spiritualsnippets.com

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

Apr 1

It’s Not About the Bunny

by Brenda Poulos

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Isaiah 53: 3-6~ “He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet, it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And, we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But, he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

 

I heard a story this week of a man who was recently exonerated of three murders after spending 27 years on death row.

On a talk show, he said there was nothing more horrible about the whole ordeal than hearing the word, “guilty” when he knew he hadn’t committed those crimes.

Jesus heard those words and He, too, was innocent. He was also called names, treated cruelly, and even put to death for the sins of mankind.

Following His resurrection, he was called pure and blameless by Almighty God; then exalted to sit at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.

As a Christian society, we have set aside Easter as a time to remember what Jesus did for us.

Let’s not make today about “The Bunny” or the eggs…not about a fancy ham dinner or sack races in the park.

Just as at Christmas we celebrate His birth, today let’s celebrate His death and resurrection.

Once again, let’s remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

 

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Feb 18

DON’T BLINK!

by Brenda Poulos

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I Corinthians 15:51, 52- “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

We have been watching the Olympics. It is full of triumphs and heartaches.

Often times, the difference between winning a medal and losing it comes down to a hundredth of a second—less time than it takes to blink an eye!

The scripture in I Corinthians describes the Rapture of the Church.

Believers who have died before this event will be raised from their graves and will be forevermore with the Lord.

Their new bodies will be imperishable. They will never again know pain, sickness, or disease.

And it will all happen in the twinkling of an eye!

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Dec 18

The Unopened Gift

by Brenda Poulos

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If someone told you that they have a Christmas present that they refrain from opening, and that year after year it remains wrapped underneath their tree, you would probably stare at them in disbelief and ask

“Why?”

Good question.

But, wait, do you have a gift you haven’t opened?

I think you know the one I’m talking about.

God gave us a gift when he sent his son, Jesus, to earth. But, have you put off opening your gift? Unsure of what to do with Him…how your life might change if you accepted God’s gift?

What if I told you that there’s not a gift—at any price—that could ever compare to God’s gift?

After all, could there be any better gift than forgiveness of sins…eternal life… unconditional love of Almighty God?

Amazing, huh?

This is a gift so special that you won’t want to exchange it, get a refund, or leave it unopened.

God is reaching out to you with a precious gift.

All you have to do is accept it.

Don’t think you’re worthy?

You’re right.

Not one person that has ever accepted God’s gift has been worthy of it.

Not one person has been able to earn it, either…because it’s a gift.

Right now, I’m asking God to give you the strength to lay your fears aside and reach underneath the tree—that place where you’ve left God’s gift unopened—and give you the courage to accept Jesus, His son, and the salvation that He brings to each of us who BELIEVE.

 

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Sep 25

Jesus, the Rock of Our Salvation

by Brenda Poulos

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Matthew 16:13-18   

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it.”

 

In my last blog, I became a victim of what can happen when one takes a verse out of context.

Yes, I usually do use just one verse in each of my weekly Snippets. However, that is not always a good idea, especially if one does not carefully read the verses preceding the highlighted verse.

That is precisely what happened when I chose Matthew 16:18. I made a common mistake in thinking that the verse referred to Peter as the rock, when, in fact, it does not.

So, I want to attempt to correct my error by studying verses 13-18 in Matthew this week.

In verse 13, Jesus is asking his disciples if they really know who he is. Verses 14 and 15 record their replies. Then, in verse 16, we see that Peter understands that Jesus is the Son of God. And, in verse 17, Jesus says that God the Father had opened Peter’s eyes to who Jesus really was. (Jesus had never before explicitly taught the disciples the “fulness of his identity.”)

So, we see in verse 18, that Jesus is referring to himself–that he is the rock–the foundation of our faith—and not Peter.

I hope I have adequately explained these important verses. I stand corrected by God’s Word.

 

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Sep 3

A Glimpse of Heaven

by Brenda Poulos

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1 Corinthians 2:9-  “…What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him.”

 

 

Mom’s eyes were filled with tears when she recounted last’s night’s dream.

“I didn’t want to come back,” she sobbed.

“What do you mean? Come back from where?” I held her hand and brushed the soft gray hair away from her face.

“From Heaven. It was so beautiful. I just wanted to stay there forever.”

I slid my chair closer. “What was it like?”

“Oh. I-I-I don’t know how to explain it.” She paused, a faraway look in her eyes. “It was all laid out before me. It went on forever. And, all the colors. I’ve never seen colors like that before. The jewels—they sparkled like… Oh, it was so wonderful. I want to go back.”

