Besides preferring the capitalization of pronouns that refer to God in the Amplified Bible, I appreciate the synonyms and definitions that amplify, without changing, the meaning of the text. This particular edition, however, appeals to me because of its 12.5 font, quality leathersoft binding, and unique size that’s almost 8” square and opens flat on my lap as I sit in my comfy chair and read, read, read.
May 26, 2021
May 21, 2021
Beyond Belief
“By the
authority of our Lord Jesus Christ I appeal to all of you, my friends, to agree
in what you say, so that there will be no divisions among you. Be completely
united, with only one thought and one purpose,” 1 Corinthians 1:9, Good News Translation.
Despite our diverse cultures, radically opposing
beliefs, and personal preferences for how things are to be done, we are all to
be One in Christ.
First, we
believe:
Yes! God DOES mean what He says!
Yes! God the Father gave us Jesus the Son.
Yes, the Lord eradicates our wrongs and resuscitates us to a new life in Christ.
Then, we
obey:
We find out what God wants.
We read the Bible. We talk to God and listen.
We invite God’s Holy Spirit to guide and empower us.
We use the ministry gifts and other resources we have been given to build up the Body of Christ.
Together, we
do even more:
In Christ, we worship God and work with God’s Family.
We pray for discernment and wisdom, compassion and mercy.
We invite others into our ever-widening circle of God’s Love.
Together, we encircle the world with the good news of God’s Son.
We extend respect to all peoples, knowing we are all made in the image of God.
We focus on needs and goals we share, rather than our differences.
As God enables us, we make peace in the Name of Jesus.
©2021, Mary Harwell Sayler
…
May 13, 2021
If only I had known
Long
before text messaging reduced words to their first letters, writers and
editors referred to a commonly over-used plot as IOIHK – “If only I had known.”
Books, movies, stories, areas of miscommunication, and misspent lives have infamously fallen into the IOIHK category. But in this time of rampant misunderstanding between various peoples and traditions of faith, we poets, writers, pastors, teachers, parents, politicians, caregivers, and other leaders can be mindful of cultures, levels of maturity, and opinions unlike our own.
Remember:
If Only I had Known often means we didn’t bother to find out!
The remedy, of course, is to check our emotions and check the facts.
- Ask questions to clarify.
- Listen – truly and intently.
- Aim to hear another perspective.
- Research.
- Investigate both sides.
- Look for workable solutions.
- Show respect.
- Build bridges.
- Embrace
the blessing of diversity!
Can we do this on our own? Probably not! But we can agree to pray
for God to help us to be open to other perspectives and peaceful possibilities for healing.
©2021, Mary Harwell Sayler, poet-writer
P.S. If you're writing a book or script, please be sure IOIHK is not the story plot!
…
April 30, 2021
I Sing Better With Him Behind
Has
your voice ever slid off-key for lack of breath or unfamiliarity with a hymn? As
our vocal chords age, it’s harder for most of us to hold a note or stay
consistently in tune.
When
our extended family members come back to Florida for the winter and early
spring, I look forward to Henry’s return. As soon as I see him, I eagerly point
to the seat behind me where I can hear his pleasing voice. Not only that, but
my own voice instantly improves!
Who do you need to have your back?
What voice do you hope to hear?
What
key verses keep you in tune with God’s Will?
Prayer:
Loving Father, help us to hear You well as You speak to us through Your Word. Help
us to stay on key with Your truth and love. Help us to sing Your praises this
and every day in Jesus’ Name.
©2021,
Mary Sayler
…
April 4, 2021
Poem for Easter
For You,
I turned water into wine, purified in the veins
of My own body. I climbed mountains, healed
crowds of hunger, warmed a leper’s skin. For
you I chastised leaders, halted stones, wrote on
the ground each word contained in Love.
I overturned unfair prices and low wages, tabled
discussions about who’s first or last, and enjoyed
the most unlikely company.
Before My execution, I tamed a donkey, became
your beast of burden, then bled from every pore.
Once for all, I buried death, and, when I arose,
some saw Me. Some heard Me as I broke through
the veil, cloaking time and eternity, and, yes,
for you, I’d do it all again.
Amen.
April 1, 2021
Where are we on the Cross?
As
we head toward Good Friday and the crucifixion of Jesus, the biblical command
to “take up your cross and follow Christ” comes to mind. Sadly, we might think
this means carrying heavy weights or generally being miserable throughout our
lives when, actually, it’s the opposite!
Taking up our cross and following Christ is meant to be freeing, not burdensome. It’s meant to exchange our self-will for the will of God.
God gave us free will, so the decision to follow the Lord is ours to make. However, this doesn’t mean, literally, to take up our own crucifixion or other human sacrifice. As you’ll recall, the Bible consistently reminds us that God the Father prohibited human sacrifice as the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 clearly demonstrates.
