Deuteronomy 33:12 About Benjamin he said: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”
John 13:23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” 25Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
As I read this scripture this morning from Deuteronomy 33, I could not help but think of my pastor’s sermon yesterday about John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. My pastor’s sermon was about how John referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved because John knew it was the best title of all the titles John had. John also knew it was a title we could all have: The disciple whom Jesus loved. Yet, my pastor also described the scene at the Last Supper where John was leaning on Jesus. I pictured John leaning on Jesus’ shoulders knowing he was loved, and it was a safe place to be. A restful place where one could cast all their worries on the shoulders who loves them.
What fond memories do you have of leaning on someone’s shoulders knowing you were loved and safe? I remember sitting in church next to my mom and leaning on her shoulders. It felt safe and I felt loved. So much more does Jesus want us to lean on His shoulders when times are tough.
I set this blog post aside this week to focus on getting plans set in place for my upcoming knee replacement surgery. It was a busy week between work and my child having a flat tire on a rural highway and calling me to come help. I learned to lean on Jesus’ shoulders when I learned the girl who was going to be my caregiver during the two weeks of my surgery backed out and now, I have no one to go with me. Leaning on Jesus’ shoulders for wisdom about my knee.
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of 9/11. As I was sitting and listening to the names being read off, I was reminded how many lives were touched that day. Even though I did not lose anyone I felt my life changed because of that day. Since then, I learned to lean on Jesus’ shoulders through my divorce and death of loved ones. I also learned to lean on Jesus’ shoulders while I was raising my children and going to school. Chronic pain and illness are also a cause to lean on Jesus’ shoulders. He was there during the darkest nights of COVID and more recently the chronic pain which riddles my body. I know He loves me, and I sense signs of His love every day.
Another week or so has passed since I wrote this post. It was a busy week of appointments and birthday parties. There were times I was feeling overwhelmed with the stress of the upcoming surgery. Yesterday, my knee was giving me a lot of pain because I over used it. I was worried about who would be my caregiver and how I was going to pay some unexpected expenses. Suddenly the Lord spoke to me and said “when have I ever failed you? Lean on Me”. Shortly there after I learned I have a caregiver for my surgery.
Whose shoulders are you leaning on? Jesus wants you to lean on His shoulders!
Here are some books and gift ideas. If you click on a link and make a purchase I may earn a small percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Shaped stoneware mug with rich dark interior is accented with dimensional trim and uplifting words of inspiration from Scripture. 13 ounce capacity, gift boxed; safe for microwave and dishwasher. For today’s Christian home in contemporary style and design.Warm caramel; Bible verse Psalm 91:2: God is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. On reverse side: Trust.
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You’re stronger than you think because God is nearer than you know! He’ll meet you wherever, whenever—in lonely waiting rooms, rehab centers, and convalescent homes. Into all of life’s messes and thorny thickets, he’ll come to you, without hesitation, to lift you up. Lucado demonstrates by walking you through John’s words and Christ’s miracles. 240 pages, hardcover from Nelson.
Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. 7They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal… 12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt… 13But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you.
The Passover is celebrated among the Jews to this day. It started when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 430 years. God told Moses to tell the Israelites to prepare a lamb to be killed and eaten with unleavened bread. They were to take the blood of the lamb and put it on the top and sides of the door frame. God’s Spirit would go through all of Egypt and strike the first born of everyone unless He saw the blood on the door frame. Those in the houses with the blood on the door frame would be saved. God commanded a Passover feast would be celebrated on the fourteen day of the first month of the Israelites calendar year.
Luke 22:14-20 14When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. 15Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. 16For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
17Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”
19He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples the night before He was killed on the cross. He knew He was going to die a horrible death on the cross the next day. I wrote about this in my journal comparing Jesus’ death and the Passover lamb. I wrote it about me, but you can put your name in place of mine. Here is what I wrote:
Lord, You took on all my sin when You went willingly to the cross. The lambs at the first Passover did not know they were going to die nor were they willing. It is the blood forming a cross on the door frames saved the Israelites. Your blood flowed from the crown of thorns, and the nails in Your hands and feet. These same hands hold me when I hurt or feeling low. You were beaten and laid bare against the rough wooden cross, hanging there bleeding. A crown of thorns on Your precious head. The lambs at the first Passover’s bones were not broken and neither were Yours. Your body represents the bread, Your blood represents the fruit of the vine. Christian churches all over the world celebrate this holy communion as a remembrance of Jesus, the Passover Lamb.
Yet, You so willingly went through this for me. I do not deserve this! You saved me from the coming tribulation and the lake of unending fire just like the lamb saved Israel from the coming disaster. You did it out of love for me. I cannot bare it! I cannot say thank you enough!
Do not delay asking God to forgive you for going your own way. Recognize Jesus went willingly to be our Passover Lamb on the cross for the whole world. He loves you so much. There is coming a time of great tribulation and it may be sooner than you think. Only those who accepts the Passover Lamb, Jesus, will be saved. This terrible tribulation will be like nothing the world has ever experienced. Do not delay! God wants to save you and have a relationship with you right now and give you eternal life with Him. Please accept the Passover Lamb!
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Job 2:10 Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.
