In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
The beginning of everything is outlined in Genesis. From the creation of the heavens and the earth to man’s beginning. How the animals and the plants and trees came into existence. God spoke, and it happened.
And in comparison, in John 1:1, John starts his account of Jesus at the beginning. Back to where it all began.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus was there in the beginning with God because He is God. This is the mystery of the trinity. There is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In the New Testament, God’s great mysteries are revealed: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John 1-4.
God’s mysteries that were concealed for thousands of years were spoken clearly in John. God created the universe through and for Jesus. Everything in the Old Testament points to Jesus, the one who would come and who would save the fallen world from their sins. All things were to be fulfilled through Him. Jesus was in the beginning. He will be there in the end. And He has made a way for us to be with Him in heaven one day.
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Have you ever played Whac-a-Mole? The game where a mole pops up and you are supposed to hit it with a mallet, but as you do another one pops up somewhere else. Then another and another. It’s similar to fighting real moles when they invade your yard. They seem to pop up elsewhere no matter what you do.
Lately, I’ve felt like that’s the way my health goes. I have one health need, tend to it and get it under control only to have another pop up. The older I get, the more problems pop up, and it’s a continual battle. Because of my autoimmune disease I struggle with my meds being out of balance, UTI’s, stomach issues, and the list goes on.
I won’t go into detail, but I’m sure many of you can relate. In order to stay in good health, you have to exercise, maintain a good diet, and keep an eye on symptoms that pop up like those nasty little moles. If you’re like me, you get one area under control, breathe a sigh of relief, only to have something else go wrong. Those ornery moles.
As I thought about this with my health, I had to stop and think about my spiritual life and the comparison there. Of course, it relates. We have to always be aware of little stumbling blocks that sneak into our lives.
What are some of those moles that undermine our faith and pop up when least expected? Complacency comes to mind. Being comfortable where we are and wanting to stay there instead of stepping out and doing what God is asking us to do. We get in that comfortable rut. Doing something different for God can be uncomfortable and disconcerting. However, the benefits of following His call are numerous and well worth leaving our comfort zone.
Self might be another mole that rears its ugly head. Putting self before God or others is so easy to do. We make excuses about why we should be first and even overlook the fact that we are doing so. John the Baptist, when talking about Jesus in John 3:30 said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This can be hard for us to remember in a society of people encouraged to better themselves or to stand out, but it’s essential to lift Jesus above self.
Although there are many moles out there trying to undermine our faith, one of the main ones might be pride. As Christians, we become so sure of our faith that we forget to check with God to see what His will is. The Israelites often did this in the book of Joshua. They would go up to battle against a city or accept a people without consulting God first and suffer the consequences. We must always ask God what His will is and not assume we know the best thing to do. God has called us to love and sometimes our pride can get in the way of our knowing how to show that love.
Although the game of Whac-a-mole might be fun, the reality of fighting an infestation of moles is not so fun. Whether we’re battling for our health or for our faith, we must always be aware and watch for those places that need work. Asking God daily for help to see what might be undermining us is important.
Genres: Black & African American Historical Fiction, Christian Mystery & Suspense
FROM THE BACK COVER: From award-winning author Patricia Raybon comes a compelling new historical mystery series, a riveting puzzle about a young Black theologian–and Sherlock fan–trying to solve her father’s cold-case murder in a city ruled by the KKK.
It’s the winter of 1923 and Professor Annalee Spain―a clever but overworked theologian at a small Chicago Bible college–receives a cryptic telegram calling her home to Denver to solve the murder of her beloved but estranged father.
For a young Black woman, searching for answers in a city ruled by the KKK could mean real danger. Still, with her literary hero Sherlock Holmes as inspiration, Annalee launches her hunt for clues, attracting two surprising allies: Eddie, a relentless young orphan boy searching for his missing father, and Jack, a handsome young pastor who loves nightclub dancing and fast cars–awakening Annalee’s heart to the surprising highs and lows of romance and love.
With their help, Annalee follows clues that land her among Denver’s powerful elite. But when her sleuthing unravels sinister motives and long-buried lies, will clever Annalee become a victim, too?
NORA’S REVIEW: This story and its well-developed characters grabbed my heart and emotions from the start, here’s a peek…” The little baby was four hours old. Still unwashed. Barely crying. But Joe Spain’s old ears recognized the sound. A human infant. Somebody’s mistake, left in the Colorado cold to die.”
