MY HEAD TALKED TO MY SOUL

Tired and almost ready for bed, would I take it in? But Psalm 103 said something new to me tonight. It told my head to talk to my soul: 

Psalm 103 A Psalm of David. 

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 

The LORD executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the children of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He has not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pities his children, so the LORD pities them that fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 

As I did talk to my soul, the response of “all that is within me” brought my spirit and soul and body to agreement. What a privilege you and I have who have accepted the gift of God which is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our LORD. What a powerful Creator, Father we have who understands us and removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west.

If we think about it, the inspiration and thoughts in our head is beyond “brain matter”. It is a mysterious spiritual gift … given to every person: a mind to think creatively, love, pray. Genesis tells us that we are created in the image of God, which is only one reason that Genesis in the Bible is utterly important to read and think and meditate on.

FOOD AND FAITH?

 From my early teens, I became a “health nut.” Homeschooled, my education was primarily the Bible. My parents read the Bible three times a day, aloud, with their eight children. It was how we learned to read.

I knew that the Bible emphasized health: spiritual, physical, and emotional. I took it for granted.  "Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes on Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35). The Bible often uses Spiritual and physical truth, one to explain the other.

The Creator’s design for us is for our well being. It’s what the Bible is about. And he created within the natural world natural nutrition.  "Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfies not? hearken diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." (Isaiah 55:2)’ “Fatness” here is health.

When His people would not choose well, they hurt themselves.  "He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied you." (Psalm 81:16).  "O Israel, you have destroyed yourself; but in Me is your help." (Hosea 13:9) "He makes peace in your borders and fills you with the finest of the wheat." (Psalm 147:14)

His people went astray and he invited them back to Him using their health and beauty as an incentive: "And you were adorned with gold and silver; and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered work. You ate fine flour and honey and oil; and you were exceedingly beautiful." (Ezekiel 16:13)

In the store what is labeled “Whole grain, multi grain” may not be what they seem; they may have bleached, white degermed flour for a longer shelf life.  The manufacturer has unchecked leeway to mark things deceptively.  This Link clarifies the differences: https://www.naturespath.com/en-us/blog/difference-whole-grain-whole-wheat/

Things grown, as fruit, vegetables, nuts, natural olive oil, grassfed beef, milk, cheese, and natural honey. (Exodus 3:17). These God fed his people. The best protein is instituted by the feasts and sacrifices described in the Old Testament.  Health again instituted for their spiritual and physical wellbeing. 

Food and Faith? Could this be a key to physical health? My thinking process turned to logic: our Creator has given us food grown from the earth, mined (salt) from deep in the earth, fished from the sea, protein from grazing animals.  For those who pay attention!

As we read through the Bible this time, Eric, my husband and I noticed this amazing rundown for health

"He made him ride on the high places of the earth, so that he might eat the increase of the fields. And He made him suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock, butter from cows, and milk from sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the sons of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat. And you drank the blood of the grape." Deuteronomy 32:13,14. 

The physical truth morphs into a deep understanding of our loving Creator’s care. "And Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, ‘That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’’" Luke 4:4. 

WE TURN OUT SOMEHOW

 People, friends, antagonists, not so friendly friends, brothers, and sisters (reared exactly like we were ) “walk” through life, and we turn out to be who we are. Every person’s way of living, thinking has gradually “grown” to the present. What is mysterious is that in those continuous conscious and unconscious thoughts and decisions we become who we are; we “turn us out”.

 

If we believe Scripture and are faithful to reading it, seeking the truth and wisdom of it, we grow wise. If our mind and heart is continuously influenced by secular thinking, doubters, deceivers that is how we will “turn out”.  Pro 23:7 for as he thinks in his heart, so is he…

 

I have decided to believe the Bible, to mull over what I do not understand, to act on what I do.  It is an exciting adventure to think Biblically. My Dad was a Bible fan:  I cannot thank him enough for making sure that all his family, he, Mom, and eight of us children read the Bible aloud together three times a day. Yes, three times for 30 minutes after breakfast, dinner, and supper, as they called it. He planned this time into our day because he could. He was an evangelist, and his family was his first mission field.

