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Blessings This Week

April 26, 2019 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

I have so many thoughts that I could jot down and share with you. Today, I thought I’d give you a random collection, and perhaps something will inspire you where you are to keep going on for the Lord more!

1) We’ve just come through the Easter season, and oh, what a refreshing reset that has been for me personally! We’ve been attending an Easter conference the last five years as a family (hosted by a church group we’ve grown to love quite dearly), and this year we were blessed to go down there and worship with them again. It’s so good to remember what the Lord has done for us. To have rich fellowship. To laugh and sing and share together. What a blessing!

2) I’ve been listening to a lot of songs from past years of A Cappella Gospel Sing lately, and it’s struck me over and over again how much we have to thank the Lord for! It’s amazing how songs can lift our spirits and refocus us on what matters most! If you need a bit of encouragement, I’d recommend reading chapters from the Psalms or picking up a hymnal and studying the words to the old hymns. There’s so much depth there.

Asking The Way to Zion

April 15, 2019 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

I just finished reading the book of Jeremiah today, and was very blessed by a couple verses from chapter 50. I pray you will be, too!

“They shall ask the way to Zion…saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.” (Jeremiah 50:5, emphasis mine)

Am I asking about the way to Zion today? And wow…we have been given that everlasting, perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten now! We now possess what the Jews back in Jeremiah’s day had to look forward to! Praise the Lord!

“Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land…” (Jeremiah 50:34)

Our Redeemer IS strong. And I am so, so thankful!

Book Review of the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible

April 10, 2019 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

Well, I’ve broken a reviewing record now. One thing I have never done before is request a review copy of a Bible. But, when the chance came up recently, I was intrigued by the idea: A study Bible with its sole focus on the gospel, and how all of scripture proclaims the gospel? Being the central focus of our faith, I was more than a little excited when I found out I had been accepted as a reviewer!

This was definitely one of the harder reviews I’ve ever written! How do you contain the power of the Bible in a few paragraphs?—impossible! And even something written about the Bible is difficult!

For years, as I’ve read through the Bible, I’ve tried to correlate the Old Testament with the New. Finding the foreshadowing and types and figures, and then seeing how the Lord Jesus fulfilled each one. And while I know Jesus is spoken of often in the Old Testament when it comes to prophecy, how can things like the Book of Esther show elements of the Gospel? And what about the New Testament? Obviously, without the gospel of the Lord Jesus itself, there would be no New Testament! But how can we apply some of the things spoken of in 1 Corinthians, for example, or James? How do they share the gospel, and how do the words there reflect and reinforce gospel principles?

It’s All From Jesus: A Bible Verse Study

April 5, 2019 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

Last Sunday, I started reading through Ephesians, and one thing I noticed in the preface to the book in my study Bible was the mention of the words “in Him” or “in Christ” in the book. And, since I absolutely love discovering (or rediscovering!) patterns in the Bible, I though it would be fun to copy all the instances out. They were a great encouragement to me to meditate on this week, and perhaps they will be to you, too.

Due to the amount of verses (I just counted up, and there are 33 references!), I’ve limited the quotations to just the ones dealing specifically with our relationship with Christ.

There’s still a lot, though. 🙂

“…blessed us with all spiritual blessings…in Christ…” (Eph. 1:3)

Chosen People: A Review of Robert Whitlow’s Latest Book

April 3, 2019 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

For years, I’ve enjoyed reading mystery stories of all kinds—starting out with Encyclopedia Brown (which, unfortunately, I was never able to solve without reading the answer at the back!), and slowly advancing up to more adult mysteries with Chautona Havig and Alana Terry’s books. Enter Chosen People by Robert Whitlow. I hadn’t heard of the author before, but this mystery was well worth a read!

Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book for free from BookLook Bloggers. Thank you, BookLook! All opinions expressed below are entirely my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. Also, some links on this page may be affiliate links. Your purchase through these links helps to keep this blog going; thank you!

About Chosen People:

Bestselling author Robert Whitlow returns with an international legal drama that speaks to critical issues of our day.

Thank You for the Valley…

April 1, 2019 by Esther Filbrun · Leave a Comment

A song that has encouraged me often over the years. I was just singing it the other day, and realized I hadn’t listened to it in a long time! He is so good to us! Trust in Him!

https://youtu.be/eK0SBD8v31I