#WallsAndFences

There is no fence or wall. There is only a great chasm. There is no fence that you can sit upon and maybe fall off, one way or the other. You are either in or you are out. Luke 16:26 gives the picture of the great chasm, but no wall or fence is there.

Just being in is a good thing, but, it appears that there are extenuating possibilities even if you are in.
In the parable Jesus told in Matthew 13, he gave four illustrations of what happens to the sowed seed. He explained that the seed was the Word of God and the soil was the soul of man. If you take the percentages demonstrated in this parable, you could come up with the figure of one fourth of those who received the seed actually demonstrating growth. This is disturbing because, if it is a truth, then, three fourths of those who believe they are in, are not.

The hard heart hears it but does not believe it and the seed is taken away. The one who has affliction or persecution in his life and has emotionally received the word will find that the focus on affliction or persecution will not allow the seed to develop roots and the plant dies. Then, the one who has so many cares about being wealthy or worries about being poor allows these concerns choke the growth of the new plant to death.

John 1:12 sheds some light on the viability of the status of being "in". Jesus said that "as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God." Once the seed is planted, we have the right to nurture it or neglect it. This seed can take root and receive nourishment if the heart is prepared or we can allow affliction, persecution, worries and concerns of this world to keep it from growing roots or just chocking the new growth out. It is up to us.

The secret of a successful "in" is abiding. Again, in John 15 Jesus spoke of the absolute importance of abiding. We are to abide in Him and He is to abide in us. His Word should be cultivated in our minds allowing us to understand how to draw the nourishment this new life needs in order for it to grow. There are consequences for not abiding and they are not good. The dead branch is chopped off and thrown into the fire. Where there is life, there is fruit. Fruit is the outward proof of life and Paul lists the evidence of life - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in Galatians 5:22 and 23.

Are you in? Are you in for real?

#Negligence

The very special calculator had been delivered. Our son had been accepted into Marquette on an NROTC Scholarship and was studying engineering. He was deposited at school with the calculator on order. A few days later it came and I hurried the hour drive to get it to him. I was on my way home when an awful knocking noise emoted from my Volkswagen. I managed to get out of the city's overpasses and traffic filled highways on to the highway home when my little car pooped out. I could see the service station just a few yards away, so I started walking to call my husband and share the bad news.

It was pure negligence that caused the death of my Volkswagen. I had not read the manual. I had not checked the oil, which was in the back of the car. The engine locked up and I realized it was my fault. This little car was quite special to me. It was my first very own car and it got a lot of use. I had begun to depend on it and by my carelessness I had caused it's demise.

The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians. These people were Jews by birth and belief, but had heard the Good News and had turned to Jesus as their Messiah. The second chapter of the book of Hebrews gives a stern warning to not neglect so great a Salvation. It must be possible to believers to neglect their salvation or the idea of neglect would not have been mentioned.

How can Salvation be neglected?  Just like me as I enjoyed the mobility and convenience of my very own car, but didn't read the manual and went on my merry old way, I was neglecting doing the necessary things.

Jesus paid dearly for us to have a right relationship with His Heavenly Father. We should enjoy the freedom and hope it gives us, but we should be so appreciative of the cost that we make sure to take really good care of the gift given us. We should read the manual, even study it and memorize portions, that we "may not sin against" Him. We definitely should not take it for granted. There has been too much invested for us that is so precious, that our being carelessness about it should cause some consequences and not so pleasant ones, at that.

Can't you see that Father God deserves our attention? Can't you understand that appreciating His words and thoughts is a normal response of anyone who has escaped the consequences due them because of His intervention. Can't you see that neglecting the manual is the height of pride?

#Mysteries

Some mysteries are meant to be solved and some mysteries are meant to be revealed, while some mysteries are meant to be enjoyed.

A dead body is found and detectives are called in to try to determine the who, what and why about the death. The medical examiner does the forensics and finds the cause and decides it wasn't natural and then they start searching for clues. They look for finger prints and other evidence and the all important motive. After all their work, the prosecutor builds a case against the culprit hoping to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt 'who done it' so that justice is carried out.

A rabbit is pulled out of a hat. A specific card is pulled out of the air. A woman is sawed in half and comes out of the box, whole and alive. These mysteries are for enjoyment. No magician wants to divulge how he managed to do these wondrous works. He wants you to be astonished at his powers.

My dear husband became interested in works of magic when he was a teenager. He practiced for hours doing sleight-of-hand with decks of cards. He could hold a card on the back of one hand with his fingers and you would never guess. He learned how to direct the viewer's attention away from a hand that was hiding something or bringing something out of hiding. All the hours he spent practicing were to entertain people. He got very good at being a magician.

Then there are mysteries to be revealed. There is a phenomenon that was hidden for centuries. This mystery does not need to be solved, in fact it, itself, is the solution. There were messages given that only a few understood and then, only partially. There were pictures that pointed out the phenomenal event and the results, but each picture was only part of the puzzle and only a few understood. Then the event took place and more and more people were able to put the pieces together.

God had the plan for the redemption of mankind before the world was created. He did not try to hide it from people. He kept disclosing bit by bit what He was going to do and then He pulled the curtains back and fully disclosed Christ crucified, the mystery revealed - Christ for you, Christ in you - the Hope of Glory!!!   Colossians 1:27

#Creepy,CrawlyCreatures

Any thing with eight (or more) legs gives me the creeps. This is the time of the year when such creatures begin looking for a nice winter home. Just recently I spied two centipedes and last night I saw something unhealthy looking clinging to the door frame. It was dark and I wasn't sure what it was, but it was not supposed to be there. I grabbed my flashlight and focused it on the big black thing. An ugly black spider was waiting to either hop onto someone to gain entrance or rush in when the door opened. I looked for something to destroy it and carefully squashed it with a book. It dropped to the threshold in a ball and not wanting to be careless, I stomped it to pieces.

On of my sons told me a story about an incident with a creepy, crawly creature. He had bought a house that had been in fore closure at a really good price, but it had lots of serious problems. The previous owner, really angry about loosing his home, had taken revenge and damaged as much as he could before giving up. This was a gigantic undertaking, but my son loves challenges and began tackling each problem with a vision in mind. There was over growth, trees and bushes and wasps nests inside the walls and ants and spiders besides holes in the walls and fixtures torn off of their moorings.

He was taking a shower one night after getting dirty from plastering and painting and just enjoying the hot stream of water on his sore body. As he created suds on his head, he tilted forward to rinse them off and saw a big centipede crawling out of the drain. With no hesitation he grabbed the shower curtain and jumped onto the bath mat on the floor. The wet glazed tiles caused the mat with him falling on it to go sliding halfway across the room, shower curtain, rod and all. Fortunately, nothing was seriously hurt except my son's sense of well being.

All I can say is "BOO!!"

#Systemic

Time is relative to us, but it is not relevant to God. We are so under the control of time, but God is above time and it is always NOW with God. Time passes, but God is always there in the past, present and future at the same time because He IS. So, it is not a problem when Scripture declares that Christ was crucified before the foundation of the earth. God's foreknowledge led Him to take care of a problem before the problem developed in time.

Why is this fact relevant? Because if you can appreciate that you were born in the twentieth century and Jesus died well over 6,000 years ago for the forgiveness of all your sins which would happen before you believed on Him, as well as those that would happen after you were born again then you need not worry about loosing your salvation. Sin is all taken care of, period.

We do have other problems. Ever since the first man, who was given dominion by his creator relinquished his right to have dominion over his world, the one 'who would be like the Most High' took over. In this world, in this time we have three enemies - the world, the flesh and the devil. The system set up by the Prince of Darkness is so pervasive. It is systemic and subtle. It deceives us because the set of principles put in place by the father of lies works. The tools which he uses against us have an appeal. The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye and the boastful pride of life can go to the very heart of us and destroy us. Whenever a child of God falls prey to the temptations designed specifically for him, it hurts God's heart. That is what the arch enemy of God wants most of all - to hurt God. You are just a tool he uses.

Jesus left us instructions to help us not be duped. He said that while we were in this world, we were not to be 'of' this world. We were not to be possessed by it. Of signifies ownership and when we allow the system of deceit or pride or selfishness to control us, we have become 'of'' the world and we will reap the results to our detriment. In the meantime, we are hurting our Heavenly Father's heart.                                                                     

#BoltsAndNuts

The little red arm that is supposed to extend from the side of the mail box was loosely hanging down, almost ready to fall off. I bent over and started scrounging around in the grass below the box hoping to find the bolt. After a few minutes, in the hot day, I decided it was hopeless. So, I opened the box and searched the dark interior for a nut to attach to the remaining bolt and secure it tightly. Success!!

