God bless all mothers

 Blessings to one and all on Mother's Day.

Proverbs 31:10-31 (MSG)
Hymn to a Good Wife [and Mother]
A good woman is hard to find,
    and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
    and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
    all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
    and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
    and brings back exotic surprises.
She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast
    for her family and organizing her day.
She looks over a field and buys it,
    then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
    rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
    is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
    diligent in homemaking.
She’s quick to assist anyone in need,
    reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;
    their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.
She makes her own clothing,
    and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected
    when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them,
    brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.
Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
    and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
    and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
    and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
    her husband joins in with words of praise:
“Many women have done wonderful things,
    but you’ve outclassed them all!”
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
    The woman to be admired and praised
    is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
    Festoon her life with praises!

May our Creator bless each and every one of you every day in every way. Amen

Dear God...

Today's prayer -

Dear God,

Thank you for the beginning of a new day.

I ask that You would renew my heart with Your strength.

Please forgive me for every time I fell short yesterday, and please help me walk closer to You today.

May every person I meet today feel You presence through me.

An please hold me tight because I cannot make it on my own.

I love you.

Amen.

Search me, LORD

King David playing the harp.

Been attending a women's Bible study for the past several weeks. This week the author, Beth Moore required that we read two verses from Psalm 139, nine and 10 to be exact. But, I did not stop there. I read the entire 139th Psalm, perhaps you should too. Then, why not take time to ponder what David said about God's place in our daily lives. Here is the New International Version of Psalm 139 -

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

Search me, God, and know my heart. Search me and make me entirely yours. Search me...

 

May God be gracious to [you] and bless [you]
and make his face shine on [you]. Psalm 67 (NIV)

Amen.

Consider the power of the Almighty

Old Testament Reading

Psalm 71 (MSG)

^1-3 I run for dear life to God,
    I’ll never live to regret it.
Do what you do so well:
    get me out of this mess and up on my feet.
Put your ear to the ground and listen,
    give me space for salvation.
Be a guest room where I can retreat;
    you said your door was always open!
You’re my salvation—my vast, granite fortress.

^4-7 My God, free me from the grip of Wicked,
    from the clutch of Bad and Bully.
You keep me going when times are tough—
    my bedrock, God, since my childhood.
I’ve hung on you from the day of my birth,
    the day you took me from the cradle;
    I’ll never run out of praise.
Many gasp in alarm when they see me,
    but you take me in stride.

^8-11 Just as each day brims with your beauty,
    my mouth brims with praise.
But don’t turn me out to pasture when I’m old
    or put me on the shelf when I can’t pull my weight.
My enemies are talking behind my back,
    watching for their chance to knife me.
The gossip is: “God has abandoned him.
    Pounce on him now; no one will help him.”

^12-16 God, don’t just watch from the sidelines.
    Come on! Run to my side!
My accusers—make them lose face.
    Those out to get me—make them look
Like idiots, while I stretch out, reaching for you,
    and daily add praise to praise.
I’ll write the book on your righteousness,
    talk up your salvation the livelong day,
    never run out of good things to write or say.
I come in the power of the Lord God,
    I post signs marking his right-of-way.

^17-24 You got me when I was an unformed youth,
    God, and taught me everything I know.
Now I’m telling the world your wonders;
    I’ll keep at it until I’m old and gray.
God, don’t walk off and leave me
    until I get out the news
Of your strong right arm to this world,
    news of your power to the world yet to come,
Your famous and righteous
    ways, O God.
God, you’ve done it all!
    Who is quite like you?
You, who made me stare trouble in the face,
    Turn me around;
Now let me look life in the face.
    I’ve been to the bottom;
Bring me up, streaming with honors;
    turn to me, be tender to me,
And I’ll take up the lute and thank you
    to the tune of your faithfulness, God.
I’ll make music for you on a harp,
    Holy One of Israel.
When I open up in song to you,
    I let out lungsful of praise,
    my rescued life a song.
All day long I’m chanting
    about you and your righteous ways,
While those who tried to do me in
    slink off looking ashamed.

 

New Testament Reading

 

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (MSG)

^18-21 The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It’s written,

I’ll turn conventional wisdom on its head,
I’ll expose so-called experts as crackpots.

So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn’t God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.

^22-25 While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can’t begin to compete with God’s “weakness.”
^26-31 Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”

 

 

Think about this today...

