Daughters for His Glory

Fire and Being Ready

Greetings holy sisters in the Lord!

I pray you are standing strong today and fighting any battles that come. We can overcome in the Lord's strength.

It was hot today here...like 43C/110F. And this was the view out of the front window in the afternoon. A big fire.

And then it looked like this out the back of the house a bit later. What a strange sun...

It all reminded me that this world, the whole world, is waiting to be destroyed by fire.

"Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."

2 Peter 3:6-7

And people are afraid of the fires of today burning their houses and lands or even taking their lives. Yes it is a real threat but are they fearing the much greater destruction to come and being prepared for it? Yes fire is just one of the dangers we face on this earth. As I type this, near bed time, there is an orange glow in the darkness from the fire. And two of my brothers are there also joining the effort of the fire fighters to extinguish it as quickly as possible but it will take days (unless God puts it out with the rain He sends which He did:-). I am reminded of scripture that says about the fire that never shall be quenched. Are all of us women preparing to face what is coming, eternal life or death? Getting rid of things that lead us into sin? Crucifying our flesh? And obeying all the commands we know in the scriptures?

"And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."

Mark 9:47-48

Are you letting anything trip you up? I'm sure Eve yielding to temptation and eating the fruit from the one forbidden tree seemed like just "one little thing"...yet it sent the world into this great fall. Is there "one little thing" that you know God's Word commands and yet you aren't doing it? I'm sure you know in your own life if there are any of those things. For one example, in at least two places in the NT, it says for women not to adorn their outsides...so are you saying "just a little bit" won't hurt? Or "just a little bit" of that time wasting entertainment? You name it, but are you being obedient and redeeming the time? And it's something we ALL have to each examine our lives all of the time to see if there is any sin lurking.

"Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."

Mark 13:35-37

Yes, times of great tribulation are coming upon this earth. There is no pre tribulation rapture. That is a lie that is commonly taught.

Are you ready for that great and terrible day?

"Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,"

2 Peter 3:11

Yet it will be a wonderful time for the saints of God to be ever with the Lord!

This (and much more) is what is coming for all those who know God and have obeyed the gospel.

"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

Revelation 7:16-17

Be encouraged sisters!

And let us examine ourselves and leave no part of our hearts unturned in our examination. The Word and the Spirit will teach us.

Love in Christ,

...from a daughter of God

See the gospel to eternal life here.

Sincere Praises

Good day ladies!

I hope and pray you are all striving on in all godliness and truth, being holy women of a holy, holy, holy God.

We're having a hot spell weather wise here so they are good days to be indoors (with the blessing of air-conditioning) and catch up on things.

Yesterday I shared a bit on the subject of flattery...which would be, in short, "insincere praise" of someone and not good.

Today I wanted to talk of sincere and good praise we should have and give to others.

We are not to be praising ourselves in any way of course!

"Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips."

Proverbs 27:2

That would be pride and God hates it. By the grace of God we are who we are now. We are not worthy of His love in sending His Son. How grateful we ought to be and serve Him joyfully for all He has done for us. And give Him all the praise! For He hath done all things well! We deserve death and hell for our sins but praise the Lord for calling us out into His truth and light and turning us into His saints, His daughters (if we are truly His)!

There is a time and place for good and true praise of others. Among the believers, it is to encourage each other in godly living. And it will be in truth.

"Let all things be done unto edifying."

1 Corinthians 14:26

"Let all your things be done with charity."

1 Corinthians 16:14

There is a time and place for the opposite too.

Paul wrote this...

"...what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not."

1 Corinthians 11:22

That's because of sin, sisters. There is a time for rebukes if needed. Paul commanded Timothy...

"Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear."

1 Timothy 5:20

Sin is a fearful thing as it separates us from God. Remembering rebukes, if done right, are in love just as God does it out of love to His children.

This verse shows the false and insincere praise of God that many have...

"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me."

Matthew 15:8

...just as they can insincerely praise people which is flattery.

But who are we godly women looking to please?

