The Eye of The Storm

Tag: Bible

  • Eternity – Past and Future

    God – He’s all around us. He is eternity future and eternity past.

    But something that I am still struggling to wrap my head around is the fact that the holy trinity is also eternal – both in our future and in our past. The holy spirit existed in the Old Testament. He hovers over the waters in Genesis 1:2. And He guides and protects the Israelites (Isaiah 63:10-14). There are so many examples of the spirit of God being active in the Old Testament.

    Jesus is there too. Yes, he’s there; even before He came to us in the form of a baby. He is mentioned all through the Old Testament. Genesis 3:15 predicts the crucifixion. The Passover Lamb in Numbers 9:12 can be cross-referenced to John 19:36 where we learn that Jesus’s bones were never broken.

    God knew when He specifically required the lamb for the Passover sacrifice, that in roughly 1500 years, His son would be referred to as “The Lamb”. And that is just one example of so many.

    What an amazing God we serve and worship. One Who providentially lays out our lives and coordinates events and circumstances in ways that are just awesome. Yet we doubt Him. And we question Him.

    And over and over He gives grace and mercy.

    Thank you, God, for all that you have been, are, and will be.

  • Connecting Biblical Events: God’s Providential Plan

    Connecting Biblical Events: God’s Providential Plan

    As a child, I learned all the traditional Bible stories. These include stories like David and Goliath, Adam and Eve, and Jesus walking on water. I knew the stories well. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I understood there was more depth to them.

    As I have become more sanctified in Christ, I have gained a richer understanding of His providence. I have learned (and continue to learn) how every event in the Bible connects to other events in the Bible.

    Every event in the Bible connects to other events in the Bible.

    There are so many examples of God’s providence in the Bible. The Old Testament books lay the foundation for stories that start and finish there. They also help in understanding the entire New Testament. When we understand that we serve a providential God, we can start to see Him in between the lines.

    One of my favorite examples of this is the story of Moses. The story of Moses begins during a time when pharaoh orders the death of all Hebrew male infants. To save him, Moses’ mother placed him in a basket and set him afloat on the Nile River. By God’s providence, the pharaoh’s daughter discovered the basket and decided to adopt Moses. Unknowingly, she hired Moses’ own mother to nurse him. Fast forward to Moses as an adult. He ends up delivering the Israelites from bondage.

    God’s providence can be seen in several ways in this one story. And there are many more like it.

    Take some time today to read your favorite bible story again. In what ways does that story connect the dots to other biblical events?

    Photo by Kelly on Pexels.com

  • Make it about Jesus

    Make it about Jesus

    What books of the bible do you gravitate to? For me it’s the middle of the new testament. Books like Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians.

    When discussing this with my husband this morning, he asked me why I gravitate to those books. After some thought, I came to the conclusion that it’s because I can make those scriptures more about me than Jesus. The book of Ephesians for example starts out with Paul telling us about our identity in Christ. He then goes on to teach us what to do with who we are in Christ. Ephesians 1:4 says, “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” That is encouraging and reassuring scripture. It’s also very easy to make it about us, and not Christ.

    I am guilty of choosing the easy stuff in scripture. But we need the hard stuff too; maybe even more.

    I’m challenging myself to study scripture that is hard. Maybe that means dissecting a chapter from Isaiah, or Revelation. What ever that might mean for you, let’s work on finding Christ in scripture and getting to know more about Him so we can be more like Him.

    Let’s make it less about us, and more about Who’s we are.

  • ALL the things

    This past week has been rough. Actually the past couple of months have been rough. Don’t get me wrong, there have been a multitude of blessings in the muck, but sometimes the muck turns into quicksand before we realize it. All of a sudden we are up to our necks with “stuff”. Is there a better way to navigate life than to blindly sink into the muck? I think there is. It’s simple really. Spend time daily with God and sort it all out.

    I am guilty of skipping time with God. I say little prayers over the course of the day like, “Okay God, help me to be loving; or “Hey God could you just NOT put that person in my personal space today?” And while there’s not really anything wrong with that, it’s not all God wants from us. He wants our hearts. Yes, he already knows what’s in our hearts, but He wants US to evaluate what is in our hearts and lay the yucky stuff at his feet. Likewise, we need to praise Him for all the good stuff. Because, all of it is ultimately good, right? ALL OF IT.

    Romans 8:28 says ALL THINGS work together for GOOD. It doesn’t say, “All the fun things”, or “All the things that feel good”. It says ALL things. That means even the things that don’t make any sense. Even the things that really REALLY hurt.

    There is a lot to unpack from this one verse. But the bottom line is this: When we trust HIM, when we follow Him, and when we live to serve Him and please Him, we can have peace in knowing that all of life’s circumstances circle back to His purpose. And we know that His purpose is far better and fulfilling than any purpose we could invent on our own..

    I recently read a post on a sister blog where the analogy of baking cookies was used to explain Romans 8:28. When we bake cookies, we use all kinds of ingredients. Some of them are tasty, like chocolate chips, sugar, and peanut butter. And some of them are not so tasty, like oil, raw eggs, and flour. But when mixed together, all those ingredients create a delicious treat, with a pleasing aroma.

    Have faith that your life will ultimately become a pleasing aroma to our gracious GOD.

    Find true joy in life – even in the yucky stuff!

  • HEART work is HARD work

    Read that again. It’s so true isn’t it? When we have needs or wants, God uses those times to work on our hearts. When we have trials, and frustrations, and grief, and fear…God uses those times to work on our hearts. When we have a disagreement with our spouse, a parent, or one of our children, God can use that to work on our hearts. He uses job loss, disaster, pet loss, financial burdens and the list goes on. If there is anything in life that is customized to your specific needs, it’s God’s hand in your HEART work.

    Sometimes, He just does the work, and we don’t understand it. Other times, we have to let Him do the work and we completely understand it. In all cases of HEART work, we have to trust Him.

    So here is a challenge for all of us. The next time we set out to perform a task, whether big or small, lets call it heart work instead of hard work; because everything we do can be an opportunity to grow.

    What HEART work are you doing today?

  • When God Gives Us More Than We Can Handle

    Yep, you heard me right, sometimes God gives us more than we can handle.  Now I know what you are thinking….”but the bible says God WONT give you more than you can handle” You’re right, it does say that.  Sort of.
    First Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability; but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
    The problem is that most of us stop at the semi colon. We see where it says “God will not let you be tempted beyond your ability”.  We often hear it said that “God will never give us more than we can handle”.  It is often spoken to encourage someone who is struggling and is spoken in love.
    Here’s the thing we need to understand though – God DOES give us more than we can take.  He does test us.  The key is to read the rest of the verse.  “GOD IS FAITHFUL, he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability”.  HE WILL PROVIDE A WAY OUT.  He gives us way more than we can handle….WITHOUT HIM.
    We can’t do it alone, and we are not meant to.  God is with us every step of the way, and we need to let Him take the wheel.