tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8505426929176178792024-03-13T09:57:05.138-05:00Reflections, Ruminations, and RecollectionsA blog for my thoughts, writing, and anything else I come up with.Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-36237907731229923002023-10-17T19:11:00.002-05:002023-10-17T19:11:47.937-05:00Oh, say can you see<p><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OoesTVMv0LYhLMx1DTA7qUPi9xfiwn8TQRDVy8Jsmj9qHFUrgTrOCbf8chgWJI_KjdbPePpFSV8JxN1enVQzQn6HifUAK4rYRaiSLu5jXrt8AyQCSau-UQg62WuKvGJoVBRRpIXP3BDnMpktEPpVxLUTcYsEHh4dClb4FDGuRrBtZXorF-dyvZ9yVfnX/s275/Eye%20test.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="184" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5OoesTVMv0LYhLMx1DTA7qUPi9xfiwn8TQRDVy8Jsmj9qHFUrgTrOCbf8chgWJI_KjdbPePpFSV8JxN1enVQzQn6HifUAK4rYRaiSLu5jXrt8AyQCSau-UQg62WuKvGJoVBRRpIXP3BDnMpktEPpVxLUTcYsEHh4dClb4FDGuRrBtZXorF-dyvZ9yVfnX/w94-h141/Eye%20test.jpeg" width="94" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;">In 2 Corinthians 12:1-6, Paul writes about someone who was permitted to visit the third heaven. He was too humble to admit that he was the one who saw the third heaven, although in verse 7, however, Paul admits that he had the revelations. He then states that <span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;">a </span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;">thorn in the flesh was given to him, </span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;">a messenger of Satan to </span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;">buffet him, lest he be exalted above measure. </span></span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Paul asked the Lord three times to take the thorn away, but his request was not granted. Instead of being upset over his thorn, however, Paul states that he took pleasure in his infirmity for Christ's sake. </span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u></u>There has been speculation over the years as to what Paul’s “thorn” was. I believe that Paul’s thorn was the loss of his eyesight. Paul’s letters were transcribed by amanuenses. Per <a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/amanuensis" target="_blank">Dictionary.com</a>, an “amanuensis” is </span><span style="font-family: times;">a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another; a secretary.</span><span style="font-family: times;"> Romans 16:22 is the only place you will find the amanuensis' name listed (Tertius). In the other epistles, the name of the amanuensis is not listed, although several of the epistles list names of people who were laboring with Paul and some of them may have transcribed Paul's epistles but they didn't want to mention themselves as the amanuensis. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Now it’s not like Paul didn’t know how to write. He was a Pharisee, which meant that he was studied in the Torah and the Law. I believe that Paul had to have amanuenses write the epistles because he couldn’t see well. You need to have the ability to see in order to write in a straight line so that your handwriting is legible.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">To prove that he was the author of his epistles, </span><span style="font-family: times;">Paul wrote in Galatians 6:11, “Look with what large letters I have written to you in my own hand!” If your eyesight is bad, you would have to write in large letters in order to be able to read them yourself. In Colossians 4:18 and 2 Thessalonians 3:17, Paul writes that he is writing a salutation in his own hand. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">I've had my suspicions for a while that Paul's thorn was his bad eyesight, but when I read Galatians 4:15, it finally came together for me. In that verse, Paul states that if it were possible, the Galatians would plucked out their own eyes and given them to him. They obviously knew that Paul had bad eyesight and they wanted to sacrifice their eyes so that he could see. Now if Paul had been lame, the Galatians would have offered their legs to him so that he could walk. <u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Why did God take Paul’s eyesight away? I think it’s because the third heaven is so wonderful that nothing on Earth could ever compare to it. God didn’t want Paul to remember what he saw. Some of us may have “thorns” in our lives that God hasn’t taken away from us, no matter how much we ask Him to. God gives us the patience and the endurance, like He did with Paul, to live with our “thorns.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I've been helping a friend take the dramas he wrote and put them in book form to publish them on Amazon. I hope you don't mind me plugging his book, but he has a book of Christian dramas and you can find that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Illuminations-Christian-Dramas-Churches-Groups/dp/B0CKH3WWHM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=OCB55BH6UKVN&keywords=Charles+David+Solomon&qid=1697587168&s=books&sprefix=charles+david+solomon%2Cstripbooks%2C105&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Thanks as always for reading! See you next time! </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Diane</span></p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-86482523538870988042023-08-16T22:22:00.001-05:002023-08-17T06:02:03.334-05:00Saints alive!<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFG-nIheNPr-YrE2SbHsF_DPuUuFHFFib2aQ2T9ZTYxb2kp8r0VA1B2YkKarhCiUvX9FMmrkGRI7fwJLCVEa0TjbWW9mEuTm0hj8Nvn2GH7C5qaJBHUIsSwuJlRVEdkJIVxzxnobcN4hHSTufah_zlIrQ_kXOHpbY3f1tGP46fJldrsON4R4c3oMPt44n/s225/Halos.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFG-nIheNPr-YrE2SbHsF_DPuUuFHFFib2aQ2T9ZTYxb2kp8r0VA1B2YkKarhCiUvX9FMmrkGRI7fwJLCVEa0TjbWW9mEuTm0hj8Nvn2GH7C5qaJBHUIsSwuJlRVEdkJIVxzxnobcN4hHSTufah_zlIrQ_kXOHpbY3f1tGP46fJldrsON4R4c3oMPt44n/s1600/Halos.jpeg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">There are churches, both Catholic and Protestant, with church names that start with "St.", the abbreviation for Saint. "St.", like "Mr." and Mrs.", are honorifics, which is a word that means "<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">a title or word </span><span class="AraNOb" style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #20124d;">implying</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"> or expressing high status, </span><span class="AraNOb" style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">politeness</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">, or respect." You will notice, however, that most evangelical churches are not named for a saint. </span></span></div></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">The Catholic church has a process for how a person becomes a saint, a/k/a canonization. Here's an abbreviated <a href="https://www.dummies.com/article/body-mind-spirit/religion-spirituality/christianity/catholicism/how-to-become-a-saint-in-the-catholic-church-192610/">Dummies.com</a> explanation of canonization: 1. The person must be dead for at least 5 years; 2. When a person is accepted for consideration, they are called a Servant of God; 3. After it's determined that the Servant of God lived a life of virtue, they are called Venerable; 4. After one miracle is confirmed, the Venerable is presented to the Pope to see if he/she is considered Blessed. This process is called Beautification; and 5. After a second miracle is confirmed, the Blessed is again presented to the Pope for review to be considered a saint.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">Whew! That's a long process. </span></span>But the Biblical requirements for a saint are much
different. In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul
addresses the church at Corinth: “To the church of
God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, <b>called to
be saints</b>, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord, both theirs and ours.” (emphasis mine - DMS) In order to be called a saint, you just have to believe in God and Jesus Christ. You don't have to be dead, you don't have to have miracles attributed to you, and you don't have to have the Pope review your case. </p><p>In the Old Testament, there are many references to believers being saints. There are 20 references to saints in the book of Psalms alone and 12 references to saints in the other Old Testament books. These saints are the Hebrew believers in God. In the New Testament, there are 70 references to saints. These saints, of course, are believers in Jesus. Here is the link to my search on BlueLetterBible.org for "saints:" <a href="https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=saints&t=NKJV#s=s_primary_0_1" target="_blank">Link</a> Once the new tab opens, click on the link to access the search. "Saints" is a collective term for all those who believe in God and Jesus. There are halos on the heads of paintings and statues of Catholic saints, but there are no references to halos in Scripture.</p><p>In our review of Scripture, we see that there is no complicated process to become a saint of God. As referenced above, all we have to do is to call on the name of Jesus and believe in Him to become saints. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, or what your ethnicity is, as long as you believe in Jesus, you are a saint. </p><p>One of my favorite childhood hymns is "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God." The first and second verses talk about saints of God who lived in the past and their courageous actions. In the third verse, the lyricist speaks about the saints that live in the present day and where a person can find the saints - everywhere! The last phrase of the first verse states, "They were all of them saints of God and I mean, God helping, to be one too." In fact, that should be every believer's goal. There's an old saying - "You're a saint or you ain't."</p><p>Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!</p><p>Diane</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-7450528528771211192023-06-05T19:05:00.000-05:002023-06-05T19:05:38.530-05:00Personally yours, Part 3<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eTr6nYV3915nGY0qsxp7gAWEw2PPyMKXR-3cQyHuHhQqNOS9CzYfmaWukSeKslEFQ3c6dM0GEqnDV51xqrTRJkR3N295VGgDHQqZdUMnLTWj96SwSkmZvfiVZhy8KQBWJH8Bg-8Zg5auVA6-hIiAe_tzXD15eagyj6lroVh7FI5hhN_YfMyf1RnoTw/s270/Letter%20and%20quill.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="270" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eTr6nYV3915nGY0qsxp7gAWEw2PPyMKXR-3cQyHuHhQqNOS9CzYfmaWukSeKslEFQ3c6dM0GEqnDV51xqrTRJkR3N295VGgDHQqZdUMnLTWj96SwSkmZvfiVZhy8KQBWJH8Bg-8Zg5auVA6-hIiAe_tzXD15eagyj6lroVh7FI5hhN_YfMyf1RnoTw/w142-h98/Letter%20and%20quill.jpeg" width="142" /></a></div>3 John is the second epistle, or letter, that John has written to a particular person. The letter recipient is Gaius. The commentaries I reviewed state that this epistle was written in 90-100 AD. It was probably written before John's exile to Patmos since John states in the letter that he hopes to see Gaius soon so they can speak face to face. <p></p><p>In verse 1, John once again identifies himself as the Elder. John must have known Gaius very well and knew of his faith, for John calls him "beloved Gaius." John loves Gaius in the truth. We should love fellow believers in the truth as well. </p><p>John repeats the word "beloved" in the second verse. John prays that Gaius prospers in all things, as his soul prospers. As believers, our souls must prosper in our relationship with the Lord so that we may prosper in all things, and be in health. When our relationship with the Lord is not prosperous, the rest of our life will suffer, especially if we fall into sin.</p><p>In verses 3-4, John states that he rejoiced when he heard from the brethren that Gaius was walking in the truth. We should be joyful when fellow believers walk in the truth. </p><p>In verses 5-6, John addresses Gaius' duties. Gaius is to do whatever he does for the brethren faithfully. Whatever we as believers do for fellow believers and for strangers, we are to do it faithfully. John states that both the brethren and the strangers bear witness to Gaius' love before the church.</p><p>John stated that Gaius was to send people on their way in a manner worthy of God and that he would do well. The people who went forward for Jesus' name sake took nothing from the Gentiles. You may recall that Paul supported himself as a tent maker. John stated that Gaius, and we as well, should receive those who speak the truth so that we will become fellow workers for the truth.</p><p>The subject changes in verse 9. John wrote that he had written to a church, but he didn't identify the name of the church. There is a man at this church named Diotrephus, who I'll call Dio for short. Dio has a superiority complex. He will not receive John or anyone with him. </p><p>In verse 10, John stated that when he does go to the church that will not be named that he will remind Dio of his bad deeds. John stated that Dio was prating. Per Dictionary.com, the definition of "prating" is to talk excessively and pointlessly. Not only did Dio speak badly about John, Dio would not receive his fellow brethren and he evicted those from the church who wished to receive their fellow brethren. Dio was a bad leader. We should receive our fellow brethren in love and rebuke those who refuse to do so.</p><p>John transitioned to another subject in verse 11. John stated that we are not to imitate evil but to imitate good. Those who imitate good are of God, but those who do evil have not seen God, or even know God.</p><p>Verse 11 is a bridge into verse 12, where John praised Demetrius and said he had a good testimony. This is in contrast to Diotrephus, who is not a good example to follow. This comparison reminds me of the characters Goofus and Gallant, the characters in the magazine <i>Highlights for Children</i> who illustrate good behavior and bad behavior for children. </p><p>John finishes up the letter in verses 13-14. He states that he had many things to write, but he would rather speak to Gaius in person, face to face. John then ends the letter with a blessing and greetings from God's friends. </p><p>This is a short book, but there are lots of good things packed into it. This epistle has instructions on how Christians should greet and treat fellow believers, how a person in pastoral authority should and should not act, and what a believer should imitate. </p><p>That's all for now! Thanks for reading! See you next time!</p><p>Diane</p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-44798065646271975772023-05-07T14:20:00.000-05:002023-05-07T14:20:13.856-05:00Personally yours, Part 2<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUI98GccpcsRhHKkYu2e8gKWplJa54p3qZJOgwWnCynogymUlmj1QeiAaqw2b8dcZmHYouzYq7yG5Ut1matjXU4eIpv-Jlaq223SbGINbBVKaA1Y7LNWX1qI74YIgVB5g-08-P2SSAc_IcVyYBb7WY_hQBrp8Eye33jIuEOjCGxJ9QzxzTxy7PHADVng/s270/Letter%20and%20quill.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="270" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUI98GccpcsRhHKkYu2e8gKWplJa54p3qZJOgwWnCynogymUlmj1QeiAaqw2b8dcZmHYouzYq7yG5Ut1matjXU4eIpv-Jlaq223SbGINbBVKaA1Y7LNWX1qI74YIgVB5g-08-P2SSAc_IcVyYBb7WY_hQBrp8Eye33jIuEOjCGxJ9QzxzTxy7PHADVng/w163-h115/Letter%20and%20quill.jpeg" width="163" /></a></div><br />In part one, I wrote about Paul’s epistle to Philemon, which
was addressed to a person and not to a particular church like his other
epistles. The apostle John wrote three epistles and two of them are also personally addressed to a person.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">2 John is the first of John's two epistles directed to a person as opposed to the church in general, as in 1 John. In modern times, we write (or type) the names and addresses of the person or people we are writing to, and put our signatures at the end of the letter, but in Biblical times, it appears that the writer puts his name first, and then addresses the recipient. </p><p class="MsoNormal">In verse 1, John calls himself The Elder. Everyone must have known that John was the Elder and he didn't need to put his name before the title. John then addresses the recipient of the letter, who is “To the elect lady
and her children.” To be “elect” is to be a person who has repented of their
sins and receives Jesus Christ as his or her Savior. John does not mention the name of the elect
lady. The commentaries I reviewed did
not know who the elect lady was either.
