To whom will you compare me?  Who is my equal?  Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.  Then they bow down and worship it!  They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there.  It can’t even move!  And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.  It has no power to get anyone out of trouble.  For I am God, I alone am God!  And there is no one else like me.
Isaiah 46:5-9

I have told you before what a self-sufficient person I am…or think I am!  Can anyone of you wear those shoes also?  As I read this passage this week, I was so struck by the gods that I’ve built.   They are all lifeless, powerless stuff that “I” must carry around.  This week at our ladies bible study, I finally realized how tired I am as a Christian.  No wonder, these gods are heavy and useless.   My not being totally committed to God has caused my tiredness!

In the book we are studying, Crazy Love, Francis Chan commented on something that I have read over and over for years and not really picked up on.  Matthew 5:13 tells us that, we are to be salt to the world.   Luke 14:34 says, Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Chan says, “When salt is salty, it helps manure become good fertilizer…but lukewarm and uncommitted faith is completely useless.  It can’t even benefit manure.  Wow.  How would you like to hear the Son of God say, ‘You would ruin manure”?

Salt has always been a valuable asset.  The Romans paid their soldiers in an allowance of salt called a salarium.  We all like that word; it is where we get the word salary!  Ever tried to eat your food without salt?  My job, our job, is to add zest and flavor to the world because of our walk with Jesus.  Salt also makes you thirsty.  We should be creating a thirst in people!  The more you drink, the thirstier you get!  Drink up!

A look at the portrait of Christ from chapter 11 of John.

Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?
Job 39:13

You may have noticed the birdhouse between the house and the new building.  Last spring I noticed the most beautiful blue bird and his mate hanging out around the birdhouse.  This year in February, I noticed the same birds (and some others) nesting in the birdhouse.  The male bird has the most beautiful blue feathers; I think they are Eastern Bluebirds.

I recently read an article from a pastor that I met at church camp several years ago.  His article started my quest to find the truth for myself!  Larry Jones writes, “If you were to grind a Scarlet Ibis’ feather (a very bright red bird) you would end up with a reddish powder. But grind a bluebird’s feather (or any blue feather) and you won’t have blue powder. The powder would only be a grayish brown. That’s because there are no feathers that are really blue.” (What?  The feathers of all birds that are blue are not really blue? Not even the peacock!)

The blue feathers on all birds are actually two optical illusions; the way the light is absorbed into the bird’s wing and the way it is reflected!  Kind of like a prism of clear glass reflects a rainbow.   I would love to explain the physics of the blue feather but you know if you look it up for yourself you will remember it!

Romans 1:20-25
²⁰For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.²¹For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²²Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.²⁴Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.²⁵For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,who is blessed forever. Amen.

How could something as beautiful as our Bluebirds be attributed to anything other than a Divine design?  The Most High God of this universe created our Bluebirds to draw us to HIM!  Have a look for yourself!

- Mary (mary@pineforest.org)

What on earth is verse 6 talking about…

I;d really like some discussion on this.  I have my own poinion, but I want to hear what some of you have to say first.

This is dangerous ground, my firens.  God is not honored nor glorified when we use our grace for license.  We have forgottne that God says, “Be Holy, FOR I AM HOLY!”  The holiness of God is something that we easily lose sight of when we embrace grace in our lives.

But do not be deceived…God is not mocked.  May we all look at our loves and see where we might be using God’s grace for our own personal sinful advantage.

God forgive us…

In verse 2, mercy, peace and love are invoked as blessings upon all those who are called.  But the question then becomes:  If we are called and preordained by God to be saved, then how can we possibly experience true love?  If you think about it carefully, true love MUST be an act of free-will — or else it cannot be love.

An illustration to prove this point.  If I have a computer, I can program it to tell me that it loves me — and if I program it just right, it will tell me exactly what I want to hear.  But here is the fine point of it — the computer is only obeying what I predestined it to do.  Even if it tells me that it loves me, it does not — it CANNOT really love me.  Humans are the same way.  I can instruct Milam and Grayson all day long to tell me that they love me — but it is only when they volunteer a kiss that is unwarranted that their love is truly meaningful.

It is only when we realize the freedom of choice that we have that we can actually experience the true and everlasting love of our Great and Awesome God!