John 10:27-30

 Hi There!  This is my first blog for the year of 2023!  I've slipped up.  Hopefully I will do much better this year than I already have.  :) 

The last couple of days I've been reading the red letters.  I've been in John, reading what the beloved disciple chose to record about our loving savior.  Fascinating!  His words were very much to the point. Patient, yet stern.  In John 10, John tells us that it was during the Festival of Dedication.  According to Strongs, this was "a ceremony of great importance to the Jewish people.  It originated at the dedication of the temple after its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes.  The Jews underwent severe persecution by this ruler.  A number of years later a priest named Mattathias led a revolt, later continued by his son Maccabeus, that ended this persecution. Following this victory, the temple was cleansed, and a ceremony was held to mark its rededication.  Jewish tradition holds that when the lamps were lit, there was enough oil for one day...yet they burned for eight days."  Fascinating, right?

So Jesus was at the temple for the Festival of Dedication, and it was winter.  He was walking in Solomon's Colonnade, and the Jews surrounded him.  They asked, "how long are you going to keep us in suspense?  If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."

Can't you just see His face?  He answers, "I did tell you and you don't believe.  The works that I do in my Father's name testify about me.  But you don't believe because you are not of my sheep.  My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me."  I'm gonna stop right there.  It gives me such a feeling to know that HE KNOWS me!  The maker of the universe, the creator of all things KNOWS me.  I am in awe of this...and so very unworthy.

I want to take a deeper look at the passage that begins with this incredible statement.  Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.  No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  I and the Father are one."

hear:  accept, listen, understand

know:  receive knowledge of

follow:  to continue to the end; to follow behind or intently after

eternal:  long ages/everlasting

life:  physical life/existence

perish:  to destroy fully

snatch:  to seize, carry away by force

Father:  creator, preserver, governor of all men and things; watching over them with paternal love and care

one:  same, single

So let's see what we have when we put in the Greek definitions of the highlighted words in the passage.

My sheep (accept, listen, understand) my voice, I (receive knowledge of) them, and they (continue to the end [with] me.  I give them (everlasting) (existence), and they will never [be](destroyed fully).  No one will (seize, carry away by force) them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.  No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  I and the (creator, preserver, governor of all men and things; watching over them with paternal love and care) are (the same, single).

                                                                                                  James 10:27-30

"I and the creator are the same."  So miraculous that He would CHOOSE to come down here...leave His throne and the beauty of heaven...to live as one of us, to die the most gruesome death ever to save us.  And He loves us anyway.  He made such a sacrifice and I look around me at all the people in today's day that don't even give it a second thought.  Yet He patiently waits for them to know or remember.  That is love.  A love we, as humans, will never fully understand.  But we should love because He first loved us.

Ephesians 6:11-20

 Hello My Friends!  Today we are in Ephesians Chapter 6.  There is so much to unpack here, but today I will just skim the top.  

Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.  For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.  Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace.  In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit--which is the word of God.  Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.  Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.  For this I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.

We've all heard this and read this a million times...Put on the whole armor of God.  I use the Christian Standard Version for this blog, and I have to say it makes things a lot clearer when it comes to the armor and it's purpose.  

For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.   The NIV tells us this way:  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  But I like "having prepared everything, to take your stand." This tells us to prepare everything.  We cannot just go up against our enemy, who Paul tells us is "not flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens."  Each and everyday we must prepare for battle, if we don't prepare, we will lose and lose big.  

How do we prepare?  With truth like a belt around our waists, with righteousness like armor on our chests, sandaled with the readiness for the gospel of peace.  In EVERY SITUATION take up the shield of faith so that we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  We can do nothing at all in this battle if we do not have a shield of faith over our hearts that will stop "the loser's" flaming arrows.  

Then the helmet of salvation and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT...the Word of God.  Without knowing God's Word, we are left to flounder around from idea to idea, not knowing anything that is good.  There will come a time, dear friends, when we may not be able to open our Bibles and read the Word like we do now.  It is our job to "write these words on our hearts".  It is this truth that will get us through.  Why?  Because Jesus is in those Words...Jesus IS the WORD.  Every time we open the Word, we draw near to Him, sitting in His lap like a child waiting for a story.  We are His children and He longs for those times.  May each of us long to open His Word, sit in His lap, and listen to the stories of His love and kindness, fierceness and strength.  He is all we will ever need.  He longs to be with us.  Longs to be your last thought at night and your first thought in the morning.