 

The doubters of Scripture are missing profound growth and wisdom. Here is the point:  The Bible says that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the (person) man of God may be (complete) perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

 

Jesus words (from Mark), “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away…”

 

When heaven and earth passes, and there is a Day coming when everything will change … for good, we can be ready. The One who keeps your heart beating, the One who hangs the world upon nothing, the One Who came down here to this sin filled world and died for your sins and mine to save us…He is coming again. 

Just after He ascended to Heaven, after His death and resurrection…The stunned disciples stared up into the clouds where Jesus had ascended back to his Father in heaven.  Angels appeared to them. "Two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Act 1:11)

 

But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father. 

Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is. (Mark 13:31,32)

AVOIDING (THE WRONG WAY)

2 Timothy 3, vs 1-7 speaks very well of the current day people who are in the church but are really wicked. It seems to me the list can apply as well to lofty Legalists as the flamboyant Charismatics. The aberrant Charismatics* are more open and easy to see than those who have the “form of godliness, but deny the power thereof”.

We avoid them by:
- - Continuing in things learned and assured (proved).
- - Learn things that come from good sources
- - Lifelong learning from the Scripture..

This we get through:
- - Doctrine, systematic way of teaching, thinking. First, we must know the basic truth.
- - Reproof, “you are wrong, stop, repent”. We must stop the wrong activity.
- - Correction, “you are going off course, this is what you must do to correct”. We must show where and how we are getting off course.
- - Instruction in righteousness, describing and demonstrating what are the right actions and thoughts. We must show what is the right way.
Parents play a first, primary and major role in accomplishing this..

*Not the good ones, but the aberrant ones.

 

BY ERIC

POSTED, PUBLISHED ON BUILDINGBYLIZZIE OCTOBER 12, 2021

BE SURE YOU FIND IT!

Maybe it’s because I’m nearing eighty, but I’ve been thinking about these words of Jesus more deeply, seriously, “Go in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in through it. Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13,14

The narrow Way that leads to life is Jesus.  He warned us that it is narrow because of obstacles standing close about.

 

“Jesus said…, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.” John 14:6 

 

“Then you shall call on Me, and you shall go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you shall seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. ” Jeremiah 29:12-14

 

Then Scripture assures us, “And I will be found by you.”

 

I’m on “the Way”…are you? 

 

Jesus loves you.  He proved it when he died for your sins and mine.  ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17 

YOUR CONVICTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE...FROM DR. CHARLES STANLEY

 

BUILDING BY LIZZIE

"Let your light so shine..."

 Just a few minutes ago, September 14, 2021, I took these notes as I listened to Dr. Stanley on YouTube.

I trust him because of my own journey in Scripture all of my life.  He "speaks the truth in love."  When you listen to, study the work of any human being, know their agenda, understand their motives and scrutinize them by Scripture.  Over and over in Scripture there is warning of deceivers; but we will not be deceived as we stay close to the Word of God itself, and search the Scriptures daily.

Here is a List of reasons that I believe the Bible (almost exact from In Touch)

THE BIBLE IS:

1. Timeless

2. Infallible 

3. A trustworthy Guide

4. Pictures the consequences of sin

5. God's unconditional love is clear

6. Contains all of the history of redemption

7.How Jesus paid our sin debt in full

8. Explains why He was born of a virgin: so He had no sin.  He was absolutely pure.

9. It describes Why He died on the cross...Old testament lambs and sacrifices were a symbol of the perfect Lamb of God.

10. Leviticus: a Book with many symbols

11.  His resurrection ...God in human flesh...He was dead and resurrected.

12.  Now Jesus is Seated at the Father's right hand.

13.   We know how to respond to temptation.

14.  The Holy Spirit seals you when you are a Believer

15.  The Holy Spirit: Dwells within every Believer forever...Helper, Comforter, Teacher: 

John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

16.  How to face trials ... look at Paul.

17.  The Word of God is sharper than a two edged sword

18.  It is difficult sometimes to understand the Bible..."As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." God.  We go again and again and the Holy Spirit is there.  It is profound so that we will keep coming back and back.

