Reflections on God's Word

by Victoria Robinson

Oh girlfriends, the irony just cannot go unnoticed when the apostle Paul tells us, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Is not this the same man who spent so much of his ministry in prison? Yet here we have a man celebrating freedom—freedom from the sinful life he had previously known before his encounter with the Savior.

Paul then goes on to tell us, “For you have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature …” The apostle James admonishes us that freedom comes from obedience  when he says, “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.” The psalmist also tells us freedom requires obedience when he writes these wonderful words, “I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.”

All of these truths encourage us that regardless of our circumstances true freedom comes about through personal proper behavior. The responsibility to be free lies within each of us. Sin is a choice that will imprison our souls—obedience will set us free.

Dearest girlfriends, let us celebrate the freedom from sin that we have through our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

by Victoria Robinson

Girlfriends, there is nothing sadder than having a heart filled with hopelessness. In order to have hope we must, “Hold Onto Promises Eternally”. This is how the patriarch Abraham had hope. In fact the book of Hebrews shows us he held onto promises he would only see in eternity, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.”

Job, a godly man found himself in despair and said, “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.” As his days progress we see the hand of the Lord bringing deliverance to Job. Just as this once hopeless man does indeed live to see better days, so can you and I.

Alexander Pope, the eighteenth century poet penned these wonderful words that resonate with God’s truth.

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.
Alexander Pope

When we find ourselves dealing with a hopeless heart the remedy is to delve deeply into the promises our heavenly Father has given us and focus on His truths. One example of hope was given to us by the apostle Paul on the darkest subject we must deal with—death. He said, “I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died.” This promise gives us hope to hold onto in the midst of grief. Another wonderful promise was given to us by our Lord himself when he said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Girlfriends, is there hopelessness in your heart? If so, what is troubling you? Rest assured that whatever it is, the Word of God has promises to hold tightly onto. An excellent resource to search the Word of God is biblegateway.com. You can do a word search on any topic and find hope.

Dearest girlfriends, let us have hope as we hold onto our heavenly father’s promises eternally.

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.” And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. ~ Hebrews 6:11-15 NASB 

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. … ~ Hebrews 11:13 NIV

My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope. ~ Job 7:6 NIV

And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 NLT 

by Victoria Robinson

Your heavenly Father is all-powerful. Therefore, there is naturally a fearful nature of our relationship with Him. The Word of God clearly tells us, “.. what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God …”   However, fear can be a complex concept. While we are to have complete respect and fear for the Lord, we are also told there is no fear in love. His love for us gives us the freedom to not fear Him for the punishment of all our sins, as He has paid the ultimate price through the sacrifice of His Son. His unconditional love assures us we have a secure relationship with Him. In fact in the book of Hebrews we read these wonderful words of encouragement, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” That is how we can rely on the confidence of His love.

Girlfriends, if you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, you do not need anymore to fear the retribution of your heavenly Father. Dearest girlfriends, I pray we would rely on the confidence of His love and not live a fearful life.