The Transforming Word of God

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 I am ever so thankful for so many things: family, health, friends... I am especially thankful for the salvation provided by God through Christ Jesus. But as I thought back over my life, I have to admit surprise at what I discovered to be a main reason for thanksgiving: the trials in my life. I know that must sound strange, but I realized that the major difficulties in my life brought changes in me that cause rejoicing. Let me cite a few: First there was the time my husband was laid off for ten months. I think I've shared before that I used to be a real worrier, especially about our finances. But it was through learning how to worship and praise God during the stress of living on my part-time paycheck plus stretching the severance he received when his job ended. I often turned to key passages (Isaiah 40, Job 38-41, various Psalms) to help me think abo

This morning, as I read Mark's account of the rich young man (Mark 10:17-27), several things jumped out at me in a new way. You remember the story. A young man came to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life . After discussing the commandments that the young man had kept all his life, Mark notes that Jesus, looking at him, loved him...  Why have I never noticed or thought about Jesus' love for this young man? Yet, in spite of His great love, He knew what His questioner treasured most and asked him to be willing to part with the treasures of his heart—his wealth and belongings. I imagine this young man had worked very hard to accumulate those possessions and perhaps felt an inordinate pride in his accomplishments. Whatever the reasons, he was disheartened and went away sorrowful. He chose his treasures over eternal life! How that must have saddened our Lord Jesus! He loved the young man yet asked the seemingly impossible of him. What would I have done in h

Some of my best times of communion with God are on the examining table, waiting for the doctor to come in for the dreaded cystoscopy. That's where he inserts a tiny camera through my twisted uretha into my bladder to make sure there is no return of cancer. It's not the fear of a bad report that has me pondering Isaiah 43:1-3; it's the fear of the pain inflicted during the exam. Often the discomfort is minimal but other times... Yesterday was one of those other times. But as I lay there and recited those verses is my head, it lead to a wonderful time of praise and thanksgiving. Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. Wow! The God of all creation has called me by name and I am His. One of millions and yet I can have a private conversation with Him while thousands of others are also having private conversations with Him. I continue to stand in awe of my incredible God. Sometimes I picture Him like a thick blanket wrapped around the e

"Practice Makes Perfect", that well-known proverb. I'm sure you heard it a lot when learning new skills, like playing a  musical instrument or math facts or ... And it is true that we get better and better at whatever we do with practice. So many things demand practice, including spiritual disciplines. Although we know we can never be perfect in the sense that we are faultless or flawless (at least not this side of heaven), we also know that we can grow and mature and soften or even eliminate some of those imperfections through practice. Hebrews 5:11-6:12 teaches the need for maturity, the need to move beyond the infantile need for milk so that we can be fed "solid food." For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food Hebrews 5:12 What's interesting is how verses 13 and 14 define the difference.  for everyone who lives on mi

Reading Ecclesiastes once again, I didn't find it as gloomy as in the past. Perhaps because I read the whole book at once, giving a better perspective to its meaning. I found it amusing that two well known sayings seem to come from this book, although reworded. The first is "Eat, drink and be merry", although I don't think the references it comes from mean quite what it has come to mean in our culture. There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. Ecclesiastes 2:24 The second is, "A little birdie told me": . ..for a bird of the air will carry your voice,  or some winged creature tell the matter. Ecclesiastes 10:20 Yet the real theme of the book seems to be that life is short and all we do in this life is in vain. But the author's conclusion is that only the fear of God really matters. That makes me recall a little thyme I always loved: Only one life 'twill soon be

We tend to think of vices as being things like drug addition, smoking, alcoholism, gambling—those obvious physical addictions. We also know that good things can become addictive, like food and exercise. But what about those hidden vices, heart and mind addictions? When I became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I laughingly said it was to support my habit,  my addiction. I use my cards for ministry, but the constant desire to get more and more stamp sets is not really necessary. Here are some more examples of things that are not inherently bad but can become vices when they consume us: television, books, electronic games, texting, facebook, and even busyness. It's a matter of their priority in our lives, whether they push away those things that should be priorities, such as our relationships with God and with others or our ability to accomplish necessary work. So often these "vices" are the things that consume our time—and yet we say we have no time to study the Bible,