Praise the Lord!  Use anything you have to let him know that you think he is great!  Praise God that he has brought me to the end of this road of being shaped by Scripture.  Praise God for how he wants to shape my life.

Proverbs 31

It’s interesting to me that the finale of a book of wisdom for living is that what a man really needs to understand and cope with life is a good woman.  Some of you have known that all along.

Acts 28

Acts begins with Jesus instructing his disciples in Jerusalem and ends with Paul in Rome, imprisoned and waiting for judgment.  Some scholars think Luke intended to write a third part to complete the writings we know of as Luke/Acts.  It does seem to leave us hanging.  Still, we have seen enough to realize that Paul and his generation have been faithful during their time allotted to serve and now it is our turn.  Maybe we’re the missing third part.

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!    Psalm 147:3-5

I love the contrast in these few verses.  On the one hand we have the picture of the intimate, tender Father who takes care of us when we are wounded.  Then we have the God of absolute power, whose intellect and ability we can’t even fathom. I think it’s these types of Psalms that I turn to most when I’m seeking comfort.  How cool is it to know that the God who holds the universe in His hands cares when I am hurting?  It always kind of blows me away when I try to wrap my brain around it all.  How is it that God loves me so much?  I guess that’s why the writer here says it is “beyond comprehension.”  

Psalm 146; Proverbs 30; Acts 25

OK, you gotta just love reading Proverbs from The Message translation – I mean talk about blunt. There is no tip-toeing around the issue’s here – Proverbs tells it like it is and leaves very little room for misunderstanding or argument.

Here are some of my favorites from this weeks passage – Proverbs 30:

15-16 A leech has twin daughters
named “Gimme” and “Gimme more.”

and

18-19 Three things amaze me,
no, four things I’ll never understand—
how an eagle flies so high in the sky,
how a snake glides over a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
why adolescents act the way they do.

(despite modern advancements in science and our understanding of how things work, I am pretty sure that none of us truly understand that last one even today…)

and

32-33 If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself
by offending people and making rude gestures,
Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose.
Churned milk turns into butter;
riled emotions turn into fist fights.

Psalm 141

I’ll let you read the rest in the NIV:

Proverbs 29; Acts 19 – 20

These verses from proverbs jumped out at me:

11 A fool gives full vent to his anger,
but a wise man keeps himself under control.

23 A man’s pride brings him low,
but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.

Lord, help us trust in you in all things.

Liz

I really enjoyed reading the story of Apollos.  He was obviously a gifted and powerful speaker but needed a bit more teaching.  The fact that he wasn’t proud and so convinced of his own importance that he was able to receive the teaching is a testament to His love for God (and perhaps the gentleness and tact of Priscilla and Aquila).  Apollos understood what John was saying in 2:15-17:   

“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all it’s wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.”

The need to appear important is a trap that Apollos didn’t fall for.  I wish I could say the same.  In my head I know that this craving for acceptance and applause points to my need for Jesus – the only one who accepts and loves me ALL the time.  But that doesn’t make it any easier to weed it out of my life.  I often still find myself doing things based on what others will think of me.  In the end, all I accomplish is to isolate myself from the Father.  Today I want to step out of the “wanting, wanting, wanting,” that the world offers and just worship God and be grateful for His love and acceptance.

Links:  psalm 137, acts 13, 1 john 1

Acts 13:26 – “Brothers – you sons of Abraham, and also all of you Gentiles here who reverence God – this salvation is for all of us!”

This verse reminded me of what our church has spoken on and is working towards–racial unity. It also reminded me of Pastor Fred’s message today about God not seeing the differences between skin color, status, sex, being tall or short, etc. but that we are all one body united in Christ. And it also made me think of people  or situation I sometimes have a hard time dealing with. I pray that I can always remember that we are united in Christ, – not to argue, to be glad and encouraging of each other no matter what may arise in our relationships with each other.

I am so thankful that I heard Pastor Fred speak today! It was certainly a highlight of my week, a real blessing.To see someone who lives in such a different world than myself and, despite whatever fears and challenges and struggles he is presented with, have such a fervent love and trust in God was just amazing. Pastor Fred confronts things daily that I’ve never even contemplated…it really made me look at my own life and heart and evaluate what is truly important.

What about his message stood out to you?

