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Posted on 09/30/2020 9:26:22 PM PDT by JustAmy
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Bible in a Year:
Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise.
Ramesh loves to tell others about Jesus. He boldly speaks with coworkers, and one weekend each month returns to his village to evangelize from house to house. His enthusiasm is contagious—especially since he’s learned the value of taking time to rest and relax.
Ramesh used to spend every weekend and most evenings proclaiming the gospel. His wife and children missed him when he was out, and they found him exhausting when he was around. He needed to make every minute and conversation count. He couldn’t enjoy games or small talk. Ramesh was wound too tight.
He was awakened to his imbalance by the honest words of his wife, the counsel of friends, and somewhat obscure passages of Scripture. Proverbs 30 mentions trivial things, such as ants, roosters, and locusts. It marvels how “a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces” (v. 28).
Ramesh wondered how something so mundane made it into the Bible. Observing lizards required significant downtime. Someone saw a lizard darting around the palace and thought that’s interesting, and paused to watch some more. Perhaps God included it in His Word to remind us to balance work with rest. We need hours to daydream about lizards, catch one with our kids, and simply relax with family and friends. May God give us wisdom to know when to work, serve, and relax!
How are you balancing work and rest? Would those closest to you say that you love them? Why or why not?
Jesus, Your love frees me for productive work and meaningful rest.
I feel your pain....
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It’s crazy with memories of Bush V Gore
Sucks to be honest, the corruption is so obvious
That’s the comparison I kept making all night. What a mess, and there needs to be some oversite when counting those mail-in ballots to see that there aren’t multiple duplicates/dead people votes.
Thank you.
Bible in a Year:
Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.
In Pontiac, Michigan, a demolition company bulldozed the wrong building. Investigators believe that the owner of a house scheduled to be demolished nailed the numbers of his own address to a neighbor’s house to avoid demolition.
Jesus did the opposite. He was on a mission to let his own “house” be torn down for the sake of others. Imagine the scene and how confused everyone must have been, including Jesus’ own disciples. Picture them eyeing one another as He challenged the religious leaders. “Destroy this temple,” Christ said, “and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19). The leaders retorted indignantly, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” (v. 20). But Jesus knew He was referring to the temple of His own body (v. 21). They didn’t.
They didn’t understand He’d come to show that the harm we do to ourselves and to one another would ultimately fall on Him. He would atone for it.
God has always known our hearts far better than we do. So He didn’t entrust the fullness of His plans even to those who saw His miracles and believed in Him (vv. 23–25). Then as now He was slowly revealing the love and goodness in Jesus’ words that we couldn’t understand even if He told us.
What emotions do you usually associate with Jesus’ “cleansing of the temple”? How can you see something more merciful and compassionate now that you understand what Jesus meant?
Father in heaven, please help me to believe that You're always working in the background doing far more—and much better—than I know or understand.
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That dog seems to like pumpkins!
Happy Thankful Thursday!
Some dogs really like pumpkins.
They even make pumpkin flavored dog cookies.
Penny?
Not so much.
Thanks! Here’s hoping we get good election news today.
I was up until 1:45 last night, watching Charlie Kirk on YouTube. He was in Arizona waiting for the vote dump from Maricopa County. They delayed it for hours! It was good news for Trump. He keeps getting high enough percentage on each dump of votes to win AZ.
That was the first time I watched Kirk on YouTube, his shows are excellent and done live.
War Room with Steve Bannon is my favorite news. Besides being on 2 satellite TV channels (News Max and Real America’s Voice) his shows are on YouTube to view anytime.
I just hope they can get this sorted soon. The idea of Biden/Kamala trying to govern just makes me shudder! They are both so inept and very socialist. Thank goodness we still seem to be holding the senate.
Bible in a Year:
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.
When we purchased our home, we inherited an established grapevine. As gardening novices, my family invested considerable time learning how to prune, water, and care for it. When our first harvest came, I popped a grape from the vine into my mouth—only to be disappointed with an unpleasant, sour taste.
The frustration I felt about painstakingly tending a grapevine, only to have a bitter harvest, echoes the tone of Isaiah 5. There we read an allegory of God’s relationship to the nation of Israel. God, pictured as a farmer, had cleared the hillside of debris, planted good vines, built a watchtower for protection, and crafted a press to enjoy the results of His harvest (Isaiah 5:1–2). To the farmer’s dismay, the vineyard, representing Israel, produced sour-tasting grapes of selfishness, injustice, and oppression (v. 7). Eventually, God reluctantly destroyed the vineyard while saving a remnant of vines that someday would produce a good harvest.
In the gospel of John, Jesus revisits the vineyard illustration, saying, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). In this parallel imagery, Jesus pictures believers in Him as grapevine branches connected to Him, the main vine. Now, as we remain connected to Jesus through prayerful reliance on His Spirit, we have direct access to the spiritual nourishment that will produce the sweetest fruit of all, love.
How does remaining connected to Jesus produce love in your life? What are the other blessings of being connected to Him?
Jesus, thank You for creating good fruit in my life as I remain connected to You. May Your life flow through me to produce an even greater harvest of love.
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