NCarolinian

Psalm 139:16 "...all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." I am sure glad that God is not locked in to just one kind of speech. He knows what to say and how to say that right thing at the right time to the right person - every time. In Paul's second letter to Timothy, he writes, " All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," (2 Tim. 3:16) . This means even our beloved poet David, as he waxes on so eloquently in many Psalms, breathed or penned the Truth. Here in one of my favorite chapters of the Bible we find one of the most ginormous books you will ever hear mentioned. This book contains everyone's birth through death dates next to their names, much like you see on a tombstone - "all the days ordained for me were written in your book" . It gets even more interesting. My life was not stamped at birth, nor thought about as ...

Proverbs 15:23 says, "A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!" This verse resonates within me. When I am sought out for advice I really desire to reward that person's confidence in me with an appropriate assessment and possible resolution according to God's Word. I also want to have my physical and spiritual ears attuned to whatever I am to learn in any given situation by the Holy Spirit. How I do that or how anyone does that is to stay in God's Word; to continue reading the Bible. In God's daily suit of armor for us, the "timely word" I am speaking of given by the Holy Spirit is called Rhema . This word means a quickened word meant for that specific situation . An example from our Lord would be when He was in the wilderness being tempted. At every temptation, Father God quickened to Jesus the response for Him to speak aloud and the devil fled.  This revealed word is portrayed as a weapon in Ephesians 6:1...

I recently watched a program on Netflix called "The Crown". A good reenactment of England's current Queen Elizabeth's life. Something that the Holy Spirit kept teaching me through this, especially the next-to-the-last episode, was the importance of the Christian's reflection on The King in everything he or she does everyday. There were many people that were associated with Queen Elizabeth. She had friends. She had acquaintances. She had employees. She had fellow leaders of the country (Parliament). All these people attempted to not only represent England and The Queen respectfully wherever they went, they also tried to reflect the character and values of the Monarchy at all times. However, the individuals that seemed to have the most challenging time with this was the group closest to The Queen - her family. The impression I received from the Holy Spirit was that Christians are more than Ambassadors. Yes, we do represent Christ through our speech and action...

On a hill far away, two thousand plus years ago, Jesus Christ finished the plan of humanity's redemption by surrendering His life on The Cross. At that moment victory and freedom were paid for but not manifest - yet. The sheer weight of power and authority that Jesus' sacrifice had at that moment could not keep nature and the dead from reacting. Here is what Scripture recalls. Matthew 27:50-54 "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, 'Surely he was the Son of God!'" ...

In Deuteronomy 11, the Hebrew people were on the brink of crossing the Jordan River and settling in new territory. However, there was a major caveat that The Lord informed His people about and I think this warning and instruction applies today.  I will not quote all of Deuteronomy 11 here, but trust you will read it now and then continue with my assessment.  Throughout the Old Testament the reader can easily observe God delivering "If...Then" statements to His people. This is one of those instances. God had promised them a better land and was ready to capitalize on His promise, then proceeded to warn them what the consequences of disobedience would be.  God also mentioned the better side of the equation. If His people observed His commands, the results were to be strength, long life, rains in due seasons and nations driven out by God Himself. However, the warning of disobedience also came with what was waiting for them in the new area of conquest - temptations to serv...

Ever make a really great decision about something in your life? Let us assume you said, "Yes". Did you then tell a few people about your experience in detail? Voila! You are now an ambassador. In Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul explained the meaning of ambassador in relation to Christ.  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all,... And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 19-20) There is a wonderful song that goes - "Oh, how I love, Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love, Jesus. Because He first loved me." This song trumpets the word "convinced" in the passage above - ...

Remembering the Christian's final destination really helps in this marathon we call life.  My true home is an untainted relationship with God, through His only Son, Jesus Christ, my Lord,  Savior  and Friend. This grace-filled, mercy-filled, hope-filled, faith-filled and love-filled relationship will manifest face-to-face one day. Then at the appointed time, believers will be introduced and ushered in to a physical, glorified city. It is this city, New Jerusalem, My New Home, that I wanted to expose you to today. Why did God bless us with a creative side, an imagination if we were not suppose to use it according to His will? Colossians 3:2 says, "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." Philippians 4:8 even gets specific on what kinds of things to set your mind on - " Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or pra...