Today's Word
You are welcome to use the writings on these pages or pass them on to others who might find a touch from God in the words. Our purpose is always to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you everything, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring these words to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom its been shared. All rights reserved. Peggy Hoppes
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September 2020
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Climb a Hill, Look at a Rock Day
Our Lord is so good, He grants us many blessings. We can see Him in the daily course of events, in our homes, our jobs, our lives. I pray that these words help you to grow in your faith and recognize His hand in even the most mundane circumstances.
The picture to the right is of a Celtic Chapel located in Cornwall England. This building is approximately 1700 years old, and contains a holy well known for its healing powers.
(Click for enlarged)
“Let no man say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God,’ for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when it is full grown, produces death. Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures” James 1:13-18, WEB
I have been a stay-at-home wife and mother for most of the past three decades. I was very busy when the children were small and my husband was still active duty. Besides chasing kids and keeping the house, I spent many hours volunteering. There wasn’t a day I didn’t have something to do or somewhere to be. If my schedule was clear, I had errands to run. I spent a lot of time in my car. As the children grew, my schedule cleared a little, though I still found ways to use my time. I’ve noticed in the past few years, now that they are grown and my husband’s situation has changed, I have fewer things taking my time. I still had errands to run; I usually ended up at the arts and crafts stores at least once a week and at the grocery store several times. I occasionally had lunch with friends, attended a movie, or went on some fun adventure.
That is, until a few months ago. Like everyone else, I’ve spent much, much more time at home. It hasn’t been that different for me. I had become such a homebody that I was thinking about something to do like a regular volunteer schedule or a job. There would be advantages to that, but it would also make it more difficult to keep up with this writing and my other Bible studies. So, I settled for my simple, very quiet life; some days the only reason I left the house was to get the mail. And then the pandemic hit and everyone started living my life. Even my husband was home all the time. We began taking our daily walks just to get out of the house.
One of the affects of this lock-down has been the wear and tear on our house. I have a carpet cleaner coming today because I noticed that the heavy traffic areas are worse than they have ever been. There’s a path from the front door to the place I keep my shoes, probably darker because I carried the dirt from the street into my room every day after my walk. The couches in our formal living room have gotten more use in the past six months than in the previous seven years. I need to clean the pillows and replace the pillow forms.
We didn’t realize the impact we were having on these things until recently. It isn’t that suddenly the carpets became dirty or the couch cushions scrunched. It happened a little at a time. That’s the way it is with sin, too. Oh, there are some sins that have an immediate impact on our world. Murder affects a person, a family, a city and sometimes even the nation and the world. On the other hand, little white lies don’t seem to have any impact at all. Yet, those lies build; they create distrust and eventually broken relationships. You don’t see it happening until one day the problem becomes obvious. Unfortunately, unlike my carpet, it is sometimes too late. The hurt is too deep, the lives too shattered.
We do not always know the effect of the small sins that seem so harmless. Lies lead to greater lies. This is not only true of the actions that can be seen, but also with the thoughts that are known only in our minds and by God. They can lead to greater sins, building ever greater until it is too late to stop the harm that is caused. Though we don’t have the strength on our own to overcome these things, we do have One who gives us the strength to reject that which leads us astray. Our Lord Jesus overcame all temptations so that His Word might bring us forth into new life.
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“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. This is the boldness which we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us. And if we know that he listens to us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him.” 1 John 5:13-15, WEB
Kate Hankey loved Jesus and her greatest desire was to take Him into the world. She grew up in London, in a Christian home where the family often gathered with friends for Bible Study. Kate eventually started her own studies, taking her knowledge of the scriptures to the girls of her neighborhood and the women who worked in the factories of London. She wanted the poor and downhearted to see the grace of God.
Kate was about thirty years old when she became seriously ill. Her doctor insisted that she must stop her Bible studies for a time, and she spent nearly a year in bed. Though she was not able to share the Gospel with her students, she did not stop telling the story of Jesus. She spent the year writing poetry, including a long poem in two parts, “The Story Wanted” and “The Story Told.” This poem eventually became two beloved hymns, “Tell Me the Old, Old Story” and “I Love to Tell the Story.”
It doesn’t matter how well we know the story or how firm we stand in God’s grace, we all have moments of doubt and fear. We all have moments when we need to hear the Gospel story to remind us that we have eternal life. John may have written his letter to a people who were knew in faith, but the words are written for us, too. Despite two thousand years of Christianity, we still need to be assured that God’s promises are true.
My favorite verse of “I Love to Tell the Story” is the third one. “I love to tell the story, for those who know it best; Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest; And when in scenes of glory I sing the new, new song; ‘Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.” We do hunger and thirst to hear the words of grace as much (perhaps even more) than those who have never heard them at all. John assures us that the message we have heard, the message we have told, is real and true. God’s promises are real and true. God is faithful.
And so this day, let us tell the story, shout the story, sing the story, paint the story, write the story, live the story, share the story with everyone we meet. The story is true; we are assured of eternal life in Christ. Like John, we are sent into the world to remind each other that God is listening and He is willing to answer our prayers according to His good and perfect will. He hears those who pray in faith and He is gracious for all who believe.
The following links provide some specially chosen scripture that tell the stories of the Birth and Passion of our Lord as Saviour Jesus Christ, as well as a fictional perspective of the Crucifixion. Spend time in God's Word, read about His life and learn of the wonderful gifts He has for you. Know Jesus Christ and honour Him today. Thanks be to God.
The Story of our Saviour's Passion
The Crucifixion, a fictional perspective
When researching, I use several versions of the bible, including the New International Version and English Standard Version. Due to copyright restrictions, I have not included quotes for the scriptures on some of the archives, but highly encourage you to open your own bibles to read the scripture passages for yourselves. Where scripture is quoted, it is usually the American Standard Version or World English Bible which belong to the public domain. Any other versions used in quotes are identified.
The devotion posted on Wednesday is based on the Lectionary texts used by millions of Christians each Sunday. The Lectionary consists of four texts: an Old Testament passage, a Psalm, a passage from one of the Epistles and a Gospel text and follows the church calendar. Archives for these writings are found at Midweek Oasis.
You are welcome to use these words to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Please remember to give credit to the Author who has given you these gifts, and keep in remembrance the vessel which He used to bring them to you. We pray that this site may be a blessing to you and anyone with whom you've shared it. Peggy Hoppes
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