Behold the Lamb of Godslain from the foundation of the world.
SO WHAT DOES THAT REALLY MEAN?
In Revelation 13:8, we see Christ described as “slain from the foundation of the world.” Before the world was created, before man was created, Jesus knew that man would be a sinner and that someone would have to pay the penalty for that sin. Before we were even created, He willingly chose to come to earth and pay the price for our sins.
It is hard to comprehend that kind of love, that kind of sacrifice, but that is exactly the kind of love that brought Jesus into the world and eventually onto the cross.
During this season, place your eyes upon Christ on the cross, dying for the sins of the world; for you, for me and for everyone who ever existed. That is the kind of love that God has for us and that is the sacrifice He made for us.
Ever since the war in Ukraine started, the world has been on the brink of WWIII. A cursory look at the last two world wars shows us that these wars don’t always start immediately when a conflict begins. Sometimes it takes several months for different countries to be pulled into the skirmish. In this day and age, when combatants are using smart technology, we know that a bomb or drone can get off course and accidentally strike the wrong target.It wouldn’t take much, perhaps a bomb exploding over the border in Poland or Romania, to draw NATO into the conflict, and then voila, thirty more nations are involved in the conflict. It could happen today, tonight or tomorrow. We hope and pray that it doesn’t, but it is a real possibility.
When we think about the possibility of a wider conflict, knowing we are on the brink of another world war, we feel sober. Yes, very sober indeed. Our way of life could change in an instant, and we could be the ones facing shortages, famine, and exploding ordinances on our own soil. This idea certainly diminishes any sense of security we might be feeling, being a continent away from the current war.
When we think about our own sense of security, we base it on many variables: where we live, work, drive, our economic status, our health, etc. When we think about our lifespan, we look at our parents’ lives, i.e., how long did they live, and what might our chances of a long life be? As a believer in Jesus Christ, I get a lot of my security from knowing Him and from the words in the Bible. In this case, though, the Bible does not give me a lot of security. It doesn’t tell me that I will live a long life; in fact, it tells me a different story. It tells me that I also live on the brink in this world. Only this brink is the brink of eternity. Over and over, I am reminded that my life is short, very short indeed in light of eternity. James 4:14 says, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
In light of this particular brink, am I even aware of it? Do I believe that my life is short in an eternal sense, or do I feel I have lots of time to make decisions that may affect my eternal destiny? None of us are guaranteed tomorrow; any decision we need to make had better be done today. So, I would urge you to make those choices that will ensure a positive outcome in eternity. In the words of Isaiah, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
On the brink. Yes, it is a sober thought. But there is something we can do about it that will give us a greater sense of real security while we watch the events around us unfold.
Where is God connecting the dots of your life? I am finding my faith and writing are starting to intersect with drawing and painting! Comment with your answer!
Grief, like a blanket, envelopes the room. I lay awake in bed thinking about the relative who took his own life and wonder, “Why?” I think about his pain but mostly about the pain of those left behind: his sisters, his cousins, his niece and nephews. I hang on to hope. The hope that comes from the Lord knowing that He is with all of us at this time. I thank God for the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Comforter, who comforts us in our distress.
I am forever grateful that the Lord knows our pain and can heal even the most broken heart.How could we ever hope to survive without Him?
Gravitas is a word we don’t hear much of these days. It is a Latin word that has made its way into our vocabulary. It means, “dignity, seriousness or solemnity of manner,” according to Oxford Languages.
There is a lot to be serious about these past few weeks since Russia invaded the Ukraine. Unfortunately, thanks to the twenty-four-hour news cycle, some have made comments that show a lack of gravitas or at least good sense. I have heard remarks calling for the assassination of Vladimir Putin. Do not these people remember what started World War I? In 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated in Sarajevo. A chain of events followed and Europe was plunged into the First World War. This ended with the loss of 40 million lives and the devastation of Europe.
Many are calling for NATO to establish a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine. If just one NATO plane is shot down by the Russians, it will invoke Article 5, the commitment clause of the Alliance, forcing all countries in the Alliance to engage in the war. War is hell; there is no doubt about that. We are no longer talking about conventional war, though. Many of the nations involved have a nuclear capability, and heaven forbid, we could be talking about nuclear war.
