Renewed in Spirit

January 3, 2009 Leave a Comment

I love the theme and verse this month! Pierce my heart to be renewed. Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Let’s also look at verses 11 and 12: “Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.”

Break it down

I just love that! Those verses were written from David to God. David had such a close and personal relationship with God, and that is evident in these verses. Let’s break it down a little bit:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God.” In the Old Testament, there were many rituals to prove loyalty to God, but David understood that a relationship with God is much deeper than just our actions – a true relationship involves a pure, clean heart.

“And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Renew means to restore, or make new. Steadfast means unwavering, or firm. David is asking God to restore an unwavering and firm spirit within him. Wow! Have you ever asked God to do that for you?

“Do not cast me away from your presence.” Do you love God so much that you never want to be away from His presence? What an awesome love!

“And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” The topic of the Holy Spirit is one that I’m just beginning to study. I don’t have much knowledge on the topic yet, so I will just guide you to 2 Timothy 1:14: “…through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” David wanted the Holy Spirit to continue to dwell in Him. There’s a thought to ponder!

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.” Are you joyful about the salvation we’re offered? That’s something we can rejoice in every day! This is much deeper and better than temporary happiness. We can take joy in all situations, no matter what the circumstances, just as Paul described in Philippians 4:11. It is so cool that God offers His love and joy all the time!

“And sustain me with a willing spirit.” Sustain means support, and willing means cheerful. David is asking God to support him with a cheerful spirit. Do we ever ask God to do that for us? If not, we need to!

Right now

Let’s meditate on Psalm 51:10-12 for a few minutes, as a whole: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.”

As we make our resolutions and choose which areas of self improvement we want to focus on this year, let’s make sure that having a renewed and steadfast spirit is the top priority on our list.

Take the time, right now, to pray, and to study His word. You’ll be amazed at the difference it will make in your life!

Davonne Parks

Filed Under: Devotionals

Making a Hemp Bracelet

January 2, 2009 Leave a Comment

Have you ever wanted to know how to make a hemp bracelet? By learning a few easy steps, you can learn to make and customize a bracelet to fit your personality.

Gather your materials

1) Hemp twine. If you are only making one or two bracelets, you can buy a small coil of hemp at JoAnn Fabrics or Walmart for about two dollars. If you are making more than two, you should buy a roll of hemp (at JoAnn Fabrics or Walmart for about seven dollars). Hemp is available in many different colors at almost any craft supply store.

2) Scissors. Make sure they are sharp enough to cut through hemp. Fiskars is a good, durable brand of scissors that will serve well for future crafts.

3) Safety pin. The safety pin is used to hold the hemp in place. A three-ring binder can also be used for this purpose.

4) Beads. Make sure that two strands of hemp can fit through the bead. You can also buy special clay to make your own beads.

Prepare materials

1) Cut two pieces of hemp. The first piece should be about six times the length of your wrist. My wrist is six inches around, so I must cut a thirty-six-inch piece. The second piece should be double the length of the first (in my case, 72 inches).

2) Make your loop. Do this by folding both pieces of hemp in half to make a crease, then tie the creased ends together to make a loop that is about a half-inch long.

3) Attach the safety pin to the loop and then to something sturdy, such as a chair, a pillow, or the knee of durable jeans you’re wearing. The shorter ends of the hemp should be in the middle.

4) Mark the end of the right strand with a marker or a piece of tape. The marked side is the first to be used for each knot.

Making the bracelet

1) Knot the hemp. Start with the strand that you marked. Bring the marked strand across the two middle strands. Then bring the marked strand under the left strand, forming a half circle on the right side. Next, bring the far left strand under the middle two strands and up through the half circle on the right. After that, pull the left and right strands tightly and that should form a square knot. Repeat the square knots until your bracelet is at the desired length.

2) Add beads. When you get to a point where you want to add beads, slide your beads up the two middle strands. You will then resume the square knot tying.

3) Tie the end of the bracelet. Tie four strands together in one knot. Make sure the final knot will fit through the beginning loop.