1 John 1:5 – “This is the message God has given us to pass on to you: that God is Light and in him is no darkness at all.”

In my small group, we spoke about fear of opposition in our lives. Fear is certainly a darkness that is present in my life, more often that I’d like to admit, be it fear of opposition, uncertainty, or another kind. When I read this verse, I am reminded that I have experienced the love of God in my life. He IS love, and I have no need to fear anyone or anything.

In the first part of this chapter, John tells us about seeing Jesus with his own eyes, touching Jesus with his own hands, hearing Jesus speak with his own ears. I never really stop to think about what that would have been like–to walk with Him and be physically with Him, within reach! That really touched me and made me excited for my next life in Heaven. Seeing Jesus, touching Jesus, hearing Jesus with MYSELF, actually in person–how exciting!

Lacy

well, well- what do we have here? peter is up to his wily ways- bringing in ‘non-believers’ and baptizing them in the faith that God has so entrusted him with. after being chastised in full by the faithful around him- criticizing him for eating with ‘unpure’ people. can you imagine being in his shoes? being called upon by the Spirit of the Living God to make intentional relationships and bring others to HIM? hmmm, this sounds so familiar- especially verse 11:17:

17So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?”

but peter’s adventures with the Lord don’t stop here. we see in chapter 12 that peter is jailed by herod (who is not a friendly) as many of the disciples are being tortured and killed. peter is in jail with not 1, but 2 jailers, chained to him. imagine how uncomfortable that must be. somebody on either side of you in breathing distance. somebody (not related to you) in your personal space. however, peter has prayed and keeps his faith.

the Angel suddenly appears and the chains drop from peter and he walks, out of the cell, out of the jail, and away from danger. at first, peter thinks it’s a dream and i have to admit, i probably would too. i mean, things like this don’t happen every day, do they? can you think of a single circumstance in your life in just the past 7 days where God delivered a promise to you? i realized i could think of several and not all of them are even earth-shaking, but every single one is a promise fulfilled nonetheless. a gift from my Father above.

psalm 136

from The Message version (have i mentioned in this blog yet that i love biblegateway.com?)

1-3 Thank God! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits.
Thank the God of all gods,
His love never quits.
Thank the Lord of all lords.
His love never quits.

23-26 God remembered us when we were down,
His love never quits.
Rescued us from the trampling boot,
His love never quits.
Takes care of everyone in time of need.
His love never quits.
Thank God, who did it all!
His love never quits!

participating in this blog format has truly changed my life—its gotten me more involved in His Word, something i wasn’t so good about. and while i may still not be a ‘Bible scholar’, i still feel quite enriched to have been able to be a part of this church-wide experiment. so like the psalmist above, Thank God who did it all—His love never quits!

1 Peter 5: 6-7 – “So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. “

In my sista-to-sister group we have been reading a book called “Calm My anxious Heart,” by Linda Dillow.  It is about being content.  We’re pretty far into the book right now, but something from the very first chapter has stuck with me throughout.  It was a list – a so-called prescription for contentment.  Let me share it with you here. 

1. Never allow yourself to complain about anything – not even the weather.

2. Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.

3. Never compare your lot with another’s.

4. Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.

5. Never dwell on tomorrow.  Tomorrow belongs to God, not us.

A pretty tall order if you ask me.  The only way I can follow through is to remember all of Peter’s words in 5:6-7. 

“God’s strong hand is on me”:  God is in control

“He will promote me at the right time”: His timing is perfect.

“He is most careful with you”: He loves me and does not act carelessly toward me.

Complaining, comparing and worrying are all bad habits that seep so deeply into our lives we begin to assume they are just parts of our personality.  We figure we can’t do anything about it cause it’s just who we are.  But that’s what is so amazing about our Lord.  He is determined to change who we are.  One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  I like the picture of God’s words penetrating into my very core, separating the bad from the good.  God can take those parts of me that I’ve just written off as a part who I am, and change them.  The key is His Word.  Staying in touch with God by staying involved in His Word.   

A Pilgrim Song

Psalm 134, from The Message

1-3 Come, bless God, all you servants of God!
You priests of God, posted to the nightwatch
in God‘s shrine,
Lift your praising hands to the Holy Place,
and bless God.
In turn, may God of Zion bless you—
God who made heaven and earth!