Here's my new favorite chapter

While perusing Matt Walsh's Facebook page, I came across a post that pointed me to a Bible passage that spoke volumes to me. I have copied it here for your consideration. Perhaps God's Word will impact you, as it did me, to stand firm in your belief and commitment to Jesus. I pray that is so...

Psalm 37 (NIV)
Of David
Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious of those who do wrong;
² for like the grass they will soon wither,
    like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword
    and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
    and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
    and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish:
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously;
²² those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses will be destroyed.

²³ The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
²⁴ though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
    or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;
    their children will be a blessing.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;
    then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves the just
    and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;
    the offspring of the wicked will perish.
²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
    and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
    and their tongues speak what is just.
³¹ The law of their God is in their hearts;
    their feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
    intent on putting them to death;
³³ but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
    or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

³⁴ Hope in the Lord
    and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
    a future awaits those who seek peace.
³⁸ But all sinners will be destroyed;
    there will be no future^[e] for the wicked.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.

Have you found your word?

...No turning back, no turning back

A devotional I recently completed through my YouVersion Bible app focused on New Year’s resolutions, or lack thereof. The premise was to forget the resolutions and focus on a specific word for the year instead.

Well, I finished the One Word That Will Change Your Life devotional several weeks ago, and just today, found my word.

Although I have to admit that I have embraced two words (and a verb) to focus on for 2016, I also believe that my God-given words, [seek] joy and truth, complement one another.

Joy came to me because it seems that lately joy has been missing from my life. I have found myself focusing on the negative instead of the positive, which has taken most of the joy out of living. Seems the Bible is chock full of references about joy in the Lord, joy in Jesus, joy in the Word, and just plain joy in life.

Why not embrace joy, I asked myself, why not?

Well, beginning today, I am actively seeking joy in my scripture reading and in my life. Whether it’s interacting with my sweet husband, fixing breakfast, washing dishes, running the vacuum, petting the dogs, listening to the birds sing or watching Olivia (Charlie’s Oscar fish) swimming in her aquarium home, I am determined to be joyful about it all.

Besides, the Bible is full of references to joy, the Psalms alone have 57 “joy” references in the New International Version. Perhaps that means that God just wants us to be happy? I believe that to be a joyful truth.

Then there’s the truth thing. I find truth about anything and everything in my Bible. I seek truth when I write, whether it’s when I am writing this blog or doing a freelance piece as a professional journalist, I seek the truth. Sometimes that means I am at odds with the status quo, but, if that’s the case, so be it.

As my granddaddy, God rest his soul, always said, “Sometimes the truth hurts, Cheryl Ann, but it must be told.”

As far as biblical truth goes, just today I found a succinct definition in a Priscilla Schirer Bible study, The Armor of God. She wrote, “Truth is God’s opinion on any matter.”

As a follower of Jesus, I seek his truth daily in Bible study and meditation. I search out joy and truth and God beginning with a verse-of-the-day from the Bible Gateway website and end each and every night with the Our Daily Bread devotional reading of the day.

How about you? Do you have a word that you would like to focus on for the year? A word that makes your life better? A word that leads you closer to a relationship with God? After all, as John wrote in his Gospel, chapter one, verse one (NIV) – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, so why not explore His Word; why not explore Him?

Again, how about you? Do you seek truth? Do you seek the truth of the Bible?

Do you seek joy? Do you seek the joy that could be yours in Christ Jesus?

Perhaps joy or truth could be your word for 2016, perhaps it’s another word. But, whatever your word is, I pray it is a word that will lead you closer in your walk with Jesus.

Following The Way is the right thing to do. Being a follower of Jesus is the right thing to do.

Without a doubt, our commitment to Him and His way is not always the popular or politically correct thing to do.

But, if you truly believe and truly follow him, you will not hesitate to, “take up [your] cross daily and follow [Jesus].” Luke 9:23. 

Bottom line, if you do take up your cross daily, you will not have to worry about popularity or the p.c. police, because you’ll be doing what is right in the eyes of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now I ask you, how could it get any better than that?