Was the elect lady someone that John knew very personally and that is
why he didn’t address her by name? In
the book of Revelation, the Church is referred to as the Bride of Christ. Could
the elect lady be the Church? Her
children, then, would be all the believers in Christ. So this letter may have a double meaning. </p><p class="MsoNormal">John then states that he loves the elect lady in truth and those who know the truth love her as well. So this is not a romantic relationship - this is agape love. John then states that the truth abides in him, in her, and the truth will live in them forever. If we know the truth of Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as our Savior, the truth will live in us forever as well. </p><p class="MsoNormal">In verse 3, John gives the elect lady a blessing. John states that grace, mercy, and peace will be with her from God and from Jesus. John refers to Jesus as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. </p><p class="MsoNormal">In verse 4(a), John writes that he is rejoicing that some of the elect lady's children are walking in truth, which is the truth of the Gospel. Wait a minute - "some" of her children? That means that not all of her children are walking in the truth. This also has a meaning for today's church. Not all of the people attending worship services or who are church members are born-again Christians. For some people, church is a social club where they meet up with their friends or they join a certain church to advance in certain clubs or occupations. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Then in verses 4(b) and 5, John ends the personal greetings and writes about the first topic, which is love. John covers the topic of love in great depth in 1 John 4. Here, John states the most important commandment, which is to love one another by walking in God's commandments. This also applies to us in the modern church. We are to walk in love both towards God and towards others by following God's commandments. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The next topic in John's epistle are deceivers, who are antichrists. John defines an antichrist (small "a" antichrist, not to be confused with the Antichrist, who will come forward after the Rapture) as those who deny that Jesus Christ came to Earth in the flesh. John notes that the elect lady, and we as well, should not fall into this false doctrine so that we will obtain our full reward in Heaven. John states that those who don't abide in Christ's doctrine do not have God, and those who do abide in Christ's doctrine have both Christ and God. We should abide in Christ's doctrine so we will have both God and Christ. John writes to the elect lady that if any of these deceivers show up at her door that she should not greet them nor receive them into her house, so as not to take part in their evil deeds. We in the modern church need to keep an eye out for those who come into the church with unbiblical ideas and doctrines. We want to walk in Biblical ways and not in ways that are not pleasing to God.</p><p class="MsoNormal">John writes a personal greeting to the elect lady in the last two verses. He states that he has more to say, but he would rather do so in person so that their joy may be full. He then states that the children of her elect sister greet her. So who is the elect sister? Another church? And why are the children greeting the elect lady and not their mother? The commentaries I reviewed had no idea about who the elect sister was. There are some things that we won't know until we get to Heaven.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Thanks for reading! See you next time!</p><p class="MsoNormal">Diane</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-33347972370002383102023-01-08T16:02:00.001-06:002023-01-08T16:02:59.498-06:00Personally yours, Part 1<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNBG98bkRFMe6a5UTXtnJkkgnTK1muGaLxOvF_Pho8AUZg1srjxUCa6rrJjbE6eIPiPXA7Iu8Av_R4IG6-ODMVxA46GqGJvSu4Sr9G-l0Kb_zuNSYBQ_H4hVeXCdvFKeEEzk18QTEsZyjYHYyPK7ekaq-nT4fqALY5K3cRTAWpxgvS7Cza0n-6LFV2Q/s270/Letter%20and%20quill.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="270" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNBG98bkRFMe6a5UTXtnJkkgnTK1muGaLxOvF_Pho8AUZg1srjxUCa6rrJjbE6eIPiPXA7Iu8Av_R4IG6-ODMVxA46GqGJvSu4Sr9G-l0Kb_zuNSYBQ_H4hVeXCdvFKeEEzk18QTEsZyjYHYyPK7ekaq-nT4fqALY5K3cRTAWpxgvS7Cza0n-6LFV2Q/w171-h118/Letter%20and%20quill.jpeg" width="171" /></a></div>Most of the books of the New Testament are epistles (or letters) written by Paul to the various churches that he either founded or visited. These letters contained Paul's greetings to the church that he was addressing, corrections in doctrine, instructions for church worship or organization, and personal greetings to some of the members of the particular church that Paul was addressing. It appears from reading the last chapter of most of the epistles that Paul has dictated the letter to someone else to write because there will be a verse added where Paul is writing with his own hand. In Romans 16:22, Tertius states that he has written the epistle. In Galatians 6:11, Paul states: "See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!" I think that poor eyesight was the "thorn" that Paul suffered from after his vision of Paradise in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. If Paul's sight was poor, he wouldn't have been able to write the epistles so that they could be read by the church they were addressed to. Paul would have to write in very large letters so that he could read his own handwriting.<p></p><p>One of Paul's epistles, however, is not directed to a church. It is directed to a person. Philemon is a short letter; it is only 25 verses long. Paul starts his letter by calling himself a prisoner of Christ Jesus. The commentaries I have reviewed indicate that Paul was in prison in Rome when this letter was written. Paul was a believer in Christ and it was for his faith that he was a prisoner. Timothy was probably in Rome attending to Paul's needs, and that may be why he is mentioned in verse 1. </p><p>Verse 2 states that the letter is addressed to Philemon and the people in his house, along with the church that was meeting in Philemon's house. Verse 3 is a blessing to the recipients of Paul's letter. </p><p>Paul addresses Philemon personally in verses 4-7 and praises him for his faith and love toward Jesus and all of the saints. Paul states that Philemon has refreshed the hearts of the saints and that he has great joy because of that. </p><p>Now that Paul has gotten all of the niceties out of the way, he gets down to business in verses 8-11. Paul states that he could be bold and demand that Philemon do what he is going to request, but instead, he appeals to Philemon in love because he is old and he is also a prisoner of Christ. Paul requests that Philemon take back Onesimus, Philemon's runaway slave. Onesimus apparently ran away from Philemon to Rome to see Paul. In verse 10, Paul states that Onesimus is his own "son," and Onesimus is now profitable to Paul and to Philemon. I believe this means that Onesimus repented of his sins and was born again while he was with Paul. </p><p>Paul wanted to keep Onesimus with him in Rome so that he could minister to Paul in his chains. However, Paul realized that Onesimus should return to Philemon, his earthly master, so he sent Onesimus back to Philemon. Paul states to Philemon that he wanted Philemon to take Onesimus back voluntarily and not by compulsion. Paul explains that now Onesimus is not only Philemon's slave, he is Philemon's brother in Christ. </p><p>Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus as he would Paul. Paul states that if Onesimus has wronged Philemon or owes him anything, Paul would take care of it. It appears that this letter was not dictated to another person, for in verse 19, Paul states that he is writing with his own hand. Paul states that Philemon owes Paul his own self besides - Paul probably led Philemon to Christ. </p><p>Paul tells Philemon to refresh his heart in the Lord and to have joy from him in the Lord. Paul states that he knows that Philemon will do more than he asks him to do, because Paul has confidence in Philemon's obedience. </p><p>Paul must have hoped that he would be released from prison, for he asks Philemon to prepare a guest room for him because he believed that through Philemon's prayers that he would be able to come to Philemon. However, we know from history that Paul was not released from prison in Rome and he was executed there. </p><p>Verses 23-24 are more greetings from various laborers in Christ and from Epaphras, Paul's fellow prisoner in Christ. Paul ends the letter with a gracious benediction.</p><p>So since the letter to Philemon was not addressed to a church, why was it included in the New Testament canon? I believe the letter to Philemon has lessons that we as Christians can and should learn. When people repent of their sins and believe in Christ as Savior, we are to treat them as the new creatures in Christ that they have become and not as the sinners they once were. We are to receive them graciously in Christ. When we want others to do things for us, we are to ask in love and not with demands. We should always speak graciously and in love to fellow believers. And Onesimus' story is similar to the parable of the Prodigal Son - Onesimus ran away but believed in Christ and returned home, and the Prodigal Son came to his senses and returned home as well. Onesimus is also mentioned as a faithful and beloved brother in Colossians 4:9, which means that Philemon was probably written before Colossians.</p><p>The Apostle John also has two epistles that were addressed to individuals, and I'll look at those in my next post. Thanks as always for reading - I'm sorry it's been a long time since my last post. In the meantime, don't forget to check out and subscribe to this blog's YouTube channel - the link is here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEzIYqqw3xOv795EB3rrNLQ" target="_blank">Reflections, Ruminations & Recollections</a>. See you next time!</p><p>Diane</p><p><br /></p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-22698275800392617172022-10-22T19:56:00.005-05:002022-10-22T19:56:37.890-05:00What's in a name?<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyDHShzs6TqxSM19kyjkqTNqLk4Ssm4IXyio2HYbwpqEOqLXWitn1E2UAYix-WB8ebOoMtwmrjpIMSKsBQq0nu0niEfLXhKRaPdOG0ZhBODK_REGa5kUxgAACbmC2ICqVK-fYBBEc9epu9Vg9IUQ1aQPuR-T1g5_Ni_bDnOUEUNOI0uC-mRQTbDKaOg/s225/Rose2.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyDHShzs6TqxSM19kyjkqTNqLk4Ssm4IXyio2HYbwpqEOqLXWitn1E2UAYix-WB8ebOoMtwmrjpIMSKsBQq0nu0niEfLXhKRaPdOG0ZhBODK_REGa5kUxgAACbmC2ICqVK-fYBBEc9epu9Vg9IUQ1aQPuR-T1g5_Ni_bDnOUEUNOI0uC-mRQTbDKaOg/w129-h129/Rose2.jpg" width="129" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyDHShzs6TqxSM19kyjkqTNqLk4Ssm4IXyio2HYbwpqEOqLXWitn1E2UAYix-WB8ebOoMtwmrjpIMSKsBQq0nu0niEfLXhKRaPdOG0ZhBODK_REGa5kUxgAACbmC2ICqVK-fYBBEc9epu9Vg9IUQ1aQPuR-T1g5_Ni_bDnOUEUNOI0uC-mRQTbDKaOg/s225/Rose2.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyDHShzs6TqxSM19kyjkqTNqLk4Ssm4IXyio2HYbwpqEOqLXWitn1E2UAYix-WB8ebOoMtwmrjpIMSKsBQq0nu0niEfLXhKRaPdOG0ZhBODK_REGa5kUxgAACbmC2ICqVK-fYBBEc9epu9Vg9IUQ1aQPuR-T1g5_Ni_bDnOUEUNOI0uC-mRQTbDKaOg/s225/Rose2.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"That
which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." So goes the
quote from the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. Parents
choose the name of their newborns carefully, whether it is a new-fangled name
or the name of a favorite relative, and they also have to see how the chosen
name fits with the surname.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the
Bible, people's names and place names reflected their character traits. Most of
the time, the actual text does not provide the meaning of the name; you can
usually find the meaning of a name in a footnote. Sometimes, however, the
meaning of the name is found in the text. Isaac's wife Rebekah bore him twin sons.
