Sunday Scripture Time - Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Isaiah 1:18

This is one of my favorite scriptures (I feel like I'm always saying that...lol, which I guess isn't a bad thing). I'm no history buff or scripture scholar but I believe that Isaiah was written during a time when Israel was backsliden and wasn't serving Jehovah God. The beginning of the chapter describes just how rebellious they were and even compares them to Sodom and Gomorrah...cities that God destroyed with FIRE! And yet, God still extended his mercy. He said that he would reason with them! That just blows my mind that the God of the universe, the perfect, holy God of the universe allowed them the opportunity to repent and get things right with him. He said that he would take the RED, SCARLET, CRIMSON, ugly sins that they had committed and make them WHITE as SNOW and WOOL.

What's so amazing about this is that the offer is still good for us today! We all make mistakes and we all fall down, but the greatest thing is that God is standing there with open arms. Who are we that he is mindful of us, that he would love us enough to take our sins upon himself on the cross so that we could be saved? 

And that's the question, right? Who are we? Fallible, imperfect, stupid, forgetful, faithless human beings that God created. If he wanted to, he could have just squished us like Smurfs and started over with a new race of creatures..but he couldn't because he loved us too much. So he crafted a back-up plan that would give us a way of escape. He gives us chance after chance after chance. And for that, I will always serve him.

Sunday Scripture Time - 1 Corinthians 13

In thinking about what scripture to use today, one word kept coming back to me: Love. And while there are tons of scriptures about love, this is the one for me. 1 Corinthians 13.

 ¹ If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails.

I truly believe that LOVE can fix any problem, any situation, any division, any hurt, any jealousy, any anything. And for that reason, I want it to be said of me that I love and that I love deeply. I mean this in so much more than a romantic way, although I, one day, hope to be and stay madly, deeply in love with a man who will become my husband. Now that my disclaimer is out of the way...I believe that with love, we can do anything. Love is able forgive sins (1 Peter 4:8 - love covers a multitude of sins), mend relationships (Proverbs 17:9 - he who covers an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends) and reveal Jesus to the world (John 13:35 - By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another). With love, we could start a revolution. This world is angry and hurting and full of so much hate. They need to see Christians full of God's love for the sinner and for each other!

I read somewhere once (I don't remember, so please don't ask. lol)  that you can substitute Jesus' name for all the times they say love and it still is 100% truthful. Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind...etc etc. And how true is that! Jesus always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Jesus NEVER fails. And if we are to be like Jesus (which we are), I believe that we should also be able to substitute our own name in place for love...It'd go something like this (with your own name, of course lol), Natasha is patient, Natasha is kind. Natasha does not envy. Natasha does not boast, Natasha is not proud...etc etc. Wow! When you look at it that way, you begin to see all the areas that you need to work on. You begin to see that, hey, maybe I'm not loving as well as I think I am!

So I challenge you today to swap LOVE for your name...And then in every instance were it becomes a false statement, pray that God would make you more like him. Take steps to make yourself more patient, kind, humble, trusting, faithful, etc etc. Before you think that I'm trying to bash you and make you feel bad...realize that the beauty in this method is that it doesn't exclude any of us from work because NONE of us are perfect. Yes, maybe you've got kindness down, but you realize that you aren't so patient at times or maybe you're not self-seeking but you're really bad about holding onto past wrongs...

We ALL need to work at being more like Jesus...and since Jesus is love (1 John 4:8 - Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love), love is good place to start!

Sunday Scripture Time - Jeremiah 29:11

Today, my pastor preached about and from his favorite verse. And if you've been going to our church for even a short time, you've probably heard him say it at least ten times:

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. NIV

And while that's a great verse that preached a great message, I thought today I'd share my favorite verse of scripture:

Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. NIV

There is something soooo wonderful about having someone out there that knows what's going to happen in my life. He's known my story since the beginning of time. And even better than just knowing my story, he wrote it! Unlike people in my life who have plotted terrible things to happen or who pray that bad things would befall me, God has plans for me to prosper in all that I do. He doesn't wish that I would fail or mess up. Instead, he has given me (and you) a future full of HOPE.

I don't know about you but that just warms my soul. I pray that you might come to know him more, that you might come to know the unique and BEAUTIFUL story full of salvation and grace/mercy that he has written just for you.

Sunday Scripture Time #1

I had another scripture for Sunday Scripture Time but my Pastor preached a great message this morning using these two scriptures so I decided to share them instead.

Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. ESV

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ESV

God is slow to deliver anger and judgment because he is so full of mercy and love. Instead of coming back quickly, He is allowing time for more people to know him. On the other hand though, those same scriptures also show that the perfect judge of this world will judge us in due time and he will find those guilty lacking. I am so thankful for this period of grace that he has provided us.

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