Archive for category: Random Thoughts

Ever eaten a salt potato?
Syracuse salt potatoes are boiled with so much salt,
they come out covered in white crust.

By adding a really really really large amount of salt (two cups of salt
for every eight cups of water) cooks in central NY create a white-
crusted creamy potato.

It’s easy to take salt for granted.
But during Roman times, salt was so valuable soldiers were paid with
salt. It was extremely valued.
In fact, that’s where the saying, “Are you worth your salt?” came from.

Having salt was considered a sign of wealth.
We get the word salary from salt.

Jesus knew the importance of salt, and He referred to it in His
sermon on the mount:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,
how can it be made salty again?” (Matthew 5:13 NIV) 

Let’s look at this same Scripture from The Message paraphrase:
“Let me tell you why you are here.

You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors
of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste
godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the
garbage.

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing
out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept.
We’re going public with this.” (Matthew 5:13-16 The Message)

Our heavenly Father wants to use US to bring out His God-flavors
and His God-colors!

Wouldn’t it be great—if like the potatoes boiled in so much salt that
they come out white-crusted—WE would be so saturated with the
Holy Spirit that we are God-crusted each day?

In other words, we abandon ourselves in such a way to Him,
that after spending time with Jesus,
we come out drenched in Him . . .
ooozing His Spirit . . .
saturated in God-colors . . .
acting and reacting in God-flavors to those around us!

Thoughts?

I just finished speaking at a non-denominational ladies conference in
Cannon Beach, Ore., and God truly blessed our services. Thank you
so much for your prayers. He is so faithful!

Back story: Before Elijah defeated the 450 false prophets of the
false god of Baal, he told wicked King Ahab that God would withhold
rain from the land. God made good on His Word, and the result was a
severe famine.

King Ahab summoned Obadiah (who was in charge of his
palace (and also a devout believer in Jehovah God).

Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the
springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the
horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals”
(1 Kings 18:5 NIV).

They split up, and King Ahab went one way while Obadiah
headed the other direction. Meanwhile, evil Queen Jezebel was busy
killing God’s prophets.

Elijah is thinking he’s the only Jehovah-follower left. The Queen
had already killed so many godly people. The country was in horrible
shape due to the famine, and Elijah knew he’d have to face King
Ahab and take on the 450 prophets of Baal.

But as Obadiah was searching for grass to feed the king’s
animals, Elijah crossed paths with him. Imagine Elijah’s surprise to
discover that while Jezebel was killing off God’s prophets, Obadiah
had taken 100 godly prophets and hidden them in two caves—50 in
each cave. Obadiah had kept them safe and provided them with food
and water in the middle of the famine!

When things looked like they couldn’t get any worse, God was
working quietly behind the scenes.

You may remember the godly priest Eli of Israel. He was the
one who mentored Samuel. Eli had two wicked sons: Hophni and
Phinehas. These two men were serving as temple priests but they
didn’t have a relationship with God. They took advantage of the
people who brought sacrifices, became sexually involved with women
around the temple, and were extremely dishonest.

People wondered why God didn’t do something to stop this
horrific situation. But what they didn’t know was that God was quietly
working behind the scenes. He was allowing the Philistine army to
gain strength. Pushing the fast-forward button, we see that a few
years later, the Philistines defeated the Israelites—and killed
Phinehas and Hophni.

What does this mean for us?
We can know that our God never stops working.
He never sleeps, goes on vacation or puts us on hold.

When our situation seems horrific and we wonder why He
hasn’t moved, it may be that He’s working quietly behind the scenes.
Sometimes we see Him explosively arrive in full detail. Other
times He simply works quietly behind the scenes.

So we can rest in God’s peace. And what kind of peace does
He give? “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart! And
the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t
be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27 LB).

If you’re facing a wall and wondering why God isn’t moving on
your behalf . . . it could be that He IS, but He’s simply working quietly
behind the scenes right now.
In His perfect timing, He will reveal Himself.
He always does.

Thoughts?

Once in a while I hear someone say, “Whoa!”
But I never hear anyone say “Woe!”
It’s a word we don’t use much anymore.

But Isaiah used it—and when we did—it had a powerful
meaning. Let’s take a look:

“Woe to me!” I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean
lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have
seen the King, the Lord Almighty’ ” (Isaiah 6:5 NIV).

Isaiah got close enough to God, he was able to see Him as He
truly is—exalted and in fathomless glory. Isaiah’s response?
“Woe to me!”
And he cried this exclamation.

