I Cor 12:3 "Except by the Holy Spirit" (September 1)

I Cor 12:3 "...no one can say, 'Jesus is LORD,' except by the Holy Spirit."  If there is anything right within us, it's because of His Power, His Spirit.  He has set His Love on us not because of anything we have done.  We can't make Him love us any more!  Nothing, except by the Spirit of God. 

 

I Cor 11:19 "May the Genuine Be Recognized" (August 31)

I Cor 11:19 - There is a little phrase in today's reading that lingers large in my mind:  "that those who are genuine among you may be recognized."  We've been part of factions in a church, even caused some of them, I'm sure.  But I want no part in doing anything to bring judgment on the church.  I want to look at what's wrong in my own heart first, always.  I can't make divisions go away but I can make my heart right with my Beautiful God.  And I am.  And I will be.  And may the God of all Hope make us all genuine in our endeavors.  May you be found faithful!  I recognize what is so genuine in you!

   

I Cor 11:1 "Be Imitators of Me" (August 30)

I Cor 11:1 Be imitators of me as I imitate Christ. 

The apostle preached truth, a doctrine they ought to believe.

The apostle preached Truth because he led a life like he ought to live.    

I Cor 10:31 "What Stirs in You is No Formula Thing" (August 29)

I Cor 10:31 "...Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Give No Offense...
Try to Please Everyone...
Don't Seek My Own Advantage...
Seek the Advantage of many that they may be saved...

Scripture interprets Scripture.  It's not a list of Do's and Don'ts.  It's a calling to a higher and narrow way living for the Glory of God not unto ourselves and making our lives work.  It's an invitation to walk with a God Who provides ways of escape in the midst of trouble.  What stirs in you is no "formula thing" but a high calling.  All for the Glory of God. 

I Cor 10:4 "Overthrown in the Wilderness" (August 28)

I Cor 10:1 Our fathers were all under the miraculous cloud guidance by day inch by inch, and all of them passed through the sea drop by drop splashing onto them as they stomped on the solid sea floor.  All were baptized in that cloud, that sea and drank from Christ Himself.  Nevertheless, with most of them, they were overthrown in the wilderness - 10:4.  I'm walking through a wilderness this season of my life and it is stark smoldering heavy hot even this day and it's not the 110 degrees outside.  May we all not desire evil as they did ~ 10:6. 

Don't be Idolaters;
Don't Indulge;
Don't Grumble. 
I Cor 10:13 ~ No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful.  He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability but will provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it.  Wondering this day about my way of escape because I need to endure this wilderness and I want out so badly and I cannot see my way out and I refuse to be overthrown.

I Cor 9:26 "Don't Run Aimlessly" (August 27, 2011)

I Cor 9:24 - All the runners race.  Only one receives the prize.  Run that you may obtain it. Exercise self-control in all things. 

I Cor 9:26,27 ~  Don't run aimlessly; don't box as one beating the air.  Discipline your body and keep it under control or you might be DQ'd. 

I Cor. 8:1 "Knowledge Puffs Up" (August 26)

I Cor 8:1 "All of us possess knowledge." This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. You may know all the right things, hold the right answers, speak the right rhetoric, but without LOVE, all the human knowledge you possess is worthless. You may have worked hard to acheive the knowledge you have in a certain area, but what good is it if it is without love?  If your life isn't producing love for your husband, your children, your family, your neighbors, your world, then I wonder what you have missed?  Knowledge fills you up with lots of rhetoric and hot air.  Love pours out of repentant hearts.  Isa 57:15 Revive us with courage, O LORD---those of us who have repented.

I Cor. 7:20 "Remain With God" (August 25)

I Cor 7:23 ~ You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.  So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

I Cor 7:20 - When married people become Christians, they should stay in the conditions where they are.  We have shared that verse with many friends who have become new believers.  One brand new Christian friend, who was living with an unbelieving husband who was addicted, made that ghastly beautiful decision to stay with her husband and move toward him.  A couple of weeks later, her twenty-something-year-old husband was dead.  Whatever conditions you are in this day, remain with God! 

I Cor 7:15 "God Has Called You to Peace" (August 24)

I Corinthians 7:15 "God has called you to peace." No matter what your circumstances! Even if, as it says in the context of these verses, even if you have an unbelieving husband who separates from you, you are not enslaved by your circumstances. You are not called to solve the situation you live in. You are called to peace. Sometimes I'm striving so hard to solve the problems I face that I miss the "Captain Brother" forming me into a lover and laborer.  Called to Peace (a person) not called to problemsolving. Do I know that Peace in the midst of all that I face this day?

