Hedging Our Bets

So, I’m not a person who tends to take risks. I’d rather play it safe. To take my time in making decisions and act carefully and cautiously. I prefer to have control over situations and taking risks when I’m not 100% sure means I’d have to give up control. Anybody with me in this? Do you avoid taking risks or putting yourself in situations in which you have zero control?

Sadly, we really don’t have any control over much, even if we would like to think we do. We’d like to think if we have prepared enough, weighed all the options, listing the pros and cons to decisions, than everything should go as we have planned. Limiting the risks or hedging our bets, means the outcome should be as expected, and we won’t have to risk losing much.

I recently was visiting a church service and overheard the pastor praying for a “hedge of protection” over the members of his church that were traveling on a mission trip. Now, if I had a dollar for every time I have heard that prayer spoken over a traveling group, well, I’d have a lot of dollars. It has even been the subject of a joke from a popular Christian comedian here in the US. “Jesus I pray a hedge of protection over us, Amen.” Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything bad about this per se, but it did make me think. What if we shouldn’t pray to be safe, but pray that whatever comes our way, good or bad, we pray to trust God through it? What if we didn’t pray for this Great Wall of hedges or hedge rows around us, so that nothing dangerous gets to us, we prayed instead for little flower beds that offer no real protection? I can picture it in my mind.

When my family was stationed in Kansas, we bought a home with a huge backyard. But one thing about homes in Kansas, especially new homes, there weren’t many trees, so our yard was open to everyone peering in. I preferred a bit of privacy with a young child running around, so we decided to plant a hedge row of fast growing bushes. The buses took off and we gained some level of privacy, at least until the back gate was left open and two neighboring kids decided to come up to our sliding glass doors and peer in at us as we ate supper. They say good fences make good neighbors, but I would like to add, good gates for those good fences are also important.

So, I understand why hedges are preferred, and praying for hedges to surround us and keep us safe is preferred. No one wants to get sick, hurt, or other wise inconvenienced. Especially not far from home and while you’re doing the Lord’s work. But….What if that inconvenience was the Lord’s work? What if that injury or sickness or accident, put you in the exact place you should be?

It is something to think on and grapple with. I have heard recently of a man who used his unexpected trip to the hospital as an invitation to share his testimony and the gospel with the medical staff. He had come from a place where many gave up on him, yet Christ had turned his life around, and I believe this new found joy and peace he was experiencing through Christ, was the catalyst to share his faith. He doesn’t like his medical situation to be sure, as he had to have his leg amputated, but instead of complaining, he is finding ways to witness to others.

God can place us just where we need to be, even if it is not our preferred choice. I mean, no one wants to get sick, hurt or delayed on our trips and our daily life. We want everything to run smoothly, right? Who wants to be inconvenienced? But my challenge to you, and myself, today is to realize that we really aren’t I control of much, just our attitudes and reactions. So maybe we shouldn’t try to be safe and pray for safety like our life depends on it, but rather pray for God to lead us and be with us in whatever comes our way. Let’s pray to have courage and no hedges around us, if it means someone else’s life changed, instead of our’s staying safe behind those darn hedges! God Bless you – Nancy

Honestly

Honestly, can we talk? Or should I say, can we talk honestly, openly, without putting on any pretenses? I think honesty is becoming more difficult to find everyday. here in the US where I live it appears as if honesty has gone out the window in politics to be replaced by outright lies and exaggerations. Some call it just for effect and it is just a part of playing the political game. But in an age where artificial intelligence is changing what we see and making us questions what is real, let me challenge you (and me) to be more open and honest. I write this today after three events which have shaped my thinking on the subject of honesty.

First, as I was working on part of my doctoral program, one of the requirements was to give an honest reflective position on whether the program we had research for a church revitalization project is something we would actually attempt and why or why not. I answered the reflective portion honestly, that “no” I probably wouldn’t implement my plan for a particular church for revitalization and listed the reasons why. My professor graded the paper and explained he was refreshed by my courage to be honest and how it is “rare to see honesty these days, keep it up”.

Second event happened as a casual comment from a four year old. Now, if you don’t know what four year olds are, well they are brutally honest sometimes. They do not have the filters that we as adults learn to use in conversations. This particular four year old mentioned that she had overheard that I was peaceful and quiet. Which I happily agree with. At least on the surface. I want to come off as a peaceful person and I admit that my New England roots have ingrained themselves in me so that I am quiet around those I do not know well. I have a softer voice and that tends to make people lean in to listen more closely. It is not intentional, just nature and nurture.

