Category: Biblical Wisdom

I sat in on an adult Sunday school class a few weeks ago. They are journeying through Genesis, one of my favorite books of the Bible. There’s just so much that happens in that book. The world gets created. Humanity gets created. Humanity falls. The flood occurs and all kinds of other major events.

On this particular Sunday, they were discussing the incident in chapter three, where Eve takes the apple from the serpent and changed human history forever.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I have pictured Eve talking to a snake and taking advice from it, I have found myself thinking she must have been a complete bubble head. What was she thinking? I mean, who would listen to a snake? I don’t even like to be in a room with one under glass.

But, the beauty of community Bible discussion is the facts that get brought out. First of all, we were reminded that at the time, there was no fear between man and animals. In other words, they could literally stroke a lion’s mane as it walked by. Can you imagine?

Then another fact caught my  attention and remained on my mind for days. The Hebrew word for serpent means, “shiny upright creature.” The slithering creature we think of when we think of a serpent, is an entirely different creature.

That information rattled around in my head for days as it made me look at Eve in a different light. Would I be more likely to listen to information from a shiny upright creature than a snake? Probably. No one ever accused Satan of being stupid. Of course, he would appear to Eve in some kind of pleasing form.

I feel like there are at least a couple of lessons in my newfound information.

First of all, it’s always wise to remember that we have an enemy who likes to exploit our weaknesses whatever they may be. To fight him off, we have to stay close to God in prayer and know what the Bible says about how we are supposed to live and act. We can bet that he does.

But, secondly, I am reminded that we have a tendency to try to look down on others for their sins, but rationalize our own. Think about it. When we find out that someone has lung cancer, what’s the first thing we ask? Did he smoke? It’s as if we want to make that cancer deserved somehow. We often have the same reaction when we learn someone has some type of addiction. We like to believe that someone definitely brought that upon themselves.

Eve’s story reminds us that we all have weaknesses. No one is perfect. We are all sinners and we are all capable of falling hard. We all have a common enemy. But, her story also reminds us that there is redemption. God provided clothing for them. He punished them, but He still loved them.

May Eve remind us to stay focused on God and to remember that we all need grace from time to time, whatever our transgressions may be. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

At the weekly Bible study that I attend, we have been talking about the Gospel of Matthew. This week we were talking about the, “eye for an eye” and the “love your enemies,” part found in chapter five. I don’t know about you, but I have always found those verses a little tough to swallow.

Is it truly possible to love those who want to harm us? We can try. One of the ladies in our study pointed out that when we fail, we can just keep on trying. But, is that enough? Can we succeed in loving the unloveable by sheer human grit and determination alone?

I don’t think it’s humanly possible. Forgiveness is not in our nature. Thankfulness is not in our nature. Humility is not in our nature. Selflessness is not in our nature. If you don’t believe me, casually observe any two-year-old child. Me, my, and mine are their battle cry. If we look around, we will find many adults aren’t much different.

But, my pastor tossed out a phrase that really stayed with me. “It’s not natural, but supernatural to walk differently.”

Isn’t that at the heart of what we believe?

While revenge may be our natural tendency, we are able and called as Christians, to tap into the supernatural. Jesus said that, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

So, if we truly want to practice forgiveness, love and thankfulness, then we have to more than strive. We have to pray. We have to read the Bible. Those are the practices that allow us access to the supernatural. Those are the practices that set us apart.

We won’t always get it right, but when we walk with Jesus, we ask for forgiveness and we get back up and continue on a little stronger and wiser and a little more at peace. The beauty of our faith journey is that we never finish on this side of Heaven, but we get to draw a little closer to Jesus with each step along the way.

That thought gives me a lot of hope. Maybe you needed some today too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

My hubby and I have been attending a Bible study at our church. This one is focusing on the close relationship between the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament.

It’s fascinating stuff. When we are able to look back across centuries and see how God weaves His plan throughout history. There’s no way the people living it could see it at the time, but God was at work.

When Isaiah was talking about, preparing the way of the Lord, “Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain,” the people of the time had no way of knowing that he was talking about John the Baptist who would point to Jesus.

In our study, we talked about how we can prepare our hearts for the Lord. What valleys do we find ourselves in that keep us from Jesus? Are they valleys of despair or depression? Are they valleys of guilt? Are they valleys of feeling not good enough? Maybe the valleys are filled with pain.