The firstborn son was named Esau, which means "hairy," because he was
covered with hair when he was born. The other twin was named Jacob, which means
"one who takes the heel," because he grabbed Esau's heel when he
exited the womb. Jacob's name also means "deceiver," and he deceived
Esau out of his birthright. Jacob's wife Leah bore him many sons. Each son's
name described the circumstances of his conception or birth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Names were
also changed by God if the person's circumstances changed. Abraham's original
name was Abram (exalted father). God changed Abram's name to Abraham (father of
a multitude) in Genesis 17 when God told him that he would be the father of
many nations. Sarah's name was originally Sarai, and her name was also changed
in Genesis 17. Sarah's name means "princess." Sarah laughed when she
heard the Lord say that she would bear a child in her old age, so her son's
name was Isaac, which means "laughter."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Jacob's name
was changed to Israel (Prince with God) after he wrestled with a Man, who was
probably the Angel of the Lord, in Genesis 32. Jacob called that place Peniel,
which means "Face of God." The name change is reconfirmed in Genesis when
Jacob returned to Bethel (which means "house of God").<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Jesus
changed names as well. He gave Simon the
name Peter. He also gave brothers James and John the nickname Boanerges, which
means "sons of thunder." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As believers,
we will also receive new names. In Revelation 2:17(b), John writes: "And I
will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one
know except him who receives it." Even Jesus Himself will get a new name. In
Revelation 3:12, Jesus states: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in
the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and
the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of
heaven from My God. And I will write on
him My new name.” There is no indication in Revelation what Jesus’ new name is –
we will just have to wait until we get to Heaven to find out what it is. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Interested
in finding out what your name means? You can go to this website <a href="https://www.behindthename.com/" target="_blank">https://www.behindthename.com/</a>to find out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Thanks for
reading! See you next time! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Diane<br /><br /></span></p></div>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-11866041884393908362022-04-13T20:09:00.001-05:002022-04-13T20:09:24.650-05:00Wrestling in the Garden<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQIb4BsbID0gPRh9KScPsLMr7ivbIvCMVV0Tw&usqp=CAU" width="159" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Wrestling is one of the few sports mentioned in the Bible. In </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Genesis 32:24, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Jacob wrestled with a Man all night after he sent his wives and the rest of his entourage over the brook. The heading for this section of the chapter is "Wrestling With God" in the NKJV. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul states that we wrestle against principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of the age, and against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. This is spiritual wrestling and not physical wrestling. </span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;">Those of you who are modern wrestling fans know that every wrestling card has the main event, which usually takes place at the end of the event. In the main event, the reigning champion is challenged for the title. The matches that lead up to the main event are called the undercard. </span></span><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: times;">The main event in Christianity, of course, is the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The last match on the undercard, however, was a wrestling match in the Garden of Gethsemane.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Let me introduce you to the wrestlers. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The first wrestler was Jesus </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">the Son of Man, fully human. His human side showed compassion, yet He also showed anger when he cleared the temple of the money changers. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">The second wrestler was God the Father, Creator of the universe. He knew the future before the beginning of time. He made man in His image and breathed life into him. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">The Son of Man came to the Garden of Gethsemane to wrestle in prayer with God the Father. His disciples came with Him to the Garden, but He made most of them wait elsewhere, except for Peter, James, and John (Matthew 26:36). His human emotions came to the surface as He told the three that He was sorrowful unto death and told them to keep watch with Him. Like most of us humans, we want the comfort of other humans when we are sad. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" />The Son of Man wrestled in prayer with God the Father three times (or three rounds, in boxing terms. Sorry about the mixed sports metaphors.). During the first time He prayed, His human emotion came out in the first part of the prayer. "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me." The cup referenced here was Jesus' death on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. The Son of Man, like most humans, didn't want to suffer pain and die. But in the second part of the prayer, the Son of God, who knew His Father's will, showed up and said, "nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." </span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">The Son of Man then checked up on the disciples and found them sleeping. Maybe they ate too much at the Passover seder. He chastised Peter for falling asleep. He then spoke one of the most famous verses in Scripture - "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." That has an application for us as well. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">In the second round of prayer, the Son of Man began to be resigned to His fate. He said, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass from me unless I drink it, Your will be done." Luke records in his Gospel that after this round of prayer, an angel came to strengthen the Son of Man. He went back to check on His disciples and they had fallen asleep again. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">There was a third round of prayer in which the Son of Man prayed the same as He did in the second round. Luke records in his Gospel that Jesus prayed in such agony that His sweat was like great drops of blood falling to the ground. He came back to check on His disciples and they were still sleeping. This time, the Son of God woke the disciples up and told them to rise and pray, lest they fall into temptation. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">We Christians wrestle with God in prayer as well. We don't sweat like great drops of blood or have an angel strengthen us, however, like Jesus did. We must remember, though, that when we wrestle with God in prayer that it is not our will but God's will that must be done. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">Thanks as always for reading! I hope it won't be as long until I write again.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">Diane</span></div>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-20138906130895429152021-04-16T17:59:00.003-05:002021-04-16T17:59:31.139-05:00Growing your faith garden<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEjFheuynrr8gJlptNnQbl41VOaDLkVms2U4HEhh8b8UnGL-Q-O5hyphenhyphen7QzOCtMUEoSWDepHkyvMBvLa3AUHahNNu6V2lZ31MN0IC6xaOuBNu0Mgm0_DzNJlVApbxTYvB4imxhHJxx7t5sO/s258/Garden.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEjFheuynrr8gJlptNnQbl41VOaDLkVms2U4HEhh8b8UnGL-Q-O5hyphenhyphen7QzOCtMUEoSWDepHkyvMBvLa3AUHahNNu6V2lZ31MN0IC6xaOuBNu0Mgm0_DzNJlVApbxTYvB4imxhHJxx7t5sO/s0/Garden.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A while back, I wrote a blog post about how sin is like weeds in our garden. You can read that blog post <a href="https://reflectionsruminationsrecollections.blogspot.com/2019/03/pull-that-weed.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>. I’d like to take the gardening metaphor in another direction and write about how growing our faith is much like growing a garden.</span></span></p><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-05483ab4-7fff-05fd-b33d-a66feeb4f841"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When you start a garden, you dig up the soil (or plant in a raised garden bed or a large pot if digging’s not your thing or you’re physically unable to dig) and plant the seeds and/or bulbs. We plant the seeds of our faith in Jesus in our hearts so that it will take root and grow larger over time, much like our plants grow larger. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We water the ground and add fertilizer to our plants in order for them to grow up tall and strong, and also to produce fruit and vegetables if we have planted those kinds of seeds. We feed our faith in Christ by prayer and spending time with God, worship, reading our Bible on a regular basis, and sitting under Biblical teaching. Much like some plants grow better when they are around other plants, Christians can also grow in their faith through fellowship with other Christians. All these things will help us grow the fruits of the Spirit, which are listed in Galatians 5:22. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The water and fertilizer of both the garden and our faith in Jesus will produce a good harvest when the time is right. But sometimes, despite our best efforts (or lack of effort), our faith and our gardens start to wither and die. Maybe the weeds, both of sin and of plant, have taken over our spiritual and physical gardens and they need to be removed. Maybe some of our plants need to be transplanted in other parts of the garden to get them growing again if they get too crowded. If you’re in a church and you feel that you’re not being spiritually fed and the worship is dry, maybe it’s time for you to be transplanted to another church. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Paul chastised the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3:1-22 for their lack of spiritual growth, although he used a food metaphor instead of a gardening metaphor. But the same principle applies. The Corinthians were not ready to learn about things that make for a deeper faith because they had not been feeding their faith correctly. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Keep pulling those weeds (of sin and/or plant) and keep on watering and fertilizing! I hope and pray that your spiritual garden and your physical garden are both growing well. Thanks for reading! See you next time!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Diane</span></span></p><div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-29473725820515866732021-03-31T18:26:00.002-05:002021-03-31T18:26:58.738-05:00Don't fool yourself<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTHGiD6Jn7zjb1P2zroTSHwApT1_lwvdRzxQ7qqGOgJW0Yc2Gum85d4Up4EXeZViadryQlyERio4H3dgg8XqEFbvOTAuVrNePIaQ75UvQLe4nWhqM-gfouHmEc4Km3x5hgcy73IvuVTyU/s225/April+Fools.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTHGiD6Jn7zjb1P2zroTSHwApT1_lwvdRzxQ7qqGOgJW0Yc2Gum85d4Up4EXeZViadryQlyERio4H3dgg8XqEFbvOTAuVrNePIaQ75UvQLe4nWhqM-gfouHmEc4Km3x5hgcy73IvuVTyU/w127-h127/April+Fools.jpg" width="127" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">April 1 is known as April Fool’s Day. It is not an official holiday, but it is a
day when people
play practical jokes and hoaxes on others. It has been celebrated in many
countries around the
world for many centuries. April Fool’s Day can also be called Atheist’s Day, as
per Psalm 14:1 and
Psalm 53:1, where David writes: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;">David’s son
Solomon, who had wisdom given to him by God, wrote many proverbs about fools to
contrast the fool’s behavior to that of wise people and in order that people
would not become fools. Here is a summary of these proverbs about fools.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u>The attributes
of a fool</u>:</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Fools despise
wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Fools hate
knowledge (Proverbs 1:22).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The mouth of
the foolish is near destruction (Proverbs 10:14).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The way of a
fool is right in his own eyes (Proverbs 12:15).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">It is an
abomination to fools to depart from evil (Proverbs 13:19).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">In the mouth of
a fool is a rod of pride (Proverbs 14:3).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The folly of fools
is deceit (Proverbs 14:8).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The foolishness
of fools is folly (Proverbs 14:24).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A fool despises
his father’s instruction (Proverbs 15:5).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The heart of
the fool does not disperse knowledge (Proverbs 15:7).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The mouth of a fool
feeds on foolishness (Proverbs 15:14)</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A fool’s mouth
is his destruction and his lips are the snare of his soul (Proverbs 18:7).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">He who trusts
in his own heart is a fool (Proverbs 28:26).</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u>The actions
of a fool</u>:</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">He spreads
slander (Proverbs 10:18).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">He does evil
like a sport (Proverbs 10:23).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The heart of a
fool proclaims foolishness (Proverbs 12:23).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Fools mock at
sin (Proverbs 14:9).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A fool rages
and is self-confident (Proverbs 14:16).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The mouth of
fools pours forth foolishness (Proverbs 15:2).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The foolish
woman pulls down her house with her hands (Proverbs 14:1).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A fool has
delight in expressing his own heart (Proverbs 18:2).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A fool’s lips
enter into contention and his mouth calls for blows (Proverbs 18:6).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The heart of fools
is in the house of mirth (Ecclesiastes 7:4).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Anger rests in the
bosom of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:9).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><u><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></u></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u>The results
of foolishness</u>:</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The complacency
of fools will destroy them (Proverbs 1:32).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Shame shall be
the legacy of fools (Proverbs 3:35).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A foolish son
is the grief of his mother (Proverbs 10:1).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A prating
(chattering, babbling) fool will fall (Proverbs 10:8, 10).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Fools die for
lack of wisdom (Proverbs 10:21).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A fool’s wrath
is known at once (Proverbs 12:16).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A fool lays
open his folly (Proverbs 13:16).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The companion
of fools will be destroyed (Proverbs 13:20).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">The folly of
fools is deceit (Proverbs 14:8).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">A foolish man
despises his mother (Proverbs 15:20).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">Honor is not
fitting for a fool. (Proverbs 26:1).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">God has no
pleasure in fools (Ecclesiastes 4:4).</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;">What should we
do when we encounter a fool? Solomon gives good advice to us in Proverbs 14:7: “Go from the
presence of a foolish man, When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.”
