God Help Us Endure

God Help Us Endure The Sufferings To Come

The news out of Afghanistan is, in a word, devastating.

Are you as outraged as everyone else?

Thirteen U.S. soldiers, both men and women, killed in the line of duty.

There’s more.

Stranded Americans and allies face potential death and persecution.

God help us endure

Could the videos of those poor people pleading for rescue from that airport get any more heart-wrenching?

There’s so much to say about our nation’s failure in this, but that’s not the purpose of this blog.

Thanks be to God, there are glimpses of good news.

This from Samaritan’s Purse. . . 

And this from name withheld . . .  ↓

Closer to home, this past Sunday, gulf coast communities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama were ravaged by Hurricane Ida.

Power outages, high winds, and massive flooding caused extensive damage – all on the 16th anniversary of a devastating storm from the past, Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricane Ida 2021

Hurricane Ida   August 29, 2021

In recent weeks, you may remember that a 7.2 earthquake shook Haiti to the core, bringing down buildings and leaving many already poor residents, homeless.

Tropical storm Grace hit shortly after, adding more death and destruction. The video of those poor families hunkering down under tarps while a tropical storm barreled down on them was very difficult to watch.

Haiti earthquake

Haiti Earthquake August 14, 2021

Tragedies are breaking out all over, here in America, and overseas – at a shockingly rapid pace.

Did you ever think that you would see this in your lifetime?

Please PRAY for our nation and for the whole world.

God help us endure the sufferings to come.

Our Lifeline

Brothers and sisters in Christ  – thankfully, we know that this world of increasing suffering and persecution is not our final home.

Our Savior, at an unknown time, will rescue us from this fallen world.

Hold on to that blessed promise!

We must endure until then.

Going forward, it will be hard and it will be heartbreaking at times.

The Bible tells us to expect it.

I don’t want to see any more suffering either, but I know God has a plan.

His plan is so perfect that it could only be designed by the Maker of Heavens and earth Himself.

We will be with Him and there will be no more suffering.

Amen!

We are citizens bound for heaven, a paradise of never-ending joy and happiness.

Are You Ready?

Who is ready for the Lord to come back?

Count me in.

But God.

Only He knows the time, or the hour of Jesus’ return. We just know that it will be “some day.”

Until then, keep your eye on the prize.

Encourage each other. We will all need encouragement in the coming days, months, and maybe years ahead.

Focus on the One who gave you life and the One who wants you there with Him in the end.

“Some day” we’ll have Jesus and delight in His kingdom of endless hallelujahs.

# # # 

1Hurricane Ida 2021 photo, courtesy of NASA (website) NOAA (Satellite), public domain, 29 August, 2021, via Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Accessed and retrieved August 30, 2021.

2Haiti earthquake photo, courtesy of the ECHO/European Commission, CC BY<a  4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. Accessed and retrieved August 30, 2021.

3Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

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Praising Him In The Waiting

Praising Him In The Waiting

Who wants to have surgery?

Crickets.

I don’t blame you.

overcoming fears

There’s all of that prep and then there’s the paperwork, plus looking at scary medical information on the internet – none of which makes an upcoming surgery an easy and peaceful process.

One surgery I had years ago, let’s just say it was female-related, sent me over the top into the depths of fear.

I remember well the morning of my operation. I was a nervous wreck. When my doctor came into the waiting room, I could barely talk and instead just burst into tears.

To her credit, she hugged and reassured me that all would eventually be okay.

What also helped (even more so) was to be prayed over by loved ones. There’s something calming about knowing that you’re bathed in prayer before a big operation.

Unfortunately, I felt the after-effects of that surgery for weeks. It took over a month to heal and feel normal again.

Waiting for healing is hard, isn’t it?

Then there’s the nagging questions of: will I ever heal from this, or is this going to be with me the rest of my life?

That whole experience came back to me when I heard Danny Gokey’s latest, “Stay Strong” released last Friday.

New Release – Danny Gokey’s “Stay Strong”

It’s our choice.

We can fall under the heavy weight of doubt and fear, all the time, or we can choose to transform our day into one that’s a lot more positive.

It’s been said that listening to calming music every day can really help lift your spirits.

In his latest album, Jesus People, Danny Gokey goes right to the heart of holding onto hope during those difficult waiting periods in life.

