25 Encouraging Scripture Verses for Those Who are Single

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Lynn

ffb0a3722265e7f578f381dcd06d01b6In my church there are a large number of single adults, several widowers and many couples and families who are facing divorce or have gone through divorce.  I know many young adults who do not see marriage in their future and are totally okay with that.  If you are a single adult, a widower, or someone who has been through or going through divorce, know that God has a plan and a purpose for you.  God cries and intercedes for you so that you will find that peace that surpasses understanding after the loss of a spouse either through death or through divorce.  He loves and cares for you.  These verses are for you.

1 Corinthians 7:32-35  “I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.  I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 6:14  “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”

Isaiah 41:10  “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Hosea 2:19-20  “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.  I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.”

Mark 12:25  “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.”

Song of Solomon 3:5  “Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”

Matthew 6:33  “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Isaiah 54:5  “For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.”

Isaiah 34:16  “Look in the scroll of the Lord and read: None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate.  For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together.”

John 15: 5  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:16-17  “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.”

Hebrews 13:5  “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

1 Timothy 6:6-8  “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

Isaiah 43:1-2  “But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.   When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Matthew 28:18-20  “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Joel 2:25  “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you.”

Matthew 20:25-28  “Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

James 1:5  “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Isaiah 55:8-9  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 30:18  “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him!

Isaiah 40:31  “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. “

Lamentations 3:25  “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.”

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8  “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”

Numbers 6: 24-26  “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

2 Peter 3:18  “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever! Amen.”

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

 

 

 

 

 

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Back in the Day

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Lynn

I-miss-the-good-old-daysI don’t like to admit it, my husband is in serious denial of course, but with him having celebrated a birthday “milestone” – he calls it a “millstone” hahaha…we have to accept the fact that we are not “whippersnappers” anymore!  Born in the 50’s, children of the 60’s, teens of the 70’s, young marrieds of the 80’s, survivors of the 90’s and parenting teens in the new millennium…yep…we were once “Baby Boomers” but now we’re looking forward to our retirement years.

I remember MY parents talking about the “good ole days” and my being bored to tears hearing how they played with a tire rim and a stick for fun; Ice cream sodas and cherry colas that cost less than a quarter; poodle skirts and bobby socks, all the fashion rage.  Now I find myself reminiscing about my childhood to my kids, and I see their eyes roll and they zone out in the same respectful boredom.

A friend sent this to me the other day and I couldn’t help but smile.  To those of you who are reluctantly heading into those middle aged years, enjoy!  To their children and mine…go ahead and zone out for awhile, but one day you’ll be looking back and it will be YOUR kids tuning YOU out.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, ate tuna from a can and did not get tested for diabetes.

We were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids, locks on doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we wore baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants and children we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick-up truck on a warm day was a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon.  We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar and we weren’t overweight…Why?

Because we were always outside playing…that’s why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day.  As long as we were back when the streetlights came on and in time for supper, our parents didn’t worry about us.

No one was able to reach us all day, and we were okay.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps of lumber and then ride them down the hills and forget we had no brakes.  After running into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem…or we didn’t care because it was just as much fun to crash into the bushes!

We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, and X-Boxes.  No iPhones, iPods, or computers.  There were no video games, cable T.V., PVR’s, DVD’s, surround-sound, internet, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, and made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode our bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell or just walked in to talk to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.  Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.  They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past sixty years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We have known freedom, failure, success and responsibility and we learned how to deal with it all.

If you are one of them, Congratulations!  Consider yourself lucky to have grown up during those years before government regulated everything in our lives “for our own good”.

Tell your kids so they know how brave and lucky their parents were.  Better yet…tell them to turn off their X-Boxes, computers, and iPods for a couple of hours and go out and toss a ball with them.  Don’t be ashamed to tell them of the “good ‘ole days”, because they were some of the best years of your life!

 



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A Tangled Web Indeed

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Lynn

“Oh what a tangled web we weave,

When first we practice to deceive!”

Sir Walter Scott, Marmion, Canto vi. Stanza 17.

“You have eyes in the back of your head, Mom!” my daughter complained when I caught her in the act of doing something she knew I would not approve of.  She was only a child then, but my kids have many times complained that they could not “get away with anything” and often wondered how it was that I could discover so quickly any of their little acts of rebellion or wrong-doing.  I told them that God answers prayer, particularly my one prayer that He would catch them in their “sin” before they would be irreversibly harmed.  God honoured that prayer through each of my children’s lives as they grew into adulthood, however I discovered that there were still times that God allowed them to wallow awhile in their rebelliousness to teach them valuable life lessons.  He taught them that there are always consequences to sin.

My kids know that one of the worst things they can do is to lie to their father and me.  No matter how much they may try to cover, bend, sway, misdirect, make excuses etc., their lies always seem to come to light, and there are always consequences.  Our family values honesty and all of us know that it is better to admit up to it right away rather than add dishonesty onto it.  Committing a wrong is one thing, lying about it is far worse!  We are all very aware that once caught in a lie, it will take a VERY long time for trust to be restored.  It is one of those consequences we must face when we choose to deceive.

I am convinced that no one can get away with lies and deceit…whether they believe in God or not.

I am amazed that in a world that is so interconnected through the internet and social media that there areProverbs 6 16-19 still people who think they can “get away” with sin and attempt to cover it up with lies and deceit.  Cases in point: the Ashley Madison scandal, and Josh Duggar’s most recent confession as a result of that.  There is also the discovery of the Subway spokesperson, Jared Fogle possessing child pornography.  Recent marriage breakups by celebrities who have knowledge their spouses were cheating on them.  The Duffy trial here in Canada that has politicians caught in a political web of lies and deception.  If we haven’t figured it out, “Big Brother” is alive and well and watches our every move.

As Christians we are watched by those who want to see if we are indeed the hands and feet of Christ as we claim we are, or are we fakers that show false witness to the world around us.  Oh, we can admit (confess) our sin before God and man but there are always consequences to sin and if the world discovers our falsehood, deception and hypocrisy it will take a VERY long time to regain their trust…if ever.

Sin leads to death.  Repenting and turning from sin leads to life.  (Romans 6:23)  It is hard to admit wrongdoing.  It is hard to say sorry or I was wrong or I messed up.  It is hard to turn from sin and repent but that is needed to know freedom and gain forgiveness and salvation from God.  There are consequences when one sins.  God will not rescue you from those consequences, but He will forgive you and be with you through those consequences.  God sees the heart of a person and He roots out lies and deceit.  You can’t “get away with anything” with God, and for that I am truly thankful.

 

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