You GO Girl!

DEVOTIONS FOR WOMEN
  emphasis mine




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Grace Livingstone Hill                                   

Author

1865 - 1947

God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of
 this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27  NIV

 "Take the gospel out of your books," an editor advised Grace Livinstone Hill when she submitted her novel for publication.  She refused, and instead dedicated her writings to communicate the unshakable fundamentals of Christian living.

    When Grace's husband died in 1899, leaving her the sole support of their two daughters, she assessed her talents and decided to be a writer.  There was no question what kind of novels she would write.  She said, "I am not writing to be writing.  I am attempting to convey a message."  Her books are romance novels with the underlying message of hope in Christ.

    During World War II, Grace wrote of a soldier's struggle to regain lost hope, and letters poured into her desk from men who saw themselves in Grace's story.  People evidently needed the message, because her one hundred novels have sold more than four million copies.

    Jesus opened the way for every human being to have hope.  Place your trust in Him for your day-to-day existence and heaven after death.  Either way, Christ in you is the sure hope of your soul.

From Daily Devotions for Women, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.  Used by permission.


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Mary Slessor                                   

Missionary

1848 - 1915

"The rich man also died and was buried.  In Hades, where he was in torment,
he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side."

Luke 16:22-23NIV

While growing up in the slums of Dundee, Scotland, Mary Slessor described herself as a "wild lassie."  An old widow used to watch to watch the children running wild on the streets and, in her anxiety for their souls, one cold day she invited the children to sit by her fire.
     Suddenly the woman pointed to the flames.  "Do you see that?" she said to them.  "If ye dinna repent and believe on the Lord Jesus, your soul will burn in the lowin bleezin' fire for ever and ever!"
     The words struck terror in Mary's young heart.  Images of hellfire kept her awake at night.  Tormenting fears drove her to repent of her sin and move into Christ's forgiveness.
    Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus to help us understand the worlds beyond.  Hell is a place of torment reserved for the devil, his angels, and those who follow him.  Heaven, on the other hand, is a place of happiness beyond imagination, the dwelling place of God and those who have accepted His Son.  Jesus put heaven's welcome mat out for all people's when He said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary" (Mathew 11:28).
     Like Mary Slessor and multitudes of others have done, choose Jesus, His love--and Heaven.

From Daily Devotions for Women, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.  Used by permission.

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Ida Scudder                                   

Medical Missionary

1870 - 1960

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me;
yet not my will, but yours be done."

Luke 22:42 NIV

"I know one thing I will not do," young Ida Scudder said. "I will not be a missionary in India like my parents and fifteen other Scudders have been.  I'm going to do something exciting."
    Later in 1890, Ida returned to India to care for her ill mother.  During her stay, a Brahman man came to the Scudder home asking for help for his fourteen-year-old wife, who was having a difficult time in childbirth.  Because his religioun prohibited men from attending women, the man begged Ida to help.  The same night two other men came with the same request.  With no medical training, Ida was unable to help the women.  In the morning the tom-toms tolled the death for all three women.
     That day Ida told her parents,  "I'm going to America to study to be a doctor so I can help the women of India."
     Dr. Ida Scudder returned to India in 1899, and over the next sixty year, she founded a hospital, established roadside clinics, branch hospitals, and eye camps.  This happened when one woman said, "Your will be done."
     Like Ida, you may have your future mapped out.  Have you talked to God about it?  He could have other ideas.  When you say "Not my will," you will be led away from good plans to better ones- plans that help others and give you a more fulfilled life.

From Daily Devotions for Women, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.  Used by permission.

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Hannah Whitall Smith                                    

Author

1832 - 1911

For our present troubles are small and won't last very long.
Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last
forever!  So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather,
we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen

2 Corinthians 4:17-18  NLT

It was a drastic move when Hannah and Robert Smith decided to leave the Quaker faith they had been raised in.  Hannah's parents, usually good-natured, declared their daughter a renegade and said, "Thou shalt leave this house!"

    Hannah wrote of that time: "...like an outcast from my earthly father's house.  But not from my heavenly Father's house."

