A king's hiding place

He didn't think anyone would find out about what he did. He figured, it would be our little secret. Just between me and her. But he could still feel a cold breeze over his shoulder... someone, or something, was watching him when he did it. When he committed the action, and then the next action that followed. When he took that first glance, that was so much more than just a glance... it was just a look, no big deal. At least that was what he thought to himself.

All I did was look, and try to erase the evidence. But now with the news she brought forth, it was impossible. He shivered at the thought of what the future held. Just a glance. That was all...

There was a knock, knock at the door. He almost jumped, he was so deep in thought- like listening to music being interrupted by a loud clang. "Yes, who goes there?" he hesitantly replied.

"Sir Nathan, my lord," his doorman replied.

"Nathan...?" he replied.

"He says he has an urgent story to tell you."

He had no idea the spectrum of good or bad the story could bring, but he had to find out. "Let him in," he called out.

The giant door perched open, and Nathan walked in, a disappointed look on his face- more frustrated than saddened. "Hello King," Nathan greeted.

"Hello. What is this story I hear you have for me?"

Nathan sighed and corrected him. "It's much more than just a story.

"You see, there was a rich man and a poor man. The rich man had many animals, sheep and cattle. The poor man had one small lamb he was only able to buy on pure luck. This lamb grew up with the poor man's children, and he held this lamb in his arms like his own daughter. The rich man invited a traveler over for dinner, and prepared the poor man's little sheep instead of one of his many animals. He took the poor man's only property to his name, when he all as much sheep and cattle to last him his life."

The king was enraged. His heart beat fast with anger. He felt revenge heating the tips of his fingers. "Who is this man you speak of?! Where is he?!" He almost completely forgot about the guilt he was attempting to resolve before Nathan walked in.

That was, until Nathan replied:

"King, the rich man is in this very room." Nathan huffed and his face tightened. "You are he."

The king threw himself out of his chair. "What are these false claims you make!? Lying is forbidden in my kingdom and in the eyes of the Lord, especially to your king! What do you have to say for yourself?"


"My lord, listen. You are the rich man. You have a beautiful kingdom, and anything you'd like at the snap of your fingers. Everything is yours. But the one thing that wasn't fully yours, the one thing that Uriah could call his own. You had to take it away. You had to let your eyes dwell on the one thing that was his. You had to call upon his wife, to be yours. And then, to make matters worse, you had the negligence to attempt to erase the evidence. And when that didn't work, you decided to erase the person the evidence mattered to the most. You erased Uriah.

Well, you can't erase the Lord's will or consequences on you for what you've done. You killed Uriah with a sword. And now, the sword will never depart from your house- it will never leave your sight."

Tears blurred the king's vision as rapid thoughts blurred the king's focus. His heart beat at the pace his thoughts were circulating. What had he done?

"I have sinned against the Lord," the king choked.

_____________________________________________________

The king had been hunched over in the same position from the time Nathan had left. He couldn't believe he had been discovered.

Then he thought to himself, of course he had been. That chill he had felt over his shoulder wasn't anyone physically watching him. And it wasn't Nathan telling him this parable which he lived as reality. God was speaking, Himself, through this things.

His face buried in his hands. He could already feel the burden of the pain of his consequences he was to face. He realized he committed so many sins at once- theft, murder, deception. How could the Lord ever forgive him? He had to ask. But in a sense, he already knew the answer.

The king was very special in how he prayed, though. He often felt God in strumming his harp and found God by wording his heart into lines of poetry. He had to ask in this same way.

He didn't want a scribe to write this for him. This was between him and God only this time. He searched around for the nearest writing utensil, and the cleanest thing to write on. And he began.

"1 

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar."

And at the bottom he wrote,

A Psalm of David. 

TO himself he thought,

"A prayer, question, light of hope beyond the walls of guilt and misery... of David"

Proverbs 4:23

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23

God values you. more than we'll ever be able to humanly understand. He never wants anything to happen or hurt you or your heart. He wants to protect it. He does.

