Purity Rings

Hey Girls!

How's everyone's summer going? Busy? OH yeah, mine too.

I am here today to talk about purity rings. Recently, I got mine for my birthday.
Purity is a big word, and honestly most people don't live up to it. I personally think that girls who are really living for Christ will want to honor their future husband and God. Unfortunately, our culture has crazily messed up the word purity and it's barely even used without mocking tones anymore.

Song of Solomon 2:7
Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

I am very much looking forward to presenting my purity ring to my husband on my wedding night. It was a promise that I made before God that I would stay pure and that is so special!!
You can get many different purity rings. Mine is the one above in the picture. Depending on your style you can get small, big, bling, simple, or whatever you wish!!

Anyway, I'd love to hear about you purity ring so comment below and tell me why you chose purity!!

Your sister in Christ,

♥♫•Madison

Reflection of His Glory

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Growing up in church, I have always been taught that I was made in the image of God. It was something that I was well aware of but something that did not have much precedence in my thoughts. Over the past couple days I have come to realize how important and special that makes each and every one of us.

Have you ever really considered what that means? We were made in the very image of God Almighty; in His likeness.

2 Corinthians 3:18
¹⁸And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

When we turn to the Lord and become one of His children, we are the reflection of God's ultimate, radiant glory and are gradually being transformed into the very likeness of Christ Jesus. God shows His love and His compassion through His reflection in us.
The more we allow Christ to renew and alter our mind, the more progressive the reflection of Christ becomes in us. The less we are renewed by Him, the more we hide the image and reflection of Christ in us.
We were created solely to bear the image of God. When our outward actions and feelings do not reflect Christ, we are not fulfilling our purpose in life. Without God we have absolutely no reason and purpose for living life. We are hopeless. ONLY through Christ can we fulfill our destiny and our purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11 (King James Version)
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

The Hebrew word for thoughts in that verse is machashebeth meaning designs, purposes, intentions, and plans. God knows exactly how your whole life will be like and He has the most amazing intentions and and plans for us if only we will fall head over heels after Him. If we will surrender ourselves completely to His will and inwardly and outwardly reflect God's glory we will be living our lives in the best way possible. God's ways are perfect. God knows the designs and intentions he has considered and imagined specifically for each individual person on this earth! His plans are not to bring us harm but to bring us peace and prosperity. HE KNOWS. I wish I could just shout this aloud to you. GOD KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR LIFE! All we have to do it surrender our fleshly desires to Him and live in His will. That's all He asks from us.

We have to spiritually die to our sinful, old self and be raised up in Christ! We become a walking, breathing testimony of God's grace and redemption when we accept Jesus into our hearts.

Colossians 3:9-12
⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Strip off your old flesh, and be restored by God! We have to make the conscious decision to bear Christ's image inside and outside of us so that the whole world can hear the good news of Christ. Renew and transform your mind by God's Word and conform to the pattern of Jesus. His footsteps are the perfect example of how we should live our life. Our job as bearer's of the image of God is to emulate His love and mercy to everyone we encounter. Bring outstanding glory to the One whose image you were created and formed in!

Your Sister in Christ,
Jessica

Take Heart

-2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Therefore, we do not lose heart...
We keep up our courage, we soar on wings like eagles taking hope in the Lord.

Though outwardly we are wasting away...
The things of this world are beating us down. People slander us with gossip, tear us down with their looks, treat us like scum because of our faith.

Yet, inwardly we are being renewed day by day...
God's grace is sufficient for us! We are daily sustained by His Word. He showers love and mercy on us.

For our light and momentary troubles...
Right now, in the moment, our troubles and worries seem unscalable. But in comparison to what Jesus has done for us, our troubles are hugely insignificant! Life continues; we can put our trust in HIM.

Are achieving for us an eternal glory that fair outweighs them all...
We are not beating the air like an aimless man. We are not enduring persecution from people for nothing. There is a light at the end of the tunnel! We can look to the eternal, the everlasting. No matter what happens on this earth, we you take stand for the Lord you will be rewarded. Your commitment is not in vain. We are people who have hope for the future.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen...
Not looking to the left or the right, we concentrate solely on the goal. Fix your eyes on the Lord. Focus on His will.

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal...
Do you understand what you have been saved from? We have been rescued from eternal damnation in hell. Forever. Because of Jesus' sacrifice we get to spend forever and ever with Him in Heaven. Never ending paradise. Can you even imagine? Popularity, friends, clothing, money, shoes, purses, food, shelter... is all temporary. ETERNITY is what really matters.

John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."


In His Love,
Jessica

Showing LOVE

Hey Girls!

