spiritualsnippets.com

Seeing life's events in the light of God's Word.

Apr 30

No Robots in Heaven

by Brenda Poulos

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I Peter 1:9- “…for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

For as long as I can remember, people have been fascinated by robots. And, every so many years, a new generation of robots is introduced, capable of so much more than their predecessors.

This week, on television, I was astounded to see a female robot with a modern haircut and wearing a stylish skirt and blouse.

The robot was so lifelike, it was incredible. It was one of the new line of “social robots” that are said to have personalities and emotions of their own. They show, and react to, facial expressions, engage in conversations, and even make eye contact. One such robot is actually “working” behind a Welcome Desk at a Singapore university!

While technology may produce lifelike robots that are difficult to tell from real persons, be assured that we will never see them in heaven.

Man may be capable of creating a lot of amazing things, but he cannot create a living soul.

Only God can do that.

And, only human beings with souls can experience what it’s like to have faith in God and receive the gift of salvation, the “end result of our faith.”

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Apr 23

Unmeasurable

by Brenda Poulos

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Psalm 145: 3- “Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure His greatness.”

 

My husband, a jack-of-all-trades, loves tools. He says it is important to have the right tool for the right job. He has lots of them—even duplicates of most.

He has several tape measures, varying in overall lengths, colors, and materials. Some have belt clips. Others even have a laser. He should be able to measure just about anything.

King David had experience in building, too. No wonder, then, that some of the songs he wrote referenced measurement.

In the Bible, he paints a picture in song of the vastness of God’s greatness. He says it cannot be measured.

He refers to the magnitude of God’s love, in Psalm 103:11. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.”

I like this verse in 2 Chronicles 2:6a- “But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?”

What a picture we are painted of His immensity!

All of our collective praise falls short, in comparison.

In times when we fail to believe in His ability to heal, provide, or answer our prayers, we need only to meditate on verses such as these.

Oh, God, how great thou art!!  Great beyond all measure.

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Apr 16

Be That One out of Ten

by Brenda Poulos

 

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Luke 17:17- Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”

 

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus healed ten men who had leprosy. Only one of them came back and thanked Him.

We often forget to thank God, too, even though we have so much to praise Him for—the healing of a physical ailment, provision of a necessity, an unexpected blessing.

The Easter season is often one in which we overlook the purpose, and get caught up in the secular aspects of the day—coloring eggs, putting together the family dinner, buying a new dress…

Let’s not take for granted His Mercy and Grace, His forgiveness of sins and His gift of salvation.

Praise to our Most High God. The author and finisher of our faith.

Thank you, Jesus, for your work on the Cross.

Thank you for the Resurrection and the empty tomb.

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Apr 9

Just A Little Talk

by Brenda Poulos

 

25045780746_e412de3f10Psalm 142: 2,3– “I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles. When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn.”

King David, who wrote most of the Psalms, was bold—even sometimes confrontational—as he prayed. He didn’t hold back. He laid it all on the line. As a result, he experienced forgiveness and direction.

When I was a kid, I liked a popular spiritual song on the radio, called, “Just a Little Talk With Jesus.” The last four lines are:

I may have doubts and fears, my eyes be filled with tears,                                                        But Jesus is a friend who watches day day and night.                                                                     I go to him in prayer, he knows my every care,                                                                           And just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

I often find myself talking to God while I am driving or doing mundane tasks like folding laundry. Talking it out, leaning on Him, sharing my concerns—these are all aspects of prayer.

Just like David, I find that just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

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Apr 3

Paying It Forward

by Brenda Poulos

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2 Samuel 10:2- “David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.”

 

I placed my order and pulled forward to pay for my meal at the fast food drive thru. Imagine my surprise when the teenager at the window said, “No charge. The lady in the car in front of you paid your bill.”

I honked, waived, and told the kind stranger thank you as I stuck my head out of the car window. “Have a good day,” she said as she drove down the busy street and out of sight.

What a nice—and totally unexpected blessing. It made my day. There was still some goodness left in our world, after all.

The idea called, “pay it forward,” leaves it up to me to perform a nice gesture for someone else.

Repaying kindness with kindness.

The phrase “paying it forward” may have originated after a movie featured it some years ago, but the Bible records many instances of similar acts done in Biblical times—David paying respects to Hanun at the death of his father, King of the Ammonites; Rahab’s life being spared because she hid Israelite spies on her rooftop to protect them from attacking soldiers, and so on.

When someone repays kindness with kindness, we all remark about how nice it was…how thoughtful…even unusual in our world today. It is almost unheard of, however, for someone to repay with kindness those who hurt them.

Repaying unkindness with kindness?

Jesus was flogged, beaten, spit upon, denied, ridiculed. Yet, he repaid those unkindnesses by dying on the cross for the sins of those people, as well as our own.

Only unconditional love would do that.

Only by the grace of God.

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Mar 26

The Secret of Contentment

by Brenda Poulos

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Philippians 4:12,13-  “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

 

As a child, he wanted each new toy.

As a teenager, she bought a new outfit for every occasion.

As a young adult, she constantly redecorated her first home.

As an executive, he purchased a luxury car every year.

Boats, vacations, jewelry.

Would they ever be satisfied? Would happiness always elude them?

Would they someday learn the secret to being content with what they had in the “here and now?”

The apostle Paul knew the secret.

True joy—real contentment—wasn’t based on things.

Paul was content because of his faith in God. That one relationship was what gave him the strength to persevere no matter what his life circumstances.

The truth is, contentment is a state of being. It is a way of life that is not acquired and lost, based on life’s circumstances.

It can be who you are because you know whose you are.

You can be content if, above all else, you first seek a relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Then, as the Bible says in Matthew 6:33, “all these things will be given to you as well.”

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Mar 19

The New Normal

by Brenda Poulos

8479540406_1a89fe4025Acts 22:14,15- “Then he (Ananias) said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.”

Things are forever changing in our world.

Foods we were told that were good for us in the past, are now reported to actually harm us. So, we change our diet.

A friend or relative requires our care. We rearrange our daily schedule to accommodate the added responsibilities.

Retirement, divorce, catastrophic illness.

All of these changes create what we now call the “new normal.”

A wedding, a new job, the birth of a baby, the purchase of our dream home—even these bring changes in routines—and we adapt to them by assimilating the “new normal” into our lives.

Paul had a life-changing experience on the road to Damascus. As a result of meeting God, his life of persecuting Christians was transformed to one of preaching and defending other Christians. As a result, he often lived for months and years in prison—the Apostle Paul’s “new normal.”

When we meet Christ, our lives…relationships…desires…past habits—our very focus changes as he calls us to live a new life in Christ—our “new normal.”

But, we are not alone. The The Holy Spirit guides us through each adjustment on our way to our eternal home and the

ULTIMATE NEW NORMAL.

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Mar 12

THE WARNING SIGNS

by Brenda Poulos

 

3715551997_0da0e44447Proverbs 16:25  “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”

In many states, over the past couple of years, there has been an overwhelming number of wrong way drivers.

Serious accidents and many deaths have been attributed to failure to heed the warning signs.

Some of these drivers were impaired by drugs, alcohol, or lack of adequate sleep, but many say they really thought that they were entering the freeway, correctly.

Signs were posted. They just didn’t read them.

As a result, some died.

There are many books about what the authors believe is TRUTH about the future and eternity. Most of them aren’t trying to lead others astray. The vast majority feel what they are writing is true. In fact, they are zealous in their efforts to impart their knowledge to others.

However, only the Bible is the authentic Word of God. If you want direction, you need look no further.

Heed the signs…the warnings within its pages.

Nothing can be more important than the future of your eternal soul.

I’ve heard people say they wish life came with a set of instructions.

It does.

It’s called THE BIBLE.

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Mar 5

Escape Rooms

by Brenda Poulos

 

30543604984_a2c9e7138dDaniel 6:19-23   “At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

 

 

Escape Rooms have become popular here in the southwest. In some areas, they are becoming a social phenomenon. I’ve heard some people have used them as the “new thing to do” for birthday parties!

These rooms are part of a physical adventure game in which the players are locked in a room (usually a prison cell, dungeon) and must use elements of the room to solve a series of puzzles and escape within a certain time limit.

Some people have had panic attacks in these situations, but for the most part they are viewed as exciting and fun, since participants realize they are a “set-up” and they are not in any real danger.

But, Daniel’s incarceration in the lions’ den was not a social game.

Because he continued to worship God, even though King Darius had commanded no one to do so, Daniel was thrown into the Den of Lions.

He didn’t have to solve a puzzle. He wasn’t part of a social experiment.

But, he did have faith. He believed God would protect him. He was an obedient follower of Christ who wasn’t going to stop worshipping God for any reason.

Thrown into the den of ferocious lions, he was freed the following morning by the king after witnessing the power of God to save his faithful servant by shutting the mouths of the hungry animals.

Daniel experienced God’s favor and protection. He honored God, knowing that he might very well lose his life.

As Christians, let’s exercise our faith by likewise standing up for what is good and right and honors God.

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Feb 26

An Unusual Choir

by Brenda Poulos

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Acts 16:25- “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.”

 

Recently, I heard about a group of prisoners in a maximum security prison that had formed a choir. The camaraderie among those inmates and the discovery of their hidden talents was something to behold as the story unfolded. I felt so blessed as I heard them perform.

They are hardened criminals. Many of them have tried to kill each other while in prison.

Now, they are singing together! What a transformation.

There was an earthquake as the singing was going on in the prison in Phillippi. The Bible tells us in verses 27 and 28 that even though all of the previously locked doors were suddenly opened, not one prisoner even tried to escape!

So, is it the power of music that changed both groups of criminals?

I don’t think so. I think we can accord the changes to the fact that God used both of those circumstances to bring the prisoners into better relationship with HIM and, then, with each other.

King David wrote hundreds of songs of praise to God. Christian hymnals are full of beautiful ones written by many gifted individuals throughout the ages.

Whether in the present or the future, God may use singing to lift, inspire, and change, just like He has throughout the ages.

And, we may use it as an offering of praise to HIM.

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