Category: Bible thoughts

Stormy Times!

I am not Paul; I do not have his eloquence, but I can relate to him. My prayer, though, is that a little of what I have learned from my earthly Father and from my heavenly Father is worth sharing and reading.

1 Corinthians 2:1-10 “And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about GOD. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s Power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on GOD’S Power.
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare GOD’S Wisdom, a Mystery that has been hidden and that GOD destined for our glory before time began.
None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the LORD of Glory. However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” – the things GOD has prepared for those who love Him – these are the things GOD has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches ALL things, even the deep things of God.”

My testimony is not about me, but rather about Jesus and His healing power, just as Paul’s is. The hurt, the broken, the addicted, the hopeless. We have the power of healing at our fingertips. Jesus said in Luke 17:6 “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

I don’t even have that much faith!

Even though my faith is miniscule, it is enough. My God is enough. He is bigger than my faith, and He is bigger than my doubt! He is able to answer and He provides for my needs. Always.

He is here for YOU, too. Jesus. He is more powerful, more fierce, and more loving than anything we can imagine. Right here, right now, let Him have the battle with your demons. I cannot defeat mine, and you cannot defeat yours…. Not on your own and in your own strength. Only Jesus. ONLY JESUS.

Just say Jesus.

Forget Religion

“When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the [Holy] Spirit, using the [Holy] Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach Him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 2:13‭-‬16 (http://bible.com/116/1co.2.13-16.NLT)

SPIRITUAL truths, not religious; no, the Apostles are spiritual, and they have religious fervor when teaching and preaching the Gospel.

As defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary:

Spiritual –

1: relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity; a religious person, religious attitudes
2: of, relating to, or devoted to religious beliefs or observances; joined a religious order
3a: scrupulously and conscientiously faithful; b: fervent, zealous

Religious –

1: of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit :incorporeal ;

spiritual needs
2a: of or relating to sacred matters; spiritual songs, b: ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal; spiritual authority
3: concerned with religious values

4: related or joined in spirit
5a: of or relating to supernatural beings or phenomena; b: of, relating to, or involving spiritualism :spiritualistic
1: the view that spirit is a prime element of reality; 2a: belief that spirits of the dead communicate with the living usually through a medium; b: capitalized: a movement comprising religious organizations emphasizing spiritualism

There, under the definition of religious, are the words I take issue with. To be more ecclesiastical than lay is (to me) to give my Christianity over to be defined by a priest or other ecumenical leader. To participate in spiritualism, as defined above, I am surrendering my very soul to the enemy, satan, the father of lies. In order to understand and love the Christ, I believe we need to take Paul’s words to the Corinthians to heart. There is too much “Religion” in our world, and not enough Spiritual Love shown through us to the world. Not spiritualism, but the love of the LORD; the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

He Knit Me Together

I LOVE this! Before I was even a thought in my mother’s mind, GOD was with me.

“YOU {GOD} made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” – – Psalms 139:13-14 NLT

Imagine! Marvel at His creation! He takes 2 cells, which alone are nothing, and He joins them together to create the complex and incredible thing we call life! Man can join the cells, and man can manipulate the cells, but only GOD can create the life within; what a MARVEL, what IMAGINATION, what CREATIVITY!

My puny little mind has trouble grasping the sheer magnitude of it all. Every single day in this country, thousands of babies die through abortion. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the AGI (Guttmacher Institute), in 2015 there were over 900,000 babies aborted. Killed. Of those, less than 2% – 2% – were from rape, incest, or the mother’s life was in danger! That’s insane. Basically, that means that 98% of babies who are murdered each year is because the mother doesn’t want to deal with it, for whatever reason. According to the CDC, in 2013, black women were 3.75% more likely to have an abortion than white women. Where are the pro athletes standing – or kneeling – on this issue?

Even if this were not a moral issue, it should be a financial issues. 17 states use public funds to pay for abortion, and about 14% of all abortions in the U.S. are paid for with public funds. That’s our tax dollars at work, people. Putting aside both of those objections, think on this for a moment. There is a tremendous outcry for more gun control because there were 59 people killed and over 500 injured this past week in Las Vegas. The hurricanes this year have taken 34 lives (so far) in Puerto Rico, and over 1oo in the Florida and Texas hurricanes. There has been a vigorous response to all of these tragedies, as there should be. I am by no means making light of these because they are devastating. I’m pointing out that lives lost due to overt violence or through natural disasters are next to nothing when compared to the over 2,400 lives lost every day through abortion. Where is the outrage; the outcry? I don’t hear it.

