Isaiah 30:15 a This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:    “In repentance and rest is your salvation,    in quietness and trust is your strength,    but you would have none of it...." What is salvation? The standard answer is getting to go to heaven, or eternal life in heaven. Perhaps salvation is being safe from harm. Yet, our experiences indicate that salvation doesn't protect us from car accidents, murders, rapes, and other harms of the world. Salvation doesn't even protect us from having our feelings hurt or pride bruised. So what is salvation? In this life? What does it mean for me today? Or does it mean anything to my life as I try to live it today? I think this passage in Isaiah tells us at least part of the answer. Salvation comes when we repent and rest. Salvation comes from the freedom we receive when we turn from sin. This salvation results in rest. Peace.  Think about the times when this passage wa...

May there always be work for your hands to do; May your purse always hold a coin or two; May the sun always shine on your window pane; May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; May the hand of a friend always be near you; May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you and  May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you're dead. I don't know who wrote this prayer. I don't see anything that makes it "Irish" but that's how it was introduced to me. I like each line.  The last line makes me smile. I don't know that the devil has any "claims" on a person when they die. I think that we make that decision, even if we don't know we have. You know, the decision to follow Jesus or not. Even when people don't make the choice, they make the choice of by their non-decision. According to Ray Pritchard, in An Anchor for the Soul - Study Guide , "Not to decide is an decision in itself. If you don't say yes to Christ...

Cleaning is not on my list of things I like to do. I do it, not often and not well. It seems that I can dust, and in a day, you can't tell I've dusted.  As soon as I vacuum, the dog scratches and deposits a nice bit fur on the carpet, or leaves crumbs of food in his wake. When I actually clean a window, within a very short time, either the sun shines through and loudly proclaims that I made the window streaky, or my dog puts his wet nose on the glass just to make sure there is a pane of glass there.  I think you know what I mean, right?  Cleaning is never ending and is never done. That's why I don't like it. As I was bemoaning this thought the other day, another thought struck me like lightening.  How does God feel about cleaning ?  He forgives my sins then I get all dirty again, smudges of grime, streaks of bitterness, bits of fur in my wake.  He cleans me by the power of the blood.  Then I step in filth, rub my nose in someone else's business, tra...

Ezra 8:22-23 (NIV) 2 2 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.  A few points: "I was ashamed to ask". We do this. We are afraid or embarrassed to ask for help. We find ourselves needing assistance of some sort and would let someone help us, but we won't ask for help. If someone happens to stumble upon our need, we may gladly accept the assistance. But, pride prevents us from asking.  Psalm 10:4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 13:10 Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes befor...

2 Cor 4:1-11 ESV Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted ...

When I was in junior or senior high school, oh so many years ago, we used the term "fox" for boys we thought were oh so nice to look at.  We did not use the term "fox" because they were smart, sly, cunning, fast, wild, or animal-like.  We used the term only for those who were good looking! I read a footnote in my Bible last week, which made me think of how we use words. This footnote was for the word "you". The footnote said that in this case, the word translated into "you" was for the plural word in the original language. In English, we have you.  We don't have a word for you and you and you, except in the south where they use the term "all y'all" to mean more than one "you", uh, I mean "y'all". There is also the word "love".  In English, love is love, whether it be for your pet, your spouse, your child, your car, your job or chocolate. In other languages, there are multiple words for love ...

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and My God!" (John 20:28) This verse is from the story of Doubting Thomas. Poor guy. Forever known as "Doubting Thomas". As the story goes, Thomas said he wouldn't believe that Jesus had really risen from his beatings and death on the cross until he could put his fingers into the sword wound in Jesus' side and in the nail holes in his hands. How much different would we be, if any?  We read of hundreds, even thousands, who died because they saw Jesus AFTER his death and resurrection and became completely committed to Jesus. Many of us still doubt the story. We look at it as just a Bible story, nothing more than a story. Look at this one verse.  In one exclamation, Thomas declares he no longer doubts....anything.  He declares Jesus as his Lord and God, his Master and Sustainer, the one he will follow and obey. This is an exclamation of utter joy and total surrender. Thomas the Doubter is now Thomas the Committed. There were no q...

