Sep 9

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 3 | Saturday
    All praise again for God who does what's right and good. Except for a few lines in 149: "To execute vengeance upon the nations, to bind their kings with chains, to execute upon them the judgment written:" Still good to know God is in control - even when the "nations" and "kings" seem to do things that are out of control. There is comfort knowing that no matter how bad things get God is able to... Read more »
  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 2 | Friday
    Can you say, "God is good?" David basically documents another 20 things the Lord does that are good and helpful to us. Good stuff. Read more »

Sep 3

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 3 | Thursday
    Another example of praise and worship. With one amazing theological verse about death in the middle. So many people believe that when you die you go straight to heaven (or the alternative). But there are those that believe death is a "sleep" until Jesus returns. This is one of the many verses that help support the latter. 4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his... Read more »
  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 3 | Wednesday
    Finally - a complete shift from complaining and demanding to utter praise and worship. Not a lot to say about the passage. David simply runs through a list of the attributes of God and explains that there are a million and one reasons to praise Him. The one verse that stood out to me was 14: "The Lord upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down." This because it feels like the season... Read more »

Sep 1

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 3 | Tuesday
    An interesting turn for David. After numerous verses requesting safety, asking for peace, and almost demanding God fix his problems, David starts praising and worshiping. Almost the entire chapter is David building God up - talking about His power, and ability to deliver and protect. This is more like it (for me). I love it when we can get past the hardships and simply praise God because He is... Read more »
  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 3 | Monday
    Showdown at the OK Corral... Paul, still in exile, seems to have a lot of freedom since the Romans can't find reason why he should be put to death. So he starts holding Journey Classes (as we call them at Granger). Many of the higher ups in the Jewish community cam to listen to Paul talk about Jesus and the way He had changed things. Some believed and others did not. But there was definitely a... Read more »
  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 3 | Sunday
    I guess I never realized how many of the Psalms were like this. David calling out to God to fix his problems, keep him from trouble and to cut off his enemies. He sounds so depressed and victimized. Although I can recall praying similar prayers. Asking God why bad things have to happen to us and focusing on small issues that seemed to be plaguing me at the time. David keeps saying things like:... Read more »
  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 2 | Saturday
    Nothing much to say about this passage. It was a whole different world back then. Travel was hard, it took time and was largely dependent on the weather. I find it interesting that Paul was with Roman soldiers - heading to Rome - and yet all along the way he was able to see people he knew, stay with people and communicate with them. Paul was even able to live with the soldier guarding him rather... Read more »

Aug 28

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 2 | Friday
    Again, David "complains," "explains" and "whines" to God that his life is a mess. Again about the evil ones chasing him and setting snares for him. "No one cares for my soul." Blah, blah, blah... But seriously. Don't we do the same thing? I mean we tell ourselves it isn't right to complain and that we should simply worship God for His goodness. But don't half our prayers end up being similar to... Read more »
  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 2 | Thursday
    Paul lands on the isle of Malta and is quickly introduced to the indigenous people there. It's interesting that "natives" always seem to have strange rituals and superstitions. They see Paul bit by a viper and assume this is the "gods" bringing punishment on him for his behavior, but when the snake bite doesn't kill him they assume he's a god. Funny how we have the tendency to do the same stuff right?... Read more »

Aug 26

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 2 | Wednesday
    I find David's tactics interesting. The way he interacts with God - one minute demanding ("Make haste to me" "Give ear to my voice") and then softening it with phrases like, "Let my prayer be as incense." You can almost sense the urgency in David. A sense of fear or longing that requires him to seek God out as quickly as possible. I like the way he petitions for: 1. Guard my mouth 2. Keep me from... Read more »

Aug 25

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 2 | Monday
    In this passage I found the description of the evil ones the most interesting. Here is the way they work: 1. They plan evil 2. They gather to do evil together 3. They sharpen their tongues 4. They try to make others stumble 5. They hide snares, traps and nets for people And I find it refreshing that even though we all hear the "turn the other cheek" stuff in the Bible, David is REAL in that he cries... Read more »
  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 2 | Tuesday
    And they should have listened to Paul... Funny how things started out well. They always do - we start sinning and it's fun for a while - but then the impact hits later. So they were forced to throw stuff off the boat, and went without food for a while until Paul finally said, "I told you so." He then explains that he saw an angel and that the instructions were plain and simple. Run the boat aground... Read more »
  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Week 2 | Sunday
    Interesting tale about Paul being transported by the Roman centurions. Crazy that the entire trip seemed to be plagued by bad weather. They had numerous stops, starts and waiting for storms to pass. Makes me wonder if this is simply history, or an illustration of the way life can knock us when we're down. Of course toward the end it seems to become spiritual when Paul makes recommendations for... Read more »

Aug 20

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Thursday
    Continuing the discussion about "working out your own salvation" in verse 13 it suggests that God plays an active role in any sort of "works" that exist above and beyond the grace that saves us. I love the thought that God works in us "to will." In my mind the word "will" often goes with "strong" as in "strong willed." Which is probably a good summary of me - especially when younger. So the fact... Read more »

Aug 19

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Wednesday
    Verses 10-11 simply reinforce to me the amazing event at the end of time when every single soul that has ever lived will give worship to the God that created him or her. The phrase "those under the earth" suggests to me that even those NOT living will be part of this thing. How do you even get that many people on the face of the earth at one time? All I can say is it will be one giant, amazing and... Read more »

Aug 18

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Tuesday
    It's interesting to think about the "no reputation" concept. I mean much of your life is spent becoming educated and then working your way to the top in your field. All in the process of building your "reputation" which leads to better jobs, more money and in essence more security. So what would it look like to be more concerned about others than that reputation? In the case of Jesus, He threw away... Read more »

Aug 17

  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Monday
    More on the same theme from verses 1-3. Humility. Sounds so simple and yet so difficult to achieve. We definitely have the "look out for your own interests" part down. I mean that's the first thing that pops into your mind isn't it? What am i going to get out of this? How is this going to benefit me? But that's the eternal struggle right? Satan started it all off with pride and we all came by... Read more »
  • sbuxiv99
    sbuxiv99 added a text contribution Making Love Last | Sunday
    Entering this series I assumed we'd be talking love in the context of marriage. But in reading the first three verses my mind totally went to our "small group" and our team in the Communications Department at Granger. The first verse talks about the commonalities that we should have if we are part of the "fellowship of the Spirit." Paul requests that we be of one accord, be like-minded, affectionate,... Read more »