We are also told by Paul to pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.  Paul wants us to be aware of all around us and continually pray for them.  That is my goal for this week.  Move away from ME and toward THEM.  Pray constantly for all around me.  

May each of you have an incredible week.  I pray that you find Jesus in all you do!

Until next time,

Terrie

Ephesians 5:8-11

 Hello Friends!

Today we are in Ephesians Chapter 5.  According to Strong's, Ephesus was the capital of the chief province of Asia.  It was located about one mile from the Aegean Sea.  The temple of Diana (Artemis) was important to the commerce of the city because the Mediterranean world considered it to be such a sacred and impeccable institution that it became the chief banking establishment in all of Asia Minor (which modern day Turkey).  The great number of pilgrims that came to worship at the temple also bolstered the economy in Ephesus.  In fact, the population of Ephesus is believed to have exceeded a quarter million.

In his second trip to Ephesus, Paul stayed for three years.  He was forced to leave by a mob of merchants who were making and selling statues of Artemis and, seeing so many of the population turn from that cult and follow THE WAY, became fearful of their income.   

When I take into consideration where he was teaching and the number of people he was teaching to--all of them in the dark the first time he entered--I can't help but be amazed by him.  He had no fear.  He truly lived by scripture.  In Psalm 118:6 we read, "The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear.  What can mere people do to me?"  He paraphrased this scripture in Romans 8 when he said, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"  I wonder:  Did he quietly pray Psalm 118:6 each time he stepped before a crowd and faced down evil in its own territory?

                                                                                                      

Look what he writes:  "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the LORD.  Live as children of light--for the fruit of the light consists of goodness, righteousness, and truth testing what is pleasing to the LORD.  Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them.  

darkness - Greek 4655:  Moral darkness, the absence of spiritual light and truth 

light - Greek 5457: to shine, make manifest especially by rays 

light - Greek 4151:  breath, light, spirit, Holy Spirit

goodness - Greek 19:  active goodness; benevolent  

righteousness - Greek 1343:  character, conduct:  being just as one should be, uprightness

truth - Greek 225:  what is not concealed, but open and known; true

in - Greek 4790:  to share in company with; to partake; to participate

"For you were once (the absence of spiritual light and truth), but now you are (shining) in the LORD.  Live as children of the light--for the fruit of the (Holy Spirit) consists of (benevolence), (uprightness, being just as one should be), and (what is not concealed, but open and known) testing what is pleasing to the LORD.  Don't (share company with) the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them."                                                                                                                          Ephesians 5:8-11

Friends, this message is very real today.  We live in a nation that says it is alright to kill a baby (in some states) up to the day of his birth!  There is great darkness in our land...but we have the Light!  We must be the goodness, the righteousness, and the truth that the people around us see.  (Believe me...I know it's hard.  In fact, I'm struggling with this now.  I am so weak when it comes to this.  I can only pray...over and over and over again...that everyone I cross paths with sees those things in me.  NOT what they've been seeing.) If we don't show them who Jesus is through our actions and our love...our goodness, righteousness, and truth...how will they ever know?  

We're searching for Jesus...we know we need Him in everything we do and say and experience...but most of them don't.  It is my prayer that as we go out into the world armed with the goodness, righteousness, and truth we were gifted by the Light Himself, we will be so different that people will want what we have.  We have Christ...they need to have Him, too.  Remember, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." (John 1:5)

Until next time, My Friends!  May you seek AND FIND Our Savior!

Terrie

"He Heals the Brokenhearted and Bandages Their Wounds"

 Today I said good-bye to a dear friend.  One I have known since she was three-years-old.  Her mom was my Camp Fire Leader, and Betty Kim always came to our meetings.  The memory of her standing in the doorway of their den, watching from afar, and then making her move down the steps as, in her mind, a member of our troupe has, for some reason, been emblazoned in my mind.  She will always be that little girl, but that little girl grew up.  

She grew up and became an incredible mother who focused solely on her daughter.  She loved the unfailing, totally unconditional love of a mother...and did it brilliantly.  Betty and Taylor were a beautiful example of motherhood and friendship.  Though Betty has not yet crossed through the veil to eternity, I am heartbroken for her daughter and her sister, my dear friend...I am heartbroken for myself.  When she steps into heaven, we will be left behind.  

But God is so good, isn't He?  In Psalm 147, the Psalmist says, "Hallelujah! How good it is to sing to our God, for praise is pleasant and lovely...He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.  He counts the number of the stars; he gives names to all of them.  Our LORD is great, vast in power; his understanding is infinite."  He names each of the stars that He has slung into the heavens with His own powerful hand.  If He cared enough to make sure EACH of those stars had a name, just imagine how much He cares for His children.   

