Standing Firm in Love

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1st Corinthians 13:13

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1st Peter 4:8

Hailey from Now All I Know is Grace started a cool project called The Fruit of the Spirits and every month you focus on a particular fruit of the spirit. Last month the topic was love. Later this month we went to D3 youth conference and one of the speakers preached about love. He spoke about the two aspects of love that are important.

1) Love is superior (1st Corinthians 13:1-3)
Paul is not saying other gifts are totally useless but that love beats them all.

I can...
1) have faith that can move mountains (vs.2)
2) be a giver (vs.3)
3) be a martyr (vs.3)
BUT if I do not have love I am still nothing,

Love affects everything you do.

It is #1

2) Love is action - a verb

Love is easier said than done. (can I get an AMEN)

Love is...
1) Patient - slow to anger, slow to offend
2) Kind - gentle, not harsh
3) Not jealous - doesn't burn with envy
4) Does not brag - doesn't think the best of himself
5) Not arrogant - Is humble.
6) Not wrong - acts right
7) Doesn't seek its own - not selfish
8) Not irritable - not agitated
9) Not resentful - love is forgiving. it covers a multitude of sin.
10) Doesn't find pleasure in sin - it finds pleasure and rejoices in truth.

Love...
11) Believes all things
12) Bears all things
14) Hopes all things
15) Endures all things

The speaker told us to think of the areas we could work on in this list. I know I could work on EVERY single area in this list, but I have some I really need to work on. I encourage you to study this list and pray for love in your life.  Pray to God for strength to fight the temptation of hate we face daily. Remind yourself constantly of how you can love more.

Stand firm in love.

bouncing in to say bye,
                                   Bernie

Rejoice, He is Alive

Who has believed what we have heard?^[a]
And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to?
² He grew up before Him like a young plant
and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn’t have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at Him,
no appearance that we should desire Him.
³ He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people turned away from;^[b]
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.

⁴ Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was pierced because of our transgressions,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.
⁶ We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished Him
for^[c] the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open His mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent before her shearers,
He did not open His mouth.
⁸ He was taken away because of oppression and judgment;
and who considered His fate?^[d]
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
He was struck because of my people’s rebellion.
⁹ They^[e] made His grave with the wicked
and with a rich man at His death,
although He had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.

¹⁰ Yet the Lord was pleased to crush Him severely.^[f]
When^[g] You make Him a restitution offering,
He will see His seed, He will prolong His days,
and by His hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.
¹¹ He will see it^[h] out of His anguish,
and He will be satisfied with His knowledge.
My righteous Servant will justify many,
and He will carry their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give Him^[i] the many as a portion,
and He will receive^[j] the mighty as spoil,
because He submitted Himself to death,
and was counted among the rebels;
yet He bore the sin of many
and interceded for the rebels.

I guess since Spring is springing in (haha :P I'm so funny) when Easter comes we all think of flowers when it's Easter. At least I do. This Monday I was having a stressful day and while driving to the library we passed this church. Outside of it was a cross and tons of gorgeous tulips. There I looked at it and thought to myself, "Why am I mad? Why am I stressed out? REJOICE. Jesus has paid the punishment that YOU deserved. And he has rose again victoriously."

Please remember as these days go by to rejoice. Have a joyful heart. Love others. Praise the One who paid your debt.

"I can face tomorrow because he lives."

bouncing in to say bye,

                                   bernie

2nd Samuel 11 // What I Got Out of It

 A couple weeks ago my girls bible study started reading the book Seamless by Angie Smith. Angie's goal in this book is to cover the whole Bible in 7 weeks. Now obviously she doesn't cover every. single. point. but she does a great job of giving an overview of these stories. She's told us these stories in such an interesting way that I'm curious to study more about every topic. We're in out 4th week and this is so far my favorite chapter. Right now we're going over some of my favorite stories, the story of Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon. This story really encourages me and I'm here to share my thoughts on it with you =)


   In 2nd Samuel 11 it talks of David having an affair with Bathsheba and him murdering Bathsheba's husband Uriah. Because of this sin that David committed he took away his son. Now right now you might say, "That's a horrible thing to do God. Why'd you do that?" But my pastor has been talking a lot about the patience of God. After Cain murdered his brother Abel because of his anger, God let him live. Yes, God cursed and alienated him, but God in his mighty power could've done something much worse. God could've killed Cain, but instead he let him live.


   In 2nd Samuel 12:13-14 it says,


David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord,^[a] the child who is born to you shall die.”




   There you see it. The Lord put away his sin, and he shall not die. God could've done far worse than killed David's son. And yes while this is still a big punishment we still need to see God's mercy.


