Share the love of God with women through the study of His word. Share the love of Christ with women through spiritual encouragement and support. Create a safe environment where women can freely share their hearts with one another.
A Heart2Heart Bible Women’s Ministry Study Series. Meeting every other Wednesday. No registration required, no study guide to buy. Just bring your bible and your enthusiasm. Next study session June 7th
What is prayer? Why do we pray? What should we pray about? How should we pray?
At this week’s “Keep Growing” Bible Study we will address these questions and more. We invite you to join us.
Wednesday – June 7th –
Fellowship time: 11:00 – Study begins @11:30 am
Faith Baptist Church (Fellowship Hall)
5194 Old plank Road, Iron Station, NC
Want to know more about Heart2Heart Women’s Ministry? Email us at Info@Heart2HeartWomen.org
What a blessing at last week’s study as Mikki and Amy Jo shared more with us about The Bible If you live in the Mecklenburg/Lincoln/Gaston County area, we would love for you to “Keep Growing” with us.
We meet every other Wednesday. Our next session will be on June 7. Fellowship time at 11:00, study begins at 11:30.
In todays post we we complete our series on the search for peace. We have learned about the things that can hinder our peace and the ways we can overcome the things that rob us of our peace. Today we will look at what God’s word has to say about protecting our peace.
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, (Ephesians 2:13-14
Through His life, death, and resurrection Jesus Christ destroyed the power of sin and death. One day, the very presence of sin and death will be destroyed. For now, for a little while longer, the battle continues.
As we await that glorious day we must continuously strengthen our minds and our faith through careful attention to God’s word. We must be ever watchful, but never fearful, always alert to the enemy’s schemes. We must stand firm. We must press on.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, (Ephesians 6:10-18)
Christian, our enemy may be fierce but our victory is sure! Armed with the word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, the strength of our faith, and the assurance of our salvation, we can know that wonderful “peace that surpasses understanding”.
Dear God of peace, I praise You for the shed blood of Jesus, changing me from Your enemy to Your friend. I thank You for also making obedience available through this new covenant of grace. I humbly ask that You teach me to live in dependence upon Your sufficiency, Amen.
Judson W. Van DeVenter was born 15 December 1855 on a farm near the village of Dundee, Michigan. He was educated in the country and village schools, and at Hillsdale College. He later moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. He wrote about 100 hymns.
1. All to Jesus I surrender; All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. (Refrain)
2. All to Jesus I surrender; Make me, Savior, wholly Thine; Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit; Truly know that Thou art mine. (Refrain)
3. All to Jesus I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power; Let Thy blessing fall on me. (Refrain)
Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all, All to thee, my blessed Savior,
For we who have believed do enter that rest. (Hebrews 4:3)
Through the promises of God, spiritual rest can be experienced by all who believe. Initially, those who believe enjoy rest from the guilt and condemnation of sin. Additionally, those whose faith embraces more of the promises of God can enjoy rest from carnal striving and worldly indulgence.
Devotional is an excerpt from “Day By Day Grace” by Bob Hoekstra
Yesterday we discussed some of the reasons that peace is so elusive in todays world. Today we continue our series on the search for peace by looking at ways we can overcome the things that rob us of our joy and hinder our peace.
“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3)
The world around us is in chaos. Evil appears to be winning the war. And yet, in John 14:27 we find that the Lord Himself gives us the assurance of peace.
What is the solution?
Is there a solution? The answer is “yes”. But in order to get to there, we must come to realize and accept some basic truths from God’s word.
TRUTH: Both joy and trials are from God, joy and peace are interwoven.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)
TRUTH: The opposite of joy us not sorrow, the opposite of joy is hopelessness.
“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is but breath; My eye will not again see good”. (Job 7:6-7)
TRUTH: When we are reconciled to God, Satan becomes more determined to rob us of our peace.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
TRUTH: There will be continual war between the flesh and the Spirit.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. (Romans 7:18-19)
Peace, true peace, is possible. The question we must ask ourselves, “am I willing to search for it and, when necessary, fight for it”?
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)
In our Bible study group this week we had a lesson on peace as a grace which is produced by the Fruit of the Spirit. Every woman in the room agreed that she could use more peace in her life. Over the next few days, we will look at some of the things that contribute to anxiety and rob us of our peace and we will discuss how we can be overcomers.
While anxiety can affect anyone, its most vulnerable victims are women and young people.
One major enemy to our peace is anxiety. As the the things of our world become more and more uncertain, anxiety becomes more and more prevalent. While anxiety can affect anyone, its most vulnerable victims are women and young people. According to a 2020 survey by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (yes, apparently there is an anxiety organization), an estimated 31% of Americans will suffer an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Think about that, among three of your friends, it is likely that one of them is suffering with anxiety.
What is the cause?
The Greek word for anxiety comes from the root word merizo which means to divide, separate, or sever. There was a time when life, from a moral standpoint, was black and white. Right was right, and wrong was wrong. Those are not the days in which we are currently living. These days man does “what is right in his own eyes”. When even the so called experts cannot agree on when life begins, what defines gender, or what constitutes child exploitation, and so many other issues, is it any wonder that our society, our relationships, and even our minds are divided?
Peace-robbing division doesn’t end with our human relationships. In fact, the greatest source of our anxiety is our divided mind concerning the things of God. Suddenly (or so it seems), professing Christians are in disagreement on the sovereignty of God, the existence of the Trinity, and the infallibility of the Bible. These are the things which have always been accepted by the Church as indisputable truths, but no longer. The wolves have snuck in and the very foundation our faith has been shaken. Without a plumb line against which to measure truth, we can have no sure sense of direction, no peace.
In tomorrow’s post we will continue our search for peace by exploring what God’s word has to say about how we can have “true peace”.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
You are a messenger of peace!
When Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9), He was referring to a special group of people whom God called to restore the peace that was forfeited because of sin. They may not be politicians, statesmen, diplomats, kings, presidents, or Nobel Prize winners, but they hold the key to true and lasting peace.
As a Christian, you are among that select group of peacemakers. As such you have two primary responsibilities. The first is to help others make peace with God. There is no greater privilege. The best way to do that is to preach the gospel of peace with clarity so people understand their alienation from God and seek reconciliation. Romans 10:15 says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” The early church preached peace through Christ, and that is your privilege as well.
Your second responsibility is to help reconcile believers to one another. That’s a very important issue to God. He won’t accept worship from those who are at odds with each other. They must first deal with the conflict (Matt. 5:23-24). That is especially true within a family. Peter warned husbands to treat their wives properly so their prayers wouldn’t be hindered (1 Pet. 3:7).
Peacemakers don’t avoid spiritual conflicts—they speak the truth in love and allow the Spirit to minister through them to bring reconciliation. If you see someone who is alienated from God, you are to present him or her with the gospel of peace. If you see two Christians fighting, you are to do everything you can to help them resolve their differences in a righteous manner.
Of course to be an effective peacemaker you must maintain your own peace with God. Sin in your life will disrupt peace and prevent you from dispensing God’s peace to others. Therefore continually guard your heart and confess your sin so that God can use you as His peacemaker.
Suggestions for Prayer Pray for those close to you who don’t know Christ. Take every opportunity to tell them of God’s peace.
For Further Study Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. • How did Paul describe the ministry of reconciliation? • What was Christ’s role in reconciling man to God?
Heart2Heart Women 