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Believe it or not!, Inspiring, Scripture, Wisdom

Sunday Scriptures – Growth

Posted on August 5, 2012August 5, 2012 by Katharine

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the Tent of Meeting in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.

So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them. Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the Tent of the Testimony

The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff.

The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die. Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?” Numbers 17:1-13

Ooh, I see this too often!

Women rebel and are corrected. Then they say, “Poor me—I’ll DIE!”

If you can finally convince them that obedience will not kill them, they sulkily say, “The whole thing in anti-woman!” although actually, they could greatly improve things FOR women by doing right.

If you attempt convincing them of that, they next will blame all their troubles on the church, or even more, on Christians, and deliberately and happily sow seeds of persecution.

Lastly, if they have a shred of intelligence coupled with an iota of wisdom they might try asking, “Is it dangerous?”

And then a few of them will see the delight and begin to live right-side up.

And live to catch the blame from the next barrage.

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photo credit: Wikipedia/Foster Bible Pictures 0078-1

Inspiring, Sayings

Saturday Sayings – Purple

Posted on July 28, 2012August 7, 2012 by Katharine

Oh, beautiful,

for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain,

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good

With brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

— Katharine Lee Bates

Believe it or not!, Inspiring, Scripture

Sunday Scriptures – Inside

Posted on July 22, 2012July 20, 2012 by Katharine

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds, then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family. Acts 16:25-34

Believe it or not!, Inspiring, Wisdom

Sunday Scriptures – Dreaming

Posted on July 15, 2012July 16, 2012 by Katharine

God, the Father watches us all everywhere.

But I tell you, in this you are not right,
For God is greater than man.

Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man’s words?

For God does speak – now one way, now another –
though man may not perceive it.

In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men
as they slumber in their beds,

He may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,
To turn man from wrongdoing
and keep him from pride,

To preserve his soul from the pit,
His life from perishing by the sword.

Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain
With constant distress in his bones,
So that his very being finds food repulsive
And his soul loathes the choicest meal.

His flesh wastes away to nothing
And his bones, once hidden, now stick out.
His soul draws near to the pit,
and his life to the messengers of death.

Yet if there is an angel on his side
As a mediator, one out of a thousand,
To tell a man what is right for him,

To be gracious to him and say,
“Spare him from going down to the pit;
I have found a ransom for him” –

Then his flesh is renewed like a child’s;
It is restored as in the days of his youth.

He prays to God and finds favor with him,
He sees God’s face and shouts for joy;
He is restored by God to his righteous state.

Then he comes to men and says,
“I sinned, and perverted what was right,
But I did not get what I deserved.

He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit
And I will live to enjoy the light.”

God does all these things to a man –
Twice, even three times –
To turn back his soul from the pit,
That the light of life may shine on him.

Job 33:12-30

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photo credit: angel of sweetbitter 2009

Believe it or not!, Inspiring, Scripture

Sunday Scriptures – Fleeting Moment

Posted on July 1, 2012July 10, 2012 by Katharine

Listen, I tell you a mystery:

We will not all sleep,

but we will all be changed —

in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye,

at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound,

the dead will be raised imperishable,

and we will be changed.

— 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

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photo credit: Wikipedia

Inspiring, Sayings, Wisdom

Saturday Sayings – Fleeting Moments

Posted on June 30, 2012July 10, 2012 by Katharine

DIGITAL CAMERA — A fleeting moment before the heavens?

Thus heavenly hope is all serene,

But earthly hope, how bright soe’er,

Still fluctuates o’er this changing scene,

As false and fleeting as ‘tis fair.

–Reginald Heber

On Heavenly Hope and Earthly Hope

Inspiring, Scripture, Wisdom

Sunday Scriptures – Create

Posted on June 24, 2012June 22, 2012 by Katharine

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Psalm 51: 10-12