Starting something new!

Years ago I did Bible studies on the Gospels.  I'm finding myself drawn again to studying these books of Jesus' life on earth, so I'm starting with, can you guess?  The book of Matthew.  I plan on taking a chapter a week, studying and pondering on what is conveyed to me through the words as penned through this disciple.  Since there are 28 chapters in this very first Gospel, it will take until almost the end of 2016 to cover going at the rate of a chapter a week.

Specifically, I am focusing on the "Mission of Jesus"...what each chapter tells us about why Jesus came.  I think that's very important for us, as Christians, to understand because we are more and more being challenged as to the uniqueness of Jesus in His role in history.  We need to know why Jesus was sent to fully understand the difference between Him and every other earthly religious figure.

Also, each week, I'm going to pick my verse in that chapter to commit to memory.  You can pick your own or use mine.  But I want a verse to tuck back in my head to bring that chapter to life for me.  The verse from Chapter 1 that I've selected is vs. 21 - "She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from theirs sins."

So - for the next 28 weeks, I will post once a week with what I have seen in God's Word in the chapter covered that week.  I earnestly invite you to join with me...read God's Word...and please offer your comments as to what God has shown you as well.

So let's read Matthew 1 every day this week...when you have time dig a little deeper and really study the verses that you have questions about.  I have a question right now that I need to look deeper into, "What is the signficance of the 14 generations mentioned in v.17?"  That intrigues me.

Feel free to post comments through the week, and then next week I'll summarize what I have seen in this first chapter of the first of the four Gospels of our Lord and Savior, JESUS!

It's Wednesday evening...

...and normally last night I would have met with a wonderful group of ladies for our Tuesday night Bible study.  We have been meeting for several years and it is a very special time of study, fellowship and prayer.  We most recently completed the study, "The Magnificent Obsession," a study on the life of Abraham by Anne Graham Lotz. It was a very insightful study into the life of this grand patriarch who became God's friend through a life of faith.  We are now in between studies, but will soon be back together in the fall for another time of pursuing God through His Word.

As I think back through the 7 weeks of this study, I am reminded that Abraham:

1. Obeyed God's call to leave his homeland, got to the place where God led him, built an altar and worshipped God
2. Left that place to go to Egypt to find food (no evidence of God's direction in this move, and probably an act of lack of trust in God's provision)
3. Lied to Pharoah about Sarai being his sister, not his wife 
4. Returned to where God wanted him and worshipped God
5. Received God's promise of an heir and numerous offspring, "Abram believed the LORD and he credited it to him as righteousness."
6. Lost trust in God to bring him the promised son and entered into a sexual relationship with Hagar, a slave girl brought back from Egypt (where he probably never should have been), from which Ishmael was born (all this was at the prompting of Sarai).
7. Received God's new name of Abraham and obeyed God's directive to be circumcised as a sign of God's covenant with him.
8. Received the promise that Sarah would bear a son within a year and believed, pleaded with God for the deliverance of Sodom on behalf of Lot.
9. Saw the destruction of Sodom from a distance and left the land to which God had led him.
10. Lied to Abimelech about Sarah being his sister, not his wife (deja vu all over again!)
11. Prayed to God following his lying.
12. Celebrated the birth of Isaac, the promised son, with Sarah, his mother.
13. Obeyed God and showed his absolute submission to His direction by offering Isaac as a sacrifice - an offering for which God provided a substitute.
14. Received complete blessing from God.

Just recapping to make it very obvious that Abraham, that great man of faith, a man called the friend of God, had a lot of missteps along the way.  We all do.  But what made Abraham "faithful" was that he always came back...he came back to the place where God wanted him, built an altar, and worshipped sincerely, with a heart of repentance I believe, for getting off track...again!  And he ended with a strong showing of faithfulness and trust in God.

Have you, like me, gotten off track at times in your life?  In reflection, it is those times that I regret the most, and Satan can use those times to accuse and condemn.  But then I reflect on Abraham's life of ups and downs and understand that I serve a merciful God who knows not only my missteps and mistakes, but my heart that wants to be His more than any thing else.  And I see Jesus on a cross saying, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." At times, I haven't realized the impact of my actions...I haven't known how much I was hurting God by my rebellion.  But He still provided mercy and grace for me when my eyes were opened and I returned to Him...every time.  And I worship Him with a heart that is SO incredibly thankful!

Does this mean, paraphrasing Paul, that I can continually repeat my mistakes without regard, counting on God's grace to cover me?  Heaven forbid!  When you truly become God's friend, the last thing you want to do is offend Him.  He is the One who has given so much for me, why would I ever want to do anything that shows anything other than love for Him?  Whatever He asks, I can know that He is asking because it is the best for me, and I can comply with absolute trust.  That's the point Abraham had reached when he could willingly go to Mount Moriah and offer his one and only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God.  I have to ask myself, "what is my Isaac"?

What God wants is my heart...my heart given to Him, fully and completely.  Does He have it?  What am I holding onto, unwilling to lay on the altar?

I pray that I show the same progress that Abraham did...and finish the race with the same strong showing of faithfulness and trust in God as he did.  For I truly want to be called a friend of God.

Day 4 - Verse100 - I think this is it...I think we're finished...but then again.....

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His."  2 Chronicles 16:9

There it is...our 100th verse on our last day.  And it is such a good, good verse to close out on, for it shows the faithfulness of God to people who give themselves to Him...completely.

How do we do that while we live on this earth, in this world, that we find ourselves?  How do we do that as we raise families, go to jobs, do all the things that we find necessary to "survive"?  How do we live in this world and not become of this world, still releasing our hearts completely to God?  It is a daily struggle, isn't it?  It is a continuous tension, I believe.  I think it is why we have to start every day with a prayer of submission and surrender.  Who are you and I going to serve on this day?  To whom will our hearts be given?

Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."  Matthew 6:24  We have to claim allegiance to one or the other...we are either spending our lives serving God, or spending them in the accumulation of wealth to serve our selves.  

But don't we have to provide for ourselves and our families?  Yes (1 Timothy 5:8).  Don't we have to prepare for our futures?  Yes (Proverbs 6:6-8).  But we are told over and above providing and preparing, to TRUST!  Listen again to Jesus' words, "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?' or "What will we drink?' or "What will we wear?'  For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."

If we find ourselves continually stressing over our provisions, either for the present or for the future, and feeling that it is all up to us to ensure that we are well taken care of; if we find ourselves amassing more and more and never feeling that we have "enough"; if we find ourselves unable to enjoy this day that God has given us because we are so consumed with worry for what tomorrow will bring....what do these things reveal about our heart's residence?  It has surely not been given completely to God.

A heart given to God resides in His peace, knowing that He is our good, good Father, ready to give His children exactly what they need.  Does that always look like what we think we need?  No --- just as we, as earthly parents, do not always give our children what they think they need, because we know better than they what is best for them.  "As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"  Matthew 7:11

A heart given completely to God is one that trusts in Him...no matter what.  Remembering that He has promised us good things.  Better things than we would give our children.  Things that we don't even comprehend!  But they will come...and we will see...our hearts were in a good, good place in His hands!

Well - we're finished.  100 verses!  But we are never finished with God's Word, are we?  Starting in June, we will begin to study Proverbs.  I invite you all to join in that.  In the meantime, I will be adding notes  on what I am reading in the Word and what God is showing me.  I always invite your comments and I love knowing we are being united in His Spirit through the Word of God living in each of us.  

God bless you on this lovely May morning...and give Him your heart today...and then tomorrow...and then each and every day between now and eternity!

Day 3 - Verse 100 - "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His." 2 Chronicles 16:9

I say my heart is "completely yours, O God"...but does my life truly reflect that profession?

When I review my day, how is it spent?  Do I truly have no other gods before my God?  Out of my 16+ waking hours, how many do I spend seeking/praying to/worshipping God?  Can I even get an hour in?  Do I count it a "good day" when I spend 15-20 minutes in prayer and another 10-15 reading His Word?

If my heart is to be completely turned over to God, I must dedicate time to Him.  I must seek Him wholeheartedly and get rid of a lot of other "gods" in my life.  Today, I am asking God to help me clean house...to push out the things that are keeping me from living what I say that I truly want...HIM FIRST!

God says, "Love Me the most"...more than anything else.  What is it in my life, and in yours, that steps in front of Him and demands our attention, our loyalty and our time?  Whatever those things are, let's get our lives in line and demote their position.  Let's be able to review our days and see that where we are wanting to spend our time is with our Father, our God, our Savior.  And let's begin to make those times our most coveted of the day.

Here is my intended plan going forward....

