#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!!!