Bible Sparks

Sharing biblical lessons from everyday activities and the Word of God

Healed in the Waiting Room

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“Your results came back benign…” About 2 months ago, I visited a female doctor for a routine exam. After an unimpressive (that‘s putting it nicely) visit to another doctor previously, I decided to make a change. With light rain dusting across the windshield of my car, I remember being happy to get street parking right in front of the new practice. Cars were flying by so I reluctantly opened my door and quickly hopped out of the car. I then walked across the street as I was greeted by large oak trees that were more so like a temporary umbrella at this point since the rain had picked up.

After finally walking inside the building, I made my way to the elevator bank. I remember making small talk with a person riding up on the elevator with me. Then it was time to get off on the floor where the office is located. After finding the office, I checked in and was back in an exam room in no time. After answering the normal questions that every doctor asks, the exam started. Within a few minutes I recall the doctor saying,

“…lump…1 o’clock”

“Wait what!? What do you mean lump? What do you mean 1 o’clock?” This is what originally ran through my mind. The doctor asked me if I did self breast exams and I honestly answered, “No.” I didn’t think lumps were really prevalent in smaller/average size breasts. So, that’s why I didn’t do self breast exams. The doctor had me feel the lump as well. Yep, there was definitely something there. As a result, they then recommended I get a mammogram and ultrasound. I thought, “But I’m not 40! Aren’t mammograms for women 40 and up?”

I haven’t heard of ultrasounds hurting so I wasn’t anxious about that but the mammogram…I had only heard one thing… “they squeeze your breast in a machine and it hurts!” Yikes! I wasn’t looking forward to it but I eventually made the appointment because I knew it had to be done. I went to an office to get the mammogram and surprisingly it didn’t hurt at all! I was also told 3D is not as bad as 2D (which from my experience is accurate). The radiologist confirmed they saw a mass and that’s when the breast biopsy was recommended. If you are not familiar with breast biopsies they pretty much “numb” the breast and stick a core needle in it to get samples. Ouch is correct! This procedure hurts!! At least it did for me.

So, eventually I scheduled the breast biopsy. I was more interested in the actual procedure than the results. On the day of the exam, a local anesthesia was applied to numb the breast, some samples were taken with a core needle, they bandaged up the area, and did a 2D mammogram right afterwards! A hurting breast and a 2D mammogram are a bad mix. It’s like pain on top of more pain! There has to be a better way to do this procedure! This is also why I think 3D mammograms are way better than 2D mammograms. Night and day difference!

After grabbing comfort food following the procedure and many rounds of ice packs, a few days passed by and I had finally received the news…

“Your results came back benign”….

Prior to the breast biopsy someone asked me, “how are you feeling about it?” I said, “I’m not worried about the results. In my mind, it is benign.” I refused to entertain “What if?” In this situation. I refused to worry. Or maybe I was just tired of worrying about things. Thoughts tried to come up of needing to be prepared either way. But I just couldn’t entertain those thoughts. I decided that it is benign and I acted like it’s benign. The breast biopsy confirmed what was already in my mind.

I did think about how grateful I am to have Christ in my life. Honestly either way, in regards to the results, He is my preparation…my anchor…my strength…my hope. I meditated on healing scriptures, made up my mind, and moved forward. This may be taboo to talk about or share but I don’t care. I want to share my experience because I know that others have also gone through something similar or know someone else that has. Or maybe you were like me and didn’t know much about this topic.

There are a few things I want to note here:

  • Check your breasts regularly!
  • Be kind! You may not always know what is going on in someone’s life unless they tell you.
  • God is Healer! One thing I love about God is His consistency. He’s the same God yesterday, today, and forevermore.

Your Fruit Matters

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But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23)

What kind of fruit do you produce on your job? My job? Yes, your job. Whether you wake up excited and vibrant ready to embark upon another day of work, or you drag yourself out of bed wishing the weekend would come more quickly, the type of fruit you produce on your job does matter and it can make a difference in the lives of others.

