Proverbs 14: SEEMS Right vs IS Right
Whenever I’ve read verse 12 in Proverbs Chapter 14, I’ve always thought about it in terms I could relate to; my way of life before committing to walk with The Lord. It reads…
Proverbs 14:12 WEBUS
[12] There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.14.12.WEBUS
When I wasn’t living FOR God, I was not purposely living against Him. And I imagine there are many people out there who really think their ways are right, but they have no idea what kind of path they’re on. Of course, when God calls their attention to it, they will need to decide if they will accept or reject Him, but until their eyes are opened to see the end of their road, how can they know? That’s where believers come in.
We see these fruits, like a woman tearing down her family and her home, or a mocker refusing to take responsibility for his own behaviors and never trying to make things right by atoning for bad decisions. We get frustrated with these people because their destructive behaviors often hurt us or those we love. And it’s hard to feel compassion and love in our hearts for them. Even worse if they are arrogant as they pull the strings of destruction and act like they enjoy it.
But if those fruits of destruction are not waking up those who are causing them, should we just let them keep walking toward eternal death? No, we are given open eyes to see the paths when they cannot see for themselves. But, we are not given these eyes to condemn them, so we can feel better about ourselves. And we are not seeing those fruits, so we can take them away to make people feel better on their walk toward death. Instead, we see the truth, the way things really are, so we can warn them. And by our own testimonies, we can show them a better way.
We’re told in verse 25…
Proverbs 14:25 WEBUS
[25] A truthful witness saves souls, but a false witness is deceitful.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.14.25.WEBUS
Again, it may not be easy when we share the truth because, even if we’re not judging, those stuck in their own ideas of what SEEMS right may feel judged and be angry with us. But it doesn’t mean they haven’t heard what we’ve shared. Verse 33 says ..
Proverbs 14:33 WEBUS
[33] Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, and is even made known in the inward part of fools.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.14.33.WEBUS
Somewhere, deep inside, they know the truth that can set them free. In the best case scenario, we will share The Lord with them, and that inward part will be stirred to wake them up to salvation. And the icing on the cake is to be with them as they let go of their sins and accept The Lord.
But if you don’t see any change right away, don’t give up sharing, building, or praying. Remember, the enemy of our souls comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10), so with the strength of YahShua (Jesus) who came to bring abundant life, we can do the opposite. We can restore, bring life, and rebuild. That IS wisdom, and that is The Way that IS right.
And now, here’s a song by one of my favorite Cowboy Christian artists. It perfectly supports the message to never stop ministering to the lost with the line, “Everything you thought I never heard, I hung on to every single word.” It’s called Daddy, I Met a Friend of Yours Today…
Share this post on:
Proverbs 13: You Are What Your Soul Eats
How do you feed a hungry soul? (Hah, you thought I was gonna say “man” there, didn’t you? 😁 And now you’re humming the TV dinner tune, right? 🎶 Okay, maybe that’s just me.)
But, seriously, for all we’ve talked about hungering and thirsting for The Lord, we haven’t really discussed the care and feeding of that hunger and thirst. Solomon got it in a few verses of Proverbs Chapter 13. Like…
Proverbs 13:2-3, 19, 25 WEBUS
[2] By the fruit of his lips, a man enjoys good things, but the unfaithful crave violence.
[3] He who guards his mouth guards his soul. One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
[19] Longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.
[25] The righteous one eats to the satisfying of his soul, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.13.2-25.WEBUS
But there’s so much more depth to it, especially when you learn the meaning of the word soul in Scripture. The Bible Project guys do an amazing teaching on this subject. Watch the video from YouTube here on the blog, or go to their site where you can find all 6 videos in the Shema series plus read the transcripts or download them in PDF. The site is at https://bibleproject.com/videos/nephesh-soul/ and here’s the video…
Once you’ve learned the meaning of the word soul (Hebrew nephesh), go back to those four verses above and read them again. Spoiler: the word represents the complete essence of life in its fullest form. So when you read Psalm 42:1-2, you’ll see it as something like, As the desperately thirsty deer pants for the water, my whole life longs for You, Lord God. It desperately thirsts to be satisfied by The Living God. When can I come before Your Holy Presence again? And when you seek with that kind of longing and get filled up by The Lord Himself, you will wonder how you ever wanted anything less than that. And you will have just an inkling of how God feels and why He pursues us. The Got Questions site has a great article on the question “Does God Pursue Us?”
And now, enjoy this video of the song As the Deer…
Share this post on:
Proverbs 12: Life on Planet Earth
I didn’t ask Wombo to create an actual working maze, so if you can solve it, I’d be surprised, but go ahead and try if you like. I did ask for a few portals that could get folks through dead-end walls, though.
So why a maze? Because it’s a great representation of life with how we navigate through it, run into walls, find good and bad along the way, and sometimes feel like there’s nowhere else to go. Plus, Proverbs Chapter 12 begins with the statement that, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge.” And what could take more discipline than a maze?
I always laugh when I read the second half of verse 1 in the modern translations. While the King James Version (KJV) calls the person who hates discipline “brutish,” many of the more recent texts say the person who hates correction is “stupid.” That wasn’t something I was supposed to call people according to my raising, so seeing it in a Bible totally shocked me the first time. I like the way the New Living Translation (NLT) says it better. Verse 1 reads…
Proverbs 12:1 NLT
[1] To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction.
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.12.1.NLT
This chapter has another set of comparisons in all facets of life on Earth. Each one could prove the two points made in verse one. For example, the disciplined people who have learned and gained knowledge would be more apt to be good or godly. That means they’ll be approved by God, and they’ll have deep roots. The opposite personalities will plan wickedness that never brings stability and is not approved by God. The list continues with the godly using words that save lives, winning admiration, making just plans, and having strong family ties. The wicked give treacherous advice, use murderous words, and have a warped mind that is despised.
Like the maze, life is filled with common sense choices and foolish choices. We will make (or should make) the ones that get us to where we want to go. It won’t always be perfect even with wise choices, and foolish choices are not always the impossible-to-escape ends of the roads we walk. Without God, there would be no hope for those who make foolish choices, but because of His grace, we are given ways to escape and, often, start over. Verse 20 says that deceit fills the hearts of those who plan evil, but joy fills the hearts of those planning peace. I consider that joy one of those sparkling portals along with words of encouragement mentioned in verse 25.
And sometimes, no matter what decisions we make, we get tumbled by something as simple as a common cold. I asked myself if I’m dealing with this now because of the lack of sleep from doing these late-night blogs, or because I went somewhere and got exposed but didn’t clean my nose well enough when I got home, or just what. But maybe it wasn’t anything I did or did not do, and it’s just my body being human. Hubby had it for almost 2 weeks, so I know I could’ve gotten it from him even with being careful. I’ll be pulling out all the stops (vitamins, Oscillococcinum, Zicam, copper, sunshine, coconut oil coating my nose, and Day/Night cold relief) and trying to get through it. I’ll gladly take prayer, and I’ll hold on to the hope in the last verse of this chapter…
Proverbs 12:28 WEBUS
[28] In the way of righteousness is life; in its path there is no death.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.12.28.WEBUS
And now an old Sunday School favorite about wise and foolish builders…
Share this post on:
Proverbs 11: But It’s Not Fair
What’s wrong with this picture? Shouldn’t the gray rocks be heavier? Maybe it’s the mix of worthless rocks within the colored gems that has them weighing more. Whatever the cause, scales out of balance are something most of us know go against justice. The seller whose wares are not paid for honestly, or the buyer who pays and finds later he’s been a victim of lies, can both shout, “But it’s not fair!”
But God loves balance and justice. He gave Solomon wisdom that supports balance and justice, so Solomon begins Proverbs Chapter 11 with the statement that God hates dishonest scales but takes delight in accurate weights. He then goes on to describe more either/or statements that show the fruit of being in balance vs out of balance.
This chapter has enough in it to break it down for as many studies as there are verses (31), so I know I’ll be marking it to go back and study more. For tonight, though, I’m going to leave you with the Bible Project site to read, and I’m posting another video from Bryce Crawford because of his verse by verse breakdown. Plus I love his comments on verse 14 about preachers needing preachers and mentors needing mentors because of the safety in multitudes of counselors. He mentions that if you only surround yourself with those who look up to you, you won’t have caring people to hold you accountable and protect you from falling. Here’s that video…
Share this post on:
Proverbs 10: Either, Or…
The conjunction of choice and consequence is a connection far too many people ignore these days. Everyone wants the freedom to choose, but they want to be able to choose without consequences. That’s impossible since the word “consequence” means “with sequence” or “with what follows.” All of Earth demonstrates the concept of reaping (harvesting) what we plant, and it doesn’t take the wisdom of Solomon to understand the basics of getting back what we put in.
But Solomon does give us perspective here in Proverbs Chapter 10 by contrasting the consequences of choices made for or against God’s ways. He shows by example that people can either walk the wise path or the otherwise path with its potholes and crookedness. One will leave you weary, and one will leave you energized because the finish line brings joy and peace. Click the link above to read the full chapter at the Bible Project website where you can also find podcasts and great animated videos with simple Bible teaching.
Wisdom is Solomon’s stock in trade, and he tells you in verses 8 & 9 why it’s so important for him to share that wisdom.
Proverbs 10:8-9 WEBUS
[8] The wise in heart accept commandments, but a chattering fool will fall. [9] He who walks blamelessly walks surely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.10.8-9.WEBUS
When you read the chapter for yourself, mentally arrange the items in 2 columns. Either you choose the crooked road or you choose the straight path. Either you choose the curses, or you choose the blessings. Read the results you desire first, and then look at the steps to take to get those results. If you’re already living with results you don’t want, now you’ve got a roadmap of steps to change that. Your goal is verse 22…
Proverbs 10:22 WEBUS
[22] Yahweh’s blessing brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.10.22.WEBUS
And writing this brought my mind back to an old song about people who are sick and tired of the cost of the crooked road, and they want to live with love forever. All they have to do is say, “I do.”
For further study, I was really impressed with the grasp this young man has on Scripture and his presentation, so I want to share his verse by verse study of Proverbs Chapter 10. His name is Bryce Crawford and his ministry is called “Jesus in the Street.”
Share this post on:
Proverbs 9: Folly’s Fatal Feast vs Wisdom’s Wonderful Welcome
When you’re hungry, even the bitter may taste sweet, so it’s the perfect opportunity for the enemy of your soul to show up with what looks like a tasty feast but is instead poisonous. Use discernment and not just eyesight to examine what you allow your mind and soul (and body) to consume.
Lady Wisdom is here for another visit in Proverbs Chapter 9. This time, in verses 1-6, we see her building a strong house and then preparing a tasty and nourishing feast. She invites whosoever will to join her for a meal. There is so much to offer that she’s sent others out with invitations, and even those who are simple-minded and lacking judgment are welcome to attend. Beyond sustenance, those who feast with her can leave their folly behind to live and walk in understanding.
In verses 7-9, Solomon breaks into a short lesson (maybe a quick rant) about the troubles you’ll have if you try to correct a mocker. Instead, he says, look for wise and righteous people to teach if you don’t want the stress of being hated for your message. While it is true we can see more pleasant fruit by looking for wise and open personalities to instruct in yet more wisdom, this was also written before the shed blood of Christ who told His disciples they would be hated by all for the message. We don’t want to strive with those who have made up their minds to resist God no matter what, but keeping the feast available may still change a life.
Verses 10-12 speak again about walking in the (proper) fear of The Lord and knowledge of The Holy One. While it gives promises, it also says the main benefits are to you alone. But, hey, an advantage is an advantage, right? And if we each get our own benefits, then those we teach do, too.
Finally, in verses 13-19, we are introduced to the woman named Folly. Like the brazen seductress in previous chapters, she’s looking for victims. She shows up in the high places (which could even represent the church) with her own “feast” and begins calling out to those walking straight paths. See, she wants to destroy what is right. From there, she also calls out to those who lack judgment, but instead of promising deliverance, she starts spinning webs of lies. She tells them her stolen water is sweeter, and she neglects to tell them the truth about her guests who died from eating her poisons. And the chapter ends there.
Now, before I end this, I have to share one of the cute images I ended up with when I used the same prompts as for the picture above, but chose the “knitting” filter instead. It’s just fun and cute.
And, now, here’s a song about the feast prepared for us by Jesus, the one guaranteed to satisfy us.
Share this post on:
Proverbs 8: Choosing Life Over Death
If there were ever a secular song that echoed the message of Lady Wisdom in the Proverbs, I’d say it was I Want You to Want Me by Cheap Trick (1977). The lyrics talk about the singer’s desire to be wanted, needed, and loved. They go on to describe the desperate situation of the object of their desire and how that person was lonely and crying but the singer wants to make all that better for them.
Listen to a similar cry from Lady Wisdom in Proverbs Chapter 8…
Proverbs 8:1-2, 4, 10, 14, 17-19, 21, 32-35 WEBUS
[1] Doesn’t wisdom cry out? Doesn’t understanding raise her voice?
[2] On the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she stands.
[4] “I call to you men! I send my voice to the sons of mankind.
[10] Receive my instruction rather than silver, knowledge rather than choice gold.
[14] Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power.
[17] I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me.
[18] With me are riches, honor, enduring wealth, and prosperity.
[19] My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, my yield than choice silver.
[21] that I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries.
[32] “Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
[33] Hear instruction, and be wise. Don’t refuse it! (Emphasis mine.)
[34] Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts.
[35] For whoever finds me finds life, and will obtain favor from Yahweh.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.8.1-35.WEBUS
Today, our seeker is standing at another crossroads like yesterday. The darkness isn’t hiding its final end, and with the door to the house of light open, the man can clearly see his two choices. I’m thinking he’s walked away from the temptress of chapter 7 and is now at least willing to listen to the possibilities of another way. Maybe he’s where some of us have been in our lives, standing at the end of a church service while the music team plays and sings the invitation song, Just As I Am. Our heart squeezes in our chest while stress turns our hands cold and clammy. We want so desperately to take that first step toward the altar, but fear and pride seem to paralyze us. We might be thinking: “What if God won’t accept me as I am? What if these people condemn me? What if all that happiness I’m seeing on these people’s faces isn’t real?”
Yes, most Christians began their walk with moments just like that. Even the song of invitation, written back in 1835, includes a lyric line that says, “Many a conflict, many a doubt. Fightings and fears within — without.” (The story behind the hymn is fascinating and has similar testimonies.) But we overcame those conflicts, doubts, and fears because something (or, more accurately, Someone) was calling us to trust God and give Him a chance to prove Himself. And when we finally took that first step out from our seat, the rest of the steps became almost a running pace to a place of sorrow and repentance. Then the fruit of that moment took us face to face with a flood of love and peace greater than we ever thought possible. Now, on the other side of that decision, most will tell you they are still glad they made it to the altar.
Proverbs 8 ends with the promise from Lady Wisdom in verse 35 followed by her strong warning in verse 36. Together, they read…
Proverbs 8:35-36 CSB
[35] “For the one who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord,
[36] but the one who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death.”
https://bible.com/bible/1713/pro.8.35-36.CSB
And here is a beautiful rendition of Just As I Am by “Sounds Like Reign” and recorded in a farm silo…
Share this post on:
Proverbs 7: Signs At the Crossroads of Temptation
You’d think it would be an easy decision to choose the correct door, right? I mean, dark and stormy versus light and sunny seems like a clear choice even without the warning signs. Read the warnings and story of caution from Solomon to his children in Proverbs 7, then ask yourself whether you would be wiser than the young man lacking judgment in the story. I hope we all would be stronger, but as I read about the way the woman works to deceive him, I can see the abundance of those deceits and lies in our present world. Sadly, the signs are usually more like what the AI had on them before I edited, a bunch of gibberish that’s almost impossible to comprehend. (The guy in the picture has it really easy now that I used my Photo Studio Pro app to give him the right signs. 😁) But we have The Holy Spirit to give us signs now. We’re promised that we will all find Him and know Him if we seek Him with our whole heart.
