Musings From A Rolling Eyed Turtle

“Overwhelm”, to paraphrase a dictionary, has the connotation of being overcome completely in mind or feeling.   There is a sense of being covered or buried beneath a mass of something.   It encompasses to load or heap with an overpowering or excessive amount of anything. “Satisfy”, again to paraphrase, is to fulfill the desires, expectations, needs or demands of a person.   It is to give full contentment by sufficient or ample provision . In excerpts from the song “One Thing Remains” (Kristian Stanfill), we find: Your love never fails It never gives up It never runs out on me Because on and on and On and on it goes It overwhelms And satisfies my soul Is the song writer on track?    Can we be both overwhelmed and satisfied at the same time?   Or, are they mutually exclusive? Psalm 103 proclaims that: God is abounding in love (verse 8); As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love (verse 11);...

It’s such a little word, just four letters, almost innocuous at first.   But check out how the dictionary defines it:   annoyance, discontent, irritated, vexation, worry, to wear away, to gnaw into, to cause corrosion.   Wow, and all that in just four letters…             So what is this big four letter word?   Fret!   The King James Bible uses the word fret (and fretting) in Leviticus 13. When a certain type of plague spread, it became a “fretting leprosy” (v. 52).   It fact, it could even “fret inward” into garments and could only be eradicated by burning the garments completely. Fretting is also a central theme to Psalm 37: We are to not fret:             Because of evildoers (v. 1)             Over the one who prospers in his way (v. 7)     ...

Just two letters (re) and words can be totally redecorated and reissued: Born with an “re” becomes reborn; Build with an “re” becomes rebuild. Fill with an “re” becomes refill; Pay with an “re: becomes repay; Union with an “re” becomes reunion. Be reassured with some “Re” words from the Old Testament as they are reproduced and relived in the New Testament: Old Testament Re ... Re fresh:   “but on the seventh day you shall rest, that you…may be refreshed (Ex 23:12) Re move:   “so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps 103:12) Re new:   “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isa 40:31) Re turn:   “and the ransomed of the Lord will return” (Isa 35:10) New Testament Re … Re fresh:   “that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19) Re move:   “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed” (2 Cor 3:16) Re new:   “yet inwardly we are being renewed d...

Without a shadow of a doubt, it was my best Easter ever! I wasn’t at church nor was I outdoors at one of those glorious sunrise Easter services. I was actually seated across the table from a man who was drooling almost uncontrollably, his chin dropping to his chest as he snoozed off and on.      Many would say this man was brilliant, perhaps even a genius.   He had read extensively and had earned a doctorate.   Yet conversation across the table was difficult, at best. His career had been varied and he had held many important jobs.   He had traveled the world and was able to appreciate many different cultures and could act appropriately in most.   Yet at one point, while I was seated across the table from him, he scooped a bunch of soda cracker crumbs into a pile and licked them off the table, a sad and uncharacteristic act. I was visiting from out of town and as the day wore on, it was getting late and I needed to get on the road. ...

Heading out to get stuck, it is a bit of an incongruous thought… Who heads out just to get stuck?   But, there is context to that.   More on that in a moment… David once wrote:   “I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold…” (Ps 69:2) I think it’s safe to say that no one really wants to sink in the deep mire and get stuck!   And if we do get stuck, I think we would normally cry out to be rescued.   David also wrote:   “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.   He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”   (Psalm 40:1-2) Out of the miry bog and onto a rock where steps are secure – that’s what I call a rescue, and the rescuer is God Himself! By the way, the context for the “heading out to get stuck” is that the parking area for our house is accessed though an alley that does not always get plowed when it snows. ...

That phrase usually refers to the basic, central or critical point of an issue.   But, I would argue, the basic, central or critical point of an issue might actually be the heart. Solomon once wrote: “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”   (Prov 4:23) Jesus didn’t mince words when it comes to the heart: “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up on his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.”   (Luke 6:45) “For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.”   (Matt 6:21) Our hearts ultimately define us.   It’s no wonder then that Paul prayed that Christ might dwell in the hearts of the Ephesians through faith (Eph 3:17).   As Christ dwells more in our hearts, the more we are defined by Him and less by us. So when it comes to the heart of the matter, it really is a matter of the heart!

I’ve been caught up lately with the thought of being delivered.   Of course, if I am delivered, there must be a deliverer! Consider the following dictionary definitions of the word “deliver”: to set free; to take and hand over to or leave for another; to come through with; to produce the promised, desired, or expected results. Not caught up yet?   Perhaps you will be when you consider 2 Corinthians 1:10:   “ who (God) delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,” Perhaps you would prefer to consider the word in song.   If so, I would recommend: “My Deliverer” by Rich Mullins   “Deliverer” by Matt Maher Deliverer - God fits that definition perfectly.   And not only that, but He always and completely delivers and does so beyond our wildest expectations!