God speaks in mysterious ways so says the famous quote. Do you think that's true? I find for the most part, he's pretty direct when he speaks to me. I've heard him loud and clear so many times I'm tempted to put it all down in a book....usually I mark my bible with the "experiences" I've had with God, noted completely with the dates of occurrences. This week an incident happened, actually involving my husband, that reminded me that God does listen and does care for our every need. H...

The book of Leviticus is filled with the rules and regulations of the Sacrifical system that the Jews were to be under commanded by God. We see in Chap 16:11-14 what is called the Day of Atonement. This was a most Holy Day in all of Israel. This was the day that atonement was made for their sins of all Ithe Nation. This system was instituted to kill animals, instead of themselves for the sin commited by them. They needed to have their sins completly covered to remain in good standing befo...

We have now come to "It is Finished" the sixth saying of Christ on the Cross. I'm really enjoying this series of seven and have eagerly looked forward to the next. Every week I find that I come away with a new appreciation for what what was done for me so many years ago understanding quite well that I am responsible for the scars in his hands. Here's the text for this week, John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gav...

What is spiritual thirst? Are we thirsty? How does the world respond to such thirst? How do the churches? To be spiritually thirsty is to desire God and things of God as Christ did on the cross. Are we complacent and apathetic, or are we thirsty for God? When I look at the world and all that it has to offer, I see hardly any thirst for God. When I look at the churches I don't see much difference. Is the world squeezing us into their mold? I see the church sounding and looking ...

Today is the fifth in the series of seven sayings of Christ upon the Cross. Today, the fifth saying is "I thirst ." I was really looking forward to this one wondering how much could actually be said about so little dialogue. Wonder no more. There is plenty not only to say, but also to think about. We started with John 19:28-29: "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled said, 'I thirst.' Now there was set a vessel full ...

This is part II of My, God, My God. So if you haven't read that first, you may want to because I'm starting where I left off. I hate to write long blogs so thought it best to divide this long one into two portions. We left off with Christ enduring pain and anguish on the cross, feeling alone and separated from God, his father. Why? If they are so close why did he feel forsaken now during his darkest hour? Isn't this when we need God the most? The writers to the NT explained th...

Today we heard the fourth out of seven messages on our trek to Easter. Today the fourth message on the cross comes from Matthew 27:45-46 which says: Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Here we see a troubling picture of Christ nailed to the cross. He's lifted off the ground and in much pain and ...

So today we heard the third message or saying of Jesus (of seven) on the cross as we make our way to Easter. It was named "When Love Looks Down." Today was probably the most controversial verse of the seven. The sermon was from John 19:25-27 and reads: "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother.........When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved he said to his mother, "Woman, BEHOLD your son!" Then said he to the disciple, "BEHOLD your moth...

So our Pastor sermonized the second saying (out of 7) of Jesus on the cross. Again, this is part of a series leading up to Easter. After this we are going to start on the book of Revelation. This second utterance on the cross was " Verily I say to you, Today shall you be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43 We looked at the two criminals that were on either side of him, one of whom this statement was addressed. Many believe these two were insurrectionists under the leadership of B...

So now that I've covered the OT Canon I thought I might as well continue and cover the NT Canon. I hate to leave things half finished. Besides, I already promised Lula I would. So leaving where I left off let's look at how the NT Canon was formalized. Paul in his writing to the Corinthians mentioned that he was writing to them as the Lord commanded 1 Cor 14:37. Jesus had commissioned the disciples to pass on what he had instructed them the last 3 1/2 years. He told them in the upper r...

The Bible is one of the most widely owned books, a best seller of all times, but, sad to say, one of the least read. Many people simply do not understand what the Scripture is. Many have never learned that it is God's revelation of himself to humanity and describes who He is and how we can have a relationship with Him. Another reason it's not read or mainly overlooked is that it's wrongly assumed that it lacks authenticity. In many opinions, the Bible, both the OT and the NT are no...

For the next seven weeks heading up until Easter we are going to be receiving sermons on the seven sayings of Christ on the Cross in the order he said them. This first week we looked at "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do ." Luke 23:34 This was amazing because if you look at the beginning of this verse it says...." Then said Jesus......" I underlined the word "then." This makes you go back to the verse prior which states ...."And when they were come to the ...

I'm studying the book of Colossians and with it comes the study of Gnosticism. Paul addressed what Epaphras, the founder of the church at Colosse, was clearly worried about. Heresy was coming into the church and he didn't know what to do. He took a trip to Rome to see Paul in prison. He must have been beside himself wondering how he was going to stop this spreading heresey in the church. So Paul wrote this letter that was circulated in all the house churches in Colosse and in the surrou...

I kind of left some unfinished business on my blog about Christianity being unfair. So I wanted to tie up loose ends here and call it a day. Some things to think about. When my kids were little, my oldest who was about three at the time, took a stick while playing in the yard and he tried to put it in the keyhold of my brother's brand new car. Of course this resulted in scratches around they keyhole. My brother who was single and not familiar with little kids was furious. He screamed ...

Last time when I wrote under the topic of religion I posted an article about truth being fair. Is it? I say no, not always, maybe not most of the time. Is Christianity fair? Absolutely not. I never said it was. But if you take what the bible says literally and seriously like I do, the last thing you want is for God to be fair. In his book, Stanley speaks of the day fairness died. There was a time when life was fair. Everybody had equal opportunities to access and discover God. T...