Category Archives: Bible Study

Taste and See ~ John Piper

I’m reading along in Taste and See (Savoring The Supremacy of God in All of Life) 140 meditations by Piper and I wanted to share these verses that he references in meditation #18 titled How to Pray For The Soul (Yours Or Another’s) Praying in sync with the way God works ~

How to pray for your soul and others…

1. Psalm 119:36 ~

“Turn my heart toward your statutes and not towards selfish gain.”

2. Psalm 119:18 ~

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

3. Ephesians 1:18 ~

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”

4. Psalm 86:11 ~

“Teach me your way, O lord and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

5. Psalm 90:14 ~

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”

6. Ephesians 3:16 ~

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”

7. Colossians 1:10 ~

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”

8. Mathew 6:9 ~

“This then is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name”

Pray all this in Jesus’ name because of Romans 8:32 ~ “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.”

Piper expounded on each of these but I’m just giving you the skeleton and letting you consider these verses in enriching your prayer life for yourself and others.

Blessings…

Ht: Lana G! for the photograph of my father praying.

8 in 2008

Play Along…It is easy to play along. Just pick out 8 things you’d like to see, do, feel, or experience in 2008! Your list can be spiritual, physical, or emotional, but hopefully not too material! If the Lord leads you, dream big as you share your heart’s desires with Him along with a willingness to see His work accomplished in you and through you in 2008.

So I’m joining in with others at Extravagant Grace and considering 8 things I’d like to see, do, feel, or experience in 2008. ~

Here are my Eight…

1. I’d love to see some of the people I’m praying for who aren’t Disciples of Christ respond to God’s call this year. I realize that my responsibility in this is to keep praying diligently for them…

2. I want to try to walk at least 6 days a week. I’m over 50 now and my body just needs an extra push in burning calories. I don’t eat excessively (except at holidays, birthdays, every 3rd Tuesday, etc. ) I need a lot of help in keeping my weight stable as opposed to gaining…

3. I want to Abide in Christ and here’s a great quote that I saw at “Of First Importance Blog” that describes abiding well. “In a nutshell, abiding in Christ means allowing His Word to fill our minds, direct our wills, and transform our affections. In other words, our relationship to Christ is intimately connected to what we do with our Bibles!”– Sinclair Ferguson, In Christ Alone (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007), 114 ~

4. I want to spend more time with my parents and family. ~

5. I’d like to cut down on some monthly expenses and try to pay down some debt this year. Along with this I’d like to convert to on-line bill paying. ~

6. I’d like to call and write our older surviving Aunts and Uncles more this year. ~

7. I want to keep learning new things by reading and traveling. ~

8. I want to honor my husband more this year. I think I’ll need to come up with something more specific to accomplish this, like listening better, etc. To see more 8 in 2008 click over to Extravagant Grace.

 

Thankful Thursday ~ A New Beginning!

Lamentations 3: 21-25 ~

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”

I am thankful for a new year, each new day that the Lord extends his love and mercy to me and my loved ones.

I am thankful that He is the faithful one and nothing that I do changes who He is.

I am thankful that He continues to teach me through His Holy Spirit.

I am thankful that He gives me the desire to continue to seek Him and wait for him.

I pray that we all grow in His wisdom and grace this New Year.

For more Thankful Thursday posts head over to Lynn’s who I am thankful to for hosting again!

Life in the Northwest ~

Life for me in the Northwest is very different from Southern California. In Southern California it is a lot simpler. I have myself and Dear to take care of and a very compact one bedroom condo. No yard, no plants, no children. I will be in the Northwest with my children and my house and yard until New Year’s Day! I will miss Dear and our companionship for 25 days! Yikes. I will be quite busy here though. Already this Monday morning I have a second load of wash in. The dishwasher is running. I have my list of last minute items to buy for Dear to take back to California before his 6 PM flight today. All of this happened before dawn. I was able to step outside and take the picture of this glorious sky that God created for us to enjoy this morning.

Before Dear returns to Washington on December 21st I hope to have finally memorized the following verses that have given my brain such a workout! Good ole Apostle Paul and his run on sentences. This section that I was suppose to memorize for my Bible Study in Southern California has been the most difficult for me, but I am determined to get my brain to remember it. I dare you to memorize it too….

