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A New Year!
Maybe you found yourself (as I did) thinking lately about, “Auld Lang Syne”. I was curious about this often sung (or hummed!) favorite of New Year’s Eve. I was surprised by what my brief research unveiled. Some of the more interesting details include: I definitely found some noble details and some that were not so noble. As I read through the lyrics of each stanza, I was shocked by all the references to drinking. Most people have no idea what they are humming to! As usual, I felt empty after trying to find some meaningfulness in this widely held secular tradition. It reminded me of a time almost 40 years…
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We Worship What We Value Most
Worship. This is a word we do not think about much and therefore do not tend to have a grasp on its meaning and significance, but we live it out every day. Unfortunately, our object of worship is earthly. However, I like the following definition: “Worship. The act of adoring and praising God, that is, ascribing worth to God as the one who deserves homage and service”[1] This definition reveals who the object of our worship should be. Let’s break that definition down to discover the meaning and significance of worship. Worship is the act of adoring and praising God, that is, ascribing worth to God. Worship runs throughout the…
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Strategy for My Response to the Outcome of the Elections
There has been a lot of strategizing going on for the 2024 elections. I thought it would be beneficial if I had my own strategy for how I would respond to the outcome of the 2024 elections! So, God has graciously brought to my mind some truths I need to remind myself of in the days, weeks, and months to come. I put these truths in 3 categories: Look Up, Look In, Look Out. Look Up: Just as King Nebuchadnezzar needed to be reminded in Daniel 4:25 “that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will” I need to remind myself that God…
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Another Joy Robber-Taking Offense
With the recent media’s focus on what brings joy, I posted last month on Joy Returners and Joy Robbers https://blogs.bible.org/?s=Joy. This month I thought of another joy robber—taking offense. An offense can be a sin or something that causes hurt feelings or anger. It can be an injustice. Part of the problem stems from calling something a sin toward you while it is really someone just disagreed with you or saw something differently. It is easy to confuse what is a sin or just that your feelings were hurt. Ways we can get offended can be from not being included, someone disagreeing with what we say, others being elevated,…
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Joy Robbers and Joy Returners
Lately, I have heard the word “joy” mentioned frequently in the media. All the current talk about joy prompted me to think about what joy really is. Joy is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the emotion, evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune by the prospect of possessing what one desires”. In contrast, the biblical word for joy “is a quality, and not simply an emotion, grounded upon God himself and indeed derived from him (Ps. 16:11; Phil. 4:4; Rom. 15:13[1].” Furthermore, joy is “closely related to gladness and happiness, although joy is more a state of being than an emotion; a result of choice. One of the fruit of the…
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Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc
This summer my husband and I hiked one of the best and most famous trails in Europe—Tour du Mont Blanc. It was around 100 miles and took us 10 days. We prepared for months by reading, gathering gear, examining the itinerary, and praying. This hike was different than any other long trek we have gone on as we went with a company that provided a guide and secured our hut-to hut accommodations. This hike reminded me of so many realities of our journey with Jesus that I reflect on in the following paragraphs. Several months before our hike, the company sent us a day-by-day itinerary. It included what cities/countries we…
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Responding to the Lack of Statesmen
Fourth of July commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The men who led the independence of the United States were men of courage and valor. They knew that separation from Great Britain would be for the good of the country. Lately, I have been contemplating the type of men who founded our country and those that lead our country now. The term statesman comes to my mind. I researched statesman and found some interesting things. A definition is a good place to start. A statesman is: a respected, skilled and experienced political leader or figure. In most respects a statesman is the opposite of a politician. Politicians are thought…
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Arms Open Wide
Though I did not grow up in a Christian home, I knew the song, “Jesus Loves Me This I Know” from my childhood. God’s arms were open wide to me which drew me to Himself. In my early 20’s, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and began a lifelong pursuit of knowing who God is. As I studied the Bible, I soon realized God was much more than just love. God is accessible, creator, deliverer, eternal, faithful, gracious, holy, jealous, kind, life, merciful, nurturing, omnipotent, perfect, truth, and wise to name a few of His attributes! It can be easy to get focused on God’s love…
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Lingering
Linger means to be slow in parting or in quitting something and tarry means to linger in expectation. These 2 words have taken on new and impacting significance to me lately. I was impressed how Mary Magdalene saw the Lord as she lingered at the tomb (John 20:11-18). Mary not only saw the risen Lord, but she was sent on the crucial mission to go tell the disciples. Mary’s lingering at Jesus’s tomb brought new insights and joy to her soul. John provides another example of someone who lingered. It seems that John wrote the Gospel of John; 1, 2, 3 John; and Revelation in the 90’s A.D. Which means…
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Living Out of the Heart Jesus Won for Us
The guests are gone, the good dishes are stored, the decorations are removed, and the Easter story is put away. Wait a minute! The Easter story is not meant to be put away but to be lived year-round! It is so easy to celebrate Easter according to the calendar but neglect to live by the transformational truths every day of our lives. We each have a debt of death to pay to God for our sins, but Christ’s death on the cross cancelled our debt (Rom 6:23; Col 2:13-14). Christ intensely suffered physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in His excruciating death on the cross (in our place). He became sin…
