Eagerly awaits!

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed....... 

 

 - Romans 8:19 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Eagerly waits! Don't you just love that idea! Sounds like an oxymoron. It's not. Think of a groom waiting for his bride to come down the aisle.... Imagine parents of a child that is due to be born. Remember what it was like as a child waiting for Christmas morning. Eagerly waits! That's what creation, so caught up with decay, disaster, and death, is doing! And what is creation waiting for so eagerly? Our transformation and revelation as God's triumphant and glorious children. Sounds pretty wonderful for a time and world like ours.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Fear not! only Him!

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?...... 

- Psalm 27:1 -

Thoughts on This Verse... I love the coast of Maine. The craggy shorelines, the crashing surf, and the lighthouses perched at strategic and well-fortified points along the coastline. I cannot help but think of our heavenly Father when I watch the gloom gather as an impending storm noisily makes its way on shore. There in the storm -- with lightning ripping through the sky, winds howling, and the surf crashing -- stands the light that guides the way, strong against the elements and a beacon of direction and hope. Yes, the LORD, Yahweh the God of Israel, the Almighty Creator of all things, is my light and my salvation. My life, the eternal part of me, is entrusted to him. I choose not to fear. I place my trust in him.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Good expectations

However, as it is written:''No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.''...... 

- 1 Corinthians 2:9 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Kids look forward to Christmas, Disneyland, and summer vacation. They imagine how great those things could be. Christians look forward to heaven and dream of seeing the Lord face to face, of being reunited with those we love who have gone home to the Lord before us, and of sharing in the glory of Jesus and his angels. But we can't even begin to imagine the great things that God has prepared for us. They are far more glorious than anything we can dream or imagine. So let's anticipate being surprised and live with passion for the cause of the Kingdom knowing that any loss, any wound, any trouble, will''not be worth comparing to the glory to be revealed in us'' (Rom. 8:18).

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Acknowledgement and Appreciation

From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people....... 

 - Psalm 3:8 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Deliverance does come from the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our Father. So we ask him to bless us with his richest and greatest blessings. But, he has already given his people the very greatest blessing, the gift of his Son. Now if we will only acknowledge and appreciate that blessing.
 

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

So little yet so precious

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry,''Abba, Father.'' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children....... 

- Romans 8:15-16 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Ab-ba. Listen to a baby and you will hear these basic early sounds. Incredibly, Jesus showed us, and the Spirit enables us, to speak to God with these syllables of familiarity, trust, vulnerability, dependency, and intimacy. The Spirit is our guarantee that we don't have to be afraid of God, but that we can approach him as our loving and tender Father who always listens to our hearts and seeks to bless our lives.



**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

He's Our Everything

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God -- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption....... 

- 1 Corinthians 1:30 -

Thoughts on This Verse... God's grace has brought us into a saving relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior. As believers, we recognize that Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross was much more than a terrible miscarriage of justice and the murder of a good and decent man. Jesus is God's wisdom, a wisdom to convince us of his love. Jesus is our righteousness; taking our sins upon himself he made us righteous. Jesus is our ongoing holiness. His blood cleanses us at the beginning and continues to do so today. Jesus is our holiness; his death means our righteousness. Jesus is our ransom payment, redeeming us from sin and death. Jesus is our everything!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Magnify!

''And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.''...... 

 - Ezekiel 38:23 -

Thoughts on This Verse... ''They will know that I am the LORD'' is a familiar refrain in Ezekiel's prophecies. Here it is also a horrifying one to his people who have been rebellious, sinful, and wicked. God is holy. The people who claim him as their God had better reflect that glory and greatness. They had better magnify God's holiness. If they do not, God will do so even at their expense. God will be known as God. In a day when so many profane the name of God and use it so glibly in their reactions and frustration, this is a sobering reminder that even the name of God is holy. He will show his greatness and holiness.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Dead but alive

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires....... 

