Jesus Archives - Page 3 of 6

Potluck

February 27, 2023 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Do you enjoy potluck meals? If you grew up in a large extended family like I did, you understand potluck. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends from everywhere bring food. Lots of food. Stick to your ribs food.

Attend church potlucks, and you get a little taste of heaven on earth. Dishes that weigh down tables, plus fellowship with other believers, fill both body and soul.

Friends, co-workers, and neighbors also create great potlucks. Food and fun abound.

Potlucks may be inside, outside, or on a hillside. We once invited neighbors to a potluck picnic on top of the hill behind our house. A farm wagon served as our table. Everyone enjoyed the scenery as well as multiple plates of country cooking.

Potluck refers to a shared meal with dishes brought by those who attend.

You bring whatever dish you desire. Although unplanned, the meal usually includes plenty of everything. No one stresses, because the meal is casual and everyone helps.

Potluck (sometimes written as pot luck) means to take a chance on an uncertain outcome.

Of course, if you attend a potluck meal, you take your chances on what you get to eat. However, this also refers to other unknowns, including:

Shopping
Travel
Work
Any situation with little information but high hopes

You have one certain outcome available to you.

If you trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, you never have to guess. You never have to face unknowns alone. Plus, God has planned a banquet for you and other believers in heaven.

“Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 14:15 NIV).

Thanks to Brad Leverett for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pexels.

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At the Drop of a Hat

February 20, 2023 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

My grandmother worked in her flowers at the drop of a hat. I wish I had inherited her green thumb.

My talent? I cry at the drop of a hat.

Happy times? I cry.
Sad times? I cry.
Babies and puppies? I cry.
Sad books or movies. I cry.

Tears come quickly, and almost anything causes them.

At the drop of a hat means suddenly and with little warning.

Many of us laugh at the drop of a hat. We find humor everywhere. People around us laugh at our laughter. What a hoot!

At the drop of the hat also means without delay.

Mention travel, and we pack our bags to hit the trail. We want to leave immediately, if not sooner.

This expression probably originated with dropping a hat as a signal.

According to The Free Dictionary, a dropped hat signaled “the start of a race or other contest” in the late 1800s.

A few people help others at the drop of a hat.

If they have it, they share it.

Time
Abilities
Money
Possessions

Without hesitation, they practice “What’s mine is yours.”

We read such a story in the Bible (Luke 10:25-37). Often called the parable of the good Samaritan, one man helped another who had been robbed and beaten. The Samaritan ignored differences in background and culture. He simply saw a need and met it.

Referring to the good Samaritan, Jesus said, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37 NIV).

Thanks to Ginny Merritt for the suggestion.

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Well Begun Is Half Done

January 30, 2023 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

My husband and I love to travel. For years, we hopped in our car as often as possible to explore our country. However, we usually spent weeks planning the trip. We learned that well begun is half done.

We decided in advance:

How far we wanted to travel
What sights we wanted to see
How much time we had

We also allowed for short unplanned side trips off the beaten path.

Well begun is half done means if we begin well, we are more likely to end well.

Work begun well usually means:

Less work to complete
Increased chance for success

This holds true whether we want to:

Build a house
Write a book
Sell a product

If we have no idea what we need to do, we get nowhere.

We spin our wheels and accomplish nothing.

Well begun is half done also relates to our spiritual lives.

For the best life, we make the best plans. Will we focus on ourselves for our brief time on earth? Or will we choose a personal, eternal relationship with Jesus? If we follow Jesus, we receive:

Joy for our present journey in both good and bad times
Hope for a home in heaven

At the end of life’s road, nothing matters more.

“In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:19 NIV).

Thanks to Joy S. Taylor for the suggestion.

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Outside the Box

December 19, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Sometimes we find ourselves doing the same thing over and over again. We make no progress because we never change. When that happens, we need to think outside the box.

To think outside the box means to think beyond the usual limits.