"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

John 12:42-43

Yes that's a good point to ponder. Who are we looking to please, God or man? I hope the answer is that we are God-pleasers.

A godly woman will not be out looking for praise, no. Nor doing her works to be seen of men. She will be content to live to please God...looking for His praise, and praising Him. But...

"Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."

Proverbs 31:30-31

Many worldly people flatter others for their "good looks" and "beauty". May our works, which are modelling God's true and holy ways, and our pure hearts be all a person sees of us godly and biblically dressed women. And may God be glorified in us.

The love and encouragement of the true brethren is a blessing as we each encourage to press on to love and good works. Any praise we give will be in truth, in what is godly and good; sincere praises versus insincere praise which is flattery.

I have praises for those who are my sisters in the Lord, for those who do the will of God.

"And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Matthew 12:49-50

That's amazing really. We get a new family in the body of Christ...not related to earthly family...but all one with God as our Father, brothers and sisters in Christ.

The greatest marker of this family is love for each other...because we all love God...because He first loved us. That's amazing to think about. Some of you might not have had, or have, very good earthly family, some might have died or some might have treated you badly and most likely rejected you for your faith. But what a greater treasure to have spiritual family who have all been bought with the precious blood of Christ...and who you will be with in the presence of God for eternity!

In the past, I didn't know godly love. I thought of all the people who say they were believers yet there was sin and great differences of belief between me and them. I couldn't feel close to them. There was no real unity that God says His people must have. I wondered what was wrong with me. From what I have learned now, sadly most are not God's people because God's people LOVE and OBEY God, keeping His commandments, whereas most people today aren't too interested in doing that to the fullest.

So now I know what it is like to truly love and to be loved in the family of God. It is a rare treasure and so scarce to find. I praise the saints I know for loving God and loving others:-) Thank you for loving with a godly love and caring for my soul (even though you didn't know me at first)!

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

John 13:35

I wouldn't be writing to you if it wasn't for the love of these saints. Remember what it says in 1 Corinthians 13 about love? It says it seeks not her own. Yes true love is about giving and serving, and loving God and keeping His commands in truth. It's not fleshly emotional love. It doesn't overlook sin. It tells the truth from God's Word about your soul and destination if you don't repent. I must say it is not what the churches are filled with today. (Must I remind you ladies that 1 John 3:14-15 says if you don't love, you don't have God?)

Yes we are to love the people of the world also (and the false Christians) and that is why the saints strive to share the gospel with the lost. It's ours and their only hope.

We do know we most of all will be hated by the world. Our Saviour said it would be so.

But most of all we will be living for the praise of God, knowing we won't have many (if any) true saints around us...and then we may hear these words!

"His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

Matthew 25:23

Isn't that worth more than anything, the praise and reward of God in the end?

Let us work joyfully for Him! He is worthy!

May we be praising God for all His wonderful works and His great salvation! And may we endure daily in the faith, living sincere lives, obediently following Christ.

In closing I leave with this verse.

Love in Christ,

....from a daughter of the Highest

I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised:

2 Samuel 22:4

See the gospel to eternal life here.

Bravery and Flattery

"Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied."

1 Samuel 17:45

Sometimes I can feel like that...David - a little "nobody" facing a mighty warrior - Goliath! Yet we can overcome in Christ in all our battles. And because most often the saints walk alone, we can be surrounded by our "enemies" too! But we love our enemies and neighbours and want to tell them the truth of the good news of Christ.

For us women we are to have a meek and quiet spirit yes, but we can be mighty warriors in the Word of God and stand boldly for His truth. It's to do with not fearing man really. I have to work on that myself.

I like this one...

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."

Acts 4:13

...just simple people with the power of the Spirit and having seen the life of our Lord and seen the risen Saviour!

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty."

2 Peter 1:16

And Paul asked for prayer for boldness in the gospel...

"And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."

