Matthew Minica's Scripture of the Month

I've been posting my "Scripture of the Month" on the blog for several months now. I thought that maybe a better place for it would be here, so here is where I will post each month's scripture. To view my previous "Scriptures of the Month", go to http://www.memverse.com/blog/main/For_Spontaneous_Scripture_Meditations.

EDIT: If anyone has any thoughts on my verses or other verses besides mine, they are welcome to share them here. I don't want to be the only one!

May 2012 Scripture of the Month
Genesis 32:24-28
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

You may have noticed that I like to choose Scriptures that are not quite as familiar in the Christian world as some Scriptures are. I do this for a reason. I want people to see the truths in obscure and unfamiliar passages. I like to go with new passages, not just the same old, same old.
“[T]here wrestled a man with him [Jacob]…” The man that wrestled with Jacob was most probably the preincarnate Christ, because Jacob says later in verse 30 that he had seen God face to face. This is not my point, though it is interesting. Take a look at verse 26. God tells Jacob to let Him go. Jacob replies to God that he will not let Him go, unless He blesses Jacob. What a statement! Was this wrong, to refuse to let God go? No, it was not wrong! The reason not is that Jacob received a blessing from God for his refusal to let Him go. So am I willing to do this? Am I willing to hold on to God and refuse to let him go, unless He blesses me? This seems rather selfish. However, it is not selfish to desire a blessing for yourself as long as you do not desire a curse for others. In fact, this is what God wants you to do! He wants you to hold on to Him and beg for a blessing. He will pour out blessings upon you such as you have never known, if you only ask. However, there are two things you must do after you ask: You must seek, and you must knock. I will expand on these two things in June.

June 2012 Scripture of the Month
Matthew 7:7-11
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Ask, seek and knock. Some people only do the first thing: they ask, and then wonder why they don’t get what they asked for. The truth is, God would have given it to them had they sought it and knocked for it. So what is seeking? Well, say your old car is on its last leg, and you ask God to give you a good deal for new one. Seeking in this case is saving up for the new car, and researching to find out which car you might want. The knocking part makes me think of when Peter was knocking at the door of the house where the other believers were praying for him, thinking he was in prison. He did not knock only once, and then walk away. He knocked repeatedly until he gained entrance. God wants you to ask repeatedly. He is listening to us. However, He wants to see how much you want what you are asking for. If you only ask for it once and then give up, God sees that you do not have much faith in Him and you don’t want whatever you asked for too much. But if you tell God, as I mentioned last month, that you won’t let Him go unless He blesses you, God understands that your faith is genuine and that you know He will give you every good thing you ask.
This does not mean that you can just ask for anything selfishly, and God will give it to you! James 4:3 says, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” In addition, sometimes we ask for something, not knowing that it is not the best for us. In this situation, God will gently tell us that He has a better plan for us than we could ever know. We must learn to desire God’s plan for us, even if it means going through things our flesh will not like. Everything works out for good to those who love God.

Amen.
Sometimes, God says "No." Most times, He says "Wait." Other times, He says "Yes."
When He says yes, it's always so much better than what we asked for.

July 2012 Scripture of the Month
James 3:13-17
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

I have always liked the passages of Scripture that talk about the contrast between two things, one good and one not. For some other great passages that talk about the good and the evil, you should read 2 Timothy 3, Proverbs 9, or Galatians 5:16-26. I like these passages because they are so clear on what we should guard against and what we should strive for. But for now, let’s focus on the difference between God’s wisdom and “earthly, sensual, devilish” wisdom.
One thing is very interesting is that James begins his short critique of wisdom by saying, “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you?” In other words, “Who’s the know-it-all around here?” Many of us like to think that we know a lot. Knowledge tends to puff us up as humans. Why, then, would James encourage this pride in knowledge? Ah, but we haven’t heard the whole story. James tells us humans that think we know a lot to show it by our good conversation (meaning, “conduct”) and meekness.
I like the term “meekness of wisdom”. It makes me think of the poem about the wise old owl.
“The wise old owl sat on an oak.
The more he saw, the less he spoke.
The less he spoke, the more he heard.
Why can’t we be like that wise old bird?”
Makes me think, “hmm, when was the last time I purposed to be the lesser half of the conversation and let the other person talk?” :)
Our culture has defined a meek person as a person who is drawn back and shy. God does not define meekness this way at all. Meekness and weakness rhyme, but they are antonyms in their meaning in the Bible. Meekness is really “our strength under God’s control”. God puts meekness in the list of the fruits of the Spirit. Truly, meekness is a quality we should aim for so that we will not be prideful of our “wisdom” and strive to have God’s wisdom, instead of man’s wisdom.
This brings us to the comparison in this passage between two kinds of wisdom. This passage gives several qualities of each type of wisdom so that we will know how to discern between them. First of all, let us look at man’s wisdom and how it manifests itself in the modern world.
“…earthly…” Wisdom that is learned without acknowledging God as the author of all wisdom is purely earthly, and is classified as a kind of wisdom that we should avoid. We should continually have God in our thoughts as we learn.
“…sensual…” We should try not to get knowledge about any sensual matters just for our personal pleasure. When we learn about things like homosexuality or the porn industry, it should be with a view of learning so that we can do something to stop the evil thing. “Being informed” is not a good reason for learning excessively about sensual things.
“…devilish…” The only reason that we should learn about matters concerning cultism, or really any religion that does not worship the one true God, is so that when we meet someone who believes in the devilish religion, we can show them the error of their ways and try to persuade them to seek the Truth. Reading books or playing games that fill our minds with mythological things and thing pertaining to devils is definitely not a good idea.
Now, let us look into the way that we should learn – the way we get Godly wisdom.
“…pure…” Everything that fills our minds should be pure, not vulgar, and something that God would want us to think about. See Philippians 4:8.
“…peaceable…” As much as we can, we need to stay away from arguments and follow the Truth. When it comes to disagreements on minor points of doctrine, we should lovingly say why we do not believe as the other person does (if they want to hear it), hear what they have to say, and contemplate on what they said. Having an argumentative spirit is not the way to be a Godly learner. I need to work on this one especially. :)
“…gentle…” All of our doings must be gentle and meek, as I said earlier. Everyone loves a truly meek person. Especially when we are witnessing to others, we must not push on them that they deserve hell if they don’t even know why they deserve it. If we do, we will probably lose them. They don’t want to hear us if we are going to shove everything down their throat. We must, with Christian love, help them along gently in the logical journey toward Christianity.
This Scripture of the Month is about three times as long as usual, but I had a lot to say! Thank you for reading!