We think, plan, and act:

In new ways
Outside the norm
In unusual directions
With imagination
Apart from tradition

We no longer box ourselves in with the same old patterns.

Routine no longer rules. We leave our fear of the unknown and move into new territory.

During Christmas, let’s also think outside the box.

Rather than focus on giving gifts in boxes or bags, let’s focus on gifts that last. We soon forget or throw away most of our wrapped presents. Yet, we remember for a lifetime such treasures as:

Kindness
Trustworthiness
Helping hands
Time together
Shared sorrow or joy
True friendship

Now is a great time to throw out the box. Let’s:

Open our hearts
Give of ourselves
Share God’s gift of love to the world

Merry Christmas!

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9 NIV).

Thanks to Brad Leverett for the suggestion.

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The Blind Leading the Blind

December 12, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

The blind leading the blind does not work.

I have two friends who are blind. Both possess amazing talents — musically, intellectually, spiritually, and socially. However, they can’t help one another, or anyone else, safely cross a street. That requires someone with sight.

Both have loving family and friends who assist them when needed. Both also have guide dogs specially trained to help them.

The blind leading the blind describes people unable to do a task who try to help others perform that same task.

They can’t do it. If they try, both end up in a right smart of trouble.

People need to know what they are doing in order to help someone else.

They must have:

Knowledge
Experience
Skills

For example:

Help with math requires an understanding of math.
Assistance with cooking requires the ability to cook.
Guiding a tour group requires knowledge of the area.

We find the blind leading the blind in the Bible.

Jesus used it in Luke 6:39 and Matthew 15:14. In Matthew, religious leaders rejected the truth. Jesus described them as the blind leading the blind.

To help others is a good thing. Yet, that requires:

A willingness to learn
The ability to assist

Learn and develop skills first.

Then offer help.

“Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14 NIV).

Thanks to Brad Leverett for the suggestion and to Cole Torbert (and Louie) for the photo.

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Can’t Beat It with a Stick

October 24, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Our family loves Yellowstone National Park. For a travel destination, we can’t beat it with a stick.

Consider all it offers:

A crystal-clear lake
Majestic mountains
Thundering waterfalls

Plus, wildlife:

Bison
Elk
Deer
Bears
Wolves

However, its thermal features are our favorites:

Mud pots
Geysers
Steam vents
Hot springs

That explosive power just under the earth’s surface amazes us.

Can’t beat it with a stick means nothing is better.

We can’t improve it. Definitely not fair to middling, no greater deal exists.

Sometimes, we simply say we can’t beat it. It’s excellent, as we find in:

The beauty and wonder of Yellowstone
A dependable car or truck
The best meal of our lives
A bargain at the store

More impressive than any of this is its Creator.

We stand in wonder of the beauty and bounty of our earth. Yet, imagine the One who created it.

Imagine eternity with the Creator of everything.

God promises an eternal home in heaven to everyone who follows Jesus. The apostle John describes his vision of heaven in the Bible’s book of Revelation. However, heaven’s glory remains beyond anything we can imagine.

“’What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love him—” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV).

Thanks to Joe and Ann Klotz for the suggestion. Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

Congratulations to Frank Cheatham, whose name was randomly selected from my mailing list to receive a free copy of Shirley Crowder and Harriet Michael’s devotional book, Glimpses of the Savior: 50 Meditations for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year.

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Set Your Face Like Flint

September 19, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Do you occasionally face tasks that seem impossible? Yet, you refuse to quit? Instead, you set your face like flint and finish the job before you?

Flint is a hard, dark rock.

It was often used in earlier times to make tools and start fires. Flint also makes strong stone walls.

To set your face like flint means to be determined.

When you face difficulties, you refuse to give up. Instead, you:

Focus on the task before you.
Dedicate yourself to its completion.

The prophet Isaiah described the Messiah, Jesus, as having “set my face like flint.”

