Mountain Musings

Sunday Scripture

And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:  I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;  and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

~Genesis 9:12-17

Scripture Silo

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” ~ Mark 10:27

We spent one afternoon this past week riding out in the country. It was a beautiful fall day, and we were delighted to see this silo in Churchville on the way out to Millboro.

On our way back home, we stopped in here at Cestari's country store and bought two pecks of apples which had just been delivered from orchards in Charlottesville. We could hardly wait to get home and fry up a pan of Granny Smiths and Galas for a side dish for that evening's meal. Oh-so-yummy!

And...how could we not document this particular day--Granny had spent the entire morning in the emergency room of the local hospital with chest pains--and give thanks to the Lord that nothing is impossible with Him. She's fine now and adjusting to some new heart medication. We are so thankful!

What a very appropriate scripture silo to remind us we're not alone in life's unexpected happenings!

~Deb

Real Hospitality

"For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me."    ~ Romans 1:11-12

This morning we traveled two hours south to a church fellowship meeting in Radford, Virginia. The teaching passage was in Hebrews 4 about the rest the people of God have available to them. Excellent message, and we enjoyed our time there.

However, the highlighted verses above in Romans also really stood out to me as the speaker was getting across the difference between regular hospitality and real spiritual hospitality. I'd like to practice the real kind...and enjoy the mutual building up of one another as we come together, wouldn't you?

Old passages...but new understanding.

After the morning service, the rest of the family went back home in the van, and I continued traveling south four more hours this afternoon in another vehicle headed to my sister's home. So...I'm writing this post from her computer in South Carolina (hence, no pictures).

This is the week Granny comes back to Virginia to live with us until the end of the year. I'll be here a couple of days to visit with my sister a bit before we pack up Granny's things and travel home.

Then later this week we're going to practice some real hospitality as we welcome our friend, Erich, home from Afghanistan and invite some families over to fellowship with him and give him a send-off back to Texas. We'll see if we can put into practice Romans 1:11-12!

~Deb

Wisdom From the Word

"Remember not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."

~ Isaiah 43:18-19

~Deb

Sunday Wisdom

"My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." ~ Proverbs 2:1-5

~ Deb

Grace

"But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." ~ Romans 5:20-21

Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Refrain

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Refrain

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Refrain

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Refrain

Words:

Julia H. Johnston, in Hymns Tried and True, 1911

Music: Daniel B. Towner, 1910

~Deb

Sunday Exhortation

"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes."   ~ Isaiah 54:2

This verse was typed at the top of a letter we received this week from Institute for Creation Research. It seems they have been doing this very thing the verse speaks about and have been encouraged in spite of difficult circumstances and challenges.

It's life-stretching and exciting to think about the Lord also blessing us when we follow His counsel.

Have a wonderful Lord's Day.

~Deb

Spurgeon on the Father sending the Son

"The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." --1 John 4:14

It is a sweet thought that Jesus Christ did not come forth without His Father's permission, authority, consent, and assistance. He was sent of the Father, that He might be the Saviour of men. We are too apt to forget that, while there are distinctions as to the persons in the Trinity, there are no distinctions of honour. We too frequently ascribe the honour of our salvation, or at least the depths of its benevolence, more to Jesus Christ than we do the Father. This is a very great mistake. What if Jesus came? Did not His Father send Him? If He spake wondrously, did not His Father pour grace into His lips, that He might be an able minister of the new covenant? He who knoweth the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost as he should know them, never setteth one before another in his love; he sees them at Bethlehem, at Gethsemane, and on Calvary, all equally engaged in the work of salvation.

O Christian, hast thou put thy confidence in the Man Christ Jesus? Hast thou placed thy reliance solely on Him? And art thou united with Him? Then believe that thou art united unto the God of heaven. Since to the Man Christ Jesus thou art brother, and holdest closest fellowship, thou art linked thereby with God the Eternal, and "the Ancient of days" is thy Father and thy friend. Didst thou ever consider the depth of love in the heart of Jehovah, when God the Father equipped His Son for the great enterprise of mercy? If not, be this thy day's meditation. The Father sent Him! Contemplate that subject. Think how Jesus works what the Father wills. In the wounds of the dying Saviour see the love of the great I AM. Let every thought of Jesus be also connected with the Eternal, ever-blessed God, for "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief."

~Charles Spurgeon, Morning by Morning devotional

He Washes Us With the Word

One of the questions we were asked in this poll was, "What is the topic of your family devotions right now?"

The picture on the left is a familiar scene in our house. Most evenings Tom reads to us at the dinner table and feeds us spiritual food after we've had physical nourishment.

Currently, we have made our way to the end of the book of Romans. Here is a recent passage we read, discussed, and prayed over. Romans 15: 1 - 5 says:

"We, then, that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

For whatever things were written in earlier times were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus."

We'd be interested in hearing about your family devotional times.

~Deb

What is a Family-Integrated Church?

If you've heard the term "family-integrated" and wondered what was meant by it, this message is for you. Free for downloading today and tomorrow, November 11th-12th, from Behemoth.com.

Scott Brown, director of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches, points out 14 characteristics of family-integrated church life.

"Family integration is only one architectural element of biblical church life, but if you lose that one element, you lose much."

Download his message for free here.

The NCFIC is hosting a conference coming up in December with the theme: "How can the Church Strengthen the Family in the 21st Century." This ministry has been an encouragement to our family with its refreshing biblical teaching and networking opportunites.

~Hannah