Verse of the Week - Mayberry Church of God

Deuteronomy 10:12

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 01:15:00 +0000

Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, (KJV)
(NIV) And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

What or who do you fear? It seems I am always fearful that someone in my circle of family or friends will get hurt. Just the other day, my husband Rob had to climb on the roof to clean out our gutters. I'm always afraid that he will fall. Some time ago when we were adding on to our house, Rob asked me to climb a ladder to get a view of the roof that I wouldn't be able to get after the addition was done. I didn't want to, but he insisted, so I went up the ladder. Well, fear gripped me in such a way, that I was glued to that spot. I couldn't move my feet either up or down on that ladder. Rob had to physically grab my legs one at a time and move them down the ladder, because fear had paralized me!

Perhaps you fear for your loved ones or heights as I do. Maybe you fear the dark as many children do. Perhaps you are claustrophobic (fear of being closed in) or fear animals, water, certain people, or something else. The Bible in Hebrews tells us to not fear what man can do to us. However, in the book of Deuteronomy in our verse for this week it tells what we do need to fear - the Lord your God.

Perhaps you are thinking, "Isn't God a god of love? Why should we fear a God of love?" You would be right in thinking that God is a god of love, but we still need to fear Him. Some people interpret this word "fear" as respect and honor. I was told as a teenager that we needed to fear God that we do not respect and honor Him enough. Do we spend enough time with him? Do we cheerfully and abundantly share our talents and our money to honor him? Do we worship and serve him?

God loves us and will not fail us in the end if we know him as our Saviour and Lord, but in some ways, I "fear" that I do not honor him nearly enough for all he has done for me. We don't need to be paralized with fear because of God's great love for us, but we do need to be in awe of God and honor and respect him at all times wherever we are.

Matthew 14:23

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:48:00 +0000

Matthew 14:23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. (KJV)
(NIV) After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountsinside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.

When I was still teaching school everyday, I used to think, when I retire I'll be able to do all the things I want to do for God. I'll be able to volunteer at the soup kitchen, go to places during the day to help people, attend events like the Fall Festival of Music, substitute at nearby schools, clean my house more regularly, prepare my Sunday School lessons more thoroughly and most importantly start every day with a quiet time of devotion with God.

Our verse for this week from Matthew 14:23, tells the importance that Jesus placed on spending time alone with God. Jesus needed time with His Father to be refreshed and uplifted. If Jesus needed it, we certainly need it even more. Psalm 46:10 tells us to "Be still, and know that I am God:..." I also noticed in several passages that when Jesus performed a healing, he came away from the crowd to do it. He left the busyness to be with only a few for the healing. (Mark 5:40; Mark 7:3 and Mark 8:23)

Jesus found it important to spend time alone with God away from his busy schedule. I wanted to do that. When I was teaching I was always pressed for time and had trouble getting everything done. Well, guess what? Three months after I retired, my first grandchild was born. My son and daughter-in-law struggled with how to care for this child and needed my help. Isn't God's timing perfect? I also took on a part time job that same month and began to do some substitute teaching. I think I volunteered at the soup kitchen five or six times that summer right after retiring, but have only volunteered once since then. Now I have two grandchildren and both are in school. I volunteer my help to their schools about once a week. My house always seems to need cleaning. I don't think I'll ever have everything in its place. I usually work on my Sunday School lesson a little before Saturday evening, but I don't always get to it early in the week. My life is very busy - sometimes I think it is even busier since I retired.

I try to make time for my devotions every morning, but if I need to be out early, I find that I often move it to later in the day or it might not even get done until the next day or even later. Jesus sought His Father regularly - probably several times each day. We certainly should seek him at least daily. Do you have a time set aside for communing with your Heavenly Father every day? If it is not a priority, it certainly should be for both you and me. We need to separate ourselves from the busyness of life to find spiritual nourishment from our Heavenly Father. I almost have come to the conclusion that Satan uses this busyness in our life to distract us from being with God daily as we should. Let's call on God's power to defeat Satan and the tricks he uses to distract us from serving and worshiping our Lord and Saviour.

I Corinthians 1:10

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:00:00 +0000

I Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. (KJV)

(NIV) I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

Rob and I have been married for thirty-seven years as of Wednesday this week and I can say that we have had very few arguments in those thirty-seven years. After reading the Our Daily Bread devotion for today, I think I know why we have been able to have so few arguments.

The Our Daily Bread devotion focused on the same verse as above and was titled “United Goal.” I think Rob and I have a united goal of trying to please and keep each other happy. I don’t think it hurts, too, that I stand by the scripture in Ephesians 5:22 that tells wives to submit to their husbands as to the Lord. And if you know me at all, you know that I submit, but that doesn’t mean I won’t discuss the topic.

