Category: God’s Word

God’s Constant Presence

Posted on by Dorci

 

It’s funny, I never even dreamed of becoming a writer when I was growing up. Oh sure, I loved to read, I loved English class, and yeah, I loved sitting at my desk diagramming sentences. I was nerdy that way.

But even as an adult writing never crossed my mind until sometime after God saved me. I don’t remember exactly how it started, but a friend saw something there, something God had graciously given me, and asked me to write a short devotion or two. From there Lord continued to open up a desire in my heart to share His love, the love I’d always needed, but in Him I’d found in an infinitely more profound, glorious, faithful, healing, miracle-working way than I ever thought possible. How could I not want to share that love with others?

With that being said, I’m so excited to let you know I have another short story that’s been published, this time in the eighth volume-Lifted by His Word-in an 8-volume series called God’s Constant Presence by Guideposts. It is full of short stories written by people who have experienced God’s presence through His Word, speaking to their hearts in one miraculous way or another, the way He wants to speak to all of us.

It was a joy to relive my story from so many years ago, reminding me again what a personal and loving and gracious God we serve, and to share that love with others.

You can order the book through Amazon by scrolling down and clicking on the image of the book on the right, or at the bottom if you’re on a mobile device.

Or you can order directly through Guideposts by clicking here.  You can receive a 15% discount by using the code AUTHOR15. You can also check out all 8 volumes in the God’s Constant Presence series here. 

Happy reading! And may we all invite God’s constant presence to be with us as we journey with Him through this crazy thing called life. 

Love Letter(s)

Posted on by Dorci

If you’ve been putting off reading God’s Word, knowing you need to, reminding yourself you’ve got to do it, but continually find the day is gone, you’re tired, and you haven’t read it, again, I get it. Our lives are busy and complicated and it’s hard to squeeze one more thing into the day. And that’s exactly why it’s so important.

If there were ever a time to start reading the Word God’s given to us, to start studying it, devouring it, memorizing it, loving it, it’s now. 

It’s been said the written Word of God is His love letter to us. God reveals Himself to us on its pages, beginning to end, from one miraculous, mind-bending story to another, showing us His vast love through His grace and mercy, and the plan for His most precious creation.

The Holy Bible is not just another book (or 66 of them to be precise). The writer of 2 Timothy, Paul the apostle, tells us in 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed…”

Throughout the ages God Himself spoke through flawed but chosen people to proclaim a Holy God.

Paul goes on to say scripture is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

This is the crux of His desire for those who would believe in His Son and follow Him. Sin comes so easily to us, and seems to be even easier as the world around us devolves into a state of maddening chaos.  

But God’s Word is the place we can go for refuge, for truth, for all those much-needed disciplines Paul lists so we can be in the process of maturing and fulfilling God’s plan for us: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

The writer of Hebrews (probably Paul) also tells us in 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” 

Through God’s Word-its incredible stories and the people who lived them-the Holy Spirit reveals to us our own hearts and the ways He desires to heal us, give us purpose and the abundant life we were meant to live. 

Since the moment we were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, we became soldiers in a spiritual battle and God’s Word is the beginning of our training so we can overcome the enemy of God who is always on the move.  We need discernment and wisdom so we know a lie when we hear it, always alert to his ways, and trained to be attuned to the Lord, not allowing ourselves to be distracted by the world’s noise. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, none of us knows what a day will bring. No matter what happens, we want to be found with our spiritual armor securely fastened, strong and courageous, walking with the Lord. 

By starting the day with scripture, even if it’s just one verse, and a prayer, we take His hand and turn our hearts and minds to the things of the Lord, allowing Him to prepare us for what lies ahead, so we can walk in the Spirit and not in our flesh.  

I can’t tell you how many times the Holy Spirit has brought scripture to my mind as a warning, for healing, and for hope and encouragement. But He can’t remind me of something I’ve never bothered to read in the first place.

So I’m giving you a challenge. Start with just a verse. There are a lot of verse-of-the-days you can have sent right to your email to start you off. But don’t stay there. Add a second verse, and a third, and then a chapter… 

And when you truly begin to study it, to make it the priority of your day, you’ll find hidden treasures in the meaning of its words and context that will show you even more the depth and beauty of our God and His love for us. 

And pray! Pray for understanding, for wisdom, asking the Lord to speak to your heart in a personal way as you read through its pages.

It may be hard at first, but keep at it. Before you know it, you’ll find you love it and its Author more and more. 

As you walk in what you learn, you’ll find yourself bearing His fruit of love, joy, and His peace. 

Let me know how it goes!

For Him,
Dorci

Heavenly Father, remind us as we begin each day to begin it with You. Help us be consistent, and fill us with a love for the precious word you’ve so thoughtfully composed because of your love for us. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

 

 

 

Scripture Picture – The Word of God is…

Posted on by Dorci
 
 
 
The word of God is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and
spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

Knowing God’s Word and the New 2011 NIV

Posted on by Dorci

Hello Friends,

Because so many of us use the NIV, I wanted to make sure you were aware that a new NIV translation was published in 2011 and is now being used exclusively online and sold in stores and there are some noted changes between it and the previous 1973/1984 NIV translation.  

