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?
Friday, March 29, 2019
#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?
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?
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
#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.
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.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
#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.
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.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
#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.
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.
Friday, March 15, 2019
#BookLearning
Both barn doors were wide open. There was a tractor parked inside with other equipment and bales of hay. The early morning air was chilly and my son sat on his deck wrapped in a blanket with a hot cup of coffee in his hands. Some movement in the barn across the way caught his eye. Barn Swallows were playing. They were chasing each other, flying all around, making loops and just having a good time. He sat in awe watching them maneuver darting under the tractor and whisking out the backside.
Their speed was at least thirty or forty miles per hour and no mishaps. If one of these small birds had miscalculated and flew into the tractor frame, it would have done them in.
His experience as an aviator caused him to consider how those birds were able to calculate the distance and speed and make adjustments second by second with the brain the size of a peanut. It would take him a pen and paper or a calculator to be able to achieve those feats. His experience flying gave him an appreciation of birds that I didn't have and now, because he shared that morning experience with me, I look at birds a bit differently.
Book learning is a good thing and we humans spend years going to school cracking open many books. We might wonder what algebra has to do with real life when we are in high school, but it does come into good use later on. We might wonder what history has to do with real life, but we learn from history to appreciate our heritage. We can see from history how different political agendas have failed or succeeded and become aware of our own politician's stands. Book learning is not just to acquire knowledge or a graduation certificate, it is to be turned into experience.
Scripture tells us to "study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." from Second Timothy 2:15. You can be inaccurate. You can be ashamed. You can be ignorant. It is up to you. God's word is more important than algebra or calculus or learning to fly. Not only is it a history book of God's dealings with a man, a family, a nation, it speaks of redemption and how to live a life pleasing to God. Time is never wasted cracking open the Bible. We might wonder if reading of David's failures or Peter's would be of benefit. But, we can learn from their mistakes what not to do and we can become knowledgeable of how God dealt with sinners. The Bible is filled with God's thoughts and that in itself makes it worthy of reading.
Their speed was at least thirty or forty miles per hour and no mishaps. If one of these small birds had miscalculated and flew into the tractor frame, it would have done them in.
His experience as an aviator caused him to consider how those birds were able to calculate the distance and speed and make adjustments second by second with the brain the size of a peanut. It would take him a pen and paper or a calculator to be able to achieve those feats. His experience flying gave him an appreciation of birds that I didn't have and now, because he shared that morning experience with me, I look at birds a bit differently.
Book learning is a good thing and we humans spend years going to school cracking open many books. We might wonder what algebra has to do with real life when we are in high school, but it does come into good use later on. We might wonder what history has to do with real life, but we learn from history to appreciate our heritage. We can see from history how different political agendas have failed or succeeded and become aware of our own politician's stands. Book learning is not just to acquire knowledge or a graduation certificate, it is to be turned into experience.
Scripture tells us to "study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." from Second Timothy 2:15. You can be inaccurate. You can be ashamed. You can be ignorant. It is up to you. God's word is more important than algebra or calculus or learning to fly. Not only is it a history book of God's dealings with a man, a family, a nation, it speaks of redemption and how to live a life pleasing to God. Time is never wasted cracking open the Bible. We might wonder if reading of David's failures or Peter's would be of benefit. But, we can learn from their mistakes what not to do and we can become knowledgeable of how God dealt with sinners. The Bible is filled with God's thoughts and that in itself makes it worthy of reading.
Friday, March 8, 2019
#Tolerance
When a piano is out of tune, it can mutilate a piece of music. I am not a musician, but I so enjoy good music and when a piano is out of tune, it actually hurts my ears. I cannot tolerate it well. A piano tuner always brings special tools to get that instrument back in tune and one of these tools is a tuning fork. When the tuning fork is hit, the sound it makes is a perfect pitch "C' note and he proceeds to turn the screw of the "C' wires until the sound issuing from it perfectly matches or is in absolute agreement with the tuning fork's sound.
Now, he might think he knows how the "C" note should sound and he doesn't need the tuning fork, but just hums the note in his head and uses that sound as his authority. Good luck!! There has to be a true "C" note in order for the tuning to work. There has to be truth outside of himself for accuracy.
You may be able to tolerate an out of tune piano and you may be able to tolerate people with beliefs that are out of tune with the truth and you may feel some pride that you are so tolerant. It does not negate the fact that those beliefs, if not in tune with the truth are actually lies. Tolerance can be deadly. Our society today has moved so far from the truth, it wouldn't be able to recognize it if it smacked them in the face. And, to beat all, our society is proud of being tolerant!
Those people who have recognized the tuning fork to be God's Word and make the claim that IT is the TRUTH and humans need to get 'in tune' with IT are not tolerated. Society's tolerance goes only so far and it's intolerance of anything to do with the Bible or Jesus or even Israel just proves how out of tune it is. We are told we are to hate the sin, but to love the sinner. Yes, that is the right idea, but is loving the sinner just tolerating the sinful behavior that has resulted from the lies they have believed? Can we hit the right note as we talk with them and share truth in a loving way? Are we responsible in any way for how society has declined because we have been so tolerant?