Praying today that you will find your word and use it to follow Him wherever this life may lead. Amen

Put on the full armor of God

On a daily basis it seems I find undeniable wisdom in my Bible. Today, I asked myself, “Why should that surprise me?”

I recently signed up for one such daily dose of wisdom from BibleStudyTools.com. Their staff chooses a Proverb-of-the-day, and emails it each morning. In fact, I blogged today’s Proverb earlier. It’s not that I can’t just read the book of Proverbs myself, but this daily reminder gets me immersed in his Word first thing every morning.

In addition to the Proverbs email, I also get a story and scripture passage from Our Daily Bread Ministries’ Our Daily Journey series. As with other ODB titles, this is truly one of my favorites of all time. Perhaps I have mentioned this before, but I have been an Our Daily Bread devotional reader since before my daughter was born, and she’ll turn 34 in March. That’s a long time to never miss a day of a single publication. It never fails to amaze me how many time the devotion for a particular day is just what I needed. Seems God’s hand is everywhere in my life, and I humbly thank him for his guidance, and, at times, intervention.

Then, there’s the reason I started today’s journal entry, BibleGateway.com’s verse-of-the-day, which, in light of the mess this country’s in, seemed more than appropriate for some deep thought on God’s take on the subject of the earthly rulers of man. The verses that got me blogging comes from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, chapter 6, verses 12 and 13 (NIV), where the apostle writes, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

As a Christian, I use the Bible as my armor/defense against the forces of evil, and you should too. When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, he gave me protection against Satan’s attacks, and authorities who exude the devil’s ideals, through his Word.

Interestingly enough, my go-to study guide, the Quest Study Bible, nicely sums it up, explaining in its sidebar about Ephesians 6:12, “Spiritual warfare for believers, therefore, is fought in the mind, emotions and will…The more our minds are filled with the truth of God’s Word, the less susceptible we are to Satan’s deceptions and temptations.”

Makes sense to me. What about you? Do you pick up your cross (for me that’s my Bible) daily and, through the reading of his infallible Word, dedicate your day/life to Him?

Yes? Wonderful, keep up the good fight.

No? Isn’t it time to consider the peace and joy and defense against the evil in this world that you can get from accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Please think long and hard about it as none of us are guaranteed the next moment.

With that written, I end today’s post with this prayer:

May the Lord above guide us all and keep us safe from all kinds of evil. May those who believe on his Son, Jesus Christ continue to fight the good fight with the full armor his Son’s death on the cross provided us. May today be the day that those who do not believe in Jesus Christ make the decision to follow him.

Amen.

Luke 9:23-26 (NIV) ²³ Then [Jesus] said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

A proverb a day keeps the devil at bay

Proverbs 10:23 (NIV)

 A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes, but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.

Pray the 5-finger prayer with me

Working through a Tim Keller mini-study, "Prayer: A 14-Day Devotional" via the YouVersion Bible app on my phone.

As I read more about how prayer impacts our lives, I was led to delve deeper into the subject of prayer and how it can align my thoughts on Him throughout the day.

While most of my research has focused on biblical prayer instruction, this morning I came across a reminder for a method for prayer that I learned many moons ago and had since forgotten. Amazing how a reply to a post on a Facebook message brings back so many good memories of vacation Bible school at Patterson Park Brethren Church. Some of the best church experiences of my life, I might add.

Anyway, here's the simple guide to prayer that a lot of us learned in VBS and/or Sunday school in our formative years.

The 5-finger prayer:
1.    Thumb - Praise, Thanksgiving, Worship and Seeking the LORD;
2.    Index Finger - Pray for Revival around the world;
3.    Middle Finger - Pray for Church and Government Leaders;
4.    Ring Finger - Pray for Family and Friends;
5.    Pinkie Finger - Pray for your own needs.

As I reread the five-finger prayer guidelines, I thought it was interesting to note that praying for oneself comes last, requiring humility on our part. In fact, James mentioned this very thing in his epistle – James 4:10 (NKJV) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

I believe that it all comes down to this – pray as Paul recommended in Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Praying that this method is a help for you in your prayer life as I know it will be in mine. 