Here’s my favorite part in “Stay Strong”:

Because I know the day is coming

When You’ll right all of the wrong

So I’ll praise You in the waiting

And my faith will stay strong.1

Check out these powerful lyrics.

Are We Praising Him in the Waiting?

praising Him in the waiting

No matter what we’re facing, are we praising Him in the waiting?

Do we anticipate what God has in store for us some day, or are we dwelling 24/7 on our troubles?

Being overly consumed with our troubles isn’t a good thing, and it sure doesn’t help with recovery.

14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord. – Psalm 27:14, (NASB).2

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we must trust that what God does have in store for us, in His timing, will be so unimaginably great that it’s all worth it.

Stay strong!

While the Holy Spirit knows the here and now, someday Christians will all know the glory of seeing our Jesus face to face:

1 Corinthians 2:9

1Gokey, Danny. Lyrics to “Stay Strong.” Performed by Danny Gokey, Sparrow Records; © 2021 Danny Gokey, under exclusive license to Capitol Christian Music Group, Inc. Jesus People, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NSthUsLtgg

2Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

3Scripture quotation is from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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What Delights God?

There Are Countless Reasons To Delight In God

countless reasons to delight in God

All of you smarties out there – can you name one of the largest numbers in the world?

Waiting, waiting.

Yea, I didn’t guess it either.

It’s a word I’ve never heard of (and I probably couldn’t spell it the first time I heard it!).

Here it is: googolplexian. 

Who comes up with these long words?

A googolplexian is a “1” with 100 zeros after it.

100 zeros!

That’s a lot of zeros, and some people will argue that there are even larger numbers than the googolplexian.

Even so, what really makes you think is that, as large as that number is, it doesn’t even come close to the number of reasons we can delight in God.

There are countless reasons!

God created you in the womb as the man or woman that you are.

That’s something to celebrate.

He knew you before you were even born!

Humbling, isn’t it?

One of the reasons I named this blog, “Delight in God,” is because I’m constantly learning new reasons to delight in Him.

What’s the point of good news if you don’t share it with anyone?

You can delight in Him, but have you ever thought about what delights God?

What Delights God?

What is it that delights God in us?

We can only get answers to that in Scripture.

Check out this verse in Proverbs.

What delights God?

Blameless?

Are you blameless?

That’s a pretty tall order because the fact is that we are humans, and anything but perfect.

Blameless doesn’t mean we never sin again. It means to walk with integrity with a commitment to follow through on anything God purposes us to do.

Lukewarm believers? They go to the back of the line. 

God is not looking for someone who hems and haws through life.

Sadly, we’re living in a world now where integrity is less important than worldly gain.

We must stand up and stand out against this secular delusion.

The man or woman who commits to embracing God’s truth will have victory with Jesus at the end of our days.

We are imperfect, yes, but we serve a perfect God and He will guide us.

He knows our hearts.

Are we ready to serve Him with integrity? Do our lives, ethics, and morality reflect His glory?

The world is watching.

It’s the integrity of the upright that will guide them. When God knows in your heart that you’re upright and walking in integrity, and you have the integrity to follow through and do it, then here’s the green light. He will guide you accordingly. – Pastor J.D. Farag, Calvary Chapel, Kaneohe.

He is with us every step of the way.

# # #

1 From Farag, Pastor J.D., “Proverbs.” YouTube video, October 11, 2019. [9:24]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIMx6WuzbTk

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Celebrate The Next Chapter

Celebrate The Next Chapter

celebrate the next chapter

Are you a senior adult?

Me?

I’m not sayin’. 

Ok, I’ll admit it.

I am, as they say, “getting up there.”

A golden oldie

Over the hill

Wise beyond my years

As young as I feel

Seasoned

Writer Mark Twain once said, “Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.”

How true!

But, it seems like every day, new smile lines are showing up. Lol!

Embrace them!

We have reason to celebrate the next chapter.

Celebrate The Next Chapter – Wise Words From Proverbs 16

I am who God created me to be, and so are you.

There’s a verse in Proverbs that addresses those gray hairs.

Check this out:

A gray head is a crown of glory;
It is found in the way of righteousness. – Proverbs 16:31, (NASB).1

I like that.

So if you have gray hairs that means you’re “righteous,” right?

