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Love {Advent Bible Study}
The focus of this week’s Advent study is LOVE. Love means to have a strong affection for anther arising out of kinship or personal ties. It also means to have an unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another. SCRIPTURE 1 John 4:7 {KJV} Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. OBSERVATION When I first looked up “Love” in the Webster’s Dictionary, the first entry was for maternal love, the second for romantic love and a bit further down, the love God has for mankind. This struck me as wrong. I know…
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Hope {Advent Bible Study}
The focus of this week’s Advent study is HOPE. Hope means to anticipate or expect with confidence. SCRIPTURE Jeremiah 33:15 In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. OBSERVATION God promises His people that after their captivity has ended a righteous descendant from King David’s line will be born. The fulfillment of this promise is the birth of Jesus Christ, who is just and righteous. APPLICATION When I read this passage, I think of a new bud on a tree branch and all the promise that it holds. It represents new…
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Hope {Advent Bible Study}
The focus of this week’s Advent study is HOPE. Hope means to anticipate or expect with confidence. SCRIPTURE John 1:12 {KJV} But as many as received him, to them gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: OBSERVATION There are many who reject Jesus and His claims, but there are also many who believe His claims. And it is those who believe in Him, who will inherit the kingdom of God as His children. APPLICATION The gift of life is free to those who simply choose to accept that God in His mercy and grace looked down upon this world in all of…
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Preparing for Christmas {Advent Bible Study}
Last week, I briefly talked about how God has been dealing with me about the ways I’ve been using social media for His glory. Specifically, the fact that I haven’t been. I’ve been using my spaces on the web to talk about style, food, photography and all sorts of other things… There’s nothing wrong with that, I believe that God wants us to have fun, but I don’t want that to be all there is to me. I firmly believe that I’m living at this time and place for a reason. God has a purpose for me. So I know it was nothing but God that lead me to an…
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SOAP: We Were Created in His Image {#B90Days}
SCRIPTURE Genesis 1:27 (NIV) So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. OBSERVATION Throughout the whole story of creation, God speaks things into existence, he says “Let there be light” and there is light (Genesis 1:14) and he tells the land to produce living creatures according to its kind (Genesis 1:24) but when it comes to man, he takes the time to form man out of the dust of the earth. But he doesn’t just throw together stuff to make man, he said “Let us make man after our own image” (Genesis 1:26), which means that…
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Marriage {Bible Reading Plan Day 3}
SCRIPTURE I Peter 3:1 {NIV} Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if an of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives. OBSERVATION There are two key points for me here: “…submit yourselves to you own husbands…” ~ this does not mean that wives are lesser than or subservient to their husbands nor does this mean that a husband can walk all over his wife {I Peter 3:7}; this means that as the head of the household, the husband is the final authority and wives are to yield themselves to that authority…
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Marriage {Bible Reading Plan Day 2}
SCRIPTURE Ecclesiastes 9:9 {NIV} Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun~ all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labour under the sun. OBSERVATION There is one key point for me: “Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love…” ~ a husband is to find peace and contentment with his wife because he loves her and he chose to be with her APPLICATION There are so many different diversions out there e.g. video games, movies, etc. that it’s easy to start seeking peace, love and happiness from…
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Marriage {Bible Reading Plan Day 1}
SCRIPTURE Genesis 2:18 {NIV} And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. OBSERVATION Two things stick out for me from this scripture: “…It is not good that the man should be alone;” ~ God knew that man needed someone like himself to talk to and interact with so that he would not be lonely “I will make him an help meet for him.” ~ woman was made to be man’s partner and helper; her God ordained role was to help her husband by meeting his needs APPLICATION My husband always says that his primary…
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Why Does God Love Me? {Bible Reading Plan Day 5)
SCRIPTURE Titus 3:5 {NIV} he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, OBSERVATION Two key points for me are: “he saved us not because of the righteous things we had done, but because f his mercy”: Romans 3:23 {NIV} says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” so it wasn’t our works or the goodness in our hearts that caused God to save us, it was His mercy. Mercy can be defined as compassion that’s shown towards an offender {sinner} or the offering…
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Why Does God Love Me? {Bible Reading Plan Day 4}
SCRIPTURE Jeremiah 29:11 {NIV} For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” OBSERVATION From the beginning, God has had plans for us. He created us, therefore He knows our strengths and our weaknesses, He knows what we can and cannot do. And with this knowledge, His plan for us is that we use our talents to be happy, healthy and prosperous in Him. APPLICATION I have often said that I have the navigational skills of a monkey in a hurricane. Case in point, a few weeks back, my daughter…