Category: Biblical Wisdom

Sometimes the answers we seek to life’s troubles are in the Bible. Can I make a difference? Does God care? Am I good enough?Yes!

Lessons from a Rescue

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes peaceful prayer is the best way to respond to the chaos around us.

My dog Oakley is a rescue. He is incredibly sweet, but unfortunately, very stubborn when he feels there is a threat that he is protecting me from. He often goes after the lawn mower. When we first got him, it was the hair dryer, a leaf blower and the chainsaw.

His latest adversary in his quest to protect me, is the pool cleaner. When he sees water spurting up into the air he runs towards the pool. He will run around the pool continuously barking, until the cleaner stops moving.

There’s no way to communicate with him that the pool cleaner poses no danger. He believes it does.

One day last week, I was in the garden and I heard him excitedly barking at the pool which took me by surprise, because the area is fenced. In his excited, (though misguided), attempt to protect me, he actually broke into the fence through the gate, to take on the dastardly pool cleaner. I was furious as I scolded him and rigged the gate with extra protection to keep him out of the area.

Later, as I thought about it in exasperation, I felt a little heart nudge. How often do I overreact and stress about things going on in the world around me?

I feel that as a nation, we have become addicted to 24 hour news on whichever channel shares our point of view, and isn’t it interesting that whichever way we lean has also found its way onto our social media feeds?

The more time we spend with the news, the more agitated we become. Like Oakley, we often feel the need to charge in and take on the perceived threat. We make hurtful and negative comments that fracture relationships. We must protect our position at all costs!

But to what end?

As Christ followers, aren’t we called to be peacemakers? If we read the Bible, doesn’t it tell us that all authority has been allowed by God? All through the Bible, doesn’t He use leadership both good and bad to achieve His purposes? Can we find even one verse where Jesus screams at the top of His lungs, to follow Him or else?

We find Him leading gently, by example. He didn’t yell at the woman at the well. He had a quiet conversation with her, when the opportunity presented itself. She was forever changed.

Like my pup Oakley, we are all rescues and with that, we have a certain amount of opinions, instincts and baggage. Some of it may be helpful. Some of it is not. Before we charge into the next conversation or comment section to defend our point of view, the best move may be to remember what a dear pastor friend of mine once said,  “It is wise to remember there is an opponent on the field who loves division, lies and chaos.”

Oakley reminded me that peace is rarely achieved through barking. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Desire to Be Known

Posted on by Wendy
Jesus knows your story.

We live in a society where everyone wants to be known. One quick scroll through social media and we find everything from people’s vacation photos to what they cooked last night for dinner. There’s certainly nothing wrong with sharing photos and milestones on social media; I love keeping up with the happenings of friends and family when I can’t see them in person.

Sometimes though, the sharing becomes a comparison game. We want the world to see and acknowledge our perfect spouses, houses, children and lives. There seems to be a deep need for recognition from people.

The Gospel of Matthew shows us another way.

In Matthew 28:1, the text says that, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.”

How would we react today at being referred to as “the other Mary” in an important news story?  Did the writer not know her last name, or did he just not care?

Was it because women didn’t matter much during that time?

While that could be the case, I don’t think it was.

Maybe omitting her last name was on purpose because her last name truly didn’t matter. The story was not about either of the women. It was about the Resurrected Christ.

In Matthew’s account, in ten short verses, these two women encountered angels, saw an empty tomb and then encountered a very much alive, Jesus. When they saw Him, “they clasped his feet and worshiped him.” Matthew 28:9b.

Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:10

Why would Jesus choose to appear to women first if they had no worth?

The Gospel shows us repeatedly that Jesus valued women and that women freely and openly worshiped Him.

Perhaps that humility is why He chose to appear to them first. When they saw Him, they immediately worshiped Him.

These two women literally got to be the first. They were clearly both known by Him and I’ve no doubt that they are now spending eternity with Him.

I suppose we have all felt like the “other Mary” at one time or another. We all know Mary Magdalene’s story. We know nothing about the “other Mary,” but we should be encouraged because the truth is that Jesus knew everything about her.

Another truth is, He knows your name and your story too and in the end, that’s all that matters. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

He is Still in the Boulder Moving Business

Posted on by Wendy
He is still in the boulder moving business.

I recently watched an Easter service where the pastor showed a picture of what the boulder probably looked like that sealed Jesus’ tomb. It was massive. Most internet searches say it would have weighed somewhere between one and two tons.

That photo sprang to mind when I later read Mark 16: 1-3: “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

I marvel at their faith. They loved Jesus. They wanted to serve Him in the best way they knew how, which was anointing His body. They got up first thing in the morning, got what they had together and went to serve. There was no physical way they could move that stone, but they went anyway.

