Category Archives: Jesus

Truth for Today #173

Friday December 12th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during 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 continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

From Vera:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Jan:

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Romans 15:13

From Maristella:

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.

Isaiah 42:1.

From Dianna:

“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Galatians 4:4-5

From Karen:

Mark 12: 30 KJV

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

A Hodgepodge Focus

Wednesday Hodgepodge is here again. Time to answer some questions From This Side of the Pond. Thank you, Joyce.

1. Do you struggle with the commercialization of the holiday season? What helps you keep your focus when the season’s busyness and commercialism start to take over? 

I’ve had several years of Christmases to learn to focus on what is important. I can ignore commercialization. I need to focus on my own heart and mind and where I need to concentrate on the truth of what Christmas is. Look again with fresh eyes on the Biblical accounts and the wonder of the first Christmas.

Quoting from one of my favorite pastors who died this year: “Christmas is not about the Savior’s infancy: It is about His Deity.” John MacArthur

I’ll ask for help to focus my mind on my King and Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.

2. What’s one small thing you want to savor before the year ends? 

All the things like twinkly lights and seasonal treats and stockings filled with little gifts.

3. December 9th is National Christmas Card Day. Do you still send Christmas cards? If so does yours include a photo or is it a more traditional card, or maybe homemade? How do you feel about the tradition of exchanging cards at the holidays? If Hanukkah is the holiday you celebrate in December do you send cards to mark the occasion? 

I do still send Christmas cards, a traditional card with a photo and letter enclosed. I’m happy to say I was able to send them away on Monday the 8th.

4. What’s your least favorite holiday related task? What’s your favorite? 

Least favorite is probably wrapping the presents. Favorite is buying the presents.

5. Let’s do a little holiday this or that? 

  • shopping or wrapping:                                           shopping
  • baking or decorating:                                             decorating
  • eggnog or wassail:                                                    eggnog
  • real tree or artificial:                                               real, although we’ve had to switch to fake
  • turkey or ham:                                                           prime rib
  • white lights or colored lights:                              white 
  • ugly sweaters or matching pjs:                           ugly sweaters
  • peppermint or cinnamon:                                    peppermint
  • presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day:  Christmas day

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m having a little surgery today to remove a cyst close to my eye. It is small and it shouldn’t be a problem but we have to drive to Spokane Valley for the procedure. I do not know when I’ll be able to come around to visit but I will eventually, Lord willing. Thank you.

Hear the Advent Song ~ Hymn

 

Hear the Advent Song

Hear the ad­vent song
Of the an­gel throng
As they ho­vered ov­er earth;
As the night shone bright with ce­les­ti­al light,
As they told of Je­sus’ birth.

Refrain

Glory be to God, in the high­est, praise!
Peace on earth, good will to men.
Roll the an­gel song all the earth along,
Till the Lord shall come again!

Glory be to God!
All His works we laud!
But of all His gifts, the best
Is the Son he gave, sin­ful men to save;
Be His name for­ev­er blest.

Refrain

We will seek His face,
We will know His grace,
We will wor­ship at His shrine;
All our trea­sure lay at His feet to­day,
As we hail Him king di­vine!

Refrain

At His cra­dle bend,
For in Him des­cend
All the bless­ings God can give;
At His shame­ful cross, count your gain as loss,
By His death we sin­ners live.

Refrain

Peace on earth shall reign
When He comes again,
Lord of lords, and King of kings;
Even now God’s rest fills the trou­bled breast,
When the Lord His pre­sence brings.

Refrain

Let the sons of light,
Through the world’s dark night,
As the watch­ers wait the dawn,
Look with eag­er eyes for the new sun­rise
Which shall bring the end­less morn!

Refrain

Words: Arthur T. Pierson, 1897.

Truth for Today #172

Friday December 5th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during 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 continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Ephesians 1:3-10

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

From Vera:

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭25‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Maristella:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:18-19.

From Karen:

I John 5:13

13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

From Dianna:

John 10:7, 9-10

So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.”

When Shades of Night Around Us Close ~Hymn

When Shades of Night Around Us close

When shades of night around us close,
And weary limbs in sleep repose,
The faithful soul awake may be,
And longing sigh, O Lord, to Thee.

Thou true Desire of nations, hear,
Thou Word of God, Thou Savior dear;
In pity heed our humble cries,
And bid at length the fallen rise.

O come, Redeemer, come and free
Thine own from guilt and misery;
The gates of Heav’n again unfold,
Which Adam’s sin had closed of old.

All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.

