His Love Endures

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:26)

Psalm 136 has 26 verses that declare the works of the Lord.  Each of the 26 verses contain “for His steadfast love endures forever.”  Whenever a writer or speaker wants to emphasize something, they repeat it.  Usually, 2 or 3 times will do.  But, when it is written 26 times in one chapter of the Bible, I believe God wants us to really pay attention to this. 

Reflect on who God is and what He has done:

  • He created the heavens and the earth (v. 5-6).
  • He created light, sun moon and stars (v. 7-9).
  • He struck down the Egyptians’ firstborn and led Israel out (v. 10-11).
  • He has a strong hand and outstretched arm (v. 12)
  • He parted the Red Sea and Israel passed through it (v. 13-14).
  • He overthrew Pharaoh and his men in the Red Sea (v. 15).
  • He led Israel in the wilderness for 40 years (v. 16).
  • He struck down great kings, Sihon and Og (v. 17-22).
  • He gave the land of Sihon and Og to Israel (v. 17-22).
  • He remembers us when at our lowest (v. 23).
  • He rescues us from our foes (v. 24).
  • He feeds all flesh (v. 25).

He is able!  If He can do all those things, He is able to take care of the effects of 2020.  He is able to protect us. He is able to lead and guide us.  He is able to feed and clothe us.  He is able to keep us with His strong hand and outstretched arm. 

No matter what is going on around us, God’s steadfast love endures forever. So, give thanks for He will surely take care of His children in 2021!

Happiness Found

Deuteronomy 30:19 – I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live. (ESV)

Money cannot buy happiness.  “Keeping up with the Joneses” has been a way a life for Americans since the end of WWII.  Although Roosevelt’s campaign of “two chickens in every pot and two cars in every garage” was a way to boost Americans into security, it has become a rat race to get rich quick.  Instead of looking for ways to build our character and relationships, we use people as stepping stones to get what we think we want:  financial gain!

Americans have way too much!  Parents have bent over backwards to make sure their children “will not have to go through what I went through when I was growing up.”  This has caused young adults to be insecure about everything in their lives.  Many 15-29 year olds experience lots of anxiety and depression. We have not done our children any favors by giving them every advantage.

Words like “stress” and “worry” are overused because we have led ourselves to believe that we are.  Constant comparisons of ourselves with others almost always leads to a negative outlook on life.  There will always be someone who looks better, has more money, has a better job, has life more in control, etc. than me.  I cannot compete with those individuals.  However, on the flip side, there will always be someone who looks worse, has less money, has a lesser job, does not have their life in control, etc., than me.  It is all about perspective. 

Living positively is a decision and a life skill.  Instead of constant comparisons, learning to accept who we are, where we are, and what we are contributing to life builds a positive outlook. Long ago, I decided that “happiness was a choice.”  Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live” (ESV). 

I choose life.  I choose to be happy.  I choose to make every day a good one.  I choose to make others smile when they see me.  It is my choice!

Light in the Darkness

Old pic, but the light was good!

 

 

 

Genesis 1:1-5:  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good.  And God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (ESV)

 

 

This year I have joined a virtual Bible study group and we are reading a chapter a day starting in the Old Testament.  Of course, I have read Genesis Chapter 1 many times, but this year as I listened to my Bible app, I was struck by a simple thought.

The Word states the earth was without form and was void of anything.  Darkness was everywhere.  To prevail against the darkness, God spoke light into existence and He separated the light from the darkness (Gen 1:3).

The separation of light and darkness became more symbolic as I listened.  Literally, light was day and darkness was night.  However, another meaning came through, which is that light is representative of good and darkness is representative of evil.

Therefore, God, the Creator of the universe, can dispel the darkness in our lives with His Light, if we allow Him to do so.  As darkness or evil approaches, all we have to do is ask for God to put His Light into our situation.  He wants to be our Light, so we can be a light to the world.  When we allow God to destroy the darkness in our lives with His Light, we are witnesses to others!

