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It has become necessary for me to take a sabbatical. I'm sorry. It is not possible for me to minister to you right now. I don't know how long I'll be gone. If you want to know when it is over then you can subscribe to the Clarion Call mailing list. If you don't like being on mailing lists then you can unsubscribe after you hear the sabbatical is over. That will be the next email that goes out. |
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I hope your visit here is and was a good one. Since my "door" is always open I don't know who is coming and going. I would love to hear from you! |
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Sometimes the Bible study was started in the welcome message. Each Bible study has a link to that week's welcome. You know, I just realized that I was blogging before there was such a thing as a blog! |
Genesis 7:15 |
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I had a short list of scriptures about animals.
My prayer partner and I had once been discussing whether our pets would be
in Heaven. I began collecting scriptures to see if the Bible would
give me the answer. As with all things there are two viewpoints. The viewpoint of the pets going to Heaven is often explained as emotional and born of wanting them to be there. I figured it was appropriate to share the scriptures with you this week as one of my pets is taking up 50% of my focus on a daily basis. Our scripture says the animals have the breath of
life. Now we need to look at a gruesome scripture to see that humans,
too, have the breath of life. In Genesis 1:28 animals are called living things. Living things comes from the Hebrew word that says to live, exist. Genesis 3:20 uses the exact same word to refer to people, "And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living." God blessed the fish and birds in Genesis 1:22, "And God blessed them...." God also blessed man in Genesis 1:28 using the same word, "And God blessed them...." So, this isn't proof that animals go to Heaven, but it shows that there is something special about animals. When you look at how pets love people you need to remember that God is love. Any love begins with God. There is evidence that many animals love their mates and love other animals in their families or groups. Again, love comes from God. The last scripture I present to you is just something that we can rest on and trust God. It doesn't answer the question of whether or not pets and/or animals will be in Heaven, but it provides food for thought. "Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the
desire of every living thing." Living thing again is he same word as we found in Genesis 1:28 for animals and 3:20 for people. Is your pet desiring to be with you all the time? Do you desire to see them in Heaven? |
Did you miss the
last Bible study? Here's a short cut to find it. |
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My mind is always busy. It wanders from thing to thing. Many times those thoughts just float away. Every once in a while I will catch one and put it here. |
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Then, things are happening that were unexpected and take my time and effort to fix or do. Those things then create more stacks of things that need my attention. As I have a tendency to do when I am busy, I still continue to wash clothes but I leave the clean ones in piles instead of taking the time to put them away. Instead of putting tools and other things away where they belong I set them in the garage or leave them on the patio. If I allow myself to begin thinking of all the things I want to get done my heart starts beating fast, my mind tells me I am spinning my wheels without going anywhere, and I get very frustrated and angry. Then I start to focus on the extra work my family causes me and I get mad at them. It turns into a very vicious circle and my attitude stinks. So, what's the solution? I'd like to say it is to go on vacation, but that isn't it. Not this time. I need to get God's help in prioritizing. Maybe some of the things I am doing don't need to be done. Maybe it is more important to put things away than starting another project. I need to be consulting Him way more than I do! He knows I am only one person with two arms and two legs. He knows how many hours there are in a day. He knows what He wants me to do. When I know He wants me to paint something, then I need to find out the rest of the details... like WHEN? I need to exercise my spiritual listener and get all the facts from God before I begin jumping into anything! Hmmm... the next day after I wrote this my new computer died. Is there a significance in that? |
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Eagle head pictures at the top
courtesy of Sue Woosely
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