Zephaniah 2:14

Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their hooting will echo through the windows, rubble will fill the doorways, the beams of cedar will be exposed.

Here Zephaniah is talking about the destruction of the nations. I thought this was such beautiful language. The poetry of the Bible is amazing. "Their hooting will echo through the windows..."

Lord, thank you for the beautiful language of the Bible. Thank you for music, art and all things creative. Amen.

Zephaniah 1:12

At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, 'The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.'

Zephaniah is a prophet warning about the Day of the Lord, judgement day. I find it interesting that in this verse he is not talking about all the evil things that people might do, he is simply talking about doing nothing, about being complacent and thinking the Lord will do nothing, good or bad.

Lord, thank you for salvation, for sending your Son to be our sacrifice. I pray that I will be active in my belief and not complacent. Amen.

Colossians 4:12

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

I love that phrase wrestling in prayer. That is certainly not a cursory little before dinner prayer. That is a prayer involving deep thought and longing. I see the image of Jacob wrestling with God. And the wrestling mentioned in this passage is not even personal but it is for others. Who should you be wrestling in prayer about today?

(As I was writing the above words, I received a facebook friend request. I think I know who I'm supposed to pray for.)

Lord, Thank you for the gift of prayer. Lord you know who I'm praying for. Amen.

Colossians 4:6

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

I have thought a lot over the last year or so about our reactions and how important our reactions to situations are. the way we automatically react show so much about who we are on the inside. If our conversation is always full of grace, seasoned with salt, then even in difficult situations it will be the same. If we allow ourselves to fly off the handle, then we certainly will in difficult situations.

Lord, only with your help can we always keep our conversation full of grace season with salt. Lord, help us to know how to answer everyone in every situation. Amen.

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Everything we do, we do to the glory of God, from the great to the mundane, even to our jobs. A few verses later in verse 23 we are told "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,".

Lord , I pray that everything I do, I do to your glory, in your name, giving thanks to God, and with all my heart. Amen.

Colossians 3:16

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Singing encompasses so many areas of our Christian walk. In this passage alone shows teaching, admonishing, and thankfulness.

Lord, Thank you for the gift of song. Amen.

Revelation 4:8

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’
who was, and is, and is to come.”

I am working on a lesson about some of the songs that talk about the holiness of God. Holy Holy Holy is one of them. The inspiration for this song is mostly from Revelation 4. This glimpse into the Throne Room of God is beyond our wildest dreams. The definition of holy is different or set apart. I would say that the entire scene is different and set apart along with every creature in it. The fact that all of these holy things are worshiping God makes him the most holy.

Lord, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.

Colossians 3:2

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

This passage is discussing our earthly natures. He passages before this say human rules lack value in restraining sensual indulgence. So my question was, "What does?". The next few verses answer that question with setting our minds on things above and not earthly things. My struggle is with food. My "desire and greed, which is idolatry (v. 5)" causes me to overeat. In the past few years I have worked on this struggle and have lost a significant amount of weight, but the struggle is still there and I still need to lose more. I have never wanted to put my struggle with food into the spiritual reaalm, but I think I have to finally admit that it is idolatry. God gives me the answer. Set my mind on things above and not earthly things. If I am studying and focusing on God I will not be focusing on food. When I am sitting around and watching TV and focusing on earthly things, then I'm focusing on food.

Lord, I want to set my mind on things above and not on earthly things. Please help me with my struggle with food. Amen.

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

I just needed this today.

Lord, I will not fear, for you are with me. Amen.

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

The WBS lesson today talked about our choice in serving God and overcoming temptations. 

"Satan and his angels are powerful spirits. The truth of the matter is that, even with our power of choice, we would have no hope if God did not help us. In Ephesians 6:10, Paul says that the way to win the fight is to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”"

Without God's help, we have no hope. We have to rely on his power.

Lord, I want to rely you your strength and power. Amen.

John1:17

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ

Today's world Bible School lesson was about the old and new covenants. the following are my comments to a student answer.