There have been times when I have had a 'come-apart' and lost 'it'. I remember mopping a dirty kitchen floor on my hands and knees when the children were young and quite sloppy and just when I finished and took a proud look around, immediately someone would spill something wet and sugary and I would start screaming. I remember times someone would say something hurtful to me and I would either retort a harsh word back or sulk and feel sorry for myself.

When we have a 'come-apart' it is because something really has come apart in our attitude. the nut of self has lost the bolt of control. Self-control holds us together under the worst of circumstances. One facet of the character of Christ is self-control. Reflecting on the scourging that He went through on the day of His crucifixion and witnessing His self-control, cuts me to the core. A whip or a cat-o-tails can shred a back like an electric paper shredder. It can cut through clothing and rip skin to the bone and Jesus received thirty-nine of the lashes on His back. Not one word of rebuke came from His mouth, only "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing." was uttered some moments later as He hung on that wooden cross.

One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control. In our natural state we do tongue lashings and outbursts of anger, but when (and IF) we are living by the Spirit, we will demonstrate self-control.

"But, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, SELF-CONTROL; against such things there is no law."  Galatians 5:22,23

#ParentingSkills

Florida is a delightful place to take a vacation. I remember the time we went to Miami Beach when I was about eight or nine and the fun we had swimming in the ocean and going souvenir shopping. My sister and I had been given a small amount of money to buy something to remember our trip. I saw this little ballerina made of sea shells and pink pipe cleaners. I loved ballerinas and decided that the sea shells were definitely Florida. My mother questioned my choice. She didn't question my sister's choice, which must have been practical, but she let me go ahead and buy the little ballerina. It sat on my dresser and became quite dusty and finally went into the trash.

Last week, at work, a dad came to the check out counter with his two boys in tow. Both had a toy in their hands. Dad had let them pick something to buy with their own money. The older one placed his pick on the counter and dad saw it for the first time. "Is that worth $13.00?" he asked his son. "Yes." was the immediate answer. Then dad asked the same question again and got the same response. Dad pick up the box and for the third time asked, "Is this worth $13.00?" For a third time the boy said, "Yes." The boy paid for his toy and they left, but, a few minutes before the store closed, they are back. The boy placed the opened box on the counter and rather sadly told me that he wanted to return his toy.

There is a term used today for parenting - helicopter parents. It pictures a parent hovering over their kids to make sure they do no wrong. I am sure that there are many ways to teach and to learn, but, hovering and interceding may not be the best way to train up a child. The experience I learned from with my purchase of the ballerina taught me that I should consider the value of money vs the pleasure to be received from a purchase. What that boy learned, I really don't know. Perhaps, he resented his dad pushing against his decision and making him feel guilty for not returning the item, but, did he learn anything? Experience is the best teacher because it goes to the heart of the matter and any loss that happens is a personal loss and gives a deep memory.

Our Heavenly Father God is the pest parent. He has provided  warnings and examples in His Word. He has given His children His Own Spirit to make His home in our minds to guide us. He has given us free will to make choices and He allows us to be free to make wrong choices and learn from them. Parenting takes wisdom and practice. It is a skill that has to be learned, because even parents make mistakes. Reading how God deals with His children gives a good basis for the right principles to be used and asking God for wisdom helps us as we muddle through.

#Conforming

It is hard to imagine what a widow's life was like four thousands years ago. Today, we have Social Security Insurance and phones and grocery stores around the corner. Back in the day when Naomi became a widow while living in a foreign country, she became almost destitute.There was no government assistance. She was alone with no income. Her two sons had died also and she was left with two daughters-in-law and no grandchildren. Her only thought was to get back to her homeland. It would be a long, dangerous walk.

One daughter-in-law committed to walking back with her. Ruth was demonstrating extreme loving-kindness by doing this. She was willing to leave her own country and family and friends to befriend her mother-in-law. The Book of Ruth in the Old Testament tells the story of these two women and how God worked in their lives. This book is filled with the word 'Hesed'. Hesed means loving-kindness, loyalty, mercy, steadfastness. The story brings in Boaz who also demonstrated hesed to Ruth and Naomi. It is almost a fairy tale with a happy ending.

This hesed life is a way of life that is willing to go the extra mile in meeting other's needs. This kind of life is what God wants for each of His children. The salvation Jesus bought for us by His extreme loving-kindness and quickening our spirits with His Spirit is to be worked out in our lives. His perfect life is placed in us and it is up to us to let it all hang out. There are people all around us that are needy. The only question we should go to God over is 'how' He thinks we should help. We should always be willing to extend loving-kindness.

God is always working to conform each of us into the image of His First Born Son. He will bring all sorts of circumstances and all sorts of people into your life and as you cooperate with Him, you will be conformed into a real son (or daughter) of God and your life will be an 'Hesed' way of life.

#Invitations

"What did you just say?" Did I just hear an invitation to officiate at my grand daughter's wedding? Was this possible? Didn't you have to be an ordained minister to do that? Me? Oh, no. "Please consider." was requested. "I'll pray about it and talk with my pastor." was my response.

As soon as I could, I asked my pastor and he quickly replied, "Wonderful and if you need a reference, I will be happy to give you one." That settled it for me and I called my daughter and said, yes, I will. I did not want to embarrass God or my daughter or my grand daughter or me. I prayerfully wrote a little message and between my grand daughter and the suggested ceremony the pastor gave me, we put  down on paper the ceremony she wanted. When the day came, I wasn't nervous, tho there was one hundred and eighty people sitting there. I knew I could read and told the couple that I would be speaking to them because the ceremony was for them. Immediately after introducing the newly married couple to the audience, I looked at my daughter and she gave me a thumbs-up and I returned the gesture. This was a giant step of faith for me to get out of my 'boat'.

Perhaps you will be invited to get out of your 'boat' and walk on water. Perhaps you think it is impossible or you are not qualified as I did. Perhaps the whole thing is way out of your comfort zone. God will sometimes ask you to go beyond yourself, a venture into the unknown. If you respond with the hope that God will be glorified even if you make a fool of yourself, you will be so blessed and you will see God work wonders. Just, please consider.

If you do not have the relationship with God as your Heavenly Father, He wants to develop one with you. He is calling your name and offering you Himself. He has made the way clear for you to come directly to Him. He paid your debt. You are free to respond. It is up to you now. He will not step a foot in to your 'boat' until you ask Him to. There is a wonderful life waiting for you to trust Him, a forever life starting the instant you say, "Yes, I believe You died for me."  He is inviting you.  Just, please consider.

#Sunshine

High above the earth we were flying home. The sky overhead was real blue. There was a sea of little puffy white clouds as far as the eye could see. They were resting on a layer of air, all nice and level. The bright sun was shinning on them and the reflection was making me squint. We were maybe five miles high and we were above the clouds. Nothing separated us from the sun and I can imagine we were casting a shadow on the earth below as the clouds were.

There was a cartoon character long ago who always had a dark grey cloud hanging over his head. No matter what kind of day he was having, there stood the grey cloud over him. He walked around and the cloud followed him. He brought bad with him and he wasn't comfortable unless others could see the cloud he was under. We are all like him too many days. Even if it is a cloudless, sun drenched day, we can manufacture a dark grey cloud and place it over our head.

God is associated with clouds in the Bible. "I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man." Rev 14:14 "Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:27 "I saw someone like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven." Dan 7:13 God's faithfulness "reaches to the clouds." Ps 108:4

There may be a real grey cloud over your head, something you did not manufacture. It may hover over you distorting your view of the bright sun above. If you keep focused on it, you will see nothing but grey. It will get harder and harder to remember the real blue of a cloudless sky.

Can you be thankful for the dark grey cloud? Is there anything about that cloud that you can be grateful for? Can you be thankful that you are not in the heat of the sun? Can you, with one little grain of hope look forward to a cloudless day? Can you imagine Jesus sitting on top of your cloud and being close to you and watching over you and working, always working for your best interests?

Clouds come and go, but God faithfully is there all the time. He never wavers or moves away. We can count on Him and we can get better acquainted with Him on cloudy days when we turn to him because the sun isn't available for a tanning session.😊

#MuscleBound

There is a condition that can develop when an individual has exercised so much that his or her muscles become rigid. The muscles are hindered because of inflexibility and cannot function. This person may look absolutely wonderful with a full six-pack and well defined biceps and triceps, but they are useless. This condition is known as being muscle-bound.

Christians or even a church can become bound with much knowledge of the Bible or church polity and become rigid or inflexible and utterly useless. Knowledge not put into practice will bind you to maybe looking good but useless. It is a good thing to exercise in order to have strength to use your muscles when needed, but be careful to not over do it. Using your muscles is better than looking good.

Jesus told his disciples to keep His commandments in John 30:21, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."  First off you have to know His commandments in order to keep them and they are found in the Bible. Reading that is a requirement to knowing and the keep stated here is not to just keep them in your head, but keep them, observe them, do them.