 

The version I’ve carried for 23 years is the first NIV, the New Testament having been originally published in 1973, and the Old Testament in 1978, although I do like to compare translations in various versions, and frequently look up the original Hebrew and Greek meanings to get a clearer understanding.

Not all the changes are bad, but I want to share just a few of them and how they alter the meaning of scripture. Words are important.

Psalm 51: 6 –

NKJV – “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”

1978 NIV – “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts, you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.”

2011 NIV – “Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.”

The Hebrew word for “inmost parts” is ̣ṭûchâh, which means overlaying, the kidneys (as being covered), the inmost thoughts. (The word for womb is beṭen, meaning to be hollow, the belly, the womb.)

The original language tells us that God desires us to have truth, or trustworthiness, in our innermost beings, our hearts. Not just pretending, but being of truly trustworthy character. But the 2011 NIV translates it in a way that would cause us to think God desires us to be faithful in the womb, before we’re born. The meaning is completely different.

Matthew 21:7 –

NKJV – They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.

1973 NIV – “They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.”

2011 NIV –  “They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.”

The 2011 NIV is worded to imply Jesus is sitting on the cloaks rather on the donkey and colt.

The significance of emphasizing the fact that Jesus sat on the donkey and colt is that by doing so He is fulfilling prophecy given to them in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

A humble king of peace rode donkeys; a man of war would have ridden a horse.

Rather than entering as a conqueror coming for war to overthrow the Roman government as they expected Him to, He is showing them He was entering Jerusalem as a humble King of peace, the coming Messiah, the Savior of their souls.

The 2011 NIV also changes gender references to gender neutral which is not always bad, but sometimes that nuance changes the interpretation. 

John 6:44 – 

NKJV – No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

1973 NIV – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

2011 NIV – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

The 2011 change from singular to plural implies the Father will only draw a group of people rather than the fact that He sees, loves, and draws an individual.  

There are many other changes to this new translation as well.  They may seem small and insignificant, but as I’ve written about before, the enemy will use small, seemingly insignificant changes to confuse us, put doubt in our minds, and trip us up. He did that very thing with Eve in the garden, and it’s still a main tactic he uses today. 

This is why we all need to not just read God’s Word, but prayerfully and with discernment, study it to know it like the back of our own hand so the enemy can’t use our ignorance to keep us from understanding the truth and leading us to believe something God’s Word doesn’t mean.

“I have hidden your word in my heart 
that I might not sin
against You.”
Psalm 119:11


Heavenly Father, thank you for your enduring Word. Please give us a love for it as we read and study it daily that we might live according to your way that leads to life and joy. Please lead us by your Holy Spirit as we do to give us understanding and wisdom so we can abide in you and your truth always. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

The Way Out is To Stay In

Posted on by Dorci

“For the Word of God is alive and active… Hebrews 4:12a

The author of the letter to the Hebrews implores its readers to not drift away from Christ, from His message, from their belief in Him as their Messiah, the final authority, and the only way to be saved. 

Many of us, if not all of us, will at some point come to a trial that will cause a crisis of faith. A turning point. A time when the pressure will be almost intolerable and we will either press in to Him all the more, or we will look for a way out, and turn away from Him. 

God’s Word clearly states that those who have been truly converted are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and I believe God will keep those believers in the faith through trials. 

And those who completely turn away, who choose unbelief and never come back to faith are the ones who never had a belief in Christ that resulted in conversion.  

But there is a third group, and those are the ones who have believed, who have been converted, but at that turning point choose to allow their hearts to be hardened and walk away, or step back to one degree or another, for a time. 

I think any of us can find ourselves in that category if we’re not careful.  

The author of Hebrews exhorts them to keep believing.  

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that runs away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”  Hebrews 3:12-13

Life can get pretty hard. And we can become disillusioned when we think God shouldn’t have allowed something so intensely painful, or that He should have rescued us in a certain way, or in a certain amount of time. 

Right now we’re all facing a trial together. Many are out of work, many are sick, and many have lost loved ones.  

We can choose to be angry and walk away from God, or we can choose to take our pain and our trials to the One who sits on the throne, who’s always sat on the throne, and who will always sit on the throne. The One who’s also taken up residence inside our hearts, and can heal our hearts and bring us through the trials. 

For that reason, God’s given us His word which is “alive and active…” 

Spending time in God’s Word is not like reading just any other book.

It is “God-breathed…“

If we allow it, through His Word God will teach us, rebuke us, correct us, change us, encourage us, reveal to us, cleanse us, fill us with His peace and joy, and draw us closer to Him so that instead of drifting away when a trial comes, our faith will grow stronger than ever before. 

The way out of trials, is to stay in. Walking away from God does nothing but cause more heartache and pain. Stay in the trial, stay in the faith, stay in God’s Word, and let Him bring you out, or through, His way, in His timing, shining with faith.

Did you know it takes 725,000 pounds per square inch of pressure to turn carbon into a diamond? That’s a lot of pressure. But when they come through the process, they are one of the purest, most precious and most beautiful items there is, and because of that, they’ve become symbols of love. 

God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves.  Those trials full of pressure will purify our faith if we let them, if we seek Him and His heart-changing Word through them, if we allow Him to have His way in us. And when we come through it all, we will shine for eternity as treasures of God’s great and precious love.