Compromise

There are two common definitions of the word "compromise"--one is a good one and means you're willing to negotiate with someone else on something minor, instead of being stubborn. 

The other one is bad, and means that you're willing to be lax on your convictions and principles. That's the one we're talking about today. 

Common areas teen girls are tempted to compromise: 

          1. Words/language 

1. Ephesians 4:29 
2. James 3:2-12 
3. Proverbs 16:23-24

Nails in the Fence

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he said something in anger, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his tongue than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn’t say a single angry word. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his tongue.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say ‘I’m sorry’, the wound is still there.”

          2. Guys 

1. 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 (Satan's goal in distracting us with guys is often to steal our TIME...) 
2. 1 Timothy 5:1-2

Little compromises lead to big ones. 

"Anna" was a girl who grew up in church. She memorized Bible verses. She was a "good girl" who wouldn't do many of the bad things that other kids were doing. But she started to compromise just a little bit in the area of guys. She let some little things slip with one boy that she really liked. One thing led to another, and a little while later, she was pregnant. She and the boy got married very quickly, but it was only a little while before they were divorced. 

How did she get from "good church girl" to divorced single mom before she was out of college? Baby steps. 

          3. Modesty 

1. 1 Peter 3:3-4 
2. Proverbs 11:22 
3. Matthew 5:27-28

          4. Media 

1. Psalm 101:3
2. Philippians 4:8 
3. Colossians 3:16 
4. Romans 12:2 

          5. Thoughts 

"Thoughts" underscore all of these areas. We often don't think much about compromising in the area of thoughts, because they're so small and invisible--no one else can see them--but "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." Our thoughts become our words and actions. And when God looks at our hearts, we see in Matthew 5:21-30 that if our thoughts are wrong, He considers them to be sin. 

1. Philippians 4:4-9 
2. Romans 12:2 
3. 2 Corinthians 10:5 

Ways We Compromise 

1. Self-focus, either negative or positive 
1. Matthew 14:22-33 and Hebrews 12...when we focus on ourselves, we can't accomplish anything...it's when we fix our eyes on JESUS that He works miracles through and in us! 
2. Just being lukewarm (Revelation 3:14-22) 

Why we compromise 

1. It's easier 
2. We don't have to fight 
3. We feel overwhelmed and don't think we can do anything else 

What we're supposed to do instead of compromising 

1. Battle through 
1. Hebrews 10:26 
2. God loves us too much to leave us where we are
2. Rely on the Lord, and He will give us strength 
1. 1 Corinthians 10:13 
2. Have faith and actively trust in Him 
3. Surround ourselves with godly influences, and be aware of negative influences and how they impact our behavior 
1. 2 Timothy 2:22 
4. "Struggles are to be fought through, not surrendered to." -Jael 

Fighting compromise is hardly ever easy. But at the end of the day, it is so worth it! Not only do we see the fruits of God's presence in our lives when we refuse to give in and accept lesser things, but we also get to experience His faithfulness in leading us through temptation. 

He loves us, and He's offering us unimaginable gifts. All we have to do is trust in Him and follow His leading. 

Jealousy: November 1, 2016

  It was a Friday night and I still had not completed my lesson for Bright Lights on Tuesday. I only had a couple of days to complete it, and I was struggling. Jealousy has consistently been a hurdle I have had to overcome. I have always wrestled with thoughts of, "I wish I had this or that", or "If only I had (insert admirable quality)". So, as soon as I said I wanted to teach on jealousy I thought to myself, "Are you crazy!" Nevertheless, a couple weeks later,  I was sitting in front of my computer screen, wondering how in the world I was going to finish this. Then, it dawned on me. Did I pray? I realized that I could not write this lesson by my own strength, but I needed to rely on Jesus to give me the right words to say.

We discussed two definitions of jealousy...

#1 Jealousy: An unhappy or angry feeling of wanting to have what someone else has.

Here are a few verses we looked at referring to this type of jealousy.

James 3:14-15
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

James 3:16
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice

#2 Jealousy: A strong feeling of possessiveness, often caused by the possibility that something which belongs, or ought to belong, to one is about to be taken away.

I talked about Exodus 34:14.
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

We tackled how we are to deal with our jealousy-#1 definition.

