Isaiah 61:3 "......They will be called oaks of righteousness ,        a planting of the LORD        for the display of his splendor." Isn't this what you picture when you think of an old oak tree? Something stately. Strong. Tall. This is perfect for displaying His splendor.  Standing tall, providing shade and shelter. This verse isn't referring to God's creation displaying His splendor, though.  It is referring to people.  Specific people.  Poor people.  Those who are brokenhearted.  Captives.  Prisoners. All who mourn and are grieved. Those people are hardly an example of the image of a strong, tall oak.  It seems unlikely that they would be the display of God's splendor. They suffer great loss, are in great physical pain, have few material possessions or are very ill. But.....Jesus came.... Isaiah 61:1-3 " The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,    ...

Yes, I have more to say on the subject.  I never would have thought that when I first saw the passage.  It has such few words and isn't even a complete sentence! (See Ephesians 6:15 - NCV this time) I thought about this piece of the armor a little bit. At first I was focused on preparedness. But looking through images for the previous post, and thinking a little about shoes in general, I gained a fuller understanding and visual image of this piece of armor. Our study included a sentence about the footwear of the Roman soldier, who was certainly  a prominent part of the culture when this passage was written.  I found an image of that sandal.  The shoe/sandal has long nails to ensure solid footing.  The land in the Holy Land is sandy and rocky and hard.  Slick bottomed sandals would not have been considered part of military equipment.  So, to make them military armor, the nails were added. Let's look at that and other purposes of shoes....

Put on your sandals so you are ready.  Well, you don't have to wear sandals.  Any appropriate footwear will be okay.  Just be ready, with your shoes on.  Be ready to tell others what you believe about Jesus Christ; that He is your savior, that He loves you and everyone you come in contact with, that He DIED a horrible death for you, and that He forgives every bad thing you've done, bad thing you've thought and  every bad thing you will ever do or think.( Ephesians 6:15 HCSB ) That is the Good News.  That even though He was in paradise with the Father in heaven, where things are perfect beyond what we can imagine, He still came to us as a baby, grew up stubbing his toes, falling as He learned to walk, hurting his hands working with wood and stone, and otherwise was human.  And if coming to us where we live here on this fallen planet weren't enough to make you tell about Him, He suffered a horrific death, taking on all the sins ever committed and all ...

Psalm 19:12b - 13a : (NIV) "Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me." I need this passage. Forgive my hidden faults. Also keep me from willful sins. We (I) get so caught up in what's going on ar ound us that we rarely see out part in the goings-on.  We rarely see how our reaction to it impacts the event.  I rarely evaluate my participation to see what I could have done better, or even worse, what I did absolutely wrong.  I rarely see my faults, as if they are hidden from me.  I refuse to openly acknowledge them, pretending they don't exist.  I even try to make them out to be less than what they really are i.e. everyone else does it, or I'm not like that other person. There are some faults/sins that I am oblivious to.  I need other Christians to point them out to me.  I need to have my eyes opened so that I can change the behavior.  Then I need to stop willfully doing the activity as well...

Hebrews 12:14 (New Living Translation) says: "Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord." The Bible gives us clear direction that it is not easy to do what God wants.  We are to WORK.  In this passage we are to work at living in peace with everyone and living a holy life.  The Bible acknowledges that it takes work to live in peace with everyone.  It takes WORK to live a holy life. Each day we get up and get ready to go to work.  We leave home to go work some place other than home.  We also clean house,get groceries, fix broken things, and loads of other things that we WORK at.  In general we spend a lot of our time working.  We work.  That is what we do. This passage tells us that besides the above we also have to work at relationships with others and with God.  We can all relate to someone who is just hard to get along with.  We have to work at even ...

Malachi 3:8 (NIV) "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings." Have you ever thought that when we do not tithe we are robbing God? I never thought of it that way....until I read this passage. Pastors, preachers, and people in general don't want to talk about tithing or giving to charity or giving to the church. It makes us nervous. We are bound to step on toes. Also, it can cause heated discussions. People want to say that tithing was put in place before there were the taxes we have now. To that I say, that is true - but so what? According to one of the first stories in the Bible, we are to give our best, not what is left over. We are to present to God our first fruits. We are not to quibble over amounts and who gets what. We are supposed to tithe to the church, the Christian church, to support the spreading of the good News of Jesus Christ. It is that simple. Father God, Please accept what we...

Psalm 119: 1-8     Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,        who walk according to the law of the LORD.   2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes        and seek him with all their heart.   3 They do nothing wrong;        they walk in his ways.   4 You have laid down precepts        that are to be fully obeyed.   5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast        in obeying your decrees!   6 Then I would not be put to shame        when I consider all your commands.   7 I will praise you with an upright heart        as I learn your righteous laws.   8 I will obey your decrees;        do not utterly forsake me. Many times as I read on the Old Testament, I find things that were modified...

