Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About: Part 7

We have been looking at verses from I Corinthians 1 and 2. We have learned that the cross of Christ, born of God’s wisdom for a sinful world, is seen as foolishness to the very humanity it is able to save. We have also learned that God does not think as we think. He uses the very things we see as foolish and ridiculous to save the lost and confound the wisest individuals. In addition we have discovered God’s intention in choosing the foolish and weak things of the world was to remind us that without him we are nothing. We were created to be a reflection of His glory and every one of us bears His image.

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Last time, we began learning about the Holy Spirit’s part in our lives and in the work of revelation of God’s truth. Paul, himself, who determined to “know nothing…except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,” recognized it was the Holy Spirit and His power that gave his preaching the desired outcome of people coming to know Jesus. We also learned it is God, through the Spirit, who reveals His truth to us, for it is His Spirit that searches and knows the very depths of God.

“10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,
13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.
16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

— 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NASB 1995)

I want to take a closer look at the next two verses in this passage.

For who among men knows the thoughts of man except the spirit of the man which is in him?

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There are individuals who claim to be able to read our minds. They may have some sort of ability, but it is most likely they are extremely intuitive and can read people through their actions, words, body language and facial expressions. The point of the above question is that no one can truly know what is inside of us except our own spirit, or our own being.

Today it seems that many people do not even have that knowledge or understanding. People read books, listen to podcasts, go to psychiatrists, psychologists and others to help them understand themselves and even decipher what they are thinking. It seems to me, the further we have grown in the areas of knowledge and understanding the less we really know. Knowing these limitations is there any doubt that we cannot fully know or understand the Holy God?

Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

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God is so far beyond our ability to truly understand, and our earthly wisdom, as we have seen already, is foolishness when it comes to knowing Him. However, God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, this same one who becomes part of us when we give our lives to Christ, He knows the thoughts of God.

You see, the Holy Spirit is not just the after thought of the God head when Jesus knew his ascension was soon to take place. The Holy Spirit is a living and active part of the trinity.

He was there at the beginning:

“1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”

— Genesis 1:1-2 (NASB 1995)

He was involved in human industry:

“1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.
3 I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship,
4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze,
5 and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. ”

— Exodus 31:1-5 (NASB 1995)

He was involved in governance:

“16 The Lord therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.
17 Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. ”

— Numbers 11:16-17 (NASB 1995)

See also the book of Judges as well as I Samuel 16:13.

The Holy Spirit was also regularly involved in prophecy, coming on whomever the Lord willed and speaking through them to those who needed to hear the prophetic word. This third person of the Triune God has been busy from the beginning of our world, and it is He who knows the thoughts of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God…

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Note there is a difference between the spirit of the world, and the Spirit from God. The spirit of the world is not seen as a proper noun, and it has to do with the mindset and attitude prevalent in the world. This mindset is anti-God, and moves to create a culture that is only set on serving itself.

On the other hand, the Spirit of God is completely in tune with the Father and the Son. He moves with them, agrees with them and is in complete communion with them. Jesus told us we would receive this helper. This Holy Being is the one we receive when we give our hearts and lives to Jesus. Isn’t that just mind blowing?

“26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

— John 14:26 (NASB 1995)

Why did the the triune God head make this choice to send this helper?

…so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.

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We would be in error to say God does not love us, care for us, or want to be intimate with us. He gave us One who knows Him. He gave us a part of Himself; a part that knows His very depths. Without this amazing helper we cannot know God. No matter how much head knowledge a person develops over time; no matter how much historical date a person can dredge up, there is only one way to truly know God, and that is by believing in the work of Jesus Christ and by receiving the Holy Spirit.

We will look a bit more at this work of the Holy Spirit in our lives next time. Until then, keep fanning the flame!

Faith Musings: Nothing to Boast About - Part 2

Last week I started a short series revolving around a number of verses in I Corinthians 1. In the first part we looked at verses 18-25. This week I want to continue by directing our thoughts to verses 26-31.

“26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
29 so that no man may boast before God.
30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.””

— I Corinthians 1:26-31 (NASB 1995)

Let’s work our way through these verses by statements.

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For consider your calling…

Paul wants the recipients of this letter to think about their calling. Why is this important? I think we need to remember when, and how God called each of us into a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. I was raised in a Bible teaching church by believing parents, but it was at age 12 that I stepped into the promised land. I recognized my sin, my inability to live life without Jesus, and gave my life to Him. God called me, not like some through a lightening bolt, but more a continuous soft whisper. Everyone’s calling is different. What was yours like? It is good to remember where we came from and what God called us out of.

This is also a challenge to those who have been called to remember, “according to the flesh” there were, “not many wise…not many mighty…not many noble….” In other words we weren’t all that. Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden we have been fighting a battle against the truth. The truth of God says we are nothing without Him. The truth of God says all our righteous works are as filthy rags. The truth of God says that man’s wisdom will never rise above the wisdom of God. In fact, as we look at the next few verses we are struck, once again, it is all about Him.

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But God has chosen…

Did you get that? God has chosen. It wasn’t our abilities, or beauty, or wisdom, or might, or power that God chose. Indeed, He is a beautiful study in contrasts. The almighty God chose the foolish things, the weak things, the base things, the despised, and the things that are not. Why did He do this? He could have chosen the best of the best; the bright and beautiful; the pure and holy; the pretty and clean; the popular and well liked, but He chose everything that was not in order to nullify the things that are. He chose the foolish to shame the wise. He chose the weak to shame the strong. He chose the things that were not shiny and perfect - SO THAT - no man may boast before God.

“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

— Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB 1995)

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But by His doing…

Here’s the good news…You are in Christ Jesus! Of course, you had to make the choice to believe who God is, who God says we are and who Jesus is, but it has always been God working behind the scenes wooing, drawing, orchestrating, working, sometimes tripping you up and other times washing over you with His lavish love and undeserved mercy. It has always, is always and always will be an act of God that we come to embrace His boundless grace.

In addition, the beautiful perk to this astounding gift is Jesus becomes to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption; all of which come from God through His Son. We do not have to worry if we are not wise. We cannot sanctify or redeem ourselves. We cannot make ourselves righteous. All of these things come to us freely when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Why?

So That….

“Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Book Review: The NIV Application Bible

(This Bible was given to me for an honest review on my blog and social media platforms. This is a paid review. All opinions are my own.)

There are a number of Bible translations which are commonly used today including the NIV, or New International Version. I personally grew up with the King James Version, but as a teen was introduced to the New American Standard Version (1995), which I still have a fondness for. Recently I started using the English Standard Version, so when the opportunity came to review an NIV translation, I thought it would be nice to add it to my collection. Not only that, but it is a study Bible, which often gives a wealth of additional information. This is the NIV Application Bible.

This Bible is an amazing resource and I am looking forward to using it on a regular basis when I want to delve deeper. Let’s explore a few of the features of this helpful study tool.

Introduction:

The introduction does a nice job of telling you how the NIV Application Bible came about and highlights all the special features which we will look at one by one.

Book Introduction:

I love that each book is separated with a beautiful photograph, and a full page that includes information like the author, the audience, the time frame and a short theme focusing on what the book is about. It also gives a perspective, which allows for additional thought, and how the book is divided up.

Maps and Charts:

Like many Bible translations this Bible has a number of map pages at the back, but what I really like about this NIV Application Bible is that the maps are interspersed throughout the Old and New Testament giving us a look at where the events occurred as we are reading them.

There are numerous charts which add to the study aspect of this Bible. The two shown here give an overview of the tribes of Israel and a chronological look at the Messianic Prophecies and their fulfillment.

Original Meaning Notes and Application Notes

These are easily seen at the bottom of each page of Biblical text. The Original Meaning Notes are in regular type, and the Application Notes are highlighted in a blue box. Both sets of notes add to the understanding of the meaning of the text and have been “written and edited by a wide range of faithful evangelical scholars, each of whom added their expertise to one or more volumes of the NIV Application Commentary series.” (NIV Application Bible, Introduction p. xiii.)

Questions for Growth

Throughout the NIV Application Bible you will also find small tan boxes that contain questions pertaining to the scriptures where they are found. These are meant to be used for personal reflection and include thoughts on how to incorporate what has been read into our prayers and actions for a closer, more personal walk with God.

People to Know Articles and Character of God Articles

These two features give the reader an added resource for additional study and understanding. The People to Know Articles give insight into the people involved in the events in Scripture, showing how God used them and also providing application ideas for our own lives.

The Character of God Articles give insights into many of God’s characteristics exploring further who He is and how these characteristics affect our lives. These also have an application section.

If you are looking for a great study tool to add to your Biblical study resources I definitely recommend the NIV Application Bible. It offers easy to read text, understandable translation from the original texts, and many added details that will make it a Bible you turn to again and again.

Faith Inspiration - Oswald Chambers - Our Great Capacity for God - Part 3: The Truth About Sin

I think most of us would agree that we are living in dark times. Yes, the light of God is still present, but if we believe God’s Word we know hard times are coming and the darkness will reach all across the world. The cause of this darkness revolves around the existence of sin in the world and the desire of Satan to destroy. There will come a time when God will pull His protective hand away from this world and Satan and his evil will reign, but only for a time.

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The world, since the fall, has been guilty of propagating the lies of Satan. Today the word “sin” is no longer politically correct. Children no longer learn about sin and its ramifications. Now parents are raising their children with the “benefits” of learning, not only academic, but psychological. We tell our children to embrace their emotions and teach them to “work through” those feelings and thoughts, hopefully with the end result of becoming a mature adult who embraces all people and treats everyone with kindness and respect.

I do not downplay what these parents are doing, but even with all the proper training, a child can still experience influences that will change his/her thinking and behavior that a parent has no control over. What does the Bible say about sin?

“9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?”

— Jeremiah 17:9 (NASB 1995)

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The Bible tells us the heart is deceitful, and desperately sick. Those are pretty harsh words. It doesn’t say that only the hearts of bad people are deceitful, it is referring to all of our hearts. A heart, even a kind one, can be turned to stone by the difficult circumstances of life. Jeremiah even asks, “Who can understand it?” The Bible and its author reminds us why the heart is deceitful and sick, and we can follow the trail back to Genesis.

We know what happened there, as we reviewed a few weeks ago Sin’s Beginning. Sin entered into the world at that point and has been the bane of man’s existence ever since. Mankind turned away from the omnipotent, loving God and turned inward in an attempt to fill the hole that sin left behind. Murder, lust, envy, stealing, lying, cheating, adultery, the list is long, are all an attempt to fill that which only God can fill.

God’s Word is clear on sin. Let’s take a look.

“18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”

— Romans 1:18-23 (NASB 1995)

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In the account of Adam and Eve’s sin we see these words fulfilled, “…their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools…” Satan is a master of deception, and we buy into it allowing our foolish hearts to be darkened. The darker we become in our understanding of God and His truth, the more foolish we become

“10 As it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.””