19.  If we confess our sins He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9.

20.  It explains what happens at death...what do you think will happen to you?

21.  The cross took care of our sin debt in full...absent from the body, present with the LORD.

22.  It promises future rewards to those who believe in Him. John 14.

23.  Warns of coming judgment.

24.  Judgment for Believer is reward.

25.  Judgment of unbeliever: eternal punishment

26.  Matt. 24.

27. Isaiah 40:8.

28.  What will be more valuable on your last day of life...all your money or eternal life?

29.  For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.

30.  You cannot find errors in the Bible.  Holy men of God wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

31.  Everybody has a choice.

 

2Pe 3:9  "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. " 2 Peter 3:9

 

LEAVING FEAR BEHIND

 To us who believe, have received Him, Jesus is with you and me through the fear and uncertainty in our country.

Isaiah 41:10 "Do not fear; for I am with you; be not dismayed; for I am your God. I will make you strong; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness." When Scripture tells us, "Pray without ceasing" now is the time to put it into action, God is All Knowing, Everywhere Present and All Powerful. There is no prayer too small; none too trivial, that He does not hear. When our hearts are humble and repentant to our Heavenly Father the LORD will hear...this is where I am! Let's repent as a Nation. Let's "Trust in Him at all times; you people, pour out your heart before Him; God is a hiding-place for us. Selah." Psalm 62:8

 

The key to leaving fear behind is opening our hearts to Jesus Christ and His amazing plan of eternal life offered... "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name..." John 1:12

 

Let's believe, lets receive, let's open our hearts and be vulnerable to the Creator God, who loves you...

TO BUILD OR NOT TO BUILD

Today, a friend said, “Do you have another book in you. Why don’t you write another book?”  This is the first thing that came to mind: “To Build or Not to Build” or “On the Way Home” could be a title.

 

Every woman who has had the privilege of waking to that momentous day, a wedding day, who was entering into that hope filled enterprise called “marriage” has begun on a path to a home. Now it is a question of whether she will undertake this task with her whole heart…and so build her best house, most powerful, warm and loving and efficient place.  It is the place every soldier “dreams” of returning to, every traveler yearns for, every homeless American longs for.  This is privilege. This is opportunity more far reaching than most anything else she will take on in her lifetime.

 

If a married woman builds her house, if she sets it up surely, figuratively, physically she will do her best work on earth.  “A wise woman builds her house, but the foolish plucks it down with her hands.” Proverbs 14:1.

 

Every woman is gifted, some in many ways.  “House building” is more than a gift, it is a calling. The call is created in heaven…and it can be the catalyst for “heaven upon the earth.”

 

THERE WILL BE AN END TO THE WORLD…IT WILL BE “THAT DAY”

Jesus said something stunning just before He ascended to Heaven.  It was after He rose from the dead and Matthew’s testimony is one who relates it. Jesus appeared to women first who followed Him…they ran and told the disciples. (The eleven were in an undisclosed room in Jerusalem perhaps).

Matthew says, “And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him. But some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

 

Until the end of the world.

 

As I exercise on my bicycle, I ride past a beautiful, fit couple.  We stop and talk sometimes.  One day they asked, “Will there be an end to the world?” Since that conversation I’ve thought about it. Now and then verses in the Bible stand out about “that day” … "...for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (2 Timothy 1:12) "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night..." (2 Peter 3:10).  Are these referring to the end of the world? Are they referring to a “day” when everything changes? Whatever that repeated “day” is referring to, we who believe in Him, have accepted His forgiveness are safe, no matter what happens.  “I am with you all the days until the end of the world.”

 

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

 

"But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name." (John 1:12) 

 

I accept that, LORD.

WHY GET TO KNOW THE GOD OF THE BIBLE WHEN YOU LIKE THE GOD IN YOUR HEAD BETTER.

Whether we know Him or not, like Him or not, understand Him at all, the LORD GOD of the Bible is in charge. He is more loving than we can imagine and more terrifying than we imagine.

My husband and I finally reached the Book of Revelation again.  Eric and I looked forward to this because we are discussing and understanding more this time through the Bible. If you have curiosity about the love and terror of God just read the Book of the Revelation. 

From Chapter One His character is described: "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. And has made us kings and priests to God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:5-8) 

Here is love. Jesus is faithful and true, He has all power, He is Prince of kings.  And He loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. But too many have rejected Him for thousands of years!

The Lamb of God in Revelations, Jesus, relays great mysteries about the end of time. Thunder, strange beasts, an earthquake, the sun becomes black.  The moon becomes blood red.  Stars fall to earth.  Every person, including kings, hide from the wrath of the Lamb.

