"He will take pity on the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence for precious is their blood in his sight."
Psalm 72: 13 & 14
I've sang many a hymn about the precious blood of the Lamb, but I never knew my blood was precious to him as well! Often, I feel like I'm bleeding and needy, worn out, fatigued, tired of fighting the brokeness of this world. Jesus can empathize with that because he's been there, done that in the most powerful way - on the cross.
Jesus, you're my hero!
"My faith looks up to thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine.
Now hear me while I pray;
Take all my guilt away;
Oh, let me from this day be wholly thine."
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Strong Armor
"But since we belong to the day, let us be self controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet."
1 Thessalonians 5:8
Faith, hope and love can protect us from our enemies. Ever try to sway someone of strong faith into believing something else? You can't. It's like bending steel with your bare hands. Love can be just as fierce and impenetrable. Any parent who has sat up all night worrying about an errant child or tending to a colicky baby can tell testify to this. Having the "hope of salvation" means that we're living confidently, believing in the divine promises: Jesus has gone on to prepare a place for us and He will come again to take us home. We who believe upon him will live eternally. All of this armor is enough to protect us from Satan. Why? Because Jesus gave them to us.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13
1 Thessalonians 5:8
Faith, hope and love can protect us from our enemies. Ever try to sway someone of strong faith into believing something else? You can't. It's like bending steel with your bare hands. Love can be just as fierce and impenetrable. Any parent who has sat up all night worrying about an errant child or tending to a colicky baby can tell testify to this. Having the "hope of salvation" means that we're living confidently, believing in the divine promises: Jesus has gone on to prepare a place for us and He will come again to take us home. We who believe upon him will live eternally. All of this armor is enough to protect us from Satan. Why? Because Jesus gave them to us.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13
Call Me a Bird Brain
"I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them."
Hosea 11:4
God's relationship with mankind is woven with love. Throughout the Bible, one thing is clear: God loves me so!
I saw a baby bird following its parent around in the yard. It was peeping and chirping, adamantly following the one who was caring for it. It knew, despite its small bird brain, not to let the parent out of its sight. This wisdom came from an ordinary bird, largely unnoticed by passersby.
God leads me with kindness, he lifts my yoke of burden as he bends down to feed me. All this, wrapped in ties of love!
You can bet, like that bird, I'm going to follow him, never letting him out of my sight.
Hosea 11:4
God's relationship with mankind is woven with love. Throughout the Bible, one thing is clear: God loves me so!
I saw a baby bird following its parent around in the yard. It was peeping and chirping, adamantly following the one who was caring for it. It knew, despite its small bird brain, not to let the parent out of its sight. This wisdom came from an ordinary bird, largely unnoticed by passersby.
God leads me with kindness, he lifts my yoke of burden as he bends down to feed me. All this, wrapped in ties of love!
You can bet, like that bird, I'm going to follow him, never letting him out of my sight.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
The Feminine Side of God
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Genesis 1:27
While studying the delicate pink blossoms of a graceful tree in bloom, it occurred to me that our Creator has a feminine side. When I mentioned that to my husband, he thought it odd, but I rejoiced in it. Most men, if they were asked to create a tree, would stick to the basics: practical, servicable, of staid color and function. Men do not likely lean toward froo-froo. After all, of what use is a pink blossom?
When I was a teen, attending Bible classes, it irritated me that women were seen as second-class citizens who were only created for man's use and forever marred because Eve ate the fruit first. Given enough time, I reasoned, Adam would have eaten of it without any help. Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 14:34 galled me: "Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak but must be in submission, as the Law says." But then, I read of Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. How daring! A Jewish man was forbidden to speak to a woman alone, especially a despised Samaritan! But, he saw something in her soul, a yearning for the Messiah who would come and explain everything. Her witness to the townspeople brought many to Christ. Good thing she did not remain silent.
Galatians 3:28 says: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In God's image, male AND female were created and we are all ONE in Christ.
Yesterday, I attended a mother-daughter banquet at a church. The theme was vintage fashion and we were asked to wear hats. What fun! Some ladies wore jewelry or nail polish, others wore dresses and lipstick. Dainty food was served in tiny dishes and we nibbled on butter cookies shaped like tea pots. We sang the Doxology in praise to our King, thanking him for making us his royal daughters.
I'd like to think that, just like the pink trees, God enjoys the feminine, delicate offerings that women bring to life. In his kingdom, I now know, there are no second-class citizens for "everything comes from God." (1 Corinthians 11:12)
Genesis 1:27
While studying the delicate pink blossoms of a graceful tree in bloom, it occurred to me that our Creator has a feminine side. When I mentioned that to my husband, he thought it odd, but I rejoiced in it. Most men, if they were asked to create a tree, would stick to the basics: practical, servicable, of staid color and function. Men do not likely lean toward froo-froo. After all, of what use is a pink blossom?
