Verse of the Day 10-29

Hello, and Good Morning to all!

Today is a great day! And what better way to start it with a refreshing dive into the Word. Before i go though...just a quick update on what i've been up to:
We had our first basketball game against the Saint Mary Alumni last night and won by 40 points! It was pretty one sided, but a good game to get our legs running.......I am taking a trip to Homework City this weekend, as i have 2 major assignments due for Monday. I hear the traffic is terrible, but ill take some pictures for ya....ha! I'll probably see some of you there! I'm also on a weekend class this weekend, but don't worry, i'll be there Sunday. Oooh also, you may not recognize me this Sunday.....my hair is a little.......different! That's all I'm going to say.

With that being said, lets take a look at the Verse of the Day

2 Corinthians 13:3-9
I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak in his dealings with you; he is a mighty power among you. Although he died on the cross in weakness, he now lives by the mighty power of God. We, too, are weak, but we live in him and have God's power--the power we use in dealing with you.
Examine yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine. Test yourselves. If you cannot tell that Jesus Christ is among you, it means you have failed the test. I hope you recognize that we have passed the test and are approved by God.
We pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. We pray this, not to show that our ministry to you has been successful, but because we want you to do right even if we ourselves seem to have failed. Our responsibility is never to oppose the truth, but to stand for the truth at all times. We are glad to be weak, if you are really strong. What we pray for is your restoration to maturity.

I chose this verse today, not so i could explain to you what is meant by it, but that you might read deeper into it and around it and find your own meaning. I will say a few obovious things though:Paul is calling out the Corinthians on their actions and convicting them to test their faith to see if it is genuine, but why is he doing this? That is what i hope you will find out. Get out your Bibles today and see why Paul was so adamant about this for the Corinthians! Find out why this was so important not only for them, but also ourselves. How can we test and examine our faith daily to see the mighty power of Christ working within us?

Let me know.....post a comment!
I love you guys, and I hope i continue to see Christ's power work through you

God Bless
Bob

Verse of the Day 10-27

Hey guys.....its Bob.

I heard there were only a couple of ya at youth last night, but i heard it was excellent. Thanks so much to Mike and Jennifer for coming to help out. I know Luke really appreciated it, and we'd love to have you guys back anytime!

Anyway, im about to dive into the word.....wanna come?

Matthew 25:37-39
"Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will tell them, 'I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'"

To me, this sounds like a call to social justice! "Oh no!! First Bob is trying to get us to ask all our friends to youth, now he wants us to write a letter to our congressman about better care for homeless people!!!" Well guys, i'm not gonna lie......that would be AWESOME! But social justice can mean so much more. In this passage, Jesus is talking about some of the poorest of the poor, but in saying this he is also talking about our treatment of all people. Just stop and think for a second how many people we look at, pass by or talk to each day and treat like they are the least of our brothers and sisters......................................................................................................ok, thats enough thinking, i've thought of too many already.

I know that we all have people in our life that we treat like our dirty laundry piles. We wear them for a while, but when they get all sweaty and dirty we throw them in a pile in the corner of our room. We neglect them for days on end and watch them as they get smelly and moldy in our sight. We only look to that pile when we've totally run out of clean clothes, but when we stick them back on, we are uncomfortable, because we've let the clothes sit for so long and can't stand the smell. (OK, maybe its only me that wears dirty clothes from time to time...ignore that metaphor!). But ultimately, we can change the way we approach these people in our lives. Christ is calling us to take out our dirty laundry and wash up the way we interact with others; approaching them with love, kindness and compassion. This is a call to social justice!

This doesn't mean you have to treat everyone like your best friend.....but giving everyone a smile wouldn't hurt. Not being afraid to sit with a stranger at lunch would be awesome. You guys should come hang with me at the geek table sometime.....you'll find some real interesting folk. Basically, if we can work on acting Christ-like to those we interact with daily, we are not only living out his mission but are serving a higher call to social justice. And i know all of you guys are already awesome in that aspect, but i know that we all still have a dirty laundry pile that needs cleaning.

Ooooh, that was a refreshing dip! Thanks for jumping in with me guys. I love all of ya, and i hope God is blessing ya with an awesome day!

Galatians 5:25
If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.