Oh, my I was hooked, and surprised by this gripping, powerful and emotional opening situation where we meet Annalee’s father. I felt a part of the investigation as this brave young lady, makes her way to the scene of the crime. I like the way readers are introduced to this determined, educated, and confident woman who isn’t afraid to do the right thing, even if it looks impossible. As the story builds, Annalee faces incredibly difficult situations as she tries to dig up clues leading to her father’s murderer.
There is a quote under the chapter number from Sherlock Holmes novels. Chapter one says, “Perhaps I have trained myself to see what others overlook.” Sherlock Holmes, A Case of Identity. I liked reading about this young female sleuth from the 1920s. My heart went out to the orphan boy and the pastor, who were unlikely back for Annalee. I liked how historical events were woven into this murder mystery, which gave the reader a different point of view.
I liked what the author says about the main character, “Amid this hostility, my character Annalee Spain found respite in stories of Sherlock Holmes, the iconic fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. All of the Holmes epigraphs featured in All That Is Secret are from stories first published in the Strand…Annalee doesn’t solve crimes like Holmes, famous for creative solutions using deductive reasoning. She affirms his belief, however, that a women’s instincts are valuable crime-fighting skills. So, I enjoyed letting Annalee deploy her instincts to unravel the mystery in this novel. How will she grow as a detective? Her next mystery will be coming soon.”
The author includes twelve discussion questions to help create a lively discussion for your book club. This is the authors’ debt novel. I look forward to seeing where the author takes Annalee and what mysteries she will solve. This page-turner that will grab your heart and never let it go.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”
Over the past few weeks, I have been talking about reverence. I have mainly been focusing on how to show God reverence by kneeling in prayer. But another aspect I want to talk about today is our attitude. Although I try to be positive, I must confess that there are times when I still grumble. I have gotten a lot better in this area, but I still have room for improvement. Complaining is common in our culture. Sadly, it has become the norm, is fully accepted, and even encouraged. Happy people are often frowned upon these days.
But as Christians, we are called to a higher standard. We are called to be a shining light in a dark world. We are called to be the salt of the earth. But something that has been pulling on my heart recently is how this relates to reverence.
One thing we discussed in the last two posts was that reverence is all about the heart. Well, Jesus tells us in Matthew 15:18, “But what comes out of your mouth reveals the core of your heart” (TPT). So, if reverence is a reflection of our heart’s posture, and if our words reveal what’s in our heart, then that tells me our words and attitudes are important when it comes to reverence.
I imagine it must grieve the Lord to hear us gripe all the time. In fact there is a Bible verse that mentions grieving the Holy Spirit. It says in Ephesians 4:29-32, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” When I think about my attitude grieving the Lord, this breaks my heart.
God is so good to us and showers us with blessings every day. Yes, we all face difficulties in life. However, God is still watching over us, protecting us, and caring for us through it all. He is faithful and trustworthy. He never leaves us, nor forsakes us. So, how can we possibly grumble when we know how good God is to us?
There are many Christians who just want a ticket to heaven and that is all. But there is so much more than that. Our lives belong to Him. Our words and actions should honor Him. Sometimes our pride puffs up when we hear things like this. We don’t want to let go of some things and live for the Lord. But I promise you that you will only find peace and joy, once you finally decide to fully surrender.
I heard Pastor Jentezen Franklin say something a few months ago that really resonated in my heart: “God doesn’t owe you anything. But you owe Him everything!” (Sermon heard on TBN June 21, 2020.) That statement says a lot. And it makes me want to have more reverence for the Lord. And one way we can do that is by changing our attitudes.
Reading through the Psalms specifically written by King David, it amazes me how he always praised God, even in the worst of times. He faced so many trials in his life, but he continued to praise God and to cling to God. He knew God was a good God. He knew God was faithful and trustworthy. David didn’t let his complaints stop him from full reverence for the Lord.
Psalm 144 is a good example in which David was facing something difficult. In some of the verses, he is asking God for his help. Yet he praised God through it all. He opens the Psalm with “Praise be to the Lord my Rock” (v 1). And in verse 9 he says that he “will sing a new song” to God. To read all of this Psalm, click here.
I pray our hearts can be like David’s (who was said to be a man after God’s own heart). I pray we too can show God our reverence, even in the midst of a storm. God does so much for us, every moment of every day. And He deserves all the honor, glory, respect, and reverence. Take some time today to praise God, either in your own words, or by reading a Psalm. Show Him reverence, and in turn, your heart will soar.