We are not to hoard them in our minds. We are to put them into practice. We may not become muscle-bound, but we sure will become like the Dead Sea which has living water flowing into it but no outlet. There is so much concentrated chemicals in the water of the Dead Sea that nothing can live in it. It is useless water.

We were put on this earth to benefit others and not to just build ourselves up. We are to be a conduit of God's grace. Jesus also said, "He that believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water,'" We are to give every which way possible - it could be a word of encouragement or a ten-spot or a shoulder or a verse or an invitation to dinner. Giving is better than receiving or keeping.

#Marriage

The two shall become one is the short definition of marriage. But, it is asked, which one? Neither one or the other is the right answer, but a new one is made in the uniting of two single individuals. God topped off His creation with woman and gave her to man to be his help-meet. The word help-mate has been flung around for years and, in a way, it is a truth, although the original word is help-meet. That word means that she is equal to him. She is his equal. She may not be as tall as he is or as strong or even as smart, yet, she is his equal. He may not be as tall, or as strong or as smart as she is but they are equals.

God puts strengths together with weaknesses and the union is as complete as can be. They have different roles. He was given headship over this unit. He is told to love his wife as Christ loves His church and she is told to submit to him. Where he is strong, she submits. Where she is strong, he submits. Where strengths are pretty much equal, she submits in attitude and they work it out submitting to one another

Their concern should be for the best for the unit and both need to work for the success of the new "one" thing. She may have the best job and earn more than he could and they decide to help her succeed and he might do some homemaking in order for that to happen. He could well have the best job and she should be willing to be more of a homemaker for the success of his job.

When I was a child, I witnessed a scene that is etched in my memory. My dad brought home a complete outfit for my mother. I don't know why he did that. Maybe there had been an argument and he was making-up. I don't know, but he laid out his purchases on their bed. There was a navy dress and stockings and gloves and shoes and a purse. He was quite proud of his gift. My mother looked at the array and immediately lost her cool. She berated him and belittled him and told him to take it all back. My heart was crushed for my dad. I could not bear how she hurt him. She may have had good reasons, like not being able to afford this luxury. I do not know. I only know that that scene made me aware of how a husband can be hurt by lack of respect.

A man needs respect. A woman needs love. Each are made to give the other exactly what they need.
Those vows in a wedding ceremony are asked of each one and the answer is always, "I do." Each one vows "till death do us part". It would be great if more who say "I do", actually "DID".

TheTightRopeWalk

The tight rope was hooked to big tree at one end and stretched across a large open space and attached to a large tree on the other side. The tight rope walker was ready, wearing slippers with leather soles to give him the benefit of using his toes to hug the rope. He held an umbrella in one hand as he stepped up on the rope. It was a heavy rope, maybe three inches in diameter and tightly hung. He took one small step, got his balance and moved the other foot gingerly ahead for a second step. The umbrella was held off to his side and it was almost automatic as he adjusted  to maintain his balance keeping his eyes on the end of the rope some distance away.

There were dangers ahead. What if a gust of wind came? What if there were distractions, like a bird flying by or a beautiful scene coming into view? It took determination to keep his eyes focused on the end and to cautiously move one foot ahead of the other. His life was at stake.

If you can compare the rope to faith and consider where you stake your faith, you would carefully look at the trees opposite the wide expanse called life. There are many trees in the distance, the tree of wealth, or success, good works or positive thinking. But, you have read a book about trees and can distinguish flimsy from strong, fake from real and you keep looking till you see the tree on which Jesus hangs. That is the tree you know will hold your rope of faith and you sling your rope over to Him.

Then begins the walk of faith. The umbrella is called 'grace' and it provides you with balance and you are confident that 'grace' will see you across to the other side. There are dangers on the way over this chasm and care should be taken with each step. The secret is keeping your eyes focused on the destination for your body will follow your eyes. The lure of the world is inconsequential to you, now, because it can cause you to stumble. Once you stepped on that tight rope you were committed.

There are many options on the horizon that offer guarantees for happiness and fulfillment, but there is only one that is true. Jesus called Himself 'The Way, The Truth and The Life and said emphatically that He was THE ONLY WAY to the Father. If you haven't flung your faith rope over to Him, you are losing out on The Way, The Truth and The Life. We each have a rope. We each will hang our rope on something. Just make sure you pick the right something for your eternal life is at stake.

#Robots

In the ten years we spent cleaning the bank branch, the job became routine most of the time. The contract listed chores that had to be done every night. Unless there was lots of snow which left so much ice-melt on the floors or heavy rains that left muddy foot prints all over, we were able to work with our minds planning tomorrow or thinking about family far away. There were times when my son would say in a halting way, "I-am-a-robot." Our hands were working as if programmed, moving from one task to the next.

There are times in our life when being a robot is the best way to survive. We can put one foot ahead of the other and just keep moving without giving too much thought to the next step. Sometimes we have to do that.

When you realize how much time is spent just waiting, waiting at the stop-and-go lights, waiting for the toaster to pop-up, waiting for a loved one to get home, you realize that twiddling your thumbs is not the answer to accomplishing anything. You can do other stuff while you wait. You can pray while sitting in the car. You can wash the few dishes in the sink while waiting on the toast. You can read that article you didn't have time for as you wait for headlights. You can kill two birds with one stone.

You are in good company in the waiting room. Joseph waited thirteen years in prison on a false rape charge before he was promoted to second in command of Egypt. He gained a good reputation while in jail by taking care of details, a daily to-do list that impressed his jailer. Moses wound up in the wilderness after running from Pharaoh and tended sheep for forty years until God gave him a big to-do list. The disciples waited in the upper room for up to fifty days before the promised comforter came.

Even God waits. He waited until the right time to send His Son, Jesus, into the world. He waits for you and me to come to our senses and realize our need. He waits for the last one to take Jesus as their Savior before He sends judgment on the whole world.

We may have answers to prayers that we are waiting on. Be the best robot you can be, one step and another step in the day to day life and keep waiting on God. Don't give up on God. God hasn't given up on you! Joseph entered prison as a teenager and left those bars behind as a man, prepared. Moses grew up in a palace and was humbled tending sheep for forty years, prepared to lead millions of people out of slavery. God is working on you and you will be prepared when the answers come.

#BlackAndWhite

Knock, knock. Who's there? What is white and black and red all over? Kids love jokes and puns and to be able to come up with the right answer proves you are able to think outside the box. I remember being asked, what is black and white and red all over. I had to give in and get the answer from the questioner. It is a newspaper. Black is the color of the ink and white is the color of the paper and the red is really 'read' for reading all over.

There is something black and white and should be read all over. It is God's word, the Bible. God's word on the printed page is more than a good book. It is actually Jesus on paper. John is very clear as he writes in the first chapter of his book, the very first verse. "In the beginning was the word  and the word became flesh and dwelt among us."

God's spoken word became flesh and flesh became paper and ink. Imagine the power of a word that can create light and atoms and laws. He said, "Light!" and there it was. Wow!!! Never would I have believed that I could speak and something would appear, but, today we all can. The remote control has been invented that will respond to a voice and turn on your TV and change channels and there you have an image. Of course, it isn't flesh and blood, but it is in your home on the screen and talking and moving and maybe even singing and dancing.

It is a little miracle, but the big miracle was Jesus becoming flesh and blood, leaving glory and coming down to earth and getting dirty and even bloody as He obeyed God Almighty. God wanted to make sure that we would be able to understand the what and why of spiritual things, so He inspired people to write down history - His Story - with the exact words meant to convey His thoughts. We have His thoughts in our hands as we open the Bible. We have Jesus in our hands as we read the Bible. Jesus reveals Himself to us as we read His word.

How you  treat the Bible is how you treat Jesus.

#Security

Around my neighborhood many yards display those little signs advertising the security company that has wired their house for protection. The little sign is a warning as well as an advertisement. It tells possible intruders that someone is watching twenty-four/seven. If there is a disturbance there will be an immediate notification to that company who will respond by notifying the police. It is a deterrent, not a guarantee.

Society cannot guarantee anything, anything but change. Mankind does have it's limits. We make promises and we try to keep them, but there are so many variables in life, so much that we have absolutely NO control over that it is a miracle if we do keep a promise.

Unfortunately, our world is an unsafe place. There are people who have no qualms about taking things that do not belong to them. We can lock our doors, own an attack dog, invest in a security system, but all this may not work. John 10:10 tells us that "The thief comes but to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have life and life to the fullest."

There is a place of certainty that we enjoy. Paul, who had been through some terrible circumstances since his conversion, spoke with confidence in Romans 8:39 and 39 that absolutely NOTHING could separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. His list covers everything he could think of. He still knew that God was good and experienced His love even in trials and tribulations.

