#MidnightMadness – 5/6/2017

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When there’s nothing left to say, God’s words are the best way.  ~M

 

In loving memory of Wayne Scheppele… ❤️

He was a man who radiated compassion, and when he spoke, everyone listened intently to his every word.  He was the person who taught me the importance of God’s word and the key to life’s success (Joshua 1:8).  He exuded more wisdom than anyone else I have ever met.  He was the kind of person I wanted to emulate because he knew how to genuinely love people and he loved God with his whole heart.  He was a man who I always suspected was really an angel, living out his life as a human. 

“Mercies are new every day”  ~Wayne Scheppele

From our last phone conversation, here are the passages of scripture he asked me to read.  I invite you to read them too!

Lamentations 3:21-26
Psalm 1:1-3
Matthew 11:28-30
Proverbs 31
2 Corinthians 1-24
The book of Daniel – The prophecy book!

 

The Way of Love

1 Corinthians 13 – The Message (MSG)

1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11 When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12 We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.


Photo credit: pixabay.com

When you feel dismayed, remember this…

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“Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?
 ~Job 4:6


Originally posted:  February 23, 2016

Photo credit: pinterest.com

 

The Attributes of God

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Today I wanted to talk a little bit about who God really is. Have you ever really thought about what God is like? I have spent years compiling a list of the attributes of God. On days when I feel distant from Him, I reach for my list to see the way the Bible defines Him. Somehow knowing what He is like, gives me more confidence in my relationship with Him. The Bible holds the truth about who He is and what He stands for, so that we can gain a better understanding of Him. I would like to share with you the list that I have put together, and I would also like to know if any of you have something to add to the list and where it can be found in the Bible. Here’s my list:

God is….

  • A consuming fire – Hebrews 12:29
  • My strong fortress – 2 Samuel 22:33
  • Spirit – John 4:24
  • Love – 1 John 4:8
  • Great – Psalm 147:5
  • Abundant in strength – Psalm 147:5
  • Understanding – Psalm 147:5
  • The first – Isaiah 44:6
  • The last – Isaiah 44:6
  • The only God – Isaiah 44:6
  • The maker of all things – Isaiah 44:24
  • The head of Christ – 1 Corinthians 11:3
  • A God of peace – 1 Corinthians 15:33
  • Light – 1 John 1:5
  • A Jealous God – Deuteronomy 4:24
  • A witness between you and me – Genesis 31:50
  • A compassionate God – Deuteronomy 4:31
  • The faithful God – Deuteronomy 7:9
  • Just – 2 Thessalonians 1:6
  • A warrior – Exodus 15:3
  • My strength – Exodus 15:2
  • My song – Exodus 15:2
  • My salvation – Exodus 15:2
  • Majestic in holiness – Exodus 15:11
  • Awesome in praises – Exodus 15:11
  • Highly exalted – Exodus 15:21
  • A victorious warrior – Zephaniah 3:17
  • The shepherd and the guardian of our souls – 1 Peter 2:25

Do any of these attributes speak to your heart more than another? The last two are my favorite… He is a victorious warrior and the shepherd and guardian of my soul. Who could want anything more? Please feel free to add your attributes of God in the comments section and also add the reference for where you found the attribute. I would love to add more to my ever growing list!

I also found this as I was researching…

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This list was found at: thethirdcross.wordpress.com

Originally posted: March 6, 2016

A set of rules or something more?

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“Biblical commandments weren’t proclaimed as a means to keep us subjected to God’s authority, but rather to free us from the self-inflicted pain which we were sure to endure without them.”  ~M

 

Pressing forward…

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Today I was reading over some of my favorite passages in scripture and came across Paul’s reminder; “Forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead.”  These scripture verses in Philippians 3:12-16, really spoke to me today and gave me the encouraging words I needed.  I hope by reading these words, you will be encouraged as well.

I also came across a related devotional over at: The Hill House

The devotional can be found here – Philippians 3:12-16 devotional

Philippians 3:12-16 (NASB)

12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on [a]so that I may lay hold of that [b]for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are [c]perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep [d]living by that same standard to which we have attained.

Hope everyone has a blessed Sunday!  ~M


Photo found at: pinterest.com

Quoted scripture found at: BibleGateway