The next time you find yourself wanting to make a hemp bracelet, you will have the skills and ability to do so!

Future note

Please submit photos of your snow creations (snow angels, snow people, snow forts, etc) by January 29 for use in our February article.

By Chloe Parks

Filed Under: Gifted Girls

Pierce my heart anew

January 1, 2009 Leave a Comment

Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are coming to an end, we can sit back and really enjoy the calmness of the winter season. We can take time to meditate on the above verse and allow our hearts to be renewed.

Pierce My Heart has decided to do the same thing, in many ways! Some of our staff has changed columns they’ve been writing for, we’ve decided to take out a few columns, we’ve added a couple new ones, and we’ve changed the directions of some columns we already have.

Deleted columns

A few of our columns have been taken out to allow room for newness this year – but don’t worry! You can still read all of the old articles by clicking on the monthly issues and choosing the month you want to read.

New columns

Have you ever wondered what the Bible says about topics such as abortion and homosexuality? If you have, then In the World is the column for you. Topics like these will be covered from a scriptural perspective so you can take this information and be informed when discussing these issues in class or with friends.

Many of us love fashion, but we also like make-up and hair, right? Fashion and Beauty is breaking off into two separate columns to give us more of what we like! Style Sense is going to cover head-to-toe fashions and our beauty column will discuss hair, skin, and nails. Fun, fun!

We all like behind-the-scenes looks into people’s real lives, right? Just for Today is a new blog about my life outside the magazine. Come, take a look, and I think you just might find that we’re more alike than you realized.

As a thank-you to our readers, we are going to begin hosting a give-away each month. This month we will be giving away a few beauty products, so check our beauty article this month for details.

New direction

Do you have a friend you’d love to discuss the Bible with, but don’t know where to start? Spread the Word is going to tell you how! Topics such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper will be presented here, in ways that will make it easier for you to speak with friends about biblical topics.

I don’t know about you, but I love to soak up the wisdom of women older than me. Words of Wisdom is still going to be here this year, but with a new name, Heart to Heart (taken from the name of an old column). Those women will have heart-to-heart talks with us each month, and we want the name to reflect that.

Gifted Girls is growing, too. We’re having themes of photos you can send in every month to be posted on the magazine, from cards to hemp jewelry, and more! Check here each month to find new ideas from young women that you can try at home yourself.

Friends is also taking a new and exciting direction! Last year had great articles that covered the foundation of friendship, and this year we’re going to focus more on having fun with friends, from anti-Superbowl parties to group Valentine’s Day get-togethers, and more.

We have several other columns that are headed in the same direction as before, but with newer, more interesting names, so stay tuned!

Same old

The rest of the Pierce My Heart columns are continuing to grow, but are headed in similar directions as before. We like that, because we don’t change just to change – we improve what needs improved, and keep the rest!

You can subscribe to the magazine, on the right-hand side of the page, to receive your favorite articles in your inbox the day they’re posted! Don’t forget about the Facebook Fan Club. You can join, and invite all of your Facebook friends to join too!

Our January desktop image is up, and our old ones are still there, so check out our Media Page and choose your favorite image to save as your desktop this month!

Schedule

So you can have an immediate reference of when new articles are posted (or to check out our new columns), I’m including a list so you know when to visit the site for your favorite columns! On days when normal articles won’t appear, blog posts will, so be sure to check back often.

Jan 1: In this Issue
Jan 2: Gifted Girls
Jan 3: Devotional
Jan 4: Daily Bible Reading
Jan 5: Ask A Guy
Jan 6: Media Matters
Jan 7: Tough Stuff
Jan 9: Style Sense
Jan 10: Dating
Jan 11: Friends
Jan 13: Cooking Corner
Jan 14: Generation Gap
Jan 15: In the World
Jan 21: Beauty
Jan 22: Heart to Heart
Jan 23: Desktop Delight
Jan 24: A Girl Like You
Jan 26: Top Ten
Jan 27: Helping Hands
Jan 28: Spread the Word
Jan 30: Health and Fitness
Jan 31:Beauty contest winner announced!

