Studying the Scriptures Part 2

As a follow-up to my last post, I decided to share the seven verses that I am studying.

1. Do everything without complaining or arguing.  Philippians 2:14
2. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.  Colossians 3:23
3. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.  Job 23:12
4. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Colossians 4:6
5. The day of the LORD is near for all the nations.  As you have done, it will be done to you . . .  Obadiah 13:15
6. The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in him.  Nahum 1:7
7. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.  Ephesians 5:17

These verses have become particularly meaningful to me since I began to study them.  Surely, they are words for you and I to live by.

Would you like to share the seven passages you chose?  Just click on the comments link and type them in.  I would love to make this an interactive post.

 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you . . ." Matthew 28:19-20.  Let's hold one another accountable.  

Studying the Scriptures

Good morning, everyone! This morning, my devotional was about studying the scriptures.  It really wasn't about daily devotions or long Bible studies, though.  It was about meditating on a verse or passage about three to four times daily, similar to taking time out for meals.  In fact, one of the reference verses was from Job 23:12, which says "I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread."

I'm going to assign myself a personal challenge, starting now.  I'm going to pick seven verses, write each one on a separate index card (recipe card, even!) and meditate on one per meal until I have all seven of them memorized.  Then, I will keep repeating the cycle until I am led to do something else.  For me, it's not about the number of verses I can memorize, but about how I can build a firmer foundation in the Lord.  Do you want to join me in this challenge?

Going to Make Disciples Any Way I Can

Today, I am so excited to type in these verses from the Bible because they are some of my favorites: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.  Yet what shall I choose?  I do not know!  I am torn between the two:  I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.  Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.  Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.  Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel" Philippians 1:21-27.

What do these verses mean to me?  They mean that even though heaven is my true home, earth is where I am going to hang out until the Lord decides that it's time for me to go to my true home, so I need to fulfill the mission that Jesus set forth, which is to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" Matthew 28:19-20a.

I can spread the the good news in my quiet Christ-like actions, or by the gentle words I use to tell someone the story of Jesus.  I can spread the gospel through this blog or by putting a link to this blog in my email to someone.  I can tweet John 3:16 or post it on Facebook.  There are so many ways to be a witness to Christ, these days so while I'm here, I'm going to do it.  Some say technology is taking over the mankind.  Well, I'm going to take advantage of it.  Enjoy your day!

Turning Sadness into Mission Work

Today, I was sad about something.  The reason is not as important as what the Lord led me to do with the feelings that began to erupt.  You see, the more I thought about what was making me sad, the more I began feeling other things, such as worry, stress, helplessness, and failure.  So I did what I do during these times.  I began to pray and I started by repenting for feeling those feelings because those are not from God.  He is the God of hope and it was clear to me that I was not leaning on Him, enough.  After I repented, I asked Him for forgiveness and then guidance.  He led me to open the Bible, of course.  I read Matthew 24-28.  I love to read Jesus' words.

But then I back-tracked and it hit me.

In Matthew 14, John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, was beheaded for no reason.  Please read the chapter.  But the part that got me was in verses 13-14: Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there in a boat in a lonely place by Himself; and when the multitudes heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities.  And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and felt compassion  for them, and healed their sick.  (Bolded emphasis mine)

I bolded some parts of the verses because I wanted you to notice a few things: (1) When Jesus heard about His cousin's horrible death, He didn't stay and complain, wasting His energy and time acting angry when there was nothing He could do about it.  He left, by Himself, to a place that no one else would be.  Maybe He prayed to His Father.  Maybe He wept.  We do know that He knows the things we feel so maybe He felt all the negative things but went away to pull Himself together.  But, check this out: (2) He didn't stay away.  He came back anew.  And not only that, when He saw all the people waiting for Him, He felt a different feeling: compassion.  (3) So first, Jesus brought His sadness to the lonely place, left it there, and then came back to the land of the living and began to heal people.  He turned His sadness into mission work, if you will.  Not only did He heal their sickness but He fed them, too, in verses 15-21.  There were over 5,000 men that He fed, with only five loaves and two fish, and that was not counting the women or children.

 Wow.

Through our faith in the power of Jesus Christ, He can heal our feelings of sadness, stress, worry, failure, helplessness, hopelessness, anxiousness, etc.  But do you ever notice the needs of others when you come out of your dark place?  Maybe it's a need to minister to your family.  Maybe to your neighbors or your church family.  Is there a soup kitchen in your community? Maybe your child's teacher needs extra support.

From here on out, I will remember that treasure of a verse in Matthew 14:13-14 and work to turn my loss into gain.

Praise the LORD!

The Bible says "Praise the LORD.  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever" (Psalm 106:1 NIV).  I'll be the first to admit, however, that when I've had bad news, or when I'm having a bad day, praising Him doesn't usually come to mind, right away.  So, you know what?  I have a solution (I'm a big solution person).  I'm going to write this verse on several sticky notes and post them all over the house so that I can memorize it.  That way, when things don't go the way I think they should, I will remember this Bible verse so that I can remember to praise God, anyway.  Who knows?  He may want me to hold out for something bigger and better or smaller and grander.  Either way, I do know that He wants my actions to reflect those of Jesus.

  

Do Not Worry

Do you trust that God will take care of everything you need, on a daily basis? I sure do!  Do you want to know how I can be so sure?  Because in the New Testament (Luke 12), Jesus told his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.  Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.  Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.  And how much more valuable you are than birds!  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.  Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor.  Provide purses for yourseles that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (22-25; 31-34).  If Jesus said it, I believe it.  End of story!  Obviously, He wants us to live responsibly and take care of our families and ourselves but He does not want us to stress over things.  Too much stress is unhealthy.  God knows what He's doing, doesn't He?

 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6)

I have to admit, my biggest problem (at the moment) is not about the lack of trusting God to provide for my needs because I have seen His work at it's finest.  My biggest problem (at the moment) is about trusting and following His direction to make decision A when decision B makes more sense to me.    

During these times, I need to remember what Paul wrote to the Philippians: ". . . continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose." (12-13)  We (I) need to remember that our (my)  only purpose, here on Earth, is to share the Gospel; to grow God's Kingdom!  The question that we (I) need to be asking ourselves (myself) is "Lord, where would you like me to go, today, to shine your light?"  First, home; then, wherever else He sends us.  :)