Luana Ehrlich's Blog, page 14

How To Stay Away From God

There’s a verse of Scripture in Hebrews that gives me pause whenever I read it. It’s Hebrews 10:22, “Therefore . . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”

Drawing near to God sounds like a terrific idea. So, why don’t we draw near? What makes us stay away?

Believers don’t stay away from Godon purpose.It’s usuallythe result of not doing something, rather than actually doing something.

Notconfessing sin. After the writer of Hebrewsdescribedwhat Jesus didfor sinners byh...

A Bar Full Of Blue

If you would have asked me the moment I made my commitment to Christ if I loved the Lord, I would have said yes. Of course I did. Now though, as I look back on it, it’s hard to measure that kind of love. That’s because I know more about Him now, so I feel I love Him more. My relationship with Him now, as compared to when I first came into a relationship with Him at the age of six, makes that initial claim of loving him seem as nothing.

I was thinking about this as I sat in front of my compute...

Four Pieces Of Advice

It’s that time of year when news organizations show clips of famous people giving speeches at graduation ceremonies. Some are funny. Some are practical. Some are full of platitudes. But, perhaps not surprisingly, most of the words won’t be remembered beyondthe graduate’s walk across the stage.

That’s tragic becausemost college graduates coulduse some advice as they prepare to paddle their own boat across the ocean called life. Graduates who are professing Christians should be particularly con...

I Might Be Dusty, But I Wear A Crown

I love the way David describes how God treats His children in Psalm 103. David says He“satisfies your desires with good things.”(Psalm 103:5).

Later onin this Psalm, David writes, “He remembers we are but dust,” and hewrites thisin connectionwith the compassion of God. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are but dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14).

God created human beings out of a common subs...

Wanna Know A Secret?

Everyone loves secrets.Whisper a secret to a child, and immediately his eyes light up. However,children don’t have a corner on the secrets market. Adultslove to hear secrets almost as much aschildren love to tell them.

God has secrets—boy, does He have secrets! As if we didn’t know this already, the Bible tells us so.“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy...

God Has A Bell; He Wants To Hear You Ring It

Last week, when my grandson was too sick to go to school, he spent the dayat our house. Right after I’d tucked him in bed, he asked, “Do I get to have the bell?”

The “bell” is a hand-sized figurine of an angel gazing at a bird in her hands–not exactly the sort of thing an eleven-year old boy usuallywants. However, there’s a small clapper in the hollow of the figurine, and when he grasps the head of the angel and shakes it, the high-pitched sound is loud enough to be heard throughout the house...

I Found A Reason To Celebrate This Week–Have You?

I believe God wants us to celebrate the milestones of our life.

In the Old Testament, he gave the Israelites seven festivals of celebration each year. That’s a lot of celebrating! However, each festival was also a means of remembering the awesomeness of God and an occasion for teaching about the holiness of God.

In the New Testament, Jesus told his followersto celebrate the meaning of the cross and to do so by usingunleavened bread and wine to remember his broken body and his shedblood. Unlik...

I Want To Know God

Last week, I talked with a young lady who had been a believer for several years, but who had just recently decided to become involved in a Bible study. She said, “I want to know God, and I know that’s only going to happen if I study my Bible.”

Without realizing it, this young lady had made a profound statement. There’s no way anyone can know God except through the study of Scriptures, except through studying the revelation He’s given us through the Word He’s given us. The best way to learn ab...

Six Things I Discovered This Week

I made six important discoveries this week. These weren’t earthshaking discoveries or anything like that. They were just personal observations I made as I came to the end of a strange week. It was strange for several reasons, but mainly because my husband and I were snowed in for two days, and it just so happened it was the week we were supposed to keep our��grandsons–plus the granddog–while my daughter was out of town.

I discovered:

1. There are just sometimes in life when you have to stuff yo...

When God Doesn’t Answer, Don’t Act Dumb!

God promises to hear the prayers of His children.��“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” 1 John 5:14. And Jesus told His followers in John 16:23, “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”

Quite often, though, when I claim this promise from Him, I overlook one important aspect of it—He never promised to answer my prayers immediately. And, my timetable isn’t even mentioned in this verse.

The trut...