Series: Receive a Gift Romans 12:6a ESV Realistically if we had a child or even a spouse who was a genius mathematician but refused to use that genius to solve math problems we would be really frustrated. If someone could play the piano like Rachmaninoff but refused to touch a piano we would be furious. If someone could heal others but refused to touch those who were ill we would be dumbfounded. The truth is, when people are gifted but they refuse to use their gift for one r

Series: Receive a Gift Romans 6:22-23 MSG You do not need to be told or reminded that life is hard. There are times in everyone’s life when we don’t know how we’re going to go on. Learning how to go on is the key. Romans 6:22-23 tells us, “But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the

Bible Study Encourage We cannot begin to imagine how much cheer the early People of the Way (Christians) experienced when a letter arrived from Paul, Peter or Timothy. We have to remember Paul was first in Macedonia and he was imprisoned near the end of his life in Rome. When Paul wrote to Timothy was in Ephesus. Peter referred to Babylon in his letters but that was a “code” word for Rome because of persecution. Mail carriers named for those in prison were Phoebe, Tychic

Bible Study Philippians 1:27c NKJV Over the course of my lifetime I’ve always known I was proud of my country, especially when times were difficult, Philippians 1:27c tells us,“stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,” But there have been times when I’ve been really sad. On November 22, 1963 I was in a car with a few other classmates coming home from the circus in downtown Kansas City. We heard the President was shot and killed i

Bible Study 3 John 1:2 ESV I am regularly reminded of the benefits of good health and especially good eyesight. 3 John 1:2 we are told, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” Today…monthly I have an eye treatment and I am reminded of the benefits and blessings of modern medicine. I inherited three eye diseases from women in my family. One of my grandmothers had glaucoma and I inherited it. My other

Bible Study Hebrews 11:1 ESV For some reason the book of Hebrews was an enigma for me at one time. I wasn’t sure why. When I was in Seminary I finally understood the reason. Today’s scripture is a perfect example. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” I was the one making it difficult to understand because I was overthinking it. For years I’d been told by teachers in grade school, high school, and even

Bible Study Psalm 100:1-2 ESV and MSG If you’ve ever been  blessed to be part of a congregation that really gave a joyful noise to God, you are blessed! In my case the size of the congregation wasn’t always a factor. I’ve been part of a congregation of 20 people and they gave a joyful noise to the Lord. I’ve also been part of a congregation that seated 3,000 and they gave a joyful noise to God. The important factor wasn’t in the numbers. It was in the joyful noise that each p

Bible Study Ecclesiastes 3:4 ESV Oh my, YES! In my book the greatest gift God gave us is laughter. All my life people have told me they heard me coming because they heard “my laugh.” I just can’t help it. I love to laugh! Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us, there is a time to weep and a time to laugh.” In addition to laughter, I’ve also done my share of weeping. It seems like we can’t have one without the other. But here’s the deal: when the weeping is over and we’ve worked through

Bible Study  Isaiah 61:3 CEV Today when we think of inner beauty it’s often a combination of kindness, integrity, and loyalty. After all, aren’t those qualities we might look for in a friend? Deep inside we know that perfect people are unrealistic, but seeking someone who has some of those qualities is important. It helps us to feel safe (like they won’t attack without warning). Integrity is also often high on the list because if a friend isn’t honest and if they don’t have g

Proverbs 15:13 MSG When wise King Solomon spotted an attitude that set the tone of the conversation he recognized it immediately. Think about it…have you ever been enjoying a happy conversation with friends when a killjoy stepped in and literally killed the joy? For each proverbs in chapter 15 Solomon made a valid point. He compared the good with the bad sad mad comment. In Proverbs 15:13 he wrote, “A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to ge

Bible Study Nehemiah 8:9-10 ESV We remember in 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed the Temple and broke down the city wall in Jerusalem. The brightest and best of Israel were taken into captivity. As today’s story opens the year is 539 B.C.E. and Cyrus the Great now conquered Babylon. The Hebrew men who had been taken captive were now free to return home. It was 5th Century B.C. Back home in Israel Ezra and Nehemiah had been given the charge to rebuild Israel’s i

Bible Study Proverbs 16:24 NIV The modern thought about gracious words (at least in some circles) can be misleading. In Proverbs 16:24 we are told: "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." The Hebrew translation to English is interesting. Looking it up made me do a “double-take”. I expected the Hebrew word ‘debar’ which is ‘word’. But the translated word is ‘debash’ which means ‘honey’. Some translators chose the verse to say ‘honey

Bible Study John 14:27a ESV In today’s crazy busy world there are times when peace is the greatest gift we can give and receive. It seems that is because peace…real peace from God is sometimes difficult to find. It’s not because God doesn’t want to give peace. We are simply not feeling it for one reason or another. In John 14:27a, the Apostle recalled the words of Jesus, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” As Jesus was preparing His disciples for His phy

Bible Study Give a Drawing Isaiah 43:2 ESV While sketching isn’t listed specifically in scripture we do see great evidence of artistic use of verse and beauty in Scripture. When we witness a breathtakingly beautiful sunrise or sunset it really is an artistic gift painted by God. As we read scripture, especially in the Hebrew we see God at work with vivid words that paint a picture. Isaiah 43:2 is a perfect example when the prophet heard from God and wrote: Isaiah 43:2: "Wh

Bible Study Mark 11:25a ESV If there is one single thing that stands out as being the most difficult commandment Jesus gave, it would be forgiveness…or the lack of it. In Mark 11:25a we read, “And whenever you stand praying, forgive.” It’s not given as a suggestion…it’s a command. We have to remember that Jesus WAS God and when He looked at someone (or looks at someone) He could see the soul and mind. He knew (knows) everything about you. Because He is God He can see ‘UN for

Bible Study Give Recognition /Honor Romans 13:7 ESV I don’t remember this scripture or concept being on my list of verses to memorize in Sunday School growing up but it was definitely part of my dad’s ‘important things to teach me’. Romans 13:7 tells us, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” My dad did teach me if I borrowed something from someone or if

Bible Study 11.5.25 Acknowledge Jehovah Isaiah 42:8 YLT It may be somewhat difficult for everyone to understand the context behind Isaiah 42:8 if we don’t understand the relationship to all of scripture. In order to see the big picture it helps to know the name or names of God. In Isaiah 42:8 we begin with the name I AM Jehovah. In scripture there are over 900 names for God. “I [am] Jehovah, this [is] My name, And Mine honour to another I give not, Nor My praise to graven i

Bible Study hoda\'ah (הוֹדָאָה) Psalm 118:24, Ephesians 5:20 The Hebrew word for gratitude in the Old Testament is hoda\'ah (הוֹדָאָה), and we are reminded to be grateful or give thanks in some form 102 times. The same thought in the New Testament Greek is used 57 times. God knows the importance of being grateful. God knows the thought of being grateful changes the human brain…because God wired it that way. Modern psychologists have found that when we are grateful the brain

Bible Study Giving This time of year we have set aside to give thanks is a rich part of American history. I remember seeing pictures of the early settlers in America giving thanks. Only later in school did I understand the extent of their gratitude. They weren’t only thankful for the food and friends, they were thankful for their lives. The journey across the ocean was to unknown territory of unknown people who did not speak their language. For example, think about the Pi

Genesis 1:1b I started Seminary in 2007 at the age of 54. I did not want to go to Seminary. It was never part of my big picture plan....