Lilies of the Field

Hard times. Suffering. Times of judgment on a nation. Evil, corrupt leadership.  What's a Christian to do? What is the answer? Is it found in politics? Is it burying one's head in the sand hoping and praying everything will turn out okay as it has in the past? Is it rallying the patriotism of old?  We've molded a god into our own image; we've replaced the God of Scripture with this idol of self. What should we expect? In a discussion I was having with someone close to me a couple of decades ago about judgment to come on our nation, this one I love said, "We're America! I fought with the strongest military in the world. It will never happen!" According to Scripture, passages like Romans 1, it has happened. The greatest military in all the world cannot stop or reverse the judgment of God against a nation. Even in the proud rebellion of unbelief and thoughts of invincibility, no one can thwart His hand.  How is the believer to stand strong when life around th...

Today, we are suffering. Today our nation is reeling from the news we received yesterday out of Uvalde, Texas. What should be the believer's first response to tragedy? Worship. Some might say, "How is that possible?" Did you ever wonder why 'prayer' and God's name being mentioned is one of the first things that comes out of the mouths of most people in times of intense suffering when otherwise they rarely mention Him (unless to take His name in vain)? How does one worship a God he doesn't know? The only way is to worship a false god. Believers, on the other hand, worship and point those who do not know Him to the truths of the gospel. Paul could say, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18)." Paul suffered, but because he knew his God, he was lifted above his trials to fix his gaze on future glory. We must do the same. It makes all the difference in the ...

We're looking at what God says about the sin of idolatry. We read the following verse from the second chapter of Habakkuk and may be tempted to say, "I'm good." But if we do; we have missed the mark by a mile. Maybe you don't bow down to statues carved by the hands of men, but your struggle with idolatry is real. Calvin said that "the human heart is a factory of idols. Every one of us is, from his mother's womb, is an expert in inventing idols." When we take the good things in our lives and make them the ultimate things...the dominant things that demand our focus... anything other than God...we have manufactured idols we choose to worship over and above God. In essence, we (sometimes ever so gently) remove God from His rightful throne and put our own gods there, instead. One hot topic issue today involving idolatry, no true Christian would dispute:  Abortion (the worship of self, one's own body, and thinking one can choose her own future). Thos...

I began this post weeks ago. Covid has swept through my family; my second round. After two weeks of not the worst illness I've ever had...again...I still have a faint line on my test. I had plans tonight! But, alas, until there's no slight evidence of covid, I remain home; and I press on to complete this post before I completely lose my train of thought. Sigh!  Because the next woe in Habakkuk deals with idolatry, I wanted to take a look at the idea of worship. Some would put worship in a category of something people ought not speak about-- religion . Politics is the other topic sure to cause many to see red. Interestingly, often it is politicians who try to mix the two together as they try to lead others into idolatry. Those without a biblical worldview can easily get sucked into Satan's agenda as they blindly follow the 'narrative' being thrust upon them by his minions.  You know something: When my husband was first indicted, his attorneys, (then later our other a...

Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, who mix in your venom even to make them drunk so as to look on their nakedness! You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the Lord's right hand will come around to you and utter disgrace will come upon your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, and the devastation of its beasts by which you terrified them, because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, to the town and all its inhabitants.  (Habakkuk 2:15-17)  While contemplating what to write regarding the next portion of our text in Habakkuk 2, I did a casual google search regarding 'the glory of the world'. Let me save you some grief and just say:  Don't do it!  How on earth did I come up with that? Going back one verse helped me put the passage into context.  For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. ...

Looking back, I should have known I was in trouble. Have you ever said that to yourself? I was getting far too comfortable in my life. Though I would have defied anyone to tell me otherwise, I truly believed I trusted the Lord for my every need. But did I really even know what that looked like? I was about to get an object lesson to show me otherwise. That's what prison did for me. Yes, although it was mortifyingly humiliating and shameful to my flesh, I can look back and see how it was good for me spiritually.  I never want to get too comfortable in this world again! Coming face to face with my own depravity, finally realizing that I am nothing and He is everything was very good for me! I thank God for His mercy in dealing with me exactly as He knew I needed to mold me and shape me in the image of His Son, while at the same time orchestrating all things according to His providential hand. Babylon's (the Chaldeans) origin goes all the way back to Babel. What was their great sin...

Biblically speaking, have you ever stopped to think about what you are studying in depth at the moment? Off the top of my head, I would say Habakkuk (for this blog) and 1 Kings (in our women's Bible study group). As I was meditating on all that I am learning presently, I realized that our pastor just got finished expositing the book of Ruth and is heading into the book of Colossians. John MacArthur (our pastor from Cali and from the Grace Church live feed--which fits perfectly into our different time zones--thank You, Lord!) is expositing Ephesians; and various pastors are going through the minor prophets in the Sunday evening services. Outside of Scripture, but in keeping with it, our church's ladies book club just finished the apologetical book, Always Ready , and is now reading this month Beginning at Moses . My cup surely runneth over!!! As I began to think about this, I considered how the Lord is dovetailing and weaving all I am learning that should be applied to my life. ...