07.31.05
Posted in General at 2:30 pm by Sarah
Lately, Karen Kingsbury has been my favorite author. As she develops her books, she focuses on one character at a time to show what they are thinking and feeling about the situation. I love the way she ties the different perspectives into the continuous story.
Last week during my devotions I read Psalm 22. It starts out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” Immediately I recognized that this was very similar to what Jesus cried out to God as He was dying on the cross–only it was written a LONG time before that. I read on. Verses 16-18 say, “Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” Then I knew for sure this must be a prophecy of the death of Jesus.
You’re probably wondering what this has to do with Karen Kingsbury. Well, don’t worry. I do have a point here. I decided to write the references from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of where Jesus says this in the margin next to Psalm 22. So I looked them up.
In Matthew I found it in chapter 27 verse 46: “About the ninth hour Jesus cried in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?‘–which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
The same thing was in Mark 15:34: “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?‘–which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
But when I got to Luke, I noticed that something different was recorded. Luke 23:46 says, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’”
There was also a different account in John, chapter 19 verse 30: “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’”
These differences definitely do NOT mean that there are errors in the Bible. It is only showing different people’s perspectives in the situation. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were all present at Jesus’ death, but they each remember slightly different things. Just like if you hear several different people tell the same story, they focus on different aspects. The fact that Jesus was being forsaken by His Father stuck out to Matthew and Mark; Luke noticed that Jesus gave up Himself for His Father’s purpose; and John remembered Jesus sigh three words–it is finished–as His huge task of saving the world was over.
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07.30.05
Posted in General at 10:02 pm by Sarah
“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
~Galatians 5:22-23a
When I think of peace, I think of people getting along with each other. I also think of calm in the middle of a storm. Only Jesus can give us peace in the midst of a stormy trial.
Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The Bible also tells us to live at peace with each other. Paul tells us in Romans 14:19, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”
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07.23.05
Posted in General at 1:07 pm by Sarah
I’ve always loved kids. A friend told me that she thought teaching was the hardest job. I had never considered it that before, but since she said that I’ve been thinking more about it. This summer, I’ve had the privilege of teaching 6 students in addition to babysitting. I always told people that I wanted a “real” job, but then lots of people asked me to teach their kids violin or piano or to babysit, and I decided that would be sufficient for a job.
I have GREATLY enjoyed working with kids this summer! They always surprise me with their understanding of music when I’m teaching them, and I’ve learned a lot from my experience. Thinking back on my friend saying that teaching is the hardest job, I’ve realized that it is difficult, but it is also very rewarding. Every child is different, and you have to figure out how to reach them. There is no set formula that works for all of them. When you step down and become friends with them, it is amazing what you can learn.
Yesterday as I was babysitting, I went from dancing to fiddle music to dressing up in fancy dresses and pretending to be a princess–and I don’t usually like dancing. Somehow when I’m spending time with children babysitting I feel like a child again. It’s easy to forget the huge troubles of the world when you get down and play with kids and pretend things with them.
It also teaches you to appreciate the small stuff. Children get so excited over little things, and sometimes we as adults get too wrapped up in our lives to notice those kinds of things. Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” We need to have the innocence and faith of a child. They may not have as much experience in this world as we do, but we can definitely learn a lot from them!
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07.21.05
Posted in General at 9:48 pm by Sarah
“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
~Galatians 5:22-23a
“Be joyful always;”
~Thessalonians 5:16
It is definitely hard to be joyful in every circumstance. On our own, there is no way we could be. It is only through Christ Jesus that we can find joy during the difficult times. He can give us joy in the good stuff, joy in the bad stuff and joy in the small stuff!
“You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
~Psalm 16:11
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07.20.05
Posted in General at 10:29 pm by Sarah
“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
~Galatians 5:22-23a
I’ve decided it would be fun to write about the fruits of the spirit. Love is, of course, the first one listed. It is, after all, the “greatest” according to 1 Corinthians 13:13. It’s hard to put an exact definition on the word love, but in my mind it’s being an unselfish, humble servant who is willing to sacrifice himself for others.
It isn’t always easy to love the people who are closest to us, and some people are just hard to love. The greatest example of humbleness and love is Christ dying on the cross for us when we were still sinners. When someone is rude or ungrateful, it is our human nature not to act loving towards them. We need to follow the example of Jesus and always have a loving servant’s heart.
Love is sacrifice. We need to put the needs and desires of others above our own and share Christ’s love with them through serving them. They may not always be grateful for what we do, and that’s hard, but if we do all to the glory of God, we will be rewarded someday in heaven. I’ve always been lazy in the summer, but this summer I’ve been noticing when I should be doing something that I’m not. When I’m sitting there being lazy, I see opportunities to serve others and show them that I love them. We all need to look for those opportunities and take them.
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07.17.05
Posted in General at 12:42 pm by Sarah
“Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
~II Corinthians 5:1-10
It was very cool that this verse was included in today’s sermon since we were just camping last week! 
It made it an even better analogy in my mind about earth and heaven. I enjoyed sleeping in the tent, but it was definitely not as comfortable as sleeping in my own bed at home. Just as sleeping in a tent is temporary, our being here on earth is only temporary–our true home is in heaven with Jesus Christ!
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07.16.05
Posted in General at 1:17 pm by Sarah
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the very nature of God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death–
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
~Philippians 2:3-11
I know this is a really long passage of Scripture to post here, but it’s one of my favorites. It would not be popular in our me-first world as it is telling us to imitate Christ’s humility and servant’s heart. Sometimes it’s easy to know that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and for me, this passage helps me to understand a little bit better the great act of love that it really was. He made himself nothing in order for us to have eternal life. We are told to imitate Christ and be servants to those around us.
The last two verses of this passage are just pure excitement for me. That one day every single person will bow to Jesus and confess that He is Lord! Even though it may sometimes feel like we are losing to the devil, we know that Jesus Christ wins in the end!
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