Table of Grace with Pastor Dreama

"Deuteronomy 30:15 & 19"    I used to say (and believe) this phrase. It served as a logical excuse for when things didn't go as I had planned. But lately, I honestly think this phrase is just not right.  Deuteronomy 30:15  (NLT) reads:  "Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster." Deuteronomy 30:19  (NLT) reads: "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!" In these verses, God is telling the Israelites that He is giving them options and that their choices will be witnessed and verified in heaven and on earth.  So if "Its all in God's hands..."  why did He offer them options? Why did He tell them to choose?   Here are my thoughts on this well intended ...

Nothing tastes as good as that first tomato or ear of corn from your own garden! And thankfully, spring is right around the corner; so it's time to start getting the soil ready for our gardens! Last summer, as I hoed row after row of corn, okay to be honest they are very short rows, I remember not really thinking of anything, just working to get the job done and about how sweaty my tee shirt was. (Some ladies perspire but thanks to our mom's genes, my sisters and I, we sweat!) Anyways, I don't think I told John this, but one day after a week of hard rains, as I hoed the corn, one of the plants popped out of the ground. It looked just like a jack-in-the-box as it popped up and flipped over! I swear, if I hadn't known any better, I would have sworn I had pulled it out on purpose!  I stood there, looking down at the silly thing not knowing if I should put it back in the ground or toss it. But I pushed it back in, gave it a little water, and prayed that it would take root...

" I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."  John 15:15 I don't think I encouraged my kids to call me by any particular title. As they grew, mommy became mom or momma; I was dubbed Mammy by our oldest grandson, and my nieces and nephews call me Aunt Dee. On a good day, I'll answer to any of the above! But this post isn't about me. It is about Them. God. Jesus. The Holy Spirit. God the Creator, I Am; Jesus: the name above all names, the only name by which we can be saved into eternal life, Savior, Redeemer, Counselor, Advocate, Price of Peace, Lamb of God, El Shaddai; The Holy Spirit: Holy Ghost, Comforter, Guide. These same names bring peace to believers yet upset others to the point of bitterness, anger, hate...and I have to ask why? Is the peace that sweeps over Christians the result of our persona...