We often do not understand why things happen in life. Why is there pain and suffering? Why are there terrible diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer? Why are there severe weather and forest fires and other natural disasters? Why do people suffer financial loss through no fault of their own? Why are some people successful while others fail? So many questions? The book of Job is puzzling. He suffered loss of all his children, his home, his livestock, and his health. Yet, he was one who known to be blameless in his life. Why does God allow things like this to happen to good people? I can think of two reasons: sin and testing of one’s faith. Yet sometimes we just do not know why.
As I was going through my prayer list this morning I was thinking of my brother. He has always lived a Christian life. He has a heart for God and has serve Him in many ways. Yet he has dementia and can no longer do many of the things he used to do. I ask God often why this brother? Why did God allow what seemed to be the spiritual leader in my large family to lose his mind to dementia and such a young age? We may never know this side of Heaven.
Then I got to praying for people in my church. There are a few with cancer. I do not know them because I have not been at the church long and COVID has kept the ones with cancer home. Yet, there are people in my previous church who loved the Lord and served Him well who lost their lives to cancer. One of them was my dear friend Ralph. He was only 58 years old when he died. We dated the last two years of his life and I still miss him every day. Why did he have to die so young?
A few years ago, my nephew’s home caught on fire and burn down. No lives were lost but they lost all their possessions. Many things can be replaced but things like photos and family heirlooms cannot. Why did this happen? A lifelong friend lives in Florida. She has lived through several hurricanes since she moved there many years ago. She has not had any significant damage or lost of life from any of the hurricanes, but I cannot imagine the fear one goes through when the storm is overhead. Why does God allow natural disasters?
Another close friends of mine had a daughter with severe disabilities. She lived her adult life in a nursing-type home. Last year she passed away. I am sure my friends were heart broken. I have not seen them for more than a year because of COVID. Why are there children born with disabilities?
Often, we see people suffer financial hardship. When COVID was at its worse many businesses had to close, and people lost their jobs. Now there seems to be an employee shortage. Many small businesses cannot get enough help to keep their doors open. This causes more hardship. Many of those who lost their jobs are choosing to stay on unemployment rather than take jobs with less pay. Many small businesses cannot pay enough to entice workers.
Chronic pain comes in many forms and can sometimes be disabling. I have arthritis throughout my body and fibromyalgia as well. Last year I took early social security at 62 years of age because the stress of chronic pain and my job was getting unbearable. I wanted to focus on my writing instead of working long hours. Now I need knee replacement surgery. Some days it hurts to walk. Others have it worse than me yet come to work every day. I have one friend who has become so disabled she cannot work anymore. I do not know how they do it or why this happens to good people.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit, they were told not to eat, the world changed. Because of this people suffer hardships and illnesses. There are wars and famines and natural disasters. Sometimes we do not understand why but God does. As I said earlier, it usually is either sin or God testing us. Sometimes, or often, we need to really look at our lives and see where we are falling short. Maybe God allows something bad to enter our lives to show us our sin. Several years ago, I got into a lot of financial debt after getting out of grad school. I thought I would get a great job so I would be okay. How wrong I was, and it has been years of taking control of my finances and working on my debt while working low wage jobs. The great job never happened. Yet, God has been good to me and forgave me. I still suffer because I went astray but I have learned to be content.
Another reason is God testing us. God knows what we can handle yet sometimes He allows stuff to happen to allow us to be tested and to grow in our faith. I can think of several things in my past which forced me to grow and learn to trust God. My divorce and death of my dear friend Ralph were two of them. Yet, ever since I moved to the Wausau area, I have experienced even more growth even though I went through COVID twice and have been sick other times. Trials make us stronger.
Finally, sometimes we just do not know why bad things happen to us and may not know until we reach Heaven. Just yesterday a customer told me she lost her son at 24 years of age. She said she still does not know why he had to die so young. Has God allowed trouble in your life? Do you know why? Has it helped you grow as a person or become closer to God? Or has it help you realize there is sin in your life you need to get rid of and ask forgiveness. Always, trust God to see you through the trials we don’t understand why.
Though we live in an imperfect world, there is always hope through our Lord Jesus Christ. In Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People David Arnold shows how suffering and turmoil are not beyond God’s ability to heal. Sit at the feet of Pastor Arnold and listen in as he helps you to understand our fallen world and the comfort and hope found in Christ.
Isaiah 49:16a See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
John 19:18 There they nailed him to the cross
John 20:25 nail wounds in his hands,
As I was reading the Isaiah passage this morning, I could not help but think of the cross and how they nailed Jesus’ hands and feet to the cross. I know it is an abstract concept. Yet maybe God was thinking about this when He had Isaiah write about my name on the palm of His hands.
You see, I believe in the Trinity. I believe in God the Father, God the Son, Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit. I believe Jesus became human yet still God when He was born of Mary. Jesus went willingly to the death on the cross. Usually, when someone was sentenced to die on the cross it was the worst form of death back then, but they tied the person to the cross and left them to die. It usually took days to die so they would speed things up by breaking the person’s bones while they hung on the cross. Not so with Jesus. They took big nails and nailed Him to the cross at the hands and feet. When they went to break Jesus’ bones, they saw He was already dead but the put a sword into His side to make sure.