Did you know that at 45 days after conception, the heart is formed and beating? At 9 weeks, well within the first trimester, there is a recognizable baby, and at 52 weeks, babies have retinas, feet and hands? Check out this fascinating, eye-opening video – https://www.ted.com/talks/alexander_tsiaras_conception_to_birth_visualized .

Not just fascinating, but fantastic, awe-inspiring, breathtakingly beautiful, or to quote Alexander Tsiaras, “The magic, the mystery, the divine that is us.”

Thought provoking? I pray so.

In Christ Alone

From the Catholic faith comes this beautiful prayer, called St. Patrick’s Breastplate, from which I pulled this excerpt:

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today.

God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,

God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I am not Catholic, because I know that the only intercession I need with God comes through Jesus Christ, not a man. No matter what church name is over the door, it is the belief in Jesus’ saving Grace that we need in our lives. If the Catholic Church, or Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Church of Christ or of God, Southern Baptist or any other Baptist, or Methodist, teaches that the only way to God is through His Son Jesus Christ, that’s all that matters to me. The LORD will judge people’s hearts, not me.

This prayer touches my heart, and I pray that it touches many others. It reminds me of the 23rd Psalm, “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want… ”

Paul wrote to the Ephesians on the power of faith and prayer:

“When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the FATHER, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.

Then CHRIST will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His Love is. May you experience the Love of CHRIST, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from GOD.

Now all glory to GOD, Who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever!AMEN.” – Ephesians 3:14‭-‬21 (http://bible.com/116/eph.3.14-21.NLT)

End Times, or Chicken Little

Remember the story of Chicken Little? He ran around yelling “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” He did it so often that when the sky actually fell, no one believed him since he had yelled in error so many times before. That seems to be happening today in our world ….

I won’t be one of those people who stand on the street corner, brandishing a sign, proclaiming “the End is Near!” Well, I say that, and then I remind myself that I don’t know what God has planned for me. Let me rephrase. I don’t expect to be a street corner prophet…. but perhaps I am, in an electronic sense. Still, I find the following scriptures to be fascinating, especially in lieu of the nature events going on around the world.

” ‘In the last days,’ GOD says, ‘I will pour out My Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out My Spirit even on My servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy. And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the LORD arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’ ” – Acts of the Apostles 2:17‭-‬21 (http://bible.com/116/act.2.17-21.NLT) Also read Joel chapters 2-3

Fascinating, and quite scarey. Watching videos of the record breaking fires in the northwest, in California, and in Canada, the sun is darkened and the moon looks red from all of the smoke in the air. People who were interviewed stated things like “It seems like twilight at noon” and comments on how red the moon appears. Is it time for the second coming of Jesus? I defer to these verses:

“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” – Matthew 24:36 (http://bible.com/116/mat.24.36.NLT) Also, Mark 13:32, and Acts 1:7

Despite all the people screaming about the end of the earth as we know it because of wars and pollution and global warming, the truth is that this is all a part of God’s plan. Yes, the damage we humans have done to the earth is irreparable; at least, it is for us. Nothing is beyond God. NOTHING. When Jesus returns, whether it is today or in another 2000 years, and after He defeats the enemy (and He will defeat Satan, no doubts on that score!), we will see a new heaven and a new earth. All of the damage with be gone.

“But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with GOD’S Righteousness.” – 2 Peter 3:13 (http://bible.com/116/2pe.3.13.NLT)

What a promise! I highly recommend reading 2 Peter chapter 3 in it’s entirety as well as the rest of the above noted scriptures. In fact, sit down and start reading the whole New Testament. I know it can be difficult to get through all the genealogy of Jesus, but cross reference some of the names with their stories in the Old Testament. Jesus wasn’t born with a silver spoon, and His human ancestors were a motley crew. Just goes to show you that God can use anyone, no matter how broken, to fulfill His plans.

You have to decide for yourself whether you think we are in the end times, or if we’re all Chicken Littles. Whatever you decide, remember this. No man, I reiterate, NO MAN, can say when Christ will return. Only God knows, and He isn’t sharing the information. This is why Jesus tells us to be ready at any moment. Personally, I believe we are well into the end, and I know without any doubt that He will return. Someday, time and date unknown and unspeculated by me. Chicken Little? No, just a believer.

Side note: I haven’t seen this movie and I am not advocating for anyone else to see it; the image is strictly for illustrative purposes.

Words of Life

What a wonderful, life and love filled world it would be if we could just follow a few simple words!

