Life of Val » word wednesday

Acts 3:19-20 and Joel 2:13

Val — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:43:12 +0000

Double Word Wednesday! Lucky you.

Repent therefore and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.

Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents from sending calamity.

I came across these verses in the Bible study I’m doing. I love how scripture can reveal new things each time you read it. I know I had read the first verse, from Acts before because it was highlighted in my Bible. But when I read it yesterday, it spoke of new refreshment. The verse from Joel sang the same tune, so I included both. I pray that as you read this, you will hear God’s eager invitation and respond wholeheartedly.

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Val — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:39:29 +0000

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart…

What powerful words! The Lord DECLARES! I see the lion of Judah, Aslan roaring that promise! Plans for wholeness! And hope! I could jump up and down in our dining room as I read those words, if there wasn’t a sleeping baby 20 feet down the hall. Life has a funny way of throwing Plan A back into the picture as soon as Plan B is starting to look pretty nice. In such a transitional time in our lives, I couldn’t be more reassured than to know I will find Him when I seek. We will find direction.

I also find it comforting that God shows us a sense of His faith in us. “You will call upon me…You will seek me…”

My friend Laura and I were camp counselors together. One day at camp, she came to me to talk about this passage of scripture. The first verse is something we hear all the time, even see on bumper stickers. What she pointed out was the end of verse 13- “When you seek me with all your heart.”

Lord, please help us seek you with everything we have.

Wednesday: Matthew 8:23-27

Val — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:42:00 +0000

Jesus calms a storm.

It sounded so simple in Carver’s Beginner’s Bible:

Jesus and his disciples got into a boat. They wanted to cross the sea. Jesus took a nap. The waves gently rocked the boat back and forth.

Suddenly a great storm came up. Waves splashed over the boat. Winds whipped around the disciples. They woke Jesus up and shouted, “The boat is sinking. Don’t you care?”

Jesus asked, “Why are you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith at all?” Then Jesus told the storm to stop. Right away it was calm.

The disciples were amazed. They said to each other, “Who is this man Jesus? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Reading this story caught me a little off-guard. It made me pause and think Why am I so afraid? Don’t I have faith? Right now just feels like such a transition for our family. There are so many unanswered questions. But suddenly the how-long-are-we-going-to-live-in-family-housing-what’s-going-to-happen-with-Ethan’s-career storm calmed in my heart. I guess sometimes it takes reading the Beginner’s Bible to have child-like faith.

I like the English Standard Version of verse 26:

“And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”

Word Wednesday: Ephesians 4:26

Val — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:22:00 +0000

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger”

This is another verse I came across in my Bible Study. I remember our pastor, Father Ron teaching on this passage. I found his explanation interesting; that anger itself is not a sin, but a natural and healthy reaction. Its what we do with this emotion that determines the spiritual consequence and its affect on our lives. Thankfully, Paul, the author of this letter to the Ephesians tells us what to do: resolve our anger before bedtime!

Word Wednesday: Hebrews 6:10-12

Val — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:20:00 +0000

I came across this verse in a bible study and it made me think of Ethan and my brother, Sam, two loving servants.

“For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”