You can certainly allow things to happen to your heart, though.

Guard your heart... from what you know is wrong. If you even have an inch of a feeling of this.. guard your heart. God cares about my heart so much, He believes it is so fragile...


Dear Lord, thank you for this verse and thank You for being the ultimate guarder of my heart. Amen

Songs of Solomon 8:4

"Do not awaken love before it's time."

Yep, I'm throwing another single-verse post at you. But I do it with purpose. This single verse by itself holds so much meaning and importance to me personally. It has helped me with previous relationships, and I know it will help me with future ones.

Valentine's day is coming. Some of us are dreading it, some of us are excited, and some of us just don't care. Usually each year I have been fine with this day, being single for each one that's passed by. But today I felt a little irkling inside, wanting someone to be with, to share not just valentines day but all of our days.

And as I get closer and better friends with guys around me, and in the process of watching friends date, I begin to want a valentine longer than just one day...

But God has called me to this verse through a very special mentor of mine. "Do not awaken love before it's time." Don't force love awake. Don't try to figure out who likes you (or who doesn't). Don't even spend your time worrying about it. I've learned and observed the most beautiful of loves happen naturally.

Even thinking about the verse literally, imagine waking up someone from sleep before their alarm went off. Imagine how YOU would feel. That's almost what rushing in to things too quickly with relationships is like, except much much worse.

This valentines day, if you are single, don't focus on the type of love you don't have. Focus on the types you do have. Especially God's.

*A side note: with many of these posts, I am often talking directly to myself; this is why I may seem harsh sometimes... but if you feel like it applies to you, great!

Dear Lord, I thank you so much for your warnings; you even give warnings on dating, with verses like this. Such a simple verse has truly helped and guided me. Thank you so much Lord! I pray that we could remember and cherish You and Your love on valentine's day. ♥Chrissy

Psalm 16:1

I prayed and asked for protection from God as I was squished in the back of a car between a toddler car seat and the car door. I was terrified, I was close to tears, and I was ripped away from my comfort. I felt like I couldn’t breathe with all the air blowing in my face through the car window, everything felt so fast; the driver was speeding. He asked me what kind of music I liked to listen to. He had put on the closest thing he had to my favorite style, which was not even close at all. I was deathly afraid, the music was shouting, blasting, and frightening. I thought to myself, “This is just a smidge of what hell would be like.” And I sat in the back seat squished; unable to breathe, begging my God to keep me safe. And He did.

“Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.”  -Psalm 16:1

That morning, the same day as this trip I had with this driver, I prayed to God, asking Him to lead me to where He wanted me to be. For an opportunity to be provided to me so that I may share my faith.

I still don’t know if I made the decision or if God had wanted me to be there. Why would He, it’s definitely not my scene, or lifestyle. I’ve been sheltered growing up, and that’s the last place you’d see me in. I went for the ambiance, to try something new, also the people who I was with wanted me to tag along. I cry now, thanking and praising my God for blessing me with safety. He is my refuge, He is my strength. He understands my worries and knows my prayers. I have never been so scared in my life, I sat in the back reciting my prayer, and for a moment I thought that if I, and everyone in the car got involved in an accident, due to the reckless driving, and I died, for a quick moment, I was okay with that, because I knew that my God would keep me safe either way--whether I lived and walked in His blessings surviving or near missing the accident or died and went to live with Him forever. And then I thought of all the people who I would let down, all who love me, all who will miss me.

But God definitely has a plan for me and that is why He blessed me with His shelter.

 Dear Lord,

Thank you a millions times, (yet it is not enough) for blessing me and all who were in the care. I know and have faith that Your word is true and holy and is a guide to teach us how to live. Thank you for this verse I have absolutely no doubt that you are my safe haven. God maybe I was right where you wanted me to be, to test me and teach me about Your refuge. Thank you for loving me and blessing me.

Amen.