What is the uppermost concern in your life today that you would like the great High Priest (Jesus) to bring to the throne of God?

This was the "ponder" question in my Lenten devotional. I thought it was a good one to share as I am working feverishly on the White Breakfast presentation and do not have the time (or the energy) to blog too!

Think about it.

My prayer today, May God bless each and every one of you today and every day. Amen

Just who can be against you?

Paul, the apostle of Jesus

The apostle Paul wrote in his epistle, Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

I ask you, "If God is for you, who can be against you?"

 

Good question to ponder over the weekend...

 

My God bless you every day in every way. Amen!

Do you know Dorcas? Conclusion



Capturing the spirit of the weekend in this photograph of ladies
lifting their voices, hearts and hands in praises to God during the
It's Tough Being a Woman - Drocas the Seamstress Retreat
this past weekend in Escanaba.

My granddaddy always told me that our bodies are God’s temples. As such, he preached, “You cannot defile or otherwise abuse your own body because that would indicate your disdain for God above.”

Granddaddy - as was generally the case, especially in matters of the Bible - was right.

Our bodies are made in God’s image. We use our bodies to glorify Him if we are true followers of His Son, Jesus Christ. Because of this truth, we should honor our bodies as we honor Him who made us.

Those of us who attended this past weekend’s It’s Tough Being a Woman – Dorcas the Seamstress Retreat were recipients of some words of wisdom about just this subject. The speaker asked the gathering what could be construed as abuse. Audience members mentioned alcohol (in excess), illegal drugs, prescription drugs and even obesity. After all, a temple, should be just that, a temple, pure and pleasing to the Lord.

Scripture solidifies this truth – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Can’t get more succinct than that, eh?

As attendees we were also treated to a presentation from a Newberry healthcare professional. She suggested that we find our spiritual gift(s) and use it (them) for the good of the Lord. “Love is the foundation,” she reasoned.

I thought about the love foundation and could not stop thinking about God and his love for us sinners. What greater love than Jesus, who, without sin, nevertheless, died on the cross – substituting himself for the sinners of the world. Jesus Christ died for my sin, your sin, the sin of all mankind. That, folks, is true agape. Unbridled. Unbelievable. Undeserving.

That is the love God offers us.

As the speaker confirmed, God anoints His followers with gifts too.

Because Dorcas used her sewing skills to help others, in my humble opinion, this first century disciple’s gift can truly be considered a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Our speaker referenced the apostle Paul’s discussion about such God-given expertise – found in his letter to the Romans, Chapter 12 – where he boiled it all down to just six verses (3-8) 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

As followers, can we expect anything less of ourselves as we serve Him?

The speaker likened our following ways to the instruction received concerning what to do if you find yourself on fire – remember – it’s Stop. Drop. (and) Roll.

I am diligently working to fan the flames of fire for Him. In doing so I sincerely believe that we can all follow Saturday’s Dorcas speaker’s advice to – Stop. Stoop (and) Serve. And to – borrowing from Nike – JUST DO IT!

A young lady in the group did just that. She JUST DID IT, in a huge way.

This 18-year-old servant of the Lord recently made a trip to Honduras, visiting many churches in the area. While there, she, and her mother who had visited previously, were able to share their personal message of faith and giving in the name of Jesus. 

In the photographs shared since this series on the retreat was first published, you’ll see this young lady sharing her experience, and her photographs, with the group. On a personal note, I was privileged to share my motel room with her for the weekend, and her mother took our picture, which was shared in Monday’s post.

The women participants also heard a heart-felt message of loss and pain and resurrection from a former Germfask resident who drove up from Grand Rapids to share her story with the group. What began as a tearful recollection of her husband’s untimely death, ended in a celebration of God’s love for her, and her children, and how, through His mercy, she is recovering day by day – one step at a time.

Below you will find the last of my photographs from the weekend. Please take time to look and maybe you’ll find yourself among the crowd.

Today, I am ending with another essay that touched my heart. From the Book of Common Prayer –
O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.



Today's prayer...

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
For all the benefits thou hast won for me,
For all the pains and insults you have borne for me.

O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother,
May I know thee more clearly,
Love thee more dearly,
And follow thee more nearly:
For ever and ever.
— Richard of Chichester

Do you know Dorcas?

Truly the Lord is in this place!

Which is exactly how I felt as I participated in the first day of the “It’s Tough Being a Woman” annual retreat in Escanaba.