I Cor 6:12 "I Will Not Be Enslaved by Anything" (August 23)

Washed.
Sanctified.
Justified.     I Cor 6:11

All = Lawful
All = Not Helpful
I will not be enslaved by anything. I Cor 6:12

I am not my own.
I've been bought with a price.
So, Glorify God in your body.    I Cor 6:20

I Cor 5:8 "Unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth" (August 22)

I Cor 5:8 ~ "Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

I Cor 5:11 ~ Don't associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of immorality, greed, idolatry, reviler, swindler---don't even eat with such a one.  Judge those inside the church. God judges those outside. 
   
Scripture interprets Scripture.  There is evil inside the church and outside the church.  Am I willing to speak the truth in love---the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth to my brothers and sisters.

I Cor 4:20 "The Kingdom is Not in Talk but in Power" (August 21)

Corinthians 4:5 ~ Our God will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart."  For those difficult people in my life who dismiss me and distance themselves from me, may I focus on what's going on in my own heart.  The Darling of Heaven will one day disclose what's really on my heart. 

The followers of Christ in verses 10-13 were:
* Weak
* Held in disrepute
* Hungry
* Poorly dressed
* Buffeted
* Homeless

So how did they deal with that?
"When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat."
Only by the power of God!

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power ~ I Cor 4:20.

 

I Cor 3:3 "Am I Being Merely Human?" (August 20)

I Corinthians 3:3 When there is jealousy in you, among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?  Back-to-school days remind me of being jealous over what other kids could do that mine couldn't.  Behavior was way too important on my school list.  Breaking the moral code. 

The LORD has assigned to each of us what we need.  Only God makes it all grow.  How arrogant of me to think that all is good and I can make something happen in another life.  According to the Grace of God, He will give out and He will perform.  So, why do freshly sharpened pencils and trendy backpacks and empty notebooks invite me to human behavior?  Why do I behave in a human way? What do I fear?  Is this coming from a good place in my heart?  We are more than merely human. 

I Cor 2:3, 4 "I Am With You in Your Weakness" (August 19)

I Cor 1:3-4   I am with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling---my speech and my message are not in plausible words of wisdom----but I am with you in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Somehow I struggle with my lack of wisdom and think our world values the strong, the mighty, the accomplished.  But, my God is saying that He is with me in my current weakness, my present fear, my obvious trembling.  So grateful to Him this day for the Demonstration of His Spirit cause the weakness is obvious but the grace is overwhelming! I don't need to be a stronger person---I need to be a surrendered one. 

 

I Cor 1:8 "Sustained To The End" (August 18)

Called by the will of God.  I Cor 1:1
Called to be saints together with all who call on His Name.

Called into the fellowship. 

Given the Grace of God so that you are not lacking. I Cor 1:7
Enriched in all speech and all knowledge

God will sustain you to the end.  I Cor 1:8
The Corinthians were materialistic, morally corrupt, and intellectual.
God showed up in the capital city of corruption and called His children to Himself.
Just like me and you in all the messes we deal with...
We are called, enriched, sustained and that's so encouraging to me this difficult day.

Romans 16:1 "Phoebe: A Patron of Many" (August 17)

From Phoebe: A servant of the church.  A patron of many.  Romans 16:1.

To Prisca and Aquila: Who risked their lives for Paul.  Romans 16:3

To him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel, Romans 16:25, and the preaching of Jesus Christ ... to bring about the obedience of faith—

To the only wise God be Glory Forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen and Amen.

       "Ad Majoriam dei Gloriam" -
       Patrons and Prisoners and Preachers For the Greater Glory of God
      
       Make all these women who read this blog patrons of many!

Romans 15:30 "A Prayer for Those Who Minister" (August 16)

Romans 15:30 ~ I appeal to you by the love of the Spirit to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf that my service may be acceptable to the saints.  By God's will may I come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.   Amen.

Romans 15:4 "Through Endurance & Encouragement of the Word" (August 15)

Today, I start a new job.  A new chapter.  But for each of us, today is a fresh slate.  His mercies were brand new this morning, just as the sun came up.  For every day that God gives us breath, may we find Hope for we are loved more than we ever dreamed.

May I bear with the failings of those in my life.
Romans 15:1 ~ We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

May I find my Hope in the Word of God.
Romans 15:4 ~ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

May I live in harmony with my family & friends because of God.
Romans 15:5 ~ May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another.

