God is Living Water.

On this day that Jesus thirsted, and then breathed His last to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, it is good to remember that the triune God is our Living Water. He quenches spiritual thirst. Through Jesus, He provides the way for us to be unified with Him, receiving the filling of the Holy Spirit. This filling should always leave us thirsting for more, more of God.

Psalm 42:2

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?


Psalm 63:1
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.


Psalm 107:9
For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. 


Jeremiah 2:13
My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.


Jeremiah 17:13
Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.


John 4:10
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”


Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

God is Alive.

God is Alive.

Having life; existing; in a state of action; in force or operation.

Luke 20:38

He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.

Acts 1:3

After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

Romans 6:11

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 2:13

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Unity

"Contending as one man for the faith of the gospel" (Phil 1:27, New International Version, 1984).


The church does not really do this anymore. We divide and scatter, argue and fracture. It is no surprise that the unchurched do not know the basics of the faith or what people who claim to be Christ-followers really believe. It is no wonder that the institution of church does not appeal to unbelievers.


So how does Paul tell the church to achieve this goal of unity? He tells them to "stand firm in the spirit," not in some ideological principal or dogmatic teaching (Phil 1:27. The Holy Spirit is the one thing all believers share regardless of their denomination or sect or creed. It is the Spirit that is supposed to "keep unity...through the bond of peace" (Eph 4:3; Fausset, n. d.). Believers should "strive together, not with one another," writes Matthew Henry (n. d.). Divisiveness has no place amongst those who believe and profess Christ.


What is to be the purpose of this unity, this "contending as one man" (Phil 1:27)? The gospel! "The unity and unanimity of Christians become the gospel," writes Henry (n. d.).  "Paul wanted...unity to be put to a productive purpose, so that an increasing trust and belief in the good news of Jesus Christ would be promoted among those who already believed and among those who had yet to believe" (Guzik, 2006). Christ died for the sake of the gospel, so who are we to oppose it with our own arguments and divisions


Can Christians disagree? Yes! "There may be a oneness of heart and affection among Christians, where there is diversity of judgment and apprehensions about many things," Henry states (n. d.). We need to major on the major, the gospel that Christ died to save sinful humanity, and minor on the minor, however. It is fine for Christians to hold different opinions about theological matters, but the gospel must come first!


Can I do it? Can you do it? Can we work with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to promote the gospel, even if they go to different churches than us? Even if they believe differently about baptism or predestination or eternal security or the end times or the rapture? The challenge is real, but the Word of God, through Paul, calls us to it.


References:


Fausset, A. (n. .d). Commentary on Philippians 1. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/jfb/Phl/Phl_001.cfm?a=1104027.


Guzik, D. (2006). Study guide for Philippians 1. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Phl/Phl_1.cfm?a=1104027.


Henry, M. (n. d.). Commentary on Philippians 1. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Phl/Phl_001.cfm?a=1104027 

Jesus is Glorified

Jesus is glorified.

Honored with praise, admiration or worship; extolled; made glorious; invested with glory (Dictionary.com, n. d.).

John 11:4

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

John 12:28

“Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

John 13:31

When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him.”

John 13:32

If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

John 14:13

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Acts 3:13

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.

Reference:

Glorified. (n. d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved March 03, 2016 from Dictionary.com website http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/glorified

God is Awe-Inspiring

Here are my prayer verses for this week:

God is Awe-Inspiring.

Causing awe; spectacular; magnificent.

1 Samuel 12:18

Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel.

Job 25:2

Dominion and awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven.

Psalm 65:8

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.

Psalm 119:120

My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.

Isaiah 29:23

When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

Habakkuk 3:2

Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

Malachi 2:5

My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.

Hebrews 12:28

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.

Learning

Here's the update on THE LIST for February. I'm learning....

 

2) Stop checking e-mail on my phone while at work.
Good, but now I use my phone to mindlessly scroll Pinterest or Facebook at home. The goal is to be more "unplugged."

 

4) Find my rambunctious side again.
I spontaneously texted my mentor a picture of something. That counts, right?

5) Memorize some new scripture, or at least review the old. (Ps 119:105).
I have to set aside time to memorize. It does not just happen. Dinner time is my current space to review and study verses. I am almost through Ephesians.

10) Pursue counseling licensure.
I submitted all my paperwork. I studied the review book. I am waiting on permission to take the NCE.

11) Rest (Ps 46:10; Matt 11:28-29).
Sickness forced me to rest. (See Silver Linings.) I am trying to learn to prioritize things that are really important instead of just taking care of the urgent stuff. This article and the Covey Time Management Matrix are excellent tools in this pursuit.

12) Trim down the processed. Bulk up the produce. (In my diet)
What helps?
-Pre-cutting vegetables
-Pre-washing lettuce for salads
-Keeping a variety of fruit on hand (I try to buy what's on sale at Aldi each week.)
-Greek yogurt ranch dip (I make half a recipe.)
-Honey mustard dip (mustard plus a drizzle of honey and a shake of red pepper flakes)
-Eating bean soup and cornbread for breakfast on cold mornings (strange, but surprisingly good and a way to get in vegetables early).

14) Finish the books I have (Every Thought Captive  and How We Love) and read more (Wiest, 2015, November; Wiest, 2015a).
I finished How We Love and also read three books in the Kensington Chronicles series by Lori Wick.

15) Spend time with and love the people around me (John 13:35; Wiest, 2015a). 
Prioritizing time is hard. Finding time for myself as an introvert and having energy for others is a delicate balance.

16) Blog. Instagram. Something. (Experiment.) 
I am still blogging. I am honestly not super crazy about it, but it keeps me writing, which I need to do.

Until next month, may I keep learning the lessons God has for me....