When you like the Jesus in your head better than the Jesus, The Lamb of God, I understand. We cannot imagine our sun becoming black, our faithful moon turning red as blood.  But if you read the Bible through, and through and through throughout your life, you will see "Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood."  Such love, when rejected gives us a terrifying future.  

In this Book the voices of the angels speak loudly.  "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6,7)

After he rose from the dead, “…Jesus came and spoke to them… All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Because of His love we get to know the real God in His Word. 

AGING AND US…

When getting old was years down the road I used to think about this, “Even to old age I am He; and to gray hairs I will bear you…” (Isaiah 46:4) It was comforting for a faraway time.  Now, it is here!

Will I become useless, invisible, a burden?  Rearing children, work, Eric and I used to be intensely busy.  If we are blessed to grow old, how do we live and move and use that time? My husband, Eric is seventy-six and I am seventy-eight, we talk about it:  Growing old begins when you are young; you build into your heart and soul the person you are continually becoming. Have I grown? Or gone backward?

This morning we read in the Book of Judges.  Joshua and Caleb were over eighty years old.  Forty years earlier they were just two of the twelve spies Moses sent to view the promised land.  Ten brought back a report of giants and walled cities that they could never overcome and the heart of all the people melted.   They had come to the border of a great victory but would turn back, wander in the wilderness and die.

But Joshua and Caleb fully followed the LORD.  We can do that! For as long as we are alive there is purpose! There is useful, loving, humble service to God and your kids, and mankind.  People are watching us old folks.  Will we "mark time" with selfishness!! 

Caleb would not “mark time”.  He said at eighty-five, "And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spoke this word to Moses…now, lo, I am this day eighty-five years old…I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now..." (Joshua 14:10-12)

Spiritual, intellectual, and physical strength is a possibility and an opportunity:  we have time, we are still alive. Yesterday I fasted coffee to pray (I admit, coffee is more interesting than food first thing in the morning).  All day I felt down, low, listless; you can deduct that my body is addicted to it.  The next day I drank my morning coffee with Eric, ate my Ezekiel bread with butter and honey and felt energetic and happy. As I was riding my bicycle the twenty-mile route, it was easier than eight years ago. I was on chemotherapy then.  At seventeen miles back then as I passed a grassy place under shade trees I had a strong urge to lie down in the shade.  It never happened, but today I was riding past the same shady grassy place and felt motivated and strong. So, with energy now what will I do?  How will I invest my life?  Not banking on what is in the past, but looking to the future, how will I, (thank the LORD, along with Eric), how will we fully follow the LORD?  Thinking about Caleb and Joshua.

EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE RIGHT…WHO IS?

The bottom line is…Who is Jesus? It takes sixty-six Books within the Bible to describe Who Jesus is.  Creator, Redeemer, Savior, Friend, King of Kings, LORD of LORDS.  He is the foundation for truth, so He is right.  As Creator God makes the rules.  From the description of Jesus described in the Bible you will come to know what is right.  Begin with “For all the law is fulfilled in one word…you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

I personally come to conclusions and look at the world, the culture, my fellow human beings through a pursuit of Scripture, the Bible.  This is how I seriously intend to make my deductions.  There is good; there is evil in the world.  Knowing the difference is one serious pursuit of my life.  Conclusions about every issue pervasive in America will be after I have searched them out from my continuing study of the Bible. It is that simple. 

That is just the beginning.

Yes, God created the mosquitoes, the flies, the annoying parts of creation, the amazing power in creation: volcanoes, hurricanes, tornados.  If we think it through, this is scary stuff.  But if we think that through, it demonstrates His power.  The sad things happened when Adam and Eve rebelled and ate of the Tree of Good and Evil which God commanded them not to eat. 

If we have a “picture” of Jesus in our heads, but it is not the same Jesus who is described in the sixty-six Books of the Bible, it is not Jesus described in John 1:14. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

How does one “imagine” the greatness of Almighty God Who is All Power, All Knowing and Everywhere Present.  That is the God, Jesus, who keeps your heart beating, “He stretches out the north over the empty place, and He hung the earth on nothing.” (Job 26:7) And rather surprisingly simply says “He made the stars also” (Genesis 1:16)

Am I right? There is quiet confidence in my soul that God is “definitely right”.  My pursuit of life at seventy-eight years is perspective.  All the mistakes, the regrets and the sins bring me to huge gratitude, because I am growing to know Jesus more every day:  He loves me.