It all has to do with sin. Sin is rejecting God and living your life as you see fit. Sure, we all try to live within the law and even follow the ten commandments. Yet, we cannot do it perfectly and that is sin. In the Old Testament God instructed the Israelites, God’s chosen people, to sacrifice a lamb for the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus’ death is the ultimate sacrifice and He died for everyone for that has ever lived or will ever live. You only need to believe and accept Jesus’ death and resurrection as payment for your sin and ask Him to be Lord of your life.
There are many benefits to doing this. One is Heaven. John 3:16 says anyone who believes on Him will have everlasting life. That means in Heaven. Another benefit is God will be there for you in good times and the bad times. He will comfort you, guide you and give you peace. Just accept Jesus.
In the Isaiah passage the Jewish people had turned their backs on God and God allowed them to have trouble. Israel cried out to God in this passage asking God if He had forgotten them. He said no I have written your name on the palm of my hand. Other versions of the Bible used the word “engraved”. When Jesus died on the cross with nails in His hands and feet, He did it for you and me. Jesus engraved yours and mine name on His palms with the nails that pierced His hands. It hurts to think God loved us so much He used a nail to write our name on Jesus’ hands. Have you accepted the nail wrote your name on God’s hands?
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Every page of this revolutionary book will take you on a remarkable journey through Jesus’ last days and how he shed His blood–not just once but seven times for you! From Gethsemane, where Jesus sweat drops of blood, to the whipping post, where His back was laid bare by 39 lashes, to the cross where nails pierced His feet and hands, you will discover what Jesus provided for you.
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25“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Yesterday my Pastor preached on this passage. I am not going to repeat his sermon here nor will I play Monday morning quarterback and discuss what he should have done better. As far as I am concerned my Pastor only preached from his heart the Word of God and it was perfect. Yet, this morning in my prayer journal I found myself worrying about things. Then I figuratively slapped myself and said, “what did I just learn from my Pastor’s sermon yesterday?”.
Worry takes many forms. It could be concerns about finances, family, friends, or future. Some people worry about what they hear on the news and how it may affect them. Others worry about whether they will be accepted in a certain group of people. The list could go on and it is usually what is the most important thing to you. What do you worry about?
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else.
What does this mean? Let us break this down. Seeking above all else. This means to put it first in your life. What do you do first when you wake up? What is on your mind? I like to get my coffee started and make sure the cat has dry food and water. Yet when I settle on the couch with my coffee what is the first thing, I grab sets the tone for my entire day. I must consciously grab my prayer journal and not my phone. Facebook, emails, account balances and weather can all wait I need to see what God wants me to see first thing. Reading scripture and a devotional gives me thought for what I write in the journal. I have grown so much as a person and a believer in Christ since I started writing in a journal every day. It helps me center on what is important.
Yet I am easily distracted by my world around me and often my thoughts. If you read my journal, you will see I am often apologizing to God for being distracted. These are things I worry about, and I need to give these worries to God and get back to what God is trying to teach me that day. God knows I am human. He knows all my problems. He wants me to seek Him first and give them to Him.
Why do you have so little faith?
I like to think I have a lot of faith God will meet my needs and He always does. Yet, I still find myself worrying about things in my future. This is where I go into planning mode sometimes. Planning helps calm my worries but sometimes our plans are not God’s plan for us (See Not What I Planned https://northwoodsgirlblogging.com/not-what-i-planned/ ). Yet if I seek God’s kingship in my plans, they will usually go better than my plans. Afterwards I look back and have to say to myself “Where was your faith?” Yes, make plans and schedules, but seek God first in them and not worry.
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Live one day at a time. Start the day focusing on God and give it to Him. Make your plans and lists prayerfully. Prioritize as you feel led by the Lord in your plans and lists so you will not feel guilty if you do not get through everything. With each item on your plan or list ask if this will please God if you do it. This is a way of seeking God first. Finally, be mindful of your thoughts. Are they drifting into worry? Change them to something grateful. Thinking about an inspirational song or verses. This will help you change your worries into joy. What do you worry about and how are you handling your worries?
This is the website for my church if you want to hear the message my Pastor preached yesterday. Click on Live Stream. https://bethanyschofield.org/
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II Peter 1:5 says” …make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.” (NLT)
As I was reading these verses this morning, I felt led to write about them. I learn much from writing about the Bible. I hope you can learn with me as you read this post.
Make Every Effort
I got the title “Habits of Choice” from reading Mart DeHaan’s commentary on this scripture. In this short commentary DeHaan adds “and effort” to his “habits of choice. Therefore, the following habits are a choice made by conscious effort. (https://odb.org/US/2021/07/09/making-every-effort) Click on the scripture part for this day to read DeHaan’s whole commentary.
Goodness
This is one of the fruits of the Spirit I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Being good not only means obeying the law but it can also mean how we treat others. If we follow Jesus’ example of goodness, He both obeyed the laws of the land set out by God through Moses, but He was also good to everyone, even the ones who were killing Him. The phrase “So be good for goodness’ sake” came to my mind. It comes from a children’s Christmas song. It is a song about being good so kids can get presents. Yet it says, “for goodness’ sake”. My take is we are to practice goodness not to receive anything in return but to make it a habit of choice for the benefit of others.
