 1. After saying all these things. Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.
2. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3. And this is the way to have eternal life⏤ to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. 6. "I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8. for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me. 9. "My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. 11. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. 12. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold. 13. "Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16. They do not belong to this world anymore than I do. 17. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. 20. "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one ⏤as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 22. "I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! 25. "O righteous Father, the world doesn't know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them and I will be in them." John 17:1-26 NLT
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Romans 3:31 "In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law."⏤ Vol.1 Chap. 265/22/2017  The book of Romans. Such a rich and revealing book of the bible. I've read through Romans in one sitting. Granted, I was on a silent retreat. And, granted it took longer than an hour, but I have read through it in one sitting. I've been in several Romans Bible Studies that have lasted months. My mother's favorite book study was a Romans study written by Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse. I have to admit I love that one too. I have the four volumes in my bookcase as I write. Right now for me the most important verses of this book are found in chapter three. The last three verses of that chapter lend to much contemplation. Romans 3:29-31 NLT 29. After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles 31. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law. If I could ever get this in my head and heart. If I could only own it with every fiber of my being, I think I would live a more peaceful and contented life. "Only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law." Faith in what? In Jesus Christ as the Son, Redeemer, Savior and King. That is pretty simplistic. I know that there is much more in the book that needs to be understood. I am not debating that. I think we could spend years in the book of Romans pouring over the scripture and find so many treasures. I have found many. But right now I am trying to conquer a tendency I have in my own life that is not a good tendency. It doesn't matter whether that tendency is seen by others or deep within me, hidden for only me to see. But, I have it. God seems to peel me apart in layers. I'm an onion and he makes me aware of my tendency to sin layer at a time. As a young Christian, sometimes it wasn't so gently. I wasn't really good at listening and didn't really want to. He had to stop me and cause me to see myself in some pretty devastating situations. I wish I hadn't had to go through those times, but obviously I was too stubborn to be taught any other way. Thus, those times were a wealth of growth. But, right now I am dealing with something that I don't want in my life anymore. Will I ever remove it completely, maybe not. But I don't want it to have such a pull in my spirit. So, as I was reading Romans recently my heart zeroed in on this particular scripture and I have been pondering it ever since. How do I step out in faith deeply enough to bring me to fulfill the conquering of this issue? I don't know. But, I know that God is pleased that I am pondering it. I know that he is waiting patiently for me to take one step, and sometimes leaps into Him to find the peace that passes all understanding. To find the strength to move beyond this. To find the beauty in the journey of sanctification that He is bringing me through. We are not here on this earth to continue in our indulgence of sin. We are here to have faith in Him and to desire, with His power and help, to conquer the destructive parts of our body, soul, and spirit. Today, I begin once again to tear at the edge of another onion layer. I encourage you to join me. I have no doubt, you have your own. Can I have faith enough in the one God? Can I have faith to let God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will sanctify me. Can I allow my Redeemer, my Savior, my Friend, my King to have access enough into my heart and trust him to bring me to healing in this thing? Can you? Cause, isn't that really what it is all about? A Jesus follower. Becoming more and more like Jesus. We all grow when we share our faith. Feel free to add a comment. We're all here together. Because He is the I AM, I am robyn rochelle cox Every Christian needs to be reading and reflecting regularly, hopefully daily, on the bible. Doing this in community is ideal. The purpose of this website is to provide a place to grow in our personal depth with God. We do that in RR&BC membership by reading portions of scripture daily, having pondering questions asked, and sharing our walks together. You are invited to join us in our community. A place of personal reflection and growth for all Christians. Find out more here: Reading & Reflection, Bible Community Problems? Please contact Biff at rrandbc@readthebiblewithrobyncox.com