Wrong.

This is another good example where reading the Bible in context is important to understanding the true meaning of a verse.

In other words, just because you and I are getting older, that isn’t a guarantee of our righteousness.

While there is nothing inherently righteous or unrighteous about the color of a person’s hair, gray suggests maturity. While our culture views aging as negative and youth as positive, God wants us to know that He is with us in every season of life. Even when we grow old, He continues to give us opportunities to bear fruit for His kingdom and enrich the lives of others. – Got Questions website.2

As we age, we still have every opportunity to serve and be enthusiastic members for the cause of Christ.

Our righteousness comes through the cleansing blood of Jesus.

If you’re fretting about those gray hairs remember, there’s so much to look forward to!

There is something commendable about old age that can remember a long walk with God through life and can anticipate unbroken fellowship with him in glory.” – Allen P. Ross, biblical author and teacher.3

# # # 

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 courtesy of Got Questions, “What Does the Bible Say About Gray Hair?” Accessed August 2, 2021.  Retrieved from https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-gray-hair.html

3 Quotation from Allen P. Ross, courtesy of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1992).“Proverbs”. Accessed August 7, 2021.

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Skimming Past The Cubits

Skimming Past The Cubits

When I first became a Christian, I struggled reading through the Old Testament.

The intense battles, the complete brutality of mankind, the rampant idolatry (Sounds a lot like today.)

You know what they say about history – it repeats itself.

I’m completely amazed at God’s long-suffering patience and mercy towards us considering that we, the human race as a whole, continually turn against Him.

There’s a lot of information about those battles to take in, and besides that, there are the “cubits.”

The what-its?

Starting in Genesis, we read about the cubit lengths required for Noah to build the ark. These measurements were precise, per God’s specific instructions.

As mind-boggling as they can sometimes be, a “cubit” is a very real description of measurement used by ancient civilizations.

cubit - ancient measurement

More specifically, a cubit is an ancient measurement of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the longest finger. – Ark Encounter, Williamstown, Kentucky.1

Cubits appear in other Bible books as well.

Sometimes, I got lost in all of those figures. In essence, you could say that in my earlier Bible readings, I ended up skimming past the cubits.

But not now.

There’s nothing in the Bible, including the measurements, that aren’t important and purposeful.

There are many reasons to follow our Sovereign God’s instructions to the “T”, including showing our obedience and reverence to Him.

Delight In His Word

Reading the Bible is not only rewarding, it’s a complete joy for me. Thinking about the treasures in His Word has given me a lot of insight into God’s character. 

“We” are His.

Consider the following:

skimming past the cubits

Skimming Past The Cubits No More

If you’re a new believer, my advice to you is to not read through the Old Testament without a Biblical commentary.

There’s a great online, completely free, audio and written commentary from pastor David Guzik that you might like. It’s one of my favorites. His commentary starts at the bottom of the landing page. I’ll link to it right here!

These free resources can help you better understand the sometimes difficult-to-read Bible passages.

You’ll see for yourself the very practical applications for today.

Facing Our Giants

My dream has always been to go to Israel, but in the meantime, I found the next best thing.

There are some excellent Christian teachers who did travel thousands of miles to the Biblical locations where our readings took place.

How cool is that? 

Do you remember the account of David and Goliath in the Valley of Elah?

David and Goliath

Please read about this account of true events if you haven’t already. 

In 1st Samuel, Chapter 17, we read that Goliath – the taunting, freakishly tall, giant from the Philistine army – used to call out to the Israelites across the Valley of Elah to dare anyone to fight him.

No one stepped forward except for David (the shepherd boy).  He wasn’t a fighter in the traditional sense. Even so, he had a powerful weapon.

He was armed with a few smooth rocks, a sling, but even more importantly, the Lord God was on His side. David conquered that giant with a stone’s throw.

A miracle? You bet!

I thought you might enjoy the following lesson about David and Goliath – taught right in the actual location of the Valley of Elah.

I loved watching this!

Facing our giants may seem impossible, but as Christians we know that, nothing is impossible with God. 

# # #

1 Description of cubit measurement, courtesy of Ark Encounter.  n.d. Web. Acccessed July 29, 2021. https://arkencounter.com/noahs-ark/cubit/

2 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.

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