Knowledge
Adding the habit of choice knowledge is an everyday effort. Not only should we be studying scripture, but we should be making an effort to add knowledge about other things as well. This morning my youngest child reposed a meme which said, “now that “he” reached adulthood “he” was dismayed to find most adults are not smart”. I laughed inside because my child is only in their twenties and looks at the world much different than I do. I disagreed with the meme’s statement. I do not think most adults are not smart, but some adults choose not to make a habit of gaining knowledge. Even if you never went to college, you could make an effort to gain knowledge. With the dawn of the internet one can learn about anything these days. However, do not gain knowledge to make yourself sound smart but make a habit of choice to gain knowledge for the benefit of others.
Self-Control
Self-control is also one of the fruits of the spirit. Making the effort to choose to have self-control will have many benefits for yourself and others. For instance, sometime in the next year I will probably have knee replacement surgery. The wear and tear of working on concrete floors has worn out my knee. It does not help I have gained weight during the last year mostly from being sick but also because I am not working fulltime anymore. Now when I am finally feeling better, I can no longer get out and go for walks like I would like to because of the pain in my knees. My doctor says I need to lose some weight before I can have surgery. Therefore, I need to use self-control in what I eat and when I eat. This is difficult for me but in the long run it will benefit me and a healthier me is a happier me, that benefits others. I need to make a habit of choice to use self-control.
Endurance
In the New International Version, the word “perseverance” is used instead of endurance. When I think of endurance, I think of the long-distance runner. The runner needs to know they need to pace themselves for the whole race so they should not run as fast as they can to start but to keep a steady pace throughout. Life is like that. We need to be steady in our pace as we go through life. Yes, life has its ups and downs, but we need to be steady in how we handle these ups and downs. An example of this is when I was getting cortisone injections in my knees. The doctor was trying to find the right place to inject the medicine, but he had to work the needle through some tissue, and it was very painful. The injection went on for what seemed like forever. I had to keep myself steady and to tell myself it would be worth it in the end. It has been three days and it feels like it is starting to help. Soon I will start physical therapy and that will be something else I have to endure. But making the habit of choice of endurance will result in a better life for me with many rewards.
Godliness
What is godliness? Some think it is being “holier than thou”. Yet is godliness being so holy you make people feel uncomfortable? No! After all, none of us are perfect and no one wants to be around someone who acts like they are perfect. Only Jesus was perfect because He was God’s Son. Yet, Jesus never acted like He was more holy than the people He was with, always. Ever watch the TV series The Chosen? (https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen) I like how the producers portray Jesus as one who loved to laugh and have a good time. He just beams love throughout the show. Maybe we should be like Jesus. My church’s subheading is “Real Faith, Real People, Real Life” (https://bethanyschofield.org/). They do not expect anyone who attends there to be perfect, just real. Maybe having real faith while being a real person having a real life is what godliness is all about. Growing Christ-like is the way to be godly. Make a habit of choice to be real and godly at the same time.
Mutual Affection
Mutual affection is in my mind getting along with others. This scripture is written to Christians, but it can also be used in everyday life. For instance, if you have a coworker who is really annoying try your best to get along with them while at work. You do not have be friends just not be rude to them or gossip about them when they are not around. I sometimes struggle with this with a coworker who is lazy. She makes me angry, but I need to remember God wants me to get along with her and not gossip about her. I need to choose to make it a habit to have mutual affection even for the ones who I find annoying.
Love for Everyone
I think everyone struggles with loving everyone. For instance, I am having a hard time loving the man who murdered my friend. Yet God wants me to pray for him. His intent was to kill my friend and her family to get the child he had with my friend. My friend had escaped his brutal abuse from him to give her child a better life, but he came after her and killed her and left her in a ditch on the side of the road. God wants me to love him. That is difficult. How much more is it for the family and close friends to forgive this man. Yet God wants me to love everyone, but I do not think He wants me to love their actions. I just need to choose to make it a habit to love.
Not Alone
Yet none of us can do any of these habits of choice perfectly with our own strength. Let us back up to verse three of this passage. 3By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. Ah, so I can ask God to help me to have goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. Every day I can make an effort to make these great habits of choice through God’s power within me. What are your habits of choice?
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This is where you can purchase the TV series The Chosen I mentioned above.
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In Power to Reinvent Yourself, Jason Frenn walks you through the necessary steps to make drastic and permanent changes in your life by breaking cycles of destructive behavior with God’s help. Whether your goal is financial or professional success, weight loss, an end to addiction or abusive behavior, Frenn shows you how changing your perceptions, forming Godly habits and choosing forgiveness will lead to the unleashing of real power in your life. No matter how stuck you feel, you don’t have to stay there. The freedom of a relationship with Christ will allow you to reinvent yourself and live the life that God intends for you, free from the holds of bad habits.
So, you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.
This past Sunday as I was entering my church my Pastor asked me how things were going. I told him there were things which were heavy on my mind. Later, during the service I was thinking of how unjoyful I must have sounded. The words “rob you of your joy” came up. While this verse does not exactly say what I want it has the phrase I wanted. What happened to my joy?
Sure, there are things which are pulling me down. One is my grandchild moved away and I am not sure when I will see her again. I am even sadder to see how it is affecting my son. Family discord can rob me of my joy.
In my last post I wrote on domestic violence because someone I knew was killed because of domestic violence. It was heartbreaking to see a young, fun-loving woman killed in such an awful manner. As the story is only a week old more news has come out about it since it first came out. Things in the news can rob me of joy.
