Category: Our Exceptional God

Is There Good News Today?

Is There Good News Today in the World?

there is good news

Yes, there is!

Today, and every day.

Even though the world is dominated by negative stories in the mainstream news media, there’s an antidote for that.

But, you have to do some digging.

Online, that means you have to search a little harder for stories that are uplifting and joyful.

Let me start.

Here’s a recent real headline, for example, that made me smile.

A friend mentioned it to my husband the other day and I had to check it out for myself.

Coronavirus outbreak spurs record Bible purchases: ‘People are looking for hope’ – Fox News, April 2, 2020.  

By the way, a similar headline was also shared on the Christian Post on April 7th of this year.

Bible sales have gone up!

More and more people are turning to the Bible during these unsettling times.

People are looking for real answers today, not a temporary Band-Aid.

We can’t put our hope and trust in so-called experts and politicians who send mixed messages every day.   

Our hope and trust is in God alone.

We Must Keep Our Eyes On Christ

Remember the Lord’s command to Israel through His servant, Joshua.

He is also with us!

In Isaiah 41:10, the Lord’s command and promise to Israel was not, “do not fear, for I am with you [unless there’s a plague.]”

God is our Sovereign Promise Keeper, from biblical times through today’s virus fears.

“Be Strong and Courageous” – let that be our rallying cry in what is ultimately a spiritual battle unfolding in front of our very eyes.

The tender love of God for His servants makes Him concerned for how they feel inside. He wants them to be courageous. Some people think it is okay for a believer to be vexed with doubts and fears, but God does not think so.

From this text, [Joshua 1:9], it is clear that our Master does not want us entangled with fears. He desires for us to live without fretfulness, doubt, and cowardice. Our Master does not think as lightly of our unbelief as we do. When we are despondent, we are subject to a grievous ailment that is not to be trifled with but instead taken at once to the beloved Physician. – Alistair Begg, Christian pastor and author.2

Time To Dig – There’s Good News Today

Seek out the good news online to get a much-needed break from the bad.

In an earlier post on Delight-in-God, I suggested one option – the website called InspireMore.

There are also some very positive posts on YouTube.

Here’s a sweet video that came up during my searches that I just fell in love with.

I can’t speak the language, but no matter.

This marriage video of a special needs teacher is touching in so many ways.

Here’s a dose of happy for today!

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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 Quotation from Alistair Begg, Christian pastor, author, founder of Truth For Life Teaching Ministry. Web. Accessed 20, May, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/truth-for-life/truth-for-life-may-12-2020.html.

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Keeping the Bible in Context

studying the bible in context

The Importance of Keeping the Bible in Context

Has anyone ever put words in your mouth?

You know, when they take something you’ve said, and twist it into an entirely different meaning than what you intended.

Frustrating, right?

I can only imagine that our Sovereign God isn’t pleased when we do the same thing to Him.

The last thing we want to do as Christians is misuse His words in the Bible.

That’s why keeping the Bible in context is so important.

“Context, context, context,” as they say.

The Bible in Context

the bible in context

When I first started reading the Bible from cover to cover this year, it was a bit of a struggle in the OT portion.

The many ruling kings (some good, mostly bad), the countless geographical references, expansive genealogies, and cringe-worthy barbaric cults were overwhelming to read about at times.

I needed help, and was fortunate enough to find it.

I’d like to share with you a resource I found for studying the Bible in context.

It’s an option you might want to consider, especially when reading through the Old Testament.

A Method for Understanding the Bible in Context

Here’s some simple steps that worked for me:

  1. Maps and photos
  2. Timelines
  3. Context source

Step #1: Visual Guides, Such as Maps and Photos

On your search engine, (I use duck duck go), search for a map of the Bible region or topic you’re studying (the Exodus route, for example).

I saved several colorful maps on my desktop so I can pull them out for easy reference. As a visual person by nature, the maps and photos are extremely helpful.

Step #2: A Kingly Timeline

As you read through the Old Testament, you’ll learn about the many kings of Israel and Judah, as well as other regions. It can be hard to track who’s who in the kingly successions so conduct a computer search for a timeline of the succession of OT kings to help you.  

Step #3: Check Out The Following Website

The following resource is my favorite place for studying the Bible in historical context. You can find it here at https://enduringword.com/.

Go all the way down to the bottom of their landing page.

There, you’ll find a description for almost every verse in the Old Testament, and all of the New Testament.

understanding the bible in context

I started out just using the pastor’s notes which you can find simply by clicking on the name of the Bible book you’re studying.

But, even better:

Click on a green audio icon that you see in the photo above. That click leads you to an engaging expository sermon for at least two Bible chapters a day. Pastor David Guzik’s engaging teaching style brings the biblical events alive as you follow along with him and take notes.

keeping the bible in context

Reading the Bible from cover to cover this year has been an enriching experience.

Every day, I look forward to discovering what God is saying to us through His Word. If you think these steps may be helpful to someone else, please don’t hesitate to pass them on.

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* Enduring Word website – personal computer photo. Courtesy of The Enduring Word Bible commentary, Pastor David Guzik. © Copyright – Enduring Word. Retrieved from https://enduringword.com/

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Sight And Sound Theater Jesus

Sight and Sound Theaters Jesus

Sight and Sound Theater Jesus: Perfect for the Entire Family

Would you like to hear some good news?

Encore! Encore!