II Peter 1:2-4 (ESV)

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

 Have a wonderful Monday, I’m off and running….

In Other Words Tuesday ~ Oct. 30

“The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection.  And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” ~ A.W. Towzer ~

I really don’t have anything profound to share as I consider this quote. It was suggested to me that the very shortest route to spiritual perfection for a believer saved by grace would be death, but I digress….

A suggestion that I do have that is helping me in a profound way this year is my Bible reading strategy. I’ve read the Bible through a couple of times and this year it was suggested to me to take a different approach to my Bible reading. This year I started with the shortest books of the Bible progressing up to the longer books and I read each book 20 times before I move on. First I just read it straight through. Then further into my 20 times I begin to dissect and break down each paragraph or chapter to get a deeper understanding of what is being revealed. I have found that with this approach I can remember themes in a book better. It helps me get the big picture. We can rely on the Holy Spirit to teach us and to guide us into all truth. For me spiritual growth has not been short or quick. It has taken years of plugging along for me to get to where I am today, which is no where near perfection. I thank God that He is the one that brings me along by His grace to spiritual growth in Him. I want to be ready and willing to receive His grace and his teaching and respond in obedience and perseverance. This reading the Bible approach I’ve started in 2007 will probably not be completed till I die 🙂

Be encouraged to keep moving forward in your walk with the Lord. Ask Him to teach you and lead you in your Bible reading and studying. Each day is a new day with the Lord. Open his word and enjoy it and Him.

To see more In Other Words click here.

 

Philippians 4: 6,7 ~ Do Not Be Anxious

In my Friday Bible Study we have memory verses each week. Boy the old brain ain’t what it used to be! My verses for this week are these that you are probably familiar with…

Philippians 4: 6,7 (ESV)

“…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Don’t be anxious about anything…

Pray about everything…

The peace of God surpasses all understanding…

The peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus…

John 14:6 ~ Psalm 19: 7-11 ~ The Power of God’s Word

John 14:6 (ESV) , Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Psalm 19: 7-11 (ESV),

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

The Word of God brings us back to who we are supposed to be.

It restores our soul. It makes us wise. It brings joy to our heart and it enlightens our eyes. Those are just a few of the amazing benefits of spending time in and meditating on God’s word.

If you don’t have a regular Bible reading choice for today may I suggest you read Psalm 19 and meditate on it throughout this week. You will be blessed…

Ht: Steve Larson E.V.Free Conejo Valley

James 5: 14-15 ~ I’m Wondering…

I’m not called the Happy Wonderer for nothing. There are lots of things I wonder about. Right now I’m in the midst of my yearly Bible reading (reading each book of the Bible 20x ~ which will take way longer than a year) I’m in the book of James.

James 5:14-15 ~ “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

So my questions are:

Has anyone called their elders when they are sick? Did they come?

Did they annoint you with oil and pray for you?

If you haven’t done this, why not?

Is it a common practice?

What has your experience been with this instruction?

Leave a comment with anything that might help my wondering….

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In Other Words Tuesday ~ “The Lord Is My Banner”

“Under the banner of God, victory is always assured; but apart from it, defeat is a certainty.  When the banner of God’s rod was not held high, Amalek prevailed.  You can’t do battle against the flesh under your own power.”

~ Kay Arthur ~author of  LORD, I Want To Know You  Above quote is in reference to Exodus 17:15: “The LORD is my banner”

So in other words…

As believers we all have our “Amaleks” that are waging war with us. Our sin nature daily wants to separate us from the God who has redeemed us. We will wage this battle until we enter into our final rest with Christ. We should not be deceived into being passive and unaware of the fact that we have to turn away, work hard, get rid of things in our lives that keep our eyes off of God. We need to claim who we are in Christ. We need to resist the enemy. We need to battle daily the thoughts and actions that would keep us from the victory that Christ has won for us. We need to see God’s banner before us and follow behind that banner and claim the victory we have been promised in Christ. “Apart from Him we can do nothing.”

So today I wake up and say Thank you God for going before me into this day and defeating the enemy before me. Help me to be obedient to you and give me your victory today in my thoughts, my actions, my hopes and my dreams. May I be aware I am in your army and that you are my King. Thank you for what you have done for me.

I John 5:4-5

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

To read more In Other Words Tuesday posts go to Joy in the Morning…

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