"...GOD IS FAITHFUL..." - 1 Cor. 10:13

"No temptation has seized you except what is

common to man. And God is faithful; he will not

let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when

you are tempted, he will also provide a way out

so that you can stand up under it."

This verse is so full of wisdom, but I am choosing today to focus on the faithfulness of God.  Several years after the church was started in Corinth, Paul began to hear disturbing reports of strife and division in the church.  It was his goal to draw these people back into righteous living and relationships with each other.

We often find ourselves in the middle of trouble - sometime at our own making, sometimes not.  But God is ALWAYS able to bring us through it.  In our Hebrews Bible study this week, we learned that because of us, Christ suffered and died so He might help us in our time of need (Heb. 2:14-18).

Joe Stowell in STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY says when that trouble comes:

"It is important to have something solid and true to which we

can attach our faith.  When trouble comes, faith clings to His promises...

faith clings to His ways...faith clings to His character."

He goes on to say: "God is not going to show up at the end of your trouble and say 'I've been really busy...just couldn't quite get to you'.  He is firm, reliable and fully worthy of our confidence."

What trouble are you facing today?  It's not too great for our Father...He is faithful and He knows your need.  Call on Him now!

For further study:  Deuteronomy 7:9, 32:4, Psalm 25:10, 33:4, Isaiah 49:7, Lamentations 3:22-23, Romans 8:28, 1 Thess. 5:24, 2 Timothy 2:13, Hebrews 10:23, 1 John 1:9.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word!

Love,

Holly

"It is time to seek the Lord" - Hosea 10:12

The Book of Hosea, the first of the Old Testament Minor Prophets, reads a bit like a contemporary television show - prostitution, unfaithfulness and much sadness.  The opening verse tells us: "the Lord began to speak through Hosea", so we listen!  He spoke words of warning: the Israelites would have to do right if they wanted God's continued blessing.  He had given them much and they had returned little!  I feel that way today about our country.  We have been much blessed in this "One Nation Under God", but we are turning to our own ways and not honoring the One who has blessed us.

Sarah Young in JESUS CALLING writes:

"...the longer people push Me into the

background of their lives, the harder

it is for them to find Me."

Are our calendars packed full?  Are we running fast and furious through every day?  Are we taking time with Him in the morning to study and seek His plan for our days?  Oswald Chambers says: "Beware lest you forget God's purpose for your life."  Oh my, 'disregard' may describe me better!

In the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42, Martha was the busy one...she had so much to do!  Mary, who sat at Jesus' feet to absorb all He gave, was commended by Him: "Mary has chosen what is better".  By the way, I highly recommend HAVING A MARY HEART IN A MARTHA WORLD by Joanna Weaver.

Max Lucado in THE GREAT HOUSE OF GOD writes:

"He has no interest in being a weekend getaway or a Sunday

bungalow or a summer cottage.  Don't consider using God as a vacation

cabin or an eventual retirement home.  He wants you under his roof now

and always.  He wants to be your mailing address, your point of

reference: he wants to be your home."

It is time for us to make Him our home!  It is time for us to seek Him!

For further study:  Deuteronomy 4:29, 1 Chronicles 28:9-10, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Isaiah 55:6, Amos 5:4-15, Psalm 34:8, Matthew 6:33.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word!

Love,

Holly

"SPEAK A KIND WORD TODAY" - Hebrews 3:13

"...encourage one another daily,

as long as it is called Today

so that none of you may be

hardened by sin's deceitfulness."

The verse on the pillow is my "pollyanna" version - the reality of the latter part takes some time to ponder.  It never occurred to me that when I didn't speak a word of encouragement, it might be because of my own hard heart!  The author was warning Christians in the book of Hebrews to not stop following Christ and encouraging others along the way.

Encouraging words are hard to come by these days.  You more likely hear words of criticism from our politicians, trash talk from our sports stars, disappointing sarcasm even among family and Facebook friends and awful verbal assaults on the television.

One of my favorite commercials shows a mom and dad, all dressed up, in an audience looking around for their very young son who had disappeared.  The stage curtain opens and there he is, all dressed up and sitting at the piano playing a very elementary "Chop Sticks".  With a horrified look on their faces, they see an tuxedo-clad elderly gentleman come out from stage left, stand behind the boy and say: "Go ahead", and he began to play an elaborate accompaniment to the same song making a beautiful sound.  The slogan said: "ENCOURAGEMENT: PASS IT ON!"

St. Frances de Sales said: "Our words are a faithful index of the state of our souls".  Nancy Leigh DeMoss says in THE POWER OF WORDS: "critical heart ~critical words... mean heart~mean words... spiritual heart~spiritual words... kind heart~kind words...".

Joe Stowell in THE WEIGHT OF YOUR WORDS" SAYS:

"A raging river can be destructive and demolish

everything in its path...or it can be channeled to turn a mill

or produce electricity.  The 'energy' produced by our

words can be a ...gift to others or it can knock

them off their feet emotionally."

Let's go find someone to speak a kind word to today!

For further study:  Proverbs 15:4, Proverbs 16:24, Proverbs 18:21, Psalm 141:3, Isaiah 1:17, Ephesians 4:29, 1 Thes. 4:18, 2 Tim 4:2-3, Hebrews 10:23-24, James 3:3-6.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

"BE HOLY BECAUSE I AM HOLY" - Leviticus 11:44

Seems like an impossible goal, right?  I worked in a church office once and (at least) one week didn't do a very good job proofreading and the Sunday bulletin announced the wonderful hymn as "Holy, Holly, Holy"...which we all knew wasn't the case at all!  Moses was receiving instructions from the Lord - as they were in the desert after the exodus - on clean and unclean foods.  These instructions esstablished the rules of maintaining a holy relationship with God - which was God's plan then and now.  My Quest Bible commentary says: "the law provides the standard...grace cancels our sin and provides the power to measure up to that standard".  Amos 7:7-8 calls His standard a "plumb line".  Henry Blackaby in FRESH ENCOUNTER says "Scripture serves as our plumb line for how His people should live.".

Apart from a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit, we cannot attain holiness.  If we know Him and His word, then we are on the way.  To be "holy" is to be set apart, different from the world.  So what are some of the things in His word that instruct us in what holy living is:

-  Love the Lord with all your heart - Deu. 6:5
-  Forgive - Matt. 6:14
-  Spend time with the Lord and His word - John 15:5
-  Obey His commands - 2 John 4-6
-  Love others  - John 13:35
-  Tell the truth - Lev. 19:11
-  Encourage others - Eph 5:29
-  Serve others - Eph. 6:7-8
-  Give generously - 2 Cor. 9:11
-  Pray - 2 Chronicles 7:14

I recommend Rhonda Kelley's "A Women's Guide to Personal Holiness" (amazon.com).  In it she says:

"Holiness is not a status to be

achieved, but a life goal to be pursued."

Pursuing holiness will make us different/set apart and ready for the Lord's pleasure and service.  Oswald Chambers says:  "Some of us are like the Dead Sea, always taking in but never giving out".  Is there evidence in your life (and mine) of holiness?  If not maybe there are some habits that need to die.  Allow the Holy Spirit to develop some new attitudes more in line with God's holiness.  I'll be praying for you.

For further study:  Isaiah 6:3, John 7:38, Romans 12:1, Ephesians 4:22-24, Ephesians 5:3,  Colossians 3:12, 1 Thess. 4:7, 2 Tim. 1:9, Hebrews 12:10-14, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Rev. 4:8

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word..

Love,

Holly