Category Archives: Thoughts From Scripture

Book Review: Renovating Becky Miller

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Renovating Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck is one of the books on my spring reading challenge (which is rapidly drawing to a close this week!!) I had read Sharon’s first book, The Secret Life of Becky Miller, last year (it was one of the first books I discussed on my blog!) and just loved it — the characters and situations and struggles were very real — so I knew I’d get the sequel as soon as I saw it. I finished it last week, but this is my first chance to sit down and get my thoughts together.

Becky Miller is a young Christian mom, married with three children, heading up the women’s ministry at church. In the first book she struggled to “do big things for God.” Each chapter started with a “daydream” in which Becky somehow saved the day. This book starts each chapter with a spoof of a movie scene (I didn’t realize that at first because I hadn’t seen the first film alluded to. 🙂 I thought it was a spy scenario like the first book might have had. After a while I began to realize those scenarios were strangely familiar — then I “got it.”) It was fun figuring out what movie the scenes were from. I got most of them even though I hadn’t seen all the films. If I had just read the back cover of the book more thoroughly, it would have given me a tip-off.

Becky faces a number of pressures — her new job at a new church is taking a lot more time than she thought it would; the people there feel that increasing and expanding their programs will reach more people for Christ, so there are constantly new projects and more work added on; her husband’s mother is having physical problems and comes to live with them; something’s bothering her husband, but she can’t get him to open up; something is wrong with one of her closest friends, but she can’t get anyone to tell her what the problem is; her husband think they need to find a new home, and the ideal one in their price range that just needs “some fixing up” is an old farmhouse. Becky think the bigger house in the country will mean a slower, simpler lifestyle, and the “fixing up” will be a good project to draw the family closer. If you’ve ever had a house that needed work, you’re probably smiling and shaking your head right now. 🙂 On top of all of that, the leg that has been having problems since the accident she had in the first book is getting worse because she is so busy with everything else she hasn’t had time to do her physical therapy.

In other words — she is under a lot of pressure.

I could relate to thing on so many levels. The first home we purcahsed was a “fixer-upper” and we didn’t realize how much money, time, and energy it was going to take. I head up the ladies’ ministry at church, and though we haven’t had any church growth pushes, there is always the pressure to do more. We have had parents in just for a short time but have had discussions about what we might need to do in the near future, as many in the “sandwich generation” have. I’ve had physical problems that I wished the Lord would just go ahead and heal so I could get on with my life and minister for Him more effectively. Just keeping in touch with your family (even living under the same roof it is all too easy to just pass by while getting other things done) and trying to be a good mother to your children can be enormous pressure, not to mention these other things.

At one point, Becky asks, “Lord, is serving You supposed to feel like this?”

I think many of us have asked or have felt like asking that question.

I’ll leave you to find the answers Becky found in the book.

Because I have four bookcases filled to overflowing already, usually after I read a book, if I really don’t think I will ever reread it, I pass it on to my mother-in-law or someone else. But I am keeping the Becky Miller books. I want to revisit them again some day. Once again the characters and the struggles were very real (even though my kids are older than Becky’s, I could remember a lot of the “young mom” struggles, and some of them still apply though in slightly different forms) and the answers Becky found, though not new to me, were wonderful reminders.

If I had a rating system, this book would get the highest rating, plus a couple of plus signs. 🙂 It’s everything that good Christian fiction should be. It will have you smiling in some parts and pondering its truths in others.

By the way, Sharon Hinck has a website and a blog and a “Book Buddies” newsletter you can sign up for. She has another book out already, The Restorer, that is on my to be read list. It is a fantasy, and I have no doubt she can handle it well, from the fantasy preludes in her chapters of the Becky Miller books!

Honoring the Fathers in my life

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Exodus 20:12: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Leviticus 19:32: Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.

My father passed away several years ago, but I want to honor his memory. He did not come to know the Lord until 6 years before he died, and though he had a lot of problems, I honor the position the Lord gave him as my father. He did love me in his own way and tried to do right as he knew it. One of the major things he taught me was to have respect for those in authority.

I want to honor my step-father. I honestly had problems with the idea of a step-father having any say in my activities when I was 15. 🙂  I have written here and there before that after I became a Christian, God had to teach me that honoring and obeying my parents was a matter of obedience to Him regardless of whether they were Christians or were doing the right thing. After that I wondered how a step-father fit into the picture. Then one day I realized that Jesus had a step-father — Joseph. The Bible says Jesus was subject to both Mary and Joseph, even when they didn’t understand him (Luke 2:50-51). Over the years I have come to greatly respect my step-father as a steady, dependable man who cares for his family, is an extremely hard worker, and would do anything in the world to help those he cares about.

I wrote earlier about my “spiritual mom,” Mrs. C,  and the godly influence she was in my life. Mr. C was a shining example of a Christian father to me, and I am so glad the Lord brought them into my life.

I honor my husband as a caring, thoughtful, sweet, fun, loving companion and father to our boys.

