Bible Studies

Distorted Images of God

Many people don’t even think of God. Many don’t know there IS a God. But what about you? If you are reading this then you obviously are aware there is a God. You are aware because you are reading this article. If you are just becoming aware, then this article will maybe help clear up some misconceptions people have about God.

I remember being a little girl and thinking that God was this big person, bigger than the mountains who would punish us if we did something wrong. I could imagine this country-sized hand coming down out of Heaven to hit me when I did something wrong. My image of God was distorted. Fortunately for me, God cleared up my misconceptions.

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Faith in Question

Establishing a Diagnosis

Many people will spend more time examining the vegetables in the supermarket than they will spend evaluating their faith.

Generally speaking, faith is relying on what God has done rather than on one’s own efforts.

In the Old Testament, faith is rarely mentioned. In its place the word “trust” is frequently used, and verbs like “believe” and “rely on” are used to express the right attitude one should display to God.

The classic example is Abraham, whose faith was reckoned as righteousness (Gen. 15:6), and at the heart of the Christian message is the story of the cross: Christ’s dying to bring salvation for all.

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When She Went to Bed (Too Busy for Jesus)

I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:8-9, 11 KJV

I talked to a friend of mine on the telephone last night and she told me that when she retired she took a trip to another country and was away from her husband for four months. I said, “You must have really missed him.” She replied “I was so busy and was so involved in doing things and going places that I didn’t have time to miss him until I went to bed.”

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Our Cane of Life

As I was walking back from the mailbox earlier today, I wished with all my heart that I did not have to use a cane. I’m okay at home because if my knees give way and I start to fall, I can grab hold of something but outside there is nothing to support me so I have to use it. I have to use a cane when I walk because I never know when more of the cartilage in my knees might tear.

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Keep Things in Perspective

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Mark 8:36

There is nothing like a trip to a cemetery to put our temporal lives in perspective. We live in an “it’s all about me” world, and even as believers, it’s easier than not to get caught up in that faulty mindset and quickly become overwhelmed with the urgency to fulfill my wants, my needs, my feelings, my desires.

Materialism depends upon just such an urgency; advertising appeals to it. If we could just win the lottery, write that bestseller, buy that bigger house, that fancier car, those name-brand clothes, we’d be happier, more fulfilled, more satisfied. And, of course, we’d serve God more wholeheartedly!

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Time for a Heart Check

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. Hebrews 9:27-28

Years ago I had my then preschool-age granddaughter with me when I made a stop at the cemetery to deliver some flowers. My granddaughter was naturally curious about what sort of place a “sembletery” was, so I did my best to explain. As we read a few markers and headstones, I told her what the dates meant, and we figured the ages of a few of the deceased.

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Are You Spreading Germs of Discouragement?

When we are sick and have germs we are very careful not to spread them to babies, yet we spread germs of discouragement to new Christians. We spread them by our holier than thou attitudes and we try to impress them with our knowledge of the Bible and our wisdom. How sad that is because instead of encouraging them by our patience, understanding and kindness, we discourage them with our impatience and criticism.

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Train Up Your Children

Proverbs 22:6 RSV
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

From the Associated Press (Garland, Texas):An essay that won a 6-year-old girl four tickets to a Hannah Montana concert began with the powerful line: “My daddy died this year in Iraq.” While gripping, it wasn’t true — and now the girl may lose her tickets after her mom acknowledged to contest organizers it was all a lie.

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