Category: Biblical Wisdom

My pastor is doing a series over the next few months on the Paul’s letters to the Romans. Apparently, this single book has inspired many Christian leaders to do great things, including John Wesley and Martin Luther.

He started this week’s sermon on how the church during Paul’s day was divided up into two groups. One group was the Legalists who believed if they followed God’s law to the letter, they would be counted righteous and be saved.

The other group was the Fatalists. They believed there was no way they could possibly follow God’s law so they didn’t even bother to try.

Of course, they were both wrong. No one is perfect or can be perfect. But, does that mean we shouldn’t even try?
It amazes me how thousands of years later, humankind has changed very little. Don’t we still tend to fall into groups with those attitudes?

There are those who go to church on Sundays and follow the rules, who are convinced that they need to do nothing more. They have earned their salvation. Then there are those who believe they have done so much wrong in their lives that they can’t possibly get it right. They think that salvation will always be out of reach just because of their nature.

Both groups are as wrong today as they were in Paul’s day. Both groups discount the gift of grace. Since grace cannot be earned, the Legalists have it wrong. Since grace is an undeserved gift, the Fatalists have it wrong.

With that in mind, where does that leave those of us who just hope to stick close to Jesus on our journey here?

Hopefully, it just reminds us some truths we should all hold close. Grace is a gift freely given that we should give thanks for everyday. Our walk with Jesus is an everyday deal not a one time shot. We will wander. We will stumble. We sometimes get completely lost. Even so, we can be forgiven.

Our Christian faith is not a hampster wheel faith that calls us to check boxes and do certain tasks every single day or year, until we are called home. We aren’t saved by our own striving. We are saved by grace and grace alone.

We are saved by the cross.

There are times for many of us, where we may feel more closely aligned with one group or the other, Paul’s message reminds us not to fall into either trap and to stay focused on Jesus.

Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Last Sunday, our pastor spoke of the trials that had befallen a woman who was seeking to answer her calling to the ministry. The more she pursued her calling, the rougher her life had become.

I have also heard him speak of his own early beginnings in the ministry where he loaded up a U-haul truck with all of his belongings along his wife and young family and headed to where he was sent. On the way, their truck was stolen along with all of their earthly possessions.

He talked of being angry and not understanding why God wasn’t rewarding him for being obedient.

But, he also spoke about the amazing grace of a congregation who jumped in and provided for every one of their needs. His family could not have experienced that love, that blessing, if their truck had not been stolen.

The Prosperity Gospel is wildly popular these days. It goes something like, if we follow God, we will receive everything we have ever wanted in worldly goods. Nothing bad will ever happen to us. It sounds so good that it’s very tempting to believe. Unfortunately, it’s contrary to the scripture.

What we find in the Bible, is that the closer we get to God, the rougher life sometimes gets.

My pastor explained it with a football analogy. If you see Nick Chubb run and make a touchdown and feel inspired to play football, then you would join a team. The coach would never give you the football the first day and tell you to run it. There are endless drills, and lots of running, and lots of blood sweat and tears that seem like they have nothing to do with being a star player.

But, the coach knows the truth: Star players are not born. They are built.

Anyone who remembers the original Karate Kid, remembers Old Mr. Miyagi, “teaching” Daniel-San the art of karate. He had him painting fences and waxing cars. It looked to the student like he was simply doing chores. But, Miyagi knew what he was doing and in the end, he was teaching Daniel-San to be a fierce fighter.

And so it is with us in our Christian walk. God wants to make us warriors who can do anything He calls us to do. He wants us to be fierce and wise. He wants us to be able to glorify His name and build His kingdom in any circumstances, not only the ideal ones.

Strength can only come from hard work and perseverance, and overcoming what sometimes seems like the impossible. Fortunately for us, the longer we walk with Jesus, the more we come to understand that nothing is impossible with God.

Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

I recently came across a passage in Matthew 7:24-27. It’s often called, “The Wise and Foolish Builders.” It’s a familiar story for me, one I learned in Sunday school as a child. I think there may even have been visual aids.

Jesus tells the story of a wise man and a foolish man. He says that people who hear His words and put them into practice are like a wise man who built his house on a rock. When the rain came and the streams rose and the wind blew, his house did not fall because its foundation was on the rock.

Then, He says that people who hear His words and do not put them into practice, are like the foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rains came; the streams rose; and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash.

But, as a child, I couldn’t fully appreciate the importance of foundations. Sand and rocks were things I played with, not things I would build on.

Fast forward and I know all about sandy ground and sink holes and what happens when houses aren’t built on sturdy ground.

I’m also much more aware of Jesus’ wording here. It’s not enough to hear His words. In other words, sitting in church once a week, or tuning into a television sermon and simply listening, doesn’t fit the bill. He says to be like the wise man, we must first hear his words and then put them into practice. Hearing is not enough.

Our faith is not passive. It also requires some doing. That doesn’t mean we have to go on mission trips in far off lands. That doesn’t mean we have to become pastors. It means we have to do things like love God and love each other. It means we have to care about the widows and the orphans, and all of those who are less fortunate.

These are the actions that grow our faith and we need our faith to be strong because in both instances, Jesus said the rain and the wind came.

Storms come at us on this side of eternity whether we are faithful or not, but those who are wise and listen to Jesus’ words and put them into practice, are able to stand, for their foundation is built on the rock. That beats the alternative any day.

A story of sand and rock reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy

Sometimes we wonder if God can do big things through us. We reason that we are not great speakers, or great at memorizing scripture, or even strong enough in our faith. There are times when we don’t even feel like we are very good people. But, those are the times when Jesus can really step in and show His power.

The Gospel of John tells us that after the resurrection, some of the disciples decided they were going fishing. They apparently fished through the night and caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Him.

He called out to them and asked them if they had caught any fish and they told Him “no.” He told them to throw their net out on the right side of the boat and they would find some.

They did as they were told.

I think we might be looking at the key to their success. They obeyed Him. They had been out all night and they had to have been exhausted. Haven’t we all found ourselves in similar circumstances? Exhausted. Discouraged. Frustrated.

When we feel raw and ragged, we often want to give up. When we don’t feel up to the task on our own, we are often willing to quit. But, that’s when Jesus can use us the most. That’s when we come to know that our succeeding in His plans for us are not about our own failing human abilities, but His limitless power.

When they obeyed Him, their net was so full of fish they couldn’t even haul it into the boat. Their success was far better than they could have ever dreamed.

The scripture says that there were 153 fish, but the net was not torn, which leads me to believe that under normal circumstances it would have been. Don’t you just love God’s economy? He can use a few fish to feed thousands. He can put an enormous amount of fish, on command, into a net that shouldn’t be strong enough to support them, yet it did.

Just because God created the laws of nature, does not mean He’s subjected to them.

I love this story because it’s a great reminder that we don’t have to be strong enough, smart enough, old enough or young enough to succeed in any endeavor that God calls us to do. We don’t have to be enough of anything because He is more than enough for everything.

And that gives me great encouragement. Perhaps you needed some today too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

I was recently reading the account of Jesus walking on water, found in Mark, Chapter 6:45-52. Jesus had just fed the five thousand. He sent the disciples off in a boat and He went up on a mountainside to pray.

I always find it interesting that Jesus saw the importance of quiet time alone to pray. The disciples were His dear friends and He clearly loved spending time with them and teaching them. He enjoyed community.

Yet, we find over and over in the Gospels, that He intentionally found quiet time not only away from the stress of the crowds, but also away from the companionship of His friends. I feel like there’s an important lesson in there for today’s busy, overscheduled, stressed, believers.

The passage says that when evening came, He was still on the land, but, “He saw that the disciples were straining at the oars because the wind was against them.” If you have ever been in any type of watercraft without a motor, then you are well aware of the importance of the wind and the fact, that you are at its mercy for the most part.

Who hasn’t felt at the mercy of the winds of life? There are times when we feel like the cold, heavy winds will never stop blowing on us. We wonder if we will ever get where we are going as we seem to strain at our own oars, just to keep from getting capsized.

So what did Jesus do when He saw them struggling? He walked on water out towards them.

The passage says that when the disciples saw Him, they were afraid that He was a ghost and they cried out. Turns out that it didn’t matter why they cried out, only that they did. When they openly admitted their fear, He told them, “Don’t be afraid,” which is often the message we get from Him when we are anxious and worried. Maybe we should take note.