The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 2:24 & 25
Now, he might think he knows how the "C" note should sound and he doesn't need the tuning fork, but just hums the note in his head and uses that sound as his authority. Good luck!! There has to be a true "C" note in order for the tuning to work. There has to be truth outside of himself for accuracy.
You may be able to tolerate an out of tune piano and you may be able to tolerate people with beliefs that are out of tune with the truth and you may feel some pride that you are so tolerant. It does not negate the fact that those beliefs, if not in tune with the truth are actually lies. Tolerance can be deadly. Our society today has moved so far from the truth, it wouldn't be able to recognize it if it smacked them in the face. And, to beat all, our society is proud of being tolerant!
Those people who have recognized the tuning fork to be God's Word and make the claim that IT is the TRUTH and humans need to get 'in tune' with IT are not tolerated. Society's tolerance goes only so far and it's intolerance of anything to do with the Bible or Jesus or even Israel just proves how out of tune it is. We are told we are to hate the sin, but to love the sinner. Yes, that is the right idea, but is loving the sinner just tolerating the sinful behavior that has resulted from the lies they have believed? Can we hit the right note as we talk with them and share truth in a loving way? Are we responsible in any way for how society has declined because we have been so tolerant?
The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 2:24 & 25
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
#MedicalAdvice
The desert experience for these people who had been in slavery for hundreds of years held for them many experiences, some good and some seriously bad. From the parting of the Red Sea to the provision of manna, there were many miracles that could have been remembered to encourage them, but, no, they chose to complain about what they didn't have. Moses became fed-up with them more than once and even God did, more than once. They had refused to believe God and had believed the news brought by the majority of the spies and were denied access into Canaan. This meant forty years of desert life. Their complaints finally caused God to send fiery serpents among them and the bites caused death. Of course, they begged to be saved and Moses was told to make a replica of a serpent and put it on a pole for all to look to in order to be saved from sure death. All they had to do was believe that looking on the replica would save them.
It is interesting that ever since the early 19th century, the official symbol for physicians is a serpent twined around a staff. The name of this symbol is 'caduceus' which stands for Greek gods of healing, but centuries before the Greeks came up with gods, Moses came up with the bronze serpent twined abound a pole that actually did heal. Heal, it did and all it took was the faith to look.
It would appear that faith is important. Scripture says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Can faith, itself, be sick? When it is not placed in the right thing it can be sick and when not used, it can become weak. Scripture also says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, so, the right place to find faith is in God's Word and the right place to put that faith is in God's word. That healthy faith cannot help but be used and it is never used up.
If that hord of of people had just used their faith instead of looking at the problems, they would have avoided forty years of wandering in a wasteland. They didn't have a Bible, but they had loads of miracles to remember. Today, we have the Bible. We don't need a 'parting of the Red Sea'. We have the Bible. We don't need manna placed out in our yard every day. We are so blessed. Jesus did the fiery serpent in on His pole, the cross. We are told in the Bible to look upon Him, our healer and savior.
God used good and bad experiences for that people,who had been in bondage for hundreds of years, to build them into a nation whose God is the Lord. That nation gave the world Jesus who hung on a cross and told us to just believe in Him. That bronze serpent was a picture of the future cross holding the Savior for all who were doomed to death to, by faith, look to Him and be saved.
It is interesting that ever since the early 19th century, the official symbol for physicians is a serpent twined around a staff. The name of this symbol is 'caduceus' which stands for Greek gods of healing, but centuries before the Greeks came up with gods, Moses came up with the bronze serpent twined abound a pole that actually did heal. Heal, it did and all it took was the faith to look.
It would appear that faith is important. Scripture says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Can faith, itself, be sick? When it is not placed in the right thing it can be sick and when not used, it can become weak. Scripture also says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, so, the right place to find faith is in God's Word and the right place to put that faith is in God's word. That healthy faith cannot help but be used and it is never used up.
If that hord of of people had just used their faith instead of looking at the problems, they would have avoided forty years of wandering in a wasteland. They didn't have a Bible, but they had loads of miracles to remember. Today, we have the Bible. We don't need a 'parting of the Red Sea'. We have the Bible. We don't need manna placed out in our yard every day. We are so blessed. Jesus did the fiery serpent in on His pole, the cross. We are told in the Bible to look upon Him, our healer and savior.
God used good and bad experiences for that people,who had been in bondage for hundreds of years, to build them into a nation whose God is the Lord. That nation gave the world Jesus who hung on a cross and told us to just believe in Him. That bronze serpent was a picture of the future cross holding the Savior for all who were doomed to death to, by faith, look to Him and be saved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)