Should Women Go To College?

Well, my conviction even before reading this was no, but after reading C.S. Hayden's blog on the subject, I'm convinced. I should not be spending my time now pursuing a degree in college. I will not say I'll NEVER go back, because I have no idea what the Lord may lay on my heart in the future, and it may be something I can only accomplish through obtaining a degree. However, at this point in my life, I have much better things to reach for and pour my energy into.

As some of you may know, I have decided not to go to college after over 1 year in the college system. I went to Ga. Perimeter (a junior college) last year and then attended Chattahoochee Tech. for a culinary arts program this past quarter. I've been miserable ever since I started. I never wanted to go at all. I had never pictured college in my life. While in middle and high school grades, I always had the mindset of finishing high school and afterwards preparing for life as a wife and mother. Unfortunately, I gave in to pressure from many people and enrolled in college. I've never in my life been so unhappy, unsettled, and restless.

God convicted me over the summer during a time of much prayer and Scripture reading. The message I heard over and over was the call to be a wife and mother. I mean, to think, here I was in another country, serving the Lord, impacting so many for Him, having this wonderful, life-changing experience...and He was telling me one thing. "Sallie, My call for you to be a wife and mother is just as important as any work you will do in foreign missions." I see it now and my mindset has been so skewed. Someone has to train up the next generation in the Lord. Being a supportive wife and caring mother who invests in her family is a VERY important role. I'm not cut out to lead, I know that. Now I see so much more clearly that the position He has called me to is a perfect fit. I don't have to keep trying to fit into other people's expectations of me.

At this moment, I still question my decision to drop college, but it's not because I think I will want or even need a degree one day. It's because I just want the pressure from others to ease up. (Especially, since I'm not even married yet!) That's not the Christian's call though. I'm not called to conform. I'm called to stand up for my convictions and beliefs, go against the flow of society if necessary, and follow the Lord in all to fulfill His greater plan. That's my goal because I only answer to one person, the God of the universe.

Hillary Clinton

I absolutely don't want this woman to be in the position of leading our country.

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Platforms for His Manifestations

All our difficulties are only platforms for the manifestation of His grace, power, and love.

~Hudson Taylor~

Everybody Claiming to Know Jesus by Jonathan Falwell (From the Falwell Confidential)

I was intrigued to observe a sign being held by one of the protesters at the writers strike in California this week. Scrawled under a sign bearing the Writers Guild of America logo was the message: “Huckabee, Jesus Wouldn’t Cross.”

The protester’s message was being aimed at Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a Christian, who crossed picket lines on Wednesday to appear on NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” prior to Thursday’s Iowa caucus.

And it struck me that, in this present age of situational ethics and moral ambivalence, man is continually attempting to create Jesus in his own image, usually to fit the circumstances or states of affairs in which he finds himself.

We often hear conflicting arguments that Jesus would be a Republican or a Democrat if He were living on earth today.

As evidence, we see books such as Clint Willis’ and Nate Hardcastle’s “Jesus Is Not a Republican: The Religious Right’s War on America” or Mark Ellingsen’s “When Did Jesus Become Republican?” We also see Alan Colmes’ book, “Red, White and Liberal,” which contains a chapter (“Jesus was a Liberal”) in which he attempts to define Jesus as a social liberal.

We also hear people insinuating that Jesus would be driving a hybrid car if He were on the earth today. Or we hear that Jesus would be working to help the oppressed people of our world.

Moreover, I believe that even within the church today we often see depictions of Jesus that are simply unfounded.

The fact is that opinions of Jesus don’t really matter.

The only thing that matters in our understanding of Jesus is what He told us of Himself in His Word, the Bible. And the Bible must be our only standard in our endeavors to understand Jesus, the Son of the Living God, and His purpose for our lives.

In this regard, it is important to note that Jesus did not come to earth to teach us what car to drive or which candidate to vote for or to compel us not to cross picket lines.

Instead, Jesus came for one simple reason, as He stated in Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

That statement applies to all of us, for we are all lost without Jesus Christ in our lives.

Jesus did certainly outline plans for the disciples (and hence the present church) to care for widows, the affirmed and the disadvantaged. But this was not His principal message.

I fear that many people these days are using modern social guidelines such as “inclusiveness” or “multi-culturalism” or “globalism” to define Jesus.

In effect, these individuals are attempting to socialize the Gospel, humanizing Jesus to fit their needs.

These are superficial perceptions of Jesus and have virtually nothing to do with the Bible narrative of His life and design.

And so to understand Jesus, we must first understand that He understands us even more than we understand ourselves; and we fail when we attempt to justify ourselves by recreating what the Bible makes clear about Him.

A wonderful verse is I Samuel 16:7 because it shows God’s uniqueness in His approach to mankind. That verse states: “… for man looketh upon the outside appearance, but the Lord looketh upon the heart.”

And the heart is where we truly find Jesus and His purpose.

When we trust in Christ, we then know the purpose of Christ.

Paul, writing to the church at Ephesus, explained the beauty of truly knowing Jesus: “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”

My prayer for this New Year is that I can reach out in love with this message to many people so that they can truly know Jesus Christ as He wants to be known.

Let’s work together in this effort!

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Bible Study

The longer you read the Bible, the more you will like it; it will grow sweeter and sweeter; and the more you get into the spirit of it, the more you will get into the spirit of Christ.

~William Romaine~

A Mission Only the Church Could Stop From Global Summit 2007

My pastor showed a sermon by Dr. David Platt on Sunday. I can't seem to get it out of my mind. I couldn't find the exact one he showed, but I did find this one that is almost the same, exact sermon. I won't waste my words by trying to give you a preview or even my own personal thoughts. This message speaks for itself. All I can say is, please listen to it and allow Christ to change your thinking, actions, and lifestyle to reflect His purpose for ALL of us. It is something we should especially attain to as we enter this new year of 2008. Make your life count.

How You Live

I haven't put a song on in a while. I love this one. It's so easy to forget that it doesn't matter what others think, do, or expect of me as much as is matters what God thinks and expects. I'm not perfect and have so many areas to work on in this area of my life, but I've come to realize more and more each day that it's how I live, not the list of accomplishments I have completed. There is only One I need to be striving to please and He is the only One I need to look to for affirmation and acceptance. I need to be living each day as if it is my last and showing others my genuine care, concern, and love. I only have one life and one chance. Who knows what could happen tomorrow or even in the next few minutes? I need to be focused on Jesus and give glory to His name by how I live.

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