 That thief is wily and deceptive. He is after your heart and will work to try to get you to doubt God's love for you. He may even get you to think that little ole you can take yourself out of God's hand by sinning. Paul wanted us to be assured that once you are in God's hands, you are there to stay. There is no power that can unclasp God's fingers. You are definitely in good hands when you are in God's hands.

#SecondNature

When you have made an effort to form a habit and it gets to the point that it becomes 'second nature', you don't even have to think about it. It just takes over.

Last night about 9:00 my phone rang. I have had so many robo calls that I, sometimes, don't pay close attention. I just let it ring. I was standing close to the phone and decided to answer. It was my son and he rarely calls me, so, I was concerned. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Mom, I have lost my truck key. I have been searching the parking lot and haven't found it." He had gotten off work and was heading home. "Are you up to driving here?"

He knew the trepidation I felt about driving down a busy four lane highway in the dark to a place I had never been and asked if I was up to it. Barley a second went by and I answered, "Where is your spare key?" After following his instructions and finding the spare, I headed to my youngest son's room to ask him to go with me and began changing shoes for driving. The phone rang again and "I found it." hit my ears. "Hallelujah!" I exclaimed.

Almost immediately God held up His little mirror before me to allow me to see something important.
I saw that my first instinct was to get busy and help. I saw that my first instinct was NOT to turn to God and seek His help. I have been really trying, especially at work, to draw God into my time more frequently. God, with His little mirror showed me that I have to be more intentional in order to form the second nature that automatically takes over all the time.

If your smart-phone is on the dash and shows the traffic conditions ahead and just an occasional glance will tell you what to avoid, you would keep glancing. It would become second nature to ensure you of a safer trip. God does, so, want to be involved in our lives. He wants us to keep glancing at Him. I could have immediately started praying for the keys to be found, but, I started changing my shoes!  But, God, who knows me so well, just let me be me for a few seconds and then held up His little mirror to show me, ME.

#Doubts

No guilt should be felt when you have doubts. Doubting only proves that you are human. You are not a robot programmed to do without thinking. You were created in God's image. You were created with a mind, a will and emotions just like God. That mind serves it's purpose by questioning and reasoning. The will serves it's purpose by making decisions based on what the mind has concluded and the emotions are to be under the control of the mind and will.

Doubts are a good thing. It is what you do with them that matters. You could just hide from them and stick your head in the sand. You could let them control your thinking and let them take over your emotions and become a fool. You could take them to God.

If you were a student in a physics class and studying to take a crucial exam and could not understand how to solve a problem and the professor was sitting at his desk, would you even hesitate to go to him and ask questions? If you doubted your ability to solve the problem with your limited knowledge, would you not want to learn how to work it out when the resource was available?

The problem solver is available, always. He even asks you to come to Him. Isiah 1:18 is for you. He says; "Come, now, and let us reason together." He is waiting for you to come to Him. You don't have to get dressed up in your Sunday best or even wash your face. He says, come, now. When you have doubts, go to Him now. Tell Him what you are thinking.You could  give Him reasons for needing to know. He has big shoulders and will not be offended. Then, wait on Him to respond. It may take a while because you may not be ready to the answer. Your ducks may not be in a row and other issues may need to be addressed. Don't give up. Keep seeking and knocking and asking and if you are serious about knowing the truth, the answer will come at the right time.

The process is full of wonder and delight. The Treasure Is The Trip. The getting of the answer increases your knowledge of God and yourself.

#WorkOut

Scads of workout apparel is available. From underwear to outerwear, there are so many choices. It is fun shopping and dreaming that if I put that outfit on it will make me active. It is not magical and will not make me active, sad to say.

There are some words that should be understood as active wear. Love and Faith and Prayer are active words, not just feelings. Prayer is not just wishing. Even Jesus, God's only begotten son, diligently prayed and He still is. He is interceding  for His brothers and sisters today, for you and me. The words that speak of His prayers present the meaning of making a case for our needs. Just as a lawyer thoughtfully gives the facts and the reasons for the judge to understand and agree to the request, Jesus is presenting our case to the Judge. We are to actively do the same when we pray and not just wish for a good outcome.

Faith without works is dead! You think you have faith, but there is no real evidence of it. True faith works on God's Word. True faith is actively walking one step at a time trusting God is true to His Word. Faith is walking on water and keeping your eyes on the creator of the water. It is being able to say to yourself "though He slay me, yet shall I trust Him."

Then, there is Love! We want the feeling that human love gives and we want that before we do anything loving. That is not the way true love works. God loved us while we the most unlovely and had done n-o-t-h-i-n-g to deserve His love. Love is thinking of the best interests of the beloved. Love takes the initiative and even makes a sacrifice for the one loved. Love continues to love even when there is no evidence of it being reciprocated.

What a work out we can achieve if we put on Prayer and Faith and Love and we don't have to go shopping for this apparel.

#Perseverance

Those little post-it notes are so useful. Just write a note to remember something to do on a certain day and stick it to the calendar. Hopefully no strong wind or a little brush against it will occur before the day comes for the 'to do'. They aren't designed to stay forever. They are pretty temporary, but useful.

Faith is something else. Faith is better than Gorilla Glue. True faith is the hanging-in there stuff. Real faith perseveres, no matter what. You can't know what kind of faith you have until it is tested. Believe me, God knows if it is a post-it kind of faith or if it is the hanging-in there kind of faith and He wants you to know, also.

So, the testing comes. You may dread it or hate it, but, it not only proves the validity of your faith, it also does a work in you. James 1:3 points out that this testing produces endurance. If you start out with a faith muscle that quits easily, the tests help you exercise that muscle till it can persevere and endure hardship and pain. And, not only that, but this results in being complete and being approved by God.

Just think on this verse for a while - "Blesses is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."

#EasyDoesIt

He was in a perplexing situation and sought counsel. He knew his power was at stake and the citizens could, very easily, reject his authority and follow the other leader. The suggestion was made for him to capture the people's loyalty by telling them that he had heard them and understood and had a plan that would make it easy for them. He really had their best interests at heart, he told them. Instead of taking the long, hard and dangerous trip to the temple in Jerusalem to worship, he would build shrines closer by. So, he did. He built two shrines and placed golden calves inside.

The people believed him. They had no Biblical world-view. They had just been concerned about their jobs and families and working hard to take care of all their needs. They had not taken the time or effort to read the Word of God and had no foundation to base an ideology on. It seemed so logical and caring for their leader to be concerned about them that they believed him. He had accomplished what he set out to do. He had been afraid that by their trips to Jerusalem they would be influenced to turn away from him and he found a way to keep them in the fold.

You can read the story of  Rehoboam in 1 Kings chapters 12 through 15. After reading, perhaps you will see how easy it is to believe a lie when you have no truth in your head to compare it to. Perhaps you can see that politics is still the same today, with men and women promising to make it easy for you. Perhaps you can see that just because candidates say they have your best interests at heart may be because they want to keep you in their fold.

Sometimes 'easy' is a dangerous place to be.

Caution: A sure way to not be misled is to regularly read the Bible asking the Writer to help you understand what He wrote and to help you apply it to your life.

#DamnTheTorpedos

David Farragut was in command of the Union Fleet in Mobile Bay, Alabama during the Civil War. The year was 1863. This bay was well guarded with mines (called torpedoes) scattered in the water and the fort on land, with cannons. The Union ships moved forward, but one was destroyed by a torpedo and the rest stopped, afraid to go further.  That is when David Farragut took charge and demanded to his crew, "Damn the torpedoes!!! Full speed ahead." He took his ship through the danger and the others followed and after a hard fought battle, succeeded.

I have always been the kind of girl that thought the way David Farragut did. I see opportunities and scarcely consider the problems that might arise. It has most always been "full speed ahead". It has been so easy for me to say 'yes'. If hindrances come, I will figure it out then was my attitude. I don't like waste, whether time or money or food and taking time to ponder was a waste.

Somehow, I have gotten through the waters filled with torpedoes with just small mishaps. But, aging has ways of slowing people down. My balance isn't what it once was and my strength isn't either. Now, I have to make sure I have good footing before I go full speed ahead. I still go full speed ahead, just a little slower.

But God!! I do love that, "But God", because it indicates His involvement. There were a couple of 'sticky' incidences in my life recently that gave me pause. Then a devotion came in my e-mail that stood out like a bolt of lightening. The title of this devotion was "Stand Still". After reading it, I knew that God had planned for this to be in my e-mail box at this time just for me. I am to stand still!! I am no longer to go full speed ahead, I am to stand still.

Oh, I am not frozen in place physically, but in the spiritual realm, I am, at this time, to stand still.
Moses told 600,000 Jews at the Red Sea to "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord."  Jahaziel told all Judah when armies were coming against them, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." Then David wrote in the Psalm 46:10 "Cease striving and know that I am God." "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up...and set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord." Psalm 10:1-3

Still standing!! and singing!!