Jeremiah 31:34 BSB
[34] No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/jer.31.34.BSB
Hebrews 8:11 BSB
[11] No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/heb.8.11.BSB
Solomon knows the decision is not easy no matter who you are or how much wisdom you have access to. It’s the wisdom you commit to and hide in your heart that will help the most. So Solomon begs his children to grab the wisdom he’s making available to them and hold on for dear life. He tells them a cautionary tale of a young man who refused to listen to wisdom and walked into a death trap.
It’s an old story, you know. As old as the garden in creation. Temptation snags the one who’s not prepared or paying attention. And usually those things are lacking because of one of three things: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. Those 3 are the foundational traps that caught Eve at the tree of “the knowledge of good and evil” not paying attention (to the right things) and unprepared. (See Genesis 3:1-6.) Examining the tree for what it might bring her made her forget the warnings from her husband and her God. She saw its beauty, she desired to taste it, and she wanted it to make her wise. And we know how all those desires ended.
But here’s the good thing: the enemy (ha satan) tried the same three temptations on YahShua (Jesus). But even after 40 days of fasting, The Lord was fully aware of the deceit and lies, and He did not give in. Instead, He had an answer for each of the temptations thrown at Him. He kept the victory by using Scripture, and so can we. He was tempted in EVERY WAY we can be tempted and walked away victorious, so we could face the same things and find the strength we need in Him.
For the lust of the flesh, use...
Deuteronomy 8:3 BSB (or Matthew 4:4 or Luke 4:4)
[3] He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/deu.8.3.BSB
For the lust of the eyes, use...
Deuteronomy 6:13 CSB (or Luke 4:8)
[13] Fear the Lord your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name.
https://bible.com/bible/1713/deu.6.13.CSB
And, for the pride of life, use...
Luke 4:12 BSB (or Deut 6:16)
[12] But Jesus answered, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
https://bible.com/bible/3034/luk.4.12.BSB
Finally, the Apostle Paul gives us great advice when he tells us the right things on which to focus our minds…
Philippians 4:8 WEBUS
[8] Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
https://bible.com/bible/206/php.4.8.WEBUS
And that’s a good place to end with a video I found with the help of Google’s Gemini AI. I’ve never heard it before, but the a capella harmonies, the lyrics, and the visuals are all beautiful. It’s called The Wayside Cross by C. L. St. John…
Share this post on:
Proverbs 6: The Fable We Forget to Remember
Most of us know the Aesop’s fable about The Grasshopper and The Ant. (If you don’t, you can click the title to read it at the US Library of Congress website.) I’m guessing Aesop got his fable from the wisdom of Proverbs 6. And it makes as much sense now as during either of those eras.
We begin as infants to exert at least some control in our lives. A baby learns the exact cries to get what it needs, be it food, a diaper change, or just some affection. The small child pulls away with a declaration of “I can do it myself,” and the teen shouts accusations about parents who don’t know anything before they slam the door to be alone in their room. And, though every behavior we use may not be the best way to get the control we desire, the desire is built in by God. When governed by His Holy Spirit, it’s part of the fruit we grow in Him.
Without God, though, the demand for self control may come out as a petulant tantrum or some other form of manipulation. The grasshoppers in the picture above use their decision-making skills to play while others work, and they refuse to look at the big picture that includes the coming season and how that play won’t prepare them at all. That’s why the father in this chapter is directing his children to pay attention to the ant, and he even points out how the ant is in control because it’s doing the right thing even without a boss (commander or overseer).
We all want control, but we often forget to remember the responsibility that comes with that control. And we forget to remember what happened to the grasshopper when winter arrived. It’s well-said in “Spider Man” with the quote: “With great power comes great responsibility.” (And FYI, as I looked up the origin of the quote, I found an article with its roots back to the original comics in case you want to read it.)
A great hymn about working like the ant is To The Work, To The Work (Toiling On) by Fannie J Crosby…
And a hymn that inspires the work and also focuses on the short time to do it is called “Work for the Night is Coming” by Anna Louisa Walker Coghill…
Now the father turns the children’s attention to The Creator and how even God doesn’t just put up with foolishness. We don’t like to think of God as being a hater, but in context, we see there is a time for love and a time for hate. The wise father gives the children a list of 6 things The Lord hates and a 7th that is totally detestable to Him. Here are verses 17-19 from The Amplified Bible…
17 A proud look [the attitude that makes one overestimate oneself and discount others],
a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that creates wicked plans,
Feet that run swiftly to evil,
19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even half-truths],
And one who spreads discord (rumors) among brothers.
He ends his message with another plea for the kids to listen and hold on to his wisdom, and this time he adds that they should listen to their mother as well. He says the commands are lamps and lights for them. All of God’s wisdom is a lamp and light for His children today, too.
Share this post on:
Proverbs 5: All About Spam, Scams, and Clickbait
What do spam, scams, and clickbait have in common? They are all shiny wrappers around hidden nastiness that will lead to unwanted ends. They are all lures on a fisherman’s hook trying to catch something to fillet for dinner. And the fish rarely realize it until it’s too late. The woman in Proverbs 5 is one of those fishermen.
Read Proverbs 5 at Bible Hub at https://biblehub.com/proverbs/5.htm.
Have you ever wondered how they know all the viruses and scams out there so they can protect us? There are actually people who make themselves vulnerable to attack, so they can write protections for the rest of us who are not knowledgeable of what’s out there. We can be thankful that even in the free antivirus software, people are taking time to seek out what might bring harm to the rest of us to protect not only us but everyone else we connect to. And so goes the story of the father in Proverbs who desperately wants to protect his sons from becoming victims of the enemy of their souls.
I have ADHD but I prefer to call it OLS for “Oh look, SHINY!” Boy can I get distracted by shiny, pretty, sparkly, and otherwise noticeable things. They take away my time, my ability to focus, and even my moments that could be spent with people who matter more than the distractions. Sometimes, the guilt and regret of making bad decisions can hang on me for a long time after there’s no turning back and something important got lost in the chaos. Maybe it was a friend I forgot to call back. Maybe just a bill I forgot to pay that resulted in a late fee or a mark on my credit. Whatever it was, the promise for something that seemed sweet (like the honey and oil from the forbidden woman in verse 3) or shiny turned bitter and ugly in the end.
Whether you click on the bait that never satisfies, or the virus-laden page or email, or you fall for the seductions of the enemy, the price is always one of loss you didn’t intend. Verse 12 blames it on the person hating to be disciplined and not listening to teachers or mentors. And verse 11 talks about the groaning at the end of a wasted life. These things are written about adultery, so the lyrics from the song Careless Whisper are perfect for seeing the sadness that results from listening to one whisper of bad advice. Of course, that song ends in hopelessness with the singer in the outro trying to talk himself out of being responsible for the hurt that drove the rejected person away, so I’m not going to link to the video, but you can click the title to read the lyrics at Genius where there seemed to be fewer pop-ups than some other lyric sites.
Now, if you’ll indulge my wondering mind for a moment, I want to share something that came to me as I worked on this. I realized that Solomon, the father giving all this advice here, was himself the son of an illicit affair. Whether his mother seduced the king like the scenario in this chapter of Proverbs isn’t certain, but from the context in ll Samuel 11:4, it would appear that she was a law keeper who was purifying herself according to the law of Moses, and King David is the one at fault. Had he been with his men in battle (maybe even with Bathsheba’s husband Uriah since he was one of the King’s “Mighty Men”), he may not have been there to see her bathing. Plus, he could’ve turned away, and he could’ve left her alone since he knew she belonged to someone else.
But whomever was at fault, it doesn’t change the dynamic that Solomon likely grew up with. Behind castle walls, a dysfunctional family, scarred by deceit and death, fought their private battles. And the kids saw it all. Solomon may have witnessed his mother crying over her losses. Being taken by David did not change Bathsheba’s status as a widow. He may also have been bullied by his jealous brothers when the infighting over who would be king was brutally active. Solomon was a victim of adults making decisions he wasn’t there for and couldn’t fix, so I think what he saw in all that dysfunction drove him to vehemently warn his children away from the same costly behaviors.
Solomon had all the reason in the world to just give up and play the victim card. After all, he spent his whole life in a place where “the sword would never depart” (as prophesied by Nathan the prophet). In today’s overtly sensitive society, it wouldn’t be a stretch to give him a blanket, a teddy bear, and some hot chocolate and then excuse him from all his responsibilities so he could process his pain. But back then, being a victim was like being a bleeding chicken where the rest of the flock pecks the weak bird to death. So Solomon reframed the situation and decided to learn from it and teach others from his experiences. He could write a book on how childhood trauma can create the greatest wisdom. Well, I guess he did write it. (Grin.)
Next time you read anything written by or about Solomon, think of him in terms of a survivor of a dysfunctional family and childhood. Note how that changes how you see and share his wisdom, especially if you have any experience as a survivor yourself. We can comfort each other in our pain, but we need balance to keep from being buried in that pain and paralyzed by it. As you think on these things, go to the comments and put one trial and one bit of wisdom that came from it for you. Like, “Life gave me lemons, so I reframed that and made lemonade.” I want to hear your thoughts on this. In the meantime, this song is the ultimate reframe from Christ where He reframed His death as a sacrifice, and you get to reframe your sin into salvation if you accept it. It’s called He Paid a Debt.
Share this post on:
Proverbs 4: A Straight Path in a Crooked World
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Choosing the Father’s Way in the Midst of Chaos
Proverbs Chapter 4 is a full message from a dad and a little bit of a message from a grandfather. The dad is telling his sons how he was once in their place, a child loved by his parents who cared enough to teach him. Now he’s passing that teaching to the children he loves.
I love how AI created this image with all those roads and people on them. Though there are more people on the straight road than is probably reality, it perfectly illustrates the culture we live in now, one defined by choice paralysis. I just learned that term while studying this chapter, and it truly bridges the gap from simple biblical advice to the cacophony of answers we must slog through in our current world. Every day, we are bombarded with “new ways” to be healthy, get smarter, and spend our time so as not to get bored. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of directions we could take, all with their own marketing hype to create–or play on–our FOMO (fear of missing out) issues.
This chapter has great advice about walking in wisdom and its promise of a long life. Verse 13 reminds these children (and us) to hold on to these instructions and not let go, and to guard them because they bring life. It’s as if good instruction and wisdom are a life raft in a raging sea. (Spoiler: They are.) Verses 14-17 are filled with strong warning about avoiding the paths of evil because of who they’ll meet on it. Verses 18 and 19 directly compare the path of the righteous with the way of the wicked, and I love the description for the righteous path in the Berean Study Bible.
Proverbs 4:18-19 BSB
[18] The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. [19] But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.4.18-19.BSB
Finally, Proverbs 4:26-27 offers simple clarity. Instead of urging us to explore every road until we find what makes us comfortable; it tells us to “Carefully consider the path of your feet.” Just as the father in the picture points toward the one straight road, God’s Word directs us to walk straight forward without turning to the right or left so we can keep our feet away from evil. That’s discernment, and it’s even more necessary today when media and makeup can distort the truth to make evil look good, and good look evil. Thankfully, good and evil are not defined by behaviors so much as by whether God is the focus or not. The word “evil” actually means “minus God,” and that explains how in the days of Noah, men’s thoughts were continuously evil (or continuously not on God). It didn’t have to mean everyone had a criminal mind, just that they all had minds focused on everything but God. And that’s why it even got into the church–both then and now.
As I read this chapter, I was reminded of an old song by Charley Pride called “This Highway Leads to Glory.” I like it best by Wilma Burgess but couldn’t find either with lyrics, so enjoy this one by a youth group in Hong Kong…
Let’s Consider These Things Together:
Ephesians 4:14 CSB says
[14] Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.
https://bible.com/bible/1713/eph.4.14.CSB
What is one road you can see being laid out today to distract people (including in the church) from God’s truth? Drop me a comment below—let’s encourage each other to keep our feet on the straight path!
Share this post on:
Proverbs 3: Leaning on The Lord
This chapter of Proverbs sends me in so many different directions. It’s amazing wisdom that has me ever more convinced how much better the world would be if everyone would read and adhere to its moral compass. Read the full chapter in the Berean Standard Bible at Bible Hub… https://biblehub.com/bsb/proverbs/3.htm
The verses represented by the image are my favorite from this chapter, verses 5 and 6. They read…
Proverbs 3:5-6 BSB
[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
https://bible.com/bible/3034/pro.3.5-6.BSB
Leaning is an action word (verb) that visually shows the best way to be quiet in God’s Presence and wisdom. It’s those moments of pure trust that can strengthen us for the tasks we must face in this life. A Sabbath-type rest in the arms of our Abba Father and Creator. This behavior reminds me of a beautiful hymn called “Sheltered in the Arms of God.”
Of course, this Scripture isn’t only about leaning into God, it’s about trusting Him so much that we feel safe to stop leaning on our own thoughts and ways. We are able to stand still and see the salvation of The Lord as He either fights for us or strengthens us for a battle ahead.
So, I’ll admit that I’m not always good at trusting and waiting for God. As a first-born child, I am a natural fixer. PTSD from childhood traumatic events also pushes me to control things for self-preservation and trying to protect myself and/or others from possible troubles ahead. Those types of thoughts and behaviors actually cause me to lean away from Yahveh like a child trying to prove they can do a thing on their own. But the anxiety is not worth it. It’s far better just letting God lead me on straight paths.
And here, I must pause for a little comic relief. One of my top 10 favorite movies of all time is While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock. In it, there’s a very funny scene all about leaning. Maybe it’s not about leaning on The Lord, but the description of leaning here is applicable, and plus, it should make you laugh.
I’ll end this with just those 2 verses in a bit of haiku, and then a video of Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.
Verse 5
Trust God completely!
Never lean on your own thoughts…
Or understanding.
Verse 6
In all of your ways,
Know God and lean on His ways.
He will guide your paths.
P.S. Save this month’s blogs for a revisit in future months, so you can read the chapters and devotions at the beginning of the correct days. I tend to write late at night, so the day is passed by the time the post is seen. Because there are 31 chapters in Proverbs, they make great reading for every month of the year. In those months with only 30 days, I generally read both chapters 30 and 31. Either way, you’ll be amazed how often the wisdom from the chapter matching the date you’re reading will end up being exactly what you needed to see or know for that day.
Share this post on:
Proverbs 2: The Shadow on Your Path
Proverbs Chapter 1 is all about the purpose of wisdom, and how wisdom can set you up on a right path. Yesterday, I talked about how the right kind of fear of God would open doors to that wisdom. Today, in Proverbs Chapter 2, we’ll read about some of the obstacles found on that path. Visit https://www.bible.com/bible/1713/PRO.2.CSB to read the chapter in the Christian Standard Bible. You can change the version once you’re there if you like.
So what is wisdom worth? Is it all about being smarter? Knowing all the rules? Awareness? Having all the answers? Maybe a little of those, but I believe the best aspect of wisdom is discernment. The definition of that word from Merriam-Webster is “the quality of being able to grasp what is obscure.” A couple synonyms there are insight and perception. Most people either want those things or want to know someone with them, so they can find the answers to obscure questions that escape their grasp. But here in this chapter, the father is assuring his son that if he seeks wisdom like he would seek gold and silver, he will have that grasp when he needs it.
Verses 7 and 8 describe how God stores up success for those on the path of The Lord. They go on to say how God is a shield of protection who will guard that path of justice and protect that way for His followers. Verse 10 says you’ll have discretion for protection and understanding for a guard over you. Or, as the EasyEnglish Bible says, “you will know the right thing to do, and that will keep you safe.” And the reasons for needing all this protection are highlighted in verses 12 through 19 with the warnings to avoid evil people who abandon right paths and especially the forbidden woman who flatters young men to drag them into her house of death.
Now that we are about 3000 years beyond the writing of these words of wisdom, we can take a simple walk through history to see how correct these instructions were and still are. Those who follow the path of the cross of Jesus Christ know how valuable His wisdom is, was, and always will be. He is the shadow on the old paths before Calvary since Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:4b that, “they all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.” And His cross is the shadow on our paths now as we follow Him and seek to walk in His ways. Don’t try to be good all on your own. Walk in the shadow of the cross and let it be the shadow on your path of life.
Share this post on:
Proverbs 1: The Fear of God Opens Doors
As promised, I’m beginning March with the book of Proverbs, Chapter 1. Visit https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.1.1-33.WEBUS to read all 33 verses of the first chapter.
Chapter One breaks down into 3 main themes: purpose, warnings, and a plea to seek wisdom. This is all about a father on earth trying to direct his son in ways that will bless him and give him a long life, but the wisdom here can just as easily be as teaching from our Heavenly Father trying to give us blessings and a long life. Truthfully, if the whole world would live by the wisdom in the book of Proverbs, everyone would be happier and more blessed.
So, as I was reading this in multiple versions this morning, one verse jumped out at me; the first half of verse 7 as shown in the image. Maybe one of the translations added a word, or maybe my mind conceived it, but I suddenly realized the verse could read: “The fear of The LORD is ONLY the beginning of knowledge.”
See, it’s not about living in constant fear of Him, but it’s about starting with a fear of His power and ability that will get your attention. After that, you can learn to respect and honor Him which will lead you to His mercy and grace… And love.
So many of the messages out there get the proverbial cart before the horse, and the message of grace falls on ears that are not yet listening. It’s like preparing a feast for someone who’s not even a little bit hungry. Of course, God prepares a daily feast in the creations that surround us to whet our appetites toward learning more about Him, but it takes real hunger and thirst to desire the meal for ourselves. We cannot understand the purpose, the warnings, or the pleas of Lady Wisdom without first acknowledging all that God is, so we can desire Him and desire to please Him.
Oh, but once we’ve gotten to that place–on our knees before a holy God who we know as The Creator–and we know what He has done and what He can do, there we find the beginning of the answers we formerly sought here and there but not with any depth or desperation. Now, we WANT to know more about The Lord, and we WANT to know what pleases Him. We graduate from bowing before Him because He deserves it and move to bowing before Him because we are so overwhelmed by our love for Him. He becomes every answer, every piece of knowledge, and every bit of wisdom we could ever seek or desire And now, the fear that got things started has surpassed what was ONLY the beginning and has become our purposeful desire to learn of Him, walk with Him, and do what pleases Him every moment of every day.
Share this post on:
The Heart of The Matter
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
As we end “love” month, I’ve got to ask: Do you love maple syrup? I’ve eliminated most sugar from my diet, so I don’t get to enjoy my favorite maple nut goodies (candy) or French toast with lots of syrup, but I can still add maple flavor to a few things like oatmeal and sugar free pecan pralines. Sometimes, even banana (flourless) pancakes. But if you do like fresh maple tapped from trees, and if you are near or can get to Salem, Indiana on March 1st, 7th or 8th, go out to LM Sugarbush LLC and enjoy the free festival loaded with vendor booths, front porch music, old west shootouts by The Cowboy Posse, and, of course, maple syrup. Being winter, there are other syrup festivals around, so if you find one to attend, tell me about it in the comments.
So,this is it; the final day of February. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed coming up with 28+ different ways to present heart shapes along with a few heart inspired titles. And now, as we end the month, what do you think was the heart of the matter? I’m sure you’ve figured out that LOVE is the main theme behind every post, be it God’s love for us, our love for Him, or love in other forms.
Now, I want to end with this wonderful video by “The Bible Project” guys who break down the biblical word for love as used in ”the shema” from Deuteronomy 6:4. I recommend the entire 6 videos from that series, so here’s the one about love (as in to love The Lord)…
I love where these guys show how “heart” really meant EVERYTHING in Bible days and cultures. They mention how you know with your heart, understand with your heart, and have wisdom and discernment in your heart. Even the concept of a broken heart comes from ancient Hebrew understanding.
And tomorrow, we begin a month of 31 days, so I’m using that to take us through the 31 chapters of The Proverbs. Come back to see what treasure and wisdom I find there, and be sure to share your own in the comments.
Now, the shema as stated by YahShua (Jesus)…
Matthew 22:36-38 WEBUS
[36] “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” [37] Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’[38] This is the first and great commandment.
https://bible.com/bible/206/mat.22.36-38.WEBUS
And His next words expound on it a little more...
Matthew 22:39-40 WEBUS
[39] A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
https://bible.com/bible/206/mat.22.39-40.WEBUS
Share this post on:
I Love the B-I-B-L-E
So Feb 23rd is the anniversary of the first printing of The Bible by Johannes Gutenberg in the year 1455. That makes it a perfect day to share a few things about God’s Holy Word. If you want to read the Today in History article about it, just visit https://thisdayofhistory.com/2026/02/22/february-23-1455-a-printer-changes-the-world/
I didn’t always love the Bible. I mean, I loved parts of it, but until I spent enough time doing my own study, my lack of understanding made it seem impossible to follow. A few teachers that used it more like a weapon than a love letter didn’t help. And it is sharper than a two-edged sword that cuts deeply, but it’s less like a weapon and more like a surgical tool. It will cut away the parts that can damage or destroy you and allow you to live free from the cancer of sin. Of course, anyone using it as a tool like that should also have good “bedside manners” and take care of any wounds created by doing that kind of “surgery.” But even if you haven’t had the best experience with Bible teachers, I promise you that if you’ll devote time to read it (or listen to it from one of many audio sources available now), it will change your life.
There’s an old acronym that says BIBLE stands for, “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” I also like, “Basic Instructions Before Living Eternally” because following the Bible can make sure you live eternally with The Creator who loves you and has prepared a future for you.
The children’s song says…
The B-I-B-L-E,
Yes, that's the book for me.
I stand alone on the Word of God,
The B-I-B-L-E.
Here's a video of that song: https://youtu.be/lGrPHyK8ns0
One of my favorite Bible studies is the full year of reading interspersed with teaching videos by The Bible Project. It’s called “The Full Story, from The Beginning to the Amen” and you can find the study in the Bible app or at YouVersion at http://bible.com/r/5uC
Now, if you want a fun way to learn all the books of the Bible, check out this video from ApologetiX called La Bible as a parody of “La Bamba.”
An old Christian country song by Alvarado Road Show (formerly Brothers Clark/Clark/The Clark Family) is a tear-jerking song about a family in turmoil called “A Bible, A Bottle, and A Gun.”
And one of my absolute favorite songs about the Word of God is called Just An Old Gideon Bible and it’s sung beautifully by Terri Lynn Weaver.
I hope you enjoyed this variety of Bible-based videos and music. And don’t forget that biblical writers talked about The Holy Bible right in the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:16 WEBUS
[16] Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness,
https://bible.com/bible/206/2ti.3.16.WEBUS
Romans 1:16-17 WEBUS
[16] For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. [17] For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”
https://bible.com/bible/206/rom.1.16-17.WEBUS
Romans 10:14-15, 17 WEBUS
[14] How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? [15] And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”
[17] So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
https://bible.com/bible/206/rom.10.14-17.WEBUS
Happy Bible Day, and happy journey into falling in love with God’s Word through His love letter to you. ☦️📖💓🕊️ Comment with your testimony of how God’s words have worked in your own life.
Share this post on:
Shema (Listen) to God’s Heart
My Bible study today had one of the most important verses in all of written Scripture. From Deuteronomy 6:4, it’s called “The Shema” and in The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) it reads…
D'varim (Deu) 6:4 CJB
[4] “Sh’ma, Yisra’el! Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, Isra’el! Adonai our God, Adonai is one];
https://bible.com/bible/1275/deu.6.4.CJB
I wanted to create an image that spoke that powerful message so worth listening to. LISTEN! Listen, Israel. Listen, people. Listen, everyone. Just listen. God’s Word is speaking, and it’s pouring out love you can hear, if you will just listen.
When I was running from God and doing things my own way, the thing I really needed to do was listen. I asked God all the “why” questions, but I didn’t listen for His answer, so I didn’t hear the loving words He was speaking to me. He used my own pride against me and got me to a place where I felt stuck (fake praying in a church, so I would look like everyone else there) to slow me down enough to listen and hear. And my life has never been the same.
As I’m writing this, I’m realizing that the words He spoke to me that night were from that Scripture, and I’d not actually realized it. See, the women in the church were gathered around me because they thought the new “sinner” in their midst was praying to be saved. And I had my head buried in my hands to hide that I was faking while trying to figure out how to get out of the situation. That’s when I clearly heard a voice speak, and it said, “You’re not rejecting these people, and you’re not rejecting all the people who hurt you in your life. You’re rejecting me, and I’ve never done anything to hurt you.”
He was speaking directly to me to listen to Him and let Him (not people) be my ONLY (Hebrew word echad) Lord and God. That word means both one and only, and it begs us to hear His voice and tune out all the others.
Even my voice, though I write from my heart and the testimonies God has given me, is not the main voice you should listen to. I pray those who read my blog let my voice lead to The One and Only, Alpha and Omega, First and Last, The Beginning and The End, Yahveh Almighty. And when they hear Him, may they make Him their own One and Only… Forever!
Share this post on:
Two Hearts in Every Bible
The holy Word of God is so alive that we can find God’s heartbeat from Genesis to Revelation with just a cursory reading. But we only truly find Him when we seek and search for Him with all of our heart.
But that’s where the paradox comes in. How do you seek God with all your heart when you don’t even know your own heart and mind all that well? We’re told the heart is deceitful, made of stone, and is filled with evil thoughts and other sins. It can seem pretty hopeless if you stop with just that knowledge. And that’s where the small measures of grace sown into every man’s heart comes into play.
Romans 12:3b WEBUS
[3] ...think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.
https://bible.com/bible/206/rom.12.3.WEBUS
Once we tap into that measure of faith, we can use it just enough to open God’s Word and find out exactly what kind of heart we have. We will see ourselves and our paths laid out in the stories of others.
Proverbs 27:19 WEBUS
[19] Like water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.27.19.WEBUS
But, once we see who and what we are, we should not stop there. If we walk away, we may forget what we saw and miss the blessing of God bringing the changes we desperately need.
James 1:24 WEBUS
[24] for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
https://bible.com/bible/206/jas.1.24.WEBUS
BUT IF HE STAYS, THEN...
Ezekiel 36:26 WEBUS
[26] I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
https://bible.com/bible/206/ezk.36.26.WEBUS
You can pray as King David did for a clean heart, and then you refill it with God’s Holy Spirit and Word. When it’s clean and pure, then you have the promise that you will see God. And from there, it’s a step by step walk, fail, learn, find grace pattern that will take you to an eternity with The One who has promised you a wellspring of life if you’ll just trust Him.
Are you ready to begin?
Share this post on:
God Never Fails
If God is Love, and Love NEVER fails, then God NEVER fails. In our human condition, we doubt and fear and wonder sometimes where God is and when we’re going to hear from Him or see Him act. But the first part of 1 Corinthians 13:8 reminds us….
[8] Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
https://bible.com/bible/206/1co.13.8.WEBUS
Just as I did yesterday with switching words in Genesis from God to Love, now I’m going to switch the famous verses known for defining what love should be from Love (Charity in KJV) to God. You see, God knows our form and would never ask us to do anything He would not do. So….
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a CSB
[4] God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, [5] is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. [6] God finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. [7] God bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [8] God neverendsfails.
https://bible.com/bible/1713/1co.13.4-8.CSB
Line by line, we can see God’s personality in these behaviors Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to follow. From the garden until the end of time as we know it, and into eternity, God’s whole purpose is for us to walk with Him, side by side, obeying Him by imitating the behaviors He knows will bring blessings.
When we are patient (a fruit of The Spirit, so we get it directly from God), we bring peace to our lives and even our bodies. This message is to me as much as anyone because age seems to be making that harder for me. Maybe partly because of the many things there are to become impatient or irritable with these days (like AI customer service that won’t connect you to a living human). But I know I don’t like the way I feel when I get impatient, even if I have a good reason for it.
When we are kind, we can see God in our behaviors and note how it changes people. I try to make a habit of calling managers to compliment good service because I know they are overwhelmed with complaints. Years ago, I watched a manager lumber out to my vehicle at a Sonic when his employee sent him at our request. I could tell he was bracing for the worst. After sharing my gratefulness for the attentive and friendly server we had, it literally looked like he was a foot taller as he walked back to the restaurant standing up straight and smiling with confidence. The image is forever etched in my memory as an encouragement to bring that type of kindness whenever I can.
When we refuse to envy or be jealous or rude, we stop adding to the stress and chaos of a world with too many trying to survive without God and His attributes.
When we are careful not to be boastful or arrogant, we leave room for God to shine instead of us. We know that pride goes before destruction, and a stuck up (haughty) attitude before a fall, so we save ourselves from those disasters as well. Remember the letters in EGO can stand for “Edging God Out.”
On the “not self-seeking” line, I found a lot of different wording, including that love does not seek its own way. When I switched that one to God, I was like, “Wait a minute. God does seek His own way and His will because He sees the future and knows what’s right.” So, in His case, seeking His way is not a bad thing. But also, being self-seeking is more like ONLY thinking of yourself. We all know people who don’t seem able to see how their behaviors affect others but can always see how others affect them. Without natural empathy, those are the ones whose love (Godliness) is turning cold as a result of sin.
When King David thought about God’s choice to not hold his record of sins against him, he said that God had separated his (and our) sins as far as the East is separated from the West. Real love covers a multitude of sins. It may seem like a “get out of jail free” card, but it’s definitely not a “keep on doing what got you into bondage in the first place” license. Just like we want people to be grateful enough for our forgiveness to not harm us again, God wants us to be grateful enough to keep ourselves free from the sinful entanglements He broke away from us. And all this is because God finds no joy in unrighteousness but He does rejoice in truth because truth sets us free. Let’s make God smile today.
Finally, God bears, believes, hopes, and endures because He sees a future we cannot even imagine. His Word says it hasn’t even entered into our hearts what He has prepared, but it also says He has hidden eternity in our hearts. He promised Israel that He had plans for their hope and a future. Through the blood of YahShua, we have become Abraham’s seed and heir to those great and precious promises. God (Love) NEVER fails.
Share this post on:
Love Created the Heavens and….
1 John 4:16 WEBUS
[16] We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
https://bible.com/bible/206/1jn.4.16.WEBUS
For the month of February, I’m going to take a hint from Hallmark and do my own version of Love-uary with the focus on God’s love. To start it out right, I thought it would be interesting to see how some of the items in the first chapter of Genesis read when we substitute the word love wherever it normally has the word God. I think the message is deep and soul-stirring.
So here is Genesis 1:1-2, 4-5, 14-18, 27-28, 31 KJV with the replacements (no italics or full caps, just read it normally to catch the nuance):
[1] In the beginning Love created the heaven and the earth. [2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Love moved upon the face of the waters.
[4] And Love saw the light, that it was good: and Love divided the light from the darkness. [5] And Love called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
[14] And Love said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: [15] and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. [16] And Love made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. [17] And Love set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, [18] and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and Love saw that it was good.
[27] So Love created man in his own image, in the image of Love created he him; male and female created he them. [28] And Love blessed them, and Love said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
[31] And Love saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
https://bible.com/bible/1/gen.1.1-31.KJV
So what do you think, readers? I really like the statements like “Love created man in His image” and “Love saw that it was good.”
Because God is Love, whenever we read anything about God, love is the descriptor even when we do not understand. And whenever we talk about love, it should be in ways that represent God fully and completely. All love is not love, as the commercial campaign once said. A mother’s love due a child is different than a friend’s love for a friend, and both are different than romantic love between a man and woman. Some forms of love are not love at all but merely mankind’s desire for how he thinks love should be defined, like a child who says a parent who won’t let them do whatever they want doesn’t love them. But true love can always be defined as God and, far more than a feeling, true love is powerful enough to design and create a universe and everything in it. Do you know LOVE?
Share this post on:
It is No Secret, or Is It?
When I was a little girl, my mom loved her music, and she had a lot of albums by Wayne Newton. One of my favorites was his gospel album with Church in the Wildwood, The Old Rugged Cross, and other traditional hymns. I sang with each of them, but mostly with the song, It is No Secret (What God Can Do). This video sounds exactly like what I remember:
As I got older, it began to feel like the things God could do were secrets, at least from me. I wondered where He was on the nights of drunkenness and violence that eventually resulted in social workers and foster homes for my sister and I. She ended up back at home, and I ended up living with my grandparents in another city. We both watched our mom ride a rollercoaster of efforts to get life right while everyone gave her different answers for how to do it.
