I received a booklet from Voice of the Martyrs. I'm sure I received it because I got on some mailing list.  Yippee. But sometimes what I receive is worthy of a look and is sometimes very interesting.  I hate to promote unsolicited (junk) mail but sometimes that's the only way to reach people. Inside the large envelope was a slick booklet with a story of a man holding a Bible kneeling in front of hole next to a pile of fresh dirt.  The story with the photo was about a man in North Korea who risks his life to smuggle Bibles from China -1 per year - that he can store in a hole dug in the earth until he has the courage to give them away, or read them himself, or show his family. The story tells that people there routinely disappear if they are caught with a Bible.  If they confess that they follow Christ, they are executed.  Family members are beaten.  Children are expected and trained to turn in parents who harbor Christian ideals, relics, etc.  I don...

Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV) The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. We are just such control freaks.  We want to do it ourselves.  We want to know all the answers - at least all the answers to the questions we ask. We want control and we need to KNOW to be in control.  I'm pretty sure I can say "we" because I know way too many people who think they NEED to know the answers.  Well, some answers are just unknowable.  In a previous post , I looked at Ephesians 3:18 where the phrase " strength to comprehend " is used.  I wondered if we are prevented from some things until we are strong enough to comprehend.  I wonder if there are some things that we are never strong enough to comprehend.   This passage in Deuteronomy certainly leads me to believe that some things are just secrets for God alone.  Maybe we just can't be made ...

Psalm 27:14 (NIV) Wait for the LORD;        be strong and take heart        and wait for the LORD. I've been sort of working on a weekend retreat for married couples for a year.  Not continually or even frequently but I had the first thought about a year ago.  I found out who would facilitate it.  Someone volunteered to help with meals.  Several people reinforced the idea by saying they'd participate if they could. I found a place to have it.  I didn't get in a hurry......until it was time to do it. Then I had to wait....and wait...and wait.  It takes money to do this, money I don't have to give away so I had to wait ...and wait....and wait....to see if there would be enough people willing to pay for this ahead of time so that it would be paid for.  The facilitator and the lodging are both going above and beyond to be patient.  The meal planner is doing the same. I had decided that ...

Ephesians 3:16 - 19 (ESV) that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. When I first read this passage this morning, my thought was different than now as I re-read it. So I'm not sure if I was just misinterpreting it the first time, or if the moment of revelation is already gone. (This is why I need to take time to reflect as I read this but today, I had to leave for an interview!)  Anyway, when I first read it, the words that jumped out at me were "may have the strength to comprehend...." This is part of the prayer for the people for whom the letter was written.  Paul is praying ...

Deuteronomy 16:15b: For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete. This verse is from the lists of festivals that God requires of Moses and the Israelites.  This is from the Feast of the Booths having to do with gathering the harvest and remembering the temporary dwellings while they were in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. The thing I ever remember about this has to do with Peter's comment about making booths when Jesus was transfigured and was with Moses and Elijah.  I didn't understand why this was a silly statement and I still don't.  But this phrase... For the LORD your God will bless you in all....... and your joy will be complete . Isn't that a wonderful statement? Of course I don't have a harvest and presently I am unemployed but the Lord will bless me and my joy will be complete.  I can't help but think of heaven when there is no doubt that my joy will be complete.  But ...

I found out this weekend that a family that I know is experiencing some devastating medical news about one of their children.   I knew about this and had prayed for the situation before but as things go, it left my mind and I haven't thought or prayed about it for a while.  Well, just the other day, after hearing the turmoil that the family is experiencing, I prayed for a miracle.  Some members of the family are Christ-followers.  They say they'd never have made it through what they've made it through so far if they weren't depending on Jesus.  Other members of the family are not. So my prayer is simply that God would bring complete miraculous healing to the child - before the next trip to the doctor or treatment - so there is no explanation other than the Great Healer cured their child and that all symptoms are gone.   I figure that will bring the most glory to God and peace to the family.  Oh, that was the other part of the prayer , that th...