Mer †

1 Timothy 4:12

1 Timothy 4:12

New International Version (NIV)

12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

I have gotten the question countless times, and I won't be surprised if I hear it again this weekend: why in the world would you ever volunteer with humans as dramatic, crazy, emotional, and trouble-making as jr highers?

This weekend I am counseling a group of amazing jr high girls at a camp called Ponderosa. We'll be heading up with the rest of our jr high group this Friday (SO excited!) and will be coming back down Sunday. This will be my first time leading a cabin by myself!

Anyway, back to the verse. So often times Jr highers get overlooked and undermined, and most importantly misunderstood. A lot of people don't realize that jr high is a critical time in a person's life. Not even the fact of "middle school" persay, but the ages ranging from 11-13 are just a very important time of beginning to figure out who YOU are, who you AREN'T, what you don't/do like, what you're skeptical about/ what you're sure about. If high schoolers were skeletons and children were cartilage, jr highers are the soft snail shell that can be grown out of, or stay hardened. (Did that metaphor make any sense at all?) What I'm trying to say is, jr highers are the in-between of having no independent thought and having almost only independent thoughts. If anyone needs a friend, mentor, or just PERSON in their life; they certainly need one in jr high.

Yet, being on jr high staff for 3 years now, I am really learning how much wonder and potential they have. It's not even potential. It's just THERE! If I could express anything to them critical about their age, it would be to never let anyone look down on them and their hearts or belief in Christ because they are in jr high. I see these kids constantly being curious and setting examples around them. I see them loving, reaching out, and wanting to know more about Christ. I want to be more like THEM! They are examples to me, in my life! I am an 18 year old in college and I want to follow their examples.

Lord, I thank You so much for involving me in the jr high ministry. I am completely blessed to have such amazing youngsters in my life. I love them so much. I pray that I could be a complete reflection of You to them, not just this weekend but everytime I see them. And I pray that I can be reflected to as well, that I would learn from them much more about You. I pray that the entire jr high staff would plant seeds of love, guidance, and directions straight to You. I also pray for complete protection, health, and safety this weekend as we travel there and back. We also pray that homesickness wouldn't be an issue. And as far as whatever happens with my mom tomorrow, I pray that my mom's condition wouldn't effect me ministering to these students. I thank You and love You. THank You for this amazing opportunity. I love You and lift up the entire jr high ministry to You. In Jesus name, Amen

♥Chrissy

Psalm 27

Today my mom went in for a scan/checkup on her brain as she battles brain cancer. They discovered something very small that they are not sure what it is, we find out what it is tomorrow. As my amazing coworkers at work saw me a little emotional, a friend told me this Psalm popped into her head to encourage me.

Psalm 27

salm 27

Of David.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me
    to devour[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;
    you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.

13 I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

All of these verses are beautiful and purposeful, but the two that stand out to me the most happen to be the first verse and the last verse. "The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?" This verse is so much easier to type than to grasp at times like these. I even noticed that in my car today, instead of praying or singing worship songs, I went ahead and played songs that didn't have anything to do with God. Why was turning to these songs my first reaction in this time? I can get so scared that I react in ways in which I am unsure of what to do.

But I already knew what I was supposed to do- turn to God. Not fear. Have hope, and ask God to heal my mother completely. Have faith, and trust in God. Not be afraid. I don't need to be when the Lord is ON OUR SIDE. With things like cancer, and any other kind of uncontrollable circumstance: it is easy to  wonder what God is doing... but the truth is... He is ALWAYS on our side. Even when we are completely denying Him, He still is CRAZYYY about us and wants us SO BADLY. We have nothing to fear, He is ALWAYS on our side!!

And the last verse. "Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." God strengthens our family, as we take heart and wait for the Lord. I've always LOVED the term "Take heart". It is so comforting to me. I just feel rest just thinking about the term. I will wait on the Lord, for He knows what is best for my family. I will Love Him, and I will take Heart in what You have for us Lord.

