Tag: God’s Word

The Solid Word

~ Kristin ~ Leave a comment

It’s my day off.  I slept well. My house is clean and I am sitting at my desk IN THE MORNING!

I have been scurrying around the little house by the river this morning taking care of all the things people typically take care of on their days off — laundry, vacuuming, dishes, bills, cleaning — and finally I am sipping tea at the keys.

I’ve got a few things on my mind.  We live in a world that is saturated with information.  All day long we receive messages through text, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, television, and radio.  We tend to filter those messages through our own personal preference.  I don’t typically listen to country music radio or stations that play rap music — but I have. The Facebook posts I read are from people that I know and (mostly) love. My television station choices are usually limited to a very few channels that play sports, crime shows, or movies.  The very limited views I get of Twitter and Instagram are very benign, indeed.  And to tell you the truth, I watch and listen to very little news reporting.

Why?

Because I don’t truly trust it.  I have become very jaded.  I operate under the assumption that most news reports are driven by viewership and the almighty dollar.  I believe it is mostly packaged to promote an agenda.  I believe it cares more about hype than it does about truth.

But I do care about our world and the people in it.  I do want to pray for the oppressed, help where I can, and make a difference in the world.  So, I can’t choose to live with my head in the sand. I do want to be aware of what is going on in the world.

So how do I remain informed?  It’s a challenge.  I skim news reports — usually in print format — for facts and figures.  I look at multiple sources since we know that bias exists everywhere. I try to listen to what people have to say.  And, I try to pause before I react to news of any kind.

It’s not easy.  And I’m not good at it.  I do react.  I rush to judgment.  I vilify innocent people. I throw my hands in the air and say, “it’ll never be better!” And it’s pretty easy to stay there, wringing my hands and shaking my head.

But why should I “grieve like those who have no hope”? Yes, the world can look like a hot mess, but our Creator is in the business of restoration.  Can he grant healing? Yes!  Can he cure diseases? Yes!  Can he depose tyrants? Yes!  Can he bring sight to the blind and set the prisoners free? Yes!

And I should just sit here in my jammies at my keyboard and wait for it to happen, right? No!!

On the pages of my Bible study this morning were these words, “More than anything, God’s people need to know His Word and be willing to give Him the freedom to adjust our lives to its precepts.” Am I willing to let Him change me on his path to change the world in which I live?  If not, than I better go back to wringing my hands.

I don’t trust news reports or Twitter feeds or Facebook posts.  I trust the Word of God.  And in His word this morning I read, “…He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth…that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him.  Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:26-28).

On Christ the solid Word I stand, all other sources are sinking sand.

The Word of my Friend

~ Kristin ~ Leave a comment

Did you ever feel like God was trying to send you a message?  At every turn you see the same words, almost as though they were written on billboards specifically for you? Perhaps since I have been blogging, I notice this a little bit more easily than I ever have.

On April 13th I posted a blog called “The Power of Words” in which I considered the effects — both positive and negative — of my words on others.   Then, on April 22 I posted a blog called “The Power of Fewer Words” in which I discussed my challenge to say less and listen more.  It may come as no surprise to those who know me that the kind of words and the number of words that come out of my mouth have been a life-long challenge.

Way back in the fall some new friends invited me to attend a conference for Lutheran pastors’ wives.  They gave me a post card with the theme of the conference written on it, “The Word with Friends”.  The logo is a wordle (see featured image); I love Wordles!  I love words — I am a writer, an English teacher, a Words with Friends addict, and a bibliophile. My friends didn’t have to twist my arm to convince to come to this conference.  I put the dates on my calendar, paid the registration fee, and waited for the weekend to arrive.

Well, two days after I wrote the second blog mentioned above, I was walking into the conference at a hotel in Bay City.  The tables were set with Scrabble boards as centerpieces complete with chocolate Scrabble tiles!  The opening games were all word games — fill in the blank, word scrambles, hinky pinky, and the like. We were even sorted into groups by drawing Scrabble tiles from a bag.  I was having so much fun!!!  Words and letters everywhere!!

The next morning, I woke, ate breakfast, and joined a table of women for the first of four Bible study sessions — The Power of Words, The Lack of Words, Hidden Words, and Impress these Words.  Probably the biggest take away for me came in our last session on Sunday morning.  We were studying James 1:19-26.  Though we had been talking about words all weekend, this chunk included all the gems that God has been teaching me through the last few weeks: be quick to hear, slow to speak; be doers of the word, and not hearers only; bridle your tongue; and most importantly for me, I think, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 

And really, if I am going to be honest, that is the lesson that I have been learning since I started this blog back in July — God’s Word is powerful and able to save my soul.  Although I have made many changes since last year at this time — new home, new city, new church, new friends, new blog, new work life — the most impactful change has been reconnecting with the discipline of daily Bible study.  I didn’t set out to make that change — it just kind of happened.  My friend invited me to a Bible study.  The Bible study required daily preparation.  I am a good student, so I complied.

But here’s the thing — daily connection with God’s word has breathed life into me.  It has poured truth into my heart.  It has changed my thinking.  It has slowed me down.  It has allowed me to examine my thoughts, actions, and motives.  It has brought me joy.

On Sunday morning, our Bible study leader gave us all a small can of Play-doh.  She encouraged us to make shapes to remind us of the lessons we had learned.  We made a face with a closed mouth and extra large ears to remind us to respect the ratio of one mouth to two ears.  We made a hand to remind us to be doers of the word.   We made a face with a tongue sticking out to remind us to bridle our tongue.  And, we made a flower to remind us that God’s implanted word will bear fruit.

Words are a part of every day of my life.  I read, I write, I edit, I teach writing, and I now teach reading.  I must encounter thousands, even tens of thousands, of words every single day.  But here’s the thing — most of those words do not have a lasting impact on my life.  Sure, there are stories that I love to read over and over again.  There are poems and songs that make my heart sing.  My blog allows me to bring order to the chaos in my brain.  But only the Words of God have the power to save my soul.

Hebrews 4:12

For the Word of God is living and active.

Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;

it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.