I'm reading my Daily Bible.  It is the Bible in chronological order in 365 daily readings. Now I am to the section on the Laws of Moses.  I like the way this particular Bible puts them together in some organized format, meaning for example that all the laws having to do with blasphemy are together (Deut 5:11, Ex 22:58a, Lev 24:10 - 16, 23).  I'm guessing that the rest of the "big ten" as I call the 10 commandments will put together like this.  This format gives a more complete picture of each of the commandments. One that I want to think about now has to do with the commandment that we hear repeated as " You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain ...."  This is the King James Version which I think in this case is not explicit enough.  The New International Version says, " You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."  Deut 5:11 has the commandment.  Exodus r...

A few years ago, one of the first sermons of our new pastor delivered had to do with his definition of love. To be honest, I don't remember much of the sermon.  Unfortunately that is pretty typical.  I scant remember even the best of sermons.  Sometimes, I'm lucky to remember more than, "gee, that was a good sermon".   Back to the pastor's definition of love: "Love is the relentless pursuit of another person's well-being." In my opinion it is not a complete definition but it is pretty good for LOVE as a verb . (for the definition of Love as a noun - see 1 Corinthians 13 starting in verse 4. - I like to insert God each time it says love.  Because I think God is Love, both a noun and a verb.) Anyway, Love is the relentless pursuit of another person's well-being according to this pastor's definition.  As I analyze this statement, I have to wonder if this definition can get a person into trouble.  Just because I THINK something is for a perso...

Presently, I am able to spend a lot of time on daily devotion.  I am currently reading/praying using 4 different materials; Daily Bible , 31 Days of Praying for your Pastor , the Upper Room Daily Devotional , and Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.   I know it sounds like a lot but it really isn't all that much. It probably takes less than 30 minutes of reading (plus quiet prayer time).   One thing I find interesting about this is that as diverse as these readings are, frequently there is a common theme picked up between two or more of them. Of course, that tells me that I better pay attention.   Today, the Upper Room and Jesus Calling have a similar theme. The Upper Room scripture reading is Psalm 46 which includes verse 10: Be Still, and know that I am God . The message in Jesus Calling is to know that God is God and that He is in control.  If we just spend quality time with God, ( Be still ) we will recognize that God's got everything under control, even if ...

On Friday afternoons, a group of people goes to the local nursing home to sing hymns.  Since I am out of work, I was asked to come along.  I did.  It was fun.  Some of the songs I knew.  Some I did not.  One song I did know, and had sung before many times and have heard in several different versions was It is Well With My Soul .   Well, as things go, I noticed some of words that had never sunk into my brain.  Those words are: " And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll", I think this is the last verse.  The line that I heard for the first time today was: " when my faith shall be sight ".  Isn't that just a wonderful thought?  When we no longer just have faith but we will also be able to SEE the object of our faith.  I can't make any other comments.  Oh, the day will come when we will see the object of our faith.  It is Well With My Soul.  :)   Tha...

As I've posted before (see Feb 16 post), I've been reading/praying for pastors and their families.  I have to say this is not always easy. I frequently have to pray for myself at the same time, to make my prayer genuine, to accept and love unconditionally, to not be judgmental, etc. I've known some pastors who need a lot of prayer....at least from where I'm standing, so I need to refocus and try to understand that pastors are people too, having the same issues as I have including some I'll never have.  Some pastors (and people in general) are better at showing love and compassion to the rest of us. It is hard to not expect more from pastors that I expect from others.  I am sorry for that in myself and have to pray daily that I become more helpful and less negative. Well, today's passages for praying for pastors includes 1 Thes 5:17 and Acts 1:14.  1 Thessalonians 5:15 is short but packs a big punch; pray without ceasing . Acts 1:14a states " All these wit...

