Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Easter!
Easter
Easter is a special time of year. Most of us can remember many Easter’s, probably way back in our childhoods. I remember it being a day where we wore a new outfit—and I mean outfit, it always included a dress, stockings, shoes, petticoat, hat, purse and most wonderfully….gloves! I loved the gloves the most! I can still feel them on my hands, pulling them over my fingers, holding my hands out and marveling at how wonderful they made me feel! They transformed my hands into something special—they covered up the mundane and made it marvelous. And the candy! We can’t leave out the candy—those chocolate bunnies, the jelly beans!
And Easter Dinner! the ham and potato salad, green beans, deviled eggs—the list goes on and on.
It was a time for gathering together with family and friends. We always had lots of people over for Easter Dinner. There was laughter, games and fellowship. We would hide the eggs over and over! And I never tired of looking for them.
Now I have a different view of Easter. Over the years my focus has shifted off of me and onto Christ. I’m almost ashamed to say how long that transition has taken—but even though I’ve come so far, I still have a long way to go. That thought made me wonder how I could use scripture to help me focus on Christ throughout the Easter season instead of myself. Here are some things I’ve come up with.
The new outfit, instead of material clothes, I could focus on the armor of God:
For the Dress 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
And the shoes: 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Then the purse: 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And the hat: 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:14-17
That takes care of everything but the gloves, I thought about this scripture for the gloves:
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Can’t you just feel that totally enveloping you? Like a glove on your hand?
Then we are left with the food!
The candy was easy—
Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
The real food was a little more challenging to my walk.
1 Peter 2:2-3
2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Hebrews 5:11-14
11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
I don’t want to forget the people—they are the most special memories, because so many of them are gone now. They are with Jesus in heaven.
Hebrews 12:1
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
And in the Apostle’s Creed when we say what we believe: and include the communion of the saints, we are recognizing all those who are in Christ are there with us in communion.
I’ll close by wishing you a Happy Easter! And encouraging you to take time and focus on the importance of Easter and Christ’s sacrifice for all of us.
He came and gave himself for us:
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17
Easter is a special time of year. Most of us can remember many Easter’s, probably way back in our childhoods. I remember it being a day where we wore a new outfit—and I mean outfit, it always included a dress, stockings, shoes, petticoat, hat, purse and most wonderfully….gloves! I loved the gloves the most! I can still feel them on my hands, pulling them over my fingers, holding my hands out and marveling at how wonderful they made me feel! They transformed my hands into something special—they covered up the mundane and made it marvelous. And the candy! We can’t leave out the candy—those chocolate bunnies, the jelly beans!
And Easter Dinner! the ham and potato salad, green beans, deviled eggs—the list goes on and on.
It was a time for gathering together with family and friends. We always had lots of people over for Easter Dinner. There was laughter, games and fellowship. We would hide the eggs over and over! And I never tired of looking for them.
Now I have a different view of Easter. Over the years my focus has shifted off of me and onto Christ. I’m almost ashamed to say how long that transition has taken—but even though I’ve come so far, I still have a long way to go. That thought made me wonder how I could use scripture to help me focus on Christ throughout the Easter season instead of myself. Here are some things I’ve come up with.
The new outfit, instead of material clothes, I could focus on the armor of God:
For the Dress 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
And the shoes: 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Then the purse: 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And the hat: 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:14-17
That takes care of everything but the gloves, I thought about this scripture for the gloves:
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Can’t you just feel that totally enveloping you? Like a glove on your hand?
Then we are left with the food!
The candy was easy—
Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
The real food was a little more challenging to my walk.
1 Peter 2:2-3
2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Hebrews 5:11-14
11We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
I don’t want to forget the people—they are the most special memories, because so many of them are gone now. They are with Jesus in heaven.
Hebrews 12:1
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
And in the Apostle’s Creed when we say what we believe: and include the communion of the saints, we are recognizing all those who are in Christ are there with us in communion.
I’ll close by wishing you a Happy Easter! And encouraging you to take time and focus on the importance of Easter and Christ’s sacrifice for all of us.
