Joshua 1:8
"...[B]ut you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8).
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." (John 5:39).
"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13).
First off, I like this one (v 32) "I want you to be free from anxieties..." And yes I'm taking this one line and taking it out of context and applying it everywhere in my life right now.
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts on verse 9?
v. 9: But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.
Yes, I'm shortening the following, but these spoke to me a little more specifically. While I wouldn't say I was an unbeliever when Josh and I were married, I was definitely distanced and as Bill always talked about, the type of Christian who really only preferred selected pages in the bible. Not all of it (still battle that sometimes) and Josh is and has always been much more of an "all in" king of guy. Me, I'm a little too controlling/type A/certain that I have REALLY good ideas for my life.... not to put more pressure on you Josh! :-)
v. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband.... Wife, for all you know, you might save your husband. Husband, for all you know, you might save your wife.
I like v 32 too. Check out 1 Peter 5:7
ReplyDeleteMy guess on v 9 is its better to be married and committed to somebody than single and "aflame with passion" being tempted to sin all the time
Like Josh said yesterday, Christ is continually changing us and calling us back when we drift away. We may not always have our theology right, but we've got everything we need when we forsake all for Jesus as our Lord. I've found in these last couple of weeks, (thanks to God using this blog) that all Jesus wants is ALL of our heart with nothing in between or more important. He will teach us the rest as we follow Him down our path. We are all blessed to have believing spouses who are faithful in always bringing us back to a closer and closer relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Mary, I love your post. I enjoyed this entire chapter and couldn't help but be amazed by it's relevance to today. God's word is amazing!
ReplyDeleteJoel, I think you're dead on with v. 9 and yes Christ wants our full allegiance in whatever we are doing, as Paul so greatly depicted.
I really liked how Paul stated the single person is able to worry about spiritual matters and pleasing God but the married person is more focused on worldly matters and pleasing his/her spouse (paraphrase). What married person can't identify with this! It's so easy to get caught up in providing for your spouse and tending to their needs/wants while completely forgetting/ignoring God. Imagine if we used every moment to glorify God - even our time with our spouses...
I think (Karyn) we all struggle with parts of the Bible, but it doesn't mean that it ALL doesn't apply to us. This chapter especially, I think sexual sin is one of the hardest things to not be tempted by. We are all human and the only thing we can do when we sin or make a mistake is sincerely ask for God's forgiveness and pray for His guidance and direction if this temptation happens again. I am thankful that Joel and I are walking this journey together. We try everyday to build each other up and encourage each other and trust me sometimes I wonder why is this happening to me when things are going crappy... but at the end of the day I am glad I married him and that God gave me him to love. So, back to chapter, a part of me thought it meant just stay away from marriage, but if you can't resist your "urges" than get married. I am glad I gave into my "urges." :) ha ha PS Joel says Paul is just jealous of all of us married peeps cause he did not have much luck with the ladies!!! LOL, so glad we have the blog;)
ReplyDeleteSorry about the bad Paul joke. I love and am thankful for Paul our brother in Christ. :)
ReplyDeleteMary I think we've all picked and chose parts of the bible to pay attention to. Thank God we have a God of Grace that patiently draws us closer and shows us our sins that we may repent and have a deeper dependance us Christ.
Haha! I loved the bad paul joke ;)
ReplyDelete