Jan's Ponderings

Ortberg tells the story of his mother being offered some blue dishes by his grandfather. After his grandmother’s death, his grandfather was going through her things in the attic and found some dishes. He was planning to take them to the Salvation Army when he thought of his daughter-in-law and her love of blue. She expected some run-of-the-mill dishes but when she opened the box, she saw exquisite china! He writes, “Each plate had been individually painted with a pattern of forget-me-nots. The cups were inlaid mother-of-pearl. The dishes and cups were rimmed with gold. The plates had been handcrafted in a Bavarian factory that was destroyed during the Second World War, so they were literally irreplaceable.” The story goes on to reveal that her own husband and son had never seen the china and didn’t even know of its existence! They found some older family members who told them how she came to own this china. When she was young, she began receiving this china one piece at a time as gifts...

Do we ever look at how bad a situation is to determine if God is able to or is willing to be with us and deliver us? I think many times we do but I have never found a scripture to back up that kind of philosophy. God loves to show Himself strong on our behalf. He is God after all!! For me, one of the most discouraging and encouraging scriptures in the Bible is Matthew 13:58 which says, "Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief."   It is discouraging because the people who knew Jesus best didn’t believe in Him and yet it is encouraging because it compels me to believe…I mean really believe! I don’t want God to NOT do something He was willing to do because I couldn’t seem to muster up enough faith to trust Him. Let’s remember that in Matthew chapter 14, the storm was raging when Peter stepped out of the boat! When God calls us to do something, don’t let fear (fear of what others may think, fear of failure, etc.) keep us from being obedient. ...

I am writing a series of lessons based on John Ortberg's book, If You Want To Walk On Water, You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat and teaching them on Wednesday nights.  Please read Matthew 14:25-32 about Peter walking on the water to be with Jesus. Have you ever put your life in someone else’s hands and just hoped for the best? (maybe a doctor or fireman or policeman). You can only hope they are qualified and capable of saving you. Sometimes it is difficult to put so much trust in mere mortals. We are all fallible, are we not? What about putting our trust in God. Is that any easier for us? We must remember that God promises to always be with us. I love Jeremiah 33:1-3 which says ,“Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the prison, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name): Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which yo...

If and when we sin, God's Word promises us in 1 John 1:9 that God is faithful to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness if we will confess our sins. As Christians we all know that but sometimes it can be difficult to understand why God would choose to forgive us when we really blow it. I'm sure you know what I mean - when we do something we are really ashamed of. One of the great things about God is that He forgives us for His sake! It's not about whether or not we are really worthy of His forgiveness (although we are because Jesus made us worthy!!!). It's about God loving us and desiring a relationship with us so much that He is willing to forgive us for His own sake. The proof is in God's Word. 1 John 2:12b reads, "your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." and Isaiah 43:25 reads, "I, even I, am He who blots our your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins." King David really under...

Our Ladies Bible Study Class this week was pretty exciting! We began the second part of our lesson, Press On, discussing whether or not God is ever ashamed of us. Luke 9:26 tells us that if we are ashamed of Jesus then He will be ashamed of us. He is not ashamed of our occasional bad behavior. What a relief! He is, however, ashamed of us if we are ashamed of Him. We discussed ways we show we are ashamed of Him. Should we share the Gospel with someone who is of another religion? What about tolerance? What about respect? I could not think of an example in Scripture when Jesus or His disciples did not share the Gospel out of respect for someone's belief. We determined that since there is only one way to heaven and that is through faith in Jesus Christ we must share our faith with others because souls are at stake. We must, however, share our faith in love out of a genuine concern for others.

Last Wednesday night, I was inspired by something Denise said. She spoke about how we should allow God to use our sin and weaknesses to help others not fall into the same pit we have fallen into. Yet, so many times, instead of allowing God to use our experiences to help others, we use them as excuses as to why God could never use us. We don't feel worthy. Our past is too shameful. I think, many times, we do want to be used of God to make a real difference in His kingdom, but we feel too ashamed of our behavior. I have chosen two examples in scripture to examine; King David in the Old Testament and Paul in the New Testament. II Samuel 11:1-5 says, "It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king'...

"Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!" (Psalm 117) What a wonderful scripture on which to meditate. God is worthy of our praise! He is worthy of our praise in the good times and He is worthy of our praise in the bad times. He is worthy. One thing I have always trusted in and counted on is that God's truth endures forever. That is something to always take comfort and joy in knowing. I remember even as a very young girl, I would always read the scripture my pastor or teachers used to make sure I knew what was being taught was truth. The one thing I have never doubted was the truth of God's Word. I am so thankful to have God's Word so available to us in America. How else would we know how to live and love and get along with others? How else would we know God and His mercy and lovingkindness? God's Word is so precious a...