Whispers of Truth

  I keep running into the word “reasonable” paired with different things, one of which is the idea of expectations.   Since I taught Dickens’ Great Expectations for so long, maybe the pairing of reasonable with expectations makes me take notice—especially when I consider this generation I teach, many who think any and every thing they are asked to do that requires effort is un reasonable—and heaven forbid anyone have “great” expectations of them.   Enough ranting . . . so, if the average person today questions reasonable, what are we as Christians supposed to do with Paul’s exhortation found in Romans 12:1? Here Paul urges his Christian brothers and sisters to intentionally present themselves as living sacrifices:             I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living...

Sometimes God's grace overwhelms me enough that there just aren't words to express my gratitude.

One thing that generally comes into question when reading Shakespeare or Romans (both of which I've been doing recently) is whether or not we as humans really have choices. The other side of that coin is often presented as the idea that we have no free will of our own at all—that fate entirely dictates our lives. Shakespeare had a familiarity with the Bible that reveals itself in many aspects of his plays but probably never as strongly as this resounding question his characters struggle with and his readers are left to answer for themselves. So, as Christians, what really is the answer? Do we serve a benevolent God who gives us free will and aids us, or do we serve a God who places only the path before us that He’s already chosen? Notice, I didn’t say dictator for the second option because God is not a dictator, regardless of whether we believe we have free will or not! Does He work in the lives of His children establishing boundaries evil cannot cross?   Certainly! Is...

I Samuel 16:7  "The LORD told Samuel, "Don't look at his appearance or his height, for I've rejected him. Truly, God does not see what man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart ."   Recently, I was pondering Facebook, and really, there seem to be mostly two types of posts—the supremely happy ones (the everything’s perfect here posts) and the raving mad rampages (the if I don’t say this I’ll explode posts). Don’t get me wrong; I do enjoy seeing people’s happy moments and sharing in the milestone moments and updates from my friends, but as a still relatively new arrival to Facebook, I feel like our generation is being somewhat misled.   Think for one minute about the posts that can create the “we’re perfect” appearance, whether or not that’s even the intention. Honestly—have you ever known a “perfect” family? Think about it--is yours even close? The focus on the appearance of what some people have that others may ...

Yesterday, my husband gave me yet another lavish gift in anticipation of celebrating 25 years of marriage in late January. In doing so, he caught me by surprise--I definitely wasn't expecting a party, much less one 27 days early. He diligently researched the camera I'd mentioned in passing a week or so before Christmas, found a good deal, sought the advice of a friend who is a photographer, and purchased the ultimate package deal in the camera I wanted. In addition, he orchestrated the party and tried to include as many close friends as he could under the guise of watching the Alabama football game at another friend's house without raising any suspicions. He enlisted my children, and they kept the secret, helped with the gift, and then showed up a the party, too. I was scratching my head trying to figure out why they were there, and then looked down to find a cake that read "Happy Anniversary." I looked around the room trying to remember if I had forgotten someone...

Distractions. What are yours? Does work get under your skin? Do financial worries bother you? Relationships? Do the daily little problems of life irritate you and distract you from following hard after God? These flaming darts and arrows seem rather painful, but if you are wearing the right protection, a little dart of fire (or even an arrow) is nothing--they bounce right off of us. The truth is, if we put on the armor God provides, the things that give us grief--the little day-in, day-out problems and distractions that we encounter in this life--probably wouldn't grow into giants that plague us.  Ephesians 6:10-18 gives us the low-down on the armor of God: 10  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the ...

I often find that when I am afraid, I tend to wrestle with the world more than I wrestle with God. Think about that for a minute, and you might find yourself in the same predicament. It's rather frustrating because I know the truth about God, and I know God, and I pray for strength, but I still sometimes let fear push me in the wrong directions. The strange thing about this thought is that it came to me as a result of taking pictures at an in-school match for our wrestling team in December. Honestly, watching wrestling makes me terribly uncomfortable on so many levels, but since I am responsible for the yearbook, I felt the need to go support my colleagues who coach, my students who wrestle, and my yearbook staff who will need to create pages for this sport soon.   Maybe you are unfamiliar with wrestling and wonder what could make anyone uncomfortable. If so, the following picture is for you--maybe it will help you understand. I chose this particular picture becaus...

Weeks like the one that just passed do little to advance for the kingdom of Christ. I have read so many posts supporting and rejecting allowing Syrian refugees into our country for safe haven. I have seen the bickering on Facebook by Christians on both sides of the argument. Some of what I've read shows the love of Christ and a recognition of where we would be without his love, but others fall short of expressing an understanding of what it means to be in Christ. Safety should not be our utmost concern, yet fear of what might happen seems to be the prevailing factor in many of the posts I've seen. Proverbs 29:25 expresses this wisdom: "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe." Regardless of what happens to me in this life, God is in ultimately in control. The apostle Paul speaks to this in II Corinthians 5:1-8: “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, et...

When God whispers something to the heart that’s difficult to hear, what is a Christian to do? Life doesn't always present us with simple, clear cut decisions, and often,  making decisions that honor God means going against the tide of the world. How do we even begin to explain the mysterious workings of the Spirit in us to those who cannot begin to comprehend when we struggle to understand ourselves?  I think of Jonah, who struggled greatly with what God asked him to do. He didn't like the task God set for him, so he tried to run from it, which of course wasn't terribly successful. Sometimes, I don't know if I am hearing God clearly, and I've often wondered what it must have been like to know that God was speaking directly to someone. Really, though, doesn't He speak to us  through His spirit who lives in us if we belong to Him?  Jonah heard directly and still questioned God’s judgment in sending him. That really didn't change the end result—it just wrapped ...

Have you ever read (or watched) a frustrating story where the main character won’t accept the love or grace offered to them? If you’re like me, you groan, talk to the character, and question his or her sanity. We all know that happiness, when in our grasp, should be grappled close to us and held really tightly, right? Or maybe some of us just wish that the chance would come our way.   Well . . . how is God’s grace and His desire to extend it to all of us any different? Here we are with the chance for ultimate joy and satisfaction (everlasting, mind you), yet we repeatedly turn away. It goes back to our motivation, I suppose. We humans tend to want what we cannot have and disdain what we can. When God’s grace through Jesus Christ is offered freely to us (who aren’t worthy, by the way), we tend to believe it is too cheap to accept. Like the character in the story who just cannot be happy because he or she keeps making poor choices, we, too, keep on in our ow...