The amazing Sight and Sound Theater Jesus event is coming back for an encore performance this Wednesday, May 13th at 8 p.m., CST.

Your entire family can watch this captivating stage production at home, for free, exclusively on the TBN network.

Trust me, you don’t want to miss this!

It’s like being at a Broadway play, but right in your own living room.

You’ll be enchanted as the larger-than-life cast presents a beautiful retelling of some of the remarkable events in the life of Jesus.

I felt truly blessed after seeing it.

Sight and Sound Theater Jesus Reviews

The Sight and Sound Theater Jesus broadcast debuted this past Easter to rave reviews.

Upwards of 3 million people tuned in.

I was so captivated by the show that, afterwards, I started searching on how I could buy the DVD for our personal video library.

Amazing Cast

Sight and Sound Theaters “Jesus” is a grand scale production, featuring large sets, beautiful music, over 40 actors, and all kinds of interesting animals, large and small.

Live animals!

Which begs a question, I had to find out how they pulled this off.

How did they get all of those animals to behave during live performances with a crowd of 2000 people in the audience?

Here’s your answer – a fascinating behind-the-scenes look.

On a personal note, I’ve seen several musical productions, Broadway and otherwise, but this one really captured my heart.

I even have a favorite scene and there’s no hiding it, I cried.

Many voices rising up in praise when Jesus was resurrected still gives me chills.

Felt like Heaven!

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The Lord Is My Shepherd Forever

Why The Lord Is My Shepherd Forever

The Lord is my shepherd forever

My defender, my protector, the Lord is my shepherd forever

Psalm 23 has always been dear to my heart.

The entire psalm talks about trusting our Savior – as an illustration that we can rest in Him, no matter what life brings.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”– Psalm 23, (NASB).1

In fact, history tells us that a shepherd will do anything to protect his sheep, even lay down his life against a predator.

The Lord is my shepherd

The Lord Is My Shepherd Song

With the comforting picture of Jesus as our Savior in mind, I recently found a beautiful Christian song to share that I have literally listened to over and over.

Turn it up if you can.

The song is from Nashville Life Music and it’s called, “Shepherd.”

It really blessed me, and I hope you find it as uplifting as I do for the days ahead.

Make sure you check out their new album, “Here For Jesus” that will release May 15, 2020. In addition, the Nashville Life Music group is nominated for a GMA Dove Award for their song, “My God.”

Furthermore, here’s a fun fact you may not know: The group started out nine years ago in gospel legend, CeCe Winan’s living room.

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*Opening Shepherd photo is free to use, licensed under under a Creative Commons CC0 License.

1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. 

2 Quotation from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, Web. Accessed 29, April, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/shepherd/. Sheep photo is free to use, licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 License.

 

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Seeing 20/20 In 2020

The Eyes of Faith – Seeing 20/20 In The Year 2020

having clear vision 20/20 in 2020

We used to love watching hawks fly around at our old house.

Have you ever seen a hawk up close?

They are truly fascinating birds of prey.

Fascinating, but take it from me, they don’t pick up after themselves.

Seriously.

Once we saw a hawk with a snake in its mouth land directly on our back fence.

We quickly grabbed our binoculars to see what cool thing it would do next.

It didn’t take long.

It dropped the snake in our yard, and then flew off.

Hey, not cool.

You can see one of our frequent hawk visitors in the center of the picture below.

seeing clearly in 2020

Did you know that hawks can see eight times better than we can? That works out to about a 20/2 on the vision chart.

That’s pretty amazing.

My 20/20 pales in comparison.

I want to always see the world around me through the eyes of faith.

Seeing 20/20 in 2020

The other day, I came across the following verse in my Bible reading, located in 1 Samuel 16:7.

God is with the prophet Samuel in Bethlehem. God had a clear message for what Samuel was to look for in the search for a new king over Israel.

Check this out.

through God's eyes

The Lord looks at the heart

He sees us, not just for what we are on the outside, but more importantly, who we are on the inside.

Have you ever noticed in your Bible readings whom God chooses to use for His glory?

Did He always choose the most attractive, richest, strongest, and powerful people?

God often chooses unlikely people to do His work, so that all know the work is God’s work, not man’s work. He wants to work in a way so that people regard His servants as they regarded Samson: they wondered at the secret of his strength. (Judges 16:5). – David Guzik, Christian pastor and author. 2

Don’t you love that?

The Eyes of Faith

Delight yourself in the Lord, take shelter in Him, and see everything going on in the world with a Godly perspective.

Things may appear impossible right now, but through the eyes of faith, we know that, in God’s timing, everything will fall into place.

And then it will all start to make sense.

As hard as it can be sometimes, we have to try and look beyond our circumstances.

Choose to view life through God’s eyes. This will not be easy because it doesn’t come naturally to us. We cannot do this on our own. We have to allow God to elevate our vantage point. Start by reading His Word, the Bible…Pray and ask God to transform your thinking. Let Him do what you cannot. Ask Him to give you an eternal, divine perspective. – Chuck Swindoll, Christian pastor and author.3

Amen!

If you feel any of my posts would be helpful to someone else, please feel free to use the sharing buttons.

God bless.

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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. 

2 Quotation from Christian pastor David Guzik. “1 Samuel 16. God Chooses David.” n.d., Web. Accessed 26 April, 2020. Retrieved from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1-samuel-16/

3 Chuck Swindoll, influential Christian pastor and author. Swindoll quotation, courtesy of AZquotes.com. 

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