We asked volunteers to act out Genesis 3:1-8. Somehow I ended up being the tree. Sophi was an amazing snake. Abbey was a wonderful Eve, and Reyna was a fantastic narrator. :)

I taught about Eve and how she looked at the fruit and desired something God had not given her. Ungratefulness started to grow in her heart.

We discussed a great way to battle envy/jealousy is by turning our thought life to Him. ( Colossians 3:2)
When we think thoughts that are bitter or ungrateful, our hearts tend to follow. I encouraged the girls to focus on Jesus and look for ways to serve Him better. A great way to do this is to memorize scripture. Here are a few verses that are pretty easy to memorize:

Proverbs 18:10
 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

1 Peter 5:7
 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Psalm 119:50
My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

And my personal favorite - Micah 7:7.
But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Another way to battle jealousy is to read God's word.
 I can’t emphasize this enough. God’s word is so important in a Christian’s life. It isn’t something that should be tossed aside, or considered an old book that has no meaning to our lives right now. Research. Ask questions. Dig deep in the word of God.  Read the boring books…read the exciting books. Write questions down and ask people’s opinions. I love reading the bible and then emailing a friend about his or her thoughts on the subject. I would encourage you to think about what your reading. I know that we all have responsibilities and school work, but the bible is more important. The bible I more important than our scripts, the bible is more important than our science books, the bible is more important than our sheet music. However, the Bible is not an excuse for laziness.

Conclusion:

When we look at others and desire what they have or what they have accomplished we seem to look at our own lives as less than. When we forget about Jesus and what He has done for us we forget we already have so much. If Jesus is our everything, our first love, our hope, we won’t desire earthly things.When Jesus is all whom we desire to imitate, that is when we find true joy.
How can we want riches that are eventually going to rot or become stolen? This world can offer nothing in comparison to the King of Kings! Now, some say it is foolish, but I think that the most foolish thing a person can do is look at our world and refuse to believe there is a creator. And when we realize all that Jesus went through to be our final sacrifice- how can we be jealous of others?  

Fear

 Fear 

~Our memory verse was Isaiah 43:1 and our bonus verse was Isaiah 43:2.~

We first dealt with what exactly fear is. Here are a few notes....

According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, it is “To feel a painful apprehension of some impending evil; to be afraid of; to consider or expect with emotions of alarm or solicitude.”  And in the American Heritage Dictionary, it is described as “An emotion of alarm and agitation caused by the expectation or realization of danger; to be afraid, frightened, or terrified.”  
 there is a difference between being scared and fearing the Lord.  When the Bible talks about “fearing the Lord”, it means treating the Lord with reverence, awe, and respect.  Psalms 19:9 says that “the fear of the Lord is clean”, and in Ecclesiastes 12:14 we are told to “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”  
 - Is fear a sin?
Just plain fear is not a sin in and of itself; it is an emotion.  But we can allow our fear to overtake us and keep us from obeying God.  That’s when it can become a sin or lead us into sin. 

Then We went into Part two.....

Apply His word to your life

What I mean by that is we need to memorize scripture more. Now I know pretty much everyone here does a really good job at this--I am the worst at memorizing scripture and am telling myself this as much as you girls--. But we need to memorize verses for those times of fear and suffering. Our living God has given us words to live by so...let’s live by them!! I remember a couple of years ago I had a horrible nightmare and I awoke very frightened. I was so scared i didn’t even want to get out of bed to go to my parents who were just in the next bedroom. So as a way to know that I was safe I started to repeat a verse (and I don’t remember what verse it was that I kept repeating). Well, anyway as I kept saying this verse I started to feel this peace come over me, and I realized that the Lord had come to me when I called out to Him to rescue me from my fear and dread.

And if you don’t get anything back from this lesson i want you to understand that the Lord is stronger than any fear you have. Remember in the beginning of the lesson I asked you to think about your greatest fear, now I want you to compare that to Christ. That fear seems scary compared to us puny little humans, but when we compare it to the Lord who defeated death itself! He wins Every time.