Last evening we started a study for Lent.  It has the statement "a lenten study for adults" on the cover.  The study is called Watching the Disciples: Learning from Their Mistakes .   Several people couldn't make it because of the road conditions.  We had good discussion anyway.  The study guide has some references to scripture and some things to ponder then some discussion questions.  Interestingly, the first question we discussed was not in the study guide.  What is Lent?  You see most of us in this study group are Protestants.  Possibly because we are protestants, we question things that are somewhat ritualistic.  Most of us in the group commented that we didn't grow up with giving up things for Lent, didn't grow up with a lot of discussion of Lent.  I don't even know if we (my church) had Ash Wednesday services.  We probably did but it wasn't something that we (my family or church family) attended with any regularity or i...

I'm not feeling well today.  I have a stuffy head.  My nose is stopped up but running at the same time.  I've pumped myself full of medicines to try to alleviate the symptoms so I probably have "medicine head" too but there is too much gunk in there to know.  Needless to say, I'm having trouble thinking. But, I made a commitment to myself to do a post to my blog every day.  The reason for this is that if I make the commitment, I will make a real effort to do it.  Effort will make me focus on something more than myself.  Today, I need the commitment to something besides me. Which makes me think of what a commitment is.  In the case of this blog, the commitment is to spend time looking at ways God works in and through me each day.  Ok. Today, I don't feel well.  How is God working in or through me today in my not-wellness?  How is God being glorified while I'm feeling poorly? To be perfectly honest, I don't know.  I do know ...

For anyone interested, yes, I shoveled the snow from the driveway and this time the steps to the porch as well as the porch.  (See previous post from last week titled "God loves my husband....") But that has nothing to do with today's post. In my reading today, I read Jeremiah 3:15.  It was part of the readings associated with the "31 Days of Praying for Your Pastor" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  31 Days prayer guide The suggested readings each day illustrate the key ideas for the prayer each day. There are a couple of things that this prayer guide does for me.  1) Makes me aware of issues that pastors and their families have that others of us do not have. 2) Makes me appreciate some things that my pastors (past, present, and future) may do for me that I may not be aware of. This passage made me think of all the "shepherds" who have been in my life from Sunday School teachers to youth leaders to our church's ministers and their families to other mem...

This Sunday we did a skit about how Moses was changed after his visits on Mount Sinai with God. It was Transfiguration Sunday.  We wanted something that the children could relate to and remember so we chose Moses in person.   We had "Moses" come through the sanctuary, talk a little to the kids then walk off on his way to talking with God.  Another person kept the kids interested and talking until Moses was done talking with God.  When he came back - he was different.  Because, you see, each time we spend time with God, we are changed. I think they got the message - as much as they could.  I really enjoyed it. The point is that each encounter we have with God, we become different than we were before the encounter.  When we pray, we are closer to God, even when our prayers are selfish or angry. Each time we read God's Word, we know more of who God is.  Each visit with God is life-altering, even if only a little.  Thank you God for t...

I am reading through the Bible in a Year. I am not disciplined enough to just get a reading plan and do it.  I bought a book that has reading each day. This particular Bible in a Year is in chronological order. I'm enjoying it daily....usually.  Some days are rather boring - like when the census results are documented.  Several days ago, I read a passage, or rather a phrase that caught my attention with a question....huh?  The phrase is from Numbers 18:19.  In my NIV version the phrase is "an everlasting covenant of salt".  A covenant of salt.  That is really a strange thing to use to bind an agreement.  So, I did some investigation (after I finished my reading so I wouldn't get distracted - see previous post titled "Devil's in the details").  In Biblical times, salt was used for any number of things from preservation, flavoring for food, and cleansing. Salt came to be associated with purity, health, durability, faithfulness, dependability...

I have a friend who is going back to school.  She is going to study religious studies.  She is very close to my age, give or take a few weeks - or maybe a year or so.  I say this because I'm not young....so neither is she....in terms of going to college.   An octogenarian would think we are young but I'd be willing to bet that there are a lot more people younger than older than we are, so we aren't young. She is starting a new phase in her education. When I asked her what she will do with this education once complete, she said she didn't know.......  She doesn't know.  She only knows that she feels drawn to starting these classes. When her application was accepted, she was nearly ecstatic. But she doesn't know what she is going to do with this. Can you tell that this boggles my mind?  I am not a control freak.  I do not overly plan anything. I don't need to know all the details of whatever it is that I'm working on or planning.  I am act...

