A lot is going on up here right now *points to head* and a lot is going on down here too *points to heart*. So in times like these, when I'm not specifically certain of what to look for, I open up my Bible and flip through it, obscure, well-known, front to back, back to front, side to side, all around... and God shows up with something I really need to read. Here are a few of the most recent passages and my summaries of them, all taken from the New Living Translation version.

1) Proverbs 16:1-3

"We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed."

We can go any way we want, but no way compares with the path the Lord establishes for us. He gives us reason and purpose for everything we do.

2) Hosea 14:1-2

"Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, 'Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises.'"

Plead to go back to the start with God, and ask him to take away our transgressions and temptations, to forgive us.

3) Nahum 1:2-3

"The Lord is a jealous God., filled with vengeance and rage. He takes revenge on all who oppose him and continues to rage against his enemies! The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet."

God is powerful. He will always be fair. His way is just. Nothing is too big or in the way for God.

4) Daniel 4:35

"All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, 'What do you mean by doing these things?''

There is no authority higher than God and we can't make anyone else be that. Our motivation to please God cannot stem from a motivation to please an earthly thing. God is first, because he is.

5) Psalm 25:4-5

"Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me."

My life is God's and God's alone. I will trust his path and it will lead me to truth.

6) Malachi 4:2-3

"'But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,' says the Lord of Heaven's Armies."

Whoever chooses to love the Lord more than anything will soon be lifted high in light, and will rise over the darkness in triumph. Endless joy is coming for those who believe.

7) 1 Kings 3:14

"'And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.'"

Give him your everything, be all-in on God, and eternal life is coming your way.

8) Mark 8:36

"And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?"

What's so special about down here if you don't reach what's waiting up there?

9) 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

"Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one."

Pray for all who need protection from evil, love for enemies, and God's purity enter our hearts always.

10) 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions and troubled that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

I am nothing except with Jesus. He is so strong and I am so weak that as I put my identity in his power, his glory is revealed through me.

Open your Bible. If I've learned one thing in the past three weeks, it's that God's Word constantly has new lessons to teach us. Every day diving in and pursuing God more and more is the biggest thing I look forward to each day. Find your verses. It makes all the difference.

-JM