Time and tide

Voyage of Life: Manhood

 

'Time and tide wait for no man'.

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote those words over six hundred years ago - and we think that time flying is a modern thing!  Anyhow, a good deal of both time and the tide have flown since I last posted.  I have no great excuse other than a busy life.  In this time I have not neglected my God - in fact, many of the hours I might have blogged have been spent in study of God's word.  Back in September, at the True Woman conference in Indianapolis, IN, God gave me a directive to 'sharpen my sword' - Ephesians 6:17 Take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God - or in other words, to dig deeper into, learn more of, and memorize his word.  And so, that is what I have been doing.  As it says in Ezra 7:10 - Ezra (read 'Marla') set his (her) heart on studying and practicing God's law so that he (she) can teach His ordances and statutes to the people. 

I mentioned before that I am about to embark on the second course of classes required to study and/or practice Nouthetic counseling.  Here's a link to what that is: http://www.nouthetic.org/about-ins/what-is-nouthetic-counseling  A major requirement of Nouthetic counseling is being readily able to quote and utilize God's word, and since I came from a church where memorization of scripture was not emphasized past the age of 10, I have a lot of catching up to do!  Thanks to God's promises in His word I am doing well.  Prayer is a mighty thing.  I asked the Holy Spirit for the scripture to be written on my heart and for it to come to my tongue with ease so that I might glorify the Lord with all my words, and where before I could not remember a single verse - I now know nearly fifty!

John 16:13  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come..

1 Corinthians 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 

Today, I thought I would share a few of my favorites.  No great comments.  No deep (or otherwise) words from me  - just God's Word.  I hope to post again soon and until then, I pray that you will be blessed by these not-all-that-often quoted scriptures.  I know I have been!

Nehemiah 1: 5&6a. Then I said: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants....

I Chronicles 29:11  Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.  Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

Song of Solomon 8:6  Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave.  Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 3:11  He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Isaiah 43:1b-3  Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

And the last, a little more familiar than some of the rest -

Job 19:25  But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.
And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God.

What more is there to say but 'Amen!'  Ours is a great and awesome God!