LOVE ONE ANOTHER - 1 John 4:7

"Dear friends, let us love one another for love

comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born

of God and knows God."   1 John 4:7

Did you know that there are 59 "one another" references in the Bible?  Ways we are to care for those outside of self.  I am concerned that we are not doing well...we are such a self-centered society, our main focus is on "me" and what my needs are.  As you might imagine, the Greek word for this kind of love (there are 3 other Greek words for love in the New Testament) is agape which is the highest form of love...the way God loves us...selfless...charitable.  

Another place the same word is used is in Hebrews 10:24:

"Let us consider how we may spur one another on

toward LOVE and good deeds..."

Women:  are you dressing to encourage or entice?  Men:  is your language encouraging someone?  Children:  are you being kind to someone who snubs you?  We don't see "love and good deeds" as a worthy goal portrayed in movies or TV shows.  I would like to be viewed as a positive role model in Biblical terms and I would like to encourage someone today toward righteous living...not living to indulge self.  Unless we know God's word, we will listen to how the world defines that.

On this Valentine's Day, let us be part of the "Charitable LOVE gives" campaign.  How are you loving today?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

For further study:  Proverbs 17:17, Matthew 19:19, John 15:17, Romans 12:9, Romans 13:8, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 Cor. 16:14, Galatians 5:13, 1 Peter 1:22, 1 John 4:19.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's love.

Love,

Holly

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord - Jer. 17:7

Jeremiah, often called "the weeping prophet", was given by God a hard assignment to warn the people of upcoming judgment.  He was called to this task (1:4-5) by the LORD and when the LORD calls, he equips.  Jeremiah struggled most of his days to find joy in his task...and yet in Lamentations (his book of laments), we find the powerful and lifegiving verse:

Because of the Lord's great love we are not

consumed, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lam. 3:22-23

Our verse for today's blog reminds us that the kind of blessings Jeremiah is talking about do not come to all.  Blessings come to one who puts his trust in the Lord...not trusting money, fame, success or family.  That would mean a total dependence upon the One who created us to do His work.  That would mean a giving up of self, of professing faith in Jesus Christ and being His witness wherever He calls us.  Trials will come but God will always always BLESS!

I think the part of this passage that I love the most...even the "weeping prophet" knew that when he put his trust in the Lord, he would be "...like a tree planted by the water"...he would flourish...he would not fear when the going gets tough and he would never fail to "bear fruit" (verse 8).  What a sweet, sweet promise.  Earlier in the chapter in verses 5-6,  it talks about a person in the wastelands, whose heart has turned away from the Lord and he was parched, poor and weak. 

We have the same choice today as Jeremiah did.  Will we seek to be obedient to the Lord who made us or will we waste away languishing in the wastelands?   I hope you are studying God's word to know what pleases Him.  Do you know: "...the Lord longs to be gracious to you" (Isaiah 30:18) and He has a wonderful plan for your life (Jer. 29:11)?

For further study: Deu. 30:16, 1 Kings 2:1-3, Psalm 1:1-3, Prov. 29:18, Matt. 5:1-12, John 15:10, Romans 8:28, James 1:12.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

Gratitude or Greed?

There are times that I am overcome with GRATITUDE at being able to do what I do with my Scripture embroidery.  Grazing over God's word and making something lovely is so satisfying.  However I cannot pretend that is always my attitude.  I am selfish, prideful and GREEDY at other times.  I cannot for the life of me figure out why I don't see the very clear cause-consequence theory!  When I am filled with God's word I am grateful.  When I am filled with me I am greedy!  Duh!

Jamie Munson wrote about "Gratitude vs. Greed" and how our attitudes affect every aspect of life:  our desires, view of money, perspective, job, church, relationships and so many more part of our day.  He says in regard to God's grace:

Rather than cultivating humble appreciation, we covet a higher

standard of living.  Rather than gratitude for His grace, we

exhibit greed for our own gain.

I see two very clear cause-consequence scriptures that I encourage you to study.  First, Phil. 2:14-18 shows us that "laboring in vain" begins with grumbling and a contentious attitude...not a thankful heart.  Rejoicing is done by those who "hold firmly to the word of life".  Secondly, Ephesians 5:18-20 tells us that praise, singing and thanksgiving flows out of the person controlled by the Spirit of God.

It's a choice:  a grateful heart or a greedy one?  It will affect everything we do today.  What is spilling out of you today?

For further study:  Ecc. 5:10, Psalm 119:11, Psalm 136:1, Matt. 6:24,  Luke 12:15,  John 15:10, 1 Tim. 6:10, 2 Tim. 2:15, Heb.  12:28, James 1:17.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

To our God and Father be glory forever - Phil. 4:20

In retirement, one of my favorite things to do is spend an hour at our neighborhood pool with a good book (I'm in the Amalia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters!).  I recently was in awe of the beauty all around me...I mean, there was nothing really beautiful around me that God didn't make!   That is amazing discovery for me...one who loves beautiful things.  But stuff just fades away...God's earth goes on and on.

Folliot Sandford Pierpoint wrote "For the Beauty of the Earth":

For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies.

For the love which from our birth, over and around us lies.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise.  This our hymn of grateful praise.

Have you ever thought about how we teach our children to say "thank you" for things they are given...but do we teach them to say "grateful praise" to the Creator of the most beautiful things ever created.  We receive blessings over and over throughout our day, and I just simply do not say thanks enough.