August 2012 Scripture of the Month
2 Timothy 3:13-17
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

I have been learning so many things in my study of 2 Timothy this summer. This passage, I think, is 2 Timothy summarized. Verse 13 talks about the evil men, which are discussed extensively in 2 Timothy. We are warned not to let these men deceive us. Now look at verse 15. There is great truth in the words “from a child”. Timothy learned from the Scriptures since he was a boy! We ought to take his example and do the same. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” This is God’s very Word! It is our Life Handbook for the Christian Soldier, written by our very own Commander in Chief! It is the most important thing we can spend our time reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating on. It “is profitable” – useful, worthwhile, beneficial – eternally so! I cannot stress too much how important it is to make a habit of immersing oneself in God’s Word. They make us “wise” – as I was talking about last month. The Scriptures give us the purest wisdom that we can ever attain. They give us wisdom “unto salvation” – the Scriptures are where we obtained the knowledge that leads to our faith in Christ Jesus.

September 2012 Scripture of the Month
Mark 6:48-52
And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. 49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: 50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. 51 And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. 52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

We are all familiar with the tale of Jesus walking on the water. I want to make a new point of this extraordinary story. I would like to draw attention to the last verse of this wonderful passage: “They considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” We may tend to disdain these hardened disciples. After all, they had just seen another of Jesus’ miracles that very day – the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6:35-44). How could they forget, after witnessing so many miracles, that this was the Messiah? Why should they be surprised? This attitude of disdain is prideful and pharisaical. More often than not, when I find myself thinking this way, the Holy Spirit convicts me that I often display the same kind of unbelief that the disciples did. I often find myself trying to accomplish things in my own strength and not leaning on Jesus to take me all the way through. I am seldom as faith-filled as are all the heroes of the faith mentioned in Hebrews 11. However, I can still say, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief”. Jesus will give me faith. Eleven of the same disciples that were in this boat were later filled with the Spirit and began preaching for the Lord. May the Lord help us to believe in Him.

This is the first time I really read through the Scripture of the Month, and the lesson after it. I am really glad I did too. I had always thought like the disciples were just blind to the truth, and that I would not have been. But recently I have found that I have that same problem, and I think I can do things myself when I really need to lean on God for support. Thank you Matthew for putting this up and please keep doing it.

Yikes. I haven't done this in a while. Oh well. I'll make a New Year's Resolution to do all twelve months of Scripture of the Month this year.

January 2013 Scripture of the Month
Luke 5:20-25
And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

This Scripture is an example of the abundant power of Jesus Christ, manifested threefold in the spirit, the soul, and the body. First, Jesus has the spiritual authority to forgive sins. In the passage, Jesus has compassion for a paralytic and tells him his sins are forgiven. In that day many people held the erroneous viewpoint that diseases like palsy and leprosy were curses from God for certain sins. Of course, this may be occasionally true, but it is not usually. God mostly allows His children to go through physical sickness to mold them or others into the perfect “pot” for Him. Fully aware of this truth, Jesus takes advantage of the majority opinion to prove an important point. The Pharisees are correct in asserting that only God can pardon sins. Nevertheless, they are missing the point. Only God can pardon sins – however, Jesus IS God!
Second, Jesus has the supernatural ability to discern the thoughts of the soul. This truth is further illustrated in Psalm 139. The Pharisees reason within themselves that only God has power to forgive sins. Jesus says He can forgive sins; therefore, they conclude that He is a liar. Jesus observes them considering within themselves and lets them know that He saw their thoughts. Actually, Jesus did not even tell the Pharisees what they were thinking (if He did, it wasn’t recorded in Luke). He only rebuked them for their corrupt thoughts and then exposed the error of their reasoning. What a way to astound someone, reading their minds! This is more often said then done. When one does say exactly what another is thinking, it is either coincidental, or the one knows the other well enough to guess by their conduct what is going through their mind. Neither is the case in this instance, however. This is yet another testimony that Jesus IS God.
Third, Jesus has the power to heal sicknesses of the body. This is the most well-known part of the story – the physical miracle itself. We all know that Jesus does miracles, but sometimes, we don’t even give it a second thought. I think that sometimes one needs to take an extra moment or two to reflect on how amazing this is. Imagine a withered, paralyzed man lying on a cot. Picture in your mind his years of suffering. Envision his desperate condition. Now look! Jesus Christ, in the middle of teaching the multitude around Him, stoops down to talk to this man, maybe taking him gently by the hand. Hark! He speaks words full of supernatural power to the diseased man before Him: “Your sins are forgiven,” and, “Rise, walk!” The once-paralyzed man responds immediately. His thin limbs lose their flimsiness. He gets up on his knees, then on his feet, standing without assistance and without difficulty for the first time in years! Glory to God! What a wonderful sight!
It is remarkable to me that the Pharisees would be as blind as to discount Jesus’ miracles because they didn’t like His teachings. But just as I said in September, one must be careful not to be judgmental of the Pharisees; instead, one must evaluate one’s own heart to see if it is acceptable to God.