One day, while writing in a poetry class in the group home I was in, I recall telling God in a poem how I just didn’t understand Him, or why things had to be the way they were. I concluded by writing that I wasn’t going to try anymore. It was partly giving up and partly pleading for understanding. Thankfully, God read it as a prayer that He eventually answered when I was ready.
Proverbs 25:2 says,
[2] It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
https://bible.com/bible/206/pro.25.2.WEBUS
And then we have the Psalm in the image above reminding us that God’s wisdom is hidden from those who do not fear (respect) Him.
So, really, the secret is not one that is withheld from anyone who truly seeks Him with all their heart and soul, but it is hidden from those who don’t think it’s worth enough to dig for. Like a vein of pure gold in a rock or stream, or a cache of diamonds in the depths of a mountain of coal, God’s wisdom is an extreme value waiting to be mined. I don’t desire gold or jewels enough to take the risks associated with mining, but I do value God’s pure and holy truths enough to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking (see Matthew 7:7) until I find answers. Will you go mining with me?
⛏️📖⛏️
Share this post on:
Look and See How Good it Can Be
When I worshipped in a Messianic congregation, one of my favorite songs to learn was called Hineh Ma Tov. It was built on words from this verse in Psalm 133:1.
Psalms 133:1 WEBUS
[1] See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity!
https://bible.com/bible/206/psa.133.1.WEBUS
So what happens when people do not live together in unity? My suggested emoji after that sentence was a sad, crying emoji like this 😭. But my last word was unity, and I didn’t say anything in the sentence that could lead my keyboard to think I was talking about something sad. Right? Or is even a keyboard smarter than many humans to know the end result of refusing to look for unity?
But I digress; I was only going to talk about the not-so-pleasant and not-so-wonderful effects of division. Chaos, anger, and jealousy, are just a few of the effects that go with not being on the same page. But THAT is really the problem. No ONE page that everyone can stand on together to allow the unity. Unity without a foundation is simply an illusion.
When the psalmist speaks in this chapter, the pleasant things he describes include the oil dripping from Aaron’s beard. That is pleasant to him because that oil is from a time of anointing to do priestly works for God Almighty. The priesthood was originally created and ordained by Yahveh as part of His mercy and grace to cover the sins of mankind. And if the priest was being ordained, it meant the law was being followed.
Law is a blessing! Think of this: When you’re in a hurry to get somewhere, and you have a green light, the law that makes cross traffic stop and let you through will benefit you more than chaos at the intersection. But all it takes is one person who spurns the law and wants to do things their own way to mess up everyone’s day.
God put law in our hearts, and all it took was one evil tempter challenging God’s way of doing things to create chaos for every human for the rest of time. At least until time stops counting because we move into eternity. So what would happen if all of mankind decided to look and see how good it would be to follow God’s way? We would be in unity, and behold how wonderful and pleasant it would be.
And here’s a video and lyrics with Paul Wilbur singing Hineh Ma Tov…
Share this post on:
This Day’s Prompt on Decluttering…
… Asked the question, “Where can you reduce clutter in your life?” I knew I could answer with something spiritual, or I could answer that question with the physical clutter in my life. I could go room by room, inbox by inbox, and even list Christmas movies on my DVR. But I wanted to see how a few others answered, and I’m so glad I looked because one of the blogs I found has a great article that spoke to my heart and spirit. (There are other posts I want to read there as well, so I followed and decided it was a great post to reblog.)
I hope my visitors enjoy this post by the Grace-In-Between blog, and may you feel the wonderful blessings of Yahveh Almighty as you rest with Him this Sabbath.
Share this post on:
Psalm 12 Written in Haiku
I love writing haiku. It’s actually how I journal my day every night. It keeps me focused on short, rhythmic bursts of thought, and the meter is relaxing to me. I have learned about the “correct” use and meaning of haiku, with its nature words and less rigorous syllable count, but for the purposes of my haiku writing, I prefer to focus on the Americanized syllable structure (5-7-5) I learned back in elementary school.
Psalm 12 was the chapter used in my current Bible study called “The Full Story_____From the Beginning to the Amen” by The Bible Project. So here it is condensed into simple haiku verses.
A Psalm of David,
To the choir director.
A song of lament.
1.
I need Your help, Lord.
The loyal have disappeared,
From the human race.
2.
They all keep lying.;
Speaking with flattering lips,
And deceptive hearts.
3.
I'm praying to God,
To cut off the boastful tongues,
And the lying lips.
4.
They claim false power.
They reject God as Master.
And claim the control.
5.
But devastation,
Has caught God's attention, and...
He hears the groanings.
The poor and needy,
Cry out, and God rises up.
He provides safety.
6.
The Lord's words are pure.
They've been refined like silver.
Extra purified.
7.
You, Lord, will guard us.
You protect us forever,
From evil attacks.
8.
Though the wicked prowl,
And the human race exalts...
The worthless wicked.
See, I read this AND listened to it. But I didn’t really hear the pain in King David’s heart until I began to write the words myself. Now, I’m seeing him cry out in verse and begging God to see what men are doing to each other and fix it. I don’t know if he was king when he wrote this, but he obviously felt powerless to change things himself. His hopes were likely dashed because, not only were there wicked and evil men doing harm to each other, but the general populace were praising the wicked instead of holding them accountable.
Sadly, it sounds like much of the world right now. People take power that was never meant for mankind, like deciding what is good or evil based on their own desires, and they reject the wisdom of The One who created all life and wrote the owner’s manual. Our Creator chose how life would form in the womb when we were fearfully and wonderfully made. He even chose that life would form sometimes in less-than-ideal situations. But He asks us to trust that He knows best and has a plan for our good no matter what it looks like at that moment.
But after that life has begun to form, some people take the position of thinking that because they can control it, they should control it. They will snuff out that life because it doesn’t line up with what they think their future desires will be. And, they will find professionals to help them kill the innocent child because somehow, that murder helps their bottom line. And all the ignorant will celebrate the “freedom” obtained by the death without realizing the deeper bondage the death will bring to all who helped make it happen.
Proverbs 14;12 (WEB) says, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death.” And that tells us how much we need to trust the wisdom in Proverbs 3:7-8 (WEB) “Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Fear Yahweh, and depart from evil. It will be health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.” Though the words in Proverbs are not promises, they are the more likely scenarios.
Share this post on:
Just An Old Fashioned Love Song
I could blog for days on some of my favorite songs, both in hymns and secular music. It’s probably why I like the band, ApologetiX so much because that gives me hymns with the tunes of my secular faves. But for tonight, I want to talk about gathering with people who love The Lord and singing praises to Him. The greatest love is from God to us, so the greatest love songs should be from us to Him.
Now, when I hear the words “community hymn sing,” I’m pretty certain it’s going to be hymns sung by the whole community. I expect a “turn to page 1234” moment where we all pick up a song book and sing together. Of course, most have replaced the song books with overhead lyrics on beautiful backgrounds, but you get the idea. We all worship The Lord with good old-fashioned songs that tell of our love for Him.
But that’s not what happened when we attended the first one for our community. Instead, there were different groups playing and singing, no lyrics for the congregation, and me wondering whether it was okay to sing along. Did I enjoy it? Yes! It was all my kind of music, and most people wanted folks to sing with them. And despite not having the lyrics available, I was surprised at how many I knew by heart.
So, though both my husband and I would’ve preferred what we expected to find there, it does bring up something important. Why did I know so many of the lyrics even without them in front of my eyes? Because I’ve sung them to The Lord for so many years, they’ve become a part of me. This is what Proverbs is talking about when it says to “Train up a child in the way he should go.” It’s not a promised guarantee that a child raised to love and honor Christ will never depart, but if the practice is modeled before them and instilled in them, there’s an excellent chance that what’s been instilled will never depart. And that means, if the child grows up and grows distant from The Lord, there’s a well of memory within him or her which can be tapped into when they are ready.
I had my time of doing things my own way, but teachings and music from my own childhood were a well in me that I’ve tapped into many times since giving my whole life to Christ as a young woman. If you’ve got children, or grandchildren, or nieces and nephews (as was the case for me and my husband when we raised 4 nephews for 5 years), use every opportunity to put something into that well for them. One day, when they realize they’re running dry, what you’ve placed into them could save their soul. You’ll know it and be filled with joy when you hear them singing their own old fashioned love song to their Creator. I’m still hoping and praying for that day because I want all of us worshiping God together for eternity.
And, now, here’s one of my favorite songs from my time in Missionettes as a little girl. It’s called “Pass It On” and the lyrics can still make me cry.
Share this post on:
Hand in Hand with God Almighty
Sometime in the past month, I read a quote that said something like, “God is more interested in what you do with Him than in what you do for Him.” I can’t find it again now to correctly attribute it, but those words say so much to my heart. I did find a similar quote by Malcom Smith that says, “While we are in a frenzy of doing for Him, we are in grave danger of missing the whole point of the Gospel – which is being with Him… He has many servants but few friends!”
In the short video I’ve shared above from The Bible Project (I love their videos and highly recommend them), the guys animate a lesson about partnering with God in this life. When I watched it as part of one of my studies, it made me think of that quote, and the whole message has been working in my spirit.
So many religions, and even non-religious ideologies that require good deeds, have leadership (or gods) that demand allegiance in word and deed but not in any sort of relationship. People do good (and even sometimes evil in the names of their gods) to get to their future reward. And they will pay any price because they think that reward must be earned. And it works for keeping people in line with the rules, but it’s too shallow for a life with a Creator who loves His creation so deeply that He actually left His glory to suffer in the flesh to make sure we can spend eternity with Him. He absolutely wants a partnership with each of us.
Another quote states it well by saying, “When you finally realize it isn’t about cutting off sin, it’s about loving God so much that your desires for sin no longer exist.” That kind of love will bring you all the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit and His Wonderful Presence. In Deuteronomy 4;7, Moses says, “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to Him?” (WEBUS) And if having that kind of close friendship and love with your Creator sounds good to you, memorize this promise from Jeremiah 29:13 (World English Bible/WEB)…
13 You shall seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.
And here’s an older beautiful hymn with lyrics to sing along; What A Friend We Have in Jesus…
Share this post on:
God Knows Our Form
I think the Apostle Paul said it best in Romans 7:15… “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” (NLT) But, at the same time, Psalm 103:14 reminds us, “For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust.”(NLT)
So God made us to be like Him, but He also knows that sin is a very real part of us that will keep trying to lead us away from the paths of righteousness. He made a way for us to have our sinful behaviors go to judgment without us, and He had a plan for it years before Calvary. We find that plan in Genesis 15 where God and Abraham carry out the ritual of the blood covenant.
In verse 17, Abraham is still kinda knocked out, and he sees two flames in front of him that walk through the pieces. They are a smoking furnace (or fire pot) and a flaming torch. I don’t know which one represented God, and which one represented mankind, but since the flames walked both directions through the sacrifices, and since God kept Abraham in a temporary sleep, the covenant was completed solely by God. I added the doves, white hearts, and crosses to the images to represent God’s Spirit in both lamps.
God walked through the pieces to represent His promise, and then He walked through the pieces to represent Abraham’s promise. Because He knew man would fail, He prepared to pay for that failure with His own blood. (In Acts 20:28, Paul exhorts the teachers to feed the church of The Lord, which He purchased with His own blood.)
In the covenant (see Jeremiah 34:18), people make promises to each other and walk through the sacrificial pieces to confirm their promises. Whoever breaks that promise must pay with their own blood. You can read the steps Abraham took to prepare the sacrifices for the ritual in verses 9-11. In verse 12, a deep sleep falls on Abraham as God recites His promises to Abraham about His blessings on future generations that would come from him. Abraham’s part is to remain faithful and upright before The Lord and to teach his family to do the same.
There are other teachings suggesting what the events between Abraham and God could have meant, but when I was taught what the blood covenant was, it made perfect sense to see the future act of Christ at Calvary as being planned by a loving and merciful God who knows our form. He has been so good to me (and to many others I know), and I’ve seen His mercy deliver me from failures more times than I can count. To think He was planning it so far in advance just deepens my awe for His grace and mercy. What does it say to you?
Share this post on:
A Flood of Emotion
If you know any artists or writers or creators of any type, you know they can be temperamental about your reactions to their creations. I don’t watch any of those chef programs, but the previews seem to show some real volatility in recipe creators/cooks who don’t get things their way or get the reactions they hoped for. But I think we come by it honestly from being made in the image of a Creator who puts His whole heart into everything He creates.
I’m up to Day 3 in my Bible study, so the last 2 days included Genesis 4 through Genesis 11. Mankind rejected the Light and Love God gifted him in exchange for what sounded to them like a good idea. Back in Genesis 3, Eve is shown looking at the tree while thinking how it… A: Looked good for food (lust of the flesh), B: Was delightful to look at (lust of the eyes), and C: Was desirable for obtaining wisdom (pride of life). Those three sin-inducing thoughts are at the root of every temptation or sin we face.
So, they did things the human way and rejected God’s way which led to a rejection of the gifts He wanted to shower on them, such as the ability to eat from the ”Tree of Life” and live forever. It was only God’s mercy that sent them away from the tree rather than leaving them in eternal bondage to their sin.
Then came Noah, the grandson of Methuselah, who found grace in the eyes of The Lord and was rescued with his family from a flood meant to wash away all that had destroyed God’s beautiful creations. As I wrote my study comments, I used a crying emoji, and it suddenly made me think of all the flood waters as God’s tears. Can you imagine that much heartache?
But, after it was all said and done, God ached for the many lost people (and critters) washed away and buried with no chance of salvation. He placed the scientific phenomena of a colorful spectrum in the Creation sequence, so water now reflects His desire to rescue mankind with a hope of redemption and restoration.
And now, for a little fun, here’s a video by my favorite Christian parody band, ApologetiX, with their song Noah Man to the tune of Nowhere Man by ”The Beatles”.
Share this post on:
Into A Dark World… A Creator and A Savior
In the YouVersion app, I’m doing one of the year long studies from The Bible Project. This one is called, “One Story that Leads to Jesus.” You can find it at… http://bible.com/r/GP4
The day 1 study included an animated video and then Genesis 1, 2, & 3 + Psalm 1. It had inspiring images of chaos and such that God turned into a world of life and peace. And it made me think of a song I wrote many years ago. The first line said, ”Into a dark world, a Savior came.” Since the study is going on with a group of people, it includes discussion. Here’s what I wrote…
Because of the mystery of God’s creation, the exact nothingness that preceded creation isn’t truly known. My writer’s brain took elements, like the enemy being cast down, and put that together in a story where the darkness that covered the earth was a result of that battle and belonged to the cast out devil.
And then…
Because there is nothing that is more powerful than The Almighty Creator, I imagine God driving His hand straight through that icky darkness and proving that Light is the most powerful.
Just like Jesus brought Light and Salvation into a cold and dark world, I believe the type and shadow before it was God bringing a garden of salvation into a place the enemy only thought he had control. God’s wonderful creations are all part of the story with the happiest ending of all, life forever with our Creator Abba Father.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tell me what my commentary means to you, and if you like the study idea, I’d like to hear if you joined YouVersion and signed up for this or any other study. Blessings on your week and all of January!
Share this post on:
God Likes New Things
Yes, and so do most of us. Even when we repurpose used things, we typically try to find new ways to use them. Even old recipes change in New kitchens, and old songs change with new bands. Could it be that we are just like our Creator?
I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions, but after neglecting this blog for 6 years, I thought getting back to it was a worthwhile resolution. I may not write big and wonderful posts every day, but I want to share something each day. And today, because it’s a new year, I decided an old note I’d written myself about new things in the Bible, was a great jumping off point. Or, I should say, jumping back in point. (I really did start this on January 1st, but it will show posted on January 2nd because I forgot how long it takes to add tags, alt text, make sure the image fits, etc. Now I need new mercies. 😎)
Below is my simple list of some new things I’ve found in the Holy Scriptures, in no particular order, and I’ll include their references with links to Bible.com aka You Version. I’m using the World English Bible as it is in the Public Domain and easy to understand. Please comment on what you think or any new things you think God likes that I haven’t listed.
