Silence Is Golden or Is It?

Silence is Golden or Is It?

Silence is Golden or Is It?

By Machelle McDowell

Luke 1

The discipline of silence is an art; it is good.  It is far better to be a good listener than a speaker, that is straight Bible, (James 1:19), LOL!  It has been said that speech is sliver but silence is golden. Sometimes, it is better to say nothing. 

I think our friend, Zechariah found in Luke 1 of our Bible reading plan this week would beg to differ? 

Zechariah was an (incense) Priest. His job was to burn incense in the temple while everyone outside the temple was praying. It was an honor!

Only priests from a certain lineage could serve in the temple. During this time, there were thousands of priests and they would draw lots to see who would serve.

Listen to this, the priest may have only served in the temple once in his lifetime. So, this honor was probably one of the greatest highlights in the life of Zechariah.

Incense was offered in the morning and in the evening. There were actually (3) priests that were chosen to prepare the incense, but after preparation, two would leave and the incense priest would stay. What an honor! He was left alone in the midst of the holy atmosphere of the Lord.

If this wasn’t enough of a blessing for this man, while he was in the temple relishing the moment, he was visited by an angel of the Lord! 
Let’s ponder on this a moment. Zechariah is in prayer in the midst of the greatest honor of his life, serving His God in this manner.

I imagine him being caught up in the spirit and his thoughts and prayers were floating in the heavenly realms!! And then…he opens his eyes and raises his head to catch a glimpse of,“an angel?” Speechless gives a new description to “silence.” 

The angel tells him to not be afraid, right? Gabriel continues to explain that the prayer Zechariah had been praying all of his life to have a son had been honored. 

He concludes with, “You will have a son and you will call him, John,” “You will have joy and gladness!” 

This is where the story takes a turn …..Zechariah began to doubt. Wow, this man was in the presence of an angel, and he doubts? 

He began to think about the circumstances in his life and not at what God could do. How many miracles have we robbed ourselves of by this kind of thinking? His disbelief robbed him of the very joy the angel spoke of at that moment.

“I am an old man,” he said, “My wife is well advanced in years.” I love what Gabriel says next and in the manner he says it. “I stand in the presence of God and I was sent to speak to you and bring you this news.” 

It is almost like Gabriel was alluding to these questions, “Are you serious?” “God himself sent me!!” “You are in the holy temple honoring your God as a Priest, and you doubt?”

Zechariah was bridled with silence. He could not speak! Disbelief had robbed him of sharing the greatest news of a life long unanswered prayer now miraculously heard and answered in a time such as this. 
Was his lot divinely drawn so that he would be in the holy temple to receive the news of the messenger?

The one who would herald the news of the coming Messiah! Zechariah’s son would pave the wave for our very own Jesus!

He couldn’t even share his experience with Elizabeth! Ironically, God had been silent for  the last 400 years and now, the silence was not golden but was broken! 

God spoke through Gabriel to Zechariah that he too would carry the message to Elizabeth and on to Mary & Joseph. Zechariah’s own son would become a messenger for our Lord and Savior! 

The silence was over except for Zechariah in that very moment. But, this did not make Zechariah bitter but only better.  

As the months past and he worshiped in silence and waited impatiently for the day of his son’s birth. Can you only imagine what transpired within him during those long months?  His doubt turned to praise, gratefulness, thankfulness, and awe.

 At the moment of naming his child, God loosed his lips and he was filled with the holy spirit and out from them came praise and He blessed His God! The silence was over!

Join us in reading through the New Testament in 2022! You can find the reading plan on our website. This week Luke 1 was one of the chapters we covered! 

My Grandson is Christ!

Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged- Proverbs 17:6

By Machelle McDowell

“I have no greater joy than to know my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 1:4)

As grandparents, sometimes we take pride to an unhealthy level when it comes to our grandchildren. After all, Proverbs 17:6 says it well….”Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged.” AMEN! 

They can give us a sense of enjoyment that is indescribable.

What if you were the grandparents of JESUS? How would you have handled that appointment?? 

The Bible does not speak much about Mary’s parents other than her father was from the tribe of Judah, (Luke 3:34). 

It is speculated by tradition that her parents were saints and that her mother was barren for many years and blessed with Mary later in life. I don’t know if any of these statements are true, but something to consider?