Each year I share my thoughts as I celebrate another birthday. This year, 52. I don’t even remember much of 51. Turning 50 was anticlimactic because I really wanted to enter the decade with a bang. Instead, the country shut down and it was so new no one was doing the drive-by celebrations.
So, what’s 52 to me?
This year my God-given theme is reclaim. I get that 52 is a non-year celebration wise, but given last year was so rough and I never got to enjoy 50 with anyone outside my house, I’m re-claiming 50. I often talk myself out of doing things, but not this year. I reserved an event with two friends I serve closely with who have had my back in the last year.
I’m also having red velvet cake. Let me elaborate. I will be making and eating my mom’s famous red velvet cake. This cake is so good I refuse to eat anyone else’s. I’ve tried before, and I’m always disappointed. Her version was so beloved she sent it to her nephew in Afghanistan. Although my presentation isn’t as good as hers, I have mastered the taste. This seems like the year to enjoy a piece. Or 3.
Other than that, 52 holds hope. For my family, this is the year our youngest graduates high school and starts college. After all she’s been through with her health, what a cause for celebration. Our son gets married. I prayed for his wife before I could even conceive. It’s such a praise to see God’s faithfulness. Tom and I will take a trip back to Lake Placid as a delayed 25th anniversary trip.
For my writing, I’m so excited. I feel like previous works were my training ground and this new series, Surrendering Hearts, is the real deal. The idea came from watching This is Us and wondering how did the showrunner and writers keep track of all the details, and, my sister asking me about writing a story involving unique birth stories. The Hart sextuplets each get their own book with a surrender story. They are trying to find their identity apart from their siblings and discover a love as great as what their parents shared.
Jordyn is up first with Anchored Hearts. She wrecks me. As the oldest sextuplet, she’s taken on a leadership role within the family. Now that they are grown, it’s time to give that up, and she’s scared. Control is important to her but as life spirals, Jordyn’s faced with letting go. Her journey is one I relate to way more than I thought.
I have a prequel story featuring patriarch Paul Hart and his neighbor, Shelly Hoffman called Unwrapping Hearts. There’s also a sneak peek of Anchored Hearts. Both are free downloads
Birthdays are also a time where I reflect on what’s going well, and what needs improvement. Compared to last year, everything is improving. My focus is back so I’ve returned to working out. I rarely drink pop now, and that’s HUGE. I’ve cut down on my chocolate consumption. These are huge victories for me. The frustration is I don’t see a lot of change on the scale, but at 52, there’s a lot of grace. I realize what challenges I have, and I try not to take advantage of them and invite gluttony into my schedule. It’s hard. I often struggle with what I see in the mirror. Yet, my passion is to make sure the girls I mentor understand how beautiful they are. Well, that truth needs to cover me.
I don’t see me starting anything new at 52, but that’s God’s deal to work out. I’m not thinking about trying a new craft or project beyond releasing Anchored Hearts, researching Repairing Hearts, and starting that book. I do have a goal not to travel much beyond Lake Placid. Last year I was on the road most of the year. It took a lot out of me and I’m still recovering from that. I love being home.
I sense there’s a lot I will see this year that will be things I prayed about in the past. Some of it will be easy, and some not, but my job will to encourage. Honestly, that won’t be as easy as it sounds. So far everything I’ve prayed about and shared with loved ones has come to pass, and they weren’t on the same page. I see that happening on a huge scale, and there will be masses, I believe, who will need encouragement even though they rejected prayers and encouragement in the past. Ah, 52 will give me maturity, right?
So that’s where I’m at. Gray hair. Huge bags under my eyes. Menopause alive and well. Recovering. Reclaiming. Writing. Celebrating. Learning. Praying. I’m ready for you, 52!
Mark 1:40-45 tells an interesting story about a man with leprosy who came to Jesus and begged for healing. Jesus healed the man but then gave him a strong warning not to tell anyone about it. However, the man was so thrilled about what had happened that he began to tell everyone he met what Jesus had done.
This seems to be a story about healing, about God’s graciousness in healing the illnesses that come because we have turned God’s good creation into a sinful, fallen world. If so, it leads us to praise God.
But, at another level, it is a story about obedience.
We can understand the leper’s exuberance. He was dying of a painful disease, he was a social outcast, he could not work, and he was probably in desperate poverty. Then Jesus changed all that with a word. Jesus healed him miraculously and changed every aspect of his life for the better.