May I respond to a very Good God each day and pray for God to fill us all with Hope.
Romans 15:13 ~ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 14:6 "Today Is In Honor of the LORD" (August 14)

Romans 14:4  "Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand."  Oh God! Please help me to know this in my heart. I deal daily with passing judgment on those close to me.  Set me free. What is it about me that I do not have compassion on others?  Esteem all days alike!  They are all in honor of the LORD Who loves us ~ Romans 14:6.   For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. What does my judgment of others say about myself?

       "Blindness to your own inner world gives you a false confidence that you are seeing clearly into      others faults."  What about having compassion on even our own bitterest of enemies?  Larry Crabb
   

Romans 13:8 "Summed Up in One Word: LOVE" (August 13)

Romans 13:8 ~ Owe no one anything, except to love each other..the commandments are summed up in this word:  "Love your neighbor as yourself." Incredibly hard to owe no man anything except love.  What about my enemies?  Do they produce compassion in me this day?  Someone offended me to my face today, big time.  Can I work through it to move to a place of compassion for that person?  Wonder why not??

       Every word God ever said to you, and will ever say,
       represents an invitation to know His Heart of Love
       and to enter His Community of Love.
       Larry Crabb

Romans 12:2 "By Testing You May Discern God's Will" (August 12)

Romans 12: 1-2 ~
Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
That by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:3  ~
Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think
Think with sober judgment according to the Measure of Faith that God has assigned.

Romans 12:9-21 ~
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.
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another.
Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.
Never be wise in your own sight.
Repay no one evil for evil,
but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God,
if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink;
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We are marked people.  What makes our lives different that a very good person?  Overcoming evil with all these good things.  Scripture interprets Scripture.  So, we must add how we know we can overcome evil with good.  Col 1:29 - It is His Energy that is so powerfully at work in us, if we let Him.  Will you?  This list is impossible without God!

Romans 11:33 - "Don't Become Proud, but Fear" (August 11)

Romans 11:20  ~  Stand fast through faith.  Do not become proud, but fear....note the Kindness of God...and the Severity toward those who have fallen.  Continue in His Kindness.
   
Romans 11:33 ~ Oh, the depth of the Riches and Wisdom and Knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His Judgments and how inscrutable His Ways!
   
Romans 11:36 ~ From Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be Glory forever. Amen.

 

Romans 11:5 "Chosen By Grace Not Performance" (August 10)

Romans 11:5 ~ There is a remnant, chosen by grace.  But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. We are chosen by grace and not by works.  In the true church realitor, it is made up of people saved by grace.  Some are still working real hard to make it to heaven---doesn't work that way.  We are human beings not human doers.  The Hand of Grace is on us~ So why are you working so hard to pull your life together?

Romans 10:8 "The Word is Near You" (August 9)

Romans 10:2 They have a zeal for God but nor according to knowledge.  They didn't submit to God's Righteousness.  They sought to establish their own.  A righteousness based on the law that the person who does the commandments lives by.  No, the righteousness based on faith says what?  Romans 10:8,9 ~ The word is near you, in your mouth and heart.  Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is LORD and God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved.

We have all submitted once and for all to God's Righteousness.  But, every day, we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts either the resurrection of Christ or a resurrection of our own ideas.  What will it be this day?

Romans 9:17 "Vessels of Mercy" (August 8)

Romans 9:17 ~  "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." It's what God said to Pharaoh who hardened his heart against the Mighty One.  What will we do with this God Who wants to show His Power in you and in me? Will we strive and struggle with all of our strength?  Romans 9:16 says that it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.  We should all be on our faces crying to Our Maker for Mercy.  Romans 9:18 ~ He has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.   Do we answer Him back?   He wants to make known the Riches of His Glory in vessels of mercy.  What will we do with this Jesus, our God?

Romans 9:13 "The Sovereign Mercy of God" (August 7)

Romans 9:13 ~ "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." A stunning verse to comprehend. What shall we say??  Injustice!  "By no means.  For God says to Moses: I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
Praying for us all that the Holy One shifts His Eyes of Mercy our way.  It is all about the Sovereign Will of God not about my human exertion.

Romans 8:23 "Groan Inwardly Wait Eagerly" (August 6)

Foreknown.
Predestined.
Called.
Justified.
A String of Pearls.  A Golden Chain. 
While the whole creation growns...
Groan Inwardly.  Wait Eagerly.  Romans 8:23
While the Spirit groans for us with too deep Words...
Praying Graces stirred up in our Weaknesses....
While we know Nothing can separate us from His Love,
All Things Work Together for Good ~ Romans 8:28.
Nothing Separates us...nothing Present nothing Future.
If our God is For us, Who can be Against us?