— Romans 3:10 -18 (NASB 1995)

These words are not popular. We want to believe we are good by our own merit. We also want to believe that we can work our way to God, or whatever afterlife image we believe. We don’t want to be accountable to someone else, particularly a being we are trying to run away from. However, that does not delete the reality of who God is, what sin is and what God has done for us through His son, Jesus Christ.

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“21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ”

— Romans 3:21-23 (NASB 1995)

We all fall short. End of story. We cannot measure up to the glory of this enduring, eternal, perfect God. We are exactly what the text says, sinners. We all stand condemned due to the original sin.

“8 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

— Romans 5:18-21 (NASB 1995)

“23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

— Romans 6:23 (NASB 1995)

Image by Christopher Keough from Pixabay

I wonder if this is how we appear to God before being washed in the blood of Jesus…?

At this point we may be feeling rather hopeless. If we are all sinners, and the wages of sin is death, are we not all condemned to die? Read on.

“9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

— Romans 10:9-13 (NASB 1995)

There are two things from this last passage that I want to point out. The first is the if - then truth. If we confess with our mouths, Jesus as Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, (then) we will be saved. The confession is essential. It is a statement that we are placing ourselves under the Lordship of Jesus. There are many who call themselves “Christian”, but they have not confessed the Lordship of Christ.

Belief is the the next ingredient in this first if - then truth. We have to believe what happened over 2000 years ago in Jerusalem. Jesus died on a cross and then three days later God raised Him from the dead. There are many doctrinal points we can quibble over, (though I prefer to just believe what the Scriptures say), but if we do not believe He died and rose again we cannot call ourselves Christians.

The second thing I wanted to point out from this passage is the Scriptural truth stated, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” I have heard people say they are disappointed in God, because He let them down in one way or another. We can be disappointed in people, circumstances, life, but there is no reason to be disappointed in God. He loves us without reservation, He knows us like no other, and only He is completely trustworthy.

Next month we will look at how sin keeps us from realizing our great capacity for God.

Mulling It Over: Romans 8:37-39 - Conquerors because We are Convinced

It has taken us a long time to get through this one chapter of Romans, but I believe it has been worth it to take such amazing doctrine one bite at a time. God’s Word is truth and it is life transforming, so we do ourselves an injustice when we skim quickly through its unfathomable wisdom and insights. Today we are going to finished this chapter with the last three verses.

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“37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

— Romans 8:37-39 (NASB 1995)

We spent the last two years looking at Romans 8 and we have discovered amazing things. We learned that if we are in Christ Jesus we are not condemned. We also learned that the law is not able to accomplish what Christ accomplished by the shedding of His blood on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. In addition we learned our flesh is something that we will struggle with until it no longer binds us to this earth, but the good news is that even in our flesh we are loved and cherished by an amazing God who desires that we call Him Father. His Spirit prays for us at a gut wrenching level that we cannot understand.

Even still, we face obstacles as we walk this life. The enemy of mankind, Satan does everything he can to trip us up and to make us think that we are separated from our Creator. He regularly sabotages our efforts to abide, but the truth is he cannot separate us from God.

Let’s look at these last three verses phrase by phrase.

But in all these things - This grouping of five words is referring back to the list Paul gives us in verse 35: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword. However, I would like to add that it can also be referring to what was previously said throughout the chapter which would include: condemnation, the flesh, suffering, corruption, and death. Indeed, in ALL these things…

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We overwhelmingly conquer - We aren’t just scraping by, winning by the skin of our teeth, we are overwhelmingly conquering. If we look more closely at the word overwhelm we see that it includes the idea of overcoming, and engulfing.

I love this idea. We don’t just conquer sin and all the other things on the list, we do it by overcoming it and completely engulfing it. I had a flash back to the movie, The Blob, from 1958, where an alien entity crashes on earth and begins consuming everything in its path. Ha, ha. We crush and smother the opposition, that’s what it means for us to conquer in His name.

I know many of us don’t feel like we are conquering. I have days where I feel more like I am being consumed by that alien blob, than crushing the things that come against me. So how do we do it? Obviously, it isn’t something we do in our own strength. The next phrase gives us a clue…

Through Him who loved us - Just as Jesus said -

“4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”

— John 15:4 (NASB 1995)

It is time we own up to the fact that without Jesus we are lost, and I don’t just mean spiritually. We just can’t do the things that Jesus does. We aren’t immortal, yet, and as long as we are in this flesh we will struggle. This was part of the reason Jesus sent the Holy Spirit.

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“5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;
11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
15 All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

— John 16:5-15 (NASB 1995)

We are able to overwhelmingly conquer because we have the Holy Spirit. Through this third person of the Triune God we don’t just learn of His love, we know His love. Through this ethereal being we are given full knowledge of who God is and how He operates in our lives. True, there are still things we don’t and won’t know until we have transferred from this earthly world to the heavenly one, but with the Holy Spirit’s life in us we are overcome and engulfed in all that is holy, beautiful and right.

For I am convinced - the author of this epistle, the Apostle Paul, is confident in who Christ says that He is, and knows the transformative power of the Spirit in his own life. The Holy God did the work of convincing him, let Him do the work of convincing you.

“6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 1:6 (NASB 1995)

Image by Eliane Meyer from Pixabay

That neither death, nor life - I might be stating the obvious, but we often think death is the main thing that will, in the end, separate us from God’s love, but those of us who have put our faith in Christ know this will not be the case. Death will be the thing that takes us out of this world and opens the door to our heavenly home.

It is more likely the case that we allow life to separate us from God’s love, and this is where we need to be aware and keep an eye on our walk with Him. In reality, there is nothing that can keep us from God’s love, but we can certainly do things that make us feel as though He is far away.

You regularly hear me talking about the idea of abiding in Christ. That is because it is so very important to stick close to Him. Life is hard, and our enemy is relentless. He will use any chance he can to turn our eyes away from our Savior to the crashing waves around us.

Image by Myriam - No AI pictures in my gallery. from Pixabay

Nor angels, nor principalities - We might wonder why Paul included this in the list, but it is understood that not all created beings remained true to God. Satan was an angel and so were the demons that followed him in his attempt to usurp the throne of the King of Glory. None of these can keep us from the love of God. Let’s not forget, His seal is on us, and nothing comes into our lives that hasn’t first passed through the Father’s hands. We see this in the book of Job.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Nor things present, nor things to come - We know time is relentless and we cannot get away from it’s passing. In fact, its passage has a profound affect on our lives in that it makes us age, and there is nothing we can change about this fact. However, no matter what we are going through right now, or what we will face in the future, we go through it wrapped in the loving arms of Jesus.

Nor powers - We are living in uncertain times and it is pretty clear people are concerned about the powers that be, not only in our own country, but in other countries around the world. I am so thankful that God holds me and the world I live in, in His hands. Only He can and will bring about the new heavens and the new earth. No matter who is in charge, they only hold the power that God’s allows them to have.

Nor height, nor depth - It does not matter the heights we achieve in this life; not the riches, the glory, or the fame. It also doesn’t matter the depths we have fallen to; the darkest cave, the deepest ocean, none of these can separate us from the love of God. You may feel you have done something so bad, Christ will never take you back, but if you made a decision to follow Him, you cannot be separated from His love, and it is that love that can help you find your way back to Him.

Nor any other created thing - There is nothing in this world that hasn’t been created, either by the omniscient God, or by the beings He created.

Will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus - It is important to note, this love of God is only found in Christ Jesus. It is not found in Allah, Buddha, Krishna, or any of the many other beliefs and ideologies that populate our world like a patchwork quilt. Only Jesus, because He and the Father are one (John 10:30). Jesus is the One who binds us to the Father and we know this through the Holy Spirit.

Thank you so much for coming along on this journey through Romans 8. I hope you have enjoyed it and learned as much as I have.

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:29

We are working our way through Romans chapter 8. I know I have taken a long time to get through this passage, but it has been worth the plodding pace. There is so much in this chapter to chew on, so like our friend the cow, we will continue to ruminate on this a few verses at a time until we are done.

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Today’s verse is one that has been included in what I like to call the predestination/freewill debate. I am no theologian, but I am a believer in a powerful and mysterious God, who can be beyond my human comprehension. In fact, I prefer it that way. He is beyond our complete comprehension and understanding. He gives us enough information to know His unchanging character, His complete and boundless love, His merciful forgiveness, and His long suffering patience. I do not need to know every single thing about Him, or completely understand his ways.

“8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

— Isaiah 55:8-9 (NASB 1995)

I have always believed that the most important aspect of the Scriptures are the Gospels of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is pointing forward to the necessity of a Savior, and the New Testament is the fulfillment of the prophecies and the subsequent start of the church. I most definitely agree that all of Scripture is the inspired Word of God and all of it is important and we can learn from it, thus the reason I am spending so much time on these different passages, even the pieces that may not be easily explainable.

“29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; ”

— Romans 8:29 (NASB 1995)

Let’s dive in to this verse phrase by phrase.

For those whom He foreknew…

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay

It is no stretch of the imagination to understand that God is all knowing. We could read all the books in the world and still not have a fraction of the knowledge He has. That doesn’t mean He just knows everything about the universe and how it all stays in place and was put together, but he knows you and I.

I have been doing a personal study on Psalm 139, a passage I have long loved. I shared some thoughts on the first three verses on a Faith Inspiration post recently. (Click on the link to go directly to that post.) From that psalm we learn how much God knows us, and it isn’t just current knowledge, it is from the foundation of the world. To say “those whom He foreknew” makes perfect sense. He knew each and everyone of us from the beginning of time.

He also predestined…

Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

This is where, for some people, things get sticky. There are basically two theological points of view that underly the predestination/freewill debate: Calvinism and Arminianism. I am choosing to not go into details on those two points of view. A good comparison of Biblical texts that are controversial between the two can be seen here. You can also look up each and see what their basic points are if you are not familiar with them.

However, let me make clear, God is the one who gives us knowledge and understanding. It is important to search things out ourselves and ask for God’s wisdom and direction when looking at different passages. I think things are pretty clear when it comes to sin, Christ’s role in atoning for our sin, and our need to believe in the work of Christ on the cross and His resurrection to have eternal life. Also, if a person leans one way or the other, does not mean they are not saved.

Remember, God is God. He is almighty. He is beyond our finite minds to understand. There is most certainly a way for Him to predestine something, and also give us freewill to choose. The key is to not get hung up on it.

…to become conformed to the image of His son…

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I think the important point here is what follows the word predestined. What did God predestine us to do? To become conformed to the image of His son. Isn’t this what God wants for everyone? He wants all of us to accept His son as our savior, and be conformed to His likeness. He wants all of us to look like Jesus. Christ left us the Holy Spirit to make this possible.

You might be thinking, there is no way I can be perfect, but God knows that. The fact that we are still in our flesh means we will continue to struggle until the day He takes us home, but we do have the power and strength through Him to become more and more like Jesus.

