Through the Window

If we read the Bible often enough we can begin to notice things. Repeated words or stories. Such is the case with today's story about windows.

In the 19th chapter of 1st Samuel, King Saul is trying to kill David. David's wife Michal warned David and helped him escape when Saul's men came for him.

"Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped." - 1 Samuel 19:11-12

That phrase, "through a window", caught my attention. I've read that before. 'Through a window' appears 11 times in the Bible.

The first is in the Book of Joshua when spies were sent into Jericho. To escape, Rahab let the spies down 'through a window.'

"So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall." - Joshua 2:15

Who was Rahab? A prostitute, yes, but what else is significant about her? And what did she accomplish for the spies?

Well, she delivered the spies from certain death. And she was in the lineage of the Messiah - Jesus.

The Apostle Paul was another example of someone being saved by being let down "through a window."

"In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands." - 2 Corinthians 11:32-33

Who was Paul? An apostle of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Hosea 13:3 mentions "escaping through a window." Even the Song of Songs speaks of someone "looking through a window." That 'someone' is Jesus.

It is only 'through' our faith in Jesus that we can escape this world and the death that awaits us all. Our faith in Jesus is the window.

We all have heard the phrase a "window of opportunity." What good is that opportunity if we don't take it? What good is a window if we don't use it?

"God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

WE are the ones that have to get into the basket, as Paul did. WE are the ones who have to go "through the window" by placing our faith in Jesus.

God has provided a means to escape sin and death. His name is Jesus. And Jesus is waiting on the other side of the window. Watching. Waiting.

What are you waiting for?

A Servant's Heart

"So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you." - John 13:12-15

I saw a wonderful example of a servant the other day - a mother with two special needs children. I was able to witness her amazing devotion as she attended to their every need.

It was an amazing thing to behold, especially when you consider that she does it every day, day after day, without end. She exhibited tremendous love for her children in doing so. 

Do we have that kind of love for others, that we would place someone else's needs above our own? Family members, yes. But a stranger?

Devotion, selflessness, obedient, loving, compassionate are a few of the words that describe the characteristics of a servant. Are we any of those? Jesus was, and is, all of the above.

Jesus wants us to be servants. We just read that He is our example. 

There is also a difference between a hired servant and one who does so willingly, at no cost to the recipient. I think that is what Jesus wants from us.

One would think then that churches would be absolutely filled with willing servants. Nope. In fact, according to Pew Research, only about 20% of mainline Protestants are highly involved in church activities. 16% for Catholics. The Episcopal church is the worst at 13%. Why so few? Good question.

When asked to serve, do we immediately say 'yes'? Or do we search for excuses for why we can't?

Serving others should be a 100% thing. Not for any particular church, but for our individual hearts. Do you have a servant's heart beating in you?

Our Devoted Things

When Joshua was leading the Israelites into the promised land, God instructed the people about what they should and shouldn't do. They were about to attack Jericho and God didn't want them to become corrupted by the people who lived there. 

"But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it." - Joshua 6:18

But, of course, someone disobeyed the Lord and stirred up God's wrath against them.

"But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel." - Joshua 7:1

God punished all of Israel and only relented when the offender was found out, repented and was punished.

"Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel." - Joshua 7:19-20

Achan was then taken outside the camp and was stoned to death for his sin.

There are some interesting things we can glean out of this story. But most notably, God will punish an entire nation for the sin of one person.

If we think of "the world" as Israel, and "outside the camp" is hell, what 'devoted things' of Satan's have we hidden in OUR tents?

"For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” - Mark 7:21-24

Even if we repent of having these things in our hearts, God's wrath still burns against us. We can say we are sorry and repent, just like Achan did. It doesn't matter. We are destined to be taken outside the camp and 'stoned to death.' Hell.

"In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." - Hebrews 9:22

We're all doomed! But....

"For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son...."

Jesus! Jesus died for our sins. He shed HIS blood for OUR sins. The sins of the entire world, "once for all." (Hebrews 10:10)

"...that whoever believes in Him shall not die but have eternal life." John 3:16

Jesus is our only hope.

Without Jesus we are destined to spend eternity in hell - "outside the camp." We must repent AND allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives. Now.

Without the blood of Jesus covering our sins we have no hope at all.

But...

"Blessed be the name of The Lord from this time forth and forever more." - Psalm 113:2

Knowledge of God

Imagine, if you will, a world without technology. No phones, computers, televisions, etc. What would it be like?

Heaven?