The Bible says that those valleys will be raised.

What about our mountains? What blocks our path to Jesus? What hinders us? Is it our busyness? Is it pride? Is it anger? Maybe we have been hurt by people of  the church before and just refuse to trust.

The Bible says those mountains will be made low.

The rough and rugged ground may be things that trip us up in our walk. These are things that might interfere with our best intentions. They could be simple things like fatigue or excuses. We have every intention of attending worship services or reading our Bibles, but something always comes up to keep us from it.

The Bible says the rough ground shall become level and the rugged places plain.

It’s amazing how words written thousands of years ago can speak so clearly today and be so timely. When we give our hearts to Jesus, when we surrender our hearts to Jesus, He raises up or lowers, or smooths out. He does whatever heart work that needs to be done.

He did all of that through the cross and because of that sacrifice, He prepared a way for us to be with God. So, now the question becomes what do we need to do to prepare our hearts?

It’s never too late. A Bible study reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Lately our world has been very chaotic. It’s as if somehow the spirit of division and unrest has picked up a megaphone and refused to be silenced. Peace seems like a far away dream at the moment and it is, if we focus on the earthly battles raging 24/7 on our televisions.

But, what if our focus was elsewhere? What if we weren’t focused on electronic media? What if we weren’t focused on the here and now? What if we chose to believe that all of the chaos is a smoke screen delivered by an enemy who wants us to have anything but peace?

Jesus told His disciples that, “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10

What if we are allowing Satan to steal our peace?

If our peace comes from knowing Jesus, then earthly chaos can’t take it from us. If we become sick, we stay at peace, because we know God has a plan and that we are travelers here. In the end, when our bodies eventually die, our souls go home to glory.

If we see storms blowing all around us, we stay at peace because we know that God loves us and will use us in any situation to draw us closer to Him and bring Him glory. Isn’t that what we are called to do as Christians? Isn’t that what Jesus taught during His entire ministry?

“Not my will, but yours;” could possibly be the toughest phrase for any human being ever to utter. It goes against every bit of our nature, but yet, it led Jonah to help save the people of Nineveh. It led Moses to lead the people of Israel out of captivity. It led Christ to the cross that would save us all.

Jesus told His disciples that He offered a different kind of peace, a peace that they could always hold on to and trust.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Perhaps we should ask ourselves if we truly believe His words were true. Do we believe that Jesus calls us to live in peace and without fear? This may take a little soul searching because if the answer is yes, then buying into any kind of panic and chaos is contrary to our faith.

So maybe we should ask ourselves what is it we believe, and then make a choice.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

A few weeks ago, our pastor preached a sermon on believing in God from a distance. I took lots of notes and have reflected on it for the past few weeks.

When most Americans are asked if they believe in God, they will say yes. What would you say if I asked you that question? My pastor’s next question to us was: “What are you going to do about it?”

If we call ourselves believers, how do we reflect that belief back into our world?

My pastor went on to ask questions like, “Do we treat God as just another voice as we live our lives?” “Do we consult Him along with a dozen other advisers?” “Do we seek Him first?” “Do we choose to believe from a distance?”

Although the name Emmanuel means, “God with us,” Jesus has never been one who will claim us against our will. On the contrary, if we refuse to worship God first, He will withdraw from us. The consequences become our own.

Like the people of the Bible, before us, we have a tendency to wander and we have a tendency to turn to idols. It seems to me that our latest American election has become an idol for many of us.

Whether it’s the people marching in the streets in protest, or the people gloating on social media every five seconds that Trump won, when something takes our focus off of God and becomes an obsession, it becomes an idol.

We have an American election every four years. We have for hundreds of years. God was in control when Washington was the first president and God was in control when Trump was inaugurated last Friday.

As Christ followers, we should know that. Have we somehow forgotten? Why are we still talking about an election? It has never been nor never will be a man or woman, who can turn our country around.

Our founding fathers were men of faith. As a nation, we have historically been a people of faith. At one point it permeated everything we did, from the presidency, to the Congress, to the Supreme Court, to the military. We used to pray at school. We used to pray at meals.

The Bible says, ” If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

Perhaps it’s time to close the book on the last election. If it is constantly in our thoughts, perhaps it’s time to re-focus. If it is constantly on our social media, perhaps it’s time to put that down too. The answer to our questions today is the same as it always has been.