Jesus told him not to tell anyone, but he couldn’t help but tell people what Jesus had done for him. We find his exuberance understandable, even commendable. People should be praising Jesus.
How then do we understand Jesus’ command that he remain silent? We probably think that Jesus didn’t really mean what He said. Perhaps we think Jesus told him to be silent so that the man could demonstrate the proper exuberant attitude regarding Jesus’ healing by telling people anyway.
But does Jesus really give us commands He doesn’t mean? How far do we want to push that idea?
Jesus didn’t make a suggestion. He gave the man “a strong warning.” The only possible explanation is that Jesus meant what He said.
So why did Jesus want the man to be silent? Shouldn’t we tell other people about Jesus?
In the first place, this command was not a general command to all of Jesus’ followers but a specific command for this man in this time and place. Generally, Jesus wants us to tell others about him. But at this time, Jesus commanded this man to remain silent.
Why? The last verse in the story tells us what happened next. Because the man reported widely his miraculous healing, people flocked to see Jesus. This meant that Jesus was besieged by the curious and by sensation seekers and He could no longer go into the towns. It also meant that it was harder for those who were truly seeking Jesus to find Him and harder for Jesus to get to them. Were other people not healed or taught because of the leper’s disobedience?
The issue for us is also obedience. Jesus has given us general commands to tell other people about Him, and we should obey those commands. But sometimes, at specific times, He tells us to be quiet, perhaps because the person we want to tell is not ready to hear. Are we willing to obey that command too?
More generally, has Jesus ever told us to do something or not do something—and we have disobeyed because we didn’t really believe Jesus meant it? Are there times when we think we know better than Jesus? If we really are grateful for what Jesus has done for us, isn’t it best to demonstrate our gratitude by doing what Jesus wants?
How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe by Thomas Cahill is a somewhat older book (published in 1995) that has stayed with me. This is partly because I borrowed it from the local library so often that the library gave it to me when it decided to clear out some older books. But it is also because this is an important, well written, and thought-provoking book.
What Cahill achieved is to draw attention to a part of Christian history that has not received the attention it deserves. Much of central Europe was evangelized in the early Middle Ages by Irish missionaries. They did it by planting monasteries—not small groups of monks hiding out in cloisters but dynamic outposts of Christianity. These monasteries offered rudimentary health care, food distribution, model farms, and other social services. Towns grew up around them. And they were centers for the preservation and copying and even writing of manuscripts, serving as both libraries and schools. They thus preserved “civilization,” the culture and learning of the past.
Cahill’s book begins with the fall of the Roman Empire, the end of classical civilization, a civilization preserved only in small enclaves by the Roman Catholic Church.
Cahill’s story then shifts to Ireland and the man called Saint Patrick. Patrick was a Christian English boy captured by Irish raiders. He eventually escaped Ireland but later returned as a missionary, converting large numbers of Irish. Cahill vividly explains why Patrick was so successful. For one thing, Patrick had no fear of death, being willing to risk his life to preach to the Irish. For another, Patrick offered the Irish a more attractive worldview. Cahill describes the pagan Irish as living an uncertain, purposeless existence, living in fear of cruel and unpredictable shape-shifting gods. In contrast, Patrick described a world ordered by a benevolent God, who, through Jesus, had abolished fear, violence, and death. (It could be noted that in recent centuries, many animist people have converted to Christianity for similar reasons.) The conversion eliminated slavery and greatly reduced violence among the Irish, as well as bringing other social improvements. In subsequent centuries, the Irish exported their more dynamic and natural Christianity to England and then central Europe.
While Cahill’s book brings attention to a much neglected movement in Christian and world history, his book is not without weaknesses. For one thing, Cahill seems to have little knowledge of and no interest in any Christianity beyond Roman Catholicism. Christianity, for him, is defined by Saint Augustine. He says that Patrick was the first missionary to move beyond the safety of Roman Empire/civilized world, which ignores the apostle Thomas, the Arians, and a host of nameless others.
For another thing, Cahill is a secularist, a philosopher who values civilization. He praises the Irish for saving civilization, a tribute that would have puzzled the Irish missionaries. It was not the Irish who saved civilization but Irish Christians, whose goal was not to save civilization but to save the pagan people of Europe. Cahill values the benefits brought by Christianity, not Christianity itself, as if the side benefits can be had without the core. He reduces Roman civilization to a philosophical construct of order and power and Catholicism to a philosophy of creative naturalism. His hope is that as Western civilization crumbles and falls, a new impetus of creative naturalism will arise to restore the world.
