Divine Moments for Women

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Abilities

My question for God.  How can I make the most of my abilities?

A moment with God.

[The Lord] takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human and might. - Psalm 147:10

It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. - Zechariah 4:6

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own.  Our qualification comes from God. - 2 Corinthians 3:5   

God is more impressed by your faith than by your abilities.  He uses your abilities only in your proportion of faith in him.  If you want to delight God say yes to him, walk in faith and watch him accomplish great things through him.  Abilities give you the potential for doing good. Neither potential nor power alone is sufficient.  They must work in harmony.  When you use your God given abilities, you will have a sense of satisfaction and feel fulfilled.  So rejoice in your abilities but let your rejoicing be poured out as an offering of thanks to the God that gave them.  Without God your abilities are dreams without power. 

Divine Promise

All glory to God who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might think or ask. - Ephesians 3:20

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Absence

My question for God.  Why do I feel as if God is absent at times?

A moment with God.

O Lord, how long will you forget me?  Forever?  How long will You look the other way?  How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?  How long will my enemy have the upper hand? - Psalm 13:1-2

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! - Psalm 90:1

[Jesus said,] "Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:  I am always with you, even to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:20

The greater your troubles, the farther away God sometimes seems.  In your darkest hour, you may feel that God has left you.  In times like those, when it feels as if God is absent, don't trust your feelings.  Trust God's promise that he will never leave you.  Rely on what the bible tells you is true, not on what your feelings are telling you.  Even though you may feel as if God is far away, He is really always near.  No matter how troubled you are, trust that God is with you. When you are hurting the most,  He most wants to walk beside you.

Divine Promise

You know when I sit down or stand up, you know my thoughts my thoughts even when I am far away .... I can never escape from your spirit!  I can never get away from your presence! - Psalm 139:2, 7

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Absolutes

My Question for God. How does knowing that truth is absolute help me to live faithfully?

A moment with God

In those days Israel had no king; all people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.  - Judges 21:25

People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.  - Proverbs 21:2

Your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.  - James 4:11

History is full of examples of individuals who did what was right in their own eyes with catastrophic consequences for themselves and for others.  Scripture teaches that you are born with the desire to sin; so doing your own thing will always lead you away from God, the source of absolute truth.  Your job is not to pass judgement on God's way by devising your own, but to follow God and all He says.  If you are trying a new recipe and and you purposely stray from the instructions, your meal could turn out a disaster.  It's the same as life.  Follow God's instruction in the bible and life will work much better     

Divine Promise

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

2 Timothy 3:16

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Acceptance

My question for God.  How can I accept the difficulties that come into my life?

A moment with God

Job replied, "You talk like a foolish woman.  Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?"  - Job 2:10

To enjoy your work and enjoy your lot in life this indeed a gift from God." - Ecclesiastes 5:19

You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy.  You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. - Hebrews 10:34

You live in a fallen world.  God told his followers to have realistic expectations about the world and to prepare for troubles that will come.  Although you have hints of your glorious future in heaven, right now you live amid the continuing trials of life on earth.  Accepting circumstances don't mean you have to like them.  By keeping eternity in mind, you can grow from the difficulties you experience now, knowing that those difficulties will end with this earthly life.  When you accept what comes from God's hand, you can trust that he has something to teach you through whatever comes your way.

Divine Promise

What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later .... and we believers also groan even though we have the holy spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory.  For we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering.  We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children including the new bodies her has promised us.  - Romans 8:18, 23

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Actions

My question for God.  How can my actions make me beautiful?

A moment with God

Women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.  1 Timothy 2:10

Even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words.  They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives.  Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.  You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty from that comes from inside, the unfading beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.  This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful.  They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands.  1 Peter 3:1-5

Beautiful conduct is the fruit of godly thoughts and godly character.  A woman with godly character knows her value in God's eyes and embraces the work He has given her to do.  There is nothing more beautiful than a woman at peace with God and confident  in her God given abilities and tasks.  Her actions are beautiful because she gently meets the needs of others around her.  When you work on cultivating your inward beauty, by focusing your attention eternal matters and on what God says is most important, the beauty of your actions will encourage others and ring throughout eternity

Divine Promise

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.  ~ Proverbs 31:30

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Adaptability

My question for God.  How can I learn to adapt when life changes so quickly?

God has made everything beautiful for its own time.  He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.  - Ecclesiastes 3:11

It was by faith Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance.  He went without knowing where he was going.  Hebrews 11:8

The ability to adapt goes hand in hand with trusting God.  When you know He loves you and trust that He has the best plans for your life, you can adapt willingly and quickly when the road of life takes a sudden sharp turn.  You don't need to know all the details of God's plans for you in order to adapt to it.  Full knowledge of all the details is not necessary for obedience.  Sometimes adapting means moving forward in faith and obedience to God and realizing that when He knows the way, you don't have too.

