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Archive for the ‘Biblical’ Category

Illuminated

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on June 25, 2015| 3 Comments »

I saw an advertisement for glow-in-the-dark paint which you can apply to a stone path. AHA! Reminds me of the Word of God.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

The ad says the chemicals absorb the stepping stonessunlight, so when it becomes dark, they release a glow. That way,  people can see the way to travel and not stumble. This miracle paint is for sale at most of the national hardware chain stores.

While my life is sunny and things are going great, I should be storing up passages from God’s Word and memorizing them. Let them ooze into my heart and soul just as the glow-in-the-dark paint seeps into the porous stone.

The Word of God should illuminate my faith so when the dark times come, and they will, I will have them stored up inside of me. One by one, the faith-stones will light my way along the path, even though I cannot see where it  leads. Then, instead of crouching and crying out in fear, afraid I may stumble, I can walk upright, assured that God’s light will guide me through.

Are you storing up His Light in you?  You can get it at any local book store, or as a free app on your smart phone. It is called the Bible.  Illuminating, right?

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Ready, Steady…WAIT!

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, tagged , , , , , on February 17, 2015| 7 Comments »

courtesy duanealley.com Royalty- Free Image by Corbis

courtesy duanealley.com
Royalty- Free Image by Corbis

Do you find it hard to wait?  If you are like most of us, you dislike waiting in line to be served, waiting at traffic lights, waiting in front of the microwave as lunch twirls around inside bombarded by heating waves, waiting for the tax refund….Yet, Scripture tell us we should wait.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.  Psalm 27:14 NIV

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3 NIV

I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:6 NIV

Many of us think waiting is inaction, doing nothing. But that is not true. Helen Lescheid, a devotional writer I follow, said this: “Waiting on God is not the same as doing nothing. The truth is, waiting requires tremendous faith and focus ”

Waiting means letting go of our control and our timing. It is to acknowledge that we cannot accomplish it on our own. We need assistance, be it the clerk at the DMV to approve our forms, the snarled rush hour traffic all wanting to enter the same intersection, our food to heat in a few minutes, or God to move in our lives. Life is about waiting. We may as well embrace it.

But there are things we can “do” while we wait. The time passes better for the one who p-r-a-y-s.

1.Pray. As you physically wait in a line, pray for those folks God brings to mind. Pray for those who are waiting with you, such as the woman with the unruly kids tugging on her pant leg. Pray for the old man bent over with a smoker’s cough. Pray for the young man who is dressed like a gang member. And as you wait on God to move in your life, pray for patience, strength to endure the in-between time, and wisdom to see the reasons for the waiting.

2. Reflect. Think on the past blessings in your life and praise God for them. Think about the outcomes when you patiently waited before and how the outcome was better for the effort.

3.Ask. If you get a tightness in your gut or begin to tap your foot, ask for peace and patience to envelop you. Ask for the butterflies to settle and your pulse to slow. Ask God to give you a sign that waiting is the correct thing to do.

4. Yield. Let go and let God. Sounds trite, but it can be so hard to pry your fingers from the situation and lay your hand in your lap, or fold them in prayer. Repeat to yourself the words of the Lord’s prayer: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. 

5.Smile. Be friendly, even if everyone else is grumpy. Talk with the person ahead or behind you and be a witness to the peace that passes  all understanding. Smiles are contagious. Brighten everyone else’s day and yours will brighten as well. And alone in your prayer corner, smile to God as you pray. Let Him fill you with joy.

..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..  Isaiah 40:31 RSV

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Choose what I chose

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, tagged , , , , , , , on December 15, 2014| 1 Comment »

samuel davidAs I read the story of Samuel’s anointing of David, God whispered something into my soul. “I led Samuel to choose what I chose.”

In 1st Samuel 16, the prophet knows he is to anoint the king who will replace Saul. God tells him to head for Jesse’s land and that He will show him to anoint. Samuel arrives and discovers Jesse’s eldest son. Ah, ha. Surely…but God says, “No. You see the outwards appearance but I see into a person’s heart.” On down the line, Jesse eyes each of the sons only to keep hearing the same answer.

Believing God called him to anoint someone on Jesse’s land, he asks the question. Who else is around? Lo and behold, the youngest who was away tending the sheep is the one God has chosen.