#TreasureHunting

This book was written to show that from the small, everyday stuff to the hardest thing you might face, God proves Himself faithful.  In doing so, He scatters  treasures along your way.   P J Brown

Cokesbury and Christian Book Distributors and Amazon and Kindle and WestBow Press carry 

"The Treasure Is The Trip".

#StinkinThinkin

My dear husband had a great mind and loved to study the Bible. He would sit for hours on the love seat in his little office and pour over the Scriptures with all sorts of concordances and dictionaries to help him understand. He would take notes and underline and star stuff. Frequently, he would ask me what I had studied that morning. I would always retort that I had not studied, I had only read the Bible.

Way back in the 90's I tried to read the Bible through in a year and was not very successful getting through it. Then came 9/11 and I determined to do it. I succeeded and every year since have done so. I just read it. I really don't love to study unless it is for a cause - cause I have to lead a class or prepare for Sunday School. I do research passages that speak to me during reading time and look words up from the Greek or Aramaic or Hebrew to gain a better understanding of what it meant back when it was written. I, too, underline and star stuff in my Bible.

We Christians have not been successful in communicating God's message to the world. We have not been good students of the Word and the world, because of our negligence, has steadily deteriorated in ethics and morals. I have been reading a wonderful book called "Love Your God With All Your Mind" by J. P. Moreland. He reasons that we must have some objective truth to believe in for the self is a very poor site for finding meaning. How can we "destroy speculations...raised up against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians 10:5 ) or develop a well-reasoned theology that helps us form our ideology unless we have studied.

In a way, we dethrone God when we do not take His Word seriously and use our minds to evaluate it and understand it and apply it. God values His Word and has said "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away." Matthew 24:35

What did you study, today?

#Anticipation

My dear husband was really good at surprises. We were dating and I lived in the nurses quarters of the hospital where I worked and it was a very hot summer. There was no air conditioning in these quarters. One day he walked, maybe three miles, from his home carrying a heavy circulating fan to bring to me so I wouldn't be miserable. I had not asked for it. I knew nothing about this fan until he presented it to me. I was struck by his care for me.

Years later, after marriage and kids were grown, he surprised me again. There were other times in between, but this time was notable. We were out of town for a wedding and the family gathered there gave him the opportunity for expert advice for which computer to get me. I had not asked for a new computer, but he had noticed some frustration on my part and had saved some money to buy me a new one. I don't know how he managed to save enough to pay for one, because our finances were snug and we kept close track of spending. I was totally surprised and thrilled that he had been planning this for me.

Anticipation means - a prior action that takes into account or forestalls or plans a later action. The prior action in my husband's case is love and that love led him to plan an action for the right time.

Where there is deep love, there is great delight in pleasing the one loved. Simply anticipating the delight created by unexpected pleasures given to the loved one is worth the cost.

Jesus is the lover of our soul and He takes great delight in giving. He knows us so well and has plans for  the exact surprises to please us at just the right time. His love is perfect and pure and selfless and by all accounts this love deserves a response. It should ignite a passion in the recipient as we become aware of so great a love. It should cause us to want to please Him.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
                                                          John 15:9-11

#DrySpells

Gardening is so much fun. Getting my hands dirty is rewarding causing me to look forward to growing things. Fresh dirt smells so good and I think they should develop a perfume called "Dirty". When you spray it behind your ears, those who love getting dirty would love to give you a hug just to take a sniff!

It is a fact that when there are dry spells and it hasn't rained for some days, plants need water and the dryness stimulates the roots to grow longer reaching out for moisture deep down in the soil. Trees get stronger because their root base gets wider and deeper and strong winds cannot topple them over so easily. So, it is OK to let the dirt get dry as long as you don't wait too long.

We can experience 'dry spells', also. Sometimes, we can feel that God has moved away. We don't feel the closeness that we once had with Him. It may cause us to wonder if we have done something wrong. It may cause us to even have doubts as to our relationship with Him. We may even begin thinking He doesn't love us. This truly is a 'dry spell'.

Your spirit is alive and needy and God may be using this awareness of His absence to cause you to grow your roots. It is time to get into the Word and keep in the Word for refreshment. It is time to turn to Him, in faith, and talk to Him telling Him exactly how you feel. Your root base might not be wide enough or deep enough to take on the strong winds of adversity. These 'dry spells' can work for good IF you choose to seek the source of life and not let the doubts harm your progress.

#JudgmentCalls

You go into the funeral home and walk past the casket and you know, you don't have to think about it, you know that man resting in the casket is dead. In life, most things are not so stark. People who cross your path on a daily basis act certain ways and you draw conclusions. You have to think about it.

A man checks his receipt every time he makes a purchase. He stands there in the middle of the aisle and takes time to go over the receipt with care, every time. Perhaps he is a tight-wad enters your mind. He doesn't look needy. He is well dressed. Never has there been a mistake on the receipt to cause him to go back and have it corrected, but he always checks.

Have you made a judgment call? If there was a trial and you were on the jury, your voice would need to be heard as a witness. But, you are not on a jury and no trial is proceeding. If your judgment call makes you, in real time, treat this man as tho he was a tight-wad and you mistreat him, you have made yourself jury and judge and dispensed the penalty. That is wrong on several levels. You don't know his history and no one gave you the right to sit in judgment on anyone.

Matthew 7:1 speaks about judging and tells us not to do it. A few verses later, verse 16, does say something that might seem contradictory; "by their fruits, you shall know them." It seems that we are allowed to check out the fruit of people's lives. We are not to judge them, but the fruit of their lives. You can know what kind of a tree is growing when you see it's fruit. You get to judge the deeds and words, not the person. God will be the final jury and judge of each of us, but you get to be a fruit inspector. You can partake or reject the fruit, but you must respect the person. It is imperative that we make judgement calls. Not to do so is irresponsible. It is dangerous to not know good fruit from bad fruit, good words from bad words. Fruit inspectors have studied to know good fruit from bad and that is your responsibility, to study. Your study book is the Bible. It will help you see the difference between good and bad words and deeds so that your judgment calls are more accurate.

#Accusations

It got ugly. She accused me of something that never entered my mind. I was taken aback as I just trying to explain the reasons and she did not want to hear. She was offended and then I made a mistake. I could have paused and asked God for some wisdom, but I didn't. I did the natural thing and counted on myself to come up with the right words. Wrong.

Looking back on the incident an hour or so later, I 'should' on myself. I began thinking of what I should have said. Then the thought came to me that this incident was so out of the ordinary, that it must have been inspired by my enemy and God had allowed it to help me see something important. That important thing was that my tendency to rely upon myself is strong. He was helping me see myself as He sees me and giving me something to work on, to change.

I don't know her motives, but I am to think good of her until her motives are revealed. As I prayed for myself, asking God to forgive me for leaving Him out of the equation, I prayed for her. There has been some changes in me over time, because I reached the place of confession much sooner than in the past. God is so interested in me being conformed to the image of Christ that He uses negative happenings to open my eyes. I had to thank Him for His loving kindness to me.

Jeremiah 17:9 and 10 tell us that "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the Lord search the heart, I test the mind..." We cannot know all that hides within our hearts. God knows and sees the deceit. He loves us anyway, no matter, but being a good father, He must rear us and that includes opening our eyes to those faults. By His grace He gives us one more chance to grow up.

I expect there to be a test in this particular mode as I work on changing. Hope I pass.

#Motherhood!

It was a hot July day and I was barefoot, on my hands and knees, scrubbing my kitchen floor. With kids running in and out the back door all day, the floor constantly needed scrubbing. A knock came on the door with a neighbor telling me that my kids were in a group up on the knoll playing with matches. I immediately dropped everything and went running out to find them. There was much clover in the grass and my bare feet stepped on bees as I ran. I came back with my kids and having  four or five bee stings swelling on the bottom of both of my feet!

It was early in September and I was driving my Volkswagen Fastback to the university where my son was beginning his freshman year. He had won a Naval ROTC Scholarship and needed a special calculator that had arrived late and I was delivering it. On the way back home, this little car began making large thumping noised and the cylinders froze up. I slowed to a stop some sixty-miles away from home back in the days of no cell phones and walked to the nearest gas station!

It was in November in cold, snowy, bad roads Wisconsin. We were heading to Minnesota to see our son and his wife and new born first child. The roads were slippery as we headed north and my husband, being wise and cautious, decided to turn back. We did, but I, not being so wise or cautious and feeling a great need to go see my new grandson, decided to go all by myself. It is a six hour drive even in good weather, but I made the trip and back home again, safely and got to see my kids!