WHAT IF?

What if our Country goes downhill because it is following a dark path? What if life looks black ahead?

It does not matter what happens to us or to the world, when we are doing our personal best to walk with God. Just before Jesus ascended to Heaven, after his resurrection he assured us, "And behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:20)

We can focus if we are reading Scripture every day to live by faith in God: once, twice, three times a day as Daniel did. His enemies knew it.  When he ended in the lion’s den, God was there.  In the morning he said loud and clear to the distraught King Darius, “My God has sent his Angel”. (Daniel 6)

God said about three men in history who lived through dark times, “Though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own soul by their righteousness...” (Ezekiel 14:14) Dark days are the same as sunny days to our Creator.  “Yea, the darkness does not hide from You; but the night shines as the day; as is the darkness, so is the light to you.”  (Psalm 139:12)

The queen was after Elijah the Prophet. Jezebel threatened to kill him.  Her fury knew no bounds. "And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.  And he looked and behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. 

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." (I Kings 19) Did the queen get him? You know the story, “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” (2 Kings 2:11)

 

How do we have faith to believe, to hold onto Jesus?  It doesn’t matter who threatens, who slanders, who lies.  “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”

 

What if the darkness in the world deepens! If you are walking with God with integrity, with all your heart, it does not matter? 

HOW AM I DOING, LORD?

Our life is a gift with one chance to do it right.  An accident on my regular bike ride last week brought some soul searching. How am I doing, Lord? 

It could have been much worse, but I realized after it that one second can change everything.  It was the regular twenty-mile route on a clear, perfect day.  A chain-link covered ramp was just ahead.  I hurried up because a biker waited for me at the top.  It is a covered bridge across a river.  But at that moment as I reached her, my handlebar touched her handlebar and maybe her hand as well.  The next second I was hitting the chain-link fence at the top of the ramp head on and went down hard.  It took a second to realize that it really happened.  I got up, turned and faced the other biker and said, “It was my fault.  Are you alright?” She said the same thing to me twice.  I was fine; she was, too.  She rode down the ramp and was gone.  I turned to my bicycle still jammed against the fence, picked it up and coasted down the other side, but the chain was off, the gears had “jammed” and the front tire was damaged.  My next decision was to turn around, try to make it home without being rescued by my permanent, dependable rescuer.  Eric, my husband, has rescued me a few times.

This time, I managed to move the chain back on and limped the five or six miles home.  The bike was not totaled, the shop mechanic assured me…but the wait for it to be assessed and fixed and returned emphasizes my incident that changed everything.

I wondered out loud to my husband today, “Was God saying something to me?” “It could be.” But what I know is that life can turn a corner when you least expect it.  Incidents can happen that change the future, even the present.

A couple of places in Scripture came to me that night. They are contrasts.  One is a warning, one a mystery.

In Matthew, just before John baptized Jesus, he confronted Scribes and Pharisees who put on a false pretense of getting right with God (their hearts were deeply opposite).  John the forerunner of Jesus told them, “Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.” Matthew 3:10. How am I doing, Lord?

But a mysterious verse in Ezekiel 47:12 lifts the spirit to hope. “And all trees for food shall go up by the torrent, on its bank on this side, and on that side. Its leaf shall not fade, nor its fruit fail. It will bear by its months because its waters come out from the sanctuary. And its fruit shall be for food, and its leaf for healing.” Does my life “bear good fruit”?

So, to end this introspection here is a thought.  Live every day with dependence on our Creator, Jesus Christ.  He has promised “I will never leave you or forsake you.” He will go ahead of me and come behind me.  I am His.

"Do not fear, nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, my God, will be with you. He will not fail you nor leave you."  (I Chronicles 28:20).

ARE YOU BORN AGAIN?

Are you born again?  "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us..." (Titus 3:5)

When a friend told me, “I don’t think people in our Church know how to be born again” I was taken aback.  It took a few months to realize the seriousness of her statement.

Then I thought about another Church we were part of.  For two years, the Class we participated in seemed to grow cold, meaningless.  I wondered why.  Another friend told me after we left that the Teacher had given a pop quiz, and nobody knew anything.

 There is eternity ahead for every person.  This is the most important truth in your life. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:20) All of us “are in the same boat.”

