Month: July 2023

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. James 1:21

This epistle by James, the brother of Jesus, is a general letter, addressed to many people and places rather than just a single church. James is adamant that faith and works cannot be separated. Real faith permeates every area of life to the positive.

Tongues and tempers are firm footholds for trouble. Guard against loose language, criticism and gossip toward each other, but also keep God’s name Holy and don’t blame all the world’s troubles on Him. He is good, not evil. (Read all of chapter 1.)

Faith is Christ alive in us, planted, rooted and growing. He died to give life. LIVE!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday,

Gretchen

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you and you shall answer me.’ My eyes have seen You.” Job 42:4-5

In my deepest despair I turned to the book of Job searching for the answer to this question: Why do horrible things happen to good people? I still can’t answer, but like Job, I learned some valuable facts.

God is good. Only good. He is not cruel, He does not delight in our agony.
While we cannot fathom what God is doing, we can feel His presence and touch.
The bigger God becomes, the smaller I become and there lies the greatest peace ever!

Job was a wealthy sheik. He lost every earthly possession including his health. His faith was shaken to its core. All he had remaining was his integrity and while his anger, and heartache drew him very close to sin, he realized he was not God’s equal. He was broken but never quit crying out to God.

Job repeatedly asked God “Why?” His friends placed blame and voiced suspicion. Finally God said, “Shut up! All of you! I am God!” (Sort of….You’ll have to read chapters 38-41 to get the full picture.)

There are things far beyond our depth, but we must seek God’s face….and It will be enough. He is good, loving and kind.

As always, Basking in the Sonshine,

Gretchen

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

Jeremiah is not unique in his creation. We are all woven together purposefully and God knows us well before anyone else even suspects we exist. God has a plan of grace and purpose for each of us.

Jeremiah was reluctant to answer God’s call. God affirmed His calling in verses 7-10. Jeremiah saw himself through the eyes of man with man’s limitations and prejudices. However, we are not called by man or because we are the model of perfect preparation. We become perfectly prepared and equipped when we answer God’s call. God does the calling and the equipping. It is not by power of man that Grace and Mercy abound, but man is the conduit through which these gifts reach a hurting world.

Your call is to love, worship and serve….. and probably a whole lot more, but God will let you know. You are wonderfully and fearful made and your creator has an amazing plan.

Love,

Gretchen

Listen now to me and I will give you some advise, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Exodus 18:19

Moses fled from Egypt after killing an Egyptian for mistreating a Hebrew slave. This flight brought him to the camp of shepherd/priest Jethro where Moses found work and a wife.

Decades later Moses is leading the Hebrew people out of slavery and across the Sinai peninsula to the Promised Land. He is overwhelmed with the administration of thousands of people traveling by foot and living in tight spaces. There are huge daily crisis and even more mundane daily needs to meet. Jethro, the father-in-law, advised Moses to delegate some duties and responsibilities. Moses’ purpose was to lead God’s chosen nation as they learned to depend solely on God and become a covenant people. Struggling with frustration and exhaustion, leading became secondary.

Moses was getting bogged down in trivial matters. Satan has a cruel way of stopping our forward motion with the little things that seem to matter so much, but in the whole picture of life, don’t. Keeping the main thing, the main thing.

Decide what is important and the cost you are willing to pay in time and energy. You are building a legacy. Make sure it’s the one you want.

Happy Weekend,

Gretchen

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him.” John 3:14-15

These two verses precede the most familiar scripture of all, John 3:16. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, a pharisee, a jewish ruler, who came in the night to understand the miracles of Jesus. Nicodemus was very learned in Old Testament theologies and histories. He had some preconceived ideas about the promised savior. Jesus was correcting and redirecting his misperceptions.

When God calls Moses in the wilderness, Moses is afraid and needs to see God’s power and presence. His staff turns into a snake and then back into a staff. (Exodus 4:3-5) Heaven touches Moses through this act. Moses is the chosen one, sent to deliver the Hebrews from bondage. Again in Numbers 21:4-9 God instructs Moses with a snake and a staff to convey His power and justice.

Jesus came to close the gap between Heaven and earth. He will be exalted, slain and then exalted for all eternity. He is connecting Nicodemus to God’s plan of deliverance then and now. Nicodemus knows of God’s promise to make his nation great, and now he is hearing that it is so much more than what is on earth.

God has so much prepared for mankind. We get wrapped up in the things of earth when it is the things of Heaven on earth that Jesus died to give. It’s all about eternal life, but remember, it begins on earth.

Happy Week’s End

Gretchen

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. Genesis 4:7

Cain, Adam and Eve’s first born son, struggled with bitterness and resentment.

In a life outside the garden, man had to work the land. Cain grew crops, Abel raised live stock. Both sons brought an offering to God, the first act of worship. One was accepted, the other wasn’t. Why? We simply do not know. Like much of life that is uncomfortable or unpleasing to man, we have to accept without understanding. What we do know is, Cain threw a carnal fit!! Hate found a place to put down roots and grew in the fertile soil of self-will.

Cain’s attitude? If I don’t get my way, then everybody pays, brother, mom, dad, presumably God, “They will be sorry I’m not happy.”

God is loving and kind. If we don’t believe this very fundamental fact, then faith wilts and sin creeps in. Do not question God’s authority, do not challenge Him. Have faith, worship and offer praise, even when you don’t understand. In this healthy soil and great things will grow.

Love,

Gretchen

I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.” Ecclesiastes 3:17

King Solomon is attributed with great wisdom. The Greek translation of ‘ecclesiastes’ means teacher or philosopher. In chapter three, King David’s son pens, “There is a season for everything under Heaven.” God is the author of time, both linear and nonlinear. We are bound by a clock moving forward, eternity has no bounds.

There will come a time, chosen by God, when we will each account for our life on earth, absolutely no exceptions, certainly no exemptions and NO excuses.

God sees us exactly as we are and will judge us by His standard of Holiness, not equate us according to man’s standard. Do not rank your sin or justify your behavior against someone else’s. God WILL make all things right and settle all wrongs. Justice is His, in His time.

Have a Great Wednesday!

Gretchen

“May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth 2:12

Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David, was faithful. A Moabite, Ruth married a Jewish refugee fleeing from famine is Israel. He died but Ruth chose to remain with her widowed mother-in-law, a choice that brought her to Bethlehem. (Ruth 1:16-17 are the familiar words of Ruth’s vow to Naomi and her God.)

This is one of the most beautiful stories in the Old Testament narrative. Ruth and Naomi are widowed, wholly dependent on the benevolence of others. However, Levitical law allowed for gleanings of the harvest to be left for the needy and under Levirate law, a kinsman was bound to marry a widow and raise an heir so her family name would continue. Boaz was not Ruth’s closest relative so he had to publicly transact land and marriage to assure the continuation of Naomi’s family. In doing so he became Ruth’s redeemer kinsman.

In the most devastating moments of life, God offers provision. We ask, “What will I do? How will I survive?” God says, “Trust and follow me.” God’s has a plan of redemption, care and security. Jesus became our Redeemer Kinsman. We will not be abandoned to despair.

Happy Tuesday!

Gretchen

In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:4

John’s Gospel covers much the same ground as the other three Gospels but emphasizes the meaning of what took place. The keynote point of John’s Gospel is love and the divine glory of Christ. He portrays Jesus as an unquenchable light shining into the darkness.

The story of Jesus does not begin with His human birth. John refers to Jesus as “The Word” the very breath of God and when God spoke, life came into existence. Jesus, the living Word of God became man. He became life to share with us and in us.

Light is life itself. Light creates our habitat, not darkness. Light sustains our existence, not darkness. Life and light, one in the same, are the essence and gift of Jesus. Bask in the Sonshine!

Love,

Gretchen

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

The poet David writes a beautiful tribute to Creator God, acknowledging His glory displayed throughout the universe. God’s perfection is found in His universe of orderliness and provision. David, without the benefit of science and modern research tools and data, knows the universe is orderly and continuous. In the same manner, man was created within the laws ordained by God and will live and prosper.

Psalm 19 is a song of praise, the verse above is the closing salutation. David asks God to accept his humble words that fall short of His majesty. He finishes by stating that his heart continuously clings to God’s place in his life as his solid foundation and salvation.

God inhabits the praise of His people. If God lives in your heart, (so to speak) then let your interior design reflect it!

Redecorating!

Gretchen