Paul also writes in Ephesians 5:15, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not
as fools but as wise.” </span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;">Now that we
know all about fools, we should make sure that we don’t follow in their footsteps. We should fill our hearts and minds with God’s
Word and learn wisdom. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;">Thanks as
always for reading! See you next time!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p> </o:p>Diane</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></o:p></p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-30286932453779117142021-03-13T20:20:00.004-06:002021-03-13T20:27:33.061-06:00Overcomer<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXtfkmyNAbhFuqKKHH7gCjXiSLCJFR920iMzT48WskaIiJQ0sOYpivcOYQ-3dNd1DuPMBeyZK_weeDLxewQPLo0fG7jyLMwhui0jXXXJUi3kn7qR2XmUzN0t9RJbjREVdjR-CsEVt8LRX/s275/Brick3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaXtfkmyNAbhFuqKKHH7gCjXiSLCJFR920iMzT48WskaIiJQ0sOYpivcOYQ-3dNd1DuPMBeyZK_weeDLxewQPLo0fG7jyLMwhui0jXXXJUi3kn7qR2XmUzN0t9RJbjREVdjR-CsEVt8LRX/w113-h76/Brick3.jpg" width="113" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The book of Revelation is a book of the Bible that a lot of people say they don't understand, or maybe they just don't want to understand. "It doesn't apply to us today, " they say. "It's about the future. I don't care about that." Yet over twenty-five percent of the Bible is prophecies about the future. If God didn't want us to know what was going to happen in the future, He wouldn't have told us. And Revelation is the only book of the Bible that promises blessings to those who read it and follow it. Revelation 1:3 reads: "<span><span style="background-color: white;">Blessed </span><span style="background-color: white;">is</span><span style="background-color: white;"> he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for </span><span style="background-color: white;">the time </span><span style="background-color: white;">is</span><span style="background-color: white;"> near." God's time is not the same as human time, so "near" means something different to God than it does to us. </span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span style="background-color: white;">Per <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revelation" target="_blank">Merriam-Webster</a>, one of the definitions of "revelation" is "something that is revealed by God to humans." We Christians mostly refer to the book of Revelation as just Revelation, but the actual title of the book is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." The other books of the Bible were transcribed by men and inspired by God. Per Revelation 1:1, God gave Jesus the revelation in the book of Revelation to give to men. This last book in the Bible is not only directed to the Asian churches for correction and reproof (and for us as well), it also reveals what will happen in the last times, at the Second Coming, and what will happen after. It also reveals what rewards we will receive for being faithful believers, or overcomers, as Jesus calls us. </span></span>There's a lot to dig out of the book of Revelation, but for this blog post, I'm going to concentrate on the first three chapters. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Revelation 1, John greets the seven churches of Asia. <span style="background-color: white;">Like Paul's epistles, this book was forwarded from church to church to be read to each congregation, </span>as per Jesus' instructions in Revelation 1:11.<span style="background-color: white;"> </span>Revelation 1:7 reminds me of Zechariah 12:10-14, where all of Israel looks on the One who they pierced (Jesus) and they will mourn. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Revelation 1:9, John gives us some background as to where he is and why he is there. In verse 10, John mentions that he was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, which means that he was in prayer on a Sunday. He heard a voice behind him, which turns out to be Jesus since He refers to Himself as the Alpha and the Omega. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">John knew that voice. He heard it for three years while Jesus walked on the earth. John quickly turned around so that he could see Jesus, but He looked very different than He did when He was walking on Earth. In fact, His appearance was so different that it shocked John and he fainted. But Jesus laid His hand on John and comforted him. Jesus explains about the seven stars in His right hand, which are the angels of the churches, and the seven lampstands, which are the churches. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jesus also instructs John to write down what he sees and hears and send it to the seven churches. He starts the letters right away in Revelation 2. The letters continue until the end of chapter 3. Jesus addresses each church in the first person. He could have told John, "Write that Jesus says to tell you," which would put the letters in the third person. Jesus also addresses Himself by a different title for the letter for each church. He has John address each letter to the angel of that particular church. The "angel" of the churches, per various commentators, are the pastors of the churches. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Each letter to the churches has three parts. In the first part of each letter, Jesus tells that particular church about the good things they have done or believed, to encourage them. Then in the second part of each letter, Jesus tells them about what they have done wrong and what will happen if they don't correct that wrong. In the third and final part of each letter, Jesus gives a promise for believers who stay faithful. This is usually preceded by the phrase, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Sometimes this phrase is at the end of the letter. Either way, it is the hint that the reproof/correction is finished. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The table below summarizes and explains the first two parts of each letter. Then I'll summarize what overcomers will receive in Heaven after the Rapture. You will only see entries for five churches in the table below because not all of the churches had done things they needed reproof for. When you read the "What was done wrong" column, think about how that entry would translate to you and/or the modern church. </span></p><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody><tr>
<td style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.75pt;" valign="top" width="213">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
was done wrong:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 160pt;" valign="top" width="213">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How
to correct what was done wrong:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 147.75pt;" valign="top" width="197">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What
happens if the wrong isn’t corrected:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Nevertheless I (Jesus) have </span>this against you, that you have left your first love.<span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and
do the first works</span>.<span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Else I (Jesus) will come to you quickly and remove your
lampstand from its place—unless you repent.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 159.75pt;" valign="top" width="213">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="text"><b><sup><span style="background: white;"> </span></sup></b></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">But I (Jesus) have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">Balaam,
who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel,</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">to eat things sacrificed to idols,</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">and to commit sexual immorality.</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"></span><span style="background: white;"><span id="en-NKJV-30733">Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.</span><span class="text"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"> </span></span></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white;">Repent.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">Or else I (Jesus) will come to you quickly and</span></span><span style="background: white;"> <span class="woj">will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.</span></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">Nevertheless I (</span></span><span class="woj"><span>Jesus) <span style="background: white;">have</span></span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">a few things against you, because you allow</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">that woman</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">Jezebel,
who calls herself a prophetess,</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">to
teach and seduce My servants</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span><b><sup><span id="en-NKJV-30739"> </span></sup></b></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">And I gave her time</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">to</span></span><span class="text"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent</span>.</span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Repent (implied,
not in the text).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="woj"><span style="background: white; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed
I (Jesus) will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her
into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her
children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the
minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.</span></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">Be watchful, and strengthen the things which
remain, that are ready to die, for I (Jesus) have not found your works
perfect before</span></span><span style="background: white;"> <span class="woj">God.</span></span> <span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">Remember therefore how you have received and
heard; hold fast and</span></span><span style="background: white;"> <span class="woj">repent.</span> </span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">Therefore if you will not watch, I (Jesus) will come
upon you</span></span><span style="background: white;"> <span class="woj">as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.</span></span><span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">I (Jesus) know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.</span></span><span style="background: white;"> <span class="woj">So then, because
you are lukewarm, and neither</span></span> c<span class="woj">old nor hot, I
will vomit you out of My mouth.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj"><span style="background: white;">I (Jesus) counsel you</span></span><span style="background: white;"> <span class="woj">to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and</span> <span class="woj">white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye
salve, that you may see.</span> <span class="woj">As many as I love,
I rebuke and</span></span> <span class="woj">chasten.</span> <span class="woj">Therefore be</span> <span class="woj">zealous and repent.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="woj"><span style="background: white; font-family: inherit;">Jesus doesn’t detail what would happen if the wrong isn’t corrected.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
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</tbody></table><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Now for the good news! For those who keep the faith and are overcomers, here are the promised rewards: </span></p><p><span class="text Rev-3-3" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span class="woj" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj">He who overcomes</span> <span class="woj">shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not</span> <span class="woj">blot out his name from the</span> <span class="woj">Book of Life; but</span> <span class="woj">I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.</span></span></span></p><p><span class="text Rev-3-3" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span class="woj"><span class="woj" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj">Because you have kept</span> <span class="woj">My command to persevere,</span> <span class="woj">I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon</span> <span class="woj">the whole world, to test those who dwell</span> <span class="woj">on the earth.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="text Rev-3-3" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj"> I will make him</span> <span class="woj">a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall</span> <span class="woj">go out no more.</span> <span class="woj">I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the</span> <span class="woj">New Jerusalem, which</span> <span class="woj">comes down out of heaven from My God.</span> <span class="woj">And I will write on him My new name.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="text Rev-3-3" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj" style="font-family: inherit;">I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="text Rev-3-3" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj">I will give</span> <span class="woj">to eat from</span> <span class="woj">the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="text Rev-3-3" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj">Be faithful until death, and I will give you</span> <span class="woj">the crown of life.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="text Rev-3-3" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj">He who overcomes shall not be hurt by</span> <span class="woj">the second death.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span class="text Rev-3-3" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj">I will give some of the hidden</span> <span class="woj">manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone</span> <span class="woj">a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it<i>.</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;">To him I will give power over the nations—</span><span class="woj" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;">I will give him</span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="woj" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;">the morning star.</span></span></p><p><span class="woj" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj">He who overcomes</span> <span class="woj">shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not</span> <span class="woj">blot out his name from the</span> <span class="woj">Book of Life; but</span> <span class="woj">I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="woj" style="background-color: white;">I will make him</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="woj" style="background-color: white;">a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="woj" style="background-color: white;">go out no more.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="woj" style="background-color: white;">I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="woj" style="background-color: white;">New Jerusalem, which</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="woj" style="background-color: white;">comes down out of heaven from My God.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="woj" style="background-color: white;">And I will write on him My new name.</span></span></p><p><span class="woj" style="background-color: white;"><span class="woj"><span class="woj"><span class="woj" style="font-family: inherit;">I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The "I" in each verse above refers to Jesus. Aren't these promises wonderful? They give us something to look forward to and they encourage us when we feel sad. I wonder what Jesus' new name is, don't you? How thrilling it will be when all these promises come true and we will be with Jesus eternally! </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Thanks for your patience and continued reading of my blog. I hope to write more soon. See you next time!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Diane</span></p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-14507973090416448072020-11-03T18:45:00.000-06:002020-11-03T18:45:20.917-06:00Recharging your batteries<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJ0kVOx0EmiJLHWdK4SI7UTiwDxUuFljIaMPxs6GKbYlePpYKwmWruLUS_85FbrOQOJ2yUDbBB6NM7Cnqs4QhKPT9kNcGTz7M0oktOtN4KZ8Y6XFjj-x1kGLqBD88-56HzRTBFFvPOXjP/s225/Battery+charger.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJ0kVOx0EmiJLHWdK4SI7UTiwDxUuFljIaMPxs6GKbYlePpYKwmWruLUS_85FbrOQOJ2yUDbBB6NM7Cnqs4QhKPT9kNcGTz7M0oktOtN4KZ8Y6XFjj-x1kGLqBD88-56HzRTBFFvPOXjP/w141-h141/Battery+charger.jpg" width="141" /></a></p><span style="font-family: times;">I own an Apple Watch (yes, I'm a gadget girl). Every day-and-a-half or so, the low battery warning appears on my watch. The message says: "Low Power You have 10% power remaining." There is another box below the message which reads "Power Reserve." When I see the Low Power message, I hurry up and connect my watch to its charger so that it will charge back up. It usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half to recharge my watch and then I can wear it again.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">Our personal batteries can wear down too, can't they? Unfortunately, our bodies don't give us the low power warning that my Apple Watch gives me. Many things drain our personal batteries - work, raising our kids, the world in general. On a personal note, I'd like to salute those parents who are both working full time from home and homeschooling their kids during this pandemic. That would drain my batteries for sure. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">Psalm 121:4 reads, "Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." But there was one time God did rest - on the seventh day after He created everything. Genesis 2:2 reads, "And on the seventh day God ended His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done." That was a lot of work. God deserved a rest. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">Since Jesus was part human, His batteries occasionally ran down too, especially with all the healing and the teaching that He did. In Matthew 8:23-27 (and also Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25), Jesus and the disciples were in a boat on the sea, and Jesus was asleep. Suddenly, a storm came up which scared the disciples. Jesus obviously slept very soundly, for the disciples had to wake Him up. So a good, deep sleep helped Jesus recharge his batteries.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">Jesus also recharged his batteries by going up on the mountain by Himself to pray. We see this in Matthew 14:23 and Mark 1:35. Jesus spent time talking to His Father. This helped give Jesus the power for what He needed to do. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">God knew when He made us that we would need to recharge our batteries on a regular basis. That's why He created the Sabbath day, which is mentioned for the first time in Exodus 16:23. The Sabbath correlates to the seventh day that God rested after He created everything. We Gentiles have made Sunday our rest day since Jesus rose from the grave on that day. <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In Exodus chapters 31 and 35, you can read about all the Sabbath laws that the Jewish people had to follow.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">True rest, however, is found in Jesus. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says the following: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Since Jesus is our rest, we don’t have to follow all of the Sabbath rules. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">So what should we do on Sundays since we don’t have to follow the Sabbath rules? If you aren’t sick, you should attend a worship service. Worshipping the Lord will bring peace to your soul. Meeting up with fellow Christians at church is a good way to recharge your batteries. Spend time with God by reading His Word and praying. A regular day of the week to unwind and recharge your batteries is essential for all aspects of your health. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">But what if you can’t wait until Sunday to recharge your batteries? What if you’re so exhausted you just can’t function? Even if you have to lock yourself in the bathroom or go down to the basement, you need a break. You need to get away and spend time with the Father in prayer. Jesus spent time with His Father in prayer, and you should too. <u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Sometimes when I get that low power message on my Apple Watch, I can’t put it on its charger right away. If I let the low power message stay on for too long, it takes much longer to recharge the watch than it normally would. That can happen to our bodies too. If we don’t take regular breaks to recharge our bodies and our minds, we can become physically and mentally ill, and it takes us much longer (and maybe even a hospital stay) to get our batteries recharged. So make time to recharge your batteries!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: times;">Diane</span></p><p> </p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-42517646314537402772020-10-22T21:21:00.003-05:002020-10-22T21:21:49.215-05:00Reactions and promptings<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDLZTZmvsidNXPXWRVm7oaWI2-akJq58R9RLy0ztqMHTxMdfI4YUy74L3tuTp3KF7fp5lCL0ZLqUHwCgT9ts2-FaXbwwgc4UgEgfAglNHGdBCVClDsI7R2H-Ts0_Eq0YoPeSsVDI-D1ny/s266/Gabriel+and+Mary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="190" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDLZTZmvsidNXPXWRVm7oaWI2-akJq58R9RLy0ztqMHTxMdfI4YUy74L3tuTp3KF7fp5lCL0ZLqUHwCgT9ts2-FaXbwwgc4UgEgfAglNHGdBCVClDsI7R2H-Ts0_Eq0YoPeSsVDI-D1ny/w113-h159/Gabriel+and+Mary.jpg" width="113" /></a></div>In Luke 1, the archangel Gabriel was the messenger of some very important news. Gabriel had a message for two different people, but each person reacted to the message in different ways. <p></p><p>The first person on Gabriel's message list was Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest and he was in the temple burning incense. Suddenly, an angel appeared at the right side of the altar. Zechariah was frightened. He had probably never been visited by an angel before. </p><p>Gabriel told Zechariah that the prayers of Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth for a child had been heard. Gabriel told Zechariah that he would have a son and that he should call his name John. Gabriel told Zechariah about how John would be filled with the Holy Spirit and that he would lead the Jewish people back to God.</p><p>Zechariah was skeptical. He asked Gabriel how he would know that he would have a son. If an angel told me I was going to have a son after years of trying and praying, I would believe him. But Zechariah didn't believe Gabriel and that got him in big trouble. Gabriel finally announced just who he was, and since Zechariah didn't believe Gabriel, Gabriel made him unable to speak until John was born. </p><p>The next person on Gabriel's message list was a young girl named Mary, who lived in Nazareth in Galilee. Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph. Gabriel had a very enthusiastic greeting for Mary when he saw her. "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women!" he said. Mary was afraid, and wouldn't you be too? Gabriel told Mary not to be afraid and he also told her that she had found favor with God. Gabriel went on to tell Mary that she would become pregnant, give birth to a son and his name would be Jesus. Gabriel told Mary that Jesus would be given the throne of His father David. Mary knew that meant that Jesus was going to be the Messiah. </p><p>Mary had a better response to Gabriel's news than Zechariah did. She asked Gabriel how this was all going to happen since she hadn't known a man. "Know" in this context meant to know a person intimately, i.e., have sexual relations. Since she was engaged, she probably had already had "the talk" with her mother so she knew how babies were made. Mary wasn't questioning why her pregnancy was going to happen; she was questioning how it was going to happen without a man around. Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit was going to take care of all that. He also told her that her cousin Elizabeth was six months pregnant. And then Gabriel drops one of my favorite Scriptures. He tells Mary that with God, nothing is impossible. Mary tells Gabriel that she was the handmaiden of the Lord and that she agreed with what was going to happen to her.</p><p>So let's compare the reactions to Gabriel's news. Zechariah was afraid and cynical. Mary was afraid at first but then she was open and accepting of Gabriel's news. Gabriel approved of Mary's reaction but not Zechariah's reaction. In fact, Gabriel was angry with Zechariah's reaction. </p><p>Has the Lord ever prompted you to do something? Maybe He prompted you to witness to your next-door neighbor. Or maybe He prompted you to join a Bible study group. What would your reaction be? Would you be frightened and questioning like Zechariah? Or would you be open and accepting like Mary? </p><p>The Lord prompted me to start this blog over ten years ago. He also prompted me to start a podcast of this blog three years ago. A few months ago, the Lord prompted me to start a YouTube channel featuring hymns. You can find the link to my YouTube channel in the right-hand column, in case you're interested. You can also access it here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrLhh5C35ajyuChUSxDgGlw" target="_blank">Hymns4Him</a>. I was obedient to the Lord's leading. I hope He is happy with how I have followed His prompting. </p><p>So if the Lord prompts you to do something, will you be open to His leading? Or will you be like Zechariah and be questioning and frightened? I hope you choose the right response. </p><p>Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!</p><p>Diane</p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-49292623646841060772020-08-25T21:06:00.000-05:002020-08-25T21:06:02.191-05:00It's a family affair<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPlYgtFpKMwL-1o502hbd-h6yXG3DriUxzHwZAPms99smvG8rn6h6i0gxhfdyt1YZKE-QNmMXNE_oCXScrbYzQNBmmz5zpCz8SewqmSGrRk43dy93rfsNILCCxNdCvO6CsEYgoGNOqCP9/s237/Family+tree.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="237" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPlYgtFpKMwL-1o502hbd-h6yXG3DriUxzHwZAPms99smvG8rn6h6i0gxhfdyt1YZKE-QNmMXNE_oCXScrbYzQNBmmz5zpCz8SewqmSGrRk43dy93rfsNILCCxNdCvO6CsEYgoGNOqCP9/w200-h180/Family+tree.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>I'm not sure if it's my age, but I'm getting interested in genealogy. I think I'm going to put an <a href="https://www.ancestry.com/dna/">Ancestry DNA </a>test on my Christmas list. I'm especially interested in the finger length DNA trait - I have short fingers (the fingers on mittens are way too long) and my pinky fingers are extremely short - they only come halfway up the second joint on my ring finger. I wonder if that's a birth defect of some sort, especially since I had problems with small motor skills as a child. <p></p><p>The Hebrews in the Old Testament were also extremely interested in genealogy. In modern days, we have first names and surnames. For example, I'm Diane (my first name) Schultz (my surname). But in Old Testament times, a man was referred to as "the son of ____," and sometimes, a second "the son of _____" was added. Occasionally, the tribe of which the man belonged was added - for example, Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. </p><p>2 Chronicles 1-9 lists all of the generations of Jewish men up until Saul. A listing of all the people who returned to Israel from Babylon is found in Ezra 2. Evidently, the genealogies were kept up during the exile in Babylon, because in Ezra 2:62, it states that some of the men who thought they were priests were not found in the genealogies and therefore, they were defiled. Ezra outlines his own genealogy in Ezra 7, and it shows that he is a descendant of Aaron, the chief priest. Therefore, he was extremely qualified to teach the law. </p><p>Ezra 8 lists all the names of the families that returned to Israel with him. Interestingly, there is a Daniel listed. But is it the Daniel from the book of Daniel? The "son of _____" designation is not used for Daniel in the book of Daniel. Since Daniel was in Babylon by this point, who his father was is not important, and he may have been dead by that time. In Daniel 1:4, Daniel and his companions are listed as "young men." If Daniel was 18 years old at the time of the captivity and Israel was in exile for 70 years, that means he would have been 88 years old at the time of the first trip back to Israel. The Daniel listed in the book of Ezra is listed as one of the sons of Ithamar, who was one of Aaron's sons. These Daniels may be one and the same, but I couldn't find any corroborating evidence in my brief research. I will add this to the list of questions I will ask the Lord once I get to heaven.</p><p>You may wonder why the Hebrews were so interested in genealogy. As noted above, the genealogies showed which people were real Hebrews and which people were not. The main reason, however, that the Hebrews were interested in genealogy is that the Messiah would come through one of the Hebrews' family lines. This was predicted in Genesis 3:15 after the serpent (Satan) tempted Eve to eat the apple from the Tree of Life: "And I will put enmity, Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” The Seed, of course, is Jesus. Jesus was to come through the line of Adam and Eve and later, through the line of David. Jesus is referred to as the Son of David in the Bible. Jesus confounded the Pharisees in Matthew 22 by asking them who they thought whose son the Christ was. They replied that that Christ was the son of David, but Jesus said in verse 45, "“If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” The genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, His earthly father, can be found in Matthew 1, and the genealogy of Jesus through His mother Mary can be found in Luke 3. Mary's genealogy listing goes all the way back to Adam, while Joseph's genealogy listing only goes back to Abraham. Both Joseph and Mary were from David's family line, although they were from different branches of David's family tree. </p><p>Throughout the Gospels, the "son of _____" wording is still used when men are introduced into the story. But starting in the book of Acts, the "son of _____" designation is no longer used. Why? you may ask. I think there are two reasons. First, Jesus the Messiah had already come (and returned to Heaven), and the Hebrew genealogies didn't matter anymore as far as the Messiah was concerned. Second, the members of the Christian church were not only Jews but people from all over the known world, thanks to Peter's sermon at Pentecost and Paul's missionary journeys. The "son of _______" designation was no longer necessary. As church members, we are members of the family of God and the only father that is important (besides our biological fathers) is our heavenly Father. So dear reader, you are my brother or sister in Christ and God is our heavenly Father! </p><p>I have traced my family line on Ancestry.com and other genealogy websites back two generations. I would like to know a little bit more about my great grandparents. I would also like to know what countr(ies) my ancestors emigrated from. The results of the DNA testing will be very interesting.</p><p>Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!</p><p>Diane</p><p><br /></p>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-69264379528782904262020-06-27T15:09:00.002-05:002020-06-27T15:09:30.246-05:00The gift of laughter<font size="5"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilR2UAIJmXyaBFlTMph8h5qxf_y6Ts23DU7VOY-hXaitpHuCYduYXhqVW4peeXqQnaMooHhIpTxSsyuIhU_O4e_-QjScmoFwmz4ty5ygZ1Y-qkQ3x0izHevFGqFb0gPGBhnFI8HMuWy1Eb/s265/Laughter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="265" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilR2UAIJmXyaBFlTMph8h5qxf_y6Ts23DU7VOY-hXaitpHuCYduYXhqVW4peeXqQnaMooHhIpTxSsyuIhU_O4e_-QjScmoFwmz4ty5ygZ1Y-qkQ3x0izHevFGqFb0gPGBhnFI8HMuWy1Eb/w212-h152/Laughter.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>One of the best parts of being human is the ability to laugh. If God wouldn't have wanted us to laugh, He wouldn't have given the ability to laugh. </font><span style="font-size: x-large;">Proverbs 17:22 reads, "A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones." What better to make a heart merry than a good bout of laughter? </span><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Per Genesis 1:27, God made man in His own image, so He must laugh as well. God placed many instances of humor in the Bible for us to enjoy. Three of my favorites are listed below.</span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>Balaam and his donkey</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Numbers 22:22-31:</span></div><div><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="text Num-22-22" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Then God’s anger was aroused because he (Balaam) went, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-4398T" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-4398T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>and the Angel of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">were</span> with him. </span><span class="text Num-22-23" id="en-NKJV-4399" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">23 </span>Now <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-4399U" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-4399U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>the donkey saw the Angel of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. </span><span class="text Num-22-24" id="en-NKJV-4400" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">24 </span>Then the Angel of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">with</span> a wall on this side and a wall on that side. </span><span class="text Num-22-25" id="en-NKJV-4401" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">25 </span>And when the donkey saw the Angel of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. </span><span class="text Num-22-26" id="en-NKJV-4402" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">26 </span>Then the Angel of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> went further, and stood in a narrow place where there <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">was</i> no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. </span><span class="text Num-22-27" id="en-NKJV-4403" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">27 </span>And when the donkey saw the Angel of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.</span></font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span class="text Num-22-28" id="en-NKJV-4404" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">28 </span>Then the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-4404V" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-4404V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”</font></span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span class="text Num-22-29" id="en-NKJV-4405" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">29 </span>And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-4405W" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-4405W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>for now I would kill you!”</font></span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span class="text Num-22-30" id="en-NKJV-4406" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">30 </span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-4406X" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-4406X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>So the donkey said to Balaam, “<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Am</span> I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">I became</span> yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”</font></span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><span class="text Num-22-30" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><font face="inherit" size="5">And he said, “No.”