- Romans 6:11-12 -

Thoughts on This Verse... If we have been cleansed from perversity, if we have died with Christ in baptism and have been cleansed thoroughly and completely by the Holy Spirit, then let's live for God! Let's resist sin, and our inclination to sin, with all our might, knowing that as we do, the Holy Spirit will empower us to a much greater righteousness than we could ever live on our own. Let's begin each day with a conscious decision to be dead to our sinful past and alive to the goal of the holy character of God!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

None but Jesus

Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses....... 

- Acts 13:38-39 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Law couldn't do it. Animal sacrifices couldn't do it. Piety couldn't do it. Religious practices couldn't do it. Only Jesus can bring full forgiveness of sins. Only Jesus can make us fully righteous and holy. Forgiveness and righteousness come through him.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

The wide or the narrow gate?

[Jesus said]''Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it....... 

- Matthew 7:13-14 -

Thoughts on This Verse... ''Majority rules!'' That's the edict of democracy. This has been a blessed political philosophy for so many people over the course of history. But,''majority rule'' doesn't apply to the Kingdom of God. God sets the standard, not us. God's holiness is the goal, not just trying to be better than someone else. Most, regrettably, will never find the way of the Lord. They want it their way. One crucial problem with wanting things our way: it leads to ultimate disaster. God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life, is the only one who can set life's agenda. Let's ask for his help and guidance for our way!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Blessed be the Lord

[Bless the LORD] who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's....... 

- Psalm 103:5-

Thoughts on This Verse... God is a God of renewal and blessing. His desire to renew and bless us is not just a desire to b...less us just once with our salvation. God desires to bless us daily. His steadfast love is new every morning as he faithfully pours out his blessings (cf. Lam. 3:23). But more than just giving us what we want, he satisfies us with good things. He brings us what we need and what truly fills our emptiness.


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Shine down

Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.......   - Psalm 80:19-  Thoughts on This Verse... In the days of Jesus' birth, there was a group of devout and lowly people who still looked for God's redemption. They knew that salvation could not, and would not, come without great cost -- not just to themselves, but also to God. Isaiah had hinted about this in his Servant Songs (see Isaiah 53). They had experienced it in their own history. So with honest hearts, they confessed that they didn't have the power to bring salvation and deliverance. This power had to come from God and had to be released to people who were seeking God's transformation in their lives. They needed to ask God for it! They needed to seek his face, his presence, in their daily lives. So must we!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Good things come from God

[Bless the LORD] who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.......

- Psalm 103:5 -

Thoughts on This Verse... God is a God of renewal and blessing. His desire to renew and bless us is not just a desire to b...less us just once with our salvation. God desires to bless us daily. His steadfast love is new every morning as he faithfully pours out his blessings (cf. Lam. 3:23). But more than just giving us what we want, he satisfies us with good things. He brings us what we need and what truly fills our emptiness.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Strong hearted for love

Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD....... 

- Psalm 31:23-24 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Love the LORD! Be strong because of your hope in the LORD. In other words, recognize where your strength is. Acknowledge your source of grace. Give praise to God for his abundant mercy and power lavished on us through his Holy Spirit. The LORD God does preserve his people. He does honor faithfulness even if it is mocked in this world. The LORD will bless his people and deal justly with those who mock and abuse them.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

See no evil

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them....... 

- Psalm 34:7 -

Thoughts on This Verse... I don't see him, but I know he's there! The same angel of the Lord who destroyed Israel's enemies is now fighting to win the spiritual battle that rages around you and me.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Surrender

I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips....... 

- Psalm 34:1 -

Thoughts on This Verse... One way to keep our life on track and our hearts surrendered to the will and work of God is to praise our glorious LORD continually. Let's put our praise for God on our lips with song and memorized Scripture. Let's tell his wonderful and great deeds to our children, grandchildren, and friends. Let's give him thanks for all that he has done for us. Just as surely as he is with us always (see Ps. 139), let's praise him always.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Incomparable sufferings

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.......

