Morning Thoughts

It’s the Weekend!   One of my good friends is going through a rough time. People she has to deal with on a daily basis are not of God and are making her life very difficult. People can certainly make life rough. People did that to Jesus and to every disciple, to Stephen, to John the Baptist, and to those listed in Hebrews 11 as the many martyrs of the faith. But this one thing we have is the promise of God that no matter how hard pressed we are, we do not have to be broken.  “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:7-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬ We are just a spiritual being on earth living in a “jar of clay,” a temporary tent for our soul, but we possess an all encompassing power directly from the Throne of God. They can knock us down, but Praise Jesus, they can...

It’s the Weekend!   One of my good friends is going through a rough time. People she has to deal with on a daily basis are not of God and are making her life very difficult. People can certainly make life rough. People did that to Jesus and to every disciple, to Stephen, to John the Baptist, and to those listed in Hebrews 11 as the many martyrs of the faith. But this one thing we have is the promise of God that no matter how hard pressed we are, we do not have to be broken.  “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:7-9‬ ‭NIV‬‬ We are just a spiritual being on earth living in a “jar of clay,” a temporary tent for our soul, but we possess an all encompassing power directly from the Throne of God. They can knock us down, but Praise Jesus, they can...

Happy Friday. Yesterday was my sister’s birthday and after spending three days with her, I really missed her! As big sisters often do, she called today to explain more things to me. After I hung up i laughed out loud thinking back to our younger days when she would give me “counseling” telling me just what I should do. In the days of Jesus and Peter and Paul, those who gave big lectures often times were on the “judgement seat” or in the Greek on the “bema”. It’s referred to numerous times in Classical Greek literature as well as three separate “bemas” are spoken of in the New Testament.  The Corinthian “bema” where Paul was tried (Acts 18) has been excavated. It is a large stone structure about 7.5 feet above the pavement and originally covered with carved marble. Standing before someone who was atop that was probably nothing like standing in front of your sister. Can you get a feel for how straight up you’re looking at the person who is speaking down to you? Even if the speaker w...

Happy Thursday. Do you love good smells? I adore Bath and Body Works even though in my brain I know it is too expensive and I’m just paying for the smell, but I love the smell! And my emotional self loves everything in the store from the car smell to the room smell to the soap smell to the lotion smell! I have the plug ins all over my house and the clip on in my car—I’m ridiculous. But smell is a long lasting memory. When we close our eyes and remember, we can smell grandma’s cookies before we can taste or see them, right? I remember the smell of my grandpa’s pipe even though I don’t remember much else about him.  When the Apostle Paul was writing his second letter to the Corinthians, he spoke of the aroma, the smell, of a Christian. He refers to us as being in the Christ’s procession and how Jesus uses us to spread the knowledge—the aroma—of Him. He says that to those who know Christ, the aroma is that of a sweet perfume but to those who do not, it smells like death.  “But t...

Happy Wednesday. My sister and I spent yesterday doing a little business and quite a bit of shopping. I love spending time with her. We never seem to get enough sister-time and this Thursday is her birthday—a reminder of how quickly time slips through our fingers.  One of the things she needed to get yesterday was a cover and a protector for her new phone. It seems that she is allergic to the cobalt and the nickel in her phone and she developed an awful rash on her ear and the side of her face from it. (I told her to get an iPhone but she wouldn’t listen!) We went to a place in the mall so the guy would put the protector on and he charged her $30 for both. She was not happy—I think she wanted to turn over that little kiosk. She was sure he had marked his prices up a ridiculous amount.  After Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on the donkey, he went to the temple. He was so upset over the high prices being charged to the people—about 25% over the value—that He did turn over the tables....

Happy Monday. I hope you had a good time in worship this weekend and spent some quality time with loved ones and with God’s people. I know when I’m sick or miss church for some reason, I have an ache, like I’m homesick until I get there again.   Our hearts long to worship God—we were created by Him and with our very nature, we have a craving for God. If we try to satisfy that craving with something else, we lose every time. The things of this world, the lusts that we so quickly grab for when we are hungry for God, never satisfy and just leave us hungrier than we were before. There is no created thing that can fill the space in our heart like only our God can.  ““Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you ...

Happy Tuesday!  Yesterday when my sister and I were doing business for our mom, we took a little detour and stopped in at one of our favorite little stores. There were so many cute Easter decorations we oo-ed and aah-ed over that it made me realize that we have entered into the season of the Passover.  It was the beginning of the Passover when the crowds had begun to gather in Jerusalem and Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey. The Passover represents God delivering His people from slavery to new life and a sacrifice was needed. History tells us that it was usual for around 250,000 lambs to be slaughtered during Passover in Jerusalem. But on this special day, the prefect Lamb, the Deliverer, entered the city.   ““Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’...Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road....