life's verse and a note for contest winners

For those of you who won the contest -- remember that you need to now offer three prizes on your blog!  

And now, for today's post...

My life's verses are Romans 12:1-2.  I'm not sure when or why they became that.  I don't remember actually picking them.  I was going to say that they are the verses that I try to live by, but I guess I try to live by all of them.  But these are uppermost in my mind.

To me a life's verse and a favorite verse are not the same thing.  My favorite verses are those that encourage me and give me joy.  I guess my life's verse is the one that I feel like is the theme of my life?  Does that sound right?

1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

As for my favorite verse - I could never even begin to choose.  There are hundreds!

So, tell me.  What is your life's verse?  And if you have a favorite, share that as well.

sheep

Since this month is Passover and Easter and Spring, my mind naturally went to sheep.

I love sheep. God loves sheep. They are symbolic of we, His people and also of Him, the Lamb of God. Any time I see sheep I find myself quoting some of the following scriptures to them. I love it when I get to be near some sheep. They are goofy. Completely helpless on their own. Not the brightest, they tend to get themselves in trouble when left to their own devices. But they, in many parts of the world, are very valuable. Just like us.

"But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the desert" Psalm 78:52

"Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise." Psalm 79:13

"Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." Psalm 100:3

"I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands." Psalm 119:176

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6

"He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth." Isaiah 53:7

"For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them as a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. " Ezekiel 34:11, 12

"I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD." Ezekiel 34:15

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:20, 21

the text book

I didn't say this in my post on learning from God because it is so obvious to me, I guess. It may be obvious to you, too, but I think I should say it for the sake of clarity.

As you ask God to teach you things, be sure to be reading the Bible. The ultimate answer book. Even as He guides you to books, sermons, etc, they should in turn guide you to Scripture that supports what they are saying.

That's why the process should be very prayerful. So that you know what is from God and what isn't.

And any new information that you hear or read must be validated by the Word of God. If a pastor or teacher gives some Scriptural references, then as soon as you can, you look those up for yourself.

And if none are given, then you need to do a bit of research. You can go to a site like Gospelcom and use their scripture search tool. Type in a word that has to do with the subject you are researching and it will bring up all the scriptures that refer to that word. Search and be sure that whatever it is you heard is Bible Truth and not just some person's idea or philosophy.

This requires some work. And I know my other post made it sound like we could just sit around and be spoon fed. That is true to some extent; God will be surprising in how He brings the answers to us. But we always must be alert and attentive to the Holy Spirit and be in the Bible in order to discern truth from lies.

The devil, who hates us, loves to pretend to be a good guy. He is tricky, sneaky and wants nothing more than to confuse us and deceive us.

The Lord is on our side and will reveal truth to us. But we must be wise. The Bible warns us in many places to be alert and on the lookout for false teachers. They teach just enough of the truth to make us trust them, but they are full of false doctrine.

The Word of God is our only reliable reference.

And even then, we must use the full scope of Scripture. I can very easily make any point and back it with a verse or a phrase of Scripture. This doesn't count. This is not what I mean by making sure something is backed in Scripture. Something that is Scripturally true will be a common theme throughout the entire Bible. I will be a scripture that can be validated by more scripture.

Yes, this requires effort. The Lord wants us to be diligent and to be knowledgeable of what he says.

There. I just wanted to be sure that I wasn't coming across as promoting some kind of mystical learning experience that nullified the need for God's Word. God will teach us. But His primary text book is always His written Word.