</font></span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="text Num-22-31" id="en-NKJV-4407" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">31 </span>Then the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-4407Y" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-4407Y" title="See cross-reference Y">Y</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. </span><span class="text Num-22-32" id="en-NKJV-4408" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">32 </span>And the Angel of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span> said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">your</span> way is <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-4408Z" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-4408Z" title="See cross-reference Z">Z</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>perverse before Me. </span><span class="text Num-22-33" id="en-NKJV-4409" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">33 </span>The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”</span></font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="text Num-22-33" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Balaam didn't listen when the Lord told him not to go with Balak's entourage to curse the Israelites, so the Lord used Balaam's donkey to circumvent his plans. Animals and humans do not, as a rule, have verbal communication with each other, so to have the donkey talk to Balaam is very humorous to us. Interestingly, Balaam didn't think it was at all strange that his donkey was talking to him. I wonder if the animals spoke with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before they committed the first sin, and whether animals will be speaking with us in the Millennial Kingdom? Something to think about, for sure. </span></font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="text Num-22-33" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><u>Jehu the Speed Racer</u></span></font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font size="5">2 Kings 9:20:</font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5">So the watchman reported, saying, “He went up to them and is not coming back; and the driving <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">is</span> like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously!”</font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5">This must be the first recorded incidence of speeding in the Bible. The mental image of Jehu driving his chariot furiously makes us laugh. If Jehu was alive today, he would have been a NASCAR driver or an Indy 500 driver. Jehu's fast (as in driving) reputation must have been known far and wide for the watchman to know it was him before he even saw him. You have to feel sorry for Jehu's poor horses though, for having to run so fast. </font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><u>The god Dagon and the ark of God</u></font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5">1Samuel 5:1-6:</font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="text 1Sam-5-1" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-7321A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-7321A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>from Ebenezer to Ashdod. </span><span class="text 1Sam-5-2" id="en-NKJV-7322" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">2 </span>When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-7322B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-7322B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>Dagon and set it by Dagon. </span><span class="text 1Sam-5-3" id="en-NKJV-7323" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">3 </span>And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-7323C" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-7323C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>. So they took Dagon and <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-7323D" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-7323D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>set it in its place again. </span><span class="text 1Sam-5-4" id="en-NKJV-7324" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">4 </span>And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the <span class="small-caps divine-name" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">Lord</span>. <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-7324E" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-7324E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">were</i> broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">torso</i> was left of it. </span><span class="text 1Sam-5-5" id="en-NKJV-7325" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">5 </span>Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon’s house <span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NKJV-7325F" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NKJV-7325F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span>tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.</span></font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="text Num-22-33" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Since they were not Israelites, the Philistines did not know the commandment not to put other gods before God. God was angry that His ark was in the temple of a false god. So He made Dagon, the Philistines' god, fall on its face before the ark. The Philistines </span></font><span style="font-size: x-large;">must have thought it was a fluke that Dagon had fallen over, so they </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">set Dagon back in its place. The next day, Dagon was found on its face with its head and both of its hands broken off on the threshold, with only its torso remaining. It is funny to see God showing the Philistines He was better than their god. </span></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="text Num-22-33" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">There are many more humorous stories in the Bible, so if you have a favorite that I haven't listed here, drop them in a comment below. </span></font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="text Num-22-33" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!</span></font></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;"><font face="inherit" size="5"><span class="text Num-22-33" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box;">Diane</span></font></p></div></div>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-59819430084846058042020-05-17T09:49:00.000-05:002020-05-17T09:49:55.043-05:00Lead us not into - <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Temptation. That's a word we don't hear often anymore, due to the fact that the world is such an evil place these days. It's not even discussed much in the church anymore. But as Christians, we should be very aware of temptation and how it can affect our relationship with God. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Let's start our study by looking up the definition of </span><span style="font-size: large;">temptation. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/temptation" target="_blank">Merriam-Webster</a> defines "temptation" as 1: </span><span style="font-size: large;">the </span><span style="font-size: large;">act of tempting or the state of being tempted, especially to evil; and 2: something tempting: a cause or occasion of enticement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are plenty of stories in the Bible about temptation, but we will just look at three. The first story in the Bible about temptation is in Genesis 3, where Satan, in the guise of a snake, tempts Eve into eating an apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve must have been used to having animals talk to her because she wasn't afraid at all of a talking snake. Unfortunately, Eve gave into temptation and ate of the fruit of the tree and even worse, gave it to Adam to eat. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Another story about temptation in the Bible is the story of Samson and Delilah, which you can find in Judges 16. Delilah, in league with the Philistines, used her powers of persuasion to have Samson tell her how to make his strength go away so that the Philistines could tie him up. Samson got the last laugh, however - he leaned against the pillars of the temple and pushed them so that the temple fell on the Philistines and killed them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The last story we will touch on is the story of Jesus in the wilderness and how he was tempted by Satan after fasting for 40 days. Satan tried tempting Jesus with bread, with angels saving Jesus from bodily harm, and with the power of ruling all the countries of the earth if only Jesus would bow down and worship Satan. Jesus, of course, didn't fall for any of Satan's wiles. He is God and God can't be tempted.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the first two stories, Satan used other people to tempt his targets. In our third story, Satan himself was the tempter. Satan, or someone he is working through, is always the tempter. God never tempts us. James 1:16 states: "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As Christians, we must always be on our guard against Satan and his wiles. In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter says, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Satan loves nothing better than to take a Christian down. If we see a fellow Christian being led astray, we should encourage them and help them keep their eyes upon Jesus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So how can we keep from being tempted? If there is something in our life that causes us to sin, Satan will use that to his advantage. So we should stay away from what causes us to be tempted to sin, whether it be pornography, alcohol, drugs, etc. We should keep our eyes on Jesus, using prayer and staying in God's Word to keep us on the straight and narrow. In Philippians 4:8, Paul states: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." Meditating on good things will keep us from getting tempted by bad things. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Diane</span>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-58672589885165190772020-04-18T13:35:00.001-05:002020-04-18T13:35:11.808-05:00Ruth, the humble<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">This blog post is about Ruth, one of the many ladies in Scripture. Before I start discussing her, however, I'd like you to actually read the book of Ruth, if you haven't lately. Don't worry, it's only 4 chapters long. It's an engrossing story, so you should be able to get through it quickly. If you don't have your Bible handy, you can right-click on the word <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ruth+1&version=NKJV" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a> and select "open in new tab." Click on the arrow at the right to move to the next chapter. Or you can switch tabs back and forth between this blog post and the book of Ruth if you prefer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ruth is an important person in the Bible. She is one of only two women to have a book of the Bible named after her (the other woman is Esther). She is also only one of the two women listed in Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1. Ruth is listed in the genealogy because she is the great-grandmother of King David, and you can read about that in Ruth 4:17. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Not only is Ruth an important person in Jesus's family line, but she also has character traits that we would do well to emulate. I'll discuss them here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ruth was loyal.</b> You will recall that Ruth's husband died, as well as both of her sons. Naomi told her daughters-in-law Ruth and Orpah to go home to their mother's houses. But Ruth would not go home to her mother's house. She wanted to stay with Naomi. In Ruth 1:16-17, Ruth says some of the most beautiful words of loyalty in all of Scripture. She tells Naomi that Naomi's God will be her God and wherever Naomi would go, she would go too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ruth was resourceful. </b> She knew that she and Naomi would need food if they were to survive since they did not have a man to support them. So Ruth asked Naomi if she could go to the field and glean heads of grain to provide for them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ruth was obedient.</b> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Ruth followed directions and didn't ask questions. </span><span style="font-size: large;">When Boaz told Ruth not to glean in another field, to stay close to his young women, and to get water to drink when she was thirsty, she listened and obeyed. When Naomi told Ruth how to make it known to Boaz that she was interested in him, Ruth followed Naomi's instructions exactly, although </span><span style="font-size: large;">to our modern way of thinking, </span><span style="font-size: large;">uncovering a guy's feet and laying next to them </span><span style="font-size: large;">is a really strange way to let a guy know you're interested in him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ruth was respectful.</b> When Boaz spoke to her, she bowed down to the ground and spoke to him respectfully. Ruth also spoke respectfully to Naomi. Ruth didn't have a bad attitude nor was she ungrateful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ruth should be an inspiration to us. If we take Ruth's character traits and apply them to our own lives, it will help us in our relationships with others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Diane</span><br />
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Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-10541599499790857652020-03-14T19:57:00.001-05:002020-03-14T19:57:54.084-05:00Constancy in a raging storm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">This past week has been the craziest week in recent memory. At the beginning of the week, the only thing that changed was the change to Daylight Savings Time, which throws my body off for about a week anyway. But by the end of the week, however, it seemed like the whole world had fallen off its axis, thanks to COVID-19, better known as the coronavirus. The World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic. Whole countries have shut down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the United States, all professional sports have either postponed or canceled their seasons (and being a baseball fan, this makes me very, very sad). Schools in my home state of Illinois are closed until the end of March, colleges are only holding classes online, and courts are postponing trials. Stores are running out of toilet paper, sanitizing wipes and paper towels. Grocery stores are crowded and people are stocking up on groceries like it's the day before Thanksgiving or there's a blizzard warning. Churches are either canceling their services altogether or just providing Facebook Live or Zoom services, including the church I attend. Some cities and counties are limiting gatherings to certain numbers of people, which canceled concerts. Every day brings new challenges and new crises with the coronavirus outbreak. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Christian, however, has one thing in his or her life that never changes. There is an old saying, "The only thing constant is change." But for the Christian, that saying is not true. For the Christian, the only constant is Jesus Christ. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). This constancy is reflected in some of the names for Christ. Jesus is our Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4). Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last (Revelation 1:8). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">No matter how crazy the world around us gets, we Christians can cling to Jesus Christ. He never changes and He is always with us. As long as we focus on Jesus, we can have peace in the midst of any storm. If you feel scared or anxious about what's going on now (or at any time, really), turn to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to calm you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope you are well physically as well as spiritually. Don't forget to wash your hands and use hand sanitizer when soap is not available, and if you're not feeling well, be sure to call your doctor. Thanks as always for reading! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Diane </span>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-2082777038401265092020-02-16T21:18:00.001-06:002020-02-16T21:18:44.242-06:00The threefold cord<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">This blog post is based on Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, which reads: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Two</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;">are</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">better than one,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Eccl-4-9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">Because they have a good reward for their labor.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="text Eccl-4-10" id="en-NKJV-17392" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="text Eccl-4-10" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">But woe to him <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">who is</span> alone when he falls,</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="text Eccl-4-10" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">For <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">he has</span> no one to help him up.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="text Eccl-4-11" id="en-NKJV-17393" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="text Eccl-4-11" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">But how can one be warm <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">alone</span><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">?