Memory Monday - John 14:21

Last week I was working on memorizing...
John 14:21
Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me and because they love me, my Father will loves them, and I will love them and I will reveal myself to each one of them.

hmmm, needs a bit of work!  This verse gives us direction - quite simply it is all about obeying His commandments. We live our lives obeying Him, it is how we show our love for Him. 


This week's verse is the next in the topical list I have been following and will also be my March 1 verse for the Siesta Scripture Memory Team.
LIVE THE NEW LIFE - The Word
2Timothy 3:16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.


About Memory Monday
I originally found Memory Monday with Joanne at The Simple Wife.  The idea is to memorize a verse during the week and come back to her blog on Mondays to comment about it.  That's it, nothing fancy, just simply an encouragement and reminder to memorizing scripture for yourself.  Anyway, I had been away from blogging for quite sometime and when I got back into it one of the first blogs I checked in on was Joanne's.  That was the day after she suffered a major stroke. Please join in Memory Monday as a way to be blessed by hiding God's Word in your heart. And also join me in prayer for Joanne.


About Siesta Scripture Memory Team
This is another program to encourage us to memorize scripture and is hosted by Beth Moore over on her blog  Living Proof Ministries Blog.  This program is set up so that each person on the Siesta Scripture Memory Team will memorize two verses a month and post a comment on the LPM blog on the 1st and the 15th of the month.  If you do that all year you get to attend a Celebration next January!  I so want to do that, don't you?

Stepping Up - Session 2

From previous Bible reading and Bible study I knew that Leaven or yeast in the bread represented sin in your life.  I also knew that God commanded the Israelites to make unleavened bread for the first Passover One reason was because they would have to leave suddenly and would not have time to let the bread rise properly.

But after this session, Beth Moore has blown the doors wide open on the symbolism of Old Testament feasts.  Here is what we learned in the session...

There are three important celebrations. 
1) The Passover celebrates when God saved the Hebrews from death by passing over the homes that were marked with blood.  

2) The Feast of Unleavened Bread is the feast that starts at the conclusion of Passover and lasts for seven days.  During this time they do not eat anything with yeast.

3) The Feast of First Fruits comes at the end of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and is to celebrate early spring crops and is a thanksgiving to God for His provision.

Jesus represents these feasts in this way...

1) Passover pictures the death of Christ.  He is crucified and as a result we are saved by His blood.

2) The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a picture of Christ buried in the tomb.  He is the unleavened bread.  He was not corrupted because he had no sin, there was no leaven in Him that spread and corrupted.  In the tomb He did not even experience decay. 

3) Christ was resurrected on the very day that the Feast of First Fruits would have been celebrated.  He is the first fruits offering!

Do you have goosebumps yet?  How about tears of thanksgiving?  This session was so powerful that I strongly encourage you to view it.  You can purchase the individual sessions from Lifeway and this is one that I hope everyone will watch because I know that this little post is not nearly as powerful as Beth Moore's presentation!

Memory Monday - Psalm 121

In the Stepping Up Bible study that I am currently doing we were asked to memorize Psalm 121, a couple verses at a time.  But I am being the type of student that sits at the front of the class and bounces with my hand up in the air eagerly hoping the teacher will call on me to answer the question. haha

Seriously, I tried to only memorize a couple verses at a time, but it went quickly and I managed to memorize the whole thing.  I have been walking alot this last week!  Let's see how I did...

Psalm 121
I raise my eyes towards the mountains, where will my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip, your Protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.
The LORD will protects you.  The LORD will be is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day, or the moon by night.
The LORD will protect you from all harm.  The LORD He will protects your life.
The LORD will protect your coming and going, both now and forever.

A few problems, but I am thrilled that I have this Psalm memorized! 

As I was reflecting on it one morning I was wondering what my mountain is, what do I need the most help with.  It was suddenly very clear - I don't need to get into all of that because if you are reading this then I want you to reflect on what your mountains are. 

But I will say this - most often when I have seen a mountain, it is not a lonely solitary mountain, it has lots of mountain friends - some are smaller and some are much, much bigger.  I have a whole mountain range to work through on my journey to grow and get closer to God.  But how wonderful and comforting it is that He will guide me every single step of the way, He will protect me through all of it!

This Psalm was my selection for the Feb 15 Siesta's memory verse.

This week I am back to my Topical List and will be memorizing the next verse...
Live the New Life - Obedience to Christ
John 14:21 Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me.  And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them. (NLT)
About Memory Monday
I originally found Memory Monday with Joanne at The Simple Wife.  The idea is to memorize a verse during the week and come back to her blog on Mondays to comment about it.  That's it, nothing fancy, just simply an encouragement and reminder to memorizing scripture for yourself.  Anyway, I had been away from blogging for quite sometime and when I got back into it one of the first blogs I checked in on was Joanne's.  That was the day after she suffered a major stroke. Please join in Memory Monday as a way to be blessed by hiding God's Word in your heart. And also join me in prayer for Joanne.