The answer is Jesus. If we are walking closely with Him, there’s no room in our hearts for all of the hate and chaos going on, but then again, we know where that comes from.

A sermon and an election reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Last Sunday, one of the teens in my Sunday school class told me she had something to tell me. I kind of chuckled, wondering what it might be. You just never know with teenagers. Their stories can make me laugh, or make me cry, and sometimes make me think.

She ended up sharing a story about visiting a trampoline park over the Christmas break. She said that a song came on, “This is Amazing Grace.” I knew the song and we sang a few lines together. She said when she heard it, she started singing along. But, the more she sang, the louder she got. She said she found herself jumping on the trampolines and singing the song to the top of her lungs.

She said she had no idea why, but she really couldn’t help herself. When the song was over, a little girl who was seven or so, began to follow her around. She didn’t know the child, but wherever the teen went, the little girl went, smiling at her the entire time. She clearly wanted to be close.

The incident remained on her mind for the rest of her break and she really wanted to talk about it. She knew there was something special going on, but wasn’t sure quite what.

I assured her that she was right. I shared with her the story of King David dancing for God after he had been blessed with victory. David was very passionate about His love for God and wasn’t afraid or embarrassed  to show it. The Bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart. She hadn’t heard that story.

I am always amazed at what happens when we willingly give ourselves over for God to use. When we put our worship of Him above everything else, including the opinions of others, beautiful things can happen. The Holy Spirit can get to work and people are naturally drawn to the light they see. It’s hard to resist.

The little girl had no idea why she was drawn to the light my teen friend was shining. She just knew she wanted to be close to it.

Hasn’t that always been the best way to share the love of Christ? When we love Him completely, it changes us. It draws people to us and ultimately to Him.

When we openly praise God, it becomes impossible to focus on all that is wrong in our lives. We are reminded that we worship the God who called the world into being, the same God who calls us by name, the same God who loved us before we were even born.

When we try to wrap our brains around that kind of love, it’s hard not to smile. It’s hard not to rejoice. It’s hard not to embrace. We may even find ourselves singing to the top of our lungs or dancing. The message is just that good.

A teenager reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

P.S. I have attached the song if you would like to hear it.

As I write this, we are a little over a week into the new year. I bought a brand new calendar that I have already begun to fill with school breaks and family dentist appointments. I love a new calendar and all of the possibilities that it represents. What new things will I accomplish this year?

There was a time when I made a list of my plans for the new year. I love making lists, but I found that list making didn’t really help me get new things accomplished. By the end of January, my planned lifestyle changes like doing cardio everyday, never really took hold.

Last year, I tried something different. In early January, I created a slogan for myself, “The year with no fear.” I typed it up and placed it where I had to look at it everyday. It was a visible reminder that God is in control, no matter what. I have to admit that it worked.

Life got kind of crazy last year. I went back to work full time. There was a vicious election. Facebook was covered with negativity, as was the internet. The media tried to convince us that it was Doomsday, yet I held on tight to my little slogan and to the knowledge that God had a plan and I never really worried about any of it.

This year, I am reminded that “the calendar,” and January 1st, are human creations. Humanity along with the weight loss and fitness industry, has decided that January 1st, is the only day that we begin with a clean slate. Last year’s mistakes are wiped away. We get to start on that day with a brand new plan on a brand new path. We are encouraged to make resolutions that lead us to a better life. They can be anything from stopping smoking, to getting a better job, or going back to school.

Resolutions in themselves, aren’t necessarily bad. It’s just that human will tends to be weak. When we find that by the end of February, that we are failing miserably, we often just throw in the towel altogether. We vow to try again next year.

But, there’s good news. Those of us who walk with Jesus, have New Year’s Day everyday. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Because of grace, we can ask for forgiveness for our many failures and begin everyday with a clean slate. We can accomplish what we set out to, when we cover it in prayer and give it to God. There’s a reason that successful addiction programs acknowledge a higher power.

There’s not a lot we can accomplish alone, especially not the hard stuff, but the Bible assures us that we are not alone. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Keeping this in mind, I would like to say, Happy New Year to you, today and everyday. Perhaps you needed to hear it today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

P.S. After a lot of prayer, I’m going to start posting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Thanks to all of you who shared your encouragement and support over the past couple of weeks! God spoke to me through our words. Thanks for sharing. 🙂