Monday

The 5 Best Quotes on Love + Free Printable - Coffee & Conversation








I am not a fan of QUOTES

In fact sometimes I get very annoyed at how people almost treat a quote
 as more important than the Word of God

I actually wrote a blog post about Do We Really Need This Quote?








I'm taking a theme of Love this month which is no surprise because it is February but I not looking at Love because of Valentine's Day but centred around God's Love.

I have seen soppy love quotes, and funny love quotes but I'm looking at serious love quotes from people I would respect.

So in the list below I will quote


Not  Lysa Terkeurst   but   Corrie Ten boom

Not  Brennan Manning   but   Jerry Bridges   

Not  Rick Warren   but   C.S. Lewis





1.  St. Augustine
          "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us."








2.  Corrie Ten Boom
"There is no pit so deep, that God's Love is not deeper still."








3.  Jerry Bridges
"God's unfailing love for us is an objective fact affirmed over and over in the Scriptures. It is true whether we believe it or not. Our doubts do not destroy God's love, nor does our faith create it. It originates in the very nature of God, who is love, and it flows to us through our union with His beloved Son."






4.  Charles Spurgeon
"When the time comes for you to die, you need not be afraid, because death cannot separate you from God's love."



 

 



The visual below is available as a  Love Quotes Free Printable







5.  C.S. Lewis


I could not decide between these two quotes so I've included them both
(I had the same problem in The 5 Best Quotes on Forgiveness too)


"You cannot love a fellow creature fully till you love God."

 




"To ask that God's love should be content with us as we are is to ask that God should cease to be God."















and I know that C.S. Lewis is definitely reassuring us all when he also said

"Though our feelings come and go,

God's love for us does not."


 


A personal Question of my own about Love is










Don't forget to download your Love Quotes Free Printable










 

 

Sunday

Reading Through the Bible - HABAKKUK










Some Books of the Bible are very short and this is one of the shortest. 









HABAKKUK  -  OLD TESTAMENT  -  PROPHECY 

35th book of the OT 
35th book of the Bible




What is it?

The Book of Habakkuk is one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament.





Who Wrote it?

The Prophet Habakkuk  



How does it start?

It starts with a question from the prophet Habakkuk to God ch. 1 v.2-4    

Haggai is crying out to God about justice





How Long is it?

It has only 3 chapters.




What does it contain?

It covers
  •  2 questions from Habakkuk to God and God's reply,
  •  a prayer by Habakkuk
  •  God's comparison between the proud and the just in ch. 2v4



  •  God's proclamation on the wicked
but even through the judgement of the wicked there is always hope for the world.







When was it written?

It covers the period of 615 - 605 BC.

Prophecies come true in the period 608 - 598 BC




Why was it written?

It is to encourage people to turn to God and rely on Him to do what is right though prayer and praise.



The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Habakkuk pleads with God to stop the injustice and violence in Judah, but is surprised to find that God will use the even more violent Babylonians to do so."

 

"Teach Sunday School" tells us the following

"The Prophecy is in response to heartfelt prayer and has been an encouragement to people to cry out in times of trouble."





What format does this book take?


The Overview Bible  tells us the following

  1. Habakkuk asks when God will judge Judah (Hab 1:1–4)
  2. God will judge Judah with the Chaldeans (Hab 1:5–11)
  3. Habakkuk asks why God would use the wicked Chaleans (Hab 1:12–17)
  4. God pronounces judgment on the Chaldeans (Hab 2)
  5. Habakkuk responds with a song of worship (Hab 3)




How does it end?


With a Hymn of Faith in ch. 3 v 17-19
where we get the very well known passage acknowledging that we can trust God through everything.















OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE 






 




Wednesday

10 Bible Verses of Encouragement about Forgiveness



We all need encouragement and the best place to go is to the Bible.

In this blog Post I have tried to gather some Bible passages or Bible verses which will encourage us all around the topic of Forgiveness.






I do believe that we should not just grab a verse and read it on its own but we should always lift our bibles and read a passage of scripture to make sure that we know the real meaning and context of each of the verses we are putting our trust in. 

I pray that you will do the same and only use this list to guide you as to where you may find help.



So here are 10 Bible verses or short passages for us to turn to in times when we are concerned about forgiveness.




1.   1 John 1 v 9     

Starting at the beginning with what we need to be sure of - the fact that He is the one who is willing to forgive our sins

and

cleanse us from them






but

we also have a part to play - we must confess our sins.

