Saturday, June 20, 2015

Intensely Saddened

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I don’t usually comment here in my blog about current events. But I have decided to make an exception.

I had started my devotional reading last Thursday when my husband came into my writing room. He told me about the mass murder of nine people in a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

            Nine people attended the Wednesday Night Bible Study at their church, greeted a visitor and proceeded with their Bible Study and prayers. An hour later, the visitor allegedly rose and opened fire on those in attendance.

            This church happened to be an Afro-American church and the visitor was Caucasian. The police identify this as a hate crime.

            The news of this horrific crime has affected people of faith all across our nation. Those who are seeking to run for president have made statements on the issue. President Obama gave a very moving statement.

            My thoughts have been about those people who were killed. What were their plans for this weekend? Were they going to have a Father’s Day celebration? Did they have to go to the grocery to pick up some milk after they would have left church? Were any of them awaiting the birth of a grandchild, niece or nephew?

            I am very sorry that this nice city and those who call it home have to go through this tragedy and its aftermath. I do know those nine people were ushered into God’s presence and welcomed by His opened arms.


Please, pray for the families, for that local church, and the AME church as a whole. Also, remember the first responders as they work through their emotions about what they endured as they did their jobs. Also pray for the city of Charleston.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Pray When We Feel Out of Synch



“Whisper a prayer in the morning.         
Whisper a prayer at noon.
Whisper a prayer in the evening,
        To keep your heart in tune.”
(Anonymous)

               A book I am reading talks about our need to stay calibrated with God.  He talks about a large Philharmonic orchestra and how all the instruments get recalibrated to the right pitch.
“The oboe sounds a note—A above middle C. To be precise it is the A that is produced by 440 vibrations a second. Musicians call it A 440.”1 The author connects tuning the musical instruments with our spiritually staying in synch with God.

               From time to time, I find myself not quite where I should be in relationship with God. I have learned this happens when I pray on the run or neglect my devotional reading.

               I have found that I do better when I find things to be thankful for—the little things that I may have taken for granted in the past.
Recently, I stepped out my back door to help Hubby do a task the other day and noticed the brightness of the day and the cheery sky with the puffy clouds. I also noticed the quietness of our yard. We live on a rather busy street and sometimes I forget about the calm atmosphere we have just behind our house. 

               Whenever we, as God’s children, have times of not feeling ‘in synch’ with Him, all we have to do is bow our heads, kneel before our Lord, and spend time talking with Him. If we can’t kneel physically, we can kneel in our hearts.
_______________
1.            What Keeps You Up At Night, Pete Wilson, Thomas Nelson, Wilson Publishing Co. Nashville TN.

                   Pages. 118-119

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Wisdom


“Coming to his hometown, he began teaching
the people in their synagogue,
and they were amazed, ‘Where did he get this wisdom
and these miraculous powers?’ They asked.
Matthew 13:54 (NIV)

“God grant me the serenity to change the things I can; courage to accept the things I can’t and the wisdom to know the difference.” Reinhold Niebuhr

               Wisdom is the most sought after virtue in our Christian walk. Solomon possessed wisdom, riches, and honor but he only asked for a discerning hear and the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

               Proverb 8:11 tells me that wisdom is more precious than rubies. Proverbs 11:2 says, “With humility comes wisdom.”

               We all want to know what to do in any given situation; James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God.” We all need to take James’ advice and seek the LORD’s wisdom (aka, the mind of Christ) in our circumstances. We need to ask for God’s wisdom DAILY.

               Please, God grant us Your wisdom above all else.


Monday, June 15, 2015

Book Review: Be The Light Vol.2 By Denise Rezsonya







In her prologue, she sets out why she thinks it is important for believers to bring light into the world. I found this book to be something that every family or church youth group should study.

The body of Denise’s book consists of 24 short essays each of which deal with a topic that affects the youth of today. At the end of each essay she shares two relevant scriptures and then asks three questions that apply to the topic. The neat part of this book is she had included a quantity of blank lines after the questions. Each youth has the opportunity to journal his or her answers to the questions and write further about the issues brought out by the essay.

The range of topics Denise has chosen for this volume range from character to sin to peer pressure to and loss.

               I recommend this book to youth pastors, youth leaders, and youth Sunday school teachers, as a way to open discussion on subjects that we of the older generations have thought were self-explanatory. I also see this book being used as a tool at a youth retreat or youth camp.
Be The Light Volumes 1 and 2 are currently available on Amazon. 




               I received a PDF of this book from the author. All she asked was that I give an unbiased, impartial review.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...