I am now reading in 1 Corinthians and what has been standing out to me, even in the middle of Paul rebuking the Corinthians, is that the Scriptures are meant to bring us comfort. For those of us who are truly seeking for truth, they do bring great comfort. While the world changes all around us, they remain the same. When truth is redefined and we feel alone, they remind us that God does not change, nor does truth, and we are not alone. And when we aren't sure of what to do, we can go there and find principles to apply - a comfort indeed!
So today I wish for you the comfort the Scriptures give as you do your own study. I look forward to your comments.
5 comments:
Okay - I am back. Still trying to get my schedule back, though. Still waking up at 3-4 in the morning, but this morning was able to 'turn off the brain' and go back to sleep. Woke up again at 6, a normal hour.
It's been about 2 weeks since I postedb but I did keep up a little with my reading. I read Psalms 111-118 this morning.
111 - Praise Him because of His Great Works
112 - The benefits of knowing and practicing God's Word
115 - The foolishness of idols; the greatness of God
116 - I love the Lord because He loves me
117 - Praise the Lord
118 - It is better to trust God than man.
Now a little personal experience. One of the last days of tax season I woke up panicky - thinking I wasn't going to get everything done. I freaked - so instead of going directly to work, I read my daily reading in the psalms. (I hadn't been consistently reading). And it totally refocused me. Gave me peace as well. It was refreshing. I still had all the work but my whole attitude change. I thanked Him for being there - because I was feeling so 'aaaaahhhhhh.'
So my advice/suggestion: when feeling out of control - go to the Psalms, especially in the middle (80ish-110ish). They are mostly praise ones discussing all the wonderfulness of God or the blessings we have from Him.
continuing on with the last day of the lessons on allowing God to cleanse me even if it's painful--I think the author answers so many questions people have on how God is in control but we have free will---she notes again that God provides us with experiences-it is our responsibility to learn from them, to have a heart willing to listen, to study, to pray, and to take time to be still and silent. For me the most challenging things so far are accepting while I am in a painful trial that it is part of God's plan and I am learning invaluable lessons through the experience and being still and quiet. There is so much noise around me constantly that I tend to just zone on my computer when it actually is quiet--I am working on just being still and having time with God--sometimes praying, sometimes just thinking about all I have and all that I am learning and it is proving to be a very good time for me!
i like Ps 119 becaue it is full of emotions - which surprises me every time a read it. The writer is praising, pleading, hating, proclaiming. The verses that jumped out at me were 18, 37, 45, 50, 71, 73, 81, 93, 114, 120, 125, 132, 147, 162, 165. If I had more time I would have copied them for you. Hope to post tomorrow, depends on how I feel.
Julie--
Thinking of you all day (it's Wednesday just no post up yet)--and thinking I was going to bring you guys dinner tonight and I am not sure why I did not remember that until just now! YikeS! I will get in touch with you tomorrow and see how you are doing.
Hmm. I don't know where my Wednesday post went. Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.
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