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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Does Our Behavior Indicate a Welcoming Door?



I love beautiful old doors. There's just something so appealing about them. A lovely door is so welcoming. I hope the door to my soul is welcoming to God as these beautiful old doors. As a Christian, my personality and behavior should indicate a welcoming door to others.

 There are endless possibilities awaiting on the other side of a door. God opens doors for us all the time. Do we always open them?  How do we use the possibilities awaiting on the other side? There are several verses of scripture that refer to doors, and the symbolism they contain is so meaningful. 

When I think of a welcoming door, this quote comes to mind. Although I don't know who said it, I think it is worth sharing.

Prayers should be the key in the morning and the lock at night.

 Scripture

When God closes a door He opens a window.
Malachi 3:10

When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
Acts 14:27

Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord,
2 Corinthians 2:12

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8

So, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.
Matthew 24:33

Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!
Psalm 24:7

"You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. "For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. 
Exodus 12:22-23

So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:7

But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. 
1 Corinthians 16:8-9

"If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."
Genesis 4:7

Praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;
Colossians 4:3


Card made to go with this theme: http://scmagnolia.blogspot.com/2016/07/cards-with-scripture.html

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Praying For Your Husband

I found two of the nicest ways to pray for your husband and I'd like to share them. The second one I found on Pinterest and it links to an Indulgy site with no way to determine the source. It was hard for me to read, but I squinted and typed it out, so that I read it more easily in the future. I did not write it, and I have no way of finding it's author. If anyone does, please let me know.


Thirty One Days of Praying For Your Husband

http://www.raisinggodlychildren.org/2011/11/31-days-of-praying-for-your-husband.html?mid=5275409



Two Weeks of Prayer For Your Husband

MONDAY (Jer. 29:11 and 1 Cor. 10:31)
Pray that your husband will be courageous in his stand against evil and injustice, and that he will stand for the truth. Pray that he will protect you and your family from Satan’s attacks.

TUESDAY (Rom. 12:1-2 and 1 Cor. 6:19-20, 9:27)
Pray that your husband will understand the importance of taking care of his body – the temple of the Holy Spirit – for the glory of God. Pray that he will practice self-control by making wise food choices, and get sufficient sleep and exercise to stay healthy.

WEDNESDAY (1 Thess. 5:17; Luke 22:46; James 5:16)
Pray that your husband will be a man of prayer. Pray that he will seek and pursue God in purposeful quite times.

THURSDAY  (Eph. 6:4;Col. 3:21; 2 Tim. 2:1-2)
Pray that your husband will be a good father - disciplining his children wisely and loving them unconditionally. Pray that will find a young man to mentor in the things of the Lord.

FRIDAY (Eph. 4:32; Heb. 12:15)
Pray that your husband will practice forgiveness in your relationship and with others. Pray that he will recognize any roots of bitterness, and yield any resentment and unforgiving attitudes to the Lord.

SATURDAY (Eph. 3:16, 1 Peter 2:21; 1 Cor: 10:11)
Pray that your husband will enjoy his manliness as he patterns his life after Christ and strong men in the faith. Pray for his physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual strength.

SUNDAY (Jer. 29:11 and 1 Cor. 10:31)
Pray that your husband will discover and live his God-given purpose. Pray that he will offer all his dreams to the lord, and pursue only those goals that will bring god glory and count for eternity.

MONDAY ( Rom. 14:19; Ps. 34:14)
Pray that your husband will be patient and a man of peace. Pray that he will not give in to anger, but will allow the Holy Spirit to control his responses.

TUESDAY (john 8:14 and 2 Cor. 10:4-5)
Pray that your husband will recognize the lies of the enemy in his life. Pray that his attitudes and actions will be guided by the truth as he brings his thoughts into captivity to the word of God.

WEDNESDAY (Prov. 27:12 and 2 Cor. 10:5)
Pray that your husband will yield his mind and thoughts to the Lord. Pray that he will not entertain immoral or impure thoughts and that he will resist the temptation in indulge in pornography.

