Life Verses

What is a life verse? A life verse is a verse that you make your foundation for your life. Of course the entire Bible should be our foundation for life, but a life verse is a special word from the Lord that cements your life and your purpose as you follow God throughout your life.

My personal life verse is 2nd Corinthians 12:9 - And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

When our first son was on his way, we sat for hours praying and picking out names for him. When we settled on Luke, which I loved because it was from the Bible and meant "bringer of light," his life verse came very easily.

Luke's life verse is Matthew 5:16 - Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven. 

Our second son's name came very easily. One day I said, "I love the name Nathan," and my husband said, "Me too." It was easy-peasy. Coming up with his life verse didn't come during the pregnancy like it did with Luke's. After the death of his twin sister, each day I would say a verse over him and me.

Nathan's life verse is Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

Our daughter's name is Alexis Faith, which means "defender of faith." When she passed away, my faith was tested more than any other time in my life so far. We wanted a Bible verse on her headstone, and looking at "faith" in the Bible, the most fitting one became her life verse.

Alexis' life verse is Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Our third son's name was the hardest name to figure out. I guess when you have lots of one gender it gets harder. Once we unanimously agreed on Benjamin, I found his life verse pretty easily.

Benjamin's life verse is Deuteronomy 33:12 - Of Benjamin he said: "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him, who shelters him all the day long; and He shall dwell between his shoulders."

I hope this has encouraged you to prayerfully consider a life verse for yourself and/or your children. 

I would love to hear yours. :) 

Appreciation

D.L. Moody said, "Character is what a man is in the dark."

Instilling Godly character into our kids is crucial. Character is who they truly are.
After reading and highlighting so much of an awesome book,
Parenting With Scripture, by Kara Durbin,
I decided to make Character Studies for my kids and I am going to share one with you today.

Basically, you look up the definition of the character trait. Then, there is a verse to memorize.
Then, there is a passage of Scripture that illuminates the character trait in action.
After reading the passage, there are Observation and Application questions to go through.
Lastly, a place for prayer is given to encourage a time of prayer.

The first one is on Appreciation. Who doesn't appreciate being appreciated?
But what I have realized that more important than being appreciated by others
is having an attitude of appreciation toward God and others.

APPRECIATION

Word to Look Up: appreciation:

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Verse(s) to Memorize: Psalm 100:4:

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Scripture to Read/Study:
Luke 17:11-19:
¹¹ Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem
    that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
¹² Then as He entered a certain village,
    there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.
¹³ And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
¹⁴ So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
    And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.
¹⁵ And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned,
    and with a loud voice glorified God,
¹⁶ and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
¹⁷ So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
¹⁸ Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
¹⁹ And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

Questions to Answer:

Who are the key people in this lesson?

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Describe 9 Lepers: ________________________________________________________ 

Describe 1 Leper: _________________________________________________________

What happens?

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How does the 1 leper stand out?

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What does Jesus say to him?

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Application to Plan:

What is the key thing you learned from this lesson?

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 How can you apply what you learned from this lesson?

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Prayer to Pray:

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If you need an easier-to-print PDF version, please e-mail me at mightyacorns613@hotmail.com

Be Humble

Help/Serve Others
   Mark 9:35 – “If anyone desires to be first, 
                        he shall be last of all and servant of all.” – Jesus
   Mark 10:43-45 – ⁴³ Whoever desires to become great among you 
                                    shall be your servant. 
                               ⁴⁴ And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 
                               ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”

“Me first,” is not just something that little kids say.
It’s a heart attitude that many people struggle with.
Jesus told His disciples if they wanted to be first, they should be last and serve everyone.
How can you turn from “me first” to “me last”? How can you serve others?

Use Your Gifts for Others, Not Yourself
  1^st Peter 4:10 – Each of you should use whatever gift you have received
                            to serve others.
  God has given everyone different gifts, not to use for themselves, but for others.
  What gifts has God given you? How can you use them for others?

Mimic/Model Jesus to Others
   Philippians 2:3-11 – ³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit,
                                      but in lowliness of mind
                                      let each esteem others better than himself. 
                                    ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests,
                                      but also for the interests of others.
                                    ⁵ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 
                                    ⁶ who, being in the form of God,
                                       did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 
                                    ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation,
                                       taking the form of a bondservant, 
                                      and coming in the likeness of men. 
                                    ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
                                       He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point
                                       of death, even the death of the cross. 
                                    ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him
                                      and given Him the name which is above every name, 
                                    ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
                                       of those in heaven, and of those on earth,
                                       and of those under the earth, 
                                    ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
                                       to the glory of God the Father.
When we come to Jesus as believers, we are to be like Jesus.
Jesus was a humble servant.
How are you mimicking Jesus to others? How can you model Jesus to others?

Be Honest With Others About Your Mistakes and Sins
  James 5:16 – Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another,
                        that you may be healed.
We all sin (Romans 3:23).
We don’t have to hide that from others and try to look like we are awesome.
How can you humble yourself and share your mistakes and sins with others?

Listen to Others
  Proverbs 12:15 – The wise listen to advice.
  Humble people listen to others. How can you be a better listener?

Edify/Build Up Others
  Romans 15:2 – Each of us should be concerned for our neighbors’ good,
                           to build them up (edify them).
  Humble people look for ways to build up others. How can you build others up?