Back in the days of my childhood when I was involved with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, they always stressed that God did not want us to take blood into our bodies – it was a sin. If a Jehovah’s Witness were to take blood (via blood transfusion), then that person would be kicked out of the organization and shunned. Even if getting the transfusion was a life or death decision, you would still be “disfellowshipped/removed” from the organization if you agreed to have blood taken into your body.

This issue comes to my mind whenever the subject of blood is discussed. Do you think the attitude of taking blood/not taking blood is a bit legalistic? What are your views on the subject?

Of course, I realize that taking blood will NOT affect your salvation, however, I have to wonder if it’s a sin, the same way that pre-marital sex, drunkenness, etc. are sins.

The Apostle Paul mentions blood in these scriptures:

Acts 15:29

You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

Acts 21:25

As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”

Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Why does God allow evil things to happen?

Yes, I know it’s not Sunday, but, I felt that I had to do this blog post today. Just like most of the nation, the Connecticut shootings have been heavy on my mind. I wonder how God could allow a man to gun down so many innocent children? I’ve been teary-eyed, trying to make sense of this tragedy – trying to understand why this couldn’t be stopped.

I wondered, when the shooter had arrived at the school in his vehicle, about to exit his car to go into the school to do this horrific deed… why couldn’t God have sent his angels to surround the car? The angels could’ve blocked the shooter, not allowing him to exit the car and shoot those innocent children?

As most of my blog readers know, I’m a Christian, but, sometimes, especially times like now, my faith is weak. Yes, I have weak faith, about as much faith as a mustard seed as I struggle to understand the happenings in the cold, cruel world.

In the Bible, there were times when innocent children were put to death. In Exodus, Chapter One, the new king was concerned that the Hebrews were multiplying so fast that they would soon gain power over the Egyptians – possibly overpowering them in the event of war:

Exodus 1:22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

When I first read about this as a child, I thought, sadly, about all of those babies that had been thrown into the Nile to drown! How could God allow such things to happen?

Also in the New Testament, King Herod ordered the death of all male children who were two and under in Bethlehem, attempting to destroy Jesus:

Matthew 2:16-18

¹⁶ When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. ¹⁷ Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

¹⁸ “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”

I think about all of those babies…dead. Why didn’t the Lord do something to save them?

So, why do you think God lets evil things happen on this earth? This is a rhetorical question. I doubt anybody could answer this question in a way that would make those suffering to feel better. I suppose, some of the questions we have for Jesus won’t be answered until we meet Him in heaven.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Have you ever volunteered for a food ministry through your church or some other organization?

Yesterday, I took my seven-year-old son with me and we joined our church group in a ministry, feeding the homeless. We had breakfast sandwiches from McDonald’s, Chick Fil-A, and Burger King. Our group also served water, coffee and apples. Afterwards, my son asked me why we were doing this, and I told him about the scripture of the loaves and fishes. I felt that he needed to know that, as a Christian, we needed to help others because we’d be following Jesus’s example and this is what He’d want us to do.

I’d never volunteered for this ministry before, but, I found that I enjoyed doing it and seeing others hungry, without food, was a sobering thought. Also, it was really upsetting to see children living on the street in Washington D.C.

I wondered if any of you have ever volunteered with a similar ministry before, either through your church or some other organization? If so, tell me a bit about your experience. Leave a comment!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

John 6:1-15

1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wagest to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

Whenever I read this scripture, it always makes me stop and think. What does this scripture mean to you?

I’m thinking, the Lord is telling us that we shouldn’t change or add words to His book, The Holy Bible. However, there are several versions of the Bible out there in several different languages. When I think about this scripture, it just blows my mind. Why? Well, because of the different translations out there – which translation is the most accurate? Has anyone taken liberties when interpreting the Bible?

When I was growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, I was always taught that their version (the JW version – The New World Translation), was the Bible that was the closest to the original Bible. I’d believed that their Bible was the clearest, most concise Bible that delivered Jehovah’s word to His followers.

