|
ENDURING LOVE
|
Feb 13, 2009 8:54 am
82 Views
|
The Bible in One Year:
Levitucus 26:51-75
READ: 1 Corinthians 13.1-8
[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
—1 Corinthians 13.7
Like many people, I enjoy the Google homepage artwork that appears on special days and holidays. Last Valentine’s Day, the artistic logo showed an older couple—a man with a cane and a white-haired woman—walking hand in hand as the woman held two heart-shaped balloons. It was a beautiful reminder that while our culture glorifies youthful romance, true love has many stages during our journey through life.
Paul’s great essay in 1 Corinthians 13 celebrates the depth and tenacity of the love that carries us beyond self-interest and mere affection. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” vv.4-8.
Brian Wren has captured this reality in his moving hymn, “When Love Is Found”:
When love is tried as loved ones change,
Hold still to hope though all seems strange,
Till ease returns, and love grows wise
Through listening ears and opened eyes.
© Hope Publishing Co.
When our commitments are tested in the fires of life, no matter what difficulties we face, may God grant us a greater experience of His enduring love and the grace to demonstrate it each day. — David C. McCasland
God’s love is a fabric that never fades, no matter how often it is washed in the waters of adversity.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
LEARNING FROM LINCOLN
|
Feb 12, 2009 11:46 am
88 Views
|
READ: Proverbs 3:1-8
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. —Proverbs 3:6
The day before his 52nd birthday, Abraham Lincoln left Springfield, Illinois, to become President of the United States. With the threat of civil war looming, he said goodbye to the friends and neighbors who had come to see him off. “I now leave,” he told them, “not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.”
Lincoln’s reliance on God for guidance and strength reflects the instruction of Solomon: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6).
On this 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth, we celebrate his kindness, integrity, and courage. And we can also learn from him how to face a daunting future with confident hope in the Lord. — David C. McCasland
Into His hands I lay the fears that haunt me,
The dread of future ills that may befall;
Into His hands I lay the doubts that taunt me,
And rest securely, trusting Him for all. —Christiansen
Living without trust in God is like driving in the fog.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
RISE UP!
|
Feb 6, 2009 5:26 am
105 Views
|
The Bible in One Year:
Exodus 39:40, Matthew 23:23-39
READ: John 20:1-8,19-20
You, being dead in your trespasses, . . . He has made alive together with Him. —Colossians 2:13
On February 6, 1958, a chartered plane carrying most of the members of the English football (soccer) club Manchester United crashed on takeoff from Munich, Germany. With so many of their star players lost, some despaired over prospects for the club’s survival. Yet today it is one of the best-known teams in the world. Fittingly, the man who rebuilt the team, Matt Busby, survived the crash himself.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus’ arrest and subsequent crucifixion caused many of His followers to despair. The disciples themselves had lost hope. But their despondency evaporated on that first Easter morning when they found that the stone sealing the tomb had been moved aside (John 20:1). Jesus had risen!
Jesus soon appeared to Mary Magdalene (vv.11-16) and then to His disciples, who had gathered behind locked doors (v.19). His visit brought a remarkable change in them. As one version renders it, they were “overjoyed” (v.20 NIV).
Perhaps your world has crashed around you. It may be a deeply personal loss, a tragedy in your family, or some other great trial. Jesus’ resurrection proved that He is greater than the greatest obstacles. He can rebuild your life—as He did with His disciples—starting today. — C. P. Hia
He rose! And with Him hope arose, and life and light.
Men said, “Not Christ, but death, died yesternight.”
And joy and truth and all things virtuous
Rose when He rose. —Anon.
God can turn any difficulty into an opportunity.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
The Search For Peace
|
Feb 5, 2009 5:05 am
182 Views
|
Bible in One Year: Exodus 36-38; Matthew 23:1-22
The Search For Peace
READ: Philippians 4:4-12
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds. —Philippians 4.7
At the height of their popularity, creativity, and wealth, the Beatles produced a controversial project called “The White Album.” It signaled the breakup of the band by featuring pieces that were primarily individual in nature instead of collaborative.
It also revealed a growing disenchantment with all that their fame had produced. In his song “I’m So Tired,” John Lennon expressed the emptiness of his “successful” and wealthy life with these profound words: “I’d give you everything I’ve got for a little peace of mind.” All that he had, all that he had accomplished, and all that he had become could not meet this simple, yet deep, personal need.
