Author Archives: Marie

Unknown's avatar

About Marie

Happily married to the same awesome guy for many years. Love God, reading, cats, and travel. Avid crafter especially counted cross stitch and crochet.

God’s Plan Works

Posted on by

Hands_of_God_and_Adam

“I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything.  Nothing and No one can upset Your plans.  Job 42:2

Are you as convinced as Job that God can do what He says He can do?  I wonder then, why do so many of us who say we believe not trust Him on this?

God had just taken Job to task for trying to explain His motives and actions.  Now, I don’t know about you, but if God appeared to me in a whirlwind or tornado or giant storm I would be listening closely.  Job and his friends were trying to explain the catastrophe of Job’s current life.  God simply  set them straight by asking if they really thought they knew what they were talking about.

Jeremiah gives the same message to the Exiles in 29:11.  I know you know that verse.   God is telling them that He has a plan and it is not to harm them.  In Job’s case God was not causing the harm, the evil one was.  God’s plan was still in place.  He restored Job’s fortune and gave him more children.  He will do the same for everyone if we ask.  Job had to ask for forgiveness because he was trying to say he knew more than God.  The Israelites had to ask for for forgiveness before they were allowed to return to their homeland. (Check out Jeremiah 29:12-13)

All we need to do is trust God to do what He has already planned for us.

Almightly God, help us see that we are not always right in our thoughts of what You are doing.  Help us know that Your plan is already in motion, that it is perfect in every way, and that You know what You are doing.  Open our minds to Your leading.  Make it so in Jesus Name.

This post can also be found in Pondering and Prayer.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Teach Me To See

Posted on by

WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE

Why did this happen? What is going on?  When will it stop? Who is responsible?

We all get trapped in asking these questions when life is closing in and we simply have no answer for what is going on.  We just don’t know yet we know we want to know.

Hidden deep in the Book of Job is a simple answer.   A simple prayer, “Teach me to see what I still don’t see…”  (Job 34:32 MSG)

“God always answers one way or another.” (Job 33:14 MSG) Henry Blackaby in Experiencing  God says God can be ‘heard’ through prayer, Bible study, other Christians, life circumstances, and/or worship.  We must learn to listen.

Abba, Father, open the eyes of my heart.  Help me ‘see’ what you are saying.  Incline Your ear and grant me your peace.  Make it so in Jesus’ Name.

This post can also be found with others like it on the Pondering and Prayer page.

 

Pleasing Who?

Posted on by

Are you a people pleaser?  Should you be a people pleaser?  Who really benefits?  Who are you really trying to please?

Pleasing others, pleasing self, pleasing God…Where does it stop?  Better yet where does it start?  Hebrews 13 is sub-captioned ‘How to Please God’ in Todays English Version of the Bible.  This list of How To’s is good place to start understanding.

First and foremost we are to please God and when that concept is firmly in place it is a natural progression to pleasing others.  So………

Love one another is the top of many of the lists in the Bible.  The easiest way to do this is to take ourselves out of the picture.  An old cliché says “Let go and let God”.  Jesus gave these two commandments – Love God.  Love others.  That pretty much says it, doesn’t it?

Welcome strangers in your homes.  This one gets up close and personal by saying ‘in our homes’.  Ray and I have made this part of our home life and have been blessed by having the opportunity to share and model Jesus to family and new friends from around the world.

Remember those who are in prison as if you were there with them…That speaks for itself yet I’d be willing to say there’s such a prevailing judgemental attitude that even the thought of following through on this is repulsive.  I’m often reminded by the Spirit within…There but for the grace of God go I.  Pray, send a note, visit…

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Heavenly Father, help us to read Your Word with the desire to apply it consistently to our lives.  Show us your mercy as we struggle to put You first.  Help us become more like You.  Grant us Your peace.  We give You praise and thanks for sending Jesus in whose name we pray.  Make it so!

Book Review – New Testament Breakthrough Version

Posted on by

coverfront200

Have you ever wondered why there are so many words in the Bible that seem to mean the same thing but when applied to the passage it doesn’t mean what you think you should?  The author of this translation spent more than 30 years carefully researching word meanings and applying that this work.  His work comes from the fact that the Bible was translated over 600 years ago and the words used then are not the same as they are now.  Word meanings change over time and with that it becomes difficult to know what a word meant 600 years ago and how it applies to life today.  If you want to check this out head over to http://www.breakthroughversion.com and check out the comparison charts.  They are informative and give an excellent picture of how the author researched to make this a usable resource.

With that said let me say that I, personally, believe in the total inerrancy of the Word.  I believe that it is and was totally ‘God-breathed’ as it says in 2 Timothy 3:16.  I also believe it is totally our responsibility, as believers, to check out any passage or translation that does not ‘ring true’ for us with all the resources we have.  So when I had a question about a passage I went to my Key Word Hebrew-Greek Study Bible, any or all of the commentary’s I could find, a variety of other study Bibles, and did on-line research when necessary.  Guess what?  I never found a time when this translation was inaccurate or not applicable.

I received a copy of this Bible from Breakthrough Bible Publishing for the sole purpose of reading and review. The thoughts and comments in this review are totally my own and influenced only by my personal and life experiences.  I have spent the past 6 months using this translation in teaching, study and worship experiences.  It has shed light on some passages and taken me to new thoughts on things I already thought I knew.  It is an excellent resource for any Bible teacher and I am delighted to add it to my library and highly recommend it for yours.

Check out the Blog Hops tab above to see where I’m sharing this post.

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

 

Quit Gloating

Posted on by

Have you heard this? “I knew that would happen!” “S/he got what s/he deserved!” “Told ya!” There’s a word for enjoying another person’s consequences.  Epicaricacy means ‘delight in another person’s misfortune’.

God has plenty to say about this and when that happens we can know where He stands on the issue and what He wants us to do about it.  So let’s dig in…

Do not gloat when your enemy falls

God knows everything, every thought, every moment of our lives.  He knows what we’ve done, said, or thought.  You cannot hide from Him.  Sure, we know when someone has failed or worse, sinned.  God says, “Let Me handle it!”  The writer, Solomon, is saying that if we dish out disapproval  He will turn toward us instead of the person it’s aimed at.  Trust me, I’d rather have someone fail miserably than have God point His finger at me.

If I have rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune...

Job 31 is a list of the ways Job could have sinned and hidden in it is the verse above.  Read the whole chapter and you’ll discover that Job understood, totally, what God wanted him to do and he practised it.  He was not a gloating, self-centered person.  He had a very clear picture of what God wanted and he followed through.

Since God chose you to be the holy people whom He loves

And so, what does God want of us?  We are to be merciful.  We are to choose kindness and gentleness.  We are to model patience.  We are to forgive like God has.

Marie