Uncategorized – Live the Crazy Life

Characteristics of Kingdom Citizens

February 29, 2024 No Comments

green trees near body of water under blue and orange sky during golden hour

February is almost over as I start to study the “Kingdom” verse for the month. My life seems to be going at a pace I struggle to keep up with. But I still have 2 days (thank you Leap Year) this month to get my blog posted about the word Kingdom in the Bible for this month.

This month’s verse is found in the Beatitudes from Matthew chapter 5. Because it is from a famous portion of scripture called the Sermon on the Mount we will look into that and what is maybe just as popular a portion within the Sermon on the Mount titled the Beatitudes.

Before we get to the verse at hand we need to understand what is happening in this section of the word. Jesus is speaking not to the crowds as some might think, but to His disciples. Matthew 5:1 tells us when Jesus saw the crowds He went up the mountain and sat down with His disciples. The Sermon on the Mount includes at points a larger audience, but this little section known as the Beatitudes only seems to include the 12 disciples. Matthew 5:2 tells us Jesus opened his mouth to teach them. In my opinion, if Jesus is teaching then it is a lesson worthy of our attention, and retention. The word for teach in Greek means to cause someone to learn and it almost always refers to teaching the scriptures.

Jesus then goes into rhythmic statements about those who are blessed. When I read these they are a little confusing and don’t seem to align with my Western mindset of what being blessed means. The specific Beatitude I want to look into is found in Matthew 5:10 – “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”(TLV). It is interesting to note that Jesus starts the list of Beatitudes with “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 TVL) and ends with our verse 5:10. These are the only two from this list that mention the kingdom of heaven. Jesus also follows up this portion of the Sermon on the Mount with details about those who are being persecuted. No other blessed person does he go into as much detail about. I think Jesus wants us to understand that persecution will happen if you are a Christ follower. It may not be grand; but in some way, we all can anticipate persecution. Before we get too far down the road of persecution, let’s gain some understanding that will aid us in understanding this verse.

Let’s first look at the most common word in the Beatitudes which is blessed. The word blessed can mean a myriad of things. To the modern reader it can mean wealth, for non-believers it can mean luck, and to the ancient Jewish person it means happy. That is the most basic meaning of the word, but happy has much more depth in the Biblical sense than our American word. It means the happiness you feel when God extends His benefits to us. The mindset of persecution used to be that of one with honor, because it meant that you were able to empathize with the sufferings of Christ. It was understood that while you were not promised earthly vindication you were promised a great reward in heaven. Perhaps this understanding helps us make sense of those who are martyred and had a sense of peace about them in the process, like Stephen in Acts chapter 6. This knowledge of honor and approval of God coupled with a reward in heaven may make the momentary pain worthwhile.

Let’s look at some other words in this verse. Persecuted means to be pursued with haste, hunted down, overtaken, or troubled. Righteousness means judicial approval, and in the New Testament, it almost exclusively means the approval of God. Who as a follower of Christ wouldn’t want God’s approval on their lives?

The last word to look at is my theme word for the year Kingdom. It means a realm in which a King sovereignly reigns. It can mean the reign of Christ in the heart of believers, as well as a literal kingdom where Christ is King. The New Testament uses the word kingdom in three ways. 1. The kingdom of God in a believer’s heart. 2. Referring to the united body of believers as a kingdom ruled by Christ. 3. The future kingdom prepared for believers after death.

If we keep reading Matthew 5, verses 11 and 12 give us more insight into why you are blessed in persecution. To be persecuted for Christ places us among some of the great heroes of our faith. The prophets who were often mistreated and misunderstood but obeyed God’s command on their lives anyway. The Apostles many of whom gave their lives to further the gospel and of course our Lord himself. Remember Jesus is talking to the disciples all of whom were persecuted in one way or another. I think Jesus was giving them something to hold onto in those dark moments of persecution.

The idea of being blessed for being persecuted is a blessing that we won’t fully understand or receive in this life, but the anticipation of the promise that waits for us makes it bearable. God is faithful to his word. If you are persecuted, He will bless you; and a blessing from God is the best kind there is.

Heaven will be full of persecuted people, those who gave their lives, to those who were mistreated, insulted, and misunderstood. God will be there smiling telling us how pleased He is that we loved Him more than our own comfort and even our own lives. To those who have given the greatest sacrifice to God, we honor you here and can’t wait to meet you in the Kingdom of God.

Bible, Jesus, overwhelmed, Prayer, Uncategorized

How you hear and how you read

August 30, 2023 1 Comment

I have been reading in the book of Luke this past week. As I was reading I found myself wondering about so many different verses and their meanings that I started making a list of things to go back and research so I could understand better. One of those things was in verse 18 of chapter 8. But before I go there I have to tell you what happened Sunday on my way to before-service prayer.

I was leading prayer this past Sunday. So as I was getting ready I was asking God what He wanted us to cover in our prayer time. The scripture came to mind about the seed falling on soil and the thorns, or cares of this world, growing up and choking out the word. I felt like God said so many people want a thriving relationship with Me, but the cares of this world keep choking it out. I shared that with the prayer team. They agreed with the feeling of needing to pray over that and we prayed.

Monday morning I was reading in Luke, and low and behold I read chapter 8 which has the parable of the seed tucked into it in verses 5-15. Since the Lord had just been speaking to me about that, I read it slowly a couple of times. The seed in this parable falls onto 3 types of soil and some seed that never even makes it to the soil. The Bible calls that the seed that fell on the road and was trampled on. The soil types are rocky soil where the seed sprouts but can’t grow well because it cannot take root due to the rock. Then there’s the seed that falls on soil with thorns. It grows but becomes choked out by cares and riches and pleasures of life. It does not bear mature fruit, but it does seem to grow some kinds of fruit. Then the last is seed that falls on good soil where it takes root, doesn’t have to compete for nutrients, and it grows and produces fruit.

This is a familiar parable to most of us. The disciples ask Jesus to explain this to them a little more clearly and in verses 11-15 you get the explanation of the soil and the growth of the seed or lack there of. MacLarens Expositions of the Holy Scriptures explains this parable in a wonderful way that makes it clear and easy to understand. The seed sown among the thorns, as Jesus puts it in verse 7, isn’t seed that the sower sowed into a weed-filled field. Rather it looked like good ground, but the ground keeper seemed to have taken short cuts. He cut down the weeds or thorns but didn’t do the hard work of pulling them up before planting. And when the good seed and the weeds both began to grow the farmer let them grow together, skipping the hard work of weed pulling.

I get this. I love to grow a garden, but I HATE to pull weeds. It’s a lot of work, hurts your back, and sometimes you end up pulling up a plant you wanted to grow just to get the stinking weed. It’s often a daily chore and I don’t want to water and weed daily, but I do want the benefit of the vegetable or flowers or fruit in the end. I have found myself taking short cuts in this process. I have even found myself just letting the weeds grow among my plants, to be dealt with at a later day. A good farmer I am not. A patience person I am not either. A daily routine task person – nope not me either. So I really get this. And in the world of my back yard garden, it’s ok. I am not trying to grow enough food to fully feed my family for the year. It’s just something fun, and if it works, bonus! And if it doesn’t, no harm no foul.

But reading verse 14 of Luke 8 tells a different story. Spiritually speaking this is important because if we don’t deal with the weeds (or cares, riches and pleasure of life as Jesus words it) we won’t become mature Christians. We won’t produce mature fruit. We are under ripe and good for nothing. Harsh I know but true. The word “cares” in this verse can be translated “worries” or “anxieties”. You know those feelings of overwhelmingness and the long list of what if’s that we are supposed to cast upon the Lord. Well, left to themselves they will choke out our relationship with God. And the riches and pleasures of this life lead us to depend on ourselves and not God, making idols out of our abilities and making us like the Israelites of the Old Testament.

As true and hard as these verses are, the one that really got me was in verse 18. It reads “So pay attention to how you listen. For whoever has, to him more will be given. And whoever does not have even what he supposes he has will be taken away.” How you listen. Is there more than one way to listen. The word how in this sentence is an adverb; an interrogative particle of manner; in what way?; also as exclamation, how much!

In the Jewish culture to hear is to obey. They go hand in hand. If you don’t obey what was spoken then you didn’t hear to start with. Which is what I think is really happening in parable of the sower, and what the second half of verse 18 is saying. If you don’t listen well or with the intent to obey then you are the one who does not have, but what he thinks he has is taken from him.

MacLaren explains what we are to do with the word and the thorns: “for in every one of us there are the necessary anxieties of life, and every one of us knows that there is real and substantial good to a part of our being, in the possession of a share of this world’s wealth, without which no man can live, and all of us carry natures to which the delights of sense do legitimately and necessarily appeal.

So the soil for the growth of the thorns is always in us all. But what then? Are these things so powerful in our hearts as that they become hindrances to our Christian life? That is the question. The cares and the occupation of mind with, and desire for, the wealth and the pleasures are of God’s appointment. He did not make them thorns, but you and I make them thorns; and the question for us is, has our Christianity driven out the undue regard to this life, regarded in these three aspects – undue in measure or in any other respect, by which they are converted into hindrances that mar our Christian life? Dear brethren, it is not enough to say, ‘I have received the word into my heart.’ There is another question besides that – Has the word received into your heart cast out the thorns? Or are they and the seed growing there side by side? “

What a thought to ponder. What a place to stop and hear what God is saying. It is not wrong to have wealth, or to love your husband and kids, and be concerned for their well-being. But are we letting the word of God affect us in our habits of life. Do I pray when my kids are facing hard situations or simple worry and fret for them? Am I truly trusting God to keep them safe and lead them into the fullness of their personal relationship with Him? Or am I trying to make their walk with the Lord happen in the way I think best and in my own time table. Do I really believe that God will provide for me and my needs, or do I hold too tightly to my paycheck, planning for the worst?

This concept with hearing and obeying carries into how we read the scriptures too. Just a few chapters over from chapter 8, we find an expert in the law asking Jesus about eternal life in Luke 10:25-28. The man asks, “What should I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus answers him with this question, “What has been written in the Torah? How do you read it?” There it is again. The word how. Such a weird word to use in both of these situations. Or is it? Jesus isn’t asking the man do you know what the law says, but do you know how to apply it? It’s the same thing as in pay attention to how you hear. Pay attention to how you read. Are reading looking for loop holes, or ways to justify your actions or cause? Or are you allowing the Living Word of God to penetrate your heart and change you for the better. Are you listening to God and reading His word with the intention of allowing God to change your motives, your desires, your attitude? Or to check off doing devotions on some list in your head making you a good person?

So as you read your Bible and listen to your pastors, parents and other people of authority in your life, and of course Jesus speaking truth over you, pay attention to how you listen to them. Don’t justify or harden yourselves. Listen with the intention to obey, and read with the intention to see the invitation to walk with Jesus – not just follow the rules.

Quote taken from Expositions Of Holy Scripture, Alexander MacLaren, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/luke/8.htm, accessed on 8/29/23

Bible, community, Jesus, Uncategorized

Everyone one is someone to God — Serve them like they are

July 23, 2023 No Comments

It’s been a crazy few weeks. Busy with life, adult children doing their adult things, friends in crisis, summer rain and hail and more rain and hail. And just as discombobulated as the weather has been and parenting adult children can be, my spirit feels that way, too. I am all over the map for some reason. Trying to study Isaiah, while prepping/writing a study on grace with two amazing gals from my church, while prepping the fall studies and women’s events, to doing a study on prayer and one on the names of God. Yep a bit all over the place. So it shouldn’t surprise me that what I feel God speaking to me is all over the place. Live in my grace. Don’t strive, but learn to abide in me. Practice that abiding; oh, and serve others, too. And spend time with me….. Back and forth in this serve and do, but be still and just abide. It’s a like spiritual yo-yo in my life that swings from this to that while I’m trying to make sense of the path the string is following.

Yesterday and then this morning in Bible study, I feel like all the wild thoughts finally are beginning to connect and make sense. At least in my head. Yesterday, me and a few ladies from my church spent the day serving and learning about the homeless and the vulnerable in our city. My heart broke (as a wanna-be missionary). I wanted to quit my job, sell my house, and find ways to help these people who just need someone to give them a hand up. My heart is screaming, “I can do that! I can help refugees in our city. I can be their friend, their support, their contact to our world.” Then 20 minutes later, “I can help these women who are experiencing homelessness. I can be their house mentor,” Then an hour later, “Oh, I should text this friend, or pray for the new gal in Bible study…” (My mind still all over the place, trying to figure out how to serve, how to make an impact in this world, in my church, in my city to do something for God.)

Clarity came at the strangest place — a dumpster. Yep actually two of them. A pair of smelly, gross, graffitied green dumpsters. And then more clarity from John 13 in my Bible study this morning.

Part of our day serving the homeless was a prayer walk. It was the best part of the day for me. As we walked with the guide, we came to these two dumpsters, and he said this is one of his favorite spots in the city. On one side of an ally there was a fence with this strange tree, and on the other side there were the two dumpsters. He was a character and I just thought sure this is your favorite place. He went on to ask us about the graffiti, what we saw and thought. He then pointed out that those are all people – either names, nicknames or titles of people who just want to be noticed. They want people to see their name, their sign or symbol. Then he says that they take pride in “tagging” something and bragging to their friends about it. Here comes the profound part. Jesus knows their names – their real name and their street name. He knows the number of hairs on their heads and all about them. He then goes on to say Jesus is a type of “tagger” but in a different way. Like in the game of tag, when you get tagged you are it then you have to go tag someone else. If you are a Christ follower Jesus tags you with the Holy Spirit. The Bible says you are marked (Eph, 1:13) by God with His Spirit or like the NIRV says, “The Spirit marks us as God’s own.” And because we are marked by God, we are then called by God to go and share the good news of the Gospel with others so the Holy Spirit can mark them, too. Then the man leading the prayer walk asks us to pray for those represented on the dumpster and for those of us who have been “tagged” by God. We prayed. He then turns and looks at this tree which was behind us. He says, “Do you think those pink things are flowers? I used to think they were flowers, but then I learned they are seeds. Seeds help spread the plant, making more plants like this one.” He turns to walk to our next stop and says, “How many seeds does one tree need anyway…” Do you get it? We who are believers are loaded with the seeds of God’s love, we will always have seeds of grace, love, and mercy to spread if we abide in Him.

Now fast forward from a long day of outreach to this morning, in my house, a cup of coffee and my bible. John 13-17 is the scripture for this week. I get all the way to John 13:4 (supposed to read all 4 chapters, and I get stuck 4 verses in.) “So He gets up from the meal and lays aside His outer garment; taking a towel, He wrapped it around His waist.” I feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to look into what it means that Jesus takes off His outer garment? According to Biblestudytools.com (https://www.biblestudytools.com/john/13-4.html) it means He was laying aside His glory and dignity as Son of God, so He could appear in the form of a servant. Another site referenced the greek meaning in the words to take off. It isn’t just removing, but has a deeper meaning implying of Jesus laying down His life. And that in verse 12 when He puts His robe back on, it is referencing Him taking His life back up. (https://www.heartbeatinternational.org/a-servant-s-garment#:~:text=Jesus%20was%20about%20to%20express,laying%20down%20of%20his%20life.) Jesus then goes on to say at the end of John chapter 13, “I have given you an example – you should do for each other what I have done for you.” (John 13:15)

In between John 13:4 and John 13:15, in case you don’t know, is the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet. As He goes to wash Peter’s feet (ah Peter I feel you, always trying to be spiritual and sometimes missing the mark so badly) Peter stops Him and says, ‘no you can’t wash my feet that’s beneath you Jesus.’ Jesus kindly says, ‘You don’t know what I am doing, but you will understand after these things.’ Peter replies, “Wait, then wash all of me.” I can just see Jesus being so kind, so patient with Peter waiting for him to get it, and loving him while He waits. Then Jesus goes on to finishing washing their feet. The Bible doesn’t specifically say that He washes Judas’s feet, but it’s implied. In this touching story, Jesus takes off His outer garment, makes himself look like a servant, then serves both the (EGR – extra grace required) Peter and the betrayer Judas. He serves them all the same. According to John 13:1 He loved them all till the end. He served and loved the self-righteous and the sinner alike, then calls us to do the same.

It’s not about quitting a job, selling everything I have and giving it to the poor. It’s about serving others – whoever the others are. Those I like, those who wear me out, those who I don’t think are worth the time, those who sin against me – everyone in the middle of my life. It’s about serving because Jesus loved me and took off His outer garment to take up the cross for me. And in return I can take time to serve those around me right where I am. In my church, at my job, in my neighborhood and in my home. I don’t have to quit my job or sell my house. Instead, I have to learn to love well and serve right where I am.

Bible, Easter, Holiday, Jesus, love, Minor Prophets, Studying the Bible, Uncategorized

The weight of sin & the Love of God

April 5, 2023 2 Comments

It’s Easter week. I am a staff pastor at a local church, and I’m sick. Yep that’s what my week is like as I write this. Good news is I don’t really have a “Key” role in Easter Services. I am not the lead speaker, nor part of the worship team which takes some pressure off, but still not the best week to be sick. Although there never really is a good time to be sick, is there? We all have responsibilities and things we do that are important and being sick, like it or not, trumps all of that.

Sickness aside it’s been a rough couple of weeks. I have had a funeral to help plan for a friend’s dad, another friend’s son was taken to rehab for the 2nd time, one friend had vocal surgery and another major surgery in a week, car accidents, kids who broke their arms. and a school lockdown that ended in peace. That’s a glimpse of my world. It’s also what I love about being a pastor. I hate that things go wrong; people get sick, but I love that God allows me to bring help to those in need.

I am in the midst of a study on Amos with women at the church. This small book has so much to teach us – it is blowing my mind. This week we are studying chapter 2. Amos is giving his prophetic word to nations that are going to be judged for their sins. It’s actually more bleak than the last couple of weeks around my world. It seems so hopeless….BUT God. There is this one strange verse that author Jennifer Rothschild points out and expands on. Amos 2:13 reads, “Look I am about to crush you, in your places as a wagon crushes when full of grain.”(Holman Standard Bible). Sounds like God is mad, and He is; but there is more to these words than you read on the page. The wagon is symbolic of God, who is weighed down with the sins of His people. A heavy wagon crushes the ground it rolls over due to the weight it carries. Jennifer Rothschild draws the understanding that God allows Himself to get weighed down from our sins. He feels the weight of sin.

Since this is Easter week my mind immediately goes to the scripture from Isaiah, “He was crushed for our iniquities” (Is. 53:5) God allowed Himself to be crushed by the weight of my sin, and yours. I read the rest of the chapter and finished the rest of this week’s study, and then just sat with the Lord. Here in the book of Amos, God is mad at the sins of the Israelites. In fact He is so mad He’s going to crush them according to this chapter. But we know the rest of the story. While Israel is “crushed” for a season – they are taken into captivity, killed, and scattered – God didn’t fully crush them. He didn’t do what their sins deserved. And He doesn’t give us what our sins deserve either. Israel is gathered back together. They become a people group again.

God hates sin. God loves sinners. God does not ignore injustice, but God does not act in wrath. It’s a mystery and a marvel all at the same time. I mentioned my week at the start of this blog. I pointed out the lows, but here are the highs. I was part of a prayer team who saw tumors dissolve, blind eyes see, a life saved from death, tears of joy, peace and love. In the midst of all that is bad God is moving and blessing, and healing, and saving. God always feels the weight of sin. It grieves His heart so much so that He finally had enough. He broke heaven open by sending Jesus to live and then die for the sin of the world. I believe Jesus felt double the weight of sin. The actual sin itself, and then the effects of that sin on others. We live in a fallen world but there is hope. The weight of the wagon won’t crush us because God won’t let it. No matter what sickness you face, or addiction your family member is tied up in; no matter how dark the darkness gets, Jesus is and always will be the light of the world. Light ALWAYS displaces the darkness. No matter how heavy the weight of the wagon God is always there to take that burden. It’s the crazy beauty of Easter. Jesus died. All seemed lost, until it wasn’t. Jesus rose. Nothing can stop God. Nothing can alter the love that is too great to understand. No circumstance is too far gone for God to redeem.

As Good Friday and Easter Sunday come, take a moment and think about what God did for you. What He saved you from. Then praise Him. If He cares enough about you to send His son to die in your place, then He cares deeply about your situation. Whether it’s due to your sin or someone else’s, God sees it; and He will not let it crush you. He is God and He will make right every wrong, He has made a way for us to come to Him. No sin is too big to be forgiven and no hurt is too deep to not be healed. Because of Jesus we will rise.

Bible, Lord of Hosts, Minor Prophets, Names of God, Studying the Bible, Uncategorized

A fig farmer & Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot (Lord of Hosts)

March 1, 2023 No Comments

silhouette of tree near body of water during golden hour

I am getting ready to lead a study on Amos. Not a popular book of the bible so you might be asking why I chose that study. That’s a fair question with many answers. One of my favorite Bible study teachers, Jennifer Rothschild, recently released her study on Amos which is what we are going to use.

I will be honest. I didn’t know much about the book of Amos prior to prepping for my upcoming group. I knew Amos is considered a minor Prophet and that it is a book that isn’t often taught from.

However, I have learned thus far that this small, seemingly insignificant book has much to teach us. I am going to highlight two things in this blog. First about Amos and what we can glean from him as a real person who lived and breathed and tried to figure life out with the Lord in the midst of a messy world, and two the name God chose to reveal Himself by over and over in the book of Amos.

Let’s get started with Amos. After reading through the 9 chapter book and doing a little research on the book and Amos the person, I discovered that Amos wasn’t your typical prophet. In chapter 7 verse 14 we read a very interesting statement given by Amos himself while he is speaking to Amaziah the priest of Bethel. Amos says, “I was not a prophet or the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and I took care of sycamore figs.” Amos to my knowledge is the only “non-prophet” prophet in the Bible. Let me explain what I mean by that. A prophet was someone who was a disciple of other prophets, attended the school of prophets (see 1 Samuel 19:18-24 & 2 Kings 4:38-44) or was part of the prophetic guild. It wasn’t a job just any person could apply for. You were born into it so to speak. What I love about this verse and the few verses before it is that God can use anyone for any purpose He wants. Amos lived during the time when Israel was divided into two parts. The Southern Kingdom known as Judah and the Northern Kingdom where Jerusalem was the capital. Amos mostly speaks prophetically about the Northern Kingdom during the reign of Jeraboam roughly 760 BC. Amos was a farmer, and a fig farmer at that. He was a faithful follower of the Lord. You could say he wasn’t a man looking for ministry. The Lord called Amos to prophecy during a time when things were relatively good because the priest Amaziah and the rest of the religious leaders of that day become too complacent in “the good life.” In fact verse 10 of chapter 7 says, “Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent work to king Jeroboam of Israel saying ‘Amos has conspired against you right here in the hose of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words. For Amos has said this: Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly be going into exile from its homeland.” (Amos 7:10-11). The Tree of Life Bible says it this way in their introduction to the book of Amos, “Amos gives a stark and sober reminder to those who live in relative ease. God is far less interested in our activities or accomplishments as He is in knowing the character of our being.” Amos was an ordinary man living his ordinary life when God told him to go speak to different nations and tell them what God was doing and what God thought of what nations were doing. And the most amazing part is Amos obeyed. He had no formal training. He wasn’t from a prominent family. He was just simply a man who heard God’s voice and obeyed. I love that because it tells me that God can use me, and God can use you. God just is looking for a faithful obedient person. So let the small book of Amos remind you that you can make a HUGE impact in this world for the Lord by simply hearing His voice and obeying.

The second thing I would like to highlight is over and over in the book of Amos God is called – Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot (Lord of Hosts). In chapter 5 verse 27 we read, “The Lord, the God of Armies, is His name. He has spoken.” This name for God – The Lord of Hosts – is used 235 times in the Bible. It reveres Him as being over hosts of angelic armies who gather in His name and serve at His command. All creation is subject to the LORD of Armies. The best imagery used for this name is found in 2 Kings chapter 6. Elisha warns the king of Israel where the king of Aram was since the two countries were at war. The king of Aram gets so mad at Elisha for telling the king of Israel what he is doing that he sends a massive army to Dothan where Elisha is. In the morning Elisha’s servant gets up and sees this massive army that has surrounded them. In verse 16 of 2 Kings chapter 6 we read, “Elisha said, Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.” Elisha prays that God would open the eyes of his servant to see “that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17)

The Lord of Hosts is a powerful name of God. It reminds us that He is Lord over everything and has armies of angels at his disposal to fight and war for us. Amos 4:13 says, “He is here: the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the Dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth, The Lord, The God of Armies is His name.” This majestic all powerful God tells Amos to tell the people turn from evil and live. This same God who controls the wind and waves calls to us, “Seek the Lord and live.” Amos 5:4.

The Lord of Hosts is for you, He loves you. He longs for you to live for Him, surrendered to Him. And just as He used Amos to tell others of His mighty deeds and His great love, He will use you, too.

Hopefully those two thoughts from the book of Amos have piqued your interested and you two will now go study this small but powerful minor prophet. If you do, please share what the Lord shows you in this book with me here in the comments.

Christmas, cookies, Holiday, Recipes, Uncategorized

A Christmas Kiss to Eat

December 6, 2022 No Comments

I must confess I do like to bake. But somehow I like it even more in the winter and at Christmas. It’s just not fun to bake when it’s 100 degrees. But now its cool/cold-ish and I am baking away. It helps that I have a women’s Christmas event that I am baking for at my church too!

I avoid gluten but am not celiac so I can eat it. My mom however is and she doesn’t eat gluten at all. My daughter in law is dairy free and I wanted to make something for people whose allergies or health issues cause them to not eat certain foods. I found a recipe called Coffee Kisses. They were simple and cute as you piped the dough with a star tip and a piping bag into a beautiful swirl. The recipe was not gluten or dairy free, but I thought I would give the recipe a try and swap the butter for a vegan one and the flour for one that’s gluten free. Everything was working out. I got the dough piped out real nice and they looked perfect. I popped them in the oven and waited….

Here is what the first ones looked like after they baked. So flat!

What came out was super flat coffee crisps. My kids said they tasted great. I was disappointed. So I tweaked the recipe a bit more adding more gluten free flour to stiffen the dough and adding baking powder. The result was a dough that did hold its shape but wouldn’t go through the piping bag.

Since the recipe was called Coffee Kisses, I had the idea to shape the dough into the Hershey chocolate kiss shape and bake them. They turned out great. They for sure look homemade but that’s ok because they are. Once you drizzle a little chocolate on top they are perfect. The good news is now anyone can make these – no piping bag or star tips required. Just a mixing bowl a cookie sheet the ingredients and your own two hands.

For all my gluten free, dairy free friends out there I got you covered with this recipe that you WILL be able to make on your own!

Here’s the recipe:

2.5 cups gluten free flour (I used Cup 4 Cup multipurpose gluten free flour)

2 sticks and 2.5 tbsp vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsps instant coffee

2 tbsp hot water

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

and a few shakes of the salt shaker.

Directions

Mix the instant coffee in the hot water and stir. Blend the butter and the sugar until creamy. Since it is dairy free butter it isn’t as hard as regular butter so you don’t have to bring it to room temp to mix it! Bonus!! Once that is blended add 1 cup of the flour mix until blended, then add the coffee and water mix, the vanilla, baking powder, salt and the rest of the flour. Mix until well blended. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer that I used but a handheld mixer would work just as well. I did end up mixing the last bit of flour in by hand.

Pre-heat your oven to 325. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Then take about 2tsp of dough and roll into a ball. Pinch the top to form the peak of a the kiss like a Hershey kiss has. Place cookies spaced out evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 mins.

This is the shape of the cookies before they are baked.

And this is after baking them. They held the shape so much better than the first batch.

Once they cool melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips or whatever type chocolate you want and drizzle over the top.

You can add 1/2tsp of coconut oil to the chocolate to help it drizzle better.

Serve these with a great cup of coffee.

Recipe will make 35-40 cookies depending on how big you make the kisses.

**Make sure your chocolate is dairy free or if you forget that like me leave some without chocolate for those who can’t eat any dairy.

Drizzled chocolate on this whole pan before I realized it’s milk chocolate!

Christmas, Friendship, Jesus, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized

Getting to the feet of Jesus

November 26, 2022 No Comments

It has been a whirlwind of a week for me. Starting last Saturday. It was the wedding rehearsal day for my second oldest son. Which was fun, confusing (lots of discussing who walks in before who, and what word in the song do we start to walk out to kind of stuff.) All in all a good day, a little surreal but good.

Then Sunday morning (church day not the wedding day because both parents on each side are pastors and well, pastors have church services we do weekly) my daughter and oldest son alert me to a shooting in a town 20-30 minutes away. Five lives have been taken and 18 more are injured. My heart breaks. This shooting is yet another hate crime. Thoughts are swirling, Why God?, How God? And then to happy nervous thoughts. Yikes, tomorrow is the big day…

Then Monday, wedding day. Great day. Lots of emotions – all happy. Then Tuesday, back to work for Christmas decorating day. Then Wednesday, finally a lull in the week. Followed by Thanksgiving which has its own set of emotions. What I am grateful for and who do I want to smack for getting in the way while food is being put in the oven and taken out of the oven in crazy amounts. And now finally Friday. Black Friday. Why do we celebrate a day of being grateful and then call the next day Black Friday? Weird. Anyway, no Black Friday shopping here. Just a quiet house for the first time in a week – ’cause there are extra friends and family around because it was Thanksgiving and a wedding in one week.

I am sitting back in my office – which was turned into a spare room for said friends and family. Life is slowly making its way back to normal or as normal of the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas can get.

I’m working my way through a study on Jesus via the book of Luke. The author, Erica Wiggenhorn, does a great job of leaving you daily with deep thoughts to ponder. Today’s is based on Luke 5:17-26. For those of you who don’t immediately know Luke 5:17-26 (if you already knew what this section of Scripture is about, you ROCK, because I would not have known without having read it this morning), it’s about the paralyzed man with the amazing friends who go to great lengths to get the paralyzed man to Jesus.

When I say great lengths I mean like physically carrying the man on a mat to the house that Jesus was in, only to find one way, through the crowds, to get to Jesus. Determined, they carry the man up the stairs (outside) to the roof, cut a hole in the roof, create some sort of pully system so they can lower the man through the hole to the feet of Jesus. That all took thought, skill, muscle and teamwork. Once the man is in front of Jesus he is both healed and declared forgiven for his sins. He leaves carrying the mat his friends had been carrying him on all night.

The author of the study (Erica Wiggenhorn) poses the questions “Are you that kind of friend? Do you have friends like that?” My answer is I hope so to both. Then she takes it further, “Are you that kind of neighbor?” If your neighbors are some of your really close friends NEVER move, because that is not so common in today’s world.

Then she says “When we become people who readily admit our own desperation for Jesus, the door opens – or the roof is dismantled – for us to become people who will do anything to bring our friends to the feet of Jesus as well as to have their sins forgiven.” She goes on to say “Are you and I ready to become mat-carrying, roof- raising, believing-the-best-for-others kind of people. Will we allow Jesus to make us people with such faith and audacity that the world is left in wonder?” (Unexplainable Jesus, pg 72-73)

As I sit here this morning, once more in my office, in my quiet home, Jesus I want to be that kind of person to my friends, to my neighbors and to those I don’t know. I want to clear a path for people to come to the feet of Jesus because He can handle any situation we lay at His feet. He can make right any wrong. He can heal, and He can forgive sins. He alone can make whole what is broken in our bodies, in our hearts and in our world.

Friends, will you join me in being people who take others to Jesus? Someone who carries those who can’t walk to the feet of Jesus? Someone who won’t stop until the hurting, the broken, or the lost are at the feet of Jesus?

Over the next month as holiday madness ensues, let us remember our job isn’t to be the best host, give the best gift, or have the prettiest decorated house… but to help take those around us, friends, family, neighbors, and strangers to the feet of Jesus.

Prayer, surrendering, Uncategorized

Learning to sway in the wind

June 6, 2022 No Comments

I had just finished my morning bible reading. Ezekiel 12. I began praying for a friend that they would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when I looked up from the patio where I was sitting and saw a tall palm tree moving back and forth in the wind. God began to speak to my heart.

This palm tree’s tall trunk is maybe 8-10 inches in diameter, (maybe smaller I am bad with math and guessing dimensions). It’s slightly windy this morning. Nothing major. A nice ocean breeze. As I watched the palm tree move this way and that – unpredictable movements based on the wind – I began to think, “What keeps this tree from toppling over in heavy wind?” Let me explain how tall this palm tree is. I am on the 6th floor of a condo building. This tree’s palms are barely visible to me from where I sit. I would guess the full height of the tree is 8-9 stories tall. This tall skinny tree is swaying gracefully in the breeze.

God said that if I would learn to move with the wind of the Spirit when it starts to blow, the Spirit could keep moving and I would keep swaying with it changing directions when needed, never trying to control the Spirit. Just yielding to its direction.

I have only been in Maui for a few days but I have yet to see a palm tree laying on the ground uprooted because of the wind. I also haven’t seen one broken in two from bending to the wind. What I have seen is trees moving with the wind, swaying and swinging all the while making beautiful soothing sounds with their palms.

It is so peaceful, there is a bird chirping, the sounds of the palms swishing in the air, the sight of all kinds of palm trees dancing with the wind.

My mind began to wonder – what if we all gave up control and just moved with the Wind? What if I learned to live in a peaceful movement with the wind of the Spirit? What would it be like to sway and bend as the Spirt leads instead of fearing that I might bump into this palm tree or that palm tree or worse bend too far and break?

The Holy Spirit is gentle. I know that, yet I forget that. When I feel the Spirit move, I sometimes get tense and worried. What if the Holy Spirit prompts me to do something weird or embarrassing? Yet as I looked out at the palm trees around me the Lord began to show me the beauty I would produce if I yield more to the Holy Spirit, and that I look weird when I fight against the Spirit; not when I move with it.

The swaying of the palm tree is graceful, beautiful and even a little intoxicating. I could sit for hours in this peaceful place listening to the sounds of the wind and seeing the peaceful movement the wind creates.

The Lord began to say “Give up control. Yield to me. Trust my Spirit and move with wind of Heaven, and you too will create a beautiful sound. Others will watch and be in awe of my Spirit in you.’

So today I give back the control I never was meant to have. I yield to the Holy Spirit and commit to a life of swaying in the wind.

Bible, forgiveness, complaining, slow to anger, The power of the Blood, Uncategorized

A Journey Through the Book of Numbers – Part 5: The long awaited conclusion

March 12, 2022 No Comments

statue of st mary standing on top of rock

Thank you for taking the time to read this series post. Today I am wrapping up the book of Numbers. There are two different things I’d like to talk about in this last post. Starting in Chapter 29 I will share about the Day of Atonement and then wrap of with Moses’ angry outburst at the rock which will take us back to chapter 20.

I see so much of myself in the Israelites. They whine, they complain, God moves on their behalf, they rejoice, and then they repeat that cycle over again. Maybe the time gaps between the rejoicing and the complaining grow a little longer each cycle but yet they go right back to being complaining whiny babies. It is so easy to see sin in someone else than to acknowledge in your own heart.

While I was reading through Numbers I came across a verse in Chapter 29 that seemed to scream stop studying this and learn from this. It reads like this “You are to hold a sacred assembly on the tenth day of this seventh month and practice self-denial; do not do any work.” Numbers 29:7. Practice self-denial. I don’t know about you but I am horrible at this. I mean H-o-r-r-i-b-l-e. We live in the land of ‘I want what I want when I want it’. And I have adopted that life style more than I would like to admit. And the not work part – what?? I am always working, either for the church, or doing house work, or doing something for the family, or working in the garden because it helps me destress from all the work. That’s just life in America right? That is the norm, right? I mean I know we take a Sabbath but if I am honest that just means grocery shopping and finishing whatever household things didn’t get done that week, and maybe reading the Bible and watching a show.

So I sat with that. Prayed about it, thought about it and then studied it. What I learned is how the Jewish culture, at least in Biblical times, prepares for the Day of Atonement. For those that aren’t familiar with it, the Day of Atonement is the one day the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies and offer sacrifices to atone for the sin of themselves and their nation. They did this every year along with all the other required sacrifices throughout the year.

The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, is the climax of a 10 day period where the Jewish people reflect and repent for their lives and actions over the last year. They spend from the 1st day of the month of Tishri which is Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur repenting and looking internally at the condition of their heart. These 10 days are called the ‘Days of Awe’.

The Torah states that on Yom Kippur the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies and call upon the name of Yaweh to offer a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. A life for life sacrifice. Once again we see how the book of Numbers points us to our need for Jesus who was the High Priest who could legally go into the Holy of Holies and He Himself offered His life in place of mine and yours and every person who will accept Him.

However, in my studying I found that 40 days before Yom Kippur is the ‘Season of Teshuvah’. This 40 days is the period of time marked on the Jewish calendar that Moses was called to go back up Mount Sinai and he then received the second set of tablets of the 10 commandments. Moses went up to Mount Sinai no less then 3 times, each for 40 days at a time. The last time Moses went up was on the 1st of Elul and he descended 40 days later on the 10th of Tishri which is now Yom Kippur. This 40 days between the 1st of Elul and the 10th of Tishri represents the time of national sin and forgiveness obtained by Teshuvah before the Lord. Teshuvah means “turn towards God.” It is a time of soul searching and offering prayers for forgiveness.

I had decided that I would observe Lent this year. Just me and God. I wasn’t doing this for a study but because I personally need to reflect on where my heart was, spend some time with Jesus, and get prepared to celebrate Easter. (As I have said in other posts I struggle with the Holy Holidays turned secular like Easter and Christmas.) I wanted this year to be different and was believing this 40 days of Lent would help with that. I tell you that because they day I researched and learned of the Season of Teshuvah was on March 2nd, 2022 – the first day of Lent. We see that in the old testament God was setting up practices and applications for his people to see how wicked they had become, turn and repent, and accept that one sacrifice was sufficient to cleanse them of unrighteousness so they could continue in their relationship with the Lord. Jesus is our atonement for sin once and for all. He is that sacrifice that allows me, a sinner, to stand in the righteousness of Christ before the Lord. I was blown away at God’s goodness and provisions for maintaining relationship with His people.

What great lengths he went to, to show us His love that was always there for mankind. The day of self denial is the day you realize it isn’t you that makes you clean. You can’t be holy enough for God’s standards without the blood of a sacrifice. A life for a life. It is a day and a season to reflect on how much I need Jesus. I must deny myself, take up my cross, dieing to my wants and my ways, and follow Jesus and His ways. Because His way leads to life and mine leads to more work, more effort only to end up so off from the mark I was aiming at.

And Now on to Moses and why he didn’t get to enter the promised land. Chapter 20 recants the story of the Israelites once more complaining. This time it was a about lack of water. Which, by the way, God had already shown them many times how He controlled the water. He turned it into blood in Egypt. He parted the Red Sea so they could cross over to safety from the Eygptians. And He provided water in the desert when Moses hit the rock and water poured out. So why can’t they just believe God will provide? Hmmm. I see myself there. God has healed people I have prayed for. He has provided for me time and time again. And yet when it comes down to it, I freak out, complain, ask God why He is doing this to me, only to have Him show me His love and answers to my situation once again. Turns out seeing isn’t believing after all.

This time God tells Moses to speak to the rock and water will come forth. But Moses is human just like us. He gets mad just like us. He does things out of pride just like us. Instead of speaking to the rock He hits it twice and water comes forth. Moses disobeyed God and yet God provided for the people and for Moses. Don’t miss that. Moses sinned and God still moved despite that sin. But then we read that because Moses didn’t obey God he won’t enter the promised land.

I have always struggled with this. It seems so harsh of God. In fact, too harsh for the God who loves unconditionally. But the story doesn’t end there. The book of Numbers is not the last time we read about Moses. We read once more about Moses in Matthew 17:1-9 Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a high mountain and He is transfigured in front of them. He shows them his glory, and who he really is – part of the Trinity of God. He Himself reveals His Holy-self to them. Verse 3 of chapter 17 reads ‘Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.” Moses shows up on the mount of Transfiguration and is talking with Jesus. Moses is standing on a mountain in the Promised Land with Elijah and Jesus.

In the book of Numbers we read that God allows him to see the Promised Land. But years and years later Jesus stands with Moses in the Promised Land. God redeemed what sin caused Moses to lose. His ways really are better.

The book of Numbers reminds us of our propensity to sin. It also reminds us that God made a way to redeem us from our sins through the blood of Jesus. God’s heart is for us, it always has been and it always will be. And even when we think we have blown it so bad that God redeem our situation, He stands and talks with us as we experience His promises. God is faithful and more loving than we will ever know. And the book of Numbers reminds us of that, through all the ups and downs, sinning and repenting; God never gave up on them, and He will never give up on you.

Uncategorized

A Journey Through the book of Numbers – Part 1

February 24, 2022 No Comments

I have never done a series on my blog. So this is a first. And yes, I am starting with the book of Numbers. I know I know I hate math, too, but this book is amazing. I began reading it in prepping to lead a Bible study this summer by Lauren Chandler on the book of Numbers. The study is called With Us in the Wilderness . I haven’t started hers yet, just thought I would read through the book and use the First 5 App from Lysa TerKeurst to have a second source of info when leading this study.

Just in the first two chapters I was blown away by all God was speaking and showing me. The book of Numbers isn’t just a list of Numbers and census of biblical Israel. It’s so much more. So I will start with my insight from chapters 1-3.

Chapter 1 starts out with the Lord asking Moses to take a census of the people. Seems boring, right? But in everything God does there is purpose, and most of the time that purpose is mind blowing. All the tribes were counted but the Levites because they were to work in the tabernacle and had specific duties in moving the tabernacle. Then once everyone was counted Moses, by command of the Lord, tells the Israelites how to camp. Remember they had just been freed from slavery in Egypt and are now making their way to the promised land. Moving more than 1 million people through the desert wasn’t an easy task and didn’t just happen over night. We all know they camped in the wilderness for 40 years, but that was due to some discontented people we will talk about in later blogs. However, I think even if that didn’t happen it still would have taken some time. So the people had to learn how to camp, how to break camp, and how to fight.

God is intentional in everything He says and does. This census that Moses took led to teaching the Israelites the best camp formation for them. When they stopped and set up camp they were to do so in a specific way. The Tent of meeting or Tent of the Tabernacle was to be in the middle. One three sides of the Tent of Meeting were the Levites camps, leaving no Levites to camp on the east side of the Tabernacle. There, the largest group would camp – the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. To the north the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. The west side was Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin. And last the south where the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad camped. Because Moses took the census, He knew where to place the bigger tribes. Why is that important? Because God wanted Moses to keep the Tabernacle safe from an attack. With the tribes strategically placed, there were fighting forces all around the Tabernacle with an inner force of the Levites.

Ok so you might be thinking, so what? God protected the Tabernacle. Take a look at this picture from my Holman Woman’s Study Bible.

Do you see it? They camped in the shape of a cross. With the Tabernacle at the center. Pretty cool right. Even in the book of Numbers God is speaking to us about His plan for salvation. And that is just chapter 1.

We see again the concept of redemption in chapter 3. In chapter 3 we see God asking Moses to take a count of all the Levites, the tribe that is closest to the Tabernacle and the ones who are put in charge of caring for the Tabernacle, the sacrifices, and the offerings given to the Lord. In verses 12-13 of chapter 3, we read that the Lord has taken the Levites in place of every firstborn Israelite because every firstborn belongs to the Lord.

After Moses numbers the Levites we discover that there were 273 more men in the other 11 tribes than there were in the tribe of the Levites. An atonement price is set at 5 shekels of silver for those who out number the Levites. Verse 48 calls it a “redemption price”. Jesus is the first born male of God who is perfect without blemish who was sacrificed in our place. The book of Numbers helps us see that even in the Old Testament God had plans for redeeming His people. He was foreshadowing all that Jesus would one day do, while making provision for those who lived before Him. God is full of love and wants to have relationship with His people. From the Old to New Testament, that has never changed.

I can’t wait to share God’s remedy for jealousy in the next part of this series on the book of Numbers.

To read part 2 click here.

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