I am certain that He sits next to my friend, Betty Kim, on her bed holding her hand.  He loves her deeply, and He is whispering to her, "It's alright, My Child.  I am here.  Soon you will be home.  It is alright.  I am with you."

Though the pain is heart-wrenching, the sure knowledge that He is comforting everyone in Leslie's house gives me peace.  In a short while, Betty Kim will be divinely healed of the Lung Cancer that has consumed her.  She will no longer have pain, and she will be laughing and talking with her Mother and her Dad.  She will be free.  

As He closes the veil behind her, our loving Father will step into her empty space, and heal the broken hearts left behind.

He is loving, faithful, and true.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  I give praise for His faithfulness and His never ending love.  

Until next time, My Friends.  

In Search of my King and Savior,

Terrie

Colossians 2

 Hi There, My Friends.  I seem to be moving away from Isaiah and on to other things for now.  Perhaps I'll move back, but Paul seems to be calling my name.  Today I have been reading Colossians 1 & 2.  

In Chapter 1, Paul tells us, "He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves."  I marvel at this.  In Isaiah, God speaks about a vineyard and how He worked hard and did all that was required to make that vineyard grow beautiful, luscious grapes.  But it didn't.  He asks what more He could have done.  Then He says there was nothing.  So He decided He would basically bulldoze the vineyard and get rid of it.  That vineyard was Israel.  His beloved.  He did bulldoze it and sent it away.  

But He didn't ever give up on it...not really.  Because 700 years later He sent His one and only son "making peace through His blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:20

Don't you find His love and kindness so AMAZING??  We can say, "Even Though..., He loves us."  Even though we so grievously hurt His heart, He stands and waits for us to knock on the door so He can let us in because He loves us.

Paul writes:  "For I want you to know how greatly I am struggling for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person.  I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery--Christ.  In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."  Colossians 2:1-3

I think this is why I keep moving more and more to Paul.  He wrote this letter from prison.  He was experiencing great suffering, but he still found his peace and joy in Christ.  He never shifted his eyes away from the Savior.  May we all have that strength in the coming days.  As the days grow darker, remember:

"He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into (light) the kingdom of the Son he loves."  Keep your eyes on Jesus...the light and the truth.  In Him we can get through anything...can't we?

In Search of Christ,

Terrie

Psalm 86:11-13

 Today I think I've discovered "my passage".  After reading several chapters in Isaiah, I moved over to the Psalms.  I got to Psalm 86:11-13 and verbally said, "WAIT!  Stop!  I love this!"

Teach me your way, LORD, and I will live by your truth.  Give me an undivided mind to fear your name. 

Let's just stop right there for a moment and look at all David has packed into TWO sentences:  TEACH me YOUR way, LORD.  Teach me how to be like you...isn't that what we should strive for each day?  Jesus was blameless, sinless, and who God said, "In whom I am well pleased.".  So, I should begin each day saying, "Teach ME your way, Lord."  Teach me to be like YOU. 

But we aren't even finished with the first sentence.  "...and I will live by your truth."  Everyday I MUST be in the Word of God to learn HIS truth.  To learn everything I need to know to get through each and every day...His Word is Living and I MUST apply it to my life everyday.  As these days get darker and darker, I am starting to see that His Word is the ONLY way I will be able to get through the injustices that are ahead.

This leads me to the SECOND sentence:  "Give me an undivided mind to fear your name."  I cannot become someone who thinks God is all unicorns and rainbows.  That is taught a lot today in the church.  He is NOT.  While He loves us deeply and will do anything for us, He is also a fierce Warrior who is coming back sooner rather than later, and when He does it is not going to be pretty.  In fact, we see in Isaiah 3 what can happen when God gets enough...

Note this:  The Lord God of Armies is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah every kind of security:  the entire supply of bread and water, heroes and warriors, judges and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders, commanders of fifty and dignitaries, counselors, cunning magicians, and necromancers.  

"I will make youths their leaders and unstable rulers will govern them." I'm gonna stop right there, sound familiar?  Just asking?

I never want to lose sight of how scary it can get when my God has had enough.  I want to revere Him for who He is...the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth.  He called this world into existence with only a simple word.  He is mighty and honorable and all-powerful. I do NOT want my mind divided.

