Betty Whitaker Jackson

Today marks the Ides of March, made famous by the soothsayer in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” drama. It actually was really a term for the lunar time between the 13th and 15th of March when the moon was full. It was seen as a time of rejoicing until Shakespeare’s “Beware the Ides of March” quote.

Today’s Psalm reminds us of those who “discipled” or trained us up in the faith, and reminds us that we are to constantly seek discipling to…..

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So many reasons to rejoice today. For all you math people out there, it is Pi Day 3.14. For the Jacksons, we rejoice that we got our first COVID vaccine shot yesterday and soon will be out of self-induced quarantine after a long year of precautions. Third, we dined at the awesome Cheesecake Factory after a year and a half absence. Yum. Fourth, it is Jakob Klemm’s wedding day to his lovely Jill and we’ll watch live-stream. Fifth, I met…..

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A year ago, hundreds of people were dying from COVID-19 every day, often alone, often on ventilators. We remember and mourn their loss. Perhaps we think most about our own mortality when a tragedy like a pandemic comes, or when we attend a funeral or memorial service. Psalm 139 teaches that the day of our death is determined before we are born, and that the gift of life has a expiration date. Planned obsolescence so to speak. It is time…..

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During the last year, we have faced trials from a pandemic. It has changed our world and our feelings of fragility, vulnerability, and fear. I know, and hope you do too, who guides our world, who knows the future, and who is our hope and salvation. We are never promised we will have a happy life in this world. We will face trials. How we choose to respond is key to our growth in the faith. It seems to me…..

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After Easter, Pentecost, God sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. We can know personally the indwelling of Christ within us to comfort, to guide, to encourage, to chasten, and to provide answers to life’s biggest questions. Emanuel means God with us. Nothing we can do can earn us this gift. Unlike other religious practices, we do not reach out to God; He reached to us to draw us personally to Him. This is a Lenten truth.

MY PSALM 324   DWELL…..

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We need to watch how we speak! Whether it’s on social media, on the phone, in conversation, or in print, our words do matter. As a writer, I need to watch tone, emotion, syntax, motivation, and truth in order to be authentic. When our faith guides our words, we are representatives of Christ and His kingdom. When we speak as professionals, in my case as an educator, I need to consider my audience and their viewpoints, prejudices, beliefs, and personal…..

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Today’s topic for Lent is Sanctification. I know and you know we will never live up to Christ’s example in our lives. We are sinners, we were sinners, and we will always sin, but Christ atoned for those sins and we can be counted as righteous because of His sacrifice for us. However, that does not mean we should ignore our sinful nature. That would be cheap grace indeed. Therefore, through prayer, reading scripture, and conscious editing of our speech…..

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God, creator of the universe and Lover of our souls, fashioned order out of chaos. Read the story of creation to see this. Then notice the plan, unveiled throughout all scripture, to defeat the chaos caused by sin into the order of heaven. By folllowing His precepts in this chaotic existence where the right seems wrong and wrong seems right is our challenge. Read and study His plan for salvation, make a pledge to follow His precepts, and earn the…..

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Deuteronomy 30:19 gives us the assurance and confidence in God’s covenany promise. May it bless your day along with My Psalm 319:

“I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listen obediently to Him, firmly embracing Him. Oh, yes. He is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

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