 But you can be born again! 

 Do you know that Jesus, Son of God, came as a perfect sacrifice, died for your sins and mine, rose again (proving He is God)  He showed Himself to 500 at once after He rose from the dead.  "And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, ‘All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth, therefore go and teach all nations...’" (Matthew 28) “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life…” (I John 5:13) 

 Believe your God and Savior, Jesus Christ… “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9).  Believe in Jesus: that is faith.

Then, eternity with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is yours…forever.

 

A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS WROTE TO ME; I WROTE BACK TO HER

 

The letter came out of nowhere to our mailbox.  I don't know her and her name is not familiar, yet she wrote a personal letter introducing me to the Jehovah's Witness religion.  Maybe she will write again.

Here is my response: 

Dear...,

It is interesting that you sent this letter, handwritten.  Kind of rare now days.

 Yes, I have several Bibles…as our children grew up, we read the Bible together with them every day.  Now as seniors, my husband and I have continued, but the difference is:  Now we have time to discuss it, think it through and internalize the message of Scripture more thoroughly.  I am certain of eternal life!

 "Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6)

 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18) 

 "And there is salvation in no other One; for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

Often, I find that “doing good works” is what people hope will get them to heaven.  Then, that means, we can say to God, The Judge, on Judgment Day, “Look what I did.” But: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" (Titus 3:5)

"Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:14,15) 

Then signed my name...

This seemed to be an opportunity to "preach the Gospel" ...maybe she will respond. 

AND THEN WE CAME TO LEVITICUS

It is amazing!  Eric and I started at the beginning of the Bible in Genesis again.  Then Exodus, and now Leviticus.  All my life it has come before me again and again.  Growing up, my parents read the Bible with us every day.  Then, when I married Eric forty-seven years ago, we were on our honeymoon traveling by car to Franklin, Tennessee.  We got out of the car by a flowing river, shade trees all around and my new husband opened the Bible and we began reading, there by the side of the road, sitting in all that natural beauty.

 

And so, the habit I had known all my life, we began on the first day of our marriage. I am thankful to him.

 

But Leviticus was for me a Book to get through.  I sort of knew that the symbolism was important, basic, foundational theology, but I took it for granted.

 

When we got to this Book again yesterday, Eric prayed that we would gain new understanding, and that we would grow from reading the Book of Leviticus this time.  It is happening. 

 

It describes the perfect animal sacrifice of a bull for the Priest who sinned without knowing he had, and a bull for the whole congregation when they sinned in ignorance.  This told us that the Priest was responsible to set the tone, the example of right standing with God.  The “people” also shared that accountability. The perfect animal pictured Jesus, "...he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." (Hebrews 9:26) He did “no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth..." (1 Peter 2:22)

One of my hobbies is nutrition, the subject of nutrition is here too, in Leviticus.  Don’t eat fat, or blood “It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” (Leviticus 3:17) The New Testament carries a related command; “…abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if you keep yourselves, you shall do well.” (Acts 15:29)

 

There is a downward trend today in our Country.  Confession of our sin is not on our minds.  And a trend toward food that is not nurturing our best health.

 

The Bible, speaking for itself, is the mind of God.  It is given at great expense by “holy men of God” and carefully preserved for you and me.

 

If you keep it on the coffee table…that is good.  But if you choose to read it from Genesis to Revelation, you will grow wise and knowledgeable and you will desire from your inward being to be pleasing to God. 

 

BELIEF IS IMPORTANT

The other day, just after the 2021 election, my head was in my hands, I feared, I had dread, hope was dim.  As I laced my sneakers for a bike ride, (head down) a verse came into my soul or head; it was clear, “Said I not to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God.” It was Jesus talking to Martha after her brother died.

I went on my usual bike route and felt hope.  Since that day, as I have kept my heart and eyes open, several more “words” from the Bible have either jumped off the page as Eric and I read every morning, or a Word in the form of a verse comes into my head. 

My attempt to encourage you is here: The Word is Jesus, and Jesus is the Word.  “And the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us...” John 1:14. 

Once again as I woke this morning my cell phone had two verses waiting for me. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11 

The other, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all liberally…” James 1:5.

“But exhort one another daily…“ we read this morning…living and expecting The Word, who is Jesus, to speak to us.