THURSDAY (Neh. 8:10; Prov. 17:22; Ps. 16:11, Luke 2:52)
Pray that your husband will learn how to relax in the Lord and in his greatest times of stress, find joy and peace in his relationship with God. Pray that he will submit his schedule to Him, balancing work and play. Pray that he will fear God, but also gain favor with people he knows at work and church.

FRIDAY (Ep. 5:15-16 and 1 Cor. 12: 4, 7)
Pray that your husband will surrender his time and talents to the Lord. Pray that his spiritual gifts will be manifest in his career, at church and in your home.

SATURDAY (1 Cor. 10:13; John 7: 17-18; Col. 3:23-24)
Pray that your husband will serve God and Others with pure motives. Pray that he will obey the Lord from his heart, and glorify Him in everything.

SUNDAY (Matt. 6:33; Deut. 6:5; Eph. 5:16; Ps. 90:12)
Pray that your husband will have an eternal perspective – living in light of eternity. Pray that will reject materialism and temporal values and put God first in his life.

Be his greatest ally, fighting beside him in the battle…


 

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Interesting Research

I recently read about a new online survey of 2,000 unchurched Americans from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. The survey,  found more than half of Americans who don’t go to church identify as Christians. I choose to see that as encouraging. The results of this survey indicate that talking about faith is not taboo. I am very encouraged by that. According to the survey, Americans who don’t go to church are happy to talk about religion and often think about the meaning of life. They are open to taking part in community service events hosted at churches or even going to a church concert. About one third said they'd to to a worship service if invited by a friend. One third of 2,000 is 666.6, which is kind of a creepy number so let's just round up to 675. I know that is less than half, but I choose to look at 675 as a lot of people that could be reached if we just extend an invitation.

"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? Matthew 18:12


Christ was happy to save the one sheep, there are 675 people out there who indicated they would come to a worship service if invited by a friend. You know what? I'm going to invite some people to church!

New Look and New Purpose

I'm back, with a new look and a new purpose. The goal will be to KISS the blog. Keep It Simple Silly. Short and sweet.

Edited 7/21/16


7/21
Ultimate Survival (Bettencourt)
1 Peter 5:8
Ephesians 6:10-18
The Christ Must Die
Matthew 16:13-28
7/28
No Bible Study this week
8/4
Soul Sisters (Bettencourt)
1 Samuel 18:1
Parable of The Lost (Prodigal) Son
Luke 15:11-32
8/11
Provisions (Bettencourt)
Romans 13:14
Corinthians 10:5
2 Samuel 11:15
2 Samuel 2-27
Galations 5:21-25
Philippians 4:6-7
Proverbs 11:2
Ephesians 5:15-16
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
Mark 6:30-44
8/18
Pursuing Character (Bettencourt)
Matthew 14:14
John 13:34
Mark 9:35
John 13:12-17
Philippians 2:3-8
Luke 23:34
Matthew 18:21,22
Jesus Clears the Temple
Mark 11:12-19
8/25
 Flower Language (Bettencourt)
Proverbs 21:23
Proverbs 15:1
Proverbs 4:24
Psalm 12:2
Proverbs 10:19
Proverbs 11:13
1 Timothy 5:13
Proverbs 16:28
Proverbs 26:24
Titus 3:2
Psalm 140:3
Proverbs 26:22
Ephesians 4:29
Proverbs 12:22
Proverbs 26:28
Jesus is the Way to the Father
John 14:1-14
9/1
 How Bright Is Your Light? (Bettencourt)
Proverbs 12:22
Proverbs 26:28
Proverbs 12:22
Proverbs 26:28
Proverbs 12:22
Proverbs 26:28
Proverbs 12:22
Proverbs 26:28
Wise and Foolish Builders
Matthew 7:24-29
9/8
No Bible Study this week

9/15
Fall Study begins
Hosea: Unfailing Love Changes Everything by Jennifer Rothschild