…so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren…

Image by Victoria from Pixabay

Jesus is not only our savior, but our brother. We become His brothers and sisters when we believe in Him and call God our Father. When Christ died for us and rose again He became the firstborn among all of us who believe, meaning we will all, like Him have eternal life and rise from the dead by the power and might of the Father above. Indeed, there will be many brothers and sisters because of our belief in the finished work of Christ, not what we believe about predestination or freewill.

Next month we will look into verse 30 and learn more about the process God uses to draw us to Himself, make us His own even though we are sinners and bring us to future glory.

I hope you will join me then.

Creative Christianity - The Widow's Quest: Part 1

The following piece begins a series based on the passage found in Luke 18:1-8. It presents a fictional account with allegorical aspects which coincide with the parable told by Jesus in those Scriptures. This is a fictional story with a world, and characters built by me. I hope you enjoy it.

Constance made her way through the narrow, muddy streets, thankful it was raining. A constant downpour washed away some of the surface filth making her feel there was a modicum of cleanliness here in the Rift. She kept her head down, the hood of her coat concealing her face. She didn’t want anyone to know where she was going. If they found out she was on her way to the Manor of Minward they would beat her until she was no longer recognizable. The Black Needles didn’t appreciate the people of their ward asking for help. They didn’t need help. They could make it on their own.

Image by Lucent_Designs_dinoson20 from Pixabay

Constance smirked beneath her hood. Neoplo “The Builder” De Caro wasn’t just known for building the run down, decaying ruins the people of the Rift had to live in, but for raising up the crime syndicate that preyed on the very people it was supposed to protect. She had seen enough; enough suffering; enough struggle; enough darkness. If the Lord of Minward was truly just, as she had often heard through her fourty-three years, why didn’t anything change? She was going to find out.

She was going to have to get past a few of De Caro’s check points. He wasn’t fond of people leaving his barony. He had an intricate web of knowledge woven together by his army of groveling lackeys. Constance learned from the time she was very young to blend in. She didn’t want to stand out. Being noticed by Neopolo, meant you became one of his, either that, or you conveniently disappeared. She felt bad for the younger people. De Caro’s appetite wasn’t just reserved for food and drink.

Constance felt bile rise in her throat, but she swallowed it, and clenched her fists. She wasn’t going to become just another of De Caro’s appetizers. She had to have hope; hope that the Lord of Minward would be able to make a change. Maybe he just wasn’t aware of how bad it was in the Rift. As the Lord of an entire city, he must be very busy, and maybe information wasn’t getting through due to De Caro’s influence.

The first check point loomed ahead. Her training in boiler maintenance should be able to get her through this one. She felt the tool bag by her side, then slid her hand into her coat pocket where the forged work papers printed on union stationary, and folded neatly, stayed dry from the down pour.

Image by Anna Veronika from Pixabay

Constance wasn’t alone in this quest. There were a few others who wanted a better life, and knew De Caro’s empire building wasn’t going to benefit them. She and Amos had formed a small group of other “believers”, which now was up to twenty members. They rarely all met together, but stayed in touch using messages sent via trusted couriers. Since the steam movement, and its subsequent advancements in communications, things like sending handwritten messages on foot had become obsolete. Now things were moved along through vast tubular networks both above and below ground pushed along by the compressed power of steam.

Amos had been like a little boy, completely enamored with the advent of the new Steam Era. He loved the machines, the gears, the noise and the power behind something so simple as heated water. She missed him terribly. It was coming up on five years since his death, but grief was relentless where darkness bred, and the Rift was a breeding ground for all that was dank, and miserable.

Image by Peter H from Pixabay

Constance took a deep breath and moved confidently to the first check point. Each check point held a small booth barely big enough for one person, but often occupied by several of Neoplo’s goons. There were three of them in this one. They were chatting and laughing. There were several other people in line.

When her turn came, Constance pulled the papers out of her pocket and quickly shoved them through the small opening in the window.

The man looked down on her, from where he sat in the dry, heated booth.

“You in a hurry there, lass?”

Constance wanted to quip back she was old enough to be his mother, but didn’t reply, just shrugged. She found the best thing to do was not engage. Once you started talking, they became interested. She waited, turning to look at the line that was forming behind her. That was a good thing. The more people waiting, the less time they would take to push you through.

The man stamped her papers and passed them back through the window. As she reached to take them, he wouldn’t let go. She looked up at his scruffy face.

Image by Sammy-Sander from Pixabay

“Smile, Sunshine. Life ain’t so bad. Doesn’t old De Caro take good care of his people?”

Constance swallowed the retort brewing in her gut, gave a shy smile and nodded her head.

“There we go! You have a good night now, lass!”

Constance placed the papers back in her coat pocket. As she walked away she let out a deep breath. One more check point to go.

Christmas in a Verse: A Look at Isaiah 9:6 - Part 2

This verse from Isaiah 9 rests in the midst of a description of the reign of a coming prince. We believe this passage is a Messianic passage and prophetic of the coming of Jesus and his future reign. He is the child referred to in this verse and the descriptors that follow are describing him.

Since the days are flying by, this week I am going to cover Mighty God, and Eternal Father. Once again let me reiterate these words translated from Hebrew and are as close to the correct meanings as the translators could be. I decided to lump these together since there are some characteristics in common between these names.

Mighty God

While Thor is a mighty god, he is both a small “g” and a fictional character. He cannot help us at all other than to be eye candy for those of us who like to see a muscular man with long blonde hair and a beard, swinging a hammer. Ha, ha. Even Thor had his limitations. He was bound by his flesh, at least when he was on earth, and while he could bring lightning from heaven, and fight without tiring, he wasn’t everywhere present and could not save people from the greatest enemy of all, sin. Move over Thanos, sin is responsible for wiping out entire populations due to its end result, death.

BUT JESUS! Jesus is the great warrior prince. He has a legion of warriors at his right hand and he merely needs to think and it will be done. He is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. He met the enemy head on when He died on the cross, walked into hell and took the keys of death away from Satan, then He came out of the grave. He didn’t need a hammer, or a staff, or a spear. He worked in tandem with His Father and the Holy Spirit to give every single soul on this planet the ability to live…eternally. Not only is He God with a big “G”, but He is the Mighty God.

“The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.”

— Psalm 50:1 (NASB 1995)

“Who is this who comes from Edom,
With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah,
This One who is majestic in His apparel,
Marching in the greatness of His strength?
“It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.””

— Isaiah 63:1 (NASB 1995)

Eternal Father

Image by Sandra Hak from Pixabay (AI Generated)

Most of you are probably familiar with the term Father Christmas as a reference to Santa Claus. Father Christmas started in the English tradition in the 15th century and was a personification of the Christmas spirit. This eventually became what we now know today as Santa Claus. Once again we have a fictional being who embodies the ideal of a father who cares for and tends to his children. While Father Christmas has been around for a long time, he is not eternal. Even if we push the boundaries and say he is spirit, his formation has a place in history. In addition, Father Christmas, or Santa Claus might have a pure heart wanting to promote the ideas of love and generosity all throughout the year, he is still limited. He cannot change a person’s heart. He cannot take the addict and make them clean. He can give money, toys, clothes, food and more, but still the darkness of poverty, despair and loss continues.

Our Eternal Father is just that. He had no beginning and will have no end. In the book of Revelation, the final book, and the final word on what God’s judgement will look like for this world, we see God proclaim of Himself:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

— Revelation 1:8 (NASB 1995)

“Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.”

— Revelation 21:6 (NASB 1995)

“ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

— Revelation 22:13 (NASB 1995)

Remember our series in Romans 8, where we discussed verses 15 - 17?

“15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

— Romans 8:15 -17 (NASB 1995)

Our adoption into the family of God made us His children. We are no longer slaves to sin, and death. Remember, Jesus walked into hell and took the keys? Our Eternal Father gives us access to everything in His kingdom. He’s not only the best dad ever, He’s there forever.

I hope you are enjoying this look at the names of Jesus as seen in Isaiah 9. Next week, even though it is after Christmas I will discuss the Prince of Peace, and why it is even better to meditate on this name after the holidays are over.

Merry Christmas!

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:18-25 Part 1: Of Suffering and Longing

Another month has gone by and we have come back around to Mulling Over Romans chapter 8. This chapter is full of information that is pertinent to our walk with Christ and to our future with Him. I know it can be hard to think about the future when our days are so full of the present, but one day we will know fully our inheritance in Christ Jesus. As it is, our lives at this point are merely reflections of Christ, and many of us have dirty mirrors. God is often trying to clean those mirrors with a glorified bottle of Windex and a rough cloth, and that can make us uncomfortable, but remember our goal is to be like Christ, so clean on Father, clean on!

Image by Simon Kadula from Pixabay

“18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

— Romans 8:18-25 (NASB 1995)

This is a longer section so we’ll take it a chunk at a time.

For I consider…

I wanted to take these three words by themselves because they are so important. One of the things I often hear Christians accused of is that they don’t think. They take the scriptures, and the historicity of their belief system on blind faith. While it is true that we are walking by faith, it is also true that we, with the Holy Spirit’s help, are able to think just as intellectually about our faith as someone who has studied for years and has multiple degrees.

Webster’s Online Dictionary defines the word consider in the following ways: to think about carefully; to think of especially with regard to taking some action; to take into account; to regard or treat in an attentive or kindly way; to gaze on steadily or reflectively; to judge or classify; regard; suppose; reflect or deliberate.

When we look at the book of God, the Bible, we need to consider what we are reading. We also need to look at life and consider what it means, and how what we are doing, or going through pertains to our faith, or how our faith pertains to it. We aren’t meant to just bull doze our way through life giving no regard to how our actions or words are affecting the people around us.

Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay

In this particular passage the word consider relates directly to the words that follow.

…that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

I have been emphasizing this idea of suffering over the last few months, not because I am trying to be a downer, but because suffering is inevitable. We all, at some point in time, will suffer. We will know illness, loss, grief, sadness, anger, fear and the overwhelming reality of a busy life in a chaotic and fallen world. It is not bad or wrong to consider our suffering.

“12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. ”

— I Peter 4:12-13 (NASB 1995)

Paul, however, did not want us to be solely focused on our suffering. In fact, He says that whatever we are currently suffering through is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Let’s just sit there for a minute.

Think about all the bad stuff you have been through. Some of you have lived through the typical minor inconveniences life offers like, car break downs, the fridge stops working, or the toilet backs up. Others have walked a bumpier path. You have lost a job, a home or been through a divorce. Still others have seen suffering in the form of addictions, jail time, death of a loved one, or a chronic, incurable disease. No matter what the suffering, it is not worthy of being compared to the glory that awaits us! Isn’t that amazing? What hope is ours that the suffering we are going through on this planet will pale in comparison to the joy and glory we will know when we see Jesus face to face.

