Change

Recently, I had the opportunity to give a devotional in a small group.  My assigned topic was to choose a woman from the Bible.  After skimming through what turned out to be a very long list, my eyes fell upon the name of Rahab.  If you quickly flip through the Bible to each mention of Rahab, you find these facts. 

·        Joshua 2 tells us that Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho.  When the Israelite spies came into the city, they went to Rahab’s house and she hid them there from the king of Jericho.  She not only provided protection for Israel’s spies, she also arranged for their escape.

·        Joshua 6 mentions Rahab again, when the Israelites march around the city of Jericho and the walls “come tumbling down.”  Under orders from Joshua, the spies rescue Rahab and her family from the rubble.  Joshua spared her life and the lives of her family and they settled in the land to live with the Israelites.

·        The next mention of Rahab is in the New Testament account of the genealogy of Christ in the book of Matthew.  She is the wife of Salmon and the mother of Boaz. 

·        The fourth mention of Rahab is in Hebrews 11, the hall of faith.  It simply says, “By faith, Rahab the prostitute did not perish…”

·        Finally, we see Rahab used as a beautiful example in the book of James as a woman who puts action to her faith. 

Yet, what do these simple facts tell us about Rahab’s life and her faith? 

The first thing I noticed is that Rahab’s faith saved her. When the spies retrieved Rahab and her family from the Jericho ruins, they saved her life in a physical way.   Nevertheless, it is her faith in God that saves her spiritually.  We discover the evidence of her salvation when we see how she settled in the land of Israel.  Her faith was a real, soul saving faith.  A soul saving faith is also a life-changing faith.  Instructions on how to transform your life fill the libraries and bookstores of the world.  Only the work of God can accomplish true transformation for all eternity.  According to the book of Matthew, Rahab married Salmon who is part of the tribe of Judah and the lineage of Christ.  There is an ongoing work of God in her life.  She gave up her past as a prostitute and took on her new, God given identity.

The second thing I noticed is that Rahab responded rightly.   With a proper fear of God, she rejects the reaction of the crowd and follows the God of Israel.  The whole city of Jericho was afraid.   Rahab herself tells us the people of Jericho knew and heard of God and were very afraid.  Still, she is the only one who bent her knee and bowed her heart to the God of heaven and earth.  Think about the things that must have crossed her mind as she watched from her window while the Israelites marched around Jericho.  Remember, she had a front row spot; her home was on the outside wall of the city.  The citizens of Jericho knew that the people of Israel were about to storm their gates and yet they adamantly refused to acknowledge God.   Rahab was a light in a dark world.

I want to leave you with two challenges.  First, embrace your identity.

Rahab’s story is now our story.  Salvation begins and ends with faith in Christ.  When we place our trust in Christ as our Savior, we become his betrothed.  This means we should commit to leaving behind our idolatrous and adulterer ways and take on our new identity.  II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 

Second, I challenge you to shine in a dark world.

Rahab’s testimony is now our example.  As the time for Christ’s return grows closer, we will face the challenge to reject the response of the crowd and follow God.  Just as Rahab stands steadfast in her faith, we must do likewise.  Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven.” 

The message is clear; we are to walk in a manner worthy of His name.  I’m going for a walk, I hope you’ll come along.

Disappointment

I will not deny that I was disappointed in the results of the November 6^th election.  Moreover, I could write an entire blog on why I do not agree with Progressive Socialism.  However, I do not want to go there.  My purpose in writing my blog is aways to share what God is teaching me in the hopes that I influence the kingdom of God for His glory.  So with that out of the way, let us talk about what I am learning in the midst of disappointing political circumstances.

I have a great admiration and respect for a man named Daniel.  Daniel was Jewish and from the tribe of Judah.  In the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, things are not going well.  King Jehoiakim is the king of Judah, the southern kingdom from the original nation of Israel.  The king of Babylon marched his army to Jerusalem and the next thing you know, the land is now under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.   On top of that, humiliation, Daniel’s place of worship, his beloved Temple of God, has been ransacked and pillaged.  Then things get worse.  Daniel is among those who are brought to King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace to be immersed in Babylonian culture and thinking.  To make the leap that Daniel experienced disappointing political circumstances is not that hard.  Therefore, I decided to look at how Daniel managed his disappointment.

