It is recognized as having been written by the Apostle Paul with some help from Timothy. This book is another of Pauls writings that were written while he was in prison around A.D. 61. In Rome. Paul had earlier converted a jailer and his wife to Christ while being held in a prison in Philippi after he had been freed from that jail. Here now we read that perhaps the the church has grown some as Paul address “bishops (elders) and deacons” (Philippians 1:1). Paul acknowledges the gift of money from the church at Philippi. There is through the words of the Paul a letter written to a group of Christians who were especially close to the heart of Paul. Consider this…Many of you have heard the slogan “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.” We will take a little liberty here…this letter might suggest that help can be found by Keeping God in our hearts, God in the forefront of our Minds and opening that Door to let in the joy of the Lord. Again…This letter was written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, about thirty years after Christ’s ascension and some ten years after Paul first preached at Philippi. Paul has covered some vast ground and seen much trouble and personal suffering but in his heart there is still a fire burning for the church at Philippi and God’s people there. This letter is possibly one of the more personal letters of Paul.  One commentary breaks Philippians down this way:

Philippians may be divided as follows:

Introduction, 1:1-7

Verses…Rejoicing in Spite of Suffering, 1:8-30

Verses…Rejoicing in Lowly Service, 2:1-30

Verses…Christian’s Faith, Desire, and Expectation, 3:1-21

Verses…A Christian’s Strength: Rejoicing Through Anxiety, 4:1-9

Conclusion, 4:10-23

It has become a Cliché with me… “let’s go beyond the word” by taking a closer look at some of the verses we read here. We will start with Philippians 2:2-4

2.then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

3.Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

4.not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

These timely reminders could easily apply to our churches today and reduce the conflicts in our churches and the christian community overall. Paul rejoices that Christ is being proclaimed. 

Throughout this letter in spite of persecution and imprisonment, the joy of Paul’s love for the word and of God and his fellow christians overcomes all obstacles. 

Philippians 4:8…

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I hope you are enjoying this series and it is my prayer that it will inspire you to come back for the rest of this series…also to make a point of Paul’s writings…the word of God will carry you through the rough times…Remember to do do what you have read in Philippians 4:8… “think about these things.” Stay above the fray, think in a Godly way. 

Life is Good

jk

I am on the porch and what a beautiful day this is! Being confined to this chair is a pain in the …yeah, you know what I am saying and I wish to add that pain is in a literal sense. I try hard to live by Philippians 4:8…in plain speak…Just think about the good things.But it does seem that reality raises its hand and can distract me, more often than not. Then as I write this it crosses my mind that a good dose of reality is what I need… what we all need. Let’s ponder on that for a while. The folks in Georgia, upper east Tennessee, the Carolinas have just been through a tough spate of weather and now Florida which I failed to mention is about to get a rehash of that but in a bigger helping. While folks in the SEC ponder about last weekend…things could be worse… Although I would bet that there is a lot of sack cloth and ashes to be seen after this weekend. Some folks up in Nashville say they have seen a number of flowers and wreaths floating in the Cumberland River…has something to do with of all things some Goal Posts. Now that reality thing…  The middle east is about to burst out in a full blown war, whatever that means…how many people have to die before a tragedy becomes a war. Here at home we have a war but of a different stature. We have a situation where our country has turned a blind eye to the demise of a great country and a great people for the spoils of self indulgence. We are now victims of Politics, Agendas, and self gratification. We have become so confused that we believe our judgement is better than Gods, that our creator was not being open and honest with us. Seems there are more than two genders and we have got that personal pronoun thing wrong…causing a great deal of distress to a lot of people. They have banded together and formed a group, have an agenda. I won’t list them because I won’t get the title right…so I just list them as the alphabet people. I could go on and on and get into a lot more trouble but… How messed up are things? Well I will say this. Pro Football is a good example of the times. Now before you tackle a ball carrier or god forbid a Quarterback…be sure you are aware of the protocol and the courtesy necessary before you attempt such a move. Ponder That!

Life is Good

jk     

This is the fourth in our series of the Pauline Epistles, I hope you have enjoyed the preceding books of these epistles to this point. This one presents a balanced approach to fortifying and establishing the believers in a way that each one can fulfill the purpose and calling God has given. The goal being to confirm and to equip a new and maturing church. The answer to who is the author is the opening verse. 

Ephesians 1:1

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. (NLT)

The Book of Ephesians was very likely written between A.D. 60-63. Paul was writing this book from a Roman prison and it was his hope that many of the faithful of this ministry would receive this writing. The words within this book provide the discipline needed to bring forward the many maturing faithful to be indeed the true children of God. We have here a balanced view of the state of the church at this time and and its importance to the moving forward of the church. There is much of the foundational instruction needed for the church here. To often readers go to the last part of the book instead of carefully reading the instructions needed to get us there. We must understand and fully appreciate what God has declared us to be and to be grounded in the knowledge of where God is going with this plan…that which he has for all humanity. We must be strong in our present walk, our goal should be to get stronger and strengthen our commitment to prepare for what is coming. There are three main segments in this book and they breakdown as such. 

-Chapters 1 -3…the principals that are part of God’s accomplishments.

-Chapters 4 and 5… puts forth principles regarding our present existence.

-Chapter 6…principles concerning our daily struggle.

Some Surprises… For the Jews…Well for everyone at that time.

-concept of the church as the body of Christ…  

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.

 -A new mystery..

Ephesians 3:6 

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

-Consider this, the jews had always been God’s people, they are his chosen people.  

Deuteronomy 7:6  For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

The Jews were understandably surprised by this. The Gentiles had equal status? This would cause many disputes among Jewish believers and Gentile converts in the days ahead. 

The book continues to share some things that an ordinary lay person would not think about. Now most of us do respect and value sound doctrine and right practice in our Christian life but  “theology” is not our normal path. We kinda like to only discuss things that are “practical” to our way of thinking. The following says it best and it is taken from an article on Got Questions, a great web sight I go to often.

“In Ephesians, Paul argues that theology is practical. In order to live out God’s will for us in our lives practically, we must first understand who we are in Christ doctrinally.” (gotquestions.org)  

It would be a long road ahead for the Ephesians and for the Church at Ephesus but how did this letter help out in its time? Fast forward to the Book of Revelations… We find that answer in Revelation 2:2-3

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

These are God’s words not John. You might find it interesting to read this chapter in Revelations to increase your understanding of Paul’s letter to these people and the effect it had .Read Revelations 2:1-7.

I can’t put the keyboard aside just yet. I must share with you a section of the Book of Ephesians that I am sure many of you remember from of all places…Sunday School. There was always that part of the school’s program, on that special day or evening when we kids got to tell a bible story or share verses with the congregation that one class would chose to do “Putting on The Amour of God.” 

Ephesians 6: 10-17

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

What a practical way to set forth some very valuable resources to stand strong in the faith. I could add at least another thousand words to this blog…could but I won’t do that. Here are your weapons of Faith… belt of truth buckled around your waist… the breastplate of righteousness in place… feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace… take up the shield of faith… helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Thanks for stopping by “The Pew”.

 Life is Good

jk

As I have shared with you recently I don’t get out like I used to…Knee surgery that didn’t work out and I am pretty much confined to a wheelchair here at home. Now for some reason my interest in things that never held that much of my interest are now getting my attention. My wife came back from the store and I immediately rolled in high gear to the kitchen…for a price check. She is a remarkable lady of the house and has been able to continue to put things in the cupboard that I like or finding them in different brands in order to stay on budget. Oh that reminds me that just the other day one of the last two Kmart Stores closed for good. My daughter worked for Kmart while she was in college…used to tip me off on Blue Light Specials, remember those? Well anyway, back to the price check. The wife had already been to Walmart and Aldi and my daughter on her way home from a meeting with clients had stoped at Costco and picked up some items for her there. I had already had lunch and there was a fresh tube of Tums in the drawer so I asked…How much did you spend today? Do you save plastic bags, you know like the ones from the store. Well we have these tube things you can save them in, I am not sure why but lately there doesn’t seem to that many bags to save. Without a pause of any kind her answer was “little over a hundred”! For two of us? Then as I was comparing the number of bags to the money spent, my daughter came in with the stuff for my wife from Costco. One bag…two items Fifty and some change. Some special kind of sugar…it was a big bag… and some of that soap for washing clothes, the kind that comes in a capsule that looks like candy. Now stay with me on this. When I was about seven or eight years old I would go to the grocery store with my grandmother. We walked about ten blocks over to Mc Callie Avenue to a store named Roaches and no I didn’t make the name up. My grandfather had gone to the Western Auto Store and bought a Red Flyer wagon…nothing cheep about Pop. Now I don’t know how much grandmother spent for groceries but let’s just say Pop had to buy a bigger wagon to hold all those paper bags to haul them home. 

Here then is the Ponder for this week. It has caught my attention that most any situation out of the ordinary can cause a rise in cost for goods and services…people talk…Prices…inflation. We have been told that the current Dock Strike will cause a shortage in goods and services…that means higher prices. The list is long but I did notice that gasoline was not mentioned….wait… add that, they must of noticed it also. My Ponder is a simple one. Has there ever been a situation that caused goods and services to go down? Not a sale, those are merchandising gimmicks. But prices really went down…things cost less. Ponder That!

Kurt

Some opening thoughts…Paul is the author of Galatians.

-Galatians 1:1 

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

-Galatians is one of the first New Testament books to be written, composed sometime soon after AD 49.

-The early church in Galatia was made up of both Jewish and Gentile converts. Paul’s purpose was to confirm their faith. There was a conflict here between the Mosaic Law and trusting that the sacrifice of Jesus, the savior, had fulfilled the Law…thus through the cross and the blood you are forgiven of you trespasses. 

There is a sort of a theological crisis going on here. Two augments was present… The augmenters were the Judaizers…and the augment was about circumcision. In laymen’s language…you had to be a Jew first before you could be accepted into the Way or part of this new Christian church. It was being presented as “a requirement for Gentiles who wished to be saved. In other words, convert to Judaism first, and then you are eligible to become a Christian.” (Got Questions) This was an outright perversion of the true Gospel. Paul took action to counter such heresy. 

As the old timers would say “That’s it in a nutshell” Paul sets out to let the people know that they are justified by grace… Because of our faith, which means  means we have spiritual freedom. We are not subjugated to Old Testament Law. To do so in Paul’s view is changing the intent of this new gospel. He presents his credentials as an Apostle and strongly states that that righteousness comes through Christ not the works of the Law. He encourages them to stand fast in the faith and not be burdened again by Mosaic law. Our Christian freedom does not allow us to give in to our sinful natures. Our lives are to be lived in the power of the Spirit, not the flesh. We must let the Spirit bear His fruit in the life of the believer. This concept of being born again, a New Creation is of God and is not the result of some external religious rites thus circumcision is of no value to the Spirit. Galatians is about grace thru righteous living. It is also understood that the righteous shall live by faith. 

Galatians 3:11

Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”(NIV)

Faith is a gift of God and we should live our lives in a manner that others will see that faith working in us as we live out our spiritual  discipline thru study of the word, an active prayer life and obedience to our Lord and Savior. I will close with this scripture… 

Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Life is Good

jk 

We have had a break in the weather and I am enjoying it to the fullest. That’s an old dogs way of saying it is “back porch” weather. Started raining here early this morning and I grabbed a laptop and headed to the porch. That’s the “Ponder” for this day. I love the smell of fresh rain, the overcast of a fall day and all the things that a change of seasons brings, the crisp cooler air the sound of the leaves falling and the crackle and crunch of the leaves on a path as we seemed to be pulled outside for natures annual show. Why there is even, I believe the smell of rotting leaves that somehow is never offensive, at least to me. Did you ever “ponder” that for some reason a fall rain has a pleasant chill to it, why it to me is even a soft slow rain, not like a cold, dreary hard winter rain. I can see “Snoopy dancing in the leaves and if you try hard enough you will see Linus as he awaits the arrival of the Great Pumpkin in a pumpkin patch. Every year he is disappointed but he always comes back…which to me should be a thing about fall we all might do well to adopt. Never give up, always live in a world of anticipation, as the scripture says…Think about what’s good… Take the time to “ponder” those things around you. One good thing to know and understand is when you have said or written enough and I do believe that’s nuff. Have a good week and God Bless.