I can’t help but wonder as a grandmother, “Was Mary’s mother aware of the strange encounter her daughter had with Gabriel?” “Was Mary’s mother even present in Mary’s life during this life altering event?” “Did Mary’s mother ever know that she was the earthly grandmother to the Messiah?” “Did Mary share any of it with her parents?” Nothing is ever mentioned about her family?

The (NLT) Luke 2:19 states simply that Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.

So, did this mean she did not speak of them? Did this mean even before Jesus was born she kept all of what she experienced a secret? Did she ever share any of this with her family other than Elizabeth? So many questions.

I feel this couple, (Mary’s parents), deserve mentioning, even if they were kept anonymous in the Bible….. God chose their child to give birth to Jesus! Out of respect for Grandparents Support Club, LOL, I want to say, “Well done.” 

I am sure there was much more to the story than was ever recorded when it came to Mary’s parents. God saw fit to keep it a mystery. Maybe, one of those stories we can hear about when we get to heaven? Lots of questions. We can begin with, “What did you do to become the grandparents of Jesus?” Right? 

Mary must have possessed some of their traits as parents? And, if that is not enough reason to make mention of them, how about this one? Their grandson is Christ! Boo-yah!

Can you even imagine the family conversations around the dinner table? The emotional roller coaster that the entire family rode out as they lived through the (9) months of waiting and uncertainty. Was the whole town gossiping about the strange relationship between their daughter and Joseph?

Even if they were not aware of the supernatural aspect of the situation. They could not deny they had an unwed daughter expecting a baby. That in itself leaned toward cause of concern for their daughter’s future.

All of this is pure speculation, but fun to think about!

Was Mamaw Anna, (Possibly, was her name), filled with awe or pride? Did she use the Jesus card at the temple after his birth? “I am Jesus’ grandmother, I deserve to sit in the front of the temple.” Or did her parents present humility the way Mary demonstrated? Did they too treasure these things and ponder on them. Were they humbled by the fact that their child was the mother of the Messiah? Did they even know?

The popular song, “Mary Did you Know” is so beautiful as the lyrics bring to light questions Mary must have asked. Did she know that the child she would deliver would deliver her? Wow. 

We could change the Title of that song to, “Mamaw (Anna?) Did you Know?” and the lyrics might ask, Did you know your grandson would heal the blind and the deaf and the lame would leap? The sleeping grandchild that you hold, ( if she did get to hold him), is “The Great I Am?” 

There are a lot of uncertainties when it comes to Mary’s parents and what their role was in the big picture or if they even had a role? 

If Mary’s parents knew and believed all that was to come to pass….they bring a new meaning to this verse, 3 John 1:4. “I have no greater joy than to know my children are walking in the truth.” Wow! Mary and Grandmother (Anna?) rejoice that their child/grandchild does not only walk in the truth but IS the truth! 

A special message to grandparents all over the world, “the greatest gift we can give our grandchildren is Jesus…….and the greatest joy we can have in them is to know they are walking in the truth.” 

Merry Christmas! 

A Fly on the Wall

By Machelle McDowell

A Fly on the Wall

By Machelle McDowell

Matt 1 & Luke 2

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when Jesus was born. To have witnessed the greatest miracle of all time through the eyes of a fly at a 360 degree view would have resulted in not missing a thing! Granted, flies don’t have perfect vision, but close! 

To see the hustle and bustle of the animals in the stable as they readjusted their sleeping quarters to make room for the unusual guests. That these animals would hold such an honor. To be present at the birth of Jesus and to be made mentioned each time the sweet story of his birth is told. Ironic, in the order of creation, the animals were created before man…just saying, (just something to think about when we think more highly of ourselves than we should), LOL. 

Joseph rustling the hay to make a bed suitable for his wife to bring his first born son into the world. In the background the cows snorted as they spilt their grain into the trough and the donkey braying in disgust as he was pushed out of his cozy pen into a less favorable spot.

To watch Joseph scan the premises for anything and everything to make their stay more comfortable. I’m sure the thoughts that ran through both of their heads were as jumbled as plate of spaghetti. 

The questions they must have asked one another. “I thought we were favored by God,” Mary must have asked? Mary anxiously concerned for where the baby was to be birthed and how? Her skin probably itched from from hay pricking her through the thin blanket that served as her mattress. The king of all kings is to be born in a barn? So many thoughts? So many questions?

Her first child and all of the uncertainties that go along with it consumed her. As she is breathed deeply to manage her birthing pain only to inhale the scent of urine and manure presented her as she shared her sleeping space with barn animals. 