He came and gave himself for us:
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
25 Random things about me
Rules:Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.
Okay, here we go!
1. I love to mow the grass, there is just something about mowing a strip of fresh green grass and looking back and seeing it compared to what hasn't been mowed.
2. I hate to dust! I think that if you can't see a marked improvement there just isn't any reason to go to the trouble, but if you wait till there is enough dust to see a marked improvement everyone thinks you are a slob.
3. My first car was a station wagon with a 454 V8 engine. It was truly wasted on me--and I'd absolutely kill to have a V8 engine today!
4. I talk to my dog like he is a human being that can understand everything I say, he does understand most of what I say--but probably gets lost when I talk about what I'm cooking for dinner, or what the neighbor did last night.5. I find myself daydreaming regularly about being famous.
6. I'm afraid of spiders, snakes, and wasps.
7. I think my grandchildren are hilarious!
8. My favorite wine is Clous du Bois.
9. I love Jesus!!
10. I prefer milk chocolate over dark chocolate.
11. I believe you only get real Mexican food at El Chico.
12. My favorite color changes with the seasons.
13. I LOVE Jack Bauer.
14. My favorite movie is Field of Dreams, because I've always dreamed I could do something that would let me talk to my dad one more time.
15. I've never smoked a cigarette, not even held one up to my lips.
16. I miss Texas more than I ever thought possible.
17. I probably love my Cadallic SRX too much!
18. I've never broken a bone.
19. I wear size 7 shoes.
20. I've just recently learned that playing is worth putting off everything else for.
21. I think exercise is highly overrated.
22. When my first grandchild was born, I vowed never to wear "grannie panties" again.
23. I'm supposed to be 25 years old, not 50.
24. I use a nettie pot to clean my sinus' every day.
25. My dream vacation would be to go to Bora Bora for at least two months, but not more than six months.
Okay, here we go!
1. I love to mow the grass, there is just something about mowing a strip of fresh green grass and looking back and seeing it compared to what hasn't been mowed.
2. I hate to dust! I think that if you can't see a marked improvement there just isn't any reason to go to the trouble, but if you wait till there is enough dust to see a marked improvement everyone thinks you are a slob.
3. My first car was a station wagon with a 454 V8 engine. It was truly wasted on me--and I'd absolutely kill to have a V8 engine today!
4. I talk to my dog like he is a human being that can understand everything I say, he does understand most of what I say--but probably gets lost when I talk about what I'm cooking for dinner, or what the neighbor did last night.5. I find myself daydreaming regularly about being famous.
6. I'm afraid of spiders, snakes, and wasps.
7. I think my grandchildren are hilarious!
8. My favorite wine is Clous du Bois.
9. I love Jesus!!
10. I prefer milk chocolate over dark chocolate.
11. I believe you only get real Mexican food at El Chico.
12. My favorite color changes with the seasons.
13. I LOVE Jack Bauer.
14. My favorite movie is Field of Dreams, because I've always dreamed I could do something that would let me talk to my dad one more time.
15. I've never smoked a cigarette, not even held one up to my lips.
16. I miss Texas more than I ever thought possible.
17. I probably love my Cadallic SRX too much!
18. I've never broken a bone.
19. I wear size 7 shoes.
20. I've just recently learned that playing is worth putting off everything else for.
21. I think exercise is highly overrated.
22. When my first grandchild was born, I vowed never to wear "grannie panties" again.
23. I'm supposed to be 25 years old, not 50.
24. I use a nettie pot to clean my sinus' every day.
25. My dream vacation would be to go to Bora Bora for at least two months, but not more than six months.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Obedience
Obedience
I’ve been studying in the book of Esther this week and have come across some interesting situations. The book of Esther begins as Queen Vashti is summoned to appear before King Xerxes to be displayed before his guests at a banquet for her beauty. He has been strutting his stuff for his friends and allies for 6 months and he calls his queen on the last day of a seven day feast. The scriptures go into great detail about the splendor of the palace and how beautifully it has been decorated for this six month long gathering on officials. Well, Queen Vashti does the unthinkable; she refuses to go to the king. The consequence of her action is the loss of her office as queen.