Samuel could have saved a lot of time by asking God right off the bat to show him the one God wanted. But he didn’t. So he went through the process of elimination. God, in His infinite patience sat back and played along.At least Samuel kept asking in faith instead of being a bit disappointed when He said, “Nope, not that either.”

It makes me wonder how many times I hear God say no, but instead of having the tenacious faith to keep asking, I hang my head and walk away. Perhaps,like Samuel, God is eliminating the plans He knows I have so I can then, out of options, focus on His better one.

gifts-page-001It’s like going to the Christmas White Elephant party and being the last to choose a prize. Do you go for the obvious choices, already revealed, or hold out for the one left over? It may be the best of them all, and the one you hoped to get–except you just didn’t know it.

Yet, how much better is it to ask God, “Which one?” before you act at all?

The next time you hear God say “no”, will you be bold enough to ask Him to show you the “yes” ? Or, like Samuel, will you waste time pointing to what you think God wants.

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Surely…I was unaware

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on December 10, 2014| 4 Comments »

As part of my Advent devotionals, I read the account in Genesis of Jacob’s ladder. One verse jumped out at me:

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”  (28:16)

How often are we not aware that God is in this place – be it church, the shopping mall, our work place, our homes or standing in a long, long line when we are rushed for time? We get so caught up in the pressing issues of now, we fail to see the eternal.  Yet Our Lord Is always present.  We just need the faith-eyes to find Him.

580569_667084729976622_1695637681_n. It may not be this obvious – as some of these photos floating around Facebook indicate.

god in the clouds

But HE is present in our lives —

through us, near us, in us.

It reminds me of a hymn we used to sing often in another church I attended- Surely the Presence of the Lord is in This Place by Lanny Wolfe …http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/Christian-Music/Hymns/Presence-of-the-lord.html

270 blog entries ago I started to point out where I found God in my life. I hope it has encouraged you to seek Him in yours.

This holiday season is in full gear with shopping, parties and cooking. It can become stressful.Trite as it may sound, I pray that each day you find the “reason for the season.”  But even more, I pray you will point others to that as well through your attitudes, words and smiles. May others think after their encounter with you, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I was unaware…until now.”

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In a Word…thanks

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, tagged , , , , , on October 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

ID-10031659I prayed, “I need to blog today. God, show me where to find You so I can lead others to now Your Truth.”  The Spirit nudged me to  open to Philippians – my all time favorite book in the Bible.  A warmed smile slid across my lips as I logged into the Bible app on my e tablet, selected 1:1 and began to read. Then, verse 12 jumped off the page into my heart.

                              Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.

Paul was imprisoned, in chains. Roman jails were not the best places in the world to be. Dank. Damp. Rats. Stink. But Paul’s attitude certainly did not match his surroundings.

Does mine? When something unfair, or wrong, or bad happens to me, is my attitude like Paul’s? Is it yours?

When life happens, do I point to my Lord in trust, believing He is to be glorified in every situation, instead of whining and turning the attention to poor little me?  Not to step on toes, but I’ve read a great deal of bellyaching on Facebook lately: aches, pains, pity me for my chronic syndromes, flat tires, flooded laundry rooms, bad politicians…. What if we all instead posted, “I wait with anticipation on how God will bless me and others through this.”

What if we truly, as Paul states, give thanks in all circumstances (I Thessalonians.5:18)  (Philippians 4:6) ?

Right now, things are great. I have signed a contract for a third novel in 18 months and am soaring on the blessings of my dreams being fulfilled. Requests for my lectures and workshops are increasing. But, this life is not perfect. Tragedy will hit. Heartaches will come, and so will the getting-older aches,pains and illnesses.

I have this prayer today. May I advance the Gospel in each and every incident, good or bad. Join me in that prayer, won’t you?

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Why New?

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, tagged , , , , , on October 16, 2014| 2 Comments »

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? In looking over the Psalm assigned to be read for this Sunday, the first verse caught my attention:

             O Sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the whole earth.  (96:1)

 

Why should we sing unto the Lord a NEW song?   I doubt if it means to sing Contemporary (CCM) over the old familiar hymns.  Actually, neither existed when David penned this verse thousands of years ago,  He wrote many of the psalms, and they were all “new” at one time.

Perhaps it is because the birds rise and sing with the sun. Maybe David took that as a hint that we should arise and praise God as well.

