Category: Hebrews

Posted on

Does God Know?

Sometimes I ask that question. Does God know? Does He know when my heart aches and when fear creeps in; does God know that I have concerns over what the future holds?

The answer: of course, He does!

After I finished writing yesterday’s blog, “Not Today”, I read about Joshua. Moses was 120 years old, and he knew he was going to die. Joshua was his God-chosen replacement and would be responsible for leading the Israelites into the land God promised them. The Israelites were not an easy people to lead.

They had a history of complaining, rebellion, and questioning God’s word. These are the people Joshua would lead; this is the group he needed to be united; these are the ones who would be the called to fight and would need to follow orders.

Did God know what He was asking of Joshua? Of course, He did. And this was the Lord’s word of encouragement:

“Be brave and strong! Don’t be afraid of the nations on the other side of the Jordan. The Lord your God will always be at your side, and he will never abandon you.

7 Then Moses called Joshua up in front of the crowd and said: Joshua, be brave and strong as you lead these people into their land. The Lord made a promise long ago to Israel’s ancestors that this land would someday belong to Israel. That time has now come, and you must divide up the land among the people. 8 The Lord will lead you into the land. He will always be with you and help you, so don’t ever be afraid of your enemies.” Deuteronomy 31:6-8 CEV

God knew! He gave Joshua an irrefutable promise! It was unconditional – the Lord will ALWAYS be at your side; He will NEVER abandon you.

Always, Never – it can’t be any more inclusive than that. I’m sure Joshua had his times of doubt, even fear, as he looked at some of the impossible situations they faced but he held on to God’s promises and went forward and the enemy was defeated.

We also have some ALWAYS and NEVER promises, they cover the small insignificant issues in our life as well as the larger ones which are life-threatening.

“I always remember that the Lord is with me. He is here, close by my side, so nothing can defeat me.” Psalm 16:8 ERV

“The Lord is my shepherd. I will always have everything I need.” Psalm 23:1 ERV

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17 ERV

“Keep your lives free from the love of money. And be satisfied with what you have. God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never run away from you.” Hebrews 13:5 ERV

“Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people.” Ephesians 6:18 ERV

Does God know? Yes. Does He care? Yes. He will always be with us, He will never leave us. That is for certain!

Posted on

Stay Anchored

A few weeks back we were at our oldest daughter, and I shared with her and Dave something I had written in my prayer journal early in 2020.

Plans for 2020/2021: Sell house, sell 5th wheel, sell Cadillac. Buy newer 5th wheel, pay off any bills, find a place to live full time.

Now here we are just a few days from the end of 2021 and each of those things has come to pass. WOW!!

However, there were times over the past two years that we waivered and even doubted that this would be possible. But we had our hope!

The longest we had ever lived in an RV was 10 weeks in the summer and we had been busy working so had very little extended time in our small place. Could we do it? Well, this last summer our 2-week camping trip turned into four months of camp hosting – yes, we could do it.

What about selling our home and most of our earthly possessions? Could we do it? The kids were great in encouraging us to “go for it” and they took many of the things we didn’t want to lose. Two huge garage sales and yes, we were ready for a minimalist lifestyle.

We spent two years researching RV’s on the internet. Which one would work best for us? We settled in on one brand but were divided between two different models. The Lord worked all that out – amazing! (but that will be a whole story all of its own)

The house sold six days after listing it and while we thought we needed to sell the Cadillac the Lord had other plans. He had us give it to a wonderful young couple – a blessing to them and to us.

But you may be wondering why I used a picture of a harbor and lighted boats and titled the blog this morning “Stay Anchored”. Glad you asked.

“God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. 19 This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain and into the most holy place. 20 Jesus has gone there ahead of us, and he is our high priest forever…”Hebrews 6:18-20 CEV

When you know that the Lord has put a dream in your heart storms of doubt, fear and circumstances will come to try and shipwreck you and your dream. That’s when you drop anchor and hold fast to the promises of God!

“Do what the Lord wants, and he will give you your heart’s desire.” Psalm 37:4 CEV

We gave the Lord our dream. We asked Him to change it, if needed, to mold it and to refine it so that we could give Him all the glory. He did just that. The way He refined it is so much greater than what we dreamed possible.

Maybe you’re wondering if your dream will ever come to pass. Let God’s promises be the anchor that holds your soul secure. When waves of doubt and fear come, being anchored to the solid rock of God’s word will keep us from being capsized or blown off course.

My advice for upcoming 2022, “Stay Anchored”! God is bigger than the waves.