The world we live in cannot offer peace. It offers only poor options. Pleasure, power, and possessions are no substitute for peace of heart and mind.
Paul reminded the believers at Philippi, “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” Phil. 4:.. This is the peace God brings to those who have been reconciled to God by faith in His Son Jesus (Eph. 2:14-16). It is a peace we are to share with a world that is desperate for it.
Peace—real peace—is found only in a relationship with Jesus. Have you received His peace? — Bill Crowder
Finding Real Peace
Accept the reconciliation God offers by asking Him
to forgive you. Believe that His Son Jesus died on the
cross for your sins and was raised from the dead.
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. —Jesus
|
|
|
1
comment
|
|
|
The Great Storyteller
|
Feb 4, 2009 5:07 am
105 Views
|
The Bible in One Year:
Exodus 34-35, Matthew 22:23-46
READ: Luke 15:11-24
Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them. —Matthew 13:34
In his book Teacher Man, Pulitzer Prize-winner Frank McCourt reflects on his 30 years as a teacher in New York City high schools. He used a variety of techniques in his English and creative writing classes, but one that seemed to surface again and again was the power of a compelling story to capture attention and encourage learning.
This method of instruction was used by the greatest Teacher of all—the Lord Jesus Christ. The scholarly religious leader Nicodemus said to Jesus, “We know that You are a teacher come from God” (John 3:2). Yet when Jesus addressed the crowds that followed Him, He didn’t recite great truths of the Talmud. Rather, He spoke with the homespun style of a storyteller.
The parables of Jesus endure because they showcase matters of the heart. Through the story of the Pharisee and tax collector Luke 18. we learn about God’s grace and forgiveness. And the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15) showcases God’s love for repentant sinners.
The inspired parables of Jesus teach us about Him and the life He wants us to lead. We too can use our faith-stories to point others to the ultimate Storyteller and Teacher, whose own life is the greatest story ever told. — Dennis Fisher
Take control of my words today,
May they tell of Your great love;
And may the story of Your grace
Turn some heart to You above. —Sees
A good way to learn God’s truth is to teach it to others.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
A Refresher Course On God’s Majesty
|
Feb 3, 2009 4:26 am
86 Views
|
READ: Exodus 33:1-11
You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live. —Exodus 33:20
The Bible in One Year:
Exodus 31-33, Matthew 22:1-22
My book Disappointment With God explores three questions many Christians ask: Is God hidden? Is God silent? Is God unfair? It struck me that those questions did not trouble the Hebrews in the Sinai wilderness. They saw evidence of God every day, heard Him speak, and lived under a contract signed in His own hand. Out of this relationship emerged a great gift from the Jews to the world: monotheism—the belief in one sovereign, holy God.
Today many treat God like a cosmic good buddy. We could use a refresher course from the Old Testament on God’s majesty.
Pastor Gordon MacDonald writes, “The most costly sins I have committed came at a time when I briefly suspended my reverence for God. . . . I quietly (and insanely) concluded that God didn’t care and most likely wouldn’t intervene were I to risk the violation of one of His commandments.”
MacDonald says his own love for God has moved away from a sentimental model, which never satisfied him, to something closer to a father/son model. He is learning to reverence, obey, and thank God; to express appropriate sorrow for sin; to pursue a quietness in which he might hear God whisper. He seeks a relationship with God appropriate to the profound difference between the two parties.
As God’s children, we may “come boldly to the throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16). But let us ever be mindful of our Father’s inestimable majesty. — Philip Yancey
To worship is to recognize the supreme worth of God.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
GOD IS AT WORK
|
Feb 2, 2009 5:10 am
95 Views
|
The Bible in One Year:
Exodus 27-28,Matthew 21:1-22
READ: Philippians 2:12-18
It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. —Philippians 2:13
We always crave change in a new year. This is why on January 1 we start diets, exercise programs, and new hobbies. Of course, a month later we’re usually back to our old bad habits. Maybe that’s because we crave too big a change and do not have enough power and will to make the changes.
I wonder how many Jesus-followers have made commitments to change and grow spiritually but are experiencing frustration because they don’t have the will and power to carry out those steps.
Paul addresses this issue in his letter to the Philippians. As he encouraged them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling (2:12), Paul said they would not be on their own. God Himself would energize them to grow and carry out His tasks. The first area affected would be their desires. God was at work in them, giving them the desire to change and grow. He was also working to give them the power to make the actual changes (v.13).