Recently, I had my best friend come back to town for a couple weeks. It was awesome.
Of course, she had to leave again.
But hey, it's all good! She'll move back in a couple years so I'm super excited about that!
Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Anyway, that's not what I'm here to talk about.
For my birthday, I went to the mall. While I was there my and a few friends went to get some ice cream. The man behind the counter was very sweet and kind. We made small talk and he told me and my friends we were beautiful girls and to always stay that way. Just those few words made my day! I could tell this guy was serious about his faith.
A couple days later I went back to the mall (yes I know, I'm a mall junkie) and went to get some more ice cream(yes, I love me some vanilla). The same old man was sitting behind the counter again, this time reading his Bible. He slowly looked up at me and smiled. He recognized me and my friend. "You were here a few days ago weren't you?" he asked. "Yes sir," I replied.
He then started giving me a beautiful "sermon" on how he could tell me and my friends were different from the culture around us. He told us to always stay beautiful with our smiles.

Honestly, I probably won't see that kind old man again, but he made a powerful statement for Christ. I'm guessing he witnesses to all his customers. He is truly living out his faith and really showed what God's love is really about!!

John 13:35 (New International Version)
35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."



Show eachother some love girls!
:)
Your sister in Christ,

♥♫•Madison

Would a loving God send people to hell?

One of the greatest things we need to do as believers is to know our Bibles and be able to defend our faith. If we do not have a firm, strong foundation on which we base our beliefs, our faith will crumble the first time someone plants doubts in our mind. A prominent question that non-believers and believers alike have is why a loving God would send someone to Hell.
The Bible does talk about Hell as a real and ugly place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The first thing we have to believe and know before we can understand Hell is that we are all sinners and deserve to go there. The punishment for sin is death and eternity in Hell. None of us are perfect, we all sin. God is divine and perfect and cannot be around sin, which means that we cannot get to Heaven without those sins being taken away.

"For the wages of sin is death" -Romans 6:23a

The amazing thing is that Jesus died for each and every one of us. Through His Ultimate Sacrifice we have to opportunity to go to Heaven because He already paid the punishment for our sin.

"But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23b

The thing is, God never sends anyone to Hell. He doesn't want anyone to go there. We choose to go there if we do not accept Him. He stands at the door of our heart and knocks, asking us to accept Him. But if we do not accept that gift, we are rejecting Him, and quite frankly, accepting Hell and living for Satan.

Revelation 3:19-21
¹⁹Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. ²⁰Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.


So the easy answer to the heavily debated question is that God does not ever send anyone to Hell. He gives each and every one of us a chance to accept Him as our Savior and Lord. It is up to us to choose to receive that gift. God gave us free will and desires for us to spend eternity with Him someday. But he doesn't force that on us. All we have to do is make that simple choice. Accept Jesus as your Savior and live forever in Heaven; reject Him and live forever in Hell.
What choice will you make?

Your Sister in Christ,
Jessica

Hey girls!
We just wanted to give you a heads up that we will be gone for the next week!
We will be back on Monday, June 21. (:
Have a fabulous week!

iheartministry

He Cares

Our God is a relentless pursuer, a consuming fire.

God's Word says that He calls out to us. He longs for our whole heart; complete devotion to Him.
So often we can get caught up in looking towards the future. It always seems that we are sitting around waiting for something. But God longs to fill up you right now. He wants you to stand up for Him now. He wants you to study His Word now.

In order for God to fill us up with His glorious Presence, we have to empty ourselves of sin. We have to die to that sin, and be raised up in Christ. Empty and cleansed of self, full and renewed by Him.

Psalm 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Our hurts and worries matter to Him. He hears us when we call.
Yesterday, I was talking to my mom about how I needed to really start saving up money for a car.
2 hours later I get an email from someone wondering if I could babysit their kids 3 times a week during the summer.

And you don't think God cares?

We serve an awesome God. Give Him the praise and glory He deserves! Recognize His greatness, because He is so worthy.


Your Sister in Christ,
Jessica

Happy Birthday Madison!!

Today is Madison's birthday!! :)

As I'm sure you all can tell, Madison is a wonderful young women who radiates God's light in everything she does. She is a such a special friend who always has something kind and encouraging to say and is full of happiness and smiles! She would be thrilled if you all left her a birthday note letting her know how appreciated she is.
I love you Madi, hope you have a wonderful day!

Your Sister in Christ,
Jessica

You Love Me Anyways

Love your enemies? People that hurt you? I don't think so.

Sometimes people are going to say something to you that hurts your feelings. I'm sure it has already happened before! And I know personally, my first reaction of choice would be to say something back to them that would hurt them. To treat them the way they treated me. It only seems fair, right?

I had something like that happen to me last week. To other people it might have seemed like it wasn't really a big deal, but it really hurt me. For a few days I was really really mad at this person. I didn't want to see them, to talk to them; I wanted to avoid them at all costs.

