Hedges

I was reading this recently:
6 Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns,
    and I will build a wall against her,
    so that she cannot find her paths.   Hosea 2:6  (ESV)

I was thinking about the hedge.

A hedge is also mentioned in Job when Satan is talking to God :
10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”    Job 1:10-11 (ESV)

I just found it interesting that in Hosea, the hedge is used to block the path of Israel, but in Job, the hedge is a barrier that has been protecting Job from the attacks of the evil one. Boundaries!

Is the God of the Old Testament Just Angry All the Time?

43 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.    Isaiah 43 (ESV)

You may have noticed that I have been enjoying Isaiah lately. I think one of the reasons is seeing the tender display of God's love for His people. I know that people often think of the God of the Old Testament as a God of wrath and judgment, and the God of the New Testament as a God of love. One of the problems with this are scriptures that state otherwise (see below*). But I do remember the first time I read through the Old Testament. I felt like God was killing people left and right, and it made such an impression on me! But I think I needed to see how serious God was/is about sin. But then the next time I read it, I felt like I saw His love all over the place! Here are some more verses from Isaiah:

6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
    I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
    a light for the nations,"  Isaiah 42 (ESV)


4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
    and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
    peoples in exchange for your life.  Isaiah 43 (ESV)


2 Thus says the Lord who made you,
    who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
    Jeshurun whom I have chosen.  Isaiah 44 (ESV)


*10 And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment,
12 like a robe you will roll them up,
    like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
    and your years will have no end.”  from Hebrews 1 (ESV)

Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Imagine That! Reading a Whole Letter in One Sitting!

I wanted to read through the book of Hebrews this afternoon, but I wasn't sure if my Sunday nap would try and take over! Why did I feel like this was such an accomplishment? Wouldn't the early church read through whole letters all the time in one sitting? Or maybe even standing!

I was thinking about how we have more copies of the word than ever before, but perhaps read it less, comparatively speaking. Or at the least, maybe our easy access makes the word seem less valuable.

Well, here's an excerpt from my reading today (formatting mine):

19 Therefore, brothers, 
   since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the         blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he               opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his           flesh, 21 and 

since we have a great priest over the house of God,

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without                 wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And 

let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but 
encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:19-25 English Standard Version (ESV)

Joseph and Lottie

Joseph surprises me sometimes (he's 7). "Mom, what year is Lottie's birthday?

Me: Uhh, 2017 in August, cause that's when the girls and I went to Texas. Do you mean when she would have been born? Because she was due in March. It's kinda weird, cause her birthday  and death day are the same day- at the end of August. Oh, are you wondering because you wanna know when we're gonna have the cake?

Joseph: Yeah!

(He had asked earlier if we could celebrate Lottie's birthday like we celebrate every one else's - with a special dessert. I had asked him what he thought we should have, and he said yellow cake with brown sugar frosting. And guess what? That's his favorite too!😁)

The Lord Is My Shepherd

I was struck by this as I read it this morning:

15 And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
    the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil..."  [Genesis 48:15-16a English Standard Version (ESV)]

Many of us would say that God is our shepherd. But there is something about Israel, formerly Jacob, saying this, the man who worked 7 years taking care of his father-in-law's flocks for each of his wives. He knew what it meant to be a shepherd.

David also knew what it meant to be a shepherd, and he wrote:

Psalm 23 English Standard Version (ESV)
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Male and Female

Something I've been thinking about lately...

27 So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”   From Genesis 1  ESV

God also made most animals male and female, but he doesn't mention that in the beginning. But He does make a point of stating that man was created male and female, after saying that they were created in God's image.

Shame? or Confidence!

You know, sometimes it's not what the Bible says, but what it does NOT say.

28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 1 John 2 ESV

Jesus is coming back again. And how can we have confidence and not shrink back in shame when he comes? I would think the answer might be live perfectly, be sinless, or be holy like God. But that's not what the word says. What does it say? The key to having confidence and not shrinking from him in shame at his coming is abiding in him. That's it! Abide in him!


If you are interested in what it means to abide in him, here are some thoughts in answer to that very question:

But back to abiding in him...I think the picture of the vine and the branches helps us to see what this means. The branch cannot bear fruit without being connected to the vine, it can't even live without that connection. So Jesus is the source of our spiritual life. And this means we need to be nourished by him with his word, but also talk to him, cry out to him, and spend time with his people, to be encouraged in the truth and love one another. Abiding in him speaks much more of relationship than just doing all the right things.