Cahill offers some rational explanations for why the Irish accepted Patrick’s Christian preaching, but his thinking does not seem to go any further than that. But what if that preaching happens to be true? What if it is not some vague creative naturalism that saves the world and not even Christianity, but Jesus Christ Himself and faith in Him? What if the world really is ruled by a benevolent God who offers a purpose in life, freedom from the fear of death, and salvation and peace and forgiveness (being made right with God) because of Jesus’ sacrifice?
It’s easy to stay on track when everything is going smoothly. The road ahead is clear, and life is chugging along like a well-tuned car. Honoring God during those times comes naturally.
But what happens when it feels as if your world collapsed and you can’t see the road ahead? Those are the hardest moments to have a grateful heart because it feels as if the storm waves just keep coming.
A few years back, right before Easter, my mother passed away. It came as such a surprise that it sent my world tilting. Though my mother was a strong Christian, and I knew she was in heaven, missing her hurt physically. I lost the road ahead in the fog of grief.
During this time, Revelation 21:4 really spoke to me. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away
Though I couldn’t see the road before me, I held onto the hand of the One who could.
The words of the Casting Crown song, Praise you In This Storm, kept coming to mind.
And I’ll praise You in this storm And I will lift my hands For You are who You are No matter where I am And every tear I’ve cried You hold in Your hand You never left my side And though my heart is torn I will praise You in this storm
Then in December of the same year, shortly before Christmas, I lost my father-in-law and once more the world didn’t make sense. Our family was left to ask why?
And God spoke; My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26.
During those dark times, I clung to the promises of God to wipe away every tear and be my strength until the road became clear again. Though my heart was breaking, I praised the One who deserved all my praises and knew He would get me through this storm as well.
No matter what we face in this life, we can always rest assured we are not going through it alone. In the words of our Savior, Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4
As a fiction author, I get asked all the time, where do you get your ideas? The answer? Everywhere. Some little detail or big picture idea will capture my attention and I have to sit down and figure it out.
Let’s start with big picture.
When I begin a series of books, I usually pick my location. I love setting my stories in small towns, so I decide in which state and area I will build my fictitious town. In the last several books I’ve written, I chose the north Georgia mountains. Why? Because we love to vacation there and I have lots of wonderful memories, so I wanted to spend time there in my imagination.
Before the Georgia books, I had a series set in a small beach town. This was an easy choice, since I live on the west coast of Florida. All I had to do was go for a drive and I had plenty of ideas for my special town.
I write for two different publishers. With one, I create my locations. For the other, they have guidelines for the line and pick the state where the stories are set. That’s been fun, because I get to do research on places I’ve never been.
I have my location, now what? Plot. What is my story about? Depending on a romance or mystery, I can come up with ideas from conversations I’ve had with family or friends. Sometimes I sit at a very busy coffee shop or at a park and people watch. Let me tell you, that’s a goldmine for ideas. Or I can get inspired from the news or an article I’ve read. It takes that one little kernel and I can come up with an entire story. What if… Once upon a time… On a dark and stormy night… You get the picture.
Characters will come next. I always have so much fun figuring out who I’m going to spend the next couple of months with. Who are they, what are their issues or situations in life? How about their family and friend dynamics. Many secondary characters spin off into other books. It can get big and messy and so much fun.
For a romance couple, how do I get them interested in each other, then cause problems between them until the happily ever after? Or in a mystery, how do I throw my protagonist into dangerous events that are not part of their daily life. Who did it and why?
As you can see, I spend a lot of time in my head answering all sorts of questions.
Now for the smaller details. Take names for example. Do I pick then because I like the sound or do they have meaning?
Many years ago I was visiting a friend and our children were outside playing. I went to check on them and there was a cat hanging around. One of the kids told me it was the neighbor’s pet, Ruby Sue. I loved the name and couldn’t get it out of my head. In the first series of books I wrote, I gave that name to the feisty grandmother, and boy, was it appropriate.
Once I create a town, there are all the shops and restaurants and city buildings or parks or marinas that pop up on each book. I keep a notebook near my computer containing all the names of my characters and places in the series I’m working on so I don’t forget, or to add new names and places. If I want my characters to visit, say, Smitty’s Pub, a local restaurant for the locals in my mountain town, I have it right there at my fingertips. These places become just as real as the hangouts we go to in our daily lives.