Did Gabriel’s words of comfort rest on her heart and mind? Did she take stock in his promise, “Mary, The Lord is with you,” “Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God.”  Did she feel favored at that moment? She is in a stable with stale hay and covered by a dust blanket for warmth.

Joseph, must have felt anguish that his first born child was being born in a barn, even though he knew the child was the son of God, he was responsible for his well being on earth. He was assigned the role of earthly father. A role that nearly drove he and his betrothed apart.

The book of Luke 2:19 speaks of Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. I am certain, Joseph did as well, even though scripture does not speak of his pondering. 

This birth was not like any other. It represented the beginning of reconciliation of man to God because we could not come to God on our own, but through this baby, laid the foundation that shook the world and all that is in it. 

The Savior of the world in such a tiny package. Jesus born in Bethlehem. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. John 3:16 
When Jesus was born, Mary wrapped him in cloth and laid him in the manger. 

And, let’s not forget some of the other strange guests that came to the less than desirable maternity ward that evening to visit the Messiah in the stable! 

First to hear the news heralded by angels, was the Shepherds in their fields. “Don’t be afraid, I bring you good new of great joy that will be for all the people, “today, a Savior has been born; He is Christ the Lord.” 

The shepherds talked among themselves, “Let’s go see this baby”.  Why the shepherd? The lowly shepherd was chosen to come see the baby, first. 

Another form of irony? Jesus was and is the greatest shepherd! Takes one to know one?? Just struck me odd that the shepherd showed up at the stable to worship, “THE SHEPHERD.” 
O, what a glorious night! 

The other benefit of being a fly on the wall that night would have been that a fly can see in all directions and that allows them to navigate while also being on the lookout for danger.

The enemy Satan lurked outside that well protected humble stable the night our precious savior was born. Prowling around like a lion in search of a kill. But, Gabriel’s words rang true, “Mary, the Lord is with you,” “Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God.” 
My friend, If you know this Jesus I speak of, this promise is true for you too, “The Lord is with you.” 

The Veil

Have you ever had the wool pulled over your eyes?

The Veil

By Machelle McDowell

Are you familiar with the saying, “The wool has been pulled over your eyes!” What does that even mean?  According to our trusty Google Gurus, the term is from the 1800s and means to fool or lie to someone and get away with it through deception and trickery! Wow! I totally get this! Satan has a way of pulling the wool over our eyes, doesn’t he?

I am reminded of the transformation of Paul in Acts chapter 9! The enemy had pulled the wool over Pauls’s eyes for so long and then in Acts 9 his conversion experience displays the blindness brought on by Satan was now being exchanged with a new type of blindness! 

Paul is blinded by the grace of God in a sense! The veil of sin had been torn in two and he fell to the ground in response to God’s holiness and when he stood, he was blinded in a good way!! 

Daniel chapter 10 makes reference to “the veil” being lifted and allowing the Christian to see the unseen. Paul could hear God clearly but could not see him. His eyes were “veiled” in blindness for 3 days.

Exodus 26:33 says, “The veil shall be a divider between the holy place and the holy of holies.” Interestingly, the veil was a final door to pass through to enter into the presence of God into the holy of holies in the temple before the New Covenant. But, even then there were stipulations. It is my understanding, you could not enter if you were not a priest and he could only enter once a year on your behalf on the day of atonement! Wow!  

This veil was to remind us that we are excluded because we have all sinned and fall short. Praise God for providing Jesus to atone for our sin!

 He bore our sin and we don’t need any other sacrifice! Jesus made it possible for us to come to God ANYTIME on our own! When the veil tore in two after his death in the temple, it was like the doors of heaven opened and welcomed us all into his presence if we would only choose!

Unbelievers walk this earth wearing a veil over their eyes, like Paul! It keeps them from seeing or experiencing God and His power. It keeps them from the holy of holies. 

Did God allow Paul to remain in darkness for 3 days to show him His Sovereignty? I tend to think so. Here is a Christian hater turned Apostle! 

Only the power of God can do such a miracle. And only by this power was the veil torn from Paul’s eyes.

 I think, God wanted Paul to experience the holy of holies! And in those (3) days of waiting, a great work was done in Paul. 

In essence, God raised Paul from the dead…the spiritually dead! Significantly enough, Jesus remained in the dark tomb for (3) days before his resurrection! 