Having a Greater fear When I was about 5 years old my greatest fear was the dark. When everything seemed to creak and footsteps could be heard in my imagination. When I was about 9 my greatest fear was not having any friends (we had just moved here). When I was about 11 my greatest fear was me having to leave my friends when my parents had decided to home school me. Now that I am almost 15 my greatest fear is not being good enough. Do you see a pattern? When I grow I seem to shed off my fears. Sylvia and I are both Christians who love the Lord, but we are in different stages of life. And that is perfectly fine, but I know for a fact we have different fears. I know that in 10 years I will have a different fear that will be just as hard to overcome as it is to overcome the one I am facing right now. When I look back at myself when I was 5 years old….the dark doesn’t scare me anymore, and a big part of it is that I developed a greater fear. If my greatest fear is the Lord then soon enough He will be the only one I fear, but it takes time and prayer and a whole lot of suffering to get there.

-Taylor and Olivia

Separating Darkness from Light

How to Have Discernment in a Culture that Says, "Do What Feels Right to You." 

This was our first meeting of the fall 2016 semester! We started out with singing, and we were blessed to have Taylor leading beautifully on violin. 

Be Thou My Vision 

In Christ Alone 

Holy, Holy, Holy 

After singing, we took prayer requests and prayed as a group, then did our typical icebreaker: tell your name, age, and the color of your toothbrush. We also introduced our new leaders: Taylor, Cecily, Sophi, and Olivia. 

Finally, we started the lesson, Separating Darkness from Light. Notes are below. 

Holiness

1.      That which is separated to the service of God.

2.      A sheep may look white next to the green grass, but when it snows, you can see that the sheep is really dirty!

3.      “Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.” –Charles Spurgeon

4.      Applecottagecheesesauce!

We need to…

·         Discern between things that seem good and things that are good

·         Evaluate everything in the light of God’s word

·         Take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5)

·         Not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God (1 John 4:1)

·         Look carefully how we walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time (Ephesians 5:15-16)

·         Keep ourselves pure from polluting influences

Examples of polluting influences:

Movies

·         Books (romance novels especially can give birth to unprofitable thoughts) 

·         TV

·         Friends (you become like the 5 people you are around most...spend time with Jesus! :)) 

·         Internet

·         Music (even some Christian music...) 

·         Games

·         Magazines

·         Social Media

·         Advertising

·         Activities/ Activity Groups (is the attitude of the group you're with honoring to God? If not, are you following that pattern or setting the example of godliness?) 

*Note: Not all of these things are bad in and of themselves--we have to evaluate if a certain activity is affecting us in a way that harms our relationship with God, even if the activity itself isn't bad. 

Dealing with polluting influences…

•      Evaluate and be aware of what is impacting us and how it is doing so.

–     Watching a movie: what is it trying to teach me?

–     Class at school: does this line up with Scripture?

•      When possible, choose to fill our minds with better things

–     Leisure time: Studio C or Intro to Classical Music? Random eBook that looks okay or Christian biography? Prayer or daydreaming?

•      Pray that God will help us to be in the world, but not of the world

Discernment in a Nutshell

•      Resisting temptations

•      Not compromising (Romans 12:2 J)

•      Seeking accountability (2 Timothy 2:22)

•      Avoiding “harmless” things that can lead further… (Especially on the Internet, make sure that you are VERY open with your parents about what you see!) 

•      Getting wise counsel

1 Peter 5:8-9

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 

Our lesson activity was a "trust walk" in teams, but with a twist. We played the game as usual, with girls partnering up into mini-teams of two, with one girl blindfolded and the other girl directing her through an obstacle course. Each of these mini-teams was part of one of two bigger teams. The twist: while two of the girls from team A were navigating through the obstacle course, Team B was allowed to shout wrong directions and try to get the Team A girls off course. The blindfolded girl from Team A had to be very careful to show discernment about which voices she listened to! 

After the lesson, we had "snacks and small groups" time, then gathered for singing to end the meeting. 

Take My Life and Let It Be 

Standing on the Promises 

I Will Call upon the Lord 

It was a blessing to have each and every girl that came! We look forward to seeing you back in two weeks for Taylor's and Olivia's lesson on Fear. 

Fall 2016 Schedule

We resume meetings next Tuesday, September 6th! Our full fall schedule is posted here: http://godspurified.blogspot.com/p/lesson-topics-for-fall-2015.html

True Love

Wuv, Twue Wuv…

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

 –1 Corinthians 13:13

The world twists love: 

-marriage un-sanctified 

-marriages without love 

-parents not loving kids; kids not loving parents 

-siblings not loving each other 

-people viewing others as objects to be manipulated for their own gain 

“By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

-John 13:35

We’re called to love everyone…friends or enemies, Christians or non-Christians, annoying brothers or frustrating parents. 

