Musings and Nuggets

But the Lord said to her, My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!  There is only one thing worth being concerned about.  Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."      Luke 10:41-42 (NLT)                                In a perfect world, each one of us would reflect a balanced mixture of the two sisters.  A psychologist or therapist might label Martha as having a little OCD issue since her focus was for everything to be perfect.  Martha was upset because instead of helping, her sister Mary sat at the feet of Jesus as if she were a guest.  Jesus was friends with Lazarus and his sisters, so it probably wasn't His first time being in their home.  Jesus commended Mary for recognizing the weight of the awesome opportunity to sit at His feet and learn from Him instead of being busy with hostess details.  The Thank...

                                       Tomorrow in homes across the country, some tables will be spread with all types of yummy food.  Unfortunately,  for some this will not be the case. Some will have their "spreads" in shelters, hospitals, on foreign soil, or not at all.                                          Thanksgiving is not a Christian holiday.  However, for Christians every day should be filled with  gratitude.  This gratitude has nothing to do with the Pilgrims, Indigenous people, or turkey.  (Side Bar:  Some historians say that turkey was not even on the menu at the first one).  How sad if the attitude of giving thanks is relegated to a date on a calendar.  Psalm 116:12   (NKJV)   What shall I render to the  Lord?...

This is a wonderful prayer for one who wants to reflect the heart of God.  The author is unknown to me.  May it touch your heart .                                                                 HEARTPRINTS Whatever our hands touch We leave fingerprints! On walls, on furniture On doorknobs, dishes, books. There's no escape. As we touch we leave our identity. O God, wherever I go today Help me to leave HEARTPRINTS! Heartprints of compassion Of understanding and love. Heartprints of kindness And genuine concern. May my heart touch a lonely neighbor Or a runaway daughter or son Or an anxious Mother or Father Or perhaps an aged Grandmother or Grandfather.                                      Lord, send me out today To leave...

  For there is no partiality with God.  Romans 2:11 (NKJV) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Those of us who believe the Bible as authentic truth and the final authority,  also believe that all humankind came from our first parents, Adam and Eve.  That should mean that there are not different races...only one human race.  Within the human race are different cultures and traditions.   The part of the Declaration of Independence which includes "all men are created equal" has not been a reality for black and brown people.  As a result, many groups continue to push for recognition, acceptance, and respect. Different does not mean inferior.    The month of November has been proclaimed as National Native Americans Heritage Month by President Joe Biden ...

      "TAB"  is an acronym for " TAKE A BATH ", a spiritiual bath.                                                Some years ago, the Lord "called me out" and really took me "to task" about unforgiveness that I was unconsciously harboring in my heart. He gave me these scriptures.  I did not realize that those things were there and was in denial at first, then horrified by what He showed me. As I cried and repented,  He led to me these scriptures with the instruction to memorize and mediate on them.  The purpose what to prepare my heart and spirit for the spiritual bath and "heart surgery" that I needed.  The process was painful yet eye opening and necessary. I memorized them using the KJV because for me, it had more "teeth".  When the Holy Spirit knew that my heart was adequately prepared, the spiritual surgical procedure be...

                                      Recently I was involved in a conversation where love & happiness were briefly examined.  As I say that, some of you may have a flashback of Al Green singing a song by the same name.  That's okay.  For some of us, it is a classic. By the world's standards, we often hear or see those two words used interchangeably, but are they?  The Oxford Dictionary defines joy as "a feeling of great pleasure or happiness" and happiness as "the state of being happy" thereby being similar to contentment, pleasure, satisfaction and cheerfulness. From spiritual or Biblical perspective, they are not the same.  Happiness is contingent upon external circumstances like an event in in your life or a person.  People and circumstnaces can be fickle.  On the other hand,  joy as a fruit of the spirit is internal, not affected by anyone or an...

 Refiner's Fire                                                                               What is a metaphor?  According to the the Oxford Dictionary it is " a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract."  For example, in scripture, many times fire is representative of the presence of God. In Exodus 13:21,   And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.    God spoke to Moses from a burning bush (Exodus 3:2-6).  On the Day of Pentecost, The Holy Spirit fell as flames or tongues of fire  resting on the heads of those who were present, and they were all filled with the Holy Spir...