Whispers of Truth

Yesterday, K-LOVE’s encouraging verse of the day was Nehemiah 8:10, which reads in the NLT: “ This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” While it was an encouragement to me yesterday—a rainy, post-Thanksgiving Monday back at school—it became more a thought to chew on in context of the whole chapter. When the people heard God’s Word read and translated so that they could understand it, they were absolutely devastated by the truths contained in the Law because it pointed out their sin. They were so devastated over their lack of observance of God’s Law that Nehemiah and Ezra had to encourage them with these words. Likewise, my sin, when revealed by time spent in God’s word, often overwhelms me, yet unlike the people of Jerusalem, I am without excuse. There is no language barrier—the translation has already been completed for me. There is no lack of access to God’s word--I have multiple access points

Who’s on the Throne? One of my favorite movies when I was a teenager (and I admit a little beyond) was Highlander starring Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert as immortals struggling to “keep their heads” because of course, “There can be only one!” It may seem a bizarre train of thought, but as I’ve pondered the upcoming week’s Bible study, this line popped into my head several times this week. The struggle against selfishness is not limited to Christians, but our perspective should be that there is only One on the throne—and it’s not us; it is Jesus Christ, our Lord. This was confirmed to me Sunday when I visited my parents’ church and heard a guest preacher preach from The Revelation to John. The focus verses were Revelation 4:1-4, and in the middle of the passage, even though it was not the emphasis of the message was the very verse that spoke to me the most:  “…and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne” (Rev. 4:2b, KJV). The fact that

          One thing that we can count on is encountering obstacles in our Christian walk. Fear is one of these huge obstacles for many Christians, and if left unchecked, it can become paralyzing. Continuing with the driving metaphor…one of the things I’ve learned through years of experience is that I will generally steer where I am looking; it only stands to reason that if I begin looking at my obstacles—fear in this case—I’m only going to head straight into the trouble I am hoping to avoid. This sounds counter-intuitive, but it is so true. My focus determines which path I take. If I’m fixated on my fear, I will generally avoid making decisions—at least any sound ones—and that typically gets me in trouble. In the past, I’ve often failed to realize that making no decision because I’m afraid of making a wrong one IS making a decision, and it’s rarely a good one.  When I let fear take over and it paralyzes me, things escalate pretty quickly, turning my life into one big

1220 Ladies’ Fall Bible Study Group (Tallassee, AL - Tuesday Evenings @7:00) Theme: Intersections      Intersection Defined: 1.     The act or state of intersecting. 2.    T he point or line in which two lines or two planes cut each other. 3.    The place where two roads meet. 4.    A crossing 5.    Coming together 6.    A juncture Think about it…the term intersection implies that a meeting of two things or people exists—there is a juncture of some kind. For Christians, this requires a joining of our lives with Christ’s. At the junction of the cross, Jesus offered himself for us; he paid the price of our sin debt. At the point of salvation, He calls us on a journey to follow Him, and we begin walking toward eternity with Him at that point. While it can seem long and overwhelming, the journey between here and heaven is a vapor. Consider James 4: 13-17: Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city,