Another nugget of Scripture popped into my head-

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.    Lamentations 3:22-24

Okay, Biblical scholars, I realize Lamentations was written centuries after David’s Psalms, but that to me is one of the proofs that the Bible is alive and God-breathed, as it states in Paul’s second letter to Timothy. So follow me here…

If God’s mercies are NEW every morning, and if we do as is suggested — not to let the sun set on our anger but rather pray it out before retiring so we can sleep  in peace — then we can sing a new song every morning. Each day can be a fresh start. No need to carry over yesterday’s angst, regrets and sins.

I am going to personally renew the commitment to end each day wiping the slate clean with my Lord,  just before my eyes close, by asking Him to give me a new morning when my eyes pop open again.

And I know He will. Because, great is His faithfulness.

Lord, may I be as faithful to You.

 

 

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Old book- old friend

Posted in Biblical, Books, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , on September 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

There is was – the key in my mail slot. I had a package waiting in one of the six large lockers. It took every effort not to whoop with joy in the middle of the maIMAG0085il station at my apartments.

Recently I discovered the favorite author of my childhood, who passed from this life over 20 years ago, had written two more books while I was busy raising a family, working, and living my life. So, I ordered them from a used thrifty book store, excited, yet a little saddened,  that they had been reduced to $3.99, the price of a modern eBook novel. To me, her writing was much more valuable than that.

When I opened the package, there was no smell of fresh ink. The cover was dog-eared and a bit tattered on the edges from sliding in and out of bookshelves. The binding had been cracked numerous times, and a slight yellowing border of age eked around the pages..

None of that mattered, because the words were there. The personality of her writing, the way she described scenes, her unique dialog techniques had not faded with time. As my eyes scanned the pages, memorizes swirled between the words. It was as if I’d begun a conversation with an old friend I had not seen in decades. I cuddled down into the story.

Do I react the same with with God’s living Word? They say a person who has a tattered Bible does not have a tattered life.  And while my favorite Bible is getting on in years, I have more and more relied on my phone app instead. Not tot say I don’t enjoy having easy access to the Bible in my purse, but I have begun to miss my old friend with the dogeared pages, highlighted verses, and scribbles in the margins. So, I went to the shelf and cracked open the binding. As I cocked my head to read, a warmth cascaded over my shoulders into my heart. Prayers answered, revelations revealed, sorrows comforted. My life reflected there. My faith restored.

A plaque in my room reads – The Bible is the only book whose author is present each time it is read.

My favorite author left this earth two decades ago. She will never write again, But my Lord, who left earth two millennia ago, is still present in my everyday world, and writes on my heart.  I see evidence of Him each day in creation, in words of a song, a smile of a friend, even on Facebook.  Yet nothing beats cuddling into His Word. His Word still breathes life into me.

It took an old paperback in my mail locker to remind me of that fact.

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Get Me Out!!!

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on August 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

My priest, Chris Culpepper, posted this on Facebook. (click on the link)

 

 

It’s been around for a few years, so maybe you have seen it before.  But, do you see the message? There are times when, out of stupidity, or naivety, or because we are lured, we get ourselves into an awful mess. Others can bring us the ladder – Christ – to lift us out so we can again follow Him. He bridges the gap between sin and salvation.

Who can you bring a ladder to today? It may be via a phone call, giving them  a sincere smile, or even praying for them from the depth of your heart when God brings their name to your mind.

 

I will exalt you, Lord,
    for you lifted me out of the depths
    and did not let my enemies gloat over me.   Psalm 30:1

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Thorned for a reason

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, tagged , , , , , on June 9, 2014| Leave a Comment »

ID-100169178How do you see someone who is being a thorn in your flesh?

I am struck by David’s words in 2 Samuel, Chapter 16 when Shimei, a relative of Saul, curses him and pelts him with pebbles  David, God’s anointed king, could have ordered the man to be imprisoned or killed. But instead, he tells his soldiers to leave him alone because, “It may be the Lord will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today.” (vs.12)  David also indicates that God may have told the man to curse him. Why? My guess would be as a test of humility. The interesting thing is this happened while David was in a low period in his life. His own son was trying to dethrone him and kill him.

Is there someone in your life who just rubs you the wrong way? Maybe it is a neighbor who always complains, a coworker who is a backstabber and gossip, an in-law you just can’t please, or even a ID-100156152member in your church who likes to find fault with every little thing. How will you react? When our tolerance levels are like a rain gauge in a drought, it seems people just get on our nerves more than when our lives are overflowing with happiness. Is it because it is the straw that breaks the camel’s back, or might it be because God is sending us a message to lean on Him a bit more instead of on our own understanding and strength?

