Back to Sunday School
Remember Sunday School, where the answer to EVERY question was either: 1. Jesus, 2. Read the Bible, 3. Go to Church, and 4. Pray.
They'd share Bible verses with us, sometimes put to music, like John 3:16. They became cliche...and as we matured we set those aside while seeking deeper truths. And decades later as we further matured, we finally figure out those ARE the deepest truths. Those darn Sunday School teachers tricked us.
I'm placing several of these verses here from the Amplified Bible, so I can re-learn them and see if I can re-apply the truth they contain.
Matthew 6:33. But seek (aim
at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of
doing and being right), and then all these things taken
together will be given you besides.
My translation: Always make it my first and top priority...to be a citizen of God's kingdom, to ask him to work through me in every instance and remind me of my identity in him so I will rest in his love and security. And not only will he do that for me, he will also meet all of my needs.
1 Peter 5:6:
Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation]
under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,
7 Casting the whole of your
care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for
all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you
watchfully.
My translation: Let me understand who I am and who God is and recognize the truth that he is so far above great and awesome and I am so tiny and helpless and needy. Yet in his greatness, he calls upon me to take all of my concerns...every one one of them for all time...and celebrate his love for me by freely tossing my burdens onto himself because he doesn't want me to have to carry them. He has a love for me beyond my understanding. And at the right time, he will give me treasures here and also later well beyond what I could possibly hope for.
My translation: Let me understand who I am and who God is and recognize the truth that he is so far above great and awesome and I am so tiny and helpless and needy. Yet in his greatness, he calls upon me to take all of my concerns...every one one of them for all time...and celebrate his love for me by freely tossing my burdens onto himself because he doesn't want me to have to carry them. He has a love for me beyond my understanding. And at the right time, he will give me treasures here and also later well beyond what I could possibly hope for.
Proverbs 3:5-6:
Lean on, trust in, and be confident in
the Lord with all your heart and
mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and
He will direct and make straight and plain your paths
Psalm 37
3 Trust (lean on, rely on, and
be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed
surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.
4 Delight yourself also in the
Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your
heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord
[roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and
be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.
6 And He will make your
uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your
justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.
7 Be still and rest in
the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not
yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings
wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger and forsake
wrath; fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing.
Romans 12:
I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of
[all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies
[presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy
(devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable
(rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives
within me.