The apostle John, when banished on the criminally infested,
rocky, volcanic island of Patmos, also saw God in the exalted Christ.

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. . . .”
(John 1:17 LB).

John’s response? He fainted.
He was out cold. Down for the count.

When God passed by Moses, He told Moses to cover his face.
Moses obeyed, but after God had passed by and Moses joined his
people, they noticed his face was shining in brilliance because he had
been so close to the Lord. (See Exodus 33:19-23)

Ezekiel saw a vision of God:
“And when I saw it, I fell face downward on the ground. . . .”
(Ezekiel 1:28 LB).

He fainted.

Why all the drama? Fainting, crying “Woe,” and out cold?
It’s because when we get close enough to God and see Him
exalted—as He truly is—we are suddenly and keenly aware of our
own sinfulness.

As long as we don’t get that close to God, we can live
comfortably with our own personal holiness. But when He truly
reveals Himself to us in His perfect glory, we become radically
changed.

Instead of being satisfied with where we are spiritually right now
. . . lets become consistently agitated until we are close enough to
God that we become radically changed.

Thoughts?

Please pray for me as I speak in Nacogdoches, Texas this
weekend.

We’re taking a look at some well-known thoughts that we tend to
misinterpret biblically.

“God will only give me what I can handle.”

We often assume God won’t load our lives with more than we can
bear. Many Christians make this faulty assumption based on the fact
that God won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle.

Here’s the proof:
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to
mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted
beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will
also provide a way out so that you can endure it”
(1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV).

Make no mistake.
God will always provide a way out of temptation.

But temptation is a completely different subject than life’s difficulties.
We often have more than we can bear.
And many times God calls us to do something beyond our
strength.

Check out what the apostle Paul experienced in Asia:

“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to
endure . . . we felt we had received the sentence of death.
“But this happened that we might not rely on
ourselves but on God, who raises the dead”
(2 Corinthians 1:8-9 NIV).

Did you catch that?
Paul thought he was dying!

The pressure was so unbearable, the difficulty so horrific,
he thought he’d never see another sunset.
It was definitely MORE than he could handle!

But what happened?
He relied on God!

Let’s read what he wrote later:

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses,
         in insult,
                in hardships,
                         in persecutions,
                                  in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong”
(2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV).

Instead of saying that God won’t give us more than we can handle,
let’s try saying this:

God will often give us more than we can handle, but never more
than we can handle when we depend on His strength instead of
our own.

Thoughts?

“It’s not God who sends people to hell; they send
themselves.”

That’s like saying, “Teachers don’t punish students who misbehave;
they punish themselves.”

Allow me to revert back to my third-grade self for a moment. As a
student who was disciplined for talking in class, I can guarantee that I
never punished myself.

My teacher could have said, “Susie, by talking out of turn, you’ve
chosen detention.” But that wouldn’t have been accurate.

If I reject the class rules, I must accept the consequences.
But I didn’t choose the consequences.

My teacher sent me to detention because I rejected the rules.
I like my teacher. She’s a good instructor. By saying, “I sent myself to
detention,” I’m trying to make my teacher look better. Would a good
and loving teacher actually choose to send her student to detention?
You can see where I’m going with this, can’t you?

We don’t need to defend God.
He’s big enough to stand on His own.
And a perfect,
just,
loving,
fair God

says He will send those who reject Him to hell.
Yes, man chooses to accept or reject God.
Yes, man has no choice but to face the consequences of his
decision.
But God is the One who actually sends sinners to hell.

“And if anyone’s name was not found recorded in the Book of
Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire” (Revelation 20:15 LB).

“But I’ll tell you whom to fear—fear God who has the power
to kill and then cast into hell” (Luke 12:5 LB).

“Fear only God who can destroy both soul and body
in hell” (Matthew 10:28 LB).

The good news is that He doesn’t want anyone to go to hell!
His desire is that all would choose Him.
But He allows us to make the decision.

I have been saved from hell, not simply because I have confessed,
repented and accepted God’s forgiveness for my sins . . .
but
also
because
I believe HIM.
I believe He is perfect.
I believe what He says is true.
And I believe everything He says.
Because God says He will send people to hell—and isn’t ashamed of
it—then I shouldn’t try to make Him sound better by attempting to
explain away His actions.

He explains Himself through Scripture.

Thoughts?

Please pray for me this week as I speak at the East TN District camp
meeting.