T-shirt "TEA-ology"

Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes, (Nehemiah 4:14, NIV)

A beach vacation with all one's family is full of fun and frolic with a little "family feuding" thrown in (think 7 kids ages 13-2)---which is understandable with many under the same roof and "gray-cation" days (Josh dubbed)---days not allowing for much "sun" time.

Feuding topics flow from brother to brother, cousin to cousin, or parent to child.---Nothing major---who gets which scooter, who goes first, I don't need a nap, because I said so, pool-ocean-ocean-pool-pool-ocean, tubby time. Nothing worth a fight.

But...it was a great reminder of the things in life that are worth fighting for. Godly family values are worth fighting for---at home or at the beach.

A prayerful T-shirt reminder over a cuppa of familial tea-ology.

BTW--SUN's out---Ocean wins.

Battlefield "tea-ology" : a Re-Brew

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law
(Joshua 1:7, NIV)

Marching orders were  given to Joshua. (3x in v. 6-9)

Be courageous.

Be careful.

But God.....doesn't leave Joshua and his people there alone. He reiterates time and time again----"I will be with you; I will never leave your nor forsake you. (Joshua 1:5, 9)

Recent sermon by son, Buddy, on the leader, Joshua, pointed out that God's most repeated command in scripture is, "Do not fear, or don't be afraid or to be courageous, the inverse of fear." Obviously the Lord realized how much fear would factor in to the lives of all humanity. Knowing how vulnerable mankind, even His own people, would be to fear,  His "don't fear-type" commands number 366, more than any other command in the Bible. That's one for each day of the year, even if there's a Leap Year. Thus, promises of His Presence and the reassurances that He would never forsake His own, seem to go hand in hand with those commands. Promises that do more than assuage their fear, are available for all who trust the Lord.

"To fear is to be human---but God says, trust me." (B. Liles, 3/2/14)

Courageous faith with careful obedience. That requires a constant cuppa trust.

SABBATH SNAPSHOT: battlefield "tea"-ology

3/9/14 Brother Buddy gave me Kyle Idleman's book , gods at war, and the title confused me.....until I saw the sub title, which was in all CAPS----"DEFEATING THE IDOLS THAT BATTLE FOR YOUR HEART."

CONVICTION! I had never looked at idolatry in that way! BUT GOD.....does.

Idolatry is the #1 issue in the Bible.....coming into every book. More than 50 of the laws in the first 5 books are aimed at this issue.... and in all of Judaism, it's one of only four sins with the death penalty attached. (Idleman, p. 11)

Many somewhat innocuous sounding idols are listed (food, achievement, family)----and don't seem like a problem in "my" life----until I read the Idol ID section at the end of each of the chapters and realized that I, too, kneel at said temples of worship. Choices reveal the "gods/idols" who sit on the throne of one's heart.

But, like God's word, after "hitting us right between the eyes," Idleman gives hope. Hope imbedded in scripture. Hope that is available when we "choose Jesus."

I battle so many things in my mind which are really heart issues. When I see idolatry as a "heart issue" I know I'm in a BIG battle. I need to RUN right back to the heart of God.

Guide, rear guard, tower of strength, deliverer---all positions needed in war----all provided by the one true God.

"Integri-TEA"

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV)

There is more to writing than a really SHARP pencil and a high quality eraser. That's just my starting point, as I jot ideas on my "blue for blog" notepad. One of those is integrity. It's sort of a Christian blogger's "TEA-ology" gut check. "Integrity" brand is actually stamped on my #2 pencil.

• Check motives. Thy glory, not mine. 
• Check author. Thy words, not my words. 
• Check audience. Thee, not readers. 

Blogger's Prayer by Ann Voskamp (2010) summed it up well.
Yahweh, You alone are my God, not Google. Jesus, You alone are my Savior, not site meters, And Holy Spirit, You alone are my comforter, not comments.

Her prayer was the impetus for me trying to "do it right." Blog with integrity. It's why I cite when I know a reference and indicate unknown source as just that; a note from my marginalia, a memory scrap, or a jot on a scrap of paper used as a bookmark, etc.

Prayerful beginnings: Examine me, and probe my thoughts! (Psalm 139:23) Test me, Lord for my heart is deceitful in ways only you can know.

Integrity is a quality that I certainly need to keep "brewing" in all areas of my life, not just my blog----tho that's a good place to start with this morning's entry and my cuppa integri-TEA.

As I sit before the Lord today with my cuppa, may he reveal to me areas in my life where I need more of Thee and less of me.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

"TEA-ology"

The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. (2 Timothy 3:16,CEV)

My play on "tea" words is just a technique to give this old lady something to hang her "memory hat" on, as recall seems to be getting harder each year. But, in no way is it to diminish the truth and authority of God's word. My tea-ology is all about the One who is the authority in my life.

Authori-TEA is the first cuppa one needs to be served when seeking truth. The Bible is the authoritative word of God. Solid understanding of spiritual authority is vital to building one's faith.

These days we live in a culture of "nothority." No one wants to be told how to live. There is no right and wrong in our culture----only shades of gray. Why would one listen to a "do what's right" lecture when, in his view, he's not doing anything wrong.

"A time of half-truths and hidden agendas. (Michele Phoenix.com, 12/30/13) Not my cup of tea.

As I savor His word during my "Tea With Thee" time, may I strengthen my brew by continually adding more of His truth to my cuppa tea-ology.