One of the reasons I went part time last year was to cut down on the destructive forces my job has on my body. It has helped but not enough. Lately I have been having problems with my knees. The pain is intensified at work when I am walking around on concrete floors all day. Back to the doctor I went and got injections in both knees yesterday. These injections are very painful and take a few days to start to work. I am at the point where my knees hurt so much, I am calling in and not working today. This causes me emotional distress as I do not like to leave my work shorthanded. Chronic pain can rob me of joy.
I have tried praying for my joy to return but I have not found it yet. I need to count my blessing instead of my sorrows. Sorrows only rob me of my joy. I also think praising God and listening to worship music will help. Finally, find things to look forward to can help restore my joy. Things like looking forward to photos and videos of the grandchild will help in my loneliness. Seeing the men who killed my friend brought to justice will help me, but it will help the family so much more so. Looking forward to less pain which will come soon is something to look forward to but knowing I can resume some of the things I love like photography I find my joy returning. Ah yes, I can feel joy! What is robbing you of joy?
Below is a list of books from Christianbook.com Home. I am an affiliate with Christianbook.com Home. If you click on a link and make a purchase I may earn a small percentage from your purchase at no extra cost to you. This helps with the costs of running this website. Thank you for your support.
A woman I know was murdered the other day. Her body was found on the side of a rural road near a small northern Wisconsin town. At the time of this writing the man who committed the murder is still at large. This young woman was someone I worked with a few years back. She was one of my immediate supervisors. She was going to school at the time to study management. After she finished her degree, she was promoted to assistant manager at another store in another state. About a year and a half ago, she moved back to the small town where I still was living. Yet she somehow had changed. Gone was the happy person who was fun to work with and seemed to enjoy life. She was quiet and distant. I now know she returned to the rural area as a protection for her and her daughter.
Now our relationship was never close. We were friends on Facebook for a short after she moved away but as she moved up the corporate ladder, I did not see any more posts from her. I do remember seeing her post she was in a relationship with a guy. I was happy for her. Whether this was the same guy or not I do not know, but I do know she had a child with the man who murdered her. The child is reported safe with her family. I still feel emotions of sadness and anger. My prayers are with the family during this awful time. I hope the man is caught and brought to justice.
We all know what domestic abuse is and how verbal abuse can lead to violence. Yet what does the Bible say about abuse.
Colossians 3: 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
Exodus 22:22 22 “You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. 23If you exploit them in any way, and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. 24My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
Romans 13: 10 Love does no wrong to others,
Proverbs 18: 14 The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit?
I Corinthians 13: 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Psalm 11: 5 The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.
He hates those who love violence.
Psalm 10: 17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
While the Bible does not directly come out against domestic violence, it clearly does not condone it. We are to show love towards each other, and love does no harm.
Domestic violence happens across all peoples whether they are rich or poor, religious, or not, married or not and across all age groups. It is the most under reported crime of all. In some cultures, it is almost a right of a husband or father to discipline their wives or children. In American most people enter relationships as equal partners and wives have equal rights. Many adult-on-adult violence stems to how a child is raised. Often children who grow up with violence in the home believe it is normal and continue it. Other times the abuser has either mental health issues or addictions to drugs or alcohol or both.
I do not think hurting one another whether it is physical, emotional, or sexual is okay with God. After all Jesus commanded us to first love God then to love others. God does not treat us badly why should we treat each other badly.
What are some signs to watch for in others of domestic abuse?
One of the most obvious signs is bruises or actual injuries. However, the abused often become good at covering bruises up or making excuses. Some of the more not so noticeable signs are:
Not being allowed to attend functions.
Being cut off from family when there is no evidence of conflict within the family.
The victim is verbally abused or put down in front of others by the abuser.
Weight loss when the victim is not trying.
The victim does not have any control of money or appears to be forced to work while the abuser does not, yet they are not allowed to spend their own earnings.
The victims have low self-esteem or suffer depression or anxiety.
There is an alcohol or drug abuse problem either on the abuser’s or the abused part.
What can we do to prevent or intervene?
Offer to be their friend if you are not already. Offer to be a part of their support system. Offer your home as a safe place the victim can come to be safe from their abuser. Get the number for your local women’s shelter and carry it with you in case the victim needs help. Visit the shelter’s website for more information on how you can help. For my area http://womenscommunity.org/ offers a wealth of information.
What are things we should not do?
Intervene unless the victim wants you to intervene or unless it is a life-threatening situation. Let professionals such as the police or social workers handle the situation. Do not confront the abuser because it may lead to more abuse later when the abused gets home. If you are a guy and being abused do not be afraid to get help. Males get abused too.
If you feel you are being abused, please call your local shelter. Find people you can trust to be your support system. Do not be afraid to get help. You do not deserve to be abused. You are precious in God’s sight, and He loves you.
Rest in Peace Hannah!
Update: Hannah’s killer has been found and is awaiting trail.
On April 7, 2021, I adopted a cat I named Samson. He was about fourteen months old and very afraid of humans. I wrote about him after two weeks of almost never seeing him in Learning to Trust on April 24, 2021. It has been two and a half months and Samson now sits on my lap for a short time. Yet it was a long road to get Samson to this point. During the last two months I would do “Sammy updates” on Facebook. People seemed to like to hear about how Sammy, as I now call him, is doing. I post pictures to show Sammy’s progress. Below are excerpts.