Image by 🆓 Use at your Ease 👌🏼 from Pixabay

For the anxious longing of creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

Have you ever thought about the fact that the world: the trees, birds, fish, animals, rocks and so on have longings? Is it possible for creation to be anxious as it waits for the revealing of the sons of God? Stay with me here. I am not talking about something weird or spooky. Let’s back up a minute.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1). If God created them, don’t they have His signature on them in a similar way that we have His signature on us. Granted we are human beings and we are made in the image of God, while creation was not, but that does not mean that creation is unable to recognize its creator and recognize the position of humanity as its caretaker.

Image by Evgeni Tcherkasski from Pixabay

There is a reason creation waits eagerly which we see in the next verse.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope…

The creation did not want to be cursed. It enjoyed its relation to its Creator and to its caretaker. It rejoiced in the growing and the greening, the fullness and the fellowship. When sin came into the world, God didn’t just send Adam and Eve out of the the beautiful garden of Eden, but the creation changed. It became rife with weeds and thorns. Where once all animals lived in harmony, now certain animals became predators and all others became prey. In addition, creation no longer bore the fruit of the relation between it and its Creator, but was subject to futility, disease, rot and death.

Image by Ilo from Pixabay

But God…

In hope…

…that the creation itself will also be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

This was God’s hope from the foundation of the world. He knew it all before it began. He knew when He set into motion the creation of a planet and the filling of that sphere of rock and stone with all that is living, and breathing, moving and reaching…He knew that His beautiful creation would suffer and die. So He also created the plan, the One, the Savior, the Son. It was only by this, the gift of pure, unselfish love, that the whole of creation would be able to be set free. But, it will not happen until we are face to face, fully knowing as we have been fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12); when we become His perfect reflection.

Next time we will continue our look at this section of Romans 8 by looking at the Groaning and the Hope.

Have a great weekend!

Wonderful Words of Life - Partake of His Divine Nature

Today’s Wonderful Words of Life, take us back to the first chapter of second Peter. I did a series on verses 1-11. If you would like to see the introductory post on verses 1 and 2, you can see that here. I am focusing only on verses 3 and 4 today, for the specific purpose of sharing these wonderful words again.

Image by RachH from Pixabay

“3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

— 2 Peter 1:3-4 (NASB 1995)

I would like to look at these wonderful words in phrases.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

seeing that His divine power - The words “seeing that” as they are used here could be replaced with “since”. It is used in direct correlation to the phrase, “His divine power.” This phrase applies to what follows. I find it wonderful that it is His divine power. God’s power is limitless, and His, referring to Jesus Christ, was that same power that raised Him from the dead.

has granted to us - He didn’t use His divine power to give good gifts (Matt. 7:11) to the trees or grass or animals, He granted them to us. The word granted, according to Webster’s Online Dictionary has these definitions:

1 - a - to consent or carry out for a person

b - to permit as a right, privilege, or favor

2 - a - to bestow or transfer formally; specifically to give the possession or title of by a deed

What is it, exactly, that has been granted to us?

everything pertaining to life and godliness - This is so encouraging to me. God’s divine power has granted to us everything…EVERYTHING…pertaining to life and godliness. When I don’t think I have the ability to go on; when I can no longer stand; when I don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow…His divine (heavenly) power gives me everything pertaining to living life and being godly. How is this accomplished, because obviously I still have to do things myself. I have to live life, go to work, take care of my family, survive the difficulties, so how does he do this?

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence - What does it mean, “true knowledge”? In a world with so much learning, so much knowledge, so many books, podcasts, how-to videos, and so many ideas, how do we know what true knowledge is?

The world will tell you true knowledge is only that which you learn through your own senses. Only the things you can taste, smell, hear, see or touch is true knowledge. However, our senses can be skewed. We might have a cold, or ongoing sinus issues that cause our taste and smell to be off. We may have poor vision or the day might be foggy or rainy causing us to not see clearly. Noises are not always perceived correctly either. What sounds like a baby crying, might actually be a tiny dog yapping, or a rabbit being attacked by a cat.

True knowledge can only be the truth which God has established. God has allowed us to share in that truth by giving us His word, the Bible. This is true knowledge. If you do not know Christ as your Lord and Savior, you cannot know true knowledge. Sure, you can read the Bible and you can have all sorts of PhD’s and certificates that give proof of your head knowledge, but true knowledge is only found in a heart that is walking humbly with the One True God.

We come to understand this true knowledge when He calls us by is own glory and excellence. He doesn’t call us to another glory…the glory of a professor, a priest or a preacher…He calls us by His glory, and His excellence.

For by these - This refers back to His glory and excellence.

He has granted to us - Once again, it is God Almighty who is doing the giving.

Image by Cheryl Holt from Pixabay

His precious and magnificent promises - We could spend an entire year looking at God’s precious and magnificent promises. His promises include things like, He is always with us (Hebrews 13:5), He will give strength (Isaiah 40:31), He gives us rest (Matthew 11:28-30), He delivers us and forgives us (Colossians 1:13-14), and so very many more. If you want a good study that encourages you from top to bottom, find all the promises of God in Scripture. It will leave you feeling overwhelmed with gratitude and amazed at His goodness and mercy.

So that by them - refers back to those precious and magnificent promises.

You may become partakers of the divine nature - How cool is that? We actually can partake, like drinking deeply of God’s very nature. Wow!! I am on the floor, prostrate before him in my heart as I type this. Why would such a powerful, mighty being allow us, allow me, to partake of His divine nature? Refer back to John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world….”

God says we are to be holy for He is holy (I Peter 1:14-16). We cannot strive to be holy. Only He can make us that way. Remember it is by His precious and magnificent promises that we are able to become partakers of His holy divine nature. We are not made holy by a new church program, by showing up for every service, by witnessing, by passing out tracts or helping at the soup kitchen. While all those things are good, only God Himself through the blood of His Son Jesus can make us Holy.

Having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust - Let’s sit here a minute. There are several things being stated in this phrase. First, the world is corrupt. We know this because of what happened in the Garden, when Eve listened to that slippery snake, and convinced Adam to listen as well.

We engage in this corruption in its many forms when we lust for that which we do not have. Think about it. Just about every sin that we can engage in involves some sort of temptation. Temptation is the lure that whispers to us all that we do not have…money, power, fame, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a big house, the perfect marriage, and on it goes. Lust takes over when we recognize we are dissatisfied and so we strive for all that we do not have.

Image by Pascal Laurent from Pixabay

I hate to break it to you, but we will always feel that emptiness and lust for what we do not have, unless we have Jesus in our hearts. Even when we do, we must claim those precious and magnificent promises to really begin to partake of His divine nature, and fully realize true peace and contentment.

I hope these words reminded you of several things:

You are not alone. God is with you and His is doing, moving, and working all the time.

You have His divine power, which can help you live this life.

You have all of His precious and magnificent promises.

You can partake of His divine nature.

You can escape the corruption of this world by delving deeper into the depths that are God.

You are loved!

Mulling it Over - Romans 8:3-4 - Easter Thoughts

When I study scripture, one of the first things I do is exactly what I do here with you, I take the verses I am studying apart. Words are important. How those words are used is important. Obviously, we are looking at English words, not the original language of Hebrew or Greek, so the words have already been translated into a form for us. It would definitely be advantageous if we could read the Bible in it’s original language to truly understand the nuances and meanings of some of the words, but I trust God. I know that the book that He allowed to be translated into our language is just as true and powerful as the original documents that were penned so many, many years ago.

Image by Robert C from Pixabay

Last month we looked at the first two verses of Romans 8, which reminded us that we do not stand condemned if we are in Christ Jesus, and the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the Law of sin and death. Let’s continue our study by looking at verses 3 and 4.

“3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

— Romans 8:3-4 (NASB 1995)

As we move into Easter weekend and contemplate what our Lord Jesus did for us, it is apropos that we look over these two verses.

Let’s change it up just a little bit this week and instead of going through this phrase by phrase, let’s look at what we can learn about the Law in these two verses.

1 - The Law was weak - The Law, given in the Old Testament to Moses on the mountain, was given as both a mirror and a shadow. It was given as a mirror to reflect sin. The whole point of the Law was to point out and remind people they are sinners, separated from a Holy God.

Image by Med Ahabchane from Pixabay

The Law was also a shadow of the spiritual reality. The reality is that we cannot save ourselves. No matter how much we try to obey the law, we still fall short of God’s holy identity. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There is only one way to have right standing with this Almighty being and that is through the sacrifice of blood. That sacrifice came through His son, Jesus.

2 - The Law was flesh - Everything that the law encompassed in the Old Testament had to do with deeds of the flesh. The sacrifices, the portions, the building, the lineage, the priesthood, the garments, the tabernacle and temple furniture and ornamental pieces, the commandments…all of it had to do with this life, in this flesh. Even today, we are all about doing, or what can be done or accomplished in our flesh.

Image by roxanawilliams1920 from Pixabay

Don’t get me wrong, doing is good and it absolutely should be a part of our lives as human beings and as Christians. However, the ability to save ourselves has nothing to do with our flesh. Even Paul in the book of Galatians reprimands the Jews who are trying to add to the gospel by telling new converts to Christ they have to be circumcised. (See Galatians 3 and 4.)

3 - The Law and the Flesh are associated with sin - God created Adam and Eve with fleshly bodies, but in the Garden of Eden that flesh was meant to be enjoyed, and used to take care of the animals and all the things that God had created. Sin came about when Eve, tempted by Satan in his serpent form, wanted to taste the fruit that was forbidden. It was the desire of the flesh that caused her and her husband to fall. If they would have immediately ran to their loving Father with their fleshly desire, not only would they have remained pure, but then sin wouldn’t have been given reign in the flesh. As it was, they were cast out of the Garden and became painfully aware of now frail and sinful their flesh was.

Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay

From that first connection of flesh to sin, came about the need for the Law, a shadow of what was to come in the fleshly form of Jesus Christ who would take away the sins of the world.

4 - The Law was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ - God in His great goodness and fathomless love provided! Isn’t it amazing that the very God with whom we in our flesh, broke covenant, was prepared from before the foundation of the world to provide the needed, perfect and unblemished lamb to be a sacrifice for our darkened hearts. Not only did he provide the perfect sacrifice, but it came in the person of His own son, Jesus Christ. In this, He and the Father were one. The son did what the Father wanted, because the Son loved the Father and loved us.

Image by Raheel Shakeel from Pixabay

Christ was made flesh and dwelt among us…it is important that we understand He had to take on flesh for His sacrifice to fulfill the requirement of the Law. The Law required a fleshly sacrifice particularly for the atonement of sin. What was a shadow in the Old Testament became a reality in the New Testament. The Old Covenant was set aside for the New Covenant.

