The Lord is Merciful

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#SundayScripture, Art, Bible, Christ, christianity, faith, God, Jesus, love, mercy, Painting, religion, Sunday Scripture

I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

~ Psalm 116:1-2

Brian Jekel, “Healing of a Blind Man”

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

~ Psalm 94:18-19

If We Had to Pay…

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#SundayScripture, Bible, christianity, faith, God, hope, Jesus, Sunday Scripture, thankfulness

When was the last time you said “thank you” to the Lord? If you aren’t sure, then you aren’t saying it nearly enough.

Thank you, Lord, for all that we have, all that we are, all that you’ve given, and continue to give. None are worthy, no, not one, but you went to the cross anyway, didn’t you? And you still make the sunsets bright, the rainbows glorious, and the birds song sweet.

There is always much to be thankful for… especially for all the things we didn’t have to pay for. ♥

Simple and Straightforward Symbolism in the Bible

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#SundayScripture, Bible, christianity, church, Jesus, language, parables, Sunday Scripture, symbolism

For September’s Sunday Scripture post, let’s build on what we talked about last time — recognizing that there are two sides to wisdom, and learning how to read and understand the spiritual meaning of what the Bible says.

Sometimes the meaning is more hidden, and it takes much study and sincerity to decipher what the Word is talking about. But then other times, God comes right out and defines the spiritual for us, eliminating any possibility for misunderstanding or incorrect interpretation.

Today, I’ve highlighted a few of those instances where God isn’t beating around the bush — burning or otherwise — and tells us plainly what He means.

I’ve tried to lay this out as simply as possible, introducing the word we’re going to define, then quoting a verse which plainly tells the reader what that word’s spiritual meaning is. If you would enjoy listening to this topic and these examples discussed in a more in depth manner, I’ve embedded a video for you here.

My dad has been creating Bible videos for more than a decade, but for the past year, I’ve been joining in. Today’s post is a text companion piece to the video. Let’s get started!

Out of the Darkness and Into the Light: But What is Light?

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#SundayScripture, Art, Bible, christianity, God, Light, Painting, Sunday Scripture, understanding

Just a quick little lesson today to remind us that there are two sides to wisdom in the Bible. And that it’s high time we stop clinging to the literal, and start searching out the spiritual.

The question: What is “light” in the Bible? Spoiler: It isn’t talking about a hot filament and glass bulb, or the flame that comes from a lit candle.

Psalm 119:130 pretty much gives the answer away: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

So Light = Understanding.

But let’s keep going.

Psalm 119:169: “May my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your Word.”

Psalm 119:105: “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

Beverly Levi-Parker, “A Lamp Unto My Feet and a Light Unto My Path”, 1975

Now that our lamp is illuminated and dispelling the darkness (if light is understanding, then what is darkness if not ignorance?), let’s take it farther now. Let’s identify what (or who maybe??) the Word is so that we can learn what (who!) the Light is.

Building Upon the Rock: Who is Our Rock?

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#SundayScripture, Art, Bible, christianity, God, Painting, Sunday Scripture, The Rock

Debbie Clark, “House Built on a Rock”

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Scooby Haul 2022: Jinkies! So Much Scooby, So Little Time

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collectibles, collecting, collection, collection haul, collector, memorabilia, Scooby, Scooby Doo, toy collector, Toys, Where Are You

Hurray! Since we last spoke of my Scooby-Doo collection back on September 13, 2021 (rikes!), a veritable cornucopia of new Scooby items have been added to my closet treasure trove.

Should we talk about how delayed this post is…? I posted my first Scooby collection haul/roundup post for Scooby’s 50th birthday — September 13, 2019. This collection tour was a follow-up to the February 2018 Syfy Wire article that my collection was featured in. And I enjoyed doing it so much that I wanted to do an updated collection tour each and every year on Scooby’s birthday going forward.

I was a bit late for the next one, it was posted November 10, 2020. But I did hit September 13th again in 2021.

From “Scooby Haul 2021“

But 2022 was a beast of a year for me, and I just never got around to doing this. And I’ve decided that posting a yearly update in September doesn’t really make that much sense anyway. (Plus, other people are now copying this “ooo, look at my collection on Scooby’s birthday!” idea, so I’ll do something new.) I’m going to move these posts into (hopefully) January, and then going forward, if I say “These are the collectibles I added in X-year”, I mean only January-December of that single year.

ANYWAY, no one cares, lol! Everyone is here for the Scoobies, right? So let’s just dive right in, with the quick note that these items were acquired January-December 2022, plus mid September-December 2021.

In the last collection haul, we kicked things off with the addition of my absolute holy grail piece of Scooby merch — the 1977 Imperial Toy Corp. Scooby-Dee push puppet. I had previously discovered and snagged a 1979 black knock-off version of this toy, and guess what? Last year, I snagged a third knock-off — a white one with a blue base this time!

Once More, Louder For Those In the Back

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#SundayScripture, Bible, christianity, do unto others, faith, Jesus, love, Painting, Sunday Scripture

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

This line from Luke 6:31 is likely recognizable to everyone, everywhere. It’s known as “The Golden Rule”; and it is absolute perfection in its simplicity. What could be more plain and easy to understand than the concept of treating other people the way that you would like to be treated?

So why do we find this so difficult to actually do?

Contradictions in the Bible? Let’s Talk About That

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#SundayScripture, Bible, christianity, contradictions, Jesus, Sunday Scripture, two sides to wisdom

Contradiction: the statement of a position opposite to one already made.

Ask a non-believer and they’ll tell you that one of the many problems with the Bible is that it’s riddled with contradictions and inconsistencies.

Ask a believer and more times than I care to think about, they’ll either make an excuse and tell you that the contradictions are the result of years of rewriting, or they’ll tell you that they’re inconsequential anyway, so might as well just ignore them, the rest is good enough.

I shouldn’t have to say this, but… all of these answers are wrong.

There are a lot of people out there who would just love to rub your nose in these so-called “Biblical contradictions”, and we, each and every one of us, should be able to answer this accusation head on.

Just for kicks, I did a little Googling, and there’s actually a Wikipedia page titled, “Internal consistency of the Bible”, and boy, is it full of trash.

Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen and Yet Believe

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#SundayScripture, believe, Christ, christianity, crucifixion, Easter, Jesus, Palm Sunday, Sunday Scripture

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.

~ Isaiah 53:5

Wendy Brydge, “Our Daily Bread” (Christ Crucified), 2008

Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!

Is Not Wanting Children a Sin?

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#SundayScripture, Art, children, Christ, faith, false teaching, Jesus, marriage, Painting, Sunday Scripture

Is not wanting children a sin?

This was the question that someone asked* Instagram proselytizer Justin Khoe recently. According to Khoe’s bio, he’s “planting an internet church” while “proclaiming that good good 100% freedom from sin and rest in Christ”.

My friend sent me this post a few weeks ago because it upset her. She asked me if she was completely missing what he was saying. After watching it, *I* was then upset too, and told her no, she hadn’t missed anything, it was very, very wrong.

There are so many false teachings circulating within “the Church” today, and more and more people seem to be incredibly susceptible to them. So I have come to realize how important it is that we who have wisdom from God SHARE IT. That means rebuking lies when we hear them — especially when someone is claiming that their opinion is Biblical.

Mr. Khoe begins the video by reading the question supposedly asked by a viewer:

“Married couple here. Is it a sin to not have the desire to have kids? Because we really don’t have the desire to have one.”

Here is how he answered the question: