He Has Redeemed

In case you didn't know, we homeschool our two children. Once a month, my second grader has to do an oral reading test where I test him on pronunciation of words, reading speed, and comprehension. Because the curriculum we use didn't give me additional short stories to have him read, I had to make up and write my own stories. The below story was written when my oldest child was in second grade, but the lesson it teaches is timeless.  As with anything I do, I give all the glory and credit to the Holy Spirit. He knew that someday I would need to share this story again, so that someone would read it and perhaps take it to heart. It's a cute little story, but one we all need to remember.  The Foolish Fish There was once a large lake where many fish lived. One sunny day, a big hungry fish was sitting by a rock on the bottom of the lake. It was a pretty day and the water was warm and calm.  He heard a plop and a splash, and he looked up to see a wriggling worm sinking down in t...

17  Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.  18  Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built.... - Nehemiah 4:17-18 The story behind this passage takes place after the Babylonian exile of the Israelites, when King Artaxerxes ruled the empire and a small remnant of Israelites had returned to the devastated and destroyed city of Jerusalem some time earlier. Along with the priest Ezra, Nehemiah helped to organize those who were there in the rebuilding of the city wall (defense) as well as their residences.  We know that the Jews there in Jerusalem encountered opposition from the get-go as well as had to deal with their own "issues". Some people will focus on these issues, as an illustration that when we come out of Babylon (spiritually), that we have to leave Babylon truly behind (no long conforming to the patterns of this...

I have spent my entire life as a Christian, born to a preacher in a line of preachers. Skipping church was the most grievous of sins growing up and only occurred because of sickness or youth group events. However, despite growing up in a Christian home and spending half of my life in a church building - both as a congregational member and ministry leader, my heart lived for and in the world.  In 2017, I truly gave myself in surrender to Jesus Christ. I had already been baptized (in 1995, at age 8), I had believed in Him my entire life and believed in the Gospel. I had never doubted God's Word. Yet, it wasn't until 2017, when I was 30 years old, that my true walk of faith began.  The Lord showed me, He removed the scales from my eyes, that I had been living my entire adolescent, teenage, and young adult life as a practitioner of witchcraft, a participant in things wicked as well as sexual immorality, I was serving other "gods" with idols galore - both in my house and ...

The devil will stop at nothing to deceive you into falling away. The biggest mistake most Christians make, is that they assume the devil is dumb and predictable. That he is a horned red monster with a pitchfork that dances in hellfire. That he only comes at you with obvious sinful temptation. This couldn't be farther from the truth. He is the Father of All Lies and the Master Deceiver. He appears to the Christian as an angel of light, twisting the Word of God to sound pleasant to sinful desires and filling your mind with the age old lie, "Did God really say? Did God really mean?"....Take heed O Christian that you stand, lest you fall. Keep your eyes on Christ, even when something is screaming in your face to look at this or that. Keep your ears trained upon His voice, even when there are conflicting or even pleasant, honeyed voices whispering in your ear. Keep your mind on God's Word, even when your flesh screams out that it is boring or there are things needing done...

For a couple of weeks now, the story of Uzza has been on my mind. In 1 Chronicles 13, we read about how David was ready to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. He goes to Kirjath Jearim, puts the Ark on a brand new cart driven by oxen, and heads off down the road to Jerusalem while playing music. The procession reaches the threshing floor of Chidon and the oxen stumble on the road. In an act of good intention, Uzza puts his hand against the Ark to keep it from falling off the cart or moving. Within mere seconds, the Lord strikes Uzza dead. Why? It is something that many people, including myself, have pondered when reading this passage. Even King David angrily asked the Lord why, and Scripture says that he became afraid of the Lord - refusing to carry the Ark into Jerusalem at that time. Instead, David commanded the household of Obed-Edom which was nearby, to house the Ark of the Covenant. I imagine they were scared too, having probably witnessed the events of the procession depe...

This is a little long, but bear with me.... I was sitting in the recliner, having breakfast and coffee, watching the morning sun stream through my living room window. I noticed how where the sunlight didn't hit the glass of the window, it appeared clean and clear. Yet, where the sunlight hit the glass, it appeared very dirty and blotchy and just plain yuck. I also noticed the thousands of teeny tiny dust motes swirling in the air, exposed by the sunbeam. I couldn't help but be disgusted because I knew I was breathing in those dust motes and there was no getting away from them. However, I looked closer at them. Some of the dust motes sparkled like tiny diamond dust. They were beautiful! Others were dim and dark - just specks swirling around mixed in with the sparkly pretty ones. Then the Holy Spirit spoke. He's been giving me this same analogy in so many different ways.....Who is the light? Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:13 it says, "But all things that are exposed are made ...

On the way to my children's physical therapy one day, we were stopped at an intersection. Next to us, was a garbage truck. My kids naturally pointed it out to me, and then the Lord placed a lesson upon my heart right then, that the kids needed to hear - and myself as well. Garbage trucks take our trash and relieve our homes of it. Each week, a garbage man comes to our home to take the refuse. He takes the trash away to a landfill where it is either buried, recycled, or burned - incinerated. No one aspires to be a garbage man. No one desires to operate a garbage truck. No one dreams of fooling with other people's nasty trash, much less their own! Yet, someone has to do it. Even before we had garbage trucks and waste management centers, someone had to dispose of the garbage. For thousands of years, civilizations have burned their refuse in undesirable forsaken areas, designated for such a purpose. Trash is gross, useless, foul, unclean, and just plain filthy. Living in or near ga...