My Divine Notes

Psalm 50:6 (NLT) Then let the heavens proclaim his justice, for God himself will be the judge. Interlude. The long, hot days of August come to a close as I reflect on the grief and terror experienced  around the world  and  in America by innocent people. Somehow, this month can’t be all about me and my personal world because God opened my eyes and heart to the hatred and evil of humankind. Terrorism against any group, anywhere in the world, is evil whether it’s political or is conducted by organizations that are supposed to protect the citizens of America. We saw images of an innocent journalist, women and children harmed across the world. We saw how racism reared its ugly head in our own back yard with the killing of a young black man. I came of age in the era of desegregation and it feels like  we've  lost ground. I’m particularly appalled at the ignorance of some Christians who are hypocrites when it comes to  loving your brother as yourself....

Matthew 9 Jesus Chooses Matthew 9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew. He was sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him. Matthew got up and followed him. 10 Later Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and “sinners” came. They ate with Jesus and his disciples. 11 The Pharisees saw this. So they asked the disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 12 Jesus heard that. So he said, “Those who are healthy don’t need a doctor. Sick people do. 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ (Hosea 6:6) I have not come to get those who think they are right with God to follow me. I have come to get sinners to follow me.” I don’t want to forget that Jesus was about relationships with everyone he didn't distinguish between sinners and tax collectors. Andy Stanley compares tax collectors to the people who sell drugs to young kids in our d...

Hebrews 5:7   While Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and his prayer was heard because he trusted God.  There is only one way to move through the valley of unimaginable loss and angst:   Trust God in your deepest sorrow. Our Lord grieved and trusted his Father. We can do the same.

December 9, 2012 Isaiah 41:10  Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. Don’t be intimidated; I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will support you with my victorious right hand. Add your own issue and it becomes your story -- ·        Injury. ·        Hospitalization. ·        Incapacitation. ·        Loss of independence. ·        Long and painful rehabilitation. It’s easy to be overwhelmed when we tumble into deep, unexpected valleys and find ourselves with interrupted lives. Why not write? The journey has been interesting for me because I  didn't  let go of the hand of God. I screamed out in pain, I never doubted God was with me through my trauma. So why did I stop blogging and writing about the journey?   I had not been able to put into words what God revealed ...

May 1, 2012 John 15:16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. Just like the girl in the photo, I’m grinning as I write these words to remember how my life was before I saw the hand of God six years ago. Like that girl in the mirror who is preoccupied backtracking, I spent decades walking away, looking back and heading in the direction of the crowd.   That girl had a very good but silently desperate life. She was smart, talented, ambitious, caring and kindhearted. She had excellent opportunities, but she preferred to do life her own way. She never stopped to consider that God had a plan for her life even though deep down in her heart she heard His calling at a young age. God gave her specific gifts that she used in irresponsible or ineffective ways for many years. That girl did it her way. Time and time she was disappointed by her choices, which she...

When it hurts to care – Psalm 31:7 Psalm 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul. One of God’s gifts to me is the ability to care about and pray for those who are ill. But right now, my mother is at the end of her life, and another key person in my life recently received bad health news. I also follow the Facebook journey of a courageous 12-year old girl, Jessie Rees ,  who suffered from two inoperable brain tumors. She passed away a few days ago. I am sad. But it’s interesting that in my sadness, I’ve come to appreciate how God works my faith steps. Before I decided that God’s purpose for me was greater than my own purpose, I had a hard time being close to people because it hurt that they might die or leave me. God opened my understanding (and healed me) so that I could come to terms with that and step into the gifts of compassion he planned for me. I started to feel that familiar hu...

Revelation 20:11-15 (KJV) 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. I smiled at the Lord when he inspired me to be thankful for the book of life and the last book of the Bible, Revelation. God knows that I feared death for the better part of my life because I was only a church-going ...