Those of us who have lived in the nuclear age know that the possibility of nuclear war is very real and we should be ever so careful to not enter into a conflict that could trigger such a war. Words matter and we need to have a certain gravitas when discussing the possibility of actions that could indeed escalate into a nuclear conflict.
The Russian Bear has surrounded Ukraine with its arm. It is quickly drawing it into its orbit in order to annex it. How long will the Ukrainians be able to hold him off?
When Hitler began to annex countries into the Third Reich, those that were not well armed did not last long.
Czechoslovakia lasted 24 hours.
Poland held him off for 35 days.
France lasted six weeks.
Norway held the Nazis off for two months.
Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. They are brave but not well armed, and every day they are able to stand against the might of the Russian army is a miracle. May God help them.
In our culture, we admire those who are at the top of their fields. Whether it be sports, entertainment, or science and technology, we hold those who have succeeded up as role models. In any of the scientific or technological disciplines, we admire those who have a very high I.Q. That’s totally understandable, but what about their W.Q…their Wisdom Quotient?
As impressive as a high IQ is, there is one quotient that is even more impressive. That is a high Wisdom Quotient. According to Dr. Michael G. Bassous, in his blog post entitled, IQ, EQ,…but what about WQ, “Historically, wisdom has been associated with age, maturity, accomplishments, and/or social status. Early biblical writings refer to King Solomon as being wise, and the Book of Proverbs is full of wisdom sayings.” S. Mitra says, “If properly developed as a tool, Wisdom Quotient will be the future of human intelligence. Unlike IQ/Logical Intelligence and EQ, Emotional Intelligence, WQ (Wisdom Quotient) is still not quantifiable, but it will be in the future.” Maybe it is not all that quantifiable, but we all know people who are extremely bright but have made some really bad decisions because they lack a high or even a moderate Wisdom Quotient.
How many of us, looking back on our lives, would love to have made different decisions? Decisions that could have been better made with more wisdom? Where can we get that needed wisdom? Certainly, experience and time give us some, but it is so much easier to get wisdom without having to make bad decisions to attain it. We can look at other people’s lives and get some, i.e., learn from their bad or good decisions and incorporate that wisdom into our own thought process. As Dr. Bassous says above, we can also get some from reading the Book of Proverbs.
The Book of Proverbs is chock full of pithy sayings that teach us wisdom. From family relationships, husband and wife relationships, sexuality, finances, work ethics and a host of other subjects, you will find this little book a ready source of wisdom. King Solomon wrote it, and many a successful person has used it to guide their lives. What are a few things that Solomon would say to us about wisdom?
In beautiful poetic language, he says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you.” Proverbs 4: 7-9 Lovely words, aren’t they? Kind of makes you want to get some, doesn’t it?
But where do we start when we want wisdom? Again, Proverbs answers that question. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 I’ve thought about that verse a lot. Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom? I’ve concluded that without a respect (holy fear) of the Lord, a person can’t attain all the wisdom he needs in life. If we go through life never acknowledging the Lord and just make up our own values and morals as we go along, we are likely to end up at a dead end. Respecting the Lord and giving heed to His principles will take us where we want to go in this life if we want to be successful.
Do you need a higher Wisdom Quotient? Do I? The answer is always, yes. We can never have too much wisdom. I challenge you to read one chapter of Proverbs a day for a month. Then, look at your own Wisdom Quotient and see if it has risen. I guarantee it will have and it will help you make better decisions along the way!
Several years ago, I was in a class where I met Frances. She was on the quiet side but had a wonderful sense of humor. I really appreciated her, and we became good friends. One day, she was telling us about Larry. He just would NOT pick up his socks. She had been married to him for years and asked him several times if he would, but to no avail. On one particular day, she told us she had an idea. She was going to let his socks pile up and continue to put new socks in his drawer and see how big the pile would get until Larry picked them up.
Each week, we would check with her on Larry’s (or the pile’s) progress. Each week,it just kept getting bigger and bigger until, after a month, Frances gave up, washed the pile, and put them in his drawer. We asked, “What did you say to Larry?” Her reply, “Nothing.” Another question from the group, “What did Larry say?” Her reply, “Nothing,” and then she just laughed.