- Romans 8:18 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Is it worth it? Oh yes! It's more than worth it. We can't begin to imagine the glory God has in store for us. No matter how hard, bad, or painful our trip through this world may be, our future with God holds something incomparably better. Does that mean my difficulties are meaningless or insignificant? Absolutely not! But our future glory with God does mean that it is more than worth it to hang in, to be faithful, and to receive his glorious reward!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

The Knight

14 Aug 2011

John Sweetman

What women want in a man

- sincerity
-showing emotions
-cuddling
-spontaneity
-adoration
-confidence
-bad boy
-maturity
-respect
-sincerity
-romance
-challenge
-humour
-attention
-money
-ambition
-generosity
-loyalty
-cooking skills
-being a gentleman

*Nobody's perfect and can't fulfill all the criteria
*Women are looking for a knight
Ephesians 5:25-28: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Description of a knight

*Some must have doubt a single man (Paul) giving this advice
*The Bible is just not a whole book of ideas. It came with different authors which God particularly inspired- so it is not Paul who said this but God- the creator which is giving us the best advice
*Old Testiment- Israel being the bride and God being the bridegroom which created controversy
*New Testiment- we are like the bride

*Paul's argument Ephesians 5:25-27: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
*So what did God (bridegroom) do to the church (bride)?

Love

*Jesus love the people
*In english, we got one word which defines love but may have different meanings
*Its otherwise in Greek
*God's meaning of love here is that he will give everything and keep us

Gave Himself

*He had incredible power, he was worshiped and adored but gave up everything and surrender for us

Cleansing Her

*We have a huge problem; selfishness, sinful, and brokenness in us makes us separated from God
*We can't be good enough for God but he cleansed us only through God that we can be pure, cleansed so that we can have a relationship with Him

Made us holy

*God's intention is not to make us clean but to change and to grow a little bit more like Jesus
*He encourages us if we make baby steps to grow like him

Present her

*One day, we will be pure and just like how He intended us to be
*In our desperation, He gave His life for us just like a knight
*We hear him through His word and know Him but have not seen Him until we come down the isle and walk into His arms
*He likes and wants to sacrifice Himself for us
*That is the idea how husbands should treat wives

*Its easy to act like a knight when we have just fallen in love not long ago but it gets difficult as time pass by

Role of a husband

1. Committing - agape (love)
2. Giving yourself
3. Affirming beauty- not just physically alone
4. Encouraging- all that she was meant to be

*A bride does not make herself beautiful, its the bridegroom's (God or husband's) job
Ephesians 5:28-30: In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body.

*We know how to look after ourselves
*As you look after yourself, so you have to look after your wife asking her needs and agenda
*Wives are a commitment for a lifetime

Ephesians 5:31-32: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

*It is unfair and beyond our ability but this is our responsibility and core for it is what God wants us to do
*If knights really gave themselves to princesses, not only would they be beautiful but their relationship would improve as well
*Divorce rates among Christians are almost the same rate as non-christians
*This should not be the case because we should have "Jesus stamp" on it
*Being a knight have to be voluntary

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Psalm of David

Psalm 63    

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

 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.
 ² I have seen you in the sanctuary
   and beheld your power and your glory.
³ Because your love is better than life,
   my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
   and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
   with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
 ⁶ On my bed I remember you;
   I think of you through the watches of the night.
⁷ Because you are my help,
   I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ I cling to you;
   your right hand upholds me.
 ⁹ Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
   they will go down to the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
   and become food for jackals.
 ¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
   all who swear by God will glory in him,
   while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

1. Pursue God in yr crisis

2.Partner God in yr crisis

3. Praise God in yr crisis

4. Proclaim God in yr crisis (v. 6-8)

5. Petition God in yr Crisis



**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Shelter

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance....... 