In our church, we also may have some “discussions” about ways to do things in the church, and we might not always agree. However, as long as we keep our goal in the forefront, these discussions are not so important and should not cause us to have divisions as the Corinthian church was experiencing. So what is that goal that should keep us unified? It is, of course, that the message of Jesus Christ be continually shared and demonstrated to others that others might also become believers and become residents of Heaven some day.

We might not even always agree on every church doctrinal feature. However, we must not let these details divide us so that we get pulled away from our goal. It occurs to me that these details that we may disagree on may be one of Satan’s greatest devices to distract us from focusing on the message that Jesus wants us to tell – our great common goal. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s determine that nothing would sway us from serving and glorifying our Saviour and Lord – the One who died for you and me. Let’s have a united goal and keep our eyes focused on it. As it says in our verse today, “I appeal to you…that you agree with one another that there be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

That united goal just might help your marriage too!

Romans 13:8

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:40:00 +0000

Romans 13:8 Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. (KJV)
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. (NIV)
When you think of Valentine’s Day, what word immediately comes to mind? Of course you are thinking about the word, love. The Bible has lots to say about love. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37-40 that to love God is the greatest commandment and that to love your neighbor as yourself is the second greatest commandment. He said, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Paul reiterates that in our verse of the week this week when he says that “he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” James seems to say that when we fail to love, we actually break God’s law. (James 4:17)

Paul also calls this love for others a debt that we must pay. Because of the way Christ continues to show His love for us we can never repay Him. The only way we can begin to repay Christ is to show our love for others in any way we can. We really need to examine our attitudes and actions toward others. Are we tearing down others or building them up? It’s easy to find the wrong in what others do, but not always so easy to see the wrong that we ourselves do. When we are tempted to criticize another, perhaps we need to remember the commandment of love that Jesus gave and say something that will build up and not tear down. We owe love to that individual – not criticism.

And it’s not just any kind of love that we owe – it’s the kind of love that we have for ourselves. Not many of us allow ourselves to miss many meals or only wear what we can find laying around somewhere. We take time to try to make ourselves presentable. We make sure we have a roof over our heads and give ourselves plenty of things that we like and enjoy. We try hard to not be cheated or hurt and work to get justice if we feel we are wronged. This is how we “love” ourselves, and how Jesus says we should love others. Do we make sure that others are fed, clothed, sheltered and protected as much as we do ourselves? Loving others as ourselves means to actively do what we can to see that others’ needs are met. We actually owe it to them according to our verse this week.
I had never really thought about owing love to others until I read this verse and the commentary in my Bible. It is often hard to love individuals who are not kind to you or who are even perhaps nasty to you; and I cannot do it on my own. I will need to ask God through prayer to help me to love others as myself. As a Christian, I need to imitate Christ and show love in any way I can. Perhaps as Valentine’s Day comes upon us, we will think about love in a little different way this year.

Matthew 6:14

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:39:00 +0000

Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: (KJV)

(NIV) For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Our youngest Sunday School class at Mayberry has been working on learning The Lord’s Prayer. In yesterday’s devotion reading, part of the scripture included the special prayer that our Lord taught the disciples. I didn’t realize in the next two verses following the prayer, that Jesus emphasized one particular portion from this prayer.

The verse for this week is the first verse that follows The Lord’s Prayer, and forgiveness is the theme of this verse. At Christmastime we celebrate the birth of Jesus – the coming of God in the flesh. Why? Because God desired for us to be with him in eternity, he had to provide a perfect sacrifice for us to be forgiven of our sins. God loves us so much, but our sin separates us from fellowship with him. Because of Jesus’ coming to die in our place, we have forgiveness of sins and peace with God.

Forgiveness is a big deal. Our Lord says in his model prayer: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Our verse for this week that follows just two verses later again says, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:” and the next verse adds even more emphasis, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” We are to be in the practice of forgiving others when they sin against us.

My Bible commentary says that this is a warning to us. If we refuse to forgive others, then God will not forgive us. If we don’t forgive others, it is like we are saying we are more worthy of God’s forgiveness than the one we won’t forgive. But God does not show partiality, we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. There are no greater or lesser sinners in God’s eyes – we are all sinners. The murderer is no worse than someone who gossips. Though the consequences may be greater in one case than the other, both are still sin and both will separate us from God and keep us from heaven if we don’t claim the forgiveness that Jesus paid for us on the cross.

This Christmas become like the wise men who visited the Christ child and seek God for yourself. Accept the gift of forgiveness that Jesus purchased for us and begin to practice the forgiveness of others in order to experience peace on earth for yourself this year.

I hope you have a blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with peace and happiness!

Psalm 8:1-2

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Psalm 8:1-2 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens. (2) Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. (KJV)

(NIV)O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. (2) From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

Last month many people celebrated Halloween and used the opportunity to dress up and take their children door to door to collect candy treats. However, for some people, it was a very dark time in which Satan delighted. This month we celebrate Thanksgiving. You may wonder – how are these two holidays in any way related? I would like to propose that thankfulness and praising Jesus can take away that awful darkness that Satan would love to have you remain in.

