Uncategorized

Today I’m taking a blog break. I had a very eventful day filled with taking my 18 month old son to storytime, catching up  on chores, writing and then going to my prenatal ultrasound appointment. Good news: we found out we’re having a girl! I’m very excited about that. Next Wednesday, I’ll continue with the Word Wednesday series.

TTYL!!

Here’s our continuation on the Wednesday series “Recording Our Actions” We’re looking through every instance where we find the word “book” in the Bible. In these Old Testament passages, I’ve found the lives of many kings were recorded. Some of the rulers were godly, others were…eh.

Here are more passages for you to ponder:

And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. (2 Kings 23:1-3, KJV)

Question for You: If you died and a book were written about your life, what would it say? How were you as a spouse, a parent, a friend or a co-worker?

Hey Everyone!

I’m taking a break from blogging today. I will see you again on Friday.

Blessings,

Preslaysa

Here’s our continuation on the Wednesday series “Recording Our Actions” We’re looking through every instance where we find the word “book” in the Bible. In these Old Testament passages, I’ve found the lives of many kings were recorded. Some of the rulers were godly, others were…eh.

Here are more passages for you to ponder:

Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. (2 Kings 15:35-37, KJV)

 And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 16:18-20, KJV)

Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days? And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 20:19-21, KJV)

Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 21:16-18, KJV)

Question for You: If you died and a book were written about your life, what would it say? How were you as a spouse, a parent, a friend or a co-worker?

Here’s our continuation on the Wednesday series “Recording Our Actions” We’re looking through every instance where we find the word “book” in the Bible. In these Old Testament passages, I’ve found the lives of many kings were recorded. Some of the rulers were godly, others were…eh.

Here are more passages for you to ponder:

For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up. (2 Kings 15:14-16, KJV)

 And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land. And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 15:20-22, KJV)

But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king’s house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room. And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. (2 Kings 15:25-27, KJV)

And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. (2 Kings 15:30-32, KJV)

Question for You: If you died and a book were written about your life, what would it say? How were you as a spouse, a parent, a friend or a co-worker?

Here’s our continuation on the Wednesday series “Recording Our Actions” We’re looking through every instance where we find the word “book” in the Bible. In these Old Testament passages, I’ve found the lives of many kings were recorded. Some of the rulers were godly, others were…eh.

Here are more passages for you to ponder:

And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? How they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there. (2 Kings 14:17-19, KJV)

And the LORD said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 14:27-29, KJV)

And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the house, judging the people of the land. And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead. (2 Kings 15:5-7, KJV)

And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. This was the word of the LORD which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass. (2 Kings 15:10-12, KJV)

Question for You: If you died and a book were written about your life, what would it say? How were you as a spouse, a parent, a friend or a co-worker?

(A repost from February 2, 2011)

“But now, please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”

(Exodus 32:32, NIV)

God wrote a book and it has you in it. That’s an awesome thought. To know the God of the universe has ordered your lives and planned it in such detail that He wrote it in a book. This scripture demonstrates God is not a God of randomness or chance. The best corrolation I can use is my own experence of writing a novel.

I’ve heard it said there are two types of novelists: pantsers and plotters. ‘Pantsers’ are those who fly by the seat of their pants, writing the story as it comes to them without any planning or forethought. ‘Plotters’ are those who plan their story ahead of time and, to varying degrees, follow the plan they set forth. No matter whether a writer is a ‘pantser’ or a ‘plotter’, at some point during the creative process, they’ll have to sit down and clearly delineate their story’s progression, i.e. plot it out.

I think God is a plotter. Psalm 139:16 (NIV) states: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

He planned your life before you were even formed. He wrote all of your days in His book. From day to day, you may not know the details of that plan and that’s where faith comes in. Seeking Him and relying on Him daily enables you to fully live out the plan He plotted out for you beforehand.

Till next Wednesday…

“But now, please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”

(Exodus 32:32, NIV)

(A repost from April 6, 2011)

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1:8, KJV)

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.  The key to success and prosperity is obedience to do everything written in His Word. But, as Janet Pope writes in her awesome book “His Word in My Heart,” there were two things Joshua had to do to ensure obedience. 

1) God’s Law should always be in Joshua’s mouth.

2) Joshua should meditate on God’s Law day and night.

God’s law must be on our lips, not on the coffee table!

In addition, Pope writes that: “The outcome of Joshua’s obedience to His Word would be prosperity and success. In today’s culture, prosperity and success equals power and material wealth. But this was not what God was referring to when He spoke to Joshua. The Hebrew word for prosperous indicates “to push forward” (Strong’s Concordance #6743).The Hebrew word for success means “to be circumspect, be prudent” (Zodhiates, Complete Word Study: Old Testament entry # 7919). The outcome of Joshua’s obedience was the advancement of God’s program in a careful and circumspect manner. In other words, Joshua would know what to do in a given situation to further God’s agenda. A pattern of obedience makes us wise in our choice of action” (Pope, 94). 

With this in mind, we can’t afford to listen to the world or to those entangled in the world. Constantly talking about and meditating on His Word day and night helps us obey.

So, if God tells us to meditate on His Word, what does it mean to meditate? Our common understanding of meditation involves thinking deeply about something, pondering or contemplating something.

But we have to mine the riches of the Old Testament for an accurate definition. The Hebrew word for meditation is “haghah”. It means to “mumur, mutter, growl, sigh,moan, roar, meditate, muse, speak, whisper.” (Zodhiates, Complete Word Study Old Testament entry # 1897). Meditation involves making vocal utterances, speaking words quietly to yourself.

Thus the importance of memorizing scripture and reviewing the verses you’ve memorized by constant verbal repitition.

Cool stuff huh? When I heard that true prosperity and success means advancing God’s program in a prudent and circumspect manner, it changed my way of thinking. I started turning to His Word to sees His view of things. Today, I’m on a journey of renewing my mind so that I will “push forward prudently and circumspectly” to advance His agenda – not mine.

 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (Joshua 1:8, KJV)