This year’s Christian get-together focused on Dorcas, aka Tabitha, the seamstress. Although little is known of this follower of Jesus Christ, only six biblical verses are dedicated to her existence, enough was gleaned by the retreat’s organizers to focus an entire weekend event around this dedicated woman of God.

The story of Dorcas is a saga of faith in a Savior, faith that was enriched by good works in His precious name. Dorcas cared for those in her hometown of Joppa by providing clothing to those in need. When she died, which is the account told in book of Acts, she was mourned by many. Her dedication and her reputation was such that when she passed away, Peter, one of Jesus’s original 12 disciples, was called to her side.

Through the Lord's mercy, Peter raised Dorcas from the dead! Can you imagine? Can you envision a scenario more miraculous than being restored to life by a disciple of the Risen Lord? Can you grasp the significance of this seemingly impossible occurrence?

Quickly, here’s the Bible passage about our weekend’s guest star – Acts 9:36-41 (NIV) 36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” 39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive.

Although we may never be raised from the dead by God, we can find eternal life by believing in His Son Jesus Christ. It’s a fact, and it’s promised over and over again in the New Testament as witnessed by this passage from the disciple whom Jesus loved – 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV) 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Don’t forget that God will forgive our transgressions and purify us from our sin too. And, it’s all because he is faithful as John wrote in 1 John 1:9 (NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

How simple is that? Believe, confess, enjoy life in Him. It’s a no-brainer in my estimation.

Besides, just think of all the fun you could be having as a true follower of Jesus. Check out the photographs attached to this blog to get a tiny taste of Christian interaction that, so far this weekend, has included pedicures, manicures, door prizes, scarf sewing and card making, not to mention praise and worship singing, special speakers, good food and much, much more.

Well, I see it’s getting late, 11:44 p.m. to be exact, and 6 a.m. comes pretty early. So good night, and may God bless each and every one of you. Amen.

Give thanks...for everything

Today, one of the Lenten studies I am pursuing focused on prayer, reasoning that we should give thanks for the small things as well as the large things. The psalmist gives a multitude of reasons in the reading associated with the text, Psalm 103:1-5. After reading the assigned scripture, I went on to embrace the entire psalm, and have recorded it below for your consideration.

As I read it, this psalm of David explains why we should thank the Good Lord above for everything in our lives. After all, as verse 19 explains, “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.”

Since this is the case, who else would you pray to? To whom, other than God, would you give thanks? And, since His Son declared it so, pray in Jesus name, always. John 16:23-24 (NIV) [Jesus said] 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Give thanks daily for your food, your warmth, your humble abode, your children, your health, your faith…I could list a million things I am thankful for, but I am sure, when you read it, you will understand the psalm’s guidance.

Psalm 103 (NIV)
1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness
    and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
    his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
    the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
    and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
    you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works
    everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul.

Ending today's post with the prayer from the devotional - Lord, open my eyes that I may see the giftedness of my life and let my life be a hymn of praise and thanksgiving. AMEN

Forgive in your heart

Forgive as many times as you would wish God forgave you.
From Daily Inspiration: A Thought for Every Day of the Year via Guideposts.

There are many instances of forgiveness in the Bible, probably the most famous is the plight of Joseph, the son of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham – the father of the Jewish nation.

You may recall the account from Genesis – Jealous of Joseph, his brothers first plotted to kill him, but then sold Joseph into slavery. During his many years separated from his family, Joseph was falsely accused, thrown into prison, but eventually became second in command of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh! God used Joseph’s plight to save the family of Jacob.

You can read Joseph’s story beginning with his birth in Genesis 30:22 through his death in Genesis 50:26.

After many years absent from his family, Joseph forgave his brothers for their unsavory deed, praising God for the way his brothers’ betrayal was used to save the family into which he was born.

That, folks, is amazing forgiveness.

Are you capable of such absolution?

I know I have a problem wrapping my human mind around the notion of forgiving anything and everything, no matter how egregious the transgression.

But, I have found that if I employ my Christ-centered heart, and its corresponding attitude, I find forgiveness a simple extension of my life as a true follower of His Way.

During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus outlined the consequences of refusing to forgive. In Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV), {Jesus said} “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Pretty strong admonition, agreed?

Forgive and get forgiven, is what I read here.

Don’t forget that God knows what is in our hearts. We need to forgive all the way. Forgive in our hearts as well as with our lips.