May 1st, I found Samson’s hiding place, but I can’t reach him. I want him to feel safe, yet I want him to come out! He’s so cute!
May 2nd So I just headed to bed, turned on my bedroom light and guess who is standing on my bed. He just stood there looking at me I started talking to him and I took a few steps slowly, very slowly, towards him with my hand out he finally decided to go hide under my bed. Progress.
May 4th So around 4:30 this morning I woke to the cat playing in my room with something. I’m tired cat! Play somewhere else!!!
May 10th Sammy just came in the living room where I’m sitting and looked at me for a minute or two. That’s the first time he did that. I bought him two more toys (Dollar Tree) and treats!
May 13th My cat Sammy is getting braver this week. I see him a lot in the evenings and early mornings if I’m up before dawn. This morning I woke at 4:30 to use the bathroom and went back to bed but couldn’t sleep so I played solitaire on my tablet. After a while it was starting to get light and I saw him (Sammy) sitting in my bedroom doorway. So, I started talking to him and he kept getting closer to my bed. After a while I tried rolling over and he darted into the kitchen/living room part of my apartment. I couldn’t go back to sleep s I gave up. I was in the kitchen getting coffee going and there he was about 4 feet from me. He went down the hall to my room, pausing to look back at me then into my room. I told him to have a good sleep. I thought I wouldn’t see him again until tonight. A little later I’m sitting on my couch having my coffee and getting my prayer journal set up for the day (listing who I’m praying for this day, date and scriptural I’m reading, etc.). I look up and there he was standing just inside the living room looking at me as if to say “just checking on you” then he was gone. I think he is warming up to the idea that I am his human but not ready to claim me.
May 15th Watching mommy get things ready for work. He sits now and watches.
May 17th, I woke at 3:40am because something ran across ankles. Really cat go run somewhere else! I still love you!
May 20th Awake in the night again due to chronic pain and a cold I was reading the Bible on my tablet. I noticed Sammy slowly creeping towards my bed. He gets to the foot and lays down. I talked to him a little bit and thanked him for being my kitty. Knowing he was there I tried again to go to sleep. Laying quietly for a little awhile without success I looked, and he was gone. Later I did sleep. No sign of him this morning.
May 21st Awake for a couple of hours again last night due to this cold(?) and chronic pain. Samson stood guard at the doorway while I struggled to breathe. (Vicks helped and my inhaler.) At one time he was at my feet for a moment or two. Staying home again today. I don’t have enough energy to take a shower let alone go to work. Have a great Friday everyone! God loves you so much!
May 24th Last night right after I laid down in my bed, I saw Sammy in the doorway as usual. He slowly creeped over to the foot of my bed. Then slowly creeped up to the head of the bed. I was talking to him the whole time. He got right up to the head of the bed for about a minute then headed towards the door. He did it again this morning but didn’t get all the way up because a coughing fit scared him away. I thought about going back to work today but I don’t think I’m up to it. Thanks for praying y’all. Have a great Monday!!! Remember God loves you!
May 25th On the other hand twice last night Sammy followed me back into my bedroom when I got up to use the bathroom and watched while I used my inhaler to calm my cough so I could go back to sleep. He keeps his distance but its 3 or 4 feet instead of 8.
May 26th New Sammy photos! I’ve been awake since 3:30am (prednisone does that to me). While I laid in my bed trying to go back to sleep Sammy spent time in my room playing. At one time he jumped up on the bed by my head for a second. Later he did it again. This morning while I was writing (a new blog post) he hung out in my office where I wrote it. He now comes almost in the kitchen whenever I am in there cooking. I tell him I’m making dinner and when it’s done, I will give him his dinner so he can eat while I eat. Today I was cooking eggs with stuff in them, and I look down the hall there he was expecting me to give him food, the little pig! I gave him a treat, ha. Soon I must make something for dinner because I know he will want to eat. What to make? Even though I napped today I still have a lot of fatigue. I must go back to work tomorrow. God will help me, he always does.
May 27th I was awake in the night again (prednisone) and just laying on my back and suddenly felt something on my feet. He laid there for a while and slowly made his way to the top of my legs and laid there for the longest time. I was on my tablet but laid see still as I could. Later he got up. This morning he was following me while I was getting ready for work and played in my room. Loving him getting used to me. Maybe soon he will let me pet him.
May 29th Sammy update: I woke up about 1:30 to use the bathroom and went back to bed. Couldn’t sleep so I was on my tablet play games and here comes Sammy crawling up my legs. He settled in on my upper thighs and I went back to reading the Psalms. He decided to give himself a full body wash and that went on for a long time. I put my tablet on my nightstand and just laid there. Sammy don’t go anywhere. Later he did leave. Still not able to sleep I laid on my side because my back hurts to sleep on it. Started to doze off when I realized something was touching my butt. Yep, there was Sammy struggling up to my back side. Later I fell asleep and when I awoke, he was gone.
May 31st Sammy is being very social this morning. This is the first time he has come into the living room when I was in it. He also follows me from the bathroom after I brush my teeth and waits until I get into bed before jumping up on the bed to stay with me. I haven’t petted him yet, but I love the progress.
June 2nd Sammy is spending more time in the living room when I am there.
