La Belle Design

The fall leaves of middle Tennessee have recently popped with color, revealing the beauty in God's creation. Peace Wrap Up As with love and joy, true peace has us looking to God. Often the peace that the world speaks of is false. In a world filled with sin and brokenness, earthly peace can only be temporary. Many times earthly peace is actually avoidance of the truth. Let’s review our homework and see that fleshed out. Review from the last lesson: Definition of peace : Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions. 1 Luke 1:76-79 In these verses did you see that John the Baptist was the prophet of the Most High? His ministry began just before Jesus’ earthly ministry to prepare the Jewish people for the Messiah (Jesus) and their need to repent. It had been four hundred years since the Jewish people last had a prophet giving them the words of God. They needed to be reawakened to the things of God. Jesus was the sunrise giving light and leading to peace. What kin

  If you love deep, touching, heartfelt stories that include history and a beautiful faith story, you won’t want to miss this book. It’s based on the true story of a man named Rindy in Cambodia. I’ll be honest: there were times it got so heavy I had to put it down to process my thoughts. I never knew the people of Cambodia went through so much in the ‘70s and ‘80s. There was great darkness surrounding Rindy from the time he was a young boy until he was an adult. As a mom of four, I can’t imagine my young child facing the responsibilities, loneliness, torture, hunger, and emotional distress that he did. And yet, because the darkness was so great, the threads of light shone more brightly through at different points in his life until they culminated in a beautiful tapestry of hope, salvation, and future ministry opportunities. This book is long but worth your time. Not only will it remind you that there is hope in the darkest of places, but it is also a word of warning for us. The peo

  Joy wrap up : In wrapping up the study on joy , I want to clarify that when we find our joy in heaven, it is not that we are joyful because the streets are made of gold, or the gates are made of pearls (Revelation 21:21), or any of the other beautiful things that are there. We are joyful because we will finally be in the full presence of God. He is our treasure. Revelation 21:3 ESV - 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. For now, Christians have the Holy Spirit inside of us as a deposit and guarantee of what is to come, but in the end, we will be fully with God and no longer have the separation of our sin nature making it difficult to fully commune with him. 2 Timothy 1:14 ESV - 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 2 Corinthians 5:4-7 ESV - 4 For while we are s

  This is the Titus Arch. A triumphal arch in Rome near the Colosseum. It was built in 81 A.D. by Titus‘s older brother, Emperor Domitian. It was to represent Titus’s defeat of Jerusalem and the removal of the items from the temple. It’s a beautiful piece of architecture that represents something awful. Not only man destroying other men, but man raising himself up as if he were worthy of worship like a god. But that’s not the end of the story: Philippians 2:9-10 (ESV) 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him (Jesus) and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. Read all of Psalm 8 to see what our mighty and majestic God has given us, His people. Psalms 8:4 (ESV): “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” It goes on to speak of the honor He has given us. God must do the raising up of man. It is then His glory that is reflected on us. This i