Your renewal

Put on your favorite cozy outfit, make yourself a hot drink, sit back, and enjoy these articles, as you allow your heart to be pierced anew this winter.

Renewed in Him,

Davonne Parks

Davonne Parks

Filed Under: In this Issue

Scientific Accuracy

December 27, 2008 Leave a Comment

Evidences for the Inspiration of the Bible: Scientific Accuracy

One of the amazing things about the Bible is its scientific accuracy and foreknowledge. The Bible is not a science textbook (that is not its purpose), but what it says concerning scientific matters is accurate – not only accurate, but far ahead of its time.

The Bible speaks of things that were unknown and undiscovered by man at the time the Bible was written.  When we consider some of the things written in the Bible that man did not know through his own discovery until hundreds or even thousands of years had passed, we draw the conclusion that mere man did not – could not! – write the Bible of his own knowledge.  This kind of foreknowledge demands an intelligence and wisdom that is higher and greater than man.

The Bible has never been proven wrong regarding scientific, archeological, or historical matters.  In fact, some “experts” in these fields have over the years questioned the accuracy of the Bible, only to discover, ultimately, that the Bible was true and correct after all.  Of course, that is no surprise to the Bible believer, and merely confirms the truthfulness of the Bible.  We don’t need science, archeology, or history to verify our faith in the Bible; but it is nice to know none of these fields can undermine that faith!

Consider some examples of the scientific foreknowledge of Scripture:

  1. JOB 26:7: This verse speaks of “the north over the empty place,” an obvious reference to the intergalactic space stretching over and above the north pole (not seen by anyone’s naked eye when Job, the oldest book in the Bible, was written), and God having done this: “hangeth the earth on nothing.” Of course we know today that the earth is not sitting on some giant platform, nor suspended by gigantic cables or wires, as some ancients supposed; we know the earth floats freely upon nothing. But nobody living when the book of Job was written knew that.

  2. JOB 38:16: This verse speaks of “springs of the sea” and the “search [recesses; trenches] of the depth.” But not until the 19th and into the 20th centuries did man, through natural means, learn about these great springs of fresh water flowing into the seas, and the great trenches, some many miles long, on the ocean floor. For centuries man supposed the ocean to be shallow and flat. Not so.

  3. PSALM 8:8 speaks of the “paths of the sea.” Matthew Maury, seaman and scientist, in the mid-19th century discovered these sea paths, and in fact cited this passage in the book of Psalms as his motivation for even searching for such! His work earned him the title “pathfinder of the seas.” He was an extraordinary scientist, and firm Bible believer.

  4. ISAIAH 40:22 speaks of God as the One “that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.” Of course we know today that the earth is spherical. But in the days of Isaiah, a book written some six hundred years before Christ, nobody knew that; man did not “discover” that the earth was round until relatively modern times; man, through his own supposition, imagined the earth to be flat with a literal “falling off” place. Such notions today seem ridiculous; but the earth being a circle must have sounded ridiculous when Isaiah was written!

  5. ECCLESIASTES 1:6 tells us about cycles of the wind, which modern meteorology confirms, and today we hear daily about “jet streams.”

  6. NUMBERS 19:7–22: God gave some very specific instructions to the ancient Israelites concerning purifying, cleanness, and uncleanness that, from a human perspective, made no sense at all in their day. But in our day, we understand the reasons for these instructions, having learned through scientific investigation and discovery: God was protecting His people from the spread of infectious disease by defilement. We admonish our children to wash their hands; yet a little more than a hundred years ago, doctors would perform surgeries without gloves, without sterilized instruments, and without hand washing, literally moving from one patient to another with bloodied hands and tools, and often more patients died from infection than from wounds. Yet, here is the Bible giving some simple instructions that protected ancient Israelites without their even being aware of it. Today, we know of bacteria and germs and disease, and things to do to prevent their spread, like washing and antiseptics. Yet no scientist or physician in Moses’ day, when these instructions were given, knew these things. Why the explicit warnings, then? Because the instructions were given by a wisdom and intelligence higher and greater than man.

