Karen Gamble Writes

The Power of Example

The other night while sitting in a fast food restaurant a family came in.

Because they were sitting close to me I couldn’t help but hear their conversation.

The daughter, about 10, mistakenly thought she didn’t get her drink so she went up to the counter to ask for it.

When she returned with her drink, her mother pointed out the girl’s drink had been sitting on the table all along.

Pointing to the new drink in the girl’s hand, she added, “We were dishonest. That’s not our drink.” She went on to explain to the girl what the error was and why it was wrong.

I was impressed.

Most people wouldn’t have given it a second thought and would have either consumed or thrown away the extra drink.

Not this mom.

When this mom noticed the error she pointed it out and went the extra mile to make sure her daughter understood.

She realized the importance of being faithful in the little things.

It made me think about my own life.

Am I faithful in the little things?

Do I take care of the details?

Do I cheat others without meaning to because I’m not paying attention or think it’s no big deal?

To God it is a big deal.

We’re called to be faithful in the small things as well as the big ones.

Jesus said:
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” ~ Luke 16:10

I doubt the mom realized what an impact her actions made not just on her family but on those around her.

I’m guessing she was solely focused on honoring God with her actions and parenting, but I heard and saw her witness loudly and clearly.

There’s a lesson there.

I need to pay more attention to the seemingly minor details because they truly matter, not just to me but to those around me as well.

As I go through the next week I will be paying careful attention to details to make sure I am faithful in the little things.

I hope you will, too.

(This post first appeared on my now defunct blog).

Category: Faith, Family, Life | LEAVE A COMMENT

Prisoner Alert

One of my personal prayer focuses is Christians imprisoned around the world for the cause of Christ.

Currently, there are 23 known men around the world who are in prison for sharing their love of Jesus with others.

The website, PrisonerAlert, a ministry of the Voice of the Martyrs, lists these men by name and gives a brief biography of each as well as listing where they are held.

By clicking on the individual prisoner’s profile you can find a place where you can write them a letter of encouragement and/or petition a government official to ask them to release that prisoner.

Will you please pray for these men and ask God to strengthen, empower, embolden, and comfort them?

Will you also pray for their release?

It is my hope that through their experiences others will be drawn to a relationship with God and that rather than squashing faith in Christ, their imprisonment will cause the love of Jesus to spread far and wide as these men stand strong for what they believe in.

For more information, please visit the website PrisonerAlert.com.

For information on countries which restrict Christianity or the sharing of the gospel, please visit The Voice of the Martyrs.

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. –Hebrews 13:3

Category: Death, Faith, Life, Prayer | LEAVE A COMMENT

He Who Began A Perfect Work…

When my kids were young I taught them about Jesus as best as I could.

All 3 got saved and baptized at a fairly young age.

As they got older and started going out on their own and were exposed to the world a bit – school, friends’ houses, the mall, the movies, etc. – then later college – they began to witness and experience bad things..

Things people typically witness or experience in a broken world.

Painful things.

Before long they struggled with their faith as society bombarded them with all sorts of lies that downplayed God and emphasized self.

Lies that characterized God in false, disrespectful ways.

They weren’t always obvious.

Category: Faith, God, Jesus, Submission, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

Praying in the Night

I used to have a lot of trouble sleeping.

Sometimes I woke up 3 or 4 times a night.

I would usually look at my phone, get up and walk around the house, or read before trying to go back to sleep.

Sometimes I would pray or read my bible.

Mostly, though, I just played on my phone.

Over time I began to sense that maybe the Lord was trying to talk to me during these wakeful moments.

I wasn’t sure, so I typically would just go back to sleep.

Then one day while doing my daily bible study I came upon this verse:

On my bed I remember You;
I think of You through the watches of the night. –Psalm 63:6 NIV

It was then I realized that not only was that probably the Lord prompting me, but that we are actually supposed to focus on Him as we are drifting off to sleep.

I read some cross-reference verses for this (what I call chasing a verse) and came across these:

Category: God, Life, Prayer | LEAVE A COMMENT

It’s Easter Sunday!

Today is Easter, the day we celebrate Christ’s triumphant rise from the grave.

It’s the day we remember how He beat death and hell as He paid for our sins so we can be reconciled to God.

Today – let us rejoice as we celebrate that Christ is risen indeed!