This phone I am using to write this story is convenient alright. I can sit here in my living room chair, in total darkness, and write about whatever comes to mind.

I can search the internet for pictures and Bible verses to add to my stories. Yet with all of the information and knowledge at my fingertips, something is still missing. 

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” - Daniel 12:4

We have a lot of "knowledge" in the world today. We have even created "artificial intelligence" to do a lot of our thinking for us. Is that a good thing?

I have seen interviews with some of the inventors of A.I. on the news. They say we should slow down in our development of A.I. There are dangers. What could possibly go wrong?

Have you ever seen Terminator or The Matrix? These are all science fiction movies but more and more, as time goes on, the 'fiction' part it becoming blurred.

Back in Jesus' day their 'technology' was writing on a scroll. Communication was largely done by word of mouth. But what good was any of it with out "ears to hear or eyes to see?"

Jesus often spoke in parables. Why? Because only those with "ears to hear" would understand. The thing we are missing in this world is a knowledge of God. HE gives wisdom to whomever he chooses.

"Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." - Matthew 13:11-17

The world we live in has a tremendous amount of knowledge, but it will never understand. Why? It's can't. Isaiah knew that. Jesus knew that.

"Blessed are your eyes because they see."

Lifting Others Up

This past Saturday I went to a celebration of life gathering for a friend of mine who had gone home to be with the Lord. It was wonderful.

One would have thought there was a church service going on, judging by the number of cars in the parking lot. Nope. My friend touched a lot of people's lives.

I looked around for my buddy's wife but couldn't find her. The fellowship area of the church was filled with people standing and sitting, talking and laughing. It resembled a normal Sunday morning after church lets out and everyone heads for the coffee and treats.

Then the sea of people parted and there she was. She was sitting down, a little dizzy from the day's events.

I had to wait a bit to see her but it was worth it. When she saw me she reached out her arms for a hug. So I bent down and gave her one. That's when it hit me - the topic for today's story.

I dropped to my knees in front of my friend and we had a wonderful conversation. It was a little hard getting up afterwards but it was worth it. Lol!

When we interact with people in our daily  lives we often do so from "our level." We do not tend to meet people where THEY are, emotionally or spiritually. To pick something up, don't we first bend down to get it?

A grieving widow should not  be the one to be walking around. We should come to her,  offering encouragement and support. And not as one handing scraps of food down to a dog under the dining room table. No. We should meet them face-to-face, heart-to-heart, if you will.

Think about it. A child can feel lonely in a room full of adults who are standing there, talking. But get down on the floor with a child and interact with them at their own level and you've gained a friend.

We spend too much time trying fit people into OUR lives. Instead, shouldn't we be trying to fit into theirs? And when we do, we can see them face to face. 

"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." - 1 Corinthians 3:12

I have heard it said, "Just be yourself. Your friends will find you." But if we truly love the lost and hurting, won't we search for them no matter where they are, until we find them and join them in their pain? To take them to a much happier place?

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be." - John 14:3

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’" - Luke 15:4-6

God's Doors

You cannot see them, but you often walk through them. Usually without knowing it. You can't open them for yourself. Instead, they are often opened for YOU, or closed.

"Doors" are interesting things..... in the spiritual world.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." - Matthew 7:7

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut." - Matthew 25:10

There you have it. Jesus opens and shuts doors, in His own words.

When Jesus opens a door in your life, it is for a reason. Walk through it. When He closes a door, don't try to break it down. It was closed on purpose.

The key to the whole "open door / closed door" thing is being able to discern who created the door. Satan makes traps and temps us to sin. And there's one of your discernment clues. 

Is this open door in God's will? Or is it leading to sin via temptation? How can we tell? How can we be sure? Read the Bible. All the answers are in there.

Maybe you have been praying about something. Was your prayer according to God's will? Does this door look like it could be an answer to that prayer? Then step through the opening.

Once you've experienced what God's doors look like, they become easier to recognize.

Earlier this week I was trying to arrange a meeting with a friend who was recovering  from a car accident. The details never got finalized and I was headed back home - a 60-minute drive.

About 30 minutes into my trip home I felt like I should turn around and try again to contact my friend. So I turned around, not knowing for sure if we would be meeting or not. Was God opening a door? Yes, He was.

My friend and I were finally able to meet. We talked and prayed for each other and both of us were blessed as a result. God is SO good to those who love Him.

This last passage contains many good words to remember regarding God's opening and closing of doors on our lives.

