Honesty Honestly

Proverbs 12:17-22

17 A truthful witness gives honest testimony,
but a false witness tells lies.

18 Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

19 Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

20 There is deceit in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but joy for those who promote peace.

21 No harm befalls the righteous,
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.

22 The LORD detests lying lips,
but he delights in men who are truthful.

I do not (should I say rarely?) have a tongue that lies, but I do shoot reckless words and comments that pierce like a sword. This kind of speech is not glorifying to God.

1 Corinthians 13:6 states that love rejoices in truth. In order to understand what truth is, we need to understand/know God, who is the ultimate Truth. He hates lies, deceit, and wicked men. Reading and understanding scripture will bring us closer to God. Understanding His laws will hopefully convict us into living lives of truth.

"People who trust God’s Word should be people whose word can be trusted."

Amen.

Prayer Meeting 4/29

Romans 8:1-11

Verse 1 and 2 - Read it, understand it, know it.

1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

You either choose sin or God. Verse 1 reaffirms us that there is no condemnation for those who accept Christ's sacrifice.

Condemnation: to judge or pronounce to be unfit for use or service, to express an unfavorable or adverse judgment on; indicate strong disapproval of; censure, to pronounce to be guilty; sentence to punishment.

Christ has paid the ransom and we are set free from the bounds of sin. Verse 9 explains the condition of ownership. If the Spirit of God lives in us, we belong to Him. We are no longer controlled by ourselves or sins that have tempted us in the past. We belong to Christ and He belongs to us.

Amen.

A Wrong Reading

18Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 20Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

1 Timothy 1:18-20

"The first point of wisdom is to know the truth; the second, to discern what is false."

My goal in life is to continuing to fight the good fight. The good fight to me is God's glory and God's glory is for me to continue to be faithful towards Him and follow His commands. In order to do so, my wisdom needs to come from God and God alone so that it may be the absolute Truth. I will continue to pray for wisdom and seek out His word as my own. This is especially important since there are many false doctrines out there.

Amen.

Wait and Run

43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. - Mark 15:43

I wanted to bring this verse up in our Bible Study today, but our discussion led us in another path.

This verse went along with the question, "How do you know what you are doing in your life is what God wants?"

Life brings us to many crossroads. College students especially are challenged to discover themselves with ultimately what they want to study. Not all students are conflicted with an identity crisis, but consider yourself lucky if you are facing such an ordeal.

But the general question we ask God usually goes like this, "What do you want me to do God?" Often times we get confused and believe that God is telling you to do something, but on the other hand maybe He wants me to wait, or does He? What?

This verse is simple in its message. The action of Joseph of Arimathea reflect both sides of his faith. He was one who "waited for the kingdom of God" as well as one who "went boldly".

Joseph didn't just do one or the other; he did both. He waited and he ran, calm and excited, peaceful and busy, and so on. Although this may seem vague and arbitrary, it is logical in a sense that God deserves our all and our everything. There is nothing else that our strength should be saved for except in glorifying God and God alone.

If you are meek, be still and know He is God. If you have extravagant gifts from God, use it to glorify Him and His people.

I know that I have to be more bold in life. I'm working on it ;)

Amen!

2 Corinthians 4

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

2 Corinthians 4:7-11

"It has been said that the Roman Empire ran on olive oil. It was used in cooking, bathing, medicine, ceremonies, lamps, and cosmetics. For decades, olive oil from southern Spain was shipped to Rome in large clay jugs called amphorae. Those jugs, not worth sending back, were discarded in a growing heap of broken shards known as Monte Testaccio. The fragments of an estimated 25 million amphorae created that man-made hill, which stands today on the bank of the Tiber River in Rome. In the ancient world, the value of those pots was not their beauty but their contents."

This is a pretty neat metaphor. Like clay pots for precious olive oil, we are vessels carrying the gospel. Our bodies, like the clay jugs, are temporary, fragile, and expendable. In a society that values the outward appearances and abilities, the gospel is easily thrown aside and overtaken by seemingly greater things in life. But we need to keep it at heart the greatest treasure that we already have in us. It is only by God's grace and mercy that we may live and speak of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

Amen.

Romans 8:38-39

38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

My favorite verse that I can't seem to memorize. I always get the separate parts all mixed up and out of order.

Today for prayer meeting, Hannah shared this verse. In my head, I was like, "Oh! This is my verse!" But oh man, I was not "convinced" at that point. My own life of its own desires and selfishness separated me from Christ.

The void in my heart, no matter what shape or size, did indeed act like a vacuum. There was nothing that was capable in filling that void. Cliche, but only God can.

Have a quote:

"God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." - C.S. Lewis

amen.

Psalm 121

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Verse 4 is our God. Omnipotent and powerful, God does not rest when it comes to His children. As the great pursuer of our souls, our Lord is always with us. He neither sleeps nor rests, but watches over us day and night. With this said and sung, help me to cast my fears, worries, and troubles onto You as well as my joy, laughter, and happiness. Teach me to never turn my cheek the other way because I know you will never do so to me.

Amen.

John 14:1-6

There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. John 14:1

There are many roads, but only one leads to God. Our lives bring us to many forks and obstacles that we face, but our ultimate goal is Christ.

12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Just a few verses I need to keep close to my heart.

Amen.

Corrupt Words

Ephesians 4:17-32

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification. — Ephesians 4:29

Gossip is a common form of dirt that comes out of our mouths. It is not necessary for anyone else to know the detriments of another person. Better keep it to yourself if it is not edifying to that person.

I find cursing on the basketball court to be quite common. I catch myself at times and can't help but to feel bad. I need to fight temptation and learn to live a life that is worthy to be considered an example like Christ.

Amen.

Ruth

I randomly opened up the Bible yesterday and read Ruth.

When I read Ruth, I read it a simple story. I thought about what God was trying to tell me in this story, but it was difficult at first. The book Ruth has Ruth as the main character. She is the daughter-in-law of Naomi, who is the wife of Elimelech. Naomi has two sons named Mahlon and Kilion and they marry Orpah and Ruth when the entire family moves to Moab.

Somehow, all three husbands die. Naomi is left to go back to her home in Judah and demands that Orpah and Ruth go back to their homes in Moab.

Ruth refuses to leave Naomi alone even when she has lost all hope in God. Verse 12, "Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me - even if I had a husband tonight... no, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand has gone out against me!"

Ruth stays with Naomi. She finds a job working for a man named Boaz gleaning (gathering) sheaves. Boaz sees Ruth hardwork ethic and offers her such gratitude that you would not receive from a random person. Naomi and Ruth wanted to be saved from debt and He eventually buys all of Elimelech's property and in conclusion, saves Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon's name from disappearing from the town records (from the face of the earth?) and he and Ruth gets married.

From this book, we can draw an important lesson: there will always be followers of Christ around to lift you up and save you.

This story involves Boaz as a redemptive figure that saves Naomi and Ruth from their troubles of holding on to their riches as women. Boaz did not need to help the two women, but he did.

Never forget that there are people around you who can help you. Especially those friends that you know that hold on to the word of God as dearly as you do, never hesitate for the race is suppose to be run together :)

Amen.

rise just like the risen Christ

Romans 6:1-11

Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. —Romans 6:4

When my small group was talking about the things that we should deny in our lives, the list was pretty long. How can we possibly take this list of things and remove it from our lives? Its not about how you can remove these things from your life, but your perception of these things.

Our attitudes need to reflect one thing: that the things of this earth mean nothing to us in comparison to Christ. Because to us, there is nothing greater.

Amen.

and today He died for me

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. —Isaiah 53:7

Today is Good Friday. Christ was led to Calvary with the cross and died for our sins. The day we received a love we did not deserve. The day where the purest, most innocent, holiest amongst holiest man died for doing nothing but good. He had to die though, God willed it. Yet knowing that His death was eminent, that it was just a matter of time, His life was not wasted. He washed His disciples feet, even the feet of the disciple that was going to betray Him!

And yes, Jesus knew! But Jesus had a mission. He had to shed His blood; He had to die this day.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:4-5

All worship and praise to the slain Lamb.

Thank you Jesus, thank you.

Amen.