Ephesians 2:8 (NIV 1984) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— Have you thought about this before?  I haven't. Until today.  What exactly is the "gift of God"?  Seems to me it could be grace. That is certainly a gift of God. That's what grace is, an undeserved gift. Maybe the gift refers to the word saved. We are saved. That is certainly a gift from God for it is through the gift of his son, Jesus, and the death and resurrection that we are saved. Without that atoning gift, there is no salvation. Perhaps it is the word faith. That is the gift of God. I feel like I have faith that was gifted to me. I participate in increasing it but it is from God that I have faith and that I want to learn more and practice more to increase my faith. I think it should say gifts, because it is all three that God gives to us. Our sins are already forgiven, whether we accept it or not.  That's grace - a gift of ...

Convicted - yet again. Yesterday, I asked that you provide feedback to bloggers. To some extent, maybe a large extent even, this was a request for encouragement for me. Today, in a devotional by Oswald Chambers called Devotions for a Deeper Life A Daily Devotional , I am reminded that it's not about me. The suggested reading is John 7:32 - 39, and is about living water flowing out.  Oswald Chambers notes that Jesus says to " drink of me and out of you shall flow rivers of living waters ". (John 7:38 KJV)   Chambers points out that the focus of this is Jesus, not the river flowing out. That means that we must focus on Christ and let Christ work through us.  We aren't supposed to look to see the flow, to find the "encouragement", to see results of OUR endeavors. That would take our focus off Christ and place it onto the work. The work is NOT our focus. Christ is. So in evaluating myself against this day's devotion, I discover that I have been focused...

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together…..let us encourage one another. I have a favor to ask, not just for me but for any blogger you read regularly or even those you don't but find a post interesting. Many, probably most, bloggers post as they feel the need and as they are encouraged by readers. I know for me, I write a post when I need to examine a passage from the Bible, or when I need to share something I've discovered, or when I need help understanding something. There is no real accountability to anyone for a blogger to post something (unless they are being paid)....so over the last few months, I haven't written many posts.  If there is no other reason besides self, writing a post seems.... unnecessary for lack of a better word. I've discovered that people, me included, visit blogs and never read them.  We visit sites for pictures, diagrams, sketches to use for whatev...

Joh n 14 :1-4 “ Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” A couple of weeks ago, one devotional reading was John 14:1. Nice verse. " Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me."  I didn't think much more about it.  I'm not worried (much) about anything.  I do trust in God.  Check - mission accomplished - as far as this verse is concerned. The next day, in a different devotion, I was supposed to read John 14:1-4. Now, as you may know, when I read the same passage that close together, I feel like I'm supposed to pay more attention. So I thought about it, spent some time on it.  I know this passage is used a lot after someone ...

I believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, the Son of the Living God.   After bible study last week, I also know that I believe on Jesus Christ.  This phrase appears in several places in the New Testament but only in some translations.  I see it every so often and have wondered if it is a typo.....the letter o instead of the letter i.  Believe IN or Believe ON.  Last week, this phrase popped up so I asked my Bible Study group what they thought about the phrase "believe on".  (I love my Bible study group!) Here are some bits of the discussion.  Even the devil believes IN Jesus and knows He exists. The devil doesn't believe ON Jesus. Satan doesn't have Jesus as the foundation. When you are ON something, you are on top of it. The thing is part of what you stand on. Belief ON becomes our foundation, what we will take a stand for because it is our very foundation, the basis of who we are, and what we will fight for. So I not only beli...

Exodus 17: 1-6 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?” But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The LORD answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Is...

Today, as I read my UpperRoom devotion, I find I am convicted about thoughts I had while reading the devotion dated January 15, 2011.  The title is "Someone at the Door". The writer talks about someone knocking on his door asking, again, for assistance. Quoting from the devotion: "One day a man who had knocked on my door many times arrived again. This time I asked him to leave without even listening to him." Now there are at least two thoughts that went through my mind as I read this devotion. One had to do with my experience. No one has ever knocked on my door asking for help. I wondered where this type of thing occurred. My initial thought was that it must be in a big city because that just doesn't happen in my small community - that I know of anyway. I looked at the author's name and where he was from - Western Cape, South Africa. Perhaps that is how people ask for assistance in South Africa. I don't really know. As I read it, I thought, "Ge...

