The Transforming Word of God

I never cease to be amazed at the way God works and prepares me for the next hurdle.  A book was suggested for our ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship aka Adult Sunday school), but I didn’t think it would be worthwhile. One Minute After You Die by Erwin Lutzer sounded to me like just one more of those books that fascinate people so much. But I was assured this book was very biblical, so I agreed to read it. I was so impressed that when I closed the book, I wanted to go to heaven right away. I wanted to be with my Savior immediately. I actually regretted that I might have 20 more years of this life. Now I want to caution you about depending on books rather than God’s Word. There are many excellent books out there, but we must always compare their content with Scripture. Only the Bible is infallible; men and women are not. Plus, we know God better and more intimately through Scripture, through His eyes. Books give us a view of God through someone else’s eyes. Yet certainly God uses books, to...

After months of being laid off, Bob accepted a position in Pittsburgh. Our son Andrew was a senior in high school and our daughter Meredith was a student at Cedarville College, now Cedarville University. We decided we wouldn’t move right away but would stay in the little town of Almond NY while Andrew finished high school. So we embarked on a “commuter” marriage. Bob lived in Pittsburgh during the week and came home on weekends. It soon became apparent that the man he was working for was not exactly trustworthy so we made no plans to move there. Andrew graduated from high school and started commuting to Jamestown Community College. Our oldest, Heather, was already married and on her own. Bob was miserable with the commute and I could see how it was wearing on us as a couple and as a family. So I set aside a day to fast and pray.  As I prayed, I searched the Scriptures to be sure I was praying according to God’s will. I would turn the verses I found into my prayers. I totally lost t...

With three children and the usual expenses of raising a family. I tended to worry about finances—a lot! I read the last portion of Matthew 6 over and over again, trying to put away that sinful worry. However, God knew what I needed to learn in order to trust Him completely and stop worrying. Bob was laid off. He had a decent severance package, but Miss Worrywart needed a name change. I truly believe his layoff was partly for my benefit. As the months passed, hopelessness reared its ugly head. I didn’t think he’d ever get another job. That’s when I learned to truly worship God and, as a result, to fully trust Him. It wasn’t always easy but I discovered Scripture to be the basis for the richest times of worship. Whenever I was caught in the worry trap, I turned to familiar biblical passages and memorized verses. I could sit with Psalm 8 and turn it into my own prayer of praise. Or Isaiah 40. Or Psalm 96. Or the last few chapters of Job. Or Psalm 139. The list goes on and on. And when I f...

I developed the habit of reading short books of the Bible in one sitting and longer books in as few sittings as possible. Being immersed in Scripture helped me assimilate it into my thoughts and daily life. I began to memorize passages of Scripture, although many of those have escaped my word-for-word memory through lack of practice. Or they come out in what I call a homogenized version because they are a mixture of translations. After all, I grew up on the King James Version, then transitioned to the New International Version and now use the English Standard Version. One day, my son asked me why I had to use a Bible verse for everything. [I was probably admonishing him for something at the time, using Scripture as I did so.] I realized then that the Bible had become such a part of me that it just had to overflow into every aspect of life. I was becoming more like my grandfather with a verse of Scripture for every situation—a good example to emulate. All of this study and memorization ...

After high school, I attended a Christian college within easy driving distance of my fiancé. [Yes, I was engaged in high school.] I had chosen music education as my major because I adored my high school music teacher and she encouraged me to pursue that course of study. However, I was not prepared for piano performance. My piano teacher at college was an artist who was very critical but not very constructive. I got worse rather than better no matter how much I practiced. She said my playing reflected fear - and I’m sure it did.  Because music is an emotional field, I was already struggling emotionally when I was deeply hurt by a very dear friend. I became convinced I could do nothing well and that no one liked me. If I passed someone in the hall who did not greet me, I was convinced she didn’t like me. I even told Bob we should break our engagement because I would just ruin his life. He just ignored me. During this time, I continued to read my Bible, not just for Bible Lit class, b...

I recently spoke at a ladies' luncheon at LeTourneau Christian Camp. I thought I would divide that talk into segments and share it with you here. Since there are six "lessons" I learned through pivotal times in my life, I will divide my talk into those six portions. I pray they will be as helpful to you as they have been to me. Part one follows. We live in a culture that seems to believe our circumstances shape us.  In a sense, they do, but I contend that it is our response to those circumstances that shape us. And our response is predicated by our thoughts, by what we fill our minds with. In turn, our thoughts either prepare us for whatever the future holds or leave us floundering in helplessness and despair when trials come our way. I was blessed to grow up in a home where studying Scripture was a priority. My grandfather could quote a verse for every situation. Right up to his death, my Dad was a sought-after Bible study teacher. By the time I was a teenager, I alr...