Third event, happened just today down my street. Without fully knowing all the details, a swarm of police cars swarmed around a home and now there is police tape blocking the front yard. I was told that it was an apparent suicide of a new neighbor.

What do these all have in common? Honesty. What my professor didn’t understand is that when I wrote my paper I was so stressed out and a bit angry, because I disagreed with the way the program for revitalization was being led by a different church. I thought I had a better idea than they did, and I realized there wasn’t any room within their plan for my ideas.

Secondly, what the four year old had overheard was another adult commenting on me, and they. really haven’t seen what really happens in my life. In reality, I get very stressed out at times and in reality I am like a duck swimming on a pond, calm on the outside, but underneath the surface of the water, I am paddling like crazy and overtired from all my paddling.

In the third event, it is difficult to grasp what is happening in my own neighborhood, which appears great on the outside, nice homes, older residents, peaceful, and quiet, compared with other places we have lived. But it really goes to show, we really do not know what is happening in other peoples’ lives.

We all struggle from time to time, even me, and I think we need to be honest with others, rather than try to put on a brave face to the world. It is okay to need help and ask for it. It is okay to be real and share your opinions with others. We do not have to be deceptive. the Bible teaches that God does not like lying, boasting or bragging. It also mentions that we need to be honest. Ephesians 4:25 mentions “Therefore you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body” (NIV). In context, this passage is describing the relationships between church members and relationships with those outside the church body. But the principle is the same, be honest, don’t lie or be deceitful. Be real. If you are struggling tell someone. Don’t reward lying or brush it off as part of the game to be played. Act more like Christ, putting off the old self and putting on the new (Eph. 4:22). Let’s get real! God bless you -Nancy

Be Still

I remember when I was younger stopping by to visit my grandparents. I liked visiting them because they always had time for me. They never seemed rushed and took their time to ask me how I was doing, offer me something to eat and well, it felt nice. It was comforting for me and encouraging. My parent’s house was a walk away from my grandparents for a while, until they started spending the winters in Florida. I did visit them once in Florida, and once again it felt peaceful and good to spend time with them.

I remember spending quiet afternoons with them and as the sun was setting, they did something strange, well actually something that struck me as strange is what they didn’t do. They would sit in the near dark, and didn’t turn on the lights until you could barely see each other’s faces. They also would always turn off the television when I arrived. So they cold concentrate on visiting and having no distractions. I always thought this is what old people do; they sit in the quiet and the dark. And many times they wouldn’t say very much, just paused often as they spoke to look and think. What were they thinking about I wondered. But still it was comfortable.

Now, that I am older, I get it. I find myself just enjoying the quiet. To sit with my thoughts sometimes and ponder and reflect back on life. It is peaceful. It is comforting to just have a moment of quiet and stillness, without all the noise. Without all the distractions and the pressure to do something or go somewhere. Maybe my grandparents had it right all along. Just sit in the stillness, maybe even in the near darkness and reflect. To just be still. No agenda.No planning. No trying to keep up with every post and email. To silence all the outside voices from television and social media and just be with the person you are with, fully, not in competition with the screens. Just to be focused on the moment and enjoy the peace.

And now I realize this is actually a biblical principle to quiet ourselves, to “be still and know I am God” as the psalmist writes in Psalm 46:10. And Jesus also said “Come away with me. Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31) Why? well we find out in the first part of the verse, “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them” (Mark 6:31). We weren’t made for the rush and the noise all the time. We are made in the image of God and even God who is all powerful, all- knowing, rested on the sabbath after creation. God set the pattern and we are to follow. Our time of rest might not be on a Sunday, but it is clear that we are supposed to rest and be still. We need to recharge. Quieting the noise around us for a few moments is what we need. My grandparents had learned that lesson after many years of hard toil and work and observed it often. It wasn’t boring as I thought it must be as akin, but was just what they needed and I have grown to appreciate myself. It is not being selfish or lazy, but something even demonstrated in the Bible and modeled by God Himself.

So, maybe this week you can find a moment to pause, put down your phone or screen, have a quiet conversation with your loved ones, or even with God. And just be still. -God bless you- Nancy

Just Desserts

While the title above might sound like a cool name for a place that just serves cakes, pies, ice cream and cookies, for many of you, when you read “just desserts” you’ll know its a saying that means you hope the other person gets what they deserve. And no, not something positive like a cake or cookies, but rather what they have coming to them for what they have done wrong to others, especially to us.

