Monthly Archives: July 2011

Book Review: Bad Girls of the Bible

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Book Review: Bad Girls of the Bible and What We Can Learn From Them

Author: Liz Curtis Higgs

A thoroughly enjoyable and fun read. Ms. Higgs has chosen ten bad girls from the Bible who range from Bad to the Bone, Bad for a Moment, to Bad for a Season, but not Forever. All ten of these women resonate with today’s modern woman. Haven’t we all been a little bad to all the way bad. The point that Ms. Higgs makes so well is that no matter how bad we are or think about being God is always waiting for us, to forgive us, to welcome us back.

Ms. Higgs does not by any stretch of the imagination, encourage bad behavior, but when it does happen (and it most certainly will, since we are all human) it is not the end of the world. There are lessons to be learned from all of the women in the Bible.

Ms. Higgs clever use of storytelling along with her extensive research into Bible traditions leads us through the lives of these ten special women and encourages the reader to look beyond their own failings and into God’s eyes. She shows us hope.

A five star read for anyone who struggles through today’s world and yet strives to find God in it all.

All for the Glory of God,

Christina Weigand

 

Eve: The Mother of Us All Part 3

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Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. (Genesis 3:7)

Genesis 3: 7-16, 4: 1-2,4:25

Eve and Adam had sinned.  Their first inclination is to hide and deny what they had done.  Adam blamed God and Eve. Eve blamed the serpent.  When they accepted responsibility for their sin, the world they had enjoyed ended.  Like Eve, we need to accept responsibility for our sins and face the consequences of our actions in faith.  Eve never faltered in her belief that God would never forsake her, and to affirm her faith He never left her.  Eve also reminds us to forgive ourselves and be an example of forgiveness for others. Eve rose above her transgressions thereby revealing the Father.  She shows us faith in the Son of God will save us.

 

Questions to Ponder:

1.     When faced with transgressions and hardships do I give up on Jesus

in favor of my own futile actions?

2.      Do I decide God is no longer with me when I have sinned?

3.      Do I face the consequences of my sin and forgive myself as God

forgives me?

  1. Do I accept responsibility for my sin or try to shift the blame

elsewhere?

 

Conclusion:

Because of the relationship Eve shared with God before and after the fall, we have inherited the desire for oneness with God.  Eve showed us the right place to search, but it is up to us to follow her lead and look for the same oneness with God that we seek in others.  Only when we do this are we truly fulfilled in our relationship with God.

 

Prayer:

            Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for loving me in spite of my transgressions and failing.  Please continue to guide me away from temptations and into your loving embrace.  Encourage my desire for oneness with You so that I will ask for it.  In Jesus Name. Amen.All for the Glory of God,

Christina Weigand

Excerpted from Women of the Bible: A Study

Author: Christina Weigand

 

 

Book Review: An Unlikely Suitor

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Book Review: An Unlikely Suitor

Author: Nancy Moser

This book is an enjoyable read. Ms. Moser has done an excellent job of portraying the time period and the social norms as well as the clothing and people’s place in society.

Where the novel fell short was in the resolution of the story. The solutions came to easily without us really seeing the repercussions of the choices made by the characters. I was disappointed by the fact that the reaader never really finds out what happens to the one truly bad guy in the story.

I like that the characters turned to God in their times of distress and need, but yet felt that there was not enough emphasis placed on the resolution of their prayers and what part God may or may not have played.

Overall a fun read if you are looking for something light and quick.


 

All for the Glory of God,

Christina Weigand

 

I  recieved a free copy from Bethany House Publishers .

 

Eve: The Mother of Us All: Part 2

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When they heard the sound of the Lord god moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord god among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)

 

Genesis 3:1-8

God gave Eve the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and make a decision.  When the serpent approached her, she had this ability.  Eve chose to listen to and engage the serpent in a dialogue.  By making this choice, she started a journey down the path of evil.  She was no longer following the will of God.  Once in the discussion the serpent was able to plant seeds of doubt.  Eve began to think about what she did not have. Then like us, her eyes left her blessings and lingered on the deprivation Satan had planted.  She began to question God. Eve and Adam sinned by succumbing to the temptation and questioning God.  Her sin introduced a barrier between Eve and God, and between Eve and Adam.  The unity they shared was shattered and conflict became a part of their lives.   Question to Ponder:

  1. Do I begin to doubt God and all He has given me in favor of things

of the world, Satan has put before me?

Prayer:

            Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for loving me in spite of my transgressions and failing.  Please continue to guide me away from temptations and into your loving embrace.  Encourage my desire for oneness with You so that I will ask for it.  In Jesus Name.

Amen.

All for the glory of God,

Christina Weigand

Excerpted from Women of the Bible: A Study

Author: Christina Weigand  Available at Amazon.com

Eve: The Mother of us All: Part 1

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The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: This one shall be called ‘woman’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame. (Genesis 2: 22-25, NAB)

 

Introduction:

The Bible does not tell us a lot about Eve, but the little bit of information we do get, paints a picture of how our faith in God should be.  Eve, in spite of her sin never gives up on God and He returns her faithfulness by never leaving her.

Eve had it all and Eve lost it all. Who would blame her for losing her faith and trust in God and yet she did not.  Even after she was banished from Eden and became the mother of a murderer, she still maintained her faith. How often do we as women lose our faith over much smaller things?

  1. Genesis 2: 21-25

God made Adam a partner.  He made an equal for Adam, someone to share in his dominion over the animals, to share his life with.  God created these two in His own image and had a close relationship with them.  We can only begin to imagine what this time must have been like.  Long walks in the garden chatting with God, no shame or embarrassment over their nudity.  Eve did not wonder, am I too fat or I am having a bad hair day.  All was perfect, the way God wanted life to be like for His children.  Their relationship was the perfect marriage, marriage as God ordained it.

Eve was Adam’s equal, his helper, another human like him, yet unlike him.  Eve was especially created from Adam’s rib, closest to his heart, signifying the closeness of the relationship between man and woman.  Theirs was a marriage truly made in heaven, signaling we cannot be all God intended us to be until we become with Him. God used Adam and Eve to establish marriage as a divine institution.

 Question to Ponder:

1. What is my view of marriage?  Do I see it as a divine institution established by God or as a secular institution that is easily dissolved if I am unhappy?

Prayer:

            Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for loving me in spite of my transgressions and failing.  Please continue to guide me away from temptations and into your loving embrace.  Encourage my desire for oneness with You so that I will ask for it.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

All for the Glory of God,

Christina Weigand

 

This is an excerpt from Women of the Bible: A Study by Christina Weigand