Scripture:
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
John 14:6-14
Reflection:
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you. ~1 Corinthians 15:1
“If you hold fast…” So, how do we do that?
There are many ways that we can remember all that God has done for us and taught us. One way is to keep a journal. Writing down God’s blessings and the things He is teaching us is a great way to recount our experiences and gives us a way to go back and remember if we should forget.
Telling others is also a great way to strengthen our faith and can be a way to bless them as well. When you tell your story you reinforce what happened to you, and cement the truth of it in your heart. Stories witness to God’s working in our lives and teach us about His character and love. Jesus told stories, and we can tell our stories too.
Spending time in God’s word re-reading the verses that have blessed us, taught and corrected us and also searching for new verses that speak to us reminds us that God can and does communicate with us through His word, and that He cares personally for each one of us. Somewhere in the Psalms we are told to “hide God’s word in our hearts.” Memorizing our favorite verses allows the Holy Spirit to bring them to mind just when we need them.
Here are a couple of my favorite verses:
Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love. He will sing joyfully because of you.”
1 John 2:24b-25 “If what you heard from the beginning does remain in your hearts, then you in turn will remain in the Son and in the Father. He himself made us a promise and the promise is no less than this: eternal life.” (After which I wrote in my Bible: “Yipee!”)
And one more that I underlined this morning: “He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.” (Hosea 6:3b) I like this verse, because it rains a lot here in the beautiful state of Washington. I am hoping I will see the rain now as God himself falling on me as a blessing. May we all “hold fast” to the Word that saves us.
Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Bainbridge Island, Washington, and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Janice also leads women’s retreats and recently published her second book: God IS with Us. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.janicecarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].