We like to be able to point blame on something or someone.  In my former job, routinely the supplier or the customer or the engineers or the management or a piece of equipment or work instruction got the blame for being the cause of a particular problem.  The immediate response from people is to find someone or something to blame.   In John 9:1-3, the disciples immediately assumed that the man was blind because he or his parents sinned.  They wanted to blame something (someone's sin) for the blindness.  But Jesus points out that it isn't because of sin at all.  The blindness was another opportunity for God to display His work.  " Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." I have a friend who went through a very difficult time that lasted what seemed like an eternity.  At the time, we could see glimpses of God at work.  But it wasn't until after the...

In Numbers 14, the Israelites are grumbling again.  That's pretty much all they've done since they left Egypt.  This time God is tired of it and plans to destroy them all.  But Moses talks to God about this decision.  I'm calling this discussion an intercessory prayer.  That seems appropriate to me.  Moses tells God why He may want to reconsider destroying the people He'd just rescued from slavery in Egypt.  Moses asks God to reconsider and not to destroy them.  Verses 15 and 16 tells us that Moses says, "If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.'". So Moses asks God to change His mind.  Both brave and loving of Moses. What is God's answer?  Something like, "Ok, I won't destroy them all right now, but over the next 40 years they'll all die off then ...

It's been snowing for a while now, started around 8 last night.SNOWED.....Hard at times.  Lots of snow.  Several inches of snow.   Can't see where the driveway ends and the yard begins.  Don't know where the street is, except it's close to the mailbox as I recall.  Today, I can say without one iota of doubt that God loves my husband, my dog and me.  I don't much like physical labor.  I don't do it well.  I'm not very strong so it is difficult.  I also don't like, rather I nearly hate, cold.  What does this have to do with snow and knowing that God loves my husband, dog and me?  I actually wanted to clear the thick snow off the driveway.  Yes, wanted to. I didn't want to take the dog for a walk because after all, it's snowing....so it's too cold to go for a walk, right?  So the poor dog is stuck bored in the house yet again......except that I wanted to clear the snow off the driveway.  I bundled up, like I do wh...

Today, I'm convicted.  I've read this passage many times and have listened to numerous sermons based on this passage. But today, I'm convicted.  Today, in this passage, for the first time, I'm convicted in my sin. Jesus had not called any disciples yet.  This verse tells of when he chooses to call them specifically.  So those called have had no personal interaction with Jesus that we know of.  They may have heard of Jesus.  They may know that he is someone to watch but they did not KNOW him. Yet, when Jesus tells them to cast their nets out a little further, in deeper water, they grudgingly do so. (Verse 5: Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." ) They did as Jesus suggested just because HE suggested it.  They did not argue about it.  They were probably too tired to do that.  But they fully expected this exercise to be a waste of time and energ...

Hebrews 11:3 (ESV) By faith, we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. This is the third verse that seems to be to relate to the last two posts.  "By Faith, we understand...."   One of the hardest things about being Christian is having a satisfactory answer for "but how do you KNOW?"  The real answer is faith.  I have faith that what I believe is true.  Samuel believed that Eli knew what he was talking about when he said to respond to God calling.  Samuel had faith that Eli knew.  Jesus revealed the truth of scripture and the disciples had faith that Jesus was who He said He was.  I have faith that those before me, those who have formed my faith, knew the truth of God in Christ.   Hebrews chapter 11 is sometimes called the Hall of Faith.  It is filled with people of faith who believed God, who acted upon God's commands sometimes contrary to...

