Training grounds…

 Training grounds….

The verse in 2 Corinthians about comfort reminds me hat whether we know it or not we may be I “training “ for other events in our lives…

Or the phrase, “nothing is wasted in God’s economy “…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.

2 Corinthians 1:3-6

Just look at some of the examples….

Abraham, a wealthy man, leaving  his country on God’s command to wander with the promise of being the father of nations, provision, looking forward to a promised land….trained in faithlessness…

Moses, the son of slaves, raised in a palace in royalty, sought for murder, flees to the desert to become a shepherd of sheep(stubborn animals) for 40 years ….training for leadership of leading millions (stubborn people) in the desert for forty years… 

Joseph, a favored son, sold as a slave, to become an overseer, again imprisoned but with leadership skills, arose to be a advisor to a pharaoh to save nations…

David, a lowly shepherd boy, anointed king, mighty warrior, villionized by some and worshiped by others, thrust into kingship and lead a nation…

Paul, highly educated Roman citizen, persecutor of Christians, redeemed, could speak for hours about Christ, using his education, experiences to speak to all ranks of life….

Peter, a zealous fisherman, chosen, tried, fallen, tried, found faithful through the thick and thin times…becoming a faithful fisher of men to the end…

As a mother and grandmother, I watched each of my children grow with their different personalities, traits, giftings…wondering where they would  walk as adults…seeing how those experiences, traits have lead each…

Now, observing my grandchildren grow up,as well, I wonder where they each will be lead with their personality traits, giftings…it is amazing how God works in each life, the unexpected turns, the growth, the pairing of the person to the plan prepared by an all knowing God…

Training grounds…we all get the training prepared for us…it is exciting to see how it is used …in our lives and others…

Thank YOU…

Women who knew Jesus…

Women who knew Jesus…

Sometimes women get a bad rap….I have lived to see more and more women enter the work force, run huge companies, the “feminist” move, be discriminated on wage issues…etc…polarized, marginalized,  respected, disrespected, called good and bad names, used, abused…and so much more…

This is a spin-off of the sermon I heard this weekend…the missionary spoke of two evangelists, Jesus and the woman at the well…

When I think of women who knew Jesus I think of faithful women…

Mary, his mother was obedient…

Mary and Martha were friends who cared and listened…

The woman who touched his robe had faith for healing…

The woman caught in adultery was forgiven…

The woman at the well believed and told others…

Others served, worshipped, were taught…

Even the  mother of the little boy, who gave his lunch to feed others, provided and cared for her son…

Women searched for him after his death, were comforted and overjoyed at his resurrection…

Many articles, books have been written on this subject…I am not here to  really add to those words by scholars…I am just thankful to be valued, comforted, saved …by the same redeemer those women of long ago knew, befriended, worshiped…

Thank YOU…

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:38

….And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

Luke 2:51b

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

Matthew 28:1-9

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” ]]

John 8:7-11

https://www.insight.org/resources/article-library/individual/jesus-and-women

https://www.crossway.org/articles/how-jesus-viewed-and-valued-women/ 

In/on that day….

 “In/on that day”….

This little phase keeps cropping up especially in the major and minor prophets and then again when Jesus is talking about the future in the New Testament…

75 plus times….so am not going recount each instance…but it so interesting to follow repeated  phrases throughout the Bible…and see where they lead…

“If…then”…

“Therefore/since”…

“Truly, truly”…

“Let us”….

To point out a few…

They all need to be looked at in context of the Word around them..

With this one, It is fallowed by what will happen good or bad in the future…sometimes soon or way in the future..

A few…

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 

And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. 

And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. 

“And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 

For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 

And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 

And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 

I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. “And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, and I will sow her for myself in the land. 

And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People,  ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”

Hosea 2:14-23 

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:16-17

On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Zechariah 12:8-9

20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 

23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 

26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;

John 14:20,16:23,26

There are connections…I liked the one from Hosea and John 14:20…both speak of knowing who is the Lord/Father…

These phrases, connections throughout the Word remind me yet again of the Book written for people to see that God speaks to all throughout time, the world, cultures…His love, His judgement, His redemption…His plan…

Thank YOU….

God Provides…

 God Provides….

