Friend to Friend

My mom wore a two-carat diamond necklace that hung from a gold chain around her neck. My dad had given it to her for an anniversary. Before you say, “Good for her,” keep reading.

One day, when she was shopping in my little hometown, she walked through an alley separating two buildings. This spunky seventy-something-year-old held several packages and her purse looped over her wrist.

About midway through the alley, three teenage boys on bicycles circled her like buzzards over roadkill. One hopped off his bike and grabbed at her necklace. The others continued circling and keeping watch.

But rather than give the would-be-robber what he wanted, Mom dropped her packages and began hitting the boy over the head with her purse. I kid you not. Who knew people really did that?

She was so mad; she took a few swings at the other boys as well.

“You get out of here you little rascal!” she yelled. “Leave me alone! I’m going to get you, you little…” Truth be known, she probably yelled some words that I will not include in today’s devotion.

I think the guys were so startled that she fought back; they got on their bicycles and scurried away. 

A few months later, Mom took the two-carat diamond into the jeweler for cleaning. After close inspection, he dropped his head and said, “Mrs. Edwards, I don’t know how to tell you this, but this diamond isn’t real. It’s a fake.”

We’re not sure what happened. We’re not sure if my dad had been tricked and thought it was real, or if he knew it was a fake all along. He was already in heaven, so we couldn’t ask. (I bet my mom did when she got there though.)

Here’s what I learned that day. What we believe to be true affects the way we act and react. Personally. Spiritually. Emotionally. 

And friend, what we believe about the Bible affects the way we act and react. Personally. Spiritually. Emotionally.

Paul states, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 NIV). The Greek word for “God-breathed” or as some translations say, “breathed out” is “theopneustos,” which means “inspired by God” or literally the very “breath of God.”

Some translations use the word, “inspired,” but it’s so much more! Inspired sounds like a creative impulse. God-breathed means that every word in the original text of the Bible originated in the heart of God and was breathed into the heart of man so that they could write down exactly what God wanted to communicate. 

Billy Graham said it so well, “The Bible has stood the test of time because it is divinely inspired by Almighty God, written in ink that cannot be erased by any man, religion, or belief system.” 

For seventeen years we have started the GiG devotions with “Today’s Truth.” That is because God’s Word is Truth. Cling to that with all your heart.

As we close this season of Girlfriends in God, I want us all to remember what God tells us in 2 Timothy 4:3: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” 

Never have I seen Scripture more distorted than I have in the last ten years. It breaks my heart that what the Bible clearly states as wrong is now considered right. And what the Bible clearly states as right is now considered wrong.

How it must break God’s heart when His people ignore parts of The Truth that don’t align with what they want to be true. Let that never be us…Girlfriends in God forever.

Oh sister, cling to God’s Word as the ultimate truth—infallible and inerrant. If there is one truth we want you to hang onto after our time together it is that. God’s Word is true.

 

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, thank You for these wonderful women we call Girlfriends in God. I pray You will continue to bless them exceedingly, abundantly, more than they can ever ask or think, just as You promise in Ephesians 3:20. We love each and every one of them. You love them more.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Let’s Keep in Touch

June 30, 2023, Girlfriends in God is coming to a close. Thank you for linking arms with us in ministry for the past 17 years. We still want to share life with you! Click here to continue receiving devotions from Sharon Jaynes on Tuesdays. Click here to continue receiving devotions from Mary Southerland on Wednesdays. Click here to continue receiving devotions from Gwen Smith on Thursdays.

 

Now It’s Your Turn

How does believing the Bible is true change the way you live? React? Act? 

Read Psalm 119:105. What does this verse tell us about how God’s Word guides us?

 

More From the Girlfriends

Speaking of truth, do you believe the truth about who God says you are? Do you doubt it? Let Sharon’s book, Enough: Silencing the Lies that Steal Your Confidence remind you of your true identity in Christ. Don’t let the enemy tell you any different.

 

 

 

Click here to sign up for Sharon’s weekly devotion and receive a FREE ebook, Listening to God Day-by-Day. This is a download.

 

© 2023 by Sharon Jaynes. All rights reserved.