Selfies

Selfies are so much fun to receive from your kids and their friends when you are on the Back 9. I have joined in on the fun. We love to laugh and evoke smiles from each other through the very “dorky” things we send! Every once in a while I have had to threaten our kids to not “screen shot” a snap chat of the very stupid and would be embarrassing stuff I like to send, like, a selfie of my facial mask at night or the progress I am making in getting rid of “bra fat”. LOL!!!!

They do the same crazy things. It is the age of “picture talking” and sometimes a Picture is all you need to communicate something and bring out a belly laugh. It makes for a lot of fun and smiles in our empty nest. I will stop describing some of the funny things they have sent through cyberspace. I have gotten to the point that I am now cautious when I say to a friend, “Oh T just snap chatted me. Let’s look at what he sent.” I have realized that some things that are sent are just meant for family. LOL! Sometimes I just sit and think……..What is to come???

I also reflect about the “what ifs” of having cell phones in my teen years??? Now I have to update with my kids the kinds of things my dad would say to me when I was young. You know…..the “walking to school barefoot 2 miles in the snow” kind of comments. In modern day terms it would be, “I had to sit home all day just waiting on that phone call because there were no cell phones!” Times have changed, haven’t they?!

When I read and study the Bible, I have to take myself back to the day in which the Bible was written to understand the full meaning of what is being said. Take, for example, the value of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which were gifts the wise men brought to Jesus in Matthew 2:11. At the time of Jesus’ birth, frankincense and myrrh were very rare and hard to get. They were used for medicinal purposes to fight infections in the Eastern world and were excellent remedies. Both were considered antiseptics and had exotic fragrances. (They didn’t have drug stores on every corner.) And, of course, Gold was extremely valuable!

Or consider all the times the Bible refers to God or Jesus as the Shepherd and me/us as sheep. Well, I didn’t grow up being very familiar with shepherding or sheep, but if you do a little research on sheep ………….one of the first things you learn is that they are not very smart and cannot survive without a shepherd. They will follow another sheep blindly, even if that sheep is walking off a cliff. It’s hard for them to see danger and they are vulnerable to all kinds of attacks from other animals. If they fall over, they have a hard time getting up on their own. If they are not sheared, the wool grows over their eyes and they can’t see. Needless to say, when I think of myself as a sheep, I now get the analogy of being a “sheep” in need of a “Shepherd”.

The point of my post is this, as you study God’s word, it is timeless… it is so applicable to everything that encompasses your life and mine. Even though it was long, long ago…..the analogies or the long ago cultures can be understood with a little effort. Just as easy as it is to “snap chat,” it is just as easy to “google” something you want to understand and know more about. I will never forget sitting in a Bible study that I chose to attend and I heard a Bible teacher go into the history and detail about sheep and shepherding. It enlightened me on things I didn’t know. It made the Bible come alive to me.

Just recently, because of the age of “Google” or “Bing,” I started researching things myself to get a deeper, richer meaning, especially about things I don’t know much about or can’t relate to. I have read and heard the Christmas story hundreds of times but I have loved “googling” the story in regards to the value of the wise men’s gifts. I have learned so much and it has made the story fresh again to me.

I encourage you as you read your Bible, no matter your age, to take just one story and research it. Maybe it is a story that is hard to understand or one in which you are looking for deeper meaning. It may sound nerdy or you may say, “Wow, I don’t have time.” Those are excuses. I encourage you to develop a desire to know and learn and understand God’s word and how it relates and applies to your life. In this age of “selfies,” the Bible and what it teaches is relevant and applicable. Be a seeker. It can be life changing!

2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness….”

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