Posted on

The Gift of Trust

Up earlier than usual this morning. Couldn’t sleep, lots on my mind. Made my way to the sofa to read and pray…for family, friends, our nation, personal circumstances and things that had to be prayed through by the Holy Spirit.

As I read, the word “trust” repeatedly came from the pages and from my heart. Really, that’s what Christmas is all about – trusting that the gift of His Son would bring us all the salvation that the Father had planned. Trusting in His goodness and love; his mercy and grace.

Trusting that the Father is always faithful!

“ Then the Lord came down to him in a cloud, stood there with Moses, and spoke his own name. 6 That is, the Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “Yahweh, the Lord, is a kind and merciful God. He is slow to become angry. He is full of great love. He can be trusted.” Exodus 34:5-6 ERV

“So remember that the Lord your God is the only God, and you can trust him! He keeps his agreement. He shows his love and kindness to all people who love him and obey his commands. He continues to show his love and kindness through a thousand generations,” Deuteronomy 7:9 ERV

The Father knows we have a tendency to forget things and He never wants us to forget His love and faithfulness so He repeatedly reminds of it through His word.

“God’s way is perfect. The Lord’s promise always proves to be true. He protects those who trust in him. 32 There is no God except the Lord. There is no Rock except our God.” II Samuel 20:31-32 ERV

What a precious gift we have been given! We have the Father’s promise and He is completely worthy of trust – there is no God except our Lord.

“So come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of our faith in Christ. 23 We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what he promised.” Hebrews 10:22b-23 ERV

This morning I needed to be reminded to trust! I found myself wavering, on the verge of worry and that’s when I heard in my heart “I trust You”. May you need to hear those same words today – “I trust You”. The Lord is faithful; His word never fails, He always keeps His promises.

A few days back I told you about my favorite Christmas CD, The Gift, by Kenny Rogers. I want to share just a few lyrics from one of the songs on that album.

“God said, Mary pure and holy
With this baby, I trust you
She said, surely I’m not worthy
And it scares me, but I trust you.

Underneith a shining star
In a manger stall
Mary held the gift of love
God gave to us all.

Precious baby pure and holy
I’m not worthy, but I trust you

Precious baby pure and holy
Will you save me, I trust you
Son of Mary, I trust you…*

Receive this wonderful gift that the Father has given us – open your heart and say “Son of Mary, Son of God, I trust you”!

*I Trust You written by Skip Ewing and Don Schlitz

Posted on

What We Do for Love

This morning I’m starting my day without coffee…the coffee maker works fine and I’m not turning over a new leaf with no caffeine. But, our six-year-old grandson is sleeping on the couch and he’s a light sleeper and startles easily…so no coffee because the coffee maker would wake him.

It’s what we do for love.

We make sacrifices. You know the kind – giving up the last piece of pie so someone else can enjoy it. You skip the Hallmark movie so they can watch sports or a travel show. They give us their coat because we said we wouldn’t need one and now we’re cold…I’m sure you have your own list of little and big sacrifices that you make for the people you love.

It’s what we do because we love.

I’m so glad that Jesus was willing to sacrifice because of His love for us. Yes, the sacrifice of giving His love for ours is almost inconceivable but look at the hundreds of other little things He did.

First, He left heaven – get that, heaven. He came to earth where things are dirty and messy. He left a perfect relationship with the Father to be surrounded by some fishermen and tax collectors who were always in competition as to who was Jesus’ favorite. He dealt with constant ridicule and scrutiny. People were always coming to “get” something from Him and not to just be His friend. Why?

It’s what He did because of love.

“…If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others. 27 And if you want to be first, you must be the slave of the rest. 28 The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue many people.” Matthew 20:26-28 CEV

Because of love, Jesus came with forgiveness and compassion. He went without sleep and missed meals; he brought healing, peace, release from guilt and expected nothing in return. He gave it all…it’s what we do when we love!

“ God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” John 3:16 CEV

That’s what He did for love. Now, what do we do in return?

“ We love because God loved us first. ” I John 4:19 CEV

“We should be grateful that we were given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And in this kingdom we please God by worshiping him and by showing him great honor and respect.” Hebrews 12:28 CEV

We love Him and we show Him our gratitude with our honor and respect.

It’s what we do for love! It’s what we do to be like Him!

Posted on

Forget Password?

Am I the only one who has trouble remembering some of my passwords?

In the last few days I have accessed some sites that I haven’t used in a year. Since I got my new computer over the summer those passwords aren’t a part of the memory on this unit. I have a little place that I record my passwords because of situations like this however, I have found out that I don’t ALWAYS record a new one.