They brought what they had. They showed up and had faith God would too.

Their faith was rewarded.

“But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.” Mark 16:4

Their stubborn desire to serve Jesus with the gifts that they had, gave them a front row seat to the greatest miracle ever bestowed on humankind. In Mark’s Gospel, they were the first to witness an empty tomb.

How often do we make excuses for not being able to serve? We claim that we don’t have enough time, talent, or money. Sometimes we don’t set out on a particular mission because we don’t think we can make a difference. It’s a dark world we live in. Just turn on the news. Can a handful of believers change anything? Is there even a point in trying? Should we just stay at home and pray for Jesus to return?

These three women give us our answer.

We serve a living God who is still in the stone moving business. He moved that boulder on the first Easter morning and He is still moving boulders.

Our job is not to doubt our abilities or focus on our lack of resources. Our job is to bring what we have and serve, no matter how big or small the mission may seem, remembering in God’s hands nothing is impossible. Three determined women reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Jesus Knows Your Name

Posted on by Wendy
We all have a part to play in kingdom work.

I recently heard a sermon where the pastor talked about the account in Matthew 26, where the woman pours very expensive perfume, Nard, on Jesus. While the disciples were appalled at what they considered a waste of precious resources, Jesus praised her.

“Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Matthew 26:13

The pastor pointed out that she has no name in Matthew’s Gospel. We learn in other accounts that her name is Mary, but in Matthew’s account she isn’t named, yet Jesus predicted that wherever the Gospel is preached, we would be talking about her selfless act. Over, two thousand years later, we are still talking about her.

Was the Gospel writer led by the Holy Spirit to know that humanity has a tendency to make idols of just about anything and so decided to leave her unnamed? We may never know.

In the end, it doesn’t matter whether or not we know her name. All that matters is that Jesus knows her name.

That sermon got me to thinking about the countless other people in the Bible who were doing kingdom work but weren’t given a name. There’s the woman at the well who may have been the first evangelist. There’s the boy who gave up his bread and fish to Jesus, all he had, and watched it feed thousands.

Are their stories any less powerful because they aren’t named?

There are the men walking to Emmaus. One of them is named and one was not. Was the encounter any less lifechanging for the traveler not named? Was he less of a disciple of the Gospel going forward?

What about the four friends who lowered their paralytic friend through a roof to get to Jesus? Jesus told them that their faith healed their friend. They too, weren’t named, yet they too, continue to serve as a powerful example of the power of faith.

In today’s society, we can bet the name of the boy with the fish and loaves would be plastered all over Facebook by his parents.

The four friends would likely be on Instagram or Tik-Tok.

We don’t like the idea of obscurity. We want the world to know when we do something we consider important. We crave the praise of others.

Yet, we worship a God whose kingdom has always been contrary to ours. It’s an upside-down concept to for us not get credit. We tend to forget that the only credit we should seek is the heavenly kind.

All of the countless unnamed people in the Bible, remind me that we each have a part to play in kingdom building and there truly are no small parts when we are working for Jesus. Whatever our gifts and talents are, we are called to use them generously, knowing that ultimately the only praise that really matters is getting to one day hear Jesus say: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:23

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Daffodil Reminders

Posted on by Wendy
The days may be dark now, but spring is coming.

I am not a fan of winter. I don’t like cold weather. I typically have no energy in January and February. All I really want to do is sleep. One year, I was so winter tired, I had my thyroid checked because I knew I must have had a physical issue. My thyroid was fine. I’m just not a winter person.

Everything in nature appears dead during the winter. Add in all of the rain we tend to get and the world becomes downright dreary. I am well aware that the rain is good in the long run. I am also aware that winter is part of the seasons that God put into place from the very beginning.

Winter has a purpose even if I don’t enjoy it.

One day this week I was driving into work, running a little late and annoyed at the gray skies above. We were expecting rain for the remainder of the week.

I had been praying that God would show Himself in a way I could reflect back to others. When I arrived,  I took a different path than I normally take when I came upon a patch of daffodils. They looked so bright and cheerful against the gloom. They pointed almost defiantly to better days ahead and even though I was running late, I stopped to take a picture.

I’ll have to admit my spirit felt a little lighter as I said a prayer of thanks for the God wink.

At lunch, for the first time in days, the sun was out and it was warm and so I took a walk through campus. I was delighted to see a tree full of pink blooms standing out against all the other bare trees. As I continued on my way, I caught small glimpses here and there of the coming spring.

In some cases I had to seek them out, but each time I saw one, I felt encouraged. This dark season would not last forever.

The rain is supposed to move back in tonight and last for another couple of days. This weekend’s forecast calls for more cold weather. Winter is not done with us yet, but it won’t last forever.

