In The Presence of My Enemies

“Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies”. Psalm 23: 5 I have wondered what good food would do for me in the presence of my enemies. Am I going to pelt my enemies with spaghetti and meatballs?  Do I poke their eyes out with bread sticks? This part of Psalm 23 didn’t really make sense to me and I would ordinarily skim right past. But recently, I saw this verse differently. The table He has prepared is laden with everything I have inherited through Christ – every spiritual blessing, every physical blessing, every weapon I … Continue reading In The Presence of My Enemies

The Kingdom of God

… and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”  Luke 10:9 When Jesus sent disciples out to minister to people, He made it clear that the kingdom of God and healing are inseparable.  Healing in His kingdom is a given.  I am a child of the kingdom – the kingdom where there is no pain, no sickness, no disease, no cancer, no arthritis, no immune system disorders, none. Jesus prayed, “Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven”.  One of the purposes of sending Jesus … Continue reading The Kingdom of God

Parting Words

And He (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation…  And these signs shall accompany those who believed; in My name they will … lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”  Matthew 16:18 These were Jesus’ parting words to His disciples.  Some have called this the Believer’s Bill of Rights.  I recently left my son in Montana to stay with his sister for two weeks.  Even though I would see him soon and we had phones, I still wanted to have good, loving, wise parting words.  I didn’t really have any, but I thought … Continue reading Parting Words

Do What You Can Captain

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. Ephesians 6:13  Message Bible Years ago, we had a family reunion at a beach house on Galveston Island.  My nephew and niece were about 6 years old and they were standing looking out over the Gulf of Mexico … Continue reading Do What You Can Captain

The Me Jesus Loves

One disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, was near him at the table. John 13:23 Five times in the gospel of John, written by John, John is referred to as the disciple that Jesus loved or the beloved disciple. John is not described this way in the other three gospel accounts. I find this endearing. John grasped something that the others seemed to have missed, something that perhaps, we miss also. While other disciples were professing their undying love and loyalty, John was basking in the love that Jesus had for him. Maybe John described himself this way because he … Continue reading The Me Jesus Loves

No Healing Too Difficult for God

“I am the Lord. I am the God of all people. Is anything too difficult for me?” Jeremiah 32:27 Some years back in our homeschool journey, we studied Mohs Hardness Scale. This scale is used to identify mineral specimens by comparing their hardness to the ten minerals on the scale. Talc is the least hard with diamonds being the hardest and knife-blades and fingernails and copper pennies and other minerals falling somewhere in between. A scale like this apparently works for mineral identification but it made me realize that I have a tendency to put God’s ability to perform a … Continue reading No Healing Too Difficult for God

Fall Season

There is a time for everything,    and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 31:1 Fall has arrived here in the PNW. Oh, it’s not quite as colorful right now as that picture, but the leaves are changing colors and some have started to fall from the trees. In due time, the beauty of fall will be evidenced all around us. Fall is a time of shedding off the old, not just leaves from the trees but those things in our personal life: thoughts, feelings, behaviours that may have served us well in a previous season but may hinder our … Continue reading Fall Season

God Will Not Forsake You

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16 Today I drove around trying to find garage sales. Turns out that some of the signs were for sales that had happened previously and had not been taken down. Some of the signs had arrows pointing a certain direction but no address and no further signs to discover. I got so turned around … Continue reading God Will Not Forsake You

God’s Word is Medicine

My son, pay attention to what I say;    turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight,    keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them    and health to one’s whole body. Proverbs 4: 20-22 Faith for healing can waiver. We may start out strong in faith but as time goes by and the healing hasn’t manifested, our hope can waiver. Whether we are in need of physical healing or emotional or mental healing, God has promised to make us whole. We may believe that it is God’s will to heal us but resting in that … Continue reading God’s Word is Medicine

Perfect Peace

You keep everyone in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because they place their trust in You. Isaiah 26:3 Perfect peace when all is well is easy, right? But what about when all isn’t well? What about when the doctor’s report is bad, or your prodigal hasn’t come home, or the job ends. This list could go on and on. We have all received at some point some sad, bad news that stole our peace. But we don’t have to lose our peace. This verse (not the reality of my current experience) leads me to believe that it … Continue reading Perfect Peace