"Envision his desperate condition. Now look! Jesus Christ, in the middle of teaching the multitude around Him, stoops down to talk to this man, maybe taking him gently by the hand. Hark! He speaks words full of supernatural power to the diseased man before Him: “Your sins are forgiven,” and, “Rise, walk!” "

It is amazing to consider the miracles that Christ performed on earth. I'm sure we've all thought "What would it have been like to be that person who couldn't walk, or the person who couldn't see, or who had leprosy, or was diseased?" while reading through the miracles. Though we do not what it would have been like to hear "Rise, walk!", as believers, we do know that "Your sins are forgiven" has been said to us all. What an astounding thought! An overwhelming thought! Praise the Lord for His grace and loving kindness to forgive sinners!

"I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see."

Thanks, Matthew, for posting these! I always enjoy reading them, and will look forward to 11 more this year :) Keep seeking the Lord!

Whew. I just about missed getting in February's Scripture. Thanks be to God that I was able to do it on time. :D

February Scripture of the Month
Micah 4:6-10
In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; 7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. 8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. 9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. 10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

This bright chapter in an otherwise rather dismal book is a prophecy of the Millennium and beyond. I always love passages that expound on what we as Christians will experience in paradise.
Whom is this prophecy referring to? To the original readers of the book of Micah, it may have sounded as if the Lord was only indicating the children of Israel as the ones He would save. With the New Testament, though, we know that God has a much bigger plan in mind. “Her” in this passage refers to those of us who make up the church, Christ’s bride. We who believe, Jews or Gentiles, are all God’s chosen people. With this in mind, read the passage again. What meaning is opened up to our minds once it is viewed in this light! We are indeed strangers and pilgrims in this world. The world has driven us out and afflicted us, but we can rest in the promise that God will make of us a strong nation and reign over us forever. “Is thy Counselor perished?” No! Jesus Christ is alive and in our hearts!
As for the pain, welcome it, as a woman in labor welcomes her birth pangs. As for the persecution, greet it warmly, knowing that God is pleased with us and He will at last deliver us. Men of the world will revile and rail at us, and it is painful indeed; but take solace in God and He will give us rest.
Much of Micah’s book of prophecy is dismal in tone. Saving 2:12-13, in the first three chapters we see no indication of anything but disaster coming upon God’s people who have forsaken Him. What a relief it is to read in chapter 4 of God’s promises made good and His people restored! His mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:23).

Yay! So excited to see this…glad you got it done in time as well :) So, I'm assuming that your study of Micah is going well?

Great post, Matthew. :) Can't wait to see your next one. :)

Well… I've gotten a little behind on it. I think I was supposed to have been done by now, but I'm only on the fourth chapter (out of seven). :( I'm learning a lot though, so that part is going well.

Okay… does anybody have any ideas for upcoming Scriptures of the Month? Sometimes I have a lot of trouble finding just the right Scripture. That's sometimes the reason I do it so late in the month. :)

I have an idea, Matthew! I was just meditating on Matthew 7:13-14 the other day, and would really like to hear your thoughts on it! Though, you don't have to if you don't want, it's just a suggestion :)

Thanks for the suggestion Bethany! Anyone else want to suggest something?

What about John 15:1-8? :)

Here's one:) "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." 1 John. 2:15-17

Well, Matthew, you'd better decide on a passage, because March is almost finished!

Thank you Bethany, Rachel, and Elanee for the suggestions. I will keep them in mind, and I hope to use them all in the near future. This time I believe God is leading me to use this passage as the March Scripture of the Month (which is very late - again! :( )

March 2013 Scripture of the Month
Deuteronomy 8:2-6
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. 4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. 5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. 6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

