A former member of the Highland SDA Church writes “Sabbath Thoughts” a couple times a month. These blog posts are meant to draw the reader closer to God and to encourage contemplation of various Christian topics.
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Not So With You
“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45 NIV).…
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Recipe for Success
“And immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:18 ESV). This week was a week of firsts for me. I started a new job as a library secretary (assistant to the librarian) at a local middle school. We also decided to attend a new church in person yesterday for the first time. Additionally,…
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And There was Evening
“God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day” (Genesis 1:5 ESV). My usual morning devotional routine is anything but consistent, no plan, just random starts and stops with little direction. So this week I decided to sign up for a Bible…
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Disaster Preparedness Plan
“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:9, 10 ESV). Since the last…
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Me First
“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9 NIV). One beautiful Sabbath Day, Ryan and I were tired of being cooped up inside so we took a drive. I picked…
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Blessed
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord’” (Jeremiah 17:5, 7). Discouragement has lingered at my door the past few weeks while I’ve been job hunting. However,…
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Come and Hear
“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul” (Psalm 66:16 ESV). At the Episcopal Church where I formerly worked, they read or sing a Psalm each week. When the choirmaster sang a condensed version of Psalm 66, I was struck even more by its beauty,…
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Food
“But he answered, ‘It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’”” (Matthew 4:4 ESV). Now that I’m unemployed I have a little more time on my hands although honestly I have been staying fairly busy. Near the end of my first week of…
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Perspective
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10 ESV). I stayed with friends while finishing up the last week of my job. They were so generous allowing me to live with them especially during COVID-19 times. You may have heard that pet adoption has exploded during this pandemic. My…
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I Will Show You
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21 ESV). Last week, I related one of the incidents that happened during our move which exhibited God’s care and foresight overruling my plans. The second thing that happened began on the Saturday…
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GPS
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9 ESV). Seeing God’s hand through our whole move still amazes me. Two things happened this week that initially I thought were messing with our “plan.” Looking back, I realize those “problems” were actually solutions! On Tuesday, when the movers showed…
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Nesting Grounds
“Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young—Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God” (Psalm 84:3 NKJV). Lately we’ve been sleeping with our bedroom window open. The twittering starts (or at least I notice it) around 5:00am. I…