Week 13

This week our verses not only remind us of our faith, but they encourage us to be thankful and show our gratitude to God.  Often I find myself upset with my children because they are not as thankful as I think they should be. They seem to demonstrate a sense of entitlement.  They think they deserve whatever they want, whenever they want it.  Now, I know that this is just childish behavior and all children act this way at times, but it still really irritates me.  I want them to realize just how good they have it.  You know what I mean, the whole "there are starving children in Africa" speech.  But why does it make me so angry to see this behavior in my children.  Maybe, because it convicts me of my behavior towards God.  So many times I am ungrateful. So often I get upset because I have not gotten what I wanted or what I think that I deserve.  Thank God that I did not get what I deserved, but instead received His grace and mercy.  Because of this I should never cease to praise Him and be thankful for every "good and perfect gift" He sends my way.  This week, let's try to show our gratitude and do everything to the glory of Christ.

Colossians 3:15-17
And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were called in one body, control your hearts.  Be thankful.  Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you so, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Week 12

This week we continue on with verses about faith.  I hope that putting these verses to memory is  strengthening your faith as they are mine.  Keep up the good work and ask someone you know is learning with us about one of the references of the past weeks, or even this week.  Let's keep each other accountable and on our toes.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Week 11

I hope that we have been living by our faith this week.  Why is this so much easier to say than to do?  Why is it so hard to surrender all of my life over to Jesus and live completely by faith each day?  Why do I constantly feel the need to take control of one area or another and "take care of it"  for Him?  As I was reading our morning devotion to the children at breakfast today, I came across a quote from Franklin Graham that really resounded in my heart.  It says this, "There is not a single thing that Jesus cannot change, control, and conquer because He is the living Lord."  If I really believe this with all of my heart (and I do), then it should not be hard for me to have faith.  But yet it often is because of my sinful nature and the desire that I have inside to need to be in total control.  Just another example of how the Christian life is a process.  Everyday learning to submit to His will and authority for my life.
This week will will look at Ephesians 2:8-10 which reminds us that we are saved by faith and not works. These verses are some that you have heard all of your life in Sunday School. Meditate on them this week and see how your faith is strengthened.  After all, there is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation.  It is a gift from God.  Let's treat it like that and show Him our gratitude and thankfulness by fulfilling those good works He prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through fatih-and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not of works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Week 10

Congratulations!  We have now learned an entire chapter of the Bible that is not a Psalm.  I do not know about you, but I think this is an accomplishment.  I can tell you, God is already using the verses that we have learned this year in my life.  There have been several times when Him has brought them to my mind at just the time I needed them.  This week we move from focusing on love to turning our hearts toward faith.  Just recently at the dinner table my oldest son asked, "What is faith?"  Wow!  That is some kind of question from a five year old.  I politely submitted to the authority of my husband and allowed him to answer that one.  But, it is a good question and an important one for us to consider.  So, for the next few weeks we will be learning twelve verses the Robert Morgan places under the heading, "Faith:  Trusting God and Resting in His Word".  Hopefully, through this process we will learn to trust God more and in doing so find rest in Him.  We begin in Romans.  A familiar passage to most of us.  But as we ponder over these verses this week, let us remember to live each day of our lives by faith and not be ashamed.

Romans 1:16-17
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:  first the Jew, then for the Gentile.  For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteouness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written:  "The righteous will live by faith."

Week 9

Well, we have finally arrived.  This week we will complete 1 Corinthians 13. I hope that you are proud of yourself for this accomplishment.  I am proud of the commitment that we have made to take this journey together this year.  Remember, we are not doing this to be able to say that we learned 100 verses of scripture.  We are doing this to hide God's word in our hearts.  Then, we will learn to love Him more and let His word live through us each day. 

1 Corinthians 13:11-13
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.  Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  And now these three remain:  faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.

Week 8

I don't know about you, but this week has been a challenge for me.  I have had a sick child for most of the week, which has given me plenty of opportunity to practice the qualities of love.  You know what I mean.  It is not always easy to be patient, kind, and not easily angered when you've tried everything to please them and they are still unhappy because they do not feel well.  After about day number 4, I began quoting these scriptures to myself as a reminder of how I should love.  After all, I am not always easy to love myself.  I know there are many times when the Father is probably tired of having patience with me, when He could easily be angered, when kindness is undeserved, and yet in His great mercy He loves me.  Isn't that an amazing thought.  God loves me with all of these enduring qualities of love even when the last thing I am is deserving.  Even when I whining and complaining and the cause is my own sin sickness, He loves me.  Just thinking of that should make it so much easier to love those around us.
This week we continue with the next few verses of 1 Corinthians 13.  We're almost there.  Only a few more verses and we will have memorized the entire chapter.  Keep up the good work!

1Corinthians 13:8-10
Love never fails.  But where there are prophesies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

Week 7

Love!  What a wonderful thing.  Everywhere you turn seems like there is always someone talking about love.  How to find it, how to keep it.  Everyone seems to have an opinion on what love really means.  The true meaning of love is clearly summed up for us by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians.  We have already learned that even if we possess a great spiritual gift, but do not have love, we really have nothing.  This week we will continue in the passage to see some of the enduring qualities of love.  A word of warning, the list can be very convicted.  Often we like to think of love as a warm, fuzzy feeling.  But what we see here is love being patient, kind, selfless, and true.  Most of all, love is a commitment.  This week, let's renew our commitment to love those around us and to love Christ more and more every day.  Remember, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us."  (Sound familiar?)  Because he first loved us, let's show His love to the world today.

1Corinthians 13:4-8a
Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is no rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.