Category Archives: God

Truth for Today #24


Thursday June 30th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!

Jude 17-23

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

From Vera:

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:9-10

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

From Cheryl:

This was in my Bible reading today. Amazing . . . that our Lord looks at us as His brothers or sisters or mothers!

Mark 3:31-35

And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.”
But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?”
And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”

‬ ‭

All My Times Are in Thy Hands

~
Even though the day be laden,
And my path dreary,
And my strength small,
A song keeps singing in my heart:
For I know that I am Thine;
I am part of Thee;
Thou art kin to me,
And all my times, all my times are in Thy hands.
~
~Inscribed on an altar in the Hebrides
~
And here are some photos of the current state of our plants after all our Spring rain, then being basked by some summer sunshine. We had to water for the first time this year on Saturday.
Peonies have such a delightful but short season. I’m always in awe of their beauty.
~
These two are celebrating their 7th Anniversary. They spent Sunday without their little ones in tow and had a nice time in Spokane which included bowling. They met each other at the bowling alley in Colville and that’s where it all began. Happy Anniversary Dan and Jamie! We love the two of you together! God bless you with many many more anniversaries!
~
Hope you all have a beautiful week which brings us into July.

How Pleased and Blest Was I ~ Hymn

How Pleased and Blest Was I 

How pleased and blest was I
To hear the people cry,
Come, let us seek our God today;
Yes, with a cheerful zeal
We haste to Zion’s hill,
And there our vows and honors pay.

Zion, thrice happy place,
Adorned with wondrous grace,
And walls of strength embrace thee round;
In thee our tribes appear
To pray, and praise, and hear
The sacred Gospel’s joyful sound.

There David’s greater Son
Has fixed His royal throne,
He sits for grace and judgment there:
He bids the saint be glad,
He makes the sinner sad,
And humble souls rejoice with fear.

May peace attend thy gate,
And joy within thee wait
To bless the soul of every guest!
The man that seeks thy peace,
And wishes thine increase,
A thousand blessings on him rest!

My tongue repeats her vows,
Peace to this sacred house!
For there my friends and kindred dwell;
And since my glorious God
Makes thee His blest abode,
My soul shall ever love thee well.

Words: Isaac Watts, 1719.

Truth for Today #23

Thursday June 23rd

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!

2 Corinthians 5:18-19

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen the glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

1 Peter 2:24

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Isaiah 53:5

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

From Cheryl:

Mathew 16:24-26

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

From Vera:

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:24-25‬ ‭

“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

In the Good Ole Summertime Hodgepodge

It’s Wednesday so time to answer the Hodgepodge questions of the week. Thank you to Jo From This Side of the Pond for the questions and the link!

1. Something you learned from your father? 

That following Jesus is worth the cost. When my Father was called by God and he repented of his sins and started following Jesus and obeying what the Bible teaches he realized what was missing in his religious life. When he was saved he was immediately aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit within him. All his religious efforts never gave him this presence and peace within. When he made the decision to be baptized in obedience his parents would not speak to him, his friends didn’t want to associate with him. He was treated like pariah. We were ostracized from the church we grew up in. This was a blessing in disguise. We ended up in the same church as my maternal grandmother. Over time my parents re-established the relationships that were severed because of his decision without compromising their Faith in Jesus.

2. Do you like onions? Raw or cooked? How about onion rings? What’s something you love to eat that calls for onions? 
Yes, yes, and yes. I really enjoy onions and the flavor they add to many dishes. Give me a nice huge slice on my burger, please. I like caramelized onions on steak or a burger, also. Salsa and pica de gallo are a couple favorites that call for onions. I could go on and on. In my teen years I would order the Stinko-burger at Twoheys in South Pasadena.

3. It’s officially summer (in the Northern hemisphere)…your favorite and least favorite things about the season?

Favorite: A freed up schedule

Least Favorite: Heat above 82 degrees with any humidity added to it.