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16).

Rain – Good or Bad?

A rainy day in London in 2009 with no umbrella.

“Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the Lord have created it.”  Isaiah 45:8

Last night, I went to dinner with my parents.  When we went into the restaurant, the sun was shining brightly.  While we ate, it rained like crazy.  When we left the restaurant, the sun had returned and it was beautiful.  I thought how nice it was that I had escaped the downpour.

On my way home, I stopped at the grocery store.  As I was going in, I thought I should hurry, it was looking like rain again.  But, I knew I had plenty of time…until…looking up after checking out…downpour!  I waited and waited, but it didn’t let up.  So, I sucked it up and headed to my car.  Of course, just as I started backing out of the parking space, the rain stopped.

May 2018 has been one of the wettest on record for North Carolina.  I am not a fan of getting wet in the rain.  I get this trait from my mom.  She used to make me so angry because she harbored an extreme dislike to getting “sprinkled on.”  She hates it to this day.  I used to think it was so silly, so much so, that I have never used an umbrella.  But…now as I’m getting older, I’m getting more like her everyday.

But here’s the thing:  rain is needed for crops, the eco system, and probably a hundred more things.  There is good and bad with rain.  We have to have rain, even though it might inconvenience us at times.  We also have to be “rain” for Jesus; to show His love to those who need rain (salvation and righteousness, 45:8).  They may think it’s bad when we show and tell them about Jesus, but we know it’s good!

Let it rain!  And, let US rain!

Be Strong and Courageous

Cohort Buddies

 

 

Joshua 1:9:  Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

 

 

 

 

Joshua is one of my favorite people in the Bible.  In Joshua 1, God says, “Arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel” (Josh 1:2, ESV). God continued, “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them” (Josh 1:5-6).

Joshua did not hesitate. As you read through the rest of the chapter, you see that Joshua immediately calls the people to action and within three days they begin their journey into the Promised Land.

In only eighteen verses, God tells His people to “be strong and courageous.”  As children of God and followers of Christ, it is a command to us as well.  Recently, I have been contemplating all that is in my soul and spirit.  Many “fears” keep me from walking “strong and courageous.”

While I was in California for my graduation, my dear friend, Teri, reminded me of the competing forces in our hearts.  The heart is made up our soul and our spirit.  Our spirit has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and is incapable of sin. However, our soul is the human part of the heart that can be deceptive.  David asked God to create in him a “clean heart” (Ps 51:10, ESV). Psalm 73:26 states, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Today, I again renew my heart and place God in His rightful place – first!  He shall direct my path (Psalm 119:35).

I Choose Joy

Deuteronomy 30:19 (NKJV)  “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”

If you have read any of my blogs before, you know this is a philosophy of life for me.  I have decided that happiness is a choice we make every day.  I’m not talking about the “ha ha, he he” happiness.  I’m talking about a joy that comes from knowing who I am in Christ, which spills over and gives me the “ha ha, he he” happiness” more often than not.

Over the past few years, I have had several people, even people very close to me, tell me that I am unusual because I am able to choose to be happy.  These people have even gone so far as to say that it is just the way I am wired and that they are not wired that way.  So, recently, I have been pondering why this philosophy works for me.

As God does, He showed me today.  This morning I was talking with a brother in Christ at work.  We were sharing our philosophies of life, and he quoted Deuteronomy 30:19.  People!  This is it!  God has given us the ability to choose life over death; blessing over cursing!  It is our choice!  If we add John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly,” then God wants our life to be awesome.  Therefore, choosing to live a joyous life is a choice we ALL can, and should, make.

In your life, what will it be?  Life or death?  Blessing or cursing?  It’s your choice!

Ittai and David

II Samuel 15:22

But Ittai answered the king and said“As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.”

Ittai and his family left his own country and had come to live in Jerusalem the day before Absalom’s rebellion against David.  Ittai was a stranger and foreigner to David.  When David, along with his army, decided to flee Jerusalem for safety, Ittai insisted on going with David, even though David encouraged Ittai to go back home.