• Rise and greet the new day before my feet hit the ground with a prayer of thanksgiving to my God...thanking Him for giving me one more day on this earth to discover more of Him and to share Him with every opportunity, to cleanse me of all my unrighteousness, and to make me strong for Him...for today.
• Sit down with His Word in my lap and read, slowly and intentionally, praying through each passage for understanding and insight...asking Him for His application to my life today. Thanking Him for His unbelievably miraculous Holy Scripture that He has given us, and asking the Holy Spirit to move in my life so that I become just a little more like Him today.
• Enter my day with deliberate purpose of living for my Father.  With each decision, say a prayer of asking for His wisdom whether to turn to the right or to the left, and pausing to wait to feel His hand.
• End my day with His Word again, and then asking Him to bring to my mind those who need my intercessory prayer, praying for my family, praying for our country and for the worldwide body of believers...asking Him "to show Himself strong" for all who are faithful.

This is my plan...I pray to God to help me live by it.  I do not ever want to proclaim something that I am not ready to try to live by.  He is faithful and He is strong, and I am asking for His strength to overpower my weakness.  For my flesh is so very, very weak.  Mornings are not easy for me...my bed is hard to crawl out of at times.  I have an addiction to stupid TV programs!  I get sidetracked easily by other "not so bad" habits.

But who do I love the most?  Let my life be a testimony to that love!

Day 2 - Verse 100 - "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His." 2 Chronicles 16:9

Do you ever have one of those days, or weeks, that you feel like you have to pray, "Lord, show yourself strong for me right now, because I am not feeling strong."  I believe God hears those prayers of ours, prayers of desperation and earnest need.  And I believe, just as this verse tells us, that when we put our trust completely in Him, and give our hearts over to Him, He does show Himself strong for us.

So what does that mean?  What difference does it make in our lives when God "shows Himself strong"?  Does it mean that everything automatically falls into place and whatever was causing us to drop to our knees in desperate prayer is taken care of?  I think we can all say, "obviously not" to that. Because our needs remain the same, the problems don't go away, and circumstances aren't changed in the moments we utter our pleas.

But you know what is changed?  WE are changed.  We are given His strength as we ask for Him to show Himself strong.  We become empowered through His Spirit living in us to face the problems, to get through the tough circumstances, and to do so without fear.  For we are reminded, in every core of our being, that if HE is for us, then who can be against us?

God shows Himself strong as we become strong in Him.  We look back and say,"How did I get through that?"  And we know the answer is:  GOD.  God Himself became the strength that we needed, when we needed it.

When we face times of uncertainty...and there are so many areas of uncertainty in our lives right now...if we have given our hearts to God, placing in His hands our lives and our futures, all we need do is ask Him to show Himself strong in our lives.  To know that, no matter what, He is with us and will never forsake us.

When we face times of doubt...and our enemy loves to throw the darts of doubt at us so that we will not be testifiers to the power of our God...we just ask our Father to show Himself strong, to take those fiery darts and to extinguish each of them before they take hold and cause us to question His plan, His very existence.

When we face times of personal crisis, death of loved ones, our own sicknesses...and those times are bound to come to each of us as we live on this broken planet...we ask God to show Himself strong, to take hold of our emotions and to remind us of His great love for us, a love that we cannot be separated from, no matter what we are going through.  For He is our Good Shepherd, and He will walk with us through the valley of death and sorrow, into a place where He will  anoint our heads with oil and our cup will overflow with His blessings, and we will live in the house of the Lord forever.

The only condition on all of these promises is that we are a people who have given our hearts completely to Him...have we?  Are we?  Every day, that is our choice.  Who has my heart?  This temporary world that I'm living in now, or my God, the Creator of the universe, my Lord and my Savior, my Good, Good Shepherd who opens the gate for me and asks me to follow Him?

Lord, let me make the right decision every morning as to where my heart resides...let it always be placed in Your good and gracious hands.  I give my heart to You.

Day 1 - Verse 100 - CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???

Well it has taken us a while to get here, hasn't it?  There have certainly been ups and downs, and detours and delays, but here we are!  The end of our journey!

Our parallel journey along the Appalachian Trail of 2,185 miles comes to an end as well.  Do you want to see what it looks like from the view in Maine where we would be standing right now?  That's it, Katahdin, Maine.  The goal for many a hiker through the years.

Our goal has been just as "lofty"!  Our goal was to commit 100 Bible verses in our memory.  While I know at this point that I cannot recite all 100 on command, I also know that these verses have brought God's Word to life in me at times when I absolutely needed it the most.  God's Word is unique in its ability to speak to us, and that is because it is His living Word, inspired by Him, through the Holy Spirit.  And that same Holy Spirit lives in us as Christians to speak His Word to us individually, and in ways that we cannot understand, at just the right moments of our need.  There is no other book like the Holy Bible---if you haven't embraced it, you have missed hearing the Word of God speak to you.  Why would you ever want to miss out on that glorious experience?  I urge you to open your Bible and start reading it again, or for the very first time.  Go to it with an open heart and an open mind and pray for wisdom (James 1:3) and God will hear your prayer and allow you to start on another beautiful journey!

