What Does The Word Say?

In 2010, I preached a message entitled H.A.T.S to the Glory of God. The acronym stands for health, appearance, temperament and security. The text for the message was in 1 Corinthians 10:31 which says, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." In essence, the message was teaching that our health, appearance, temperament and security should all give glory to God. I want to talk about the appearance portion of this acronym. We live in a day and time where the ungodly fashion trends of society have infiltrated the church. Everything from women dressing like men, to wearing bikini's on beaches, all in the name of self expression have become common place among Christian women with no conviction. This is unfortunate and gives the enemies of God great occasion to blaspheme the name of the Lord. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 gives the blueprint for fashion among Christian women. It says, "in like manner also, that the women adorn themselve

As pastors, my husband and I are very passionate about preaching; namely preaching against sin. This doesn't always go over very well; especially when dealing with an individual about a particular sin. Let me say though, that the sins we deal with, many times are not necessarily big. They are the little character issues of the heart when dealt with that cause deep hurt, offense and the catalyst to send people out the door. This gets very perplexing, but when my mind tries to go places it doesn't need to be, I hear the Spirit of God reminding me that people come and people go. You keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and choose to walk in love and forgiveness. Whenever, I hear these words, I say, Yes Lord. I will walk in love and forgiveness. This is not always an easy task, this love and forgiveness business. Yet, I have found that the task is less difficult when my heart and mind are fixed on being obedient to the Lord; rather than giving in to the dictates of my flesh. You see,

When I was in high school I ran track. I enjoyed it and learned quickly the importance of staying in my lane. It never happened to me, but I have seen many track meets where runners accidentally or purposely crossed into the lane of their opponent. When this happened, whether by accident or on purpose, it would cause injury and in many cases the loss of the race. This helps put things in perspective in terms of staying in the positive lane of life with spoken words. We live in a day and time where people are negative about almost everything. No one is happy about anything and they say things like, "If it aint one thing it is another." "I always get stuck in traffic." "There are cutbacks on the job. I know they are going to lay me off." "I always get sick." These are negative confessions and breed negativity in your life. You have to learn to stay in the positive lane with the words that you speak. The Bible is clear when it says in Proverbs

I'm excited because in 32 days we will be going to Cabo to celebrate 21 years of marriage with friends and family. I am looking forward to a time of loving Christ, enjoying life and making memories. Most of all I am excited about celebrating 21 years of marriage to my best friend, companion and lover for life Robert Poole Jr. As I reflect on our time together, and how we are still in love, I think on others who are now in love, but it came at a great price. I think of others who decades earlier pronounced undying love in their wedding vows and now hate each other because of infidelity, abuse, lies and the like. I also think of those who are about to get married and wonder, do they have the stuff to stick. This presents the mystery of marriage and has left many, including Christians scratching and shaking their heads. Herein lies the mystery of marriage. Paul in Ephesians 5:31-32 calls it a great mystery. He says, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother an