Apr
19
Fear and Honor
By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:17 ESV)
We should fear God, but honor those whom God, who is in control, has put into office to govern us. Sound advice in an election year when most of what we hear, and will hear iuntil November , is negative about the candidates by either the biased media or the opposing campaign. Whether it is the local school board superintendent or the president of the United States, by the time they are elected they have so much mud slung onto them, it is hard to see through it. But God does. So should we.
Apr
16
Cypress roots
By Julie B Cosgrove | 2 Comments
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Psalm 1:3 ESV)
I grew
up on the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country. The river banks are lined with massive cypress trees. They stretch twenty feet and more into the sky providing shade and perfect jumping off points for kids who scale their trunks and shimmy out onto the branches. The fruit is hardly edible- it is a cypress ball that oozes a sticky, piny aroma-laden goo that gets onto everything. But each spring, we’d wait for them to pop out. They were fun to play with and watch float amongst the ripples in the shimmering water. It was also a kick to come up behind someone and smear their arms. The Guadalupe Tag.
Apr
12
What Does It Take?
By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. (Matthew 28:16-17 ESV) (Emphasis mine).
What does it take to convince some folk, right? The stone had been rolled away. His burial linens were all that were inside. Disciples had reported seeing Him on the road to Emmaus and eating fish with Him . Jesus had told them these events would unfold as they walked the byways of Israel towards Jerusalem and broke bread together in the Upper Room. Even as Jesus appears in risen form and they bow down to worship Him, some doubted – some, not just poor old Thomas. He was the only one to voice his thoughts.
Apr
9
Point of View
By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off
I had never seen my church like that before.
Our church is built in the old style with high wood arches and stained glass windows. There is a small balcony at the back, I guess an ancient choir loft. My sister, son, niece, and her two girls came for Easter services. Because one of my great nieces was feeling puny, the other is wiggly, and I am still recovering from my bouts of residual asthma from bronchitis, I thought it would be advantageous to sit up there away from the crowds jammed into the pews.
Apr
5
Remember Me
By Julie B Cosgrove | 2 Comments
When I go on websites to become a member, I have to set up passwords and User IDs. Then, I get a pop up window that asks if I would like the computer to remember me. That way, every time I go to the website again, I don’t have to rack my brain or hunt down the list of all the websites and all the individual ways I have set up to enter them. I just click , the computer does its thing, and I get a “welcome Julie” on the top banner. Easy.
Apr
2
Who Gives a Fig?
By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off
On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. (Mark 11:12-14 ESV)
Okay, this passage always disturbed me. Poor tree. It wasn’t supposed to be producing fruit yet. The passage says it was not the right season. Did Jesus just have a selfish temper tantrum? That doesn’t sound like my Jesus. Why would Mark be compelled to include this story in his gospel?
Mar
29
Quieted Soul
By Julie B Cosgrove | 2 Comments
O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 131 ESV)
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