Gleanings — 1
God encouraged me with entries from my old journals this week. Many thoughts are from sermons I heard in the 1990’s. I copied them and organized them loosely like a string of separate sayings. I don’t know which words are mine and which were borrowed or changed in transcription. Some are like nuggets of gold. […]
Seeking Joy
Recently, my husband fell and broke two bones in his foot. My care taking responsibilities increased and I began to feel tired, overwhelmed and insecure. Discouragement began to gnaw at my heart until I countered it and encouraged myself by reading of a list of antidotes to stress, tension, worry, fear, anger, anxiety and depression. […]
Knowing God through His Word — Part 17
I once heard that humility is the perfume of a rose when it is stepped on. I like that, but I’m no rose. I’ve been known to squeal when stepped on. So, I seek humility. According to the Bible, humility is a vital for Christians. All God’s trusted friends and servants, all who do His exploits, are humble.
A Reflection on Grief
Choosing life requires facing grief and moving through it. It took time and courage to learn to ride into and beyond recurring waves of painful emotion and memory.
Knowing God through His Word — Part 16
The words obey and obedience can trigger balkiness in adults who grew up with threats like “You’d better obey me—or else.” For them, the word obedience smacks of unwilling submission to the demands of a superior power or authority—no matter what.
The Hebrew idea behind obedience has nothing to do with kowtowing . . .
Knowing God through His Word — Part 15
The acronym for the word obey, openly being eternally yoked,* looks pretty simple on the outside, but taking it apart reveals profound truths about the Christian life.
Hunger for God
Here’s an excerpt from a letter I wrote last April; the first paragraphs explain why I’m posting it now. Last Sunday I visited a grand old church.
Knowing God through His Word — Part 14
Belief is the key to Jesus heart. If you are seeking to know if Jesus is real or if you don’t believe and want to, then you can honestly inquire with words as simple as, “If you are real, Lord, show me. Help me to believe.”
If you kind-of sort-of believe, but are hindered by doubts, simply ask Him, “Lord, take my unbelief.”
Reasons to Praise
Today I longed to praise God our loud. When no words came, I began to list personal answers to prayer like, “I will praise You because of ____ and____ and ___. ” Once started, my list grew. It is still growing, but here, without order or plan, are some of my own reasons to praise a “God from Whom all blessings flow.”
Father, Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit, I will praise You because
You give words, language and books. You must like talking, reading and writing. So do I.
You give music and tell us to make music and sing.
Knowing God through His Word — Part 13
It’s late Saturday night, but I feel strongly impelled to finish this and upload it. I can’t shake the thought that someone somewhere needs to read it. I wonder who it is.
Hebrews 5:1-3
Last week a small group of friends and I spent an afternoon talking about Hebrews 5:1-3. We laughed. At our slow pace we might not live long enough to finish studying the book.
We realized there were depths to the passage we did not touch and saw anew that 1) Jesus is our high priest. 2) The sacrifice He offered to God was Himself; He was a perfect sacrifice; His death bridged the distance between us and His Holy Father. 3) He compassionately understands our ignorance, and weaknesses, our falling short of His holiness.
Holy Week Thoughts
Tonight is Maundy Thursday. On Tuesday, while housecleaning, a friend found an original manuscript of Meet Me at the Cross. Because God touched her through it, she inspired me to revisit the book. I was surprised to see Jesus in new ways on pages I’d written long ago. I felt His Spirit wanting me to revise and share these short excerpts with my friends during Passion Week.