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this." Psalm 37:3-5

Our Deliverer

Have you ever listened to a reading of the Bible? Try it sometime. You don't have to spend time figuring out how to pronounce all those names (like Mephibosheth) and you just might 'hear' something you missed when simply reading it.

I was listening to the Book of Exodus this week and the story of Moses and Pharaoh. Moses was trying to free God's people and Pharaoh wasn't letting the people go.

Here are a few of the key verses. 

Moses, the deliverer, was born as a baby (Exodus 2:2). Jesus, OUR Deliverer, was born as a baby (Luke 2:7)

Pharaoh tried to have all of the male Hebrew babies killed (Exodus 1:16,22). Herod issued an order to kill all the Hebrew boys who were two years old or younger (Matthew 2:16).

Is not Pharaoh a representation of Satan? 

Are not God's people in Egypt a representation of those who believe in Christ? Is not Moses a foreshadowing of Jesus, the Messiah? Will not Jesus deliver Christians from a spiritual 'Egypt', which is this sin-filled world we live in, just as God delivered His people through Moses?

Again and again, Pharaoh hardened his heart until those relentlessly pursuing God's people were 'drowned in the sea.' Just like Satan, and all those who follow him, will fight to the end against Almighty God and one day will be thrown into 'the lake of fire?'

We live in a spiritual 'Egypt' with Satan ruling over us. He is an evil and wicked taskmaster. We who believe in Christ have been set free from the bondage of our sins. And one day soon we will ultimately be delivered from 'Egypt' to our eternal 'Promised Land.'

Moses was an obedient deliverer for God's people in Egypt, just as Jesus, the obedient Son of the One True God, is OUR deliverer from Satan and the sin in this world.

Would you like to be delivered from death? Then place your faith and trust in THEE Deliverer, Jesus. Do that and you will live eternally with Him. But if you won't follow Him, then you have sentenced yourself to being thrown into 'the Nile.'

The choice is yours. It's all up to you. What will YOU choose?

What A Friend

According to Facebook, I have 529 friends. Well, that's a lie, by MY definition of 'friends' anyway.

As I look through my friends list I see people who I have never even met. And some of my Facebook friends are actually dead.

If these people were really my friends, wouldn't we be talking with each other occasionally? Doing stuff together? Grabbin' some lunch or hanging out?

I saw someone at the disc golf course the other day. I hadn't seen him for five or six years, since his wife's funeral. Yet we hugged and talked like old friends, which is what we are.

Most Facebook-type friends are someone you interacted with for a period of time, but have since moved on from. They don't unfriend you because they like to keep their number of 'friends' high.

One of my favorite verses is Deuteronomy 31:6

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” - Deuteronomy 31:6

That sounds like the definition of a true friend - never leaving or forsaking. 

Most of my really good friends are the result of a struggle we have walked through together. We emerged on the other side of that struggle as extremely close and strong friends (there's about a dozen).

How many of your friends are of the really close, personal kind? How many have you walked with through tough times? How many have you prayed with? How many are you willing to die for? I hope you have many.

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." - John 15:30

Perhaps today would be a good day to contact those really good friends and thank them for allowing you into their lives.

And that includes God. Because, quite honestly, there is no friend quite like Jesus... who died for us... because He loved us so much.

What A Friend We Have In Jesus - Alan Jackson

Punctuation

Do you think punctuation in a sentence is important? Let's see.....

My three favorite things are eating my family and not using commas.

Well, I guess that answers THAT question.

Punctuation is VERY important when trying to relate a thought or a concept to someone in writing.

Did you know that in the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament, there were no vowels or punctuation at all? It's true. No spaces between Greek words in the New Testament, or punctuation either. And no verse numbers or headings anywhere in the any original text. Parchment was hard to come by so every square inch counted, I guess.

It wasn't until the Masorites - ancient Jewish scholars - that punctuation was added. That happened between 700 and 1000 AD.

When the New King James Bible was first published in 1611 there were still no quotation marks. There STILL aren't to this day. So how do we really know who said what?

I bring all this up because of one Bible verse - John 3:13

Jesus was talking with Nicodemus about being born again and who is in heaven. Here is the present day New King James Version of John 3:13:

No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

There is a quotation mark preceeding this verse (back in verse 10 of the NKJV). That would seem to indicate that Jesus said these words. But the KJV still has no quotation marks at all. Read the verse again. It almost sounds as if the Apostle John himself was commenting on who is in heaven.

Remember, there were no quotation marks in The Bible until 1600 years after John wrote all this, and after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension.

