warning them about what was to come.  He faithfully followed the Lord and through his words and actions, he was an amazing role model of God's love.

We need to be like Noah.  We need to faithfully hold to our relationship with the Lord while sharing the URGENT news that MUST BE HEARD about Christ returning.

Christ will return.  Are you ready?  If you are, you must ask the question - Are those around you ready?  If not, don't wait another day.  Today is your day.     

I (Mia) am not a reader. Relaxing in the tub with a book or snuggling up in front of the fire with a hit novel is not my cup of tea. So maybe that's why committing myself to read through the Bible in a year seemed so monumental. 

OK, honestly it was the thought of reading through the Old Testament...Leviticus....Numbers...you know the fun ones. But I committed myself to do it. 

What I found is as I read each day, seeking God's wisdom on every word, He unlocked a hunger and thirst inside of me that just wanted more. I soon found myself wanting to read on and on, but holding myself back so it wouldn't end and I wouldn't get to far ahead of the schedule. I was reminded that reading the Word of God isn't like reading a novel or the next best self help book. Reading the Bible is LIFE, food, drink for my soul. It is alive and it keeps me alive.

To my surprise, I found that some of my greatest moments were while I was sitting in the Old Testament chewing on His word, His promises and His miracles.

Right now I am in 1 Kings and the other day I read this passage:
"And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered." 1 Kings 8:3-5 (ESV)

A few things struck me. 
1. The importance of sacrifice (and I am gonna lump offerings in there as well)
2. How much Solomon sacrificed (so much that it could not be counted or numbered)
3. The magnitude of Solomon's love (as shown through sacrifice)

I sat on those for a minute, then the BIG one got me.
4. How messy sacrifice is

I began to picture the reality of this sacrifice as King Solomon, who loved the Lord, brought up the ark of the covenant to this amazing temple that he had spent the last 11+ years building. It was messy. It was bloody. It was smelly. It just wasn't pretty or at least not my definition of pretty.

Their sacrifice as bloody and brutal as it was, was done hand in hand with their love, trust and faithfulness in their obedience to their Lord.

Now, here comes the mirror.

What am I sacrificing? Is what I call a sacrifice all pretty, neat and tidy, wrapped up in a bow, fun and easy......... not really much of a sacrifice at all. What do I give up (that is actually sacrificial and not self serving)? Do I give until it hurts or begins to pinch and push me into the place of being uncomfortable and trusting God completely. Do I sacrifice an equivalent of my love for God?

God sacrificed His son, Jesus for me.....It was brutal, it was bloody and it was not pretty to watch...BUT because of GOD'S GREAT LOVE for this world, He gave it all. The Lamb slaughtered. Jesus the perfect sacrifice once and for all.

I know there is nothing that I could give that would ever equal that, but that is not what God is asking me to do. He is simply asking me to sacrifice, to give, to un-clench my hands and give a bit more than I am giving now. And sometimes that sacrifice will hurt, sometimes the sacrifice will put my life in temporary turmoil, but I take heart. I have a faithful God who has sacrificed it all, so that I could freely sacrifice a little. But God is calling me this day to sacrifice a little more, to feel the pinch, to get messy, to get smelly with the sweet aroma of the sacrifice.

Is there an area where God might be calling you to sacrifice a little more? Together, let's trust Him and watch Him do amazing things for the glory of His holy Name.

PS. After the initial sacrifice when Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant to the temple and the sacrifice numbers were too many to count, he gave his benediction and then proceeded to offer a peace offering of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep..THEN they dedicated the house of the Lord. 

Let's sacrifice and dedicate our lives to serving, loving and giving.

Prayer:
Lord, help us to give without flinching, to release without questioning, to sacrifice everything that you are calling us to sacrifice. And may it be a sweet aroma to you. Help us Lord this day by the your tender mercies , to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to You. May this be our spiritual act of worship. In Jesus name, AMEN

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts." (1 John 5:21 NLT)

This is the last verse in a book written by "the disciple Jesus loved", John the Apostle. And for the last verse in an epistle, a letter to a church, it's quite a zinger. 

Keep away from ANYTHING that might take God's place in your hearts. 

Anything. 

In those days, when John was living in Ephesus, a city in an eastern Roman province, there could have been many things he was thinking of when he made such an authoritative statement. Perhaps he was thinking of the pagan practices of deity worship, or of sexual practices of the day which were often intricately tied to deity worship. Or maybe he was thinking of various heresies within the church, like Gnosticism, which much of the rest of his epistle addresses. 

Regardless of what he may have been thinking about, he makes it abundantly clear what we should do... Keep away... Or steer clear, avoid, and shun ANYTHING that *might* take God's place in your heart. 

For us today, what are the things that take God's place in our hearts? Pornography, obsession with money - greed, a woman, a man, power, lust, a spouse, or sexual escapades.  Wait, a spouse? Remember, it's not always bad things that can take God's place in our hearts. It may be more obvious to the average Christian to "keep away" from the "bad" things, like too much booze, women or men we aren't married to, love of money and power, and wicked sexual practices. But sometimes it's the good things which sneak their way into God's place in our hearts.  

What about your spouse? Your children? Your job? Your ministry? 

I have seen - and I'm sure you have too - people who love their ministries more than they love Jesus. Who love and even worship their children more than they love Jesus. Who idolize their pastor, spouse, or ministry leader and put them above Jesus. 

You may see and recognize this in your own life. 

I see it in mine. 

Obviously if there are "bad" and sinful things in your life, which you are placing before God, they need to go. Confess them before God and let Him help you get them out of your life. BUT don't think that just because you are free of the obviously "bad" things, that you are free and clear...

Place your heart before God and let Him show you what you are placing before Him.  Confess it and ask Him to place those things in their proper place in your life. 

Your spouse, children, job, and ministry don't save you and give you everlasting life, only Jesus does that. Honor and worship Him with the honor and worship only He deserves, and keep away from the things that would take His place in your heart.