³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NIV

To learn more about Easter read my post, What is Easter?.

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.

Category: God, Holiday, Jesus, Life | LEAVE A COMMENT

It’s Good Friday

Today is the day we remember Jesus’ crucifixion and the sacrifice He made for us when He died to pay for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God.

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! ¹⁰For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! –Romans 5:6-10 NIV

If you have not yet trusted Jesus for your salvation, I urge you to take time today to talk to God about your situation.

If you have trusted Him, I encourage you to take time today to reflect on this gift and what it truly means for you.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. John 3:16-17 NIV

For a more complete explanation of Good Friday, please see my post, What Is Good Friday?

You might also like to read my post, What is Holy Week? which gives a more in-depth explanation of why this week is so important.

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.

Category: Holiday, Jesus, New Testament | LEAVE A COMMENT

It’s Palm Sunday!

Today is Palm Sunday!

It’s the day we remember and celebrate Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem.

Humbly riding a donkey, He declared Himself King of Israel, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy which stated:

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
    righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 NIV

He did this not for His own glory, but so that we would all know Who He is in the hopes that we would be reconciled to God and saved from sin.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem the people expressed their adoration, praise, and joy by crying, “Hosanna!”

We should join them in celebrating and declaring:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Luke-19-38 NIV

Today also marks the beginning of Holy Week as we remember Jesus and the tribulations He suffered as He became our Living Sacrifice.

I hope you will take time this week to prayerfully reflect on Christ and what He did for you..

I invite you to read an in-depth explanation of Palm Sunday by reading my post, What is Palm Sunday?

You might also like to read my post, What is Holy Week? which gives a more in-depth explanation of why this week is so important.

You can read the complete story of Palm Sunday by visiting Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-16, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19.

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.

Category: Death, Holiday, Jesus, Scripture Study | LEAVE A COMMENT

What Is Easter?

Easter, also called Resurrection Sunday, is the day we celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead, gaining victory over sin, death, and the grave.

Jesus had been killed by crucifixion on a Friday.

Early on the following Sunday morning some women who had been Jesus’ followers, came to His tomb with prepared spices.

They were planning to properly anoint His body for burial.

They’d been unable to do it right after the crucifixion because the Sabbath started at dusk Friday and lasted until dusk Saturday.

During this time they were not allowed to do any work due to Jewish law.

When the women got to the tomb the stone blocking the entrance had been rolled away.

Jesus’ body was not there.

The tomb was empty except for the linens Jesus’ body had been wrapped in when placed there late Friday afternoon..

There was an angel there at the tomb.

The angel spoke to them:

Category: Death, God, Holiday, Jesus, Life | LEAVE A COMMENT

What Is Good Friday?

Good Friday is the day we remember Jesus and His death on a cross.

Crucifixion was a common way to execute people during the time of the Roman Empire.

It was a very slow and painful way to die, sometimes taking several days.

The person being executed typically died due to exhaustion and asphyxiation.

The night before Jesus died He’d been arrested and taken before the Jewish high priest and elders.

After questioning Him at length, they decided Jesus should die for the sin of blasphemy* because He said He was the Christ, the Son of God.

They took Him to the Roman Governor, Pilate, and asked that he execute Jesus for them – Jewish leaders were not permitted to execute anyone themselves.

Pilate questioned Jesus at length but couldn’t find Him guilty of anything.

When Pilate returned Him to the leaders and elders, stating there was no basis for execution, the leaders told Pilate that Jesus had claimed to be a king and was therefore an enemy of Caesar.

When Pilate asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews, Jesus said yes.

Category: God, Holiday, Jesus, New Testament, Scripture Study | LEAVE A COMMENT

Jesus Was Arrested

Jesus was arrested the day before He was crucified.

(This day is sometimes called Holy or Maundy Thursday.)

The Jewish elders and chief priests hated Jesus so they wanted to arrest and kill Him.

They were scheming together to think of a way to capture Him.

They were a little hesitant to do it openly because they knew how popular He was; they didn’t want to stir up an angry crowd, and they didn’t want the crowd to turn against them.*

A man named Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus’ disciples.

He knew that the Jewish elders and chief priests were very upset with Jesus and looking for a way to get rid of Him.

Category: Death, God, Holiday, Jesus | LEAVE A COMMENT