   We can also be reminded of God's sovereign plan in this story. Why do you think God didn't kill David because of his sin? Because he still had a plan for his life. As horrible as this tragedy was, God uses these tragedies to shape us into more godly people.




Psalms 119:71 says,


 "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes."

   Okay, I finished covering two things I was encouraged by in this study. One more.
   Psalms 51 was written by David after Nathan confronted him concerning his sin. David shows humility as he confesses his sins to God. Often when say, "Oh I'm sorry for my sin, but I really like doing it, so I think I'm going to do it again." But David comes to God and says, "Create in me a pure heart." This sin is horrible. I don't ever want to do it again.


   This really encouraged me and made me more aware of myself when I say sorry. Not to just say sorry and think I can do it again, but cast myself from it. I hope this encourages you too :D





Thanks for reading!!
bouncing in to say bye,
                                   Bernie

// What I Like About The Song Come Thou Fount //

Hey guys. Today I'm going to share what I like about the song, "Come Thou Fount." 

         A couple weeks ago I played it with my guitar teacher and I couldn't stop playing it. I hope I'm not annoying my family, because I play it all the time. Seriously, I could play it all day. Sometimes you play a song and never realize what it means, which was the case for me, until last night. As Sarah was writing a blog post I played it for her for inspiration and I really paid close attention to the words. It was so encouraging and comforting to hear the words. Pay close attention to these words and I pray they will be encouraging to you too.

"Come thou fount of, every blessing,

tune my heart to sing Thy grace.

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

call for songs of loudest praise. 

Teach me some melodious sonnet, 

sung by flaming tongues above. 

Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it, 

mount of Thy unchanging love. 

Here I raise my Ebenezer, 

hither by Thy help I've come. 

And I hope by Thy good pleasure, 

safely to arrive at home. 

Jesus sought me when a stranger, 

wandering from the fold of God. 

He to rescue me from danger, 

interpose His precious blood. 

O to grace how great a debtor, 

daily I'm constrained to be.

Let that grace now, like a fetter,

bind my wandering heart to Thee. 

Prone to wander Lord I feel it, 

prone to leave the God I love. 

Here's my heart, O take and seal it

seal it for Thy courts above." 

           I just LOVE the last verse. It's so true how I can so easily wander from God. I feel like sometimes I do my Bible study in the morning, feel so closer to God, close my Bible, and forget about everything I learned about in my Bible study. So easily can we wander away from God and cling to the things of this world.

This verse is soooo awesome.

"Let that grace now, like a fetter, 

bind my wandering heart to Thee."

NOW THIS IS SUPER COOL GUYS.

The definition of "fetter" is:

"a chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, typically placed around the ankles."

"Like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee."

Like a chain that restrains a prisoner, "bind my wandering heart to Thee."

THIS IS MY PRAYER EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. 

How can this not be your prayer?

That God may bind you to Him. That you'd never wander away from Him. That you'd be chained and bound to His Holy Spirit. That your heart would be close to Him. 

"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 

prone to leave the God I love."

Here's my heart, O take and seal it,

seal it for Thy courts above."

        I can't do this on my own, God. I can't live a second without wandering from You. I ask that You would take my heart and seal it for Thy courts above. Only You, alone can do that.

        Side Note: We've been talking in church history about justification. Some people thought that we could be saved by works, but justification means that WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE ALONE.

The Five Solos are:

Faith Alone

Grace Alone

Christ Alone

By Scripture Alone

For God's Glory Alone.

We can't be saved by OUR works.

ONLY GOD CAN SAVE US.

Okay back to the song I'm talking about. 

OH MY.

Whoever wrote this song, was seriously thirsty for God.

I PRAY THIS IS YOUR PRAYER.

That you would truly want God to bind your heart to Him. 

"Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; give me life in Your ways."

Psalms 199:37

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right^[a] spirit within me.
¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Psalms 51:10-12

bouncing in to say bye,

                                    Bernie

God Uses Evil To...

*All credit for these words and verses from my Pastor*
A few weeks ago at church our Pastor talked about the word compatibilism.


Compatibilism, sometimes called soft determinism, is a theological term that deals with the topics of free will and predestination.
Another way to describe this definition is: everything is determined and ordained by God.

A verse that shows God's great plan for our lives is Genesis 50:19-20. After being sold into slavery by his brothers and then put into prison Joseph told his brothers,

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

God uses evil to...
I. To chasten God's people
So that his Spirit may be saved but his flesh destroyed.
1st Corinthians 5:1-5 says,
³ For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. ⁴ So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,^[a][b] so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.


II. To fashion God's people
For my power is made perfect in weakness.
2nd Corinthians 12:7 say,
⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

III. To glorify God
He did this to make known the riches of his glory.
Romans 9:22-23 says,
²² What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? ²³ What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—

III. The end of evil
The last enemy that he shall abolish is death.
1st Corinthians 15:24-26 says,
24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Why this meant so much to me was because I knew it was true. That everything really is according to God's good plan for you. And even though it looks like the evilest of evil, it's God's plan for you. It's all to prosper you too. Isn't that awesome?!






So much this week I've been  reminded of how great God is. Last year I went through a tough thing, changing churches after being at my original church for all I can remember. I felt like we were doing everything wrong changing churches. Even that very hard time for me, he had a plan. Over the year we've been going to my new church, it's been so awesome. My walk with God has grown so much over the time that we started going here. I've done so much with my church. And I'm so thankful that God's got my life in his hands. Because if he didn't I would've stayed at my old church and I maybe wouldn't be the person I am now.






What I'm saying guys is, let God have your life. Like the song Take my Life and Let it Be. Give your  life to God. He's in control. He's got a plan. Trust in him and know that's he's got it all in his hands. Because he does.






I apologize AGAIN for not posting a lot. It's been busy around here (still not an excuse) and I just don't have a lot of inspiration. So even though this post might be a little rough, I hope you understand it.






Thanks for reading.
bouncing in to say bye,
                                   bernie

Thankfulnes Thursday

Hey guys!! One more week until Thanksgiving!! I'm extremely excited for Thanksgiving. :)

Today I'm doing Thankfulness Thursday!! :)

I'm thankful for...

My dad's job

The beautiful sunset coming down while I do gymnastics outside

My last week of biology class until next year

The woods

Waking up early, but not dreading it

Getting done with Genesis and finally getting to read John

An oven to make delicious desserts with :)

Friends to make movies with

All the Christmas activities I'm going to participate in

And before I leave, I wanted to show you this verse I read a couple days ago.

¹⁸ His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹ So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

I love this verse because it shows how faithful God is.

How we should be thankful in the most hardest times of our life.

That we should trust in God.

Because even though Joseph was sold by his brothers and sent to prison, he trusted God.

And soon later God gave him a high job in Egypt.

So never be unthankful for your situation.

Know that it's all God's plan.

It's all part of God's good plan.

:) thanks for reading!!

bouncing in to say bye,

                                 bernie

Good Apples Saturday // Colossians 3 and 4

Welcome to Good Apples Saturday

Hey guys. Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I'm a day late on my post, but that's okay!

Yesterday we did a bible study and these verses really encouraged me!

 ^3:18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
²¹ Fathers,^[c] do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵ Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
4 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven. 2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ³ And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁴ Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. ⁵ Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. ⁶ Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.


Hope you like!!




bouncing in to say bye,
                                   Bernie

Praying for Others // And a Special Announcement!

Welcome to Good Apples Friday!

Today I'd like to encourage you to pray for others this week.

After a long day of gymnastics on Tuesday my back and legs starting hurting me.

It made me kinda mad because I couldn't do any gymnastics that whole day.

I still haven't totally recovered from my back hurting when I do flips.

Whenever I asked God for me to feel better I felt bad.

There are a lot of other people out there hurting way more than me.

For me to selfishly pray for myself to get better so I can do gymnastics asap.

I could've been praying for little kids who can't even walk.

People who don't even know what it's like to run and play.

I'm not saying that praying for yourself is bad.

I'm just saying before you go and pray to God about yourself, pray for others.

Thank God for your feet, legs, arms, neck, and whole body that you can use.

I was really convicted by that this week when we visited a friend from church.

A lot of the time we were talking they were talking about their back hurting, getting surgery, and all kind of hurt they have to go through. That made me so sad. Every night I've been praying for them asking God to help them.

It says in the Bible,

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6

I'm not saying don't ask God to help you feel better.

I'm just saying maybe before you think about yourself, think about others.

If you have any prayer requests I'd love to hear them.

Please comment them down below.

Thanks for reading!

bouncing in to say bye,

                                bernie

P.S. Before I leave I will announce the winner of my summer giveaway!

Thanks Courtney for letting me have this giveaway!

And the handler of this beautiful watercolor card set is...............

ALLIE D.

HIP HIP HOORAY HIP HIP HOORAY!

Congrats Allie!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

THANKS GUYS!

Good Apples Friday // Psalm 43

Welcome to Good Apples Friday

Today I will be sharing a Psalm that I read today. Hope you like!

Psalm 34

¹ I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
² I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
³ Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
⁶ This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.

⁸ Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
⁹ Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
¹⁰ The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
¹¹ Come, my children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
¹³ keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶ but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
²⁰ he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.

²¹ Evil will slay the wicked;
    the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
²² The Lord will rescue his servants;
    no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

bouncing in to say bye,

                                  bernie