Sherry Elaine's podcast, blog, books, and resources
(Content Choices: Watch the Video below, Listen to the Podcast, or Read the Transcript Draft here:)
You may wonder – well how do I genuinely seek God, even when I have doubts?
I have a few recommendations for that.
The "Emotions and the Gospel Life" se
ries has begun with the first four episodes.
Check them out directly below, on Apple, Google, or Spotify podcasts, OR or at the podcast YouTube channel. In the Podplayer below, you would start from the title at the bottom titled "Is There a Theology of Emotions?" if you want to go in order.
You may listen the audio below, which is read by the author and reveals more of the encouraging tone and nuances of the teaching. If you prefer to simply read the message, just keep scrolling past the past the podcast player to find your traditionally written blog post.
You may listen as you read also. If you prefer to simply read the message, just keep scrolling past the past the podcast player to find your traditionally written blog post.
You may listen as you read also. If you prefer to simply read the message, just keep scrolling past the past the podcast player to find your traditionally written blog post.
I want to share with you a key question you may ask yourself whenever you need to make a major decision. When a major (or minor) problem comes into your life, and you need to resolve it, you can always ask this question of yourself to help gauge your options and guide your decision making.
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"Is the way I am handling this problem bringing me closer to God, or is it taking me further away?"
Likewise, if you have two or more paths, or two or more choices you can make during a decision for solving a problem - then choose the option that will help you be nearer to God.
If the action you end up chosing is one that keeps you close to God, then you can be assured that you are still walking in his will for you.
Remember Psalms 25:12 tells us, "Those who have reverance for the Lord will learn from him the path they should follow."
If you would like to learn simple, practical ways to walk with God every single day, then you would really enjoy Closer to God: Simple Methods, Starting Today
If you need motivation to eat healthier or lose weight while also growing
closer to God, then you would enjoy Weight Loss for Christians, An
Extraordinarily Simple Way to Conquer Cravings
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If you want to learn more deeply and fully about what Jesus taught, then you would enjoy He Called: 56 Daily Studies and Reflections with the Words of Christ.
The author also interacts with her readers on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GospelLifeBooks
Instagram: @gospellifelearning
Twitter: @gospellifelearn
Youtube: Gospel Life Learning
Author's other books can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Elaine-Evans
If you would like to learn simple, practical ways to walk with God every single day, then you would really enjoy Closer to God: Simple Methods, Starting Today
|
| Book on Amazon |
If you want to learn more deeply and fully about what Jesus taught, then you would enjoy He Called: 56 Daily Studies and Reflections with the Words of Christ.
The author also interacts with her readers on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GospelLifeBooks
Author's other books can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Elaine-Evans
"God Abounds in Love," What Does That Mean?
Why do we want to stay close to God? Why do we want to stay near to Him, day by day ? I know we have been told to do this – but why? Does it really make a difference? Why does God even care if we talk to Him? Although I cannot answer all those questions easily on my own, I can search the Bible for its truth and its promises.
“You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call on you.” (NIV)
Isn't that beautiful and true? That is a reason we want to walk with God, a reason why we crave being near to him. The reason is because we know when we call on him, he will forgive us, he will be good to us and he will show us his abounding love.
I then looked at Psalm 86:5 in a few different modern translations, and I noticed something. It seemed that the translators over the past 100 years have struggled to translate the phrase that says God is “abounding in love.” Going back to the KJV, it didn't say “abounding in love.” Instead, it used the phrase that the Lord is “plenteous in mercy.” Then some of the older translations and even the more recent NASB from 1995 used a phrase saying the Lord is “abundant in lovingkindness.” A year later, the New Living Translation was released and translated the phrase as “so full of unfailing love.” In 2001, the English Standard Version came out and translated this saying that the Lord is “abounding in steadfast love” to all who call on him. Finally, the translators from the NIV from 2011 just translated it “abounding in love.” I suppose at that point the NIV translators just stopped trying? Just love? They didn't go for lovingkindness or steadfast love or unfailing love? Just love – that's it?