†New Life (Romans 6:4 WEBUS)
[4] We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
https://bible.com/bible/206/rom.6.4.WEBUS
†New Heaven (2 Peter 3:13 WEBUS)
[13] But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
https://bible.com/bible/206/2pe.3.13.WEBUS
†New Earth (Isaiah 65:17 WEBUS)
[17] “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered, nor come into mind.
https://bible.com/bible/206/isa.65.17.WEBUS
†New Songs (Psalms 96:1 WEBUS)
[1] Sing to Yahweh a new song! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth.
https://bible.com/bible/206/psa.96.1.WEBUS
†New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2 WEBUS)
[2] I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
https://bible.com/bible/206/rev.21.2.WEBUS
†New Thing (Isaiah 43:19 WEBUS)
[19] Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
https://bible.com/bible/206/isa.43.19.WEBUS
†New Man (Colossians 3:10 WEBUS)
[10] and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator,
https://bible.com/bible/206/col.3.10.WEBUS
†New Heart (Ezekiel 36:26 WEBUS)
[26] I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
https://bible.com/bible/206/ezk.36.26.WEBUS
†New Mind (Romans 12:2 WEBUS)
[2] Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
https://bible.com/bible/206/rom.12.2.WEBUS
†New Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 WEBUS)
[17] Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
https://bible.com/bible/206/2co.5.17.WEBUS
†New Covenant (Hebrews 9:15 WEBUS)
[15] For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
https://bible.com/bible/206/heb.9.15.WEBUS
†New Testament (Hebrews 9:16 WEBUS)
[16] For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made it.
https://bible.com/bible/206/heb.9.16.WEBUS
†New Wine/Wineskins (Matthew 9:17 WEBUS)
[17] Neither do people put new wine into old wine skins, or else the skins would burst, and the wine be spilled, and the skins ruined. No, they put new wine into fresh wine skins, and both are preserved.”
https://bible.com/bible/206/mat.9.17.WEBUS
And a final verse about God’s mercy and how it is fresh and new for us each day because He knows our forms and that we need new mercies on a regular basis.
†New Every Morning (Lamentations 3:22-23 WEBUS)
[22] It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail. [23] They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
https://bible.com/bible/206/lam.3.22-23.WEBUS
Share this post on:
Treasure In My Heart
Heart Leaf in The Park in Decorative Frame
Welcome to the first installment of Theologically Thursday. The word of God and the doctrines of serving Him are good for every day of the week, so you may see theologies on other days as well. However, my goal will be to always bring something specifically related to Scripture and Bible study on my Thursday blog posts.
For a simple post about matters of the heart, I started with a search for Scriptures that pointed to the heart, and that brought me to the one in the image above from Matthew 6:21 in the King James’ Version.
Next, I read over Psalm 37:4 where the words from the New King James’ Version say, Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. And then I read in Proverbs 4:23, in the Complete Jewish Bible, the following: Above everything else, guard your heart; for it is the source of life’s consequences.
There are so many Scriptures on the heart that I can see a variety of topics drawing me in for deeper study. For today, however, I will focus on the idea that God is in the business of granting our desires in the same way good parents want to grant the desires their children have. A good parent doesn’t say “yes” to everything–no matter how much the child whines and begs. Instead, a good parent teaches a child why some things are better to desire than others. For example, a good father doesn’t help his son find drugs that will harm him no matter how much the son thinks he wants them to “be cool” to his friends. And, a good mother will teach her daughter to desire a mate that will treat her as a person of value rather than helping her get the attention of the most popular guy in school just because that what she says she wants at the time.
In His holy word, our Abba Father teaches us that if we will focus on Him, seeking Him first above all else, He will grant us our desires. I believe that if our treasures are truly wrapped up in Him, our desires will be for things He desires to fulfill. The Scripture in Psalm 37 may actually mean that God will literally place the correct desires in our hearts.
To make sure our loving Father can freely bless us with whatever we desire, all we need to do is protect our hearts from distractions that seek to turn our thoughts away from God and His love. If we trust in His sovereignty, we will have desires, but we will not covet anything not already in our lives because we will trust that He is our provider of right desires and of fulfilling those right desires.
May we all seek to hide an abundance of treasure from God’s word in our hearts that we will not sin against Him even in our desires, and may He fulfill every right desire of our hearts.
Share this post on:
Jonah Jonah
I don’t think I’ve used this video yet, but it’s one of the first songs I heard by ApologetiX, and as Larry the Cucumber would say, “I laughed; I cried; it moved me, Bob.” Just wait until you hear what they say the whale thought Jonah tasted like. Oh, and listen all the way to the end because they tag a couple funny lines on. If you want the full lyrics, there’s another video at the bottom with no images but all the lyrics.
So what do we know about Jonah–from the song or otherwise? We know he’s a minor prophet with his own book in the Bible. It’s a short book with four chapters that tell us a story of God’s abundant grace and mercy. It opens with God’s request to this Hebrew who is a faithful servant of God until God asks him to minister to the ungodly. He runs and says he’d rather die than to see God have mercy on Nineveh.
As Jonah sleeps on a ship at sea, God stirs up a storm, and even those who don’t serve Him figure out why. They don’t want to throw Jonah overboard because they don’t want his blood on their hands, but they do it to calm the storm. Just in case, though, they make an offering to God to repent to Him. In the meantime, it takes three days of Jonah floating in belly acids and darkness to figure out that God is also having mercy on him for his disobedience. He repents to God and declares that salvation belongs to The Lord, and God speaks to the whale to vomit Jonah onto dry land.
This time, Jonah obeys God and preaches to Nineveh. He is okay with it as long as he is berating them for their sin and threatening them with disaster, but when they repent, he gets upset. Imagine that. Imagine preaching “Hell” to someone you’ve seen thoroughly disrespect God and seeing them seemingly get away with their behavior because God takes away the price of their sin. Hopefully, if we have experienced God’s grace in our own lives, we will be happy for those we can help get delivered from eternal damnation.
Jonah should be glad at their repentance, but he isn’t. God, however, is glad to be merciful to people He created, and their repentance is beautiful to Him. In one of Jonah’s tantrums, God tries to explain this to him by comparing the pity Jonah himself showed for a dying plant with God’s love for a dying people. I’m thinking Jonah never really understood it, but the job he did to bring about repentance of the people of Nineveh mattered enough for Jonah to be included in the gospels Matthew and Luke and the ministry of Yeshua.
In Matthew 12:41, Yeshua even said to the Pharisees that the people of Nineveh would rise up in condemnation against them because Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah and the Pharisees refused to repent even though Yeshua was the greater prophet.
God hasn’t changed, and His mercy hasn’t changed, so He sent the same message into the midst of people in sin, and He desired the same result. He even upped the ante and provided a perfect sacrifice to give them the best chance ever. The grace and mercy at Calvary were so great, it overflowed from those who rejected it to give whosoever will an opportunity to receive it now.
The Prophet greater than Jonah is still here, and His blood still flows from Calvary. Listen to His heart as He looks over Jerusalem and weeps (in Matthew 23:37)…
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”
The plan that started with Jonah still exists, and Yeshua still has love for Israel. Read all of Romans 11 for the whole story. I like the way it reads in the Contemporary English Version. Here are a couple verses from Romans 11 in the CEV…
- 1a) Am I saying that God has turned his back on his people? Certainly not!
- 11) Do I mean that the people of Israel fell, never to get up again? Certainly not! Their failure made it possible for the Gentiles to be saved, and this will make the people of Israel jealous.
- 15) When Israel rejected God, the rest of the people in the world were able to turn to him. So when God makes friends with Israel, it will be like bringing the dead back to life.
- 25) I will explain the mystery of what has happened to the people of Israel. Some of them have become stubborn, and they will stay like that until the complete number of you Gentiles has come in.
- 28a) The people of Israel are treated as God’s enemies, so that the good news can come to you Gentiles. But they are still the chosen ones, and God loves them.
- 29) God doesn’t take back the gifts he has given or forget about the people he has chosen.
What a promise! God doesn’t forget, He doesn’t change, and He doesn’t stop loving us. He still loves His chosen ones, and He loves those of us grafted into the root of the chosen. I’m thankful for what Jonah started way back then because it opened a door for what is offered through the blood of Yeshua now.
And here’s the Jonah Jonah video with lyrics…
Share this post on:
Rearrange Your Path
Following the Light by Flickr User Nathaniel Eldridge, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
Have you ever gotten lost? Have you been so lost that it felt like you were going in circles, stuck in an endless loop of hopeless twists and turns that never get you where you wanted to go? I’ve been there on foot, and I’ve been there in a vehicle–at night, in a bad neighborhood. Getting lost is no fun. Being lost from God is no fun either, but God in His mercy allows us to rearrange our paths. As author Allison Gappa Bottke puts it, God Allows U-Turns.
If your path is filled with the chaos of uncharted turns and bumps and misdirections that keep ending you in places of frustration and hopelessness, make a change and rearrange. (I just couldn’t help but to make that rhyme. 🙂 ) To illustrate some rearrangement, I’m going to rearrange some verses from Proverbs Chapter 4. Using the New King James’ Version, I’ll list them in no particular order as bullet points. See what the verses in the following order might tell you about your own path of life.
- Ponder the path of your feet.
- Let your eyes look straight ahead
- Do not turn to the right or the left.
- Remove your foot from evil.
- Do not enter the path of the wicked.
- Do not walk in the way of evil.
Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on. - The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know what makes them stumble. - But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
And from Isaiah 30:21…
- Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
There’s plenty more in Proverbs 4, so I recommend reading all of it. As a matter of fact, I find a lot of inspiration in the idea of reading the entire chapter of Proverbs on whatever day of the month it is. So, since this post was started on December 4th, I took a visit to Proverbs 4, and all those verses about paths are what jumped out at me. With a little rearrangement, I love the wisdom and promise that’s presented.
To continue with the message about your path, here’s a little bit from some of lessons I’ve gleaned as I’ve walked before Yahveh Almighty.
Many paths will visualize before you on your life’s journey, but only one path will lead you where you want to be in the end. It begins with a narrow gate, so no one but you can fit to walk through it. You don’t get through on the coat tails of a preacher or a parent; or even a friend or loved one. You get through it by using a key of mercy and grace provided when you walk through the blood of your Savior, Yeshua.
Once you’ve chosen to walk through the narrow gate, you’ll be on a straight path. It’s not as narrow as the gate, so you’ll have friends to encourage you and walk with you. Fellowship with them and make it a joyful walk. God will light that path for you, and His Holy Spirit is always there to comfort you on your journey. Trust Him to guide you. Seek His wisdom and understanding because the way that seems right to man doesn’t have the promise of God’s way. Look carefully, watch your step, train your eyes on the prize, and listen for that still, small voice that tells you the way to walk.
And here’s one bit of caution… Take heed of anyone who tries to lead you off the path onto another path. God’s path is always the straight one. Because God’s path is straight, even if it looks like it’s a long way off, the end should always be a clear vision ahead of you. Without that vision, you can be turned away and perish, so keep your eyes trained on the goal, and keep pressing forward. Don’t give up, and you’ll cross the finish line and receive your reward.
If you are on a path that doesn’t have a promise of eternal life at the end, ponder your steps and seek God. If you are still breathing in and out, it’s not too late to rearrange your path and follow God.
Share this post on:
Not One Who Kneels
No Share in God’s Glory w/o the Cross by Flickr User Art4TheGlryOfGod, CC License = Attribution, No Derivative Works
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original image and to access the user’s full photo stream at Flickr.
Have you ever read the lyrics to all the verses from Frank Sinatra’s classic hit My Way? In case you haven’t, here are the words for verse three…
For what is a man what has he got
If not himself then he has not
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
Notice the words of the fourth line. For all the confidence-building and encouragement the song is supposed to inspire in those who may feel a lack of personal empowerment, it lacks real power. Real power, like so many things, begins with an acknowledgement of who and where we are and what we need to move forward. Think of the Twelve Steps in multiple anonymous programs. They all start with the first step and the words “I admitted I was powerless.”
What has changed in the modern church world? There’s more preaching about power than powerlessness. There’s more push to gain and be the head and not the tail than of losing ourselves to make Christ the Lord and head of our lives. There’s too many messages about what God can do for us, and not enough messages about the blessing of giving our all for a God who already gave it all for us.
I think the problem is from a lack of blood flow (aka Calvary). We want to go right from sinner to saint without stopping to kneel at the cross first. We tell people that with a few minutes at an altar, or a simple confession of Christ, they are saved. It’s like hiring someone for a job without checking any qualifications or doing any training. What will an untrained person do when he faces a struggle for which he is not prepared? What will a new Christian do with temptation if he has not left all his sinful desires under the blood of Yeshua and made a decision that all sacrifice is worth it for his loving Creator?
We’ve got the proverbial cart before the horse when we introduce someone to Heaven and future hope before we teach them how to live for Christ on earth right now. And if we try to teach an unrepented soul how to live a new lifestyle before he has died to the old one, we’re doing it again. When we plant a seed in the earth, the seed dies before it sprouts to new life. How do we claim a new life until we have died to our old life? As Scripture says, we can’t put new wine into old bottles or they will burst.
Do we trust that what God has to offer is better than anything anyone on earth can offer us? If not, we can never die out to doing things our own way. If we don’t die out to our way and our old ideas and skewed understanding, we can never rise up to walk in the newness of life. If we want God’s glory, we must give up our personal glory and be willing to kneel before our Eternal Creator. We must choose to fall in repentance at the cross of Yeshua and let His blood wash over and cleanse us, and then we must take up our cross daily and follow Him. Once we do that, we can rewrite the words above to line up with the Scripture from Mark 8:36-37 (NKJV)…
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
The new words might read something like…
For what is a man what has he got
Without The Lord then he has naught
To think God’s words and to Him yield
And be a man who repents and kneels
His sins will go under the flow
When he’s walking God’s way
And if you want to hear another person’s version of the whole song, sung to the tune of the original, here’s a video I found at YouTube…
Share this post on:
How Tall is God?
At 4 feet, 10 inches (4′ 10 & 3/4″ when I was younger–LOL), I’ve compared my height to a lot of people. I like that I can make even short people feel a bit taller. I remember when I worked in a truck stop travel store. The cash register was on a platform, but it wasn’t obvious, so when I stepped down from it to make coffee by request, it shocked the driver standing there waiting for his coffee. He said it looked like I had just fallen down into a hole.
Unless I’m trying to retrieve something from a tall shelf, I’m happy with being short, and sometimes it can even be fun. But, if everything in my life was way above my head, then I might desire to measure up to those who can reach all things easily. Spiritually, however, it’s a very different story. I don’t know that I can ever grow enough, so I want to keep growing and learning as long as I’m in this life. Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter talks about our need to set a goal to measure up to a stature greater than ourselves.
Infinite Supply Image for November Thirtieth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 30
The Purpose of Ministry
“He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
EPHESIANS 4:11-13
Each of these ministry functions fulfill different roles, but their purpose is the same, and that is, to bring ALL of us into that same fullness, that same spiritual maturity, that same experiential knowing, which the elders themselves enjoy. Thus, He gives SOME, till we ALL… SOME, till we ALL… SOME, till we ALL. Do you see this? And He will continue to give SOME till we ALL. Once He has ALL then the work is complete and these ministries will no longer be needed. Until then they ARE needed, and they are critical to God’s Purpose.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think this is a great post for my last day of sharing Chip Brogden’s newsletters with readers. Before I go on, I want to encourage readers to subscribe to these newsletters for yourselves. I’ve been on the list since 2009, and even those posts I’ve read more than once have encouraged or taught me great things more than once. To get deeper, purchase the books he takes these studies from, or go to the site and get involved with the discussions.
On this topic, I love the point Chip makes about God giving some to each of the ministries above with the purpose that we will all become complete in Him. Our completion comes with learning how tall Yeshua is, so we can measure up to His stature. When all of us have become perfect and can measure up to The Lord, we will no longer need others to minister to us. For now, we need teaching, guidance, examples, perspective, and accountability. Not one of us has it all together on his or her own, even if we are teachers ourselves.
Our purpose in serving God is not to become better at being human, but to become more and more like Christ. We are promised that we will see Him one day, and on that day we will see Him as He is. At that time, we also have the promise that our bodies will become like His glorious body. How tall is God? We don’t know right now, but we know He is taller than us, so we might as well keep growing.