In life, our winter seasons never last forever either. Even during our darkest times, there are always glimpses of hope if we dare to look hard enough for them. If we seek, we shall find.

God is always with us even when it appears that He is not. Spring will always come. A patch of daffodils reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Evident Signs of a Devoted Faith Walk

Posted on by Wendy
A close walk with Jesus should be evident to those around us.

I recently met a friend of mine for a lunch time walk. She commented on how much she liked my running shoes and asked me if they were new. I told her they were not. I think I have had them for about a year. She asked the brand and said she would have to try it because she has to get a new pair of running shoes every six months.

I laughed about that. I normally have to get a new pair of running shoes every January. The ones from the year before usually have become smooth on the bottom from use.  The truth is I have done very little running in those shoes over the past year. We adopted two new pups and we did some casual walking, but not a lot of running. The shoes still look pristine likely not because of the quality, but because they haven’t been used like they should have been.

A few days ago, I pondered that idea as I was actually using them as they were intended. On this side of Eternity, things tend to show wear with use. A child’s favorite toy will get ragged. Our favorite shirt will fade. Our favorite jeans will get a hole in them. And yes, our running shoes will wear out.

If we live long enough, our bodies will eventually wear out too.

However, wear doesn’t have to be a negative thing. A well used Bible should have highlighter marks and notes written in the margins. A prayer journal should run out of paper from all of the writing. Both can serve as maps for where we have been and where we are going. They remind us of God’s faithfulness in the past and the present. They can serve as hope for the future.

A good leather chair gets more comfortable with every passing year. Its marks and scars soften it and give it character. People of faith should be the same. The longer we walk in faith, the softer our hearts should become. We should become slow to anger and quick to forgive. We have made mistakes and have received mercy and grace. That should make it easier for us to offer them to others. Our hearts have inevitably been broken at some point and so we should be able to offer comfort to the brokenhearted.

With every passing year, the fruits of the Holy Spirit should become more evident in us because they are a guaranteed byproduct of a close walk with Jesus. If we are struggling with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, then maybe we need to lean in closer to Jesus.

The beginning of a new year tends to motivate people to go to the gym. Maybe it should motivate us to work on our faith walk too. A pair of pristine shoes reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Autumn Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
The oak tree in fall reminds us to walk at our own pace. God’s timing is always perfect.

As I was walking through campus last week, I couldn’t help but to admire the beautiful fall trees. There were tall tees and short trees, old ones and young ones, all participating in the stunning fall art show. The leaves ranged from tiny to huge and the colors were all over the spectrum. There were reds, yellows and oranges. Some of the trees were almost bare, having dropped their leaves early. Then, I passed by an oak, that was still mostly green and hadn’t really started to drop its leaves at all.

I marveled a moment at the mighty oak. I doubted that it really mattered to it what the other trees were doing, and whether it was ahead or behind in the seasonal show. When the time comes, it too, will play its brilliant part.

I immediately thought about one of my students who I had spoken with earlier in the week. She told me that all of her roommates and everyone she knew, had it together, knew exactly what they wanted to do and were going to graduate early. She felt that she was behind. I gently pointed out to her that in real life, there is no behind; we are all figuring it out at our own pace and we will all get there.

I also reminded her that social media is just about all, make-believe. Everyone’s life looks perfect on Instagram. She acknowledged the truth in that statement as we made a plan for her next semester.

I often wonder what it is about humanity that makes us determined to compare ourselves to each other. I don’t think there is anything that can kill peace and joy more quickly than comparison, but we tend to be suckers for punishment.

One walk out in creation can remind us that God loves variety. He has His own timing and it is always good. The trees are all sizes and shapes, just like we are. They bloom at different times. Some trees are evergreen and don’t drop their leaves at all and the ones that do, drop them at their own pace and it is good.

There would be nothing magical about the fall if the leaves all fell in the same week or if they were all the same color. The season is beautiful because every tree is different, just the way God intended.

The fall season reminds me to appreciate where I am in life and that comparison is really about questioning God’s plans and His timing for us. The Bible tells us they are always good. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Spider Lily Reminders

Posted on by Wendy
When we walk with Jesus, we should always expect the unexpected.

I was taking a walk last week around the campus where I work. As we approach fall, there’s not a lot blooming. There’s a lot of green still and a few leaves are falling, but there’s not much color yet.

The entire world is embracing orange these days. Pumpkins and pumpkin spice are the flavors of the month. We long for the cooler temps and brightly colored leaves that usher in the fall season.

So when I happened upon a patch  of brightly colored hot pink spider lilies I just had to smile and take a photo. The calendar may say it’s time for the autumnal equinox, but nature seems to have other plans.