Many years ago, I went to IMPACT at The University of Findlay (although it was not called IMPACT at that time) and heard a speaker by the name of Frances Gardner Hunter. She was famous for praising the Lord in any and all situations – even embarrassing and hurting situations. She stated that one time while she was speaking the platform collapsed, and she lost her wig. She was embarrassed and her pride was a little hurt, but she said she simply stood back up and said, “Well, praise the Lord, anyway!”

Also, about twenty years ago, I had a very frightening experience. My son, Paul and I had just gotten in our van and started up the street. I heard a popping sound and next thing I knew, the van was on fire. I immediately shut off the engine and got my son out of the van. We were helpless to do anything and all I could think to do was pray the name of Jesus. I just said, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” over and over again. But you know, the name of Jesus was enough. Help came and we were safe. Yes, we had to get another van, but God provided for my son and me and we were safe because of the name of Jesus.

My grandchildren have also reminded me to praise and honor the name of Jesus. Near the end of October we were sitting at the table having dinner and Darren, who is 6 years old, all of a sudden breaks into singing “Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy is your name…” My son, Paul, commented, “This is just like ‘Little House on the Prairie.’” Praise the Lord for happy times like these! Just two weeks ago, we were taking a hike in the woods and right out of the blue, Alexa, my four-year old granddaughter, starts singing the same praise song, “Jesus, Lamb of God, Worthy is your name…” How appropriate with seeing all of the beauty that God had created in nature.

You can best believe when all that praise is going up, Satan is no where to be found. As it says in our verses for this week, “…you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” Satan detests the name of our Lord. He knows that at the name of Jesus, he is defeated forever. So, if you feel that you are in darkness or that Satan is working on you, kick him right out of your life with praise, thankfulness and especially the name of Jesus! Start offering your praises right now

Romans 8:26

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (KJV)
(NLT)(26) And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. (27)And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

I was looking at a new calendar that I received from Ron Hutchcraft ministries this morning. On the month of June, there was a picture of two pairs of hands on some clay on a potter’s wheel. The caption, written by Ron Hutchcraft, said, “Prayer is a gift for you to give to people every day.” The large title of the month was “Encouragement.” Obviously, the larger hands were helping the smaller hands to form something from the clay on the potter’s wheel. An adult or more experienced person was “encouraging” a younger, more inexperienced person, to shape the clay properly. But the most encouraging part of the whole double page, for me, were the words on the calendar that said, “Lord Jesus, thank You for all the prayers You have prayed for me.”

As I thought about those words on the calendar – that Jesus was praying for me - our verse for this week came to mind. “For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” The Holy Spirit prays for us. He knows what is in our hearts and helps our words become expressed in “harmony with God’s will.” When we don’t know how to pray about a situation, God, through the Holy Spirit, will help us “with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” Imagine that – our Saviour prays for us!

Another realization came to me from Ron Hutchcraft’s words: “Prayer is a gift for you to give people everyday.” How true that is! Prayer is powerful and we can give it to our loved ones, our friends, even our enemies every day. And we can ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for us when we don’t really know what to pray about a situation. He already knows what is in our hearts and what our sincere desires are.

Do you give the gift of prayer to someone, lots of someones or no one? Start sharing the wealth of prayer today! The Holy Spirit will help you! He prays for us!

Deuteronomy 6:9

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:14:00 +0000

Deuteronomy 6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. (KJV)
(New Living Translation) Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Recently we were encouraged to fly our American flags in remembrance of those who died in the 9/11 tragedy in 2001. Many of us did just that. I also saw many signs posted that said, “We shall never forget.” I feel that these things were very good to do and very appropriate. But have you ever noticed what many other “flags,” signs, banners, bumper stickers and even hats and shirts promote? Some of these are not so appropriate or even in good taste, at least to my way of thinking.

In our verse for this week, we are “commanded” (vs. 6) to not only write the words the “Lord your God is one” and “love [Him] with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength,” but these words should be “in your heart (vs. 6,) and you shall “teach them to your children” (vs. 7,) “talk of them when you sit in your houses, and when you walk by the way…,” (vs. 7) “bind them as a sign on your hand,” (vs. 8) and have them “be as frontlets between your eyes” (vs. 8.) The things that should be on our flags, signs, banners, bumper stickers, hats and shirts should be about God and how He is Lord and about how much we love Him and about how much He loves us.

We sometimes “loudly” support various causes and that may be okay, but God tells us in the Bible that we need to be telling our households, others around us and even the world about Him. There is a song we sing at Christmas time that says, “Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.” But that is not the only time we need to talk about our Lord. We need to “diligently” teach our children about the ways of God and what he requires of us. Most importantly, we need to tell about Jesus and the work he did for us on the cross to make us right with God. Deuteronomy 6:6 uses the strong word “command” in reference to keeping God’s words.