</i></span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="text Eccl-4-12" id="en-NKJV-17394" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;"><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; left: -4.4em; line-height: 22px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;">12 </span>Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px;" /><span class="text Eccl-4-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Eccl-4-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Eccl-4-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">The "two" is two people, obviously. And the "two lie down together" refers to a married couple. But what or who is the third strand of the cord? The third strand of the cord, of course, is God. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Eccl-4-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Eccl-4-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">Perhaps an illustration will be helpful. In the 1970s, macrame was a popular craft. Macrame is used to make plant holders, wall hangings and bracelets. Macrame involves taking two cords, tying them around a dowel and then weaving the cords together into knots. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">The process to make a square knot involves taking the two outside cords and weaving them around the inner two cords. The inner two cords are called knot-bearing cords. The other cords are called the right knotting cord (the cord next to your right hand) and the left knotting cord (the cord next to your left hand). </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmpzUdMhOfS_fEFsqOnGsDYPmqHDJpqrKcn7H7C6muMHsfHbK64Suuw08h_Y9mSUUNL0RyIjPVxM3qFmnWQma98E8ZJ5LFdfyHyoz9opsgPb20zmHbfhfgT9CHwVvVCvBnV1rryb00HaF/s1600/Knot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmpzUdMhOfS_fEFsqOnGsDYPmqHDJpqrKcn7H7C6muMHsfHbK64Suuw08h_Y9mSUUNL0RyIjPVxM3qFmnWQma98E8ZJ5LFdfyHyoz9opsgPb20zmHbfhfgT9CHwVvVCvBnV1rryb00HaF/s1600/Knot2.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">In a relationship then, the knot-bearing cords (2 and 3 in the diagram above) represent God. The knot-bearing cords </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">stay in the center of the knot. like an anchor, and like God, they never move. The right and left knotting cords (1 and 4 in the diagram) represent the people in the relationship. The knotting cords weave around the knot-bearing cords (God) and around and through each other. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">The finished macrame cords are very strong and can support heavy weight, such as a pot with soil and a plant. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Christian couples should make God the center of their relationship. If God is the center of a couple's relationship, the relationship will stay strong and withstand anything. But if one of the human parts of the threefold cord takes God out of his/her life, the cord will not be stable. If that happens, the cord will become weak and may unravel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Eccl-4-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">If you're in a relationship, take some time to examine whether God is in the center of your relationship and how strong your relationship really is. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Eccl-4-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="text Eccl-4-12" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; position: relative;">Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!</span></span><br />
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Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-52835752002324793772020-01-29T21:40:00.000-06:002020-01-29T21:40:33.986-06:00Trophy case<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4oVa8n2I_9v4QnxikWh42RlmLZTmD5bRdz3Fjbf-bSQdQIjXHI8OHOF72U8NL-0MxE6YR-NIZPDYukBMhKM10xyil7mNpvtpmxp2cXq__bZZ42hQHHaHaS87OERwi1Ic84MZ_5FmOGct/s1600/Trophy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4oVa8n2I_9v4QnxikWh42RlmLZTmD5bRdz3Fjbf-bSQdQIjXHI8OHOF72U8NL-0MxE6YR-NIZPDYukBMhKM10xyil7mNpvtpmxp2cXq__bZZ42hQHHaHaS87OERwi1Ic84MZ_5FmOGct/s200/Trophy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The National Hockey League recently held its annual All-Star Game in St. Louis. My son is an avid hockey fan, so we attended the Fan Fair since the price of tickets to the All-Star Game was not in our budget. The Stanley Cup was the main attraction at the Fan Fair, especially since the St. Louis Blues had won the Stanley Cup the year before. When we arrived at the Fan Fair, however, the line to have your photo taken with the Cup was six hours long. We weren't able to stand in line for that long. However. we did peek into the room where the Stanley Cup was and saw it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I thought Major League Baseball had a lot of trophies, but the NHL has many more. Per NHL.com, NHL has <a href="https://www.nhl.com/info/nhl-awards-trophies" target="_blank"><b>21 trophies</b></a> and all but two of them were on display at Fan Fest, in cases with lights. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Trophies are made of metal and plastic (and in the NHL, they're made out of wood and metal). Trophies can be destroyed or stolen. The Stanley Cup gets passed on to the next team who wins it, so it doesn't stay permanently with the last team that won it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">For Christians, trophies or medals are not that important. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, Paul writes: "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run so that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown." In Paul's day, winners of a race received <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_wreath" target="_blank"><b>a crown made of laurel leaves</b></a>. Those laurel leaf crowns, of course, eventually died. But Christians, however, receive an imperishable crown, that is, one that does not die. </span><span style="font-size: large;">There is an admonishment from Jesus Himself in the book of Revelation that we should hold fast to our crown so that no one should take it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">There are three types of crowns that believers will receive. There is a crown of righteousness for those who love Christ's appearance (2 Timothy 4:8). There is the crown of life for those who endure temptation and who love Jesus (James 1:12) and for those who are faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10). Finally, there is the crown of glory which does not fade away, which we receive when the Shepherd appears (1 Peter 5:4). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But the accolade that is the most important is when Jesus welcomes us to Heaven and says, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Those encouraging words from our Savior are more important than any trophies, medals, or even crowns. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for reading! See you next time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Diane</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-29496553770957891112020-01-11T15:45:00.000-06:002020-01-11T15:45:03.706-06:00The three Omnis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZCE39NT959ABr3YuCBM8EUaE8ibKHb-lX3AR8t7NyNFioN8r8QL5lML9E_Kd8xFnoJ_371TW5qoZVPe_V0NoNBDkGR9aJ4Lw8pfzYXyhFcDq1RcHW9Bbo3KQUrwtS4CXZVw3zQYiSOyV/s1600/Omnijpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZCE39NT959ABr3YuCBM8EUaE8ibKHb-lX3AR8t7NyNFioN8r8QL5lML9E_Kd8xFnoJ_371TW5qoZVPe_V0NoNBDkGR9aJ4Lw8pfzYXyhFcDq1RcHW9Bbo3KQUrwtS4CXZVw3zQYiSOyV/s200/Omnijpg.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This post isn't about a 1950s doo-wop group, although "The Omnis" would be a cool name for such a group. This post is about three $10 dollar words that describe some of the attributes of God: omnipresence, omniscient, and omnipotent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">First, let's take a look at the "omni" part of the words. Per the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omni-" target="_blank">Merriam-Webster</a> dictionary, the suffix "omni" comes from the Latin word <i>omnis</i>, and it means "all." For example, an omnidirectional microphone would be able to pick up sounds from all directions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first attribute of God that we will look at is that He is omnipresent. A literal translation would be "all present," but a better translation would be "always present." God is not just in one place - He is everywhere all the time. I discussed God's omnipresence in a blog post earlier and you can find that <a href="https://reflectionsruminationsrecollections.blogspot.com/2009/08/nowhere-to-run-nowhere-to-hide.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><span style="font-size: large;">There are several Bible verses that discuss God's omnipresence, and I'll quote some of them here: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Genesis 3:8 (all verses are from the NKJV): And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Psalm 139:2-4: You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Prov. 15:3: The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hebrews 4:13: And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The second attribute of God we will look at is that He is omniscient, which means "all-knowing." God knows what you're going to say or do before you even do it. He knows everything on the earth and in heaven. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are some Bible verses that outline God's omniscience:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Matt. 9:4: But Jesus, knowing their (the scribes) thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mark 12:15: ". . . Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?" But He, knowing their (the Pharisees) hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Luke 11:17: But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Romans 11:33-34: Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The last attribute of God that we will look at is that He is omnipotent, which means "all-powerful." No one on earth or in heaven has more power than God Almighty. He created the earth, the heavens and everything in them. Nothing is impossible for God. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are some Bible verses that discuss God's power:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Genesis 1:3: Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Psalm 66:5, 7: Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men. . . . He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hebrews 1:3: Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rev. 19:6: And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You may be wondering about that photo of a car at the beginning of the blog post. That car is a Dodge Omni, which was manufactured by Chrysler from 1977-1990. My friend Gail Yagge had a white Omni and we rode in it to the Mississippi River Festival at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville to see the late Andy Gibb in concert in 1979. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I hope you've enjoyed this blog post. Thanks for reading! See you next time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Diane</span>Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-30651615573216731052019-12-18T17:40:00.000-06:002020-01-11T14:02:58.741-06:00Blue Christmas<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Christmas is one week from today and the holiday season is in full swing – Christmas movies are on TV, the malls and stores are busy with Christmas shoppers, and Christmas parties and family gatherings are on everyone’s agendas.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But for some folks, Christmas is not a very happy time of year, and it’s because they are separated from loved ones by death, distance, and/or estrangement. The Christmas season brings back memories of spending the holidays with that loved one or loved ones and the pain of the realization that they will no longer be able to see that loved one may be too much to bear. <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The song “Blue Christmas” was written in 1948, and the most well-known version of “Blue Christmas” was recorded by Elvis Presley on <i>Elvis’ Christmas Album</i>.<i> </i> In the 1974 Rankin/Bass special <i>The Year Without a Santa Claus</i>, the children poignantly sing “Blue Christmas” to Santa after he announces he’s taking a year off from delivering toys. <i> </i>The lyrics to “Blue Christmas” perfectly express the feelings of those who are missing their loved ones.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes the blue Christmas feelings hit you when you least expect it. One night, the husband and I were watching a Hallmark Christmas movie. The last song played in the movie was “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays,” and I suddenly had the realization that my estranged loved one was not coming home for this Christmas holiday and would likely never come home for any Christmas holiday ever again. I had to go to my bedroom and weep for a while.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So what should you do when the blue Christmas feelings hit you? Go ahead and find somewhere to grieve for a while. It’s okay to do this; remember, Jesus wept over Lazarus when he died. However, if the sad feelings go on for more than a few days, you may need to obtain professional help. I have noticed that I get more emotional whenever I’m exhausted. If this is the case for you too, make sure your schedule is not too busy and that you get enough rest. If certain items or situations remind you of your missing loved one, try to avoid those if you can. <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some churches have blue Christmas services on December 21, the longest night of the year. These services recognize the grief and pain that people go through at Christmastime in a religious setting. Being with others going through blue Christmases too may help you get through it. <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The most important way to help get through a blue Christmas is to focus on the reason for the Christmas season – the birth of Jesus Christ, who came to Earth to die on the cross to save us from our sins. Read the Christmas story carefully and reflect on everyone involved in the story – Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, the shepherds, and the angels. If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He will always be with you even when others are not. He will never leave you. <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Please accept my best wishes for a happy and blessed Christmas! <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Diane</span></div>
Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-1712629247083110072019-09-22T15:24:00.000-05:002019-09-22T15:24:54.312-05:00Home is where the heart is<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1axQ9mgxc1IjUT2PuPYvgtzPHRtOtd4QsOb6ymYpgd3g3p4i7oAqgWMpt9gtbV54cgonBl3vuddCr9Ms5MBog32AvTLcpbnIdtouZRGDX4RHF87RkiaQ9aAigbRWw-Yx4PakeLpJYKMw/s1600/Home+Sweet+Home.3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="255" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1axQ9mgxc1IjUT2PuPYvgtzPHRtOtd4QsOb6ymYpgd3g3p4i7oAqgWMpt9gtbV54cgonBl3vuddCr9Ms5MBog32AvTLcpbnIdtouZRGDX4RHF87RkiaQ9aAigbRWw-Yx4PakeLpJYKMw/s200/Home+Sweet+Home.3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Our earthly home is the physical place we dwell in with our families, whether it's our childhood family or our adult family. We have meals in our homes, we hang out with our families in our homes, and we sleep in our homes. We may entertain others in our homes, or they may come to stay with us for a while in our homes if necessary. Thinking about our homes brings back memories, both good and bad.<br />
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If we are believers in Christ, we have a home waiting in heaven for us. Jesus tells us so in John 14:2(a): "In my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you." When we hear the word "mansion" in this modern time, we think about a large house with many rooms, luxurious accommodations, and maybe even a butler or maid. However, the word "mansion" had a different meaning in Jesus' time. <i>Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament</i> defines the word "mansion" as follows:<br />
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Mansions (<span style="color: navy; font-family: "galatia sil"; font-size: 1em;">μοναὶ</span>)</div>
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Only here and <a href="http://www.crossbooks.com/verse.asp?ref=Jn+14%3A23">v. 23</a>. From <span style="color: navy; font-family: "galatia sil"; font-size: 1em;">μένω</span> <i>to stay</i> or <i>abide</i>. Originally <i>a staying</i> or <i>abiding</i> or <i>delay</i>. Thus Thucydides, of Pausanias: "He settled at Colonae in Troas, and was reported to the Ephors to be negotiating with the Barbarians, and to <i>be staying there</i> (<span style="color: navy; font-family: "galatia sil"; font-size: 1em;">τὴν μονὴν ποιούμενος</span>, Literally, <i>making a stay</i>) for no good purpose" (i., 131). Thence, <i>a staying</i> or <i>abiding-place; an abode</i>. The word <i>mansion</i> has a similar etymology and follows the same course of development, being derived from <span style="font-family: "gentium" "important"; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic;">manere</span>, to remain. <span style="font-family: "gentium" "important"; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic;">Mansio</span> is thus, first, a <i>staying</i>, and then a <i>dwelling-place</i>. A later meaning of both <span style="font-family: "gentium" "important"; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic;">mansio</span> and <span style="color: navy; font-family: "galatia sil"; font-size: 1em;">μονή</span> is <i>a halting-place</i> or <i>station</i> on a journey. </div>
