Tag: God’s Word

Days of Grace- Day 2

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Last time we looked at the first mention of grace in the Bible, it was in relation to Noah. He found grace or favor with God. Because of this, when God decided to send the flood to end wickedness in the world, Noah and his family were spared to repopulate the world after the flood was over.  The next mention of grace we find in Genesis 19:19 and it also uses the same Hebrew word as our previous verses. This time we find ourselves in the middle of the story of Lot. When he and Abraham had parted ways because of the size of their herds and the need for more land, Lot chose the land toward Sodom and eventually found himself living there. Lot was visited by two guests who were angels. They confirmed the evil in Sodom and it became targeted for destruction. The angels warned Lot to get out of this place for the Lord will destroy it. Let’s pick up in Genesis 19: 17-19, “As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away!” But Lot said to them, “No, Lord-please. Your servant has indeed found favor in Your sight, and You have shown me great kindness (mercy-Hebrew word Checed) by saving my life. But I can’t run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.” (HCSB) Other translations choose either the word grace (Chem in Hebrew).

For further context, in the previous chapter these two angels along with a third met with Abraham prior to their visit with Lot. They shared with Abraham the condition of Sodom and their plans to see if the condition was as grave as it seemed. This is when Abraham pleads for Sodom- will you save it for the sake of fifty righteous? Forty-Five? Forty? Thirty? Twenty? Will you save it for the sake of ten? Amazingly, each time Abraham asked, God showed him favor/grace by responding yes, even for the sake of ten I will not destroy it. When the angels arrived, Lot, his wife and his two daughters appear to be the only righteous people they found. Lot and his family found grace with the angels and were warned to leave before the city was destroyed. This is a wonderful example of God’s grace to His people. All throughout the Old and New Testament we can find great illustrations of the richness of God’s grace extended His people.

May your day be filled with glimpses of His grace!

Days of Grace-Day 1

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Reflecting on the sheer number of articles and comments about Lent over the last few days, I was challenged to spend some time focusing the next forty days leading toward Easter on the topic of grace. My plan is to share this journey over the next few weeks taking a scripture or two relating to God’s grace and digging into it, seeking the cord of God’s grace running throughout His Word and seeking to know Him better each step of the pilgrimage.

Today, I would like to begin with the first mention of grace in the Word of God. It is found in Genesis 6:8, but we will begin a little sooner for context.  Starting in verse five it reads: “5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” (NAS)  The King James version uses the word grace.

First we note that the word used here translated grace from the Hebrew is Chen (khane) and the meaning denotes favor, grace, charm, elegance and acceptance (Strongs 2580). It is used sixty-nine other times in the Old Testament and is most used to mean favor or grace.

Next, Psalm 84:10-12.  In the Holman translation (HCSB) it reads: “Better a day in Your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather be at the door of the house of my God than to live in the tents of wicked people. For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord gives grace and glory; He does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity. Happy is the person who trusts in You, Lord of Hosts!”  The Lord gives favor, grace and acceptance, not withholding the good from those who live with integrity. He also gives glory, Kabowd (kaw-bode’) glory, honor, glorious, abundance, riches, dignity, reputation, and reverence (Strongs 3519)  and it is only used here in Psalms and in Ezekiel 1:28 where it speaks of his vision of the Lord. The psalmist here is longing for the house of God and setting the stage that even the most humble in God’s house receives His grace and glory as they live with integrity. Happy, blessed is the one who trusts in Him!

“The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Though He scoffs at the scoffers, yet He gives grace to the afflicted. The wise will inherit honor, but fools display dishonor.” Proverbs 3:33-35 NASB  The word for grace here is also Chen. He gives favor/grace to the afflicted.

The Creator of the universe loves His creation, He is for us and wants a relationship with each one of us. He longs for us to know and understand His true character through His Word and to interact with Him relationally, just as we long for close and loving relationships with our children both as they grow and in adulthood. As we long to give our children good gifts whether material, educational, or spiritual; He longs to give us good gifts like His favor and grace. Though I believe this with my entire heart, I also want to caution that we can not lose track of the fact He is God as I draw this parallel. We can have the tendency to want to create a god in our image and this is not what I have in mind when comparing God as Father to us as parents and our desires for our children. His ways and thoughts are much higher than ours but His Word proves it many times over; He is a good and loving Father who wants the best for His children.