4. When you think about the summers of your childhood what are two or three things that come to mind? 

Getting sunburned at Newport Beach, California. Collecting soda bottles while there and turning them into the store to get the deposit on them so we could buy a candy or a popsicle. When the sunburns were really bad our mom would soak old rags with vinegar and lay the rags on our sunburned bodies to ease the pain/heat.

Camping in a tent at Big Bear, California with cousins.

5.  A hot mess, the heat of the moment, beat the heat, if you can’t stand the heat, catch heat, in a dead heat…choose a ‘hot ‘phrase and tell us how it applies to your life right now.

At this stage of life you’ll find me beating the heat in any way I can. I look for shade. Stay in the shade. I prefer to eat inside at restaurants not out in the sun. Walk early before it gets too hot. Work in the yard early in the day. You get the picture…

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Celebrating the fact that school’s out for the summer. They had a very successful first year of homeschooling!! Our daughter-in-law is an amazing mom and teacher to our grands. Happy summertime to you!

Truth for Today #22

Thursday June 16th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!

1 Timothy 4:1-5

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

From Cheryl:

Psalm 19:14

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

From Vera:

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:2-3‬

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

Truth for Today #21

Thursday June 2nd

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!

Note: I will not be posting a Truth for Today on June 9th as I will be traveling and away from my computer. It will resume on June 16th.

Colossians 1:21-23

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I Paul, became a minister.

I’m adding a paragraph from Alistair Begg’s devotional, Truth for Life,  on these verses:

“The good news of the gospel is the fact that Jesus of Nazareth came on our behalf to bring an end to our alienation. He, and He alone, has done what we most need but could not do for ourselves. So the call to us is very simple: to “continue in the faith…not shifting from…the gospel.” We never need to move on from the simple gospel of Christ crucified, risen, and reigning; in fact, we dare not. And yet how easy it is for us to grow cold to these truths; for familiarity to breed if not contempt, then complacency. So consider your heart honestly. Acknowledge your sin. And come back to the gospel once more, in awe “that thou, my God, shouldst die for me.”

From Vera:

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:1-3‬ ‭

From Leonard:

2 Timothy 2:22
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

Truth for Today #20

Thursday May 26th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!

Psalm 119:133
Keep steady my steps according to your promise and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
~
Psalm 119:160
The sum of your word is truth and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
~
Psalm 119:175
Let my soul live and praise you and let your rules help me.
~
Psalm 138:2-3
I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.
~
From Vera:
~
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:19-23‬
~

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

From Cheryl:
“Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.”

New Every Morning is the Love ~ Hymn

New Every Morning is the Love

New every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought,
Restored to life and power and thought.

New mercies, each returning day,
Hover around us while we pray;
New perils past, new sins forgiven,
New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.

If, on our daily course, our mind
Be set to hallow all we find,
New treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.

Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be,
As more of heaven in each we see;
Some softening gleam of love and prayer
Shall dawn on every cross and care.

We need not bid, for cloistered cell,
Our neighbor and our words farewell,
Nor strive to find ourselves too high
For sinful man beneath the sky.

The trivial round, the common task,
Will furnish all we ought to ask;
Room to deny ourselves, a road
To bring us daily nearer God.

Seek we no more; content with these,
Let present rapture, comfort, ease—
As heaven shall bid them, come and go:
The secret this of rest below.

Only, O Lord, in Thy dear love,
Fit us for perfect rest above,
And help us, this and every day,
To live more nearly as we pray.

Words: John Keble, 1827.

Truth for Today #18

Thursday May 12th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!

Psalm 37:1-7

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

From Vera:

“knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:18-19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Leonard:

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:3

From Karen:

John 1:17
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

From Cheryl:

I have been reading Zechariah, and there is so much that stood out to me, (including several passages that directly point to the Messiah). But here is just one . . .
The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple;
His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know
That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
For who has despised the day of small things?

Don’t you love the idea that “small things” are not to be despised? That is an encouragement to me!

Yes, Cheryl, that is encouraging.