One of the most popular questions that unbelievers ask Christians: “If God is good, why does He allow suffering?” The usual answer is that God created a perfect world in the beginning, but man’s sin threw the world out of its perfectly created balance into the state it is in now. Therefore, it is not “God’s fault”, if you will, that suffering and death exist; man is at fault. On one level, this is a satisfactory answer, but on another it is not. You see, we as Christians have accepted Christ’s sacrifice and God has forgiven us of all of our sins. Why then does God continue to allow us to suffer? God has several purposes, a few of which are mentioned in this passage.
First, God allows suffering to humble us (verse 2a). He wants to keep us from becoming prideful and greedy about temporary things. Job was the richest man in the East before God allowed Satan to strike him. Job had to realize that his possessions were not actually his; he was only their steward for the time being, because God had given them to him. When his reputation was shattered, he needed to know that what people think doesn’t matter; it’s only what God thinks. When his friends turned against him, accusing him of doing something to deserve God’s wrath and humiliating him even further, and when even his wife urged him to “curse God, and die”, Job had to look to God as his Refuge and Strength.
Second, God allows suffering to test us (verse 2b). When God told Abraham to give up his beloved only son Isaac as a burnt offering, Abraham undoubtedly went through much anguish and suffering. God was testing Abraham to see if he truly loved the Lord more than he loved anything else. When God led the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years, He was testing them to see if they would walk in His commandments.
Third, God allows suffering to teach us (verse 3). When Hosea’s harlot wife, whom God had commanded him to marry, left him, God used the situation as an object lesson to show the Israelites what they were doing to Him with their profuse idolatry. When Jonah was inside the belly of the great fish and seemingly all hope was gone, God taught him that one can’t run away from God.
Fourth, God chastens us with suffering (verse 5). When we allow our old sinful nature to take over, God rebukes the old man. When David committed adultery and murder, God took away the son that was produced as a result of the adultery. He was censuring David for his disobedience. Similarly, when David in his pride ordered a census of Israel without God’s approval, God gave David three choices of national chastisements because He loved him. He gives us chastisement because we are His children. (Hebrews 12:7)

Excellent thoughts! Thanks for sharing, Matthew!

I don't know really think it matters if it's really late in the month, just so long that you get it done in the month :)

Thanks for sharing!

Well, I think it matters. Procrastination is not a good habit. But thanks. :)

That's true. Nevermind, I am horrible with procrastination and can't stand it! Wow! Am I contradictory!!

Great post, Matthew! Can't wait for the next one. :)

Great encouraging verse. Thanks for the insights as well:)

Wow!!! Do you really type all that out??? :-)

Hey Matthew, you'd better post another one of these soon! April is almost over!!

Unfortunately I missed April because of an lightning strike which caused an internet outage at our place. Thankfully we did not lose much and were insured on most of what we did lose. Anyway, here is the May Scripture:

May 2013 Scripture of the Month
Luke 13:24-28

Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

Jesus gives us a stern warning in these few verses, reminding us that He is the only way into the kingdom of heaven. The Greek word translated “strive” in verse 24 is agonizomai, which generally means to fight, to take pains, straining every nerve to the uttermost towards the goal. The word conveys the picture of athletes doing their utmost to win the prize. The same word is used in 1 Timothy 6:12 and 2 Timothy 4:7, two verses that both mention “fight the good fight”, a popular phrase in today’s Christian world. God wants us to put our all into making sure we are on the right path to heaven.

This passage reminds me of the sad allegorical story of Ignorance in Pilgrim’s Progress. Ignorance thought that he could gain entrance to the great city (symbolizing heaven) any way he wanted to. He had not visited the place of redemption and had his burden removed, having gained entrance to the path of righteousness another way. He trusted in his sinful heart and paid no attention to the reasoning and pleas of Christian and Hopeful. When Ignorance reached the river (symbolizing death) he had to cross to get to the city, instead of swimming it as Christian and Hopeful did, he hired a ferryman called Vain-Hope to get him across. Because of his ignorance, he was able to see and even approach the Gate to heaven, but he was not allowed in.

What a sad picture this is! Jesus tells us in these verses that this will happen to many. In fact, if one asks any person if they are going to heaven or hell, the vast majority will say that they are good enough to go to heaven. (The documentary 180 gives a great example of this.) Many of these people have been sadly misled to believe either that God weighs our good and our bad to judge us, or that God is merciful and He will not even worry about our sin. While God will indeed judge us by our deeds (Revelation 20:13), every one of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). Moreover, while God is merciful, it is not an accurate picture of his mercy to assume that He will let sinners into heaven, because He is also just and sin is repugnant to Him. He will not simply forget about our sin, nor will he forgive it without recompense (Joshua 24:19). Thanks be to God, there is an alternative through Jesus Christ our Lord! He took the just punishment of our sin on the cross, defeating death three days later when He rose from the grave. God will wipe our sins away if we will only believe in and accept this gift.

EDIT: I forgot to say @Bethany, this is your suggested passage, just in a different gospel because I found more to say about it in Luke.

I actually finished this and sent it out by email two days ago, but I forgot to put it on here until now. @Rachel - this is your scripture! :D