- Psalm 32:7 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Out of the attacks of evil come the victories of God and the victory chants of God's people. Let's find our strength and protection in our holy God! Let's make God our hiding place, our source of security, and our hope in times of trouble.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

My Redeemer Lives

The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him....... 

- Psalm 34:22 -

Thoughts on This Verse... God not only buys us out of our bondage and debt to sin, but he also assures us that he will provide refuge for those who trust in him. Our future is tied to him and not to our ability to provide and protect what we need.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Made in God's image

  He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD....... 

- Proverbs 18:22 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Several great truths are taught us in the opening chapters of the Bible. First, we are made in God's image, both male and female. Second, we are made to be different (male and female). Third, we are made to bless each other and be complements of one another. Fourth, we are made to leave our families of origin and build our lives together (Gen. 1:26-2:25). To find a partner for life, one created by God in his image, is to find what is truly good!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Give your all

...present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus....... 

- Philippians 4:6-7-

Thoughts on This Verse... What guards your heart? What protects your mind? Did you know that the peace of God can stand guard over our hearts and minds? That's the apostle Paul's promise to us in this passage. If we will present our requests to God, with thanksgiving, then God's peace that is greater than any explanation and that transcends our ability to comprehend it, will stand sentry over our hearts and minds. You want an example of how this is true? Look at the book of Job: All that befalls him; all that wounds him. Yet still he doesn't become hard of heart or go insane. What is the key to his survival? His ongoing conversation with the LORD. He will not relinquish that relationship no matter how badly he hurts, how much he is confused, nor how badly he is ridiculed.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Blessings in disguise

I thank my God every time I remember you....... - Philippians 1:3 - Thoughts on This Verse... Certain people are blessings. It doesn't matter if we visit with them on the phone, get an encouraging email, or see them face-to-face. Any time we  remember them, we thank God for them. So let's follow  Paul's example and let them knowthey give us reasons to offer thanks to God.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Fairy Tale Romance

*Ephesians 5:22-33: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
 ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body. ³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

*Submit to others, love in business and marriage
*Submit isn't even in the greek translation
*We as Christians know how is it to be loved by Jesus

true intimacy= same heart to your husband as you would have to Jesus

*We should have the same faith and trust to our husbands/wives as we have towards Jesus
*It is the same message as the message that Jesus had sacrificed himself for us, that is what we should do for our partners as well
*Paul is talking about sacrifical love
*If the relationship does not cost you anything in the sense of money, time or effort, it is not sacrifical love
*It is not because God wants us to suffer but to show us the beautiful thing that we can do unto others
*He is explaining God's love in a marriage context
*He is calling us to give our all to him

The differences between rights and responsibility
*To have a responsibility to love our partners or the right to expect what our partner does for us?
*Definitely to have a responsibility to love our partners
*We might be attracted but not love or vice versa but we should have both for our partner if we want to spend the rest of our lives with as well as to have a healthy relationship

*We want a princes worth dying for
*OR a knight that we can entrust our life to
*as well as a princess that believes in Him
*AND a knight that treasures her

*God wants us to have a passionate relationship
*Would YOU entrust in the man you want to be with just as we believe in jesus and give sacrificially for something enduring and beautiful?
*It is a mystery that Jesus loves the church that He sacrificed his life for our sins- It is the most important event, not that we need to be rescued but that He loves us so much
*We get to be with Him shame and guilt free if we entrust ourselves to Him

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Fear not!

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing....... 

- Zephaniah 3:17 -

Thoughts on This Verse... God is with us! That's the great message of the story of Jesus (Matt. 1:23). That's the message of hope Zephaniah gives the defeated people of God. God is among us. He is mighty to save. He loves us. He delights in us. He stills the storms of our hearts with his loving touch. He sings us lullabies of joy. God longs to be close to us and invites us to draw near. What will your response be?

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength....... 

- Philippians 4:12-13 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Life is full of ups and downs. So much of what we hold dear can be touched by death, disaster, and decay. What do we have that is certain? To whom can we turn for assurance? Where do we find the power to live victoriously in good times and bad? In the Lord who gives us strength!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Trust God to Provide More

1. God provides for his vision
*Sometimes churches guilt trip people with money
*Often Christians do not like when the church talks about money
*Prosperity teaching turns us off too
*Why do we hate them?

*Because we do not get the vision of God which is that God provides without letting us feel guilty but is interested in funding God's vision (homeless, charity)

*It makes sense as to why we are giving

*Matthew 6:25-33: ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?
   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
 
*If we are in line with God's vision, then God will provide the resources to make his vision a success
*God's promise is to provide for those under His agenda (When we seek His kingdom and righteousness)

2. Both money and the lack of money can stop you from fulfilling God's vision
*Were scared of failure or even money when we are asked to do God sized vision

*Mark 4:18-20: ¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰ Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

 

*We cannot commit money alone but ourselves (and everyone around us) to God
*We can also have a role model to convince ourselves that God provides (apart from Biblical theory)
*Start with a small start

3. God watches How we use money to see if we can be trusted with His vision
*Luke 16:10-13: ¹⁰ “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
   ¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
 
(wordly wealth- money (insignificant) true riches (plant churches, evangelise)
*God chose to save us over His own son- something unthinkable but we are grateful
*When God ask you whether you can trust Him and we say no, it is very hurtful
*The heart of who we serve is who we worship

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Need meter

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus....... 

- Philippians 4:19 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Throughout Scripture, God reminds us that if our trust is in him and if we share his blessings with others, he will make sure we have all that we need. How can we be sure? Look at the confidence Jesus had in God!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Watch God

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

- Psalm 121:8 -

Thoughts on This Verse... Does it matter to anyone that I'm here? Does anyone notice when I'm gone? Does anybody care if I make it home or never leave the house? The answers:''Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!'' The LORD, the Savior of Israel and the Father of Jesus knows all about us and our comings and goings. He will watch over us, now and forevermore.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Security guarenteed!

The way of the LORD is a refuge for the righteous, but it is the ruin of those who do evil....... 

- Proverbs 10:29 -

Thoughts on This Verse... What is your source of security, hope, and protection? The way of the Lord is a refuge, a strength, a place of security! Let's make sure we live our lives there, knowing that God's commands and demands for righteousness are for our protection as well as his glory.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Sheep without shepherd

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want....... 

- Psalm 23:1-

Thoughts on This Verse... A sheep is only as good as its shepherd. We are incredibly blessed!

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Blessed be the Lord

[Bless the LORD] who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's....... 

- Psalm 103:5 -

Thoughts on This Verse... God is a God of renewal and blessing. His desire to renew and bless us is not just a desire to bless us just once with our salvation. God desires to bless us daily. His steadfast love is new every morning as he faithfully pours out his blessings (cf. Lam. 3:23). But more than just giving us what we want, he satisfies us with good things. He brings us what we need and what truly fills our emptiness.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Remembrance

I thank my God every time I remember you.......    - Philippians 1:3 -   Thoughts on This Verse... Certain people are blessings. It doesn't matter if we visit with them on the phone, get an encouraging email, or see them face-to-face. Any time we remember them, we thank God for them. So let's follow Paul's example and let them know they give us reasons to offer thanks to God.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Individual difference

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind....... 

- Romans 14:5 - 

Thoughts on This Verse... So often we let personal preference, peer pressure, and concerns about the celebration of certain days, especially holidays, have a divisive effect on our Christian relationships. Bottom line: we're not to try to press our opinion or position on anyone else. We're not to judge another because he doesn't celebrate a special day to the Lord and we're not to judge another because she does celebrate special days. This is a matter of personal conviction that revolves around our desire to please the Lord and to honor him in ways we feel are appropriate. Let's not be so insecure that we have to do what everyone else does or force anyone else to do as we prefer. Instead, let's remember the right angle to take with all things: honor God with everything we are and consider the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**