This past Sunday was Grandparents Day. Many grandparents have diligently taught their children and grandchildren about God. My prayer is that this generation of parents and grandparents will continue to teach our children about our Lord and about obedience to Him. Even if you are not a parent, you can still proclaim your love for Him in the way you live and on the “flags” that you fly. Do people who live around you know who you serve? What is on your doorpost, your bumper or on your shirt? I pray that it is something that honors our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:17

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:40:00 +0000

Philippians 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (KJV)
Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. (NIV)

My granddaughter, Alexa, who is four, is always doing just what her older brother does. The other evening when Darren, my grandson who will soon be 6, was helping me fix dinner, Alexa wanted to help too. I gave Alexa a little different job, but she didn’t want to do that, because it was not exactly what Darren was doing. She wanted to do what he was doing and nothing else. Real dedication, wouldn’t you say?

Many times in our Christian lives, people who are close to us or who respect us for one reason or another, will look at our lives and copy or do what we are doing – just like Alexa does with Darren. This could be a good thing, but many times it is not. In our verse for this week, Paul tells the Philippians to copy his example of following Christ. He is following Christ and desires that they do the same. We, as Christians, strive to live up to that name and try to live as Christ would want us to.

We have an awesome responsibility and one we should not take lightly. Are you a leader in the church? Are you a parent? Are you active in the community? Do you interact with other people at your workplace? Chances are if you say yes to any of these questions, then you have people who look at your life – maybe on a daily basis. What do those people see? What would a new Christian be looking for? Is your life looked upon as one that encourages and builds up others? Is it a joyful life? Is it one that faithfully serves Christ?

Alexa not only copies her brother; she copies other family members, teachers, her friends, and maybe even you and me. And, what’s more, her brother copies several people too; all children do to a certain extent. If they are copying me, I pray that I will give them a good Christian example to follow, like the Apostle Paul did. How about you?

I Corinthians 10:31

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:08:00 +0000

I Corinthians 10:31: Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. (KJV)

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (NIV)

About a month ago I went to a local Wal-mart store to pick up a few items. On my way in, I grabbed a cart and proceeded into the inside of the store. I noticed an elderly lady just ahead of me suddenly begin to turn in several directions as if she was looking for something. She noticed me and said, “Where do they have the carts?” I told her they were on the outside, so she turned in that direction and proceeded to go get her own cart. Then it hit me – I’m sure it was God who reminded me - why not give her the cart I had and I could go get another. So I called to her and said, “Here, take mine – I can get one later.” She was so grateful. In fact, I saw her a few minutes later and she thanked me again for giving her my cart. I felt really good inside until I thought – God was the one who prompted me to give her my cart and yet, instead of giving Him the glory and thankfulness, I was receiving the glory.

This would have been a perfect time to testify to the fact that I do these things because God wants me to and because He wants his love to be shown to others in any way possible. Just a week before this happened, I had gone to IMPACT, our church conference, and had been challenged to be in service to God – to be engaged in our world with other people in a way that glorifies Him. In I Peter 4:11 it says …if anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

We are not all called to be preachers, teachers or evangelists, but we are called to give glory to God, to serve Him in any way that we can. When we serve others that is one way of serving God. But if we don’t let others know that we are doing this service to please God, we might be the ones getting the glory and that should not be. Serve others, but glorify God as you serve.

Luke 20:25

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:44:00 +0000

Luke 20:25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s and unto God the things which be God’s. (KJV)
…He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (NIV)

Last week we were in Findlay, Ohio for IMPACT, our church conference, and the National Bible Quiz Finals. We have been studying the book of Luke for quizzing this past year and the young people did very well in the finals taking third place in both the junior and senior high divisions. We even had three of the young people place in the top ten for their division. Rosalie Wills placed third out of all the quizzers in the senior division and Chris and Ryan Munn tied for eighth place in the junior division. We congratulate all our quizzers on a job well done.

After the quizzing, we were privileged to hear several relevant and dynamic speakers. One of them used our verse for this week, a verse from Luke, that set me to thinking. We are to give “God what is God’s.” Well just what is God’s? The speaker pointed out that we, that is, all human beings, have been bought with a price. First Corinthians 6:20 says, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” God’s Son, Jesus, paid the penalty for our sins – he bought us with the blood he shed on Calvary. We could not pay the price ourselves by trying to do good works. We could never do enough good works to earn our way into Heaven. We were eternally lost – without hope – until Jesus bought us with his blood sacrifice. Since God did this for us, what should we do? We are to glorify God in our body and in our spirits. We are to serve God and give Him the glory for any good works we do. We don’t do good works in order to earn Heaven, because that could not happen. We do good work to glorify God, to honor Him, to thank Him for saving us.

