The Transforming Word of God

    I stand in awe of our God who is able to work so many details together in my life and in yours and in so many other lives—all at the same time and sometimes using the same details for totally different purposes.     One of those details is the love of Scripture that God instilled in me from an early age. Probably a grandfather who quoted Bible verses for every situation influenced my desire to memorize more and more portions. Of course, that old adage “use it or lose it” applies, which is why most of us forget references or don’t recall those passages word for word. Yet, I find reciting a memorized passage helps me go to sleep at night, especially if my mind is still too busy with other things.     The added blessing of memorizing Scripture is that it is available when you need it. There are times when I don’t recall where my verses are found, although I usually remember what book it is in or the general location. For this post, I have looked up all references so I can share

I have a new computer! And now I'm back to writing my thoughts from Jeremiah. I don't claim to be doing an in-depth study, by any means. I'm just sharing thoughts that have come to me as I've been reading. Admittedly, I've had to go back and review my recent readings to write this post, but I am enjoying Jeremiah and the thoughts he has inspired in me. Looking back at chapter 15, I find Jeremiah experiencing a little self-pity. Have you ever been there? I have. Not a fun place to be and yet there's something addicting about it when you land there. Thankfully, God has armed me with the equipment (His Word) to pull myself out when I find myself wallowing in its quicksand. Yes, quicksand is what it feels like as it pulls me down, down, down. As I've grown older and more experienced at depending on God, I've learned how to avoid its magnetic pull, but once in a while I get caught unaware. Jeremiah begins by recounting to God just how he has obeyed God

As I continue reading the book of Jeremiah, God's patience with His people is obvious. God had warned them persistently (11:7), yet "'they proceed from evil to evil,  and they do not know me,' declares the Lord. '... they refuse to know me,' declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 9:3b, 6b ) God continues to show Jeremiah just how far His people have fallen. He even tells His prophet not to pray for this people and not even to intercede with God for them (7:16) because His warnings have been ignored, His commands have been ignored, His pleas to truly return to Him in heartfelt repentance have been ignored again and again. As Jeremiah grasps the severity of his nation's sin, of God's wrath toward his people, of God's determination to judge them harshly, Jeremiah cries,  "My joy is gone;  grief is upon me;  my heart is sick within me."  (Jeremiah 8:18) Yet he sees God as righteous even as he complains to Him 

Reading the book of Jeremiah can be somewhat depressing. Knowing that's how my brother was feeling as he began reading the prophet's writings, I decided to reread the book, to refresh my understanding of it and so be able to discuss it with John. I then wrote a message to him that I decided would be worth sharing, although slightly revised. I have the John MacArthur Study Bible . In his introduction to the book of Jeremiah, he pointed out that this prophet of God "sought to turn the nation back from the point of no return." He also noted that one of the sub themes is "God's sufficiency in all trouble". I believe those two things are important to remember when studying the writings of this man of God. As I read the first six chapters this afternoon, I couldn't help but think that these words could also be written to our great country, a country that once prided itself in being a Christian nation with Judaeo-Christian mores. Look how far from

"Life is busier today than it was when we were kids." That's what my daughter tells me. I don't question the validity of that statement, but I do question the why of it. And why it puts so much pressure on her generation. A lot of it has to do with our culture, although individual choices play a large part. When Bob and I were first married, Blue Laws were still in effect. We couldn't even shop on Sundays! When our children were born, Sunday was still kept free of extra curricular activities, including sports and the arts. That began to change when my son was involved in sports. Even then, they seldom interfered with morning church service. That, too, began to change, however, before he graduated from high school. From then on, it seemed more and more activities were able to be crammed into a week. As I ponder this situation, I realize that the prevalent Christian influence on our culture at that time truly helped us. We had one day of week that could be

I am so thankful that God loves me in spite of me. He sacrificed so much to give me salvation—to call me, to justify me, and even to glorify me (Romans 8:30). But I have some besetting sins. One is gluttony. Ouch! I said the word. Who wants to identify with gluttony? Granted, I'm not huge (but I could be on my way), but neither am I thin. But I think about food all the time; I want something in my mouth all the time. I'm not even hungry when I want to eat, to chew, to crunch.  Admittedly, my choice is usually sugary or a carbohydrate of some type. And I don't even feel well as a result! So why do I continue? Proverbs 23:2 says to "put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite" (ESV). The NIV uses that awful word instead of appetite—gluttony! And the next verse says, "Do not desire his (the ruler's) delicacies, for they are deceptive food." I have finally realized that my eating, my grazing, is a spiritual battle. It's not just a m

We've all seen sayings that appeal to us. Sometimes they keep their appeal; other times, upon reflection, we find we don't really agree with all that it conveys. This is one of those sayings: Parts of it are truly good. If we live our lives as if there is a God, we will live moral and circumspect lives, we will care about others and not just ourselves, we will be concerned about what is right and what is wrong. That is good. But the rest of it misses the mark because when we die we will stand before the God of all creation, the God against whom mankind has rebelled, the God who is not only a God of love but also a God of justice. We will be judged on the basis of our knowledge of God and our relationship to Him. Without faith if is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 ESV I don't see any "ifs" in that verse, do you?  Not only that, we hav

I have a very good friend whose son and his wife do not follow the Lord. However, she and her husband took their grandsons to Sunday School whenever possible. One week, however, their one grandson announced that he didn’t want to come with them anymore. After questioning, they discovered that a Sunday School teacher continually told him that if he didn’t accept Jesus as his Savior, he would go to hell. Scare tactics. With that in mind and our recent exercise of preparing and sharing our testimonies of salvation for Community Bible Study, I began to think about why we should be saved, how we can present the Gospel in a positive way. First of all, hell is very real. Jesus taught about it. But never once did Jesus say, “I came  to save you from Hell.” But He did say, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). According to the note in my Ryrie Study Bible, this was the purpose of our Lord’s coming to earth—to seek and to save the lost. But we don’t always recogniz

I realize it's been quite some time since I posted and decided it was time to share my personal testimony of salvation. As a core leader at Community Bible Study, I was called upon to prepare a sample testimony that would take just three minutes or less to share. Actually, our whole Finger Lakes class was to do so, but we core leaders were to model the presentation. Anyway, the following is what I shared with my core group. This week, the ladies in my core group will share their testimonies.      I always believed in God. My parents taught me that Jesus was God-become-man, born of a virgin; that He died on the cross to bear the punishment for my sins and then rose again. I believed every word they taught me.     Although I was very young (7 years old), there came a day when I understood that belief was not enough. I remember one Sunday after church service, my father leaned toward me to say he sensed I was convicted during the message. I remember going with him to a pew near the

How difficult it is for us to comprehend a Being who always existed with all knowledge of all things. Actually, I think it's impossible for our finite minds to wrap our minds around eternal preexistence. We are created beings, each of us having a beginning that we celebrate on our birthdays. We cannot fathom eternity before even the angels while never the concept of never-ending life is more easily accepted. Our human minds understand beginnings. We understand the blank slate of a newborn baby, the need to learn, to gain understanding. We understand that human justice has its own biases. We know the need to consult others when facing major decisions or new experiences. But to understand a God who knows all, even our thoughts! To comprehend a Being who never needed to learn because all the things we need to learn were created by Him to begin with. Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows Him his counsel? Whom did He consult, or who made Him underst