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Grains of Sand
Seeking Jesus First
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On Irritants and Abiding
Irritation has its benefits. A natural pearl is the result of the presence of an irritant—usually a parasite. To alleviate the irritation, a liquid begins to add layer after layer around the irritant to form a coating. The coating becomes the pearl. If I had made a pearl from every irritation in my life, I would be a spiritually wealthy woman today. But an irritant needs a coating to make a pearl. From what can I make a coating that will turn my irritant into a pearl? Here is
Lynda Schultz
3 days ago8 min read
11. EPILOGUE: I CHOOSE TO…
How do we bring this all together? Trusting God is a choice we make every day—and every day, that trust is under threat. It has mortal enemies: fear, anxiety, skepticism, doubt, self-sufficiency, unbelief, to name just a few. What are the major threats in your life to trust? The Scriptures give us many examples of people who struggled with whether or not to trust God. We remember so many psalms that describe the fear, anxiety, and concerns of their authors as they faced the c
Lynda Schultz
Mar 2711 min read
10. IN THESE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES
Though the theme of trusting God has been consistent throughout this series of studies, we will now examine more closely what trusting God means today, in the midst of “these present circumstances.” As I sat working on the original manuscript for this book, the world was more than a year into a pandemic. Millions of people contracted the disease, millions died, and some live with the disease’s life-altering consequences. Businesses failed, economies were ruined, and national
Lynda Schultz
Mar 2022 min read
9. FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE
Image and identity are hotly debated topics today. How should we see ourselves? How should we respond to society’s ongoing pressure to shape our appearance, behaviour, or possessions to gain success and acceptance? How do we manage our insecurities about who we are? Others’ opinions, reactions, and actions often greatly influence how we perceive ourselves. Our self-view affects how we live out the lives God has given us. However, neither scars nor praise can reveal the truth
Lynda Schultz
Mar 1318 min read
8. TRUST AND LOVE: PARTNERS TOGETHER
We continue to repeat many of the same verses from Scripture as we work our way through this study. While this may be annoying to some, teachers know that repetition is a good teaching tool. But going over these verses is more than simply repeating. It is imprinting. The stamping, embedding, engraving, and etching of these verses into the core of our being is important. The Scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit will bring back to our remembrance that which we have learned.
Lynda Schultz
Mar 623 min read
7. POWERFUL, GOOD, AND WISE
Most of us have no trouble admitting that we often make unwise choices, say unwise things, and think unwise thoughts. One of the “go-to” passages of Scripture for believers who recognize their weakness in wisdom is James 1:5. “ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you .” Why ask God for wisdom? James doesn’t go into a detailed explanation of that subject. The text implies that we ask God for
Lynda Schultz
Feb 2715 min read
6. AND WHAT ABOUT ME?
Though we have looked generally at the impact of God’s control on humanity, we now turn to more specific references about how God exercises His sovereignty in our personal lives. We also need to consider our responsibilities as God works out His will in us. While we have previously considered the broad implications of God’s control over all humanity, it is important now to focus more specifically on how God’s sovereignty operates in our individual lives. The way God exercis
Lynda Schultz
Feb 2016 min read
5. THE NASTIES OF NATURE
“Mother Nature” is a familiar phrase to most of us. Its origins lie in European history, where it was used simply as a personification of nature. Later, in Greek and Roman myth, Mother Nature was transformed into a goddess. Similar expressions are found in the Americas and in Asia. This reference to “Mother Nature” has influenced, and perhaps sullied, our understanding of God’s sovereignty over nature. Subconsciously, we have distanced God from His creation, perhaps because
Lynda Schultz
Feb 1316 min read
4. KING AND COUNTRY
Image by Couleur from Pixabay For fifteen years, I served in Venezuela as part of a church-planting team. During those years, Hugo Chavez came to power. I was told that, for a time after he was pardoned for a failed coup and allowed to return from exile, he stayed in the same apartment complex where I lived. The euphoria that followed his election as President quickly gave way to worry, then fear, as the last vestiges of democracy disappeared. During those tumultuous years,
Lynda Schultz
Feb 629 min read
3. DEO VOLENTE, GOD WILLING
At the end of his letter to the church at Colossae, Paul mentions a man named Epaphras. He writes: “ He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured .” Epaphras prayed that the followers of Jesus would be committed to carrying out God’s will. There was a time when the phrase “Lord willing” was fairly common in conversation and in prayer. During one group discussion of this chapter, someone asked whether the
Lynda Schultz
Jan 3017 min read
2. FIGUREHEAD OR FULLY ENGAGED?
The Phillips Translation renders 1 Timothy 6:15 as: “ God…is the blessed controller of all things, the King over all kings and the Master of all masters .” I like the word “controller.” Being in control is something most of us wish for ourselves. We desperately want to chart our own course and be masters of our own fate, as the saying goes. Anger and frustration dog our days when we discover that we have little, if any, control over anything! The state of our world and the
Lynda Schultz
Jan 2318 min read
1. A QUESTION OF TRUST
When I first sat down to work on this book, it was 2020, a year that will go down in infamy. A worldwide pandemic had kept most of us in isolation since early that year. According to the World Health Organization, as of November 13, 2020, almost 53 million people had contracted the virus and more than a million had died. A second wave was followed by a third, and the numbers changed drastically. Many lost their jobs, their businesses, and certainly their sense of security. By
Lynda Schultz
Jan 1620 min read
Crossing the Line
When I was 18 or 19, I lived in a small apartment in Toronto, Ontario. I was in my second year of seminary. My roommate and I didn't have laundry facilities in the building in which we lived so we had to walk a few blocks up the street to a laundromat. One evening, as I sat in the laundromat, a young man sat down beside me. He noticed what I was reading—a book that was on the required reading list for one of the courses I was taking. We started to talk and the conversation qu
Lynda Schultz
Nov 1, 20252 min read
Sausage, Pears, and Apples
There was a time, long, long ago, when my brother and I would eagerly await the arrival of Fall and every train that rolled into our northern Ontario hometown. We knew that on one of those trains there would be wonderful gifts with our names on them. No socks, shirts or pajamas—at least not on the train. Fall meant that a box of apples and another one of pears from the farm of one of our uncles would surely be arriving any day. Fresh fruit was hard to get and expensive up no
Lynda Schultz
Oct 16, 20253 min read
The Thing We Don't Want to Talk About
It came up again this morning during a Zoom meeting. It's one of those things we seem to want to avoid acknowledging. " Simon, Simon,...
Lynda Schultz
Sep 30, 20254 min read
If I Had A Hammer...
This title is from an old popular song to which I know only a few words, but it came to mind this morning as I sat down to write this...
Lynda Schultz
Aug 4, 20252 min read
GRUMBLES OR GRATITUDE
Grumbling is so often easier than gratitude. Heavens knows there is a lot to complain about in life. Tyrants, taxes, and troubles,...
Lynda Schultz
May 30, 20253 min read
Life
Recently a friend mentioned to me that as she has grown older she has come to realize more and more that the only thing important in life...
Lynda Schultz
May 20, 20251 min read
Shades of God
Discover the Beauty Take a sometimes whimsical journey with me to explore the wonder of the God we worship. Shades of God is a...
Lynda Schultz
Apr 15, 20251 min read
'Ware the Wolves
Image by Mo ein from Pixabay I received an astonishing message from an American FACEBOOK friend this week. He wanted me to know that he...
Lynda Schultz
Mar 12, 20253 min read
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