Sharon's Sharings

Psalm 91 1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. 3 For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with His feathers.   He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, not the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, not the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. 9 If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold

  I feel like I need to acknowledge the suffering that is happening in Ukraine.   It is hard to think about much else today.                                                                                           Wars and rumors of wars have always been with us. Luke 21:9 NLT Jesus says “And when you   hear of wars and   insurrections, don’t panic.   Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.”   For this reason I do not fear this is the end for us and our country. What should we do during these stressful days?   For most of us, the only thing we can do is pray.   I believe we must be praying fervently for the people of Ukraine.   It will take a miracle for it to stay free from take over by the Russians. I am not writing this because I have answers.   The only reason is to recognize the pain and suffering fellow humans are experiencing and know how blessed we are at this point in time.   I believe I need to be aware and grateful of where God has me

As I was reading my Bible today, Psalm 18:1-2 popped out at me.  This is a Psalm of David  that he sang to the Lord after the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang: “I love you, Lord; you are my strength. (2)The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.  He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.”  This is such a good word of reassurance and encouragement. Have you ever felt afraid and powerless?  Frightened of a situation or for a loved one?  I have.   I have not been fearful for my life by another person, but there have been accidents and illnesses that have caused me to be afraid. There have been times not knowing about the safety of a loved one that has caused anxiety and feelings of impending tragedy.  Sometimes it was warranted and sometimes it was my mind imagining the worst.  My mind can go from OK to the worst case scenario in a matter of seconds!   During those times I need to reme

 Dear Friends,                                                February 4, 2022 Our pastor used the word destiny recently in a sermon so I decided to research the meaning of this word.  Destiny:   The power or agency that determines the course of events. This is one definition of destiny.  I have heard it said in a secular way, ie “it is an unavoidable event we don’t have any control over.”   I have heard it used spiritually, as our destiny is determined by God.  Our destiny is to live our lives in the fullness of Christ. I have prayed that my children’s destiny in Christ will be fulfilled. I wondered if I was spiritually correct with that prayer?  I looked up the word “destiny” in Bible Hub.  Many translations use a different word but I was able to find several scriptures with the word “destiny”.  The majority of the scriptures used destiny as a negative consequence to our behavior and actions.  Job 8:13 NIV “Such a destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godl

“ Look what you’ve done The lies I believed How could you fall so far? They got some roots that run deep You should be ashamed of yourself.   I let’em take a hold of my life     So I was ashamed of myself     I let’em take control of my life” These are part of the lyrics to a song by Tasha Layton called “ Look What You’ve Done ” When I first heard it, it really touched a place in my soul.   When we have things in our past that cause us to be ashamed, it can stay with us for a long time, even after we have accepted Christ as our Savior.   Colossians 2:6   NLT “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. ” Shame: “A painful sensation excited by a consciousness of guilt, or of having done something which injures reputation” Occasionally I am reminded of the events that led me to accept Jesus.   When I am reminded of that time in my life, that old feeling of shame sometimes returns. Satan tries to tell me how unw

 The center scripture in the Bible is Psalms 118:8 “ It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” KJV. An appropriate centerpiece for the Bible. Trust is the word for our church this year.  Trust is an ongoing struggle for me and maybe for many of us.  All too often I believe I know what is best for me.  One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:5 NLT “ Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding” Trusting in our own understanding means we are trying to figure out a problem so we can feel we are in control of our lives.  Do we really trust ourselves to control our own lives?  This is certainly not what God wants from us.  So often our understanding of a situation or problem is totally clouded by our own needs and issues in our life. There are so many situations where trust is difficult.  Many have been getting ill with Covid-19 who totally believed it would never happen to them.  How do you understand what you believed God had told you?  Only by trus

    “Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?  Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?  (2) Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.  (3) Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends.” Psalms 15:1-3 NLT I have read several translations to help me understand what is being said.  The MSG has an interesting translation: “God, who gets invited to dinner at your place?  How do we get on your guest list? (2) Walk straight, act right, tell the truth.  (3-4) Don’t hurt your friend, don’t blame your neighbor; despise the despicable.”   Advise we might give our children. The Lord says we can come before Him and worship Him when we have a clean heart.  We must examine our hearts and be repentant of any sinful thought or action. Verse 2 says to lead blameless lives.  How can we do that?  #1 says to do what is right.  We can only know what is right by reading scripture (the Word of God) and obey what He

  New Year Greetings, January 7, 2022 2022 is officially here whether we are ready or not.   Have you looked back over 2021 and maybe 2020 as I was challenged to do?   It’s hard not to feel some disappointment and maybe some regret.   Hopefully there are also some positive events you can remember. For my family and I, 2021 brought a lot of changes.   Most of them have been a blessing.   Even with Covid still affecting so many, we were able to have some positive experiences.   Others have not been so fortunate.   Even when we have things we would rather forget, there are usually things we need to remember.   James 1:17 CEB “Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above.   These gifts come down from the Father, the creator of the heavenly lights, in whose character there is no change at all.”   Are there any events in our past year that we should view as gifts from Jesus? When we look back over past experiences, it is not to leave us stuck there, but it is to give us co