All in God's Character
After a season of visiting with a counselor about a totally different matter, I began reflecting on some unhealthy habits I had. One such habit really stuck out -- letting certain significant people in my life manipulate me. I did not permit everyone to do it, just a few key people in my inner circle.
Sometimes the tiniest little detail catches my eye. I noticed this morning that when the Bible says, “this is what the Lord says” or “declares the Lord”, quotation marks hug the words He speaks.
She finished reading the book and declared, “It was a journey I didn’t like being on.” Using that statement to describe a book is no big deal. But for many of us, that statement describes a complicated life situation that we can do nothing about. Many of us are on journeys we don’t like.
Does it feel like no one notices or cares when you suffer unjustly? That the trials you endure are unfair? And you hurt so much that you are tempted to slander, take revenge, or act in an ungodly manner?
The shower was running, the music blaring, when I walked down the hall to the bedroom: “How deep is the ocean? (How high is the sky?)”* Exactly, I said to myself in light of the lunar eclipse of the evening before. How could a Blood Moon turn red in the shadow of the earth? Space.com tells us this much: “Sunlight scatters to produce the red colors of sunset and sunrise when it enters Earth's atmosphere at a particular angle.” Does it not make you pause for a moment to wonder at the majesty of creation?
Before leaving East Texas, I had a dentist appointment. When I shared the details of our move with my dentist I found out she had taught at the dental school in Houston. Without hesitation she recommended a dentist she knew and had as a student. I quickly put the contact information in my phone so as not to lose it.
“But, you don’t understand my problems.” “But, I can’t help it. That’s just how I am.” “But I…” “But…”
It’s as big as a school bus, weighs up to ninety thousand pounds, and eats about one thousand pounds every day. And, yet, the humpback whale is able to thrust itself out of the water in incredible displays of power. They frolic and breach in the warm waters by Hawaii where they travel to every winter to breed.
Jesus told a short story to a group of grumbling religious leaders to illustrate a poignant point—God will intensely search for those who need His love and salvation. He used a desperate woman, of all things, for his story. She’d lost a coin worth a day’s wage. She had only ten and one was lost. She lit a small oil lamp, the only source of light in her small windowless home, and searched carefully until she found it. She then invited her women friends and neighbors to rejoice with her. Jesus adds in verse 10, “I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God over one sinner who repents.”
I’ve enjoyed reading through the Old Testament minor prophets. I wanted to focus on the circumstances in Israel’s history as well as the God’s message entrusted to them to proclaim. The twelve minor prophets were sometimes referred to as The Book of the Twelve since scrolls often combined them within one scroll: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Johan, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi. Importantly, though, they were called ‘minor’ prophets only because of the length of the books, not because of a lesser important message.
The woman near me in the waiting room began to talk. She told me her age, how she met her husband, about their first date, how long they had been married, that her brown hair was not dyed, and much more. Frankly, I was amazed at the amount of personal information she shared.
My professional background is in healthcare, and ever since my very first anatomy and physiology class I have been fascinated with the beauty, complex simplicities, and precision of God’s creation-----us!
The Pharisees had been shadowing Jesus from the beginning of His ministry. They had heard His teaching and were eyewitnesses to His miracles. And when He quoted the Law, likely their lips moved in silent unison. Their verdict? “He has a demon.” In doing so, they denied both His Divinity and the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in His life, concluding that He was just a man. And a damaged one, at that.sin
Trying to find a home in a large metropolis proved to be much more difficult than I expected. The market was very different from our small East Texas town.
Is the sun ever going to shine again?
Every opportunity I get, no matter what the temperature, I escape the indoors for a brisk walk. Observers may think that I’m flaunting my physical abilities, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Real kindness isn’t born by pushing harder. Or by squeezing it out like lemon juice. Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. God’s kindness is powerful and generous towards us. Even so, He asks us to bear His fruit. When we bear spiritual produce, we become like Him for His sake.
A truth that permeates scripture is greatly avoided by many today. It’s seldom spoken about for fear it will be offensive. It’s labeled harsh and unloving by some. Others deny it. I am speaking of the truth of God’s coming judgment. Ezekiel was given the difficult task of proclaiming God’s coming judgment to sinful Israel. God instructed Ezekiel to speak about His coming judgment whether people listened or not.
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Do you detect the urgency and excitement in these questions? If someone said that to me, I would want to know more. What information might the person have that I did not? I would definitely listen to what was said next.
The day Drew moved out followed ten months of limbo. It had been an awful day. The kids cried themselves to sleep. It was late when Dana climbed into bed. She sat propped up on her side of the double bed and opened her Bible. She hadn’t planned to read Romans 8, but the words were there for her that night.
Eight months had passed since Drew’s and Dana’s ten-year marriage started to unravel. Uncharacteristically, Drew accompanied Dana and the children to church one Sunday morning. It was Valentine’s Day.