June 2013 Scripture of the Month
John 15:1-8
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Jesus is in the room of the Last Supper, speaking to His disciples for what He knew would be the last time before His death and resurrection. In this conversation spanning several chapters of the gospel of John, one can sense the deep intimacy between Christ and His disciples. John, the beloved disciple, was the only gospel writer who recorded this touching episode in detail.
This particular passage is a word picture of a grapevine. Jesus refers to Himself as the Vine and His Father as the Vinedresser. We as Christians are the branches in this illustration of the relationship between the Godhead and His children.
Grapes and grapevines in the Bible are a symbol of wealth and abundance. The twelve spies from Israel sent into Canaan brought back a bunch of grapes so large it took two men to carry it. (Joshua 13:23) In Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard of wild grapes (Isaiah 5:1-7), Isaiah tells the story of a vinedresser taking good care of his vineyard and making it beautiful. However, when the vinedresser looked for grapes on his vines, he found wild grapes instead. The Hebrew word for “wild grapes” denotes a condition that made the grapes worthless. This parable symbolized Israel’s turning away from God and not producing fruit that was pleasing to Him.
Back to Jesus’ parable. The Lord states that the Father purges the branches of the Vine in order to make them bring forth more fruit. The Greek word for “purge” means to clean (cf. verse 3); it is symbolically used of pruning. This is an excellent illustration of what God does to purify us: He prunes us. The pruning symbolizes taking away or refining parts of our lives that do not meet His standards. Once pruned, a vine or other plant can produce more fruit of better quality; similarly, when we allow God to cleanse our lives, we can then be less distracted with worldly things and more focused on bearing fruit for Him.
Jesus’ second point in this parable is that a branch on a grapevine cannot bear fruit in and of itself. It must have a central vine connecting it to its roots, from where it gets everything it needs for survival. Jesus exhorts us as branches to abide in Him, the Vine. The key word here is “abide”. Earlier in the conversation, and again later on in the chapter, Jesus explains what He means by “abide”. “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love” (John 15:10); and again, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). This is a direct result of being in love with the Lord. He loved us and was merciful to us, so we love Him and worship Him. One important facet of worshipping God is keeping His commandments. God says that He would rather have obedience than burnt offerings (1 Samuel 15:23) – or, in modern language, He would rather have entire obedience than the mere act of giving up little things but never yielding one’s entire life to Him. Only when we yield to the Lord can we bear much fruit for Him and become His true disciples.

Thanks for sharing! :)

Do you have another Scripture of the Month for us, Matthew? It's fine if you don't, I know how busy people can be during the summer, but I wanted to ask, since you haven't done July yet.

Yes, I know I haven't done July yet; thanks for the reminder. :) I'm working on it and will, Lord willing, finish it soon.

July 2013 Scripture of the Month
Genesis 3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

1 John 2:15-17
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Just one little sin was committed, and the whole world was plunged into darkness. Just one little disobedience: but because of it, life on this earth would never again be the same. God could not tolerate the ugliness of sin; as much as He loved Adam and Eve, He could no longer have true and complete fellowship with these tainted souls, so He sorrowfully drove them from His presence. The Lord was merciful to Adam and Eve in that He allowed them to live on, slaughtering animals to take their place; but at the same time, these animals could not fully take the humans’ places, and so at that moment they began to die. This all took place as a result of corrupted desires in the heart of the man and woman. These three desires that John warns us to stay away from – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life – are the very desires that arose within Eve’s heart when the serpent began to deceive her. Let us look at each of them in turn.
The first desire, the lust of the flesh, corresponds to Eve seeing the tree as being “good for food”. In other words, Eve thought that the fruit of the tree, whatever it was, looked pretty tasty. I am sure she reasoned to herself that it would not hurt to take just one bite, simply to find out how it tasted. Just one bite! Christian, do not allow yourself to be caught in this trap. That second glance, that white lie, that angry thought, no matter how small it seems, is sin nonetheless. How true it is that if we give ourselves an inch, we will take a mile.
The second desire, the lust of the eyes, is similar to the first: Eve thought the fruit was beautiful, and it surely was. This beauty of the fruit that she noticed led to the thought that led to the act, “I wonder how it tastes?” Certainly, the fruit was beautiful; however, this should not have even entered Eve’s thoughts. Eve knew that the fruit was forbidden. She should not have cared whether the fruit appeared to be the largest, juiciest, sweetest, most beautiful fruit in the garden; the fact was that God had forbidden them to eat it.
In fact, if you look at Eve’s first reply to the serpent (Genesis 3:3), she told the serpent clearly that the fruit was disallowed. What took her mind off God’s spoken command? The third desire was the root problem: the boastful pride of life. The serpent told the woman that this was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that if she ate from it she would become like God. This, the serpent explained, was the reason that God did not want them to eat of the fruit. This idea of becoming like God appealed to Eve. She was prideful and not satisfied with what she had. Adam and Eve believed the serpent’s lie and ate the fruit. The result of their sin was separation from God and many curses that He brought down upon them.
I find it interesting that both Moses and John list the desires from the surface down to the roots. The lust of the flesh was the surface problem; Eve realized that the fruit would taste good. The lust of the eyes was a little deeper; the beauty of the fruit was its appeal. But the pride of life was the root problem, and the biggest one; Eve wanted the wrong thing in the wrong way.

August 2013 Scripture of the Month
Psalm 139:1-6
O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

This Scripture of the Month is the first in a series of four on the 139th Psalm. It is my personal favorite psalm authored by David, and one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. Psalm 139 is certainly one of the most majestic psalms in the entire Psalter, with its vivid descriptions of God’s power and His works.
There are four key thoughts in the psalm, each taking up six verses. Three of the sections emphasize God’s “omni-qualities” – that is God is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere), and omnipotent (all-powerful). These “omni-qualities” are more properly named the comparative attributes of God: His infinite nature contrasted with inadequate human ability. The fourth section emphasizes David’s striving to be likeminded with God.
This first section, verses 1-6, highlights God’s omniscience. This word comes from the prefix “omni-”, which means all, and the word “science”, which means knowledge. The passage particularly focuses in on the Lord’s knowledge of David himself. David realizes that God knows everything about us. He knows the path that we walk and the places that we sleep. He knows every word that comes out of our mouth even before we say it. He knows our going out and coming in… and the list could go on and on forever. The fact is that the Lord knows everything, period. He knows how many hairs are on each one of our heads (Matthew 10:30). A young sparrow falling from a nest does not escape His notice (Matthew 10:29). None of us can flee from His searching eyes (Jonah 1:3-4); in fact, He watches in particular the righteous men and hears their every cry (Psalm 34:15). This knowledge is too high for David to grasp, and he admits that he is nowhere close to God’s wisdom.
Though the attribute of omniscience seems basic, it leads to a very important concept: If God literally knows everything, which He does, then He also sees every act that we do, good and bad. He also knows all our thoughts, which no one else can discover. There is no such thing as a “secret sin”, for Jesus proclaims in Luke 12:2-3 that “there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed…that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” Do we go throughout the day with this in mind? Is every work that we do judged by the standards of God? Is every thought that occurs to our mind acceptable to Him? Obviously not all thoughts can be humanly controlled. In this case, we must lean on God to save us. Thanks be to God, He is also omnipotent and more than able to save us from our sins. Praise be to Him!

Hopefully I will be posting SOTM near the beginning of the month from now on. I will definitely be making it more of a priority. I hope to eventually be able to post each one on the first of the month, but I'm taking it in baby steps.

Thank you for sharing, Matthew! I really like that Psalm…

I wrote the September SOTM at least a week ago, but I keep forgetting to post/send it out!!! I'll try to remember to post it tonight as soon as I get onto the right computer.

September 2013 Scripture of the Month
Psalm 139:7-12
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

The Lord’s omnipresence is the comparative attribute that David focuses in the next section of the 139th Psalm. Omnipresence literally means “all-presence”; it is defined as being everywhere at the same time. It is closely related to omniscience, as verses 11-12 relate; nowhere we could go could hide us from God. He always knows where we are.
David’s rhetorical questions in verse 7 teach us about God’s omnipresence. God is a spirit (cf. John 4:24), which enables Him to be present in all places. We humans only inhabit a miniscule fraction of the space created by God; but His presence is found flowing through every one of us, as well as throughout the entire universe. He is with us in life and in death. He walks with us in the most crowded places, and He sees us when we think no one else is there. I could go on, but my point is clear: He is with us always.
Though one of the most popular Bible stories of all time, the story of Jonah still brings light to this subject of God’s omnipresence. Jonah did not want to follow God’s command, and so he attempted to “flee…from the presence of the Lord” (Jonah 1:3). I sometimes wonder if Jonah ever read or remembered the 139th Psalm. He was seriously underestimating God’s power – an act that seems laughable, but is something that we do even now. Anyhow, the Lord did not even have to follow Jonah onto the boat bound for Tarshish. He was with Jonah all the way to the point where he asked to be thrown into the sea to save the sailors; and He stayed with Jonah into the belly of the great fish, where Jonah finally realized the truth of David’s timeless words and the big mistake he had made.
So since God is everywhere at the same time, what does that mean to us? As discussed before, we cannot hide from God, and we should not try to as Jonah did. There is a positive aspect to God’s omnipresence, of course. God is always with us. Whatever kind of day we are having, He is right beside us. It does not matter whether our life is filled with sunshine, or if it is filled with rain; He promises to stay alongside and be our closest Friend. So when you place your trust in the Lord, when everything goes wrong, know that something still is right; God loves you and is with you everywhere you go.

October 2013 Scripture of the Month
Psalm 139:13-18
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Thine eyes did see my susbstance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, the are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

After centering six verses each on the Lord’s omniscience and omnipresence, David’s attention now turns to the wonder of the Lord’s omnipotence. Literally meaning “all strength” or “all power”, the quality of omnipotence signifies that God can do anything. Literally. It is the fact that nothing can stop Him from accomplishing His purposes. David writes about two aspects of God’s omnipotence that he finds particularly marvelous; the fact that God made our wonderfully fashioned bodies (vv. 13-16), and that God can keep us in mind with even with all the other things He thinks about (vv. 17-18). I believe David mentions the first aspect in particular because human life is the crown of God’s creation. He saved humans till last in the creation week, made us in His own image, blessed us the most of all His creation, and when we sinned, He promised to save us. The Lord’s creative work is an expression of His almighty power, so it was suitable for David to praise God for His best and favorite creation of them all. David also marvels at God’s ability to pay full attention to all of His creation at once. (This aspect of God’s omnipotence also ties back to the omniscience and omnipresence mentioned earlier in the psalm.) He hears millions upon millions of prayers each day, and yet not one of them goes unnoticed.
This quality of omnipotence, when properly understood, should and does strike fear and awe into the heart of all. (See v. 14a) Indeed, it is good, even crucial, to have a healthy fear of God in oneself. Both Old and New Testament make abundant mention of the fear of the Lord, and the phrase “they feared the Lord” is often used when referring to the righteous of the Bible. When one comprehends the infinite magnitude of God’s existence, wisdom, and power, one better understand why one needs to please Him. In fact, healthy fear of God should and usually does come before love for Him; it is at the beginning of nearly all relationships with Him, and if not, it still must be included.
Allow me to illustrate. Imagine going to the zoo and seeing a black widow spider. Depending on your personality and your previous experience with black widows, you might think it was interesting, or instead shiver slightly at the sight of such a poisonous creature. But there would be no real fear involved. Now imagine that spider somehow crawled out and you now see it on the wall, crawling towards you. At the very least, you would probably back away and call out loudly to warn the others – and that would be the composed reaction of only some. You would do this because you have a healthy fear of poisonous creatures such as black widows. Only at the moment that the fear came would your reaction take place.
Now I know that was a pretty lame example, but my point should be clear. Healthy fear of what God can and will do to the unrighteous is one of the most important things any human being can have. When we fear God, we will be inclined to do something about it so we will not have to fear Him any more. The point at where our love for God comes in is when we realize that we can’t do anything to remove what we fear; but in His mercy, God did it for us.