  7. LEVITICUS 13:45–46: Here the Bible gives instruction that would prevent the spread of leprosy, an incredibly contagious, dangerous, and ultimately fatal disease in Biblical times that could become epidemic when Biblical instructions were not followed. But as in the above point, no one in the time the Bible was written knew the reasons for disease spreading or why epidemic plagues came. Yet the Bible warns about it. Just a good guess, or a superior intelligence giving the instruction? There have been many ages in the history of mankind, often centuries after the Bible was written, when disastrous plagues claiming thousands of lives could have been avoided had people but followed Biblical injunctions.

  8. LEVITICUS 17:11 tells us “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” We know that today. But in earlier days, the practice of “blood letting” for those who were sick was a common practice, and often, unfortunately, resulted in the death of the patient. One ill was thought to have “bad humours,” and “bleeding” a patient was thought to be of help; we know now that it often hastened death, instead. Modern physicians speculate that our first president, George Washington, probably died as a result of “bleeding” by his physicians, and most likely would have recovered if not for the “medical treatment” he received.

  9. ACTS 17:26 speaks of God having “made of one blood all nations of men for the dwell on all the face of the earth.” We know today that race and skin color have nothing to do with blood type, and, in fact, compatible blood types are interchangeable among and between different races of man. Nobody knew that when Acts was written, except the Author of the book who had access to knowledge greater than what mere man had discovered.

These and other examples we could cite demonstrate that from a naturalistic standpoint, there is no way the Bible could have been written by a mere man, for the Bible foretells things about which man did not know for thousands of years after they were recorded. The Bible demands an intelligence and wisdom that is far superior to man’s naturalistic learning. Though the Bible doesn’t profess to be a textbook on biology, anatomy, physical chemistry, or other natural or medical sciences, what the Bible says concerning these matters is overwhelmingly advanced.

Never worry about the Bible being outdated, outmoded, or antiquated; man has demonstrated that he has had a difficult time keeping up with this Book which far surpasses and exceeds human wisdom and knowledge!

Remember: the Bible is always right!

By John M. Brown

Filed Under: Spread the Word

Too Shy

December 25, 2008 Leave a Comment

“How do you tell a guy that you like him if you’re shy?”

Everyone has a tendency to be shy in certain situations.  Some people handle this very well by overcoming shyness through assuring their confidence and boldness even when they don’t want to. Other people struggle with being shy, sometimes because of a lack of confidence, boldness, or determination. For myself, I have always struggled with shyness around larger crowds of people. When I’m in these situations, I have to remind myself that everyone perceives, or views, me according to the way I act and handle myself. I also have to remember that confidence ultimately should come from God and not of myself! Paul told the Corinthians “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God” (2 Cor. 3:4–5).

If you want to befriend someone who is intimidating to you, then have confidence in the way you present yourself, and this will be the way they will likely view you. Gaining confidence when you are shy is a very hard thing to do. Always remember that some of the flaws you think you have and see in yourself, other people don’t see. By working on overcoming your shyness, you learn to worry less about what other people think about you, which can cause you to be more outgoing and friendly and can hopefully lead others to Christ. When you start to focus less on how you think other people view you, and more on being a friendly, godly example to others, people will notice that (especially if they have the godly qualities you should be looking for in a friend).

God wants us to be confident. We should be confident in who we are and who God has made us to be. Paul urges us to not have confidence in our flesh—which is sinful and corrupt—but to place our confidence in God. Paul states this to the Phillipians: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

I believe dating is preparation for marriage. You may already be praying for your future spouse. Therefore, God will provide the right guy for you, so be patient and do not worry. Try not to be flirtatious or give the guy the wrong messages. Instead, try allowing him to take the initiative. If he asks you out, then tell him you would like to go out together with several people and just hang out and enjoy the time together as friends. If he never asks you out or he doesn’t like the idea of not dating, then you’ve saved yourself the heartbreak of a relationship that was not meant to be, and you will have kept yourself pure in the process while waiting for the person who God wants you to be with.

Remember, God already knows who will make a good spouse for you and you may not even know him yet, so pray for him and trust God will bring you together with the right guy at the right time.

– Adam Grimenstein

If you have a question you’d like a guy’s opinion about, please let us know!

Filed Under: Ask a Guy

Traditions

December 23, 2008 Leave a Comment

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. I love baking cookies, putting up the Christmas tree, shopping for friends, having fun with family, and the joy that comes along with Christmas. I look forward to it every year. My family traditions are probably my favorite part of the season. My family has some very fun traditions. We celebrate with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and my cousins. We always have a lot of fun watching my 2-year-old cousin, Levi, excitedly open his presents.

My favorite tradition is what my parents, siblings, and I do on Christmas Eve. We always stay at home and eat finger foods. We either play games or watch movies, or sometimes even both. We eat cheese and crackers, trail bologna, pretzels, chips–pretty much any finger food you can imagine. My mom usually gets sparkling grape juice for us to drink. Even though Christmas Eve is my parent’s anniversary, they always spend it with their kids. They have their anniversary dinner the night before and have fun with their kids on their anniversary. They give their time to us.

My second favorite tradition is that we always have French toast or pancakes on Christmas morning. We have orange juice, cranberry juice, and grape juice. My dad always makes it and my sister usually helps. It’s always delicious. After we eat, we clean up, and then go and open our presents.

I am very grateful that my family gives time to spend with each other. We all have such busy lives that we don’t get to be together as a family all that often. I am very thankful that we can spend Christmas and Christmas Eve together. I am looking forward to Christmas this year. I hope that everyone has a good Christmas and has fun with their families and friends. Take the time this year to reflect on and appreciate the special traditions you have with your family.

By Lizzy Morgan

Filed Under: Heart to Heart

Winter Creations

December 19, 2008 Leave a Comment

Job 37:5-7 “God thunders with His voice wondrously, Doing great things which we cannot comprehend.  For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’  He seals the hand of every man, That all men may know His work.”

Photos 1-5 Submitted by Shelby Garrett

Photos 6-8 submitted by Davonne Parks

Filed Under: Gifted Girls

Ready in 30 Minutes or Less

December 17, 2008 Leave a Comment

How long do you spend getting ready for school or work every day? Do you wake up two hours before you have to leave just so you can look perfect before you go? Or are you the girl who wakes up, throws on yesterday’s jeans, brushes your teeth, and is out the door? What if we were neither? How great would it be to be clean, look nice, and be ready to leave just 30 minutes after waking up?

How to do it

Do everything you can the night before. Lay out your clothes, make sure your bag is ready to go, and put your healthy lunch in a bag in the fridge. Take your shower at night if you can. Some people are morning shower people, but try taking it at night for a week and you may never switch back! If you have oily or hard-to-manage hair, it may help save time to bathe and shave at night, then just wash your hair in the morning.

Forget snoozing. How much more rested are you after hitting snooze seven times? Chances are, none, and you’ve just wasted a bunch of precious morning time! Instead of hitting snooze several times, then finally groggily pulling yourself out of bed, try jumping out of bed the second the alarm goes off and jumping into the shower (if you’re a morning shower person). If you tend to set your alarm early, so that you have “time” to hit snooze several times, forget that! Set it for when you need to get up, and you’ll get better sleep until then.

Make your water slightly cooler than optimal. I’m not talking icicles here; I mean make the water temperature slightly cooler than what your ideal temperature normally is. You can do this in the shower, or just at the sink when washing your face. This will alert your senses without freezing you out.

Try ten minute hair. If you spend more than ten minutes on your hair for anything other than special occasions, you’re spending too much time! If you’re blessed with curly hair, comb it, scrunch it, spray it, and leave it alone. If you have thin and straight hair like me, dry it, comb it, smooth crème over the flyaways, and consider it done! Remember that ponytails are always classic!

