Musings and Nuggets

 I decided to do something different this week as summer is coming to an end.  For many of us, this summer has been emotionally challenging of having friends, loved ones, or acquaintances who have passed away...often back to back.                                                                   Photo by   Aaron Burden  on  Unsplash Below you will find a fun Bible challenge which contains 16 books of the Bible hidden within the paragraph.  See if you can find them an have fun!  (I have highlighted a couple to get you started).    "I once made a re mark about the hidden books of the Bible.  It was a lulu.  Kept people looking so hard for facts and for others it was a revelation.  Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books are not capitalized.  But the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers.  To others, it is a real job.  We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you.  Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot.  Others may require judges t

                                                                                Romans 12:9-12 was the scripture reading for one of my recent devotionals.  What jumped out at me was one word in Verse 12 "rejoicing in hope , PATIENT in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;.." (NKJV)  The Oxford Dictionary defines patience as "the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset."   A Biblical definition is "the ability to endure difficult people and situations without giving in to anger or giving up hope".  One writer referred to difficult people as "sandpaper people", because they can easily "rub us the wrong way."  Love (a fruit of the spirit) requires us to  'suffer long and to be kind'  ( 1 Corinthians 13:4a ).  Put quite simply, patience is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit in us.    Romans 5:3 teaches us that "...tribulations worketh patience." (KJV) . 

    ... Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.                                                               Matthew 10:16b. (NKJV) When you join a "club" that no one wants to join, you realize rather quickly that the life as you once knew has changed dramatically.  Every area of ones life is  affected emotionally, spiritually, and sometimes financially.   In reading an article (Sorry, I don't recall the source), I ran across a statement that really resonated with me.  " Grief is your brain trying to reconcile two worlds:  the one with your loved one in it and the one without them." Imagine having to figure out how to navigate grieving/bereavement as a teenager.  Unfortunately, that was my reality at the age of 16 and again at 19.  When there isn't a person in your circle  who can come along side you &   has gone through such an ordeal, you are at a loss of what to do and what "healthy" * grieving looks like. Sometimes people

  But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.   1 Thessalonians 4:13   ( NKJV) If you have never had someone whom you love pass away, you may think that mourning and grieving are the same, however, they are not.  They are two sides of the same coin, bereavement . PsychCentral.com defines grief as "the emotional response to a loss" and mourning as "the outward response to grief."  The internet also puts it this way.  " Bereavement is the state of having lost a significant other to death.  Grief is the loss.  Mourning is the public expression of that loss." Even when we know that the loved one lived their lives for the Lord, there is still an empty place in the family's life.  They may have emotions that seem to be contradictory, yet they are not.  If their loved one has been suffering for a long time, there is a sense of relief that their physical suffering ha

  Scripture encourages us "ask, seek, and knock; to make our requests known to the Lord.  Matthew 7:7-11 reads, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."   He always answers.  Sometimes the answer is "yes", "no", or "wait." James 4:30 puts it this way.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss , that you may spend it on your own pleasures.   According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, the original Greek word for amis in this scripture is  kakos which refers to  "that which is wicked, morally wrong". What happens to our faith when we have asked, sought, knocked and nothing is opened?  Does that mean that God did not keep His Word.  Absolutely not! Numbers 23:19 assures us that God is not a man, that He should llie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent.