I’ve missed posting this week, but every time I started to write something it sounded whiny. My work life is a series of challenges and has been for over a year. I know it’s where God wants me to be – what He’s called me to – but the path is rough and my inadequacy is showing through. My boss tells me that in this last series of challenges I may feel inadequate, but the truth is that many of us haven’t been given the tools to do what is required of us. (He always knows how to make me feel better.) Ever heard of ISO9001-2000? 5S/Lean Manufacturing? Kaizan? Me neither until recently. Now I have to become an expert on the fly. It ain’t gonna happen. Oh, I’ll learn, but it’s going to take time. I dreamed about all this early this morning; alll those stacks of paperwork woke me early. That’s not a good sign.
Couple with all this the fact that I haven’t seen my kids and kidlettes in at least 2 weeks and you get a grouchy Mamaw. The sinus bug bit me and I’ve been staying away from them all, especially the tiniest, since they definitely don’t need this respiratory problem. A shot and a Z-pak have done the trick and I may actually get to see at least some of them today & tomorrow. You know I’ll feel better then.
Missing church last week also made me crankier. Being involved in Bible study and hearing God’s Word preached each week breaks the fast of the previous days. You know I do have my own worship time, but God created us to want/need corporate worship. It’s who we are in His body of believers.
For those of you who missed it, Pearce McGuire Phillips made his entrance into our world on February 1, 2008. He’s a laid-back little fellow, according to his mom. You can read more about that family right here. And I really need to see Katelee & Tucker real soon. OK, kids & kidlettes, Mamaw needs an infusion of family time.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
There are many daily Bible reading plans that will take you through the entire Bible in one year. This year I’m going straight through from Genesis through The Revelation, which means that right now I’m in Leviticus. A dear lady in my SS class, who loves and faithfully studies the Bible, is reading in Leviticus and Numbers and commented on how burdensome and boring these two books can be.
Genesis is God’s way of taking us back to our beginnings to show us how He planned, created and orchestrated all of this for all of us. Here He first teaches us of the gloriousness of His plan for us; He reveals as much as we can understand of why He created us. God also shows us how He is always at work in the lives of people, especially the ones He has chosen to carry on His work. Genesis shows us that nothing ever occurs to God; He’s known all of it from forever.
Exodus is the exciting picture of God showing off His glory to a heathen people and to another people who would be His own. It’s a story of millions who would be released from bondage if they would only believe that I AM had come to save them. It would be about brave souls who stepped onto the floor of the Red Sea with a wall of water on the left and another rising on the right. (It makes me laugh to think of the fish that bumped their snouts into the invisible barrier that was God’s Breath holding that water back. ~grins) Exodus is a story of people who wanted to be free, but had trouble putting God’s commandments into practice. An exciting page-turner if ever there was one.
Then we stumble up on Leviticus. There’s a strange feel to this book; it tells of customs and cultures most of us have no knowledge of. Blood sacrifices are abhorrent to our culture, and we wonder at a God Who would give so many laws governing so many different aspects of life. Lots of what God deals with has to do with the health of His people – protecting them from possible infections that could be passed around in a deadly way, teaching them which foods would be healthy for them to eat. And He wanted His people to be different; to look different and act different, to be set apart (holy).
But we do tend to get hung up on the blood sacrifice. There’s blood on the altar, on the mercy seat, and on the priests’ clothes. It’s hard for us to see what the lesson is for us in these passages. Then a verse in the middle of many takes us by surprise. Several years ago I read this verse, did a double take, read it again and ever since it has been very important to what I know about what God did for me.
‘For the life [soul] of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ Leviticus 17:11 (NASB) [emphasis mine}
God stopped right here in the middle of all the blood and gore and told us about Jesus Christ. You see, it wasn’t just any lifeblood; it was "the blood by reason of the life.” The blood of bulls and goats and lambs would have to be shed over and over again in a never-ending ritual. The same is true if any other human being had tried to sacrifice their lifeblood since none are perfect (spotless, unblemished). But because Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life, His Blood would suffice once for all - "the blood by reason of the life." (Rom 3:25; Eph 1:7, Heb 9; 1Pe 1:19)
Jesus appears numerous times in the Old Testament – never by His earthly name. This is just one of those times that we might miss if we’re not careful. The whole of the Holy Writ is important and can speak volumes to us today. Are you reading God's Word every day? (Psalm 119:105)
Genesis is God’s way of taking us back to our beginnings to show us how He planned, created and orchestrated all of this for all of us. Here He first teaches us of the gloriousness of His plan for us; He reveals as much as we can understand of why He created us. God also shows us how He is always at work in the lives of people, especially the ones He has chosen to carry on His work. Genesis shows us that nothing ever occurs to God; He’s known all of it from forever.