I find that so many people I talk to don't understand the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Understanding this difference is really fundamental to understanding the Bible. I have talked to friends who point out some of the strange commandments in the Old Testament and yes, they are right there are some strange commandments. But today we are not under those laws. We are under the law of Christ. I think of it as the way we bring up our children. When our children are very small we make very clear rules for them,  they simply have to trust us and obey us.  But as they get older they have to make decisions on their own and they aren't just following our rules anymore. With my son I use this phrase "trust, obey, do the right thing". As a toddler my child just simply had to trust me and obey me. I knew what was best for him. But as he gets older he will do the right things for the sake of doing the right thing. When he's little I tell him to clean his room. If he trusts me he will do it because I told him to.  As he gets older I am hoping that eventually he will learn to keep it clean just because it's the right thing to do, not because his mom calles him everyday and tells him to clean his house. I think it's the same with God. In the first covenant, the Israelites were given very clear instructions. The people had to trust him and simply obey God. Now we still trust and obey him, but the New Testament gives us guidance to doing the right thing.

Lord, please help us to do the right thing. Amen.

Psalm 139:7-10

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.

This verse is from another WBS lesson I am grading.

I am struggling right now with continuing my regular Bible study vs grading World Bible School lessons. I think I may need to return my personal bible study time to the morning and grade lessons in the evening.

Lord, please help me with this new outreach opportunity. Help me to know your ways and peruse your purposes. Amen.

Psalm 94:9

Does He who implanted the ear not hear? Does He who formed the eye not see?

I was grading another World Bible School lesson this morning and this scripture struck me. The lesson was speaking about how God speaks to us through the prophets. Logically this verse implies if God formed the mouth does he not speak. Personally, I believe God speaks to me every day, but not just randomly. He speaks to me when I have asked him to speak to me. Before a Bible study session I always pray for God to speak to me, to show me what he wants me to learn in this lesson. I also believe he uses friends, movies, sermons, whatever to get our attention. If I see something 3 times then I usually think , "Ok God, are you trying to tell me something here?"

Lord, help me to listen for your voice. Amen.

Psalm 139:14

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well

I am grading another WBS lesson this morning. The lesson is: God Has Spoken Through Nature.  Here is a quote I like from the lesson related to the scripture above.

The brain of even the smallest child has many more active parts than all the stars the eye sees at night! Our minds work with great thoughts. Our eyes see beauty in living colors. The human spirit has power to choose and to love. Our hearts reach high in praise and worship.

Lord, Thank you for your amazing creation, including us. The amazing universe, earth and all the creations in it show us your amazing design and power. Lord, you are an awesome engineer! Amen.

Colossians 1:17

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

The verses before this one are talking about the creation and how it was all created in Christ. This verse has a couple of meanings for me . First,  it almost seems to have something to do with the fabric of the universe or the molecules used to create everything or something like that. Something very fundamental and "sciency". Second, this verse lets me know that when my world is falling apart, Christ holds all things together. Christ is there to support us.

Lord, you are so amazing. You knitted together the fabric of our universe. You created a son to be your image. Your son holds all things together. Amen.

Philippians 1:1

I thank my God every time I think of you.

Today is my husband's birthday. The verse above is my verse for him and has been for many years. Happy birthday John! We had a birthday celebration this morning so I didn't get to study, so I thought I would share this verse in his honor.

Lord, thank you so much for my sweet,wonderful husband, John Gattis. Please bless him throughout this year and always. Amen.

World Bible School

crystal-gattis.worldbibleschool.org

I graded my first World Bible School lesson this morning. What a great tool for teaching others about Christ. If you would like to study with me, click on the link above.

Lord, Thank you so much for this opportunity to share you and your son with others. Please bless these students on their faith journey. Amen.

Colossians 1:11

being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,

In this scripture Paul is praying for the Colossian church.  We have all heard that praying for patience and endurance might be a dangerous thing because to learn these things we have to experience them, but by tapping into God's power and might we are tapping into an infinite resource. God can get us through any situation that requires great endurance or patience.

Dear Lord, please strengthen me with all power according to your glorious might so that I may have great endurance and patience. Amen.

Colossians 1:1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

An apostle by the will of God, that statement really made me think. I'm a Christian by the will of God. That is so powerful. I'm a Christian not because I chose to follow Christ but because God chose for me to follow Christ. I certainly had a choice not to, but without God's will involved he would not be possible for me to follow Christ.

Lord,  thank you so much for choosing me to be a Christian. Please help me to always follow your will. Thank you for your guidance. Amen.

Philippians 4:5

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Another verse I need today. No matter what the situation, I am called to bring glory to God. I want people to know I am a Christian based on the person they see every day. (I guess people do see Christ in me. They usually do not cuss around me and when they do they apologize.)

Lord, I pray that my gentleness is evident to all. I will behave in a manner that shows I understand you are near. I love you Lord and I want to bring you glory. Amen.