Shirlee Abbott

Be Careful What You Wish

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

Dear Lord, let me be very careful–no matter how angry I am–on whom I wish Hell.

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This Is Gonna Hurt for a Very Long Time

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

Have you noticed how some people go to great lengths to avoid pain, but don’t give God a second thought?

Matthew 10:28 (GNT)
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

Think on these things.

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Saved by Grace

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

Yesterday’s post referred to Jonathan Edward’s Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God. You can read the whole sermon here.

Preacher Edwards was clear about the reality of hell:

“There is hell’s wide gaping mouth open, and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.”

And there, but for the grace of God, go I.

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Hell? No!

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

You’ve heard of hell. What do you think?

Just another four-letter swear word
I want to go where my friends are, and that might be the place
Flames tended by a mean guy with horns and a pitchfork
I don’t want to think about it

Back in 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon on hell, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. He combined images of hell with Scripture and commentary on the state of the world. He was interrupted often by calls from his hearers, “What must I do to be saved?”

This sermon, and its unpleasant topic, holds a pivotal role in the Great Awakening in the American colonies. Thousands of hearts were turned to God.

Maybe we need more “Give ’em hell.” And a lot more “Hell? No!”

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God Rains

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

My God rains.

Isaiah 20:32 (NIV)
He will also send you rain
for the seed you sow in the ground,
and the food that comes
from the land will be rich and plentiful.

My God reins.

Psalm 23:3
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.

My God reigns.

Psalm 93:1
The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.

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Spurgeon’s Rivers of Living Water

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

Follow this blog for long, and you’ll meet up with Preacher Spurgeon. He’s my favorite.

“The rivers of living water are to flow out of the midst of the man . . . that is, from his heart and soul. The rivers do not flow out of his mouth. The promised power is not oratory. We have had plenty of words, floods of words, but this is heart work . . . It is not a work of talent and ability, and show, and glitter, and glare; it is altogether an inward work.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon,
The Indwelling and Outflowing of the Holy Spirit, 1882
Read the whole sermon here.

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Spiritual Precipitation

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

We experience times when God seems far away. We call these desert seasons, dry times. The Holy Spirit comes as spiritual precipitation—sometimes silent, like a quiet snowfall or a creeping fog. Other times, the Spirit moves in surprising power, like a sudden thunderstorm.

Welcome the water of the Spirit, in every form.

Isaiah 44:3 (NIV)
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

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lol, God

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

I listed a dozen different types of precipitation in Monday’s post . . .

. . . immediately followed by my Monday morning commute. I drove into snow shards, fat flakes, heavy snow that blocked my view, huge raindrops, sleet, mist, drizzle and scattered showers. I adjusted my intermittent windshield wipers at least 20 times in my 30-mile trek. The road was just warm enough to melt the snow and sleet soon as it hit pavement. No danger of slipping and sliding.

I chuckled.

God are you just playin’ with me?

lol.

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Creative Weather

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

Friday was 70 degrees. Sunday we awoke to snow. How would you react?

Back to bed
O Lord, say it isn’t so!
April fools?
Thank you, God, for this new day

Weather can be disappointing. And weather is amazing.

Think for a moment of the water cycle. Precipitation comes in a wide variety of styles: gentle spritz, violent hail, noisy thunderstorms, horizontal rain, gentle fat flakes, sleet, white out, scattered showers, torrential downpour, ghostly fog, glittering dew drops, frost.

All that and more, straight from the mind of God.

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300+ Years, Same Old Enemy

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Shirlee Abbott

A Puritan Golden Treasury is a carefully assembled collection of 1500 quotations from godly leaders of the 17th century.

This one is well worth pondering:

“If you neglect to instruct (your children) in the way of holiness, will the devil neglect to instruct them in the way of wickedness? No; if you will not teach them to pray, he will to curse, swear, and lie.” (John Flavel, 1627-1691)

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