Getting locked out is frustrating and time consuming. I find myself asking the question, “what do I have of any value that would make someone want to steal my identity anyway?”.

Then it came to me this morning – my identity has already been stolen and it was with my permission.

“Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.” II Corinthians 5:17-20 MSG

We’ve been created new – a new life emerges – we have a fresh start where all our sins are forgiven. New identity!

When God looks at us through Christ He sees someone who is clean, perfect, His child and friend! The Father has set up a new account for us, we have open access!

“With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:16 ERV

But, what about the password? What if we forget it? Simple!

“On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. 3  Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. 4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. 5 For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.” Psalm 100 MSG

The password is easy – it’s our expression of gratitude! Open before us is our new identity, we sign in with grateful hearts and are given the right to His love, forgiveness, mercy, grace and help.

I will never forget that password – THANK YOU!

Posted on

Delete This

This last weekend we had a LARGE garage sale. Oh my!! It was very successful and we felt blessed.

I had placed some larger items on on-line sites and so this morning I found myself deleting the things that had sold. The words that were continually popping up on my screen after I selected the delete button were “are you sure you want to delete this item”. Yes!

That reminded me of yesterday’s blog – the handwriting that was against us has been deleted! Amen and Amen!

Different Scriptures came to mind as I was thanking the Father that he has deleted my sin through Jesus. I want to share a few with you and hope that they are a real blessing to you as well.

“ Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world’s people.” I John 2:2 CEV

“How great is God’s love for all who worship him? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth! 12 How far has the Lord taken our sins from us? Farther than the distance from east to west!” Psalm 103:11-12 CEV

“‘All of them will know me, no matter who they are. 12 I will treat them with kindness,
even though they are wicked.  I will forget their sins.” Hebrews 8:11-12 CEV

“But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.” I John 1:9 CEV

Our sin is taken away, farther than the East is from the West, forgotten and forgiven! That’s a lot to be thankful for.

When the devil tries to accuse us of our past or guilt us over something we have done we can boldly say “Devil, delete this”!

Posted on

Peace in the Storm

This morning I sat here staring at the Scriptures on the page before me for a very long time before I began to write. I knew I wanted to write about joy but the words weren’t coming. When that happens I know to sit quietly and wait.

So I did.

“Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

8 Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise. 9 You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you.” Philippians 4:7-9 CEV

” Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise “

Those words are not a suggestion – they are an imperative!

Here is the Apostle Paul’s instruction: don’t ever stop thinking about what is worthwhile and worthy of praise. There is nothing more worthwhile and praise worthy, there is nothing that will bring us more joy, than thinking about the Father’s love and care.

Paul had been beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, left for dead and imprisoned on numerous occasions and this was his instruction on how to stay focused and at peace. Peace that no one can completely understand, peace that will control the way we think and feel.

The storms we face in this life can be devastating without a proper anchor and that anchor for us is found in the Father.

“God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. 19 This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain and into the most holy place.” Hebrews 6:18-19 CEV

The hope that we have in the Father’s promises, His unfailing, unchanging promises, steadies our souls (our mind, will and emotions) because it reaches to the very throne room of heaven. We have God’s promise that when we come to the throne room we will find help there in our times of trouble.

May I encourage you this morning to look beyond the storm – look through the dark clouds – and find the peace that only God can give. We aren’t promised a storm free life but we do have the Father’s promise of peace, even in the midst of it.

” Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise ”

Posted on

Never Run Out

I found this image of Niagara Falls and it intrigued me. Although, I have never been there and seen it personally I know it’s there – it has never run dry, the waters have never run out.

Each day, all day long, the waters continue to flow – spring, summer, autumn and winter – seven days a week, three hundred sixty five days a year. There are other places where creeks, streams and even rivers have run dry but not Niagara Falls and certainly not an ocean.

That’s the way it is with the ever-present, power and love of God. He brings aid and comfort, peace and goodness, even in our darkest and loneliest days.

“Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] 6 So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6 AMP

Did you see that – He will not, He WILL not, HE WLL NOT fail us or leave us without support? Our Father is a 24/7, 365 day a year God of support and comfort! We cannot exhaust or deplete His loving care anymore that we can drain Niagara Falls by taking a cup of water from its flow.

Some people get hung up on the first part of verse 5 and lose the impact of the second half of the verse. Let me put it to you this way.

I have two gifts. The first is limited, it’s temporary, it will run out and be used up. The second is limitless, eternal, inexhaustible, constantly renewable. Which one do you choose? Moses said to the children of Israel,” I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose life”!

What this verse is saying is don’t go running after riches. Instead choose God who promises to never leave you because in Him is an infinite supply of whatever we need. God is better than earthly riches, although He does promise to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory.

Now, let’s ask and answer the question in verse six. What can man do to me?

With God on our side as our comfort, our encourager, our helper we have a flow of grace that makes man’s attacks incomparable to God’s power.

The grace of God will never run out!

Posted on

So Help Me God

Before I start with today’s blog, let me explain what happened yesterday.

Our day started about 2 am with hard winds and blowing icy rain. About 4 am, that changed to snow. I’m not sure if the small booster antenna I have iced over and it prevented me from getting a signal but from 3:30am to almost 12 pm, my phone screen read “no service”.

But, I’m back today.

Dave and I were watching a movie, an old western, the other night and the character had to place his hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth, so help me God. That got me to thinking – why and how did they practice become a part of court testimony?

Since most of our laws are based on Biblical instruction, I assume that this procedure also has its basis in the Bible.

“Humans have control over every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have controlled all these things. 8 But no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness. 10 These praises and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen.” James 3:7-10 ERV

Most all of us have had a problem with our tongues at one point or another. We had been known to embellish, exaggerate, gossip, criticize and twist the truth ever-so-slightly to make it fit our account or remembrance of an event. We need God’s help in controlling our words – it’s with His power that we can have victory in this.

We need God’s help to speak truth, the whole truth. Even God, Himself, when He needed to swear an oath, swore by His own name because there was nothing greater than Him.

“God wanted to prove that his promise was true. He wanted to prove this to those who would get what he promised. He wanted them to understand clearly that his purposes never change. So God said something would happen, and he proved what he said by adding an oath. 18 These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when he says something, and he cannot lie when he makes an oath. So these two things are a great help to us who have come to God for safety. They encourage us to hold on to the hope that is ours. 19 This hope is like an anchor for us. It is strong and sure and keeps us safe…” Hebrews 6:17-19 ERV

Each morning, our attitude should be “Lord, put a guard over my words. Let me speak the truth in every situation with a loving heart”.

“I know that you heard about him, and in him you were taught the truth. Yes, the truth is in Jesus. 22 You were taught to leave your old self. This means that you must stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self gets worse and worse, because people are fooled by the evil they want to do. 23 You must be made new in your hearts and in your thinking. 24 Be that new person who was made to be like God, truly good and pleasing to him. 25 So you must stop telling lies. “You must always speak the truth to each other,” because we all belong to each other in the same body.” Ephesians 4:21-25 ERV

Let’s be like that old cowboy in the movie, “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, so help me God!”

Posted on

Golden Arches

Sometimes I just get so overwhelmed by the glory of God. Take yesterday for example. As we were coming up the drive to the campground I was taken back by the beauty of the golden leaves of the aspens. I’ve been waiting weeks from them to turn from green to yellow to gold.

So beautiful!  Almost majestic.

Driving under the branches of the trees, as they stretched across the road before us, I was stirred in my thinking to some verses in Psalms.

“Gates, proudly lift your heads! Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in.
8 Who is the glorious King? He is the Lord, the powerful soldier. He is the Lord, the war hero.9 Gates, proudly lift your heads! Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in. 10 Who is the glorious King? The Lord All-Powerful is the glorious King. ” Psalm 24:7-10 ERV

The King of Glory is none other than Jesus Christ. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

“On his robe and on his leg was written this name: King of kings and Lord of lords” Revelation 19:16 ERV

Revelation goes on to say in chapter 20 that we will rule and reign with Him. The majesty and splendor that are His are unrivaled in all the universe but we have an open door policy to be in His presence whenever we choose. He does not turn us away.

We are welcome there because we, too, are called the children of God and we share in the inheritance of Jesus, our brother, who died for us.

“And the Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God’s children. 17 If we are God’s children, we will get the blessings God has for his people. He will give us all that he has given Christ. But we must suffer like Christ suffered. Then we will be able to share his glory.” Romans 8:16-17 ERV

Christ suffered by denying Himself and putting His love for the world ahead of His own pleasure. That’s what children of God do, we act like the Father.

I have imagined the heavenly throne room. The streets are gold that lead to His throne, I can only imagine that there would be columns and arches of gold too. After all, it’s the Father’s throne.

“ With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:16 ERV

We come boldly to the Father’s throne with grateful hearts because we are His children, we’re royalty!

Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress