The Transforming Word of God

Consider Ephesians 3:14-21. I turned to that passage today to pray for my daughter and son-in-law as well as dear friends, both of whom are experiencing heartbreak over their sons.  As I read it over and over again, it came to mean more to me than ever before. ... I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith— that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,  that you may be filled with all the fullness of God Ephesians 3:14-19 It always bothered me that the prayer was for power through the Spirit so that Christ may dwell in hearts through faith. It seemed backward...

I'm not sure why I chose to study Hosea next, but I'm finding it more of a blessing this time through than ever before. My first thought as I began the book was, "Can you imagine living through life with the names Hosea gave his children?" At the same time, those names may have presented many opportunities to teach about God's love as well as God's justice. And when "No More Mercy" was asked why her father would give her such a name, she could explain that it represented Israel's consequences for not remaining loyal to their God, that one day God would say "I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'" But what spoke to me even more were the verses concerning God's relationship with His chosen people, Israel. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy....

Cancer can be intimidating, but I have to admit that I have viewed my cancer as more of an inconvenience than a catastrophe. I know a lot of that has to do with my walk with God, with my knowledge of His Word, and the verses that have encouraged me as I've faced surgery and the treatments that followed. In my previous post, I shared verses that sustained me through my dreaded cystocopy. I then set about memorizing some more passages that I could call upon when I needed them. I even have a spiral bound book of index cards on which I write the verses I am working on so I can review them now and then. One of those passages is in the first chapter of Philippians: Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body,  whether by...

    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 h...

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...