So…round one of the “let’s be real with our team” questions has gone well. That 1st question was brought to you by your amazing leader, Seth Simonson! It was great to hear how God has led you to this point on this incredible journey He has us on. I’m proud of the 9 of you who posted your response to the first question. If you haven’t posted your response, please do so as soon as possible. Our next question is brought to you by your fearless leader, Melissa Virts. Let’s shoot to have all 26 of us answer this one…
What is one Bible verse or passage that represents the theme of your life lately, and why?
“Because I love [Kaitlin],I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for [Kaitlin],
I cannot remain silent…The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—a splendid crown in the hand of God.
Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”
or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”
and “The Bride of God,”for the Lord delights in you
and will claim you as his bride.” Isaiah 62:1-4
Since the beginning of the year I’ve been going through a lot of growth and healing, sometimes I forget what God has done for me. Then I read these verses from time-to-time and remember that He wants me, that when I’m far from Him He YEARNS for me to come to Him, and be called by my true name- “The Bride of God.” =)
Kylie! That was a BEAUTIFUL verse of how we should be on this trip! =D I love it.
Melissa- That is an amazing verse, and chapter. I totally understand how you feel, God has been dealing with me about the same thing this year…I’ll have to get more into it when we share our God-stories. But that is beautiful. Another good book to read is “Authentic Beauty” by Lisa Ludy, it deals with the same thing, and becoming Christ’s lily-white princess/bride. I’m reading it now, it’s really good.
Psalms 119:28 “My soul is weary with sorrow: strengthen me according to your word.”
I feel this verse represents whats been going on lately with me since I just finished my junior year in high school and I was just very stressed with studying for finals, the SATs and the ACT, and I really needed his strength to help pull me through. Thank God it’s summer now but also I’ve been feeling sad over the many friends that will be leaving for college in a couple of months and for some inexplicable reason at random times I would be overcome with a sense of sadness. I’ve meditated on it for a bit and I decided i should seek strength from God by getting closer to him and that also somewhat led me to joining this mission trip.
I can’t pick just one so heres my favorites
Psalms 34:4″I sought the Lord, and he answered me, he delivered me from all my fears”
Hebrews 13:5-7 ” Never will i Leave you, never will i forsake you” so we say with confidence,”The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid: WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?”
Psalms 37:4 ” Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart”
This past year has been spiritually up adn down for me i’ve fallen to the lowest point and have learned from it adn and continuing to grow and am still healing these verses mean so much to me and have helped me to heal. I also struggle with patience!!A lot!! sometimes it is very hard for me to wait on God, but He won’t get me where He wants me to go until I’m ready to get there!And i love him for that. so please pray that i can gaon even a little patience
I would have to say the WHOLE passage of Psalm 26.
(I would type it out but its a little long:) )
I would say this because it opened my eyes I guess you could say and it reminded me about how much I need to rely on God and how God will sometimes give us tests to see where our hearts/motives are really.
I guess you could say that it gives me hope when times get rough.
I absolutely LOVE 1 Corinthians 13. Yes it is the well-known “Love” passage, but I like it because you can really delve into it and get more than the average glance-over. I feel like this describes my life right now because I am really focusing on Love and showing God’s love to others through my actions.
I am just a really loving person 🙂
“L’amore non avrà mai fine.” – 1 Corinzi 13:8
My pastor gave us this passage a few months ago, and I have sort of made it my theme verse for this trip.
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
For this trip lets all become Puerto Rican to save the Puerto Ricans! That is my goal. It worked for Paul, so it should work for us!
These passages reflect a theme in my life lately…
Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you.”
God’s been renewing my heart and bringing me to a place of restoration. He’s rocking my world as He teaches me about His love, how to cherish my heart like He does, and how to live a life that is simply a response to His love for me.
This verse represents my life right now:
“I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up out of a horrible pit…and set my feet upon a rock”
Psalm 40:1-2
I feel like this verse represents my life right now because before him I didn’t know where to go or how to deal with the things in my life but hes taken me from that place and showed me a place of love and kindness and I’m very thankful for it.
The verse that represents the theme of my life lately would probably be Proverbs 3:5-9
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones. Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase;
With me going on this trip and just certain things going on right now in my life, this verse helps me out a lot!
I am learning more everyday to trust in Him more and more. I am seeing that I need to listen to Him and follow His plans for me, instead of making all my decisions based on what I want to do. He is teaching me how to be wiser and I can’t wait to see what He is going to do with me on this trip!!
For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. Isaiah 54:5
God has been revealing Himself to me through my lack of a husband lately. I am coming to realize that all I want in a husband is perfectly fulfilled in who God is (He loves, protects, cherishes, and provides for me way better than any human man ever could!). I read an amazing book called “Falling in Love with Jesus” and am starting to learn how Jesus wants to be my number one love, whether I’m single or married. His faithfulness and love for me are blowing me away as I grow into a more intimate relationship with Him. That being said, I’m realizing that I’m an awful lot like Gomer (Hosea’s wife who he has to keep buying back out of a life of prostitution). I have this perfect love offered to me, but how easily I run to cheap distractions and let them get ahold of my heart. So I’m praying that God will help me become a better, more faithful, more steadfast “wife.”
Prov. 13:20 ” He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffersharm.”
This past year I have lost my 2 best friends. Neithor of them were christians. They didn’t ever put down my faith, but at the same time they never encouraged me to grow in my faith. It is through loosing them that i was able to grow even more and to gain some very strong christian friends that i love to death and whom encourage me everyday to do and be what God wants me to do and to not worry about what is here on earth because we are only here for a minute compared to our eternity with him!!
The verse that is the theme of my life right now is:
“…everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:7 in the ESV version.
Lately, I have felt a call to ministry stronger than ever before. I have always felt this calling eversince I was really little, that God wanted me to use my life to serve Him through either missions or ministry. I would try to think of other career options (art teacher, teacher, etc.) but none of them ever felt right. The only option that has given me peace in my heart is the calling I feel to ministry. I have so much knowledge, I want to share it with everyone. I want to tell everyone about what Jesus has done for me and for them!! I want to tell everyone that God made them for a reason, that they are loved, that they are cared for by an ever-loving, ever-present Father who sent His Son to die for them!! We who don’t deserve such love, we who are like the adulterous woman described in Ezekiel Chapter 13 (good image of how deep God’s love is for us, by the way, you should check it out!). He loves us anyway, He forgave us, He wiped our slate clean.
This call has been ever so strong lately, and I feel it so intensely in my heart. Especially considering where i’m at in life right nowa recent high school grad, already enrolled in College and kind of waiting for my future to unfold. To see where God is going to take me, and how He is going to use me.
sorry, i posted that last comment too early- I wasn’t done yet! lol.
Well, anyway that specific verse fits me lately because I’ve been realizing more and more that I was created for His glory. I want to spend my life doing what He wants me to do; I want to glorify Him.