Some Chicks Who Love The Lord

Archives for January 2019

The Rotting Log

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The Lord is continually resuscitating my heart. By that I mean He’s continually doing a new work in my own heart. Isn’t it so easy for us to think God needs to be working on the hearts of those we love, that maybe our heart isn’t the problem? Truth is we all need close introspection by the Maker of our hearts on a regular basis. It smarts to realize our hearts aren’t always broken for the right reasons or that our hearts are beating for the wrong ones.

As I took a much-needed walk outdoors with some of my children recently, I noticed many beautiful things. On this brisk, gray day, one particular piece of nature stood out to me.

A rotting log.

It’s not just any rotting log though. It’s been in this spot on a hillside of our property since before we moved here, which was more than several years ago. The log has been in the process of rotting a long time.

This got me pondering. A lot. Why does this process take so very long? And how does it happen naturally? As to the first wondering, I didn’t come to any immediate conclusions, but the second one had me quickly thinking of termites and other insects as well as decay.

Wait a minute? Decay? Really Lord?

My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

This rotting log is actually quite beautiful. The photos don’t do it justice. Since it is winter here, the insects are dormant but evidence of their work could be seen clearly. As I looked inside the hollow spaces created in the log by decay and rot, I realized something hugely important. The log is being transformed! I noticed piles of rich organic matter on the ground around the log and I also noticed so much life growing right there.

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The Great Commission

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Where do the teachings in our New Testaments originate from?  Where do they find their definitions, explanations and expanded details?

In my life as a Believer I began my study of God’s Word in a little Baptist church as “the neighbor kid”.  I said the “sinner’s prayer” in between pews with a lovely lady that helped me say the right words.  I was fortunate enough to have some youth group experience and a few summer camp experiences.  Then, prior to getting married in the Lutheran Church, the Pastor told me that either my fiancé or I had to take 9 weeks worth of classes to learn about the Bible as taught by the Lutheran tradition.  It was my favorite class throughout my entire college experience (and it helped that the precious Pastor’s wife would often bake homemade bread and bring it to me at my sorority house).

Then in my late 20s my family began attending church regularly.  At that point I also began an in-depth study of God’s Word with a group of women.  The first book that God gave me to study was the Book of John.  I was VERY confused by all of the Johns (John the Baptist, John the Beloved…was he the same John that wrote 1, 2, 3 John and Revelation?).  So, because I came to the game late, I began to devour the Scriptures.  I built my theology in the New Testament, and used the Old Testament as a somewhat irrevelent, yet holy backdrop.

I studied this way for about 12 years …until I realized that the Old Testament (The Tanak) was the Bible Jesus read, and the Bible that the Apostles studied diligently.  It was at that moment that I began devouring the Old Testament Scriptures, and began to rework my theology using the “Bible that Jesus read” as my foundation.  It would be a gross understatement to say that the New Testament became technicolored as I filtered it through the lens of the Old Testament.

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