 


2.   Daniel 9 v 9


Daniel did not have the benefit of the New Testament and the narrative of Jesus about His Father but yet he still knew what a forgiving God we have, regardless of how sinful we are.





"To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him." 





3.   Isaiah 1 v 18


“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.



God is so gracious to explain to us that even though we are so sinful compared to our Holy God He still has made a way for us to be changed.





4.   Isaiah 43 v 25  

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions

 for My own sake;

And I will not remember your sins.



We cannot get rid of our sin but God will.

Then he actually comforts us by telling us He will not remember them - in other words He will not hold them against us afterwards.




5.   Psalm 103 v 10-14


10.  He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

We do not get what we deserve

11.  For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

God's mercy is greater than we can even imagine

12.  As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

There is no getting these sins back because of His forgiveness

13.  As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

Fear (awe) of God brings our the tender mercy of our God

14.  For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

God made us so no-one can know us better than He can



Are we deserving of any of this forgiveness?

No but God gave Jesus in our place so that He can forgive us when we turn to Him. 





6.   Ephesians 1 v 7




In our previous verse we saw the effect of God's mercy on our forgiveness now we see His grace.




7.   Acts 10 v 43

It's not a complicated process to apply for the forgiveness of God, we simply have to believe






this is where faith comes into the process.




8.   Isaiah 53 v 5-6

We have seen the mercy and the grace of God to bring about our forgiveness.

Then we saw the faith we need to have and now we see the hope we have in this Saviour 








but none of this is to be taken lightly because our Saviour took such a heavy burden that belonged to us.










9.   Matthew 6 v 14-15





Forgiveness is not just something that God does for us.

We must remember that once we have faith in God and become new creations we have the responsibility of taking on the commands of God and so we need to love others as He does and be ready to forgive them.

It should be an outworking of the Spirit of God working in and through us.








We finish with a reminder from the Apostle Paul



10.   Colossians 3 v 13


 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.



The most important thing to remember is we must give forgiveness because we have first received forgiveness from the Lord.









Sunday

Reading Through The Bible - HAGGAI









Some of the Books of the bible are very short and this is one is the second shortest in the Old Testament.    (Shortest is Obadiah)









HAGGAI  -  OLD TESTAMENT  -  PROPHECY 

37th book of the NT 
37th book of the Bible




What is it?

The Book of Haggai is one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament.




Who was it written to?

It was spoken to the governor of Judah and the High Priest as mentioned in verse 1.





Who wrote it?

The prophet Haggai spoke it 



How Long is it?

It has only 2 chapters and only 38 verses.




When was it written?

It covers the period of 520 BC.

We know this because it specifically mentions when in the very first verse by referring to the reign of King Darius 

"In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest," 

This book is also linked to the Book of Ezra ch.1-6




Why was it written?

God had a specific message for the leaders & the people to tell them to continue with the restoration of the Temple because they had put rebuilding of their own homes first and then didn't bother about the temple.


He wanted to get their attention for them to "consider their ways" and to make sure they took it seriously he said it at the start of His Word to them in ch.1 v 5 and then repeated himself 2 verses later.





Then when He had their attention in verse 8 God told them:

" ....build the house (temple); and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,  saith the Lord."




The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"The people have abandoned the work of restoring God’s temple in Jerusalem, and so Haggai takes them to task."

 

"Teach Sunday School" tells us the following

"Haggai's messages are simple and straightforward.  God tells the people through Haggai to rebuild the temple first.  It would keep them from falling back into errors that had caused the great exile."




What was the result of the message?


The leaders and people listened and took the words to heart v.12 and took action v.14 and they started to rebuild the temple.

The Lord spoke again and again through Haggai in ch. 2 where He spoke of the nations that He would bring to the temple in the future, that He would fill it with glory and that this latter glory would be greater than the former glory. 





What format does this book take?


The Overview Bible  tells us the following

  1. God calls the people to complete the temple (Hag 1:1–11)
  2. The people obey (Hag 1:12–15)
  3. God responds with encouragement and blessing (Hag 2)

My Pastor tells us the following  (see his Bible Study video on Haggai)

The name Haggai means festive so it is something to get excited about.

  1. God challenges the people and they obey Him (Hag 1:1–15)
  2. God deals with the shattered dreams of the people (Hag 2:1–9)
  3. Haggai calls them to a place of  (Hag 2:10–19)
  4. The Future Hope of the Kingdom (Hag 2:20–23)





How does it end?


With encouragement, a personal word to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, saying that God had chosen him.










OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE