Do you see the difference?  In the first version, the implication is that a group of people decided that instead of referring to the disciples as “The Way” or some other designation, they would be called Christians.  In the second version, God Himself reveals some new thing about Jesus followers! This is a game-changer!

This is much more significant than . . .

I would love it if I could read the Word of God in its original language.  Every detail, every name, every number, is written for our learning.  And so much is lost in the translation.  For example, these verses on healing in Acts are actually a lesson on living a praise-filled life.

The notes in The Passion translation point out that the name of the town where Peter is ministering, Lydda, means “strife.”  And the healed man’s name, Aneneas, means “praise.”  So, this man named “Praise” is living in a place called “Strife . . .

The day that our physical body ceases to breathe, and our spirit passes into eternity, is what we refer to as “death.”  But in the above verses, Jesus refers to this as “entering life.”  In other words, what we would call “death,” Jesus calls “life.”  Think about that a moment!

Jesus has an eternal perspective.  He knows that our true life begins . . .

I’ve been sitting at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane Washington this last week wondering if each day will be my Dad’s last one.  Every morning I would walk in intending to be a bubble of joy . . . to push back the darkness.  But at the end of the week, I awoke one morning with a negative dream and my thought patterns spiraled downward.  Yikes!

That day I was NOT a bubble of joy!  My mind seemed unable to focus or . . .

Today, I am identifying with Hannah and Ruth, two faithful women from the Old Testament.

Hannah pops out of obscurity long enough for us to see her tenacious faithfulness.  Then she fades into the obscurity of history again.  You can read her story in 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. 

Hannah is faithful to God even when no one else in her family is.  Her faithless husband loves her but doesn’t trust God to provide children so he marries another woman.  The second wife . . .

I noticed how similar these two verse sounded.  In the first verse, Moses and the children of Israel had just left Egypt.  The Egyptian army chased after them and overtook them camping by the Red Sea.   The children of Israel were frightened and cried out to the Lord.  It is at this point that Moses said, “Do not fear!  Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord.”  And God delivered them, from their enemy, through an impossible situation.

In Jesus’ day, Jairus was in a similar panic situation.  His only daughter was dying. Jairus fell at the feet . . .

I am contemplating how being hidden in Christ is a little like Jacob (grandson of Abraham) using the skin of goats to hide his identity. (Gen. 27)

Jacob’s twin brother, Esau, was born moments before him.  Thus Esau obtained all the rights and . . .

David faced Goliath, in all his armor, with only a staff, a sling and 5 smooth stones that he took from the brook.  David’s “weapons” of warfare were laughable by the world’s standards.  Yet with the authority of God and 1 smooth stone, he felled the giant and routed the entire enemy army!

I am likening those 5 smooth stones from the brook to our prayers taken from the river . . .

Welcome to Reflections on Beauty!  The beauty that I am reflecting is that of my Creator God.  My goal is to share the gifts God has given me in order to inspire others.  And my prayer is that you will find peace and encouragement here. 

Recently, a friend told me that both her grandfather and great-grandfather had been ministers of the Gospel. And she was the recipient of sermon notes and prayer journals they had passed down.

How I would have loved that!! I would love . . .

If we ever doubt the value and effectiveness of our prayers, these are the verses to meditate on!

The censor that the angel is holding carries burning incense which is used in worship.  Incense is often equated with prayers in scripture.  And by extension, the altar of incense symbolizes . . .

I am fascinated by this place of 12 springs and 70 palm trees called Elim (Exodus 15).  Elim is mentioned almost in passing; it gets only a sentence or two in scripture.  Yet as I researched the symbolism, it seemed very significant to me. 

Symbolically, twelve is the number of “divine government,” and 70 is the number of “perfect spiritual order.”  And springs represent “new beginnings” or “a well of salvation.” . . . .

I gave my heart to Jesus yesterday. 

Don’t get me wrong; I have been a Christian for many years.  I invited Jesus into my heart as a small child.  And I relinquish the throne of my heart to Jesus some years after that.  The heart I gave Him yesterday was an actual physical heart . . . .