Author: dianafmurphy@gmail.com

Today is Sept. 25^th. My mom would be 94 today, but since she’s in heaven, she isn’t growing old! She is enjoying eternal peace without aging. On the other hand, my dad usually doesn’t know what day it is and seldom speaks of my mom unless I mention her. He is so ready to be with her, though, and wonders what purpose God has for him since he isn’t able to do what he used to do. He lives with me now since his heatstroke in late June. We have caregivers who come at night and during the day when I need them.

I had to arrange more caregivers this week so I could come to my daughter’s home in TN yesterday to be “mom” instead of daughter for awhile. Her husband was brought home from the hospital with Hospice and passed away two hours later. Another family member is home with Jesus leaving the rest of us to grieve.

The Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4 offer hope to God’s people.

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thess. 4:13-14).

Yes, we grieve for ourselves, but it is a temporary grief. One day all tears will be wiped away by Jesus, our Savior.         

“And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each others with these words” (1 Thess. 4:17b-18).

“Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits . . .” (Psalm 103:1-2).

There are so many benefits when walking with God. How can we not praise Him? Think about these benefits David wrote in his psalm.

He forgives our sin.

He heals all our diseases.

Redeems our lives.

Crowns us with love and compassion.

Satisfies our desires with good things.

Our youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

He works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Made his deeds known to the people.

He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Does not repay us according to our sins, nor treat us as our sins deserve.

His love is great—as high as the heavens are above the earth.

He removes our sins as far as the east is from the west.

He has compassions on his children–those who fear Him.

He knows how we are formed and remembers we are dust.

As a grandparent I really like verses 17 and 18 of Psalm 103. “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”

I think we grandparents have the responsibility to be involved in our grandchildren’s lives (as much as possible) and to be a godly example of a life of praise. Our children and grandchildren need to see, as well as hear, our praise to God for all His benefits!

Note to self: more praising God today and less on self-pity or complaining.

Dear God, today I thank You for your compassion and love and especially for renewing my strength. Bless our grandchildren and protect them from the evil one. Amen

“Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders  to stimulate you to wholesome thinking” (2 Peter 3:1).

Wholesome thinking! Peter told his readers exactly why he’d written two letters to them. He wanted to stimulate them to wholesome thinking. Those words popped off the page as I read them recently. I, for one, don’t spend much time thinking about my thinking. Peter reminded me wholesome thinking is important. Our words and actions come from our thinking.

Jesus told His listeners that evil deeds begin with evil thoughts. (See Mark 7:20-23) The Apostle Paul told the Philippians (and us) how we should think.

     “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” Philippians 4:8.

Wholesome thinking includes all of these: things that are true, noble, right, pure, etc. So when I begin to think about things that make me wallow in self-pity or make me angry and frustrated, or are sinful and immoral I must train my mind to move on to that which is wholesome. I can’t stop thoughts from entering my mind but I can choose to think about something else.

Maybe self-pity becomes thoughts of the lovely things around me or the pure and noble friends in my life.  Perhaps those thoughts would move me to think and do something for others rather than dwelling on “poor me.”

Thinking of things that make me angry and frustrated might motivate me to think about ways to solve the problem or if it’s out of my control, to give it to God. Prayer is a powerful way to move our thoughts from unwholesome to wholesome. God is holy and almighty. He can be trusted even with our thoughts.

King David asked God to “create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). David’s impure thoughts led him to immoral behavior when he took another man’s wife. He knew God was the only One who could create a pure heart in place of his impure heart.

Dear God, please clean my thinking today. Help my mind not to dwell in places of unwholesome thinking. Renew my mind to the wholesomeness you desire. Then I can be useful as Your servant, obeying and honoring You. Amen

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“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20).

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

The phrase “cover over a multitude of sins” shows up in the books of James and 1 Peter. I read both books recently and wondered just what those writers meant when they penned those words. I know it is the blood of Jesus on the cross that covers our sins so there must be a different meaning here.

One commentator says that “covering sin” is a metaphor for forgiveness and that makes sense, especially in light of Romans 4:7, which refers back to Psalm 32:1. “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” God forgives sin but we are also commanded to forgive others.

