Mark 10-12

Jesus is teaching us so much in Mark 10-12.  I love that Jesus teaches through loving and serving others.  He is not theoretical.  He lives what He preaches.  What He says is what He does.  His words have power.  His life is our example.  He is our connection to our Living God.

Last night after the kids were in bed and the house was quiet, I was folding laundry while my husband was going through piles of mail.  He was sorting the junk from the bills.  The more he opened, the more the bills kept piling; and before he knew it, he caught himself feeling a little stressed.  We are blessed.  We have all that we need and then some, don't get me wrong.  We are thankful.  But even so, with supporting a family of five, money gets tight from time to time for one reason or another.  

Malachi 1-4

Malachi is the last book of prophecy in the Old Testament.  God's people have returned from exile, and again, they have gotten lazy and careless in their attitude toward God.  The big idea in this book is that we belong to God in "body and spirit (2:15)."  One of my quick go-to resources, Know Your Bible: All 66 Books Explained and Applied points out that Malachi is the "final word from God for some four hundred years, until the appearance of John the Baptist and Jesus, the Messiah."  That is a long time without hearing from God, but we know He makes an awesome promise and keeps it.

Our Pockets of Hope, So Far

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 17:20 

 

So this is how we started Pockets of Hope for the Oklahoma tornado victims in our house.  Everybody in our family has a bottle, and it has turned into a little competition to see who can collect the most change.  So far, our change collection has come from carrying our bottles with us everywhere we go.  

The idea to collect pockets of change to help others sounded great at first, but it has been harder for me than I thought to step out in faith that way.  It turns out, I am terrible at asking people for money, even if it's loose change for a fantastic cause.  On the other hand, my kids are really good at it.  They seem to be naturally talented in this department (it's a little scary).  They took their bottles to school and hit up their friends and teachers the last week of school, no problem.  My husband put his bottle on his desk.  One night, he forgot to take it home.  The next day, it had an extra $10 bill inside!  I am in last place in our family.  I think I need to rethink my approach. 

I don't know how much money we have raised at this point, but these five bottles are a few small steps in the right direction to reaching our $1000 goal for the OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund.  This is another case in my life when my kids are teaching ME a thing or two.  If you would like to help us reach our goal, we'd LOVE that (especially me since I haven't collected any money in my own bottle yet)!  You can get all the details on how to help with Pockets of Hope by going to http://www.amindmakerupper.com/2013/05/just-do-it-ok-pockets-of-hope-for.html or you can come up with your own fundraising efforts and report your total donations for the OK Strong Disaster Relief Fund, by June 28th!  My email is amindmakerupper@comcast.net.  I am happy to help if you have questions.  I can't wait to see what God does with our change!

A prayer for today-

Dear Lord and Savior,

 

Thank you for Your word and for always keeping your promises.  Today, I pray for your mercy and grace.  Use our small steps of faith to do BIG things for Your kingdom.  Lord, may our pockets of change help provide hope, love, and healing to the tornado victims in Oklahoma.  Help us reach our $1,000 goal.  I know that, with You, nothing is impossible.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ I pray,

Amen

 





Peace and love of Christ,

Book Basics

I mentioned in my last post that I had been hesitant to dive into reading the Bible for fear that I just wouldn't get this very sacred book.  My own excuse, yes, but I had to work through it.  The words are holy.  The words are life changing.   The words are the foundation of the Christian faith.  They are "life to those who find them and health to one's whole body (Proverbs 4:22)."  That's a lot of pressure, you know?  What if this book didn't apply to me because I didn't know how to read it the right way?  I had a mindset that if I never REALLY dove in, at least I couldn't REALLY sink or fail.  Have you ever felt that way about something?

So what did I do?  I managed to find some life preservers along the way, some back up flotation devices, for reading, understanding and applying God's word, and I want to share a few of those with you.  The good news, in addition to the most important Good News that Christ died for us so that we might have eternal life, is that there are tons of useful resources out there to help us not only read the Bible, but nurture and grow our faith.  I will never run out of blog posts!

Today, I am going to focus on the Bible basics.  These things may seem obvious to some of you, but they weren't to me.  They give me a much needed foundation for my reading. These are facts I heard over time, in pieces, but had a hard time organizing in my head.

Bible Books

• 66 books total (Catholic Bibles have a few more)
• 2 Parts:
• Old Testament- The story of God's creation and his loving relationship with his people before the birth of his son, Jesus Christ
• Covers several thousands of years
• Contains scriptures Jesus learned as a child
• 39 books (law, history, poetry/wisdom, & prophecy)

• New Testament- The story of God's love, mercy, and grace following the birth, life, death, and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ.
• Covers about 100 years
• 27 books (gospels, history, letters) 

Simple Summaries

Even with the best of graphic organizers, it can still be a difficult task to keep all the facts straight as I read, especially since the good books do not necessarily go in chronological order.  I need a way to associate the book I am reading with an author, a specific period of time, important biblical events, and memorable scripture.  Know Your Bible by Paul Kent helps keep me straight.  It's simple, to the point, and a real bargain at Amazon.com!

Through God's word we come to know and experience what it means to be...

1. {Part of God's Family}

Jesus tells us,

  "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

Luke 8:21 

 

2. {Protected by God's Grace}

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith...Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

 Ephesians 6: 14-17

3. {Transformed By New Life in Christ}

"And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe."

  1 Thessalonians 2:13

"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." 

 1 Peter 1:23. 

I sincerely hope these resources will inspire and encourage you wherever you are in reading the word of God, whether you are a seasoned veteran, unsure and new to the water, or somewhere in between. The Bible is where I find the unconditional comfort of God's truth and love, and the words don't just sit idly on the page. They come alive and go to work in me, and they will do the same for you if they haven't already!

My prayer for today-

Dear Heavenly Counselor and Comforter,

Thank you for revealing yourself to me through your word.  Help me "grow in the grace and knowledge" of you for your glory both now and forever (2 Peter 3:18)!  May this blog reach far and wide, blessing those who read it and beyond.

I pray this prayer in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Amen

Much love in Christ,



*Graphics in this post were created by A Mind Maker Upper from reference material on the website, Bible Simply Explained at www.bible-explained.org