Verse of the WeeK

I am going to try to keep this up this year, but no promises. I hope these verses help you as much as they are helping me. 

February 5, 2011

This week's theme is marriage. It's been on my mind a lot as I've watched a dear close friend suffer through marriage problems. I think this whole chapter cuts right to the core of the issue for many broken marriages. I've cut to the center of it for brevity, but recommend reading the entire chapter when you have time.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 

 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 8 Love never fails. 

This famous line was part of my wedding ceremony when Michael and I got married. To me, this was even more important than "til death do we part." It doesn't matter if you stay together forever if you don't truly share a loving bond with your spouse. A marriage without mutual love, true love of this nature, is rarely a good one. What good is it to have a spouse if you don't show them love? 

I think verse 5 is the most often overlooked by many married couples. First, it does not dishonor others. Do most of us even think about that when we make our decisions? Not to come off as Klingon, but this is a big one. Even a small white lie can dishonor your spouse or other loved ones. Imagine breaking the bigger ones and how that feels. It is not self-seeking, so love puts others first. That means your spouse's needs come before your own. Now this goes both ways folks-if you both put each other first, then both your needs can be met-if you have love. If only one spouse does this, that's not love and it won't last long before one is very hurt.

It is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs. I remember in our wedding ceremony part of the vow was "I have no cherished outcome." That was our way of putting the right to be completely honest all the time into our vows. Love rejoices in the truth, whether it likes the answer or not. While you're being honest, put away the score pad. If you truly want love to be the center of your relationship, you can't be listening and thinking of your last fight. You can't be listening and thinking of your best retort, either. You have to listen and just listen. Then respond in love. When you bring up things your spouse has done before that bothered you, then you aren't even addressing the current issue. I find that when a discussion is kept on the point and discussed in love, most things are resolvable. 

To be honest, I find this scripture to be mostly self-explanatory and you don't need me to expound on it much, but it is very close to my heart right now. Since God and his Love became the center of my marriage, it has been so much better than before. And it was pretty darn good before. 

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January 31, 2011

My apologies for missing last week. As it was my first week back to work, I was overwhelmed and did forget to let God help me carry the burden. Remember-you are not along. God is always with us and will help us when we ask.

This week's scripture:

Job 4:8-11
8 As I have observed, those who plow evil
   and those who sow trouble reap it.
9 At the breath of God they perish;
   at the blast of his anger they are no more.
10 The lions may roar and growl,
   yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,
   and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

In such difficult economic times, hope is something we can find only with great difficulty. It can be incredibly discouraging to see the people around you get ahead and get what they need or want seemingly without effort, particularly if all your hard work seems to lead nowhere. It can be even tougher when we perceive that those around us are gaining by dishonesty.

In the book of Job, God gives us hope and encouragement to keep us on our path. It can be tempting to turn to those dishonest ways when you feel desperate just to get enough food on the table. But God urges us to see through that. For God knows who sows evil and spreads trouble. He assures us in this scripture that those who sow evil will perish by his will.

He even goes so far as to tell us that those who might attack us will be broken. If we will trust in God, he will deliver us. If we pray, knowing that he hears us, we will no longer be prey for those who wish to trouble us. We will rest in God's hand as they are scattered away.

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January 16, 2011

1 Peter 5:5

5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

We've heard all our lives to respect our elders. Unfortunately, most of us only understand how important that is when we get closer to becoming one. Some of us might never truly appreciate it if the elders in our lives were not the role models we needed. But when we truly listen to our elders, we can learn important lessons, particularly about how to treat the younger ones in our lives. Sometimes those elders are older than us, sometimes more experienced. When it comes to being a follower of Christ, age is entirely relevant, in my opinion. As a new child in Christ I would submit to a younger adult that has followed Christ much longer.  I have no idea the physical ages of my new friends in Christ, but they have insights into the teachings of love that I have not yet found.   

Even so, Jesus taught us all to be subject to one another. That means to always treat each other like equals and be humble with each other. As we teach one another, we should do so humbly. Remember that we are teaching His lessons, not ours. It can be so difficult to be humble in our everyday lives. It can be even harder when we are working for God and get excited. However, if we drop our humility we can make the huge mistake of trying to glorify ourselves and our work instead of our opportunity to do His work. The glory always belongs to God. I certainly hope that He will choose to use me in some manner to help others. I also hope that I can remember that the opportunity is His gift to me. 