Jesus even explained this direction further in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV):
Pay particular attention to verse 35.
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” {emphasis - mine}

That nails it for me. Forgive as much as is necessary to accomplish true forgiveness in my heart.

It’s the only way to get the forgiveness we need to continue as His followers.

Forgive; kick it to the curb; make the 180; enjoy life minus the burden of hate.

You’ll be glad you did.

May God continually bless you and your forgiving ways. Amen

What do nicknames have to do with God?

Nicknames come in many shapes and sizes.

Some folks have nicknames. Some nicknames stick; some do not.

When I was a youngster, I was a little on the chubby side – not fat by any means, but “pleasingly plump,” as my mom always called it. The short, permed hair (easier for a mother that worked to care for), the freckles and the fact that back then girls always wore dresses to school and church, did nothing to enhance my appearance.

This chubby girl was hung with the unflattering moniker – Cheryl the Barrel.

Oh, the embarrassment. You can’t imagine, but then, maybe you can.

Did you have a nickname you hated? Fortunately mine disappeared sometime in puberty when I slimmed down and got a figure.

That isn’t always the case, though. 

I had a guy friend who, because of some prominent buck teeth, was plastered with the nickname “Bucky.” It stuck. To this day, everyone calls Conner – Bucky. Some people probably don’t even know, or remember, his given name!

As it would happen, a Christmas present got me thinking about these lousy nicknames. My sister had all the family slides transferred to CDs, and there I was in all my glory for my husband to see. Pleasingly plump; short, curly hair (with a bow, no less); freckles, red plaid dress (red was my favorite color even back then); Cheryl the Barrel – in spades!

Oh the embarrassment – all over again, 50 years later.

I even admitted to the nickname. Then I asked myself, “Cheryl, what is WRONG with you? Why did you reveal this deep, dark secret to your unsuspecting husband?”

Guess it’s because today, I can laugh at it, but I can assure you, it wasn’t funny back then.

Well, I guess I ran this blog a little sideways for a minute. Maybe that nickname bothers me today more than I care to admit? Maybe I need to make a confession about my less-than-kindly recollections of my opinion of the kids who used that awful name. You think? Yeah – time to get on my knees.

And time to get back to the subject of this blog post - What do nicknames have to do with God?

After all the reminiscing the photo CD aroused, I got to thinking about God, and asked myself, “Does God have a nickname, or maybe more than one?”

You might not consider God’s names, nicknames, but God does have many different (using today’s marketing designation) brands, most associated with his divinity.

You’ve probably all heard the terms omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence as they apply to our awesome God. I must admit that I sometimes get them confused with one another because they are so similar.

For this blog article, I decided to delve into my copy of Nelson’s Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible to set the omni(s) firmly in my brain.

According to my reference text, omniscience [om NISH unce] refers to God’s superior knowledge and wisdom; omnipresence [om nih PRES ence] addresses God’s unfathomable nature to be everywhere at all times; and, omnipotence [om NIP oh tunce] is defined as God’s all-encompassing power.

Of course these are God’s traits, not His nicknames, nicknames being defined as “a name added to or substituted for the proper name of a person…”

The Jewish people bestowed many names on the All Mighty, some of which refer to his attributes, some his character, some His capabilities – maybe not nicknames by definition, but close.

According to Joe Stowell (Cornerstone University president and Our Daily Bread contributor) God has many such names. Here are a few Stowell mentioned in a recent ODB devotional post:

• Jehovah Yahweh, which means the covenant-keeping God;
• Jehovah Rapha, the healer God;
• Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace (many folks use shalom as a closing in emails, letters and verbal goodbyes);
• El-Shaddai, almighty God;
• Elohim, one God above all gods;
• Jehovah Shamma, the ever-present God;
• Jehovah Jireh, provider God.

WOW! That's quite a list, isn't it? God definitely is all the omni(s) previously mentioned – and more!

God is EVERYTHING to me. And, I hope and pray that he is everything to you. As his all-encompassing Word explains in Proverbs 18:10 (NIV) The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Are you safe? Do you run to Him to find safety?

No matter the situation, God can make you safe.

Get on your knees today. Accept his son, Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Submit to Him. Confess your sins. Accept His forgiveness. Obey His precepts. Become a true follower of Jesus.

What do you have to lose? Your life. What do you have to gain? Eternity.