And I honor my heavenly Father who gave me life, loves me dearly, brought me to a saving belief in Christ, speaks to me through His Word, shows me His love and care in a hundreds of ways every day.

Fathers and sons, good and bad

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In light of Father’s Day coming up this Sunday, I will be posting several things relating to fathers from my files throughout this week.

The following is from Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot, published by Vine Books in 1995.

While visiting [a] Bible College in South Carolina, I found in the library a little book called Father and Son, written by my grandfather, Philip E. Howard. He writes:

“Do you remember that encouraging word of Thomas Fuller’s, a chaplain of Oliver Cromwell’s time? It’s a good passage for a father in all humility and gratitude to tuck away in his memory treasures:

“’Lord, I find the genealogy of my Savior strangely checkered with four remarkable changes in four immediate generations.

Rehoboam begat Abijah; that is, a bad father begat a bad son.
Abijah begat Asa; that is, a bad father begat a good son.
Asa begat Jehoshaphat; that is, a good father begat a good son.
Jehoshaphat begat Joram; that is, a good father begat a bad son.

I see, Lord, from hence that my father’s piety cannot be entailed; that is bad news for me. But I see also that actual impiety is not always hereditary; that is good news for my son.’”

The Deity of Christ

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Last Wednesday night I was too sick to go to church (much better now!), so I took advantage of the quiet time at home to listen to a message online from the church I used to go to when I lived in Greenville. It’s funny, but I can remember one incident when I was a child in which we couldn’t go to church for some reason, and my mom had us kids gathered around the radio to listen to a message, saying if we couldn’t go to church we could at least hear a sermon. I guess that has stayed with me all these years. I didn’t always follow that practice in my youth, but in the last several years, if I have to be home from a regular church service, I try to listen to a message on the radio, or, more recently on the computer.

My husband downloads messages from Mt. Calvary to listen to while driving for work. He mentioned listening to a really enlightening one on the Deity of Christ, so I looked that one up (I can’t get a direct link to it, but you can go here and scroll down).

Even though this is something I have believed for years, this study really opened up and made crystal clear this truth from the Bible. I wrote an earlier post about a study I had done on the claims of Christ in response to hearing someone say that Christ never claimed to be God. Pastor Minnick pointed out in John 5:31 that Jesus said, “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” He explained that that didn’t mean “true” in the sense of the opposite of false — He wasn’t saying He would be lying — but He was saying His witness would not be valid, hearkening back to the OT admonition that things be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. He then goes on in the rest of that chapter to refer to four witnesses to His Deity — John the Baptist, His works, God the Father, and the Scriptures. Though I have read that chapter many times, I hadn’t put it all together like that. As I said, it was enlightening!

There was much, much more to the message. It was full of doctrine without being textbookish. I highly recommend it! I need to listen to the second message on this topic some time.

Also, Romans 10:17 came to mind while listening to this message: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Just hearing those passages laid out so clearly inspired and increased faith.

It’s kind of fun to listen to messages on the computer. I had a Word document open to take notes and the Bible GateWay program opened to look up passages and copy some into my notes. I was actually working on something else while I was listening (at home if I just sit still and listen to a message, I fall asleep — I often get more out of it if I listen while doing something else with my hands. But at church that would be distracting) so I would roll my desk chair back and forth from the table where I was working to the computer to jot notes.

I want to add, too, just so there is no misunderstanding, I’m not advocating listening to messages at home rather than going to church unless you can’t get to church for some reason. There are other reasons for church besides just listening to a sermon, though that’s a big one. But I’m glad we have alternatives when we do have to stay home.

To the Praise of His Glorious Grace

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by D.A. Carson

What astonishing mercy and power:
In accord with his pleasure and will
He created each planet, each flower,
Every galaxy, microbe, and hill.
He suspended the planet in space
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.

With despicable self-love and rage,
We rebelled and fell under the curse.
Yet God did not rip out the page
And destroy all who love the perverse.
No, he chose us to make a new race,
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.

Providentially ruling all things
To conform to the end he designed,
He mysteriously governs, and brings
His eternal wise plans into time.
He works out every step, every trace,
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.

Long before the creation began,
He foreknew those he’d ransom in Christ;
Long before time’s cold hour-glass ran,
He ordained the supreme sacrifice.
In the cross he removed our disgrace,
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.

We were blessed in the heavenly realms
Long before being included in Christ.
Since we heard the good news, overwhelmed,
We reach forward to seize Paradise.
We shall see him ourselves, face to face,
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.
To the praise of his glorious grace.

It’s not over til God says it’s over

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I don’t know if I have said this in so many words here, but I am a strong believer in the fact that life is God’s gift and man shouldn’t be ending it either at the beginning by abortion or at the end by euthanasia.

I just saw a news article about a Polish man who “woke up” from a 19 year coma. His faithful wife took care of him at home for most of those years and said she would “fly into a rage” at the suggestion that he should be euthanized. She believed he would recover — and he did! And he remembers many of the family things that happened during his coma.

We never know what purposes God may have in store. We shouldn’t be too quick to “pull the plug.”

