Category Archives: Bible Study

Truth from A to Z ~ E is for…

Today is October 8th and we are on the letter E in our Thursday Bible Verse Challenge. Feel free to add a verse or verses in the comments or on your blog and I will share the verses here below and add a link to your blog as well. Looking forward to the verses you share! This is a traveling week for me so I might be late in adding verses.

E is for Endures

1 Chronicles 16:34:

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 106:1:

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

1 Corinthians 13:7:

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

From Mrs. T: E is for Encourage

Click over to her blog, Across My Kitchen Table to be encouraged by her post!

From Maristella: E is for Earth

“Heaven and EARTH will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Matthew 24:35 | NIV

From Sue: E is for Enter

Psalm100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

From my sister Vera:  E is for Elect, eternal, entrusted

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;”
‭‭Titus‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Patsystitch: E is for enduring

James 1:12. Blessed is the man that enduring temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

From Willow at Willow’s Cottage: E is for Eternal

Click over to see her verse!

From Bethany at Raindrops and Rainbows: E is for Earnestly

Click over to see her verse.

I’ll try to check in later when I arrive home after my 5+ hours of driving across the state of Washington!

Thursday Bible Verse Challenge, D is for…

It’s Thursday the first of October and we are on the letter D in our Truth from A to Z Bible Verse Challenge. It’s been so good to read the verses all who participate have come up with. This week I’m traveling and it could take me a while to add the verses you share here but I will eventually get to them. Thanks for understanding.

D is for dominions, dead, dwell

Colossians 1:15-20 (The Preeminence of Christ)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or DOMINIONS or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the DEAD, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to DWELL, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 

Mrs. T at Across My Kitchen Table chose the word Deliver. She has an in depth post on her blog on Deliverance. Pop over to read it, you’ll be glad you did. Here are some of the verses she posted.

“[He] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”  (Colossians 1:13)

 “For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.”  (Psalm 116:8-9)

“The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.”  (2 Peter 2:9)

“The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles … Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”  (Psalm 34:17, 19)

“And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:15)

 Psalm 37:39-40:

“But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.  And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.”

From my sister Vera: D is for Decision

I love how this verse shows us that through it all a God is in control.

Decision

“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Maristella:

D is for Desire,Do…
“I have the right to* do* anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.”
1 Corinthians 6:12 | NIV

From Willow at Willow’s Cottage: D is for Depend

Psalm 62:5-6

5 I depend on God alone; I put my hope in him. 
6 He alone protects and saves me; he is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. 

Click over to read it on her blog.

Leave your verse/verses in the comments or on your blog and I’ll add them here. Thank you in advance. If you have a post on your blog please let me know and/or leave your link in the comments.

A to Z Bible Verse Challenge ~ C is for…

 

Today is Thursday and we are on the letter C in our Bible Verse Challenge.

I read a couple of Bible verses loaded with several ‘C’ words.

C is for Common, Certain, Crept, Condemnation, Christ.

Jude 3-4:

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Visit Willow at Willow’s Cottage to see the verse she has chosen to share and say hi.

C is for Casting and Care

Casting all your care on Him for He cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7

From Vee: C is for…

The account of the woman taken in the act of adultery…cast, convicted, conscience, and condemn as in “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.” 

You can read the full account in John 8:1-11

From Sue: C is for Come, Crimson

Isaiah 1:18-20: 

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

From Maristella: C is for Christ, Continually and Circumstances

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in* Christ* Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 | NIV

From my sister Vera: C is for Chosen and Called.

“But you are a CHOSEN race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who CALLED you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Click over to Mrs. T’s blog, Across My Kitchen Table to see her choice for C! I’ll add the verse from her blog to this post tomorrow that will give you time to head over and comment on her blog. She chose the word Courage. C is for Courage.

“Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”  (Joshua 1:9)

From Libby at Beauty Without Within: C is for Cry and Crushed.

These verses referring to CRYING out are timely I think: Ps. 34:15,17-18
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and rescues them form all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.”

Libby’s blog is Beauty Without Within.

Bethany at Raindrops & Rainbows has a post on her blog for the Challenge. Click over and read her post, you’ll be encouraged. C is for Create.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”  Genesis 1:27

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

From Cheryl: C is for Comfort

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comfort by God. 1 Corinthians 1:3-4

And you are right Cheryl…why stop there. Here is the rest of the paragraph from 2 Corinthians 1:5-7 (ESV).

5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

Cheryl’s blog is called Thinking About Home.

