notes from lisa...

 I don't know why, but today seems to be a day of Scripture revelation. Not complaining at all , but feeling inadequate--and knowing that I haven't really understood the magnitude of some verses (that I thought I understood) is humbling, as it should be.  Clearly, we’re ALL "seeing through a glass darkly" for now. In these non-glorified, dying bodies we will never grasp every bit of Scripture. We need changed bodies and souls to comprehend all of it. However, if you KNOW the Subject of the Bible...and not just the words of the Bible, then you can know more--a lot more .  God has and will (continue to) reveal some great and precious promises to His children--those who are born again AND seeking His truth, with the help of the Holy Ghost. "...He will teach you all things" [John 14:26]. Without the Spirit alive in our hearts, the Bible becomes a book of rules and regulations--and that is how we will treat the Bible in our interactions with people. With the ...

 I wish we could be a color-blind society; acknowledging and accepting of all cultures. Skin color has nothing to do with who any of us are. Unfortunately, that reality is not a lived experience in this nation. Skin color tells nothing of the heart within any of God’s children.  Black Americans (others, too, but I'm speaking about the experience that I know, at the moment) have longed to fit in, but were never invited. Whenever we have shown up, we're reminded that we cannot be a full participant. There's no permanent seat for us at the table. Our "seat" is brought in and removed, based on our adherence to the (invisible, but very real) line that has been drawn for us in America.  (Please don't stop reading--this isn’t a post about race). It's about how we must be reconciled to God and one another [ 1 John 3:10 GNT  " Here is the clear difference between God's children and the Devil's children: those who do not do what is right or do not l...

 I'm not sure Jesus would approve of the way we treat our neighbors.  I think Fred Rogers was onto something with his little song, "Who are the people in your neighborhood...they're the people that you meet each day...". But, our neighborhood is global, and our neighbors include all of humanity --"even unto the ends of the earth". It's easy to lose track of that fact, when you can't see and may never know someone.  Still, if we recognized the world as a neighborhood and everyone in it as our neighbor--because we are ALL "made in the Image of God and after His Likeness ". Each person is the apple of God's eye. I love what Max Lucado wrote: "If God had a refrigerator, YOUR picture would be on it". We seem to have trouble making the connection between ourselves and others who may look, speak different than us--or have cultural differences that we may not share or understand. When we forget that those people who may be very dif...