I’m sure many of you know the classic quote: “Are we mice? Or are we MEN?” Today I would like us to address to ourselves this same question.Of course you may be thinking: “Well *technically* we here at Damsel De-Stress are women” but, you know…you get the picture. 🙂 Of course the quote is not meant to be taken literally, but metaphorically: God created mice to be timid, flighty little creatures while men He made to be noble and brave in the face of fear.

-So let’s have it….are we “mice”? Or are we “men”?

-As women of God, where do we stand when it comes to bravery?

-Are our fears holding us back from our full potential?

-So many times in scripture we find phrases like “do not be afraid” or “be courageous”. Do we really take these to heart?

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FEAR… There are many varieties of fear. Some are negative, while some are positive. We know that there are healthy fears – several of them we learned in childhood; such as the fear of burning our hand on a hot stove, or going beyond our depth in the pool. These kind of fears are for our physical safety and are rational and logical.

Another type of fear is the fear of consequence. As children we learn to fear what might happen if we disobey Mom and Dad, and as we age and mature, hopefully we learn to fear the consequences of disobeying God. These fears are also rational and logical.

On the other hand, there are unhealthy fears that can not be called rational or logical at all. Usually these fears involve other people. Fears of what others might do when we’re not looking. Fears of what others might think of us. Fears of all the ways others might potentially mess up our lives. Our human minds (especially being female minds) are so susceptible to letting our imaginations run wild and take control over reality. We focus in on small things and create mountains from molehills…exaggerated scenarios with very little (if any) truth to them.

Sisters, where do these fears come from? They certainly do not come from our King, because:

a. He did not give us a spirit of fear…but of power, love, and a sound mind,(2 Timothy 1:7)

b. His perfect love casts out fear, (1 John 4:18)

and c. He is our helper so we will not fear what man will do to us! (Hebrews 13:6)

Fears often come, I believe, from a sense of not having control over our circumstances. We people sometimes have a hard time letting someone else take the wheel. Granted, it is a horrifying thing to take the passenger’s seat to…say…a teenager with terrible driving skills!! On the other hand, would we fear getting in the car with someone we trust; someone who has been driving for years?

When did we stop believing that song we used to sing in Bible class: “He’s got the whole world in His Hands”? Girls, our God is a strong and mighty tower!! He is neither an unlearned nor incompetent driver. He is perfectly capable of getting us to our destination without scratches, bruises, or broken bones.

Remember, He works all things together for our good…but here’s the catch: “To them who are called according to His purpose”. (Romans 8:28) In other words, God watches out for His own! When we are keeping our will alligned with our Maker’s, we needn’t be afraid of anything in this world…for even our various trials and temptations will be blessings in disguise. (James 1:2-4)

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” Proverbs 28:1 “How can this be? I always feel that my enemies have the upper hand, and I am the one shaking in my boots” but remember – this world is not our permanent dwelling, we are only strangers and pilgrims in a foreign land! (1 Peter 2:11) There will come a day when the wicked will pay the penalty for their sins, and the righteous will enjoy all the blessings The Lord has prepared for them. (Psalm 37:1-7)

Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall He prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.Isaiah 41:13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Friends, may we boldly say: Because of Christ, I am no longer a mouse; but a man!

God bless, and take a chill pill!
Mrs. Dustin Bolks

I found this poem fairly recently online, and I have to say I was quite touched by it in all it’s simply-stated tragedy. It made me think of my own life, and the lives of other Christians who may not realize that WE are the nails in God’s kingdom.

I think many struggle with finding their place in the church merely because they consider themselves too small and insignificant compared to other Christians. They fall in the backdrop while others shine, becoming bitter as they feel they are not needed. This kind of attitude eventually leads to unfruitfulness and disunity among the brethren.

Sisters, don’t buy Satan’s lies – you are indeed needed. We all have gifts and talents that can – and actually need – to be used for the good of the whole church. Let us move on past bench-warming and be fruitful! There is no room for laziness in the heart of a Christian woman, but we ALL need to be putting our gifts to work, whether we are a nail, shoe, horse, etc.