Right after He told them not to fear, He climbed in the boat with them and then, and only then, did the wind die down. The text tells us that the disciples were amazed. They had just seen Him feed five thousand people and they were still amazed at His capabilities.

I wonder if we are doing any better today. We read the Bible. We know the stories, but do we truly believe? The Creator of the universe has limitless power. He is not bound by the laws of nature or anything else for that matter. He can still walk on water.

A familiar Bible story reminded me that whatever winds we may be facing, they are no match for Jesus, but we have to be willing to invite Him into the boat with us. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

My family and some of my kids’ friends, spent part of last weekend at my parents’ house. On Saturday afternoon, we did one of my very favorite activities. We sat on the porch, enjoyed the spring time weather and rocked. I flipped through magazines and had a cup of tea and chatted with my mama and my hubby. The kids played on the golf cart.

One of my daughter’s friends once asked her how long we usually stay when visit my parents. My daughter replied that sometimes a couple of weeks and one time, for a month. She was kind of surprised because she couldn’t imagine what there was to “do,” for all of that time, but therein lies the beauty of our time there.

We really don’t have to, “do,” anything. We love being there because we love each other. We love spending time there because we don’t have to prepare for work or school the next day. We don’t have to get dressed up. During the summer, we spend most of our time at the pool, so we don’t care about makeup or what we are wearing.

We often eat sandwiches on paper plates because we prefer to spend time with each other rather than in the kitchen slaving over the stove.

Our time spent with the grandparents has taught my children and their mama, that we don’t have to always, “do,” that it’s perfectly fine to just, “be.”

That’s a concept that’s often lost in our busy world. We are always on the move striving and working for more. Happiness is always just around the next bend or over the next hill.

We forget that God calls us to be still.

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

But, being still comes hard for us these days. We are over scheduled and overworked. We are exhausted and our kids are just as tired as we are, yet they sleep less, and go and strive more.

Perhaps, one of the greatest gifts we can give them and ourselves, is teaching them the peace that comes from sitting on a porch in a rocking chair with nothing to “do,” but enjoy the day and “be,” with the ones we love.

When we learn to be still, we can feel the God nudges that we often miss in our whirlwind of activity.

A Saturday afternoon spent on a porch reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Last weekend, we were blessed with a beautiful, sunny day. My family spent the entire day in the yard working on various projects. One of mine was raking leaves and removing debris from under what used to be a deck. I wore hiking boots and work gloves and was ever mindful of where I put my hands.

Another project was relocating a fire pit. It consisted of many stacked rocks which had become covered with leaves. I kept a shovel close by just in case.

Anyone from the Deep South can tell you why I was being so careful. Anyone from my area of the world who has spent much time outdoors, can tell you what warmer temperatures bring out. Snakes. On my particular piece of earth, it’s copperheads.

Now copperheads aren’t like rattlesnakes. They don’t give you a courtesy warning alerting you that they are nearby, and they a perfectly colored to blend in with the leaves. Whether or not they are aggressive, if you accidentally pick one up or step on one, you will get bitten.

So, I was very vigilant. I dressed appropriately. I watched for snakes. I kept something I could use as a weapon close by at all times. I didn’t stop working  out of fear. I didn’t avoid my yard or creating what I wanted to create, I was simply prepared for trouble. I wasn’t overly anxious about it, but I was prepared.

As I went about my work, I was reminded how our spiritual lives are very much like my backyard and the tasks I was performing. All Christians have a common enemy who lurks in places, close by, but usually our of sight. Like the copperhead, He too, can sometimes blend seamlessly into our surroundings and attack without warning.

Yet, we are not called to fear him. We are not called to cower indoors afraid to do the kingdom work for which we have been designed. We are called to be vigilant. In Ephesians 6:10-17, the Bible reminds us that Christians are not fighting flesh-and-blood enemies. We are fighting enemies in the unseen world. It also reminds us that we can protect ourselves with the Armor of God.

We are told to protect ourselves with truth and the righteousness of God. We are told to use the gospel of peace and the shield of faith. We are told to use the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God and to pray and be watchful.

We have lives to live. We have work to do. We have a loving God who offers us protection. We need to be sure to take Him up on it.

A day of yard work reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