Whispers of Truth

Many of us probably know the verse in Philippians that reads " Be anxious for nothing , but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (4:6, NASB). We know it's hard not to worry, and we often fail miserably at not doing so! We also know Jesus tells us in Luke not to worry about our lives and what we wear or eat because "life is more than food, and the body more than clothes" (Ch. 12, NIV). So is it ever ok to worry? I came across a verse again today that made me think about this.  Jude offers many warnings about false prophets and apostates in his short letter, and then he begins encouraging his readers on what they should do while they are awaiting his glorious return. One of those encouragements is to "keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously  [emphasis mine] for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life" (v. 21, NASB). OK.  Finally something I can be anxious about witho...

I wish I had stopped to take a picture, but I was driving and hesitated to stop. If I had known my thoughts then, I would have made the time. Now, words will just have to do. Yesterday, while on the way to work I was struck by the beauty of the dark orange sun rising over the small town of Tallassee in the distance. As I live on the western side of town on a small ridge, the time change has made my drive the last few mornings rather beatific. To get to Tallassee from my house, one must go through a small valley between the ridge on which I live and the elevation of the town. The sun sat nestled between thin clouds above the little valley that in comparison seemed smothered by darkness. The radiance of the sun in all its glory juxtaposed against the dark heaviness of the morning clouds below made me think of the spiritual aspects of this life we lead. This short glimpse of beauty I tried to plant firmly in my mind, knowing that very soon the press of another day and all its demands woul...

Yesterday, I was writing about the irony of God's judgment on the angels who rebelled against Him, but I wanted to share one other passage from Rev. 21:23-27 that I find relevant and super encouraging:         And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp  is  the Lamb.  The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.  In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;  and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and  nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (NASB) I don't know about you, but I can't wait! There is nothing we need apart from Him. 😄

Our Tuesday night ladies' Bible study group has been studying about false prophets in 2 Peter and now in Jude. In doing so, we have read of the judgment to come for those who choose rebellion and apostasy.  One of the things I have noticed is the appropriately ironic judgment of the fallen angels. Peter writes that God "committed them to pits of darkness reserved for judgment" (2 Peter 2:4); likewise, Jude wrote that the "angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day" (1:6).  The irony lies that in trying to take God's throne, these stars of the heavens cast down after their rebellion are locked under darkness in pits void of light. Can you imagine their livid despair? They were created to shine brightly and bring God glory, yet they chose to seek their own glory, and in doing so cast away their ability to reflect God's glory at all--much less t...