Graves' This and That

I have finished the Old Testament and now I am reading Luke 1 per the guide I have to read the Bible chronologically.  Luke, the doctor,a Greek and a Gentile, writes an orderly accounting to maybe a friend, an acquaintance, or a mentee  named Theophilus.  This phrase is the reasoning of his writing to Theophilus: "so that you might know the certainty of the things you have been taught."  How grateful I am that Luke, knowing the human heart and its ability to waffle and waver in belief of God and His truths, not only writes for this friend, but he has written for us that we might have confidence in the Father God and His Word. Luke introduces Zechariah, who was an elderly priest. It was his day to serve in the temple and burn incense to the Lord.  Worshipers were outside the area where Zechariah was fulfilling his duties and they were praying.  An angel appeared to Zechariah...Scripture recorded that Zechariah was started and gripped with fear.  I be...

  As I read Scripture, I enjoy personalizing it.  The Lord has said in Psalm 138:2 that He will exalt His Name and His Word.  Today, I personalize Psalm 100 for my prayer to the Father.  (Most of David's Psalms are his prayers so we can use them as our prayers.)   Father, I will make a joyful noise to You, and all the earth will join in.  I serve you, Lord, with gladness! I enter Your throne room with singing.  I know that You are the Lord and that You are God.  You have made me and I belong to you.  I am Your own and I am one of the sheep in Your pasture.  (HE is Jehovah Roeh: Shepherd.)  As I come into Your presence, I enter with thanksgiving and I enter with praises.  I give thanks to You.  I bless Your name.  Father, You are good.  You have given to me Your steadfast, enduring, and forever love.  Thank You that Your faithfulness is to all generations.   I encourage you as you are praying to...

  Yes, I understand that neither "faith walk or fire walk" are used in Scripture, yet I choose to use the terms as metaphors for the life in sanctification being walked out in Christ.  Read and FEEL a part of Paul's testimony concerning his walk of faith..." We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.  Indeed, i our hearts we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened that we MIGHT NOT RELY ON OURSELVES, BUT ON GOD, WHO RAISES THE DEAD." 2 Cor. 1:8b-9.  Now brother, I call this a fire walk!  Allow me to give some definition to what might be a fire walk.  I consider my fire walks to be a burning off of all that does not look like Christ in me.  It usually involves a testing of my faith (loss of job, loss of a loved one, financial setbacks, divorce, betrayal...endless list)...will I trust Father God and His promises, or will I trust in the whole mind in gear with vain imaginations plotting...

     As most women, I could easily be a clothes' horse, as long as it is someone else's wallet or a resale consignment shop. I also love hand-me-downs or inheritances. I have never had to remind myself to put on clothes, but there are some articles of clothing that I do need to grab out of my spiritual closet, put on, and wear continually.    Check out Colossians 3:12-17 with me.  " Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience .  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And above all these virtues put on love , which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful .  Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly as you teach and admonish ...

   Words, words, words, but no communication or show of relationship of caring.  I am amazed at all the peripheral of words that we give attention and feel that we must form an opinion.  " Keep reminding them of these things.  Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly."  2 Timothy 2:14-16.  This reminder is not just for YOU, but is VERY MUCH for me.  The Proverbs reminds us that where there are many words, there is also sin.   The debates on tweets from the President, from the NFL owners, the players, and any other causes and words that draw attention away from the real enemy....we wrestle not against flesh and blood! We must stay a...

    Life is very precious and I love almost every minute of it.  I am blessed to have been allowed to enjoy this life for seven decades, however, there are times in all of our lives, that life presents warfare.  God has graciously given to you and to me, as Christ followers, His full armor that we are commanded to continuously "put on" ourselves.  Some thoughts from Ephesians 6:12-19: We are commanded to be strong in the Lord and HIS mighty power.  Continual work because strength is siphoned off by our own disobedience and snares of the evil one which we fall prey by not staying alert in His Word. I must "put on" HIS full armor continuously. My enemy is NOT flesh and blood, regardless of who it looks like and acts like! The ole evil one is organized and has evil minions, for he is prince of the power of the air. He is the liar, he is covert, and subtle because he desires to catch us off duty...not standing guard and being alert. He rarely appears ...

    Hey Folk, there is enough going on in and around us that it is long past time of dragging around the "blankie, passie, and Teddy bear". IT IS TIME to move to the battle position of bombarding the heavens for God to intervene. Yes, I understand that we could be experiencing the "birth pains" of His coming again quickly approaching.  This is no time for comfort, ease, and apathy.  It is time to pray and believe that God can and God will move in the affairs of our lives. The disciples asked the Lord Jesus to teach them to pray.  I am not talking about rocket science, but opening of the heart and crying out to the Lord God. We have no other resources to call upon..."fake news" if you think money, government, your 401 K or any human effort can solve the world or family ills!  Check out the media if you are in a quandary about the affairs and events going on in our world.  For heaven's sake, check out your own family.  Note the frustration, the...

