IT'S OK TO FLIRT _

AS LONG AS EVERYONE'S JUST HAVING FUN

IT’S ONE THING to remain physically pure by not engaging in sex outside of marriage or having an extramarital affair.  It’s quite another thing to remain emotionally pure-not to flirt with another man, become emotionally attached to him, or talk with him about topics appropriate only between a husband and wife. Too often we ignore these "lesser" acts of impurity and justify them by saying "we haven’t actually done anything." But Jesus said we are guilty all the same if we let impure thoughts infiltrate our minds (see Matthew 5:28).

What sets Christians apart from the rest of the world is not a list of "do’s and don’ts." It’s our hearts. Is it time for us to undergo a spiritual cardiogram so the Great Physician can diagnose any heart disorders? Consider taking these steps:

 

• Ask God to monitor your motives and attitudes regarding your sexuality. God gets to the heart of the matter-your motives, thoughts, attitudes. Take a realistic look at why you dress or act the way you do. What are your communicating about yourself and why?

• Decide ahead of time to excuse yourself from questionable conversations at work. Set some boundaries for yourself, lines you will not cross, and stick to them. Your first boundary shouldn’t be physical touch (that’s already too far)-it should be guarding your thoughts and your conversations. That will help protect you from acting on impure thoughts.

• Refuse to demean your sexuality by using it to manipulate people and situations. Let’s face it-as women, our sexuality can be a powerful weapon. Will you abuse it, or will you use it for good? It’s all too easy to spin your behavior in such a way that you can justify anything. Flirting is OK as long as it gets you the job. Fantasizing is OK as long as don’t act on it. False!

  

• Get practical. Be accountable to a Christian girlfriend or mentor for your physical and emotional purity. Be completely honest with each other.

"FOR THE LORD SEARCHES EVERY HEART

AND UNDERSTANDS EVERY DESIRE

AND EVERY THOUGHT"  1 Chronicles 28:9

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

KORRYS BEARS STORIES LANE THE NEW CHILDRENS TV SHOW

IN THE END_

…all that really matters isn't the things you did, but what its effects are today, not the knowledge you have learned_____

_but how you applied it, not the words that were said, but how they made you feel, and most of all, not the moment of occurrence, but how it’s now just a part of our memory... 

Every day, we make memories... 

Let's paint lives with happy ones...”

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

TODAY I TRUST MYSELF_

…BUT THAT WASN’T ALWAYS ME

Once upon a time, I should have talked less and listened more.

I should have had more dinner parties even if there was no carpet and the sofa faded sunk- in and outdated.

I should have eaten ice-cream in bed and worried far less about dirtying the sheets.

I should never have ducked down in the car so my friends couldn’t see me riding in my Dad’s old Chevy station wagon. 

I should have cried less while watching television and laughed more while watching life.

I should have gone to bed when I was sick instead of fantasizing that the earth would go moving if I didn’t go to work.

Instead of hating my strict up-bringing I'd have cherished every teaching moment realizing that today I am the dignified lady that I am because of it.

THOSE WERE ALL THE YESTERDAYS.

TODAY I AM A PRINCESS WITH GOD!

Sound familiar?

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

A COWBOYS SAVING GRACE

For years I’ve known my maker

And he’s known me long before that.
Between his knees glides a gallant steed
And upon his brow rides a cowboy hat.

I never understood until just recently
The outcome of certain events.
All my sin and the fixes I’ve been in
Are forgiven, because His son He sent.

You see, Satan took the shape of a 1600 lb. Bull
And I being a mischievous cowboy, good-humored,
and full of sin
Pulled the flank strap, jumped on his back,
And out in the arena we did spin.

There was 8seconds of silent battle,
Just him and I alone.
He bucked me down, I lit on my crown
And decided I had broken every bone.

It was about then that fear set in
As I tried to climb out of the dirt.
The bull lunged with a flash and the
whole crowd gasped
Because they all knew that I was hurt.

It was pure adrenaline driving me
As I jumped to make my break.
I was almost there when I felt horns and hair
Just five feet from the darn gate.

I thought “now’s my time, I’m a goner for sure,”
As I frantically searched all around.
But my Savior appeared in costume and gear
Dressed as a rodeo clown.

I’ve never been a wanting man
Of help or God’s free grace,
But at that time I made up my mind
And was relieved to see Christ’s face.

He stepped between the bull and I
And I knew he took my place.
For every gore the crowd groaned more
And the life drained from his face.

I know that fellow Cowboy
Was God’s Saving Grace,
Because when he died I was on his mind
I could read it on his face.

Ya know it has taken years of my life
Before I was able to see
That it took a life laid down by that rodeo clown
To be forgiven of sin eternally.
written by Kayci Sears

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

THE OLD TESTAMENT STORY

OUR GOD SPEAKS

 Most of us know the names of people in the Bible, and we remember stories about them.  But sometimes the Scriptures seem to be more of a riddle than a clear message. Thus, how does one explain what the Bible is? What exactly makes it different from other books?

The heart of the Bible can be summed up in two words.

God speaks.

In the Bible, we learn that God speaks and works through great deeds of people, and through the words of persons who explain and interpret. The very heart and mind of God are found in the words spoken to a chosen people.

God still speaks through the Scriptures to show us what life is all about. God speaks an answer to the problem of our sin. God gives us the good news that "true light" has come into our lives.  That is why we call the Bible the Word of God.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

ONE GOD _ONE PEOPLE

ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOB (Israel)

From the Bible, we learn that there is only one true God, not many gods. We read about individuals to whom God spoke-persons like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), Moses, Miriam, and Deborah. They did what God asked them to do, and from them came a people known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

The Bible’s story of the chosen people is filled with ups and downs. They had great gifts for doing good. But they also disobeyed God and failed to carry out their mission. The Bible is a record of their successes and failures, and their victories and defeats. God did not choose them to be pampered favorites. Israel was to be God’s suffering servants to bless the world.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

HOW TO STOP FAMILY QUARRELS

Genesis 13: 1-18

New International Version (NIV)

     Abram and Lot Separate

How to Stop Family Quarrels

The herdsmen of Abram and Lot quarreled about using the land and where to graze and water their flocks. There just wasn’t enough room for both groups to live and raise their animals. Abram decided to stop the quarrel. (read in full Gen. 13: 1-18)

Most brothers and sisters quarrel at times. We have the Bible to give us examples on how to stop the quarreling: Abram and Lot gave a perfect solution. Give the other person first choice, be satisfied with what is left, no name-calling and no hitting (with insult or slander).

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

GOD’S OLIVE TREE (2)

  

RE-CAP: When Paul speaks of "branches," "he is talking about either individuals or nations specifically, but only about the masses of Jew and many Gentiles."

and

God has ceased to call many Jews, instead extending His call mainly to Gentiles, "grafting in" those who believe on Christ.

RESUMING: It is unnatural to graft wild olive branches into a cultivated tree. The Jews were natural branches in that they were "set-apart ones," part of the people to whom God gave great gifts and blessings (Rom.9:4-5). But these things constituted only the outward call to faith. In His providence, God has now chosen to allow most Jews to remain in their sin and to call many Gentiles to faith in Christ. And so, the Gentiles came out of their spiritual darkness and became partakers "of the root and fatness of the olive tree.," As Paul put it earlier in Romans, they became spiritual children of Abraham, the father of the faithful (4:13-18).

CORAM DEO

We Gentiles ought to consider again the blessings we enjoy as we partake of the "the root and fatness" of the household of faith: adoption by God, the presence of God, the covenants, the law, worship, divine promises, a magnificent heritage (Rom. 9:4-5), and much more. Let’s take time today to thank God for grafting us to His olive tree.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

GOD’S OLIVE TREE (1)

Resuming with the root-branch imagery he introduced in verse 16, the apostle Paul now begins to build a metaphor centered on the image of an olive tree. This metaphor is difficult to interpret and has led to all sorts of misunderstandings and conclusions that contradict other Scriptural passages. We will try to break it down piece by piece and to understand it in the light of the whole counsel of God’s Word.

We saw on September 16^{th  https://bibletimestabletalk.blogspot.com/}  that the "root" of verse 16 is Abraham, and the fact that he was "holy" or "set apart" by God, means that his descendants (the Jews) are also set apart. 

Now Paul’s image of the root grows into an olive tree from which branches have been "broken off" to make way for the ingrafting of branches from a "wild olive tree." The broken-off branches are clearly Jews, descendants of Abraham, while the wild branches are clearly Gentiles, but what does Paul mean by "broken off." 

The easy conclusion is that he is saying that God withdrew His grace from some Jews, causing them to lose salvation. But this interpretation is precisely what Paul is arguing against in chapters 9-11, the idea that God has proved Himself untrustworthy by casting out individuals who were saved. And more important, Scripture leaves no doubt that true faith cannot be lost.  

When Paul speaks of "branches," "he is talking about either individuals or nations specifically, but only about the masses of Jew and many Gentiles." This interpretation fits with the context of chapter 11. No saved Jew has been condemned to make room for t Gentile. But God has ceased to call many Jews, instead of extending His call mainly to Gentiles, "grafting in" those who believe in Christ.

                                                   …to be cont.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

SET ME AS A SEAL UPON YOUR HEART

You’ve seen it; young lovers today 

sometimes tattoo the image 

or name of their beloved on their

 neck or arm. Have you done so? 

The tattoo says that one permanently 

belongs to the other, that one is part 

of the other’s very being.

I like a tattoo on other people; but as for me, as I have grown a bit wiser these days, I now pray:

Lord, give me love. Make my love for you

Rock solid and unshakable. May I love you

With my whole heart, my whole being, and

My whole heart, my whole being, and my 

whole strength. May I love my neighbor

As Christ has loved us both. Amen.

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Director/Screen Writer

Producer/Gospel Lyricist/Author

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

ALWAYS SOMETHING GOOD

Poet: Julie Hebert

I shall be glad when summer comes,

As it's my favorite time.

The sun, the beach, the big blue sky,

The mountains I love to climb.

But just because summer is,

My favorite time of the year.

It doesn't mean I won't look back,

To all seasons with great cheer.

Fall and winter lose the warmth,

That spring and summer find.

But there are still great thing about,

Seasons that are unrefined.

The thing to try and keep in mind,

No matter what the day,

Is there is always something good,

To give thanks to God in prayer.

Look and find the things you love,

Make the most out of all you can.

Don't stop and wait for life to pass,

Life's too short to be a season fan.

In Christ,
Janet Irene Thomas
Playwright/Screen Writer/Director
Published Author/Gospel Lyricist &Producer
FOUNDER/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
www.biblestoriestheatre.org.

IT TAKES COURAGE

Poet Unknown

It takes strength to be firm, it takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to conquer, it takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain, it takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in, it takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend's pain, it takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to endure abuse, it takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone, it takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to love, it takes courage to be loved.

It takes strength to survive, it takes courage to live.

In Christ,
Janet Irene Thomas
Playwright/Screen Writer/Director
Published Author/Gospel Lyricist &Producer
FOUNDER/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
www.biblestoriestheatre.org.