IMPACT will not be held any more, but the conference plans to do some things that will help us be more “engaged” in showing Christ to the world. We hope this new emphasis will help us reach others with the gospel by Christians “becoming the hands and feet of Jesus.” How can I be more engaged in showing Christ to others? How can I give God what is God’s – How can I give myself to God? It is going to take more than just going to church. I might have to get my hands dirty. I might have to move my feet to places outside my comfort zone. In order to give God what is God’s, I must be more engaged in doing the things that Jesus wants me to do and not take credit myself, but give the credit to God. How about you? Are you willing to be God’s hands and feet?

Psalm 103:2

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:04:00 +0000

Psalm 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and forget not all his benefits: (KJV)

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- (NIV)

I am sure most, if not all of you, have heard some version of the phrase – “When you’re feeling down, remember to look up.” Look up to where? To God, of course. There is much healing that can occur if we take time to think of all the blessings God has given us.

In our verse for this week, the psalmist reminds us to bless or praise God for all his benefits. Then David lists many things that we can praise God for. When we focus on the many ways God has blessed us, our attitude changes. We become more thankful and our spirits are lifted. In this psalm David says we need to praise God because he forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems our life from destruction, gives us love, shows us compassion, gives us the food we need to be healthy and so on. I particularly like what he says in verse 10 – “he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.”

We often get overwhelmed in this life with busyness, tragedy, grief, selfish desires, illness, loss, trouble and even more. We need an antidote to help us through these difficult times. Praise of God can provide us with what we need. It can help us experience healing and help us to survive the difficulties in this world.

The next time you feel at a loss or overwhelmed with trials and troubles, try the psalmist’s cure and praise God for all he has done for you. Go to Psalm 103 and read David’s list of the benefits that God has provided for you, then thank God for them and praise His name. I feel sure you will feel much better.

Thank you Lord for your Word found in the Bible!

II Corinthians 3:18

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:11:00 +0000

About six weeks ago, our church opened our revival services with a concert by The Scott Day Band. This was not new for us as we have had them in concert for several years to open our revival. This year, however, one of the songs struck me in a special way. I had heard them do this song before, but this time the Lord spoke to me through it. “I fall face down, as your glory shines around.”

I thought about times in the Bible when God’s glory shone around. The first thing that came to mind was when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai. As Moses came down from that mountain where he had been in God’s presence to receive God’s commandments, his face was shining with the glory of God. (Ex. 34:30) Also, when Jesus was transfigured, “his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”(Matt. 17:2) His glory shone around him.

Perhaps you remember the show “Touched by an Angel.” During the story, usually near the end, when it was revealed that the individual was an angel, his/her image began to glow – His glory shone around – God’s glory was revealed through His messenger – the angel. It says in our verse for this week that as we are in His presence, we too, “are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” The Living Bible paraphrases this verse by saying, “But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works with in us, we become more and more like him.”

Does God’s glory shine around us as Christians? Obviously, we will not actually glow as the “angels” did in the TV show. But our “glow” can be the good works that are there because of what Jesus does through us. Things like kindness to those who may be unkind to us; generosity; compassion; helpfulness; patience; humbleness; service to others; love and any of those qualities that Jesus showed us when He walked this earth.

His glory can shine around us as we fall down before Him in response to His greatness and as we attempt to glorify Him in our service to Him and others.

Psalm 37:4

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:28:00 +0000

Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (KJV)
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (NIV)

I like to eat. For me, that also means that I continually struggle with my weight. I always feel so much better when I keep my weight down. But I just love so many of those good things that I can put in my mouth called food. I had a doctor a long time ago, about 30 plus years, who once told me, “There is more to life than food.” Of course he is completely right and while I continue to remember this advice from him, it seems I just can’t turn off my desire for food or at least limit it a little better. I guess you could say food is a weakness of mine.

Not too long ago in studying for Bible quizzing, I read, “And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.” I also read a devotion that talked about how Satan uses our weaknesses or what we love so much to manipulate or exploit us. Could food be doing that to me?

Our verse for this week is one of my favorites and seems to be the answer to my problem. “Delight thyself in the Lord…” Spend time with God and cherish and love him. “…and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
God will give us what are those deep down desires of our heart. Do we love God more than whatever is our biggest weakness? Do I love God more than food? I think so. Then why do I struggle so much with this? Maybe I am not relying on God enough. Maybe I need to go to God’s word every time I begin to worry about or crave food that I really shouldn’t have.

One thing I know for sure, God can be trusted with our problems and he definitely has the answers to all of them. I’ve demonstrated over and over again, that I cannot conquer this food addiction in my own strength. Pray for me that I will go to him more often for help when I get that great desire to eat and eat and eat. After all, there IS more to life than food.

I Samuel 24:10

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:05:00 +0000

I Samuel 24:10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord's anointed. (KJV)
This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, 'I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the Lord's anointed.' (NIV)

How many of you have ever been pressured into doing something you know you shouldn't do? I have to raise my hand. Actually I was once pressured into not doing something I wish I had done. When I was 21 I had the privilege of traveling to Europe with the Hood College Choir. We visited the Eiffel Tower, but some friends of mine convinced me to not actually go into and up the tower. Today, I wish I had done that, but, of course, that is now a lost opportunity. On that same trip, I celebrated my 21st birthday and was pressured into drinking a shot of Vodka. I am certainly not proud of that! I could have said "NO," but I let peer pressure push me into doing something I am ashamed of now.