Share this post on:
Rest for the Weary
While the apostles sat in chains or endured torture, and while they were on their way to martyrdom, do you suppose they ever got weary? Do you suppose they were tempted to give up hope? I can’t say what was in their hearts, but something in them kept pushing forward, or we wouldn’t have the word delivered to us in this day. Maybe The Lord gave them a glimpse of what their sacrifices would be worth, and it rested their souls enough to keep hoping–even to the point of singing praises in the midst of their bondage.
Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter comes with a dose of encouragement to remember that God IS on the throne and in control. He will cause ALL things to work together for the good.
Infinite Supply Image for November Twenty-Ninth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 29
In Due Season
“In due season we shall reap…”
GALATIANS 6:9
The good news is that even if the Ekklesia has been underground, it is still growing and developing. When the season is right it will burst forth and once again those who have eyes to see will indeed discern the blade, the head, and the full grain in the head. In fact the blades have already broken ground in several places and we are even beginning to see some grain taking shape. If you have traced the recovery of the Heavenly Order so far then you know there have been many obstacles and hindrances to God’s Will over the last six thousand years or so of the history of mankind.
So far God has defeated everything that rose up to challenge His Purpose in Christ. Not only has He defeated it, but He has actually used evil to bring about good and further increase His Son. The Scriptures provide us with every expectation and assurance that God will continue to do the same with our generation. He is very much an active part of world affairs, whether they be secular or sacred.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As time moves closer to the end, we may struggle to contain our fears and not grow weary. We’re bombarded by warnings of a future with no freedom and a lack of provision. We know our coming days may include a loss of the free ability to spread the gospel, and we may face battles similar to what the apostles faced in Bible days.
These days, though, it seems our focus is more on our personal struggles. I know I’m not alone in having bad days when the car won’t start, hair won’t cooperate, and the rain keeps coming down. I believe it is the enemy that pushes us to think about our own lives losses, so we’ll focus on ourselves and struggle against personal weariness. I’m certain members of the early church faced personal struggles too, but we rarely read about those things. What we do read of is what Chip talks about; God’s defeat of everything that rose up to challenge His purpose in Christ. God will comfort us in personal battles, but I think we have even more assurance of His deliverance when it comes to battles in working for Him.
As we press forward into the future, we can remember the Scriptural encouragement to not be weary in well-doing. That’s the Scripture used above that ends in the promise of reaping in due season. The whole verse reads…
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
In Hebrews 12:3, we have this reminder…
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Most of our Scriptural encouragements are about comfort in weariness of serving The Lord, so that tells me we should keep our focus on Him, so we’ll see the comfort when it comes our way. I’ll close with King David’s Psalm of promise to those who keep working even through their weariness. Psalm 126:6 says…
He who continually goes forth weeping,
Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
Bringing his sheaves with him.
Share this post on:
God’s Street Address
Suppose you are a detective hired for an undercover assignment to infiltrate a group of law-breakers. You will need to look like them, talk like them, and in many ways act like them, but you also need to remember that you are not really them. Because you are different at the core of your beliefs, no matter what they ask you to do, you will try your best to uphold the law. You will not unthinkingly or uncaringly violate the law just for fun as the criminals do. If you must violate the law to maintain your cover, you will work as quickly as possible to undo any harm created from that action. Again, above all, you must never forget that you are a law-keeper and not a law-breaker.
Now, suppose you are a child of Almighty God who is on the earth to bring a message from your Father to those who do not yet know Him. You look like unbelievers, in some ways you talk like them, and in some ways you act like them, but you are not truly an unbeliever. Because you are different at the core of your beliefs, no matter what they ask you to do, you will try your best to uphold God’s instruction. You will not unthinkingly or uncaringly violate God’s commands just for fun as unbelievers do. If you do fail, you will work as quickly as possible to repent and undo any harm created by your failure(s). Again, above all, you must never forget that you are a child of The King and not of this world.
Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter speaks of where we get the best rules to live by as children of God.
Infinite Supply Image for November Twenty-Seventh by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 27
The Heavens Do Rule
“God does not live in temples made by man.”
ACTS 17:24 ESV
We are not zealous for the establishment of any earthly nation, but for a heavenly nation of kings and priests (Revelation 5:10). We are not praying for the building of a physical temple, but a spiritual temple, a house of living stones, of which Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone, Builder and Architect. We are not looking for the appearance of an earthly Messiah, but a Heavenly Messiah, Who is building His Ekklesia upon the earth; we are not of the earth. This is not our home, for we are from above. Though in the world, we are not of it. We will not eat its meat or drink its wine, and we will not bow down to its idols. Though we live in the shadow of Babylon, we are not afraid of its fiery furnace or its den of lions, for our God is able to deliver us.
The heavens do rule. We affirm it boldly and confidently, regardless of appearances to the contrary. The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory belongs to God (Matthew 6:13) – not man, not the devil, not the nations of this world.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
God’s address is not behind a manmade wooden pulpit, and He’s not dressed in a clerical collar. As the author points out from Scripture, He doesn’t inhabit manmade temples where we go to visit Him. His purpose in our salvation is to create holy dwellings for His Holy Spirit. Without being covered by His blood, adding His Spirit to us would be destructive rather than comforting as He intends. Once we are cleansed, the word (in 1 Corinthians 6:19–NKJV) says God’s address becomes the same as ours…
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
Fortunately, we’re not “undercover” here on earth, so we’re not required to hide our true identities. We should be shining His light from within us to attract the lost to a safe harbor in Christ. It’s in the best interests of both us and The Lord to remember that we are not of this world even though we must live within its borders. Oh yeah, and we may freely share God’s address because He has never requested it to be left unlisted. 🙂
Share this post on:
The Taste Test
Remember the old commercial that told what kind of peanut butter choosy mothers selected? They would do a blind taste test to let people choose their preferred flavor without the benefit of knowing which brand they were tasting. Of course, the commercial displayed those who selected the brand paying for the advertising time.
Much of advertising is set to compare one brand to another, so consumers can make a choice between the two. If that comparison is done with actual experience, such as taste or feel, the advertiser best be certain of the quality of his product before putting it to the test. If the product is of good quality, there should be no fear in comparing it with any other brand.
There are a lot of voices in the world hawking their theories and beliefs as to what is truth. With an array of opinions, both old and new, the advertising and reports of each can seem overwhelming. But as old theories are disproven by new facts, the one that stands the test of time is the word of God. Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter speaks of why it continues to stand.
Infinite Supply Image for November Twenty-Sixth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 26
His Word is Truth
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
JOHN 17:17
I am frequently asked how do we partake of this fullness? How do we walk in it? What practical application exists for living according to this Truth? We see what God says, but we also see our situation. We see Jesus, but we also see ourselves. God says we are complete in Him, but we say we are incomplete. God says we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, but we say we still need this or that. What is the problem here? Is it not a glaring discrepancy between what God says and what we say? Whose word is more reliable?
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
King David said it this way in Psalm 34:8 (NKJV)…
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
When all is presented before us, we must be choosy. Whose report should we believe? The one that goes beyond theories and ideas and stands with personal testimony that cannot be disputed. Our own testimony, and the testimonies of those we love and trust, will tell us more than any educated and intelligent scientist can tell through disassociated theory.
When I served my most recent jury duty, one of the things they taught while going over how things worked was evidence. Testimony, they said, was the strongest form of evidence available. Testimony coupled with physical evidence is what makes the difference in knowing whether a report is believable; otherwise, anything could be called the truth.
God’s word is true and believable. Those who stand against it have rarely put it to an actual test of experience, especially of long experience. I would both encourage and challenge anyone who is unsure about the written word of God to read it and try it for yourself. Read it over and over and apply it to your life. Regardless of what you’ve heard from pulpit heralds, good or bad, nothing will be as convincing as your own experience. The saying goes, “Try Jesus: If you don’t like Him, the devil will always take you back.” I say, take God’s word for your own “taste test.”
Psalm 34:8 from The Message Bible…
Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.
Share this post on:
Who Teaches the Teachers?
I remember an algebra teacher in the ninth grade that made me wonder who was the student and who was the teacher. It was my desire to get a good grade, but it was even more my desire to learn the subject. Apparently, I was a rarity in that. When I approached the teacher for help, he was content to just look up the answer in the teacher’s manual. He was surprised that I wasn’t satisfied with his answer. I explained that knowing the answer and not the solution would only benefit me for that question and not future questions on tests and such. He considered me argumentative.
That’s not the first time I’ve been called argumentative, and it was definitely not the last. What really frustrates me is the times when I have approached Bible teachers for solutions, and they too just wanted to provide a pat answer. You know, the kind of answer like, “Just because it’s always been done this way.” Scripture might tell us to avoid foolish and vain questions, but it does not tell us to avoid questions altogether. I guess what matters on getting answers is who or “Who” we consult.
In today’s Infinite Supply newsletter, author Chip Brogden speaks about teaching and learning.
Infinite Supply Image for November Twenty-Second by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 22
When Men Fail
“The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you.”
1 JOHN 2:27
It was God who gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to His Ekklesia, to encourage, edify, and establish all of us deeper into Christ. Can the Holy Spirit in John contradict the Holy Spirit in Paul? By no means.
What then? John was the sole survivor of the first twelve apostles, and now he is very old. Naturally he is concerned with the welfare of the Ekklesia after his death. So God comforts John, and then John comforts us, with this truth: even if we do not have access to the apostle, or prophet, or evangelist, or pastor and teacher, we are still instructed inwardly. The Ekklesia that Jesus is building is not dependent upon the great men or women of God. We are grateful to the ministry gifts when we have them, but we are not dependent upon them for our Life. The Life is greater than the ministers through which it may be ministered.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The “Five-Fold Ministry” (from Ephesians 4:11) the author mentions above is to bring ALL SAINTS deeper into Christ. And we–all of us–must go deeper for a reason. Verse 12 tells us that the ministry is… for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry. And why are all of us supposed to be equipped for the work of ministry? Verse 12 continues by saying…for the edifying of the body of Christ.
There are teachers and students, but when you read these notes to the Ephesians in context, it should be clear that God’s intention is that we all eventually become teachers. Just like newborns don’t stay infants, and don’t stay toddlers, and don’t stay children; everyone has to grow up eventually. It works the same in spiritual things. Our growing up in The Lord is to “unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God” according to verse 13. Continuing in verse 14, we read…
That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.
Children can be more easily fooled than learned adults. If we remain spiritually immature, we risk being tricked by apostate leaders who call themselves prophets and apostles of God but are instead blind leaders of the blind. I can’t tell you how many times in my walk with God I’ve heard the term “winds of change.” Most of the time, it has introduced some new “minister” with wild new doctrines or miraculous-seeming powers. With this warning about not being carried about with every wind of doctrine, I think it’s wise to be careful of any doctrine that calls itself new or coming in with winds of change.
Just because people proclaim themselves to be teachers does not make them teachers. 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 speaks of those who transform themselves into apostles. If someone says he or she is a teacher, reverend, minister, prophet or otherwise, we should watch to find out who taught the teacher to see if the teaching is from God. If those teachers are simply parroting what they learned from other men, we must be careful of them. Better yet, If we’ve been serving God for a while, we should be teaching more than being students. We should seek God as our Teacher, so we do not have to fear being blown around by any false winds of change.
In case you wonder if you are living up to what Scripture considers maturity in Christ, I recommend reading all of Ephesians 4. It gives clear and precise descriptions of the behavior that will be displayed by those who walk with The Lord. May we all walk worthy of the calling of God.
Share this post on:
Arrogance in Authority
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the difference in confidence and arrogance. I worry sometimes when people claim dominion or authority over things in this life and world because God gave it to Adam. That’s just it; God gave it to Adam. To blatantly claim then that we have that same dominion and authority may be based on Scripture, but is it based on context?
More contextual issues arise when I think about the authority Yeshua gave to His disciples. For example, He told them that whatever they bound on earth would be bound in Heaven. Does this give those of us who live today the authority to bind or loose things on earth and claim they are bound or loosed in Heaven? I’m not certain it does, though I still think we have authority but to act as The Lord commands. The latter part is what I feel carries the most weight; as The Lord commands. If God tells an individual that what He binds on earth is bound in Heaven, that person has the authority because God gave it to him.
Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter gives the proper foundation for a life of authority in Christ.
Infinite Supply Image for November Twenty-First by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 21
Better Than “Willpower”
“I die daily.”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:31
Paul might have buckled under the pressure. He certainly grew weary. He certainly was misunderstood, rejected, and persecuted. He suffered so much. What kept him going? Verse 29 of Colossians 1 says, “To this end I labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” He labors, and he strives. That’s the way Paul was. Laboring and striving, even when he was laboring and striving for the wrong things, he was absolutely dedicated to the mission. But there is something more extraordinary at work in Paul, something more than sheer willpower or determination.
I tell you willpower will only take you so far. Willpower is overrated. We need something else, something supernatural, something that does not rely upon my limited willpower. What was it? “I strive according to HIS WORKING which works in me mightily.” It was not the strength of Paul, but the strength of Christ in Paul, and through this Christ, Paul said, “I can do all things” (Philippians 4:13). All things!
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Context in all things is important. In Scripture, it’s especially important. Without context, we could be thinking that Paul literally lost his life on a daily basis. If we automatically take the words of Yeshua to His disciples as if they are for all of us, then to be in context, we should take all His words to them. For example, if we claim we can bind and loose because they could, then we should never take up a collection for our ministries because the disciples were told not to. Instead, they were to go without script in their purses and trust their hosts to provide their needs. And whatever gospel message we spread, we should begin at Jerusalem.
I know the above paragraph sounds a bit extreme, but considering how extremely to the letter we hold other things, we should consider context in all we claim from Scripture. We should be humble enough to seek the context and foundation behind all our behaviors and rituals, so we can make sure we’re doing them to please God and not men or ourselves. Like Paul, we should die daily to self and ask God for His direction in our lives. It’s better to learn what He would have us do and say and pray rather than to arrogantly claim we have authority just because the Lord gave it to those He sent out.
I don’t find in Scripture where God gave authority to every follower and believer. Those He did give it to were also given instruction to not rejoice in authority but to rejoice that their names were written in The Lamb’s Book of Life. In that, I can see confidence in humility. We realize we only have authority because we have Him. The two cannot be separated, and we should not want them to be. The minute we begin to act just because we think we are something, or have something in and of ourselves, we risk a loss of humility and a gain of arrogance.
Here’s a perfect Scripture to sum this up from 1 Peter 4:11 (NKJV)…
If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Let us be confident and sure in what He gives us as individuals rather than arrogant in what we think we can proclaim just because we read it in the Bible.
Share this post on:
The Cross for Our Comfort
If someone trades the cross for personal comfort, is it a trade up or a trade down? Well, if you’ve ever truly experienced the comfort of the cross of Christ, you know there is nothing better for which you can trade, so it would be a trade down. His word tells us that the way of the transgressor (one who stands beside the way; a deceiver; or one who deals treacherously) is the way that is hard. It also tells us that Yeshua’s way is the easier way because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. In addition, we have the promise that God’s commands are not burdensome.
Some people get weighed down by having their eyes in the wrong direction, and they exchange the cross for a deception of what might seem more comfortable. However, if we’re struggling like that, if we persevere, we will find that the cross IS the ultimate comfort we are seeking. The truth is, if we are facing any kind of battle, it means our backs are to the cross and we’re facing the wrong direction. We get turned around sometimes without realizing it, but once we know, God gives us grace to turn back to Him.
In today’s Infinite Supply newsletter, author Chip Brogden points out the emptiness of a life without the cross.
Infinite Supply Image for November Seventeenth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 17
Apart From the Cross
“I determined not to know anything among you
except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
1 CORINTHIANS 2:2
We can quote these teachings of Jesus, seek to imitate Him as our Example, strive to walk the narrow Way, and even accomplish many good deeds in His Name. But apart from the Cross these activities are wood, hay and stubble.
