"I love you" doesn't mean "I love you for now", "I love you until you disappoint me", or "I love you until you change". It means that I accept you for who you are and that I do not wish to change you into someone else. "I love you" means that I want to grow alongside you, do life with you. It means always supporting you, caring for you, and praying for you. It means telling you the truth even when it may not be what you want to hear, and knowing that you do the same for me. It means giving you space, but always being there for you. It means that I do not expect you to be perfect-just as you do not expect it from me. It means not running when things get tough, but standing by you in the good times and the bad. It means loving you when you're in a bad mood, or too tired to do the things I want to do. It means respecting your opinions. It means cherishing the long conversations about nothing in particular that are really full of meaning and purpose. It means loving you when you're down, not just when you're fun to be with. "I love you" means that I know your deepest secrets and do not judge you for them-asking in return only that you do not judge me for mine. It means that I care enough to fight for what we have and that I love enough not to let go. It means respecting you, encouraging you and building you up. It means thinking of you, dreaming of you, and wanting the best for you, and never taking for-granted the blessing of having you in my life. Love is not just a word, it is an action to be shown.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
"They have been with Jesus!".. Acts 4:1-22
BCM: Baptist Collegiate Ministries. A place for students on college campuses to meet together and study God's word, and worship. In other words, pretty much the coolest place on campus! :)
Anyway, in my girls small group on Tuesday we talked about quiet times. To a Christian, having a "quiet time" means time spent with God. We take time to go away with him, and just read, pray, and listen to him, just like when we spend time with a friend.
My Bible study leader, Katie, took us through Acts 4:1-22. Peter and John (two of Jesus' disciples) had just healed a man who had been crippled for many years. Peter and John began to teach a large group of people at the temple about Jesus and how salvation is through him and his resurrection. And the healed man was following behind them, sticking close to them, and jumping and shouting and praising God. While they were teaching, the Sadducees (A deeply religious group of people of the time, who did not believe in salvation through Jesus Christ, or his resurrection) heard Peter and John, and they arrested them. But many of the people that had been listening to them teach believed what they said and were saved.
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? 10Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’
12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Yowzers.. can you just see the speechless looks on the council's faces? I can!
The councilmen saw how bold and courageous Peter and John were, and that they were just ordinary men, and they realized that these men had indeed been with Jesus. And the man that had been healed was also standing in the room, and so they couldn't deny that a miraculous healing had taken place in the name of Jesus Christ.
After conferring amongst themselves, the council called Peter and John back into the room and declared that they were no longer allowed to preach in Jesus' name anymore. But just listen to what these men said in response:
19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
Now remember, the Sanhedrin had a whole lot of earthly power, they could throw Peter and John into jail, or worse. But instead, they threatened them a little more and then they let them go. But do you know why they let them go? Because detaining them would have caused a riot. Everyone in town was praising God for the healing of the man who had been crippled! In the face of great opposition, God's words through Peter and John had taken root and more and more people were becoming believers.
So you're probably wondering what this had to do with spending time with God. And it's quite simple when you think about it really..
The more time we spend with Jesus the more we learn about him, the more we learn from him, and the more we start to look like him. And people will notice. Peter and John were just two ordinary men by the world's standards; they were not schooled or particularly eloquent men, but simply by their actions and their boldness the council of the Sanhedrin knew that they had been with Jesus! We should want the same to be known about us. Then when people see us, they will see God, and He get's the glory.
Don't just take my word for it, read it in the Bible here!
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%204:1-22&version=NLT
"The Lord bless you and keep you--the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." Numb. 6:24-26.
Stace Michelle
Anyway, in my girls small group on Tuesday we talked about quiet times. To a Christian, having a "quiet time" means time spent with God. We take time to go away with him, and just read, pray, and listen to him, just like when we spend time with a friend.
My Bible study leader, Katie, took us through Acts 4:1-22. Peter and John (two of Jesus' disciples) had just healed a man who had been crippled for many years. Peter and John began to teach a large group of people at the temple about Jesus and how salvation is through him and his resurrection. And the healed man was following behind them, sticking close to them, and jumping and shouting and praising God. While they were teaching, the Sadducees (A deeply religious group of people of the time, who did not believe in salvation through Jesus Christ, or his resurrection) heard Peter and John, and they arrested them. But many of the people that had been listening to them teach believed what they said and were saved.
The next day, they were brought in front of the council of the Sanhedrin (the supreme judicial council of the Jews in New Testament times) and they asked them what name they had been teaching in, and Peter told them that it was the name of Jesus Christ. Actually, this is exactly what he says to them:
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? 10Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’
12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Yowzers.. can you just see the speechless looks on the council's faces? I can!
The councilmen saw how bold and courageous Peter and John were, and that they were just ordinary men, and they realized that these men had indeed been with Jesus. And the man that had been healed was also standing in the room, and so they couldn't deny that a miraculous healing had taken place in the name of Jesus Christ.
After conferring amongst themselves, the council called Peter and John back into the room and declared that they were no longer allowed to preach in Jesus' name anymore. But just listen to what these men said in response:
19 But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20 We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
Now remember, the Sanhedrin had a whole lot of earthly power, they could throw Peter and John into jail, or worse. But instead, they threatened them a little more and then they let them go. But do you know why they let them go? Because detaining them would have caused a riot. Everyone in town was praising God for the healing of the man who had been crippled! In the face of great opposition, God's words through Peter and John had taken root and more and more people were becoming believers.
So you're probably wondering what this had to do with spending time with God. And it's quite simple when you think about it really..
The more time we spend with Jesus the more we learn about him, the more we learn from him, and the more we start to look like him. And people will notice. Peter and John were just two ordinary men by the world's standards; they were not schooled or particularly eloquent men, but simply by their actions and their boldness the council of the Sanhedrin knew that they had been with Jesus! We should want the same to be known about us. Then when people see us, they will see God, and He get's the glory.
Don't just take my word for it, read it in the Bible here!
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%204:1-22&version=NLT
"The Lord bless you and keep you--the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." Numb. 6:24-26.
Stace Michelle
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