Exodus is the exciting picture of God showing off His glory to a heathen people and to another people who would be His own. It’s a story of millions who would be released from bondage if they would only believe that I AM had come to save them. It would be about brave souls who stepped onto the floor of the Red Sea with a wall of water on the left and another rising on the right. (It makes me laugh to think of the fish that bumped their snouts into the invisible barrier that was God’s Breath holding that water back. ~grins) Exodus is a story of people who wanted to be free, but had trouble putting God’s commandments into practice. An exciting page-turner if ever there was one.
Then we stumble up on Leviticus. There’s a strange feel to this book; it tells of customs and cultures most of us have no knowledge of. Blood sacrifices are abhorrent to our culture, and we wonder at a God Who would give so many laws governing so many different aspects of life. Lots of what God deals with has to do with the health of His people – protecting them from possible infections that could be passed around in a deadly way, teaching them which foods would be healthy for them to eat. And He wanted His people to be different; to look different and act different, to be set apart (holy).
But we do tend to get hung up on the blood sacrifice. There’s blood on the altar, on the mercy seat, and on the priests’ clothes. It’s hard for us to see what the lesson is for us in these passages. Then a verse in the middle of many takes us by surprise. Several years ago I read this verse, did a double take, read it again and ever since it has been very important to what I know about what God did for me.
‘For the life [soul] of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ Leviticus 17:11 (NASB) [emphasis mine}
God stopped right here in the middle of all the blood and gore and told us about Jesus Christ. You see, it wasn’t just any lifeblood; it was "the blood by reason of the life.” The blood of bulls and goats and lambs would have to be shed over and over again in a never-ending ritual. The same is true if any other human being had tried to sacrifice their lifeblood since none are perfect (spotless, unblemished). But because Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life, His Blood would suffice once for all - "the blood by reason of the life." (Rom 3:25; Eph 1:7, Heb 9; 1Pe 1:19)
Jesus appears numerous times in the Old Testament – never by His earthly name. This is just one of those times that we might miss if we’re not careful. The whole of the Holy Writ is important and can speak volumes to us today. Are you reading God's Word every day? (Psalm 119:105)
Thursday, February 7, 2008
The storms of Monday night came too close for my comfort since Southaven was in the storm path. Terry walked into the bedroom about the time Molly called. He was telling me there was a bad storm where she was and she was telling me the sirens were going off and she was getting Tip and going to the toilet room. Their house was built for wireless Internet so she took the laptop w/ her so she could watch the radar. Kevin was traveling between Germantown & home in the middle of all this. Terry & I talked to Molly on the cell phone the whole time this was going on just to keep her company. It was a horrendous night and my heart goes out to those who are hurt, have lost loved ones or have lost their homes/businesses. Union University got a bad hit, but they will rebuild and go on. I saw a woman on CNN this morning who had no shoes and it was 33*. (Note to Terry: Thank you for making us all put our shoes beside the bed all these years.)
In the aftermath, there was a little comic relief. Tornado Monday & Super Tuesday are vying for air time on all the cable news programs. This morning as Terry & I watched a segment on the storm damage, he mentioned a now-infamous Mississippi lawyer who probably wanted to get things settled quickly so he could sue someone over the storms. I wondered aloud who he would sue this time. Terry responded that he’d probably sue God and win, but he would definitely lose it on appeal. (Terry has a dry sense of humor that catches most people by surprise.)
Katey & Andy closed on their new house yesterday and were able to keep it within the budget they’d set. Andy was in Memphis Monday evening during all the storm trouble, but made it home safe & sound.
Laurie & Pearce are doing fine, but she can’t get all her other babies home at one time. She’s ready to have them home and settled into a routine. L&D are fortunate to have his parents living near them; they are super about keeping the kids.
In the aftermath, there was a little comic relief. Tornado Monday & Super Tuesday are vying for air time on all the cable news programs. This morning as Terry & I watched a segment on the storm damage, he mentioned a now-infamous Mississippi lawyer who probably wanted to get things settled quickly so he could sue someone over the storms. I wondered aloud who he would sue this time. Terry responded that he’d probably sue God and win, but he would definitely lose it on appeal. (Terry has a dry sense of humor that catches most people by surprise.)
Katey & Andy closed on their new house yesterday and were able to keep it within the budget they’d set. Andy was in Memphis Monday evening during all the storm trouble, but made it home safe & sound.
Laurie & Pearce are doing fine, but she can’t get all her other babies home at one time. She’s ready to have them home and settled into a routine. L&D are fortunate to have his parents living near them; they are super about keeping the kids.
Friday, February 1, 2008
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