Several years ago, my husband , a friend and I traveled to Salt Lake City to spend a few days with a filming crew…we were going to be background people for the filming of a series of short movies to be put out by Crown Financial on God’s Provision…”God Provides”…

Early one morning we headed out for a site southwest of Salt Lake City into the foothills where a whole crew of camp sites, trucks, trailers, sets, caterers, make up artists, costumes, etc.. we were costumed, made up, given instructions…we watched in awe of the crews as they did take after take of various scenes…we were placed in background places when needed, did our parts over and over again…

Times of the day were from early morning to late at night…

Another day we were on set in a studio with sets for indoor scenes…same  procedures…and we watched entranced by the directing, the action, the scenery, the hard work all of the players put into this production…

The late Dean Jones played Abraham…taking his son Isaac up the mountain with wood piled on a donkey to heed God’s call for sacrifice…

In the Bible, he (Abraham)did the walk only one time…while in the movie it was done over and over to get the right angles, the right light, the right face, the right structure…but, even then in one scene, outside, God provided the right beam of light, through broken clouds, at the right time for a scene the producers wanted to capture…

From the beginning to the end, the people working, writing , producing would say that in telling this Bible story of God’s provision thousands of years ago, He moved to provide in the present day telling as well..in the supply of costumes, writers, producers, people, studios, food…

It was fun while it lasted. We weren’t offered any further movie roles…we met some amazing people…the dozens of background people, the directors- the Erwin Brothers, the Jones, others who filled in…watched people who excelled in their craft of movie making, etc…gained a new appreciation of this art…it is not a walk in the park…it is hard work…

Reading of Abraham’s call to first send off his son, Ishmael, by Hagar into the desert to eventually become a leader of a nation must have been hard…and then to be called again to sacrifice his son of promise, Isaac, must have been hard as well….but there is nothing said  about him faltering, questioning…he obeyed because he knew God was faithful In providing….he tells his servants to wait and they will return…

Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 

He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 

So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. 

And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” 

So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.

Genesis 22:5,8,12-19

I know I have written about this time in the past, but it still resonates…the Provision, the obedience…the example of faithful following…the example of waiting…the example of God’s call…His promises…God is still the same yesterday, today and tomorrow…His plan through the ages still stands…

Thank YOU…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcjOBagmat0

Shepherds…the Shepherd….

 Shepherds…and the Shepherd…

A couple of years ago, I had the privilege to go to Israel with a college group from Montana…parents and grandparents were invited to travel with the college students…I would have to say, that going there was not on my radar, as so much had been  (and still is)happening…didn’t “feel like a safe place to travel”…(so much for my faith)…but, I couldn’t pass this up….we arrived in the spring after a rainy season.   The hills were lush with grass, wild flowers bloomed profusely, the promised land…

We toured site after site of ancient civilizations, noting the architecture changes, the use of the stone, the places where Bible people walked and lived…streets covered with mosaics, huge columns upright and fallen, stadiums, palaces, tombs, gardens, synagogues, excavations, ordinary homes…

I remember when I first caught sight of a flock of sheep, I was so excited, something tangible, something about the Shepherd…then we were waiting on a hillside and up over the rise comes a young man followed by his flock…I walked to get a closer look  and was soon amongst the flock as they meandered here and there eating the tender grass, all the while watching their shepherd…

I know I have written about this earlier…but was watching a video about shepherds this morning…so decide to follow through the Bible…not just psalm 23…was so blessed by this concept again…

There are many references to “Shepherd”, both positive and negative…I chose the ones that point to God being our Shepherd…Joseph in the Old Testament recognized Him…and all throughout…David …until Jesus says it of Himself…ending in the book of Revelations…shepherding through the ages…and still does…we can claim the same words as David did in Psalm 23..

Thank YOU…

And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

Genesis 48:15 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures. 

He leads me beside still waters. 

He restores my soul. 

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:1-6

The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalm 28:8-9

With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

Psalm 78:72 

The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.