The next time you read a book, pay attention to the details. The author spent a lot of time being creative for your enjoyment; to round out the story and make it interesting. We have just as much fun coming up with all the details as you do reading them.
As for me, I’m off to the mountains in my current work in progress.
Tara Randel is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. Family values, a bit of mystery and of course, love and romance, are her favorite themes, because she believes love is the greatest gift of all. Look for her next Harlequin Heartwarming romance, HIS SMALL TOWN DREAM, available August 2022 .For more information about her books, visit Tara at www.tararandel.com.Like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TaraRandelBooks. Sign up for Tara’s Newsletter and receive a link to download a free digital book.
In my last post, I talked about how kneeling in prayer shows respect and reverence towards God. Today I wanted to talk about a Biblical example. You are likely familiar with the story of Daniel and the lions’ den. Daniel was living in Babylon where a law was passed stating that everyone had to pray to the king. Anyone who prayed to someone else would be thrown into the lions’ den.
It says in Daniel 6:10, “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”
Although there was a new law stating that everyone had to pray to the king, Daniel still prayed to the one and only God. Well, the king’s men saw Daniel do this and reported him. However, the king liked Daniel, so it upset him very much. The king didn’t want to throw Daniel in the lions’ den, but now he had no choice. You likely know how the story goes. When the king went to the lions’ den the next morning, he found that Daniel had survived, against all odds.
Daniel told the king in verse 22, “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
I love this story because it shows how deeply Daniel honored the Lord. He had such reverence for Him that he kneeled in prayer. And not only that, he continued to kneel in prayer, even after a law forbid it. Daniel did not fear the king or his men. Daniel feared God and only God. As a result, Daniel was faithful to God, no matter what.
If you are unable to physically kneel, then don’t try it. The key to reverence is in our hearts. And when we learn the art of reverence, I believe our hearts will also cling to God in the same way. No matter what we face in life, we will still hold tightly to God and honor Him. We will know deep in our hearts how faithful and trustworthy our God is. And nothing can keep us from putting Him first in our lives.
I’ve written before that my theme for this year is reclaim. There is so much the true defeated one has stolen from us, and I feel the season is now to go into his camp and take it back. The fear and lack of peace I’ve struggled with for the last couple years—that’s not how I want to live.
Of course, it doesn’t surprise me when such a challenge is tested. One thing the last two years actually brought in a good way is the best health our daughter has ever seen. My guess is remote learning and quarantine kept her from the weather changes that trigger her asthma.
This season change has hit her hard. When we have a big swing in temperature followed by precipitation and temps dropping back down, she gets a sinus headache. Congestion. Often that turns to a sinus infection. Sometimes ear infection. This year it was ear and upper respiratory.
Usually an antibiotic, allergy meds, nose spray and steam bring her back to health.
Not this year. The antibiotic didn’t work, so another was prescribed. That one is usually the one I wish he’d prescribe because it’s so effective. Not this time. Instead, it really messed with her gut health. I suspect the prior antibiotic didn’t help. He switched medicines, but that only added to her pain and complications.
It’s during these times I tend to fall back on the I-can’t-get-comfortable-because-the-other-shoe-will-drop thinking. We’ve experienced a lot with her health, including near death, doctor error, therapies, hospital stays, breathing treatments, missed school, and more. There were times that was a daily issue, and then there were seasons I relaxed only to find us rushing back to caregiving. I grew to live on edge, expecting problems.
—Julie Arduini
As you can imagine, it’s not a healthy way to live. I honestly think that stress brought on early menopause, and last year, between grief and anxiety, I messed my own gut health up. Through prayer, counsel, and renewing my mind, I’ve worked hard to avoid thinking about what’s coming. To let go of the mentality that when things are bad they will get worse, and when things are good, bad is coming.
This year I’m reclaiming the other shoe. Yes, our daughter isn’t feeling her best. I refuse to let her symptoms consume either of us. I don’t want to think about what bad thing is next. My prayer is to be Kingdom minded, filled with His wisdom and discernment. To praise Him for creating her and knowing exactly what she needs and when.
The reclaiming journey is definitely not a straight-line experience, but it’s interesting and growing my faith.