“Whether in death or life…”

It is interesting that I read this passage this morning.  Lately I have been contemplating the concepts of death and life; heaven and hell.

Would I willingly fight for a stranger if, in doing so, death was a possibility?

Would I lay down my life for my friend, much less a stranger?

Do I really believe heaven and a hell are real?

How differently would I live my life if I

thought Jesus was coming to gather His bride tonight?

Pray for Our Authorities

1 Samuel 24:10

Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’

Romans 13:1-2

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

Every time I read this story in 1 Samuel 24, I am amazed at David.  Saul hated David.  Saul knew David would be king and was hunting David down to kill him.  In verse 4, Saul has found David in a dark cave.  Saul is so close to David that David cuts a corner off of Saul’s robe.  David had the opportunity, but he did not kill Saul.  David knew Saul was trying to kill him, but he chose not to lay a hand against Saul because Saul was the “Lord’s anointed.”

In the first two verses of Romans 13, Paul says that all authority comes form God.  It also says, if we resist the authority, we resist God.

So, what about today?  Do we have the right to “stretch out [our] hand against the Lord’s anointed?”  Say what you will, but if all authority comes from God, we need to pray for our leaders, not tear them down.  It does not mean that you cannot disagree with them.   But, we know the difference between “agreeing to disagree” and coming against or attacking those in leadership when we disagree—even if it is just with our words.

I don’t know about you, but I am going to pray for our country’s leaders, my employers, and my church leaders.  It’s time to bring them to Jesus, not to our neighbor!

Yes, Lord!

Genesis 6:5-6 “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”

Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

Genesis 6:14 “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.”

In Noah’s time, when God looked on the earth, He saw was the wickedness of man.  Man was continually thinking about doing evil things.  So much so, that God was sorry He had created man and was grieved in His heart.

But… Noah had found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  God told Noah to make an ark, which would take years to build and no rain had ever fallen on the earth.  How silly Noah must have looked to everyone else.  Probably even to his own family.  There must have been much ridicule and disdain.

Today, our world thinks of evil continually.  Everyday, it seems, there is another incident of hate and evil, be it on a national level or in our own backyard.  Recently I witnessed a “road rage” situation where two cars completely stopped in the middle of a busy freeway just to yell at each other.  And, if we turn on the news, there are multiple stories of murder and terroristic activity.

If God wanted to raise up a Noah, would I be one with whom He would find grace and favor?

Would I have the courage to step up and say, “Yes, Lord.”?

Would you?

 

Alpha and Omega

Graduation – 5-9-2015

Revelation 21:6

“And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.”

This past Sunday, we sang a beautiful song:  “Alpha and Omega.”  I can’t seem to get it out of my head.

You are Alpha and Omega.

We worship You, our Lord.

You are worthy to be praised.

We give You all the glory.

We worship You, our Lord,

You are worthy to be praised.

Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, means beginning.  Omega, the last letter of the Greek alphabet, means ending.  God is EVERYTHING!  And, according to Revelation 21:6, He is ready to give freely of the water of life to anyone who thirsts.  WOW!  Everything I need is there just for the asking.  How many times do I forget to ask?  How many times do I doubt?  How long will I continue to be like the Israelites in my fear and unbelief?

It is so easy to just let life happen–staying in rush hour, moving with the world.  God wants us to wake up and savor the journey, all the while blessing us along the way.  Psalm 68:19 says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!”  God wants to give us His benefits.  He wants to bless us and “give us life more abundantly.”  (John 10:10)  In receiving His benefits, not only does it bless us, but it is a witness to those people God places in your path for ministry by you!

Update:  No Coke again today!  Two days and counting!  That may seem insignificant to you, but I don’t know if I mentioned or not:  I LOVE COKE!!!!  But He is my beginning and my end and will help me make these lifestyle change!