Kurt

There is some controversy, as small as it is, the debates persist about the authorship of 2 Corinthians. One research material I read sums it up in this manner. “The inspiration and infallibility of Scripture are not in question here, but it seems more reasonable to view 2 Corinthians as a cohesive unit.” ( Got Questions ) Therefor we are confident that the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians. This is a personal one for Paul, all pastors want to see their church grow, they yearn for its growth. We see in this book that Paul constantly strives for the development and unity of the church at Corinth. Paul speaks of his own adversity and his solid trust in God to take him forward. This book was written approximately A.D. 55-57. The Corinth church began in AD 52 during Paul’s second missionary journey. He was there about a year and a half. Paul had written an earlier letter that was quite severe and was pleased that it had been received in a positive manner. One of the most serious problem it addressed was the false and self styled apostles who were sowing discord among the believers and if that were not enough they were assaulting Paul’s character. They made light of his speaking ability and his refusal to accept support from the church at Corinth. The other little thorn was that there were others that had not laid aside their sinful nature and practices.Titus shared some good news with Paul…the majority of Corinthians had repented of their rebellion against Paul. There is still the business of finishing collecting of the offering for the poor, we read in chapters 8-9. Finally, Paul’s speaks to those who had questioned his apostleship and his authority 2 Corinthians 13:3 …

I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you.

 This is as good a letter as any to go beyond the words…

(vv 1:3-2:2)

 -Paul greets the believers Corinth…Explains why he had not visited them as planed. He then explains the state of his ministry. Paul lets it be known that the word, preached through Christ and the sincerity of it in the sight of God… these are the hallmarks of his ministry.

 (2:14-17). He notes the differences of the glorious ministry of the righteousness of Christ to the “ministry of condemnation” which is the Law (v. 3:9) …If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!

Paul continues on in chapter 4:8-18 some of the things they have faced in this ministry. I am going to include those verses here because I believe it is important to show the determination and resilience of such a faith and because they clearly go beyond the word in showing us the strength and courage of these people of “The Way”.

(4:8-18)  

 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b] Since we have that same spirit of[c] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal

Chapter 5 outlines the basis of the Christian faith—the new nature (v. 17) and the exchange of our sin for the righteousness of Christ (v. 21). 

Chapters 6 and 7 finds Paul defending himself and his ministry.

Even in this time of defending both the ministry and himself he makes sure to to once more write to the Corinthians of his sincere love for them and exhorting them to repentance and holy living. In chapters 8 and 9, I have included a portion from research material  to be sure the point of Christian generosity is made clear.

 “Paul pushes the believers at Corinth to follow the examples of the brothers in Macedonia and extend generosity to the saints in need. He teaches them the principles and rewards of gracious giving.”  ( Got Questions ) 

Paul ends his letter by reiterating his authority among them (chapter 10) and concern for their faithfulness to him in the face of fierce opposition from false apostles. He calls himself a “fool” for having to reluctantly boast of his qualifications and his suffering for Christ (chapter 11). He ends his epistle by describing the vision of heaven he was allowed to experience and the “thorn in the flesh” he was given by God to ensure his humility (chapter 12). The last chapter contains his exhortation to the Corinthians to examine themselves to see whether what they profess is reality, and ends with a benediction of love and peace.

There is much more…there always is when you go beyond the word. It is the policy of “The Pew” to share with you the sources of what we present to you. I like to remind you that I am nothing more than a layman who loves the Lord and the Word. In this age of digital wealth, all of these things are available to you also. I encourage you to pursue them, pray and seek God’s wisdom as you discern His will and direction in your life. That being said the bulk of the information in this blog is from an article in the following publication. Please use this url to go there and read it in its entirety.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-2-Corinthians.html 

Life is Good 

jk

I have always felt that the back porch is my place of refuge…as I have written in the past, it is here that I can kinda clear my mind and rid myself of the pressures of just … well, being me. I wrote one time suggesting that you try as a little experiment just thinking of nothing…not a thing…it is impossible to do. God didn’t create us that way. He gave us this gift of freewill, the ability to think and reason and past history does not speak well of our ability to do either well. Right now here on the porch I believe I have been able to achieve that position of thinking of nothing. I can’t think of anything to write about but wait I am thinking about the fact that I can’t think of anything to write about. Now the porch is for pondering…we recognize that thinking is considered not proper in the art of pondering. Kinda like “I can’t believe its not butter…  butter.” Confused? I am but it is putting words on paper…I think. Having written all this I am open to a ponder of sort. How did we arrive at such a despairing time of hate and lack of just some essence of civility among our interaction with others. As I wrote this I thought…see right off I break one of the rules of pondering…Thinking which requires a solution. I did take time to run a quick inquiry about the number of news stories that were considered to be the result of hate against another person or group…the result would fill a lot of pages. So I believe I have come up with a worthy ponder? If thinking about something results in all this hate then a good ole fashion ponder might be better. Consider this from Philippians 4:8… and yes I did change a few words…

– Ponder on These Things – 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable— if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—Ponder on these things. 

