Musings From A Rolling Eyed Turtle

Naked. Worse, naked and exposed. Worse still, naked, exposed and vulnerable. When we are physically naked, at least in the context of when and where we should be clothed, we normally feel exposed and vulnerable and we try to cover ourselves.  Sometimes we are successful. When we are emotionally naked, at least in the contexts of when or where we shouldn’t be, we typically feel exposed and vulnerable and we work hard to try to cover ourselves.  Sometimes we are even successful. When we are spiritually naked, regardless of the context, we feel very exposed and vulnerable.  We desperately try to cover ourselves but there’s nothing we can do, on our own, to successfully clothe ourselves. That’s where God comes in.  But first, some context: From their very first realization of nakedness, Adam and Eve were afraid and tried to hide from God. While the account is one of experiencing physical nakedness, it goes beyond that since the root issue was that they had give...

Sometimes, as I am reading the Scriptures, it seems that a word just leaps off the page and I just can’t get it out of my mind.  One such word recently was “lavished”. Before I share some verses to see if it leaps off the page for you, it would probably be good to define the word itself.  Lavish is expending or bestowing profusely; expended or produced in abundance; marked by profusion or excess. I don’t know about you, but I think that when something is profuse, in abundance and in excess, it is not only noteworthy, but it could also be life changing!  So let’s look at some examples of how the word is used in the Scriptures:  “Even when they were in their kingdom and benefiting from your incredible goodness that you had lavish ed on them in the spacious and fertile land you had set before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their evil practices.”  (Neh 9:35) “ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses...

As far as technology goes, I am, at best, a nominally functional user and at worse, a Luddite. Somewhat frustrating to me is that technology uses a lot of words that are not part of my normal vocabulary.  On top of that, they use a lot of abbreviations and acronyms. Once in a while I actually try to figure out what the letters stand for in a technology acronym.  Recently, I decided to find out what SIM stands for (as in SIM Card).  Here it is, according to Wikipedia: “A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module (SIM), widely known as a SIM card, is an integrated circuit running a card operating system (COS) that is intended to securely store the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number and its related key, which are used to identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices (such as mobile phones and computers).” Based on that, I kind of, sort of, understand what it is.  But the definition also ...

There is an empty in life that is of the greatest significance.  It was handed down to us and we are so very full of it. [1] There is a full in life that is of the greatest significance.  In and of ourselves, we cannot enter into it, because we are so very empty. [2] The one who introduced empty to us was so full of himself that he rebelled against God and was cast down. [3] The One who brings full to us emptied Himself in obedience to God and was lifted up. [4] Because the tomb was empty, full has been made possible. [5] Had the tomb been full, empty would have prevailed. [6] Hallelujah, He is risen, just as He said. [7]     [1] 1 Peter 1:18 [2] Col 2:10 [3] Isaiah 14:12-15 [4] Phil 2:7-10 [5] Rom 6:4 [6] 1 Cor 15:17 [7] Matt 28:5-6

Sometimes, when I come across a verse that really grabs my attention, I like to look at it in different translations of the Bible.  In some cases, I break it down phrase by phrase and compare words that the different translators used to convey the meaning of the verse. Take, for example, a verse from Micah:  “He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”  (Micah 7:19 - ESV) Below each phrase I’ve copied the wording used in other translations: He will again have compassion on us :   He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us He will once again have compassion on us You will be merciful to us once again. He will again show us compassion He will again take pity on us Once again you will show loving concern for us. He will again have loving-pity on us     He will tread our iniquities underfoot : He will subdue our iniquities He will subdue...

Many of us cherish Jeremiah 29:11 - “ I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord . They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.” It’s so encouraging to know that God has plans for us.  I would also fold the word “purposes” into that, as in that God has purposes for our lives. But what I’d like to look at in this post, regardless of whether we are considering God’s plans or God’s purposes, is the question of if we can mess up bad enough that we don’t enter into them?  Or to put it another way, can we be out of alignment with His plans and purposes for us? In a way, it would be easy to avoid the question entirely and just highlight examples of people who live out God’s plans in obvious and impactful ways.  For example, I could look at David:  “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed” (Acts 13:36).   But o...

“To infinity and beyond”, to borrow a famous line… Did you know that God gives us a little glimpse of what infinity is like?  He does and it’s found in Psalm 103:  “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”  (v. 12) East is in one direction, and west is in the other. But east and west never meet.  No matter how far you continue traveling east, you would never come to a place where you start traveling west.  In fact, as long as you continue traveling east, you would be doing so forever and without end.  I think those are aspects of infinity! Of course, that verse in the Psalm is not a lesson in direction nor is it likely intended to be an explanation of what infinity is.  It is, however, a wonderful reassurance that when God deals with our sins, He really deals with them. He removes them as far as the east is from the west. Another glimpse of something we really can’t measure is also found in Psalm 1...