For the past five years I’ve worked nights as a nurse in a hospital. As one can imagine I’ve taken care of all different types of patients and their family. I’ve worked shifts where everything went smoothly, and my patients were content, but I’ve also worked shifts where it seemed that no matter what I did and how hard I tried a patient was not satisfied. Typically, this has nothing to do with me directly as their nurse, but compiled frustrations of being sick and hospitalized for several days; however, caring for an unsatisfied patient can still make a shift very challenging and tiring.

Over the course of my career, I’ve developed the habit of saying a prayer before I start any shift at the hospital. I pray that God will be with me (my hands, feet, mind and tongue) as I care for His people. It’s during the busier and more stressful nights that sometimes I must stop in my tracks, amid quickly gathering another medicine or filling another cup with ice and water and ask the Lord to help me adequately get through the remainder of the shift. How amazing is it that on several occasions when I’ve least expected it, the same patients who made my night rather challenging were the same ones who by the end of the shift said, “Thank you for being patient with me. Thank you for being so kind. We need more nurses like you.”

Reflecting on a shift, I remember hearing a variation of these comments from two separate patients. Hearing compliments like these only made me smile at God with admiration and gratefulness. I could only think, “Wow God how cool is that? Patient. Kind. Those are all fruits of the Spirit you’ve shown to my patients, through me, amid a stressful and difficult night.”

So again, I ask, what type of fruit do you produce on your job? In your life it may be the typical Monday through Friday nine to five, or volunteer at a local center, or a busy day at home with your children. In whatever way a job is displayed in your life right now, know that your fruit matters because you never know how the kind of fruit you produce can positively impact the life of another, while reflecting the character of Jesus Christ.

Distractions

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“Wake up. Quiet Time. Write out to-do list. Review presentation for work. Reply to Alex text message. Make breakfast. Find keys. Clean up the box of cereal that the dog just spilled. Wait…What was it I was supposed to be doing again?” Distractions…How many of us have had this happen during our day? “I promise I meant to call you but I got distracted and totally forgot!” It’s not uncommon that many of us experience moments that would cause us to get sidetracked. It’s like you have something in mind that you plan to do and then before you know it, something else comes up and shifts your focus from what you intended to do to a completely different task.

There are a number of items that grab for our attention as we go throughout the day. Many of us have to manage different projects, meetings, spending time with various people, social media, and a number of other things. I’m not sure about you but I write down notes as I go throughout the day to keep up with everything. Amongst all of the things that demand for our attention, I’ve found that direction from God at the beginning and during the day is key. Sitting still with Him first thing in the morning, before the busyness of the day gets started, and getting direction from Him has been invaluable. This time helps me prioritize my to-do list for the day and allows me to discern what I need to say no to. If I don’t do this, everything automatically seems to become a yes which is super unproductive.

As I was reading the Bible one day I came across the story of what the Bible called “A man of God.” No name is given…the Bible just tells us that he was a man of God. There was something very interesting though about the story of this man of God. During his day, Jeroboam had become the king of Israel and did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord…bummer. In response, the Lord sent this man of God as a prophet to denounce Jeroboam. Let’s look at these verses in 1 Kings 13:1-22:

“At the Lord’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, arriving there just as Jeroboam was approaching the alter to burn incense. Then at the Lord’s command, he shouted, “O alter, alter! This is what the Lord says” A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you. That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message. He said, “The Lord has promised to give this sign: This alter will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.”

When King Jeroboam heard the man of God speaking against the alter at Bethel, he pointed at him and shouted, “Seize the man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back. At the same time a wide crack appeared in the alter, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the Lord.

The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the Lord your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored and he could move it again.

Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.”

But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat or drink anything in this place. For the Lord gave me this command: You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.” So he left Bethel and went home another way.

As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told their father what the man had said to the king. The old prophet asked them, “Which way did he go?” So they showed their father which road the man of God had taken. “Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. So they saddled the donkey for him, and he mounted it.