I thanked God for the little glimpse of Heaven given to my dear mother who is now experiencing the last stages of Alzheimer’s—and for the reassurance given to me as she spoke those words just a few days ago.

Not that we necessarily want this life to end, but most Christians would say that they, too, look forward to Heaven.

Streets of gold, colors beyond description…

Although we may imagine what it will be like, our human brains cannot even conceive of its magnificence.

Jesus will be there and I cannot even begin to understand what it will be like to be in His presence, to sit at His table, and talk with Him face to face.

For now, though, I’ll just have to be content to dream along with Mom.

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Aug 13

The Healing

by Brenda Poulos

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Luke 4:5-7   “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

 

I read a horrific story about a young man who was desperate to save his dying child. He had spent all of his money, borrowed from his mortgage, and sold all of his belongings in order to pay for the boy’s medical treatments.

Now, at the end of his resources and without another hope, he had an idea. He would bargain with Satan. He would offer to give his own soul to the devil if only his son’s life would be spared.

One day, he told his plan to an older man in the hospital waiting room. That man was able to share the scripture from Luke with the distraught father. He told him that in Jesus there is life. That all things were given to Him by God. That all authority is His, to the glory of the Father.

He convinced the young man that although Satan often tempted people with money, position, or power, the very idea that Satan had any authority to give these things was all lies. The older man persuaded the young father to put the life of his boy in the hands of the great healer—the author of life.

Just as Jesus wasn’t fooled by Satan’s offer of power and authority as they stood atop a mountain in Jerusalem, neither was the young father in this story.

Sadly, the little boy in this story did die. However, the young father’s faith was not shaken because he understood that his child was now with Jesus and that he would see him again one day.

He realized that it was he, himself, that had experienced healing—the healing of his own soul.

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Jul 10

ALL POWERFUL

by Brenda Poulos

 

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Ephesians 1:19-21 “…and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”

 

 

I watched as the President of the United States was sworn into office.

A split second beforehand, he was an American citizen, like the rest of us, except perhaps for his great wealth.

But, after the oath of office was taken, reporters referred to him as the “most powerful man in all the world.”

What a difference a moment in time made in his status among the nations.

But, his power is nothing compared to the power of God in raising Jesus from the dead or the power conferred on Jesus who now sits at His right hand:

The power to heal, to create and destroy, to forgive sin.

He can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

We cannot cleanse ourselves from sin or its influence in our lives.

We cannot work hard or long enough.

We cannot achieve enough or perform enough “works.”

On our own, we cannot defeat sin and Satan.

All power is HIS and HIS ALONE.

We have only to put our faith in His great strength—put ourselves in His capable hands and allow Him to do the work only He can do

by His GREAT POWER.

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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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Feb 6

Trumpet Lessons

by Brenda Poulos

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I Thessalonians 4:16- “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”

We live in a condominium with other families on both sides of us and one living overhead.

On Sunday evenings, the boy upstairs practices playing his trumpet.

When he first started trumpet lessons, I admit his practice sessions were a bit annoying. However, he has either improved a lot or or we’ve just gotten used to the sounds. In either case, practice doesn’t last more than 10-15 minutes.

We used to cringe when we heard the first blast, but now I actually look forward to hearing him play around 7 p.m.

More than that, of course, I anticipate hearing the trumpet of God because it will signal the return of Jesus to earth and call together both living Christians and those who have died prior to that time.

It will be an unbelievably glorious celebration. The event of all time.

The trumpet call of God.

Now that’s something to look forward to.

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Jan 29

What Do You Think He Wrote?

by Brenda Poulos

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My husband and I recently went to a Christian movie. In it, a local church puts on a play. One of the Bible stories it portrays is the story of a woman who is brought to Jesus with the allegation that she has committed adultery.

Punishable by stoning, Jesus directs that anyone who was sinless should cast the first stone.

When the story started, however, we read that Jesus was writing with his finger on the ground (in dirt, or sand, I am not sure).

Since scripture doesn’t reveal just what it was that Jesus was writing, it has been the subject of many debates over the years.

In the movie, the character of Jesus writes the word “GRACE.”

In reality, he may have been writing something quite different. He might have been simply doodling. We just don’t know.

However, because in the verses that follow Jesus offers the woman forgiveness, the word “grace” aptly fits this situation.

It is the same unmerited favor…the same undeserved pardon he offers us.

Grace.

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