“Children, obey your parents because you belong to the LORD, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” Parents, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them …. ” Ephesians 6:1-4 NLT

Simple words, easy to understand; not always easy to follow when the parents don’t honor the LORD with their lives. I know so many struggling people, in church, in the recovery programs, and in life, whose parents were far beyond anything worth honoring. Parents who sold their children for sex, parents who abused and brutalized them, even parents who used their own children in satanic rituals. It’s incredible that a parent could treat their child in these ways. Difficult to believe? Absolutely. Even witnessing the physical scars and permanent injuries, and seeing how hard it is for these children, who are now adults, share their stories…. first one-on-one, and then in small, safe groups of people with similar backgrounds, I find it almost impossible to comprehend that a parent could even imagine abusing their child in such a way. Yes, it’s incomprehensible, but it is real.

How do you tell a woman who has been abused her entire life by her earthly father, and often her mother as well, that there is a heavenly Father Who loves her beyond measures? A Father Who will protect her soul for eternity? I have a couple of friends who struggle greatly with this. For one whose parents sold her as a sex slave, and another who was forced to participate in horrific satanic rituals and sacrifices, it’s almost impossible to comprehend a loving Father. So many women (and men) use sex to cover the pain. It becomes a power thing, where she (or he) controls the act, and can even offer a fleeting few moments of physical pleasure. It is a brutal addiction that Satan capitalizes on. He thrives on the pain and addiction, and pushes for more. He is the father of lies and deceit, and he promises the pain will go away if the addict does as he whispers to them. He feeds the lies that she/he is worthless for anything other than the continued abuse. To stop the voices, many sex addicts use alcohol and drugs alongside the sex. Suicide beckons as a permanent escape.

I know that the only escape from the vicious cycle is to surrender everything to Jesus. Stop fighting Him and let Him have the burden. One particular friend wrote that she was tired of fighting, and tired of the constant struggle. I can only encourage her to stop fighting. Stop the struggle. I know it is almost impossible for her to see past the hurt of the past, but I also know that until we let go of the past, we can never move forward. It’s okay to mourn babies we never got to hold or only held for a very short time (and I believe we have to mourn in order to let go) and it’s okay to mourn loved ones who have passed on. There is a season to mourn, and then we must begin to live. She has been holding on to the tragedies and losses of her past so tightly, and for some long, she doesn’t know how to let go.

Come to Jesus, girlfriend. Let Him have your burdens. Open your hands and your heart and allow Him in to clear out the cobwebs. It’s okay to grieve, but move on to the good memories and live life in the now instead of in the past. Revenge is not the answer. Prayer and praise for our deliverance, and thankfulness for our salvation… these are the answer. Come to Jesus.

“Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” – Romans 15:4 NLT

CREDITS:

John Lawton, for his glorious, happy paintings; and

http://bible.com for the Scriptures.

Stuff and Nonsense

Here’s some gotcha scriptures:

“It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat [or drink] something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.” – Romans 14:21‭-‬23 (http://bible.com/116/rom.14.21-23.NLT)

I eat meat, and I have an occasional glass or two of wine or beer. Remember, in the scriptures, Jesus drank wine. I don’t drink to get drunk, and whatever I drink, it’s because I enjoy the flavor. I enjoy the flavors of meat, and enjoyed a plate of lamb fries the other night. Many people choose not to drink because the taste is not enjoyable to them. Others choose not to drink because the consequences of even a single drink would be to throw them back into an addiction. Eating meat, or rather, not eating meat, is a choice some make for health reasons, and others just choose not to eat it. I have to respect the choices of each person, whether I agree with them or not. Remember free will? It applies to everyone, not just me. Sometimes, respecting another person’s choice is for me to refrain from drinking in front of them, or not having a steak (or lamb fries 😊 ) when sharing a meal. By choosing to support their choice, rather than challenge it, I may be helping them to keep to their conviction. If I choose to drink in front of an alcoholic, or eat something another person believes is wrong, I am sinning by throwing up stumbling blocks in front of that person. Make sense?

I’m not advocating for vegans or vegetarians, and I don’t think prohibition solves anything. I know that when I choose to have meat or a glass of wine or a beer, I’m not doing anything wrong as far as it pertains to me. Growing up as a PK (Preacher’s kid), my Dad was strict about how things we did could be perceived by others. We weren’t allowed to go to movies, because someone might see us and assume that all movies were okay to go to, including what would now be classified as R-rated or X-rated. Perception, not reality. We didn’t go to parties or dances outside of church-sponsored, because of the possibility (or probability!) of drinking and other things teenagers so often get caught up in. Again, it was all about the perception that someone would see us there, and make assumptions about our behaviour… not the reality of it. I didn’t really understand, and I chafed under his restrictions, even though I obeyed them, mostly. Once I left home, let’s just say that I considered myself above such rules, for years.