That is the first obedience situation we see in this book, there are more to follow. And it got me thinking about obedience and what it means. Although we don’t know all the details of this situation, it would appear that Vashti chose to be disobedient over being used as an object by her King. We choose to be obedient or to be disobedient. Either consequences or blessings will come from our decisions.
The next situation involves Esther, a young Jewish orphan who has been taken in by a cousin and raised as his own daughter. In the effort to replace Vashti, she is chosen along with many other young women to be presented to the King after 12 months of beauty treatments at the palace. These treatments include six months with oil of myrrh and six months with cosmetics, special food and seven maids to attend her every need. At the end of the year she will be sent into the king for the night and the next morning to join the harem of concubines for the rest of her life. But, once the King sees Esther, he is so taken with her that he makes her his Queen. Mordecai, the cousin who raised her as his daughter has forbidden her to reveal her nationality or family background, so Xerxes doesn’t know that his Queen is Jewish.
One of the King’s officials, Hamar, is offended by Mordecai’s behavior and as a result, hatches a plot to annialate all Jewish people. Mordecai is understandably upset and tries to enlist Esther’s help. Initially Esther refuses to help, but when Mordecai explains that God’s will shall prevail she reconsiders. He convinces her with these words:
Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:13
Esther’s obedience to Mordecai’s pleas stops the plot to destroy the Jewish people. I think we can all identify with her hesitation to help her people. But when Mordecai tells her that she may well be part of God’s plan to save his people she can’t refuse, even though she doesn’t understand how she will help stop Hamar’s plan. After much prayer and fasting Esther was obedient and God used her in a way she couldn’t have conceived.
Is there a situation in your life where someone is asking for your help, yet you are hesitant to get involved? We should all be encouraged by Esther’s example and step out in obedience. And who knows but that you may have been put here for such a time as this?
I’ve been studying in the book of Esther this week and have come across some interesting situations. The book of Esther begins as Queen Vashti is summoned to appear before King Xerxes to be displayed before his guests at a banquet for her beauty. He has been strutting his stuff for his friends and allies for 6 months and he calls his queen on the last day of a seven day feast. The scriptures go into great detail about the splendor of the palace and how beautifully it has been decorated for this six month long gathering on officials. Well, Queen Vashti does the unthinkable; she refuses to go to the king. The consequence of her action is the loss of her office as queen.
That is the first obedience situation we see in this book, there are more to follow. And it got me thinking about obedience and what it means. Although we don’t know all the details of this situation, it would appear that Vashti chose to be disobedient over being used as an object by her King. We choose to be obedient or to be disobedient. Either consequences or blessings will come from our decisions.
The next situation involves Esther, a young Jewish orphan who has been taken in by a cousin and raised as his own daughter. In the effort to replace Vashti, she is chosen along with many other young women to be presented to the King after 12 months of beauty treatments at the palace. These treatments include six months with oil of myrrh and six months with cosmetics, special food and seven maids to attend her every need. At the end of the year she will be sent into the king for the night and the next morning to join the harem of concubines for the rest of her life. But, once the King sees Esther, he is so taken with her that he makes her his Queen. Mordecai, the cousin who raised her as his daughter has forbidden her to reveal her nationality or family background, so Xerxes doesn’t know that his Queen is Jewish.
One of the King’s officials, Hamar, is offended by Mordecai’s behavior and as a result, hatches a plot to annialate all Jewish people. Mordecai is understandably upset and tries to enlist Esther’s help. Initially Esther refuses to help, but when Mordecai explains that God’s will shall prevail she reconsiders. He convinces her with these words:
Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:13
Esther’s obedience to Mordecai’s pleas stops the plot to destroy the Jewish people. I think we can all identify with her hesitation to help her people. But when Mordecai tells her that she may well be part of God’s plan to save his people she can’t refuse, even though she doesn’t understand how she will help stop Hamar’s plan. After much prayer and fasting Esther was obedient and God used her in a way she couldn’t have conceived.
