16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith." 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21 for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools; 23 and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error. 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. 29 They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 They know God's decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.
Romans 1:16-32
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Living the love story
Ephesians 5:25-26
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word."
"I love you, so much," he says, as I look out the window of the boat cabin, blinking away tears.
"How much?"
"I love you more than sea otters."
"I love you more than ketchup, and you know how much I love ketchup."
He continues to whisper in my ear, as my tears continue to blink down my face and down to the collar of my rain coat. He waits out the storm with me even though I know he wants to be outside on the bow of the tour boat with the other brave, younger travelers and not in the stuffy cabin with the elderly folks.
After enjoying the week vacation in Alaska's cool weather camping, followed by spa treatments and fine dining, joking about corky bus drivers and mosquitoes, we end our trip looking with other spectators at ocean scenery from a large tour boat.
All week I had been harboring a quiet dream in the back of my mind- "This could be it! This could be the month! Let's see .... July, August, September ... March! Yeah, ok, March!"
But now here we sit.
The captain over the loud speaker - "If you look to the right, port side, about 2:00 you'll see a harbor seal and her baby cub!"
I roll my eyes and shake my head, "really?"
Zach continues to rub my arm and kiss my cheek and hold me. He's moved on to singing for me.
"And we're the two best friends that anyone could have! And we're the two best friends that anyone could have!"
He makes me smile, and we sing together.
"Can I get you anything?" he asks.
"Maybe a glacier?" I respond.
"A solid mass of ice on the side of a mountain, pouring into the ocean?"
"Yeah," he says, "let's go outside."
We brave the cold and rain, and soak in the chilly air, knowing we'll be flying back to Dallas tonight.
Large, blue and white ice - the bright blue amazes me. Puffins and sea gulls fly around and dive down into the ice cold water off cliffs.
"I love you, so much." I say to Zach.
"How much?"
"More than the ocean."
"More than the glacier."
Thank you, God. Thank you for Zach. Thank you. I love you, O Lord, my strength. May the humming of the waterfalls and calls of the gulls and puffins sing your praises! The wales and sea otters, and seals all Your creation displays Your wonder and Your majesty as King! You are splendid, My King!
Psalm 18:28
"You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light."
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word."
"I love you, so much," he says, as I look out the window of the boat cabin, blinking away tears.
"How much?"
"I love you more than sea otters."
"I love you more than ketchup, and you know how much I love ketchup."
He continues to whisper in my ear, as my tears continue to blink down my face and down to the collar of my rain coat. He waits out the storm with me even though I know he wants to be outside on the bow of the tour boat with the other brave, younger travelers and not in the stuffy cabin with the elderly folks.
After enjoying the week vacation in Alaska's cool weather camping, followed by spa treatments and fine dining, joking about corky bus drivers and mosquitoes, we end our trip looking with other spectators at ocean scenery from a large tour boat.
All week I had been harboring a quiet dream in the back of my mind- "This could be it! This could be the month! Let's see .... July, August, September ... March! Yeah, ok, March!"
But now here we sit.
The captain over the loud speaker - "If you look to the right, port side, about 2:00 you'll see a harbor seal and her baby cub!"
I roll my eyes and shake my head, "really?"
Zach continues to rub my arm and kiss my cheek and hold me. He's moved on to singing for me.
"And we're the two best friends that anyone could have! And we're the two best friends that anyone could have!"
He makes me smile, and we sing together.
"Can I get you anything?" he asks.
"Maybe a glacier?" I respond.
"A solid mass of ice on the side of a mountain, pouring into the ocean?"
"Yeah," he says, "let's go outside."
We brave the cold and rain, and soak in the chilly air, knowing we'll be flying back to Dallas tonight.
Large, blue and white ice - the bright blue amazes me. Puffins and sea gulls fly around and dive down into the ice cold water off cliffs.
"I love you, so much." I say to Zach.
"How much?"
"More than the ocean."
"More than the glacier."
Thank you, God. Thank you for Zach. Thank you. I love you, O Lord, my strength. May the humming of the waterfalls and calls of the gulls and puffins sing your praises! The wales and sea otters, and seals all Your creation displays Your wonder and Your majesty as King! You are splendid, My King!
Psalm 18:28
"You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light."
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