But today we  must look back!  We've covered a lot of ground over our 2,185 miles!  If you'll remember, the verses have been grouped into several different categories.  We started out with the Bible's Fantastic Four, went on The Roman Road of Salvation, learned of The Word of God and Prayer, Inner Peace and Security, Worship and Thanksgiving, had 10 Verses to Stand On, viewed Holiness by Obeying God's Commands and Fullness by allowing the Holy Spirit to Rule in our , Lives, gained Joy through God's Kind of Happiness, increased Faith by Trusting God and Resting in His Word, heard The Great Commission of proclaiming Jesus, rested in the 23rd Psalm, and concluded with the Alpha and Omega, remembering the first and envisioning the second coming of Christ.

This last verse is one of my very favorites that when I first heard it, I almost gasped in wonder that God's eye had found me!  It is a beautiful picture of our loving God, keeping His watchful eye on everyone on this planet earth.  I'm choosing it to end with because I want to encourage each one of us to be the person that this verse describes:

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His."  2 Chronicles 16:9

My heart has not always been completely His, but as of today, as of this morning, as of this moment, I give my heart to Him so completely.  He has me!  He can do what He wills in my life and I am content.  My trust is in Him.

Because of those things...He promises me to show Himself strong to me.  I have no need to fear, for He is with me, always.  He will strengthen me when I am weak, and He will lift me up when I fall down.

Oh what a God we serve!  What a marvelous Book He has given us.  Let's spend a few days camping out at this last stop, and then....let's see where God takes us next!

In His Amazing Love!!

Janice

Day 4 - Verse 99 - "He who testifies about these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!" Revelation 22:20

"He who testifies about these things...."

Do you know the "He" that brings us His testimony?  Jesus, Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord. Do you know Him?

For He is coming, and it will be soon.  Whether I am here to see Him come in majestic glory to the earth or not, He is coming for me, and for everyone now living, soon.  Our lives are just a vapor, and then....He is coming.

In praying for those I love who do not yet acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior, I often repeat Jesus' prayer as relayed in John 14:24,  “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world." I want all those that God has given me in this life to love the most dearly to be with me, and to see the glory of Jesus, bestowed upon Him by His Father.  I cannot even imagine what that is going to be like, but I want to be there and I want all who I love to be there.

But, in writing this, I realize that I have been commanded to love everyone, as God has loved me. EVERYONE!  Not only those that it comes naturally to me to love, but those that, in my human nature, I would choose to separate myself from and never consider entering into a relationship based on love.  That's what sets Christianity apart in my eyes...the command that we have to choose to love ALL, and to see others as just as worthy as us to receive God's wonderful gift of life through Jesus.

Christian love, then, has to be about proclaiming the love of God.  We cannot say that we love others if we are withholding THE WAY to everlasting life from them.  What good is loving someone in this life if we are keeping them from eternal life when they leave this earth?  And we all will leave...Jesus will come!

This is where it gets difficult.  Loving so much that we cannot keep silent.  And this is where, to some, Christianity becomes offensive.  To say that there is one way makes some people cringe. It makes some people mad.  And it makes some people shut down.

I recently heard an allegory that, to me, made sense.  If you're on a plane that's about to certainly crash, and the flight attendant announces, "Listen to me...when this plane crashes, there is only one way to get out of it and live.  Do what I say, and I will show you that way.  No other way will get you out. If you choose another way, you will die."  Is that flight attendant being narrow-minded?  Are they being mean?  Is it cruel of them to say that they know the only way?  Or is it an act of supreme kindness and love to share with you the way to survival?

That is what God has done for mankind.  He understood that we would grow confused about who He is and about what this life is about.   He knew our minds were not capable of embracing His truth without seeing it and hearing it first-hand.  He sent His Son, Jesus, to say, "I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life"....follow me and I will lead you out of this life and into the next.  (John 10:1-18)

"He who testifies about these things says...."

Believe the testimony of Jesus.  Read the Bible and hear His words to us.  He came for us.  He is coming again for us.  Believe in His name and be saved....for He is coming soon.

Look unto me, and be ye saved , all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22


He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:16

But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved.  Acts 15:11

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.  Acts 16:31

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved .  Romans 10:9