Ephesians 6: 11-18 The Armor of God Verse 14 is: Stand firm then, .......... with the breastplate of righteousness in place, The breastplate of righteousness is doing what is right.  That is a lot easier said than done. And to be perfectly honest, I think doing what is right changes over time.  I don't mean that God's definition of right and wrong changes.  I mean that the more I learn about the Bible and the closer my relationship gets with Christ, the more I learn about what right and wrong are.  I believe a lot more things are wrong that I used to.  They were always wrong.  I just didn't know it or I chose to ignore it. For example, there was a time when receiving too much change back was considered good luck, or not my problem, or even a gift from God.  But as I have grown in my Walk, I have come to KNOW that receiving then keeping that excess change is wrong and the same as stealing.  Now, if you aren't there yet, that is ok.  I am n...

Stumbling block by Rosemarie Kusserow 1 Cor 8:9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. We have an obligation and responsibility to live as though we really believe we are God's redeemed children.  Part of that responsibility is exercising our freedoms with recognition that others are watching and listening. We need not worry about those who are non-believers because we can't please everyone. The argument is spelled out by Paul in 1 Corinthians 8. He acknowledges that some things are not wrong in themselves.  But since we follow and are committed to Jesus, we should refrain from doing those things that other believers find un-Christ-like or unworthy.  We, by our actions and words, must represent Christ as He would want to be represented.  We have an obligation to other believers.  The passage supports this. Note that the passage says " to the weak".  Paul is not suggesting that we ...

1 Corinthians 8:1b (NIV) says:  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The same verse in the NASB version says: Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.    The Amplified version says : knowledge causes people to be puffed up (to bear themselves loftily and be proud), but love (affection and goodwill and benevolence) edifies and builds up and encourages one to grow [to his full stature]. Have you thought about this?  The more you know, do you get more and more proud, more and more assertive about your area of knowledge, less and less patient with those with less knowledge?  I can look back and see instances where I have done each of those things.  Not very Christ-like, is it? The passage is a good visual image. "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up".  Picture someone puffing up when they know something you don't. Think about that a minute.  What are they puffed up with?.......air.  Knowledge is only as helpful as the per...

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;    they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;    they shall walk and not faint. This verse was in two devotions today, two.  That means I should pay attention, right?  some translations say "trust" instead of "wait".  When I read the translation with "trust", my attention wasn't stirred.  But when I read the same verse with the translation "wait", it got my attention. You see, I trust God.  I firmly believe that He will take care of me to use for His purposes and to prepare me for life in eternity with Him. But it never occurred to me that one manifestation of my trust was waiting for God.  Psalm 40:1 which was also part of my devotional reading today says " I waited patiently for the LORD..." I'm thinking that the point I'm supposed to get today is that even though I say I trust the Lord, I am not demonst...

Philippians 3:10 (NLT) I w ant to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.  Paul said this in the letter to the Philippians. The statement scares me a little bit.  Think of the power required to raise Jesus from the dead.  In order for me to experience that kind of power, what would the circumstances be?  I fear that it would be some amazing, terrible, awesome catastrophe. Like the tornadoes in Mississippi, or past hurricanes like Katrina, or the recent earthquakes.  Those event s are all examples of God's power. Now I'm not getting into whether God CAUSED those things to happen but we do know that He created the heavens and earth and everything in them so He created the weather systems and the gravity and tectonic plates where these events originate. God's power is amazing, far beyond our comprehension.  Paul can want to experience that mighty power but I prefer to take it on faith that Jesus was raised from the de...

Isaiah 65:1 (NLT) The L ord says,   “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.       I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.    I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ Isaiah 65 is a good chapter where God reveals that He is waiting on us to call out to him. You can almost hear His pleading with us to depend on him, to PLEASE ask Him for help.  How often have you wanted to help an elderly parent, grandparent or a young child or new parent, but wait to be asked?  We want to come to the aid of those around us who need help but we respect their need to do it on their own. I read the book 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper. One chapter in the book deals with the author who is too proud to let anyone help him.  At one point one person tells him that he is just plain selfish, that his church family wants to help, like he'd done with them countless times but that he wouldn't give the same c...

What did I do in the last week related to Prayer, Study and Action?  What will I do in the coming week? Started the Bible Study Putting on the Armor of God. continuing my daily Bible reading, UpperRoom and praying for my pastor and family along with the new pastor coming. I also sang on Friday at the nursing home.  A new singer was there, a man.  how nice was that? When /how did I feel close to Christ this past week? We (Pastor Parish Relations committee) met our new pastor and his wife this past week.  One of the committee members had anointing oil with her.  We put hands on them and prayed over them in our sanctuary. It was really special.  Where did I participate in being the Christ's hands and/or feet? I was busy last week and didn't really do much.  I did sing at the nursing home.  I think that is participating although not as hands and feet.  I think I need to be more intentional about this. When did I feel called but fa...

