Virtues and Vices – Page 2 – Reaching Hurting Women Ministries

March 21, 2012June 25, 2016

Virtues~n~Vices: FAITH

Step Out In Faith!

Virtue: a valued principle of good moral behavior; a holy habit

Vice: a practice of wrongdoing, essentially corruption of the virtue; an unholy habit.

Faith: the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. (Heb.11:1)
Fear: false evidence appearing real.

Whether we believe in God or not, we use faith everyday. You put your faith in electricity when you flipped the switch on the lamp. You put your faith in the chair before you sat down. You put your faith in your car when you started the ignition.

Faith activates God’s power. Fear activates the Satan’s power.

Faith isn’t a superstitious thing. But to live any kind of godly life, we will need faith and lots of it. The Hebrews definition of faith above is one I’m sure you are familiar with. But I like another definition by my friend Patty:

Faith is God’s mystical gift of love that fills our hearts and minds with the unshakable promise that we have a purpose to our existence. It dispels the darkness and overcomes doubt and fear.

Did you catch that last part? Faith can help us overcome fear. Now that’s good news!

For many people fear can be paralyzing. This distressing sensation brought on by a perceived threat is even used as an escape to avoid life and responsibilities. Whatever the reason or outcome, fear is a demonic force controlling many lives today.

Fear is more than an emotional feeling. It is a spirit that causes thoughts, that cause feelings which can take us into an area where God doesn’t want us. When we allow fear to control us, we are putting more faith in what the devil says that what God says.

Whose power do we want working in our lives? We have a choice. Let’s choose Faith!

You may ask, “How can I get more faith?” The Bible says faith comes by hearing God’s Word. (Romans 10:17) In today’s world, we have no excuse for not hearing God’s Word. There are more resources available to us that ever before.

Whether you use the Internet, a Podcast, GoogleTV, a SmartPhone, an iPad or a traditional Bible… Find time to hear God’s Word everyday. I promise, you won’t be sorry!

If you’ve never committed your life to God, please take a moment and give Him every area of your life. The Bible says, if we believe with our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, we will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

Don’t put it off another day. Today is the day of salvation! ~ 2 Corinthians 6:2

Enjoy the music video… Give Me Faith by Elevation Worship

Photo credits: http://www.metarchdesign.com/

Lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/h/hillsong_united/#share

Excerpts from Christian Virtue by Patty Woodmansee

February 15, 2012June 25, 2016

VIRTUES~N~VICES :: Hope

Virtue: a valued foundation principle of good moral behavior; a holy habit

Vice: a practice of wrongdoing, essentially corruption of the virtue; an unholy habit.

Hope is most needed in our world where trials and troubles abound. Though not a virtue in the traditional sense of honesty and perseverance; Hope is an emotional and theological virtue. Its antithesis is Despair.

Hope: feeling that what is wanted can be had; that events will turn out for the best.

Despair: loss of hope; hopelessness.

How can Hope and Despair be habits? Don’t they just happen to us in our emotions?

Habits, good or bad, often have root in our emotions. Hope and Despair are certainly emotionally driven. I’ve learned I can choose to follow certain emotions and not others. The key is recognizing the emotion when it shows up by reflecting on recent thoughts…

Where are these thoughts sending me? Is that where I want to go? Is that where I need to go?

I know if I think despairing thoughts long enough I’ll get stuck in a negative habit, which will eventually affect my behavior.

As a theological virtue, Hope is the bridge between faith and love. Like faith, Hope is a gift of God. God doesn’t want us to be in a state of Despair. He wants us to live with hopeful hearts, expecting the best from Him each and every day.

We must depend on God to keep our heart and mind in a hopeful place. And the only way to do that, is to stay in God’s Word! One of my favorite devotional Bibles is Joel and Victoria Osteen’s: Hope for Today Bible. It’s exactly what it says, Hope for everyday! Get one and read it. You won’t struggle with despair any longer.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. ~Roman 15:13

You can find some Hope in this music video…

January 18, 2012June 25, 2016

Virtues-n-Vices :: HONESTY

Last year I was privileged to take a wonderful class called Christian Virtue. What a joy it was to be with a group of ladies all wanting to be more virtuous for the Lord. While praying for the direction of my blog, God impressed me to begin sharing what I learned in that class. This year I will devote the third week of each month to a particular virtue that I believe relates to areas women struggle with.

Let’s start first with definitions…

Virtue: a positive trait deemed morally excellent; a valued foundation of good moral behavior.
Vice: a habitual practice of wrongdoing, essentially corruption of the virtue.

Sadly, our modern culture doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on virtue these days. However, if we listen to conversations around dinner tables or watch the evening news, it’s easy to see most of the problems we face relate directly to the lack of virtue in our world today.

Honesty: the quality of being honest, upright; truthful, sincere; freedom from deceit.

There are two ways we can look at this virtue: honesty with ourselves and our honesty with others. More than likely, if we’re not being honest with ourselves, we probably aren’t being honest with others either.

Often, we see a virtue and think to ourselves, I’m an honest person. I don’t really need to work on this one. I’ve found by looking at the opposing sin or vice, I see better my areas of weakness.

Vices: Dishonesty, duplicity, cheating, lying, deception, treachery

As a recovering addict, I’m all too familiar with the above list of vices. What a relief it was when I was finally able to be honest with my husband after being deceptive for many years.

An honest life is a simpler life. You don’t have to remember all the lies you’ve told!

No matter what our struggles are, we can’t deal with them unless we are first honest with God and with ourselves.

Take just a moment… Ask God to show you where you are being dishonest. He is always faithful to reveal our brokenness when we are willing to make the change.

Without beating ourselves up for past behavior, let’s go forward a new creation today!

Enjoy the music video below as you meditate on your fresh start!