Fresh Start

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New Year’s Eve at our home last night was a simple, quiet yet beautiful experience. My husband and I enjoyed a slow paced evening with some great music from WinterFest, followed by their countdown to welcome in 2014. We shared a New Year’s kiss and a toast with some delicious Sparkling Peach grape juice followed with a time of Communion and dedication of our year to The Lord. It was simple, yet perhaps one of the best since that very first New Year’s Eve we spent together with our families and their friends that resulted in our first date. We were mere kids that night long ago and yet we have shared every one since.

Life has a way of moving on, speeding by. Unlike when I was a child and a week seemed like a month, today a week seems more like a day! So with that in mind, about a month ago I began doing some thinking and praying about the year, 2014… What would it hold? What do I want to accomplish? Perhaps the most important question – What are Your goals and plans for me this year, Lord? Is there a verse for me for 2014? Maybe a word or theme. Little by little I felt him guiding me. The first glimpse came when I “happened” across a scripture verse in Habakkuk. It resonated down to my core.

I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint(question). (Habakkuk 2:1 NLT)

A little more time passed, a few more days, and I ‘stumbled’ over someone teaching on healing and speaking about the meaning of dunamis. Already somewhat familiar in that it speaks of the power of God including the power to perform miracles and we get our word dynamite from this Greek word, then I heard and additional meaning. I, being unfamiliar and therefore skeptical, decided I must check out what was said. After checking several reliable sources, it is true. Dunamis not only means the power of God, might, power to perform miracles, strength; it is used to mean moral power and excellence of soul. This brought my mind back to Habakkuk from my reading a few days ago. Habakkuk 3:2 says “Lord, I have heard the report about You; Lord, I stand in awe of Your deeds. Revive Your work in these years; make it known in these years. In Your wrath remember mercy! (Habakkuk 3:2 HCSB)

A little later while reading the Word, Isaiah 43 was my passage. Here God’s word to his people is, ” Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. The animals of the field will honor Me, jackals and ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people. The people I formed for Myself will declare My praise. (Isaiah 43:18-21 HCSB)
Next came:
Isaiah 54:2 “Enlarge the site of your tent, and let your tent curtains be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your ropes, and drive your pegs deep. 3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will dispossess nations and inhabit the desolate cities.”

You may, like me, be asking by now “what does all this mean?” Or “where is it going.” I can honestly answer I don’t know, not even a guess. What I do know is I am both excited and expectant to see what unfolds in 2014. I can not wait to see if and how any of this plays into the coming events. Will as NASSA predicts there be four Blood Moons over the next two years. The Word of God also speaks of the sun darkening and the moon looking like blood. What will happen with Israel? The Middle East? Is God doing something new? Will God’s power be more apparent than ever before? I have no answers, only anticipation and expectancy over what the next 364 days will hold.

Wishing you each a very blessed 2014 as I climb up to my watchtower and stand my guard post. There I will wait and see what The Lord says and how He will answer!

Tried, Tested…and True?

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Just thinking this afternoon about how as humans we are always looking to the next thing. Babies learn progressively from the first smile, turning over, sitting up, crawling, pulling up and finally taking steps. We adults do the same with the exception of we often do not take the time just to enjoy where we are at the moment. A few examples: when we are young we can not wait to be grown up; can’t wait to finish school, move out; get married; then, we tend to covet the freedom our single friends enjoy when we are married or the companionship our married friend enjoy when we are single. Many desire children and when they are here, we long for them to sleep through the night, out grow teething, be able to talk so they can tell us what is wrong when they feel bad, walk, start school…

Our techie world continues to teach us to not be satisfied with our phone, computer, tablet, car, TV:  the minute we purchase one it is on it’s way to being obsolete. Chances are that within 2 days to 6 months there will be a faster, better, fancier or sleeker one and many of us will be dreaming of the new best thing!  The world around us makes it hard to be content and just enjoy the moment in which we are living. This becomes even more apparent when we are in a time of trial or difficulty. Many times I find myself looking everywhere for an escape hatch when one of those times come around. Why? because I don’t like conflict, discomfort. I like choices to be easy, people to be loving and kind. The truth is life is not always easy, comfortable and neat and if it were, we would never grow or mature. Take the teething baby for example, in order for the baby to grow teeth, there is pain as the teeth push forward and break the skin. Without that pain the little baby would continue to grow but be relegated to a life of soft mushy food. Many also have used the example of a child. Children are wondrous and a blessing from God, however as they develop there is often morning sickness, stretching and discomfort at times for the mother and they are birthed through travail and pain.