Here are a few excerpts from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he discusses unity in the body of Christ and living as children of light.
“Therefore, I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, been you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because our your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, biding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father, who is one all and in all and living through all. ” Ephesians 4:1-6 (NLT)
“Stop telling lies. Let us all tell our neighbors the truth, for we all are parts of the same body. And don’t let the son go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” Ephesians 4:25-26 (NLT)
“An do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
Git rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all type of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God though Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 30-32 (NLT)
The following passages are found in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians in Chapter 4.
“Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us the new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest knows this.”
“For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness, has made this light shine in our hearts so we cold know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This make it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”
“That is why we never give up. Tough our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last vey long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them an will last forever. So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the thing we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:1-2; 6-7; 16-18 (New Living Translation)
These are two Psalms I have committed to memory. I learned them in the New King James Version, but I have used the New Living Translation below. These are two Scriptures that I commit to in my daily devotion.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” Psalm 51:10-12 (NLT)
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Printout anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 135:23-14 (NLT)
Once a month, we teach kids at our church on Sunday. The lesson was: Jesus Anointed in Bethany. We wanted the kids to understand the term and did some research. I did not fully understand the term and learned as well.
Olive oil or a perfume is was used to anoint a person who was set apart for a special purpose. This was a Jewish custom. King David was such an example as explained in 1 Samuel and Psalms.
“So a David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took a flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on.” 1 Samuel 16:13 (NLT)
“I have found my servant David. I have anointed him with My holy oil. I will steady him with My hand; with My powerful arm I will make him strong…..My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him and by My authority he will grow in power.” Psalm 89:20-21, 24 (NLT)
When we become Christians, the Lord spiritually anoints us with the Holy Spirit, setting us apart for His special purpose as we become more like Jesus. Paul describes this in his second letter to the Corinthians. “It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and He has identified us as His own by placing the Holy Spirit in our heart as the first installment that guarantees everything He has promised us.” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (NLT)
After Jesus was baptized, Matthew describes the Holy Spirit resending upon Him. “After his baptism, Jesus came up out to the water, the heavens were opened and he was the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy.” Matthew 3:16-17 (NLT)
When Jesus was teaching from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth, Luke says this: “The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim that captives all be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” Luke 4:17-19 (NLT)
Jesus’s anointing at Bethany is mentioned in three of the four Gospels (Matthew 26, Mark 14 and John 12). Here is the description in John 12. “Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus-the man He had raised from the dead. A diner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served and Lazarus was month those who ate with Him. Then Mary took twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from the essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
But Judas Iscariot, the disciple would soon betray Him said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor-he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have Me.” John 12:1-8 (NLT)
Before the Bible Story, I had arranged several different scents for the kids to smell. Between each sniff test, I read to them the Bible verses that I described above. Then my husband told the above story (with an illustration) in words that the kids might better understand the message of the story. The kids seemed to understand and answered many of the our follow-up Bible Story questions.
The Fruit of the Spirit can be found in Galatians Chapter 5. Before Paul lists the fruit (not fruits, but collectively as fruit), he discusses letting the Holy Spirit guiding our lives. Living by following the Holy Spirit’s guidance draws us away from living a sinful nature. Paul goes on to say that the forces of good and evil are always at odds with each other and it makes it hard for us to do good. Some of the desires of our sinful nature includes quarreling, jealousy, hostility, anger, selfishness, envy.
Then Paul directs us to the fruit of the Holy Spirit. “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (New Living Translation)
Paul goes on to say, ” Those who belong to Christ have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. ” Galatians 24-26 (New Living Translation)
We recently took a short camping trip to Tugalo State Park. The RV campsites are usually booked, but with the kids in school, we learned that camping during the first of the week in August is an optimal time. We were able to get a beautiful spot overlooking Lake Hartwell. Below are examples of God’s glory revealed in His creation.
Sunrise over Hartwell Lake, at Tugaloo State Park, August 2019
Can you find the flock of Canadian geese ?
The Canadian geese landed in the cove near us.natural rock formations on the shoreMore unusual rocks on shorelinerocky bottom at the shore lineCan you find the deer in this picture?
We have two rescue dogs. I found Daisy at work. She showed up at work in February. She was less than a year old then. She was afraid of men, but would cautiously approach women. Staff were feeding her scraps when I found out about her. We have had dogs all our married life, and one was in her final stages of life. I called my husband and he came to see Daisy. Even though she was afraid of men, my husband knelt to the ground and called her. She crawled to him, he picked her up and took her home. Somehow she knew that he would not harm her. That was eleven years ago. We still are not sure what her breed is, but we think she is a mix of maybe Husky because she has a double coat and love the cold weather. After all this time, she still is cautious around young children and men.
Our other rescue dog, Tanya, is a Terrier. We found her at a local fall festival where the local animal shelter had some of their dogs for sale. Tanya was on the “sniff list”. She had been in the shelter for six months and if she was not adopted was going to be euthanized. We bough her for $30. She was three years old at the time. Now, she and Daisy are best buddies (most of the time). She is eight years old now.
In Genesis, God instructed Adam to take care of the animals (Genesis 1:26) and in Proverbs 12:10 “For godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.” (NLT) There are many references in the Bible regarding taking care of animals.
Hiawasse River at Riverbed Campground, Hiawasse, GA
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me resting the green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along the right paths, bringing honor to His name. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect me and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” (NLT)
