spiritualsnippets.com

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

Aug 31

Just the Beginning

by Brenda Poulos
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Ecclesiastes12:7,8- “…the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

Last week, my husband and I vacationed in a state where the cooler weather offered a reprieve from the summer heat. Still, mid-week, he told me he was ready to go home.

My friend, Beth, spent the last several months in radiation. She made a surprise visit to her friends a couple of weeks ago, just days before she passed away.

It was so good to see her. She was a very special person and will be missed. In her last conversation with us, she said she knew the end of this life was near, that she wasn’t afraid of what lay ahead, and that she was ready to “go home.”

For those of us who look forward to spending an eternity with Jesus, going “home” is nothing to dread. It is the end of our lives on earth, but just the beginning of good things to come.

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Nov 13

Point the Way

by Brenda Poulos

Matthew 7:14- “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Just last week, I heard another horrific story about young people who were trapped inside a venue that somehow caught on fire. In the past, I remember people being trampled when trying to escape from a gunman at a sporting event.

In each of these cases, patrons became disoriented or were pushed along by the throng and couldn’t find their way to the exit. In some cases, the exits weren’t clearly marked. In others, they proved to be much too narrow for the large crowd to get through safely and quickly.

I immediately thought of the scripture in Matthew 7. Each time I read it, I think how said it is that people failed to take the narrow road to safety and eternal life. My prayer is that today we would gently point others toward the way Home.

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Oct 5

A Good Name

by Brenda Poulos

Proverbs 22:1–  “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.”

As a child, I remember wishing my name were Debbie, Linda, or Karen.

Now that I’m nearing the publication of my first book, I find myself wishing for a name that would be more memorable. One that would sound “author-ish”.

I’ve thought of changes I could make to my name to make it more visually appealing….for example, not capitalizing it, like the famous poet, e.e.cummings.

brenda poulos

Or, dropping my last name and using my middle name as the last:

Brenda Carol

No? How about changing the spelling of my middle name?

Brenda Carolle

Perhaps using just my initials:

B. C. Poulos

I asked God to help me be content with my name just the way it is:

Brenda C. Poulos

He reminded me today that the name, Jesus—the sweetest, most wonderful name to Christians—was a very ordinary name in those days. Nothing particularly special about it…but it was the name God told Joseph and Mary to give the baby.

Matthew 1:21 says, “You shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” And it is the name praised by millions every day.

Of course, there are many other names that Jesus has in the Bible—names that reflect who He is, His role, His personality: Savior, Messiah, Adonai, The Good Shepherd, The Bright and Morning Star, The Rose of Sharon, The Lord, The Lamb of God, Light of the World, and on and on. Two hundred of them in all.

I told myself that maybe I would be more content with my own name if I knew what it meant. Somewhere, I had a bookmark with its meaning. I searched in a couple of drawers before I came up with it:

“BRENDA: Enthusiastic…fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.”

Maybe it doesn’t sound like a name that will draw people to pick up a book, but maybe it is a good name, after all.

Maybe those reading the gospel message woven into the pages of Runaways: The Long Journey Home will be led to it by Jesus…our God with an ordinary name who would allow someone with a name like mine to be an instrument to point the way

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