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<\/a>And yet, there are a group of ladies who have carved out a few hours each week to be part of a summer Bible study. How excited I was when 36 ladies signed up for the study! In the summer? That\u2019s pretty great! I know there will be weeks when the numbers don\u2019t reflect the sign-ups, but let me tell you, it\u2019s exciting to see women who desire to be in God\u2019s Word all the time. Regardless of the season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
We just finished our discussion on Rahab and are moving into two weeks of looking into Mary\u2019s (the mother of Jesus) life. What a contrast between these two ladies, but the commonality between them and ladies (and men) today is that they believed, had faith and trusted in God. They also share in the fact and promise that God will use anyone who has an open heart to His plan. Even people who would probably not be our first choice.<\/p>\n
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Rahab\u2019s faith in God and trust in two young spies has allowed us to ponder our own lives. \u201cWould I have been the one to hide the spies?\u201d \u201cWould I have believed in God as deeply as Rahab?\u201d \u201cWould I have been able to stand against the beliefs of my family and neighbors?\u201d \u201cWould I have been able to hold my ground?\u201d<\/p>\n
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I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
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Mary\u2019s love for God and her desire to live out the plan He lay before her was pretty remarkable as well. And it again causes us to think about what we would have done if we were told this plan. \u201cWould I have believed?\u201d \u201cWould I be able to withstand the jeers and taunts of those around me?\u201d \u201cWould I have been so willing to go through with the plan?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Again, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What I do know is that every day I have the opportunity to make choices in regard to my faith. \u201cAm I willing to be a useful vessel in God\u2019s Kingdom?\u201d \u201cHow far am I willing to take my faith?\u201d \u201cWill I obey God\u2019s promptings?\u201d \u201cWhat do I need to rid from my life in order to live a life of faith?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Do you recall the woman with a bleeding disorder in Mark 5? She had been suffering for twelve years. She had used all of her money seeking medical healing and yet, she continued to grow worse.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And then she encountered Jesus. When Jesus felt the power leave Him, He didn\u2019t mention the fact that it was a woman who touched Him. Jesus didn\u2019t mention that she was unclean. Jesus didn\u2019t mention the inappropriateness of the situation. Instead, Jesus mentioned her faith.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cDaughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.\u201d<\/em> (Mark 5:34 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s the kind of faith I want to have. Rahab\u2019s faith. Mary\u2019s faith. The woman who met Jesus in a crowd\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perhaps I\u2019ve been asking the wrong questions. Perhaps I\u2019ve been answering these questions with the wrong answers. Perhaps I should just have faith and believe, \u201cIf I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.\u201d <\/em>(Mark 5:28 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Maybe your faith needs to be stretched today as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Donna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It seems like everyone I know is just returning from vacation, is on vacation or preparing for vacation. The office staff at church is pretty slim. A lot of my friends aren\u2019t available for get-togethers. Seems like the pace of summer has slowed to the laziness it deserves. And yet, there are a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,21],"tags":[4550,1019,4551,816,844,4552],"class_list":["post-4740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-believing-god","category-trusting-god","tag-a-little-quiet","tag-faith","tag-mark-5-24-34","tag-mary","tag-rahab","tag-what-are-your-plans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4741,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4740\/revisions\/4741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}