A commentator for this hymn said: "God wants to make us people who exhibit a thankfulness in proper proportion to the gifts and blessings we've received".  Hmmm, I think I have some work to do.

May we glorify our God every day of our lives for the beauty and blessings He has bestowed upon us.

For further study:  Ps. 19:1,  Ps. 72:19, Proverbs 16:4, Ecc. 3:11, Isaiah 43:7, John 17:24, Romans 1:21-24, 1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 1:27, Hebrews 1:3.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

Lam. 3:22-23 - The Lord's Mercies are new everyday GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS

I hope you are a better "waiter" than I am.  I have never been good at it but I know the Lord wants me to be patient and "wait upon" Him.  I also know that most of the things I wait for, if given some time to wait, will pass away as unnecessary.  At 70, that is a very good lesson to learn.

We are waiting for something quite important right now so here I sit, waiting.  There is no more helpful Scripture for me than Lam. 3:22-23.  When I am reminded that God's mercies are new every morning and that He is faithful in all of His plans, then I can be still and wait for Him.  I am reminded of how those grumbling Israelites - who were recently rescued from an awful life of slavery by a very good God - complained that they didn't have good enough things to eat.  In fact they were so ridiculous in their thinking they thought their life in slavery was better than their current state.  So in Exodus 16 we find our very good God giving them nourishment morning and night...with some instructions on how that nourishment was to be gathered.  The  daily nourishment was a "test" to see if they would trust their Lord or their storehouses.  Unfortunateley they learned that the hard way and often we do too.

When we trust our anything material then we don't trust our God.  Priscilla Shirer says about God: "...He persistently pursues His saints, even when they are running in the wrong direction."  It is His gracious love that causes Him to pursue us and give us new mercies every single day.  I know that in my patient waiting my persistent God is ready to bless and I trust His wisdom in what that blessing looks like.

For further study:  Deu. 7:9, Psalm 33:4, Psalm 91:4, Luke 11:3, 1 Cor. 10:13, 2 Cor. 4:16, Eph. 2:4-5, James 1:17, 1 Peter 1:3.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,
Holly

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord - Jer. 17:7

The word "blessed" is frequently seen in the material world today.  I confess I have a t-shirt that I like to wear with the word on it.  But I also think the word is misunderstood...I think the world sees it one way and those in the church see it differently.  The Hebrew word is barak and means to kneel or to show favor by a gift...to receive an inheritance.  I believe it shows a heart of gratitude for favor from God...it reminds me that it is not my work that has been successful but God's.

I  believe it can be misunderstood because of so much hardship in the world...for believers and nonbelievers alike.  So maybe it seems to be blessed is an impossible goal...maybe it denotes a kind of perfect life that we likely will never see on this earth.  I don't want to ever pretend that just because I consider myself blessed, I have everything perfect in my life.  I just don't think God thinks that would be good for us.  Therefore, the many times "blessed" is used in the Bible it is connected to obedience.  Our obedience to what God's instructions are for each of us...day by day...not the total A+ we think the Lord requires.  He desires that we would seek Him and daily give our strengths and our weaknesses to Him.  To be grateful for small steps and a big God.

Cathy Morenzie in her blog said:

"If you're anything like me and struggle with the concept of TOTAL obedience, stop equating it with perfection and start thinking about it as the path to true blessings."

The world cannot offer us blessing..."blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord".

For further study:  Deu. 30:16, 1 Kings 2:1-3, 2 Chron. 16:9, Psalm 1:1-3, Proverbs 29:18, Isaiah 30:18, Matt. 5:1-12, John 15:10, Romans 8:28, James 1:12.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,
Holly

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him - Psalm 37:7

Well, sweet friends, it has been a long time since we chatted...over a year!  A new chapter has begun for us...my husband, Don, has recently retired from a career in ministry that has lasted over 40 years.  I couldn't begin to tell you the emotions that we have both experienced in the process!  We are still trying to figure out what "retirement" means...the dictionary definition says it means to "cease from work"...REALLY?  That's not even what we want, let alone anticipate!

For the believer in Christ, we believe even when we are old there is work to be done.  The Bible is full of people and ideas as to what working for the senior should look like.  Eugene Peterson put it simply for all of us to say:  "We do not live to ourselves...everything we do is in relation to the God who made us and cares for us."  Are you living and working for Him or for yourself?  Am I?

So we "wait patiently" for the Lord to give us wisdom in this new season.  Jan Silvious in her book COURAGE FOR THE UNKNOWN SEASON SAYS:
         
                                                  At every stage of life we have a purpose.  And
                                                 no matter your age, from millennial to boomer and
                                                 beyond, if you're going to live, you might as well
                                                 live as well as possible to fulfill the purpose for
                                                 which you were made.

Rebecca Lutzer says:  The work that God does in us while we wait is more important than the thing we wait for".   So, Don and I wait patiently...spending more (not less) time with the Lord in His word, taking one step forward toward what we believe He would have us do and continue using His gifts to us for Him.  He did not gift us to only sit back and rest at this stage of life (although we love that part of this chapter too!).  He will continue to use us - by His grace - until He decides to take us to heaven with him.

For further study:  Gen. 12:1-4, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 40:1-4, Psalm 46:10, Isaiah 43:7, Lamentations 3:22-24, Romans 8:25, Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 3:12, Galatians 5:22-23.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,
Holly