In calling us to come back to the Cross, God is asking us to lay down our lives and embrace the Wisdom of death, burial, resurrection, and ascension in order to live as sons and daughters within the Kingdom of God. Apart from the Cross we can neither enter the Kingdom nor live in the Spirit, no matter how great the desire. For apart from the Cross, we do not know what it is to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us. Apart from the Cross, we do not know what it is to submit to the will of God, accept suffering, and cast ourselves upon Him. Apart from the Cross, we do not know what Resurrection is.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Plowing the fields God puts in our lives is not always easy, but it is necessary, and the crop yield will be worth it. While Luke 9:62 reminds us that looking back after we have put our hand to the plow makes us unfit to serve, the unspoken reminder there is to turn around. Of course we can’t push forward with our back to the plow, just as we can’t fight with our back to the enemy. But the cross and the word of God before us enable us to stand and fight with the strength of The Lord. His armor prepares us to face our tasks, not to run from them, and His cross brings us the surrender we need to admit our own weakness and find our strength of Christ. That’s why He says to take up our cross daily because He has provided the cross for our comfort.
Share this post on:
Humble Beneath the Heavens
We’re told in Psalm 128:2 that when we eat the fruit of the labor of our own hands, we will be happy. The problem happens when people go beyond happy and become arrogant. While God has created the world according to “the law of the harvest,” we must remember that He is still “The Lord of the Harvest.” He allows us to have the fruit of our labors as a blessing, not just because we deserve it.
In today’s Infinite Supply newsletter by Chip Brogden of “The School of Christ,” we get a reminder that God still rules in the kingdoms of men.
Infinite Supply Image for November Fourteenth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 14
The Most High Rules
“The Most High rules in the kingdoms of men.”
DANIEL 4:17
Christ is increasing and filling all things. Have you seen this? If you have, then embrace it, submit to it, cooperate with it, be in harmony with it, order your life around it, demonstrate it to the world around you, and pray for its fulfillment.
Get aligned with something and Someone higher and greater than yourself. For when you see God’s Purpose, and you adjust your life according to that Purpose, and you consistently pray for the fulfillment of that Purpose, then His Purpose cannot be stopped; His Will cannot be frustrated; His Kingdom cannot be defeated. Heaven singles you out and Hell trembles with fear. You just became undefeatable! You just joined the Remnant.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The full context of the Scripture referenced by the author is where Daniel interprets two visions of King Nebuchadnezzar where God issues a warning to him about his future. We can see from the king’s personal statement near the beginning of the chapter (Daniel, Chapter 4) that he still doesn’t understand who God really is. He tells the reader, in verse 8, the following…
“His name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the Holy God.”
So, he knows that the Creator God is holy, but he doesn’t yet know Him as his own. Daniel warns him that he can repent and stop sinning, and maybe then God will remove the future curse from him, but Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t get it. To the contrary, by verse 30, he says…
“Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
“I have built”? “My mighty power”? “For my majesty”? Those things make it pretty clear why the curses from the visions had to come to pass. The king ended up having the mind of a wild animal and crawling around in a wet field until his hair and nails over-grew. By the time it was over, the king knew who God was. In verse 34, he declared something quite different from verse 30…
And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever.
What he first claimed as the result of his own power, he realized was only the result of God’s power–even over a king and kingdom. As God told him in the vision, “The Most High rules in the kingdoms of men.” Even when we work for it and earn it, or even when we receive it as an inheritance or a gift, our position on this earth is never above God and never without God. When we understand that, we will be humble beneath the Heavens instead of feeling the need to exalt ourselves, and our humility will bring us more power. As Chip says, if we align ourselves with God and His purpose, we become part of the remnant of the undefeatable.
Share this post on:
What’s Your Finish Line?
What is it that you will have accomplished in this life that will make you feel you’ve achieved your best goal? Is there a finish line you see in front of you that will make you feel successful? Some want to die old. Some want to gain riches or fame or some other earthly prosperity.
In today’s Infinite Supply newsletter by Chip Brogden, we’ll read about pressing toward the right goals.
Infinite Supply Image for November Thirteenth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 13
Press Toward the Goal
“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
PHILIPPIANS 3:14
God has a purpose for the universe: that in all things Christ would have the preeminence. This is the Heavenly Bullseye. Since you, dear reader, are part of the universe, you are one of those “all things.” So this purpose includes you.
Actually, this is the same purpose He had in mind for Adam: that Christ would have the preeminence in him. But Adam chose an independent path and failed to give Christ the preeminence. He took the preeminence for himself. Adam missed the mark, which is a life submitted to, and totally dependent upon, God.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You know what your finish line is by what you focus on each day. For example, do you focus on where you are now with a steady look at where you are going, or do you fill your thoughts with sentences that start with “if only”? If only my ship would come in. If only I’d win the lottery. If only my health were perfect. If only I’d been discovered when I was young, so I could be famous now. If only we had bigger, better, more, etc.
Like the author says, Adam (and Eve) chose the personal finish line. They had those sentences like:
- “If only we could eat from the Tree of Knowledge,”
- “If only we knew what that tree tastes like,” and
- “If only we could be wise and know good and evil.”
Paul would have told them to change their sentences to something like:
- “We have the promise of being able to eat from the Tree of Life,”
- “Thankfully, we have the best flavors from all the wonderful trees we get to eat from,” and
- “It’s so peaceful to just trust God and not have to know everything.”
Paul’s finish line was to become more and more like the Christ he loved and served. He sought to draw closer to Him each day regardless of what it took for him to get there. He learned how to be content in all things by focusing on the steps that were drawing him nearer to Yeshua and Heaven than on anything he was missing here on earth. His finish line was to become less and less attached to earth and its pleasures and more attached to Christ and the promises of eternity with God.
We all have finish lines, little ones and big ones. We all have to set goals in order to know how to run in this life. The big goal, however, should be the same for all of us, and it should run us on the race of faith Paul speaks of in Hebrews 12:1…
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Pray, read God’s word, and offer praise up to The Lord, and then when you are in His holy presence, as yourself: What’s my finish line? Comment below if you’d like to share what you discover.
Share this post on:
Going Against God’s Will
I recently watched an interview with an author whose new book sounds quite interesting to me. The author is Johnnie Moore, and his book is What Am I Supposed to Do With My Life: God’s Will Demystified. Haven’t we all asked questions about God’s will in our lives? And haven’t we all been absolutely certain we’ve missed the mark and let God down? I know that many, if not all, of us have paid a price for a bad decision (or two) in our lives, and then we beat ourselves up with debilitating guilt for our failures.
The author of this book points out that God’s will is more about who you are than it is about where you are or what you are doing. In other words, if you make a decision to go to tech school instead of gaining a full college doctorate, you don’t have to wonder if tech school was against God’s will. Instead, you should simply make sure that you keep loving God with all your heart, soul and strength whether you are in school for one or eight years.
Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter talks about the real problem when people step out of God’s will; spiritual decline…
Infinite Supply Image for November Twelfth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 12
God’s Response to Spiritual Decline
“Who is he who overcomes the world,
but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
1 JOHN 5:5
The Lord’s answer to a state of decline is to reveal Himself and His eternal purpose. Once the Lord has established for Himself a people that will represent His interests, then He will move immediately to secure, protect, establish, and strengthen the Remnant. Here is what I want us to see. When we align ourselves with God’s Thought, with God’s Kingdom, and with God’s Will in Christ, we are invincible.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, the answer to falling away from God’s will is to watch for God to reveal Himself. When we seek Him and find Him, we will also find His will. When we line ourselves up with God’s will, we have promises that have little to do with what we do in life and everything to do with who we are through the days of our lives.
I’ve always thought the Scripture promise of I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13) was more about doing everything we do in Christ than using Christ to do more. If God’s will is to line up with who He created us to be, then for it to apply to all people, it would have to do with what we become in our spiritual selves. Otherwise, those with lesser abilities could be considered to be less in God’s will, and that makes no sense because God is no respecter of people.
I put the book on my “wish list” because I find the concept refreshing and freeing. The concept tells me that, even seeking God’s will, I may not make perfect decisions, and I may pay prices for some bad decisions. I will also make some good decisions and receive good rewards for those. But my prices and rewards have nothing to do with God’s will. They are simply the law of the harvest that all earth is created under; we will reap what we sow.
If I want to please God, my job is simply to keep seeking Him and yielding my heart to His Holy Spirit in the midst of whatever decision and whatever price or reward is in my life. It means I won’t blame Him for the outcomes in my life, and that frees me to love Him even more–no strings attached. It means I use guilt for nothing more than a reminder to repent, and then I let it go. I don’t have to let it torment me for years over “letting God down” or going against His will.
God’s most simple will is that no man should perish, so going against God’s will is just detaching ourselves from Him and moving away from His leading. If we love Him, we won’t want to do that no matter what other decisions we make in our lives.
Share this post on:
When God Builds Walls
Me, I’m not so good at dealing with walls. How about you? For me, a wall automatically seems like an invitation to stop and give up. I can press on over bumps and hills, but pressing through walls is a different story. Often, I feel guilty for not fighting harder. But what if I’m feeling guilty for nothing? What if walls going up have purpose in my life?
Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter by Chip Brogden from The School of Christ made me think of thinks a bit differently…
Infinite Supply Image for November Tenth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 10
Why God Resists Us
“God resists the proud.”
JAMES 4:6
Our automatic assumption is that anything which resists us or hinders us is of satanic origin. Yet we learn from James 4:6 that there is Someone Else who can resist us. There is Another Who carefully watches what we do, and frequently hinders us from making progress. It comes as a shock and surprise to some Christians to see one day that God, not the devil, is resisting them. The Lord Himself resists us, closes doors, causes things to be unfruitful, and spoils all our plans. How so? Because “God resists the proud.”
This resistance from God is insurmountable. It is a fearful thing to fight the Lord. We spend most of our lives wrestling with God instead of cooperating with God, and in the end we have nothing to show for it. So much time and effort is wasted because we proceed in our own, stubborn way. We attribute all difficulties to the devil, or to other people, or our circumstances, or our environment, and fail to recognize that the Lord Himself is resisting us.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am in total agreement with the author that most of us consider resistance an attack from the enemy. We also tend to think that if things go easy, it must be a sign from God that we’re headed in the right direction. However, when we look at the secular world and see all the things that seemingly “go right” for so many there, we can see the flaws in our thinking. It rains on both the just and the unjust, and the sun shines on both the good and the evil. Some things just happen, but some things are a sign. So how are we to know?
I believe the author’s message, and the message of Scripture, hold the clue. If we couple the fact that God resists the proud with the knowledge that He disciplines those whom He loves, we can see that His resistance could possibly only be against the proud of those who love Him. That may be why we see unbelievers seemingly “getting away” with all their bad deeds. However, when we who serve Him are running full steam on our own power and forgetting Him, He just might build a wall to protect us from the destruction our pride could bring. After all, this Scripture is written to believers even though it’s to believers who are engaging in all kinds of sin.
So, next time you run into a wall, if you are a believer in God Almighty, consider the fact that He might be the Builder. If He has put some resistance in your path, it may simply be an invitation to slow down and pray. Seek His perfect will for your life, and become humble that you can find His grace…and maybe even a new door to walk through.
Share this post on:
To Know Him is to Love Him
When I was a little girl, my mom often sang the chorus, “To know, know, know him, is to love, love, love him, and I do.” After I fell in love with God, I would sing it about Him. Through the years, I’ve sang a lot of love songs written for humans to my Savior because the words said just how I felt. It’s hard to explain to someone who does not know Christ just how those of us who do know Him can be so deeply in love with someone we haven’t met in the flesh. The key to falling in love with The Lord is wrapped up in getting to know everything about Him, and getting to know His heart. That happens by reading His word and seeking Him through prayer.
In today’s Infinite Supply newsletter, the author speaks of getting to know Christ to effectively share Him with others.
Infinite Supply Image for November Ninth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 9
To Be With Him
“He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him…”
MARK 3:14
The first order of business was not the preaching or the sending forth; it was simply being with Jesus. During those times of being alone and apart with Christ He revealed Himself to them in a deep way. They walked with Him, watched Him, and listened to Him for three and a half years. Just as importantly, they learned to walk with each other. They learned how to serve one another in love. When Jesus finally did send them forth to preach they actually had something worth sharing and worth listening to.
Your primary calling as a disciple is to BE with Jesus, because that is how you LEARN OF HIM. It is not learning about the Christian faith – that is a thing. It is not learning about Bible doctrine – that is a thing. It is not learning about Christian things or religious things or spiritual things. It is not learning about the Bible. It’s not even learning ABOUT Jesus, it is learning OF Jesus FROM Jesus.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The whole verse from the reference above, and the verse just after it, says (in New King James’ Version)…
Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.
As the author notes, the first thing is just to be with Christ. Unfortunately, in our zeal, we may get the cart before the horse. We rush out to preach and heal and cast out demons, and we think that just because we’re doing it in Jesus’ name, we’re okay. But, if we’re not doing it because we know Yeshua and are following His will, we’re walking in ignorance and disobedience. We’re acting presumptuously and of ourselves, in pride, and we risk misleading souls and being responsible for them.
There is a preacher out there (Todd Bentley of “The Lakeland Revival” in Florida) who recorded a message about a vision he had explaining why he didn’t need training in God. He said that God took him to Heaven, cut him open, and filled him with little gift boxes. Then, God supposedly told him that time was too short for him to study and learn before he started preaching. God was pouring a bunch of gifts into him right then. Really? It sounds to me like the man formed a vision to line up with his desire to be up in front of people earning money and fame instead of waiting on God. If he took the time to get to know God better, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up having an affair with a woman on his staff–twice.
Other than just sharing our personal testimony of what God has done for us, we must get to know Christ before we can effectively introduce Him to others. If we want to get to know Him, we find that His word tells us in Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV)…
But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
If we want to love God, we should seek to please Him. In order to please Him, we need to obey Him. To obey Him we must hear His voice. To hear His voice, we must become His sheep. To even desire to be His sheep, we need to get to know The Shepherd. Once we know Him–really know Him–we won’t be able to help loving Him.
Share this post on:
Who Am I?
When you have a genuine relationship with Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) as your Lord and Savior, you have something that goes so far beyond religion and behavior that it sustains you. It holds you up when you’re feeling down, and it carries you higher in your moments of joy. It strengthens you when you are weak, and it gives you endurance when you stand to fight the good fight. There is no religious study or sacrifice that compares to being in love with God and know that He is in love with you.
Those times when I read His word and feel as if He is speaking directly to me are priceless. When I pray and somehow know I’m not just talking to air, but that He is right there in the room with me, it makes every sacrifice and good behavior worth it. I do what I do because of who I am in Christ; because of what He made me through the mercy of His blood that was shed on Calvary. It is in those times that I can feel the heart of those who write great lyrics like those written by Rusty Goodman in 1965 for the song Who Am I. (Video with lyrics below.) The chorus says…
Who am I that a King would bleed and die for? And who am I that He would pray not my will thine for? The answer I may never know, Why He ever loved me so, That to an old rugged cross He would go, For who am I.
Today’s Infinite Supply newsletter by Chip Brogden talks about the whom versus the what…
Infinite Supply Image for November Seventh by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the original article and other resources at The School of Christ dot org website.
November 7
Knowing What vs. Knowing Whom
“I know Whom I have believed.”
2 TIMOTHY 1:12
A certain brother was always emphatic about what he believed until someone with equal or greater argument confronted him. This occurred one day when someone pointed out several supposed “errors” in the Bible. This caused the brother to be very alarmed. He went to an elderly sister and informed her of these alleged errors and wanted to know her opinion. She simply stated that the knowledge of God did not depend upon the answering of these questions.
He thought, perhaps not to you, but to me it is important! So he spent the next year investigating what this other person had told him and found it to be untrue. But, had he simply known God He would not have found it necessary to study the whole thing and reason it out. The elderly sister was right, the knowledge of God did not depend upon the answering of those questions. If you know Who, knowing what and why become less significant.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
A friend of mine went into a store in Florida that was owned by a Jewish proprietor. She was wearing a necklace with both a Star of David and a cross on it, so the owner asked her about it. She explained a bit about Messianic Judaism, and he responded with a statement that she later shared with me. He said, “As long as it is who you are and not just what you are.”
When we have the “who” down (both Whom we serve and who we are), we have an identity. With it, we’ve got a better chance of hanging in there when things get tough. It’s part of what attracts people to gangs and similar groups. People need identity, and who better to share an identity with than The King of Kings? As a matter of fact, I heard a story once of a young gang member walking by a church once where someone was singing Rusty’s song. The thought that he could share an identity with a king apparently meant something to him, so he rushed into the church and asked if he could meet that King.