James ends his book by saying if one brings back another who has wandered from the truth he “will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”

Many today have wandered from the truth or at least compromised it. Truth doesn’t seem to be as important as selfish desires. But I find it difficult to know how to bring someone back to the truth. I know prayer is a must and it seems I would need to be alert for conversation opportunities. This is my struggle but mostly it’s a prayer struggle- asking God to open someone’s eyes to the error of their way or to put someone in that person’s life that lives the truth.  And as Peter says, it requires a deep love for that person. Then, I  ask myself, “Am I living in the truth?” (There’s that speck of sawdust and plank thing Jesus warned us about in Matthew 7.)

I don’t have an answer for my struggle, but I’m trusting God to work through me, helping me to love, even when it’s hard; and to pray, even when I’m not sure how to pray. Truth is found in the Bible and must not be neglected. Salvation comes from the One who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  Love one another deeply. This is only possible through Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus, for loving us and loving others through us! Thank you for covering our sins.

I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains (Psalm 121:1-2 MSG)

The Apostle Peter encouraged me while reading 1 Peter 4:11. “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”

I don’t have to do life in my own strength! And that’s good because I have very little.

When my body yearns for a nap my strength comes from God. When my patience runs thin my strength comes from God. When the tapping of the cane has tackled my last nerve my help comes from God. When my computer refuses to turn on my help comes from God. When my landline phone hasn’t worked for two weeks my strength comes from God. When . . . I look at the mountains and hills and remember God created it all. If He can do that He can carry me through whatever comes my way.

Praise be to God!

“Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:32).

My fingers have been itching to write but fatigue seems to be my constant companion these days.  I want to write to encourage you, my readers, but I’m the one who needs the encouragement to keep going. This past month brought many changes to my life. On June 27 a neighbor knocked at my door and said he drove by my dad’s house and found him lying on the ground. It was one of those hot days and he was not in the shade!  Thank God for alert neighbors. Two other men came by also and they’d already put pillows under his head and found an umbrella to shade his face. They had called 911 and tried to get him to drink some water.

Once Daddy was alert enough to know what was going on he wanted to get up but was very weak. He wouldn’t go to the hospital in the ambulance so I took him later to the local clinic and from there to the hospital. We were concerned about the pain he was having in his leg.  Nothing was broken but they discovered a severe bladder infection and of course he was dehydrated.  After a night in the hospital Daddy had had enough and wanted to come home. He came to my home. As you can imagine this has been a learning experience for both of us-stubborn characters we are!

Daddy gets up several times a night and sometimes wants to get dressed at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. Dementia is getting worse, as we noticed before his fall. So after a week of not getting much sleep, my sister-in-law and I knew we needed help. We hired someone to stay for 8 hours at night and a few mornings as well. We are reassessing the need and decisions must be made soon about what happens going forward.  I don’t think Daddy can live on his own again without 24 hour care and that may not be a good option.  

Daddy is making good progress with both occupational therapy and physical therapy so he’s getting stronger. He wants to get back to using his cane instead of a walker. His therapists think he can.

The Bible says, “Honor your father and mother–which is the first commandment with a promise–that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2-3).  I hope I can do this, with God’s help and the help of others. Daddy has lived 95 years and this community knows him as a faithful Christian and a man of integrity. In the past he did carpentry work in numerous houses in this area and is known for his good work. He also kept his farm going, making hay and tending cattle in recent years. It is hard for Daddy to accept the fact that he is no longer able to do what he once did. He sometimes thinks of himself as useless, which he is not! He has fathered 5 children and lived an exemplary life before us. I thank God for a Christian dad!

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible”(Hebrews 11:3).

I was blessed this week by a visit of my youngest daughter and her family, along with their two cats. They left this morning after an almost four-day stay. I have another flower garden mulched and some clean windows that are too high for me to reach. I have new memories of games of Spinner and Contract Rummy, conversations (meaningful and otherwise), and just the joy of having grandsons, daughter and son-in-law close by for awhile.  My other daughter (TN) just had her second foot surgery so prayers are lifted in her behalf. I will travel there soon to help during her recovery.

Reading the book of Hebrews is another blessing I’m enjoying this summer. Most are familiar with the faith chapter (11) which lists so many of the Old Testament God followers and how their faith made them useful to Almighty God. With their faith they pleased God and carried out God’s purpose for their lives. What a great encouragement for us!

As I read verse 3 it dawned on me that our faith must start with accepting the fact that all that exists came from God’s command. We have to believe there was a time (which wasn’t really time. God started time when He created the world in six days.) when nothing we see existed. There was God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. It was God’s command that brought what we see into existence.

