Late Merry Christmas

As we never made a Merry Christmas post, we are going to use this Monday post to say that we hope you all had a Merry Christmas. May God bless you and your families! 

~Not I But Christ
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Who Am I?

The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have. 

-Vince Lombardi

As teen girls, we often wonder who we are. Sure, we know our names, our birthdays, our favorites, but we wonder who we will become. I know for me that this question of who I am makes me question myself daily. I constantly am curious of who I'm meant to be in the future. Will I be a wife? A mother? Will I be a school teacher? A music teacher? 

Many years ago, we were given a gift, the greatest gift ever given. It was Jesus. He came and died for our sins so that we wouldn't have to live in eternal pain and suffering. He gave us the gift of love. The question is, what will we do with that love? 

As the quote at the beginning of this post says, who we are is what we do with what we have. We were given the gift of salvation, so why not share that gift? No matter who we are in the future, we should be always telling others about Christ. 

As a wife, we can tell people about God at the grocery store. As a mother, we can tell the doctor that is caring for our children about Jesus. As a teacher, we can show God's love through the way we act around the children we are teaching. There are so many ways to share God's love. 

~Charis 

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Q and A | Hello!!

1. What made you decide to write this blog?

Well, I can definitely say as a group we all thought it would be fun to start our own blog! We also wanted to help other young girls grow in Christ. Even though we're far from being perfect and having all of the answers, we want to be a light to the world. 

2. Alot of people think that you have to do good things to get to heaven! What do you think about that?

The Bible clearly says that the good things we do, like going to church, reading the Bible, giving to the needy, helping the old lady across the street, or whatever else is in the "good works" category, will not get us to heaven. One of the first verses that comes to my mind is probably Ephesians 2:8-9 which says,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” 

The apostle Paul, who is writing to the believers in Ephesus, says that we have been saved by grace through faith. Grace is getting something we don't deserve (which in this verse is eternal life) while putting our full reliance on Christ (which is faith).  No one in the world can do enough good things to gain their way into heaven. 

God love you and I so much that He sent his only Son to this earth (which is why we celebrate Christmas) where He was born in a stable to Mary and Joseph. He grew up and went to the cross, not for anything He did, but for what I (and the whole world) did, so that we could one day live in heaven with Him for eternity. 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

It's not something we need to earn, but instead it's a gift! You don't have to earn a gift, you either accept it, or deny it. 

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

~Not I But Christ

Sunday Message | Born to be a Savior

So in light of Christmas coming this week, my dad preached on why Jesus came. There are a lot of verses in this one and I'll only touch on a few of them, so feel free to get your Bible out and look them up!

Our Need for Salvation

First of all, He came to die. But why did He have to die? Why couldn't He have just put a magical spell on everyone to make them not sin?

To answer that question, we have to go a ll the way back to the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, God gave the Law. My dad explained that the Law is inflexible; it's immovable. If you break the Law, it requires a severe penalty. Of course, now we have a problem. None of us are perfect and we all break the Law pretty much all the time.

Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them."


Deuteronomy 27:26 "'Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.'...

So why should we have the law at all if we know we're going to break it? (Romans 3:20)

Romans 7:7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin....

The Law is there to show us our sin. As Paul says in Romans, if the Law had not said not to covet, he would have never though about coveting. It's kind of like the wet paint example. If there's a sign that says "Wet Paint, Do Not Touch" we automatically want to touch it.

We need salvation. We cannot keep the law ourselves, but there are consequences to disobeying it. This is where Jesus comes in. He came to do what we could not do ourselves.

A lot of people say that if God is loving, He wouldn't send people to Hell. He is loving (that's why He sent His Son) but He is also just. This means that He can't let sin go unpunished. Someone had to take our place.

My dad's next point was The Means of Salvation.

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Jesus Christ from the law of sin and death.

Jesus kept the law for us. He was God, but He was also man, so He was under the Law and had to obey it. His righteousness was an earned one.

Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.

And He could obey the Law perfectly because He is God and cannot sin. Jesus' plan was to fully obey His Father (Hebrews 10:7)

1 John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if any of you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Jesus' righteousness is also a vicarious and imputed righteousness. "Vicarious" means "to substitute" and "imputed" means "credited". Jesus was and is the substitute for our sin and He is the only One who can fully and completely take our sin away. (Romans 5:15-17)

God requires perfect obedience to the law. Man can't obey perfectly so we deserve death. Jesus, the perfect mediator between God and man, is righteous and does not deserve death, but He took our punishment on Himself. His perfect obedience counted for us and His death fully payed the penalty that we deserved for breaking God's law.

Jesus' Death

Jesus' death was the first of all a real one. He died as though He were a man condemned as a sinner.

Secondly, it was a substitute death. Both His death and life counted for us. (2 Cor. 5:21) 1 Corinthians 15:3 also says that Christ died for our sins; He has none of His own.

Thirdly, it was a scheduled death. From the beginning of time God had a perfect plan in His sovereignty (Rev. 13:8). This highlights the fact that Jesus is the only way to salvation; there is no other way.

Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Next, it was a successful death. Jesus' death saved us from our sin and appeased God's just wrath. Everyone who has or will place their trust in Jesus Christ receives eternal life. His death removed all sin and guilt.

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

Jesus' Resurrection

First of all, His resurrection really happened. It wasn't faked; it actually, miraculously occurred. Secondly, it fulfilled all the Old Testament prophesies. The fact that He resurrected, that He came back to life, shows that Jesus has finished what He needed too. Finally, it assures us eternal life. Because Jesus lives, we can live.

When God looks on those who have accepted His gift of salvation, instead of the sinner we are, He see Jesus' sacrifice for us.

Well, there you go! What was your Sunday sermon on?? 

P.S. Come back Wednesday for our Q & A post!!!!

~Carissa:)

Ask any questions you may have at Girls Inspiring Girls.

Plans For This Blog

 

When we first made this blog, we were writing posts every day. With school, we got extremely busy and it just wasn't working out to write that much. Our brilliant amazing idea person (A.K.A. Carissa) came up with an ingenious plan.  

We will post every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Monday will be a devotional post, Wednesday will be a post where we answer some of your questions and Saturday will be an inspirational post. 

Feel free to put some topic ideas for our devotional post and/or our inspirational post in the comments below. Also, if you have any questions, feel free to post those as well. 

God Bless! 

~In Christ Alone

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The Object of Your Love

This song is one of my favorites because of its incredible message. I love the last verse especially. It kind of goes along with what Autumn and Charis wrote about on Thursday and Friday.

THE OBJECT OF YOUR LOVE

Apart from God, a slave to sin,
My guilt to much to bear,
My heart has found no hope within,
And peace gives way to care.
Yet now I see Your broken form upon dark Calvary.
It was my fault that You were torn;
You proved Your love to me.

With contrite heart I bow in shame
Before my God above.
Without regard for His great name,
I've sinned against His love.
Yet now my Savior's words I hear within this holy place,
"My friend there is no need to fear,
You're at the Throne of Grace."

And when I feel my heart would break
For grief within my soul,
Help me to know there's no mistake;
My God is in control.
Yet now I feel eternal arms supporting me inside.
You are a shade from every harm,
You'll never leave my side.

(Chorus)
Now I am Yours, and You are mine,
O precious thought to me!
The priceless gift of love divine provides security.
The life I owe such mercy could never be enough.
But thank you, Lord, for making me
The Object of Your Love.

*Words by Andy Gleiser

~Carissa

When Life is Up-Side-Down

 WHY?

When I was five, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, which is just a fancy word for a very sick colon. I lived in the hospital a lot, and was put on almost every drug imaginable. I ended up with three surgeries along with a bunch of other really scary procedures.  You can read the whole story here. Then my family was involved in a van accident in 2008 and I lost part of my hand. And in 2010, my baby brother went to heaven.

 As I got older, the one word that always stuck in my head was "why." I think most people ask this question, when they're going through something they don't understand. I still don't understand it all completely, but I do know that God has complete control over my life. I want everything that happens in my life to bring glory and honor to God. And for others to see Him in me. 

This is a little bit of what my mom wrote a few years ago, “For me, it’s important to remember that God has a level of maturity that He desires to bring all of us to in this. Trusting Him has to be more than agreeing with the nod of the head; it has to be lived out in our daily lives—in His experience—and Christ must be glorified in it all.”

God's word doesn't specifically give me an answer for "why you were in a car accident", but it does explain some of the reasons trials are put into our lives.

1 Peter 1:7, “so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

James 1:2, “or you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness”

1 Peter 4:11a, “…in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

Psalm 119:67, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”

Psalm 119:71, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.

TRUST

I have been reading a book for my devotions and one of the chapters is on trust. The author defines trust as “firm confidence in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something; placing reliance on something else over which one has little control." One of the most familiar verses on trust, in the Bible is Proverbs 3:5-6,

“Trust in the Lord, with all your heart, and do not lean on you own understandings, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”

It’s so easy to rely on my own understanding, espicially when life seem like it's up-side-down. Like doing only what I think is best or what I think is right, instead of trusting God that He is in control. Faith and trust go hand-in-hand in the Bible. Faith is taking God at his word; that what He says is true. Trust is simply faith in God. 

I don’t have to look at life through the world’s eyes, which says, “take life as it happens” or, “Oh well”, but instead as a Christian, I can put my trust in Someone who has complete control in everything going on in my life. 

When I was little, dad would stand at the bottom of the basement stairs while I would be on the third step. Dad would tell me to jump into his arms and he would catch me. I put trust in my dad when I jumped and I had faith that he would catch me because he said so. 

Isaiah 26:4, “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

Psalm 71:5, “For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.”

PROMISES

Night time is probably the hardest time for most people. It’s when we lie awake thinking about things that happened that day, or dwelling on things that might happen in the future. 