I’ve always enjoyed those whimsical flowers. They look like something Dr. Seuss would have dreamed up. The fact that they appear in the fall, really makes me smile.

They remind me that it doesn’t matter how much we plan. We can want a new season to begin with every fiber of our being, but in the end, it’s all in God’s hands. Our desire for control can be so very costly, because in the end, we have very little of it. God apparently likes a shot of bright fuchsia in His fall palette of colors even if the retailers do not.

I’ve learned to expect the unexpected when walking with Jesus and I’m even learning to embrace it. So, I smile at those whimsical bright spider lilies and peacefully wonder, what other surprises might be in store in the coming season. There’s really no way for me to know, but He knows and that’s enough.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Ruth Reminders

Posted on by Wendy
When we listen daily for God’s whispers and follow His nudges, we are often rewarded in ways beyond our imagination.

I’ve recently been reading through the book of Ruth. It’s one of those books of the Bible that doesn’t come up that much. Seas don’t get parted. Manna doesn’t miraculously fall from Heaven. God doesn’t speak in a booming voice, but He’s there just the same and I suppose that’s why it appeals to me so much.

Ruth is a foreigner, a Moabite girl, who marries a Hebrew boy. He and his brother, mama and daddy are foreigners living in her land. They moved there to escape a famine. The daddy dies and within ten years both of the sons die too. The mama is left alone with her two daughters-in-law. She decides to go back home to Bethlehem, (yes that Bethlehem), and tells the two young women to return home to their fathers. One goes, but one, Ruth, refuses.

She speaks words to her grieving  mother-in-law which go on to become some of the most quoted in the Bible.

“But Ruth replied, Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16

Her oath to a God she barely knew, would seal her fate.

There’s something called prevenient grace and it’s a term that means that God is pulling all sinners towards Him and providing for us before we even know who He is. That grace is always at work as it was with young Ruth.

Her husband was dead and she didn’t know the first thing about Bethlehem, yet she felt drawn to her mother-in-law and to her God.

Big miraculous moments always make the headlines as well they should. When God moves in huge ways that we can’t miss, we tend to take notice. But, the truth is, He most often moves in nudges and whispers. Ruth felt some kind of nudge to stay with Naomi. After arriving in Bethlehem, she felt the need to go and gather grain for food for them.

God led with a nudge and Ruth followed every time and in the end, He sent her a new husband, Boaz, and due to her obedient listening, our sweet Ruth, a widowed foreigner, got to be in the direct bloodline of Jesus. Ruth had a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse and Jesse was the father of King David.

The seemingly helpless, hopeless and lost, put into God’s hands, can always be redeemed. Ruth reminds me that God is always at work and even when all we can do is take one tiny step at a time, when we walk with Him, He will always provide and quite often, in ways completely beyond our imagination.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

When the Prayers Went Up the Smoke Went Down

Posted on by Wendy
We worship the God of possible.

I recently attended a weekend conference for my job. I went prepared to meet lots of people, eat lots of food and to participate in light chit chat for a couple of days, which I did. What I wasn’t prepared for was a beautiful testimony of God at work.

On my second night there, I met a woman who has a son at the University of Georgia. She shared with me a fun story about how his summer internship took him to the maker of the Heisman trophy and he actually was able to hold one. They even gifted him with a big gold bulldog. We laughed about how she told him it needed to come back to her house and not go to his fraternity house.

Dinner was announced a short time later and we ended up in line together and I asked her to share her story with my co-worker. We all shared a laugh and ended up at the same table for dinner.

During dinner, she made a comment about having a keen sense of smell before her accident. My co-worker asked her what happened. She casually told us that she had been hit in the head by a fork-life and showed us the indention in her head that she still carried.

Then she told us her story. She told us about being in the hospital for a month and not knowing who her  children and husband were. She told us about a long recovery and as she did, she leaned over and put her hand on my arm and looked me in the eyes with tears in hers and said, “Don’t let anyone tell you that God is not still in the miracle business.”

She said that it all happened in 2007, when much of South Georgia was on fire. When the paramedics arrived they knew immediately that she need to be life flighted to Florida, but the helicopter pilot told them there was way too much smoke to fly.

She said, “but as the prayers went up, the smoke went down.”

She arrived safely in Florida, but they didn’t hold out a lot of hope with her head injury. When she went back to the hospital many months later, her care team was astonished to see her fully functioning. Her surgeon told her he had no explanation for her recovery.

But, she knew and fifteen years later, she was still sharing her story of God’s mercy and glory with complete strangers.

I learned a lot at that conference, but I’ve no doubt that the story of faith and grace shared by a complete stranger will remain with me always, along with her words, “when the prayers went up, the smoke went down.” They serve as a simple, but powerful reminder that nothing is impossible with God. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