Honor our Heroes - Stop for a Moment

Armed forces members make a commitment and swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Sometimes, this commitment leads them to laying down their lives for love of this country. Stop a moment and reflect on the sacrifice these brave men and women have made. 

Verse of the Week - 1 John 3:6 - September 14, 2015

• Renouncing sin is the great proof of spiritual union with, continuance in, and saving knowledge of the Lord Christ.
• Beware of self-deceit. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, and to be a follower of Christ, shows an interest by faith in his obedience and sufferings. 
• But a man cannot act like the devil, and at the same time be a disciple of Christ Jesus. Let us not serve or indulge what the Son of God came to destroy. 
• To be born of God is to be inwardly renewed by the power of the Spirit of God. Renewing grace is an abiding principle.  
• And the regenerate person cannot sin as he did before he was born of God, and as others do who are not born again. There is that light in his mind, which shows him the evil and malignity of sin. There is that bias upon his heart, which disposes him to loathe and hate sin. There is the spiritual principle that opposes sinful acts. And there is repentance for sin, if committed. It goes against him to sin with forethought. 
• The children of God and the children of the devil have their distinct characters. The seed of the serpent are known by neglect of religion, and by their hating real Christians. 
• He only is righteous before God, as a justified believer, who is taught and disposed to righteousness by the Holy Spirit. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. 
• May all professors of the gospel lay these truths to heart, and try themselves by them.

Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary

Matthew Henry was a Nonconformist Pastor in England. His commentary on the bible is a great help to me in learning to apply scripture to everyday life and devotions. I find it as pertinent in 2015 as it was when he wrote it in 1714. SalleeB

Verse of the Week - Ephesians 4:31 - May 18, 2015

Verse of the Week - Colossians 3:8- Week of May 3, 2015

"Letting it all hang out" is easy to do. Being angry, wrathful, or deliberately hurtful requires no self-control. Self-control becomes involved when you and I begin trying to live as Jesus wants us too. Replacing, or putting off, the the behaviors listed in Colossians 3:8 isn't easy. However, it can be done if you have a genuine desire to follow in Jesus' footsteps. Most of the terms in this verse are familiar to me, but I decided to look up the definitions of malice and blasphemy to make sure I understood them correctly.

Malice is defined as - a desire to cause harm to another person. Ill will, vindictiveness and revenge are all synonyms for malice. Okay, I do know what malice is. Next, I looked up blasphemy in the dictionary and it was defined as:

Blasphemy- the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane  

Original Greek  blasphémia (blas-fay-me'-ah)

After reading the short definition, I decided to look up the original Greek word using the "Interlinear English to Hebrew/Greek" tool at www.biblehub.com. Interestingly, the original Greek shows a different meaning for blasphemy than the one I am most familiar with.

NOTE: The bolded phrases are my addition to emphasize the information that was new to me.

HELPS Word-studies 

Cognate: 988 blasphēmía (from blax, "sluggish/slow," and 5345 /phḗmē, "reputation, fame") – blasphemy – literally, slow (sluggish) to call something good (that really is good) – and slow to identify what is truly bad (that really is evil).
Blasphemy (988 /blasphēmía) "switches" right for wrong (wrong for right), i.e. calls what God disapproves, "right" which "exchanges the truth of God for a lie" (Ro 1:25). 

Matthew Henry also considered blasphemy as not just speaking ill of God. Here is what he wrote in his commentary:

... as blasphemy, which seems there to mean, not so much speaking ill of God as speaking ill of men, giving ill language to them, or raising ill reports of them, and injuring their good name by any evil arts,—filthy communication, that is, all lewd and wanton discourse, which comes from a polluted mind in the speaker and propagates the same defilement in the hearers,

What do you think? I am going to think about this new information for awhile. 

Psalm of the Week - 39:1 - Week of 18 August, 2014

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David. I said, "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked."

NIV

This verse reminds me of my mom. My mom always says, " If you cannot say anything nice, then do not say anything at all." I imagine King David's mother always said,"David, if you cannot say anything nice, then do not say anything at all." Anyway, King David knew he had to watch his ways and keep his tongue from saying the wrong thing. (sin) 

As a coheir of the kingdom of God, it is my job to watch my ways and keep my tongue from saying the wrong thing. (sin) 

Now I have some questions for you. 

How many times have you been in the presence of an unpleasant person - your boss, project manager, police officer, cashier..? Did you keep quiet because you knew anything you said would just make the situation worse? Then you "put a muzzle on your mouth in the while in the presence of the wicked."

The word wicked applies to more than evil, vicious, unscrupulous, and criminal people. Nasty, harsh, unpleasant, bad, disagreeable, irksome, troublesome, irritating, hateful, and annoying are also synonyms for wicked. Reading through this list was an eye opening experience for me. Truly, most of us find ourselves in the "presence of the wicked" every day.

Psalm 39:1 is as applicable to me when I am at the grocery store, at work, and at church as it was to King David's life. The word "wicked" has a much wider range of meaning than I believed it did. 

Personal Application in Prayer

Help me Lord. I want to live in a way that reflects your presence in my life. Help me to keep my tongue from sin. Help me to muzzle my mouth when I am in the presence of annoying, irritating, hateful, nasty people. If I unmuzzle my mouth, let calm, healing words issue from my tongue. Amen.