Unsubscribe? Feel free at anytime. Simply write Unsubscribe on the subject line of an email: rrandbc@readthebiblewithrobyncox.com RR&BC, LLC©2016 All writing is protected under copyright laws. NO COPYING ALLOWED on private membership page.  "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. A wonderful promise from our sweet Messiah. I know that often I have sought rest. Through the struggles in my life, there have been moments I have rested in the midst of total chaos and moments that I have not. I find that most of my worries come when I have not handed everything off to the Lord and I am percolating over them over and over again. I have seasons in which I am better at letting go than others. I have even had cycles or years that I have been better than others. "Through the Prayer of Rest, God places his children in the eye of the storm. When all around us is chaos and confusion, deep within we know stability and serenity." Richard Foster Some wonderful exercises that have catapulted me through more opportunities to release those worries more productively were discovered during my thirties. I was a single mother of three, newly graduated from University, elementary teacher. There are three Classical Practices that lead us into that Prayer of Rest more readily. 1. Solitude 2. Silence 3. Recollection 1. Solitude slows everything down. I find that seeking a retreat center, a convent, a prayer house, or even going into a hotel alone for a few days affords me solitude. I do not recommend staying at home for this practice. That doesn't mean that you have to make a big deal about it. I have found taking a drive up into the mountains with my harp, or journal for an afternoon or a day tends to give me perspective. Where is your favorite place of connection with nature? Where is you favorite place to get lost in your thoughts? Find a park, a spot in your backyard, or even a room in your home ⏤if you can be there alone. For many years I scheduled my Solitude time during the year. I started with one time a year and worked up to four. These were times away for 24 or 48 hours. They were wonderful and produced much rest. I have also heard of people taking a full eight hours of retreat one time a month. Jesus is a great example of Solitude. He sought it often. He removed himself from the crowds to go off and pray. If Jesus needed frequent times of Solitude, I am thinking I probably do to. The goal is to simplify the hours. Finding simplicity in the minutes slows me down. It allows me to think. It allows me to connect with my inner thoughts to take them to God in a deeper manner. By not being distracted by TV/Movies, daily chores, digital devices, or people I can slow down my thoughts long enough to hear the still small voice. I enter into the Holy of Holies. I find my strength is found in God and God alone. You can too. 2. Intentional Silence allows us to let go of our determination to control. During our time of silence I seek to remove anything that is not God oriented. I take my bible, my journal, and a pen. I have a few other things I like to take into my times of silence. I have a favorite coffee cup and a favorite prayer shawl. These I bring with me on those retreats that are planned. Or, I take them with me to the mountains, to the hotel room, to the silent retreat center, to my favorite red prayer chair. I still find that the most profitable is in a convent or a prayer house. Usually less expensive, food is provided, and they are pretty strict about digital equipment, so I am forced to leave my computer behind. By allowing God to take a front and center place in my mind, I have an opportunity to see how I am trying to control what is not mine to control. It is much easier to drop those controls when they are recognized and when I am being filled up with time in God. And yes, I do mean time IN God, not time WITH God. By entering his Word, I am entering into Him. 3. Recollection means focus. Who am I and why am I here? These are the questions of Recollection. Do you know your purpose for living this life? Do you have a life verse that has been given to you during a time of questioning your purpose for living? Have you ever sought for an answer as to why God made you the way He did? Are you aware where God is calling you this year? this season? By taking some time in Solitude and in Silence you are ushering yourself into the ability to find the space for the Prayer of Rest. By asking yourself some hard questions and focusing on God's character for the answers, you might be surprised how openly you cry out in Prayer. And how that Prayer Rests you. You have found the Prayer of Rest. I encourage you to move forward into these opportunities. Diving into the word of God is the biggest resource for each of these steps becoming profitable. I find that when I am in the Word of God on a daily basis, I am much more willing to take these three classical steps to usher myself into time to enter the Prayer of Rest. May you find Him more intimately every day you live. Because He IS the I AM, i am, robyn rochelle cox Robyn and Biff Cox RR&BC, LLC © https://www.readthebiblewithrobyncox.com/ Problems? Please contact Biff at rrandbc@readthebiblewithrobyncox.com
Unsubscribe? Feel free at anytime. Simply write Unsubscribe on the subject line of an email: rrandbc@readthebiblewithrobyncox.com RR&BC, LLC©2016 All writing is protected under copyright laws. NO COPYING ALLOWED on private membership page.  Lot's wife. The woman that turned into a pillar of salt. Genesis 19 tells the story. In the Jewish tradition she has a name: "Ado" or "Edith". In the bible she remains nameless. I've read several articles and commentaries on this event. There are reasons given for not looking back.