Then he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under a great tree. The old prophet asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” “Yes, I am,” he replied. Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.” “No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat or drink anything here in this place. For the Lord gave me this command: ‘You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”

But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the Lord: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. So they went back together, and the man of God ate and drank at the prophet’s home.

Then while they were sitting at the table a command from the Lord came to the old prophet. He cried out to the man of God from Judah, “This is what the Lord says: You have defied the word of the Lord and have disobeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. You came to this place and ate and drank where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.”

Wow! Here we have a man of God that was given a specific message with detailed instructions on how to carry out everything. The first distraction came from Jeroboam who attempted to invite him to his house. The man of God wisely refused and responded with the command God had given him. The second distraction interestingly came from another prophet who was older and also invited him to his house. The man of God wisely responded with the command God had given him yet the old prophet told him that he had a different command of the Lord for the man of God. Yikes! Unfortunately, the man of God was persuaded by the old prophet and he went to eat and drink in the very land which the Lord commanded him not to eat and drink. This distraction literally cost him his life!

The reason why the older prophet lied to the man of God is unknown. More than anything though I believe one of the main takeaways is to be led by God and to hold onto what He tells you! If you are in Christ, you are His sheep and you hear His voice! It’s important that each of us cultivate our own personal relationship with God! Yes, God can speak to us through people but if what you’re receiving from someone else doesn’t confirm something God has already shown you I encourage you to “put it on the shelf” and continue walking with God and walking in the revelation He has already given you. (Put it on the shelf means don’t focus on it. Focus on God J). God uses man but not to contradict what He has already said. “God is not a man that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). I want to encourage everyone not to allow anything to distract you from God or from “attending to His Word” as you go throughout life (Proverbs 4:20-22). Trust Him! You are His sheep and you hear His voice (John 10:27)! You know Him! (John 14:17) God honors His Word! Be blessed!

The Veil

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Wedding_3Have you ever wondered if there is any meaning or significance in a wedding veil? A while ago as I was attending a wedding, I realized that many brides no longer wear veils over their face as they are walking down the aisle to get married. It’s that time of the year when many couples everywhere are making that walk down the aisle to become one but what ever happened to the veil? When I attended weddings as a child, I remember the majority of people having their faces covered right up until the point where the minister said, “You may now kiss the bride.” Then the groom would remove the veil with a huge smile on his face and go in for the kiss. Afterwards, fireworks would go off in the background and they would live happily ever after as they walked into the sunset. I know…super romantic 🙂 But seriously more recently as an adult, I could probably count on my hand the number of brides I’ve seen who still wear a veil over their face. I was curious as to why this transition happened and what wearing the veil signified in the first place.

As I was reading my Bible one night I came across the story of Isaac and Rebekah. I remember being in awe of the story of Abraham and now I was reading about his son Isaac and how he was looking for a wife suitable for him.  Abraham, old in age, decided to send his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. The servant was given specific instructions in regards to the wife he should select for Abraham’s son. After receiving directions and sealing a promise by placing his hand under Abraham’s thigh (I know…seems a bit awkward), the servant then started out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor along with ten camels and gifts (Genesis 24:10). He eventually stops at a well right outside of the city and makes the camels get on their knees. It was evening, the time of day when women came out to the well to get water and knowing this the servant turns to God and asks for favor in selecting Isaac’s wife. The young woman who came to the well and gave the servant and the camels a drink of water was supposed to be Isaac’s wife. Rebekah passed this test with flying colors and was quickly adorned with gifts. After going to the house of Rebekah’s family, the servant received permission to take Rebekah to be Isaac’s wife and she left her family to go with Abraham’s servant. Now this is the part of the story that really caught my attention,

“Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.”  (Genesis 24:62-65)