During my father’s last hospitalization about six months before he died, he had to be put on a ventilator for several days. One family member’s significant other was strongly opposed to the use of any “machines.” Thankfully because she was not a relative she had no say with the medical staff. My father was on a ventilator for maybe 10 days, then left the hospital to live with my brother for his remaining months. Some might feel that, “It was only 6 months more life.” But I saw God do a lot of good during that last six months that I don’t feel I should include here for the privacy of those involved.

There is a book I read years ago called Charlie’s Victory about a coach named Charlie Wedemeyer who had Lou Gehrig’s disease. When he began having trouble breathing, his wife was advised to “let him go.” Someone told his wife about portable ventilators, and the health professional was actually angry that she wanted to use one! I don’t know why these people are so determined to end life. What are they so afraid of? He lived many years on a portable vent and even had a ministry traveling and speaking, his wife interpreting for him.

Joni Eareckson Tada wrote an excellent book addressing this issue years ago called When Is It Right to Die?: Suicide, Euthanasia, Suffering, Mercy.

Meditations for daily tasks

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I don’t know who compiled this list, but I enjoyed the meditations.

Sunday: The Lord’s Day
Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.

Monday: Wash Day
Psalm 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Tuesday: Ironing Day
Ephesians 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Wednesday: Mending Day
Mark 2:21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.

Thursday: Cleaning Day
Ps 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Friday: Shopping Day
Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Saturday: Cooking Day
Luke 14:13-14 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee.

No work of mine…

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I am often burdened for dear friends caught up in religions that teach that their salvation is dependent on their own acts alone or on what Christ did for them on the cross plus their own works. I was wanting to post something emphasizing the fact that it is faith and dependence on Christ alone that saves when this part of this hymn came to mind:

Complete in Thee! no work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.

Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

(From the hymn, “Complete in Thee” by Aaron R. Wolfe, 1821-1902 and James M. Gray, 1851-1935)

 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:5-7.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9.

Psalm Sunday: Psalm 18

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(Our Psalms Sunday hostess, Erica, is needing to put Psalms Sundays on hiatus for a while due to her schedule, but I wanted to go ahead and post this one since I had it ready a couple of weeks ago. I have enjoyed studying through the Psalms more than a usual read-through.)

Because of the length of Psalm 18, I am going to refer to the link to it here rather than copying the whole thing here. This Psalm appeared in II Samuel 22, a song David wrote “in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.”

I love the way this Psalm begins: “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” With a God like that — how can we help but trust in Him? The more we meditate on Him, His greatness, His character, His ability, I think that generates even more trust.

Verses 3-6 speak of David’s calling out to God in his distress; verses 7-19 tell of God’s answer. What a powerful, majestic God!

7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet. 10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.

We need to picture God coming to our aid in just the same way.

16 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, For they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support.

In verses 20-24 David says that God rewarded him according to the cleanness of his hands — there was no unconfessed sin in his life that would hinder God’s deliverance.

These verse have been some of my favorites for years, especially the first one:

28 For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by You I can run against a troop, By my God I can leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

31 For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength, And makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of deer, And sets me on my high places.

As I read those, I can’t even think of any appropriate commentary — they are so expressive and beautiful.

Verse 34 says, “He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” Ecclesiastes 3:8 speak of “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” When it is a time of war, if it is His will and your cause is His, He will give wisdom and strength for it. Verses 35 – 42 continue on in that theme of God giving him victory over his enemies. Verses 43-45 speak of God’s making David the head of nations and making foreigners submit to him as their new leader.

Verse 46: The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted.

The rest of the chapter gives acknowledgment and praise to God for His deliverance of David.

It is sometimes when we’re “backed into a corner” and there is no deliverance except from God that we see how truly powerful and able He is. We see just glimpses now of His majesty and power — I can’t imagine what it will be like to see Him one day in all His glory.

And these mere glimpses of Him are more than enough to inspire our confidence that He can take care of any problem His children have!

My Advocate

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My Advocate

I sinned. And straightway, post-haste, Satan flew
Before the presence of the most high God,
And made a railing accusation there.
He said, “This soul, this thing of clay and sod,
Has sinned. ‘Tis true that he has named Thy name,
But I demand his death, for Thou hast said,
‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’
Shall not Thy sentence be fulfilled?
Is justice dead?
Send now this wretched sinner to his doom.
What other thing can righteous ruler do?”
And thus he did accuse me day and night,
And every word he spoke, O God, was true!

Then quickly One rose up from God’s right hand,
Before Whose glory angels veiled their eyes.
He spoke, “Each jot and tittle of the law
Must be fulfilled; the guilty sinner dies!
But wait — suppose his guilt were all transferred
To Me, and that I paid his penalty!
Behold My hands, My side, My feet! One day
I was made sin for him, and died that he
Might be presented, faultless, at Thy throne!”
And Satan flew away. Full well he knew
That he could not prevail against such love,
For every word my dear Lord spoke was true!

— Martha Snell Nicholson

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(Photo courtesy of everystockphoto)

(You can read more of Mrs. Nicholson’s poetry here.)