Corny title, I know. PS: Did you know that Beth Moore's first name is Wanda? She totally doesn't look like a Wanda, does she? I love reading her blog at blog.lproof.org. She and her daughters are filled with wisdom and there's always a little nugget to take away. Today, this jumped off the page at me:
"God’s grace really is sufficient and He really does meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. As much as we want to see all that manna heaped up in a mountain of provision a week in advance alongside those upcoming demands, His promise in Philippians 4:19 is to meet each one AT THE TIME WE NEED IT. Thank You, Lord. If we could learn to live in this present moment with this present provision, oh, man, life would be so much less stressful, wouldn’t it?"
This type-A planner would love nothing more than flashy neon signs and sneak peeks at the provisions God has in store. But if we knew what was ahead it wouldn't be called faith.
I'm still plugging along trying to memorize a scripture every two weeks. To be honest, I'm not doing so hot. I can paraphrase what it says by the end of that time, but I get no where near memorizing. I am carrying that cute little book around though and I pull it out and read my memory verse each day... or so. Ugh, that's probably the problem! I do find the more time I spend in the Word the easier it is to think good things. My verse for Feb 1-14 was Philippians 2:14-15: "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky."
I definitely cheated and read that straight from my book. :( That verse has been so good for me the past few weeks as my hormones are kind of out of control and I sometimes say the first thing that pops into my head. Ooops. It's so hard not to grumble when you're tired of snow, heartburn and exhaustion. Christ set us apart from this world- to be not of it, but transformed. Nothing would make me happier than to hear people say that I am a positive, pure Child of God who doesn't grumble or argue. Maybe Phil 2:14-15 should remain my memory verse for a little while longer! :)
Today we pick up a new verse. James 2:12-13 says, "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment." Another verse to encourage me to think before I speak. I need a daily reminder that my sins are no purer than my neighbor's. The Word says that we ALL sin and fall short of the glory of God. Each day we are bombarded by people's judgments. A few weeks ago I heard a professing Christian call a well-known gay man the most awful derogatory name. And I thought to myself, "Thank you, fellow Christian. Thanks for being like Jesus. You're following his example in John 8 when the religious leaders bring an adulterous woman to him and Jesus looks at her and calls her a whore." Of course, if you've read John 8 or any part of the Gospels you know that was NOT the way of the Lord.
Don't we all do that though? If even in some small way? We think our sins are somehow better than those of others. If you haven't gotten your hands on Radical by David Platt, you definitely should. In reading it I have been so convicted to study the Bible deeper and attempt everyday to follow Jesus' example. And let me just say, it's HARD. But praise Jesus, it's doable! I'll never be perfect but I'm not who I was.
I could keep ranting on this subject... I've got another post working in my head on what I've gleaned from Radical so far.
16 week baby check-up today! Prayers are coveted and updates later!
--Allysa
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