Ephesians 6:19-20

Let us pray for one another also, that we may be strong sisters standing for truth and the gospel, boldly. May we dig into the Word to know His truth and the Spirit will reveal it to us.

"The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion."

Proverbs 28:1

Let us strive to shine our lights and be a living and powerful witness to our Lord...and be bold as a lion.

This morning I was reading and I came across this verse. And I was thinking deeply about it and how it relates to other scriptures and life as believers.

"He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue."

Proverbs 28:23

Ponder that.

And this one...

...and this one...

What great love God must have for us to chasten, rebuke, and correct His children! What a mighty caring Father!

Psalm 12...

"Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.

The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:

Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?

For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.

The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted."

(Does it not remind you of what is coming out of the church pulpits today?)

Beware women! Do not be deceived by their flattery.

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."

Romans 16:17-18

People want to hear what their flesh wants to hear. They want to be told all is well with them (even if it isn't). True love tells the truth and does not flatter anyone.

Ponder this one...

"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments."

1 John 5:2

God's Word is so good...it tells us all these things that we see today!

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

2 Timothy 4:3-4

But you women can do your own study on flatter in scripture and see the depths of it.

There are many verses about wicked women flattering with their lips; a warning for us to thoroughly examine all our speech and also to beware of others doing it to us. It could be and is very dangerous. Similarly there are also warnings for us women on not being gossips and in Titus 2 not false accusers either.

"Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."

Psalm 148:3

"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

Matthew 12:36-37

Love in Christ,

...from a daughter of God

See the gospel to eternal life here.

Recipe - Zucchini Stirfry

I'm sharing a quick recipe idea for my keeper at home sisters. I'll leave most of the quantities for you cooks to decide.

Fry chopped onion and chopped meat until cooked. We use bacon but you could use chicken or whatever, or omit meat altogether.

Add sliced zucchini and sliced carrot and cook. Then add approximately 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp honey

Optional extras:

garlic

capsicum

mushroooms

or any other veggies really

I'm sure some of you cooks know how to experiment with this and that.

I added leftover rice into this one in the pic.

See the gospel to eternal life in Christ here.

Daily Bread From the Word

(What amazing creations those flowers are! Glory to their Creator!)

I hope this finds you all trusting in the Lord and striving to be faithful to Him.

"...that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."

Deuteronomy 8:3

I have God's precious Word to edify and encourage you sisters today.

This scripture reminds me of what we should be like as we go through this life.; steadfastly set on the next life to come.

"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,"

Luke 9:51

And this...

"Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."

Proverbs 4:25-27

Let us women be focused on what we should be about. And not turn aside to sin and our own desires...or even to things that are good but are out of place in our life. We know if we repent we will be forgiven.

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

Titus 2:11-14

What a great calling we have...to be God's peculiar people zealous of good works!

Love in Christ,

....from a daughter of God

See the gospel to eternal life here.

Guiding and Keeping the Home

This is just a quick post to encourage us all in this one aspect of being a godly woman.

"That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

Titus 2:4-5

"I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully."

1 Timothy 5:14

Just a note, it obviously is not sinful for a woman to not marry even though it is mentioned in those verses. And we see one reason at least why this was written to them (the young women) to marry...

"And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not."

1 Timothy 5:13

It is good for a woman to be occupied in good things including loving and serving her family if she has one.

We who have been born again by the Spirit have the power to overcome sin and the flesh (like being gossips and idle as in that verse).

We women do need to be on guard for deception also. It's everywhere but with the Spirit and the Word we can be in truth. Staying in our rightful roles will help us keep focussed on what God really wants from us godly women.

We know the reason God first created woman. It was to be helper to man. We know the sad account of the woman's fall into sin and how then God gave a specific punishment for her (pain in childbirth and to be ruled over by the man).

"For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."

1 Timothy 2:13-14

In the New Testament the role of a woman is set out for us. And it is to be about the needs and upkeep of the home, feeding those in it and raising children if she has them etc. If she doesn't have a husband and children certainly she can be about similar things if she has the opportunity to do so. Serving others is what we often see as good examples of women in scripture, though keeping in mind the account of Mary and Martha. We want to be seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and being a keeper at home is certainly one of the things the Lord would have us do.

