Month: January 2021

Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. Hosea 13:14

200 years before the time of Hosea, the Ten Tribes of Israel seceded and established a second kingdom separate from Judah, then chose the Golden Calf as their god.  The One True God sent Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Amos, and finally Hosea to tell the people to put away their false gods. The people, led by wicked kings, refused and by the end, Israel added the worship of Baal to their Golden Calf. Israel was wiped off the face of the earth by the Assyrians. Notice Baal and the Golden Calf were worthless help before, during and after this calamity.

Wisdom is not aptitude. It is a choice! Discernment is wisdom in action. Israel reaped what it sowed. The great news is, their actions, while bringing judgement, did not cause God’s love to waver. 

God’s love knows no end. You cannot make it go away!  Read all of Hosea 14. Walk righteously or stumble continuously. God will reach down, but you’ve got to take the love extended, then trust and obey.   

Love,

Gretchen 

And the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will over take them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 35:10

God’s creative power is also His saving power. Chapter 35 is a poem telling of the end of time as we know it and the beginning of total and complete freedom from sin and grief. This passage speaks of old things becoming new, dead things coming to life. Such is our state when we are saved by grace. 

Ransom, the noun, is the price demanded for return of a possession.  Ransom, the verb, is the act of rescuing and redeeming. God does both.  The price to pay for everlasting life is a sacrifice that can face down death and LIVE to tell about it.  Jesus did.  Nothing in Satan’s arsenal had the strength to pull God and His Son from their objective, to save mankind from eternal darkness and death. 

Man has no reference point to an existence without sorrow, temptation or fear. Isaiah saw it! God sent word to a people in bondage. There will come a day when suffering will end.  God is at work, THE BEST IS YET TO COME! 

Happy Monday, 

Gretchen

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

The nations of Israel and Judah have fallen and Jerusalem is in ruins.  The Jewish/Judean people are taken into captivity by Babylon. All because idolatry and pagan gods were too attractive. They worshiped the One True God with rituals that meant nothing in substance and gave their hearts to worldly pleasures that robbed them of their freedom. God put a limit on their punishment, 70 years. In the mean time, there was hope, lots of it, and they had work to do. 

This verse is from a letter Jeremiah sent to the elders, exiles, priests and prophets that were taken from Jerusalem. The opening words show that God, not Babylon is in charge (v. 4). Babylon does not escape without its punishment in the years to come. These people, torn from the comforts of their home are told to rest in hope, build a new life and seek peace and prosperity. Most of all, guard against false prophets hoping to gain from man’s general discontent. Trust the LORD, He is good.

I know this passage is a very popular phrase of encouragement and hope, captioning beautiful pictures on greeting cards, but it must remain in context and content. To seek and find God’s Holiness is peace. Prosperity is NOT earthly comfort, but an exhilaration of the soul that knows it will always have enough because God will provide.

God will not share space, He WILL FILL the space, in your heart. Your only hope is His plan, full of goodness and peace. 

Love,

Gretchen

“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:6

There is very little left of God’s covenant nation Israel.  The homelands, Judah and Israel have been obliterated and Jerusalem is falling into the hands of Babylon, a consequence of disobedience. (Later Babylon was wiped off the face of the earth as punishment for its sins against the Jews.)

Jeremiah is called to the house of a potter where God gave him a message.  He finds a potter struggling with clay that is marred and will not become what it was intended to be. Without discarding the clay, the potter successfully reshapes the vessel. Wickedness and idolatry are the people’s choice, but God can change their destiny if they will allow Him the right to shape and direct their future.

Our choices determine our destiny. Free will is a gift from God. Our ultimate gift, and faith in action, is the return of our will to God. 

Complete submission verses personal autonomy seems like an incredibly difficult choice until you consider the outcome. It brings the concept of, “Make good choices” to a whole new level!

Happy Mid-January!

Gretchen  

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the Father. Matthew 10:29

Jesus called twelve disciples, all Jewish men, yet diverse in many ways. They knew a Messiah was coming and they believed Jesus was probably Him, but they expected a governmental coup and an earthly reign and justice. So, Jesus begins training these men who have stepped out in ‘faith’ believing they knew what they signed up for. It will be their mission to carry His message, while He is on earth, but more importantly, when He leaves.

A map of what to expect is laid out.  There will be much injustice, including in the synagogue. Be discerning  and watchful, but also be gentle and compassionate. Fear the one that destroys the soul, not those who can kill the body. In this training session, discipleship 101, the greatest lesson is God’s loving provision and care. Even the sparrow is sheltered and fed. 