I have certain beliefs. Many have developed over many years. Some I've developed without even necessarily THINKING about them. I just believe them.  That is NOT the way to have a belief though. Just believing for the sake of believing is like building on sand. (Matthew 7:26,27 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash . )  So sometimes, I need to examine a belief to make it concrete. One example of that was when I wrote the post about the Trinity and someone made a comment that suggested that the Trinity isn't Biblical. Since that time, I've watched for Biblical evidence to support it. While I don't have the evidence documented to confirm it to a reader, I feel confident in my belief. Lately, I've read a few things that call to question my belief that Jesus is th...

Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” God's words to Cain. This is after Cain and Abel each presented offerings to God. God was very pleased with Abel's offering and less so with Cain's. God tells Cain," If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”   God says this before Cain killed his brother, Abel. God was talking about the offering but perhaps also about what God knew was coming. God told Cain to do what is right, that sin is crouching at your door, that sin wants him and that Cain must rule over sin. God is warning Cain to beware. To be aware of anger and his jealousy and his penchant for giving enough, but never his best.  God warns Cain, then Cain kills Abel. How often do we do the exact s...

According to the Bible, the first three people to sin were the first three people. Adam, Eve, then Cain killed his younger brother, Abel. In each sinful event, God confronted the sinner.  In each event, they denied their sin. I want to repeat that.  In each event, they denied their sin.  They blamed someone else, or made excuses or tried to pretend it didn't happen. We still do that today.  No matter the issue, we try to dilute it by calling it something other than sin. We all do it.  Then when we are confronted with the sin, we make excuses or try to convince others that it isn't really a sin. There was a tragic shooting in Arizona a few days ago.  Some are trying to say the shooter isn't responsible for his actions.  We just can't face it when we do wrong. We can't accept that there is evil in the world. But the Bible is pretty clear that there is evil, and there is sin and that we will be held accountable.  Thank God for Jesus who died to t...

Well, I finished the Chronological Daily Bible. NIV Daily Bible: In Chronological Order Softcover By F. LaGard Smith / Harvest House Publishers Discover the Bible as the extraordinary epic it is! As the unique, chronological presentation of God's story daily unfolds before you, you'll begin to appreciate God's plan for your life as never before as the Bible will become a fresh, inviting, more informative experience. Find a chronological/historical arrangement of every book of the Bible, a Devotional Commentary, 365 convenient daily reading segments, and topical arrangements for Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Bible is arranged in chronological order; daily readings are posted as January 1, January 2, etc. Organized into 365 chronological readings Narrative shaded in gray Cross-references I also finished another 365 devotional. Now I'm trying to get into a new habit. Well, not exactly a new habit, just new material. It feels a little disjointed since the material...

Yes, I know. I haven't posted anything for a while.Here's the story, my excuse as it were.  I've been busy. No, I did not get a job. My dear friend and I are working on a project.  It is something new for me. I'm not willing at this point to say what it is but if it turns out ok, I might let you know what the project is. I have really enjoyed working on it, learning something new, recharging my batteries. The whole Christmas season was just very pleasant. We cut back on the number of gift purchases so there is a lot less pressure/stress involved with that.  I've increased my baking and have given a lot of cookies and fudge and other goodies away.  I've really enjoyed that. Two Christmas gifts (from others to us) involved donations to Heifer International and St Jude's Children's Research Hospital .  Those were wonderful gifts! Our pastor led an Advent Bible Study, focusing on the "support people" as I call them, the shepherds, Joseph, the wi...

Colossians 3:5 put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature.... The rest of the passage lists some of the "earthly nature" that the people from the church in Colosse were dealing with: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Of course the earthly nature is our sinful nature. We can blame it on Adam and Eve but we are no better. If they hadn't fallen, we would have. The "earthly nature" mentioned by Paul is not exactly the earthly nature I need to put to death. I do have an "earthly nature". Pride. Disobedience. Laziness. Distrust. Gluttony. I am not always righteous, upright, and God-centered as I should be. Actually, I may not even be God-centered most of the time. A God-centered nature would crowd out the earthly natures in me. I wouldn't feel lost, broken, dissatisfied if I were able to focus more on what God wants and less on what I think I want. A person could tell immediately how I differ fr...