I needed only to read to Daniel 1:8 for my first instruction.  “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself…”  God’s economy is much different from the world’s way.   The world tells us that the end justifies the means; dog eats dog; toot your own horn. However, God tells us to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.  (Micah 6:8)  I must not defile myself with the ways of the world. As Daniel set himself apart from the world of Babylon, an interesting thing happened.  He was presented to the king for "inspection" and found to be ten times better.  Wow!  The story gets better.

In chapter 2, events in Daniel's life begin to heat up.  The King of Babylon has a bad dream; his wise men cannot give him the answer he is looking for; he becomes unhinged and decides to decimate his wise men.  This decree of death included Daniel.  This is where God taught me the second lesson.  When Daniel finds himself in a dire situation, he made the matter known to his companions and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven.  Part of that prayer can be found in verses 20-22: 

²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
    to whom belong wisdom and might.
²¹ He changes times and seasons;

    he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have understanding;²² he reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and the light dwells with him.

Daniel sets quite an example for us.  Daniel never loses sight of who God is and what God is capable of doing.  In his prayer, Daniel reminds himself, his friends and us that God is eternal, almighty, omniscient, and sovereign.  We must never lose sight of God's character. 

And this brings me to the third lesson I learned this morning.  Daniel had lined up his life, heart and attitude with God's will.  I am fairly certain it happened early in his captivity.  Nevertheless, it was in Daniel's prayer that I noticed it.  Because Daniel kept God in his rightful place on the throne, Daniel was able to accept all of the events in his life as opportunities to obey God rather than looking at them as disappointments.  When you read Daniel’s story, you do not see someone tossed about like a ship in a storm.  You do not see a man on an emotional roller coaster.  When you read Daniel’s story you see a man of prayer, a man who obeyed God without excuses and a man with a great big faith.

My instructions are clear.  Determine to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God; pray often-keeping God on the throne; contour my life with God’s will.  I hope you decide to join me.

Pride, part 3

It has been some time since I have sat down at my computer to write. It is good to be back and thinking about things the Lord would have me to learn.  I am reading a book that has been around for awhile but it is new to me.  It is called When People are Big and God is Small by Edward T. Welch.  To say it has consumed my thoughts would be an understatement.  I am obsessed with what I am learning from this book.  I highly recommend it.  But these things do not get to the subject of this post which is the consequences of pride.

I will begin my thoughts on this subject with the understanding that this blog is written by a fellow sojourner attempting to follow Christ the best I know how.  My thoughts are neither comprehensive nor guaranteed to be accurate.  I suggest, like with all Biblical teaching, you search the scriptures and ask the Holy Spirit to teach and guide you.  These are my thoughts and what I am learning along the way.

In my own life, I have suffered from the consequences of pride.  The first and hopefully most obvious consequence is that pride leads to estrangement from God.  We saw this scripture in an earlier post, Psalm 10:4, "In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God."  No room for God.  What does that look like?  For me it means that I am consumed with my own strength and self sufficiency.  Makes me think of the famous Frank Sinatra song,  My Way. One of the lines goes like this: "I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way." 

It is true, you can plan your own course and you can do it your way.  But I can assure you, you will spend your life and possibly eternity separated from God.  When I am doing life my way, I exalt myself above God.  I usurp his authority and rightful place on the throne.  It is never a pretty picture.

The second consequence can be found in both Proverbs 11:2, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." and Proverbs 16:18 that says, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."  Every time I begin to think I am all that you can bet I am about to learn another lesson.  Thankfully the lessons hurt enough to send me to my Father with a prayer of confession.  If it doesn't, my head continues to swell and the next consequence will hurt a bit more. 

Continuing to ignore the consequence of pride will suck you into a vortex of sin that reaps destruction all over the place.  A perfect example of this can be found in 2 Samuel, chapter 11.  I challenge you to read this Biblical account of "a man after God's own heart."  His story is proof that even the most ardent lover of God can fall victim to the lure of pride. 

I have been sucked into this vortex and of this you can be certain: there is no blessing down that road.  What I learned about myself is that I frequently have one of two reactions in trying to justify the disaster of my pride.  I wonder if either of these ring true in your life.  The first is that I will try to minimize my failure.  I justify that what I did really wasn't that big a deal to God.  The second way I try to recover from the disaster of pride would be to blame it on someone or something else.  These reactions are wrong from every angle.  We cannot experience true forgiveness until we take complete ownership of our pride and its consequence. 

I cling to the promise of Philippians 1:6 "that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  God loves us too much to leave us in our muck and mire.  I am ever so grateful to him for not leaving me in my pit.  Will you join me today in saying, Yes, Lord!  Yes to his way.  Yes to his authority.  Yes to him!  God is God and I am not.

Pride, Part 2

I recently had a conversation about praying for the perpetrator of the Colorado movie theater shootings and his parents. My impression was that this person thought I was being far too generous to suggest that the shooter's parents or the shooter deserved any kind of compassion or prayer. Their argument was that the parents were somehow negligent and/or responsible for their son turning into such a monster. And while that may be true, I don't think we can automatically assume such a position.

Now, let me be clear, I believe this young man should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and should indeed be held accountable and punished. Make no mistake, if found guilty, he should never be released from prison. With that said, though, I do believe that all of us who follow Jesus should be praying not only for the victims and their families, but for the shooter and his family too. To think that any one of us who raises a child does it so well that this could not possibly happen to them is, I think, an insidious form of pride.

 And that brings me to what I talked about in my last blog: Point 2, Pride takes many forms. We often recognize the pride in other people long before we see it in ourselves. You may have experienced the repercussions of a boss or coworker who used insults to humiliate. Or maybe you've had a teenager roll their eyes because they were certain they knew more than you. But what about the not so obvious?

I went to God's word to see what I could find. Of course I found the Bible had much to say about pride. But what I wanted was not so much the consequences because that is for the next blog. What I really wanted was sort of a definition....a way to identify pride in my own life. I want to be able to see these subtle, but harmful tendencies in my own heart before God decides I need some consequences. What I found convicted my heart.

Jeremiah 9:23-24: Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Another way to translate boast is "to glory in." I could be wrong, but I think the problem arises when "we glory in." Not a thing wrong with working hard, living right and teaching our children to make good choices. After all the Bible also teaches that we reap what we sow. But to think that I am immune to having a child go into a movie theater with the intent to harm simply because I did all the right things as a mom is to "glory in" my own ability. To think that I am somehow exempt or protected from tragedy because I do all the right things is "to glory in." There, and there alone, go I except for the grace of God.

I've been plenty guilty of having pride when it comes to my children.  I have often compared my children to some other's just to give my own ego a boost.  The same can be said about many areas of my life.  I'm ashamed to admit that God has pointed out numerous pits of pride for me to work on eliminating.  How about you?  Will you join me in saying,  "May all my boasting be in this: that I understand and know the Lord, recognizing His character and acknowledging He is the Lord?"

Pride, part 1

Several weeks ago, I was playing that drawing game on my iPad.  It is similar to Pictionary and you play with another person online.  Between the two of us, we were on a winning streak into the 40’s.  In spite of my serious lack of artistic ability, I discovered the joy of racking up points.  In fact, I had become pretty prideful about how good I was at drawing so many of the words.  I had even begun to secretly congratulate myself after every turn.  The computer beeped and I clicked on the appropriate icon to play the game once again.  I very cleverly sketched a fabulous outline of the Empire State Building with a stick figure King Kong at the top.  I included the helicopter and the beautiful young maiden that needed to be rescued.  Quite pleased with myself, I hurried to send the drawing to my friend.  As soon as I hit the send key to my shock and horror, I discovered my word was not King Kong, but Hong Kong.  Oh the humiliation that flooded my mind.

This sad but true story made me laugh out loud at myself and taught me some much needed lessons.  Lessons, I must continue to learn again and again.  You see what I have discovered about myself is that I have a huge spiritual issue with pride.  I’m telling you, it creeps in at every opportunity and if I’m not paying attention I end up smack in the middle of a train wreck every single time.  I bet you do, too. 

So, what’s a girl to do?  I asked God that very thing and He oh, so gently pointed a few things out to me from His Word.  The following is what I learned:

1. Pride is offensive to God.   
2. Pride takes many forms.
3. Pride has consequences.

Starting with how pride is offensive to God, we must understand who God is.  God is, well God.  There is none like Him.  He is the Alpha and Omega; He is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. He is Creator of all and by His Word, all things hold together.  He is Light, He is Life, and He is Love.  He is perfect and He is Holy.  He is righteous and He is just.  He is my Healer, my Redeemer and my Savior.  There is NONE like the Most High God, Almighty.  Pride says, “I know more than God.”  He alone deserves the honor and in pride, we take what belongs to Him

I asked God to show me something special and immediately He caused me to find Psalm 10:4, “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”  I wondered if this verse was one of the reasons that pride was detestable to the Lord.  Pride keeps us from seeking the Lord.  Wow, didn’t see that one coming.  When I have pride I not only say I know more than God, I also say there is no room for God. 

Yup… time for some much needed prayer.  I have much to confess.  We’ll talk about the other two things I learned next time. 

Look

I love the old hymn "Turn your eyes upon Jesus."  I really love that hymn!  Here is the chorus:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.

It was a favorite song for my mom as well.  We sang it at her funeral.  It has a tremendous amount of personal meaning to me.  I used it as a lullaby for each of my children.  Every time the babies would hear that song you could see them calm down and relax.  It worked like that for my mom as she suffered from dementia.  As she drew close to death, I would sing that chorus to her and you could see her physically relax.  As I walked through that dark time in my life, I hummed the song often to myself because it reminded me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus.

The author and composer of the song is Helen H. Lemmel who lived from 1864 until 1961.  In addition to being known as a brilliant singer and musician, Mrs. Lemmel was also widely recognized as a woman with remarkable literary ability. She wrote more than five hundred hymns and poems.  The inspiration for this hymn came from Hebrews 12:1-2

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

I've been thinking about these verses this week as I am in the midst of a Bible study on the book of Hebrews.  This week, yup, chapter 12.  There are a gazillion sermons that could be preached from these two verses.  They are so full it makes my head spin.  But as I pondered verse two:  "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God," I found an amazing truth: 

The joy set before him.

What was the "joy set before him?"  I don't know all the answers, but I know one.  He knew that at the completion of his work on earth, man could be reconciled to God through him.  The "joy set before him?"  Me!  He was thinking about the joy of having a relationship with me!  He thought about you, too.  His very heart was to reconcile each of us to God, to himself.

Jesus fixed his eyes on the joy set before him so I could fix my eyes on Jesus.  Go ahead, I dare you to look.  In fact, stare.  Fix your eyes. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim. 

Resurrection

A Face Book friend proposed this question:  Would you believe the resurrection if someone told you it happened today?  What a great question.  I would have to answer “Yes!”  You see, my faith isn’t some pie in the sky mythology.  It is based on fact.  The facts are found in the very Bible itself.  The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the narratives of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  These books record that after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other women.  He appeared to the eleven disciples.  He appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus.  In fact, he appeared to several hundred people over the course of 40 days as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15.  Most of the people who testified to the resurrection of Christ were so convinced of the resurrection, they were willing to die for their faith.  From John 20:29 ’Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”’

I know from personal experience that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a God who desires a personal relationship with His people. It says in Deuteronomy 4:29 “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”  God tells us nearly the exact same thing in Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Down through the ages, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has required one thing:  faith.  Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.   We have many examples from Scripture of those who had great faith.  By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man by God.  By faith Noah spent 100 years, in holy fear, building an ark even though he had never seen rain.  By faith Abraham, who was called to leave his home, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead.  By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the pharaoh’s command.  And later as an adult, Moses, by faith, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. These are examples from Genesis and Exodus.  There are many more as you read about Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel, and the prophets. (From Hebrews 11)

The bottom line is you either believe God or you don’t.  If I could talk you into belief than someone could talk you out of it.  Jesus is the Son of God who died for my sins and your sins.  Some say he was a good man and some say he was a good prophet.  Some say he did not exist until His birth.  But he is either Jesus, God incarnate or he is a lunatic.  He is who he claims to be or he is a liar.  So I would suggest that if you really want to know if the resurrection is true, you ask God.  Because if you seek Him, you will find Him, when you seek with all your heart.

Legacy

The books of 1 & 2 Kings tell the story of how the nation of Israel is divided between north and south.  The northern kingdom is Israel and the southern is called Judah.  During the time of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, a godly man named Jehoshaphat becomes king of Judah.  First Kings 22:43 says that “In everything Jehoshaphat walked in the ways of his father and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” 

At the same time, Ahab and his wife Jezebel are rulers in the northern kingdom, Israel.  In First Kings 16, the word describes Ahab as “someone who did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him."  He considered it inconsequential to commit the sins of idol worship and rebellion.  He did more to provoke the Lord to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.

Do you see the very distinct differences here?  However, it soon gets very messy for the kingdom of Judah.  You see, Jehoshaphat eventually grows old and hands the kingdom over to his son, Jehoram who is married to Ahab’s daughter.  Her name is Athaliah and she ardently promoted Baal worship and brought the evil religion into the throne room.  Jehoram may be king of Judah but he proves to be a terrible ruler as a result of his conversion to Baal worship.  He is known solely for introducing the evil influences of Ahab’s household into the southern kingdom.   In fact, 2 Chronicles 21 says that “he passed away to no one’s regret.”

So I think about the impact one family can have on other people.  As years passed, the sins of Ahab drag people into a cesspool of idolatrous worship.  Sin had so saturated Ahab’s immediate and extended family that God had to put an end to his family line just to preserve the nation of Israel. I want to leave a different legacy.  How about you?

Your family may not influence the course of a nation, but it can have significant bearing on your community, schools and workplace.  So our challenge is to follow Jesus' command in Matthew 5:16 and "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Covenant Keeper

Reading Revelation has made me think about my salvation and the assurance of that salvation.  I belong to Christ irrevocably through His gift. I think about how God worked in the Old Testament and thought of the promises made to the patriarchs.  Some of those promises were conditional in that they had to meet God’s requirements before God was obligated to bless them.  But God always specified when a promise was conditional.  Then I pondered God’s covenant promises and how even when people messed up and sinned, God still kept his promise.  It is a pattern we see throughout the Word of God.  God is a covenant keeping God.

So I spent time in prayer this week and asked God to show me specific passages regarding our salvation.  I would like to share with you some of the ones I found.

I John 1:7-9 says:  ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. ⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

John 3:16-18:  ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

John 10:27-29:  ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

Jude, verse 24:  ²⁴ To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—

And finally Romans 11:29:  ²⁹ for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.

All of these verses, along with several others lead me to conclude that I am saved from ALL unrighteousness, even my future sin. The Lord has cancelled my debt completely.  Jesus is able and when He says He gives me eternal life, it begins at salvation.  When He says we will never perish, He means it!  And finally, salvation and the Holy Spirit are gifts we receive freely from God at the time we believe and Romans confirms to me that God’s gifts are irrevocable, binding, permanent, and final.  Praise and glory to Him who sits on the throne!!

Determined

The weather in Texas is crazy.  Beautiful one day with temperatures in the 70's.  The very next day or even by bedtime it can be windy, rainy, and 40 degrees colder.  I have worn snow boots and shorts all in the same week.  I have been swimming on New Year's Eve and wearing a jacket in June.  All that to say, you really can't count on knowing what the weather will do.  It's often like that with people.

But I have been looking at the life of Daniel and realized that he was someone people could count on.  You get your first clue of Daniel's character in Daniel 1:8.  The story opens with Daniel taken captive along with the rest of the people of Israel by the Babylonian Empire.  Daniel is a young man of nobility who is also without blemish, well-favored in appearance, skillful in all wisdom, discernment and understanding.  He is apt at learning knowledge and competent.  Because of these traits he is chosen to be immersed in Babylonian culture, literature and language so he can serve in the Babylonian king's palace.

It says in verse 8 that Daniel "determined in his heart."  Other versions say Daniel was resolved.  Others say Daniel "purposed in his heart."  I have been fascinated by Daniel for some time.  I have read about him and studied the book of Daniel.  I continue to be amazed by this man's determination.  So what was Daniel determined to do?  I imagine he was determined far more than I can see.  But for now, I have found three things that Daniel determined in his heart.  He was committed to purity, prayer and purpose. 

Purity - the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong. I love what it says in Daniel 6:4.  You see there were plenty of people who were threatened by Daniel's honesty, virtue and integrity.  These people set out to destroy Daniel and chapter 6, verse 4 tells us what happened.  "Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him."  Now that is purity played out in a life.

Prayer -  the act of communicating with God by way of worship, confession, thanksgiving and supplication. Daniel was a man who prayed and prayed often.  We see evidence of this throughout the book of Daniel.  But my favorite example is found in chapter 2.  The fickle and prideful king has issued a decree that would mean the death of Daniel and his friends.  With wisdom and tact he approached the king and asked for time to pray about the circumstances.  So rather than panic, Daniel seeks out his friends and they go to the Lord for wisdom and discernment.  WOW!

Purpose - the reason for which anything is done, created, or exists.  Daniel clearly understood his purpose.  He was created by God to bring God glory.  He existed at this time and in this place to shine light on the sovereignty of God.  All the things that were done to him and for him were designed to reveal the character of God.  God's character was something, I might add, that Daniel was well acquainted with.  Daniel knew God is faithful, loving, powerful and holy.  Daniel's purpose reflected an awesome God, the Ancient of Days. 

So, this leaves me with a burning question.  What have I determined in my heart?  What have you determined in yours?  I know.  A whole lot to think about.  Think I'll start with prayer.  Hope you will too.

Secure

Hebrews 7:24-25 says: "but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." I memorized these verses recently, I challenge you to learn them as well. I hope you won't be able to get them off your mind either. As I have meditated on these words I asked God to teach me and show me what I should learn. So today's entry is what He taught me. Jesus lives forever. Let those words sink deep into your heart. Our God and Savior lives! Forever! The implications of this fact are so beyond my capacity to understand, I can only bow in worship. How about you? As Beth Moore once said you can bend your knee or Jesus will do it for you, either way you're going down. Jesus lives and is worthy of our worship. He is able to save completely. WOW! That means there is not one single sin in my past, present, or future that isn't covered by the blood of the Lamb. Have you ever heard this lie whispered in your ear? "You've reached your limit on this one." or "God is tired of that one." or "God ran out of forgiveness for you in that area." Lies from the pit of hell. Do not believe the lie. Jesus saves completely. That means completely. Live forgiven. Those who come to God through Him. The name of Jesus makes all the difference. Acts 4:12 says it best of all: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” We pray in the name of Jesus because He is our only access to the Father. Because he always lives to intercede for them. Hmmmm, makes you wonder what Jesus says on our behalf. I really don't know the answer to that. Maybe someone with more Bible knowledge than I have can answer that question. But for now, I imagine Jesus saying, "She's mine." That's all. Just "She's mine." I love the security of that. As a woman, one of my needs is to feel secure. Jesus provides security. He provides security because He lives forever, because He saves completely, because He is access to the Father and because He intercedes for me. Do you know that security?

Whole new world!

After reading and becoming interested in and eventually following other blogs. I decided I had many things bottled up inside my head and heart that I should give this blogging thing a try. So here I am, a woman in my early 50's, entering a whole new world.

My passion is studying God's Word and every day he teaches me so much I can hardly contain myself. So my blog, I hope anyway, will bring glory to God simply be sharing why I love his book: the Bible.

I'll start with something I learned this week. I was reading in Luke 17 about the 10 lepers...well here is the story.

 11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned
to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

As I read these verses, it occurred to me that we are are lepers. You and I are lepers until we cry out in despair the way these men did. When these men called to Jesus, their immediate need was to be made clean. That is true of people everywhere. We desperately need cleansing
from our sin. And when we call to him, he hears us and responds. We place our faith and trust in Jesus, the only one who can heal us from sin. He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. See 1 John 1:9 that says: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Ten lepers were healed that day, but only one returned to give thanks. I want to be like that one. I want to live a life of a thankful leper. I am so very grateful for all God has done in my life. His grace abounds in more ways than I could ever begin to share. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. I was a leper who cried out for cleansing and Jesus set me free. What about you? Do you need spiritual healing today? Are you a leper in need?