Tag Archives: Bible

Where does it hurt?

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My Grandma told me once about a time when my Uncle Pete was just a toddler, a time when he wouldn’t stop crying and fussing. She fed him, had already changed him, tried to comfort him, then put him to bed. He kept wailing and fussing. She even gave him a little spank because she thought he was being obstinate about going to bed. His cries persisted, his little cheeks all wet with tears. She decided to check his diaper again and maybe even give him a bath to calm him down. As she undressed him, she found that one little toe had gotten all bent up caught in the elastic of his footie pajamas and was all red. She confessed, almost teary-eyed, that she felt awful being upset with him when the whole time he was crying because his little toe was hurting and he didn’t know how to make it feel better.

As adults, we may not always cry, but there are times we get irritable, Continue reading →

Fighting words

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There’s a time for everything: a time to win, a time to lose, a time to laugh, a time to cry, a time to run, and a time to fight. That could mean fighting off a bully, fighting for something you believe in, or even fighting your own self and the things you tell yourself about yourself.

In the movie Back to the Future II, the hero Marty McFly does his best to do right and avoid fighting his enemy, the trouble-maker Biff. He has his limits, though, and when Biff hollers at him while he’s walking away from a confrontation, “What are you…chicken?” Marty stops dead in his tracks, steely determination in his eyes. He says quietly, “Nobody calls me ‘chicken‘” and turns to teach Biff a lesson.

What triggers you to that tipping point, to when you’re ready to fight? Most of the time I believe in solving things as peacefully as possible, but when it comes to the enemy of my soul, there’s going to be a battle. And, when it comes to the enemy picking on the ones I love, get ready to rumble!

I recently discovered an album by artist Ellie Holcomb called Red Sea Road. (so many great songs, love the lyrics) In her song “Fighting Words” she shares openly about the negative self-talk that happens inside, even self-hate, the lies the enemy spews and how she fights back:

I will fight the lies with the truth
Keep my eyes fixed on You
I will sing the truth into the dark
I will use my fighting words¹

As I listened, I found myself wishing she revealed specifically what her fighting words are. You know so I could use them, too! I realized I need to figure out my own fighting words to counter when the devil tries to pull me down.  Where would I find them? Continue reading →

Sunday Morning

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I was nice and warm and comfy when the alarm went off.  It took a few hits of the snooze and kicking myself in the rear to actually get out of those toasty covers and get dressed.  Goin’ to church today, like every Sunday, all my life.

Why do I go?  It’s more than just a good thing to do, or a habit.  There is something encouraging about spending time with the other people in my church community.

There is something really uplifting, healing and even fun about singing songs with other people about God and to God.  Music is one of my biggest loves so I especially like this part of church and always have.  Today we had a horn ensemble playing as special guests and during one particular song I could just picture Jesus in heaven being honored by a royal fanfare of thousands of angels playing trumpets.  I remembered He is King of kings and Lord of lords and is deserving of the best music we can make, the best praise we can muster.

There is something affirming and reassuring to hear someone give a story of how God has helped them or worked in their life.  Today two men offered stories.  One told how praising God constantly through fear and possible cancer diagnosis kept him steady and hopeful.  The other shared how in the midst of turmoil and breaking relationships God told him in many different ways not to give up, Continue reading →

Totally Devoted

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Whenever I hear the word “devoted” I think of that song from the musical “Grease” when Sandy is singing about Danny and how much she can’t help loving him.  “Totally devoted to youuuu…” You know that one?

This morning while reading today’s devotional in Jesus Calling this line stood out to me:  “I go before you to open up the way, and I also walk alongside you. There could never be another companion as devoted as I am.”¹  (Jesus Calling reads as if Jesus is talking to the reader personally.)  I looked up the word devoted and found this definition: as a noun – “zealous or ardent in attachment, loyalty or affection” and as a verb – “to give up or concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause, etc.” ²

I’ve heard a lot about people being devoted to something or someone, and to God, but hadn’t really thought of God being devoted to us, not in those certain terms.  It does say in the Bible that God is a “consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24).  He is not jealous of us, He is jealous for us – for our attention.  The Word says that God is love (I John 4:8), that His faithfulness reaches to the skies (Psalm 36:5), that He is always true and keeps His word (Psalm 145:13).  I love the verse in Romans that says if God gave up His only Son for us, how would He not also give us every good thing?  That He is for us and nothing can separate us from His devoted love (Romans 8:31-35).

Why would God be devoted to humans?   Continue reading →

God came near

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I’ve been telling a friend of mine who has some choices to make that God promised he would give us wisdom when we ask, it says so in the Bible, his Word. (James 1:5) So I’ve been praying that way for her and He is answering, bit by bit, and helping her decide.

Throughout the morning some concerns started piling up in my heart and I knew I needed some quiet time, so during my lunch hour I practiced what I’ve read in the Word about praying and laying all my anxieties before God and thanking Him for as much as my little brain can think of.  (Philippians 4:6-7)  I talked with Jesus as I would any friend and opened up my hands, letting go and remembering that everything is under control but not mine, God’s.  I drove back to work feeling lighter and at peace.