I got this SOTM finished just in time! Sorry for the delay. I already have an idea for December, so stay tuned - hopefully it will be posted next week. :)

November 2013 Scripture of the Month
Psalm 139:19-24
Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

“Your cause is my cause” is David’s main thought in the last six verses of Psalm 139. He turns to the wicked now and tells them to get away from him, reminding God of all of their words and acts against Him. David boldly declares that he abhors those who hate God – an extremely politically incorrect statement in our day, to say the least – and calls his hatred toward them “perfect”. This is an interesting idea. At first glance it seems to go against the command of Christ to “love your enemies” in Matthew 5:44. Instead of taking this at face value, however, let’s dig a little deeper. Is there any difference between the enemies David hates in Psalm 139 and the enemies Christ commands to love in Matthew 5?
Matthew 5:44 says in part “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.” Notice my emphasis on the word “you”. As Christians, we have in fact two different classifications of enemies: those of God whom David described, and those of ourselves whom Jesus described. The enemies of God curse Him and hate Him rather than cursing and hating us. To be sure, enemies of God may rail against Christians, but this is because the Christians are on God’s side of the battle and are damaging Satan’s kingdom. These are the enemies of which David describes his hatred in the Psalms. Our own enemies, however, are made because of our own human failures. There is a profound difference between the two.
In order to more fully understand the difference between our enemies and God’s enemies, let us turn to an experience in the life of the very author of this Psalm, King David. In 2 Samuel 16, we find David’s realm in a dreadful civil war. Absalom the prince was attempting to take the throne of the nation of Israel from his father and king. In one of the saddest family splits ever recorded, David was forced to flee from his capital city and seek refuge because of the aggressive gestures of his apostate son. In an already bleak and humiliating situation, ostensibly the worst possible time, Shimei, a relative of the late King Saul, appeared, and began to malign and curse David, throwing stones as he did so. When one of David’s loyal officers asked for permission to put this slanderous enemy to death, David answered “Let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, ‘Curse David’” (2 Samuel 16:10). This answer was doubtless surprising to hear from the anointed king of the mighty nation of Israel. King David understood, however, that this enemy was not an enemy of God, cursing him because of his allegiance to the Lord; instead, this was his enemy, brought upon him as part of the judgment he rightly deserved for his sin with Bathsheba. Therefore, David chose to accept the cursing as God’s will and entrusted the matter to Him. When Shimei later came to David and humbly repented of his sin of slander, David freely forgave him, and again implied an appeal to God to do as He saw fit.

So much for what I said above. :P I just kept forgetting to post this after I wrote it. Thankfully I got it done by the end of the month.
BTW guys - if any of you have any more ideas for next year, I'd love to hear them! I don't have a particular scripture in mind for next month, so I need some inspiration.
Also, since all three of the people that wrote down this scripture after their signature in my book at Nationals (Emily H, Anna M, and Hannah L) are on Memverse, thanks, guys! (or should I say gals? :P)

December 2013 Scripture of the Month
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

From this passage and all the other Pauline epistles, it is apparent that one of Paul’s greatest concerns was the physical and spiritual wellbeing of his brothers and sisters in Christ. He says in Colossians 1:9: “We…do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will…that ye might walk worthy of the Lord”. Again earlier in Ephesians, he writes “I…cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers”.
In this prayer, Paul brings up three desires of his to happen to every member of the body of Christ. First, he desires that God would allow them to be “strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man”. He also desires that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they would be able to fully comprehend the love of Christ. All of these petitions are part of the realization of being “filled with all the fullness of God”. Our goal in our walk with Christ is that we would ever be more filled with God’s light. In order to do this, we must grow in our strength in the Spirit, faith in Christ, and knowledge of the love of Christ. If we do not do this, we will become lukewarm in our lack of action to draw ever nearer to the Lord.
While looking for ideas for this month’s Scripture, I decided to look through the signatures I had recently obtained at National Bible Bee and the Bible verses which are often added at the end. I noticed that three different people added Ephesians 3:20-21 to the end of their signature! This glorious doxology appropriately ends the first portion of Ephesians, which is all about what God has done for us. Verse 20 contains one of the most profound truths I have found in all of Scripture. Look closely at what it says. God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”. Ponder this for a moment. In other words, God can do for us a whole lot more than we ask Him. He is capable of deeds transcending even our wildest imaginations! We could stretch our brains to their absolute limits, and still God is more powerful than anything we could dream up!
Notice also that Paul does not stop with the word “above”, or “more than”. He does not say simply “God is capable of more than we imagine”. On the contrary, Paul uses three superlative words (“exceeding abundantly above”) to describe the infinite greatness of God’s exceedingly magnificent power. Now that is what I call an awesome God.
But wait, there’s more! Verse 20 continues, “…according to the power that worketh in us”. This same power that is basis of all God’s wonderful works is present in us, His children! This incredible power means that through faith, nothing is impossible for us!