This was the first time I realized there was something in the Bible that seems to be related to a wedding veil. And then as I began trying to piece everything together, God revealed to me the bigger picture in regards to the meaning behind everything. He showed me that the veil is more than a fashion statement. It has meaning…significance…purpose. Christ’s selfless act of dying on the cross allows us to have intimacy with God because the veil of the temple that separated us from God was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). In the same way, marriage is a selfless act and once the veil is removed from the bride’s face it symbolizes that the groom is now able to be intimate with his bride. How awesome is that! What a beautiful reminder of God’s love! I absolutely love how marriage is symbolic of Christ’s relationship with the church 🙂

Prior to God’s revelation to me about the significance of the wedding veil I thought it was just an accessory. Some wear it…Some don’t. Now, the veil has new meaning and will never be viewed the same. Who knows, maybe this blog post will encourage more women everywhere to wear wedding veils again. As we continue to gather in celebration of weddings let us be reminded of God’s love that is displayed though The Veil.

All In

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All InA friend kindly gave me a pack of gum that I like one day. I told him I no longer chew gum but he left the pack at my desk and I thanked him anyway. A few hours after lunch, he returned to my desk and saw the pack of gum sitting there. He wanted a piece so he took it and opened it to get a piece because he said he initially gave it to me so it was still somewhat his. He believed he still somewhat had ownership of it since he originally owned it. As he said the words, ‘It’s still mine,’ I could only sit back and say wow!! How many of us have done the same thing with God! We tell God, ‘I give you my life! I give myself away! I’m all Your’s God! Use me!’ But as soon as we feel like He’s not using us the way we want to be used we say, ‘It’s still mine. I owned it in the first place, right? So I have the right to take it back.’ When you’re all in for Him though, that’s it…you’re ALL IN!! No turning back! As silly as it sounds to give someone something of yours as a gift and then treat it as if it’s still your own, it’s silly to give your life to God yet still act in a manner that conveys it obviously still belongs to you.

Perfect Timing

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ClockHave you ever wondered how the timing of some things seem to work out perfectly? Like that moment when you’re in a rush and someone is backing out of a front row parking spot in a crowded lot…or when you run into the exact person you needed to meet to accomplish a goal…or when you just so happen to get all green lights going from one place to another during normal rush hour traffic? Okay maybe the last one was a bit of a stretch but there is this incredible sense of awesomeness when things do work out and seem to be timed perfectly.

I had the opportunity to do an outreach with the young adult ministry at my church a few months ago. Every now and then, we do an outreach where we go out into the community and pass out free gas cards and share the love of Christ 🙂 I had participated in a couple of these outreaches at other times in the past and it was a very eye-opening experience. God revealed a lot to me through ministering to others but this particular time during the gas card outreach, God spoke to me and reminded me of His awesomeness and of who He is in a way that I will never forget.

This particular day of doing the gas card outreach was beyond AMAZING!!! We gathered at the church to meet up with our small group and received the location of the gas stations where we planned to pass away free gas cards. Once everyone arrived, we bought a lot of gas cards (it’s pretty cool how much can be done when we put all of our resources together). After purchasing the gas cards, we prayed as a group and then went out to start gifting people with free gas cards and sharing the love of Christ. But before this awesomeness even started we experienced a road block and was told that we could not pass out the free gas cards. It was considered soliciting there. At first I was like, “We’re not soliciting!” Then I realized that we were soliciting Jesus 🙂 In the midst of this situation, the Holy Spirit reminded me that Jesus was also rejected. We weren’t experiencing anything that He hadn’t already experienced. “What’s the next move?…What are we going to do with all these gas cards?…Couldn’t they have told us this before we made our purchase?” These are some of the thoughts that went racing through my mind. Despite our little road block we were determined to keep going and find another location to bless people.

Our next stop was at another gas station not too far from the first one. We pulled into the parking lot and saw that it was already full because another small group from our church was there. Looking around, we noticed other establishments near this gas station so we ventured out a little in hopes of blessing someone. I went with a group of about five people from my small group to a nearby restaurant. After we entered and explained what we were doing, we gave all of the staff gas cards, told them of God’s love for them, and prayed together. Before we left though, I noticed a man sitting by himself in the corner so I went over to give him a free gas card and tell Him of God’s love for him. He literally asked about five times, “What do I owe you?” After repeating that it was free he just said, “I don’t understand, but Thank You!” When I think of God’s love for us I don’t understand it either honestly! It’s mind-blowing but I Thank You Lord! This reminded me of how we can’t repay Christ for the sacrifice He made for us. It’s a gift!