Man grants quality to everything and extends emotions accordingly. God does NOT! The sparrow’s value in the order of things on earth is irrelevant to the standard of God’s loving care. On this earth there will be trials and sorrows. They are not proportionate too, nor do they reflect, our value to God.  Our worth is a given. He gave His son so that we may have life everlasting. God sees our tears and hears our cries. He has already prepared a way to overcome. Rest and know peace in His love and care.

Love,

Gretchen

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. Psalm 103:2-3

King David is growing old and spends time reflecting rather than planning.  He sees a life covered in grace and mercy far beyond his (or any man’s) worth. In place of listing his personal achievements, David sees a God that has led, comforted, protected, sustained, forgiven, the list is as endless as the grace and mercy extended.  Read all of Psalm 103, it is one of the most comforting and assuring passages to be found.

dictionary.com defines ‘soul’ as the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action.

The all encompassing, defining character of man is the soul. Everything that IS David, praises the LORD. 

The most powerful man on earth, during his lifetime, found the same God that loves you and I.  David’s greatest peace grows out of the assurance that God is stable, never changing. What He does for one, He does for all. David accounted to God’s infallible justice and found love. All that David received and remembers across His lifetime is available to you and I also.

Love,

Gretchen

He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:11

The things of God are a sure thing.  This passage is a revelation to Isaiah revealing the universal loving kindness of God. Jerusalem is all that survives of Israel because God’s people persist through the ages to disregard God’s love and law. Still, He shows His goodness and character of grace.

An animal is most vulnerable when caring for its young. There is a great deal at stake when the wellbeing of offspring’s sustenance and survival is weighed.  So what does Isaiah hear from Heaven?  The eternal comfort that in man’s most compromised and challenging moments, God pours out His greatest love and compassion. 

In the deepest pit, in the farthest galaxy, in the darkest corner of your heart and mind, God is there. He leads, gathers and carries His precious creation. Where? CLOSE TO HIS….HIS! HEART! 

Love,

Gretchen

In all your ways, submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6

When I was a little child I dreamed of the day I would no longer have to submit to the rules and requirements of dependance. Mom chose my clothes and diet, school dictated my thoughts and freedoms, and living in community and family demanded certain gives and takes, whether willing or hostile. I longed for my age of freedom. It never came. However, my focus of submission became razor sharp. 

This world is full of people and things that demand your submission. Guilt, shame and manipulation are their strongest tools. But, let’s be clear, clarity begins with a sighted lens on One, The One, and His yoke is much easier than the world’s. 

The word ‘submit’ is synonymous with ‘acknowledge’ and ‘honor.’ The greatest honor is to acknowledge and trust, in all your ways and in all you have. 

God is worthy and faithful. 

Gretchen

In all your ways, submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.

When I was a little child I dreamed of the day I would no longer have to submit to the rules and requirements of dependance. Mom chose my clothes and diet, school dictated my thoughts and freedoms, and living in community and family demanded certain gives and takes, whether willing or hostile. I longed for my age of freedom. It never came. However, my focus of submission became razor sharp. 

This world is full of people and things that demand your submission. Guilt, shame and manipulation are their strongest tools. But, let’s be clear, clarity begins with a sighted lens on One, The One, and His yoke is much easier than the world’s. 

The word ‘submit’ is synonymous with ‘acknowledge’ and ‘honor.’ The greatest honor is to acknowledge and trust, in all your ways and in all you have. 

God is worthy and faithful. 

Love,

Gretchen

“Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.” Nehemiah 9:5b

Nehemiah was a civil governor, sent with authority from the Persian King, to rebuild the Jerusalem wall, thus returning the City of David to the fortified city of refuge it had once been. 

Solomon’s temple had been restored, but otherwise, Jerusalem offered no place of hope or future. Threats from neighbors, real and imagined, hindered the Jews from rebuilding their home.  Then, Nehemiah came with power and resources from the Persian King and in 52 days had the job completed. How?  He prayed and petitioned God in all things. When the wall was finished he and Ezra, the priest, led the people in once again becoming the covenant people of the One True God, the Jewish Nation.  They organized worship, read daily from the Book of Law and gave simple applications for Holy living. Revival occurred, the people repented and turned to God.  

The above verse is the first line of the national confession. It continues through the chapter restating that God remained loving and faithful through the rebellion of His covenant people.  

God is faithful, from everlasting to everlasting. When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild a wall, his real mission was to bring a dispersed and barely recognizable nation together and restore its identity in God alone. It wasn’t the wall that transformed these people of old, it was their return to worship and obedience within the wall that changed the course of their history. 

A solid wall won’t give you hope and a future, but faithful obedience will guarantee it!

Love,

Gretchen