All in God's Word
My daughter recently discovered a synonym for the word ‘meditate’—ruminate. When I casually mentioned that cows ruminate when they ‘chew their cud’ she burst out laughing. She said she’ll always have the association of meditating on God’s Word with cows chewing their cud!
My sister and I took a trip to the San Diego zoo. On the zoo’s tour bus, the guide gave numerous fascinating and sometimes comical facts about the animals. A tour bus travels by the ostrich pen approximately every 15 minutes. Because the ostrich’s brain is extremely small for the size of its body, each time an ostrich sees a tour bus, it’s a brand new experience!
Almost 2,800 years ago, God came to a farmer named Amos. He told Amos to put down his rake and pruning shears and take up the mantle of a prophet. Amos’ assignment was to speak uncompromising words of coming judgment to the corrupt northern kingdom of Israel: prophecies that included natural disasters, military defeat and eventual exile. Then, in the middle of graphic descriptions of earthquakes and foreign invasions, came this warning
My oldest daughter loves her drama class. She enjoys the spotlight, developing her character, and entertaining the audience. One of the most important lessons she has learned in drama class is to pay careful attention to the vision the director is trying to achieve from the cast. If one fails to pay attention then the whole production could go wrong. In essence, many are affected, cues for lines are missed, timing is all wrong and the mood the director is trying to achieve is blurred. Paying attention is critical to the overall success of the play.
It is the beginning of summer break, and one event I look forward to each summer is Vacation Bible School at my church. It is a full week of Bible stories, worship, crafts, and games. I love seeing the kid’s eyes light up as they see God’s Word coming to life through fun activities and songs.
I have bird feeders in my backyard that I enjoy looking at throughout the day. We have seen a variety of beautiful birds over the years. Joining these beautiful creatures is a pesky little squirrel that climbs up the bird feeder to enjoy a delicious meal.
According to The Flat Earth Society, the earth is not round. Well, obviously, it’s flat. They even have the math equations and Bible verses to prove it.
Flatists, as they are called, have found reasons to believe the earth is flat.
Others might base truth on tradition.
Even as recent as last year, I wanted to take the easy way out. I wanted someone else to interpret scripture and give me the SparkNotes version.
After years of Bible study, I still didn’t know how to interpret some of the difficult passages.
Periodically, the President of the United States gives his State of the Union address. His national assessment might or might not be based upon facts. In Ezekiel 22, God gave a State of the Union address regarding Judah. God assessed the political leaders, priests, prophets, and people and declared them all to be corrupt! As always, God’s judgment was based upon truth. (Romans 2:2)
In the days before HGTV revealed the intricacies of home decorating, I naively decided to redo the wallpaper in our bathroom myself. Why hire a professional when I could do it, right? Little did I know how tricky it would be to remove the existing paper or how tired I would become before finishing the project.
If you are not really current in pop culture (or have a teenage girl nearby), you might not even realize that "fleek" is a word. It's slang, but it means, perfect, flawlessly styled, and looking great. Teenage girls commonly describe perfectly styled eyebrows as "on fleek."
So I have a teenage daughter. I am learning new things by the minute. She is filling my life with laughter and terror all at the same time! It's a roller coaster, and I love it. This week I'm going to catch you up to speed with communication in the style of a teenager.
The incorporation of frugality into one’s life has its place. Greediness does not. Many of us make sure we get everything we have earned because we believe we deserve it. God’s Word surprises me, at times, because his instructions are very practical and specific. His divine approach is refreshing, especially when I see the subjects that are important to God through detail and repetition throughout the Bible. While reading Deuteronomy 24, I was reminded of the intricacies of Old Testament Law. God instructed the Israelites not to go over the branches a second time!
We live in a society today that is full of opinions. People jump at the chance to give advice and affirm choices whether they may be right or wrong.
With these words a 400-year silence of God was broken. Zechariah received God’s message from the angel, Gabriel, who announced the birth of a son filled with the Holy Spirit. He would be used of God to prepare the way for the Lord. Another message came from Gabriel shortly thereafter. He proclaimed to the virgin Mary that she would give birth to the Son of God.
In the days before HGTV revealed the intricacies of home decorating, I naively decided to redo the wallpaper in our bathroom myself. Why hire a professional when I could do it, right? Little did I know how tricky it would be to remove the existing paper or how tired I would become before finishing the project.
When I was a child, there was a “Mr. Men” and “Little Miss” book series written by Roger Hargreaves. The characters in the stories had dominant personality traits that either caused them problems or showed another character how to engage in the positive quality. Everyone learned something through the moral lesson of story.
Correct, rebuke, encourage; challenge, warn, urge (MSG). Paul ends his passionate charge to Timothy by drilling down on teaching what God has to say, not on what man wants to hear—correcting/challenging false impressions, rebuking/warning against wrong actions, encouraging/coming alongside to urge others on to do all things for the glory of God. Man has such a tendency to twist the truth of the Word.
You cannot preach the Word, proclaim the Message, tell your story with God, unless you are prepared to do so. In fact preparation is the key to living, anyway you look at it. If you are going on a mountain hike you lace up your sturdy shoes, pack some water, grab your hiking stick, put on your sunscreen, check on the weather—you prepare as best you can.
Sensing this is his final letter, Paul sets out with even more than his usual fervor to impress upon Timothy the details of his calling. Not a word is wasted: preach the Word; or as the Message translation says: proclaim the Message with intensity.
