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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…
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The Cure for Existential Anxiety
Ken Swan explains existential anxiety as “a sense of worry, dread or panic that may arise from the contemplation of life’s biggest questions, such as ‘Who am I?’ or ‘Why am I here?’” People throughout the ages have wrestled with these big questions which can be boiled down to “What is my purpose in life?” People are born with a desire to have meaning and purpose in life. They may sense strong meaning in one season of life over another. Age, health, work, or relationships can seem to define one’s purpose. The inevitable changes in life can bring existential anxiety. However, the Westminster Catechism, written in the mid 1600’s, declared…
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This Is Not What I Ordered!
I read a story a few weeks ago about a couple who went to a fancy restaurant that served their dinner on plates covered with shiny domes. When the covers were lifted, the exact dinners they had ordered were revealed. The author went on to say what we get on our plates of life may be different than what we ordered and maybe something we didn’t want![1] I thought some examples of perceived wrong orders could arrive as difficult relationships with family/friends/work, challenges in health, struggles with finances, changes in locations, or places of service. The story prompted me to ponder what my plate of life looks like that God…
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One New Year’s Resolution: Desert Blame and Develop Blessing
Perhaps you routinely do self-examination to start off the New Year. Some habits need to be developed and others need to be deserted. I unexpectedly found something God had for me to develop—blessing and to desert—blame. The passage in John 9 where Jesus heals the blind man born blind, revealed my need to develop discovering the blessings and desert finding the blame in difficulties. Let’s take a look at that passage. “As He (Jesus) passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’” (John 9:1-2). From an Old Testament Jewish perspective, the…
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Releasing the Knowledge Trap
In reading and pondering John chapter 7, verse 18 stood out to me, “The one who speaks on his own authority, seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of Him who sent Him is true, and in Him there is no falsehood.” Jesus is making a contrast with Himself (who was sent by God with His teaching and sought God’s glory) and others (who spoke on their own to glorify themselves). Others possibly started with some truth but used that truth to glorify themselves. I asked myself a question, “How do I use knowledge?” This question led to other questions: “What are some inappropriate uses of…