The Hebrews writer goes on to say in verse 6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

God exists. He made everything else that exists.  We believe that, and seeking God we look forward to the reward that awaits us. Those saints of old suffered greatly for their faith. Yet, they remained faithful even though they didn’t receive what was promised (verse 39). Jesus came later.

“God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:40).

Through Jesus we have a way to the Creator. We can be a part of the faithful ones receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken (see Hebrews 12:28). What we see now will no longer exist. We look forward to the heavenly Jerusalem, thousand of angels in joyful assembly, and to the church of the firstborn.

One day time will end. The calendar will reveal its last month, our planners will run out of days and weeks, and clocks will no longer measure minutes and hours. God is creating a new heaven and a new earth where we, who remain faithful to the end, will join the faithful saints mentioned in Hebrews 11. Hallelujah!

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).

“Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast” (Hebrews 3:1-6).

That phrase, “hold on to our courage,” keeps running through my mind. I’m not sure why it has stuck in my brain but it seems to have an application to our social and spiritual situation. We’re hearing about churches who have accepted the lies of Satan in place of the truth of God’s Word. Our culture has accepted and given into the demands of a small percentage of our population who live immorally and who no longer respect the rights of Christians to live their faith. A large portion of a whole generation of people has been murdered before they were even born!  

As the writer of Hebrews says, it’s time to fix our thoughts on Jesus.  It has been said, “You are what you think.” If we want to be like Jesus we have to fix our thoughts on Him. Make Jesus more important than anything or anyone else! The author of Hebrews points out that Jesus is greater than Moses. Moses was very important in the history and life of the Hebrew people. He was a faithful servant of God.  Jesus is the faithful Son of God.

God did not allow those, who were led by Moses, to enter into the promised land because of their rebellion and unbelief.  God hasn’t changed. Will we be found faithful to the Son? Will we continue to hold on to our courage and our hope?  We have the best hope ever! In Jesus!  Hold on!

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17)

My blog hasn’t even made it to my to-do list these past couple of weeks. I regret that but I’m discovering I’m capable of doing so much and then I’m done. (Can’t be old age!) I subbed for a teacher who was recovering from surgery for six days, made two trips to Richmond, VA for concerts and graduation of grandson, Ethan, attended a family reunion, a birthday party for a great-nephew, and led Children’s Worship for two Sundays. Today I finally got to my yard and garden work. Weeding and mulching today!

I’m not usually quite so busy, but I took the extra subbing days because the school was close by and the extra income will be helpful for the summer.

The verse from Colossians reminded me of the attitude I should have about everything I do whether I’m extra busy or not so much.  Later in that chapter, verses 23 and 24 state, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

My attitude should consist of working in the name of the Lord, working as though I am working for the Lord, and do it with gratitude. It’s the gratitude part I had trouble with while pulling weeds! It’s easy to be thankful for family events and milestones as well as the extra income. But weeds? Not so thankful! I am thankful I had the strength to do it and thankful for how good it looks when done. Now, if I can just get out of bed in the morning I’ll be thankful for that, too!

God bless all of you as you work at whatever you do.

“Jesus answered, ‘You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.’ ‘What is truth?’ Pilate asked” (John 18:37-38a).

What is truth? This was Pilate’s question as he considered the charges against Jesus. I think he knew Jesus was the truth. He stated, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” Yet, Pilate gave in to the crowd and “The Truth” was crucified. Can we say the truth is being crucified again today, even in the halls of our Congress?

Last week the House of Representatives passed the “so called” Equality Act. We must do all we can to stop such “inequality” from going any further. That legislation would have taken away the rights of any who want to practice their faith with regards to the gender issue. Families and businesses who believe that God created humans as male and female, who believe the Bible teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman, and who practice a moral lifestyle according to the Bible, would be breaking the law to act upon their faith. Where are the rights for the Christians?

Romans 1:25 states that people have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. That has a contemporary sound, doesn’t it? In Old Testament times, Isaiah pronounces, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20). In the New Testament Paul refers to those who refuse to love the truth (2 Thess. 2:10). There are those today who refuse to love the truth. Truth isn’t something we make up in our own minds.  Truth comes from the Word of God. And that is where the problem lies. It seems to me, those who refuse to love the truth are also refusing God’s authority.

Perhaps the Christian’s best response to our present-day situation is found in Paul’s words to young Timothy. At least, it’s a good place to start.

“Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:22-26).

Are we willing to accept the challenge?