Mark 1:21-35 describes one day in the life of Jesus. He and his followers were in Capernaum. On the Sabbath day, He preached in the synagogue and cast a demon out of man who was present. Then they went to Peter and Andrew’s house, where Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, who had been in bed with a fever. In the evening, more people came to Jesus for healing. This passage raises a number of interesting points.
First, Jesus taught “as one who had authority” (verse 23). We do not do that. We relate what God has told us in Scripture. Jesus was God and could speak directly as God. Many of us would like to speak divinely, to have our words accepted as God’s truth, but we cannot. We claim as Christians that God has given us the Holy Spirit, but even when He gives us divine words to speak, they remain His words, not ours. We are not infallible and should be wary of thinking and saying that we are.
Second, Jesus and His followers showed up to worship in the synagogue, but a man possessed by an evil spirit was also there. We often think of our church buildings and worship services, or even our own Bible study and prayer times, as oases, as havens of rest. But they are spiritual battlegrounds. Not everything we hear at such times is of God. We need to test all things and cast out what we find to be evil.
Third, there was the healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. Paul mentions that Peter had a believing wife who traveled with him (1 Corinthians 9:5). We do not know what the mother-in-law thought of Peter’s decision to become an itinerant preacher. However, we know that she was healed and she then served food to Jesus and His followers. I must confess to having a niggling uneasiness when I read this passage. After being healed, the mother-in-law immediately began to serve. A voice whispers that Jesus was being selfish here, that He didn’t heal her for her sake, but only so she would serve Him dinner. Isn’t it a bit much to expect a woman newly risen from a sick bed to do all the work? But another voice whispers that when Jesus heals, He heals completely. The woman was perfectly capable of serving. Moreover, the fact is that it is not Jesus who was selfish, but it is we who are selfish. Jesus came to serve, but we think that it is we who are the center of the universe. We are so glad that Jesus saved and healed us because we are convinced that we are important, and that is the end of the matter. The reality is that God has saved us and expects us to serve as He has done, out of gratitude and love and a serving heart. Yes, we are important, but so is Jesus and so are other people. We were not healed so we could rest but so we could work.
Fourth, I read this passage many times before I noticed that people brought the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus “after sunset” (verse 32). Why? Did it take that long for the news of Jesus’ healing powers to spread and for people to get there? No. The synagogue meeting probably took place in the morning. The people did not bring the sick to Jesus because it was the Sabbath day (that’s why Jesus was in the synagogue) and Jewish law forbade traveling more than a few steps on the Sabbath. How do we read this? As the people of God waiting patiently for God’s time to heal? Or as another example of human legalism delaying the healing work of God? After all, Jesus had already healed the demon-possessed man in the synagogue and Peter’s mother-in-law. The Sabbath is for meeting God and being healed, not for following manmade rules.
Finally, Jesus got up before dawn the next day to go and pray. One of the remarkable things about this is that Jesus had had a late night the night before, healing all of the people who had come to the house. It must be remembered that the people who came after sunset would have had to come from a distance (the people who were within “a Sabbath day’s journey” could have come during the day), and they would not have started on the journey till sunset, so some of them would have arrived well after dark, perhaps late into the night. One might have thought that Jesus would have chosen to sleep in the next day and pray early some other day. He did not. Jesus needed physical rest after His long night of work, but ministering to people was even more spiritually exhausting than physically exhausting. In contrast, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the apostles chose physical rest over spiritual refreshing and as a result were too weak to resist the temptation to betray Jesus when they awoke. This passage is a reminder that spiritual refreshing is more crucial than physical refreshing.
I recently started attending a Bible study with a small group of ladies. I love meeting with them and looking deep at God’s word. This past week, one passage jumped out at me and had me considering my own actions and thoughts.
We began by reading Philippians 3:5-6, where Paul is talking about having confidence in the flesh. I’ll start with part of verse four.
“…If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”
Paul had an exceptional heritage as you can see. He had every reason to be proud of who he was and who he had been. According to the Pharisees, he’d served God with zeal and worked hard. But what does he say in the next verses, Philippians 3:7-8?
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…”
Paul counted all his fleshly background as worthless or rubbish. Although where he came from brought him to greater knowledge, it still counted as nothing compared to what he gained in Christ. He had no reason for pride in his past or his heritage.
As I read those words, God brought to mind my past since I have become a Christian. The question formed in my mind—Is my church attendance, my service, my time given, rubbish?
