Christian Author and Speaker
Are you familiar with the Biblical account of Jesus calling Lazarus forth from the grave? It is given in John, Chapter 11.
1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2(This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.)
If I didn’t know Jesus, I would probably wonder what is wrong with me. You see, I want more. I’m not speaking of riches or fame. I’m speaking of time.
If I didn’t know Jesus, I would always wonder why I am on this Earth for such a short time.
“You must be born again,” Jesus said.
I know people today who shudder at that statement. They don’t like the term “born again.” They think it’s too religious – or too churchy – or too judgmental.
He “needed” to go through Samaria. He could have gone around Samaria – out of the way, like others did, to avoid the dirty, barren route in the middle of a dry, hot day. But he went through Samaria – seeking the woman, the lost woman.
Coffee with Kathi ~ John, Chapter 1
John wastes no time clarifying that Jesus is God in the flesh – the very one who brought grace and truth and blessing after blessing. He refers to Jesus as the One and Only, the Lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world, the Messiah.
You know how it is when you’ve gone someplace you were really looking forward to – then you head home. Oftentimes that drive home is simply a boring drive. There’s nothing more to see. Your trip is over and you just want to get home. I did not want to end this awesome month-long journey in that manner!
It has probably always occured, but it’s especially common during these recent seasons ~~ Christians “watering down” the Word of God.
I expect it from nonbelievers. They do it to rationalize sin, to explain compromise, and to find fault with Christ followers. When this happens, it doesn’t surprise me – or bother me – or even offend me. But and I am saddened and disturbed when believers “water down” the Word. I don’t expect it from the believer – from those who have supposedly trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior.
Today is her birthday –
in heaven.
Happy Birthday, Mama!
When she passed years ago, just one month after Daddy, I hoped I might adjust to life without them. Then I saw a multitude of Facebook condolences, and I heard the words spoken as they hugged me at the visitations and wrote on cards of sympathy:
She was truly a lovely young girl – probably a teenager – dressed in jeans and a jean jacket. Fine, thin hair. A pale complexion. Yet she didn’t appear quite like other teenage girls. As I shopped, she floated around the produce. I noticed her mother, a pretty, small, dark-haired woman, a short distance away, selecting produce as I was, yet constantly aware of her daughter’s every move. This was obviously a way of life to which she had become accustomed.