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Faith

Rhenáe’s Randoms – 1/5/20

So many things caught my attention today because I happen to be at my happy place with one of my favorite people. The conversation always flows, and while I wanted to bring several topics to the blog today, a few calls for some prayer time. So I decided to let that be the topic for today. Things to pray for along with some Bible verses that I feel speak to it a bit.

Add to your prayers today:

  • The state of our nation (US)
  • Our military and their families
  • Our leaders
  • The Church Body
  • Families
  • Children (our future)
  • God’s Word to be prominent and leading in our lives
  • To be sensitive to God’s convictions
  • To recognize idols in our lives even if they appear like a good thing

Jeremiah 7:1-8 CSB (emphasis mine)

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:  “Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord and there call out this word: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the Lord.“‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your actions, and I will allow you to live in this place. Do not trust deceitful words, chanting, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.Instead, if you really correct your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another, if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves, I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors long ago and forever. But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help. 

 

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Faith

Rhenáe’s Randoms – 1/4/20

Love…for most, it was a myth, a thing not within their reach, the most coveted but priceless antique in human existence.  But for some, it was the only thing to strive for, the quintessential belief that one could not survive in this life without it, because well, what was living without affection, passion, caring, fondness, intimacy.  Without patience, kindness, faithfulness, and perseverance, life would be, plainly put, bland.  Like a constant state of unease.  The heart would always want because the thing that keeps it alive would be absent.

– Stephanie Nicole Norris (from the book A Risque Engagement)

*Check out my post from yesterday, Goodbye 30, Hello 31

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Faith

Rhenáe’s Randoms – 1/2/20

Hey guys! One of my goals this year is consistency, specifically with posting on my blog.  I was talking to my cousin last night (Hey Jazmine!) about the need to post daily. I spent some time working through the series that are continuing in the New Year and what reviews I can do, and I realized something.  Besides the fact that I feel like my recent bout with a lack of motivation is coming to an end (thanks to therapy and St. John’s Wort), nothing has changed because I had not built the habit of posting daily.  And thanks to Year of Healthy, I now realize how essential habits are.  What if I pushed myself to create a simple daily post?  Maybe write a sentence or two about something interesting in my daily reading or share a podcast I listened to.  It doesn’t have to be a major blog post.  I was so overthinking it like normal.  That is where Rhenáe’s Randoms came from.  I hope you enjoy them!  Join me in the comments to continue the conversation.

Mediums and Christians

My morning Bible reading was 2 Kings 21, 2 Chronicles 33, the book of Nahum, and the book of Zephaniah.  (Check out my posts on me reading through full books of the Bible.)  My baby sister later shared with me about a pretty high profile Christian couple who visited a medium.  She had a question about if going to see a medium was witchcraft.  Well, because God is an all-knowing God, I was able to reference a scripture from my reading this morning about King Manasseh in Jerusalem.

He passed his sons through the fire in Ben Hinnom Valley. He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did a huge amount of evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him. – 2 Chronicles 33:6 CSB

No judgment against this couple for visiting a medium, but when we know better, we do better.  I feel like this is the benefit of reading my Bible daily.  Everyone may be going to get their fortune told, but as a follower of Christ, my faith is NOT in them or their words.  My future is squarely in Christ’s hands. My sister then asked how the medium was able to tell them the truth?  Simple, just because it is evil and we shouldn’t follow them, doesn’t mean it’s not real.  Demons are real.  The devil was a falling angel.  Demonic spirits can possess people. I’m not about to rely on those spirits.  I’m going to rely on the HOLY Spirit.