But should we wish that upon another person? Not really. Do we often think it? Probably. Is this fitting for a Christian? No. But do we act this way anyway. Unfortunately yes.

To be sure, we don’t always behave like this, I mean not towards our friends or family, but when we think about those we don’t like, well, they are fair game. But really, should they be?

The Bible clearly says no. Jesus didn’t teach that. And He didn’t teach karma either. He said we are to love others as He has loved us. Even our enemies. he said we should pray for them, not wish they got what they have coming to them.

Paul echoes Jesus when he carefully reminds the Christians in Rome that God demonstrated His version of love towards us in while we were still enemies towards Him. He sent Jesus, His son to die for us. (Romans 5:8-10).

In our human nature, we want to remain hostile toward those who have hurt us. We don’t want to demonstrate love for them. We want them to hurt as we do. But as we read in the Bible, that is not the way Jesus acted. He taught a different way. Not an eye for an eye, or revenge, but love, forgiveness and grace towards our fellow man.

This does not mean that justice is ignored or an abuse of power over another is ever justified or promoted, but that as we deal with others in this world, we can pray for them, show love, forgive, and let God work on them. We are not the Holy Spirit. We can promote justice where it is required, offer protection for the wounded and hurting and demonstrate a life that realizes what God did for us. (While we were still estranged from Him, before we could even grasp what Jesus did on the cross). We are not better than our fellow man, but just one who has found the power of grace, love and forgiveness offered to us by God through Christ.

We have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to live lives that reflect God’s spirit in us, the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), so that others can see Christ in us. Will we always get it right? Probably not, but as we mature in our faith we can focus on what Christ has done for us when we didn’t deserve it, and that will open up our hearts and eyes to forgive others, see them as God does, and pray that they too can find God.

God Bless- Nancy

Roll The Credits

So let me ask you, do you get up after the end of a movie at a theater, or do you hang around for the credits to roll? Until recently, I would have been the one to leave quickly, especially if the movie was bad. But lately I stay and watch the credits roll. Why? well there’s some cute bits at the end of the credits, bloopers, funny cartoons and silly stuff, which even if the movie was bad, can make me smile.

So, If I had left, I would have missed what might be the best part of the movie. Putting this practice of waiting for the credits, let me ask you another question. When you read a book do you look at the opening dedications, acknowledgements or the place where credits are announced? I guess I’m weird but I do as it kinda helps me to understand who the author is and what or whom he cares about.

The same is true about reading the Bible, there is quite a bit of information in the beginning of each book as well as the endings. Case in point is Paul’s letters or what they are sometimes called epistles, which is a letter. Paul always begins his letters by the common salutations and greetings as was the culture of the time. It lets us know who he is writing to. Also, If we look at the ending of the letters, he usually chooses to say help or give credit to someone from the location he is at when he is writing or to the recipient church.

What I found when reading his letter to the church at Rome, he gives a substantial list at the end. Over 26 + or – depending on the number of people in the households he names. One name he credits first is that of the deacon Phoebe, who is the messenger carrying the letter all the way to Rome by ship. This is interesting to note because according to tradition, the deliverer of a letter was tasked with bringing a letter from Paul to the church it was addressed, reading it out loud and then explaining it. Letter of recommendation were given by Paul to authenticate and provide authority to read them before the churches. In this case it was a woman, Phoebe whose Paul commends, authorizes and gives her the title of servant or in some translations deacon of a specific church in Cenchrea. Cenchrea was not some little village either, but a crucial trade port in Greece.

Christians today should be thankful for Phoebe’s service in delivering what has been for the church a great letter. Along with her name are the names of several women (about half of the entire number) that Paul credits with their service to the church and whom he refers to as his co-worker in the Lord. Many of the women are credited for “working very hard in the Lord” Of the list are those who are his relatives, one Junias, a woman he mentions as having been in prison with him and along with her male counterpart Andronicus, “They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was” (Romans 16:7). Yeah, you read that right apostles.