What a blessing is ours, for we were born in the time of the New Covenant, or the New Testament. We are not dependent on our own flesh to be one with God. The requirement of the law is fulfilled in our flesh because Jesus became flesh, and was the perfect sacrifice for all. Now we live, not according to the law of the flesh, but the law of the Spirit.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. Have a beautiful Easter weekend! Until next time, keep seeking Him.

Words of Life - Comfort

Today we are going to take a quick look at a few verses from the book of 2 Corinthians. This second book that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, gets into the theme of suffering and Paul’s own walk in the Spirit to carry out the work of spreading the Gospel.

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

The word comfort is both a verb and a noun. As a verb it is defined by Webster’s Online Dictionary as the act of giving hope or strength to, or to ease the grief or trouble of someone. As a noun it can be defined as: strengthening aid, consolation in times of trouble or worry; a feeling of relief or contented well being; a satisfying or enjoyable experience, or a person who brings comfort.

Look at the following pictures. Which of these make you think of comfort?

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Image by Анастасия Белоусова from Pixabay

Image by Oleksandr Pidvalnyi from Pixabay

Image by Thanks for your donation for the download. from Pixabay

I love a cozy fire, furry pets, warm drinks, relaxing smells, hot baths and comfy beds. All of these make me think of being comfortable and cared for. Let’s see what Pauls says about comfort.

“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. ”

— 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NASB 1995)

Let’s face it, there is a lot of hard, uncomfortable stuff in our lives. Since the onslaught of Covid it seems that every time we turn on the news or open our computers we hear about some other disaster, either in the health field or in the natural world. In addition, we are inundated with bad news both close to home and far away. Who doesn’t have ill relatives, children who have walked away from God, job loss, divorce or feelings of being overwhelmed just by the thought of getting out of bed. We all know somebody who is suffering.

These verses tell us several important, life giving thoughts about God.

1 - He is the God of ALL comfort. This God, the one who created us from dust (and yes I will keep reminding you of that), who provided a way through His own Son for us to come back into a right relationship with Him, who knows the number of hairs on our heads and stars in the sky - He is the same God who provides all the comfort we need through whatever valley we are walking through.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

2 - He comforts us in ALL our affliction. God is certainly the God of ALL’s! He’s not just the God of ALL comfort, but He comforts us in ALL of our affliction. Think about all you are struggling with. Now think about how God comforts you in it. We most often miss the working of God in our lives because we are too distracted by our suffering and our sorrow to recognize His hand of comfort. His hand is there in the many forms of His word, His people, His songs, His prayers, and His Spirit. Remember the Spirit intercedes for you.

Image by Katrina_S from Pixabay

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;”

— Romans 8:26 (NASB 1995)

3 - God has a purpose. Our struggles and our suffering always have a purpose; a purpose which is always preceded by God’s approval. Why? Because life isn’t just about us. Life is about bringing glory to God and the way we do that is by living in community with others. God doesn’t want us to be hermits, always keeping to ourselves protected from the harm that relationships can bring. We struggle so we can help others. Suffering, if given over to God, tenderizes our hearts so we are able to give care and encouragement to others who are also suffering. This is part of how we share in the sufferings of Christ.

Image by Ronny from Pixabay

“16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

— Romans 8:16-17 (NASB 1995)

4 - Abundant suffering means abundant comfort. God doesn’t just comfort us once in a while. He doesn’t just comfort us through one really hard time. He comforts us every time we are suffering, no matter how big or small the suffering is. Since the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, meaning we benefit from all the suffering He endured to be human and to pay for our sins, then the comfort of Christ is also ours in abundance.

Image by Jackson David from Pixabay

Learning to lean in to the suffering of Christ is a hard concept to grasp and, perhaps, not the most fun thing to think about. However, the reality is as long as we are living life on this planet we will endure suffering, if not our own, that of others around us, including those we care for. Knowing that God is there to comfort me through it all gives me life giving hope. I hope it does for you as well.

Faith Inspiration - The Prayers of Paul

After the death of my father-in-law back in December, a good friend sent me a paper filled with handwritten paragraphs that a friend of hers, had given her when she was going through a difficult time. At the top of the page it says, Paul’s Prayers.

These are some of Paul’s prayers for the body of believers; those he had met on his journeys through out Syria, Asia, Macedonia and finally Italy, where he was imprisoned and later killed in Rome. All throughout his ministry, Paul was never concerned for himself. His concerns lay in lifting up of the name of Jesus, preaching the Gospel, and in the unity and building up of the Christ Ones.

I have read these prayers many times as I am typically reading and rereading the letters of Paul, but I don’t always focus on the prayers. More often I am focusing on the parts that show me what I should be doing. This is an unfortunate habit that most of us as Christians get into. We concentrate on the doing, rather than the Being - the person of the Lord Jesus Christ - and all that He has done and wants to do for us.

As you can see from the highlighting on the paper, I decided to really look and mull over these prayers of the Apostle Paul. We all know how important the words of Jesus are, and the high priestly prayer (John 17) that He prays for those who were following, and who would be following Him in the future. Paul’s prayers are important too, and are so adept at reminding us of who Christ is, and who we are in His sight.

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

I want to share one of these prayers with you today as not only a source of encouragement, but a source of inspiration to remember whose we are.

“9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”

— Colossians 1:9-12 (NASB 1995)

What I have been doing with each of these prayers of Paul is to write them out, but write them as though praying for myself. We need to pray for ourselves. Why do we think that is something that is selfish, or unreasonable? Yes, God commands us to pray for others, but He also commands us to pray without ceasing. I am sure some of that time can and should be used to pray for ourselves. This is my prayer:

I pray this according to Colossians 1:9-12 - I pray that you would fill me with the knowledge of Your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. I pray this in order that I may live a life that is worthy of You, and may please You in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of You; strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might so I might have GREAT endurance (all steadfastness) and patience; joyfully giving thanks to You who has qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints in (the Kingdom of ) Light. (This last phrase was handwritten including the Kingdom of - we can assume from other knowledge of the scriptures the saints are not just in the Light, but in the Kingdom of God also known as the Kingdom of Light).

Image by Michael Kleinsasser from Pixabay

Using these four Scriptures to pray over myself had an incredible affect on me. It made something, that I might have otherwise glossed over, come alive. It reminded me of several key points:

1 - God gives us knowledge of His will through spiritual wisdom and understanding. One thing I often heard when I was a younger Christian was, how do I know God’s will for my life. Simply put, God reveals His will as we grow in our spiritual wisdom and understanding. We aren’t going to learn His will from reading novels or watching our favorite shows. We learn his will as we gain spiritual wisdom and understanding.

2 - In having this spiritual wisdom and understanding we A) Walk in a manner worthy of Him, B) Bear fruit in every good work, and C) Increase in our knowledge of God. This makes sense and hopefully doesn’t need to be explained.

3 - God strengthens us with all power according to His glorious might. He gives us strength with all power, not just a tiny bit of power, but all of it. God doesn’t do things half way! Not only does He strengthen us with all power, He does it according to His glorious might. This is the same might we see that raises Jesus from the dead. (Ephesians 1:18-23)

4 - God gives us this power so that we might be able to endure, and have patience. Wow! How cool is that? We have His power, all of His power, so we can keep going through the difficulties and do it with patience. This really speaks to me. With all the issues I have been having over the last two years, I can say it has only been His power that has given me the ability to patiently endure. Is it easy? No! Not at all, but it is truth, and His truth is all that matters.

5 - We can joyfully give thanks, because of what follows this phrase - He has qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints in (the Kingdom of) light. There is no denying this spiritual and scriptural truth: we are children of the King. Being a child of royalty means I have all the resources of the Kingdom at my fingertips. I partake of those resources as I clasp my hands together in humility and thank Him for them.

I hope you are inspired by Paul’s prayers as much as I am. Have a great week!

Words of Life

“Sing them over again to me,
Wonderful words of life;
Let me more of their beauty see,
Wonderful words of life;
Words of life and beauty
Teach me faith and duty.

Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life;
Beautiful words, wonderful words,
Wonderful words of life.”

— Wonderful Words of Life (Hymn written by Philip P. Bliss)

There are words in the Scriptures that give us instruction, relate our condition, direct us on how to leave that condition behind and remind us to love and forgive just as He loves and forgives us. There are also many passages and verses that speak to encourage us. The God who created us from dust and foreknew the depths to which we would go, also knew that we would need constant reminding of our value, our worth and whose we are.

Image by Aline Dassel from Pixabay

A parent who gives life to a child seeks to encourage that child to do all that they can to be a good human being. They teach them how to behave, relate stories from their own lives as examples, direct them how to do better and remind them to always be kind and think about what they are going to do.

A good parent also recognizes that children need encouragement. It is not the strict, finger wagging instruction that will remain with a child, but the gentle, time involved words that uplift and remind them of how valuable they are. It is these words that make the child want to do and be better and give them the hope that they will be able to do so, because of the parent’s love and support.

Image by Diep Vu from Pixabay

In the same way our Heavenly Father, knew we would need those gentle words of encouragement and love, of which there are many in His word. This is what I want this monthly post to focus on: the love, the joy, the relationship, the promises, all given to us by our completely good and kind God.

The Psalms are a wonderful place to find encouragement. Not only do we see the struggles of David, but the end result when he turns his eyes from his difficulty to his God. Today I would like to look at two verses from Psalm 37.

“23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.”

— Psalm 37:23-24 (NASB 1995)

There are several things we can take away from these two verses, which should cause us great joy.

1 - The promises - First we can see that our steps are established. Other translations say, “…makes firm the steps…” God doesn’t cast us out onto the slippery slopes of life without giving us the footing to be able to maneuver the path.

The second promise has to do with God’s character. I stick to the New American Standard Version as it is one of the most word for word translations. God delights, or finds pleasure in our ways when we are walking as righteous people. Some versions put the emphasis on our delight in God, but this makes more sense to me in that this is part of the promise God gives to us, not something we do for HIm.

The third promise may not seem like a very nice promise, but it is truth. We will fall.

The fourth promise follows that we will not fall with such great speed and or from such a great height that we die from the impact. No! Because the Lord is holding our hand.

Image by Daniela Dimitrova from Pixabay

Have your ever held the hand of a small child and felt them tug and pull when they want to get away from you, but you know that letting them go will involve a devastating tragedy, such as running into traffic, or at the least a bleeding boo boo? We don’t let them go because we love them and we do not want to see them suffer. God’s care for us is the same. Yes, there are times He will, like with our own children, let us go so we can be free to make our bad choices, but He’s always right there, ready to grab hold of our hand again.

2 - The Take Aways -

Image by Eddie K from Pixabay

Meant to Move - The fact that our steps are established shows that we are meant to be moving. Our lives as Christians are not meant to be stagnating from standing still. They are meant to be dynamic and energized because we are moving in sync with His will in our lives. That doesn’t mean we won’t have still times, but even in the stillness our faith should always be moving forward in our understanding of Him and in our prayers.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Firm Footing - No matter where life takes us God places our feet on firm footing.