God’s Word is truth, I’ve proven it in my life over and over.  It’s living and active, has the power to convince us to change, to surrender, to try, to wait, to believe, to love.

The Bible says that God’s living Word is Jesus and Jesus is our Emmanuel: God with us.

I guess I missed a day in my “Jesus Calling” devotional because I realized today I was reading December 12th when it’s really the 13th.  It was good, though, because what I read was just what I needed today.  “If you could only see how close I am to you and how constantly I work on your behalf, you’d never again doubt that I’m wonderfully caring for you.”

Why do I doubt it?  Why do I forget that God is as close as my breath, and even closer still than that?  I needed a reminder that God came near and that He chose to do so.  My piddly existence is worth something to Him, a mystery I may never understand!

He is near.  He is living and active.  He is Emmanuel, God with me, near me, by my side and on my side.

He came near and stays near, always awake, always faithful, always present.  He doesn’t turn away or leave or abandon.

Be near, O God.  My Savior, Emmanuel!

 

Do I have something in my teeth?

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Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it. 23If you hear the message and don’t obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror 24and forget what they look like as soon as they leave. 25But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget.  James 1:22-25  CEV

God has given this verse to me several times this week (from different sources) so I think I should ponder it more closely.  Obviously He’s got something for me to learn. Continue reading →

So…

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There have been lots of thoughts churning in my head the last few days – of course when are there NOT lots of thoughts churning in there?  Anyway, here is a window into my crowded head if you’re so inclined to read on:

I think part of my feeling distant from God lately is that I’ve been angry with Him – angry that He hasn’t answered prayers the way I thought.  I mean, did he even take into consideration the five point argument I shared with Him about why my way was good?  And how about that time-table of His?  Why do I think that if something doesn’t happen in a few weeks or even months that it means God isn’t there or doesn’t care?  That is pretty silly.  As much as I thought I was resisting the enemy, I had fallen prey again to his ploy of self-pity and forgetfulness.

Forgetfulness?  About all God has done in my life and in the lives of those around me.  What other proof do I need that He is there and active in our lives?  That He really does care about each of us in love.   There are a number of Bible verses that tell God’s people to recall the things God has done throughout their lives so they won’t lose hope, so they will stay on track, so they will be thankful.  I’ve been forgetting to remember. Continue reading →

Faith Hero #1: Joseph

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The story of Joseph has been one of my favorites for a long time, but especially lately.  If you are lacking faith or need encouragement about having to wait on God, dealing with the unfairness of life sometimes, trusting even when it seems God has left, even reconciling family relationships, you should read his story (Genesis 37-50).

I read his story again this morning and was moved several times to tears.  As I read, I tried to imagine his emotions, the surroundings, the events and life that happened in between the lines of Genesis.   Having heard the story so many times as I grew up, I read it in The Message version today.  I really took my time to think as I followed him from being born to a joyful and relieved mother and father who had waited a long time for his arrival, to growing strong and handsome as the favored son, to being betrayed and disposed of by jealous brothers, to success then unjust imprisonment, to being forgotten and waiting years for change, to success again and eventually restoration of his relationship with his family.

Can you hear his voice yelling up to his brothers, who sat calmly by eating their dinner, as he yelled for them to pull him up out of the cistern?  Continue reading →

Time to Study some Faith Heroes

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In Hebrews chapter 12 of the Bible, we read the description of an inspiring scene:

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!    (Hebrews 12:1-3  The Message)

Picture the race we’re running with Jesus.  The narrow way is lined with all sorts of people who have already finished and cheer us on!  They’re not just enthusiastic observers, they ran the race before we did and finished.  They’ve been where we are and have persevered.  They are role models for us, people who dealt with this frustrating battle with sinful nature, doubt, disappointment, fatigue and more.  I like the way The Message puts it when talking about the chief role model, about learning from Jesus and how he ran the race, “study how he did it….go over that story again, item by item…”  I think it also helps to remember the heroes of faith told about in the Bible and how they lived, as well.  That’s why God wanted us to know about them in His word, right?  There’s so much to be learned from the stories of their lives.  I want to think about some of them in the next few posts and how they dealt with disappointment.

Everyone faces disappointment.  I guess it can be a weight that slows us down in our race if we dwell on it, push it down inside, or let it pile up with other disappointments until they all blend together turning into bitterness and resentment.

Some disappointments from the past year or so, maybe longer, have begun to prick the inside of my heart, showing me that I haven’t really dealt with them or thrown them off so that I can run better.  I’d much rather sprint lightly with airy freedom than slog along with heavy feet.  Time to study up on some faith heroes.  Care to join me?  Stay tuned.

The secret word

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Each summer when the girls were younger, I typically would leave a note on the kitchen table for my girls once they woke up – ideas for ways to spend their time other than television or computer, chores I needed them to complete that day, etc.  A few years ago at the bottom of the note I typed out something like this, “I’ll be checking when I get home so be sure you finish your chores.  I love you girls and hope you have a great day! If you’re still reading this note you’re going to be really glad you read all the way through because the secret word is peanut.  If you can tell me the secret word when I get home from work you get a surprise.  Now go do your stuff.”

When I got home I asked them if anyone knew the secret word.  They gave me blank stares and asked, “What secret word?”   Continue reading →