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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Salisbury PlainClimb 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)
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, WEB
In Psalm 119, the psalmist wrote, “Uphold me according to your word, that I may live. Let me not be ashamed of my hope.” (Psalm 119:116) As I read that, I wondered why anyone would be ashamed of hope. Yet, we are often told that the story of Jesus is nothing but a myth, Mary is not a virgin but a young girl, the vision of the shepherds was nothing but a mass delusion and the wise men didn't follow a supernatural sign. The miracles of Jesus can be explained in medical terms. There are no demons, just mental illness. Jesus didn't really die on the cross. These are all ridiculous fairy tales, and so there is nothing really on which to base our hope. We rejoice in our hope but are ashamed to tell others because we do not want to be seen as foolish.
Paul reminds us that God’s weakness is stronger than our strength. He talks about how God has used him in his weakness. As a matter of fact, Paul writes repeatedly about how it is our weakness that God can use to do His work in this world. When we rely on our own strength, we try to be God and do God’s work on our own. God would rather that we be weak so that He can work through us. He is not looking for the person who has the greatest faith, or the perfect behavior, or the most joy or physical strength. He is not even looking for the bravest people who will stand up against those who call Christian faith foolish. He is looking for those people who are willing to give everything they have. None of us are good enough in any of these things. None of us are strong enough. We are all terrified to stand against those who call our hope a fairy tale. We love God and discover that whatever we have is enough, for it is God’s strength that helps us do whatever it is He wants us to do. The hope we have is in Him.
God wants us to love Him with our hearts, souls and minds, but my strength is usually more like weakness. My heart is weak: I falter in faith, in hope, in love. My mind is weak: I believe the lies of the devil that convince me that I should do things that seem good but are not God-pleasing. My soul is weak: I get desperate, disappointed, depressed when it seems like God has abandoned me. I have moments when I am ashamed of the hope I have in Jesus. This is why the psalmist asked God for the strength to give glory to God even when the world is united against the faith we have in His promises.
In today’s world, so much of the Christian message is viewed as foolishness. We are called to submit to God, and yet the world claims there is no God. We are called to love our neighbor, and yet the world says that we should love ourselves. The Gospel tells us that God in flesh died so that we might have life. This is the promise on which our hope is founded. What foolishness! Yet, God is wiser and more powerful than anything we can imagine, and we know that He loved His children so much that He did everything necessary to reconcile us to Him. We need not be ashamed in the hope we have in Him because Jesus is more than a myth. The truly wise know this and willingly share their hope with faith and joy despite the naysayers who think it is nothing but a fairytale.
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“He said to them, “Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand? For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.” Mark 4:21-22, WEB
I bought a camera a few years ago, and though it isn’t complicated, I’m still learning some of the features. One of the advantages, that isn’t always advantageous, is that many of the settings can be controlled by a touch screen. Unfortunately, I sometimes hit something on the screen that changes a setting, and I don’t realize I have done it. It often takes me too much time to realize what I have done. During the eclipse, my nose constantly reset the center of focus because I was using the view finder rather than the screen for focusing. It was frustrating, but I was able to work around it. My photos from one of my hikes during that retreat were very dark. I was able to edit those photos, to raise the exposure, so they weren’t too bad, but it was frustrating to know that my light settings were wrong.
When you take a picture with a camera, it is necessary to make sure that the lighting is right. If the subject is too dark, the shutter will open and close too slowly and the picture is likely to be unfocused. This is why most cameras have a built-in flash. The extra light helps brighten the scene and the shutter opens and closes more quickly. Now, there are times when you might not want all that extra light on the subject, especially if the flash creates a bright, white light. It is possible to let the camera think it is overcoming the darkness, while blocking the light from actually illuminating the subject. Professional photographers do this with fancy equipment and settings on their camera.
There are ways for even the amateur to fool the camera. Once, when I was photographing a play, I could not use the flash for the safety of the actors. I standing so far away, using zoom, that the light would not help the situation, and would actually create a much darker picture. Yet, I needed the camera to think it was using the flash. I turned the flash on, but covered the bulb with tape. The flash went off, but could not be seen. Many of the pictures turned out great because the camera shutter opened and closed fast enough to catch just the right amount of light.
It was helpful to hide the light of the camera flash under a piece of tape, but that is not the way God wants to live our life. Unfortunately, I think many of us do have times when we’d rather keep our light hidden. I am the type of person that would rather be behind the scenes. I’m willing to do any work that needs to be done, but I don’t want anyone to know I’m the one doing it. This might be defined as humility; it might also be a false humility, hiding my light under a bushel.
What we need to remember as we are shining our light to the world is that they understand the light is not our own: it is God shining through us. True humility is living the life God has called us to live, doing the work He has ordained for us. We don’t have to hide behind the scenes. As a matter of fact, even though hiding means we won’t be glorified for the work, God won’t be glorified either. They won’t know that He was the guiding force. They won’t know that He was the power. They won’t know that He was the source of the light. Humility is a good thing, but humility does not mean hiding from being seen. Humility is giving credit to the One who has accomplished the work in and through our lives.
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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