Supper on the deck

One of the wonderful things about summer is the joy of eating outside. It is a pleasure we love. It's free! We have family time. We treasure these moments......all too soon our children will be up and gone so why not savor every second with them? We are at a very fun stage of life. Our children are very independent. So we need to teach them to rely on God in every aspect of life: schooling, finances, church, discouragement, temptations, and peer pressure.

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The God of the Old Testament is the same God as in the New. Reading the first few books in the Bible confirms that God is Holy and He desires that we live holy lives."

Leviticus 11:44a - "For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy."

2 Corinthians 7:1 - "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

1 Peter 1:13-16 - "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

Hebrews 12:14,15 - "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord; Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Last week my dad read those verses in I Peter for devotions at our family reunion. He stated that holiness is something we in this generation are losing.

I say again, "Did God change?" Absolutely not. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That word conversation in the Greek means our behavior. We are to be holy in everything: our thought life, our speech, and our walk of life, our behavior. We need to live in a state of total surrender - giving up all rights to power and self and be totally dependent on God as read in this sermon on holiness. Without holiness, no man shall see God!

Zachary is one of those people who loves to beautify our table spread with flowers. He was so sweet in picking these wild roses along the lane beside the road and then giving them to me along with a kiss and hug and saying, "I love you, Mom." No sweeter words can be spoken! They made a wonderful addition to this evening meal of pizza casserole. And even though these wild roses generally last just one day, the thought and action meant the world to me. I love each one of you, my dear family!!!