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Obedience Pleases a Holy God
I hate times I feel like I failed at something. Or if I did something half-hearted, not putting my best into it. It’s never quite fulfilling, is it? We know we can do better. Contrast that with the feeling we get when we put all we can into an assignment. Isn’t it rewarding when we know we did something well? Especially when our obedience and best efforts are pleasing to the Lord. Obedience acknowledges a holy God’s direction over every aspect of our lives, from dedicated prayer and Bible study to our interactions with a restaurant server. All we do is to testify to our serving our holy Father. In…
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Test: Pass or Fail?
A new favorite song is Flowers by Samantha Ebert. It’s about a beautiful way to walk through hard seasons. Trials, loss, broken relationships, health issues. Knowing God brings growth (flowers) out of pain adds meaning to those experiences (in the valley). Sometimes, difficulties arise when the Lord tests our faith. In Exodus 20, we see God testing Israel’s obedience. They had already failed one test: the test of physical sustenance. He provided manna in the wilderness and gave explicit instructions for how they were to gather manna each day. Some chose to collect more than they needed. Now the test was one of waiting for Moses to come back down…
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Obedience and Legacy
Have you ever followed someone who disappointed you? If you’ve lived long enough, it has probably happened more than once. Leaders are human and make mistakes. Hebrews 13:7 tells us to, Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.” We only follow as they are following Christ. Watching their lives helps us discern this. Paul also mentions several times, follow (or imitate) me as I follow (or imitate) Christ. Has anyone ever followed you into disobedience? If anyone can say no to this, I need to meet you! My disobedience can influence others into disobedience. Obedience…
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It’s The Truth, All Of It!
I’ve been guilty, and I bet you have too, of using a verse of scripture to prove a point. Sometimes, it doesn’t even mean what I’m trying to prove.. Jen Wilkin has said, and I’ve quoted often, “A text without a context is a pretext for a prooftext.” This means that unless you understand the context, you don’t fully know the meaning. You may be using it to prove something it doesn’t. To understand meaning of scriptural truth we must know the context in many ways. This includes knowing the placement of your verse regarding: chapter, book of the Bible, where it sits in the whole of the redemption story,…
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Why Read the Bible?
Why read the Bible? Primarily, because it’s TRUE! Fully and completely true because it’s God’s Word to the world and to us personally. It’s also how we know God and His redemptive purpose throughout history and forever. And it teaches us how to live. At times, it’s confusing. Other times it’s surprising. It’s convicting. At times, I want to put it down so I do not have to live up to what I read. But when I choose to read, allow it convict me and change me, I am always joy-filled (and so are those around me!), even when it’s hard and I blow it again in an hour! We…
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Big Life Stuff
Today’s post is taken from my daughter Alycia’s FaceBook post. I get to do that, well, because she’s mine and she lets me use her wisdom on this site! And because she’s such a great writer of God’s truths and daily life. So enjoy her post on the question “does God really know everything“. You can see more about her at the bottom. One of the boys got off the bus today and decided to ask me 50 questions about Big Life Stuff. I fail these kind of tests often and usually fall back on my charming wit or use big words they don’t understand to confuse them and throw…
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Karen’s Legacy
I was given the honor of reading a letter at the celebration of life service for my dear friend, Karen Alexander-Doyel. She wrote it to her three boys to encourage them to see her heart for them, and for Christ. She wanted them, and those attending her funeral, to know how much she loved the Lord, and how much God entrusted to her in this ordained, though not always easy, life journey. I have been given permission from Karen’s boys to share “Mom’s letter to her boys” here (and these are her exact words from that letter): “As I sit here tonight, I have so much to be grateful for.…
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From Unbelief to Pillar
When you think of a pillar, what’s your first thought? Strong? Holding up something? Foundational? Been there a long time? All of these are accurate pictures of a pillar. Various shapes and types of pillars are used in buildings. Now, think of a person as a pillar. One who holds up something. Again, we see lots of different things and ways people are pillars. What about you? What are you holding up? What do you support? Are you like everyone else you know? Or an individual God has shaped to hold up His values and truth, different from any other Christ-follower to bring His glory to your part of the…
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Grand Girl’s Camp Crisis & God’s Provision
If you have read this blog for long, you’ve been introduced to my daughters, Amanda Dugger and Alycia Neighbours. Alycia has written several blog posts for me, and today you will read another one. Our family lived alongside Alycia through the stories you are about to read, one 8 years ago, and the other this summer. She has such a powerful way of showing how God works in and through each situation and I know you will be blessed by today’s post: Yesterday (heck this whole past week) has been a bear. This time of year is always hard as we approach the anniversary of when my late husband took…
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Wilderness Temptations
After 7 months in the Old Testament, my D-Group just moved into the New Testament using NT260. I read this week, once again, about Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness right after His baptism and His pubic ministry began. I began to try to put the temptations the devil used with Jesus into current application for my life. The enemy continually seeks to pull our focus from what God has called and commanded us to be and do for Him. Perhaps you can relate to one or more of these that I identify with. You can find this series of temptations in Luke 4:1-13 (also found in Matthew 4:1-11, in a…