The only time God the Father required a human sacrifice was of Himself in His fullness as Jesus the Son of God and the son of Mary.
So
how do we go about obeying the Lord’s command to take up our cross and follow Him
as a living sacrifice? Doesn't it
mean to exchange our free will for the will of God and our old selves for new
life – new spiritual birth in Christ?
Searching key words and phrases on the Bible Gateway website helps to clarify. For example:
“We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin,” Romans 6:6, Amplified Bible (AMP.)
or to put it another way:
“This is what we know: the person that we used to be was crucified with him in order to get rid of the corpse that had been controlled by sin. That way we wouldn’t be slaves to sin anymore,” Romans 6:6, Common English Bible (CEB.)
Crucifixion means death, but when we take up His cross as our cross, we can follow Christ Jesus into His resurrection life – His life in the Spirit – beginning now!
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me,” Galatians 2:20, King James Version (KJV.)
In other words:
“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me,” Galatians 2:20, New Living Translation (NLT.)
Therefore:
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus,” Romans 6:11, English Standard Version (ESV.)
Praise the Lord for His life, death, and resurrection in us!
May
we wear our Lord’s Easter clothing as we follow Christ, now and forever, into
the resurrected life.
…
March 10, 2021
You, The Chosen Race
No
race but the human race in God’s eyes, but the Lord has much more in mind!
Regardless of our skin color or cultural background, God has ordained us to be
one: a Holy Nation, a Royal Priesthood, the people of God.
This hope – this prayer of the Almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus – goes back thousands of years as these verses show:
“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth,” Deuteronomy14:2, King James Version (KJV.)
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light,” 1 Peter 2:9, Revised Standard Version (RSV.)
If you’ll click on the highlighted chapters and verses above, those hotlinks will take you to many, many translations of the same passages as shown on the Bible Gateway website, but, throughout the Bible, the same idea appears.
Maybe this time we’ll get it right! Maybe this time we’ll have ears
to hear.
Maybe this time we’ll respond – not with excuses or emotions or bad memories
or experiences but with our own choice
to be chosen.
No longer are we to be “us” versus “them.” As Galatians 3:28 says: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,” English Standard Version (ESV.)
What a colorfully diverse peoples God’s chosen race is meant to be!
Sometimes those differences may clash, but if we’re all praying for God’s guidance and prepared to let Him work for our good – the good of All of His Chosen Race and Peculiar People – we’ll see God orchestrate even our worse memories into melody and bring harmony from discord.
Praying and following biblical guidelines for good make us more receptive to God’s love and the love of others. As 1 John 4:7 says:
“Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God,” Christian Standard Bible (CSB.)
What power we’ve been given to reveal God’s love to the world!
Born of God! No longer are we born into the DNA of racial tension or elitism over which we had no control, but – by our own choice – we can choose God’s Way over our own.
“And
now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is
true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think
about things that are excellent and worthy of praise,” Philippians 4:8,
New Living Translation (NLT.)
Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2021
…
February 23, 2021
Taking God at His Word
When I proof my work online, I have trouble spotting mistakes, but when I read a book in print, my eyes often go to whatever needs correcting. I'm sorry to say, I didn't proof a printed copy of Kneeling on the Promises of God until after publication.
I've now corrected those errors and re-uploaded the book, but if you find something I've missed, please let me know. Thank you.
And may God bless you and your prayer life as you believe God means what He says - always - no mistakes!
February 16, 2021
Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down
This poem originally began on an Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent
which often focuses on the penitential Psalm 51 and encourages us to look at ourselves
honestly then confess what needs confessing, change what needs changing, accept
what needs accepting, and receive the joy of God’s forgiving love.
Begun in Ashes
Create in me a clean heart, O God
and renew a right spirit within
all who come to You
in sorrow for our sins.
Whenever we’re out of line
with Your love, Lord,
we thank You for revealing
the truth and not hiding
our errors behind ashes!
We praise You for making us
spotless
with pure forgiveness
we don’t even deserve,
yet bringing us back
into Your embrace,
so we can face You again
without shame.
No matter where we go
in this life or this Lent
help us to glow, Lord,
as we walk in the Light
of Your Name.
by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2021
…
January 12, 2021
Must we be divided?
This quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln is actually a word from Jesus:
"And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand," Mark3:24-25, King James Version (KJV.)
Regardless of our political preferences and despite our worse fears, may God's people come together as one Body of Christ!
Until the Lord comes again, the Family of God is the hope and the hands-on instrument of healing unity for individuals, the church, our country, and, indeed, the world.
Pray for wisdom!
Pray for the Lord's power to flow through us - mightily.
Pray for the Kingdom of God!
...
December 17, 2020
What Are Your Favorite Daily Devotional Books?
