Musings and Nuggets

  “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.                                         Matthew 5:13 ( NLT) Tensions and emotions are quite high in our land right now, as well as, other places in the world.  Some because of the aftermath of events such as hurricanes, tornados, droughts, floods, earthquakes, wars, and even rumors of wars.  As we approach the 2024 Presidential Election in America, the temperature of the country is emotionally charged with anger, threats, racial tensions, distrust, fear, and panic. How are those of us who are "called by His name" supposed to respond?  Can the Lord trust us to be salt, light and peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) or are will we be the ones to "agitate and stir the pot" thus turning up the temperature?  Seeing families being fractured and lifelong friendships threatened, is very sad. The inability to disagree

QUESTION:   If we believe that we are truly in the "last days", what would we be willing to suffer in defense of  our  faith?  What is the line in the sand that we are  not  willing to cross?  We are seeing and experiencing "wars and rumors of wars", earthquakes,  famine and other signs, but Matthew 24:6 tells us the "the end is not yet".  Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword.    Hebrews 11:37a  (NLT) Included in what has been called the Faith Hall of Fame, is a list of those who fought, were persecuted,  and even killed because they refused to abandon their loyalty to God .    I was intrigued because I didn't recall reading in the scripture where someone was "sawed in half" as a result of their faith, so I did some research. I t turns out that it is recorded in the Talmud, not the Bible, and that that martyr was the prophet, Isaiah.  Peter   was hung upside down on a cross because he felt unwo

Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.  Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When He appeared in human form, He humbled  Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross.                                         Philippians 2:6-8 (NLT) The Oxford Dictionary defines fully as "completely,  thoroughly, totally and in every respect".  All of the things that Christ suffered during His 3 years of public ministry, He suffered as a human being.  As a man, He was not immune to disppointment, lies, and the physical pain and torture He endured on His way to the cross. Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash We see both His humanity and His divine nature as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to the Father asking if He (Jesus) could avoid the suffering that was ahead of Him.  There we see His humanity.  When He refocused on His assignment in the ea

                                                                                       Photo In Collaboration with Joe Eitzen on UnSplash And the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Suchathites.   1 Chronicles 2:55a ( NKJV) Let me say at the outset that this week's post is a bit of a deviation from my usual content.  When I began studying Jabez, I did not know that there was also a town/city which bore his name located near Bethlehem.  According to Wikipedia there is also a town in Kentucky named Jabez.  It is "an unincorporated community located in Russell County, Kentucky, United States."  The Post Office that was built for this community in 1881 is said to still be standing. It also appears that there have been several people named Jabez including a politician, an actor, a rapper and even a church.  Who knew!?!  From a Biblical standpoint, the only times recorded in scripture where Jabez is even mentioned are found

  And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!"  So God granted him what he requested.    1 Chron. 4:10 (NKJV) When I began to research the background on this Biblical figure,  part of me felt sorry for him.  The name his mother gave him, Jabez (in Hebrew) means "he makes sorrowful" because of the pain she had in birthing him.  Imagine the weight of knowing that your very name means pain . Jabez is only mentioned once in the Bible.  In Verse 9, he was said to be more honorable than his other brothers.  He grew up without a father, meaning he had no father figure to immulate, nor one to leave him an inheritance.   I imagine that his self-esteem was level to the ground.  So, he turned to God as his Father to bless him (territory), to be with him, to protect him, and that he not cause (any more) pain.   Whe

Hummingbirds are mesmerizing and entertaining to me.  One of the many amazing things about them is their memory.  They migrate south for the winter, so as I am seeing signs of some leaves beginning to ever so slightly display their Fall colors, it reminds me that they will soon be heading South for the winter. However, because of their amazing memories, they are able to return remembering the exact locations of the feeders that people like me put out for them to provide much needed *sustenance for their bodies.  Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.  Psalm 103:2 (NLT) 2  When we feel "peppered" with various tests/challenges in our lives, we sometimes tend to loose sight of all of the previous times when God has been faithful. We begin to focus on the size of the challenge we are facing instead of the "bigness" and faithfulness of our God!  We must feed our faith with prayer and scripture, while never losing sight of