VBS 2011 – Day 1

Scripture: NKJV from biblegateway.com
Romans 12:1-2
Living Sacrifices to God
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Philippians 2:5-11
The Humbled and Exalted Christ
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Proverbs 16:3
3 Commit your works to the LORD,
And your thoughts will be established.

Romans 15:1-6
Bearing Others’ Burdens
1 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” 4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:16
16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Romans 8:5-8
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Hebrews 8:10
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

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I keep having it impressed upon my spirit to get into God’s Word. Toward that end, I am doing as a daily devotional a blog for the rest of this year – www.whateveryjointsupplies.blogspot.com - from Psalm 119, all Scripture. Today’s Verse of the Day from www.biblegateway.com is “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”” Matthew 4:4 NKJV ; to me, that just confirms what I’m doing.

And I received what I took as another confirmation yesterday. I took some of my grandchildren to a church for Vacation Bible School. I hadn’t planned to go to the adult class because I thought I was going to have to sit in the classroom with one of the younger children, but that was not necessary. So sitting unprepared as I was in the adult class (no Bible, nothing with which to take notes, etc.), the speaker posed a question about discipleship – what it means to be a disciple. The first verses that the speaker spoke from, regarding his topic of being seekers of Jesus, were Matthew 22:34-38.

The Scribes: Which Is the First Commandment of All?
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.

Wow … I had just used a corresponding verse from Mark in the blog I did before coming to church, so that got my attention. The speaker went on to share his views on what it means to love the Lord with our minds, referencing Deuteronomy 6:5 (which I also put in my blog!), Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 2:5, Proverbs 16:3. He said that the things in the Old Testament were written for our learning, and the things in the New Testament were written for our living (I found Romans 15:1-6 as reference for part of this.) I waited for some things that didn’t happen – for him to say that we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), or mention the difference between the carnal and spiritual mind (Romans 8:5-8), or marvel at God’s grace in promising to put His laws in our minds (Hebrews 8:10) – but maybe that is coming later on this week, or maybe that’s just for me. (The Bible in which I was looking these verses up after I got home had a fairly recent program from a church service I had attended where the topic was discipleship …hmmm.)

Anyway, a verse was mentioned that I’ve been thinking about lately (especially being so immersed in Psalm 119 and thinking about God’s Word):

Psalm 138:2
I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.

... as we were reminded that the journey is / can be as important as the destination.

…and my journey with Him continues…