Words: Charles Cof­fin, Par­is Bre­vi­a­ry, 1736 (In noc­tis um­brâ de­sid­es); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by the com­pil­ers of Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1861.

Truth for Today #171

Friday November 28th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during 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 continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

From Dianna:

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name;

Make known His name among the peoples. ”

1 Chronicles 16:8

From Vera:

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Willow:

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Proverbs 106:1

A Thanksgiving Hodgepodge

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating this great day here in the United States! Gobble Gobble!

Thanksgiving week Hodgepodge has been dished out by Joyce From This Side of the Pond! Thank you!

1. Do you feel like you have a ‘full plate’ at the moment? In what way? 

 Yes, yes I do have a full plate at the moment. The calendar is as full as can be with Thanksgiving festivities, both spare bedrooms full for a few days. Monday after Thanksgiving ladies ministry meeting plus decorating our church for Christmas. Tuesday escape to Idaho for an overnight to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary (December 6th is the actual day). Ladies Christmas party on Friday the 5th. I’ll fit in some Christmas decorating, too.

2. How did you learn to cook? If you have children did you teach or encourage them to cook? Do you like to follow a recipe or is your cooking style more ‘let’s wing it’.  

Mostly I learned the basics in my Home Economics classes. I didn’t cook with my mother growing up. My learning was hands on after I got married and it became my responsibility. My kids have the skills on their own initiative. Our sons are both good cooks. Our daughter can tackle any recipe. We modeled openness to invite people over to share a meal and our kids picked up on that. I follow recipes for baking but wing it a lot for spur of the moment meals.

3. Last time you bit off more than you could chew? Elaborate. 

Winterizing our property, namely the planters, this is more than I can chew. I’m hoping to bring in some help to complete this task. It’s more than my back can handle.

4. When did you last say ‘the more the merrier’ and mean it? 

Anytime my kids or family or friends want to travel to spend time with us I feel like the more the merrier.

5. Write an acrostic using the word T-H-A-N-K-S. 

Thank you, LORD God

Hope of Heaven

Acceptance you give me in Jesus

Nothing to doubt

King Jesus my Savior

Salvation assured

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Last Saturday we attended JJ’s promotion at Taekwondo. He did very well and received his Tiger Badge.

He answered all the questions the Grand Master asked of him.  One of  the Tiny Tiger Creeds is “Tiny Tigers will obey their parents”. The Grand Master asked JJ why he should obey his parents and JJ answered, “because it is written in the Bible, Sir!” Well said, JJ!

Later on this day our Colville kids enjoyed their yearly tradition of a Christmas lights boat cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Thank you to all who stop by here. I’m thankful for visitors to my blog and fellow bloggers!

Handel’s Messiah 2025

On Friday November 21st, I joined three ladies from our church for a trip to Spokane to hear Handel’s Messiah performed by Spokane Symphony and Chorale. The Performance by the orchestra and chorale was hosted by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

Handel’s Messiah is an oratorio that tells the story of Jesus Christ through three parts: his birth and miracles, his passion and death, and his final glorification in heaven. Composed rapidly in 24 days by George Frideric Handel in 1741, the work uses verses from the King James Bible. Charles Jennens wrote the libretto, or text, (not Handel) comprising passages from the Bible. It premiered in Dublin in 1742 as a benefit concert and has since become a holiday staple known for its religious narrative and powerful choruses, like the famous “Hallelujah” chorus.

Messiah was originally conceived as a work for Easter, and its world premiere was given during Lent.

In July of 1741, Charles Jennens, who had written the libretti for two of Handel’s oratorios wrote the following in a letter to a friend–the earliest mention of Messiah:

“Handel says he will do nothing next Winter, but I hope that I shall persuade to set another Scripture collection I have made for him, and perform it for his own Benefit in Passion week. I hope that he will lay out his whole Genius and Skill upon it, that the Composition may excell all his former Compositions, as the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah…”Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.”

We found our general admission seats and then we wandered about the cathedral which included climbing the spiral staircase to the gallery below the Rose window and some of the pipes of the organ.

While Messiah is a large-scale oratorio that takes almost 3 hours to perform in its entirety, it is not Handel’s longest work.

Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.

The U.S. premiere of the complete Messiah was performed by the Handel and Haydn Society on Christmas Day in 1818 at Boylston Hall in Boston.

I’m adding a couple YouTube videos to give you a hint of what we heard.

No. 17. Chorus: Glory to God

The presentation we enjoyed did not perform all 53 movements in the original Messiah but performed 45 of the 53. The Hallelujah Chorus is movement #44.

The performance on Friday did end with the last movement, No. 53 Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen. [Revelation 5:12, 13]

It was a grand location to enjoy this God honoring, Christ proclaiming Oratorio. Hallelujah to our Risen Savior!

I was thankful that Bethany drove for the majority of miles and that I only had about 5 miles to drive home at the end of our evening.  I pulled into our garage at midnight! That is late for me.

In October of 2017, Greg and I ventured off of our usual route from Kenmore to Colville to view this church. We were pleased to find the doors open so we could explore the inside of the church. Click here to see this beautiful cathedral and some of the stained glass windows.

 

O Love of God, How Strong and True ~ Hymn

O Love of God, How Strong and True

O love of God, how strong and true!
Eternal and yet ever new;
Uncomprehended and unbought,
Beyond all knowledge and all thought.

O love of God, how deep and great!
Far deeper than man’s deepest hate;
Self-fed, self-kindled, like the light,
Changeless, eternal, infinite.

O heav’nly love, how precious still,
In days of weariness and ill!
In nights of pain and helplessness,
To heal, to comfort, and to bless.

O wide embracing, wondrous love,
We read Thee in the sky above,
We read Thee in the earth below,
In seas that swell, and streams that flow.

We read Thee in the flowers, the trees,
The freshness of the fragrant breeze,
The song of birds upon the wing,
The joy of summer and of spring.

We read Thee best in Him who came
To bear for us the cross of shame;
Sent by the Father from on high,
Our life to live, our death to die.

We read Thee in the manger-bed,
On which His infancy was laid;
And Nazareth that love reveals,
Nestling amid its lonely hills.

We read Thee in the tears once shed,
Over doomed Salem’s guilty head,
In the cold tomb of Bethany,
And blood-drops of Gethsemane.

We read Thy power to bless and save,
E’en in the darkness of the grave;
Still more in resurrection light,
We read the fullness of Thy might.

O love of God, our shield and stay
Through all the perils of our way;
Eternal love, in Thee we rest,
Forever safe, forever blest!

Words: Horatius Bonar, 1861.

This hymn was sung at the 2004 fun­er­al of Am­eri­can pre­si­dent Ron­ald Rea­gan.

They Spoke to Me

I’m going to catch up with posting some quotes that spoke to me and I’ve written down in my journal over the last several months. Putting them here will help me find them easier.

The photos that I’m interspersing with them came from our drive to and from Spokane on Wednesday the 19th of  November, 2025.

The first quotes are from notes in my Church History Study Bible related to Psalm 81 and 82 and 93.

“There is unconquerable opposition between us and God. Without a mediator there can be no communion with him.” Blaise Pascal

“Where ignorance reigns in the mind, there is confusion in the heart and life.” Thomas Boston

“There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who see knowledge in order to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is love.” Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God. 

” The time will come when all races of men shall own their God and accept him as their king. There is one who is King by right divine, and he is even now on his way. The last days shall see him enthroned, and all unrighteous potentates broken like potters’ vessels by his potent sceptor. The second advent is still earth’s brightest hope. Come quickly, even so, come Lord Jesus.” Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David.

“May the Lord appear in his church, in our day in manifest majesty and might, saving sinners, slaying errors, and honoring his own name.” Spurgeon

“The only reason God is our Savior is that he is merciful.” John Calvin

Psalm 93:1 The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.

“Faith is not just an exercise of the mind. It is a commitment of the heart that fundamentally changes the way you live your life.” Paul Tripp

“You may begin anywhere in the Bible and preach Jesus.  You may begin at the first chapter of Genesis, or at the last chapter of Malachi, at the first of Matthew or the last of Revelation, and still preach Jesus, for he is the sum and substance of the whole Scripture.” Charles Spurgeon

“God is to be praised because he has not based his covenant of the forgiveness of sin on our merit but on his Word, and because he commands that it will stand firm and eternal, not falling when we sin, nor becoming valid only when we are godly.” Martin Luther

Today is Saturday before our Thanksgiving week here in the USA begins. This is a very busy weekend. Last night I attended The Messiah at The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane with three friends. Today we have 2 events at church to meet and learn more about a Pastoral Candidate and his family. Besides church on Sunday morning we have a Pie and Praise event Sunday night and I’m in charge of getting the pies out for everyone to enjoy. Whew! After Sunday we’ll have a few free days until it is full speed ahead with Thanksgiving Day and a house full here Thursday through Sunday. Life is rich!

Hope y’all are doing well.