Luke 24:45 (TNIV) Then he [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  This is the second verse of three that are parts of a continuing logic in my mind.  The verse where God is calling Samuel (1 Sam 3:10) illustrates that we need guidance to understand what is expected of us.  Eli had to tell Samuel what to do next.   In this verse in Luke, Jesus uses the confusion of His death, resurrection and appearance to the disciples to explain all of scripture.  Many parts of scripture were prophecy that really made no logical sense to them.  Some scripture was probably thought to be little more than rambling by questionable "prophets" rather than having any value in their day.  Some scripture may have even been thought of as little more than folklore or unrelated to reality. But in this verse, Jesus reveals that He is the fulfillment of all of scripture . "THEN He opened their minds...." After He was crucified and raised fro...

1 Samuel 3:10 (NIV) The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Today there were three diverse scriptures in my readings that seem to go together.  I'll write about them independently and how they converge later. In this verse, Samuel, who has not been introduced to God yet (see verse 7: Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.) was hearing God call his name. He did not know how to respond.  His mentor, Eli, told him how to respond to the call, "speak, for your servant is listening." This is how I also should respond to God's call, Speak, for your servant is listening.  This response is appropriate to tell God that He won't be wasting His words and instruction on me because I will listen.  This response conveys that I recognize God as Master, that I am only a servant, that I am ready to obey the...

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. A very present help.  Our God is a very present help.  Our God is very present. How often do we forget that God is with us always. He sent Jesus as Emmanuel, God With Us. When Moses asked God how to tell the Israelites that he was sent by the living God to get them out of bondage, God said to tell them His name: I AM.  So we know that God exists because He proclaims in the announcement of His name, I AM.  GOD IS. GOD WAS. GOD WILL BE. God, our Lord and Master, is very present because He Is, Was and Will Be.  He is everywhere and in all times.  What a wonderful and scary thought. God is there when we need Him.  God is there when we turn to Him.  God is there when we choose to act like He isn't. Dear God, I AM, You are amazing and awesome.  You are everywhere at all times.  You are there when bad things happen.  You are there when great things happen....

Devil's in the details. I bought an amazing computer program CD from CBD.com that arrived yesterday.  It is called The Essential Bible Study Library. ( http://www.christianbook.com/the-essential-bible-study-library-rom/9781418543198/pd/543198 ) I am not any sort of expert on this. I have no idea if it is a good example of this sort of "library" or not.  The price was wonderful for the content listed on the box.  So I bought it. I now have access to loads and loads of materials from Bible commentaries to Study Bibles to dictionaries and even daily devotionals.  I am so excited about this. But in my excitement, I have to be careful not to limit myself to study.  Study is one part of a life spent with God. I have several Bibles - hard copies not just the electronic I have with this CD e-bible as they are calling it.  I have some that are just Bibles meaning few if any footnotes , no author comments, no articles explaining life during Bible times......j...

Yesterday I took my dog for a walk. There was snow still on the ground, some on the curbs and edge of the street.  Most of what was on the curb and street was slushy, making it slippery.  Because of that, I walked with my head down watching where I stepped. What I noticed on the ground in front of me was a penny, an old, dirty penny.  I bent down and picked it up saying, "Thank you, God".  It made me think of the story I heard quite a while ago about a man who always picks up pennies that he finds even though he is very wealthy. He picks up each penny as a gift & reminder from God.  Each penny says "In God We Trust".  He picks up each penny and whispers a quiet thank-you prayer to God for reminding him that God loves him and whats him to trust.  Our money all says it.  In God We Trust. I don't think of this each time I handle money.  I haven't trained myself to do that yet but I do think of it each time I find a penny.  I say ...

A friend of mine took this photo this morning out her back door.  There is no photo-shopping done.  This photo is copyrighted so I'm using it by permission.  (Thanks, DE) This is one of those times where I see God at work.  Only God can create such beauty and a person with the eye to snap a photo.  How can anyone think that this is just random?  I can understand why some people don't believe that God works in peoples' lives.  That takes faith that develops after one believes that God exists and loves us.  But I can't understand why some people believe that there is no God, a God who created all of this spendor, a God who creates daily and God who created science and the laws of physics which govern what we "know".  Thank you, Creator, for your wonderful, beautiful, breath-taking creation.  Forgive me when I try to take credit for anything, or give You less credit than You deserve for everything.  Creation simply sings out Your...