We need an attitude of service

Pray: heart filled with God’s love; see others through God's eyes. 

Do we really love non-Christians?

Do we love them enough to share the gospel with them?

Challenge: witness to two people before the end-of-the-year party in two weeks. 

• You can use the tracts, but that’s not required. 
• You can witness to someone you know (who is not a Christian) or a stranger. 
• You have to actually talk to someone, even if it’s just to ask “hey; is it okay if I hand you something to read?” or do the two-step “hey; can I ask you a question? If you were to die today, are you 100% sure you would go to heaven?”  
• If you need more tracts, just ask. :)

Witnessing tips

1. Go in a team 

2. Pray before you start! 

3. Don’t think of your own fear; focus on the needs of the people you’re witnessing to 

4. Make sure your behavior reflects your message 

5. Remember that God is more powerful than your fear! 

Try going to a park or mall… You can even make a project out of it and call it a “homework assignment,” the way the imaginary girls in the skits did a few weeks ago. 

Further help and encouragement 

Will Our Generation Speak by Grace Mally 

One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill 

Tactics by Greg Koukl 

www.MarkCahill.org 

www.livingwaters.com

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

(Philippians 4:13)

Emotional Purity & Modesty

We started out this meeting by looking at several different pictures of girls in various outfits, from a Muslim burkha, to a grey Amish dress, to jeans and a t-shirt, to a little girl in a princess dress. As we discovered by looking at these pictures and making guesses about the people in the photos (their religion, their values, etc.), what we wear has a big impact on how people view us. 

After doing this exercise, we stressed the importance of NOT doing this kind of thing to actual people--it is true that what we wear has a big impact on the way we are viewed by others, but as Christians, we need to look beyond outward appearance and have compassion on the heart of a person. As our memory verse this week says, "man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 

However, it's still important for us to present Christ well in the way we dress. Beyond the obvious point that, by dressing immodestly, we can cause great discomfort/struggle for the guys around us, even if we're completely modest, we can send wrong messages with the outfits we wear. It's all about the heart...good questions to ask before heading out the door are these: 

1. What message am I sending with this outfit? 

2. Whom am I trying to please?/Whom am I emulating? 

3. What are my priorities? 

4. Will this outfit likely cause someone to stumble? 

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

                                                                                                             -Romans 14:13 

We as girls tend to seek validation from guys, but the truth is that guys can never really fulfill us...God should be our first priority, and the first one from whom we seek validation. He's the only one that can do that job. :) 

Focusing on guys as anything other than brothers in Christ can often distract us from seeking the Lord. 

Ideas for Keeping Thoughts Pure

• “Prayer targets” (When an impure thought enters, start praying for someone) 

• Keep yourself occupied with positive things 

• Don’t give in to “small” temptations in your thought life 

After a violent storm one night, a large tree, which over the years had become a stately giant, was found lying across the pathway in a park. Nothing but a splintered stump was left. Closer examination showed that it was rotten at the core, because thousands of tiny insects had eaten away at its heart. The weakness of that tree was not brought on by the sudden storm; it began the very moment the first insect nested within its bark. With the Holy Spirit’s help, let’s be very careful to guard our purity. (Lou Nicholes - Missionary/Author).

But guys aren't the only things that can distract us and tempt us to compromise our purity...books, games, movies, and music can all do that, as well. We need to constantly evaluate how we spend our time and energy, asking, "is this honoring to God? Is this helping or hindering my walk with Him?" Sometimes it's time for a "purge" of items that are hurting our relationship with the Lord... 

But purity isn't about a set of rules. The heart of purity is seeking God, first and foremost, and arranging everything else according to its proper priority after that. We are to "throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, and run with perseverance the race marked out for us!" 