Ephesians 6:14 says " Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.. ," Let's think of what a Belt of Truth might be.  We already know that Truth is Jesus.  Jesus is the Truth as he said in John 14:6 " ...I am the way the truth and the life......" So, what does it mean to wear the Belt of Truth? When I think of a belt several images come to mind.  One is the slim belt that I wear on my dress pants.  At one time, its purpose was to keep my pants in place and to keep my shirts tucked in.  So this belt is for keeping things in place...or perhaps in perspective.   Another belt is picture is a prize held up after a boxing match.  This belt is to show the winner of a match earned from hard work and a winning boxing match.  This belt can illustrate hard work, determination, fighting for what one believes in. Another that comes to mind is one worn by persons who need help to support their backs. This belt is for being able to ...

We watched the 1941 film " The Devil and Daniel Webster " .  The story is about a poor farmer who sells his soul to the devil for wealth.  The devil comes to claim payment after 7 years.   There is a LOT interesting parts of this story.  It starts with a simple premise. Jabez Stone is struggling with everyday struggles that seems to him that everything that can go wrong does go wrong. In this movie, the devil is everywhere, or at least temptations are everywhere.  And it seems that no harm will be done by participating in those temptations......until the devil comes to collect. This movie illustrates the ease with which we fall.  In the movie, Daniel Webster is the hero.  He goes to trial to prove that Jabez Stone did not commit breach of contract because the contract was signed based on a lie, that Jabez's soul was not something to worry about. What is real about the ideas presented in the movie is that temptations are and the devil is everyw...

When reading through the Bible , especially the Old Testament , you will see many references to "other gods".  These references compare the God of Israel to other gods or otherwise acknowledges that there are "other gods".  (See Exodus 18:10-12, Exodus 23:12-14, Deuteronomy 11:15-17 , Joshua 23:15-16 , and passages in Judges, 1 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Psalms, Jeremiah, and Hosea.) This is really confusing.  Isn't God, the God of Israel, the Living God, the ONLY God?  Well, here is my opinion.  I think that anything that is worshiped is a god to the person doing the worshiping.  But I don't think those "gods" are gods that can "do" anything, or feel anything, or fix anything, or provide hope.  I think they are just people or things that are worshiped.  They are gods because someone has made them gods.  it takes an act of worship by a person to make it a god.   Now, the God of Israel is not that way at all.  ...

I recently went through a "centering" exercise.   Many times, we get stressed, confused, out-of-sorts.  Much of the time this is simply because we get caught up in what goes on around us, or in our heads (fears and anxieties).  So to get off that merry-go-round, try this "centering exercise". Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. (Keep your eyes closed!)   Continue to breath deeply with  your eyes closed while thinking...... Who do I serve? Who can I trust? Who do I serve? Who loves me more than I can imagine? Who do I serve? Continue thinking over these questions until all the answers are "God, my Lord and Savior, Creator, Sustainer". Now you are centered on the only thing that matters.  God will help you off that merry-go-round and help you just be in peace. Father God, We really do know that we can rest in You and that will keep us and shine upon us with Your grace.  Help us to remember that we serve YO...

Psalm 46:2-3 (ESV) Therefore we will not fear  though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam,  though the mountains tremble at its swelling. I read this today. I am in the part of my chronological Bible where they have placed a lot of the Psalms.  I noted several passages that I thought were interesting or compelling for one reason or another.  Psalm 46:2-3 is one I do not think I have the ability to pray (and mean) yet in my journey to give up completely to God.  I can say that I will fear not.  But when I say that, I am thinking of small challenges, or even quick harsh ones.  I am definitely NOT thinking of having no fear when the earth gives way, and the mountains move to the sea and tremble at the swelling of the sea.   I mean, think of the earthquakes that have been occurring to devastating results, the volcano that has halted air travel, stranding a hundreds if not th...

How much attention do you pay to the words of the communion liturgy?  I had a discussion with someone a few weeks ago about the words that are sometimes used by clergy that are biblically wrong. I guess a person can get hung up on worrying about the words that another uses.  We just need to make sure we understand what is correct. The verse I am talking about specifically is "this is my body given for you."  This is Luke 22:19 . Many times people say, "this is my body broken for you."  Now think about the difference between given and broken.  It is really a significant difference.  Was Jesus broken?  Was the mission too big for Him?  Did the beating that was coming overwhelm Jesus so that He felt broken? OR as Jesus said, did He give himself for us?  That is quite a difference. One is willful.  The other is coerced.  I have to believe that Jesus willfully gave Himself up to the Father's will to take our sins.  In this act,...