Spine Labels - Set 73

spine labels
noun (plural) - a collection of odds and ends that are as random as reading spine labels in a bookstore

Gentle Bluebells Scarf

Ladybug Personalized Notecard Set

Fellowship Sampler (6 Pack of .5 oz Teas)

Bee and Daisy 3D Wood Banner

Green Gables Print

Little Worlds Bookshop Vinyl Sticker

Teal Hand Embroidered Wool Felt iPad Sleeve Cover by LoftFullOfGoodies

Floral Book Tote Bag

Harry Potter Bingo Game

10+ Creative Travel Bullet Journal Ideas in the Spotlight That You’ll Love!

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Looking for some encouragement in your walk with Jesus? I’ve written a devotional book designed to remind you of God’s abundant grace.
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What is Culture?

I recently gave a presentation on what culture is and why it is important to understand cultural differences. 

What are some features of culture?

Culture as an iceberg

Why do we need to understand cultural differences?

• Remove unnecessary offense (1 Corinthians 9:22-23 and Matthew 10:16)

• Helps us to discern between different and unbiblical 

Communicating cross-culturally

• We tend to think everyone sees the world the way we do.

• Key first step: withhold judgment until you know more (James 1:19-20).

• Why? Every human being is created in the image of God. It is an act of love to not rush to judgment. 

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” 

C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Additional Resources:

Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ by Andrew Naselli and J. D. Crowley

Cross-Cultural Connections by Duane Elmer 

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Looking for some encouragement in your walk with Jesus? I’ve written a devotional book designed to remind you of God’s abundant grace.

Connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest.

The Mercy of God's Compassion

“Who remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
And rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
Who gives food to all flesh,
For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever. - Psalm 136:23-26

As the psalmist writes these words, he is thinking back to God's physical deliverance of the Jewish people. They were an insignificant people group at the beginning of their story, and God mightily rescued them and gave them a homeland.

We are not living in that same context today, so how does God rescue us today? Does He promise that those who follow Him will be free from pain, suffering, and need? The fact that Jesus tells His followers, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up His cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9: 23) seems to point to the fact that God is not promising a life of ease. The cross was a means of execution meant to humiliate and denigrate the one being executed. Jesus is not calling His followers to a life where everything goes well for them, but to a life where they will follow Him at any cost.

So, back to the question, how does God rescue us today? What is He rescuing us from? He is rescuing us from living a life in rebellion against Him. He is rescuing us from serving our own agendas and our own ambitions. He rescues us from our sin and the consequences of that sin. He redeems us to Himself through the sacrifice that Jesus Himself made on the cross. Jesus died on our behalf on that cross and rose victorious over death. Through Him we can have a relationship with God. Through Him we can submit to God's right and power to call the shots in our life. Through Jesus, we can now know freedom from sin and its consequences. Jesus equips us to become more like Himself and to grow in kindness and goodness, in love and joy and peace, in faithfulness and patience, in self-control and gentleness. He rescues us from our selfish ways and works in us to make us look more like Him.

He provides for our spiritual deliverance. Not only does He care about our spiritual needs, but He also promises to be with us. We gain a relationship with Him. Just as the psalmist praised God for His physical deliverance of the Jewish people, so we also should praise God for His spiritual deliverance. We can echo what Paul says in Ephesians 1:3-8, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”

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Looking for some encouragement in your walk with Jesus? I’ve written a devotional book designed to remind you of God’s abundant grace.

Connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest.

I Sing to Thee with Voice and Heart

I sing to Thee with voice and heart,
Of all my joys the well;
I sing, that, what I know Thou art
My lips to all may tell:
That Thou a fountain art of grace,
With blessings richly stored
For all, in ev'ry time and place,
This well I know, O Lord.

Cheer up, faint heart, rejoice and sing,
All anxious fear resign;
For God, the sov'reign Lord and King,
Is Thy God, even thine:
He is thy portion, He thy joy,
Thy life, and light, and Lord;
Thy counselor when doubts annoy,
Thy shield and great reward.

In restless thoughts or dark despair
Why spend the day and night?
On Him who loves thee cast thy care;
He makes our burdens light:
Did not His love, and truth, and pow'r
Watch o'er thy childhood's day?
Hath He not oft, in threat'ning hour,
Turned dreaded ills away?

His wisdom never plans in vain,
Ne'er falters, or mistakes;
All that His counsels wise ordain
A happy ending makes:
Upon thy mouth, then, lay thy hand,
And trust His guiding eye;
Thus, firm as rock, thy feet shall stand,
Now and eternally.

- by Paul Gerhardt; translated by Frances Elizabeth Cox

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Looking for some encouragement in your walk with Jesus? I’ve written a devotional book designed to remind you of God’s abundant grace.

Connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest.

April Desktop Wallpaper

Desktop wallpaper for April 2023. Click on the picture for a full-sized version.