I am more interested in the rest of the story. In Luke 17 Jesus refers to Lot's wife. When the Pharisees ask Jesus to tell them when the Kingdom of God was coming. His answer: "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, "Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you." Luke 17:20-21. He left it there with the Pharisees, was He trying to get their attention, to make a plea to look up and see Him as the Messiah that He was? I wonder. But later when with his disciples he goes a bit deeper. He is preparing the disciples for some tough days ahead. He reminds them to stay true to the course He has given them. Even when the days grow gloomy. Don't get side-tracked. He reminds them of Noah and how during preparations of the ark until it was time to go. They just kept living life. Accepting the truth that the flood would come, they just didn't know when. "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them." Luke 17: 26-27. And then He reminds them of Lot. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot; they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them.⏤it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. Luke 17:28-30. He warns them to be prepared in heart and that is the most important thing to hold onto, not life as it is, but life as it is becoming. And then He says, "Remember Lot's wife." Luke:17:32 Three small words. But look at the verse that follows. "Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it." Luke 17:33. Lot's wife, from the words of Jesus, is a reminder to be available to do whatever it is that He wants me to do. To let go of what I think I am to be and be who I am now. Live into where I am heading. Don't hold onto the plans I made, step into the plan He is making for me now. The flood, the new city. My old dreams can die and my new dreams are yet to arrive. Prepare for the ark, but live life until the flood arrives. Walk through the days of life as Lot's family was doing until the Angels said: "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you..." Luke 19:17 He is building a new thing. He brought a new world with Noah. He brought Lot to a new city. But, Lot's wife didn't make it. She got stuck looking behind. May you move forward in your life today. Because He IS the I AM, i am robyn rochelle cox RR&BC,LL© All writings protected by copyright laws. Contact author or link to this page or website if you use or reference.  Anniversaries are a good time to ponder LOVE. My hubby and I have one coming up this week. As I try to wrap my head around the love I am experiencing with my husband, the fact that we met four years ago and how our lives have changed in these long/short four years, I remember the greatest love we both have in each of our lives. I'm blessed to love a man who, like me, loves God more than anything else in the world. My husband lost a powerful man in his life recently. The headmaster from the school of his childhood. BC attended his memorial service at a Quaker Friends School on Saturday. I have no doubt that those years in that school built godly character into my husband's life. One of the reasons I think hubby and I have been so well suited together is my family Mennonite background and his family Quaker background. Neither of us are in these denominations any longer, but the formulation of our childhoods are deeply rooted in the principals of God, peace, simplicity, and many other spiritual disciplines. The Love we have for each other is in direct relation to the Love that we have found in God. I decided to share some words from a blog I sometimes read. "So, from David Roper, something wonderful to ponder. Lovesick and Dumbfounded Carolyn and I often spend our quiet times reading from A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants, an Upper Room publication (If you've visited Shepherd's Rest you've seen the copies in each bedroom.) The Old Testament passage for this morning was Zephaniah 3:17. With apologies to Zephaniah and Bruce Waltke, my old Hebrew professor, here is my translation...The LORD, your God is with you--your hero, mighty to save!He takes great delight in you. He is speechless with love for you. Every time he thinks of you he breaks into joyful song!-Zephaniah 3:17 I'm awed by the notion that God takes great delight in me and breaks into song each time he thinks of my name. But it's the phrase I render, "He is speechless with love for you" that captivated me. The verse is usually translated, "He will be quiet in his love," or in some translations, "He will quiet you." But the verb doesn't suggest tranquility or rest. It actually means, "to strike dumb."[1] And since the verb is in parallel with other verbs that suggest God's strong emotions ("takes great delight," and "breaks into joyful song") it must point to what He himself feels. I wonder then: Could the analogy be that of a lovesick swain who is bowled-over, flabbergasted and dumb-founded by his love for the beloved-so overcome with fondness that he is tongue-tied? Is God, in some inexplicable, anthropomorphic way, "struck dumb" with love each time he thinks of us? If so, to be loved like this is, in turn, to be rendered speechless. As Isaiah would say, "I am undone."And who is it that God so loves? One who is strong and able, brilliant, and breathtakingly beautiful? No, it is one who is "weak and the weary... who takes refuge in the name of the LORD" (Zephaniah 3:12). " ...He is speechless with love for you. ...He is speechless with love for you. ...He is speechless with love for you. I'm pondering the love that breaks forth from my LORD Do you realize that He is speechless with love for you? He is.  Because He IS the I AM, i am,
robyn rochelle cox Please contact Biff at rrandbc@readthebiblewithrobyncox.com email: rrandbc@readthebiblewithrobyncox.com RR&BC, LLC©2016 All writing is protected under copyright laws. |
Robyn Rochelle Cox
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