“My steps have held fast to Your paths. My feet have not slipped.”

— Psalm 17:5 (NASB 1995)

“You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.”

— Psalm 18:36 (NASB 1995)

“The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.”

— Psalm 37:31 (NASB 1995)

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Delight from God - When we are walking the path that God lays out for us, He delights in our way. I don’t know about you, but I find that so amazing. I a sinner, saved by grace, can make God feel delight. Wow!

“He also brought me forth into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.”

— 2 Samuel 22:20 (NASB 1995)

“Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him”

— Psalm 22:8 (NASB 1995)

“Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication; And let them say continually, “The Lord be magnified, Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.”

— Psalm 35:27 (NASB 1995)

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way.”

— Psalm 37:23 (NASB 1995)

“The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, But the blameless in their walk are His delight.”

— Proverbs 11:20 (NASB 1995)

Image by 鹈鹂 夏 from Pixabay

We are held by the Most High - It doesn’t matter what our situation is, God is always there with us. Moses spent years in the dry wilderness because of his own choices, but God was still with him. In the same way we may be in a bad place due to our own selfishness and sin, but God is still with us. Not only is He with us, but he is holding our hand and won’t let us be hurled head long into destruction.

“Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand.”

— Psalm 73:23 (NASB 1995)

“7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.”

— Psalm 139:7-10 (NASB 1995)

I hope these words from the Scriptures have given you hope and encouragement, for indeed, they are the Words of Life.

Have a great weekend!

Capturing Wild Horses

Have you ever had one of those nights where you lay in bed tossing and turning because you just can’t turn your mind off? Everything suddenly comes front and center as soon as you lay your head on that pillow. My husband has more of a regular problem with insomnia than I do, but every once in a while I struggle with it as well.

Image by Emily Hopper from Pixabay

For many they can’t get to sleep at all; for others they wake up at about 3AM and can’t go back to sleep; still others sleep in fits and spurts interrupted by dreams, worries and night time trips to use the bathroom. What kind of a sleeper are you?

What about during the day time? Do you have trouble with your mind wandering when you try to sit down to have a quiet time with God? How about when you are out driving around? Have you ever suddenly had to ask yourself, where am I, because your thoughts were a million miles away, or your brain was trying to remember all the things on your to do list?

Image by inspirexpressmiami from Pixabay

These types of mind games are pretty ordinary for most people. Our lives are full of activity, responsibility, lists, and a long line of worries. God knows how important our minds are. He is the Creator. He designed the brain to be a complex web of cells and tissue that all work together to send messages 24/7 to the rest of our body. Our brains keep our lungs breathing, our hearts beating and every other organ working properly. If there is a misfire in our brain, the rest of the body will know.

God also created us in His image. We are meant to purpose, ruminate and understand. We are meant to create, love and explore. Unfortunately, just like our brains can run amok, our minds can also get off track and suddenly become like a herd of wild mustangs running from watering hole to watering hole trying to satiate an incredible thirst.

Image by B Snuffleupagus from Pixabay

Last night I was struggling with those wild mustangs. My mind flitted from one worry to another; one thing I needed to do to another task that waited to be done. The image of those wild horses running along the ocean on a sandy beach came to my mind: think Misty of Chincoteague. I read this book as a girl who grew up loving horses and my oldest daughter read this book as a girl who grew up loving horses.

I started to pray for each of the things my mind focused on and as I prayed God brought the vision to my mind of capturing the wild horses. Each thought was like a prancing filly or a rearing colt. In my imagination I saw myself lasso each of those thoughts with the tools God gave me and bring it in to the corral.

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”

— 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASB 1995)

It becomes problematic when we do not take those wild horses into captivity. When they are left to run free, the dust they leave in their wake becomes a wall; a wall that rises to heaven choking out our light and our ability to hear the master.

Before we look more closely at the above verse we need to see it in context.

“3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

— 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NASB 1995)

Verses 3 and 4 remind us of several things:

1 - We walk in the flesh.

2 - We don’t fight according to the flesh.

3 - Our weapons are not of the flesh.

4 - Our weapons are divinely powerful.

5 - Our weapons are for the purpose of destroying fortresses.

Lest today’s post get too long, we will only look at the beginning of verse 5, then pick up the rest next time.

We are destroying speculations -

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

In order to understand, why Paul is embedding this verse in a group of verses that talks about spiritual warfare, we must understand what the word speculate means. Webster’s Online Dictionary has multiple definitions for this word and I think they all apply.

Intransitive verb:

1 - a. To Meditate or ponder on a subject. b. to review something idly, or casually and often inconclusively.

2 - To assume a business risk in hope of gain. (Often in something risky like stocks that fluctuate hoping to make a large short term profit.)

Transitive verb:

1 - to take to be true on insufficient evidence.

2 - to be curious or doubtful about.

Image by Szilárd Szabó from Pixabay

Speculation is not just thinking about something the way we might think about whether we should order a pizza for dinner or make a pot roast. Speculating has the idea of sitting on a topic for a while. In addition, it seems to allow for doubt, misunderstanding, and risk. When we think about the things that worry us we need to ask ourselves, are these things causing me to doubt God? Are my worries the result of not understanding who God truly is and the truth He brings us in His Word? Are my anxious thoughts driving me to take risks, make decisions and participate in things that God would have never wanted for us?

Other synonyms for the word speculate include: assume, conjecture, guess, imagine, suppose, surmise and suspect. Do these terms bring you peace and comfort? Do they help calm your fears and bring your worries to rest? No!

Next time we will will look further at why it is so important to capture those wild horses and destroy those speculations.

Have a great week.

My Favorite Things - Trust, Healing and Refreshment

Many of you who follow me are familiar with the Sound of Music, a musical drama staring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer set in pre WWII Austria. The film, one of my favorites, is an adaption of a stage musical by Rogers and Hammerstein. The movie is filled with uplifting musical numbers, beautiful scenery and budding romance. A number that has been with me since our choir sang it in junior high was My Favorite Things.

I had the idea come to me this morning that it might be fun and beneficial to share with you a number of my favorite passages of scripture. There is always a reason we have favorites. We might have a favorite ice cream, perfume or movie. Our faves are ones we like to revisit over and over.

I love to see a garden full of bright colorful flowers. Flower gardening is an activity I would like to do, but like so many things, I just don’t seem to get to it. That is okay. I can still enjoy the flowers at our local botanical gardens and adorning the front walkways and porches of many homes I drive by in the summer time.

Scripture is something that I desire to cultivate in my life. I am learning over and over how important and powerful God’s word is in my life, and that is why I want to share with you passages that I go back to on repeat. Just like the beautiful flowers we see in the warm weather, God’s word is a beautiful. It is meant to be looked at, mulled over and enjoyed. Yes, there are hard bits, bits that I remind me of my sin and my short comings, but God’s word is so much more than that. Let’s take a look.

“1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
2 For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.
3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.”

— Proverbs 3:1-8 (NASB 1995)

God’s word is meant to teach us. As I look at this portion of Proverbs 3 I know the author is King Solomon, David’s son by Bathsheba. Isn’t it amazing how God took a messy, sinful situation and turned it into something for His glory and honor? He is a master at that.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

As Solomon penned these words we know that he was inspired by God, and it is written like a father speaking to his son. Whether Solomon had a son in mind when he penned these words, or he was relaying what God’s spirit inspired him regarding the Father - child relationship we have with God, I am not sure, but these words apply just as readily to us today as they did to people from long ago.

These verses could be said to be written like poetic couplets. Each set of two verses goes together with the first verse being a command, and the second verse being the benefit of obeying the command.

“1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
2 For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.”

— Proverbs 3:1-2 (NASB 1995)

The writer is telling his son to not forget the things he taught him. He even speaks to the issue of his heart. Why is it important for our hearts to keep God’s commandments? The simple truth is, head knowledge does not make us more godly or Christ like. It is when we allow the words of the Scriptures to permeate our hearts that we truly delve into the layers that are God.

Image by Ben Kerckx from Pixabay

The author gives the reason heart knowledge is so important, because it benefits us. “…length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.” Our society pushes the idea of exercise and eating right to help us live longer, but that is not the only piece of our health puzzle. Living our lives for God in obedience to, and in love with our Lord will benefit us in more ways than we can even understand.

“3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.”

— Proverbs 3:3-4 (NASB 1995)

We hear so much about being kind these days. We see the phrase, “Be kind” written on signs in front of schools, on tee shirts and other apparel and we are constantly telling our children and grand children to be kind. The idea of kindness isn’t new and obviously, if Solomon felt it was necessary to mention, then you can bet back in his day there were probably all sorts of bullies and social difficulties. The man had 700 wives and 300 concubines! How could there not be social difficulties? Have you ever heard of a cat fight? Ha, ha.

It wasn’t just kindness that Solomon suggested, he said kindness and truth. He told the reader to bind them around their neck and write them on the tablet of their heart. As women we like to adorn our necks with jewelry or pretty scarves. A pretty statement necklace or flowy scarf really take an outfit up a notch. Being kind is always more appealing than being nasty. Being truthful is typically better than being deceitful, especially if the first lie leads to more and more lies.

Once again we see a reason why the command is given, “So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.” We aren’t just pleasing God, but we will be looked up to and respected by others when we are kind and truthful.

“5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.”

— Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB 1995)

These two verses are probably the more well known of all the verses in this chapter. Once again Solomon speaks of the heart. We are to trust the Lord, not just with our heads, but with “all” our hearts. The next phrase is huge. In a society where we are constantly being told we can do it, we can figure it out, we got this, we are fierce and infallible, it is very hard to not lean on our own understanding. Don’t I know what is best for me? Well, not really. Only the One who made you knows what is truly best for you.

The author goes on to say in all our ways to acknowledge Him and this is where we hone in on the real problem; the heart problem. We don’t acknowledge God in any of our ways, or maybe we do in one or two of our ways, but that is precisely why we lean on our own understanding. “I” will figure it out. “I” will fix this. “I” will do what it takes. “I” don’t need anyone’s help. We can be all about that, but in reality there will be times you can’t figure it out, fix it or do what it takes and you are going to need help. His help.

Image by Silvia from Pixabay

He will make your paths straight. Once again, the command is followed by the benefit. God will take all the crooked, messed up pile of chaos that you created and He will make it straight. Quit leaning on your own understanding. Trust with all of your heart. Acknowledge Him and He will do it.

“7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.”

— Proverbs 3:7-8 (NASB 1995)

The final couplet again speaks to wisdom and its source. Solomon tells the son to not be wise in his own eyes. Do you ever think of yourself as wise? Have you ever had one of those pride moments when you figured out how to fix something or found out something you said helped another person. It is wonderful to have those moments, but we have to remember where all wisdom comes from. Solomon speaks to it in the next line, “Fear the Lord…” Wisdom starts with the Lord. Solomon takes it one more step, “…and turn away from evil.”