My prayer for you today –

May Jesus, the author and perfecter or our faith, guide and direct you today and every single day of your life from this day forward. Amen.

Luke 9:23-26 (NIV) ²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Started a new devotional

Started a few new devotionals today through a Bible app I have on my phone and computer. Most offerings are short and to the point, others are longer and more in depth. 

My choices included Experiencing God's Renewal, One Word that will change your life, Finding Real Happiness and Live Your Calling. I am also working through Tim Keller's Prayer:A 14-Day Devotional.

Sound interesting to you? Why not check out these along with YouVersion's other applications, which you can find here.

The One Word that will change your life devotional ended with a prayer I would like to share with you today - 

"Dear Lord, I ask that you will make it a life-changing year. Reveal Yourself to me as You show me what my One Word theme will be. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I realize that it is a journey of learning not a task to accomplish. Strengthen me as I live out my One Word every day. In Jesus’ name, amen."

True...

The old has gone

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

This was today's verse-of-the-day from BibleGateway.com, a site I use frequently for checking different translations and to research general Bible questions.

Definitely a verse that applies to today, Jan. 1, 2016, agreed? WOW, I really cannot believe it is 2016 already.

Seems 2015 flew by and with it came visits from family – all the way from Yuma, Arizona, as well as some great summer weather with just the right amount of rain to keep my garden going and my water bill lower than normal.

There was tragedy as well. I lost my daddy on April 1, a void that will never be refilled. Also lost another, very young member of our extended family, Taylor, to a car crash. Then there was Pepper, my African gray parrot who shared my life for 24 wonderful years. When there was no one else, there was always Pep Buddy Bird.

After Taylor’s death, I had a serious crisis of faith, and still do to some extent, which is why my blog posts have been few and far between in the last several months.

I am thinking that this verse may be just the inspiration I need to get back on track and back to my faith.

The question posed about this verse in the Quest study bible is, “What is new when someone is in Christ?” The answer, “Everything. A sinner is changed radically – turned inside out and upside down.”

The text goes on to explain that life in Christ should have a new direction and purpose. A life in Jesus should be one in which we focus on our Lord and Savior, and not on ourselves.

Perhaps in my grief, I have found it difficult, if not impossible, to direct my focus to the Jesus I profess to follow. Perhaps the pain of the losses of 2015 have created in me a hardened heart that finds it challenging to reorient, not only my heart, but my mind and soul as well to God’s only Son.

This situation makes me think back to the revivals of my youth at Patterson Park Brethren Church in Dayton, Ohio.

At those revivals folks were invited to accept Jesus as their savior by walking down the aisle and praying with the pastor. There was also an invitation to recommit one’s life to Jesus. While the majority of those who made the walk were new converts, many were reaffirming their faith after life tragedies that sidetracked them and their faith in the Almighty.

Perhaps that is what I need, a recommitment to the Savior of the Bible; you know the One, the One who, in Luke 9:23 said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Maybe I need a personal revival of faith. Maybe I need to walk that aisle. Maybe I need to take up my cross. Maybe I need to recommit my life to Him. Maybe, just maybe I…

As I ponder this, I would pray –

May God guide and protect each and every one of us every day in every way.

Amen.

Is it time for us to forgive?

Yesterday Rev. Tim Callow (Newberry United Methodist Church) talked about forgiveness as just one means of “clothing ourselves with Christ’s qualities.”

In fact, the Epistle lesson for the day came from Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV), in which the Apostle Paul wrote in verse 13, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievance you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

As I think about forgiving those who have wronged or slighted or otherwise defamed me, I think about a recent marketing sensation that focused on the question, “What Would Jesus Do?” Paul’s last sentence in the verse references exactly what Jesus would do, he would forgive the offending party.

After all, Jesus came to this earth to bear the sins of all who believe in Him as explained by the unknown writer of Hebrews, chapter nine, verses 27 and 28 (NIV) [emphasis mine] “27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

So, if God can forgive all our sins, and believe me, we have tons of them whether we want to admit it or not, the least we can do is try to forgive our fellow human beings, right?

