Friday, August 27, 2010

Romans 5:1-9

A couple months ago I did a short little Bible study with one of my friends from church. We went thru Romans 5:1-9. Here are the things we came up with. I thought I would share them with ya'll! Have a great day!!:)

  • vs. 1 - We've been saved thru faith and we are at peace with God. (not at war)
  • vs. 2 - We gained access into Heaven thru His grace and faith, we rejoice in that hope and glory of God.
  • vs. 3 - Connected to vs.4 and vs. 5 we should rejoice in our suffering, it produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope doesn't put us to shame. (The Holy Spirit gives us hope)
  • vs. 6 - God cared enough about us to die on the cross for us even before we got saved. (We were weak sinners)
  • vs. 7 - Being willing to die for people who are unsaved. (and saved)
  • vs. 8 - (connected to vs. 6) God cared about us even when we were still sinners.
  • vs. 9 - We are justified by His blood and saved from the wrath of God. (hell)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Philippians 4:6&7

Philippians 4:6& 7~ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

These verses are really hard for me to obey. I worry A LOT!!!! I always want everything to go perfect. I always worry that something will go wrong: I'll get a bad grade, have a problem with a friend, I worry about pretty much everything. But this verse says that I shouldn't! It says that I should tell God my requests and I will have His peace in my heart. Lately, I have tried not to worry, and it is really amazing what a difference it makes. I just trust that Christ will take care of me, and He does. I don't need to worry about what happens to me, because Christ is sovereign and whatever happens is His will. I hope these verses help you as much as they help me!!!!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Our War Against Satan

Ephesians 6

  • We are involved in a war against Satan.

  • Being a Christian isn't easy.

  • Pray always. We can fight spiritual warfare by always praying.

  • We don't have enough strength alone to fight against Satin but with God we can overcome Satan.

  • We always need God's help....He is our strength.

  • We need to have constant communication with God.

  • vs. 18~ "Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."

  • We need to draw our hearts to Christ.

  • If we are focused completely on Christ everything else will fall into place.

  • Pray specifically.

  • We need wisdom.

  • We need to pray for people, specifically if possible.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Withdrawing From A Disorderly Brother

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while.... I've been kinda busy;). These next few points I got from a sermon a couple weeks ago. I hope these are helpful in some way to you...and if they are, I would love to hear about it! Have a great day!!:)

2 Thessalonians 3:6-18
  • We should pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
  • We should have peace with 1. God; 2. Church; 3. Fellow Believers'.
  • We should be a peacemaker by having peace within ourselves.
  • We should withdraw from a disorderly brothers and sisters. They could draw you away from God.
  • If a brother/sister who has a problem with sin then those who are spiritual can confront them..... lovingly
  • We should be reconciled by God and the church.
  • Matthew 18
  • We should 'note' them and withdraw from them.
  • No one should be proud of living in sin.
  • We shouldn't gossip!
  • vs. 11 - "For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies."
  • We should glorify God with our body.
  • 1 Corinthians 5
  • We should make ourselves an example.
  • Paul was a role model for following Christ.
  • We should try to be like Paul and be a role model in following Jesus Christ.
  • We should be willing to do whatever is necessary to serve God fully!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

God's Unfailing Love

As I was reading my Bible last night, I came across Psalm 13. I'll type out the Psalm here so you can see what it says.

"How long, O LORD will you forget me forever? How long must you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, 'I have overcome him,' and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me."
While David was writing this Psalm, he was obviously going through a hard time. He asks God why He is forgetting him. Sometimes it can seem like our enemies are getting the best of us. But, at the end of his Psalm, David tells God that he trusts in His unfailing love. This Psalm taught me that no matter what happens to me, God loves me. There are so many verses in the Bible about God's unfailing love. He loves us, and no matter what we've done, He'll forgive us. This Psalm really encouraged me and I hope it encourages you too!!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Thankfulness

I was reading in one of my devotional books today and there was a lesson on thankfulness. It really made me stop and think because so many times I take what I have for granted. Most importantly, I have salvation, but God has also blessed we with great family and friends, a house, food, clothes, a good education, and so much more. God has given me so much, and yet so many times I take it for granted and am taken over by the desire for more. I don't know about you but I love getting new stuff! I love getting a new outfit, new song on iTunes, or really anything new. But material things do not satisfy. I think that the more we get, the more we want. One of the ideas in the book I'm reading was to write on a piece of paper everything that we are thankful for. Then, put it inside our Bible so that whenever we start feeling jealous or ungrateful, we can get it out and see all the things that we have to be thankful for. I thought this was a great idea, so I did it and put it in my Bible in Psalm 136, which is all about things that the author was thankful for. I hope this post encourages you!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Our Speech: A Challenge