In our verse for this week, we see David being pressured to kill Saul, who by the way, was trying to kill David. David already knew that he was to be the next king and his followers were pressuring him to go ahead and kill Saul so he could take the throne as king. But David knew if he did that he would be setting a precedent which could posibly result in being killed himself when his reign was nearing its end and someone else wanted to be king. David also knew that it wasn't right to strik down the one God had annointed. He respected Saul in the position of King and he wanted to follow God and do the right thing.

David's refusal to kill King Saul was not an example of cowardice - but courage - courage to stand against the crowd - peer pressure. Where did David get this courage? Where can we get the courage to "do the right thing?" Where can we get the courage to make right decisions based on what God wants us to do?

We are getting close to the anniversary date of Roe vs. Wade - the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in our country - the case that legally allows us to kill our unborn babies for any reason - even for convenience or preference. Yes, we will have temptations to do what is not right in God's eyes - sometimes pressure from close friends or even family to do the wrong thing. Where can we get help to do the right thing?

God has given us a promise of help! I Corinthians 10:13 says that God will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear and will provide us a way to escape out of the temptation. We can make it out of any pressure or temptation if we let God help us. We need to tell him, "God, you said I won't be tempted beyond what I can bear. I'm weak right now. Help me fight this temptation and do the right thing."

God may help you with the right words, give you a distraction so you don't have to deal with the situation, give you an opportunity to leave the situation or provide a Christian friend to give you support. Whatever help you need, God is able to give it. Hebrews 13:6 says, "God is my helper.."

God will be there for you when you need him, but don't just use him as a life raft (although he is up for that.) Let him be your helper everyday. Talk to him everyday and he will be there to help you stand up against peer pressure, to do the right thing, and to help you in times of crisis.
Maybe this could be your New Year's resolution.

Happy 2009!

Psalm 112:7

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:24:00 +0000

Psalm 112:7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. (KJV)
He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. (NIV)

Have you received bad news lately? I wouldn’t be surprised if you had. It seems that often around the holidays, some tragedy, illness, or other bad things seem to show up. For the believer bad news may still be bad, but there is a source of comfort in our Heavenly Father.

Just this past week, I went to the funeral home for a friend who just lost a year-long battle with cancer. I found out just a few hours ago, that another friend was losing her aunt, her oldest son was found to be a diabetic and her youngest son’s fiancé needed to be operated on for a brain tumor. My daughter-in-law’s grandfather is dying and experiencing great suffering. Two good friends have multiple health problems and another began treatments for cancer this week. Yes, there is a lot of bad news around.

It seems Satan uses this time of year – the season we celebrate our Lord’s birth – to try to get us to lose our faith and trust in God. And, sadly, many times, it works! Our verse for this week, however, tells us that “He (the one who fears the Lord and delights in his commandments) will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” The Christian remains faithful and confidant in the Almighty God. He remembers that God knows what is best for each of us, even if we can’t understand what that is. Just today I read a story of a child that had died. Of course his mother was devastated. The story says the child wrote his mother a letter from Heaven and explained how wonderful it was there and how God couldn’t let him go on in the pain he’d been experiencing.

It’s true – bad news is never easy to hear. But we must remember, God is in control and He can be trusted. We can rely on Him for comfort and assurance that He has our best interests at heart. As Christians, we must remain faithful, even in the hard times. Is your heart steadfast? Is it fixed, trusting in the Lord? If so, you will experience God’s help even when you experience bad news.

Have a blessed Christmas, serving our Saviour!
Rhonda

Romans 6:23

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:38:00 +0000

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)
For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (New Living Trans.)

Once again it’s the season of giving. Only this year, giving is a little harder for most families because of the sluggish economy. That’s why my daughter-in-law insisted on shopping on Black Friday this year. She wanted to take advantage of any sales, so that she would be able to give to her family at Christmas this year.

But the reason why we have this season of giving is because God, first, gave His Son for us that we might live eternally in Heaven with Him. The apostle Paul in our verse for this week says we have a choice to make. We can either choose to serve sin with its temporary pleasures and earn eternal death or choose to serve God by accepting the gift of His Son and then receiving the reward of eternal life in Heaven. Notice, the reward of Heaven is a gift; we cannot earn our way into life eternal.

Part of the commentary for this verse in my New Living Translation Bible has this to say: “Consider the foolishness of someone who receives a gift given out of love and then offers to pay for it. A gift cannot be purchased by the recipient. A more appropriate response to a loved one who offers a gift is graceful acceptance with gratitude. Our salvation is a gift of God, not something of our own doing (Eph. 2:8, 9). He saved us because of his mercy, not because of any good things that we have done (Titus 3:5). How much more we should accept with thanksgiving the gift that God has freely given to us.”

