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Archive for the ‘God’ Category

Sabbath thoughts – Why the Law?

Posted in God, tagged , on March 19, 2023|

Have you ever wondered why Adonai gave us the law, the commands, the rules? Why is the law even necessary?

One of the purposes of the law was to correct for the partiality of humans. The righteous man may have the righteousness of Adonai (Torah) substantially written on His heart. He desires justice most of the time, but his weakness is his family, his friends–his prejudices. Those “like” or “with” him.

The law of Adonai (not to be confused with the law of men) is without partiality. When applied as given by Adonai, the law achieves its purpose–it brings truth, fairness, and impartiality to the affairs of men. Nevertheless, man battles and harangues to insert his prejudices. This is at the heart of much of organized religion–it seeks to define lines for which a person is kept in or kept out. These lines are often drawn to keep out those who are “different” from the dominant group. However, in its pure state, the law of Adonai is sweet, pure and impartial. It invites the greatest of sinners to become as pure as the driven snow. It knows no unredeemable human.

Church of the Holy Sepulchre – Jerusalem

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Thoughts for the Sabbath

Posted in God, Sabbath, tagged , , on March 10, 2023|

     I think the mistake people often make in thinking about God is to think of Him as linear, boxed in or predictable. No, He is not contained by the ordinary, the clear route, the short cut or the safe choice. The longer I walk with Adonai, the more I see He loves creativity, the path less traveled. He loves the winding country road lined with untrimmed trees guarding the edges of endless corn fields, stalks waving in the gentle summer breeze. He loves the walk by the surf listening to the waves crash against the sand, the wind and the spray. Mostly He treasures a day spent in thought of Him, a time like the Sabbath when He can speak into our rest–speak of His great love, provision and plans for us.
     Abba is never rushed with us. His limits, which he lovingly installs, keep us from harm and evil. Great is His concern for His children. He lovingly disciplines us when we require it.
     Coming to Abba is like eating from a bag of mixed jelly beans, different flavors continue to delight the palate–no way to know what flavor is coming next. I think this is part of His vision for our relationship with Him. Some parts worship, some parts petition, contrition, confession, rejoicing, abiding, adoration, but always open, honest, intimate fellowship.
We see a picture of this varied tapestry of prayer and worship–life with Adonai in the offerings described in the book of Leviticus. Some offerings are for unintentional sins, some for marking a new season of life, a healing from illness. Some mark an ending of a season or moed (appointed time). Some are just to sit with God and enjoy being with Him–to receive His shalom (peace).
The offerings remind us that God intends our relationship with Him to involve all the aspects of our life, e.g. beginnings and endings, successes and failures, as well as regular times of being in relationship with the Lover of our souls. The God who sees us.

It is our desire to help you grow in your knowledge of Adonai and His Word. If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Good Morning, Abba

Posted in God, Poem, tagged , on April 11, 2021|

I rise to greet You
I rub the sleep from my eyes
dew still soaks the spring flowers
the lush forest of Your presence awaits me
in the book of remembrance

I approach
arms open wide
anticipating Your embrace
Abba!
Abba!
Good Morning!

Copyright MaryBeth 2021

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Knowing God (His Love is Amazing – Esther)

Posted in Attributes, Bible, God, Love, Old Testament, tagged , , , on February 27, 2021|

A wonderful picture of God’s amazing love is seen in the life of Queen Esther.  She, a Jewish girl orphaned at a young age, is raised by her uncle in Shushan, the capital city of the Medo-Persian empire.  She ends up in a nationwide beauty contest for which the first prize is to become queen.  She becomes the queen of the country.

But the evidence of God’s love in the story of Esther is not about her becoming Queen.  This is no Cinderella story.  Rather, this is the story of a God who sees everything, the beginning from the end.  He knows what lies ahead for His people, and He makes provision for them, even provision in the form of a young, scared Jewish girl.  He keeps all the promises to them no matter how long ago He made them.

When the wicked Haman, an important man in the King’s court, came on the scene and convinced the King of Medo-Persia to pass a law whereby the Jews would be slaughtered and their possessions taken by their neighbors, God had a plan already in place.  That plan was carried forward by Queen Esther.  God had hidden Esther in the pavilions of the palace of the King of Medo-Persia.  She would, in due time, be the vehicle by which God saved His people, the people from which the Messiah would come forth in the fulfillment of time.

You know the story . . . Esther convinces the King through a series of meals and events to pass another law which allows the Jews to survive, thereby preserving the Messianic line for the time hundreds of years later when a baby would be born to a descendant of David, of the tribe of Judah, in the town of Bethlehem as it was promised.

This is God’s love for us.  He makes a promise and never allows it to be broken, so that in the fullness of time, He can keep His promise.   God cannot lie.   Study to know what God has promised for you.

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God’s Love is Amazing – the Story of Naomi and Ruth

Posted in Attributes, Bible, Bible Study, God, Love, Old Testament, Ruth, Ruth, the provider, tagged , , , , , , , on May 7, 2020|

One of the best short books of the Bible is the book of Ruth.  It can be easily read in one sitting.  The story begins with Naomi and her husband leaving Bethlehem, their hometown, during a time of famine to go to Moab, a land occupied by the enemies of God.

While in Moab, Naomi’s husband and both of her sons die, leaving her with her two daughters-in-law.  One of her daughters-in-law chooses to stay in Moab, but Ruth, her other daughter-in-law, returns with Naomi to Bethlehem.

With nothing to show for her travel abroad, Naomi returns to her hometown with the clothes on her back.

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Shepherd’s fields of the Bethlehem region

In the day in which Naomi lived, the fate of a widow was a difficult one.

After her husband and sons die, Naomi is left without a means of support in Moab. Without hope,  Naomi returns to the land of her forefathers.

In doing so, she avails herself of the promises and protections of God’s people. God takes care of His children’s every need, physical, emotional and spiritual.

If you are struggling with your situation and are seeking the land of God’s promise, open His word. Study it systematically and with a heart to know Him better, and He can lead you home, to the land of promise.

Consider using one of our verse-by-verse Bible studies in the Words of His Mouth Series to help you on your way–maybe even the study through the Book of Ruth.

If you are looking for additional information and/or materials, please visit our website at RootedinHisWord.org and our Facebook page. 

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Moving Forward

Posted in Knowing God, Romans, tagged , , on January 12, 2019|

Moving Forward

    I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1 (NKJV)

Paul’s passion for those in the body of Christ is evident in the opening phrase of Romans 12 where he beseeches or urges us to present our bodies as living sacrifices.

If we are to do this presentation of our bodies (our lives) to God, it will have to be by the mercies of God. That is to say that God will be and is the power behind and the heart behind our desiring to dedicate our bodies (lives) to pleasing God.

He calls us to present our bodies–a voluntary action, a volitional choice–I (we) must make to be set apart for (holy) and pleasing to God.

The sacrifice I am to make is my body–and that is really all that I have to give to God.
Under the law, it is understood that in order to cover sin, to be holy and acceptable to God, a death must occur–more specifically, blood must be shed. Leviticus 11:17 instructs us blood makes atonement for the soul.

The sacrifice that I must present under the new covenant, established by Jesus and stamped with His authority as God by His resurrection, is to die to my flesh, to my own desires. This death to self will allow the Spirit of God to reign in my body. My life will then evidence the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23, namely love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control.

Paul finishes by saying this is my reasonable service. I am a bond servant of God, and in light of what He has done for me, it a small thing for me to give my life–my sacrifice–to Him.

As Paul said in Romans 6:19, [f]or just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

We will be a slave to something. Paul makes it clear who we are to serve and what is required–nothing less than everything.

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Remembering to Remember

Posted in Knowing God, Prayer, Uncategorized, tagged , , on June 20, 2018|

When I first started practicing law, my mentor told me to write everything down after speaking to a client or another attorney. I nodded and smiled to myself knowing that I didn’t need to write every little thing down. I had a great memory!

A few years down the pike and some years of practice under my belt . . . and the birth of my child – and well, getting older, I started to see what he meant about writing things down.

Today, I write everything down – even so, I forget.

My relationship with God is no exception to this memory loss issue. I need to remember to remember God.

Sometimes, I can be in the midst of my trouble or trial, and I forget that I have a God who loves me–who is near to me–who will never leave or forsake me. I find myself acting as if I am in this trouble alone.

When I finally remember, I feel foolish. How could I forget about God?

My solution? I try to keep God always on my mind.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray without ceasing. In other words, keep a constant connection to God through prayer.

Remember to remember God. It will make a difference in how you handle life’s challenges.

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Poem for For Lent

Posted in Easter, God, tagged , , , on March 27, 2013|

LEngleMadeleine“For Lent, 1966”           By Madeleine L’Engle

It is my Lent to break my Lent

To eat when I would fast

To know when slender strength is spent

Take shelter from the blast

When I would run with wind and rain

To sleep when I would watch.

It is my Lent to smile at pain

But not ignore its touch.

It is my Lent to listen well

When I would be alone,

To talk when I would rather dwell

In silence turn from none

Who call on me to try to see

That what is truly meant

Is not my choice.

If Christ’s I’d be

It’s thus I’ll keep my Lent.

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In the Cross of Christ I Glory

Posted in Crucifixion, Easter, God, tagged , , , , on March 20, 2013|

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
 
When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me:
Lo! It glows with peace and joy.
 
When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more lustre to the day.
 
Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.

by John Bowering

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Hosanna

Posted in Bible, Easter, God, hymns, Jesus, Palm Sunday, worship, tagged , , , , on March 13, 2013|

palm sundayHosanna, loud hosanna,
The little children sang;
Through pillared court and temple
The lovely anthem rang.
To Jesus, who had blessed them,
Close folded to His breast,
The children sang their praises,
The simplest and the best.
 
From Olivet they followed
Mid an exultant crowd,
The victor palm branch waving
And chanting clear and loud.
The Lord of earth and heaven
Rode on in lowly state
Nor scorned that little children
Should on His bidding wait.
 
“Hosanna in the highest!”
That ancient song we sing,
For Christ is our Redeemer,
The Lord of heav’n our King.
Oh, may we ever praise Him
With heart and life and voice
And in His blissful presence
Eternally rejoice!

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