When I was a teen, attending Bible classes, it irritated me that women were seen as second-class citizens who were only created for man's use and forever marred because Eve ate the fruit first. Given enough time, I reasoned, Adam would have eaten of it without any help. Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 14:34 galled me: "Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak but must be in submission, as the Law says." But then, I read of Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. How daring! A Jewish man was forbidden to speak to a woman alone, especially a despised Samaritan! But, he saw something in her soul, a yearning for the Messiah who would come and explain everything. Her witness to the townspeople brought many to Christ. Good thing she did not remain silent.
Galatians 3:28 says: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In God's image, male AND female were created and we are all ONE in Christ.
Yesterday, I attended a mother-daughter banquet at a church. The theme was vintage fashion and we were asked to wear hats. What fun! Some ladies wore jewelry or nail polish, others wore dresses and lipstick. Dainty food was served in tiny dishes and we nibbled on butter cookies shaped like tea pots. We sang the Doxology in praise to our King, thanking him for making us his royal daughters.
I'd like to think that, just like the pink trees, God enjoys the feminine, delicate offerings that women bring to life. In his kingdom, I now know, there are no second-class citizens for "everything comes from God." (1 Corinthians 11:12)
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Plain and Simple
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."
John 17:3
I love it when I find a plain and simple truth on a page. It's as if all the other letters and words fall away as a beam of light highlights what is most imperative. Where is the Fountain of Youth? How can I avoid the Grim Reaper? Plastic surgery, perhaps? More exercise? Refrain from smoking? Although those choices may help fend off the inevitable, they are temporary measures. Webster's definition of eternal is: without beginning or end, existing through all time, everlasting. To have life everlasting, one must know the only true God, believing that he came to this world to save us in the form of a baby on Christmas Day. His death is payment for my sin. He sacrificed his life for me.
Believe in Jesus, plain and simple.
John 17:3
I love it when I find a plain and simple truth on a page. It's as if all the other letters and words fall away as a beam of light highlights what is most imperative. Where is the Fountain of Youth? How can I avoid the Grim Reaper? Plastic surgery, perhaps? More exercise? Refrain from smoking? Although those choices may help fend off the inevitable, they are temporary measures. Webster's definition of eternal is: without beginning or end, existing through all time, everlasting. To have life everlasting, one must know the only true God, believing that he came to this world to save us in the form of a baby on Christmas Day. His death is payment for my sin. He sacrificed his life for me.
Believe in Jesus, plain and simple.
Something to Crow About
"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."
John 17:24
Jesus knows he is loved completely by the Father and it is his desire to share that glorious love with the people of Earth - so much so that he was arrested and sentenced to die a criminal's death. While I was still a sinner, Christ did this for me and he wants me to be wherever he is. Why?
"....in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (John 17:26) There's the answer.
This love is really something to crow about. It's too marvelous NOT to be shared. After all, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son..."(John 3:16)
I am drawn to stories of near-death experiences. The common thread of these is the profound, purest form of love they felt while in the presence of God. It must really be something for Jesus to want to share this with us.
John 17:24
Jesus knows he is loved completely by the Father and it is his desire to share that glorious love with the people of Earth - so much so that he was arrested and sentenced to die a criminal's death. While I was still a sinner, Christ did this for me and he wants me to be wherever he is. Why?
"....in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (John 17:26) There's the answer.
This love is really something to crow about. It's too marvelous NOT to be shared. After all, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son..."(John 3:16)
I am drawn to stories of near-death experiences. The common thread of these is the profound, purest form of love they felt while in the presence of God. It must really be something for Jesus to want to share this with us.
No End In Sight
"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'"
John 11: 25-26
Tombstones bear two dates: a date of birth and one of death. For Lazarus, his date of death was changed when the Lord Jesus called him to come out of the tomb!
Earthly, physical death is still a reality. Obviously, Lazarus is not walking around anymore, but his soul lives on in heaven for all eternity. Today, he is strolling about, perhaps meeting with Noah, Moses or the apostles. Perhaps spending time with his sisters, Mary and Martha, or, even MY sister, Annette, who passed away in 1972. Maybe he is telling her what it was like to walk out of the tomb, bandages trailing behind, sounds of astonishment filling the air. She, in turn, would respond with joy what it's like to be whole now, enjoying the strength, vitality and soundness of mind that had eluded her on this planet.
This is the message of hope! Believe in Jesus and there is no end in sight. Abundant life, free from the cares of this world, is ours. Hallelujah. Let it be so.
John 11: 25-26
Tombstones bear two dates: a date of birth and one of death. For Lazarus, his date of death was changed when the Lord Jesus called him to come out of the tomb!
Earthly, physical death is still a reality. Obviously, Lazarus is not walking around anymore, but his soul lives on in heaven for all eternity. Today, he is strolling about, perhaps meeting with Noah, Moses or the apostles. Perhaps spending time with his sisters, Mary and Martha, or, even MY sister, Annette, who passed away in 1972. Maybe he is telling her what it was like to walk out of the tomb, bandages trailing behind, sounds of astonishment filling the air. She, in turn, would respond with joy what it's like to be whole now, enjoying the strength, vitality and soundness of mind that had eluded her on this planet.
This is the message of hope! Believe in Jesus and there is no end in sight. Abundant life, free from the cares of this world, is ours. Hallelujah. Let it be so.
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