Category Archives: God’s Word: The Bible

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May 19, 2015

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God's Word: The Bible, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Wisdom & Guidance

HE SPEAKS

And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.” [Deuteronomy 5:24 (NIV)]

The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. [Psalm 29:3-4 (NIV)]

rabbit-naples39awebGod speaks to us in many ways. The most obvious way He does, of course, is through the Bible; indeed, it is “God-breathed.” Sometimes, however, it is simply through coincidences, circumstances or “Aha!” moments like the one I wrote about in yesterday’s message. Sunrises and sunsets, births and deaths, chance encounters, close calls, and even bunnies and bright green anoles: they can all be the voice of God. Some people are sure they’ve actually heard God speak. While it didn’t sound like the thunder mentioned in the Bible, I’ve heard His voice telling me things like, “One step at a time,” “Patience,” and even “Stop!” In addition, God often speaks to us through the voices of others. How many times have you read a devotion, sat through a sermon, heard a song or listened to friends and known that the message (even though it may have been shared with many others) was meant specifically for you at that very moment? Sometimes, we have those instances we just “know” what to do (and not to do) or say (and not to say). That small inner voice that tells us what action to take or clearly convicts us when we’re wrong can also be God speaking to us through His Holy Spirit. It’s called many things: intuition, discernment, conscience, insight, or even “gut feeling.” When we think we’re hearing His voice in our innermost thoughts, however, it is wise to proceed cautiously and return to the first way He speaks to us: the Bible. It’s often difficult to know the difference between our own thoughts and desires and His direction and plan. We need to compare what we think that inner voice is saying to scripture and reading His word is the way to test what we think we’re hearing against what He’s already told us. How God speaks to us, however, is nowhere near as important as how well we listen to Him and how often we heed what He says!

All Scripture is God-breathed and He doesn’t waste His breath. [Jim McCotter]

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)]

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April 14, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Word: The Bible, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Trusting God

IN GOD’S BOAT

I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations. I cling to your laws. Lord, don’t let me be put to shame! I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding. [Psalm 119:30-32 (NLT)]

4-14-15DSC02196CROPwebMy father, C.W. Smith, was a bit of an autocrat; his word was law and not to be questioned by anyone. One day, while fishing with a friend, the two men were preparing their lines and baiting their hooks. My father noticed that his friend was tying the lure on his line in a way entirely different from the “tried and true” Smith technique. When my dad asked his friend why he used that method, his fishing buddy replied that he’d always done it that way and that it worked fine. The friend assured my father that he always caught plenty of fish and rarely lost a lure. My dad couldn’t accept the possibility of more than one way to tie a lure and finally said, “That may be well and good. But, when you’re in the Smith boat, there is only one way to do it and that is the Smith way.”

We aren’t in the Smith boat today, so we can fish any way we want. We are, however, in God’s and He’s the one who sets the rules. Unlike fishing, there is only one way to behave in God’s boat and that is His way!

Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found. [Psalm 119:33-35 (NLT)]

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March 23, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, God's Plan, God's Word: The Bible, Sharing Our Faith, Today: Make it Count, Wisdom & Guidance

READY OR NOT

Be ready for action, and have your lamps burning. Be like servants waiting to open the door at their master’s knock when he returns from a wedding. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I can guarantee this truth: He will change his clothes, make them sit down at the table, and serve them. They will be blessed if he comes in the middle of the night or toward morning and finds them awake. [Luke 12:35-38 (GW)]

3-23-15_1567WEB“Ready or not, here I come!” Do you remember that call when playing hide and seek as a child? Ready or not, time marches on. While walking today, I saw the first robin of the season and blurted out, “I’m not ready.” A harbinger of spring, the robin was a reminder that we will soon depart from our Colorado mountain home. There are still things I want to do and I’m simply not ready to say leave. I want at least one more powder day; more runs on “Rainbow” and “Cyclone;” another hike through the snowy woods, to the falls and along the river; additional hours gliding over my favorite cross-country trails; and more time with my mountain friends. Whether I’m ready or not, however, my time in the mountains is ending. The snow is melting, the bluebirds have returned, the snowbells and crocuses are up, and responsibilities in Florida beckon.

IMG_1471webI’m not sure any of us are ever truly ready for certain things: grey hair, arthritis, wrinkles, and having children who’ve all celebrated their fortieth birthdays being just a few. We’re never really ready for car accidents, cancer or heart attacks, either. Jesus, however, cautioned us about a lack of readiness with several parables. He counselled expectant watchfulness on our part because, as unpredictable as life is, there are several things for which we must be prepared. We must be ready to serve, to speak the truth, and to face temptation. Moreover, we must always be ready to face death, judgment, and the second coming of Christ. Ready or not, He will come. Are you ready?

Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return. You realize that if a homeowner had known at what time of the night a thief was coming, he would have stayed awake. He would not have let the thief break into his house. Therefore, you, too, must be ready because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him. [Matthew 24:42-44 (GW)]

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February 2, 2015

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Bible Stories, God's Word: The Bible, Temptation & Sin, Trusting God

WHO DO YOU TRUST?

12-30-14Trust1WEBGod commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.” … The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.” When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. [Genesis 2:16-17, 3:4-6 (MSG)]

Eve saw what she wanted and couldn’t possess. God clearly said this was the one thing Adam and Eve couldn’t have in the paradise in which they lived. Satan, however, told her otherwise; he told her what she wanted to hear. Was the tree more seductive, did she crave it all the more, because it was forbidden? Eve saw what she desired and took it. She trusted what she saw, a beautiful tree with delicious looking fruit, instead of what she’d been told by God. She sinned because she walked by sight toward what she desired instead of by walking by faith in God’s word. Unfortunately, mankind has continued down that path ever since. Who is the wiser, God or us? Who loves us, God or Satan? Whose words will we believe? Who do we trust?

Father, fill us with your Spirit so we always walk, not by sight, but by faith. Strengthen us so that desire never tempts us to ignore your word.

All the cunning of the devil is exercised in trying to tear us away from the word. [Martin Luther]

Yahweh: You’ve been unhappy because you’ve desired things that cannot be.
Lucifer: That’s what desire is. The need for what we can’t have. The need for what’s readily available is called greed. [Mike Carey, from “Lucifer, Vol. 11: Evensong”]

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January 28, 2015

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Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, God's Word: The Bible, Miracles, Prayer

NO SUCH WORD AS “IMPOSSIBLE”

I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? [Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV)]

butterfly (monarch) - naplesBotGa38WEBOur God is an awesome, all-powerful, and unlimited God. There is, however, one word that isn’t in His vocabulary: “impossible.” He is the God of amazing miracles; therefore, nothing for Him is impossible. If He chooses not to do what we ask of Him, it isn’t because he can’t; it’s because He won’t. Apparently, God has a different (and better) plan for us.

If nothing is too difficult for Him, why, do we insult Him by offering only timid and trivial prayers about lost glasses and broken appointments? Why do we hesitate giving Him the stuff that really matters: lost souls and broken hearts? Perhaps we’re hesitant to give God the big stuff because we’re afraid He can’t do it! Of course, He cares about the mundane aspects of our lives, but let’s honor Him with prayers that show we truly do believe in Him! As long as we always remember that prayer is request, not a demand, we can ask anything of God, secure in the knowledge that while it is in His power to do anything, it is also in His power to answer every prayer in His own way.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord [James 1:6-7 (NIV)]

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December 5, 2014

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Bible Stories, God's Grace & Love, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him

NOT HOW, BUT WHO (Genesis, part 2)


Grand Canyon-cape royal 171aFaith convinces us that God created the world through his word. This means what can be seen was made by something that could not be seen. [Hebrews 11:3 (GW)]

For some of us, the Book of Genesis doesn’t satisfactorily explain how the world was made. But that doesn’t matter, because it does explain who made it all happen. It answers the basic questions we all have. Who made the universe? God. Who created me? God. Why am I here? To have a relationship with God. What keeps me from this relationship? Man’s sinful nature.

The Book of Genesis tells us about man’s character: we sin. We want what we can’t have, we lie, we get jealous, we disobey and we don’t trust God. More important, however, the Book of Genesis tells us about God’s character. We see that God is omnipotent; He has unlimited power and authority over all things. He not only gave form to the universe, but He also filled the earth with all sorts of living things. He can speak things into existence and create something from nothing. He is omnipresent; He can be everywhere all of the time. He was here before anything else existed and yet He is transcendent. He exists outside of our universe; things like time and space don’t limit Him. He is omniscient; He knows everything. No one can hide from Him and nothing escapes His notice. Although He is a demanding and jealous God, He is also loving and forgiving. He is a personal God who will speak to us. That is what Genesis tells us and that is all I really need to know and understand.

O Lord, you have been our refuge throughout every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, you were God. You are God from everlasting to everlasting. … Indeed, in your sight a thousand years are like a single day, like yesterday—already past—like an hour in the night. You are God from everlasting to everlasting. [Psalm 90:1-2,4 (GW)]