Month: February 2023

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Competition, Courage, and Honor

two men playing volleyball near red canopy

Photo by Jim De Ramos on Pexels.com Volleyball competition

Competition, courage, and honor are found in all games, including the game of life. Winners of competitions are honored and respected.

Which of these are competitions?

  • chess Yes/No
  • volleyball Yes/No
  • politics Yes/No
  • cooking Yes/No
  • preaching Yes/No
  • ping pong Yes/No
  • reading Yes/No

Games are played by rules. Life has rules too. Thousands of years ago, Moses gave the people many rules from God. Jesus changed the rules. He said people should live by two rules. What are they?

  1. Love __________.
  2. Love_______________________________.

Jesus said Love God and love others… all the Law and the Prophets depend on these two. (Matthew 22:37-39) What do you think this means?

Competition, Courage, and Honor in Paul’s Life

The apostle Paul had a lot of courage. Fill in the blanks with these words:

obstacles opportunities discouraged encouraged opposed compete prison envied

  • The apostle Paul was in _____________.
  • He saw _______________ as ________________.
  • Some people _____________ him.
  • He didn’t get_______________.
  • Instead, he _______________ other people.
  • Some people tried to _______________ with him because they_____________ him.

Paul said: What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel… so that it (the gospel) has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Philippians 1: 13-14

What was Paul’s opportunity?

Paul said: I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1: 19-20

Why was Paul happy?

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the SOUND of LIGHT, by Sarah Sundin, 2023, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

The Sound of Light
The Sound of Light

The sound of light. It’s a play on words. Lyd-af-Lys, in Danish. The 10-mile-wide strait of water between Denmark and Sweden, reflecting ever-changing sparkling light.

It’s the theme of Henrik Ahlefeldt’s life. In fact, he’s taken on the persona of Havmand the merman, inspired by the little mermaid Havfrue, whose statue sits on a rock gazing to sea.

But all of that is hidden beneath his cover name and person–Hemming Andersen. Why? Because the Nazis have taken over Denmark, and he has life-threatening secrets. But alas, he meets an attractive scientist, Dr. Elsebeth Jensen. A physicist from California working for Nels Bohr at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen.

She attempts to keep peace by silence, but Hemming teaches her to speak out. And Hemming, who has given up his voice, must judiciously speak out again. They, together with the majority of Danish people, participate in saving Danish Jews from deportation and death.

Sarah Sundin reveals this important history and makes it personal to readers. As I read, I identified with the characters and learned along with them. Sometimes it’s brave to keep silent, but sometimes it’s actually cowardly. There are times when one must accept the risks and speak out in order to help others. Not only speak out, but take action.

I chose The Sound of Light from Revell so I could write my unbiased review. I had wanted for years to read one of Sarah Sundin’s WW II novels, and am so glad I finally did. Thank you to Revell for the beautiful paperback.

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Read other reviews on Goodreads at: The Sound of Light by Sarah Sundin | Goodreads.

Visit the author at www.sarahsundin.com to learn more about her, her awards, research and novels.

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Seeing Obstacles as Opportunities; Simplified English Lesson based on Philippians 1: 12-20

‘discourage’ = remove courage; ‘encourage’ = add courage

Do you know someone who was in a terrible situation (maybe sick, or in a war, or in a bad family, or with no family, or in a bad job), but instead of getting discouraged, they encouraged others?

Paul was not discouraged. Seeing obstacles as opportunities changed how he felt.

… I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…                           

                                                                                            Phil 1:12

The writer, Paul, was in prison, but he was not discouraged. He wrote a letter to the church to encourage them.

Obstacle or Opportunity?
Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com

… what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…         

… so that it (the gospel)  has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.                                                 Phil 1:13-14

Paul said that his imprisonment advanced the gospel. It helped spread the good news of Jesus because he told his guards about Jesus.

His church brothers were encouraged. Paul was not discouraged, so they were not discouraged either. They were not afraid to tell people about Jesus.

Don’t be discouraged by those who oppose you.

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.                                                                                                                                                            Phil. 1:15-17

Some Christians didn’t like Paul. Some people envied Paul because people loved him. They were jealous of him. They preached about Jesus because they wanted to compete with Paul.

Other Christians spread the gospel because of love. They did it with ‘good will’.

“What then?” He writes, “Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” Paul didn’t care why people spread the gospel. He was glad because they told people about Jesus.

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.                                                                                                                 Philippians 1:19–20

Paul rejoiced. He was happy. Why? Because people prayed for him, and the Spirit of Jesus helped him. He knew he would be delivered from prison. He expected not to be ashamed. Paul had courage that Christ would be honored either by his life or by his death.

Can you start seeing obstacles as opportunities? How can you encourage people even when you have obstacles?

“Look for opportunities to share the gospel, instead of the obstacles that prevent you from sharing your faith.  Don’t become overwhelmed by the difficulties you encounter or become angry or vindictive when you experience opposition.” –quote by Pastor Wayne Snider

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New Days, New Ways; Simplified English discussion based on Mark chapter 2

soccer by moonlight
soccer by moonlight

New days, new ways. Soccer can even be played at night now.

Rules for Games

Do you like to play games?

Some types of games are:

  • sports, like football, hockey, baseball
  • video games
  • board games, like chess, checkers, monopoly, scrabble

What is your favorite game?

The rules of the game tell us how to play. Can the rules be changed?

Rules for the game of life

As in games, there are rules for living. Thousands of years ago, God gave rules for living to Moses. We can read them in Leviticus 19. Some of them are:

  • Don’t steal 
  • Don’t lie
  • Don’t harvest all of your garden
  • Don’t eat meat with blood in it
  • Keep the Sabbath
  • Don’t get a tattoo
  • Don’t wear clothing made of two different materials
  • Don’t breed your livestock with another breed of livestock
  • Don’t seed your garden with two kinds of seed
  • Don’t trim your beard or sideburns
  • Honor your mother and father

There were a lot more rules than that. Nobody could follow ALL the rules.

God changed the rules

When Jesus came, he changed the rules. He cancelled all the old rules. He gave us two simple rules to live by:

  • Love God
  • Love people

Jesus said Love God and love others…all the Law and the Prophets depend on these two (Matthew 22:37-39).

How can we love God?

  • By praying? Yes/No
  • By reading the Bible? Yes/No
  • By following the rules in Leviticus, that Moses gave? Yes/No
  • By living like Jesus? Yes/No
  • By accepting God’s grace? Yes/No

How can we love other people?

  • By praying for them? Yes/No
  • By giving them money? Yes/No/Sometimes
  • By welcoming them? Yes/No
  • By agreeing with them? Yes/No/Sometimes
  • By giving them grace? Yes/No

New days, New ways

Jesus didn’t follow the old rules that God gave Moses. What did he do that was different?

Do you think we should follow strict rules? Why or why not?

Should we expect other people to follow strict rules? Why or why not?

“This is a new day, so let’s see it in a new way.  Let’s always try to live under the freedom and grace that Jesus gives, and relate to each other in the Spirit of love and truth.” –quote from Pastor Wayne Snider

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The Shop on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber, 2004, MIRA

The Shop on Blossom Street
The Shop on Blossom Street

The shop on Blossom Street has opened. Lydia is excited. Her very own little yarn store. Knitting is her favorite hobby, an anchor to her soul through her struggles with cancer.

She starts a knitting class, and three, truly diverse people sign up. Two are from opposite ends of Seattle’s social spectrum–a high society older lady and a young woman on probation who’s barely scraping by. The other is a 30-year-old person who longs for a baby.

As they embark on their first project, a baby blanket, Lydia finds she’s more than a knitting coach–she’s coaching relationship building as well.

Although I’ve never been interested in knitting, I loved this book. I almost want to take up knitting and open a shop. It was wonderful to enter the stories of the characters with their struggles and victories. I look forward to reading more in the series.

This is the first book I’ve read by Debbie Macomber. I’ve heard her books recommended, so when I found a couple of them at a thrift store, I grabbed them. So happy I did.

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People in Partnership

People:

Plural of person. One person, many people.

Partnership:

People who are together for some reason. The root word of partnership is partner. A partner is part of a group. Some types of partnership are:

  • business partners
  • families
  • marriage partners
  • work partners

What are some other partnerships?

Do you think of the church as a family? Is it a type of partnership? In what ways?

God’s Grace

God’s grace is His favor and blessing. It means God is good to us.

How is God good to His people?

When we are good to other people, we give them grace. What can you do to give grace to other people?

Christian People in Partnership

Christians are partners because we receive God’s grace together. We are in the family of God.

We also give grace to others. We do good works for other people because God wants us to love them.

English-Russian Gospels

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Got any enemies?

“O that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! Speedily then I would subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries.” Psalm 81:13-14

Asaph wrote this psalm hundreds of years before the time of Christ. It was set to music, accompanied by a Philistine lute.
There sure are all kinds of enemies in this world. What about the old saying, “He’s his own worst enemy.”? I know I’ve been my own worst enemy over and over again in life.
Priscilla Shirer, author and worldwide Bible teacher, says that “the heart is the centerpiece of the soul”, and consists of mind, will, emotions and conscience. Getting these under control goes a long way in protecting your heart ❤️.
Satan and his army of demons do their best to deceive us into believing lies about ourselves and God. They attempt to redirect our ambitions to focus on short-sighted goals. They get our emotions stirred up with runaway responses like anger, discouragement, revenge, or sadness to persuade us into making unstable choices. They influence our conscience to misalign it from God’s standards.
Yes, God wants to subdue our enemies, and promises to do it when we listen to Him and walk in His ways. It starts with guarding our hearts. 💞