Thank You Lord for this passage. Thank YOu abundantly for the amazing progress my mom has had. Lord, I want to take this time to ask You something; for You call us to ask and petition. Lord, would You please completely heal my mom, and take anything dangerous or harmful out of her brain and body permanently? With Your power and healing ability, You can do it. You are the Holy Physician. Please Lord, would You heal my mother and grant her an extremely long and healthy life? I have no doubt that You can grant these requests LOrd. Thank You for comforting me and my family, for calling us to Your arms. We love You and pray for the absolute BEST for my mom, because that is the only thing You would give. We love You. Amen.

John 14:27

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

I came across this verse today and the first thing that popped into my head was a friend of mine who was blessed with a peace of mind and heart. I didn’t fully understand how he could have been so fine with his parents divorcing and that made me a little upset. He should have at least been upset with his dad with the way he was treating the rest of the family. But no. My friend said “I can’t really explain it any other way. God is giving me an unfathomable peace. I forgive my dad with a loving heart. And I feel really good about it.”

Two years later, his parents were officially divorced. My friend, his brother, and his mom moved out and found another place to live. God was watching over them and gave them so many people to help them through a difficult and altering time. One year after that, he shared his testimony and how that change had a big effect on his heart. If he didn’t choose to forgive his dad, He wouldn’t be the soft, lovable, kind heart man he is today. I bet you he would be angry, slanderous, rude; just qualities and characteristics that aren’t as attractive.

This verse, Jesus tells us He’s leaving but he is leaving us with a gift. It’s up to us to accept it, wouldn’t you want something that no one else, nothing else, could give? Something that would make your worries disappear. Peace is such a magnificent gift! Remember when you were in high school and you had to carry all your 10 pound text books around campus? My school had no lockers for the students to put their books and bags in, we had to carry them everywhere. Peace is a feeling where you have been lifted of the weight, all the stress and tension is gone. God can give us that exact feeling, with anything, whether it be big like forgiving someone, or small like a heavy textbook.

God Gives Us Peace!

Dear Lord,

Thank you so much for the example of my friend who didn’t let his worldly worries get the better of him. Thank you for giving us peace of mind and heart when we are struggling. Please show us how to accept that gift and to use our peace to lead others in Your direction. Thank you for loving us so much to even provide such a miraculous gift that world cannot give.

Amen.

Mer †

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.


The title halfway between chapter 5 of 1 Thessalonians is "Final Instructions". It almost makes any verses after that title that much more important. It's Paul's little "Okay, if you forget anything; DON'T forget these!!!"

These three verses are such core values in a walk with Christ... they are the real answer to joy... rejoice always, pray always, give thanks always. 

Tonight I am feeling certain changes might be coming on in my life. They are big ones that I need to PRAY about. But they are also ones that I can complain and vent about... no. I need to thank God and rejoice for the good times I had before I decided it was necessary to make these changes. It's all in God's will and all in His glory. I love Him so much... He takes the worst of situations and calls us to joy. THank You Lord so much for this call. We love You and come to Your call. Let us respond. We love You Lord, Amen.

♥Chrissy

Proverbs 14:29

“Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.”

The key word I want to reflect on from this passage is:  Patient. Yesterday, I taught a group of kids about patriotism and connected that with what a Patriot for Christ looks like. I listened to all their answers, all their stories; But I wasn’t the only one listening and interacting with them. There were two other leaders and they were so impressed with my patience that I had with them. It just comes naturally to me.

I gave the time to have a few kids share a story about fishing. When one kid shared his story about that, another one quickly raised their hand to tell their personal story about a time they went fishing. I love hearing what they have to say, and it makes them feel special. They get to be a part of something and share something personal and sentimental, giving them a sense of being and belonging. I’m not one to yell at a kid, but I have a special personality that helps them understand when I need them to be quiet and to listen: Patience. And I don’t get that on my own, God teaches us through His wonderful word what it looks like.

I love working with kids, and I have many years of experience; the cool thing is, God blesses me with the spiritual gift of patience to get to know another young heart’s character and story.

 Dear Lord,

Thank you for the wonderful opportunities you give us to use our gifts and instruct the young hearts of the next generations. God, please teach us how to be patient in other times, not just when we feel comfortable with our gifts. Please use Your word to teach us what that looks like. Thank you for all that you do and give us God! We love you and praise you.

Amen.

Mer †

1 Peter 2:9-10

“⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Today I am teaching a youth group for children ages 7-11. The theme is: Australia and the goal and argument that we want the kids to leave with is: Patriot of Christ. I bought Australian tattoos and a flag and we are going to decorate the room to get them into the spirit.

What I want to start off with is defining “Patriot” for the kids.

“Originally, a patriot was someone who loves their country and supports it, but won't blindly follow whatever their country's government does...” –From Urbandictionary.com

“A person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.” –From dictionary.com

Some key points I want to go over with the kids are:

1.)   What is this verse talking about?

-background history: this book of the Bible Is a letter from Peter to new Christians scattered all around Asia and the Middle East. He was giving them hope explaining that before Christ they had a life in darkness, and after accepting Christ they lived in a life of light.

Before  → After            Old → New      Darkness → Light       

Unbelievers → Newly Founded Christians

2.)   What does God want us to take from it?

God chooses you. Why? → Because He loves you, Always. We are God’s special possession. He gave us life bringing us out of darkness and into the light.

3.)   What is the difference between an Australian Patriot and a Patriot for Christ?

 Australian Patriot:                                           Patriot For Christ:

-Loves their country                                        -Loves God

-Supports it                                                     -Believes in Him

- Won’t blindly follow                                       - Will follow with all their heart by faith

 

Dear Lord,

Thank you for putting me in a position to teach and instruct young hearts. Thank you for giving me everything that I needed to prepare for this lesson. I can’t do anything without you. I am nothing. Please open the hearts of the kids that will be there, please help me to learn alongside with them. Thank you for your holy word that you give us to lead us on in hope.

Amen.

Mer †

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

New International Version (NIV)

Praise to the God of All Comfort

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.


It is truly an amazing concept that we can give out the love that Christ gives us...

Yesterday someone left a really encouraging note on my car. It said "Chrissy! May you have a most splendid Thursday filled with rainbows and butterflies! We appreciate you and your servant heart ♥ Psalm 118:24"

And it really made my Thursday special. I felt so encouraged and loved, sometime I can be really hard on myself but it's things like these that God uses to remind me how loved and appreciated I am. Because of this note, I wanted to pass on this love. I decided to do a random act of kindness, and bought someone's meal at Chick-fil-A. And honestly, I want to KEEP doing things like that! There is a rush of utter joy when you do something like that for someone else.

This is how it feels with God's comfort. When You feel His comfort and presence; the moment you see someone else in a distressing situation, you immediately want them to feel the comfort of God. We are called in this passage to give it out as God gives it out to us. Just like the note immediately convicted me to do something kind for someone, I had to go out and do something for someone else. When God comforts us, we immediately feel a need to go out and share this comfort with others.

Don't be afraid to do this. God will lead the way to their heart.


Dear Lord, thank You so much for these verses and the encouragement You've given me lately. You really want to me know that I am loved. Thank You. I pray that we can give comfort just as You do to us. We love You Lord. Amen

♥Chrissy

Hebrews 5:1-10

5 1-3 Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it’s like from his own experience. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples’.

4-6 No one elects himself to this honored position. He’s called to it by God, as Aaron was. Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you!” In another place God declares, “You’re a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.”

7-10 While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.


Here is what I have learned about priests:
-the priest connects people to God.
-the priest would be compassionate for people, and would relate with them

-the priest was chosen/ called by God, not by people.

-the high priest was the in between person... sort of like a connection between the people and God.

God chose Christ to almost play out as our permanent highest priest, as we see in this passage. Christ is now all of those things for us, and is now our connection to God. Also because of Him, we don't have a need to make sacrifices anymore. 