If you have verse/verses for the letter C post it in the comments and I’ll add it here. If you posted a verse on your blog let me know and I’ll add your link here. Thank you in advance for participating. It has been so good to see the verses that you find to share.

How Firm a Foundation

How Firm a Foundation

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

Words: John Rippon, 1787.

Truth from A to Z ~ Bread

It’s Thursday and we are on the letter B in our Truth from A to Z Bible Verse Challenge. Thank you for all the wonderful verses you found last week for the letter A. You can share one verse or a section of scripture.

B is for Bread and Believes

John 6:47-51: (Jesus is speaking these words)

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

Add the verse or verses you have chosen for the letter B in the comments or on your blog and I will add them here. If posting on your blog I’ll add the link to the post here, too.

From Bethany at Raindrops and Rainbows: B is for Be Kind

Why don’t you click over and read the verses she picked for this week. I’ll post the verses here later today.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 2 Timothy 2:24
Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:4, 5

From Barb: B is for Believe

Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved — you and your household.” 
Two things stand out to me with this verse.
1) Salvation is based on believing in what Jesus Christ has done for us, not on our works.
2) When one person in a family follows Christ as their Savior, the rest of the family is strongly affected, often choosing to trust Christ as well.
~
From Patsystitch: B is for Bread
~
John 6:32-35. Jesus then said to them, “ Truly, truly, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, Lord, always give us this bread.
~
From my sister Vera: B is for Blessed
~
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬
~
From Maristella: Be is for Beauty
~
“Your* beauty* should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
1 Peter 3:3-4 | NIV

Truth from A to Z ~ Alpha

Welcome to our Thursday Bible Verse Challenge, Truth from A to Z. Today is the beginning and we are on the letter A. Next Thursday the 17th of September we will be on the letter B…and so on.

A if for Alpha and the Almighty

Revelation 1:8 (ESV)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

From Winney B: A is for Authority

Matthew 7: 28-29 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Bethany from Raindrops and Rainbows has joined the challenge. Click over and visit her post for the letter A to see her verse and thoughts!

From Bethany: A is for All

For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

From Patsystitch: A is for Abound

Romans 15:13. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound
In hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.

From Jan C:  A is for Ancient of Days-

Daniel 7:9
“As I looked,
thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
the hair of his head was white like wool.

From my sister Vera: A is for Ashamed, ages, appearing, abolished, appointed, apostle

2 Tim 1:8-12 Therefore do not be ASHAMED of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the AGES began, and which now has been manifested through the APPEARING of our Savior Christ Jesus, who ABOLISHED death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was APPOINTED a preacher and APOSTLE and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ASHAMED, for I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

From Anneliese: A is for Ask

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7

From Cindy: A is for Awesome

Exodus 15:11 – Who is like you Lord? Majestic in holiness, AWESOME in glory, working wonders?

From Gloria: A is for Ascribe

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name. Worship the Lord in holy array. Psalm 29:2

From Paul: A is for and All

But seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness *and all* these things will be given to you as well! Mt 6:33

From Maristella: A if for Afraid

“When I am* Afraid*, I put my trust in you.”
Psalm 56:3 | NIV

I’m looking forward to read the verses that you’d like to share for the letter A in the comments or on your blog and I will add them here. If you are sharing a post on your blog I’ll add your link and then add your verse later in the day.

Another Challenge

Way back in 2008 my blogging friend Pam started a weekly challenge called ABC’s of The Word. It was a great challenge that lasted through two cycles of the alphabet from 2008 through 2009. The challenge was on Wednesdays each week. I’d like to revive the challenge but change the day and the name. The new challenge will be called, Truth from A to Z. We’ll be searching the Bible for Truth to share on Thursdays. A treasure hunt of the best kind.

Starting on September 10th we will begin with the letter A and each Thursday thereafter we will continue through the alphabet. The Challenge is to find a key word at the beginning of or within a verse starting with the alphabet letter we are on.  When we get to X you have the option to choose a verse with a word in it that has x somewhere within the word.

Here’s an example for Thursday September 10 and the letter A:

A is for Ascribe…

Deuteronomy 32:3:

For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!

I am also adding a definition of ascribe.

ascribe, 1. to credit or assign, as to a cause or source. 2. to attribute or think of as belonging, as a quality or characteristic.

You can share your verse in the comments and I’ll add it to the post. If you have a blog you want to share the verse on just let me know and I’ll visit and share the verse on the appropriate post, too, with a link to your blog.

This is the announcement and I hope many of you will join in on Thursday September 10th for the new Bible Verse Challenge and the letter A.

Hope your Labor Day weekend is ending well.