Ephesians 4:16 describes the church as: “The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth”. You know the verse; but be sure to always remember that this verse says every joint. *Every* joint. That means you and me! God is calling us to be active and dutiful. All players to the field, chicas – no sidelines and no excuses.
Let us take a little journey through some New Testament passages that show us examples of what the church should look like…

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Christians are to be:

Striving together for the faith of the gospel – Phillippians 1:27

Shining as lights in the world – Phillippians 2:15

Being fruitful in every good work/increasing in knowledge – Colossians 1:10

Always laboring fervently in prayers – Colossians 4:12

Sounding out the word of the Lord/ Spreading their faith abroad – 1 Thessalonians 1:8

Labouring night and day – 1 Thessalonians 2:9

Exhorting/comforting one another – 1 Thessalonians 2:11

Edifying one another – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Travailing night and day – 2 Thessalonians 3:8

Not neglecting their gift – 1 Timothy 4:14

Preparing unto every good work – 2 Timothy 2:21

Throughly furnished unto all good works – 2 Timothy 3:17

Zealous of good works – Titus 2:14

Ready to every good work – Titus 3:1

Careful to maintain good works – Titus 3:8

Ministering to the saints – Hebrews 6:10
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So how do we compare against the first Christians? Do we measure up? Are we being diligent servants, or have we grown lazy? Are we doing all we can, or letting others do all the work? Let us be sure that we are doing all we can to build up Christ’s body lest the whole kingdom suffer…all for the want of a nail!

The labourer is worthy of his reward – 1 Timothy 5:18b

God bless, and take a chill pill!
Mrs. Dustin Bolks

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Children and adults alike would do well to remember this classic nursery rhyme. We must keep in mind that, just like the king in the nursery rhyme, our own King will not let unrepentant sin go unpunished. What amazes me is how the King knew exactly who the thief was in a day with no camera recordings 🙂

There is an old saying: “what Momma don’t know won’t hurt her”. Now without going into the error of that particular philosophy, let us ask ourselves if we ever use the same line of thinking about God. Do we think that there is anywhere we can hide from our all-seeing King? We may be able to pull a fast one over “Momma”, but God is not so easily fooled.

Friends, we often make generous excuses for ourselves – we might excuse ourselves into thinking that our sin really isn’t all that bad, or maybe that we are more righteous than we really are. Oftentimes our excuses can kid others as well as ourselves, but you can’t kid a kidder: and you certainly can’t kid the King!

Since the beginning of time people have been trying to kid God, hiding away from His correction in guilt and dishonorable cowardice. We meet our Lord like a dog with it’s tail between it’s legs, hoping our master will not see the mess we have made. Ladies, do we ignorantly think our wise master so blind to the truth?

Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 

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Let us look at a few biblical examples of those who tried to kid the king….

Adam and Eve – they couldn’t hide their shame in the garden. (Genesis 3:9-10)

Jonah couldn’t hide in the boat. (Jonah 1:3-4)

The Scribes couldn’t hide their evil thoughts. (Matthew 9:3-4)

Peter couldn’t hide his denial. (Matthew 26:33-35)

Judas couldn’t hide that he was the betrayer. (John 13:25-27)

I could go on and on! All those who try to kid the King have a 100% failure rate, 100% of the time!

Hebrews 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 
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Our congregation has been doing a bible study on the sovereignty of God. We have been reminded that God is not only a father and a friend (though He is both of those things), but He is also a most Holy King! We can not lose sight of God’s holiness and sovereignty or we will become lackadaisical Christians living far-too-comfortable lives….never stepping outside our comfort zone and reaching the lost; or even confronting the sin in our own lives!

We are called to be vigilant and on the alert. Do not try to kid the King with fraudulent “name-tag-only” Christianity – He knows us better than that!

Let’s be honest…where are our hearts, truly?

Are they locked into God’s word? …Are they growing?

Or have we grown lackadaisical in our spiritual life and forsaken our first love?

Psalms 69:5 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. 
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Friends, how easily we become distracted by the things of this world…

It is to our shame that we allow rubbish to enter into us when we have known the truth of Jesus Christ and all He has done for us. If there is an unresolved sin in your life, I would urge you to confront it. Scripture says to be sure that our sins will find us out. With that kind of warning, perhaps we would be wiser to find our own sin before it “finds” us….am I right?

Job 34:21-22 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. 

In our poem, the knave of hearts began a foolish man but finished a victor over his sin. The same can happen for us when we let God correct us and make us new. Let us (like the knave) also vow to steal no more….

God bless, and take a chill pill!
Mrs. Dustin Bolks