Renae Adelsberger

Lessons from Prepositions

Apr 30 2018

Over the past two months, I have been slowly memorizing Ephesians chapter 1. I’m trying to get every word perfect. But the prepositions are killing me!

A preposition is a word that is usually before a noun or pronoun that expresses a relation to another word in the clause. They are words like “about,” “before,” and “in.”

Paul, an apostle OF Christ Jesus BY God’s Will, TO the faithful saints OF Christ Jesus, AT Ephesus

So many prepositions! Why couldn’t he just say, “From Paul to the saints?”

The entire chapter is written like that. Paul is constantly adding prepositional phrases like “For He chose us IN Him, BEFORE the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless IN love BEFORE Him.

His prepositions teach us a lot about God. Paul repeatedly uses the phrases “In Him” or “In Christ” to emphasize Jesus’ role in our salvation. He reiterates that everything is being brought together in Christ. That everything centers on Him.

And everything is done in love – not just ordinary love – but love so perfect that you and I are brought back to a right relationship with God because of it.

I’m thankful for these prepositions. I’m thankful that I’m IN Christ. That He chose me to be holy and blameless IN love. If you haven’t read Ephesians chapter 1 in a while, I encourage you to read it now – and pay special attention to the prepositions.

I’d love to hear from you – how has memorizing Scripture brought special attention to examples like this in your life? How do you best encourage yourself to make Scripture memorization a habit? Comment below or contact me on social media.

Sin’s Cycle

Apr 18 2018

Have you ever read a passage and Scripture and thought, I’m pretty sure I’ve read this somewhere else?

That happened to me the other day when I was reading Psalm 7. I found a verse that felt really familiar.

Psalm 7:14 says, “See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil, conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.”

It took a couple minutes for my brain to kick in. And then it went – hey, I know that example! The idea of evil conceiving and giving birth? The cycle of sin that progressively gets worse? James uses that same language!

Here it is from James 1:15: “Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”

Don’t you love when you find places like that in Scripture that you hadn’t connected before?

It makes sense, after all, James was raised with a knowledge of the Old Testament. It’s likely that he learned the pregnancy metaphor from Psalm and continued it in his writing.

Futility to Celebration

Apr 03 2018

Has the excitement of Easter already come and gone for you? Are you left with a fridge full of multicolored, boiled eggs and a floor strewn with empty plastic shells? Has Spring Break broken your spirit?

Do you find yourself lamenting like Solomon in Ecclesiastes chapter one?

Everything is futile! (verse 2)

All things are wearisome! (verse 8)

There is nothing new! (verse 9)

It’s easy for us to get bogged down in our daily, earthly lives. After all, the dishes have to be cleaned, the floor vacuumed, and the toilets scrubbed.

And guess what? No matter how good I scrub, I’ll have to clean the bathrooms again. And in a few hours, we’ll be hungry and I’ll once again be at the sink washing dishes.

For the past two weeks, I have been assembling and installing bookshelves when I get home in the evenings. Who knew that floors aren’t perfectly level? And who knew how difficult that would make installing bookshelves? Not one-week-ago-me. One-week-ago-me was convinced I’d be finished in two days. Ha! How little did I know that Ecclesiastes 1:15 would become my new life verse:

What is crooked cannot be straightened

Was Solomon right? Is everything useless? Is it all futile?

Walk to The Cross

Mar 26 2018

Have you heard that Pedestrian God has a new outreach through Amazon Echo? It’s called Daily Devotions for Women and it’s available as a Flash Briefing. Check it out! Each day this week, I walk through Jesus’ activities the last week He lived on earth.

I’ve gained a lot by reading through the gospel accounts of this week. Easter Sunday takes on a new meaning as I reflect on Jesus’ final days on earth.

I want to encourage each of you to do the same this week. You can use the daily Flash Briefing to provide an overview if you like. Then study and meditate for yourself.

Don’t rely on me or anyone else to interpret Scripture for you. Read the Bible for yourself. I highly recommend starting in Mark 11. Then start again in Matthew 21. Keep in mind the setting. Remember that Jesus knows that this is His last week on earth. Read His parables in light of the fact that these are some of His last teachings.

Create a day-by-day outline as your read. Jot down notes about where Jesus is. What He’s saying. Who is around Him. And how they are interacting. Always be mindful of the fact that the betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion was not a surprise to Jesus.

Pay special attention to the words in bold. Bold letters are usually the Bible editors’ way of letting you know that these words are quotes from other passages in Scripture. Look them up. See for yourself how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament promises and prophecies.

Research why churches have traditionally “nicknamed” days of this week. Learn about “Palm Sunday,” “Spy Wednesday,” “Maundy Thursday,” and “Good Friday.”

Attend Biblically-based church services this week. If you are a believer, participate in communion together this week. Sing corporately together about the cross. Meditate on the cross together. Then, when you come back together Sunday, sing your hearts out as you celebrate the resurrection!

Don’t let Easter week slip by you this week. I’d love to hear how you keep the cross at the center of your thoughts this week.

Granting Wishes & Prayers

Mar 15 2018

Picture a child coming to Santa – not a crying, fearful child – but one who has finally seen Santa with their own eyes. Not only have they spotted Santa, but they get to approach him. To sit on his lap and tell him EVERYTHING they want for Christmas. These aren’t small, practical requests. These kids are thinking big. They want ponies, puppies, unicorns, race cars, and robots. Nothing is too big or off limits. After all, this is SANTA CLAUS! He owns his own toy factory!

Or picture Aladdin when he discovers Genie (and yes, absolutely hear Robin Williams’ impressions). He finds out he has three wishes! Sure, there are some rules. Unlike Santa, certain requests are off limits – Genie can’t kill anyone, make anyone fall in love, or bring people back from the dead. Aladdin’s in a unique position. If he plans well, he can have three wishes granted that will drastically change his life.

Now picture prayer.

Author - Renae Adelsberger

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