Circle of Events in One Very Long Sentence

The other day I was trying to get more sunlight for my cat and I so I decided to move a tray table that I use for my plants because it was blocking the sunlight spots in my living room; well I accidentally tilted the tray table, which made the plant fall to the ground, which made the soil fall on my carpet, which made me have to re-pot that plant, which made me re-pot 2 other plants, which made me get the vacuum out to clean up the dirt, which made me notice the dusty inside window sill that was near the fallen plants which I then decided to vacuum, which made me notice the other dusty living room window sill, which made me vacuum that one, which made me think since the vacuum is out, I need to vacuum my apartment.

And all I was trying to do was get more sun on my aching body. 

I learned from my cat, that when I can't get out of the house, I lay in the sunlight because it feels good on my body. He does it all the time, I didn't understand it until I tried it out...lol... it feels good.

Will You Take the Path to be Born of God?

Are You Born of God?

When people ask this question, they don't literally mean that you were birthed and

came out of the womb of God, like a baby comes out of the womb of his mother. 

They are talking about it spiritually.



1 John 5 verse 1 says: 

" Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him." KJV 

or if you want to read it in an easier standard, let's try the NIV:

 "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well." (1 John 5:1)

and then there is John 3:16 (NIV) says: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

In other words, If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, you are born of God a.k.a. being born again (spiritually). Our father God and his son Jesus Christ are one, so if you love one, you love the other.  It's kind of like eating ice cream, you like eating the ice cream and all it's ingredients that make up the ice cream. They are all as one.

that concludes being born of God 101



note: all scripture is from www.biblegateway.com
photo is by Expressive Praise by Tanya Kirkendall

Be Careful What you Promise to God

I was reading a book the other day and it mentioned Judges 11:30-39. So I got my old Student Bible out that was given to me around 1986 from my Sunday School Teacher. Do you ever read something in the Bible and you are surprised at what you are reading?

First we read, verse 30 and 31:

" And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands,  whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

That prayer may sound kind of reasonable, if you have a lot of animals in your house. Yet I couldn't or don't want to sacrifice my cat Buttons. I don't know what Jephtah was thinking when he asked that request. Maybe he was just desperate for winning. (Let's call Jephthah, "Jeph," for short.)

Let's read on in verse 32

"Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands..."

That sounds great. Jeph got exactly what he wanted from the Lord. 

Verse 34: "When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter."

Oh no, STOP!!! His daughter comes out of his house.That wasn't supposed to happen. I mean, Jeph, never even considered that his daughter would be the one to be sacrificed.  (I would have said, "oops, God, I made a mistake.) Remember what he said to the Lord. God, if you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of Jeph's door, I promise I will give it in a burnt sacrifice.

Let's continue:   

"When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, 'Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.'

(I think it's sad that he seems to blame it on his daughter; she had no idea that he made a vow to the Lord.)

“My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.  But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

“You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry.  After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin."

Wow, what devotion Jeph and his daughter had. I think I would have liked to say, "Just because you made a vow with God, doesn't mean I have to follow through with it. BUT she went along with it. That is devotion or dedication. That's amazing, yet strange to my human eyes and ears.  I don't know what kind of sacrifice he had to make because She says that she will never marry and I guess she will remain a virgin. It seems like maybe there was another kind of sacrifice he was going to do instead of killing her. She grieves because she will never marry, not because she will die. Interesting!!!

 So I am thinking maybe the sacrifice wasn't where he had to kill the offering. Whatever it was, they were both dedicated and I hope God blessed them for it.

How many of us made a promise to God and kept it, even when it affected others? Now that's something to think about.

scripture taken from: 

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+11%3A30-39&version=NIV

picture of sunset by Expressive Praise, a.k.a. Tanya Kirkendall