June 4th My cat is crazy! He follows me all over. He plays up a storm in the living room when I’m in it. I started doing some arm exercises and now he’s my personal trainer. I bought him 3 new mice toys last night and he loves them, yet I can’t find them this morning. I suspect my couch is a gold mine of cat toys if I looked under it. Last night he licked my hand twice but when I went to pet him, he was gone! Not fair cat!
June 5th The sun is reflecting off my tablet causing lights on the wall. “Must get those lights, I must!” LOL cat you make me laugh!!!!
June 6th All those years when Princess was around, I displayed some small items on the shelves of my tv stand. A couple of months ago my son Aaron decided I needed a bigger tv in my living room and he found someone selling this big tv at a great price, used. It’s a little too big for my tv stand I built with my own hands twenty years ago. So, I thought I would get a new tv stand and took everything off the shelves. Then I got COVID a second time followed closely by another round of bronchitis, and I never got around to getting a tv stand. Maybe someday I will but I was thinking of putting my stuff back on the shelves then this morning I changed my mind. Lol cat God sent you into my life to make me laugh!!!
June 6th FINALLY! I pet my cat! He let me give him a good head massage! Dream come true!
June 8th Note to self: now that my cat follows me everywhere I need to close the bathroom door when taking a shower. The smoke alarm is right across from the bathroom. If I don’t close the bathroom door when showering the steam sets off the smoke alarm. Guess I didn’t close it tight, and Sammy pushed the door open. Afterwards he looked at me as if to say, ” I couldn’t see you mommy and I heard water running so I got worried and came to your rescue!” Lol cat! You’re too funny! Have a great day everyone!
June 12th So Sammy likes to check out what I’m eating. He never eats any of my food but gets close enough to smell it well. This morning I had sunny side up eggs and Sammy took a good smell. Lol, you got egg on your face cat!!!
June 21st Today Sammy climb up on the couch and sat with me for a while. He also sat in my lap. Progress!
June 21st “How can one resist that face?” I was mad at my kitty early this morning because he was fighting my feet and I was trying to sleep then he climbs up on the couch when I’m writing in my prayer journal and gives me this face.
June 23rd My cat is nuts!!! He just climbed into the toilet after I flushed. Why???
Today, June 25th Selfies with mommie!
Sammy still does not climb up under my chin to cuddle like Princess used to do all the time. Yet I am okay with it since Sammy is only about sixteen months old and still does not know how to sit still for any length of time. I need to get him into the vet and have his claws trimmed. They are needle like. He likes to play with my feet sometimes during the night. It hurts when he sticks his claws in my feet. I have put my weighted blanket back on my bed to cover my feet and legs to protect myself from Sammy’s claws. I had taken the weighted blanket off because it’s too hot to use. Too hot or sharp needles in the skin? I will take the heat.
It has taken a long time to get Sammy to feel comfortable with me and to claim me as his human. When I wrote Learning to Trust I really wanted a cat to replace Princess. One who would just cuddle with me under my chin and not do much else. Instead, I got a cat who loves me and plays much of the time. He also makes me laugh. That was something I really needed. But, most of all Sammy taught me patience. Patience with him as he was learning to trust, but patience with others. Thank You God for giving me Sammy to teach me patience. What has God taught you lately?
Below is a list of books talking about patience from Christianbook.com Home. I am an affiliate and if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep this website running. Thank you for your support.
In her debut book, Paula Gooder notes that in our observance of Advent, the spiritual practice of waiting is a vital component to our well-being and our Christian growth. Waiting is the primary lesson of Advent, notes Gooder, and Advent is about learning to love the waiting. Arranged for daily reading during the feverish run-up to Christmas, Gooder helps us to discover different kinds of waiting by using the biblical characters traditionally represented by each of the candles on the Advent wreath. Abraham & Sarah waited a lifetime for the fulfillment of God’s promises, the Hebrew prophets waited for God’s intervention, John the Baptist waited for the beginning of a new era of God’s ministry and Mary waited with patience for God to bring forth events well beyond her control. With a forward by Lauren Winner, this thoughtful book will enable you to participate in a way of being that is expectant rather than urgent, keeping you focused on God in the present, rather than on some uncertain future.
How do you follow the promises of God when they feel like a puzzle without the picture? In We Believed, Jeffrey Moore shares his family’s ten-year journey of believing God’s promises before they were manifested. This is their story of fulfilling God’s calling in their lives through adoption. Follow along with them as they chronicle the many twists and turns on their way to adopting four siblings from Peru.
If you’ve ever been asked by God to do something seemingly impossible, take hope from this story of receiving God’s promises through faith and patience. Throughout this story, Jeffrey Moore incorporates specific learnings about faith, hearing from God, and receiving His promises.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jeffrey S. Moore is a son, a husband, a father, a minister, an author, and a treasure hunter. He and his wife, Kristine, reside in Aurora, Colorado, USA, with their five incredible children. He loves spending time with his family, preferably on a Caribbean beach when possible! He also craves Mexican food.
Jeffrey and Kristine are co-founders of Set Sail Ministries. He loves sharing his experiences and learnings on sonship, healing, and adoption.