Of course we could do it in a wrong manner focusing on it to the neglect of other things. As many things in life it must be done in a way becoming of a child of God whose life is above and not like Martha who was cumbered about much serving.

We all know the description of the virtuous woman in Proverbs. It's a picture of a kind hard working godly woman who feared the Lord.

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."

Proverbs 31:10-31

We all have our own set of circumstances and none of us will be exactly the same. But this principle that God wants from women is to be upheld and in most cases it is possible. In a few cases a woman may have no husband or family to provide for her so obviously she will work at some good and pure job to support herself and to keep busy.

Our homes might be farm houses or town houses or apartments or a little cabin or a caravan or a van or a little car or a tent or a cave. Whatever, we can each do what we can to obey the Lord's will for His daughters in the ways we can. Remembering to be thankful in all things.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

1 Timothy 6:6-7

Maybe that encouraged someone to press on faithfully in being a keeper at home. I know better posts have been written by others on the subject no doubt but nevertheless I mean to edify you in this one aspect of being a godly woman.

Love in Christ,

...from a daughter of God

See the gospel to eternal life here.

Peace in Christ and Creation

Greetings in the Lord...

...from this Australian saint.

"Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;"

2 Thessalonians 1:2-3

Praise God for this...

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;"

Ephesians 2:13-19

What a glorious Saviour we have!

------

I had to do more driving today and we had about an hour of time to spare between two things so we found a nice quiet location at the sea (and finding a quiet place is a blessing in a city of almost 1 and a half million people).

A crab...

Interesting algae...

And a quick video...

I know I've been sharing a lot of the ocean lately but I rarely get to see it up close so I appreciate whenever I can. Maybe if it's winter where you are these warm and sunny pics might warm you up a bit:-) And we are part of God's creation marvelling at the rest of it. He is a mighty Creator!

Let this be us sisters (like this flower) - life in a "dead" world.

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

Romans 8:11

Well I had time to fill in so I went to the op shop/thrift store. I was blessed to find some biblical clothing that I needed. I found two shirts, two warm jackets for winter and a skirt...so I think I'm all set for awhile.

You can see some posts I did on biblical clothing here.

I haven't done any sewing in about a month. I was looking in the fabric store for any good prices but there wasn't any today. You have to have patience in that. I think it's about time to get onto some sewing.

I saw this nice picture in a shop...so I took a pic to share with you. (I shared one of my pictures of those birds earlier.) They are wonderful creations!

This is a nice and refreshing drink on a warm day...

Until recently I have thought that aloes were for medicinal uses but not for eating...but this is quite nice and unique. This one's from Aldi...but I'm sure there's many. I just haven't noticed them before. Such a variety of things we have been blessed with. Reminds me of the children of Israel who God supernaturally provided with manna for a long time. We have so much variety and a bounty of it and yet so many still grumble and complain. May that not be once named among us sisters.

"And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp."

Numbers 11:1

I have been sharing about peace. If we are in Christ and obedient that is for us. Sin separates and causes fear. I know. The other side to having peace is that if we sin we ought not to be at peace in our hearts but fear the judgement of God. All of us women need to fear God at all times. But if we are living in wilful sin then we will be under the wrath of God and then there shouldn't be peace.

"But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."

Isaiah 57:20-21

Let that not be one of us women. If it is then something must be done. And I pray you will overcome. See the gospel to eternal life here. And yes the Lord is faithful to forgive if we forsake our sin!

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

1 John 1:9

This life is so short. Even though I haven't even reached thirty years, I know it's short, just a vapour, when compared to eternity which is FOREVER! Let us prepare for that and give glory to God in our lives.

"Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen."

Ephesians 6:23-24

(More peace from the end of my day.)

Peace to you in the Lord,

...from a daughter of God

"Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen."

Romans 15:33