Isaiah tells of Jesus’ determination to complete the role of a suffering servant. Jesus sacrificed His life on a cross to make eternal life possible for all who accept His gift.

You can follow Jesus’ example.

Life gets hard. Many tasks are tough. However, with God’s help, you can endure. You can keep on keeping on. You can also make a positive difference in an often negative world.

“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (Isaiah 50:7 NIV).

Thanks to Linda Russell for the suggestion. Image by Wesley Rocha from Pixabay

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Bought the Farm

August 29, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

The Nature Conservancy bought the farm that belonged to the Hall family in South Central Kentucky. That purchase marked the end of family traditions but the beginning of public traditions.

The Homeplace on Green River has become an outdoor classroom. It hosts events throughout the year. According to its website, it offers:

Immersive educational programs
Community festivals
Event rentals
Hiking trails
Crop land leasing
Lab and conservation programs
And more

If we have bought the farm, we have died.

Family members and friends grieve the loss of life and past family traditions. Yet, life goes on, and new traditions begin.

We find possible origins for this expression at The Phrase Finder.

Numerous expressions describe death.

Bite the dust
No longer with us
End of the road
Pass away
Breathe your last
Pass on

We find other expressions for death at Kick the Bucket.

When we have bought the farm, our life on earth ends.

However, our eternal home begins. If we accept Jesus as personal Savior and Lord, we have the promise of a home in heaven with Him.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24 NIV).

Thanks to Diana Flegal for the suggestion

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Make Groceries

July 25, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Have you ever made groceries? I have many times. However, I did not know it until recently.

To make groceries means to shop for groceries.

I have been to the grocery store all my life. I would never have called that trip making groceries. Yet, the expression is common in New Orleans.

According to New Orleans.com, “Old-timers in New Orleans ‘make groceries’ at the store. This is another one that has French origins, as a rough translation from “faire son marché,” which means to do one’s grocery shopping. Since ‘faire’ means both ‘to do’ and ‘to make,’ making groceries came from a slight error in translation from French to English.”

Whatever we call it, we need food.

If we have never been hungry for long periods of time, we are richer than many. Millions have nothing or slim pickings. If we say we are starving, we usually mean only that we hunger. Yet, starvation remains a harsh reality for our world.

When we make meals after we make groceries, let’s give thanks.

Thank the farmers who grow the food.
Thank the stores that stock the food.
Thank the cooks who prepare the food.
Thank our Creator and Savior, the everlasting Bread of Life.

Then, let’s put feet to our prayers.

Share with others in need.
Donate food or money to local food pantries.
Give to reliable agencies that help feed the world.

A little food for thought.

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (John 6:35 NIV).

If you have been to New Orleans or have heard this expression, I would love to hear from you. Please comment.

Thanks to Laura Lee Leathers for the suggestion. Image by Gabe Raggio from Pixabay

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Fish or Cut Bait

June 6, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

I rarely fish. When I do, people with me probably wish I had stayed home.

They never say to fish or cut bait. I’m sure they think I should.

I hate to touch worms or fish. Therefore, someone else has to put on my worms and take off my fish.

However, I do have one tall tale about catching a huge catfish in my family’s pond.

Of course, I caught that whopper by accident.

Fish or cut bait means to get to work or get out of the way.

Do I plan to fish? If not, I need to move, so others can. If I choose not to fish, I can cut up their bait. Ick! I don’t want to do that either. I rather take pictures or go home.

Fish or cut bait applies to any type of work or activity.

When I fail to do my job, I waste my time and the time of others. Therefore, I need to:

Decide if I plan to work or watch
Proceed with my job or leave it
Use or stop wasting resources

Jesus calls believers to fish for people.

Fishing for people is not only a job for preachers and teachers. It is a call for all Jesus’ followers. No ifs, ands, or buts. Jesus calls us to fish. If we love God and love others, we will share that love.

“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people’” Matthew 4:19 NIV).

Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion and to Robbie Childress for the photo.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

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