About Siesta Scripture Memory Team
This is another program to encourage us to memorize scripture and is hosted by Beth Moore over on her blog  Living Proof Ministries Blog.  This program is set up so that each person on the Siesta Scripture Memory Team will memorize two verses a month and post a comment on the LPM blog on the 1st and the 15th of the month.  If you do that all year you get to attend a Celebration next January!  I so want to do that, don't you?

Stepping Up: Week 2 - Day 5

Day 5 - Praise the Lord

The previous lesson talked about how Satan recruits other people to bring us down and away from God.  Today's lesson discussed that sometimes he can recruit us to bring our own selves down!  We can be our own worst enemy!!!

Have you reached a place that you are not going to let that happen anymore?  What is your turning point?  My turning point is a strong determination to get closer to God, to have that intimate relationship with Him.  To get there I am making it top priority - well as best as I can with three preschoolers and a husband to also take of - to do more in-depth Bible study, to memorize scripture, to listen to more praise music, and most importantly to pray more intimately, bringing all aspects of my daily life to Him.

After I wrote that in the workbook, the next section said this...
"You belong in this study, and if you let Him, God will usher you to a whole new level of freedom.  Persevere in this study. Attend each session. Do your homework. Fully engage and God will astound you. Let Him have His healing way over the next four weeks and watch what He will do."

I so love that because I am persevering, and I am already astounded in what I am seeing Him do.  I can't wait to see what is to come...

Stepping Up: Week 2 - Day 4

Day 4 - If the Lord Had Not

Psalm 124
1 If the Lord had not been on our side-
let Israel now say-
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
because of their burning anger against us.
4 The waters would have engulfed us;
a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury
would have overwhelmed our very lives.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who did not let their teeth tear us apart!
7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap.
The trap is broken, and we are free!
8 Our help is from the Lord,
who made the heavens and the earth.

One of the reasons why I love in-depth Bible studies like this is that the author - in this case - Beth Moore, makes us stop and notice things that we might otherwise pass right over.  Today it is metaphors...

v.3 we are swallowed alive
v.4-5 the raging waters overwhelm us
v. 6 teeth that rip us apart.

Do you ever feel that you are being swallowed alive, drowning, or being ripped apart?  Now imagine how much worse it can be if God is not protecting us.  Yes we face trials, and may even feel like these metaphors describe, but through all of it God is with us.  We feel torment because our battle is with Satan.

I love how this lesson really helps us to understand why Satan attacks us.  He truly hates us!  He cannot attack God, so he attacks us.  He lost his place in heaven as an anointed cherub and now through Christ we have gained a place in heaven.  And so his attacks come at us in any way possible, he even "enlists human help in his scheme against us".

We are continually attacked, all those feelings of being swallowed alive, drowning, and being ripped apart come from being attacked.  But if we can be fully confident that when we are attacked, God is attacked and He takes notice.  He protects us from any attack that we cannot handle. In knowing this "our times of turmoil will be considerably more bearable".

Psalm 124 shows us that those times of turmoil would not be bearable if God was not protecting us.  Christ has delivered us from unbearable turmoil! 

Stepping Up: Week 2 - Day 3

Day 3 - Much Contempt

Today's lesson focuses first on
Psalm 123:3 Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy, for we have had our fill of contempt.

I looked up the definition of contempt and found this from the dictionary:
lack of respect, discourtesy, rudeness, irreverence

and from the Lexicon on the blueletterbible.org
dispised, shamed, springing up from evil, prosperity, judgement

When we are faced with contempt maybe we can deal with it better or maybe we are the ones filled with contempt but want to change.  So if we understand where contempt is coming from we can deal with it more effectively.  Here is what I see from the definitions...

You have contempt when you are focused on yourself, sin rules your life. 
You have contempt when you are focued on gaining wealth and possessions.
You have contempt when you judge others.

From the your contempt you have no respect, are discourteous, and rude!


So how can you change, or how can you deal with rudeness of others?  When you have had enough, when you feel like you just cannot take it anymore what do you do?  Do you respond with your own form of contempt?  Are you responding with no respect, no courtesy, and rudeness?  Instead take it to God.  The workbook has a perfect prayer that I will use myself...often!

"Lord, I've got to have your help.  I've had more than enough. I'm not going to make it in this sitution without you."

Stepping Up: Week 2 - Day 2

Day 2 - The One Enthroned

Psalm 123
I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven.

We look to the LORD our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy, for we have had our fill of contempt.
We have had our fill of the scoffing of the proud and the contempt of the arrogant.

This is all about where we put our focus.  From the workbook: "Where we look - where we genuinely fasten our gaze - amid continual life challenges has a tremendous impact on how we feel."
 
This is so simple, I wonder if I will ever get it...If I look up and focus on God, look to Him in everything I am at peace, but if I look around me and focus on the chaos I quickly become overwhelmed and frustrated.  Obviously I need to look up more!