"You may be removed from pleasant dwellings, and friends, and estates. You may even live to see and seek your parting. Farewell, all this world accounts most valuable.  The soul that is in Christ, when other things are pulled away, cleaves to Christ, and these separations pain him not. Yea, when death comes, that breaks all other unions, even that of the soul and body, it carries the believer's soul into the nearest union with its beloved Lord Jesus, and the full enjoyment of him forever."

Romans 8:15 "No Condemnation! No Comparison!" (August 5)

Wow and Wow and Wow!  ~ There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus ~ Romans 8:1.  I am arrogant if I condemn myself to perform where Christ speaks freedom from guilt and shame ~ Romans 8:5.  You live according to the flesh or the Spirit with minds set on the flesh or the Spirit.  How do you know?  Do you have life and peace in your life no matter what the circumstances?  Or are we on a roller coaster when things are good, we are up, when things are not-so-good, we're down.  Do we cry Abba! Father! ~ Romans 8:15. Do you know way down deep inside, in those middle of the night conversations in your head, in the middle of rejection, in the face of people "missing" you badly, that you have received the Spirit of Adoption and you can stand tall when life falls hard on you.  What captures your mind, your thoughts, your goals, your actions? It's a barometer for what is going on inside your heart.  We all face various trials and suffering in this life. Our goal is not to get rid of them. No flesh wants to suffer.  You cannot escape suffering.  Consider this!  Paul writes:  "I  consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." No comparison.  No condemnation.  Just a cry, Abba!

Romans 7:15 "The Spousal Love of Christ Changes Everything (August 4)

Paul begins this chapter talkning about spousal love and how it changed everythng. 

Romans 7:5 ~ Our sinful passions are aroused by the law to bear fruit for death.  You don't hear many people saying that truth.  But we are released from the law.  Yet Paul is saying that if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.  Is the law sin?  By no means.  The law shows us what it is to covet. We can stop bad behavior on our own but we can't stop coveting without God's help.  Sin seized me and deceived me and slayed me.

Romans 7:15 ~ I don't even understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. I may have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  How can that change for me?  The evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

Romans 7:24 ~ Wretched man that I am!  Thanks to our God who already delivered me from death and delivers me every day.

May the Spousal Love of our Beautiful God change us from the inside out.  Change the intentions of our hearts.  Change the motivations in our minds and actions.  If I believed in This Spousal Love that delivers, what would my day look like?

Romans 6:11 "I am ALIVE in Ways I've Never Been Before" (August 3)

Romans 6:11 ~ Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Wanted:  Dead or Alive.  Doesn't work both ways.  You can't be dead and alive at the same time.  If we are dead to sin, we are free from its power, its guilt, it shame, its effects.  Dead or Alive...Alive to Christ! 

   
Romans 6:17 ~ Thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.  Just like it says in Rom 6:4--- We have power to walk this very day.  Just as Christ was raised up from the dead, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  We can walk in newness of life today no matter what He has brought your way, by His Glorious Power!  Will I walk in that Power or strive to make this a better day?

Under His Grace
Romans 6:14

Romans 5:3-5 "Embrace Your Suffering" (August 2)

Romans 5:3-5 ~

Justified.

So we have peace with God. 

Access into Grace. 

Hope of the Glory of God in our little lives. 

MORE than that----you mean there's more, God? 

Suffering produces Endurance.

Endurance produces Character. 

Character produces Hope. 

Love is literally poured into our Hearts. 

Grace Abounds.

What stirs in you?  No formula thing.  Are you finding the peace of God no matter what circumstances He allows?  The bottom line is Truth---what's true in your life this day?  Are you moving in your small sufferings to love your husband, your families?  Or has our pain deterred our determination?  The Spirit of God looks into your heart today...searching for waiting vessels so that He may pour His Love in your heart.  Not because of how good you've been, how good you are.  Because He loves you so!

Romans 4"17 "God Calls Into Being Things That Are Not" (August 1)

Romans 4:3 ~ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."  You are blessed because apart from any work, any thing you ever "do" to earn My Love or stiff arm Me away, God credits you as righteous in His Sight. And the credit came to Abraham before circumcision.

No sin will ever be counted against you, not the one you are presently in nor past sins nor future ones coming.  Let us follow in the footsteps of this kind of faith in a God Who gives Life to the dead and calls into being things that were not ~ Romans 4:17 ~ Face what is True in your life this day and Against All Hope, Believe!  Be strengthened in faith Give God the Glory ~ Rom 4:20 ~ because you're already persuaded that God has the Power to do what He promised ~ Rom 4:21~ Whatever He chooses to do, Give God the Glory!