Hi Everyone!! Breanna and I would like to put a challenge out there for all of y'all (and us). We have heard a lot about gossip lately and know just how hurtful it can be. We were thinking that we should have a challenge not to gossip for a week (we really should work up to not gossiping at all, but nobody's perfect and I'm not even sure if I can go a whole week). This is something that we need to ask God to help us with; we can't do anything on our own. I will be praying this week that God will help me to not gossip. If you slip up, that's OK! As I said before, nobody's perfect. Just keep asking God to help you not to, and eventually, it will become a habit.
A lot of the time, the reason we gossip is because of peer pressure. Even if we were resolved not to in the beginning, our friends will start and then we get pulled into it. They say something about someone, and we can't resist sharing that juicy tidbit of information we know about that person. A good way to test whether you're gossiping or not is to ask yourself if you'd say what you're saying about that person, to them. If you would, you're fine! If you wouldn't, you need to not say it. A verse that has really impacted my life is Ephesians 4:29: Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. This verse was a great revelation for me, because even though I knew not to gossip, this kind of explained why. What we say should edify, or build up the people we are talking to and about.
I found that this post was very easy for me to write, because this is something that I have really struggled with, and therefore heard a lot about. I feel like this is a very important issue, because we could be spending our time doing and saying much better things than gossiping. I hope this post really encourages you and helps you! Breanna and I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject and how you did with the challenge!! We'll post in a week to share our experiences with you!!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Philippians 2:3-4

Philippians 2:3-4~Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
This is a verse that has really impacted my life and thinking. It shows that we need to follow Christ's example and respond to others in humility. Even though Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, He was a very humble Person. He even washed His disciples' feet.
Pride is one of the biggest issues I struggle with. I don't like getting outside my comfort zone, or telling others something that will make them think less of me. That's why this blog has been such a great thing for me. I've been able to kind of open up about the things I struggle with and be honest with people. I've been able to recognize that everyone struggles with something. It will be better for me if I open up about my problems so that others can help me and pray for me, as I do likewise for them. It does no good to hold up things inside of you that will eventually come out. We need to tell others so that they will no who we really are and they can help us.
Jesus set a great example for us. He had a right to be proud. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He died to save the entire human race. But, instead of being proud, He responded in humility. How much more humble should we be, being the sinners that we are? God has really helped me to have less pride, but I still have a longggggggg way to go! I have been praying that God will help me to be humble like Him and be a good testimony to others!!

Ephesians 6 (vs. 5-9)

Ephesians 6:5-9
  • A church must have unity for the purpose of bringing God glory.
  • Children obey your parents in the Lord.
  • Have respect for those around you.
  • Be obedient to those who are in authority over you. (elders)
  • We should be kind and generous to those under you.
  • Christ is our ultimate authority.
  • We need to have respect to all authority.
  • Fear of God keeps everything in check.
  • Be true to your authorities. NO lies!!!!
  • Our submission to earthly authority reflects what our relationship and submissions to Christ.
  • In obeying our authority we're obeying Christ.
  • We should serve always not just when 'someone' is looking.
  • "We should obey authority!"
  • Be obedient to your earthly masters.
  • We are all equally condemned but all believers are equally saved.
  • We are all under authority!
  • Obey!!!
  • Masters: Be kind and do the same as the servants do. (All of the above)
  • We (Christians) are Christs' completely!!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

A Heart That is On Fire

As I was singing May the Lord Find Us Faithful this evening at church, something convicted me. The third line of the third verse talks about us having a heart that is on fire. I really strive to have a heart that is on fire for God, but sometimes I just feel like my fire is going out or dying away. I think this is probably something we all struggle with. I just get wrapped up in school and just life in general and forget that I'm supposed to be serving God. Then I realize that, as a Christian, God is my life. All those other things that are taking up my time aren't really important. I should be finding a way to serve God in everything that I do. And not only that, but serving Him with my whole heart. That doesn't mean that I can't enjoy those other things, because God did put things here on earth for us to enjoy, they should just come after God. And, I should be serving God while I'm doing them. I hope these thoughts help you!