E for Earth

We have gotten some rain recently.  Gardens are making lines of green on the landscape.  The lilies have bloomed – one of the signs of spring. The flamboyant trees are becoming red which is a sign that dry season has ended.  Carriacou is a beautiful place to live.  Even in the dry season there is beauty.  The trees are brown and often leafless.  The grass will be dead leaving bare dirt, but mango tress have spots of yellow with ripening mangoes.

God has put unique beauty in every part of the earth. The order seen in the cycle of day and night,and the seasons of the year also reflect this beauty.

The key to this beauty is God!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Psalm 19:1

It is God. . . Who commands the sun not to shine,
And sets a seal upon the stars;
Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the waves of the sea;
Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
Who does great things, unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
Job 9:5, 7-10

He stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing.
He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.
He obscures the face of the full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters
At the boundary of light and darkness.
Job 26:7-10

He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the labor of man,
O Lord, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
Psalm 104: 10, 14, 24

D for Do Not Doubt

I was reading Matthew 21 recently and enjoying Jesus’ talking about having great faith.  As I looked over the verses, this is what I saw.

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.   And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

The words did not turn red on me, but the effect was similar.  I want faith that can remove mountains, but I doubt that God can provide money to pay bills or put food on the table.  I spend time and energy trying to solve my problems.  I pray asking God to help  or to provide, and before the words are out of my mouth, I’m thinking “How can He do that?”

“Do not doubt” – could that be the reason some of my prayers have not been answered?  God can be trusted to fulfil all of His promises.
He does have a disclaimer:  Our requests need to be within His holy will.  If we read His Word, we will not only know what His will is so that we will pray the right prayers, but we will also learn more about God so that we can have greater faith in Him.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
Psalm 9:10

Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
Psalm 37:3-5

Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
John 14:13-14

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 15:7

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly
beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us,
to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations forever and ever.
Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21

C for Confidence

Having or not having confidence influences what we do each day.  We may have avoided speaking in public, didn’t apply for a job, declined to take part in sports, refused to learn new skills, haven’t taken different tests or many other things.  We didn’t do these things because we didn’t feel confident that we would be successful.

God wants us to be confident concerning Him.  He wants us to know that we can have a personal relationship with Him.  We can know that this relationship is possible now.  It is a relationship that does not depend on us doing something special or being a certain kind of person.  It is a relationship that we can have with Him because of who He is and what He has done for us.  Our part is to believe what He says.

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent
John 17:3

By this we know that we have come to know Him,
if we keep His commandments.
The one who says, “I have come to know Him,”
and does not keep His commandments,
is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
but whoever keeps His word,
in him the love of God has truly been perfected.
By this we know that we are in Him
I John 2:3-5

These things I have written to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God,
so that you may know that you have eternal life.
I John 5:13

that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:17 b-19

 More than that, I count all things to be loss
in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,. . .
not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law,
but that which is through faith in Christ,
the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:8-11

 But as many as received Him,
to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name,
who were born, not of blood
nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man,
but of God.
John 1:12-13

These are the first things to learn about a relationship with God.  I pray that you would read the Bible and learn more.

Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

If you have been looking for more study helps while reading your Bible, I am sorry that I have been slow to provide more.  If you look in the Bible Study section in the top bar, you will see Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy have been added.  I do pray that you are learning from the Bible as you read it.

B for Beauty

Women like to be beautiful.  Our beauty is a gift from God.  We enjoy trying new styles and products to enhance our God-given beauty.  This physical beauty is actually rather temporary.

Moreover, the LORD said, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud
And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes,
And go along with mincing steps
And tinkle the bangles on their feet,
Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs,
And the LORD will make their foreheads bare.”
In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments,  dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets,  finger rings, nose rings, festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans and veils.
Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp;
Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.
Isaiah 3:16-24

I know, those verses are pretty disgusting.  That is exactly what caused me to pay attention to them many years ago.  If we depend on the outward things to make us beautiful, we will lose.  Eventually that beauty will fade.  There is a beauty will not fade.  It may even grow more beautiful over time.

Your adornment must not be merely external—
braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart,
with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit,
which is precious in the sight of God.
1 Peter 3:3-4

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Proverbs 31:30

Like apples of gold in settings of silver
Is a word spoken in right circumstances.
Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold
Is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
Proverbs 25:11-12

Keep sound wisdom and discretion,
So they will be life to your soul
And adornment to your neck.
Proverbs 3:21b-22

My son [or daughter], observe the commandment of your father
And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;
Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
Proverbs 6:20-21

Acquire wisdom;
She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty.
Proverbs 4:7 and 9

These verses point us to the things that will give us a lasting beauty.  They are all based on our personal relationship with God.  As we study His word and learn more about Him and how we can be more like Him, we will gain a lasting beauty.  We women can enjoy  and appreciate the beauty  God has given to us and the beauty around us.  We should make the main focus of our lives the Lord and those qualities that He desires to see in our lives which will make us truly beautiful.

A for Almighty God

I thought of doing a post for each letter of the alphabet, and then I noticed that many other bloggers are doing just that.  I am not taking the challenge of doing a post a day, because that can’t happen and I am a day late already.  I will do a series of alphabetical posts.

God is Omnipotent

Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding
Job 38:3-4

This is our chapel theme at school for this month.  These verses remind me of the incredible power of God.  We think we can take care of ourselves and that we know what is best for our lives.  Yet we cannot even hold water in our hand, and God can hold the sea in its place.

Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
And I placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?
Job 38:8-11

Read the last chapters of Job and see some amazing pictures of God’s power.   It is humbling to read about the things that God does so easily and simply compared to the work that it takes people to do the simplest things.  I pray that you respond by allowing God to have full control of your life so that you can be helped by this wonderful, almighty God.

Psalm 91

Security of the One Who Trusts in the LORD.

 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.

 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

 Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.

Self-less love or Self-ish love

My word of the year is love.  I introduced the thought here.

I was recently in the USA.  I had gone up to help care for my mother in what became the last days of her life.  It was the first time in 16 years that I had been in the USA at Valentine’s.  Everywhere I looked was some evidence of the holiday – pink balloons, hearts, flowers, candies.  The airy balloons, especially, got me thinking about love.  If a person’s love is just based on getting these pretty pink and red things, it would be a love as empty as the balloons. I am not against giving and receiving these kinds of things, but real love has to have more substance than that.

These thoughts were contrasted with my experience of seeing a love that was more substantial – a self-less love.  I watched my sister give our mother 24-hour care for the 5 weeks she was hospitalized.  Nurses stayed past their shifts to be an encouragement.  People I didn’t know, but knew my father, came to encourage and to pray.  People provided food.  Others gave money to help with expenses.  My mother was an example of self-less love.  I was reminded that real love, lasting love, is giving not for personal gain but for the the sake of the other person.

My thoughts were also drawn to the ultimate example of self-less love – Jesus.

For God so loved the world, that He gave
His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16

For the sake of all mankind, Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice that would provide a way for people to be forgiven of their sins.  He personally had nothing to gain.  He did it all for our sakes.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

Self-less love is wonderful to receive and blessed to give.  Right on the edge, in a way, is another kind of love – self-ish love.  It is incredible how quickly self-less love can turn into self-ish love.  Instead of giving for the sake of another, we can start looking for what we can receive.  This kind of love is easy to cover up, so we need to be on the look out for it in our own lives.  God’s Word is our help to locate and to change self-ish love.

For the love of Christ controls us . . .
2 Corinthians 5:14

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,
even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
By this all men will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35