It only takes a spark…

Fruitfulness

I love this parable about the sower and the destiny of each seed depending on the readiness of the soil in a person’s heart. I was challenged not to let the growth of God’s kingdom in my life be overcome by the challenges of painful thorns. Prayer for the day, “Abba” (daddy)! When God is our daddy, we are asked to cast our cares (and thorns) on Him. – Teresa #don’tgetchokedout

Mark 13-20 (ESV)

13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.[b] 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

Delight yourself in the Lord

Psalm 34:4-7 (ESV)

4 Delight yourself in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as the noonday.

7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

Stay off me (foot of arrogance), Don’t drive me away (hand of wickedness)

David understood firsthand the temptation of pride (i.e. scandal involving Bathsheeba) and the trial of being driven away as a young man from his family by Saul. Yet he wrote this Psalm of praise to God marveling at His righteousness and His steadfast love. When we “take refuge in the shadow of His wings” our lives can also be atoned for -free to serve God “hidden with Christ in God” -Colossians 3:3. When we keep our hearts and minds on things above, only then will arrogance and wickedness not impact our end game. Jesus rewrote this story.- Teresa #goodnews #preciouslove

Psalm 36 English Standard Version (ESV)

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the Lord.

Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;[a]

there is no fear of God

before his eyes.

For he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;

he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

He plots trouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in a way that is not good;

he does not reject evil.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

your judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you save, O Lord.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light do we see light.

Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

There the evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Footnotes:

a Psalm 36:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Jerome (compare Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts in my heart

English Standard Version (ESV)

Colossians 3:1-6 (NIV)

Christ

1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Steadfast love brings hope

Game plan for the earth -from the LORD

When playing this game called “cookie face”, contestants must move the cookie from their forehead to their mouth without dropping it or touching it! The participants employed a variety of strategic plans including (but not limited to) standing still and only moving facial muscles vs. purposely jumping around, catching it and eating it- before anyone noticed! God’s plan for all generations is heartfelt and will not be thwarted. He always wins in spite of the vanity of many nation’s counsel, even in the face of aggresively bold people! Psalm 33 describes how-not only does His counsel stand but His plans succeed to all generations! – Teresa #generationtogenerationwillcommendHiswork #thearthisfullofthesteadfastloveoftheLORD #whenmyplansfail,HehasTHEplan

Psalm 33: 1-11 (ESV)

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!

Praise befits the upright.

Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;

make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

he puts the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations.

Dancing for Him

Our American team danced for the Ugandan teens! Thankfully, Price helped us throw something together and we had a team huddle before performing for this energetic crowd. I was inspired by my small group (the older girls). When the girls were practiced and ready for their dance competition, they circled around for prayer. The prayer that Alice led them in will always be in my heart. She earnestly pled for the blood of Jesus to soak them and their efforts so that they would be successful for Him. I no longer worried about the outcome of the competition for them because they were already deemed victorious in heaven’s eyes! As we sing praises today to the LORD most high and practice giving thanks, this will makes us ready for daily love aka eternal life!!- Teresa #taughtbyUgandanfaith #teensdancetheirheartsout #Americansinspired

Psalm 30: 11,12 (ESV)

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness,

that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Investing wisely

For young men who are trying to decide if it’s cheaper to “date” than marry, this is my interpretation of the Proverb in verse 26 below. A wife stops at nothing to make life precious for her husband! In contrast, an evil woman (one who does not love that man) will give him a meal by reducing him to a loaf of bread. It temporarily satisfies them both but has little sustenance for a lifetime of joy. – Teresa #bewise #Godloveisagapelove #pursuinglove #Christinvestedinthechurch

Proverbs 6: 20-26 (ESV)

Proverbs 6:20-26 English Standard Version (ESV)

Warnings Against Adultery

My son, keep your father’s commandment,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching.

Bind them on your heart always;

tie them around your neck.

When you walk, they[a] will lead you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

and when you awake, they will talk with you.

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,

and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

to preserve you from the evil woman,[b]

from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.[c]

Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;

for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,[d]

but a married woman[e] hunts down a precious life.

Footnotes:

a Proverbs 6:22 Hebrew it; three times in this verse

b Proverbs 6:24 Revocalization (compare Septuagint) yields from the wife of a neighbor

c Proverbs 6:24 Hebrew the foreign woman

d Proverbs 6:26 Or (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate) for a prostitute leaves a man with nothing but a loaf of bread

e Proverbs 6:26 Hebrew a man’s wife

Sweetly broken

We may be sweetly broken by falling on the One who has authority to destroy both body and soul in hell. This is the beginning of salvation. The fulfillment of salvation is to be entrusted with His kingdom by abiding in Him (like a branch bearing grapes, connected to the vine). The process is painful but significant. This type of weighty importance brings God’s glory to the forefront. – Teresa #bougieandblessed #brokentobehealed

Matthew 21:42-45 (ESV)

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;[b]

this was the Lord’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”[c]

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Serving vs. being served

When you have given all your physical strength and God asks you to give more, I propose that He will provide from His life-giving source (eternal life). Eternal life means to know God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent (John 17:3). We can know in our heads a few things about God. However, when we experience in our hearts His overwhelming, life-changing perspective of us (how much we are worth to Him), we are only then empowered with eternal life.- Teresa

Matthew 20:26b- 28 (ESV)

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[c] 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,[d] 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Authentic trust in His perfection (covering us)

This young girl was teaching me how to read the Luganda version of John 3:16. Her head was sparkly with glitter (for winning one of the games we had just played) and her voice was so intent on passing this beautiful scripture on to me! Her victorious presence reminded me of this Psalm giving us hope that with clean hands, pure heart we can ascend the hill of the Lord. Make no mistake that it is not our “filthy rag righteousness” giving us access but our trust in His righteous act! Jesus is God’s Son and our Savior from sin’s penalty. Authenticity is what He requires of us. – Teresa #foolingnoone #therealthing #glitteronourheads #Hisvictoryoveryou

Psalm 24 English Standard Version (ESV)

The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,[a]

the world and those who dwell therein,

for he has founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the rivers.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

And who shall stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who does not lift up his soul to what is false

and does not swear deceitfully.

He will receive blessing from the Lord

and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Such is the generation of those who seek him,

who seek the face of the God of Jacob.[b] Selah

Lift up your heads, O gates!

And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty,

the Lord, mighty in battle!

Lift up your heads, O gates!

And lift them up, O ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts,

he is the King of glory! Selah