Let's keep going:

I will praise you with all my heart, Lord My God, and will honor your name forever.  For your faithful love for me is great, and you rescue my life from the depths of Sheol.  

Yes...I will praise Him with my whole heart, and honor HIS name forever.  His faithful love for me IS GREAT, and HE rescues my life from the depths of death.

He is worthy of all the praise and honor I can manage to heap upon Him every single day of my life.  My new prayer for each day will be this:

Teach me your way, LORD, and I will live by your truth.  Give me an undivided mind to fear your name. I praise you with all my heart, Lord My God, and honor your name forever and ever and ever. For your faithful love for me is great, and I will always love you and honor you.

In Search of Christ,

Terrie

isaiah 2

 Good morning!  Today we look at Isaiah chapters 2.  I find it fascinating how we could take out Judah and Jerusalem and insert United States and any city we wanted and it would apply to us today.  I've heard teachers say that God works on timelines and cycles.  It seems to be very true.  Look what we're told in Chapter 2:5-8:

             House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the LORD's light.  For you have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of divination from the East and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines.  They are in league with foreigners.  Their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no limit to their treasures; their land is full of horses, and there is no limit to their chariots.  Their land is full of idols; they worship the work of their hands, what their fingers have made.  So humanity is brought low, and each person is humbled.  Do not forgive them!

light:  meant as light itself. The pillar of fire was a light for the wandering Israelites in the wilderness

abandoned: to leave alone

fortune-tellers:  Its unclear the divination this is speaking of, but it is very clear that it was detested by God.

league:  It signifies the clapping of hands in derision or disrespect, sometimes accompanied by hissing.

foreigners:  Stranger; refers to someone who is not part of the family

land: A noun meaning the earth.  It is used over 2,500 times in the Old Testament.

idols:  good for nothing, false god, worthless

worship:  to bow down, to prostrate oneself, to crouch, to bow down, to humbly beseech

hands:  Often occurs in the Old Test literally meaning the strength of their hands

make:  to do,  to accomplish,  to achieve, to make

humanity:  the human race;  the word is used to signify a human man not a woman

each: a masculine noun meaning a man or an individual.  It is also used to mean male or husband. Does not indicate humankind, but the male gender in particular.

humbled:  to depress or sink; to humiliate, level, bring low, fade, send down, stoop down

forgive:  to lift, to carry, to take away

So when we enter our definitions we have:

House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the LORD's (pillar of fire).  For you have (left alone) your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of divination from the East and of (very bad things detested by God) like the Philistines.  they are (clapping their hands and hissing in disrespect) with (strangers who are not part of the family).  Their (earth) is full of silver and gold, and there is no limit to their treasures; their land is full of horses, and there is no limit to their chariots.  Their land is full of (good for nothing, worthless false gods); they (bow down to) the works of their hands, what their fingers have (accomplished).  So (the human man) is brought low, and (the individual) person is (humiliated, dent down, depressed, or sunk).  Do not (lift, carry, or take them away)!

WoW!  What an insightful passage.  See how it could be applied to today?  How our country...even the world...has fallen.  Let me show you something else I found this morning in chapter 2...

"Put no more trust in a mere human, who has only the breath in his nostrils.  What is he really worth?"

                                                                                                          Isaiah 2:22

breath:  breath, wind, spirit

nostrils:  nose, nostril, anger

worth:  passive verb meaning, being valuable or considered

I've heard a couple of prophets bring GOD's Word and He has told us not to put our trust in Trump...he is a mere man.  Trust in GOD.  (When the elections first took place and I found myself in such a terrified position, the first time I heard this from the Spirit through a prophet's mouth it stood as a stark reminder to me.  Nothing happens on this earth that God doesn't allow in some way.  He is the all powerful Father.  HE is the One I should be trusting, not a human being. ) So I began to change my way of thinking.  

But I was so shocked...and I don't really know why...when I read this admonition in Isaiah.  Friends, we are children of the Most High God.  The Only One who is high and lifted up!!!  So...when you go to the grocery store and the shelves don't look like they used to.  When you lapse and turn the fake news on and your heart starts beating real fast and you feel fear forming in your feet and rising quickly throughout your body, put no more trust in a mere human, who has only breath in his nostrils.  A mere human can do nothing for us...we fight against an unseen realm.  Please join me and put your total trust in Our Most Loving Heavenly Father, King JESUS!!!!!!  Who WAS, who IS, and who IS TO COME!

In Search of Christ,

Terrie