God has not left us alone in our struggles to attain spiritual growth. He helps us want to obey Him, and then He gives us the power to do what He wants. Ask Him to help you want to do His will. — Marvin Williams
Every day more like my Savior,
Every day my will resign,
Until at last Christ reigns supremely
In this grateful heart of mine. —Brandt
The power that compels us comes from the Spirit who indwells us
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
PLANTING TIME
|
Jan 30, 2009 8:25 am
90 Views
|
The Bible in One Year:
Exodus 23-24, Matthew 20:1-16
READ: Galatians 6:6-10
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. —Galatians 6.7
Somewhere in the world right now a farmer is dropping seeds into the ground. Soon those seeds will begin to change the place where they were planted. The carefully prepared soil that appears barren today will become a field ready for harvest.
In the same way, New Year’s resolutions can be seeds to alter the landscape of life for others and ourselves. This prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi is a powerful model of this longing to bring positive change in a hurting world:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
A farmer who sows wheat is never surprised when wheat grows from the ground where it was planted. That’s the universal law of sowing and reaping. Paul used it to illustrate a corresponding spiritual principle: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” Gal. 6.7. Our sinful nature says, “Satisfy yourself,” while the Spirit urges us to please God v.8.
Today is planting time. God has promised: “In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (v.9).
Let’s sow good deeds though life be grim
And leave the harvest time with Him;
Let’s give and serve as to the Lord
And look to Him for our reward. —Jarvis
Sow today what you want to reap tomorrow.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
Aging Process
|
Jan 29, 2009 5:28 am
100 Views
|
The Bible in One Year:
Exodus 21-22, Matthew 19
READ: Psalm 71
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.
—Psalm 71:9
I was having breakfast with a friend who had recently celebrated his 60th birthday. We discussed the “trauma” of the number 6 being the first digit in his age and all that the age of 60 implies (retirement, social security, etc.). We also pondered the fact that he felt so much younger than such a “large” number would seem to indicate.
Then the conversation turned to the lessons, joys, and blessings he’d found in living those 60 years, and he said, “You know, it isn’t really that bad. In fact, it’s pretty exciting.” The lessons of the past had brought a change in how he viewed the present.
Such is the aging process. We learn from our past in order to live in our present—a lesson reflected on by the psalmist: “For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth” (Ps. 71:5). He continued, “By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb. My praise shall be continually of You” (v.6). As the psalmist looked back, he clearly saw the faithfulness of God. With confidence in that faithfulness, he could face the future and its uncertainties—and so can we.
May we say with the psalmist, “I will praise You—and Your faithfulness, O my God!” (v.22). — Bill Crowder
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
As the years add up, God’s faithfulness keeps multiplying
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
MURPHY'S LAWS
|
Jan 28, 2009 4:51 am
93 Views
|
The Bible in One Year:
Exodus 19:20, Matthew 18:21-35
READ: Exodus 20:1-17
You shall have no other gods before Me. —Exodus 20:3
Murphy’s Laws are observations about life that seem to have the weight of experience behind them. You’ve probably heard this one: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” Here’s another one: “You can’t do just one thing; everything has its consequences.”
My own experience seems to confirm many of Murphy’s Laws, but it’s that second one that I would hang on the wall as a motto. Wrong choices have their consequences. For example, if we choose to live for pleasure, that will affect our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren (Ex. 20:4-5). If we walk away from God, we may discover that our children have taken that trip with us. Later, even if we return to Him, they may not.
But there is also good news. Devotion to the Lord has its consequences too. Men and women who live in faith before God can have a strong influence on their children and their children’s children. If they live a long life, they can witness the effect their faith has had on several generations. What satisfaction it brings to older people to see their posterity living for Christ!
Murphy and the Bible agree on this point: “Everything has its consequences."
If you sow seeds of wickedness,
Sin’s harvest you will reap;
But scattered seeds of righteousness
Yield blessings you can keep. —Sper
People who follow Christ lead others in the right direction.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
To link to this blog (miriam502) use [blog miriam502] in your messages.
|
|
|
| Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
1
|
21
|
31
|
41
|
51
|
61
|
7
|
8
|
91
|
101
|
111
|
121
|
131
|
14
|
15
|
161
|
171
|
181
|
191
|
201
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
