so, how was your week, Paul

2 Corinthians 11:23b I have worked harder,

     been put in prison more often,

     been whipped times without number,

     and faced death again and again.

24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods.

Once I was stoned.

Three times I was shipwrecked.

Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.

26 I have traveled on many long journeys.

I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers.

I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles.

I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas.

And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.

27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights.

I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food.

I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.



  28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

29 Who is weak without my feeling that weakness?

Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?



  30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

31 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying.

32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me.

33 I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.



Our faith is so prissy, so puny, compared to this.

How many of us would continue to be Christ followers in America if just one of those things happened to us?

And we think we have it so rough sometimes, "enduring persecution" at home, at work, or just out & about.

Yeah, riiiiiight...

Like I said... prissy... puny...

all I got

Psalm 32:8 The Lord says, "I will guide you in the best pathway for your life.

   I will advise you, & watch over you."


Some mornings all I've got is the verse I hold on to for the year. This year is Psalm 32:8.

I didn't know how it would impact my life back in November, 2012 when I felt like God led me to claim it for the year 2013.

giving

1 Corinthians 9:6 Remember this - a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop.

     But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.

7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give.

And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure.

"For God loves a person who gives cheerfully."

8 And God will generously provide all you need.

     Then you will always have everything you need

              and plenty left over to share with others.

no ace in the hole

Psalm 50:15 Trust Me in your times of trouble,

     & I will rescue you,

     & you will give Me glory.


We all have "times of trouble" when life just doesn't go like we thought it would, or that we'd like it to.


God says "trust Me".


How many of us have ever put ourselves in such a role as a servant that the only things we had was to trust God because there was nothing we could do about our situation?


Not many of us do that.


We like to have "an ace in the hole" or "a backup plan".


I wonder what our lives would be like, & I wonder what our world would be like if more of us trusted God at that level.


Think about it...

guiding

Psalm 48:14 For that is what God s like.

     He is our God forever & ever,

     & He will be our guide until we die.



According to dictionary.com, this is what a guide does...

1. to assist (a person) to travel through, or reach a destination in, an unfamiliar area, as by accompanying or giving directions to the person: He guided us through the forest.

2. to accompany (a sightseer) to show points of interest and to explain their meaning or significance.

3. to force (a person, object, or animal) to move in a certain path.

4. to supply (a person) with advice or counsel, as in practical or spiritual affairs.

5. to supervise (someone's actions or affairs) in an advisory capacity.


And the psalmist says this is what God wil be & do for us until we die - iow, until we go to live with Him.


Hmmmmmm...

what we got

1 Corinthians 5:14 Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves.

          Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.



  16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view.

At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view.

     How differently we know him now!

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

       The old life is gone;

         a new life has begun!



  18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.

     And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them.

   And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

20 So we are Christ's ambassadors;

     God is making his appeal through us.

     We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!"

21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,

         so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

just sayin'

Before we begin to think we're "all that & a bag of chips"...

before we think we're the ones who "make things happen...

before we think the lives, jobs, & glittering ministries we all are a part are due to our cleverness & personal holiness...

read these 5 verses from Psalm 44...

just sayin'...



Psalm 44

3 They did not conquer the land with their swords;

  it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory.

It was by Your mighty power

  that they succeeded;

 it was because You favored them

  & smiled on them.


4 You are my King and my God.

  You command victories for Israel.

5 Only by your power can we push back our enemies;

  only in your name can we trample our foes.

6 I do not trust in my bow;

  I do not count on my sword to save me.

7 You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies;

  you disgrace those who hate us.

8 O God, we give glory to you all day long

  and constantly praise your name.