I hope you’re asking now, just what does true forgiveness entail?

According to Nelson’s Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible, forgiveness is ‘the act of excusing or pardoning another in spite of his slights, shortcomings, and errors. As a theological term forgiveness refers to God’s pardon of the sins of human beings.’

The dictionary text on forgiveness concludes by explaining that because God forgives us, he demands that we forgive others. Drawing on references from the Gospel of Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV) and Mark 11:25 (NIV), the writer surmises, “A forgiving spirit shows that one is a true follower of Christ.”

Basically, if we truly want to forgive, we must abandon any thought of getting even. We must put our ire in God’s hands through prayer, and let Him take care of the situation for us.

Even though it’s next to impossible to forget, forgiveness is required. We all know that trying to forget is a waste of time. Besides, when you continue to try to forget, it seems to me that the forgiving gets abandoned in the less-than-comfortable memories of the problem.

According to one commentary I read, forgiving takes time. The article suggests that we forgive over and over and over again, until we get it down pat. Makes sense to me, especially since there are a few folks that I need to forgive, and, after quite some time, years in some cases, I still find it hard to make the leap to full, unrestricted forgiveness.

Bottom line, if Jesus can die on the cross to save you and me from our sin, to essentially forgive us, we can certainly put on His mantle, making sure we forgive one another no matter how grievous the slight.

I forgive, or at least I actively try to forgive. Do you? Think about it.

Today my prayer for all of us is -
May God give you and I the strength to forgive and get on with our lives minus the negativity that holding grudges brings. Let us put aside the pettiness and indulge in the satisfaction of being a true follower of Jesus.
In His holy name we ask these things.
Amen.

Luke 9:23 (NIV) Then [Jesus] said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."

Make it your life mission to 'do all the good you can'

JOHN WESLEY

Do all the good you can.
By all the means you can.
In all the ways you can.
In all the places you can.
At all the times you can.
To all the people you can.
As long as ever you can.
John Wesley

A pastor acquaintance of mine posted this online and I thought, why not share it? How could anyone argue with John Wesley’s message?

Many pages of the New Testament share episodes in Jesus’s life that deal with doing good by people. Seems to me that Christ’s focus was doing good for and to the people his Father created.

Probably the most recognizable is the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37. You probably recall that a man who was injured was ignored by several “godly” men, but the despised Samaritan opened his heart and his purse to care for the stranger. I would recommend that you pay particular attention to the last couple verses of this Gospel entry, and notice how Jesus describes the Samaritan’s actions – “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Certainly the example of the Good Samaritan is the ultimate act of doing good for another human being.

Jesus also did good by a group of lepers, cleansing them of that terrible disease, another incident that Luke recorded for posterity in his Gospel, Chapter 17:11-19.

Again, notice that only one of the 10 who was healed came back to thank Jesus, and he was a Samaritan – verses 15-19 read, One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then [Jesus] said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Notice, if you will, that neither account condemns. Both, however, praise the actions of the Samaritan men – one by telling a man of God to “go and do likewise,” and the other by explaining that “your faith has made you well.”

It's all about doing good, right?

And Jesus did good for all. He did not discriminate. He did not admonish. He did good because that was His Father’s will.

Shouldn’t we adopt this attitude of good-doing and loving and sharing with one another? Shouldn’t we, as followers of Christ, do good for all people at all times?

As one who daily tries to take up my cross and follow Him, Luke 9:23, I sincerely believe Wesley’s message of love and caring and doing good is exactly what Christ had in mind as he traversed the land of the Bible spreading the message of grace through His life’s mission and, ultimately, His resurrection.

Interestingly enough, one dictionary definition of grace reads: mercy; clemency; pardon.

God granted all of us His grace, His clemency, His pardon, if only we would believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.

What better way to be a follower of Jesus than by doing His bidding, by loving one another, by forgiving one another, by helping one another, by doing good by, and to one another?

Food for thought, don’t you agree?

Today’s Prayer:
May God bless each and every one of you every single day in every possible way. And may we always find an avenue to do good for and to one another. Amen

Editor's note: Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references on this blog are from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.