It was after a heartbreak that my daughter decided to learn to drive. She had not taken Driver's Ed and was, now, needing to get to her job. We went to the nice quiet cemetery and I sat in the passenger's seat as she practiced driving on the winding, narrow roads amongst the many tombstones. She learned to back up and when to put on her brakes and how to control the steering wheel as I learned more of what a wonderful daughter I had. We had been at odds for a while and now we were becoming best friends and it was a wonderful time!

It was in December with all the Christmas decorations scattered over the house. I was at the dining room table with my portable sewing machine sewing away when my two year old came to me with nose running and tears creeping down his cheeks. I got a tissue to wipe his nose and he winced. I checked his nose and found a plastic bead taken from an artificial poinsettia decoration was stuck way up one nostril. I could not remove it, so, off to the doctors and forget about sewing!

The joys of motherhood cannot be weighed! Children are a gift from God! Blessed is the man whose quiver is full!

#ByAnyOtherNAME

"A rose by any other name is still a rose." That little statement is true of roses.You may call a rose something totally unrelated, but you will know it is a rose when you smell it. Inanimate objects can be called by any name you wish and it still remains what it is. This is not true with people or animals or God.

A dog knows when someone calls his name. He responds. If you call him by a foreign name, he will not. My cat knows her name and responds to it, but if I called her Fido I would get no recognition. Names are important to people. Something is triggered when a person hears their name used. I have seen many a smile on a people's faces when I say their name after they put their Rewards number in during a purchase. It is almost insulting to call someone by the wrong name, tho, I have done that when calling one of my children and using a sibling's name accidentally.

Names communicate something about the person's character. Names carry meaning. When Moses asked God what His name was after God told him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the people go, God said, "Tell the Sons of Israel that 'I AM' sent you." "The Lord, the God of your fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob has sent you." Ex.3:14 &15

"I Am" is YHWH in Hebrew. It carries the meaning of 'being'. It also carries the meaning of 'being at work'. This is comforting to me for it tells me that God is always working, never resting or sleeping or going on vacation. He is constantly at work. God also added descriptive words to further identify how He works during His relationship with the Israelites. Jehovah-jireh means - the Lord will provide and Jehovah-shammah means - The Lord who heals. There are nine of thee YHWH dash plus names and each one tells us something of His character.

God told Moses what He wanted to be called and it is impertinent and wrong to call Him by a name such as 'Allah'. It is wrong to use His name as a cuss word because His name is Holy, pertaining only to Him, and precious because it declares something about Him.

There is one other name by which God is known and that is the name 'Jesus' which means Savior.  We are told to call upon that name for salvation. Romans 10:13 "Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." He is waiting to hear you call His name.

#Fishing

Some people love fishing. My dad did. He tried to get me to like it when I was a kid. It just didn't take. On his day off, he would load up all his fishing gear and drive us to Horse Shoe Lake and find a nice shaded spot by the lake. Then he would hand me the can of worms and a hook and patiently wait for me to get that wiggly thing on the hook. We would sit with out poles in our laps and wait for a nibble. That was the part I did not care for. I didn't mind the worms or the hook, but the waiting would drive me crazy. Now, I love to eat fish, but, the fish someone else has caught.

Out of all the familiar sports there is one I dislike, intensely. Baseball. It is the most boring sport. You have to wait forever for any action. The pitcher stands, holding the ball and looking at the catcher for a signal that he agrees with before the ball leaves his hand. He nods or shakes his head and finally the ball is thrown. There may be foul balls and we wait. At last the hitter hits one and gets to first base. Then the process starts all over.  Football follows close behind on my dislike list. There are so many time-outs and penalties that I cannot bear watching a game. I do root for a team and check the stats frequently, but it is plain torture to sit for three or more hours watching.

Fishing for men also takes patience, but, somehow this waiting for the right moment is more than worth it. There is preparation for this 'sport'. Prayer is the first item to place in your tackle box. Next, should be the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. Then, you need the bait. Becoming a friend of someone makes it easier to ask questions and to talk about spiritual matters, but a good question to ask is "Do you have a relationship with Jesus?" to get the ball rolling.

Jesus told His disciples to become fishers of men. He came to seek and save the lost and as His followers, we are asked to do the same. This is so much more than a sport. Men and women and children need to hear the Good News and if we don't share it, we are partly responsible for people staying lost and the consequences that go along with being lost.
Something to think about - when you get to heaven will there be anyone there who wants to thank you for sharing Jesus with them?

#Humility

"You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not."  Deuteronomy 8:2

This verse states that God is in the humbling business. It also explains why. The that tells why. He was testing these people in order to check out if the humbling had worked to change the hearts of this people He had saved out of slavery. He was testing them to see what was in their hearts. He already knew what was in their hearts. He wanted THEM to see what was in their hearts. The verses following go on to remind them that He had let them go hungry in order to provide the miraculous manna from heaven. This little miracle was to impress upon them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from their God.

He continued on encouraging them to not forget all that He had done for them when they became prosperous. He warned them that He would discipline them, if they did forget, as a father disciplines a son he loves, because they would not remember to listen to the voice of their Lord.

God is in the humbling business, but He does not humiliate. That, you can do for yourself. We always have a choice in the matter. We can humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God or not. We can take the 'going hungry for anything' understanding that God is involved for a good reason or we can resent it and stand proud, resisting.

Pride goes before a fall is said in Proverbs 16:18 and in Proverbs 15:31-33 the opposite truth is mentioned. "He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding....and before honor comes humility."

Be mentally prepared for the testing. It will come. Accept it. Submit to it. Adjust to it.Learn from it. Remember it. Benefit from it.

#Atheism

A fellow posted on FaceBook some questions about God and the Bible. His complaint was that if there was a God and He was responsible for the writing of the Bible, why did He make it so hard to understand.

The word bible comes from the Latin word 'biblia' which means 'books'. The Holy Bible is one book comprised of sixty-six books. There were counsels over time of knowledgeable scholars that made the decisions of which books to include in the one book. There is a theme running through all sixty-six books that connect them. The theme is redemption.

It is not a history book, though it is full is history. The facts recorded ring true with other history books. It is not a novel, though there are many stories of people's lives including murder and adultery and suspense and mystery and miracles. It is not a book of formulas, though reading it would help you understand the 'ifs' and it is not so or the 'ifs' and it could be so or the 'ifs' and it is so. It is not a self-help book, though it is packed full of proper applications for your life.

There is enough in the Bible to help you have faith in the God of the Bible. That is just the beginning. It is not necessarily easy or hard to have faith. God says, "you will find me when you search for me with your whole heart." He expects and deserves for you to be real with Him. God says that first you must believe that He is and second that you must believe that He is the re-warder of those who diligently search for Him. There is a reward for searching for the true God, for in finding Him you find life, eternal life.

Finally, it is a spiritual book. God says that 'spiritual things are spiritually discerned and the natural man cannot understand according to how God intends'.  Many mistaken doctrines have developed by people who were not 'spiritual' and it has harmed God's witness. Perhaps this atheist had been turned off by mistaken people or perhaps he had seen injustices in the world and 'threw the baby out with the bath water'. But, the Bible is still available and Jesus said that 'in it you will find Him'.

#Sweethearts

We were sitting on a bench just talking. Philosophizing, I call it. I was going to make a point and 'Darling' popped out of my mouth. I remember that I paused for a second before I went on. I paused because I was struck by that word, 'Darling', that had just popped out of my mouth. I had never used that word before - not even a 'Honey'. Honey seemed to be a casual endearment, but Darling seemed serious. Well, it had become serious, I guess, because he had captured my heart and that serious word was a natural utterance and although I had not thought about it - it just came out.

This incident came to my mind this morning and made me wonder if God would call me His darling, ever. The assurance that He would settled my question. Then, I asked myself if I would call Him 'Darling'.  Although it has never just popped out of my mouth when talking to Him because I don't consider Him to be my personal 'Darling' as I did with my future husband and I did't want to be flippant. He is so high above us. He is the Lord of the universe.

Yet, because of His great love He came down to us. He wanted it to be personal. He drew me with cords of love and He captured my heart. He wanted to develop as personal relationship with me as could be. I am His darling. I belong to Him. He wants to be my darling and maybe He even wants me to philosophize with Him.

I know He wants me to come and talk with Him about everything, because He told us to do that. Way back in the beginning of my relationship with my husband, we talked, lots. Much later on after years of marriage, I remember my husband saying to me that I didn't talk to him enough. It had gotten to the point where I thought I knew him so well that I didn't need to confer as much. It would waste time. In reality, I was not considering the relationship. The relationship was the most important and I was neglecting it out of being practical.

I have learned a good lesson. My relationship with my Lord is more important than my saving some time getting things done. I am the looser when I don't spend time visiting with my Friend.

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."   John 15:7

#Insignificant

She walked out of her way to come over and say "Hi" to me. My jaw dropped open and both hands went to my cheeks as I saw her. It had been almost six months since we had seen each other and when she told me that she just want to see me, the feeling of being cared about blessed me. It might have been insignificant to others who had many friends and regularly see each other, but it was significant to me.

