Bible Passage for the Week

The bible passage for this week comes from Philippians 1:3 - "I thank my God every time I remember you!"

God places people in our lives that are truly a blessing.  As you go through the week, thank God for those people and let those people know they are truly a blessing!

Have a great week!
Cheryl

Rejoice in Suffering?

Sometimes when I am reading scripture I come across words/phrases that make me stop reading and really think about what God is actually asking of us.  For instance, reading in Romans 5:3 it says, “We rejoice in our sufferings…”  Really?  We are to rejoice in the suffering we are experiencing.  I am sure my husband could attest that I lack in the rejoicing piece when I am suffering.  Do people really rejoice in their suffering?

These words are words I pondered for awhile and while pondering them I thought of a family that fit this statement.  The family is one that consists of Dad, Mom and 4 little girls aging 11 and under.  Dad is a pastor and mom teaches part time and stays home with the girls the other part of the time.  About a year and a half ago, dad was experiencing some severe headaches that were debilitating.  Dad went to the doctor, referred to Mayo Clinic in MN, and essentially stumped the doctors there.  In the middle of all of this, mom fell off of a horse and broke her pelvic bone.  This meant immediate surgery and being completely immobile for months.  The family has now had to move to Houston, TX for dad’s medical conditions.  He is in and out of the hospital with surgery looming and a potential for not real good results.  Mom has had to have another surgery because the first one didn’t heal correctly.  Therefore, she is once again laid up for the months.  On top of all of this, their niece was bon at 34 weeks and did marvelously well in the NICU.  She had a 19 day stay and then was able to come home.  However, after being home for a short period she contracted bacterial meningitis.  The bacterial meningitis took her life after being on this earth for four months. 

I go back to those words, rejoice in suffering.  How can a family rejoice in suffering after going through all of that AND still has more to go through?  They do rejoice.  Mom writes a blog.  Through her blog she shares the suffering that they are experiencing; yet, in that she shares how Christ is so good!  She shares all the good that has come from the suffering they have experienced.  She shares Christ’s love.

You see the bible passage didn’t just end with “rejoice in suffering”.  It goes on to say, “Knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)  Scripture didn’t end with Romans 5:3 either.  Scripture is filled with Christ’s promises for us!  God doesn’t forget us in our suffering.  In fact, He promises to be with us always. (Matthew 28:20)  Not only does He not forget us He equips us.  Psalm 18:39 notes, “For you equipped me with strength for the battle…” and Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  We have His promises to hold onto.  We have His strength to lean upon.  We have His love filling us.  AND we can rejoice in suffering because in Romans 8:28 it states, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Rejoice in Christ!

Cheryl 

Bible Passage for the Week

We have a mighty God that does marvelous things!  Psalm 72:18 "Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds."

As you go about this week, take note of all the marvelous deeds God has done.  Share with your family and friends how marvelous our God is!

Cheryl

Strength

Do you ever stop to reflect on things of the past and wonder how you managed to get through it?  I have taken time to reflect upon things and I am amazed how “I” got through certain events.  For instance, I have three children and when our youngest was born life was in full swing at our house.  When Savannah was a couple months old, Dan traveled to Annual Meeting and was gone 10 days.  At that point in Savannah’s life, she was up every two hours to eat.  Dan usually took a feeding in the middle of the night so I got a little bit of rest as well.  However, with Dan gone for 10 days that meant I had to do all the feedings, work, make sure the kids made it to school, dance, karate, and all the other things life threw at us.  I remember the tears running down my face as I was telling Dan I didn’t know how I was going to do it.  I didn’t know how I was going to function with no sleep for 10 days.  Those 10 days I had more energy than I knew what to do with.  I fed Savannah every two hours, the kids made it to school, I made it to work and I felt great!  I had nothing to with it!  There is no way on my strength alone that I could have made it through those 10 days so well.

Psalm 21:1 says, “O Lord, in Your strength the king rejoices, and in Your salvation how greatly he exults.”  The six words in this verse that bring a whole heap of comfort are, “in Your strength…in Your salvation”.  We can rejoice because we have the strength of the Lord.  We can exult and be exuberantly happy because our salvation is in Christ.  Take the Lord’s strength to our daily lives.  We can survive anything put before us because we have the strength of the Lord.  In your strength Lord, I can make it through the challenges of the day.  In your strength Lord, I can survive 10 days of very little sleep.  In your strength Lord, I can walk the journey of life. 