Turning away from evil is essential to having true wisdom. Solomon is a case study, because as wise as he was, he ended up being influenced by all of his many wives who came from various heathen countries and worshipped various heathen gods. For all the wisdom he had, he wasn’t very wise about keeping things under God’s authority.

Why should we fear the Lord and turn away from evil? The answer is in the second part of the couplet: so we will have healing and refreshment. Following after evil can be hard on the body, not just the physical ramifications of overeating, drinking alcohol or taking drugs, but also on a person’s mental and emotional well being causing anxiety, fear, depression and even eventual suicidal tendencies.

I hope you enjoyed this look at one of my favorite passages. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Rejoice Always: A Case Study - Part 4

Today I am going to finish up this particular case study of Hannah in the Old Testament. Hannah, who was Samuel’s mother, was a woman a great strength, deep desire and phenomenal trust in her God. A portion of the scripture we are going to look at is Hannah’s song of thanksgiving. This is what we are going to focus on and I want to do it just a few verses at a time, so we can slowly savor the thoughts and ideas.

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“Then Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;
My horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.”

— I Samuel 2:1 (NASB)

Keep in mind, Hannah is singing this song of thanksgiving after she has given her only son, Samuel, to Eli the priest to serve in the House of the Lord.

Hannah exults in the Lord. The word horn as it is used in this passage refers to strength, so Hannah is saying her strength is exalted in the Lord. The word exalt is a verb that means to lift high, to elevate by praise, to raise in rank or to enhance the activity of. In other words we could say, “My heart lifts high because of the Lord.” “My strength is elevated in the Lord.”

I do not know if Hannah was thinking of Penninah, her husband’s other wife, when she sang these words, or if she was thinking of her status as an Israelite, but either way she speaks boldly, because she rejoices in God’s salvation.

“There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, there is no one besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God.”

— 1 Samuel 2:2 (NASB)

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Hannah states the truth she knows. As an Israelite she has been taught the scriptures, the laws and the commands. Her husband was a committed Jew, making sure he and his family got to the House of the Lord. But now, Hannah also has personal experience. She took her heart’s desire to have a child to God, and He remembered her and provided.

“Do not go on boasting so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed”

— 1 Samuel 2:3 (NASB)

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I have a feeling Hannah was a pretty observant woman. She knew her scriptures, which probably also meant she knew the history of her people. This verse could have been a reference to Penninah, but for some reason I think Hannah was above that. I think this had more to do with the enemies of Israel.

The following verses are both declarative and somewhat prophetic for the state of Israel and the future of the nation as well.

“4 The bows of the mighty are broken to pieces,
But those who have stumbled strap on strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to be hungry.
Even the infertile woman gives birth to seven,
But she who has many children languishes.
6 The Lord puts to death and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and brings up.
7 The Lord makes poor and rich;
He humbles, He also exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the garbage heap
To seat them with nobles,
And He gives them a seat of honor as an inheritance;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the world on them.
9 He watches over the feet of His godly ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
For not by might shall a person prevail.
10 Those who contend with the Lord will be terrified;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed.””

— 1 Samuel 2:4-10 (NASB)

This ends Hannah’s song, but it certainly does not signify the end of her adventure with God. If we read further in this chapter we see God’s continued blessing on her.

“18 Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.
19 And his mother would make for him a little robe and bring it up to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one she requested of the Lord.” And they went to their own home.

21 The Lord indeed visited Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up before the Lord.”

— 1 Samuel 2:18-21 (NASB)

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Hannah did not forget Samuel. She lovingly made him a robe and every year when they would go up to offer their yearly sacrifice they would bring the robe and she would give it to him. She kept her promise to the Lord and He gave her more children.

What can we learn from our study of Hannah on the word rejoice?

Our joy is not dependent on our circumstances.

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We all like to think that if we only had this or that, or if our circumstances changed then we would have joy. Joy, unlike happiness is eternal. It is a state of being that comes from God and is not dependent on what is going on in our lives.

Remember the definition of rejoice: to give joy to; to feel great joy or delight. We learned from the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament that rejoice was a command given by God to the people of Israel and it always coincided with a feast or celebration of remembrance of God’s faithfulness and provision.

Our ability to rejoice is a choice to remember how God has provided and been faithful throughout our lives. Even in our current difficult circumstances.

Our joy is directly linked to our choice to focus on God.

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I know this can be hard, but this is what makes the difference between living large and languishing. When I choose to remember God’s faithfulness, I take my eyes off my current difficulties and place them on Him. Even if life has been difficult for a while, I can still focus on His character and His promises. He is good. He is faithful. He is just. He is holy. He is pure. He is righteous.

Back in Chapter 1 we saw when Hannah prayed she lifted up the name of God. She exalted Him. She said, “Lord of armies.” It was a simple statement, but think about all that it encompasses. The word Lord, would signify power and authority. Lord of armies, shows that He is in charge of all those who can bring about justice and peace. That three word statement was one of worship and direct focus on the powerful and amazing God.

Focusing on God and who He is and His great faithfulness will make rejoicing as important as drinking water. It is essential for life.

Like C.S. Lewis, we might be Surprised By Joy.

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Hannah found joy even after she gave up her son. She gave him to God before he was even conceived. She had no regrets. She did not waver in her promise. When the boy was old enough, she took him to the House of the Lord and left him there. Yet, she had joy.

In the middle of our adversity, in the crushing weight of our darkness, we will be surprised by joy, because it is God who gives us the ability to rejoice. Just like hope, patience, goodness, kindness and all the other fruit we can bear, it comes from Him.

Rejoice always!

When Darkness Comes - Part 8: When Feelings and Truth Meet

This series is long, but I don’t want to skim these ideas. God and His word are so incredibly complex and beautiful. We do ourselves an injustice when we do not truly understand, and believe, what He is trying to say to us. Remember at the very beginning of this series, I talked about how God created the darkness? Remember how I shared that the darkness was made for our benefit; for rest; for growth? The same is true of the darkness we are walking through. No matter what the darkness is, even those things that the devil meant for our destruction, God can and will use to make us into His perfect and beautiful children. There is one thing we must do…be willing to let Him pierce us. In the same way the nails pierced the gentle hands, and the sword pierced the side of our Messiah, we share in His sufferings when we let God pierce our hearts with His truth. It is by sharing in His sufferings that we receive our greatest comfort.

Image by jonnapeitso from Pixabay

“For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”

— 2 Corinthians 1:5 (NASB)

Last week I focused on the need for expressing and acknowledging our emotions during these times of darkness. God is not a weakling. He can handle anything we throw at Him, whether it be sadness, horror, anger, jealously, despair, anxiety and more. It is obvious when reading through the scriptures, ever since our initial creation and subsequent fall to sin, God spoke His truth to the writers in order to bring us comfort, peace, joy, courage and the ability to express our innermost thoughts without fear of retribution.

David and the writers of the Psalms, as well as Job, Jeremiah, Solomon and others filled pages of scripture with emotional musings.

“Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.”

— Psalm 43:5 (NASB)

“How long am I to feel anxious in my soul, With grief in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?”

— Psalm 13:2 (NASB)

“I am disgusted with my own life; I will express my complaint freely; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.”

— Job 10:1 (NASB)

“My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me!”

— Jeremiah 8:18 (NASB)

“Why did I ever come out of the womb To look at trouble and sorrow, So that my days have been spent in shame?”

— Jeremiah 20:18 (NASB)

“Do not be eager in your spirit to be angry, For anger resides in the heart of fools.”

— Ecclesiastes 7:9 (NASB)

“Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The retribution of God will come, But He will save you.””

— Isaiah 35:4 (NASB)

Image by click like 👍 👍 👍 from Pixabay

Truth growth in the Christian’s life most often happens when God’s truth meets the raw edges of our intense emotions. When we take His word and apply it to our feelings, and our circumstances His light permeates our darkest dark.

“For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

— Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

When I am struggling in the dark, I am often unsure, confused and overwhelmed. With God there is no confusion. With His word, His truth, revealed by His Holy Spirit there is only surety and purity. This makes all the difference when we are struggling.

Once again, let me share my own journey. Once I acknowledged my despair and sadness to the Father, He brought me back to two particular scriptures: Psalm 16:11 and Psalm 27:14. For this particular post I will expand only on the second.

“Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.”

— Psalm 27:14 (NASB)

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

“Waiting has always been hard. Waiting for the salvation of our loved ones who are not walking with You; waiting for a diagnosis and treatment for our daughter; waiting for the birth of our second grandson...but perhaps I am missing the point. The verse doesn’t emphasize WHAT we are waiting for, but WHO...You!

While we are waiting we are to be doing two things -
1 - Be strong - perhaps this is where I am struggling the most. I have often thought of myself as fairly strong - all the crazy stuff Mark and I have gone through - but perhaps, I am not really very strong.

I obviously get upset and emotional when, if I had been leaning on You, I would have had the strength I needed. I have been guilty of wanting my strength to come from others, but there are other scriptures like Ephesians 6:10.

Before Paul launched into the armor of God He says, ‘Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.’
It doesn’t say, ‘Be strong in your spouse, be strong in your church, be strong in your own strength - it says be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”

— Amy's Journal - 5/24/21

From this point, I looked at a cross reference from Ephesians 6:10 to Ephesians 1:19, but I looked at it within the context of Ephesians 1:18-23. To keep this from getting to long, feel free to click on the link, or grab your Bible and take a look at this passage. It is worth while, to truly understand what that phrase, “…in the strength of His might,” encompasses.

Image by Sabine Mondestin from Pixabay

“The strength of His might was brought about when He raised Jesus from the dead and placed Him on His right hand in the heavenly places, and gave Him (Jesus) power, rule, authority and dominion over all.

SO...when it says I am to be strong in the strength of His might it is telling me I do not have to be strong in my strength or power. NO! I am to be strong in the same might that raised Jesus from the dead; not only from the dead, but to His position over all.

2 - Take Courage - The second thing I am to do is take courage (mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty). When looking up the meaning of this word, it seems that courage, or taking it up refers to a cause. What is the reason I have to be courageous; or from whom do I get my courage. It is from the Lord Jesus Christ.

The end result is that as I am waiting on the Lord, He will be my strength and my courage. I am not alone in this.

Thank you Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

— Amy's Journal - 5/24/21

When God’s word pierces me it is as though I enter into a layer of God I never understood before. I have read through the Bible multiple times over my life as a believer, but I stand amazed at how His Spirit stabs straight to the heart, changing my perspective and my understanding when I am truly open to His teaching. More often than not, this happens when I am walking in the dark.

Don’t be afraid to wrestle with God. Don’t be afraid to search His word and pray the eyes of your heart will be open. Allow Him to pierce you through to the heart.

Next week we will look at the role of thanksgiving in the dark. Have a great weekend!

When Darkness Comes - Part 6: Remembering Who We are in the Darkness

Many times when we are walking in the darkness, especially if we are doing it for an extended time, we tend to forget who we are meant to be. We fall back into the pattern of listening to the manipulator’s voice, rather than the Creator’s voice. We focus in on our insecurities, rather than our place on His solid foundation. We begin to obsess over all that is wrong, rather than being thankful for all that is right. I know. I have been there.

Image by Darkmoon_Art from Pixabay

Being a low energy person, it is easy for me to get tired, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually. There is a reason, Jesus said to come to Him when we are weary and need rest. He wasn’t just talking about our physical weariness. In fact, I think He was referring more to the weariness we feel when we are walking in the darkness. What did he say in those verses?

“28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.””

— Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB)

I want to come back to these verses when I explore how to survive the darkness, but for today, I want you to notice verse 29. We are to take His yoke on ourselves, but not just that. We are to do it so that we can learn from Jesus. Why? Because He is gentle, humble and in Him we will find rest for our souls. We can see here, it is not just our physical bodies that can find rest in Him, although I believe we can find that as well. In Him we find rest for our souls.

Once again, I want to draw on my own experiences to help you understand how important it is to remember God’s eternal truth when you are going through dark times. If we forget who He says we are, then we open the door for Satan to influence us with his lies and manipulative whisperings. Let’s look at a few of the false faces we wear when we are maneuvering the dark places in life.

False Face - The Mime

Image by Rudi Maes from Pixabay

You all know this one. They don’t talk about their struggles. You might even identify with this one. Unfortunately, the Christian church has made the mime one of our most numerous congregants. We don’t talk about it. When life gets tough, we sink down into our character and keep silent. Are you struggling with mental illness? Don’t talk about it. Are you frustrated in your marriage? Don’t talk about it. Are you shell shocked after a great loss? Don’t talk about it. We are too busy, too tired, too wrapped up in our own selves to take the time to listen, even if we wanted you to talk. Then, like the mime, we occasionally act out. We blow up at inappropriate times. We cry for no reason. We are alone in our silent performance as the rest of the world wonders why we are acting so odd.

False Face - The Stoic

Image by Szilárd Szabó from Pixabay

Definition of a stoic:

“a member of a school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium about 300 b.c. holding that the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law”

— Webster's Online Dictionary

A person who maneuvers the dark times with this philosophy will often exhibit no emotion at all. Their attitude might resemble that of a rock. While even those who identify with stoicism do have emotions, their desire is to not give in to extravagant or showy emotion, choosing rather, to maintain a steady, even keeled composure.

False Face - The Dancer

Image by Vladimir Yuminov from Pixabay

When difficulty comes, this person will often be flitting from one thing to another, like a bee buzzing from flower to flower. An individual who exhibits this behavior, is often afraid to slow down or sit still, knowing that when they do the full weight of their struggles will overwhelm them. They believe if they keep moving, they will not have to really deal with their pain and eventually it will become less difficult.

False Face - Pollyanna

Image by Christopher Ross from Pixabay

If you are not familiar with the term Pollyanna, it is defined as a person that is excessively positive or optimistic. Originally, Pollyanna was a novel written in 1913 by Eleanor H. Porter. It told the story of eleven year old orphan girl Pollyanna Whittier, who is sent to live with her stern, cold, spinster Aunt Polly. Pollyanna maneuvers life playing a game she learned from her father, called the Glad Game. The premise being that there is always something to be glad about, or an opportunity to always see the brighter side of any dark cloud.

While I do believe there is benefit in looking for the good in life and in finding things to be thankful for, it is equally important to not deceive ourselves into believing there is nothing wrong, when in fact we are still truly hurting and struggling.

I am sure if we looked deeper we could find more False Faces that we adopt and use when we are not willing to face the darkness we are going through. However, it is of great importance that we do recognize our struggles and difficulties.

What does God’s Word say about us? Let’s look at another page from my journal.

Image by CharuTyagi from Pixabay

I recognize my standing as a sinner.

“23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

— Romans 3:23 (NASB)

I called on Your name and You washed me whiter than snow.

“13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

— Romans 10:13 (NASB)

““Come now, and let us debate your case,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They shall become as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be like wool.”

— Isaiah 1:18 (NASB)

I know, according to Your word, my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

“27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

— Revelation 21:27 (NASB)

I am sealed by His blood.

“30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

— Ephesians 4:30 (NASB)

“22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”

— 2 Corinthians 1:22 (NASB)

I know according to Your word, I am not condemned.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

— Romans 8:1 (NASB)

I know when I am weary and burdened, I can come to You and You will give me rest.

“28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

— Matthew 11:28 (NASB)

I know that Your yoke is easy and Your burden light. I can come to You and learn from You because you are gentle and humble.

“29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.””

— Matthew 11:29-30

I know You are always with me.

“5 No one will be able to oppose you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not desert you nor abandon you.”

— Joshua 1:5 (NASB)

“5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,””

— Hebrews 13:5 (NASB)

I know You have given me, Your precious and magnificent promises.

“4 Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust.”

— 2 Peter 1:4 (NASB)

I know that You work all things together for good.

“28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

— Romans 8:28 (NASB)

I know You love me.

“See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are. For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know Him.”

— 1 John 3:1 (NASB)

In order for us to be able to walk in the darkness we must remember, not only who God is, but who we are. I hope you will find encouragement in these verses.

Next time I will delve into what our response should be when we are walking in the storms.

Have a good week.

When Darkness Comes - Part 5: Finding God in the Darkness

This post will be rather long and contains aspects of my own experience in the darkness, but I share the details to help you understand the process.

We have been learning about the darkness. We have seen its beginning; created by an Almighty God for the benefit of His creation. Darkness was not meant to be bad. It was not meant to hide evil and torment the sinner, but our unseen enemy wanted to make the good bad. From the moment he became enamored with his beauty and too proud to place himself under the authority of the divine creator he has chosen to manipulate that which is good, right and true.

Image by Brigitte makes custom works from your photos, thanks a lot from Pixabay

If I came to you and said, “I am going through a very dark time,” wouldn’t you assume I was struggling? Wouldn’t you pray for the light to come back into my life, so I might once again be walking in the blessedness of my Savior’s love? Why do we assume, darkness is not the place we are meant to walk? How did we get to the point where struggle and disappointment in life is thought to be in our lives because of something we did or did not do? Why do we embrace the light, the sun, the beautiful blue skies and gentle breezy days, but not the night, the dark, the gray lumbering clouds over a storm tossed sea? Isn’t all of it allowed by our Heavenly Father? Doesn’t every circumstance that comes into our lives come first through the gentle and loving hands of our risen Lord?

“I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

— Isaiah 45:7 (ESV)

I will be the first to admit, I do not like this truth, but truth it is. The scripture is full of God’s truth. We are not allowed to take one truth, but not the other. We do have a free will and we can dislike some of the truths that are in the Bible, but that does not change the fact that they are the truths put forth by a holy and perfect God. Part of the key to being able to accept God’s truth is to really get to know Him. Many people read one verse and decide, God is fickle, or angry, or malevolent, but they are not seeing the entire picture. Just as we take time to get to know the person we fall in love with, falling in love with God takes time and a willingness to trust.

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

I want to take this part of my series on When Darkness Comes, slowly. These are the things we need to understand, and know with the very core of our being. This is where the Holy Spirit makes effective the work that Jesus did on the cross. This is the time when our head knowledge, must become heart knowledge.

My Experience

About a month ago, I was having a particularly difficult time. I have long struggled with my self image, often feeling worthless and useless. Over the last 34 years as a wife and mother I have struggled with the poor choices I made, my lack of love and compassion for both my spouse and our daughters. I grieved over the death of my father, the ensuing changes in my mother’s life and how that made life more complex. I witnessed divisions and strife in our church. I became aware of the trauma one of my family members suffered at the hands of a supposed “man of God.” I saw this same family member walk away from the church and begin a self-destructive path of rebellion against God and self-indulgent behavior. During this period I sought counsel from a licensed counselor and was told I was “mercy gone wild.” I learned about boundaries and letting go of many of the dreams I had for myself and my family. I was regularly building coffins, throwing my dreams inside, nailing them shut and burying them.

Image by Rob van der Meijden from Pixabay

Life slowly began to be less chaotic, but things were, and still are, hard. Recently, we learned our youngest daughter has a brain tumor. In addition to that she has been having a multiplicity of symptoms such as numbness, pain, tremors, dizziness and nausea. To this day, those things are still unresolved and the doctors do not believe her symptoms to be related to the tumor, which is very small and which, for now, they are keeping an eye on. This is just another straw on that proverbial camel’s back that makes the load heavier and heavier.

In my desire to draw closer to God, He lead me to see there is only one way to do this. I must take Him completely at His word. During that time a month ago, I had a three day period of a sadness so deep, I did not know how God was going to bring me out of it. I was hopeless. Hopeless for our country, hopeless for my daughter, hopeless for those who think they know truth, but are wearing blinders, hopeless for so many young people who have walked away from the church and from Him, and hopeless for myself. I never felt so completely lost in the darkness. I cried. No, I sobbed. I could not stop sobbing. Hour after hour I wondered how I could make so many tears.

Finally, when the tears began to dry up, I heard God’s voice telling me, “Get your journal and tell me what you know.”

This is the first step to finding Him in the deep darkness. Remind yourself of who God is.

Learn Who God is, and then Tell Him

Photo Rebecca Trumbull.

(excerpt take from my journal - Bible verses added after)

Lord, I know Your truth. Your word gives me that truth and it never changes.

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

— John 17:17 (NASB)

“The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”

— Isaiah 40:8 (NASB)

I know Your lovingkindness is everlasting.

“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear Him,
And His justice to the children’s children,”

— Psalm 103:17 (NASB)

I know Your mercies are new every morning.

“For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”

— Psalm 30:5 (NASB)

I know Your grace is matchless.

“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”

— John 1:16 (NASB)

You have freely given, so I might freely receive.

“Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”

— 1 Corinthians 2:12 (NASB)

You have bridged the gap between our sin laden world and your perfect heaven. I know You gave us Jesus. It was Your plan that He be the perfect sacrifice.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16 (NASB)

I know all have sinned and fall short of Your glory.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

— Romans 3:23 (NASB)

I know the punishment for sin is death.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

— Romans 6:23 (NASB)

I know, whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

“for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

— Romans 10:13 (NASB)

I know it is not by my own power and strength, but because of your mercy, that you saved me.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

— Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)

I know you have removed my sin as far as the east is from the west.

“As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.”

— Psalm 103:12 (NASB)

Every truth, I believe about God is backed by scripture and these are just a few of them. You could do whole studies on the attributes and characteristics of our Almighty Redeemer. It is important when we are in the darkness to go back to what we know is true and to cling to it.

Next week we will look at the next phase of our journey as we walk in the dark. Thank you for following along.