At this time of giving and thanksgiving, choose to serve God and accept His free gift of salvation. We don’t have to worry about paying for it, but we certainly should show our gratitude to Him for this most expensive of all gifts ever given. Let’s be thankful for the gift of God’s Son who sets us free from sin and gives us eternal life in Heaven.

Luke 15:10

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:17:00 +0000

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (KJV)

In the same way, I tell you there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (NIV)

My husband, Pastor Rob, is notorious for putting things down and not remembering where he has laid them. Not knowing where his keys might be on any given day is probably his most frequent problem. Most days the keys are found pretty easily. However, there have been times when an all out search by everyone in the house has been needed. Sometimes he even has to borrow my keys until his shows up. You can imagine how happy he is when he finally finds his own keys. Everyone in the house is happy, too.

In our verse for this week, Jesus has told a parable of a woman who has lost one of her silver coins. She searches and cleans her house until she finds it and then calls in her neighbors and friends to celebrate with her in finding the coin. Jesus then says that “in the same way, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” I wonder what it was like in heaven when I repented and was saved from God’s wrath. I like to think that maybe there will be an “instant replay” of my salvation experience when I get to heaven, so I will know.

I remember about ten years ago now, learning about a salvation experience of a co-worker of mine. We had had summer vacation and during those first few days back when we were setting up our rooms, I met Pam in the hallway. The first thing she said to me was, “Rhonda, I found the Lord this summer!” I remember wrapping my arms around her and saying something like, “Praise the Lord, Pam! I am so happy for you!” Pam knew we had been praying for her and that made the experience even sweeter. Pam has since passed on and is now enjoying the rewards of heaven.

We experience joy here on earth when someone comes to know Christ as Savior. I’ve had several other similar experiences like the one with Pam, but not nearly enough of them. There are so many people out there who are lost! What am I doing to try to reach them? What are you doing to try to reach them? I’m happy when Rob finds his keys, but I experience true joy, and so will you when we share in helping someone to find Jesus as their Savior. Do you know Him?

Psalm 19:14

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:10:00 +0000

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer. (KJV)

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (NIV)

The other day I was just outside the church in the parking lot and someone was saying something that must have been of questionable concern, because I then heard someone else say very clearly, “You shouldn’t say something like that when you are at church.” I wondered why someone would even bother to think like that when our God knows everything we say, do, or even think.

Imagine for a moment being Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden just after they had eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It says in Genesis 3 that after they had eaten that they were ashamed and made clothes for themselves. They then tried to hide from God! Imagine trying to hide from Almighty God – their Creator! It is almost comical to think of Adam and Eve trying to hide from God.

Our verse for this week is a favorite of mine. In fact I use it as a closing prayer for my Sunday School class each week . I think the message it tells us is to remember that God is ever present with us and our thoughts and words should strive to please him. After all he sees and knows everything we do, say or think. God is our strength, and he is our Redeemer. He gets us through the tough times if we allow Him to intervene in our lives. Our words should honor him; our thoughts should be pure, and everything we do should glorify him. That’s why this verse makes a good prayer of commitment.

Don’t kid yourself! God, the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe, knows all about you and yet still loves you. Honor and glorify Him in all you think, say or do.

I Thessalonians 4:16-17

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:13:00 +0000

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (KJV)

Today I went to a funeral for a man who two weeks ago was enjoying a cruise to Alaska. As he returned from his trip, he became ill and ultimately went home to be with the Lord. Also two weeks ago, today, we, as most of you may know, enjoyed a marriage feast for my son, Paul. As it happen ed Paul was married on August 15th, an already important day in our family. Paul’s grandfather Wills who passed away in 1994 was born on that date and it was also the birth date for his great grandmother Schultz who passed away in 1959.

You may be wondering how all of this is related. The man whose funeral we attended today and Paul’s grandfather and great grandmother were all Christians. I was thinking about the joy at Paul’s marriage and also about the joy we will experience when Christ comes to get his bride, the church. Our verses for this week talk about this coming marriage of Christ and how he will come to get all of us who are Christians and have been born again. This means those that are “dead in Christ” – those who have died physically, will rise from their graves to meet the Lord in the air and then those Christians who are still alive will also be caught up into the air to meet our Lord. =2 0We –all Christians – are Christ’s bride and one day he will come back to get all of us, whether we are dead or alive.

We had a great time at my son’s wedding, but the wedding of Christ and his bride will be even greater. The only point yet to make is this; those mentioned above who have died were ready spiritually to be taken from this earth. Some were taken very unexpectedly and quickly. None of us who remain know how much longer we will live this earthly life. Perhaps we will live to be one hundred; perhaps we will die tonight in our sleep.