Day Four ~ Love

 

Continuing with the August challenge to post a  Bible verse or section of scripture with a word prompt. Today the 4th of August is Love.

Romans 12: 9-10 (ESV): “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

Feel free to share a Bible verse on love in the comments or on your blog. If you post a verse on your blog please let me know. Tomorrow’s prompt is Jesus.

Happy One at Life is Good posted verses on the theme of Love.

There are also some verses in the comments.

On Saturday morning I harvested our garlic and hung it to dry in our laundry room. I mentioned on Facebook that our laundry room was smelling like a good Chinese restaurant. This is the first time ever I have seen or harvested garlic growing. It was a fun experience for me.

Memorization

Over the last several years the habit of memorizing scripture has eluded me. It was something that I put on the back burner with excuses. I let my self talk tell me that it is too hard since I’ve gotten older. Well that is a lie and I’m leaving that and other excuses behind. Dear and I decided to memorize Psalm 19: 7-9 together and that has gone well. I’ve challenged our kids to memorize Romans 12:1-2 as part of their “getting healthy” goals for the year. In the midst of this renewed effort to train my brain a dear friend suggested a group of us memorize Psalm 1 together. Can you feel the congruence of all of this?

These days I’ve shifted to the ESV (English Standard Version) Bible. In my early years of Sunday School I memorized verses in the KJV (King James Version). During the early 70’s my Bible of choice was the NASB (New American Standard Bible). It was in this version that I first memorized Psalm 1 so I had to go back to this version for this latest exercise of re-memorizing it.

The photo I posted is from the Bible that Dear gifted me as a wedding gift in December of 1974.

So onward and upward, I’m putting my brain to the test and I’m sure the results will only do me good.

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Update: Some of you have asked for tips in memorizing. Our brains work differently but here are some things that work for me and some things I’ve learned from others.

Be careful what version of the Bible you choose to memorize from. The King James Version and The English Standard Version are more poetic over all. Don’t choose The Message as it is more prose and it’s hard to grasp. Some versions have more rhythm and that’s easier for the brain to grasp. I don’t recommend the NIV version either for memorization. (Thank you Julie)

I use 3×5 or 4×6 cards to write the portion of scripture I want to memorize.

Start small. Choose one verse. Think about the verse. Dissect the verse. Write it out several times on notebook paper. Take your 3×5 card with you in the car and when you have to wait anywhere pull it out and go over it.

Try writing it out from memory.

Hand the 3×5 card to somebody (friend or spouse) and then try to recite it out loud while they check to see that you’ve got it right.

When you wake up in the middle of the night go over it in your head. It’s amazing how much more clarity you have when you are awake in the night with nothing else to do.

Now you are ready to go on to a larger portion of scripture. I hope these tips help. Here’s another truth, the process is good even if it takes a long time to get it perfect.

Keep the Doors Open…

…they will come. You don’t need a fancy house or a paved driveway.

Just keep your door and mind open and available to who God will send your way.

Welcome them in and start the process of knowing and being known.

Cramped quarters can work.

We had our first evening of a new small group season last night. We knew we’d have 7 of us from our previous year returning again but we didn’t know who else might show up for our first meeting. We had 6 new people show up and they found our home without having to call for directions. We were happy to welcome them in.

We are singles, couples, older, younger and in between. A good mix of ages from very different life experiences. The common ground is we want to follow Jesus. It will be good to get to know each other, grow together, and pray for one another. It’s good to be heading in the same direction with others.

Today I’m thankful for small groups also called life groups, cell groups or when we first started with this idea of smaller groups of people meeting outside of the church building we called them fellowship groups or Bible studies. We are thankful to have a home and chairs for people to fill.

The Last Couple of Days:

Dear and I have worked very hard the last two days in our basement. We moved out things we aren’t using to the garage so we had to also work on the garage organizing storage. We moved around furniture and now the room looks like a comfortable bedroom instead of a catch-all room. We pulled out a very heavy office desk system since we don’t use the computer in the basement anymore. We took an extra office chair out to the street with a free sign on it and it was gone by the end of the day. From the garage we offered up a smoker and barbecue to anyone at our son’s business and we have takers for both. Today we’re taking an antique chair frame that we’ve moved around for 30 years (why?) to an antique restorer hoping he’ll just take it off our hands. We are serious about getting rid of stuff. Thankful our bodies are still working today.

Anybody else out there hosting a small group, attending a small group or downsizing?

I’m linking up to Michelle’s Thankful Thursday and tomorrow to Susanne’s Friday’s Fave Five.