Grains of Truth-Number 9

Quote

"Promiscuity is like never reading past the first page. Monogamy is like reading the same book over and over."
  Mason Cooley

My Response

I am in a monogamous relationship with my husband. I never get tired of reading this action-adventure book because every reading reveals new details.
Sallee Bonham

Spiritual Dyslexia

A New Term  - Spiritual Dyslexia

 Bill was in the living room, watching Andrew Wommack's daily program on TV. I was in the kitchen, completely focused on my computer screen. I could hear Andrew Wommack's words, but I wasn't listening. Shopping for birthday presents at Amazon.com was all I was paying attention to. The barely heard words from the living room were not enough to distract me. Suddenly, two words sank through my focus. Spiritual dyslexia. What could that be? Curious now, I grabbed my notebook and pen before joining Bill in the living room.

What is Spiritual Dyslexia?

Spiritual dyslexia is having a backwards relationship with God. You believe you have to follow God's word to earn God's love. Keeping God's law = having God's love.

The Law, or Legalism

The Old Testament set out rules the Jewish people were to follow because they were God's people. Their sins were forgiven through sacrifices. Each sin had rules for how to make a sacrifice to atone for the sin. God's people achieved righteousness by following the rules and making the appropriate sacrifices. They did not live under grace, they lived under the law.

 A Spiritually Dyslexic Rule Follower

I am a rule follower. Give me directions to read, and I will happily read them all the way through. Then, I will follow the directions. The 10 Commandments and the Golden Rule were what I had been taught to follow to be a good person. I tried hard to be good. Every time I broke a rule, or failed to follow directions, I felt guilty. I wasn't good enough and sin was winning.  After awhile, I gave up on trying to be good and just tried to make it through each day the best I could. Sin was ruling my life and guilt was weighing me down.

Born Again and Still Spiritually Dyslexic

When I was born again, I was happy for awhile. However, I still wasn't able to follow the rules and the guilt came crashing back in. I was suffering from spiritual dyslexia and didn't know it. My day began with thanking God for everything and asking to do his will. Then, I tried to follow the rules -  the 10 Commandments and the Golden Rule. Following rules isn't a bad thing. However, I didn't realize that God doesn't need me to follow rules to achieve salvation. I am living under grace, or the new way of the Spirit and first, God wants me to love him. Then, that love will cause me to want to do his will with all my heart. To further complicate my misunderstanding, I blamed myself for not being able to be good.


But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Romans 7:6 NIV

 My Personal Revelation and Cure

My life changing moment happened one morning after I had to discipline my children. Repeatedly I said to them, "I will always love you, but your choices are why you are in trouble." Afterwards, a silent explosion of new knowledge occurred inside me.

God loves me the same way I love my children. No matter what they do, I love them. I don't love their choices, but it does not change how I love them.

I started to understand God's grace. God loves me no matter what I do. He does hold me responsible for my choices, but He continues to love me. I am safe and secure in God's love. I do not have to earn love by following rules;I have love so I want to follow the rules. My life hasn't been the same since I had that revelation.

"Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Hebrews 12: 13-15

Having God's Love = Obeying God's Word

I no longer worry about not being "good enough" for Jesus. I have always been good enough. Today my desire is to do God's will in all things, because I know He loves me unconditionally. Jesus is the model for my behavior and relationships. Occasionally I have a bad day, but prayer, meditation, and Bible study keep my path level.

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
1 John 2:3-6 NIV

Sallee's Six: Favorite Verses from the Book of Matthew

 It's Thursday again! Last week I posted Sallee's Six: Favorite Verses from Joshua, Psalms, and Isaiah. This week's focus will be in the New Testament book of Matthew. Enjoy the verses and feel free to share your own favorite verses from Matthew. God bless you brothers and sisters.

Matthew 6:31- 33
So do not worry, saying, : What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father know that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 7:1-2
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Matthew 11:28-29
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 15:11
What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' "

Matthew 22:37-38
Jesus replies: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.

Matthew 22:39-40
And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

A Reflection on America and Habbakuk

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD...

 Habakkuk 2:14

 

I Love America

 I love America. I grew up singing, My Country Tis of Thee; America the Beautiful; and God Bless America at school and in church services on Sunday morning. I love the America that I grew up with. An America that reflected the moral standards of its Puritan roots, an America that reflected the moral standards of the founding fathers, and an America that reflected the moral standards that help prevent a society from internal decay. Did you notice the past tense?

Today, in the atmosphere of political correctness that fills America "from sea to shining sea"; some would say I have been indoctrinated to be a good citizen. I agree. As a good and godly citizen, I am full of a deep and abiding sadness for my country. Tears of heartbreak are flowing down my cheeks as I pray for America and its people.

Crumbling Moral Standards

Evidence of the crumbling moral standards is in the media, is on the streets, and is in the churches. God has been taken out of our schools, out of our businesses, out of our government, and out of our churches. The biblical standards that guided generations of American citizens are now "politically incorrect."

Remain Faithful In Spite Of...

This morning, I reached for my bible and sought comfort within its pages. Habakkuk, a contemporary of Jeremiah, was in the same situation that I am this morning. He saw his people, whom he loved, falling away from the biblical standards of their ancestors. In spite of all the recorded miracles, Judah failed to remain faithful under the rule of Babylon. Habakkuk was told that Babylon would fall because of pride, ambition, arrogance, greed, cruelty, drunkenness, and idolatry. Habakkuk had to remain faithful, in spite of what he saw in the society surrounding him. That sounds familiar doesn't it?

This is what God told Habakkuk:

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:14

The knowledge of God is going to blanket the world. Wow, that is an amazing thought. Can you see it? The Earth, enfolded within the glowing, glorious light of knowledge. What a comforting promise and it is going to be fulfilled, because God keeps his promises. 

I am going to follow Habakkuk's example:

I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.

Habakkuk 2:1

My complaint has an answer this morning. By reading about Habakkuk and his circumstances, I am aware of the need to remain faithful and patient. God is at work, even if I do not see the evidence of it.