There was one night at 2am, that I felt completely helpless, like there was no one in the whole world that could help me. I felt all alone. I had had an allergic reaction to something and it had gotten really bad. I finally just cried to God, because there was nothing else that I could do to fix the situation myself. It later reminded me that God keeps his promises and He is always there, even at 2 in the morning when I feel all by myself in the dark. 

Psalm 139:7-12 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”

ETERNITY

1 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Mom introduced me to these verses and they have been my go-to verses for the past couple of weeks. I tend to look at all of the things in my life like, money for college, summer plans, a job, my sometimes annoying siblings, a really really bad day, finishing school on time, or constantly getting yelled at. (Ok so not constantly, but sometimes it may seem like that :P)

  I look at these as big and impossible, because in my flesh they are, but in light of eternity and all the awesome things that God has planned, they don’t even compare. It’s like drawing a long line, which is eternity and placing a dot above it, which is my life.

 It puts it in perspective….I shouldn't get mad at the bad things in my life when they don’t even matter in the end. I’m not saying my problems will magically disappear and life will be perfect, but when my heart attitude changes, and I focus on “Who” not "Why me”, I don’t have to dwell on myself, but instead on the greater picture which is Christ.

-Autumn 

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December Thoughts

It's December again and with it comes holiday's, joy and blessings. For me, December is one of the hardest months out of the year. Why? December is the month in which I lost someone very close to my heart. December 4th is a date that changed my life forever. I  lost one of my best friends, one of my family members, one of my biggest fans. I lost someone that I trusted through thick and thin to be strong and get me through. I lost my brother. 

It was October 26th, 2007 that my brother was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. This happened just days after my mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I was young, and didn't really understand what this meant. This cancer was basically a death sentence. 

All throughout the 25 months of fighting this cancer, my brother was strong and I was convinced that he would make it. I was absolutely sure the God would make him the first survivor of this terrible cancer. 

I remember sitting by his bed, moments after the doctors told us that he would die within the next few days. I remember praying, begging God to preform a miracle. Even after we lost him, I couldn't accept the fact that he was gone. I was constantly thinking, Why would God do this? What did my family do wrong? Why would he take someone that made such a difference? Why? 

I felt alone, scared and I was mad at God. I was mad at him for taking my best friend, my brother, the person who made me laugh. People tried to help me, but I shut them out. I wasn't willing to listen to anything about God. I only wanted to hear what I wanted to hear. 

It wasn't until summer camp of 2014 that I finally let it go. I finally let God comfort me. I will never regret that day. All of my burden was gone and God was in control. I felt relieved and joyful. 

Although I'll never completely get over the loss of my brother, I do have hope of seeing him again one day in heaven. 

Below is a note I recently wrote to him. 

Dear Andrew, I miss you. Life isn't the same without you. Sometimes I wonder why you left, but then I remember where you are and who you're with, and I try to be happy. I know you would want me to be happy! I wish you were here to make me laugh every second of the day.... I wish you were here to take absolutely crazy selfies with me... I wish you could play sports with me.... I wish you could meet some of my new friends. But at the same time, it makes me happy that you're safe and sound. It makes me glad that my little cutie of a brother is in no more pain. It makes me happy to think that you are experiencing the joys of heaven. Whenever I'm at Olive Garden, I can still hear you laughing at me trying to slurp my noodles out of the bowl during our noodle eating contests. I still can see you smile when I make a ditzy comment. I can still hear you saying CHARIS WAYNE SMITH when I didn't come when you called. Because that's all I have left... Happy memories... Memories of Disney world roller coasters, memories of traveling to so many places. Memories of meeting the MSU teams. I even remember the time when you were into cows... I remember having to sing REALLLLY LOUD to carry over your absolutely obnoxious, but amazing, alto voice... It makes me both sad and happy to think about this. But what makes me REALLY happy, is to think about the even better times we will have in heaven together. I can't wait till I see you again!! I love you SO SO MUCH!!! I miss you more every day!! 😘😘😘 Love Your sis, Charis Wayne

~Charis

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Wisdom

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
-Proverbs 4:7

We live in a world that laughs in the face of God. People look at God's knowledge and wisdom as unimportant and useless. But we can see from the verse above that wisdom and knowledge are of utmost importance to our God. In Proverbs 16:16, David states that it is better to get wisdom and understanding than to get gold and choice silver.

If this is so important to God, don't you think it should also be important to us?

Rather than having the wisdom of the world, God wants us to have the right kind of wisdom. His word is full of knowledge and truth, unlike the wisdom of the world.

In John Bunyan's "Pilgrims Progress, Christian (who is trying to get directions to the wicker gate) happens upon a man called  Mr. Worldly Wiseman. This man gives Christian some so called "wise advice", saying that the way in which Christian is travelling will only lead him to pain, hunger and darkness. But his worldly knowledge leads Christian astray. From that example, we can see that the worlds wisdom is directly against what God says.

The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken; lo they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them? Jeremiah 8:9

God's wisdom is best.

"Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world...But we speak the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 2:6a-7a. 

 I challenge you to follow after wisdom. Seek it with your whole heart, for this is well pleasing unto the LORD.

~Caitlyn