It is a comfort to know we don’t have to do “life” alone!  Isaiah41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Cheryl

Peace

Time has passed by and I have not shared a blessing bible passage in a while.  Use this bible passage or other ones I have posted or you have found to share with your children before they go to bed at night.  The last words you are sharing with your children before they sleep are God's Words.  What a great thing to have in your mind before you fall asleep.

This bible passage comes from 2 Thessalonians 3:16.  "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.  The Lord be with you all."

The Lord's peace is like none other!  I pray you enjoy sharing God's word with your children each night.

Cheryl 

Bible Passage for the Week

This week take the time to consider 1 Corinthians 13:4.  "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."

Post this verse around your house to remind you what love is and what love is not.  As you go through the week take opportunities to demonstrate love. 

Cheryl

Inconvenient Storms

I shared these words with my online ladies bible study and I thought I would share them with you.

“Inconvenient Storms” – words that could be used for the things that occur in life that are unsettling or cause bumps in the road.  I am sure there are inconvenient storms that occur in everyone’s life.  We have probably been told during these storms that God will carry you through.  He is with you!  He has a plan for you.  However, many times it doesn’t feel like it.  We are enduring whatever it is and why would God put me through this?

In Psalm 3:7 David cried out “Arise, O Lord!  Save me Oh my God!”  We cry out – Lord why do I have to endure these inconvenient storms?  Jesus cried out, “Let this cup pass from me.”  (Matthew 26:39)  Wait!  Jesus cried out?  He is the Christ, Messiah, King of all Kings and He cried out to His Father?

Yes, Jesus cried out to His Father, “Let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”  Can you imagine if the Heavenly Father would have changed His mind and said “No, My Son, you do not have to suffer?”   Where would that leave us?  It would leave us in the devil’s hands!

Our Heavenly Father knew His Son had to suffer so we could have life.  He knew the big picture.  The same goes for us in our daily lives.  When God says “For I know the plans I have for you” (Jeremiah 29:11)He isn’t kidding.  His plans are “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (29:11) That doesn’t mean we are not going to face the “inconvenient storms” in life.  James 1:2-3 states, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

What it does mean is He will give us the strength to get through whatever “inconvenient storms” we face in life.  He will give us the wisdom to get through the “inconvenient storms”.  He will give us the peace to get through the “inconvenient storms”.  1 Corinthians 10:13 states, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”  There are plaques that share the words...the Lord may calm the storm or he may calm you to get through the storm.   Whichever one the Lord chooses, you have what you need to get through.

I want to go back to those little words, “cried out”.  Jesus cried out to His Heavenly Father.  We too need to cry out to our Heavenly Father.  We need to share our hurts, angers, disappointments, and fears with Him.  In doing that, you are giving everything over to Him.  The Heavenly Father gave His Son the strength and peace to die so that we may have life!  Our Heavenly Father will give us the strength and peace to endure the “inconvenient storms”.

Cheryl  

       

Bible Passage for the Week

Due to a busy travel week, I am going to post our bible passage for the week a day early.

It comes from Philippians 2:4 "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

This is a great bible passage to post around the house to remind us that we need to be concerned about others.  Share with family and friends this week who God has placed in your life that you could be of help to.  Remember to pray for those people too!

Cheryl

What if?

One of my new "addictions" is pinterest.com.  It is a website filled with ideas, pictures, sayings, etc that can take hours of one's time.  The time thing is not so good - the ideas are great!  So while spending sometime perusing the other day I came across a saying that humbled me!

"What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday."  Ouch!  I started to think about what I would have and the list was pretty short.  Then I took a look around me and I have been blessed beyond words.  Can I sigh over the Internet?  I have neglected to thank my Savior for the blessings He has given me. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 states, "Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." and Ephesians 5:20 notes, "Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."  I have heard these verses many times.  In fact, they are underlined in my bible; yet, I didn't think much about it. 

What a blessing it is to have a Savior that doesn't give us what we deserve!  Take time during the day to Thank Him in all circumstances!  Remember to thank Him for the little things, the big things, and all the things in between. 

Thank you Jesus for blessing us beyond our wildest dreams!

Cheryl 

Bible Passage for the week

This week's bible passage to post around the house is Psalm 16:9. "Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure."

How are you rejoicing in the Lord this week?  Share with your family and friends the great blessings our Savior has showered on you! 

Cheryl