As I mentioned, there’s a lot in the credits worth looking at. So next time when you are trying to rush through reading a passage in the Bible, don’t forget the beginning and the ending. This is where we find the real heroes of the Bible. The men and the women who took the message of the Gospel to their home churches, churches where they were the leaders and shepherds, as well as taking the letters to other churches around the world through the system of Roman roads and on the sea on trade boats (these were not cruises, but working ships), risking their lives as Paul also mentions. But perhaps we should also notice the bigger story here, Paul needed help in this big task of spreading the good news to the lost. He even mentions of his sister in Christ Phoebe “I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. Did you see that? Even Paul whom Christians kind paint as this Chuck Norris character of the Bible who gets beaten, shipwrecked etc but still keeps going, needed the help of a female deacon who helped many people and was what Paul called a saint. I bet a lot of people don’t like what Paul says here about women serving in leadership roles, they would rather single out verses that condemns it, but well here we have it in the credits, Paul recognizing women for their contribution. Why didn’t Paul send the letter with a man on the high seas? Were there none trustworthy? Or maybe he didn’t care? Or maybe, He recognized her as a very capable deacon who had proved herself in her own church in Greece with the huge task of hand delivering a letter to Rome, Italy. Roll the credits!.God Bless- Nancy

Turbulence

If you’ve ever travelled by plane then I’m sure the above title holds a meaning to you. Maybe you can even think back about a time when your flight suddenly experienced turbulence. If you’ll be honest for a moment, then let me ask you a simple question. In that moment or moments of the sudden drops, sideways wiggles, wing dips and rises, did you at any of those moments during the turbulence panic? Let’s be honest here. I get if you’re a pilot and are used to this or maybe a flight attendant and it’s just another day at the office. It’s just that for the rest of us, your office is above 30k feet.

I remember being on a flight once with a pilot who was sitting across the aisle from me and watched as he explained to his daughter and others, that the turbulence we were feeling was similar to potholes on roadways. It DID make me feel better, but for just a bit as I watched him relax and fall asleep for a bit. If he woke up and panicked then I decided it would be something that I should panic about as well.

There are of course very nice pilots who will announce the turbulence ahead of time so we as passengers can prepare and then the best pilots will also announce they are seeking a better altitude or route to avoid or at least minimize the bounces and sideways shimmies. I like those pilots.

But when the bounces and bumps happen without warning, I panic for a moment and visualize that there is something wrong with the plane- I admit I like window seats near the engines so I can take a quick peak out the window from time to time to make sure we’re all good there. Being married to an aircraft mechanic and manufacturer who actually builds the engines is both a blessing and a curse. When he is flying with me and gets nervous, well then I get nervous. Or when he explains many of the issues in manufacturing that come up, well I take note of every noise and bump on the airplane.

So, what I am really trying to say is I feel like we are all on this flight lately that has had many incidents of turbulence. I am viewing this from here in the United States and am wondering when this crazy turbulent journey will end. I am not alone. We are beginning to wonder who is the pilot and why isn’t he changing course or adjusting altitude so we can all just take a breath and have the seatbelt signs go out.

There are some people who, just like on a plane flight, will ignore the seatbelt signs, get up, walk around and ignore the cabin stewards instructions, while the rest of us are strapped in, living in fear of the next big thing. Will it be a drop, or a side ways shimmy or a wing dip. There are random announcements from the cockpit, stating everything is amazing and “I am the best pilot in the world” but we feel the dips and drops and worry that we are all about to go down.

It would be nice to hear a voice of truth that the plane is flying safe and we are all going to be okay. But for some of us we don’t believe the messages of truth are being shared, just more propaganda. The real truth doesn’t come from those in power or even from those behind pulpits, it comes from the original source of truth, the Bible.

The world has always had its share of turbulence and the people mentioned in the Bible faced many of the same issues we find ourselves in today. Wars, abuse, greed, murder, theft, jealousy, divorce, sickness, death, miscarriage, loss of employment, money struggles, taxes to be paid, wrongful imprisonment. These are not new. Our nature as humans has not changed. There isn’t a utopian society. Mankind will always be bent away from God and choose self and convenience over sacrifice.

Does this mean we should just give up? Resign ourselves to hopelessness? No. We can rest assured that those who seek harm to others will be held accountable. We are ALL held accountable before God. God is not a respecter of persons, and He doesn’t base our goodness on our own standards, but on his. the Bible says that God will not be mocked.

None of us can claim to be Jesus or as good as Jesus, but we can all humble ourselves before God and ask for His protection and guidance. It might feel right now that the pilot is missing or at least not taking the world on a safe flight plan, but what we need to remember is that God created this world and preserves it, man doesn’t control everything and it is up to God’s timing to land the plane.

I am reminded through this struggling time that Jesus slept quietly on the boat with the disciples while the wind and the waves around the boat scared them and they thought they were going to die. When they woke up Jesus, He asked them where is your faith? and commanded the wind and the waves to stop and they did. (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25). Jesus also said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (NIV, John 16:33). Despite the trouble or turbulence in the moment, don’t forget that God is still in control, we can lean into that and place out trust in Him, not in politics or religion, but wholly completely on Him. God bless- Nancy

Where Do I begin?

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path- Psalm 119:105

Well, it’s the start of a new year again, although we are all ready half way through January. Wow! Can you believe it? I was recently watching a video posted on YouTube and this was one of the questions that came to mind from watching.

The topic was the story of Jesus and how many of us really know the true story of Jesus, or of the entirety of the Bible. The video involved three people; two interviewers and one interviewee who had just written a book about Jesus. An overarching theme began to surface that demonstrated that most people, including the interviewers, found the Bible difficult to understand and had never read it, and only knew a few “stories” from the Bible, you know them too, the Good Samaritan, Noah’s Ark, the Flood, that is I’m making an assumption here that many are familiar with some of these.

For many people the new year brings about the desire to change and develop new, often healthier habits. Some start a new exercise or eating plan, and others want to grow deeper in their faith, or take care of their mental health or focus on self- care.

Some who are looking for the answers to meaning and purpose often look to religious texts to inspire them and give meaning. For those seeking Christian answers and wondering is God real? Can He be trusted? What is the Bible about? Is it true and can it be trusted? Well, the well intentioned seeker will pick up the Bible and begin from the beginning (literally) in Genesis, and everything goes well until they find themselves at Leviticus , or Numbers or Deuteronomy and get bogged down with pronouncing names or the long list of don’ts and do’s.

While, I do believe this is the place to start to understand the basic premise of Christianity: God created everything, even mankind, giving them- the first people- instructions for their good, while along comes the Devil, and plays mind games with the woman and man until they willfully disobey one of the boundaries set by God and this act sets into motion the whole rest of the story, the meta narrative of the Bible- God’s plan to restore His broken relationship with mankind. From Genesis, it is a good idea to jump ahead and read the New Testament Gospels. And jump back to the Old Testament. It might also be helpful to consider a Bible in a year reading plan, one that selects passages from both the Old and New Testaments. When you find a passage that is confusing I find searching online can yield some good results or consider investing in a good Bible commentary, in which scholars have broken down passages and chapter within contexts (what it meant to the audience it was written for and how we can apply it to our time). Additionally, a Bible dictionary is helpful as well. It can take the mystery out of places, traditions, rituals and the history of the world at the time the book of the Bible was written.

Taken all together, the entirety of the Bible is the most amazing story of love and faithfulness. The love and faithfulness of God toward an obstinate group of humans- that means us too, not just those from ancient times. Most scholars of the Bible acknowledge that we are currently living in the time of the Bible. The already, not yet, the future is laid out in the ending pages of the Bible and we are right in an era before the end of the ages. We are living the Bible now, the story is not finished yet and it is a real page turner.

If you’re still unsure about reading and understanding start in the Psalms, or Proverbs, or the Gospel of John. They provide wisdom, comfort, and an insight into God’s plan of redemption through Jesus. Really, anywhere is a place to start and you will grow as you read. Don’t sweat the difficult passages, we Bible scholars don’t sometimes know what they mean either! We can only research and discuss with others, that makes the whole endeavor of reading the Bible interesting and gives you a place to reflect and try to understand your place in this world. Hope you will try it! It is a life giving place to start and it might change your new year. God bless you – Nancy

Searching For Words

What words can you share with those embracing the most painful moment of their lives? Is there any right words to offer? Any precise Bible verse or poem that would erase the pain and the sense of loss when a loved one passes? Many of us try to offer something to give hope, to comfort or to fill in that awkward silence when we come to meet the grieving face to face. It might end up being awkward, or unbeknownst hurtful to those that are deeply missing the one they loved.

I have heard many of these hurtful phrases myself as well as from the grieving, the group of people whom I have found myself recently aiding through their grief as a volunteer grief counselor. What always happens as they share what people have said that hurt them, was their appreciation that at least someone would approach them and offer something. Their deepest hurts came from those who they thought would have come forward to share a word, were surprisingly silent. The silence hurt more, than the awkward phrases.

I find myself here in this place now over the passing of a newborn within our extended family. My head cannot grasp any meaning that I can offer to say or to write to the young couple. In this modern age of AI and medical advancements, how is this possible? But, I stop myself from considering all the possibilities and sensibilities of how and why God has allowed this, to the realization; I just don’t know. And I can be okay with not knowing, and I can be okay with just offering an “I sorry” to the couple. I am grieving and sad, as is the whole extended family, as someone we never met in person as we live apart from the couple, has brought us grief and affected our lives by his very existence. He was and is created in the image of God, the Imago Dei. He took a breath and met his mom and dad, grandparents, brother, and his cousin, all who were able to hold him and see him as a reflection of both his parents. His life was brief, but he was loved, named and precious as all babies are, yet his life was too short.

So much happens in this life, both good, and bad, joyful and sad, that are lives seem to be a continuous rollercoaster ride of emotions. There is also so much we do not and will not understand this side of Heaven. When we try to make sense of all this, we can find it impossible to find peace, but only when we surrender our needing to know and replacing it with not knowing, we find the peace we look for. When we simply trust God, we can find peace. Trust isn’t always easy, especially when are hearts are breaking and our minds are reeling, but simply speaking out loud to God and telling Him “I don’t understand this, my heart is breaking, but yet I will trust you”

A verse comes to mind from the Gospel of Mark, from a distraught father who asked Jesus to heal his son and Jesus told him everything was possible if you believe. The father’s response “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 9:24 NIV). There are many times when I need to repeat this, I Do belief Jesus, but help my unbelief. He gets it. He understands. He wept over His friend Lazarus’ death. He wept over the city of Jerusalem. He became one of us and felt the pain we feel. We can trust Him with our pain and our grief, even when there are no words. He knows our pain and offers comfort beyond any words we can offer to others, or receive from others. He is the peace we seek. God Bless- Nancy

Breaking the Silence

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed- John, John 3:19-20.

I titled this blog as breaking the silence, but wanted to consider also a subtitle: light in the darkness. I realized just how long of a pause there has been between my posts and I owe my faithful subscribers an apology as I have been stuck in processing my thoughts and overwhelmed with anxiety. Yes, Christians can have full blown anxiety, and get the feeling of being overwhelmed even as we trust God in all things. The spiritual battlefield is most often in the mind and sometimes it seems like the wrong side is winning, attacking believers with fear.

It is probably obvious to many of you that my country ( the US) is facing many struggles with the new administration. It may appear to be (and is in some ways) divided with some supporting what is being termed as “MAGA Christians” and their representations in leadership with those who oppose and protest against the actions of the leadership. It is not a position that I would ever have dreamed would happen as the country was founded by immigrants who left their home countries to leave behind religious tyranny and find opportunities to live and worship as they pleased while upholding the teaching from the Bible. My relatives among these groups to leave their homelands for religious freedom.

The history of this country has been checkered and not without sinning against the teachings found in the Bible, but overall, over the years solid individuals and groups put forth laws that sought to give freedoms to individuals and by doing so reflected the teachings of Christ , the two main commandments to love God and love neighbor as found in the Gospels.

But now, I have recently found out that many who claim to take back America, have no intention on upholding the teachings of Jesus. They claim to forward and promote Christian values, but in fact never really share the teachings of the Bible, but misquote and twist the Bible to suit their own agendas of hate, division, crime, abuse and evil. These individuals do not reflect Christians, only a form of false Christianity.

To be honest, I don’t really like talking about politics, but as I have heard from other leaders from solid Christian ministries speaking out and mentioning this division of Christians within the United States, I couldn’t remain silent. Sowing seeds of hate, racism, greed, indifference to the poor, oppressed, the immigrant, and the female leaders, while fueling their own bank accounts and using bribery to effect the outcomes of foreign elections has no place and is incongruent with Jesus. These Christians have “A form of godliness”, but their hearts are far from God, and they are in denial of the power (The Holy Spirit) and do not produce fruit in agreement with the Spirit.

If you are feeling this same sense of anxiousness about the current state of Christianity in the United States, know you are not alone. We cannot stand by and allow ourselves to go with the flow. To be sure, I believe God is in control and there’s no need to allow ourselves to fear, but as I heard from another Christian recently, what we need to focus on now is reading the Bible to know it fully so that we will not be deceived as some have been by their failures to realize the misquotes of the Bible and not be flattered by the sound bite comments that attempt to appease the Christian voting base. Many of the financial support for these groups has come from false preachers who have grown massive followers and amassed huge amounts of money that they give to the MAGA efforts. Believers have been used by these politicians by claiming they promote the Bible and Christian values when they do not, to gain their rise to power.

Now is the time for Christians to shine the light of Christ brighter, share the Gospel, disciple others, teach from the Bible, refuse to honor mere men as idols and worship God only, trust God, not in money and wealth, help others who are all created in the image of God. As the verse above mentions light exposes the darkness, “But whoever lives by the truth, comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” Jn. 3:21. And also, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” Jn. 1:4. Keep shining the light of Christ against the darkness that masks as angels of light, and show the world who Jesus really is. -God Bless, Nancy

For The Birds

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid: you are worth more than the sparrows”- Jesus. Luke 12:6-7.

When I was younger, I never really gave much thought to birds. My Mom did though, and my Aunt Betty. Both were avid bird watchers and bird feeders. Every day my mom would watch the feeder planted in the ground outside the kitchen window to study and make note of the birds eating from the feeder. She could name most all of them. My Aunt Betty was the same. They even had photo reference guide books, if a new strange and unknown bird should land on the perch. But in the past few years my view of birds has changed.

I remember the first time I heard someone mention the visits they had from cardinals after a loved one passed. It was on a television program and I kinda just waived it off as some sort of old wives tales, or in contemporary terms, an urban legend. There was something seemingly so unspiritual for this Baptist grounded woman to accept any messages from dead people in the form of a red cardinal.

When my mom died, I started to see hummingbirds whenever I visited my parents home, at precise moments- the moments when I was finding myself overcome with grief. I began to see that maybe there was the potential for birds to be sort of messengers from God. My mom loved her birds, but especially hummingbirds. It brought me comfort at the time and so I put it in the back of my mind to ponder.

That is until this past year, when a pesky little male cardinal-the red ones- has been appearing everywhere. This past year my dad died and also my husband and I moved to a new house in a new neighborhood. At our old house we had beautiful hedges that the birds liked to build their nests in and hide. Over the time we lived there I would see a few cardinals, but never daily, just once in a while. But when we moved, we lost the hedges and moved into a new housing development, which means no grown trees and shrubs.

But since our move, a little cardinal came out of no where and would sit outside my window and sing his little birdy wakeup song at daylight- every morning. But as I began to think about how this bird appeared shortly after my dad passed, I began to wonder if the story of cardinals visiting after loved ones have passed could have some truth to it.

And then this cardinal started showing up everywhere I travelled. At our daughter’s home, right outside the guest room window, in traveling on the highways, and I think even on a trip to France. There have been pairs of cardinals (male and female) who fly across my windshield right in front of me, so as to not let me miss this greeting. Maybe I’m just noticing more, or maybe there is truth in this legend.

Last week was a particularly difficult week and I found myself faced with many decisions to make- and honestly, I’m not so great at deciding. I was watching a video from the university I attend as part of my online curriculum from my desk. My window blinds were raised so I could catch the view of our garden out the window as I worked on my homework for the course. As the video was ending, I felt at peace with the decision I was struggling to make, when I caught something just outside the window in the corner of my eye. A pair of hummingbirds was pausing mid-flight to stop, and stare at me sitting at my desk, doing my homework. Wow! It left me speechless.

As I have been thinking about whether or not this is from God, I considered just how many examples from the Bible mention birds, included the one I have shared above. The conclusion I’ve drawn is that yes, God can and does use birds to deliver messages of hope. As Jesus is mentioning above, God knows each sparrow, they are not random, and since He knows the smallest little details, including the number of hairs on your head, He will take care of you.

If you think for a moment about other times birds are mentioned- the dove who brought back the olive branch for Noah after the flood, the Holy Spirit mentioned as like a dove, coming down from Heaven at Jesus’ baptism by John, as well as Jesus’ using birds for His teachings, it is not unreasonable to think that God could send little winged messengers to us. And I don’t mean angels. Just little birds to remind us, that we are going to be okay. Birds are not overlooked by God, and it is as if the birds are trying to remind us that they know God looks after them so we should trust God with all our stuff too- our finances, our struggles, our lives, our relationships, our decisions.

This has just been a thought for today, and I’d like to hear your feedback. Do you think God uses birds to teach us? God Bless, Nancy