Believers, we are not exempt! We too tend to wear veils over our eyes at times, even after God tears the veil of sin from our eyes and salvation is experienced. We have vulnerable moments.

Sometimes, we allow our own thinking and opinions to form that do not align with the Bible, but yet, like the old cliche, Satan pulls the wool over our eyes and we are deceived. 

We wear the wool proudly until God has enough and brings us to our knees. 

It is so precious when God’s truths tear the veil away and we see Him clearly.

Has the wool been pulled over your eyes, friends? Are you carrying around some secret sin or twisting God’s word to fit your lifestyle? Don’t let the enemy have the victory of placing a veil of confusion, disbelief, discouragement on you! 

The veil was torn for us! God loved us that much. Jesus died that we might live! We can experience the holy of holies! It is available for everyone no matter what sin is relevant in your life. 

My prayer for all of us today is that God remove any blindness that is keeping us from Him! Either through a need for salvation or for the Christian who has allowed the enemy to place the wool over their eyes and is leading them in the wrong direction. 

Don’t let the wool be pulled over your eyes!

As Such Were You

By Brigitte Cottrell

1 Corinthians 6 : 9-11

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, not idolaters, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkerds, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. BUT you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God. 

I have always felt comforted by this verse. And by always, I mean since I have accepted my history of sin, specifically falling captive of homosexual temptation, as a sin able to be washed by God. I feel like most modern day Christians sit in one of two camps. Camp One holds people leaning heavily on verses of Jesus being all loving, and that we are to love one another while allowing for a person’s sexuality and sexual identity to be “just how God made them.” Camp Two hosts degrees of homophobia, leaning into God’s wrath for sin. Neither camp 1 or 2 are biblical spaces for Christians to sit within these issues. 

I grew up in a conservative Christian family. We went to church regularly in a Bible Belt section of the United States where church culture was considered “normal”.  We all knew what a “hedge of protection” was, although I have never heard anyone from around here call a bush a “hedge”.  Culturally we all knew enough about Jesus to be dangerously misinformed. 

Here are some other things you should know about me: 

I have a husband, and I’m a mom to a daughter. 

I am a perfectionist- an Enneagram 1 if you’re into that. 

I am an only child.

I overthink and become anxious easily.

I care deeply about what other people think about me. Even typing that sentence makes me roll my eyes because I know what the Bible, and feminism, and my parents have taught me regarding caring about the opinions of others. 

I accepted Jesus to be in charge of my life at a bible school somewhere between the ages of 6 and 8, and soon after got baptized.

So consider all of these qualities when I tell you that when puberty hit and I start having intimate feelings for some men and women I felt wrong. I felt broken. I felt unlovable- especially by the creator of the universe. 

It wasn’t normal. I wasn’t normal. 

As a tween I felt like if I accepted these feelings I wouldn’t have friends, my family would disown me, I couldn’t have a career because nobody would hire me-cue the overthinking. Looking back, I can’t tell you the instance when these feelings started happening. I just felt them. It felt like I was just created to like both men and women.  As I got into high school the amount of people I knew who belonged to Camp One grew, and I began to think maybe there is a place for me to be “out” and “Christian.” I told a few friends about my feelings but not many due to fear. I started to seek what my heart wanted. I was in a few relationships with different females, and as I felt my inner sexuality satisfied, the distance between myself and God grew further apart. The relationship I treasured with my parents grew further apart. Although I felt prideful about accepting myself for my feelings, I did not feel joyful like I had when I felt close to God. After all, as a young believer I felt like I was doing everything “right.” I went to church, I prayed, I sang praise songs to God. I tried for a long time to justify my same-sex relationships because I was doing the rest “right.”  I tried so hard to justify it, but I would always stand guilty. I missed the feeling of wholeness from God. The lack of wholeness felt like a bowl of soup that had just become broth, missing all of the goodness that a recipe calls for. I missed feeling his spirit comfort me when I felt anxious or lonely.

I chose to step away from that side of myself. 

That sentence was hard to type. If you’re reading this as a prescription on how to deal with sin in your life, I’m sorry I can’t give a gentler method. I’m wrestling with those words because it is not easy to tell a LGBT+ person to just “step away” as if it is as easy as ticking off a check list. I cannot imagine someone telling me to step away if I only had feelings for someone of the same gender. Even now there is doubt placed in my mind from Satan that says, “its not like you only like women, what grounds do you have to speak on LGBT+ issues and the gospel” and “Brigitte, you’re married to a man. Your bisexuality has given you a way out.” I have found that there is even an air of mistrust of bisexuality within the LGBT+ community, as if it’s an excuse for not being fully gay. 