Is there a situation in your life where someone is asking for your help, yet you are hesitant to get involved? We should all be encouraged by Esther’s example and step out in obedience. And who knows but that you may have been put here for such a time as this?
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Advent Devotion
I know this isn't the way you are supposed to blog--but I've neglected my posts--so I'll just add a few things today that I've written over the last couple of months. This is a devotion that I wrote to go in the Advent Devotion book our church published this December.
1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
At first glance it may seem this scripture is warning us to always be ready for action, for any and all circumstances that come our way. It seems to say if we are ready and in control of ourselves we will triumph over whatever comes our way. But with further study we see a ready mind and self-control are merely a means to an end. The important concept in 1 Peter 1:13 is hope.
Hope is one of those words in our culture that is over used. Much the same as love—I love all kinds of things, from the Divinity that my Noni made every Christmas to my husband Leroy. How can one word adequately convey all these different kinds of devotion? Hope holds a similar concept.
We spent many months hoping for rain during the last year, and we hope our team will win the game this weekend. Our English word hope is derived from the Greek word “elpis” meaning a confident expectation. But, here in the context of this scripture we are looking at biblical hope, a much higher concept. Biblical hope can be defined as biblical salvation. Our biblical hope as Christians is the assurance of the forgiveness of our sin, salvation through Jesus Christ, and an eternity spent with Jesus.
Our biblical hope isn’t a simple wish or an expectation, it is an absolute certainty. Throughout the Old and New Testaments God promises a redemptive hope centered on his Son, Jesus Christ. In Genesis 3, God informs the serpent that Eve’s Seed would crush him. Romans 15, Isaiah says “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations: the Gentiles will hope in him.” Our hope is a gift from God, it enables the renewal of our minds and the self control we will need until Jesus Christ is finally revealed. We look forward, expectantly awaiting the return of our Savior.
Prayer:
Gracious Father,
You alone are worthy of our Hope. Thank you for your gift of Hope, that assurance that we are yours, we are saved for an eternity to be spent with you. Help us to share that gift with everyone around us. Help us to always be ready to give an answer to account for the hope that we possess.
In the name above all names, Jesus Christ I pray,
Amen.
Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
At first glance it may seem this scripture is warning us to always be ready for action, for any and all circumstances that come our way. It seems to say if we are ready and in control of ourselves we will triumph over whatever comes our way. But with further study we see a ready mind and self-control are merely a means to an end. The important concept in 1 Peter 1:13 is hope.
Hope is one of those words in our culture that is over used. Much the same as love—I love all kinds of things, from the Divinity that my Noni made every Christmas to my husband Leroy. How can one word adequately convey all these different kinds of devotion? Hope holds a similar concept.
We spent many months hoping for rain during the last year, and we hope our team will win the game this weekend. Our English word hope is derived from the Greek word “elpis” meaning a confident expectation. But, here in the context of this scripture we are looking at biblical hope, a much higher concept. Biblical hope can be defined as biblical salvation. Our biblical hope as Christians is the assurance of the forgiveness of our sin, salvation through Jesus Christ, and an eternity spent with Jesus.
Our biblical hope isn’t a simple wish or an expectation, it is an absolute certainty. Throughout the Old and New Testaments God promises a redemptive hope centered on his Son, Jesus Christ. In Genesis 3, God informs the serpent that Eve’s Seed would crush him. Romans 15, Isaiah says “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations: the Gentiles will hope in him.” Our hope is a gift from God, it enables the renewal of our minds and the self control we will need until Jesus Christ is finally revealed. We look forward, expectantly awaiting the return of our Savior.
Prayer:
Gracious Father,
You alone are worthy of our Hope. Thank you for your gift of Hope, that assurance that we are yours, we are saved for an eternity to be spent with you. Help us to share that gift with everyone around us. Help us to always be ready to give an answer to account for the hope that we possess.
In the name above all names, Jesus Christ I pray,
Amen.
Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
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