We must be ready to leave this life at any time. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Have you experienced His forgiveness? Are you looking forward to Christ’s return to receive His bride? I hope you can answer “yes” to each of these questions. You are invited to the marriage feast in Heaven. Don’t miss the celebration!

I Peter 2:21

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:04:00 +0000

For even here unto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: (KJV)

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (NIV)

Have you ever seen a chameleon in action? I’ve never actually seen one change its color to match its surroundings right before my ey es, but I am reminded of them every time I see my granddaughter copy whatever her older brother does – and that’s been quite often lately. But then I also saw a young teenager do almost the same thing when she attempted to copy the actions of an older, more popular teen. Come to think of it, we adults often do it too. We copy what other more respected or popular people do, so we can fit in with the socially accepted crowd. We are being human chameleons!

Our verse for this week seems to indicate to me that being a human chameleon might be acceptable to God. That is, of course, if we follow or copy the right person. Our verse tells us to follow the example of Christ.

Several years ago now, there was a popular slogan with the Christian crowd. It was: "What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD) The slogan asked you to question your actions by first asking yourself what Jesus would do if he were in the same situation as you. Even prior to the popularity of that slogan, there was a book by Charles Sheldon entitled, In His Steps, that was very popular as well. The book gave examples of people trying to do things that Jesus had done. Both this book and the popular slogan encourage us to copy Jesus. He is our best example. We should be chameleons of Him.

I don’t think I can do much about the copying my granddaughter does of her brother, or even much about what teens or adults copy of another’s behavior. But I can work on my own life and ask God to help me be more like Jesus. How about you? Are you a chameleon? Whose example do you follow?

Jonah 4:2

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:33:00 +0000

And he prayed unto the Lord, and, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. (KJV)

So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish? I knew that you were a gracious and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. I knew how easily you could cancel your plans for destroying these people. (NLT)

Have you ever said or thought, “Boy, it serves him right! He’s just getting what he deserves!” It’s tempting to say that of someone who has committed some terrible crime or atrocity. It might be easy to say that of someone who cuts you off in traffic and is later involved in an accident or is seen getting a traffic ticket. It might even occur to us if we see an unruly child being punished. It is certainly the way Jonah thought about God’s threatened punishment for the city of Nineveh found in our verse for this week.

Jonah was sent to tell the evil city of Nineveh that they must repent of their evil ways and turn to God or God would destroy their city. Jonah didn’t want to go, so he ran in the opposite direction to the city of Tarshish. Jonah ended up in the belly of a great fish because he had tried to run from God. But when Jonah repented and decided to do things God’s way, God was merciful to him and gave him a second chance. Jonah went to Nineveh, delivered the message and then sat a safe distance from the city to watch God destroy the Ninevites and their city.

When the people of Nineveh repented as a result of Jonah’s message, God forgave them and gave them a second chance, as he had given Jonah. The city was spared, but Jonah wasn’t happy. He thought the city should have been destroyed as God had said it would. But God was merciful once again. Jonah knew that God was a gracious and merciful God; that he was slow to anger and filled with unfailing love. Jonah wanted God’s forgiveness and kindness for himself, but not for the Ninevites.

How often do we consider ourselves better or more deserving of God’s kindness than we feel that others deserve? It’s good that God is no respecter of persons. He loves all of us and doesn’t want any of us to perish. We often cry or become upset over little things – like a broken heirloom or losing money in a business deal. But do we cry or become upset over someone who is lost and not on the path to Heaven? Or, because they have done something evil, do we desire for them to get what they deserve? What if God gave each of us what we truly deserve? I’m afraid Heaven would be a very empty place. Praise God for the gift of His Son that we might have eternal life in Heaven and not get what we truly deserve!

I John 4:10

noreply@blogger.com (Mayberry Church - Bible Verse Blog) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:37:00 +0000

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (KJV)

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (NIV)

I have been a substitute teacher for four years now, since I retired from being a public school teacher. During the last few months of the year and usually around Christmas, are when I get the most requests to substitute. I like to think I do a good job, and that is why they call me back so often. But I know that in most people’s minds, the substitute is usually very inferior to the regular teacher. I know I often thought that way when I was teaching and had to get a substitute.

So what does being a substitute have to do with our verse for this week? As a teenager, I had trouble understanding the big word “propitiation” in this verse. I was told that it meant “substitute.” Jesus was our substitute and took the penalty for us. That seemed to make sense for me at the time, but now I realize that “substitute” is not a strong enough word. Jesus did indeed take our place on that cross, but we could have never paid the penalty in full for ourselves – only Jesus could do that. He is more than an excellent substitute. He is our Master Teacher and our Lord and Saviour. He is our Rescuer! Our Redeemer!

Jesus is our Rescuer because he loves us. He wants us to be with Him in Paradise. That wasn’t going to happen unless the perfect Son of God became a human man and took the punishment each of us deserved. Yes, he was a kind of substitute, but more than that. Thank you Jesus for dying in my place, so I could live with you in eternity!