Another thought I wrestled with was,”Did I choose to step away, or did God through his grace save me from that path? Was this the plan all along? Was I supposed to go down the road of homosexual sin and then turn from it? That makes for a really confusing testimony and I don’t want that. God, can I not struggle with a “normal” sin? “ Regardless of my doings or God’s, I decided to no longer actively participate in those desires. Don’t misunderstand me; the desires were still there- and at times I still feel the temptation- but I knew if I wanted to prioritize my relationship with God I couldn’t act on them. 

Let me take a moment to speak to the word temptation. Being tempted by sin does not make you sinful. Being human by nature makes you sinful. Jesus, in all of his perfection, was tempted in the wilderness but never succumbed to it. You can read about it in Matthew chapter 4. If you have a temptation to homosexual or heterosexual sin you are still loved by God. If you have partaken in homosexual or heterosexual sin, you are STILL loved by God as one of his children, but it is time to turn from it. That was another hard sentence. It is hard to combine “camp 1” and “camp 2.” It’s hard to hold God’s love and God’s wrath simultaneously. It’s hard to convey how the joy of being in a relationship with the Lord can overcome any sexual sin. I think the core of all sin is choosing ourselves over God. In fact, if you look at the last commandment Jesus gave his disciples in John 13 he calls them to love one another just as Jesus has loved them, taking the focus off of oneself, centering on God, and pouring out that love to others. 

I believe that God is not interested in making a bunch of rules we can’t follow, but his interest is in us as people, as children. We are so quick to pick up an identity. Go back to my about me list, I am more than just a person who struggles with sexual sin. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter. I have talents and skills that he gave me to bring Him glory. God is so much more interested in my other qualities. He knows everything about me because he created me. He knew me when he formed me in my mom’s womb (Jeremiah 1), and I’d be willing to bet that he knew my temptations then. And, I know this isn’t just true for me; it’s true for you too. 

The third chapter of 1 John discusses how we are children of God if we hope in Him and we are purified and made righteous. It also says that whoever makes a practice of sinning practices lawlessness and cannot be a child of God. Verse 24 ties the chapter together stating whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him. In simple terms, we should strive to seek God by making a habit of not sinning through following his commands.  God’s commands were created to draw us closer to relationship with him. When we seek a relationship with God, he calls for our desires to take the back seat to his desires. 

I believe there are others like me. In fact, if we lump all sins together I know there are others like me- 8 billion others like me. The Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The church is full of broken and hopefully healing people. I don’t know why I am tempted with homosexual sin. I don’t know why this is part of my story. It is my hope and prayer that this story can be used to shine a light on the sweetness of God’s love and power of his victory over sin. I’m not perfect. I cannot be perfect even if I do all of the “right” things. But I can seek righteousness through the one who saves.

I was washed, I was sanctified, and I was justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God.

For more of Brigitte’s blog with other posts, check out boldlybridged.com

A Biblical Response to “Pride Month”

By: Jonathan Carl

Have you noticed the increased emphasis on validating, affirming, and encouraging LGTBQ+ in America during 2021?  Rainbow flags at U.S. Embassies.  Company logos changed to a rainbow pattern.  An onslaught of advertising campaigns. Products created to celebrate a sexual revolution.  Such rapid and radical changes in our society can often overwhelm us.  How should a biblical Christian understand our culture?  What should followers of Jesus do?

1 Chronicles 12:32 “Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do”

1. Love God - Understanding False Religion.  Read 1 John.  Just because someone calls themself a Christian doesn’t make them a genuine believer. Rebellion against God’s authority and Biblical commands reveals both a false religion and a false conversion.  If God’s voice in Scripture is not one’s authority, Jesus is not one’s Lord and Savior.  A true love of God is evidenced in obedience and submission to His Word.

Matthew 15:8 “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me”

2. Practice Self-Control - Understanding Cultural History. Be slow to speak.  The sexual revolution in America didn’t happen overnight, and was overwhelmingly found in heterosexual sin before LGTBQ+ sin.  Decades of sensuality, pornography, no-fault divorce, serial marriage, fornication, adultery, prostitution, abuse, and more have led us to the LGTBQ+ rebellion against God.  We are all broken sexually in our sin.  This cycle of sexual sin has happened repeatedly in many other cultures.  We are on a historical and moral path towards even more destructive sexual immorality: polygamy, polyamory, pedophilia, beastiality, virtual sex, and sex bots. 

Ecclesiastes 1:9 “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

3. Be Kind to LGTBQ+ People - Understanding Relationships.  Many who identify as lesbian, gay, transgender, bi-sexual, queer, or any number of evolving labels have suffered intense hatred, insults, abuse, and attacks.  Get to know your LGTBQ+ neighbors.  Listen to their stories.  Weep with their hurts.  Find ways to show them genuine, Christian love without condoning or approving their sinful choices and self-identification.

Luke 6:27–28 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

4. Exhibit Faithfulness - Understanding Spiritual Truths.  The increasingly rampant heterosexual, homosexual, and gender identity sins are “false to the truth…earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (James 3:14–15).  Validating, affirming, approving, accepting, endorsing, encouraging, supporting, promoting, and celebrating LGTBQ+ is foolish, unnatural, dishonorable, impure, and offensive to our Holy God (Romans 1:18-32).  Watch out!  Before you form or share your opinion on LGTBQ+, examine the Scriptures in the pursuit of faithfulness to God’s truth (Romans 1:24-32, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22; 20:13, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:3-6, 1 Timothy 1:9-10, Jude 7).  Do not bend the knee to the false god of LGTBQ+ pride.

Romans 1:24, 26-27, 32 “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves…For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; [27] and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. …Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

The world says “love is love,” but God explains that “God is love” (1 John 4:8,16); He is the definition and definer of true love.

The world encourages “love yourself” while God warns of the danger of being deceived to follow “the course of the world” in pursuing the “desires of the body and the mind” (Ephesians 2:1-3).

The world advertises “you be you”, but God says “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).

The world teaches you to follow your “own truth” and understanding of god, while God  proclaims “whoever says ‘I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him”(1 John 2:4-6).

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

5. Be A Joy-Filled Presence - Understanding Eternal Consequences.  Those who continue in sexual sin, whether heterosexual or homosexual, have chosen a path to Hell.  When surrounded by cultural evil, may be choose to be like Noah, Daniel, Paul, the church in Philadelphia, and so many more faithful saints, keeping God’s Word and not denying His name (Revelation 3:8).  We must choose to be an evangelistic, joy-filled presence among those who are perishing.

1 Corinthians 6:9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality."

6.  Endure - Understanding God’s Plan.  Don’t be surprised when people hate you for standing on God’s Word concerning the sinfulness of LGTBQ+ (1 John 3:13–14).  Some might falsely accuse you of being homophobic or a bigot.  Others may threaten and attack you (Matthew 5:10-11).  Stand firm (Ephesians 6:10-20).  Turn the other cheek (Luke 6:29).  When possible speak truth, with humility, as an act of love.  Live in righteousness, evidencing the bright light of true love to a dark world.  Practice genuine love.

Romans 12:9 “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”

Here are some helpful biblical resources for you to consider!

• What does the Bible say about homosexuality? - http://www.trustworthyword.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-homosexuality

• How can I be sure I’m a Christian? - http://www.trustworthyword.com/how-can-i-be-sure-im-a-christian

• How can I become a Christian? - http://www.trustworthyword.com/how-can-i-become-a-christian

• Evidence for Jesus - http://www.trustworthyword.com/evidence-for-jesus

You Are Not Anonymous, My Friend!

Have you ever felt like you were invisible?

Luke 8:43-48

“When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him.  The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed.  “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.

My husband and I were eating at a local restaurant the other day. We were enjoying our meal and our glasses were about half empty/full, (LOL) however you look at that!

The waitress came over and asked my husband if he needed a refill. He responded, “sure,” and off she went. I didn’t really think much about it at the moment (even though my glass could have used a refill), I didn’t want a refill. 

However, we finished our lunch and our plates were empty. Once again, the waitress came over and asked to take his plate, never once acknowledging that I was even sitting there? 

Petty, I know. But, at that moment the thought crossed my mind, “Am I invisible?”

Have you ever felt invisible? I cannot imagine how the woman in our passage today must have felt most of her life! Anonymous, invisible, unimportant, unloved, unclean, oh my, the list is long of words that might come close to describing how she felt!

This woman was very alone. No one wanted to be near her and certainly didn’t want to hear her speak. She could not go out in public. She could not be hugged by her own family!

 We thought Covid quarantine was bad, this poor woman was in quarantine 12 years!  She tried everything she could to be healed. Her resources ran dry. But, then, there was JESUS!

This woman came up with a plan! I imagine that she thought she would sneak up behind Jesus in the midst of the crowd and just touch the hem of his garment and no one would ever know. She believed that would be enough! And, it was!

At that moment, she wanted to remain anonymous. She certainly didn’t want to be called out by Jesus himself! 

She was so desperate to be healed, she did not worry about her consequences of what might happen, outside the fact that she is a woman which carried its own consequences.

Man says…show me and I’ll trust you. God says…trust me and I’ll show you.

 (Psalm 126:6). Her faith wasn’t placed in one thread of hope. The thread that was sewn into Jesus’ garment held the power to heal her upon her touch!! Wow. 

This is the Christ she knew could bring healing if she could only manage to touch him. 

And…He can do the same for you!  

Jesus’ response was beautiful! He wasn’t angry with her. He just wanted to see who demonstrated this bold act of love and faith by trusting in a touch! In HIS touch!

He wanted her to know, she was not anonymous, invisible, unloved, but that she had been healed and her testimony was just heard as she explained out loud by hundreds of people in the crowd that day!! Jesus was proud of her! 

It was like Jesus was saying, “Step out and let us see you, my child!” “You are mine and you are loved and important!” “Daughter, your faith has made you well! Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. Mark: 5:34

You are not anonymous my friend! God is seeking you out! 

As for you, LORD, you know me…..You see me! (Jeremiah 12:3

Life Can Turn on a Dime!

Machelle McDowell

May 20, 2021

(I Samuel 20:35-40)

This passage reflects a crucial time in David’s life. These (3) arrows mentioned carried the message of his future and like a flip of a dime, David became the target. He was now a walking bulls eye for Saul. 

Life is fragile like that. With just a flip of a coin, our trajectory can be changed by (1) lapse of judgment, (1) moment in the wrong place, (1) bad influence, (1) wrong decision. Life can turn on a dime!

It has happened to all of us. David finds himself in a new chapter of his life that leaves him questioning. What about his anointing? What about when Samuel told him he would be king one day? He has gone from living in the palace to hiding in a cave. His followers are now misfits. He is not the hunter but the hunted. How did he get there?

How often do we find ourselves asking this question? How did I get here and where am I going?

 I am certain, David asked these questions many times. The road ahead did not look promising, but he knew in his heart it was the road God had lead him to, but now he has doubt. Why has this happened?

I find it so uplifting to know God oftentimes sends people who are greatly used by him down paths that are bleak for a time.

Let’s reflect on the life of Job. What a disaster, but in the end his blessing outweighed his trial. Same thing for Paul, Moses, Abraham, Joseph, the list could fill this page! With that being said, there is hope, my friend!

So, we can look at this period in the life of David as training. Yes, he attended the school of hard knocks, but he comes out victorious! His anointing as king when he was a child did not wash away. He was being groomed and molded into a man after God’s own heart. 

Let God empty you out! (Redpath) said it best: “A throne is God’s purpose for you; a cross is God’s path for you; faith is God’s plan for you.” David is learning to submit to God through this dark times in his life. David needed to realize that life flips on a dime and God’s authority and guidance is mandatory!

The best leaders are the ones who are humble enough to know they are not enough by themselves. The ones who realize God is their ultimate authority. David is learning a valuable tool as he spends months in a dark cave with a group of misfits as his support. Funny thing: God sent the misfits! They too were seeking answers in life that only God could answer and used David to teach them. 

God led David to act like a king, even though he wasn’t yet. David began to inquire of God on every decision! And God does deliver him from Saul. David does go on to become king. 

Has your life flipped on a dime? Do you find yourself hiding in a dark cave? Maybe you had a weak moment, a lapse in good judgment, or maybe you found yourself in the wrong group of people and all of the sudden you are sucked into something you can’t find your way out of. 

God loved the fact that even when David committed some serious sin he was truly repentant and realized he was unworthy and undeserving of God’s love, but God shows no favoritism. He loved David back into his good graces. And, he can love you there too!

God’s love and goodness is often shown when He delivers us when we don’t deserve it! 

David writes (filled with gratitude) for God in In Psalm 34:1-4 “I will bess the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.  Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.  I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Call out friend, He hears you and He will deliver you!