Divine Promise

Dear brothers and sisters when troubles come your way consider an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow.  For when your endurance is fully developed you will be perfect and complete needing nothing.  - James 1:2-4     

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Admirability

My question for God.  How can I be a woman that people admire and respect?

A moment with God

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.  - Proverbs 31:30

The most admirable qualities grow from having deep honour and respect for God.  When you reflect God's character, you never need to put up a false front or be afraid of lose your "girlish figure" because you have qualities that others admire long after your outer beauty has faded.

A sensible person wins admiration.  - Proverbs 12:8

Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. - Ecclesiastes 2:13

Wisdom and good sense are admirable qualities that steady your life.  Being wise not only helps you to live a godly life, but it helps you to know how to guide others into godly living as well.  when others see their lives falling apart, they will look to you for steadiness and wise advice.

As a result of ministry, they will give glory to God.  For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.  And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God gives to you.  - 1 Corinthians 9:13-14

the most admirable quality of all is reflecting God's love as you faithfully serve others.  When you see them from God's perspective and love them as He does, you can offer God's gentle touch and demonstrate His love.  You will always be admired by others who experience God through you.

Divine Promise

There will be glory and honour and peace from God for all who do good.  - Romans 2:10   

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Adoption

My question for God.  How is adoption a picture of my relationship with God?

A moment with God.

To all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.  - John 1:12

When the right time came, God sent His son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that He could adopt us as His very own children.  - Galatians 4:4-5

Even before He made the world God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.  This is what He wanted to do and it also gave Him great pleasure.  So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to His dear son.  - Ephesians 1:4-6

The process of adoption is a beautiful picture of God's love for you.  Just as adoptive parents make a choice to give a child a new life Jesus chose to give you a life you couldn't otherwise achieve.  People who adopt children decide to lovingly teach and nurture them and they give those children all of the rights and privileges of being a member of the family.  As a child of God you are privileged to receive all of His blessings in both this life and the next.

Divine Promise

I will be your father and you will be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty.  - 2 Corinthians 6:18

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Adversity

My question for God.  How does God's presence in my life strengthen me for coping with adversity?

A moment with God

When you go through deep waters I will be with you.  When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.  When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.  - Isaiah 43:2

When you are faced with great adversity you probably ask, "Where is God when I need him most?"  The answer is always the same he is right beside you.  God is there providing you the power to help you cope.  in this life God doesn't promise to save you from trouble.  In fact scripture tells you "when you go through deep waters" warning that in this life adversity will come your way.  It's the natural consequence of living in a fallen world.  God will not act like a genie in a bottle granting your every wish because then you would follow Him for the wrong reasons and your character would never grow.  Instead God promises to be with you in your troubles, to give you wisdom to cope, strength to conquer your problems and understanding to see how you will become stronger as you learn to deal with and overcome adversity.

Divine Promise

The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.  - Psalm 145:14

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Affection

My question for God.  How can I express my affection for God?

A moment with God,

Give to the Lord the glory He deserves!  Bring your offering and come into His presence.  Worship the Lord in all His holy presence.  - 1 Chronicles 16:29

Shout with joy to the Lord, all on earth!  Worship the Lord with gladness.  Come before him, singing with joy.  Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are His.  We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him and praise His name.  - Psalm 100:1-4

Because of Your unfailing love, I can enter Your house; I will worship Your Temple with deepest awe.  -  Psalm 5:7

You express your affection for God through worship.  You can worship God anywhere, but these psalms focus on the intentional worship that happen when people gathered in the Temple to praise God with all their might.  Have you made a commitment to regular and true worship?

When you worship do you do so with your whole being, body and soul?

Imagine a spouse who never says "I love you," or rarely desires to be with you or never speaks of you to others.  True worship is not mumbling s few hymns, sitting through a sermon and then going home.  It is an expression of your deepest devotion and affection of God who loves you passionately.

Divine Promise

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.  - Psalm 23:6

 

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Affirmation

My question for God.  How does God affirm me?  How do I know He truly values my life?

A moment with God

God created human beings in His own image.  In the image of God He created them; man and female he created them.  - Genesis 1:27

Long ago the Lord said to Israel:  "I have loved you, my peoople, with everlasting love.  With unfailing love I have drawn you towards myself."  - Jeremiah 31:3

God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life.  God sent his Son into the world not to judge not to udge the world, but to save the world throungh Him.  - John 3:16-17

You are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple.  What's more, you are His holy priests.  Through the meditation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.  - 1 Peter 2:5

You can find affirmation in knowing that God chose to create you in His image and to be in a relationship with Him. God draws you to Himself, even to the point of sacrificing His own Son to die for you.  Your life is the story of God pursuing you, rescuing you from your sin, and restoring you to who you are.  Read God's words to you in the Bible, and think about all He has done to show you how much you matter to Him.  When you realize how fully God values you, His love will break through the world's lies that try to tell you what you ought to be and encourages you to be the woman He created you to be.

Divine Promise

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us.  - 1 John 3:16