     No one can decide who was right in this situation.  However, the move may have been necessary for Hannah, who in 1875 wrote of her struggles in The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life and other books.  For decades these writings, translated into several languages, have helped troubled, confused believers.

     Metal is heated, beaten, and plunged into cold water as part of the process to make a strong piece of steel.  In the same way, trials are necessary to develop a strong Christian.

     Do you feel beaten by testing?  Allow these trials to drive you to Christ.  Though not pleasant now, in years to come you will see these as necessary to build your Christian character.

From Daily Devotions for Women, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.  Used by permission.

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Harriet Beecher Stowe                                    

Author, Hymn Writer

1811- 1896

Nothing can ever seperate us from God's love.  Neither death

 nor life...  Our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow...

nothing in all creation will ever be able to seperate us from the 

love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 8:38 - 39 NLT

Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, was raised in a religious home.  Her father was an outstanding Puritan preacher in New England.  As a child she had memorized over twenty-five hymns and long passages from the Bible.

     For all her religious heritage, as an adult Harriet began to have conflicts of faith.  Her doubts increased when her child died of cholera in 1849.  Then her husband, suffering with depression, was taken to a sanitarium, and Harriet was left to make a living for their large family.

    Under these conditions, it is easy to understand why Harriet had a lapse of faith.  However, she did renew her trust as seen in this hymn she wrote.

                                                                                                                                                                              

          Still, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh,

When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee;

Fairer than the morning, lovelier than the daylight

Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee!

It is no shame if you, like Harriet, are tempted at times to doubt God's ways.  Most Christians deal with confusing doubts now and then.  However, Jesus does not leave you in these times, nor do your doubts separate you from God.  Even when you don't sense His presence, Jesus' hand remains firm in yours.

From Daily Devotions for Women, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.  Used by permission.

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Lillian Trasher                                    
Missionary
1887-1961

But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them!
For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."
And he placed his hands o their heads and blessed them."

Mathew 19:14-15 NLT

As a young girl, Lillian Trasher moved with her family to Georgia. There a Christian neighbor told Lillian, who was not a believer, she could know Jesus and be a friend of God.  Lillian believed the neighbor and prayed, "Lord, I want to be Your little girl.  If ever I can do anything for You, let me know and I'll do it."
      Later, when God led Lillian, now a young woman, to work in a faith-owned orphanage, she said, "Yes."  When she heard God's call to be a missionary, in spite of no financial support, she again answered, "Yes."  And when God told her to begin an orphanage for Egypt's neglected children, Lillian did it without pledged support.
     At her death, Lillian's orphanage had cared for over eight thousand children, and she had earned the title "Mother of the Nile."  This all started when one little girl said, "God, let me know if I can do anything for You."
     As children show an interest in God, His church, or the Bible, bless them, support them, and encourage them.  You cannot imagine the marvelous feats God will do through the dedication of even one child.



 From Daily Devotions for Women, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.  Used by permission.

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Gladys Aylward                                    

Missionary

1902-1970

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

 the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:8 NIV

"Your qualifications are too slight, your education limited. The Chinese language would be far too difficult for you to learn," the mission board director told young Gladys Aylward in 1932 when she applied for a missionary appointment to China. 

       Convinced God had called her, Gladys determined tha the mission board wouldn't send her, she would send herself.  Using money she earned as a parlor maid, she paid her own fare to travel overland by rail to China.

      Without support, money was scarce as Gladys began her work.  But when the Central Government decreed that the binding of women's feet must cease, the mandarin (governor) of the province needed a foot inspector.  "You are the only woman in the province with big feet," he told Gladys. "You must take the job."

      Gladys traveled from one remote village to another.  During the day she inspected feet, but at night, at first in halting Chinese, she told the people about Jesus.  The woman who was told she could not learn the Chinese language ended up mastering six Chinese dialects.

      What difficult task are you called to do?  Like Gladys Aylward, God may be asking you to learn a skill that seems beyond your ability. The One who made heaven and earth is your Helper.  With Him, you will accomplish the impossible.

From Daily Devotions for Women, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc.  Used by permission.

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