No brainer, agreed?

After all, “…with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26b (NIV)

May God bless us all, everyone. Amen.

Today's devotion - Where does your help come from?

Today's Bible reading is the 121st Psalm. Be sure to read it, the story and the insight that are included with most all Our Daily Bread devotional offerings. In my mother's extended absence from blogging you can find this daily devotion by following this link.

God bless all of you today and every day.

Abortion = Murder

Today is the anniversary of a dark day in our nation’s judicial history. On this day in 1973, the United States Supreme Court, by a 7-2 vote, affirmed a woman’s “right” to obtain an abortion for any and all reasons.

Jane Roe, et al. v. Henry Wade, District Attorney of Dallas County, 410 U.S. 113 was decided simultaneously with a similar case, Doe v. Bolton. The ruling affirmed a woman’s right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

However, the Court stressed that this right must be balanced against the individual state's two legitimate interests in regulating abortions. The interests listed were protecting the unborn child’s life and protecting the woman's health.

The defendant in the case argued that the state’s interests became stronger over the course of a pregnancy. To satisfy this challenge, the Court resolved the issue by tying state regulation of abortion to the third trimester of pregnancy.

Later, the Court rejected the landmark decision’s trimester framework, while affirming Roe 's central decision/belief that a person has a right to abortion until the baby’s existence is considered viable.

This case’s decision defined viability of the unborn child as being "potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid.” The justices added that viability "is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks.”

Eventually, the Court asserted that abortion is a fundamental right under the United States Constitution, which effectively limited any and all laws attempting to restrict it to a strict standard of constitutional adherence. In 1938, levels of case decision standards had been adopted by the judicial system. In this case, Roe v. Wade, the Court applied the “strict scrutiny” standard.

What does the Bible have to say about all this? A lot.

Our pastor had a lot to say about this too as Sunday was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, which occurs every year the week of the aforementioned Supreme Court decision.

Pastor Andrew Manwarren of Newberry First Baptist Church began the message by quoting some unsettling statistics, comparing this tragedy to the Holocaust that ended the lives of 6 million Jews.

Did you know that in this country since the Roe v. Wade decision 42 years ago, 62 million (that’s right MILLION) babies have been slaughtered. That equates to 1.21 million lives lost per year; 3,315 murders per day; 138 tragedies per hour; and more than 2 baby annihilations per minute.

Inconceivable. Disgusting. Unbelievable. Agreed?

God made each and every one of us in His image, a fact that is confirmed in Genesis 1: 26-27 (NIV) where God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

With those words of Creation ringing in our ears, why would we even consider terminating a life He meticulously put together?

Why? Because we are all “wicked, unrighteous sinners,” according to Manwarren, and he is right.

The apostle Paul nailed it in Romans 3:23 (NIV) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,. But all is not lost as Paul continues in Verse 24, “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Another point our pastor made, which everyone should consider, is that the reasons for abortion would never be accepted as a defense for the murder of a person outside the womb.

I ask, why then would any of us accept the planned death of an unborn child? In a God-fearing society this death would be paramount to first-degree murder – murder planned in advance and subsequently executed.

As a forgiven sinner, I must confess that when my 17-year-old honor student daughter confided her pregnancy to me over 15 years ago, my knee-jerk reaction was, you guessed it, abortion. I cannot believe I even uttered the word, much less considered this “solution.”

Fortunately, the thought left my sinner’s brain almost as quickly as it entered, but not before it came out of my mouth, unfortunately.

Today, thanks to God’s common sense intervention of my murderous pondering, I have a wonderful grandson that is the first of five outstanding children born to my amazing daughter.

As I wrote in the beginning of this blog post, God has much to say about His creation of humankind and our life in Him.

You can read more of His guiding prose by turning to the following verses in your Bible – Matthew 22:36-40; Psalm 139:13-16; Leviticus 19:9-18; 1 John 4:19-21; and John 13:34. If you do not own a Bible, you can search the verses, in a translation of your choice by following this link.

When you visit BibleGateway.com, you can also check out the verse of the day and the many devotional offerings. I am taking advantage of the 365-day Devotional. You might want to take a look at it.

I end this blog with two quotes from our pastor's sermon that emphasize my Christian-inspired stand on abortion – “Abortion is a violent, anti-God act.” And, “Abortion is war against loving God.”

Until tomorrow – May God bless each and every one of you every day in every way.