Depression, verses to consider

·        Galatians 6:2

·        Matthew 4:24

·        Luke 10:17

·        James 4:7

·        James 5:14-16

·        Mark 9:29

·        Colossians 4:2

·        Matthew 12:43-45

·        1 Corinthians 10:13

·        2 Cor 1:3-5 & 1:8-11

·        Hebrews 2:18 & 4:15-16

·        2 Corinthians 4:16-18

·        Philippians 4:4-9

·        2 Corinthians 10:3-5

·        Ephesians 6:16

·        Ephesians 3:17-21

·        2 Thessalonians 5:16-19

·        Colossians 3:15

·        1 Peter 3:14-15a

·        Ephesians 5:19-20

·        2 Timothy 1:7

Depression in the Old Testament...
Elijah: 1 Kings 18-19
David: Psalms
Job: Job

As a bonus, a comic from Jael:

http://adam4d.com/anxiety-depression-truth/

Reliability of Scripture

The Bible is unique…

·        40+ different authors from ALL walks of life, with nothing in common but their faith

·        Written in 3 different languages, over a span of >1,500 years, in very different styles

·        A very, very diverse book that tells one single story

·        Makes prophecies that have come true

The Bible is well-supported

·        More manuscript evidence than any other TEN pieces of classical literature

If Jesus were a lie…

·        The disciples had way too much influence for a bunch of Jewish peasants under Roman rule, including a tax collector—they were able to convince thousands of people to lie for them and claim to be eyewitnesses.

·        The disciples wouldn’t have included so many embarrassing details about themselves.

·        Peter would have edited the gospels, a lot!

·        ANYONE but Mary Magdalene would have been chosen to be the first witness of the resurrection.

·        The guards would have been the first people to agree with the disciples’ account

·        The disciples definitely wouldn’t have been willing to undergo torture and death for a lie.

o   All the disciples except for John were eventually martyred for their faith.

Nonchristian and Antichristian sources talk about Jesus, and they say…

·        Jesus lived when N.T. says he did

·        Jesus had a brother named James, who was a church father and was martyred 

·        Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, lived a virtuous life, and was a wonder-worker

·        He was crucified under Pontius Pilate on the eve of the Jewish Passover

·        Darkness and an earthquake occurred when He died.

·        Jesus’ disciples

o   Claimed that He rose from the dead

o   Were willing to die for their beliefs

o   Denied Roman gods and worshiped Jesus as God

·        Christianity spread quickly and far

(Side note: Jesus is mentioned by 4.3 times as many sources as Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor at the time, whose existence NO ONE denies.)

The differing accounts of the four gospels

Q: Where else do you find four different stories about the same event, telling about the event from four different angles, with some slightly different details but with all the major points correct?

A: In the courtroom, listening to honest witnesses!

Books for further study:

·        New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Part 1 by Josh McDowell (www.josh.org)

·        I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (ch 8-14) by Norm Geisler & Frank Turek

·        Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace*

·        Stealing from God by Frank Turek*

*I haven’t read the starred books yet; I ran out of time before this lesson. They’ve been recommended to me by people I trust, and I’m planning to read them, but since I haven’t read them yet, I can’t recommend them—just say that I’ve heard they’re good, and they should be relevant if you’re seeking to learn more.

What do we do with the Bible?

·        Many non-Christians say that the Bible is so unique and important that every educated person should read it. So why don’t Christians!?

·        Christians were willing to be tortured to death just for writing it, reading it, translating it, preaching it, smuggling it into new countries…and we say we don’t have time for it.

·        We need to read it, treasure it, and learn from it.

·        The more you read it with a heart open to God, the closer you will get to Him.

·        It’s the Word of God—He wants to speak to us. Will we listen?

Ideas for Bible Reading Plans

1.      Just read it straight through, one chapter a day…

2.      Read 1 NT chapter & 1 OT chapter each day. You’ll go through the NT a couple times this way.

3.      Ask your parents or pastor for a Bible-in-a-year plan.

4.      If you have a phone or tablet, download the Bible Gateway app or the Blue Letter Bible app or one of many other apps with Bible reading plans…or just go to biblegateway.com and use one of the 7 different reading plans there. (The chronological one is pretty cool!)

5.      Ask Sylvia or Jael for more suggestions—we’d be happy to help you come up with a personalized Bible reading plan that’s perfect for what you can handle right now, whether that be a certain number of minutes per day, a chapter at a certain time during the day, a schedule that rotates OT with NT so you don’t get bogged down with the more difficult passages, etc.

Whichever you choose, and even if you’re just starting with one chapter or five minutes a day, make it a priority to be in God’s word on a regular basis. And find someone to keep you accountable! J