Memory Verse Challenge: Week 25

It get busy during the summer months, doesn't it?  So - how about a short verse this week:-) 

This week's verse is a good reminder that God hasn't ever changed nor does He does change with the times.  He's as loving today as He was when He lovingly created us. He's as just today as He was when the Israelites were being oppressed.  He can get as jealous and angry today at our sin as we saw Him do countless times throughout the Bible.  No - God doesn't change.  He's the same awe-inspiring, life-giving, miracle-maker He's always been.  He is worthy to be praised!!

See more about the Memory Verse Challenge here.
See the complete list of Challenge verses here.

Sunday Blogvotional: Show Loving Mercy

“And what does the Lord require of you? “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Could it really be that simple?  Jesus said he must be about his Father’s business.  We, too, must be also. When we act justly we give a fair price for a good product. We do our best work for our company and we care for other people’s property as if it is our own.  Loving mercy is having compassion for the poor, the lost, orphans, our babies, the unborn, lost dogs etc.  It’s not being a part of the “me” generation. As Christians, we have the ability to show loving mercy when we allow ourselves to be renewed and transformed by the spirit of God.  The last part of the verse says, “and to walk humbly with your God.” He is the creator of heaven and earth. He gave us life. He sacrificed his son so that we may be with him in heaven.  He is all wise, all knowing, and ever present.  There is no way we can think ourselves above him! We are humbled by his greatness.  So we submit our lives to him and follow him. It is so simple.

He has showed you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

Encouragement for the week: We don’t need a platform to preach from, nor do we need to write a book or to raise a family of ministers. We can just practice Micah 6:8.

This week's blogvotional contributed by my Mumsy.

Memory Verse Challenge: Week 24

This week's verse reminds me that there is no problem, no situation God cannot deal with.  We often tend to look at our trials in this world as being insurmountable.  Is it possible that somewhere in our mind we think the problem is too big even for God? Sometimes it's hard to believe what we can't see (or who we can't see).  We get so used to worldly solutions we often forget miracles are possible - that divine workings are God's way of revealing His glory, His power and His wisdom.

Furthermore this verse reminds us that God's power is at work within us.  His glory can shine through us if we only open ourselves up to the possibility.  This is another one of the many gifts we are blessed with.

See more about the Memory Verse Challenge here.
See the complete list of Challenge verses here.

Sunday Blogvotional: Reaping A Harvest of Nothings

We've often heard the saying "You reap what you sow."  But how often do we really apply this truth to our lives?  We tend to forget in our busy lives that we "sow" daily with our actions.  Each day we're planting the seeds of our future.  

Because we live in a world of delayed consequences we don't always see what we're going to reap right away.  If we became immediately violent after watching a violent movie, we might not watch them.  If we gained 10 pounds immediately after eating a piece of pie, we probably wouldn't eat it.   

So much of what we’ll reap (both good and bad) is spread out over time thus making our daily actions seem much less purposeful - less like sowing seeds for our future and more like random acts of little nothings.  But all the “nothings” add up over time reaping a harvest of what?

The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature 

will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the 

Spirit will reap eternal life.

Galations 6:8

Encouragement for the week:  Take a look at what you are sowing in your life.  Is it for earthly pleasures or kingdom rewards.  Maybe it’s time to change a habit or two.

Memory Verse Challenge: Week 23

This week's verse helps me keep my focus.  We all have our trials - our pain and hardships in this life.  As I'm going through those times, this verse helps me remember that someday, in heaven, the pain of those hardships will not even come close to the glory I'm experiencing in heaven.  The highest high will make the lowest low seem a million miles away.

 

See more about the Memory Verse Challenge here.
See the complete list of Challenge verses here.

How are you doing on your verses?  I know several verses have popped into my head when situations have come up.   It's good to have encouragement from God's word "at the ready".

Sunday Blogvotional: To See or Not To See

But blessed are your eyes because you see, and your ears because they hear.  Matthew 13:16

When you look at the mountains, a butterfly, a flower or a rainbow do you see God?  Do you hear the voice of God through the rustling wind, the roar of a waterfall or the song of a bird?  What an amazing blessing!  It’s an even greater blessing to be able to see and hear God working in our own lives and in the lives of others.  Our faith gets strengthened when we can feel His love through His words and His creations. 

But sometimes seeing or hearing God isn’t always easy.  There are moments in our lives when we simply choose to stop looking and stop listening.  But other times, despite our desperation, we can’t seem to see or hear.  Our senses have dulled.  Our ability to see and hear God can be affected by the pain of trials or our attitudes. Other times we are simply desensitized by the constant streaming of worldly messages around us. 

Whether or not we see or hear God, the truth remains:  He is there.  He is working.  He always provides an avenue for us to be blessed.  It may be through His Word, our surroundings, or other people. His ways are unlimited. 

Encouragement for the week:  Take time each day to look for how God is working around you.  The more you look, the more you'll see.  Find a friend who will share with you a Godly perspective or share an encouraging story with someone else.

Memory Verse Challenge: Week 22

Can you believe we're at week 22 already?  This week's verse is short and sweet or maybe I should say "short and strong".  It's a reminder that we get our strength from God.  We don't get it from ourselves, from money, from working out or anything from this earthly world.  True, inner strength can only come from the One who has plenty of it to offer.  He is the ultimate power source that never dies.  All we have to do is plug into Him. He will provide the strength we need to get us through any challenge.

 

This verse is a continuation of last week's.  You may want to memorize them separately or you can keep the flow going and memorize them together.

See more about the Memory Verse Challenge here.

See the complete list of Challenge verses here.

May God bless you as you continue to put His word in your heart. 

Sunday Blogvotional: No One Unworthy

Joshua 2:1- So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
Hebrews 11:31 – By faith the prostitute Rahab,because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
Matthew 1:5 – (listed in the genealogy of Christ) – Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.

Rahab was a prostitute in a foreign land.  She lived in a society that didn’t believe in or worship God.  Yet she had heard the stories of God’s power and how He protected His people.  Despite the odds - she believed.   She made a choice one day to turn away from the life she knew in order to serve a God foreign to her.  And despite her less than perfect pedigree, she was listed in the genealogy of Christ.

What these verses tell us is that no one is insignificant – that no one’s past necessarily determines their future.  It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done God is more than willing to adopt you into His family.  You don’t have to be perfect or come from a picture perfect family.  God’s not concerned about a person’s past.  Our past does not determine whether God can use us in big ways.  If we believe and are willing, He wants to transform us into something new and blessed.

Encouragement for the Week:  Never think of yourself as unworthy to be loved or accepted by God.  He loves all!!  He accepts all!!  No matter what your upbringing and no matter your past God will gladly take you into His arms and claim you as His son or daughter.  No one on earth will ever want us as much as He does.