Ecclesiastes 12:11

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Isaiah 40:11

 “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah 3:15 

I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:4 

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Ezekiel 34:15-16 

10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 

3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 

4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 

8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 10:1-4,7-8,11,14-15

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7:17

Apples..harvest…

 Apples…harvest…

The encyclopedia says there are over 7,500 varieties of apples…

“Types of Apples. There are over 7,500 varieties of apples worldwide. The United States grows 2,500 apple varieties, but just 100 of them are grown commercially.”

Fun facts….

Apple Facts - Apples and More - University of Illinois Extension

web.extension.illinois.edu › apples › facts

• The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.

• Apples come in all shades of reds, greens, and yellows.

• Two pounds of apples make one 9-inch pie.

• Apple blossom is the state flower of Michigan.”

•           And many more….

When  I built my present home, I planted 4 types…and I picked the last ones yesterday after several days of frosty mornings…they were ripe…

At literally every home we have lived in, we planted fruit trees of some kind…some made it, most didn’t…High desert Nevada is brutal on fruit trees…plus, if the trees make it, you average a crop every 7 years, because of the cold springs….here in Idaho, I have had a crop 3 of 4 years…what a treat!…

Several years ago, I got to go to the Apple festival in Hood River, Oregon…such fun…so many kinds of apple to taste and choose from…many for local use and not sent to the regular supermarkets…

Both my husband and I were brought up with various fruits and orchards…me , in central and Northern California…he, in the Willamette valley of Oregon…we valued fresh fruit for our family as they grew…and would visit relatives gathering fruit along the way, wherever we happened to be…he even found abandoned orchards in the back country of Nevada which we would visit and harvest or elderberries,  chokecherries or service berries which grew in abundance in canyons near where we lived.

The first mention of fruit is in the first book of Genesis…

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 

And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. 

The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. 

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” 

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 1:11-13,29,2:9,15-17,3:1-6,12-13 

I have always seen pictures of the serpent handing  over a huge juicy apple to Eve…but it really doesn’t say apple, it could have been  another fruit equally as lush…my mind’s eye really congers up  Snow White with the witchy looking woman enticing her with a beautiful polished red apple…saying “Come, my dear…”…. As she finally succumbs to the temptation as Eve does with Adam…thus  the Fall….a consequence we still reap…

But, God, in His infinite love, prepared, planned a solution to that Fall, Jesus…the redeemer for the world through His life, death and resurrection…if only we accept that gift of salvation… we can be numbered in that harvest as well…not in the thousands as the types apples, but in the multitudes…people from every nation and tribe…around the world…across the ages of time…what a Harvest…gathering…

Thank YOU….

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16-17 

Steps….

 Steps….

Seeing those steps at the prison the other day brought back memories of visiting Ellis Island nine years ago…

We rode across the river in a boat, entered the buildings used for immigration into the United States…people would process there before entering the States…they were checked for illnesses, paperwork, whatever then sent through a door leading to two sets of steps…one leading to a new life in the USA …another leading, if they were found ill,

 to quarters where they would receive medical treatment, until they could continue healthy…

I stood at the bottom of those worn stairs, thinking of the thousands who had walked them, thrilled to start a new life or discouraged in illness…my ancestors had probably walked them, leaving for the farms in the Midwest, escaping the lives they left behind…there were piles of old trunks displayed some exactly like one I have that made those journeys…

Decisions made that effected generations…just like those steps at the penitentiary, worn by men and women who made decisions to commit crimes against others…

Reading through the book of Malachi, there are calls to decisions as well, steps to renewed obedience of the Israelites …they had chosen wrong paths in several areas of life and He was confronting them to bring them back…

He lists wrongs done and entreats all the change their ways…

-polluted offerings

-faithlessness 

-oppression 

-robbing God in tithes and offerings

Just thinking of those worn steps…how God desires that those worn steps lead over and over to Him…not to paths away from Him..that we find our paths continually with Him…in Him… 

Are my steps leading me to wrong offerings…faithlessness…robbing God  of my tithes and offerings…oppression…correct words…..lack of graciousness?

Malachi writes near the end of the book..

Then those who feared the Lord  spoke with one another. 

The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 

“They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. 

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. 

You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 3:16-4:3

God proclaims…

…….For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. “

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Malachi 1:14b,3:6 

What an end to the Old Testament….a challenge to which steps we take…thank YOU….