Musings and Nuggets

A vow is not to be made without careful thought and prayer of what you are promising.     Ecclesiates 5:2  reads,  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth.  Therefore let your words be few.   Be very careful and prayerful about making a vow to God.  To break it could have dire consequences and repercussions that don't just affect you.  First, let's make sure that we are on the same page as to the Biblical explanation of a vow.  According to Smith's Bible Dictionary , "a vow is a solemn promise made to God to perform or to abstain from performing a certain thing."   Here is an example.    There was a woman who was very ill and her sons came to a pastor (whom they had never met) pleading with him to come pray for her, which he did. The mother promised (vowed) that if the Lord would raise her up and give her another chance that she would faithfully start going to church and give h

  Give us this day our daily bread.   Matthew 6:11 , (NKJV) Photos  In Collaboration with Getty Images on Unsplash Many of us are used to going to the grocery store weekly, bi-weekly, or monthy to buy groceries for our home.  Because of many of the changes in how we do things since COVID, instead of going yourself, perhaps you use one of the many apps to send your list for someone else to "shop" for you.  You may even have them delivered to your home. The above verse from what we call The Lord's Prayer says just the opposite. If we reflect on Isaelites journey in the wilderness, God provided just enough manna (natural food) for that day.  If someone tried to save extra, it was inedible the next day.  The exception was the day before the Sabbath when God provided enough for two days. They were totally dependent of Jehovah Jireh to provide for daily needs. Could this have been a lesson to the Israelites and for us today?  Is it possible that He wants us to be totally dep

During the first three full weeks of May are 3 very important dates and events.. The Ascension of Christ, Mother's Day, and Pentecost.  Christendom will be commemorating & celebrating the day of Pentecost on this Sunday, May 19th.  The disciples were sad that Jesus was "going away". Jesus explained  to them in John 16:6-7 that He was not abandoning them, but that it was necessary for Him to return to the Father since He had completed His earthly assignment.  If He did not go, the Holy Spirit, Who would always be with them, could not come. This is how the Message Bible   records the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:4.     * When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force--no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building.  Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as                 

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come...shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord.                                                                                                                              Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV) There was a time when "church" was one of the places where one could feel relatively safe, irrespective of religious affiliation.  Christian churches, Temples, Synagogues, Mosques, etc. now seem to be fair game for murders and violence.   There was also a time when a parent dropping off a child to school did not have to be concerned about whether that child would get shot and killed at school...never to return home.  The scripture above is a strong declaration of faith and resolve, yet either one of these aforementioned scenarios would put that faith to a serious test.  Thankfully,  I have never suffered in either one of those ways,  ho

  For Everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:  Eccelesiastes 3:14 (ESV) For some of us, Spring has finally arrived to stay for a while.  From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.   Mark 13:28    Perhaps where you are, it already feels like summer.  This is the season when children and educators alike are weary from the school year, and vacation plans are beginning to fall into place.  Sometimes this journey called "Life" is a bit like planning and actually going on a vacation.  No amount of planning can quarantee that there won't be "hiccups" along the way of getting to our destination.  If flying, itineraries can be canceled or changed by the airline.  If driving, construction zones, car issues or inclimate weather can be a "hiccup".    Likewise, we can be sure that as we live out our faith on this side of eternity, there will be &q