Beauty

There are so many beauty standards in the world, and pressure to live up to them. Both boys and girls can be succumbed to these ideas, and can struggle with whether they look “good enough” for society. What does the Bible say about what is beautiful?

God created each and every one of us in His image. “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” (Genesis 1:27) If that is not enough for you, the Bible also tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” (Psalms 139:14) God made each one of us with care, His works are marvelous and beautiful, and you and I are one of them! "He hath made everything beautiful in His time: also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end". (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

If your goal in life is to fit into the world’s beauty standards…you will have a hard time and I am pretty certain you will not be content. The ideas of what is beautiful are constantly changing. Is fitting those standards important though? "Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised." (Proverbs 31:30) I guess not. You are not going to gain the Lord’s respect with your beauty, but rather with who you are as a person. "But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."(1 Samuel 16:7)

I do not mean to say that you are not beautiful, or that it is wrong to be pretty. We just have to remember to act in a beautiful way. Not doing so can diminish our outward beauty. People who are truly beautiful inside and out are people who fear the Lord, have a good heart, and are kind to others. Have those characteristics and you will have a timeless beauty that will not change in the next decade.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them". (Ephesians 2:10)

Beautiful Faces

Beautiful faces are they that wear

The light of a pleasant spirit there;

Beautiful hands are they that do

Deeds that are noble, good, and true;

Beautiful feet are they that go

Swiftly to lighten another’s woe.

~Anonymous

All verses are from the KJV

-Gloria

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, the day that our Lord Jesus was crucified. Some people do not

like to read or hear about what Jesus went through, but it is important to remember the suffering

that He went through to save us, and most importantly to bring glory to the Father. You cannot

leave out, or avoid, parts of the Bible you don’t like, as some pastors like to do by only

preaching about heaven and stepping around the problem of sin instead of dealing with it, so we

must remember the pain and abuse that Jesus went through to save our sinful race.

Here is Matthew 27:27-54, which begins right after Jesus has been accused of

guiltiness, and after that was scourged, meaning that He was whipped (the Romans were

known to have stuck sharp pieces of glass and bone in their whips).

“27Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole

company of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and then

twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then

they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30They spit on him, and

took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31After they had mocked him, they took

off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to

carry the cross. 33They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).

34There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

35When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36And sitting down, they

kept watch over him there. 37Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS

JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by

hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple

and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41In

the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42“He saved

others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now fromthe cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for

he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also

heaped insults on him.

45From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46About three in the

afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”(which means “My God, my

God, why have you forsaken me?”).

47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff,

and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to

save him.”

50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook,

the rocks split 52and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were

raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and

appeared to many people.

54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all

that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Today we solemnly reflect on the suffering and death of Jesus, and think about what the disciples

must have felt, because they did not know that Jesus was going to come back. We look forward to

Resurrection Sunday, when we will celebrate Him, and thank Him for the wonderful gift of salvation He has given us!

-Dale Harder

Get Back Up

Proverbs 24:16; For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Two sides. The just and wicked. Both fall. What is the difference between the two?

One falls and stays down, the other falls and gets back up. Now what this verse means by falling is to sin. So both sin, but only one stays in sin. This is what separates the just from the wicked. 

Here’s an example: two people tell a lie. One person keeps on lying and lying to cover up the first lie, and never stops. This person would be considered the wicked person in the verse above. 

The second person, however, realizes that they were wrong for lying. Even though they know that trust could be lost, as well as anything else that could come from the truth coming out, they go and tell the truth. They apologize, try to make it right and make it a point to never lie again. This person would be the just person in the verse. 

The just don’t stay in their sin, they rise up out of it. That is what makes them just.  That is how we become just. We don’t need to dwell on the fact that we sinned, and trust me I know how tempting that can be. We just need do what is needed to right our wrong, and do better next time. 

Now a quick note, we don’t make ourselves just, it is Jesus who makes us just. We can be just because He has become our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). While He is our righteousness, we still cannot live in sin (Romans 6:14-16). But because of this, we can still be just when we fall, just as long as we rise again. 

Bible verses:

1 Corinthians 1:30; But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

Romans 6:14-16; 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Christopher Haney