I’m a Christian now, and I’m no longer a part of the JW faith for several reasons. Decades ago, I did discover while I was questioning the JW beliefs that their Bible had some scriptures that appeared to be totally different than other versions of the Bible. It was like, the meaning of some scriptures were changed in the NWT and this bothered me, a lot! I felt like I’d been lied to, plus, I felt like the translators were going against the Lord’s request about NOT changing his Holy Word.

So, when I read through the book of Revelations, and see this scripture near the end of the last chapter, it always makes me stop and pause and think, recalling my experiences from my younger days as I sought the true meaning of being a Christian.

So, which Bible do you use most frequently? Do you use several versions? If so, which is your favorite? Do any of you read the King James version of the Bible? Are there any versions of the Bible out there that you don’t particularly like for some reason?

Be sure to leave a comment!!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

What do you imagine the Garden of Eden was like?

Take a moment and describe what you think the Garden of Eden was like. I was thinking about this the other day, so I decided to make it a Sunday Brunch blog post. I imagine the Garden of Eden was like a beautiful, perfect paradise. Lush, cool, clear, beautiful rivers flowing through the garden provided ample water. Sweet, luscious, plentiful fruits hang low from the tree, so low that you can just reach out and pluck one off of the branch. Wonderful, tasty colorful vegetables are also there to enjoy. A vivid blue sky with white fluffy clouds provides the perfect “ceiling” for this paradise. Tame, furry, wonderful animals wander around, providing perfect friendship. I can imagine snuggling with a lion or riding on the back of a beautiful horse, or playing with some wonderful cubs. Just thinking about this perfect place proves a nice, relaxing exercise.

So, what do you imagine the Garden of Eden was like? Leave a comment!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Genesis 2:8-15:8 Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had created.9 And the LORD God planted all sorts of trees in the garden–beautiful trees that produced delicious fruit. At the center of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.10 A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches.11 One of these branches is the Pishon, which flows around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found.12 The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there.13 The second branch is the Gihon, which flows around the entire land of Cush.14 The third branch is the Tigris, which flows to the east of Asshur. The fourth branch is the Euphrates.15 The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and care for it.

Locust photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos.

***This is a repeat of an old blog post.

Matthew 3:4 Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Locusts and wild honey? I’ve always wondered about this. I wish there were more details. John The Baptist wandered around the wilderness dressed in a garment made with camel’s hair, preaching the gospel and he ate locusts and wild honey? I’m wondering if the locusts were alive when he ate them, or if he cooked them over a fire before eating? How does one eat a locust? I’m wondering how easy it was to gather the locusts and wild honey for his meals? If you have any knowledge about this, feel free to share. It just doesn’t sound like an appetizing diet to me. I’m thinking he had other things to eat, but it appears that he may have eaten the locusts and wild honey quite frequently?

Share your thoughts with a comment! I hope everybody has a blessed Sunday!

~Cecelia Dowdy~

I wanted to wish everybody a happy and joyous Easter. During this sacred holiday, we need to remember that Jesus died for our sins. He’s our Savior and he suffered so that we could gain eternal life.

We also need to remember to remind our children that this holiday isn’t really about eggs and bunnies and candy…it’s all about Jesus…

Happy Resurrection Day!

1 Corinthians 15:3-4
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Luke 8:26-39

Today, I took the liberty of posting a bit of a different blog entry on Writers’ Rest. I felt compelled to talk about Jesus. When I read the New Testament, I am amazed at the power of our Lord as he went about the earth, healing others.

Luke 8:26-39 is a powerful scripture, and I’ve copied and pasted it below if you wish to read it. Everytime I read this, it stays in my mind for a long time. It kind of reminds me of a Peretti novel. I could imagine Frank Peretti doing a biblical fiction piece about this demon-possessed man.

Plus, the fact that Jesus made those evil spirits to come out of the demon-possessed man, and then allowed them to go into the swine, thus causing the swine to drown in the water, just proves what God can do.

I can’t imagine being possessed by a legion of demons, so much so that one can’t even live among society, but up in the tombs, separated from others….

Just makes me stop and think, and be a little afraid, but to come to appreciate God’s power…

What thoughts come to your mind when you read this scripture?

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Luke 8:26-39 NEW KING JAMES VERSION
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.