But something hit me the other day. Satan was using them to test my reaction. To see what I was going to do about it. He is just waiting for me to go tell all my friends about this. He knows what they said got under my skin. And I'm supposed to forget what they did and love them? At first, the thought was ridiculous in my mind. I thought that being mad at them would somehow change what happened. Make them feel bad. But it didn't... and it won't.

Then I got to thinking...we do the same thing to God every single day. We are like, "hey God, I know you really hate it when I lie to my parents, but... um... I just did it. again."

Romans 5:7-8

⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While we were living in the filth of our sin, Christ gave His life for us. For me, for you, for that person, for the world. Every single sin I have committed was heaped upon His back when He carried that cross. In light of Jesus giving His life for me when I was cruel to Him, I think I can be nice to this girl. I think I can forgive her and love her.
If your dealing with someone who has hurt you and are struggling to forgive them, I know how you feel. It is really hard to let whatever they have done to you go. But God tells us that we have to love one another. No matter what they have done to you. Because, chances are, you have done something or said something mean to them too. But even if you haven't, you still have to forgive them! Let it go. Let God handle it. Because He will; and you will be reaping a reward in Heaven far greater than you can imagine because of that.

1 John 4:19-20

¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

(Sidewalk Prophets, You Love me Anyways)

"I am the thorn in Your crown
But You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow
But You love me anyway
I am the nail in Your wrist
But You love me anyway
I am Judas’ kiss
But You love me anyway"

Your Sister in Christ,

Jessica

How to Change the World

So you wanna change the world, what are you waiting for? -Natalie Grant

1. Talk the talk-mean what you say
Matthew 5:37 "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

2. Walk the walk-follow in Christ's footsteps
2 John 6 "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."

3. Live the life-search for God's plans for you, then live them to the fullest
John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

4. Be willing to give it all-let Christ be your motivation
Matthew 10:37-39 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Abortion

Stop abortion! DO something for all those little innocent babies! :)

Let's get out and not just talk about it but DO SOMETHING! :)

Guaranteed

2 Corinthians 1:21-22
²¹Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, ²²set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

When we accept Christ into our hearts and surrender our life to Him, the Holy Spirit enters our heart.
The Holy Spirit is our guarantee for salvation. We have been claimed and and sealed by the Lord. When God seals us, He will never "un-seal" us. We are His child forever and nothing we can do will ever change that. Some people see that as an opportunity to sin and still be able to get to Heaven. They still want to indulge in sin that seems fun at the time, but is temporary and fleeting.

Romans 5:20-6:2
But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, ²¹so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ¹What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ²By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Because of our sin, God's grace covers us and brings us eternal life. But we cannot go on living in our sin. We have died to sin and been made alive in Christ! If you were addicted to alcohol and had been without it for years, would you purposely put yourself in a situation where you would be tempted by it? Would you go to a bar and just hang out? Of course not! You would most likely avoid it at all costs because you have been set free without it. It's the same way with our sin. Our flesh desires crave sin; it's like an instinct to us. But since we have been set free from it by the blood of Jesus, why would we go back to it? Would you put yourself in a situation where sin is prominently abundant? No.
Yes, no matter what we do we can never lose our salvation. But that does not give us a right to wallow in sin. It gives us a right to abstain from it.

That is why 1 Corinthians 6:19 says "you are not your own." We have been anointed by the Spirit and are not living for ourselves any longer. We are God's because His Spirit lives inside each of us. We still have the free will to make choices for ourselves, but don't you think it's your obligation to abstain from sin? He has saved us from eternity in Hell; the least you could do is strive to live according to His Spirit.

1 John 4:13
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

Galatians 5:16
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

We all have the power to resist the temptation of sin because of God's Spirit. This week, make an effort to do just that. The Holy Spirit has sealed us; we are bound and ready for Heaven! But don't let that be an excuse to live in sin. Be controlled by the Spirit!

Your Sister in Christ,
Jessica

Trust and Obey

2Timothy 1:12
That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

Over the course of my life, I have entrusted people with many things: possessions, valuables, thoughts, and dreams. Most of the time, those people took seriously what I had entrusted to them, and they cared for it, protecting what I gave or told them. Others, though took the responsibility very lightly; they ruined my possessions and shared my secrets. I'm sure this has happened to you as well. Usually it is easy to tell when someone is not worthy of trust, but harder to tell when they are. We know God is worthy of our trust because of the history we can see. Throughout the Bible, the Lord fives the utmost care to everything, not neglecting anything. He cares especially for His children, and all the things they put in His care. He will guard whatever you give Him! Christ cares immensely for all your talents and abilities, so put them in His care. However, as your Creator, He would love for you to trust Him completely with your life. Do you believe He is worthy?

In Him,
Becky