Hey Matthew! I received this in my inbox, thanks for sharing! You said that you needed submissions for Family News - what exactly is that, and what kind of submissions do you need? :)

Thanks for asking! It's our family's e-magazine we started a few years ago, that has been sadly neglected as of late. Our last issue was nearly a year ago. :( We started SOTM along with Family News, so the two go to the same list. We publish news reports of family life, stories, photos, puzzles, poems, recipes, book reports, jokes & riddles… and the list goes on!

January 2014 Scripture of the Month

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:3
31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way. 1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

You may be familiar with Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts and the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12. In a nutshell, the apostle’s points in this chapter are these: 1) the Spirit gives many different spiritual gifts to all the members of the church; 2) the church is Christ’s body, consisting of many members each with special functions; 3) every member is necessary to the proper operation of the body; and 4) we ought to covet (better: earnestly desire) the best spiritual gifts.
We all know about spiritual gifts. This topic has been a source of much discussion and debate over the centuries of the Christian era. We debate whether some still exist, what is their purpose, what forms they take, when in life they are given, etc. Are we paying too much attention to this?
Looking at what Paul says next, it is apparent that maybe we are. Paul says that he is showing us “a more excellent way” to spend our lives rather than seeking and displaying spiritual gifts. We must keep our priorities straight. According to what Paul says in the beginning of 1 Corinthians 13, this way of life is vital. All the spiritual gifts ever given are nothing if we do not have this key trait (vv. 1-2). Even the high calling of some to literally “lose all for Jesus” and become martyrs for Him (v. 3); even this is nothing, if we do not have this all-important quality of life. It is the feature that defines what our life as a Christian ought to be like.
The key word for this way of life is “love” (“charity” in the KJV). This “love” has a much different meaning than the way it is usually used in modern English. The Greek for “charity” throughout 1 Corinthians 13 and the majority of references to “love” in the Bible is agape. This type of love, one of four found in the Greek language, demands unconditional affection and benevolence. It often means giving people what they need versus what they want.
Agape is the type of love that no human has naturally. Eros, erotic love, is all too prevalent; Storge, family love, is probably the most natural love of all, since it is the first love any human feels; and even Phileo, which is important in the Scriptures, focuses on the affection involved in the love, rather than the decision to love. Any human can show affection. It takes Christ living in us to show true and unblemished agape love. Furthermore, because of the old man still living in us, no Christian is able show perfect agape love from day to day. This makes agape a very elusive goal. The Lord is calling us to this hope, to be perfect and complete in Him (Matthew 5:48). We will be fully completed and perfected one day when the kingdom of God is manifested in all its glory; but until then, we are called to continually be made more mature in Christlike love. There is always room for improvement. While the term “God’s children” is used often for Christians, the Bible never refers to “God’s adults”. We are growing up, but are never fully mature – that is, until we receive our eternal reward in the glorious day to come.

Would you like some articles for FN?

Oh yes, certainly! I have not yet started planning for next Family News, but once we get some articles we will definitely want to continue!

I made a new topic called Articles and Such. I posted one that I wrote the other day. It's short, but you're welcome to use it if you like! :)

@Rachel - So sorry I never responded to this. I may be able to use it, but unfortunately, I do not think FN is going to come out again anytime soon… I am still doing Scripture of the Month regularly though!

February 2014 Scripture of the Month

John 11:47-52
47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. 49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; 52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

Between the covers of the greatest book on earth, there is plenty of humor and irony. This passage contains some of the greatest ironies found in Scripture – partly because they are about the greatest deed that was ever done for mankind.
This meeting takes place after the raising of Lazarus. Four days in the grave, he was raised back to life in one of Jesus’ greatest recorded miracles. There was no possible room for doubt. Some Jews even believed that a soul would hover by its dead body for three days, hoping to inhabit it again, but it lost hope on the fourth day. However, Jesus proved that He could overcome even this “obstacle”. The chief priests and Pharisees began to seriously fear what impact Jesus would have on the people if his influence was unchecked. They knew that Jesus did not agree with many of their practices, and if the people at large began to follow this Man, they would lose their position of power. In their words, “all men [would] believe on him”. How ironic – even though the chief priests and Pharisees eventually did everything in their power to stop Jesus, they still could not stop His message from spreading to the far corners of the earth. In a sense, the Pharisees are prophesying their own fate, without even knowing it!
Caiaphas’ solution to their problem also contains an unconscious prophesy. He says “It is expedient…that one man should die…and that the whole nation perish not.” Of course, what Caiaphas meant is that this one Man, Jesus, whom they perceived as dangerous, should be killed so that the whole nation of Israel would not turn after His ways. But this is not exactly what Caiaphas said. Attempting to be shrewd in how he worded his accusation, he actually made a very good statement of the kingdom of God that was to come. Jesus died, not only for the people of Israel, but for all the people of the world, so that they would not perish. Caiaphas pretty much repeated what Jesus said to Nicodemus the Pharisee in John 3:16 – “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish”. Nicodemus was likely present at this meeting. I wonder if he realized the connection?
Jesus did not come to save only the nation of Israel, as was commonly thought in His day. As John understood, His mission was to save all nations and bring His people together into the collective unit called the church, also known as His bride. What a beautiful picture of His relationship with us!

BTW guys, I may not use this page for too much longer, as my SOTM is also now posted on our blog at righttome.com.

That's fine! Thanks for sharing.