"SOMEONE" decided when and where they thought quotation marks were used. It wasn't John. And they were way smarter than me.

So, what does all this mean? Pay attention when you read the Bible. Analyze it. Look at all the footnotes and subscripts. She what was changed and when. And pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read.

We should seek the truth above all else. And Jesus IS the truth.

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men." - Acts 17:11-12

How Was Biblical Puncuation Decided? - Christianity.com

Living In Egypt

Where do you live?

Sorry. I shouldn't have sprung that question on you so early in the morning. It's a trick question you see.

"For in him we live and move and have our being." - Acts 17:28

Today's verse is not attributed to one of the Apostles or to Jesus. It is a quote from Epimenides, an ancient Cretan philosopher. Paul used the quote when he spoke to the Greeks in the Areopagus in Athens.

Paul used the words of someone they were familiar with to explain to them who he was and what he was doing there. And what was Paul doing in Athens? He was spreading the good news about Jesus, The Messiah. What Paul was saying was that, in Christ, he lived and moved and had his being."

I invite you to read that verse again. Read it slowly and let its words seep deep down into your heart.

Now.....with the words of Epimenides fresh in your mind, 'where do you live?'

We live....in Christ!

Why?

Because, "in Him, we live and move and have our being." At least we should.

When God's people lived as slaves in Egypt they prayed for a deliverer. God heard their prayer and sent them Moses. But when Moses led them out of Egypt most wanted to return there when times got tough.

"They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” - Exodus 14:11-12

My friends, wherever we are physically living, this world is spiritually "living in Egypt," right now. Even though we are slaves to it, we like it here. We're used to it. We're comfortable.

Jesus is our deliverer. He came to deliver us out of Egypt (this world). And He will do it again one day. Soon. But until then, we will keep "making bricks," or whatever else it is we do. Only we will do so with an incredible hope. Hope in our deliverer,  Jesus. 

"Where do you live?"

"In Christ!"

A Memorial

Today is Memorial Day in America. It is a day we remember those who have given their lives defending our country. 🇺🇸

I don't want to diminish their sacrifice in any way, but today I'm going to tell you the story of another "soldier" instead. Her name is Rebecca and she is from Nigeria. 🇳🇬

Rebecca and her daughter were out walking one day and as they were returning home they saw smoke rising from their village and heard the sound of gunshots.

Rebecca's village was under attack by Boko Haram - an Islamic extremist organization. They were hunting down and killing Christians that day.

Rebecca and her daughter survived. Her husband and son did not. Their family's Bible also managed to survive through the flames that consumed their home. Rebecca now reads it to her daughter and the other children in her village. 

We are in a war right now in this world, and many don't even know it. There is no sound of gunfire. There is no smell of smoke in the air. Just souls melting slowly and quietly from life into death. Without tears. Without mourning. Without hope.

The only thing that can save us in this silent world war is faith in Jesus Christ. And our weapon of choice is the Bible - God's Word.

The battle is coming to your village soon, if it's not there already. The Apostle Paul has some words of advice that will help us as we fight.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:10-17

That sounds like someone getting ready for battle. Is it you?

Rebecca of Nigeria - VOM 2022

What Is Paradise?

"What is paradise to you?"

That was a text I received this past weekend from a former youth group kid.

I thought about the question for a while. What exactly IS paradise? I remember writing a story about it recently. Maybe I should go back and read it. Lol!

If you Google pictures of 'paradise' you get a lot of images from tropical islands. That's what Google thinks paradise is.

There is an after-life place, that Jesus called 'paradise, ' where the righteous and unrighteous go to await their entry into heaven, or hell. That's the REAL paradise.

"Today you will be with me in paradise." - Luke 23:43

For some, paradise is whatever WE think sounds good to us.

Some people might think that paradise is playing golf, or relaxing on a beach. Some anticipate a reunion with friends or family members. I guess it all depends on you.

Paradise for the Christian however seems to be focused on God, not on self.

Hope is a wonderful thing. Hope is what keeps us waking up in the morning. We hope for good weather, we hope our sore back will feel better soon.

Shouldn't our hope be in Jesus? Shouldn't paradise be about God rather than ourselves?

"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.

For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Therefore encourage one another with these words." - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Paradise is being in the presence of our Lord. I don't think any personal scenario based on OUR desires is as important as worshipping 'in spirit and truth,' along with our brothers and sisters in Christ, forever. But that's just me.

What do YOU think?