Have you read or listened to the whole Bible?

When I started seminary, I went to the bookstore to buy my books. A stranger came up to me as I was looking at the Bible section and asked me, "Have you ever read through the whole Bible?"

I am embarrassed to say that my answer was "No."

The kind person picked out the Chronological Bible and suggested that I read it. This Bible tells the story of good in order of time not by book, chapter or verse. So I bought it and began my journey of reading through the Bible. I read through it so many times that the binding was worn. 

I have been doing this for 33 years. I didn't always complete a Bible in a year. There came a time when God convicted me to slow down and take two. But, I have been faithfully reading His Word daily since 1992.

Did I miss days? Of course!

I discovered that God's Word nourished me in ways I had no clue were changing me. I was being fed mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. I felt it in my bones when I heard truths that changed me and grieved it when circumstances hindered my time in the Word of God.

I know God is real because He has proven Himself over and over through His text as I searched out His story written in the sacred book called the Bible.

GO... a powerful word

Ooooh the word "go" has such a rich place in the Bible. It is in all three key texts about reaching the nations for the LORD.

"Abram, GO from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you." Genesis 12:1

"GO make disciples of all nations..." Matthew 28:19

"GO be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the outer most parts of the world." Acts 1:8

I had to look up various definitions of GO.

GO: to move from one place to another: to move or proceed. It implies movement of all kinds. It is physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.

We can GO...

GO to

GO in

GO up

GO out

GO around

GO through

GO with

GO on

GO off

GO again

GO aside

GO away

GO over

GO beyond

GO about

GO above

GO forth

Such a tiny word with so much power. It can inspire us. It can freeze us. It can exvite us. It can fill us with dread. 

How many times would we rather walk away than go? 

Essentially, go requires change. Serious change. It takes the whole being to truly embrace GO. 

What go would it be to GO if we did let it do it's work in us in the many implied ways? 

Here is to GO in the New Year! Trust that GOD will show you like He did with Abram and the disciples. Know that God's GO blesses and bears good fruit.

Mary & Joseph's journey depicted in watercolor.

A watercolor series, I painted telling the true story of about the journey of Mary and Joseph.

Image one portrays Mary riding on a donkey as they travel to Bethlehem. It was a long arduous journey. We don't really know if she rode a donkey, but I put her on one.

Image two portrays the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes laying in a manger. I tried to show His glory with back light.

Image three portrays that wise men traveled from the east following a star to visit the baby Jesus. I feel like my camel heads are off. I like the far off feel. 

Image four portrays Mary holding Jesus and Joseph resting on their journey to Egypt. 

I had alot of fun with the colors and tested out different ways to illustrate them. I am still learning about color theory and might need guidance on what is better to draw details, or to use grey or brown for the distant images. 

These are 4×6 images so I am testing out painting on a bigger piece of paper. 

Okay, I am posting my mess up, too. Lol. I painted the star over Joseph and Mary headed to Bethlehem. Ugh. Dumb. The star appears after He is born. So I did my best to edit it. Now if you go back and look at image one of them traveling my correction has a slight hint of the star but it also looks like a person is watching over them. My mistake created something that blessed me. It reminded me that God watched over their entire journey. Let me know if you see what I see.

Ginosko: To Know

God just reminded of a beautiful word in Greek. I haven't studied it probably in twenty years. I am blown away again.

Ginosko: To know.

It isn't just to know, but to know with every part of your humanness. That if there is a way to know then it is a part of you. 

It is experiential. It is deep. It is wide. It is high. It is low. It is emotional. It intellectual. It immersion. It is fusion.

It is!

To know liberates. It escapes. It welcomes. It abides. It sits. It waits. It runs. It walks. 

It is.

REAL.

Jesus says, "IF you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will KNOW the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32).

That is a big IF that leads to a powerful KNOW. 

It brings FREEDOM.

I KNOW this KNOW. It has given me joy in frustrations, hope in despair, healing in pain, kindness in front of cruelty, love in the face of hate.

Knowing His Word transforms. I KNOW because it is my story. Knowing Jesus has changed me. 

A good word for sure!

GINOSKO

To know!

My Story Reflection as I Welcome the Christmas Season

My family loves to tell stories. I grew up hearing stories at family gatherings. I never intended to grow up being a storyteller. Honestly, I didn't even know it was a thing. I just did it because it was what my family did. It was fun! 

Did you know I am the first in my family to go to college and God put it on my heart at 5 that I would get a doctorate? I didn't know what it was but I liked the way people treated our neighbor when he got his. That one little moment set the course for my education. Yes, it was for the wrong reason. Lol. 

I forgot about that goal until I was counseling a friend to further her education. I then heard that still small voice say in my heart, "Get your doctorate!" I told Greg and he agreed. He has always supported my dreams and never put boundaries on my gifts. I am so blessed. So as young mother I went back to school.

I am proud of my education, but what really blesses me is that it took me right back to my roots and now I get to tell stories all the time. It wasn't about the degree, but about God getting me to where He knew I would need to serve Him best. INCREDIBLE!

This my favorite story to tell. Welcome Christmas season!

Here is my Christmas story playlist. God check it out! 

Christmas Story playlist

My female cardinal

I looked up and saw a beautiful female cardinal sitting between two tiny sparrows eating. Again, I sat in awe of their beauty. I went back to my study and then heard a terrible "WHACK!" Sadly, to see that the cardinal flew into my glass door. She fell hard. I immediately started praying and begging God to restore her and give her life. 