So now I'm curious about what the original word was here in Psalm 86:5. Obviously, this word has been very difficult for Biblical scholars to translate for over 100 years, so what could the Hebrew word be? I quickly pulled up the Hebrew interlinear version of the passage on biblehub.com. And here is the underlying word:
A 7 minute listen or read. Click below on the player to listen, or read below the traditional blog post. Find all previous "blogscript" podcasts HERE or find under Gospel Life Learning on Apple, Spotify, or Google podcasts.
We Christians use a lot of "insider" terminology. One of the words we frequently use is the word redeem. We say that we are "redeemed" by Christ, or that God is our Redeemer.
Whatever does that mean? Usually in today's world, the only time we see the word redeem outside of a Bible study is on a coupon! For example, "Redeem this voucher for one free Chik fil A sandwich!"
God's Plan Has Been In Process, Jesus' Work Is Now Finished, And It Will Remain Finished, with Continuing Effects (Greek Perfect Tense, Koine)
The Greek Perfect Tense in the Bible is only used a handful of times in the New Testament; and unlike our English verb tenses, the Greek perfect tense holds three layers of meaning within it's form.
One way of stating the full meaning of the perfect tense is this: it is both punctiliar and linear, or, in other words, it is both happening at a point and time (punctiliar) and ongoing in time (linear).
I also like to describe the perfect tense verb as having 3 layers of meaning all within the one word.
1st layer - The action has been in process.
2nd layer - The action has just been completed.
3rd layer - The action will remain completed, with its continuing effects.
When it was written that Jesus said "Tetelestai," the word tetelestai, the Greek word for "finished" or for "fulfilled" was written in the rare perfect tense.
Let's look at the layers:
1st layer - Jesus' work has been in process of being finished.
2nd layer - Jesus' work is now completed. His work is finished.
3rd layer - This completion will remain completed, with continuing effects.
"It is finished" is 3 words sharing 3 layers of truth. The work and the purpose of Christ had been in process. Christ's work was finished at his last words on the cross. His work will remain finished, along with its continuing effects.
(One other time the perfect tense was used in the New Testament was when Jesus announced the nearing of the kingdom of God at the very beginning of His ministry. It was his first teaching we have written down in the New Testament. I wrote a blog about that teaching and the perfect tense HERE.)
Long ago in the year 1686, Matthew Henry began preaching. He was 24 years old, and he continued to preach and to pour over scripture - word by word and phrase by phrase - until his death at the age of 51. Henry wrote this in response to Jesus' last spoken word on the cross:
If you recall correctly, you remembered that Jesus said this to Martha. This happened after Lazarus had died, and had in fact been dead for a few days. Jesus was just outside Martha and Mary's town, and Martha knew he was coming and went out on the road to meet him.
And Martha was not exactly happy. She was perhaps, exasperated and flustered. She said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Then Martha tells Jesus that she still knows that God will do for Jesus whatever he asks. And how does Jesus respond? Jesus says, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha then answers and says, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” And then Jesus replies, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
And right here I want to pause for a little while; and look at what Jesus said to Martha. It is another one of those many instances when the word we use to translate misses a little something; but that little something is actually quite meaningful.
The Parable of the Sower? Or maybe this parable needs a new name.
From what perspective did you learn to understand Jesus' parable of the sower? It is Mark chapter 4. A lot of us, were taught to read this parable from the perspective of the farmer, from the perspective of the person who is scattering the seed. After all, it is subtitled in our Bibles "The Parable of the Sower," and it starts with Jesus telling about the main character, saying "The sower went out to sow."
However, as I was taking notes and reading this parable for the book He Called: 56 Daily Studies and Reflections with the Words of Christ, I felt like the Lord was showing me to read this parable from the perspective of the seeds and the soil. From that perspective, this story gives us a framework for a quick, daily, spiritual assessment of ourselves.
As this new year turned over, I began trying to think of a word that would be "my word" to hold onto for the year. Typically this shouldn't be too hard to come up with a word, but as January 1st passed, and then the second, and then the 10th, I still didn't have a good, single word.
However, there is a phrase that has been both convicting me and inspiring me for the past few months, and it is also a phrase that I want to hold on to this year and implement daily this year so that it becomes not just a phrase in my head, nor just a note in a notebook. I want this phrase to be something to hold onto and to anchor me this year and future years as well.
The phrase is "shoes of peace."