Something I never thought about until tonight: in the days of the Old Testament, people would literally cast and cultivate their sins into animals, and then kill them and give them to God. I never realized how much of a testimony/ statement the sacrifice of animals was. Now I fully also understand what the Bible means by "Christ the lamb of God". Our sins were all cast upon Christ, and as He died, He took them away from us, and carried our burden.

Thank You Lord for doing this for us, with all our hearts we thank You. I thank You for this time at college group of learning about You and what You did for us. I also thank You for Your priestly qualities that help us to feel more close and intimate with You. We love You and thank You for this day and thank You for everything. Amen

♥Chrissy

Proverbs 17:17, 22

“A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
    but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

 

So the first line of verse 17 is very powerful; I can check this off my list. Even though I am far away from my home, friends, and family, I still think about them, and I constantly pray for them. I catch up with some over Facebook and Skype. I never stop thinking about them. Why? Because they have made an imprint on my heart that can never be forgotten. And I shall love them always. A few days ago, I had a friend tell me “One last thing I just had to say... you really are a great person and you are truly the most genuine person I will ever know and I really hope things are great for you because you deserve greatness.” I have had people tell me that I have a big and beautiful heart. I think what makes it easy for me to love basically everyone I meet, is because God has given such a great and awesome example Himself. He gave us life and He is forgiving when we sin against Him; He loves us all and I think the world’s problem with love is that there is always a catch, but God is unconditional.

He loves us just because.

The second half of verse 17 reads “and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Meaning, family is made for not enduring hardships alone. Family are those you can depend on and work together with on an intimate level. And love is all included in the package as well.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine,” Other translations read as such:

“A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick.”

 -Living Bible Translation

“Happiness is good medicine, but sorrow is a disease.”

 -Easy-to-Read- Version

A friend of mine once told me, that when she was younger her dad told her to be happy and laugh a lot so that she wouldn’t get sick.  She asked how that would help her stay healthy and he referred her to this verse. Ever since hearing that story, I’ve always kept this verse in my mind and my heart.

 

Dear Lord,

Thank you for these verses to help remind us of who we should be and how we should set our hearts. Thank you God for the beautiful people You put in our lives to love us and to be by our side through trials. Thank you for the wise words that teach us how our spirits should be jovial rather than broken. Your word and promises are true God, Because you are the almighty God that has the power to make it so. Thank you for loving us just the way we are.

Amen.

Mer †

Hebrews 3:1-6

Hebrews 3:1-11

The Message (MSG)

The Centerpiece of All We Believe

3 1-6 So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God’s house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house.

Today I wanted to try something different. In my college group our pastor has been talking about Hebrews. Today I just wanted to type out my notes. They are a bit crazy and kind of thrown everywhere across my paper, more of a drawing than efficient notes. But, here goes nothing. A little experiment of sorts :)

-Mission

-What do you daydream about?
-encourage so their heart isn't hardened

-my thoughts are consumed with music.mom.chick-fil-a.guys.
-"...the call here is that we fix our thoughts on CHRIST"
-Please be an encourager. surround yourself with encouragers.
-Fix you mind, thoughts, hearts, on Christ.
-the Great commission

-Encourage! There is an URGENCY!
-Some encouragement we weigh more than others.
-(Hebrews) quotes from Psalms to create a credible source
-For me, trust is big.
-Encouragement changes people.
-When some one builds a house, we don't praise the house . . . we praise the builder.
-"Don't praise Moses... praise the Lord"
-Praise the Lord

-Rest has a lot of different meanings

-I think I need to be a teacher. I can minister to students. 

Dear Lord, thank You so much for tonight. Thank You for Your constant encouraging scipture. Thank You for nudging me to grab my physical Bible instead of just looking up a verse or passage online. This feels so much better, holding this torn up but beautiful Bible in my hand. Thank You so much for everything in it, and everything it has gotten me through and will continue to get me through. I love You so much Lord. Thank You for teaching me about encouragement that night. I pray that I could be constant encouragement to those who do and don't need it. And I pray that You would surround me with constant encouragement as well. I love You and lift up this prayer in Your name. Amen

♥Chrissy