Frances and Larry had a great relationship and shared a lot of laughter between them. Even an outsider knew that Larry had indeed noticed the pile, but was going along with it, and seeing how long she would continue to buy him new socks. Frances never spoke about it again to Larry, and each morning she would pick up his socks from the day before and put them in the dirty clothes basket.
For me, this was a great example of what makes a marriage great. There is a lot of give and take and acceptance in a good marriage. No one is perfect and each spouse must accept the shortcomings of the other. If a person can do it with grace and humor, so much the better.
When I see my own husband’s socks on the floor, I just smile and think of Frances. What a woman she was!
When we hear the phrase, “A House Divided,” most people think of Abraham Lincoln and the speech he gave in 1858 at the Illinois Republican Convention, where he said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” But did you know that the phrase was not original to Abraham Lincoln? Jesus is the one who actually coined it first when He said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Matthew 12:25
That phrase has been going through my mind this week as I listen to the news. The media loves to bring division to our society. In 2019, the drumbeat was black vs. white. In 2020, it was Democrat vs. Republican. In 2021, it was vaxed vs. unvaxed. So far in 2022, it is government vs. truckers.Listen carefully when you listen to the news or other media outlets; you’ll notice that many of the speakers are pitting one group of people against another.
Does it really have to be that way? Can we not shake ourselves awake and recognize the programming that is being disseminated on the airwaves? If we don’t, we will succumb to the division that is deliberately being sown in society around us.
Think about your own prejudices and those of your peers around you. Don’t they mimic the programming that is on the news channels? We must recognize that we are being conditioned to look at others with suspicion if they do not think or act the way that we do. This is happening on both sides of the political divide. Surely we don’t have to fall for this, do we?
Abe Lincoln was right to quote Jesus when he was talking about slavery in our nation. He recognized the division that would break our union apart. Now there is a more insidious division taking place; it is family member against family member, neighbor against neighbor, city against city and state against state.
We may not be able to stop the vitriol that is spewing forth from the media but we can quit listening to it and stop being conditioned to hate those who do not agree with us on a political or social level. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to hate my brother or my neighbor because of the color of his skin, his political affiliation, his vaccination status or his choice to protest.
Smoking has been off my radar for a long time. Over the past several years in the US, there has been quite a social stigma associated with smoking. No smoking in restaurants, bars, public places, etc., that’s the usual sign up. At this point in time, I don’t know one person who smokes. I know that in other countries, that is not necessarily true.
About a month ago, Omicron blew through our city like a wind on a hot summer day. Thousands were infected including myself and my husband. Actually, six members of my family got it. It wasn’t too severe for our family but hospitalizations are up and lots of people are having a difficult time with it.
I got to thinking, who is being affected the most by it? And of course, it is people with a diminished lung capacity. Smokers are part of this category. I read a study that said that smokers are 80 percent more likely to end up in the hospital with Covid and 60 percent more likely to have negative outcomes. Not good, for sure.
For those of you who read my blog, I would encourage you to quit smoking. Covid is not going away anytime soon, and I don’t want you to end up being a statistic. We all have a tendency to think that negative things won’t happen to us, but I guarantee that it is certainly possible with Covid.
Will it really make any difference if you quit smoking, especially for those who have smoked for years? Orlando Health says that if you quit smoking, your lungs begin to heal immediately. Carbon Monoxide begins to leave your bloodstream gradually. Within the first month of quitting smoking, your lung function will improve and you will have increased circulation. Within a decade of being smoke-free, your risk of bladder, lung, mouth and throat cancer significantly decreases. All this indicates that the longer you go without a cigarette, the better it is for your long term health.
When both my husband and I went to the doctor to get tested, we were asked, “Do you smoke?” When we said, “No,” the doctor didn’t seem too concerned about us. That really alerted me that smoking has a big impact on your outcome should you get Covid. I appreciate every one of you who reads this blog, and I want the very best for you. So please, quit smoking! I want to see you around the blogosphere for a long time!
Valerie Cullers 