I cried for her and remembered that God cares about the little sparrow when he falls (Matthew 10:29-31).

I watched and prayed as she did not move for 10 to 15 minutes. Her breathing rapid and in distress. I wondered if I should get something to put her on that would be soft and place her so Melchizedek couldnt find her so easily. I went and grabbed a bunch of paper towels. But as I walked out on the porch I noticed her breathing slowed more. I thought "How can I awkwardly bend and not scare her?" I decided to leave since it appeared she would die. I went back inside and sat down and prayed for her to die without pain. I picked up my Bible study and then she unexpectedly sat up, flicking her tail and turning her head. I can't imagine the headache she was feeling from such a hard hit. Again, I cried as I saw God answer my prayer for one little bird.

She hopped onto the bar across the chair and after 10 more minutes she hopped onto the bar under the table. Several times she would turn and looked toward where I was sitting as if she knew I was there.

Greg came in and I showed him. He said, "She has a concussion."

I needed to go get ready and help Papa so I left even though I wanted to sit and watch her. 

When I returned, Greg said she flew away. I was sad I didn't see her flight but so thankful she could fly. But when I sat back down to pray I looked out to see she had moved to the tree. I was so thankful I caught a glimpse of her again. Her feathers were all fluffed up to help her guard against the cold. 

As I started to write this down she finally took off in flight.

I am reminded this morning that life is precious and life is brief. We all will be confronted with the brevity of life's invasion, but we are reminded to consider our days.  

“LORD, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am." (Psalm 39:4).

There is something urgent that happens in us to love better, see more, give hope, and to stop and be when we do.

Shalom y'all!

!

What is the difference between indwelling of the Holy Spirit versus empowering of the Holy Spirit?

One of my brothers in Kenya posed a very good question with specific Scriptures. I prepared this early this morning and shared it with him. After discussing with my dear friend at lunch, I have decided to share it. 

What is the difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the empowering of the Holy Spirit? 

This is a great question and very important in our walk as a believer. 

Indwelling by definition means to reside in. This reflects the permanent residence of the Holy Spirit inside a believer (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  It is a positional promise given to us that if we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit will come and dwell within us (John 14:17). The Holy Spirit becomes a seal or mark to show that we belong to God (Ephesians 1:13-14). This is when our body becomes the temple or house of the LORD. It is a one time occurrence that has eternal impact. It shows that we have become a child of God and received the forgiveness of our sins (Rms 8:15-17; Titus 3:5)

To empower by definition is about enabling someone to do what is needed in the moment with strength.  This is an active and ongoing process that is dependant on obedience, a yielded heart, and the willingness to obey (Galatians 5:6). The Holy Spirit will guide us in truth and the way we should go. (Romans 8:14). This is His empowering. His empowering will bear good fruit when we walk in obedience to His guidance (Galatians 5:22-23).

Notice that a believer is indwelled. This is a gift that is only given to the one who believes in the LORD. Empowerment of the Holy Spirit can happen to an unbeliever. Remember, the Spirit of God will guide in all truth and point to Jesus. So if we see the movement of God's Spirit empowering in the Bible it is for the purposes of drawing people to God. As in the case of Acts 10:44 when the Holy Spirit "fell" upon the people. This meant that the Spirit of God was moving among them to bring forth the will of God. In this situation, it was for their belief and to become children of God which enables them to be indwelled by His Spirit.

In the case of Acts 19:15, we notice that a evil spirit or demon knows who Jesus is. This knowing is a belief in the existence of Jesus, but not in Him as their Savior. Yes, the evil Spirit recognized Jesus as the Son of God and even acknowledged that it was aware of His power,  but the evil spirit did not know Jesus with a belief that compeled him to obey in righteousness. The evil spirit did not draw near to God through its belief in Jesus. 

In a way, this provides us an example of the reality that acknowledgement of Jesus as the Son of God isn't the same as believing that Jesus died for our sins so that we can be restored in our relationship with God. One is just head knowledge and it does not lead to life change. The other is a heart knowledge that leads to life change because the Spirit comes in and dwells.  

What about in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 18:10-11 when the harmful spirit rushed upon Saul? 

King Saul at this point in his life determined to no longer obey God. Most theologians point out that because Saul was choosing disobedience God removed His protection and allowed the evil spirit to torment Saul. First, we must recognize that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit had not yet been sent to dwell permanently in a child of God. This happened after Jesus died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. In the Old Testament, God would send His Spirit to guide but it wasn't an eternal dwelling. The Spirit would empower but not dwell permanently. The Spirit would come and go as God directed. Obedience brought the blessing of fruitfulness, but if they walked in disobedience they could lose God's presence. This is why King David prayed in Psalm 51:11, "Do not cast me from Your presence or remove your spirit from me."

In the Old Testament, they were still waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah, Jesus, which would bring about the promise of the Holy Spirit's permanent presence or indwelling. As a person living after Christ's death, burial, Resurrection and ascension, we have the gift of His presence indwelling us permanently and His Spirit guiding us in all truth in the form of empowering when we believe in Him as our Savior. We can hinder His empoweting by not walking in obedience, but once we believe we are marked by His Holy Spirit as a child of God. Now there is a debate theologically on whether you can lose your salvation. This is a whole different discussion. I personally do not affirm this stance. There are theologians that can argue both sides. I don't want to get into the debate since you are asking clarification for indwelling and empowering. They key is indwelling is permanent and empowering is something that cones and goes for the moment.