This year, my husband
and I read Jesus Always every evening with additions from my book Kneeling on the Promises of God at various times of the day. I highly recommend Jesus Calling too. But, what about you? Do you have a daily devotional book
that speaks to you?
This week, Group
Publishing kindly sent me a review copy of the new 365-day devotional Jesus-Centered Daily by Rick Lawrence. Turning to today’s reading, “The Safety Fallacy”
reminds us how people often say “Be Safe” or “Stay Safe” instead of “goodbye,”
then adds this timely word:
“…’Be Safe!’ is not a kingdom-of-God imperative. The message of the
Incarnation is a prod to adventure into the darkness, not retreat from it.
Jesus invites us to walk with him into the ‘valley of the shadow of death’
because (as David reminds us) his ‘rod and staff’ will bring comfort to us. In
his hand the Good Shepherd carries two metaphoric necessities – a staff to
rescue and a rod to defend. That’s why his hello’s and goodbye’s so often
convey the opposite of ‘Be Safe’.”
At the top of the
page, the devotional suggests reading Psalm 23, and below the main text the
layout consistently includes three columns followed by a prayer. For this day’s
example:
Wonder
“What are the
unintended consequences of using ‘Be Safe’ for ‘goodbye’?”
Jesus
“How can anyone enter
the strong man’s house…unless he first binds [him]? (Matthew 12:29, NASB).”
DO
“Instead of ‘Be Safe!’
try ‘Be Christ’s!’ or ‘Stay awake!’ or ‘Live Large!’”
“Pray: Jesus you are my safety.”
And, of course, in perilous
times or not, we have the option of saying the original phrase that was
eventually compressed into “goodbye” – “God be with ye.”
Most of us will be glad
to see this year end! Although we can’t control much of what’s going in the world,
we can make next year better for ourselves and those around us if we choose to
be Jesus-Centered Daily. Amen?
God be with ye!
©2020, Mary Harwell Sayler, poet-writer, Bible reviewer
Kneeling on the Promises of God
To order a devotional
book to start your New Year, click on the above title of interest. If you have
a favorite devotional book, let us know in the Comments below. Thanks and God
bless.
…
November 2, 2020
Kneeling on the promises of God
[The following article introduced the book, Kneeling on the Promises of God.]
As you have likely heard, the hymn “Standing on the Promises” encourages us to trust God and take Him at His word. But from the very beginning of time, the matter of believing God arose in the Garden of Eden with the doubt-producing question, “Does God really mean what He says?” That contagious thought gave mankind an excuse to disobey, and distrust gave birth to death!
Now, as then, wariness of God brings uncertainty and the ongoing scramble to find, “Who can I trust?” Sometimes we can’t even trust ourselves! So where do we turn? Do we place our hope and faith in money, power, politics, institutions, traditions, or trends?
The trouble with those options is that people change their minds. Money changes hands and value. Political leaders come and go. Institutions become something unlike their original selves, and trends are, well, trendy. Facts get disproven as new information comes to light. Even the ground beneath our feet trembles, and stars careen from the sky. Everything changes! But God does not change, and neither does God’s word.
Mysteriously and paradoxically, the Holy Spirit is invisible to us yet the most solid matter. So, too, are the promises God gives – promises so stabilizing, we can build our whole lives on them. Promises so truthful and trustworthy, they can become the basis of our most powerful prayers. But why should we believe those promises? Why should we place our faith in God?
According to the Bible, God is Love – forgiving, compassionate love that can always be trusted to do what’s best for us and our spiritual well-being. Nothing and no one is greater, kinder, holier, or more trustworthy than God. Nothing and no one can offer us more power or purpose for our lives. Once we realize we can totally trust the Lord, we can build our marriages, families, churches, and occupations on the promises God gives.
We can build our prayer lives on those promises too. We can take God at His word, knowing He agrees with our prayer requests because He has already promised the very things we claim or ask Him to do. Therefore, to kneel on a promise God made means claiming that promise and praying it into our lives.
To put this belief into practice, the book Kneeling on the Promises of God includes heartfelt, conversational prayers following each Bible promise – promises found in a variety of translations but paraphrased into everyday English. These prayers are to give you an idea of how you, too, might kneel on the promises in God’s Word.
The hope is that relevant prayers will also come to you as you meditate on the scripture verses, and write down your prayers, claiming God’s promises in the space provided on the lower part of each page. But, before doing this:
Pre-pare with pre-prayer!
Pray for the prayers to pray.
Regardless of our denominational affiliations or cultural backgrounds, let’s agree to stand on the promises of God throughout our lives and kneel on those promises as we claim God’s Word each day and night in prayer.
May God bless you and your prayer life in the Lord!
For actual prayers from the Bible, visit the Bible Prayers blog.
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