Serving the Lord

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
Romans 12: 10 - 11 ( New Living Translation)

A Sunday evening in June.
I have been feasting on a weekend of amazing Biblical teaching

A Rocky Adventure

The plan was simple... Wilma coordinates a lunch with friends. We meet at Josie's in Chevy Chase.

Lunch at Josie's in Chevy Chase.

After lunch, we travel to visit Wilma at the First Vineyard. Established in 1799, First Vineyard is the first commercial vineyard in the United States.

The journey to the vineyard is lovely.The roads are windy and smooth. Simple so far...
Our GPS is working....
Here is where it gets rocky... We take one wrong turn... For the next half an hour, I am on one of the most terrifying car rides of my life!

 I was praying... God, please... get me out of this situation. My stomach was turning... I was mad at myself for not trusting myself. I read the sign, but I did not follow it. I don't have the vocabulary to describe the terror I experienced. Narrow roads and rough terrain... this is road for a Jeep. I am not in a Jeep.

After this terrifying adventure, we finally make it to the vineyard. We visit with Wilma. I listen to tips on how to take better pictures.
 The ride home... no cell phone service... my cell phone is dead... low on gas...
I arrive home at 5:00. It was a long day.

Pet of the week

Molly is the pet of the week. She is sweet, cuddly and cute. Sounds like a perfect pet.

Teacher

Jesus taught in parables. “ He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. “ Mark 4:34

 “Parables bring to life the world where Jesus lived. “*

“We read the parables and the poor homes of the little land are before our eyes. We see the baking of bread and the patching of garments; we see even the emergency of a friend borrowing a loaf at the midnight hour for his sudden guests. Rich homes are drawn with a pencil equally shrewd – barns bursting with fatness, laborers not daring to eat until their master has broken his fast, and the unseemly scramble for the chief seats at the feasts of the mighty.  The glaring contrasts of our earth are drawn in dramatic line – “chosen” Jews and despised Samaritans, sumptuous Dives and abject Lazarus, householders and thieves, compassionate parenthood and the rascally steward who feathered and his nest against the well-merited retribution. The whole gamut of human life is sounded – farmers at the plough, fisherman at their nets, a wedding procession moving through the dark with dancing torches, builders rearing towers, kings marking to wars and a widow pleading her cause in the persistence of despair, before a heartless judge. (The Parables of Jesus, By George A. Buttrick; pages xviii-xix)

I am in the middle of a summer Bible Study, the title, Twelve Parables of Jesus, by Maxie Dunnam.*  This devotional helps prepare me for my day.  The parables present timeless truths. 

Storm

"After a storm comes a calm."

Matthew Henry

Taxes, Audits, & Cheats

We find it vital to keep an accurate of our income, contributions, and deductions.   In addition, we make sure we use a reputable accounting firm.  We found this helpful when we were audited by the IRS. 

About three years ago, we received a letter from Internal Revenue Service informing us we owed taxes. yikes...  After calling my husband, I called Mr. Frazier our accountant in Tennessee.  I was upset.   Mr. Frazier was calm.

Here is the bottom line. We did not owe any taxes. Why were we audited?  Was it a random inspection? Did something in our tax returns warrant a red flag? If individuals contribute 10% of their income to their churches are they audited more frequently? According to some financial analysts contributions can raise red flags in the IRS.

I wonder. 

Monday Musings

 It is in a sad state. The pages are fragile. It is difficult to turn a page without making a tear. I am talking about one of my Bibles. What can I do with a Bible that is literally falling apart at the seams? Currently, it is resting safely on a shelf.

Bibles... In our house, we have at least twenty Bibles. Of the twenty Bibles we own, here are a few of the translations, New International Version, The New Living Translation, The Message, and The NKJ. What about the King James Bible translation?  We don’t own a KJV Bible.

“This is what Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina (1886 – 1985) said of the King James Bible.

“I think that the greatest book, from a literary as well as from a religious standpoint ever made available to mankind is the King James Bible Version of the Bible. As soon as my forebears obtained the [KJV], they adopted is as a guide for their religious faith, and they recorded within its covers their marriages, their births and their deaths. They found something within that old Book which revealed to them the promises of God, and something which made them fear God and nothing else.”

Toni Morrison fondly remembers the KJV Bible being read in her childhood home. As a child, I remember  looking at the names of family members who had died. Today, I record marriages, births and deaths in my Bible. 

Why am I pondering about the KJV Bible? I want to know more about this translation. People were burned at the stake over translating the Bible. It is worth understanding more of the history.

I currently reading Jon Sweeny’s book, Verily, verily: The KJV: 400 years of influence and beauty. 

In the beginning of this book, it explains how to treat old Bibles. 

Sunday Sermon & Songs

I wish you had been in church with me today. From beginning to end you would have been welcomed by loving people, encouraged by beautiful music, and challenged by a sermon.

Today’s Bible text was from 1Samuel 30: 1 – 10

Three points:

David encouraged himself in the LORD

David inquires of the LORD

God answered his prayer

The application for me… put into practice…

Encourage myself in God, pray to God, look with expectancy for to God  answer prayer.

Beautiful flowers from John and Sharon