Sometimes part of humility is knowing the ones you teach. When we've grown strong with God and have been doing his work for years, it easy to become proud or just complacent. It's also easy to make assumptions about those to whom we preach. Part of humility is remembering that for all our good works, we are not better than our students. We are all children of God and preaching with condescension does not work. When we speak with God in our hearts and with His words we can  reach those hearts that need to hear the message. But when we speak with pride and judge others, dropping our humility, the message gets lost.

I thank God that I have so many good teachers in my life. I pray that those who might forget their humility will find it again. I pray that I can remember that I have no place in judging others, but will not be afraid to ask questions of my elders that I might learn.

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January 10, 2011

Psalm 94: 1-3

1 The LORD is a God who avenges. 

   O God who avenges, shine forth. 

2 Rise up, Judge of the earth; 

   pay back to the proud what they deserve. 

3 How long, LORD, will the wicked, 

   how long will the wicked be jubilant?

Last week we discussed giving up our old behaviors and embracing His teachings. One of the hardest things to give up is our grudges. How many people have wronged you in the past? Do we not wish to go back and "return the favor" to them? Revenge is a natural thing for us to desire, but it doesn't serve Christ's work. Vengeance belongs to the Lord alone.  It is our place to find a way to forgive those who have hurt us. if we cannot forgive them, how can we expect our Heavenly Father to forgive us? When you are heart, whether physically or emotionally, call on our Heavenly Father. He is the great healer to help us heal. He is also the God who avenges. He knows what is needed. Give it up to the Lord and let it go.

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January 2, 2011

Ephesians 4:24

"You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness righteous, holy, and true."

When we make the choice to open the door to Jesus and ask him into our heart, we must change our nature. You cannot keep up all the same behaviors and expect to be truly following His teachings. Jesus taught us to live in love in ALL aspects of our lives. It's easy to be kind and loving to someone who is kind to us. How do you show that same loving kindness to the coworker that drives you nuts? What about the wacko that cuts you off on the highway? Do you find yourself cursing them under your breath? This is not what Jesus taught us in his ministry. Hatred has no place in our lives when we are following Christ. We must accept the changes to our nature that Jesus brings into our hearts. We must welcome those changes to truly become his disciple. 

To quote the band Aerosmith, "If you do what you've always done you'll always get what you always got." In other words, if behavior doesn't change, then attitudes don't change and neither do the results of either. As you consider Jesus in your heart this week, consider the ways in which you resist His teachings and the changes they could make in your life.

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December 25, 2010

Matthew 25:35-50 (New King James Version)

35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I wasnaked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 

44 “Then they also will answer Him,[a] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

We frequently think about things like this around the holidays. Whether we volunteer at soup kitchens or shelters, donate to charities, or collect toys for the less fortunate, many of us think of others this time of year. But what happens next month? When we're all snug in our beds with full bellies and there's no holiday to remind us that others are less fortunate, it's easy to forget. We need to remember all year long to reach out to those who need us.

It might be a neighbor who needs to borrow some sugar, it might be a stranger that needs to call a tow truck at midnight. It's in our nature to be suspicious these days and not trust that stranger. What if that person is really just trying to get in the door to hurt us? We have to have faith. Listen to the voice of God for your answer. If that stranger needs a phone and you aren't ready to invite them in, take the phone out.

It might be a relative that cannot travel to see you, but misses you dearly. Can you make that trip to see them instead? It might seem like an insurmountable object to fit one more visit into your schedule. But to that relative who misses you and needs fellowship, it could be a great gesture. It might take you out of your comfort zone, but that's what this kind of giving is all about. Do we think that Jesus was always in his comfort zone? I doubt it. As my pastor, Jimmy Pulley, says, we have to come out of our comfort zone to truly do the work of God. 

Reach out to those who are in need and help them. For when you help them, you are helping Christ. Maybe you have an extra loaf of bread that you can hand to that person on the corner that has nothing. Or a hot cup of coffee to someone who is stuck in the cold. Think about what you can do to reach out to others. For what you do the least of these brothers and sisters, you do for Him.