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| What if you were the last person on earth? |
by Barbara Latta
If you were the only person on earth, what would you do?
One day while reading the creation story in Genesis, it
occurred to me that when God walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden every
day, they were the only people on the planet. You may be thinking, “Well, duh!”
But to ponder that fact for a moment brings up the question, what did they talk about?
My granddaughter asked this question as she watched the
smoke rise from the burnt wicks of the five candles she had just blown out on
her birthday cake.
Her excitement to now hold up five fingers instead of four drew
the subject of age to dominate the conversation. When I told her she would need
all ten fingers six times, plus a few, to find my age her eyes grew wide. How
could anyone live that long?
As the years creep upon us, labels attach to us such as
“over the hill,” “empty nesters,” or at that “retirement age.” If we allow
these words to identify us, we can think life is over and has no purpose any
longer.
But we can follow the examples of some older biblical women who had an impact on the future of their society and on us as believers.
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| The Tragedy of Abandoning God |
by Barbara Latta
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on America.
Each year we have commemorated this event with memorials at
crash sites and the reading of names of those who were lost.
These attacks have been labeled by some as judgment from God against America. But this wasn’t God’s judgment, it was the tragedy of abandoning God.
by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta
As Paul ministered to the churches he established, he never
lost sight of them even when he was not there in person. His letters indicate
his love and care for these saints and his encouragement to them that they stay
in the fold of Christ and follow God’s precepts.
In verse seven of Philippians chapter one, Paul thanks these people for standing with him during his imprisonment. In that day to associate with a person who was in chains was shameful. According to that society, it put those people in the same regard as the prisoner they supported. The Philippian church, at the time of this letter, was the only one who supported Paul monetarily (Philippians 4:15). For this, he was ever thankful and commended their faith.