The robed men standing in the temple saw the woman, a widow, drop two pennies in the collection plate and must have thought how insignificant that gift was. They were far better off financially than she was and probably gave much more regularly. Jesus saw her gift and commented about how much she had given - she had given all she had. Her gift was not an insignificant one to God.

There were ten lepers confined outside the city and as Jesus was passing by all ten recognized Him and hollered out for mercy. They were told to go show themselves to the priest and as they were going all were healed. One of them saw that he was healed and right away turned around and headed back toward Jesus and fell at His feet thanking and praising Him. Jesus told him to stand up and go, that his faith had saved him. This one man had already obeyed Jesus's command and headed for the priest, but thought what had happened so significant that he went back to thank his healer. He recognized God in the flesh and Jesus told him that he was not only healed physically but spiritually, as well.

It is said that God is in the details and I believe it is true. When Uzzah placed his hands on the Ark of the Covenant to keep it from falling off the new cart as it was being taken back to Jerusalem, he was struck dead. He might have had good intentions, but he was struck dead for his irreverence. No one but the High Priest could touch that box. All the leaders thought they were doing right by making a new cart to place the Ark on and they might have had good intentions, but God had told them years before how the Ark should travel and this was not the way. It might have been a rather insignificant move in man's estimation of using a cart to transfer the Ark, but it was serious in God's mind.

It is not insignificant that God says in 1 John 5:11-12 "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."  I think God is serious about this detail.

#Proverbs

One of my favorite proverbs is found in the book of Proverbs chapter 31 in which a description of a worthy woman is given. Verse 30 says, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." Because my birthday is on the 30th, I claimed this verse as my life verse.

It's a nice thing to be charming and beautiful, but Solomon noted that both of these attributes do have negatives that go along with them. Charm can deceive you when it is not sincere and beauty doesn't last long. But, the but following these warnings is full of beauty.

As a child, I feared punishment. When I disobeyed I dreaded the whippings I knew were coming and even more, I feared the promised damnation of Hell for sinners. Knowing God was righteous and could see everything made me fear Him. I am glad that I had good preaching declaring the reality of Hell because it made me turn to God for forgiveness so I would not find myself there when I died.

Fear can be a good thing! Perhaps this is the kind of fear this verse speaks about, but there is another definition that is possible. Fear can be an awesome respect and appreciation for someone or some power much greater than yourself. When one has this kind of  'fear' it leads to worship and adoration. When a woman, or a man, fears the Lord in this way, their lives demonstrate something that can be praised.

A son of mine came and sat down beside me the other night and said that there were four things in his life that he was most grateful for and began listing them. The first one on his list was how grateful he was for the foundation his father and I had given him. He related how he would transgress at times when he was younger, but would later realize it and felt bound to return to his foundation. That sentence was praise to my ears. My 'fear' of the Lord did result in a praise and I am most grateful that the influence my husband and I had on his life as a youngster had such an impact on him.

#HolyGravel

A local gravel company had decided to donate the gravel needed to fill a two foot deep pit before the concrete foundation could be poured for the pavilion. The church had decided to construct a pavilion in the back yard that could be used for cook-outs and VBS and all sorts of celebrations. The digging started and when the two foot level was reached, it was found that the ground at that level was still not right. The gravel company agreed to provide two more feet of gravel. The digging went on down to four feet and that is when the gravel company said, whoa, we cannot provide that much.

Another local gravel company found out about the dilemma the church was in and volunteered to provide all that was needed. The digging went on down to eight feet before solid rock could be found. All the church had to do was provide trucks to carry the eight feel of free gravel and the foundation could be poured. Of course, the trucks were found and the free gravel was dumped into the pit. The construction began. Men from the church lent their hands to help in all sorts of ways.

Shortly after the pavilion was finished, the first gravel company, not to be out done, donated $10,000.00 to the church! There would be funds available to build picnic tables and benches for the gatherings. All this gravel became Holy! It was dedicated to the Lord and the pavilion rests on it. May God bless both of these gravel companies for their willingness to donate gravel and funds to  complete the project.

The first service to be held in this pavilion will be Easter Sunday morning at 8:30 with breakfast following.

#SmartFrogs

It is said, and it sounds quite logical, that if you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, he will immediately jump out. I have never tried this and don't intend to. It is also said that if you place a frog into a pot of unheated water he will stay put enjoying the swim. If you turn on the heat under the pot, he will not notice the temperature changing and will get cooked. There are some changes in our society that are so gradual that we do not notice till it has gone so far that we are cooked! Then, there are some suggested changes that will immediately cause the outcry of it's citizens.

About fifty years back, I was watching a Frank Sinatra mystery movie.There came a scene showing two women kissing. This was not a friendly kiss. Immediately, my eyes diverted from the screen.It was an automatic response. I was repulsed. I knew about homosexuality, but had never known anyone involved in that life-style and had never seen two people of the same sex kissing each other that way. I had never heard people in my life condemning that behavior, but I was disgusted by that behavior on the screen. I could relate to the frog dropped into the boiling water.

The pot is on the heat and we are floating around just enjoying the swim. Homosexuality is wrong behavior according to the Bible and so is lying and greed and pride. I agree with God about  pride and greed and lying and homosexuality. We have gotten so far away from the Biblical standards that society condones and even applauds bad behavior. The water is getting hotter and we are being cooked!

Styles change, but behavior should stay in tune with God's standards. It is an accepted style for women to wear trousers, pants, jeans today, but tights should be left to the ballet! Tights, if worn, should definitely have coverage for the rear. I hope it is just a fad and will disappear soon.

We are left in our world, but we are not to be a part of the worldly system. As a disciple of the Lord Jesus, we may not be able to turn off the heat under the pot, but we can, for sure warn others about getting in to it.

#WalkingTrees

Exercise is a wonderful thing! I decided in February that I needed more exercise and the easiest kind I could think of was walking. There is a route around my house that goes by the pond and club house that is about three quarters of a mile. It takes about twenty minutes for me to walk this route. When I first started this little exercise, I found that about half way through I wished I was done. I was tired.
Today, after nine of these twenty minute walks, I finished feeling strong and that, maybe, I could have gone on for a few more feet. The difference in my endurance has been almost imperceptible, but I have gotten stronger gradually.

There is a story in the Bible of a healing that Jesus did on a blind man. Mark 8 is jam-packed full of illuminating stories. The Pharisees questioned Jesus and wanted signs that  he was the Messiah. The disciples participated in the miraculous feeding of 4,000. The people followed Him, but not one had the correct understanding of who He was. So, the story embedded in this chapter of the blind man is a perfect illustration of how God teaches humans. Jesus spit on the blind eyes and then laid His hands on him and asked, "Can you see anything now?" After the man looked around, He told Jesus that he could see "men like trees walking". It was not a complete healing. Why? What was Jesus trying to say with this partial healing? He was pointing out to the Pharisees and the disciples and the people that they were not really seeing Him for who He was, yet.

Jesus did place His hands on this man again and his sight was completely restored. We, most likely have held misconceptions of Jesus. It is easy to become disappointed with Jesus if we do not know Him. We have to learn of Him and the best way to accomplish this is by reading the Bible, His words to us. The four Gospels tell of His life, but the whole Bible displays who He was before He was born and what He thought about all sorts of things and how He worked. We learn gradually, point upon point, line upon line and unless you are using the building blocks in Scripture, you will remain blind or seeing men as trees walking.

#BunnyRabbits

There are scads of chocolate shaped bunnie rabbits nicely wrapped in gold foil with black eyes and noses and whiskers painted on them. They are lined up on the shelves at Walgreens and you can imagine they are all watching you as you walk past. Then on other shelves there are humongous four foot tall soft fluffy bunnies perfect for cuddling and small three inch ones just right for an Easter Basket. Of course there are baskets, woven ones and felt ones and metal ones and packages of artificial blue, pink, yellow and even green grass. How did bunnie rabbits get connected with Easter? Did someone chase an idea and go running after it and found that if it appeals to children and sells, it becomes a part of the scene. You would think that Easter was made for kids.

Have you ever been in a conversation and had a point to make, but another thought entered your mind and you went chasing after it. Then a few minutes later after talking you asked,"What was I talking about?" Your chasing after the bunnie rabbit made you loose your track and your point was gone. Have we lost our track in chasing after the trimmings? Has the artificial replaced the real?

Well, Easter was made for kids, but not just for kids. Easter was made for everyone from before time began. There was much thought put into it before the world came into existence. The God-head had conversations about it and the Son of God was a willing participant. In the fullness of time Emanuel was born a baby in Bethlehem and at just the perfect time this perfect God-man became sin and then became the sacrifice that would save sinners. Nothing artificial here.

Resurrection Sunday may incorporate chocolate bunnies and colored eggs, but the real focus should be one of praise to the God who thought up the way out of our dilemma and worship the One who paid the price to redeem us. There are not enough words to give the appreciation due Jesus, but you should try. Remember, it was for YOU that He suffered. It was for YOU that He died.

Oh, how He loves you. Oh, how He love me. Oh, how He loves you and me!!!

#LicencePlates

With only ten numbers and twenty-six letters of the alphabet, the State of Virginia can come up with a different licence plate for every registered vehicle. It would take a computer to figure it out and keep track, but you can count on the fact that your plate is different from any other one in Virginia. Considering the ability to mix up letters and numbers to incorporate so many identities boggles one's mind. Just think of all the human beings that have been born into this world. Each one has their own personal identity. Each one has been programmed with their own personal DNA and God did it and knows each one by name.

Because we are all so different from one another, we are special and God treats us in a special way. Even brothers and sisters in the same family with the same mother and father are each different. God draws us differently and uses us differently. We can read or hear of someone's experience with God and it may make us wonder if they are more worthy than we are or if God loves them more than us. We may read of people in the Bible who had miraculous happenings in their life or who accomplished so much with so little and it may make us doubt our standing and abilities.

We are not to compare. Joshua was a willing vessel who God chose to use at a unique time in history. You are not Joshua and you live in an altogether different time. You are not Esther. Esther was willing and God used her in a unique time in history. You are in a different place in time and you will not be used as Esther was. You cannot put God in a box and expect Him to act the same way with everybody. God created you and knows exactly how to get your attention and how to utilize all the talents and gifts He gave you.

The problem is you. He is waiting to see if you are interested. He is waiting to see if you respond to the subtle and some not so subtle messages He has sent out. Moses became curious seeing the burning bush that did not burn up and turned for a second look. Curiosity!!! You are not Moses and cannot expect to see a burning bush that will not burn up. You are special and God will reach out for you in a unique way. Will your curiosity be aroused and make you wonder why? Will you bow your head and humbly seek after the God who created you so special and be willing to respond to Him?

#TheJigsawPuzzle

A head-on collision where the head is hit hard enough to cause injury to the brain is serious. That is exactly what happened to my son.  The doctor explained to me that the brain holds a big picture of little pieces like a puzzle and when a traumatic hit happens, many of the pieces are thrown up and land in the wrong place. The pieces are still there but are lost in the wrong place. Healing is putting the pieces back where they belong.

After my son woke up from four days in a semi-coma and I showed him a photo of him and his brothers and sister, I pointed to his sister and asked him what her name was. He hesitated for a second and then confidently said "eleven,twenty-two". I couldn't help but giggle even though it was an indication of the seriousness of his injury because it was such a funny answer. I wrote the story of how the accident came to be and the unusual circumstances surrounding my finding out about it and the days following. There were so many little 'miracles' that I titled my book, "The Treasure Is The Trip".

A jigsaw puzzle is a mass of irregular shaped pieces that form a picture when fitted together properly.  The illustration used by the doctor is fitting, no pun intended. My son had been an 'A' student and was attending college to become a part of International Relations with the government. The damage done to the area of his brain that controls the short-term memory and higher executive level thinking has prevented him from pursuing his dreams. There may still be pieces of his puzzle that are not in the right place, but God has given the body remarkable healing powers and the brain can still create new pieces and begin a new picture.

We, each one of us, do create puzzle pieces in our brains every day. What picture are we making? Is God in the picture? We display the picture in our brain by our words and actions and attitudes. When others hang out with us, who or what do they see? Psalm 119:11 says clearly that hiding His Word in our heart/mind will prevent us from sinning against Him. His Word stored in our mind will become a piece of our puzzle that displays Him. His Word which is sharper than a two-edged sword and is active and alive and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of our hearts will convince us of our sin and will reprove us and correct us and train us in right living.

One question: Are you equipping your brain with the right stuff to make a picture that shows the world the picture God intended for you?

#TheBigD

So many good words begin with a 'D'. In Tuesday's blog the word discipline came up and I was thinking earlier today how I was disciplined as a child. Besides being whipped with a small branch that I had to select off a tree in our back yard, there was the regular church attendance required of us. Yes, every Sunday morning and evening and even on Wednesdays we were all in church. This discipline formed a deep habit in my life and created a hunger to steadily satisfy it. I am so very thankful for this need in my life for I don't have to question myself whether to go or not. I just go.

There are some other significant 'd' words. Think of devoted, diligence, delight, desire, deception, determined, discern and scripture comes to mind with each.

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;"  Rom. 12:10

"not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord."  Rom 12:11

"Delight yourselves in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart."  Psalms 34

"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ"  Col 2:8

"For I am determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."  I Cor 2:2

"But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."  Heb 5:14

Don't you just love words? They can make such a difference in one's life. By the way, did you know that you can check the 'Follow' box at the top right corner area of each blog and you can receive a notice when one is posted. You can click on it or not, but you don't have to go looking, anyway. There are some boxes at the bottom of each post that allows you to e-mail or send to Facebook. Take advantage.

#HolySandpaper

Johnny's teacher was not happy with him. She asked him to move his chair to the corner and sit in it until she told him to get up. Maybe he had been rude or kept talking when she had asked him to be quiet so the corner was the place for him to sit. There were two options that Johnny could see for himself. He could NOT do as the teacher asked, but he wasn't sure of the consequences of that move or he could do what the teacher requested, but that went altogether against his grain. Then a third option came to him, he could do as the teacher asked and let her know that he might be sitting in the chair, but inside, he was standing up.

No one likes discipline. It goes against our grain. We don't deserve that treatment. The authority just doesn't understand us, or appreciate us. We think of it in terms of punishment. Real discipline may be considered punishment, but in reality, it is to teach us or train us or change us. As a Christian, we can be assured that all our punishment was laid on Jesus. There is no more punishment to be dished out. It is finished!

While in training to become a helicopter pilot in the army, my son went through some humbling discipline. He tells of times when he was required to "mow" the yard outside the barracks with a pair of scissors! He tells of having to do one hundred push-ups if his bed didn't bounce a quarter high enough or having to run several miles because his locker wasn't straight enough. The authority was in the process of breaking him down in order to build him up the right way. He was being disciplined to train him and change him into being watchful and careful and precise so he could manage all the doings of being in charge of a helicopter.

As a Christian, we should expect discipline. God, our Heavenly Father, is seriously concerned about our development. He sees all the flaws and works to conform each of us into the image of His first born Son. It is an honor bestowed upon us that He considers us even worthy to begin to become like our big brother. There is such a thing as 'holy' sandpaper and 'holy' chisels. In God's hand, circumstances become tools which He uses to break us down. Break us down from trusting in ourselves and remold us into a disciple who has been disciplined. God will know if you are sitting in the corner on the chair but standing up inside. You might be doing just that for a while, but it is best if you accept that God is good and does only what is good for you and just sit down till He tells you to get up.

#Remorse,Regrets&

A fever is a good thing. Having a fever indicates that there is an infection in your body.The best thing to do when experiencing a fever is to find out what is causing it and begin treatment for the infection. If you just treat the fever, the infection will continue growing. Guilt is a good thing. It tells you that something is wrong. If you just treat the guilt, the wrong will still be there and left untreated will lead to all sorts of problems.

When we do or say something outside of God's will our conscience will feel guilt. That is exactly what happened to Adam and Eve after they had eaten of the forbidden fruit. They felt so guilty that they hid themselves from God, or tried to. But, because God loved them and valued their relationship, He went looking and found them.

All of the 'feel' good people will try to help you to disregard those guilt feelings. They give words that are like aspirin which does not a bit of good if you have a streptococcus infection. If you have remorse which comes from the sense of guilt and are even sorrowful, that is a good thing, but, please don't just stop there. That is only the first step. Feelings do not count with God. Feelings, emotions are a part of the flesh, which is doomed. God is interested in your mind. The mind is where the Spirit dwells, it is eternal. In fact, the mind is supposed to be in control of the emotions.

Paul wrote in his second letter to the church in Corinth that they had been made sorrowful to the point of repentance. He said,in verse 10 of chapter seven, "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death."  It is the change of the mind about the act or talk that led to the guilt that Paul was referring to, not the feeling or remorse  stemming from the act or talk.

If guilt feelings are addressed properly there will be healing. There will be no need to run from God by drowning your sorrow in something that will only be more harmful. The initial repentance or changing the mind is regarding your state of being. Realizing you are a sinner and understanding that you cannot do any thing, not a single thing to make you become a non-sinner is changing your mind about yourself. God's Spirit is looking for you and He is pointing to Jesus, who has become your sin to give you His Righteousness. True repentance is accepting that Jesus who paid your debt to God.