As I have introduced my newly published study book on the Kings of Judah to my readers, I felt it was necessary to share the background on the book, how I came to write it, and what was behind the inspiration to study such a portion of Scripture.
About 20 years ago a missionary who stayed at our home related a story that has stayed with me and inspired me. During the Vietnam war, captured South Vietnamese Christians would volunteer for latrine duty because the North Vietnamese soldiers and officers would use pages torn from their confiscated Bibles as toilet paper. I couldn't imagine the hunger and thirst for God's Word they must have experienced to find themselves in such a fetid pit to retrieve a few pages from the holy Scriptures.
I had to ask myself how I measured up to that! Had I grown to take God's Word for granted as I walked each day in relative comfort and ease? Was His Word so much at my fingertips that I had forgotten how precious it was? I have come to believe that every portion of Scripture is worth a good study. The Kings of Judah represent a piece of the biological ancestral thread from where we received our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God's faithfulness to an often unfaithful people amazes me. I am mesmerized by His mercy and grateful for His grace. For He has and will forever operate within the perameters of His Covenants and character.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Step Into the Sonshine
It's Saturday. I love Saturdays, but probably not for the same reason you do. I love to clean my house!
Yep...I'm hooked. Not because of a husband who demands it, nor did I grow up with a strict task-master of a Mom; (although Mom taught me the beauty of order and cleanliness). I learned a valuable lesson my first year of college. I wanted a "professional" secretary job, but was handed a bucket, scrub brush and a bottle of Tidy-Bowl instead. I was grumpy at work one day, when the Lord reminded me of all He's done for me. The tune to an old hymn with the phrase "The cleansing wave, I see, I see! I plunge and, oh, it cleanses me" was brought to the forefronts of my mind, while my head was down in the toilet bowl. Within an instance, my attitude changed about menial work.....forever! I find great joy, energy, and pleasure in keeping a tidy home....for my family, my friends who visit, my piano students I teach each week, and mostly for my Jesus.
Today, sun rays are beaming in through every door, window and skylight. And although that's a glorious feeling it also exposes the spots and smudges and streaks I didn't see the night before with my "mood lights" glowing in room to room. That wonderful sunshine....exposed the truth. I needed to do a little work. Which reminds me, that when we allow God's light to shine on us, He tenderly points out some pride here in the corner, some layers of bitterness over there on the shelf, and some cobwebs in those areas we are not so fond of checking. So step into his "Sonshine" and make sure you're squeaky clean, reflecting Him!
Yep...I'm hooked. Not because of a husband who demands it, nor did I grow up with a strict task-master of a Mom; (although Mom taught me the beauty of order and cleanliness). I learned a valuable lesson my first year of college. I wanted a "professional" secretary job, but was handed a bucket, scrub brush and a bottle of Tidy-Bowl instead. I was grumpy at work one day, when the Lord reminded me of all He's done for me. The tune to an old hymn with the phrase "The cleansing wave, I see, I see! I plunge and, oh, it cleanses me" was brought to the forefronts of my mind, while my head was down in the toilet bowl. Within an instance, my attitude changed about menial work.....forever! I find great joy, energy, and pleasure in keeping a tidy home....for my family, my friends who visit, my piano students I teach each week, and mostly for my Jesus.
Today, sun rays are beaming in through every door, window and skylight. And although that's a glorious feeling it also exposes the spots and smudges and streaks I didn't see the night before with my "mood lights" glowing in room to room. That wonderful sunshine....exposed the truth. I needed to do a little work. Which reminds me, that when we allow God's light to shine on us, He tenderly points out some pride here in the corner, some layers of bitterness over there on the shelf, and some cobwebs in those areas we are not so fond of checking. So step into his "Sonshine" and make sure you're squeaky clean, reflecting Him!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
New Girl on the Blog
I woke this morning around 4:00 with a desire to get up and read through a portion of Scripture which I have spent the last four years studying in my personal devotions. It amazes me that I continue to find fresh truth from the same words. 2 Chronicles has become the background of my first book I just had published: "The Kings of Judah: A Lamp Maintained". The narrative of these rulers became alive to me as I saw how applicable their situations and dilemnas were to me. I saw God's mercy and patience even as He disciplined His children for their own good and His glory. It is good to feel the hand of God on me, whether it's to comfort or discipline. And how ironic that even His discipline can be comforting, for I know He loves me and seeks His best for me. After all, I am His.
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