This informative introduction to the book of James summarizes the main themes of temptation and spiritual maturity, controlling the tongue, patience in prayer, and faith in action. Helpful charts summarize the dangers to believers, responses that lead to maturity, and spiritual benefits of perseverance. In the clear and easy-to-read style of Rose’s visual elements, Rose Visual Bible Studies are packed with charts, graphs, images, and fascinating facts. These Bible studies are easy enough that the new believer understands, but in-depth enough that the longtime churchgoer still comes away learning something new.
22But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
When I read these verses this morning, I felt prompted by the Spirit to write about them. I felt led to go through each fruit and ask myself am I living like this fruit? The world seems like it is in turmoil. We as Christians need to live out these fruits more than ever before to a hurting world.
Love
This kind of love here is unconditional love. I am sure God had Paul put this fruit first. What the world needs more than anything is for us Christians to show God’s love to others. Even the ones who seems so unlovable. After all, Jesus came to earth to suffer a horrible death because God loves even the ones who hate Him. So, am I showing unconditional love to those I do not like or have hurt me?
Joy
Joy has always been a difficult fruit for me. I have had so many things and people who have hurt me in my past. Often, I could not feel joy from these hurts. When I moved from Rhinelander to the Wausau area it seemed like a heavy weight of gloom was lifted. It was a new beginning in my life. I got to start all over. I found the fruit of joy again. Yes, I still suffered illness and chronic pain, but I still found joy in my suffering. Am I showing my fruit of joy to this world?
Peace
There is so much turmoil in this world today. Wars and rumors of wars. Politics and social issues bring fighting on both sides. Even among Christians there are differences of opinions which can bring strife. What the world needs is peace. Not just wars and strife stopping but the inner peace of letting go and letting God have control. We cannot do anything about what others are saying or doing to each other, but we can give these worries to God. Today I had to give something to God which was out of my control. God gave me an inner peace about it. Yet sometimes I fret about things. Am I showing my worries to the world or am I showing God’s peace?
Patience
Awhile ago I adopted a new cat when my old cat died. After a week or two I asked God why He have me adopt a cat who was constantly in hiding. It was to teach me patience. Little by little my cat came out of hiding and got less afraid of me. He now will not leave me alone most of the time. He loves to be petted but he has not allowed us to cuddle yet. I have learned to be patient with my cat growing comfortable with me but am I patient with people?
Kindness
Some say I am too kind, but am I? Am I kind to those who I do not like or who have hurt me? What is my motive to being kind? Is it so others will like me or am I being the kind of kind because of Jesus? I need to work on the fruit of kindness in my life.
Goodness
What is good? Jesus asked this question and said only God is good. Therefore, if only God is good then I cannot be good in my own strength. I need to rely on God to help me be good to others and how I behave. To be the fruit of goodness I need to follow God’s laws, so I do not hurt God or others. I need to ask God to help live the fruit of goodness.
Faithfulness
Being faithful to God and others takes work. I believe another way to look at faithfulness is being loyal. Am I being loyal to God in how I live? Am I being loyal to others or am I talking bad about someone behind their back? What about my job? Am I loyal to the place that gives me a paycheck by being faithful to always doing my job well? It is not easy to be faithful, but God does help me practice the fruit of faithfulness.
Gentleness
Most of the time I am gentle with others. Gentleness is the opposite of being harsh. It is easy to be gentle with a baby or a kitten, but what about someone who is yelling at you for something you have no control over? This often happens at work when customers are impatient. Being empathic and gentle goes a long way over yelling back. Sometimes I need to practice the fruit of gentleness in a better way.
Self-control
I think God had Paul save this one for last because God knew this is a hard one for people. Having self-control has been hard for me. For instance, when I am tired and hungry after work it is sometimes easier to stop at a fast-food place rather than going home and cooking something. I must remind myself going home is the healthier choice and better for my wallet. Using self-control in what I say is even harder for me. Only God can help me with the fruit of self-control.
Conclusion
I have read this passage of scripture many times. I never really have sat down and broken the fruits down like this before. I learned today living like these fruits is difficult. Yet I know God will help me. Are you living like these fruits?
Here is a couple of books on the fruits of the Spirit found at Christianbook.com Home. I am an affiliate for Christianbook. By clicking on a link and making a purchase I may earn a small percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you. This helps support this website. Thank you for your support.
In this update to The Practice of Godliness, best-selling author Jerry Bridges explores nine aspects of the “fruit of the Spirit” as described in Galatians 5:22-23. Demonstrating the need for prayerful preparation and careful cultivation, Bridges shows you how to produce an abundant crop where it counts the most – in everyday life!
How are Christians called to live their lives? While there are some Christians who stress the importance of upholding all the rules in order to prove they truly are Christians, there are others who reject the idea of rules or traditions entirely, viewing the point of Christian faith as setting them free from the institutionalized religious burden.The Apostle Paul addresses both of these views by demonstrating a far better and truly Christian way to live our lives—the way of the Spirit of God given to us through Christ. At the heart and soul of Christian living is to “Walk by the Spirit . . . led by the Spirit . . . live by the Spirit . . . keep in step with the Spirit.” In Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit, pastor and scholar Christopher Wright invites readers to live a life in step with the Spirit by cultivating the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Divided into nine chapters, each addressing and surveying the depths and breadth of biblical background to each of the words Paul mentions in his fruit of the Spirit, and including questions for contemplation or discussion, Wright’s book forwards an ideal resource for group studies and pastors alike.