Have you met The King? If so, have you made Him Lord of your life? If you haven’t, you are welcome to write to me to learn more about God. If you already serve Him, I’d love to hear something about your walk with Him, and who you are in Him. In the meantime, enjoy this video of Who Am I as performed by the “Altar of Praise Chorale” and backed by some beautiful imagery…
Share this post on:
To Tell the Truth
I remember a college class where the main book focused on the thought that “truth is subjective.” They used examples like two different people looking at something from different angles and therefore seeing different truths. In some ways, yes, truth can be subjective. The argument between my grandparents as to whether my uncle’s front door was brown or white was recorded for posterity. We still laugh as we watch Grandpa sitting on one side of the open door and Grandma sitting on the other; both insisting on the color from their perspectives. One side was white, and one side was brown, so both descriptions were the truth.
Real truth, however, is the whole picture. In the case of my grandparents, neither were actually telling the truth because neither saw both sides of the door. To tell the whole truth, you must know the whole truth. Grandma could tell Grandpa it was brown all day long, but he would never believe her as long as his view was only of the white side of the door.
Today’s Infinite Supply talks about “The Truth,” meaning Jesus Christ who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life…
Infinite Supply Image for November Sixth by The School of Christ
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the article and other resources at The School of Christ website.
November 6
Seeing As God Sees
“He, the Spirit of truth… will guide you into all truth.”
JOHN 16:13
To choose the Truth is to want the Truth at all costs, even if it means sacrificing everything I have believed up until now, challenging all my paradigms, questioning all my teachers, examining everything I have ever experienced.
Of course our first decision about Truth is based upon Who Jesus is. With that question settled many Christians are content, but Truth is living. Truth will continue to reveal Himself to us and around us for as long as we will allow it. What, after all, is Wisdom? Wisdom is the ability to see things from heaven’s, and thus God’s, perspective. Daily we must choose between ignorant bliss or seeing things as God sees them. It is a daily choice. You cannot be told, you have to see it for yourself.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
I think what Chip says about truth having to come by revelation; that it’s something we cannot be told, is important. Yeshua speaks to Peter (Hebrew Kefa) in Matthew 16:13-20 and asks him who people say He (Yeshua) is. Peter confesses that Yeshua is the Anointed Messiah, and Yeshua blesses him for it. He tells him that it’s not something he could have figured out on his own, but that only God could have revealed such truth to him. That’s where Yeshua follows up with the prophecy that on that rock (the foundation of revelation or revealed truth), He would build His church.
Truth must be revealed. It’s like the truth of realizing you are in love. No one else can tell you. I think that’s why people compare it to falling. It comes on quick like you tripped and fell into it, and then you just know, and you know better than if someone had tried to tell you.
Christian Country singer Ann Hartmann has a song called God’s Got the Box on her “Look Up” album. In the lyrics, she talks about how hard it can be to put together a jigsaw puzzle without the box. Then, she talks about life being like a jigsaw where we struggle until we realize that God sees the whole picture because He’s got the box. It’s an analogy that has stayed with me since I first heard her sing the song.
To tell the truth, I guess “truth” really is subjective since the only One who really knows and sees it all is the One who is Truth Himself. Knowing that, however, we can walk in truth simply by walking as we are led by His Holy Spirit.
Share this post on:
Choose Your Daddy
One of my favorite songs by ApologetiX is the parody of “Who’s Your Daddy” into “Choose Your Daddy.” J Jackson does a great job of imitating Toby Keith in vocals, and the song teaches a great lesson in a fun way. The video with this song is at the bottom of this post, and the lyrics are in the comment section if you view it at YouTube. Yesterday’s post mentioned not being able to eat from both a tree of life and a tree of death, now we get to choose who we want to lead and guide us to our provisions and destinations. Do we work for riches and believe they will be the answer to all our problems, or do we work as unto the Lord?
The choice comes out in multiple ways in our lives. Do we choose to care what our friends think of us, or do we choose to care what God thinks of us? Do we go for the good, or do we always make sure to go for that which is God? Do we seek miracles, or the Maker of miracles? Religion or relationship? God’s word or the doctrine of men?
As I prepared this writing, it occurred to me that if the love of money is the root of evil, and if we are not to strive to serve money, then prosperity messages that point to money as being the prosperity don’t add up. (Pun intended.) Biblical prosperity must mean something very different from money or God would be gifting us with something that sets us up for failure. Besides, if prosperity were about money, then how could people who live in countries where money doesn’t flow freely ever expect to receive God’s blessings of prosperity? And, if our country faces a market crash, will God’s children cease to be prosperous in His eyes?
Scripture tells us in Proverbs 22:1 that a good name is to be chosen over great riches. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:14 that he rejoiced in the ways of God’s testimony as much as in any riches. Riches are not necessarily bad, but we read in Psalm 62:10 that if riches increase, we should not set our hearts on them. Now, here’s what Chip Brogden of The School of Christ says about choosing which master to serve…
Infinite Supply Image for November Fifth by The School of Christ
Click on the image to open a new tab/window to view the article online and leave comments if you like.
November 5
Serving Two Masters?
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
MATTHEW 6:24
The context of this passage is talking about mammon (the love of, and the endless pursuit of, wealth). But the principle applies to everything else. There can only be one master in your life. You can only serve one thing at a time. You are not free to do as you please. Even if you say you serve no one, you are still serving Self. So which will it be? Jesus says if you love Him then you will hate everything else. What does that mean?
It means that you will allow nothing and no one to take the place of the One you love – not for a day, not for an hour, not for a minute. If our love for the Lord is strong then we will learn to hate everything which competes against Him. We will despise anything that seeks to hinder our relationship with Christ.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
I love the author’s point here that there can only be one master at a time for you to serve. Trying to serve more than one would be like trying to play on competing teams, or serve in competing armies, at the same time. As Chip teaches, we learn to hate everything that competes against Yeshua. Even if that competition shows itself within the church, be it in evident sin or the apostasy we’re warned about coming into to us unawares, we need to watch. If it competes against our Lord and His truth, we must reject it and turn only to Him. Micah 3:11 puts it this way in the New King James’ Version…
Her heads judge for a bribe,
Her priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord, and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No harm can come upon us.”
And while this sounds like it should be talking about a group that doesn’t know God at all, unfortunately, it is talking about priests of the house of Israel. Of course, we know from Torah study that God warned of those days, but it’s still painful to read about these blind people who work miracles for money and then claim it’s the Lord.
The good news after all of this is to put everything in a category. Does it draw you and others closer to God or farther away? If it draws you to God, and if it helps you draw others to God, then choose it over those things that put a wall between you and your loving Savior. Avoid evil of any kind, and choose the Daddy that loves you and laid down His life for you.
Share this post on:
Choosing the Tree of Life
In Deuteronomy 30:19, God says to the children of Israel that He gives them a choice between life and death and between blessing and curse. He follows that choice with the encouragement that they should choose life so that they and their descendants can live.
Obviously, if they choose death, they won’t be alive to bear descendants, but I think there’s even more to this. Remember that among the cursed behavior of these people, they were offering their children to the fires of the false god of Molech. Women actually self-aborted to give their babies to this worthless statue because they thought it would benefit them somehow. So, by choosing God’s blessings instead of continuing to live under the curse of serving false gods, their children received a benefit from God Almighty and from life itself.
I am happy tonight that as of today’s election, we have a majority of conservative senators in power. This means, we have a majority of those who support life for the unborn, life for our military, and life for our allies in Israel. Somehow, more people went to the voting booth and chose life, and I believe God is pleased with the USA–at least for today.
Chip Brodgen’s Infinite Supply newsletter is about life today. It’s about The Tree of Life…
Infinite Supply Image Nov Fourth
Click image to open a new tab/window to view the article at The School of Christ website.
November 4
The Cross: The Tree of Life
“To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life.”
REVELATION 2:7
Like Adam, we can choose to eat from either tree, but we cannot eat from both. Adam sinned when he fell into the flesh and yielded to his Self-life. He rejected the Tree of Life in favor of something that was “good… pleasant… and desirable” (Genesis 3:6). The Cross does not look like a Tree of Life at all. It is neither good, nor pleasant, nor desirable. It looks like death. Perhaps this is why Adam did not eat from it first.
But God’s End is not death, regardless of appearances: God’s End is Life out of death, which is resurrection. To eat of the fruit of the Tree of Life is to glory in the Cross of Jesus Christ and find Life out of death. It is becoming popular to preach and teach about the Cross these days, but how many are eating of its fruit? Can we really see the Cross as the TREE OF LIFE, and are we eating its fruit? We will know a true disciple of the Lord, not by words, but by fruit, and the Cross is the Tree of Life from which this fruit comes.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, from the beginning, free will has never meant that we have a right to choose bad behaviors and still end with good results. It has always been simply that we have a choice between life and death, blessing and cursing. I like the point the author makes about not being able to eat from both the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge that brought death. When Adam and Eve chose the tree of death, they were blocked out from the Tree of Life. And, even that was God’s mercy. If they ate from the tree that gave life after choosing from the one that gave death, they would have spent eternity in the state of death. But, once we have overcome through the blood of Yeshua, we will have the chance to eat from the tree that assures us eternal life in that state of overcoming.
Right now, with all the offerings on life’s plate, it may seem hard to know which ones to choose each day. So many of them are in gray areas in our minds because the enemy has strong sales tactics. But, if we can separate what we choose to only two subject headings–life and death–it should be easy to simply choose life.
Share this post on:
Creative In God’s Image
My business cards usually include the line “Writer and Creative Mind.” I have been creative for as long as I can remember, so it’s nothing I’ve worked for or been trained in. I know my creativity is a gift from God, and that I am made in my Father’s creative image. God gives me authority over my gifts, so I can use them for Him or for things which are not pleasing to Him. I can even choose to not use my gifts at all. But, my love for Yahveh drives me to want to create positive and uplifting designs whether that be in writing or in products on my Zazzle page.
Speaking of the latter, I finally plugged in the new night lights I created and ordered last month, and they are my favorite items from Zazzle so far. I’d love to know what my readers think of these two items. Also, do you think customized night lights would make good Christmas gifts for friends and family? If so, tell me which of the 29 I recently created are best, or if you think some other images might work better. The two I ordered are of my Pink and Yellow Fractalized Butterflies with Stars and Yellow Daisies in a Field of Purple.
Now, when thinking of God’s gifts, we often think about the promise of His word that we can do all things through Christ. In addition to that Scripture, we have Yeshua’s claim that we can do nothing without Him. Here’s what Chip Brogden wrote on that subject in today’s Infinite Supply newsletter…
Infinite Supply Image Nov Third
Click the image to open a new tab/window and view the article on the School of Christ dot org website.
November 3
Nothing Without Him
“Without Me you can do nothing.”
JOHN 15:5
Jesus would explain to His disciples that spiritual life hinges upon living in active dependence upon Himself. That is the fundamental lesson to learn because it is the fundamental sin of mankind – the independent path. Jesus says without Him we can do nothing. Nothing! But it is human nature to try and do something in ourselves. We call it freedom and liberty; blazing our own trail; making something happen. But the end result is death and destruction.
The fall of man illustrates a fundamental truth: that whenever Self is allowed to rule in the place of Christ, the result is sin, sorrow, separation and death. Apart from Him we really can do nothing.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom
by Chip Brogden
» Like this? Post your comments…
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Again, the author covers an important topic for all Christians. I love that he says we need an active dependence on our Savior. Salvation isn’t a “set it and forget it” lifestyle change. It’s more like a raging yet contained fire if we’re fully committed to walking in the newness of a life with Yeshua as our Lord and Savior. We should always be learning something new from His word or from the words He speaks in our spirit. We should be acquiring understanding from Him instead of leaning on our own. And, we should be walking and creating as He leads even if we can generate a million ideas “on our own.”
I know when I’m trying to do things on my own. It’s usually a time of great chaos on my life. My ideas will come at me so fast that I don’t know whether to jump, duck, go around, or catch them straight on. I’ll have an abundance of thoughts but nowhere to go with them, or I’ll want to go everywhere at once. That’s the downside of having a creative mind, and I’ll admit to still not being sure I have all my creativity in God’s hands. Thankfully, God is merciful, and He gives me a new chance to try again with each new day.
Are you creative? If not, do you wrestle with your gifts, whatever they may be, trying to drive you to acting first and praying later? Ideas of any kind can pop up and threaten to leave if we don’t act on them right away, so I’m certain I’m not the only one who faces this challenge. Tell me about your challenges, and we can pray for each other.
Share this post on:
Before You Vote on Tuesday
The above video should start at about 10:16 in for a segment of Israel Now News called “Ask the Source.” The host, Josh Reinstein, is interviewing a Pastor Larry Huch about celebrations in Israel at the time of the filming. The part I want to refer you to begins at about minute 13 and continues to minute 19 where the pastor talks about the effect a divided Israel will have on Christians. To summarize briefly…
Larry began a program called The Jerusalem Call to make Christians aware of the biblical and international law showing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. We will lose much if Jerusalem is divided. First, Israel is the only place in the middle east with true freedom of religion. Even at holy sites like “The Western Wall,” he says you can find people of multiple religions from all over the world praying there. We will lose that if Jerusalem is divided. In addition, we will lose access to “The Via Dolorosa” (the road Christ walked to Calvary), “The Church of The Holy Sepulchre,” and more. He says we’ll also lose where Yeshua was crucified and where He resurrected.
I highly recommend watching the entire video, and other videos by Israel Now News for informative news from The Holy Land. If you click to view the video at YouTube, you can subscribe to be notified when new videos are added, but there are 152 episodes available now.
So, I titled this in reference to voting simply to remind Christians to check whether the politicians they vote for are supportive of Israel as an ally. Our current establishment is actually causing those who used to be our enemies to rejoice in our new policies. We are supporting those who are enemies both of us and of Israel, and we can be sure God is not happy with it. He said He does not change, and His word (that stands forever) is that He will bless those who bless her and curse those who curse her. We must choose if we will support candidates who bring us blessing or curse.
Now, to switch gears since I promised Infinite Supply for the full month. Here is today’s post…
November 2
All I Have is Yours
“Bring out the best robe and put it on him.”
LUKE 15:22
To put on the Lord Jesus is to be clothed with the very best robe. This robe makes us look better than we really are. But when we are dressed with the best we begin to act differently. Having put on the Lord Jesus, we are clothed with Him and His character replaces our character. His Life is received in exchange for our life. If we cooperate with the Life we will naturally find our behavior is changed.
But what of the elder son? “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours” (Luke15:31). Hallelujah! There is no partiality with God, however much we may think God is being more fair or more generous to some brother or sister. Not so: the robe, the ring, and the shoes only represent the “all,” the fullness of the Father, and “of His fullness we have all received” (John 1:16). The Father says, “All that I have is yours!” Who can dare ask God for a single thing apart from the Son?
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden
©1997-2013 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The above is how the author wrote it, but I have linked the Scripture passages to Bible Gateway for easy reading. If you click on the date at the top, you can view the article at School of Christ where you can also leave comments.
I love the idea that putting on Christ is putting on the best and therefore requires us to act our best. I remember those childhood days where my mom would put my sister and I in dresses of velvet and lace, and then she’d top that off with shiny black patent-leather shoes. We knew better than to jump in mud puddles when we wore those clothes. Usually, we sat down, folded our hands, and tried our best to be “little ladies.” Many times, people would put money in our tiny purses to reward us for being so ladylike.
I’m going to try to remember this when I get up in the morning. As I put on my clothes and say Good Morning to my Lord and Savior, I’m going to imagine putting Him on for the day. I will do my best to avoid any spiritual mud puddles and to act Christ-like all day. Since He must increase, and I must decrease, when I put Him on, modeling my best behavior in Him is what matters the most. And one day, as is promised in God’s holy word, I will be rewarded for treating my garment of Christ with the utmost of care.
P.S. I have decided that I will give my characters their due and spend my NaNo month with them instead of creating new characters. May all of you pushing for your 50,000 word goal be abundantly blessed and just keep writing.
Share this post on:
My Latest Flickr Photos
Others’ Posts I’ve Liked
Crystal Writes A Blog 