A Weekly Walk in the Word

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Freedom from the law’s authority allows Christians to enjoy the freedom to participate in the work of the Holy Spirit. As we allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit, evidence of our freedom will appear in our lives as the fruits of the spirit…. Love – Joy – Peace – Patience – Kindness – Goodness- Faithfulness – Gentleness – Self-control

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – Ephesians 3:1-21

Monday – Ephesians 4:1-16

Tuesday – Ephesians 4:17-32

Wednesday – Ephesians 5:1-33

Thursday – Ephesians 6:1-24

Friday – Philippians 1:1-26

Saturday – Philippians 1:27-2:18

2 Corinthians 13:11 Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

I apologize for blogging a day late this week. Our daughter was married on our farm over the weekend. Things were a little chaotic around here. After months of prayer and preparation, we celebrated love! Hannah aimed for perfection and achieved it. But, after the dancing ended and guests left, the memory that I am left with is the love in Jo’s eyes as he gazed on our daughter the entire day. What an honor to watch God work in the lives of our children. God is good!

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – Galatians 3:10-22

Monday – Galatians 3:23-4:31

Tuesday – Galatians 5:1-12

Wednesday – Galatians 5:13-26

Thursday – Galatians 6:1-18

Friday – Ephesians 1:1-23

Saturday – Ephesians 2:1-22

2 Corinthians 9:10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

Our neighbor stopped over with a bag of plump ripe tomatoes he had grown in his garden. How generous of him to share his bounty with us! He could have kept all the tomatoes for himself, but he didn’t. He chose to share his abundant crop with others.

Paul likens giving to a seed, which is sown by a farmer. What we give is not lost, but rather seed is sown that will yield a harvest with potential for life to increase. When we give with a cheerful heart it is an exhilarating experience. How and to whom can you give this week?

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

Monday – 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Tuesday – 2 Corinthians 12:11-21

Wednesday – 2 Corinthians 13:1-13

Thursday – Galatians 1:1-24

Friday – Galatians 2:1-16

Saturday – Galatians 2:17-3:9

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

When the world seems dark, let Jesus’ light shine bright. When you are feeling down, let Jesus’ light shine bright. When you are grieving, let Jesus’ light shine bright. When you are joyful, let Jesus’ light shine bright. In the verses above, Paul is talking about the treasure of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Don’t leave your treasure in a dark clay pot. Instead share Jesus’ light with the world. There is no human weakness that can cause a barrier to the purpose of God when we allow his glory to shine through us.

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7

Monday – 2 Corinthians 7:8-16

Tuesday – 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Wednesday – 2 Corinthians 8:16-24

Thursday – 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Friday – 2 Corinthians 10:1-18

Saturday – 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

As we begin a new chapter, 2 Corinthians, I am reminded of the comfort God pours over us even in the small things. On Friday, I was in the dentist’s chair having a crown put on a back molar that I had been putting off for over 2 years now. God showed up! He calmed my nerves as he comforted me right there in the dentist’s chair. But, God shows up in big ways during difficult times. The comfort I have received after loosing my mom in March has been overwhelming. Only through the comforting hand and love of God, have I made it through those dark days. I am beyond thankful for a Father of compassion and comfort who walks beside me to comfort and console, to strengthen and to guide.

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:11

Monday – 2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Tuesday – 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Wednesday – 2 Corinthians 4:1-12

Thursday – 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10

Friday – 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Saturday – 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

What a blessing to know that we are all wonderfully and beautifully made with our own unique gifts to share with the world. The magic happens when each of us comes together to build up the body of Christ. We all bring something special to the table. Let’s work together in love to reflect the love of Christ in our broken world.

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – 1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13

Monday – 1 Corinthians 14:1-17

Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 14:18-40

Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

Thursday – 1 Corinthians 15:20-58

Friday – 1 Corinthians 16:1-24

Saturday – 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

1 Corinthians 3:5-6 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

I have spent my summer sprucing up our farm because our daughter is getting married beside the barn in just 5 short weeks. Early in the spring we were sharing our plans with our neighbor to the east. He told us he was planting beans in the field abutting our property and asked if we would like to plant sunflowers in a row between the beans. Mike and I looked at each other in awe. Sunflowers are Hannah’s favorite flower. When the beans were about 6” tall, our neighbor showed up with packets of sunflower seeds and a hoe. We grabbed water and the sprinkle can. I wet the ground, Jeff made a hole with the end of the hoe and Mike placed a seed and covered each one carefully. We planted from the tree line to behind our barn which is approximately 500 feet. The seed packets read “7 – 14 day germination”. Every night for the next 3 weeks, Mike and I filled 5 gallon buckets, put them in the Gator with the sprinkle can and we watered our row of sunflower seeds. I am sure everyone driving past shared a chuckle as it looked like we were watering an entire bean field. After the first week, we were excited to see green sprouting through the dirt. To our dismay, the sprouts were only weeds. We did not grow a single sunflower!

I have since moved on and spend my days watering freshly laid sod and flower beds around the house. I am happy to say, they are all doing well.

I am happy that God is in control of growing believers. I am happy to plant seeds and water, but I will leave God’s infinite wisdom tend to the growing. And I pray that I may be planting seeds and sprinkling water in your life through this blog. God bless you as you continue to grow!

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Monday – 1 Corinthians 9:1-18

Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13

Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 10:14-33

Thursday – 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

Friday – 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Saturday – 1 Corinthians 12:1-26

1 Corinthians 1:18-19 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

Paul draws a sharp distinction between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of humans, which he calls foolishness. I have met so many people over the years who are book smart, but have no common sense and find it difficult to communicate with others. The foolishness of the world may masquerade as wisdom, but it is a state of spiritual blindness that makes people unable to comprehend the truths of God. God turns earthly thinking upside down as he uses the underdog to accomplish heavenly wisdom. With a childlike faith, let us share the message of the cross to the world.

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4

Monday – 1 Corinthians 3:5-23

Tuesday – 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Thursday – 1 Corinthians 6:1-20

Friday – 1 Corinthians 7:1-24

Saturday – 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present no the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In these verses, the concept of nothing has never been more beautiful. Nothing can separate you from God. No thing, no person, no hardship, NOTHING. His love is everywhere. God is all around us. Last night we were sitting outside enjoying a cooler evening when my cousin noticed the breathtaking moon in the picture above. We sat in awe as the moon’s rays of light created a perfect cross. Just another reminder that God is always with us and nothing can separate us from his love.

Where have you seen God this week?

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – Romans 13:1-14

Monday – Romans 14:1-23

Tuesday – Romans 15:1-22

Wednesday – Romans 15:23-16:9

Thursday – Romans 16:10-27

Friday – 1 Corinthians 1:1-17

Saturday – 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Romans 5:2-5 And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Sufferings teaches us to be steadfast and determined. Everyone handles stress and suffering differently. Some people hyper focus on the suffering causing them to spiral into depression. Others can move past the suffering by focusing on God working in their lives. Through their suffering, they learn to be steadfast and determined. Which in turn, builds character. And strong character produces trust in God and his plan for their future. They have hope.

Times of trials or suffering tend to make us either feel hopeless, or give us a sense of greater hope for what lays ahead. Don’t let stress keep you from living the life God has blessed you with. Go to God with all your sufferings, hopes and dreams.

I would love to hear what your favorite verse was from last week’s readings. This week’s readings are…..

Sunday – Romans 8:9-25

Monday – Romans 8:26-39

Tuesday – Romans 9:1-24

Wednesday – Romans 9:25-10:13

Thursday – Romans 10:14-11:12

Friday – Romans 11:13-36

Saturday – Romans 12:1-21