Christ came to love the unlovable, which if I am totally honest about it, includes me. Who am I to judge others?

Perhaps the best thing we can do when someone needles us is to take it to God. Maybe He is allowing this person to be like a sticker burr between our toes for a reason.

  • Is He using them like a mirror to reflect a sin we have yet to deal with in our own lives? (Remove the log in your eye before you comment about the speck in theirs idea.)
  • Is He testing our humbleness, or our faith-strength?
  • Is He preparing us to deal with someone ten times worse who is just around the bend that He can see coming into our lives even though we cannot?

True–Christians, in turning the other cheek,  are not called to be like wimpy spaghetti noodles and people should be held accountable for their actions. But, Scripture tells us to give thanks to God in all circumstances — that goes for those we just cannot seem to get along with at the moment.

Maybe if we all had the attitude of King David, it would then open the pathways a bit wider to spreading Christ’s message of forgiveness and love.

 

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Skirting His Presence

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , on May 27, 2014| 2 Comments »

HA altar-301-XL

courtesy of Gordon Henry, photographer

In the church where I work, it is customary to leave a remnant of the consecrated bread and wine in a cabinet on the altar called the Tabernacle. (The white curtained area under the brass dome and the cross.) That way, Christ is always present in the Sanctuary. It’s a tradition that stretches back as far as the regulations in Exodus, which was carried into the early Catacombs where the first Christians worshipped, and is still practiced in many churches today where the Holy Eucharist (Communion) is celebrated.

Exodus 25:8, 30  “Then have them build a sanctuary and I will dwell among them…Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times..” 

A perpetual candle on or near the altar area is lit, to signify that the consecrated elements representing Christ’s body and blood are present in the Tabernacle. When the candle it a glow, it is customary to bend a knee before the altar to honor God and to recall that one day every knee a shall bend at the name of Jesus. (Philippians 2:10)

Throughout the week, I bop in and out of the Sanctuary. I straighten the hymnals and distribute offering envelopes, visitors cards, etc. I place bulletins  at the entrance and put one on the organ bench for the organist.  ON the lectern, I leave large-print Scripture passages as well as the prayer list for the readers. I change the hymn board numbers. I take deliveries of candles, unleavened wafers, wine and linens to be placed in the locked sacristy until they are needed for the services. At times, I pray in there as well.

Each time I enter, I can walk down the center aisle, bow to the Tabernacle, and then go about whatever it is I came to do. Or, I can sneak in the side entrance, go down the side aisles, and bypass the altar. Well, truth be told, if I am in a hurry, I often sneak in the side. I don’t take time to approach the altar, dip my knee reverently and quietly, and then proceed with the reason I entered. I’m just going to dash in and back out again.

One day, God convicted me. That quiet, booming voice inside my heart asked, “Why do you ignore my Presence?”

I slipped to the altar, knelt and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

How often do we skirt God during our day? Aren’t there times we feel Him tug on our shirt and say, “Hey, smile and nod to that person over there,  give that homeless beggar a dollar, call so-and-so because they need to hear your voice, or stop and pray for this person whose name I have flashed into your brain?”  But in our busy-ness we skirt His whisperings and go about our tasks. We  try to schedule a time to read His Word, to speak to Him, and hopefully to listen. But, much of our day is  – “I’ll get back to you on that, Lord.” That is, until we need HIm. Until we get that phone call, slam on our brakes in a near-miss, or feel anxiety inch into our chests. Then, we bow a knee, right?

God is always present in our lives once we have “tabernacled” with Christ and allowed Him to become a part of our hearts. We cannot escape God. Like Adam and Eve we don’t have the privilege of being able to hide from Him. He will seek us out.

The Psalmist wrote, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Psalm 139:7

I found God (again) today in the church sanctuary where I work – a reminder that His presence is always there with me.  LIke the perpetual candle flame dangling from the gold chain to remind anyone who enters that God is in their midst, I have Christ’s light inside me to remind me His in in the midst of me.

Lord, let me never choose again to ignore you, or try in my hurriedness to skirt around You. May that tabernacle remind me to always bow a knee before You and acknowledge You in my day.

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