Kurt

As we continue to explore these letters of Paul our next stop will be in 1 Corinthians. To refresh our memories a letter is difficult to read because we only really have one side of the conversation. It is like one writer suggested “listening to a phone call…we only can hear one side of the conversation.” We don’t know the situation which he , Paul, is dealing with. In this case let’s try to reconstruct what prompted Paul to write this letter. We know Paul did write this letter about A. D. 55. This was a church which Paul founded and he was receiving some troubling reports about that church. While they were a proud church they had gotten into the habit of excusing sexual immorality, spiritual gifts were being used improperly and there was this increase in the deliberate misunderstanding of key Christian doctrines. Paul wrote this first letter in hopes of restoring this Corinthian church to its intended foundation… Jesus Christ. So…what is happening exactly as to the situation there? Let’s follow the bouncing ball…so to speak. Scripture verses are provided here.

-The people at Corinth were dividing into groups loyal to certain spiritual leaders 1 Corinthians 1:12 

 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

1 Corinthians 3:1-6

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

-Paul shared that they should be united their following of Christ.

-Paul did note that it appeared that their were many in the church who were approving of such immoral relationships. 

1 Corinthians 5:1-2

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife.

-The Corinthian believers were seeking redress in the courts

1 Corinthians 6:1-2

If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 

– Paul felt that it would be better to be taken advantage of than to damage their Christian testimony …

1 Corinthians 6:3-8

Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers! 7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.

-Paul gave the church instructions on many of the problems that were present there…marriage and celibacy, food sacrificed to idols, Christian freedom the veiling of women the Lord’s Supper and  spiritual gifts also my favorite chapter 15 …the resurrection. He took the time to answer their questions about what was the proper behavior for Christians in these situations. Paul continues on with a warning of their lack of self-discipline 

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

There are other things in this 1st book of Corinthians. Paul writes of the miracles of God during this time of wandering, the parting of the Red Sea, provision of manna from heaven and water from a rock, noting that they misused their freedom and fell into immorality and idolatry. 

We end this week on the thought that we don’t seem to learn much from our past. Many of the problems of that time are present in this very day among our Churches and God’s people. We need to return to the good way…putting our focus back to where it should be—on Christ. The power of Christian love. The wonder and glory of the resurrection in chapter 15, and our responsibility and accountability to our God and our Faith.

Life is Good

jk 

Sources: gotquestions.com  NLT Holy Bible

I had a hard time getting out of the “Pew” and onto the back porch. So much has been happening this week that I am finding it hard to clear my mind. You might say I have found myself having to think about something to ponder over. If you will recall thinking is a bad thing because it requires three things…knowledge, patience and usually a resolution of some sort. Pondering is like being lost in your thoughts…no real need for any specific results. Just sitting here looking at things off my back porch, kinda showcases the changes that are coming. Wrote a book one time, Western of course…remember a line from one of the characters who was asked his opinion of change. He said…”well Sir, if the good Lord saw fit to change the seasons, I reckon it is a good thing!” This might be a good time to get our bibles out. The Bible gives us insights into lots of things. One thing for sure is the changing of seasons. As we transition from one season to another, here are five verses that reflect on the beauty and significance of these changes:

1. Genesis 8:22 (NIV)
   “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”

 2. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (NIV)
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.”

3. Psalm 74:17 (NIV)
“It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.”

4. Jeremiah 8:7 (NIV)
“Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.”

5. Psalm 104:19 (NIV)
“He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.”

There is no room for doubt…Our God is in charge and He starts with order and arrangement, now where have I heard that before? I started this visit to the porch with one thing in mind…keep it simple… with that in mind I have only one question. Why do we always mess things up? Ponder on that awhile.

Kurt

Source:  https://bladenonline.com  Holy Bible NIV