  Very recently, it has dawned on me (DUH) that PRAYER IS THE BATTLE.  It is a battle because we must battle against ourselves, our relationships, our surroundings, and against the tempter, the ole liar.  Of course, the battle is FOR  those for whom we pray also.  I began to look for the thought and found the statement made by a revivalist, Leonard Ravenhill, now deceased.                               Prayer is battle. Could it be that in our churches the right slogan over the door of most of our prayer rooms would be “We Wrestle Not”? I often see listed in churches names of athletes who will play ball of some kind, but I would like to see these “muscle men” operating where strength really counts – that is, in the place of prayer. Prayer taxes even the physical frame; prayer   wears on the nerves; prayer involves the whole man. Prayer must have priority. Pra...

There are numerous negative phrases that seem to want attach to my heart and my mind today.  The circumstances have and are real reasons for concern however, because fear has long been a strong-hold and enemy to my spiritual well-being, and not all circumstances have concluded with "happily ever after" which has been my 'fake news" conclusion, I hear "what if" and 'if only" screaming outside the door to my heart and mind this morning. When Cain was fearful that God had approved Able's sacrifice and not his, his fear moved him to anger.  Father God appealed to him and asked, "Why are you angry?"   He even furthered the conversation with encouraging him to do what was right and warned him if he chose not to respond correctly that "sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it"!!!  Count on it, fear often wants to move to anger and hunker down there and surrounds itself with several other negat...

From the lips of an ole friend, "Talk is cheap!"  This might be descriptive of the 2017 culture, so many words yet with minute commitment and authenticity in behavior. I enter Malachi in my reading through the Bible.  Malachi is little known in history, but his words have been recorded and repeated several places in the New Testament.  He is the last messenger to Judah and Israel until the coming of John the Baptist after the birth of Jesus.  Malachi ministers around 420 B. C. to the remnant who have returned from the Babylon-Persia captivity.  As I read Malachi, whose name means Messenger, I am reminded of our culture of 2017 rather than 420 B. C.  Descriptives for the culture of 420 B. C.: formalism, self-righteousness, self-satisfaction, shattered personal relationships, offensive and apathetic indifference regarding the Lord God and the Temple, ie, the Body of Christ in our culture.  Malachi is the last of the prophets and he comes to call them ...

    My prayer list lost two remarkable young men this week and both due to cancer.  One young man was 49 and the second man was 34.  I had been praying for each of them this year.  Their cancer when found was stage 4.  The losses make my heart hurt for their mates, children, ministries, their parents and their friends.  I can move to praise when I focus on the provision that has been made by the Lord Jesus for them and their willingness to receive Christ Jesus as their Savior and Lord. I confess, at times, I have "had" to praise out of obedience and trust for that praise to come out of a faith stance, giving my emotions time to catch up!  However, while working on 2 Chronicles 20 for the Bible study this week that I get to facilitate, I found a statement which I loved:  PRAISE IS THE EVIDENCE OF FAITH. Jehoshaphat, after being warned that a vast number of enemies were coming against his kingdom, Judah, he was fearful, yet he resolved to c...

  Working through the last day of the study for Anne Graham Lotz's study, The Daniel Prayer...Prayer That Moves Heaven and Changes Nations, I am looking at Nehemiah 2:7-9. Nehemiah has requested that he return to Jerusalem to survey the damage that has been left undone in the repairing of the walls and gates of Jerusalem.  Nehemiah serves as the cup-bearer and counselor to King Artaxerxes of Persia.  King Artaxerxes is a king who does not worship the God of Israel whom Nehemiah worshiped.  Before Nehemiah makes his request, he has prayed and fasted.  He makes his request to the king, and it is very interesting the responses of the king.  He gives Nehemiah permission to leave (and it was a 12 year leave of absence), he gives the letters and supplies that he requested, and lastly, he even sends an army with Nehemiah to protect him and the supplies.  Now that is some bold praying and requesting!  Reminds me of Ephesians 3:20.  Quickly my mind ...

   I well recall driving home from the hospital with the radio blaring the gospel song, "When Answers Aren't Enough, There is Jesus".  I confess at that point in my "firewalk" of faith, I was not even sure Jesus would suffice the swirling sea of loss that I was feeling.  My heart cry then was, "FATHER, I DON'T UNDERSTAND!  That was some 24 years ago, but the feelings that arise out of that loss are still very pungent and fragile in my memory.  I was reminded over and over again that my Father's ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts.  Yet, I wanted His ways and His thoughts to be mine!  At the first of the year when I had to offer up the one I had held in my arms as a newborn some 48 years ago, I had to offer him back up to the Lord and only this time for keeps, the heart aches.  Being older in the Lord, causes me to again confirm that I don't understand His ways in all of His actions, yet, I am willing to hang on to the ...