Now, I understand why my Dad had those rules. He was a firm believer and advocate for verse 21-22a (and of all scripture):

“It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. ” – Romans 14:21‭-‬22a (http://bible.com/116/rom.14.21-22.NLT)

I may know that there is nothing wrong with my having a glass of wine, but I also know that drinking one in front of someone who is struggling with addiction would be wrong; therefore, it would be a sin for me to do so. Paul goes on to say this to us:

“We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the LORD. For even Christ didn’t live to please Himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult You, O GOD, have fallen on me.” Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.” – Romans 15:1‭-‬4 (http://bible.com/116/rom.15.1-4.NLT)

I will continue to have my wine or beer, and I doubt that I will ever stop eating meat. I take seriously Paul’s admonition in verses 1-2 in chapter 15 that I need to be considerate of others feelings and struggles. As Christians, we especially need to be looking at verse 3. “For even Christ did not live to please Himself.” Our lives here on earth shouldn’t be about us. They should be about Jesus Christ and the eternity He offers us, and about sharing that Good News with others…. something I admit to failing miserably.

Thank You, Jesus, for Your Salvation!

The Most High

Be honest. Do you believe in a being who could create everything out of nothing, or do you believe in the Big Bang? There’s a joke I recently heard about God and some evolutionary scientists. As they were discussing which was correct, evolution or creation, they decided to have a contest to see who could create a man. The scientists took a handful of mud in order to begin, and God said “Hold on. Use your own mud!” I love this, because it showcases the difference between creation and evolution.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1 (http://bible.com/116/gen.1.1.NLT)

Simply, eloquently, stated.

“But why is there such destruction and pain and suffering on the earth? How could God allow children to be abused and neglected?” When God created man, He gave them free will. He didn’t want puppets or ‘yes men,’ He wanted us to choose to love Him and to have fellowship with Him. Just look around you. If you are hosting a party or other gathering, and there is a person who is clearly unhappy about being there, how does that make you feel? Our goal as host is to ensure that everyone is enjoying the fellowship and interaction with us. That’s why God gave us free will. He doesn’t force anyone to interact with him. Adam and Eve decided they were better suited to determining what was best for themselves; much more than God, and so they chose to be disobedient and eat the one forbidden fruit… thanks, guys! They had an entire garden (we’re talking acres and acres here!) of the most incredible, delicious fruits to eat, and they decide they just have to have the one, single fruit God said to leave alone. That says a lot about our human ability to make good choices!!

Thankfully, the Lord Creator God gave us a means of rescue from our ancestors poor choice.

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my Refuge, my Place of Safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.” – Psalms 91:1‭-‬2 (http://bible.com/116/psa.91.1-2.NLT)

The MOST High; Creator, Savior, Almighty God; LORD of All…

Greater Things

What a contrast. As I was watching a newscast of the destruction in Puerto Rico from the latest hurricane, Chris Tomlin came on the radio with this song. Take a moment, and in light of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and the floods in the floods in India and Pakistan; the massive earthquakes in Mexico, and the threat of war from North Korea, really focus on his words.

God of This City

Chris Tomlin

”

You’re the God of this city
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are

You’re the Light in this darkness
You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city

You’re the God of this City
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are

You’re the Light in this darkness
You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater…”

As the darkness descends in our world, we are seeing record storms and record famines and record floods. We have dictators who seem bent on world destruction. In the United States, we have violence and looting of our neighbors, conflict between the police and the people, and we are being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants who have no desire to come into the country legally. We have politicians who are more concerned with their personal gain than the care of the people who elected them. Politicians and pro athletes and Hollywood actors who blatantly disrespect our flag and our country.

Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, given to us for our instruction? I do. After you read these verses, tell me, does it sound like what’s happening on the earth now?

“When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, “Come!” Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere.

When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice from among the four living beings say, “A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost a day’s pay. And don’t waste the olive oil and wine.”

When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, “Come!” I looked up and saw a horse whose color was pale green. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These two were given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease and wild animals.” – Revelation 6:3‭-‬8 (http://bible.com/116/rev.6.3-8.NLT)

As frightening as these predictions are, there is hope for followers of Jesus Christ. Check out these verses!

“After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” – Revelation 7:9‭-‬10 (http://bible.com/116/rev.7.9-10.NLT)

Salvation only comes from the Lamb, the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!