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Our mansion in heaven, which will be our dwelling place, is where we'll be staying for all eternity. Our mansion in heaven is our final station on our journey of faith. Paul also speaks of our future heavenly home in 2 Corinthians 5:1: "For we know that if our earthly house, our tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Jesus states in John 14:2(b): "I go to prepare a place for you." That means Jesus is building our heavenly homes Himself! <br />
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When we are invited to someone's home for the first time, we are given the address of that home and sometimes directions to it. But the way to our heavenly home is even better. In John 14:6 in response to Thomas' question as to the way to Heaven, Jesus states that the only way to the Father is through Him. Not only that, in John 14:3, Jesus states that He will come again (the Rapture) and receive us to Himself. He will take us to our heavenly homes Himself! Who needs a GPS when you have Jesus?<br />
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Have you ever wondered what our heavenly homes will look like? Will they look like the homes we live in now? Or does God have something better in mind? Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:9: "But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor has entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him." Our heavenly homes will be even better than we can even imagine.<br />
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But we don't have to wait until eternity to live with Jesus and God. In John 14:23, it reads: "Jesus answered and said to him (Judas, not Iscariot - in verse 22), 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and we will make Our home with him.'" So if we love Jesus and God and keep His Word, Jesus and God will come and live in our heart. Isn't that wonderful? Knowing that God and Jesus are living in our hearts makes us not want to sin, and makes us look forward to living with them eternally.<br />
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Given the state of our world today, I am looking forward to my heavenly home more and more each day and hoping that Jesus comes and gets us soon. I hope that your eternal home will be in heaven and we'll see each other there. <br />
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Thanks for reading! See you next time!<br />
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DianeDiane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-34375497630647850562019-08-24T18:18:00.001-05:002019-08-24T18:18:51.806-05:00Where is your identity?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQgaLYnAbaf0xdrDTy88IVBIBLeSzqBpGTxF4ZXe6ekRuHriAx2" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="263" height="145" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQgaLYnAbaf0xdrDTy88IVBIBLeSzqBpGTxF4ZXe6ekRuHriAx2" width="200" /></a></div>
I have always had problems with self-esteem. It started in grade school. My family was poor and I wore hand-me-down clothes and ugly glasses with thick lenses (there weren't spiffy glasses for kids when I was young). Other students made fun of me and teased me. They were mean. I believed what they said about me was true, that I was ugly and worthless.<br />
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My parents weren't well-employed and they weren't cool parents. My dad had to drop out of school in 6th grade and my mom in 9th grade so they could work on their families' farms. They didn't have many friends; they married very late (Dad was 40 and Mom was 29) and they only met because my aunt introduced them to each other. They had poor social skills and they passed that on to me. I only had a few friends, and that was because they engaged with me first. I was sure that the only reason they hung out with me was that they felt sorry for me.<br />
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Even though I attended a bigger high school with students from different cities, my high school social career was just as bad as my grade school social career. I didn't have the hand-me-down clothes or the ugly glasses anymore, but I hung out with the misfits. I didn't go on any dates, nor was I asked to the prom. The kids from grade school still were mean to me. I was so glad when I graduated from high school. I hoped things would be better for when I got to college.<br />
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Our family attended a United Church of Christ during my childhood and high school years, and it was the church that my mother's family attended. The UCC is a mainline Protestant denomination that doesn't believe in being born again. I was baptized (sprinkled) as a baby and I went through confirmation. I thought I could feel the Lord's presence occasionally, but I didn't have a real relationship with Him. One night during my freshman year in college, I was very depressed. I was at the end of myself. I cried out to the Lord to come into my heart, that I needed Him, and He answered my prayer. I later discovered that when I prayed to God that I had been born again. I used to be very shy, but I got more confidence in myself. I was a totally changed person thanks to the Lord living in me.<br />
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When you are born again and become a new creation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17), your inner self becomes different. The Holy Spirit lives in you and the love of Christ radiates through you. You are a child of God and you are no longer worthless. You want to be around other Christians to be friends with them and fellowship with them.<br />
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As born again Christians, we are to live in the world, but not be of the world. As Paul wrote in Romans 12:2: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." People should be able to see that there is something different about us, and Paul wrote of this in Philippians 2:15: "that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world."<br />
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It took a few years, but the more I spent time in the Word, in prayer, and in Bible-believing churches, my self-esteem issues began to disappear. Yet, something happened recently that set me back in my struggles with my self-esteem, This year was the 40th anniversary of my high school graduation. I had been going back and forth in my mind about whether or not to attend the reunion. I had gone to the 10-year reunion, but my classmates were still very cliquey and didn't want to hang out with those were not in their cliques. The possibility of attending this reunion weighed heavily on me until one night, I literally cried out to the Lord. I was worried about what my classmates would think of me. How would I answer questions about my kids, and did I have grandchildren (I never will)? And why I had never left my hometown? Those questions weighed heavily on me. The next morning during worship, however, I received an impression from the Lord telling me that I was not to worry about what my classmates thought about me but about what He thought about me. That gave me the confidence to go ahead and make plans to attend the reunion. I shopped online to find a nice shirt to wear to the reunion. I finally found one, tried it on and bought it.<br />
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My classmates greeted me and my husband at the reunion, and I spoke at length with some of them, but after a while, they all started hanging out in their cliques again. The hubby and I were left alone for a long while. There were photos taken for the class Facebook page and when I saw the photo of me, I was very sad. That new shirt I bought that I thought looked nice on me in the mirror didn't look good on me at all in the photo. There's a reason that the photo of me on this blog hasn't been changed in years and that's because I don't photograph well - well, at least I don't think so. My body is like that of my German farmer ancestors - short, wide and (now) with more weight around the middle.<br />
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The reunion was three weeks ago and I'm just now getting to the point where I can write and think about it without being very sad and depressed. I know this was an attack by our adversary. When you are confident that you are a child of God and in His love for you, and you start feeling bad about yourself, it is an attack from Satan. Whenever I start feeling this way, it shows that I need to spend more time in the Word and in prayer to chase away the enemy. Put your mind on Christ and not on yourself. As Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."<br />
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It all boils down to what is the most important thing, as Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8-9: "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 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith." The most important thing is your faith in Christ and that you are a child of God.<br />
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I hope I didn't put you to sleep with this long blog post. Thanks for reading! See you next time!<br />
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Diane<br />
<br />Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-50694103902174772802019-06-15T19:03:00.002-05:002023-06-27T18:24:55.801-05:00Vacation, all I ever wanted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZVqh-EcZyJhCpXN592qIjs3BE9I2M7FB70_VWXq614XVBrRo30IZJ-Qw3TqOVNfj2gTV2X9kQIZ4ichBDyfk_54BgeLqciWGhfQrLUVwEvIdEFf4g-syRuCwv8MVZirdewJqPOr8tN_K/s1600/Vacation.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZVqh-EcZyJhCpXN592qIjs3BE9I2M7FB70_VWXq614XVBrRo30IZJ-Qw3TqOVNfj2gTV2X9kQIZ4ichBDyfk_54BgeLqciWGhfQrLUVwEvIdEFf4g-syRuCwv8MVZirdewJqPOr8tN_K/s1600/Vacation.jpg" /></a></div>
As I write this, it's summertime, and summer is vacation season. People take vacations for various reasons - they go back home to visit family and/or friends or attend a class reunion, they want to go on an adventure, they want to spend time and pursue activities with their immediate family, or they just want to rest from an exhausting job or life situation. Whatever the reason, a vacation is a change of pace from our ordinary lives. <br />
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There is, however, Someone who does not take a vacation, and that is God. God does not take a vacation because He is much too busy watching over us and the whole universe. Omnipresence is the theological term that describes the concept that God is everywhere at the same time. I'm glad that God doesn't take a vacation, aren't you? <br />
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In fact, there is only one place in the Bible where it mentions that God even rested. In Genesis 2:2, we read that God rested on the seventh day after He created the earth. Creating the earth and everything in it was a mighty big job. God also does not sleep, as stated in Psalm 121:4.<br />
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God does not take vacations from us, so we should not take a vacation from Him when we are on our vacations. We should still continue our daily Bible readings and our prayers. We can even spend a little more time in prayer and Bible study since we don't have work getting in the way. Perhaps we can even take a solo vacation to get away and spend time with the Lord without any distractions. I hope to do that someday.<br />
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I hope a vacation is on your agenda this summer and that you have a relaxing time wherever you go and whatever you do. Thanks for reading! See you next time!<br />
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DianeDiane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-850542692917617879.post-42350448263179258252019-06-08T19:49:00.000-05:002019-06-08T19:50:31.179-05:00The Holy Spirit - the third member of the Trinity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBA9wL0CCJ9XQmjDGT9VDW_8IWkYnsMygbier_ABGD8A8NmC8AQl90STPqPGRx6nOI4V3IlvPPI8IVouvZREZXHn85nT1WpRkjZvFRyO1CfzSJf522RJVtPrmf9ggl5wP1u_h127rP33Y/s1600/Pentecost2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBA9wL0CCJ9XQmjDGT9VDW_8IWkYnsMygbier_ABGD8A8NmC8AQl90STPqPGRx6nOI4V3IlvPPI8IVouvZREZXHn85nT1WpRkjZvFRyO1CfzSJf522RJVtPrmf9ggl5wP1u_h127rP33Y/s1600/Pentecost2.png" /></a></div>
As I write this, tomorrow is Pentecost, the day on which the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and disciples like flames of fire, and the church was born. So I thought it was an appropriate time to take a look at who the Holy Spirit is and His (yes, "His" is the right pronoun; despite modern thinking, no part of the Trinity is feminine) attributes.<br />
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The Holy Spirit is sometimes an overlooked member of the Holy Trinity. It seems like more emphasis is placed on God and Jesus in our churches than on the Holy Spirit. It's like pastors are afraid that they would seem too Pentecostal and/or charismatic if they speak about the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit is an equal member of the Trinity and just as important as God and Jesus; He just has different duties.<br />
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The word "spirit" does not mean "ghost" in the context of the Scriptures. <i>The Oxford Companion to the Bible</i>'s definition of the name of the Holy Spirit is:</div>
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There is no distinct term for spirit in the languages of the Bible; the concept was expressed by a metaphorical use of words that mean, literally, wind and breath (Hebr. <i>ruah</i>; Grk., <i>pneuma</i>); the English word "spirit" is simply an Anglicized form of the Latin word for breath (<i>spiritus</i><i style="text-decoration-line: underline;">)</i>.</blockquote>
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So then, the colloquialism of the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost is very inaccurate. A ghost is a spirit that a person can see and the Holy Spirit is unseen. God and Jesus are not physically on earth, but the Holy Spirit is on earth to assist believers and convict non-believers of their sins so they can repent and put their trust in Jesus as their Savior. </div>
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The Holy Spirit has a few different names in the Scriptures. He is mentioned as the Holy Spirit in only four places in the Scriptures, however: Psalm 51:11; Lue 11:13; Ephesians 1:13 and Ephesians 4:30. <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>In most other places in Scripture, the Holy Spirit is just referred to as the Spirit, the "Holy" part being implied. When you see just the word "Spirit," it is usually followed by an attribute of the Spirit, such as "the Spirit of truth," "the Spirit of life," etc. You will also see "the Spirit of God." When you see just the word "Spirit," you will know that it means the Holy Spirit. </div>
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Let's take a look at some of the duties of the Holy Spirit. He is the Author of Scripture since the Word of God is God-breathed. He is the Comforter (some translations state this as Helper), who comforts those in Christ. He is the Advocate, who defends us. He convicts unbelievers of their sins so that they can repent of their sins and trust in Christ as their Savior.<br />
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The Holy Spirit is a guide to help believers understand the Scriptures. Unbelievers are unable to understand the Scriptures since the Holy Spirit does not live in them. The Holy Spirit lives in believers to direct them and guide them, and to be the link between God and man. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with the Father. He prays for us when we are so distraught we can't pray ourselves. The Holy Spirit is a teacher, sent to the disciples to remind them of what Jesus taught them while He was on Earth.<br />
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One of the most interesting attributes of the Holy Spirit is that He is the Restrainer. In 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, Paul tells the Thessalonians about how the Holy Spirit restrains all evil in the world until He is taken out of the way when the Rapture occurs. Once the Holy Spirit's restraint is removed from the world, a greater level of evil than what we see now will occur and the Antichrist will arise. The aspect of the Holy Spirit that allows Him to indwell new believers and guide them will still be around during the Tribulation period but the restraining aspect will not be there.<br />
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I hope you have enjoyed my brief overview of the Holy Spirit. There are some links below of web sites that I used to help write the blog posts. Thanks for reading! See you next time!<br />
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Diane<br />
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Bibliography:<br />
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<i>The Oxford Companion to the Bible, </i>edited by Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, Oxford University Press, 1993.<br />
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Got Questions: What are the names and titles of the Holy Spirit?<br />
<a href="https://www.gotquestions.org/names-Holy-Spirit.html" target="_blank">https://www.gotquestions.org/names-Holy-Spirit.html</a><br />
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Compelling Truth: What names and titles does the Bible use for the Holy Spirit?<br />
<a href="https://www.compellingtruth.org/names-Holy-Spirit.html">https://www.compellingtruth.org/names-Holy-Spirit.html</a><br />
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Here is a free e-book (in PDF format) that goes into a great deal of detail about the Holy Spirit:<br />
<i>The Names of the Holy Spirit</i>, by Elmer Towns<br />
<a href="http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books/The_Names_Of_The_HolySpirit[ETowns].pdf" target="_blank">http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books/The_Names_Of_The_HolySpirit[ETowns].pdf</a></div>
Diane Schultzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05997666936291140089noreply@blogger.com0