Jonah Chapter 1 Contrast “Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.” (Jonah 1:3) If we were to write a description of Jonah from Chapter 1, we would surely include such terms/phrases as: (1) a reluctant prophet – stubborn and rebellious (2) one refusing to extend love to his enemies (3) Jonah – the prophet of God – guilty and disobedient. Yet God showed compassion and spared Jonah, the unrepentant prophet. While Jonah withdrew from both God and fellow man and went to sleep in the bottom of the ship. “What should we do to you (Jonah) …
What We Deserve
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ephesians 2:8-9 “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift – not from works, so that no one can boast.” Have you ever been in a store and seen this sign: “You break it – You buy it?” Well, here’s a true story! My husband and I were in an antiques/flea market/consignment shop just browsing around. My husband collects railroad memorabilia. So he was attracted to a decorative …
Roman Road
The Roman Road is a series of scriptures from the Bible that explains what’s necessary to obtain salvation. If we asked someone the question: “What are you being saved from?”, we may hear they’re being saved from an eternity in Hell. That’s true; however, we can take the definition of salvation a step further. Romans 3:23 is the first verse in the Roman Road. Sin is the act of doing something wrong in the sight of God – or a lack of doing something God commands us to do. Sin is immoral. This scripture tells us that everyone has sinned …
Self-Testimony
1 Peter 3:15-16 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. When we meet new people and develop friendships, how long should we wait until we begin talking to them about our faith? Have we even stopped long enough to consider their soul’s destination? Unless we’re in …
We Shouldn’t Be Alive
We were watching an episode of “I Shouldn’t Be Alive” last night. A young couple had decided to rent a lodge and go on a hike in the rain forest. They chose the longest hike and began by following the signs along the way. But they got so caught up in the scenery and wildlife of the area that they didn’t notice when they left the trail. Then to add insult to injury, they made the decision to travel by compass even farther away from the lodge. They ended up spending several nights in the treacherous jungle staying on course …
The Risen Lord
Luke 24:13-16 “Now that same day two were traveling to village called Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem and they were talking about every thing that had happened; and as they talked and discussed these things with each other. Jesus himself appeared and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing Him.” Also, Jesus appeared to His disciples, but Thomas was absent and when told they had seen Jesus, he did not believe them and said unless he sees the nail marks in his hands and put my hands into his side he would not …
Hallelujah Jesus is Alive
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he …
Don’t Lose Your Nerve
When we stepped out the door to go to church recently I was surprised that the weather was so warm, especially since I had layered up for the day. It was okay, because inside he church building it was a little chilly. But the muggy warm day was a foretelling of crazy weather. As the tornado warning sounded on both my phone and my hubby’s that afternoon, I was ready to run to the basement of our house. My hubby however was not ready to go. I texted our adult children, of course doesn’t a mother do that no matter …
Real Freedom
We picked what we thought was going to be a short and simple kid’s movie last night when the grands were visiting. Turns out it was quite the movie and we couldn’t quit watching it. They had to leave before it was finished, so we paused the movie and said our good byes. Then we had to finish it. Based on a true story about a gorilla that was saved from poachers as a baby, the gorilla came to America and lived with a family as a pet until he was too big to handle in the home. He then …
Discard The Leftovers
This morning as I realize our refrigerator is full past capacity and bursting at the seams with leftovers, I am trying to remember what my parents did with the leftover Christmas food. We will keep those delectable dishes for a couple of days – maybe even have a plate or two of the remains. But beyond that I have learned to discard it before it ruins altogether. So not only will our beloved live now crunchy Christmas tree go, so will the holiday food. Oh beloved, we may all want to discard the leftovers of our holiday meals, but there …
Even Then…
Scripture: Romans 5:8 – “…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (ESV) Message: “Sometimes we may not be able to see the silver lining behind the dark cloud. But the cross is evidence that it’s there.”(J. D. Greear/ Not God Enough) Our human tendency, especially in the midst of pain is to question God. Our questions might be similar but not limited to; “Where are you, God?, “Why, God?”, and “How long, God?” In my opinion, these questions are fine when asked in the right respect. In fact, we see all through the Bible …
A Savior is Born
And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first born Son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2: 6-7. This was the fulfillment of many old Testament prophecies of a coming Messiah. But why would the Savior of the world, leave the beauties of heaven and be born in a dirty, unsanitary stable that was used to shelter animals? Perhaps one reason was to signify no matter how sinful my life, Jesus wants to be my Savior, and before …