Dick and I have patiently (and impatiently) been waiting for a  specific work of the Lord.  It has been coming to a point for years and God has graciously waited for us to trust and wait upon Him.  Still in process!   Yesterday while reading a daily devotion by Max Lucado, he had two bold statements which I identify, "Great acts of faith are seldom born out of calm calculation."   His second statement, "At the beginning of every act of faith, there is often a seed of fear."  Because fear has been a stronghold in my life even though booted out several times, it keeps trying to reappear at times when there is uncertainty... fake news, THAT there IS certainty in this ole world. Only the Lord's certainty!  Max gives several instances that fear motivated the action of faith: Moses at the Red Sea, Naaman being told to dip 7 times in the river, Paul's abandoning his years as a Pharisee, and those who were gathered in fear praying for Peter's release from pr...

  I am the consummate "Let's get it done" individual.  I do not like the red lights at Denton Highway and Tarrant Parkway...too long.  The red lights at 820 and Boulevard 26 can be a pain and the red light at Boulevard 26 and Vance Road...ugh!  One would think the whole town of Fort Worth was coming down the highway with the length of the north-south light.  I guess you get it that I have a slight tendency to be impatient with waiting.  Pregnancy was a breeze...it was the waiting for the baby to make his appearance, and usually not on his due date!  Yes, I know that "haste makes waste" and impatience can be problematic! Refusing to fret and stew, I decided to rest in reading Psalm 119.  I kept seeing the phrase, "according to Your word" and "promise".  After I had seen the two 18 times, I decided I best pay attention. I decided to list the 18 times for you to peruse just in case you are impatient and wondering when, Lord? Verse 9 :  ...

Do you ever need a word of encouragement?  Do you ever feel like you may have held on as long as you can?  You are right at the stage of  moving your focus from the Lord God who is always sufficient, to staring at your circumstances? Anytime I begin to stare at what looks like reality...I am always caught up short!  I can fret and stew or I can choose to be at peace and rest in the Lord.  God's Word is always the healing salve to my mind and heart.  Today's healing salve, " Let us hold firmly ( fast or unswervingly) to the hope that we have confessed, because we can trust God to do what HE promised."Hebrews 11:23.   I have always clung tenaciously to the promise that God is faithful to His promises and always blesses obedience yet at times, there is still the flesh tendency of my flawedness, my finiteness, and my frailties to begin to waffle and weave instead of standing FIRMLY AND HOLDING FAST.  Rather than beat myself to death with th...

  As a child, I always loved the heroes of history and their statements of faith or loyalty..."Give me liberty or give me death!" or "I regret I only have one life to give for my country".  While reading chapter 6 of Daniel, he too is a hero.  As a young man taken into captivity to Babylon, he made a deliberate choice that he would not defile himself with what was being offered him or forced on him by Babylon.  He set his boundaries/non- negotiables and chose to not compromise.  Daniel is now serving Darius the Mede.  He has risen to a high position in Darius' staff.  Of course,  the other men in the same high positions as Daniel became jealous of him for he was trustworthy without corruption or any negligence in his assignments.  They devise a plot knowing that Daniel will not compromise for they had long been spying on him and knew his routine.  Because of Daniel's unwillingness to compromise, he is thrown into the den of lions....

What does being comfortable look like to you?  Maybe a recliner, feet propped up, a good book in Nook or Kindle or maybe a real book, and a cup of coffee or tea?  Chapter 5 of Daniel reads of  King Belshazzar who has become very comfortable, not in honoring the Lord and pleasing Him, but in ignoring lessons from the past which would have been most beneficial for him to recall.  He also had a very wise counselor in his kingdom that he did not bother to take consult, Daniel.  Daniel is in his 70's and seems to have a great recall.  He has been a man of prayer and well knows what is going on in his Babylonian nation where he has been since age fifteen or so. Tonight is a big party for the king and his friends.  They were enjoying the food and wine and just praising the works of their hands, the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.  Out of nowhere, fingers of a human hand appear and began to write on the wall.  How about that fo...

      Chapter 4 of Daniel is  King Nebuchadnezzar's own testimony of a vision, its interpretation,  the vision coming true, and the result of the vision on Nebuchadnezzar.   King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and Daniel is called upon to explain the dream.  Daniel with confidence and resolve speaks the meaning of the dream.  Daniel first reminds him that the dream is from the MOST HIGH...a Sovereign greater than he AND IN CONTROL.  Ole Nebbie is told that he will be cut down like a tree, but that he will be like a stump in a field.  He will remain in the field "living like wild animals until seven times pass by him."  Daniel boldly advises the king : "Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed.  It may be that then your prosperity will continue."  Certainly direct and daring counsel!   Twelve months pass and Nebbie is on his rooftop admiring all that h...