That sounds pretty drastic. My first thought was an emphatic, “No!” And, yet, as I pondered this question and the reason God laid it on my heart, I had to admit there was some truth there. There have been many times I’ve been prideful over the fact that I am so faithful to attend church and/or Bible study. There have been times I’ve been a bit judgmental of people who weren’t regular attendees or didn’t go to Bible study or serve in some capacity at their church.
Rubbish. All rubbish. Who am I to be prideful? I am a sinner saved by grace. Aren’t we all? I am sharing this because I see this as a common problem in the church today. We tend to see ourselves as a bit better than others. After all, we gave up time to come to church. We read our Bible. We pray. We may even serve in some capacity in the church or community.
Yet, as long as we take pride of any amount in what we do for the Lord, it becomes rubbish. What we have in Christ is Him. His love. His grace. His mercy. No matter who we are and where we’re at in our Christian walk, we are to be loving and humble—not considering our works to elevate us above anyone else.
This was a hard lesson for me to consider. I don’t want to believe I might be prideful, yet sometimes I am. I’m sure there were times when Paul’s background crept into his thoughts too. When that happens, we must take those thoughts captive and banish them. We must remember we are only in Christ because of His grace, not because of any of our works or our background.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)
Be rid of the rubbish and glory in Christ. Serve with a humble heart, considering others above yourself. That is what I’m working toward.
There are many black tails from the Scottish borderlands, but for shear betrayal, none can bleat the saga of Black Angus.
One fine misty morning, Angus was confronted by his brother Peat, saying, “I have a bone to pick with you.”
“What? You have a beef with me?” Angus demanded.
“Yes. What is all that lowing I hear?”
“I don’t know what you mean by lowing,” said Angus, taking the high road. “Are you talking about Bonnie and Heather?”
“I don’t care what you cull them,” Peat said sheepishly. “Bonnie and Heifer don’t belong this side of the Clyde. A true Scottish Highlander raises sheep, and you shouldn’t have imported those cows from England.”
“They are not English cows. They are Scottish cows, as any fool can see from the bagpipes underneath.”
“Bah! Don’t spin me a yarn. They are still cattle,” prodded Peat. “You shouldn’t be braising them in the lamb of Scotland.”
“You’re still living in the pasture,” Angus said. “Hay, when you come to a fork in the road, you need to change with the tines. You’re bleating a dead horse.”
“Hair it is! I newe it!” Peat cried. “It’s a slippery soap. If we let you bring in cattle, next you’ll want to bring in horses. Pretty soon, we’ll be overrun with elephants and giraffes!”
“Nay,” Angus said hoarsely. “I’d never bring in elephants and giraffes. They’re too hard to milk.”
“You’d butter stop stocking my anger or I’ll cream you,” Peat shouted.
“Don’t dance around the subject. A reel Scot wouldn’t fling such accusations,” Angus said. “You’re butchering the language.”
“You’ve always been the black sheep in the family,” Peat retorted.
“You don’t realize what’s at steak,” Angus said. “You eat so much mutton, it’s affecting your health. You look haggis, your eyes are lassie, and you’re bordering on colic.”
“I ought to chop your head off,” said Peat. “There’s nothing better than a bit of mutton with tartan sauce.”
“Are you threatening to kilt me?”
“Yes. Scots should have brave harts, and you are nothing but a sniveling cowherd.”
“It’s just my allergy to lanolin,” Angus explained.
“I can’t take any moor of this. Wool never agree,” said Peat. “Ewe are a disgrace, and when a Highlander betrays his clan, it is better if he fleece.”
“I would prefer to hide,” said Angus defiantly.
There being no horses available on which to make his escape, he went on the lam.
If you ever have any doubts about how much God loves you, all you have to do is open His word. His love for us flows from the pages of the Bible and is written in the red-letter words spoken by Jesus.
In John 3:16, Jesus spoke of the love God had for us,
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
This is the greatest expression of God’s love toward us of all time. God loved us so much that He willing gave His only Son to die on the cross so that His sacrifice could bring us back to God.
And nothing, absolutely nothing can ever separate His children from God.
Romans 8:38-39 says, For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And one day, we will be with God forever.
John 14:1-3 tells us, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
At that time, there will be no more suffering. No more tears. No more death.
Revelation 21:4 tells us, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
What an amazing love story is written throughout the Bible for us to see how much God sought after us when we went astray, and how He proved His love for us over and over again.
So, if you ever doubt that you are loved, open the words of the special love story, written from the heart of God, just for you.