Now this part is AMAZING!!! So our small group still had more free gas cards to give away so we visited one last store that night. When we shared our experience amongst our small group at the end of the night, a few people mentioned how they went inside the last store looking for people to bless but other people from our small group kept approaching the people they were about to approach. Eventually, they saw this family with two little kids and approached them. After talking for a while, they discovered that the family had literally just prayed for gas money and BOOM! Prayer answered! God’s timing is perfect!! This reminded me that rejection can be a setup for a better blessing…for God’s best! Rejection can be redirection! When one door closes another opens! Rejection from another person, school, job, or whatever could be a setup for something even better! The rejection we received at the first location was a setup for the divine appointment of blessing the family at the last store. God placed us exactly where we needed to be so that He could use us. Although we initially didn’t understand everything that was going on when we experienced our first little setback, looking at the night overall, all the pieces fit together perfectly like a puzzle. Everything literally does work together for our good (Romans 8:28)! Be encouraged! God’s timing is perfect!! 🙂

No Limits

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IMG_1758 2A person and I were talking about miracles today. Particularly, we were talking about the 2016 Olympics and how it would take a miracle for me to win a gold medal in swimming now since I haven’t competitively swam in years. I said, “Yes! I can pray for a miracle!” Then he said, “That’s a selfish prayer for a miracle that can be used on something else.” I responded, “There’s no limit to miracles! There’s no cap!” I said this to support my claim of it not being selfish or wasteful to pray for that particular miracle. He then said, “There is a cap on miracles or else we would see them all the time!” WOW!!! His response had my mind spinning. The person I was speaking with is not a believer yet but in a sense he’s right. We place a cap on God! We limit Him! Does it wreck you to see the power Jesus walked in during His ministry on earth and even that the disciples walked in throughout the book of Acts; and to know that Christ said we will do GREATER works than Him? (  John 14:12) If you compare the power that they walked in to what many of us see around ourselves today it in no way even compares! Man, imagine how differently this world would look if we really took the limits off of God. This makes me also think of the verse in Matthew 13:58 that says Jesus only did a few miracles in his hometown because of their lack of faith. Jesus was walking around teaching with authority, healing, and casting out demons but this group of people, His own hometown, lacked faith in Him. Seriously? God is so real and far more powerful than we could ever imagine! Let’s take the limits off and change the world!

Lenox and Peachtree

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IMG_1388Funny how God uses the simplest things to teach life lessons.  So I was sitting in the turning lane with a red arrow at the corner of Lenox and Peachtree on the way to Lenox Mall.  As I was sitting in traffic the thought came to my mind that life seems like this.  All the cars to the right of me had the green light and were able to go, but I was stuck in front of a red arrow light waiting for my turn.  Sometimes in life, it seems like everyone else has something new or cool going on in their life. It could be a new job, marriage, house, whatever.  It’s easy to look over into someone else’s lane wishing you could get the “green light” as well but check this out. If you decided to go ahead and “go” before the light turned green it would be a catastrophe.  Like seriously, you’d be in an accident.  In the same way, God is like the traffic light and our life is like the cars.  Some people have been given the “green light” for certain things in life and others are waiting.  It’s rare that one always has the green light.  Eventually we all have to “wait.” But while we are waiting we aren’t to sit and sulk wishing we had the “green light.” And moving before it’s time would be a mess simply because it’s not time! Just like a bad collision would be caused by moving at a red arrow light, a catastrophe can be caused by moving ahead of God’s timing. Be preparing yourself to move when it’s time too.  Stay alert! Just like you would at a traffic light.  That way when it is time to move you’ll be ready.  Oh! And people won’t honk at you telling you to go. Lol! 🙂