Only put on one outfit. Hopefully you’ve laid out your outfit the night before, but even if you didn’t, choose one outfit, put it on, and stick with it! We often spend so much time trying on several outfits, just to end up wearing the first thing we put on.

Keep jewelry simple. Sometimes less really is more. Try pairing small silver hoops with a simple silver necklace that will go with most outfits, to save the time of searching for unique pieces every day. Save the really fun stuff for the weekends.

Minimize the make-up routine. If you have a great complexion, count your blessings and skip the make-up altogether. If you’re like the rest of the world, then put on make-up, but remember that if it takes longer than five minutes to apply, it’s too much for a normal day. Try this instead: Use tinted moisturizer. This doubles as a moisturizer and a foundation, plus it really evens out skin. It’s fast and easy. Once you have that in place, apply small amounts of blush and neutral eye shadow, then put on a sheer powder over that. Add mascara and lip gloss, and you’re done! Save the elaborate make-up jobs for going out with friends.

How to use the extra time

Now we’re ready to leave, and since we’ve used the above tips (and thought of things on our own) to get ready faster, we have extra time! How should we spend it?

The first and most obvious thing most of us will think of is to sleep in later! While that’s a cozy and tempting thought, I have some better ideas which will help us look out for and give to our families, like Miriam did in Exodus 2:1-10.

Spend time in God’s word. He should be the most important part of our day, and our day will go much smoother if we focus our minds and hearts on Him first thing every morning. Focusing on Him will also make us more compassionate toward others, so our hearts will be open to their needs.

Help with––and eat––breakfast. Even if your family just has cereal in the mornings (and there’s nothing wrong with that!), you can help by putting out cereal, milk, sugar, and setting the table. Once breakfast is over, you can help clean-up by putting your dishes in the dishwasher and nicely encouraging other family members to do the same. If you don’t eat breakfast, this is the time to start. Not only does it help you mentally throughout the day, but it also is helpful in controlling your weight.

Teach your family about His love. If you have younger siblings, read a devotional to them during breakfast each morning. If your family is closer to your age, or older than you, choose a verse that stood out to you during your solo study, and tell them about the verse and what it means to you. You could then ask them what that verse means to them, or ask them to tell you about another verse they are thinking about today.

Help everyone get out the door. Maybe your mom needs to turn on the dishwasher before she leaves. Load it up and turn it on for her. Or maybe a sibling lost their hat. Help them find it or let them borrow one of yours. Help the mornings run smoother by not only taking care of yourself, but by also helping your family with their needs.

Keep in mind

Nobody’s perfect, so there will be mornings when we wake up late, rush around to get ready, and fly out the door with barely enough time to slip into class before the bell rings, but that should not be our mornings all the time. We need to work on making our mornings run smoother and more efficiently so we can be calm, help our families, and let His love shine through us.

It’s nice to look pretty, but we need to be careful not to let that be our priority every day. We should make ourselves look presentable, but not to the point that we’re neglecting our own spiritual needs and the needs of other people. Remember that “charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).

By Davonne Parks

Filed Under: Beauty Buzz

All to Jesus I Surrender

December 15, 2008 Leave a Comment

This is a song that I think gets to the other side of giving––it’s not just about giving to others, but also giving ourselves to Jesus. Written by Jud­son W. Van De­Vent­er and Win­field S. Weed­en, its words are a statement of giving our lives to Him.

All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

Refrain

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessèd Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

Refrain

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

Refrain

As you read the following verses, please notice the attitude of the two men in the following parable, which Jesus tells after a Pharisee states, “I give tithes of all that I get.” Notice what Jesus says about him.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:9–14).

Our attitude in giving, not only of time or money to the church, but also of ourselves to God, is very important. Let’s keep our giving attitudes proper, so our relationship with God will be enhanced. in the way of our relationship with God.

By Megan Skinner

Filed Under: Devotionals
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