Strife in our World

 As I write this today, our country is facing some of the worst times.  There is rioting going on in the nation’s capitol - and a woman was killed in the capitol building.  Why do people turn to violence when they feel angry?  I have seen it over and over this year.  Our hate has boiled over.  

The answer is simple.  We are people.  We have a sin nature.  Read the Old Testament of the Bible.  God placed so much hope in his chosen people, the nation of Israel.  He gave them strict rules to follow and a means to atone for their sins.  As long as they stayed obedient to the Law, God would bless the people abundantly.  However, if the people turned away and started following after idols and other gods, God would allow calamity to fall upon the nation.  Read some of the horrible things the people did.  Fathers gave their daughters to be raped.  Men murdered other men to take their wives.  There are more stories like this in the Bible.  Some of it truly makes my stomach turn.  

This is the sin nature of all people.  The chosen people of Israel knew the laws of God and knew of his goodness and his justice.  If they could fall so low, it stands to reason, so can we.  We do this when we forget who our savior is.  We do this when we forget to pray.  We do this when we stop reading the Bible and thinking about the things of God.  

So, what is the solution?  We turn to Jesus.  We stop what we are doing and we pray.  We pray for our sins and beg for God’s forgiveness.  We ask Jesus to stand in our place and take our sins.  We ask for Jesus to take his place in our lives.  

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” ~John‬ ‭1:4-5‬ ‭(NIV)

‬‬Won’t you let Jesus be the light in this dark world? The more of us to become like Jesus, the better people we can be.  

Practice love.  Be kind.  Change the world.  Jesus did.  

2021 - Time to Write Again?

 It's 2021.  I haven't written a blog post since 2015.  

Why?  Multiple factors led to my desire to walk away from the page.  Let's just say life got in the way, and I never returned.  It would seem 2021 would be a good time to revisit this.  

In 2015, I went through a divorce and this really shattered my world as I knew it.  I had to learn to be independent and to enjoy it.  I am happy to say that I did learn many lessons that year, and wound up becoming friends with a great man who would later become my husband.  We learned to appreciate each other's gifts and talents, and he is now working in ministry and writes books.  Maybe I didn't think we both needed to be writers, so I stepped back.  

I'm ready to write again, but I am lost as to what to write.  I had started a post about a Netflix series, Cobra Kai, but the material wound up so cheesy I deleted it.  Of course, anything about that series would seem a bit cheesy, given the source material, but I will reserve my judgement, in case there are some fans of Johnny Lawrence or Daniel LaRusso.  

So, I just am starting by writing down thoughts and thinking about how life today can line up with Jesus.  That's really the message I want to learn and then convey.  So much of my time is spent just thinking of my own things, and not thinking about heavenly things. I do hope that I can find my way back to thinking of Jesus and learning to see the world through His lens.  

Jesus asked an expert of the Old Law what a man must to do to inherit eternal life.  The man was asking Jesus, but Jesus just turned the question back to the man who did know the answer.

"He answered, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" ~Luke 10:27

The way is simple in theory.  Love God.  Love People.  This is not so easy to do in life.  It is way more difficult to love people and show mercy when a person deserves punishment, but that is exactly what Jesus taught.  He showed us all mercy in that He died in our place when we deserved to die for our sins.  We must in turn show that kind of mercy to others.  

Read more about Jesus's definition of mercy in Luke 10:25-37.  

Read about Daniel - order the book now for your children’s Easter baskets!

Happy Independence Day!!

Be safe everyone!

Lost in the Trees

I have been thinking about God's purpose in the period of trials. I came across this passage this morning about the early persecution of the church. These two verses captured for me what the results of the persecution became.


"But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." ~‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭3-4‬ (NIV)

Think about this for a moment.

The early church was experiencing a local revival in that small area. If they had not been persecuted and caused to scatter, the message may not ever have left that region. God was able to take that horrible time and use it for the purpose of getting His good news all over the wider area. It was an amazing time.

I know it hurts to be in the midst of trials, and I know we often cannot see beyond it from our perspective of the midst of the shadowy trees.  I know how horrible some of these times can be.

Know this, God is there. When you are hurting and cannot see beyond the pain, remember the character of God. Focus on who He is.  He never changes. He is my rock. He is my home base.  He is my safe haven.

Somehow, when I return to home base, my perspective changes, and I feel like my trials are not as looming as maybe they once felt. I know I will be ok.

So will you. 

Depression - A God Thing?

"At that very moment the Spirit of God left Saul and its place, a black mood sent by God settled on him.  He was terrified."  ~1Samuel 16:14 (MSG)

I'm having trouble with this passage.  In one version, the black mood is called a "distressing spirit from the Lord," and in other versions, an "evil spirit from the Lord."  The NLT version calls it a "tormenting spirit from God."

Whatever the malady was, it is clear that it was intentionally sent by God.  I asked why?
I didn't have to read much further to get the answer.

In that same chapter, we read that God created within Saul a need for David.  David was an accomplished musician.  Saul's people hired David to "tend to" Saul, and Saul was very pleased with him.  Whenever David played, the tormenting spirit would go away.  God needed David to be close to Saul to accomplish His purpose.

So, this brings me to my next question.  Does God still operate in this manner?  I do recognize that He allows bad things/evil things to happen, and that He can create good from it for those who ask Him.

My question is God more intentional than that?  Would God purposefully send a "tormenting spirit" to a person to establish a pathway for His divine purpose?  Does that contradict His nature?

This is something I do not have the answer for.  More study is needed.

Forever | Kari Jobe (Lyrics)

Happy Resurrection Sunday!