Dear Friend:
"Always Looking Forward!" That's my closing, my sign-off, my best wishes at the end of a letter or eMail. It’s not that I am insincere, ungrateful, without regard, or even not “Very Truly Yours,” it’s that I believe strongly in the future of what is to come. Everyone who reads this blog has a “past.” And nobody’s past is perfect. But friends, we know that our sins are forgiven and that we have been promised a new life.
God is immutable and omniscient. He is ever in control. It is in the anticipation of God’s promises that we should always be looking forward. That is what my closing is about -- I want to leave the reader with a positive impression. I want to remind people of the promise of an eternal future. What an encouraging way to end an eMail or a letter than to offer the sentiment, “Always Looking Forward!” It comes from an adopted Life Verse that started my "3:13" study:
God is immutable and omniscient. He is ever in control. It is in the anticipation of God’s promises that we should always be looking forward. That is what my closing is about -- I want to leave the reader with a positive impression. I want to remind people of the promise of an eternal future. What an encouraging way to end an eMail or a letter than to offer the sentiment, “Always Looking Forward!” It comes from an adopted Life Verse that started my "3:13" study:
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” |
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I realize that I am a “work in progress.” As such, my Life Verse is a work in progress -- having had many seasons and chapters of "Life" Verses. An earlier verse for me was Philippians 1:6: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” A Life Verse can be anything from the Bible that gives you direction, decision, comfort, or encouragement through your day-to-day accomplishments and trials. In this way, it is meaningful only to you and only for as long as you call upon it. As you study the Word, you will stumble upon your next verse, "Hmmmmmm," you will say to yourself. At least that is how it happens for me. Sometimes my Life Verse is only for a season, replaced by a more punctuated and personally- potent verse as I enter a new chapter. Though a verse may be short-lived, in the long run, at least you've memorized another verse! |
"Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding…," |
Actually, over the years I have had many Life Verses. They seem to change as I find the Holy Spirit sharpens my focus in a particular direction. As I gain more grey hairs, however, my Life Verse always seems to be youthful and invigorating. As an intrepid optimist, most of my verse have been encouragers for me. Some of them have been praises to God. Some of them have been lessons to learn. For whatever the application, the key is to adopt a verse that you can call yours.
Maybe you also have a Life Verse? Or maybe you haven't? Here are some of the ones that I recall:
We are all familiar with the absolutes of the Ten Commandments. But through the written Word, God has also provided us broad principles to follow. These principles require prayerful discernment as we apply them to our daily lives. The Psalmist begs to be taught wisdom and good judgement (Psalms 119:66).
You don't need a Life Verse for every decision you make. A Life Verse, at least for me, is a verse that speaks to me in a broad sense about my Walk. When you pick one, you might find what encourages you in a particularly challenging part of your life. Or it can be praiseful. You will want something that keeps popping into your head and keeps you moving in the right direction. I was writing on HUMILITY IN LEADERSHIP when I came across yet another "3:13" verse ("thirteenth verse of the third chapter of a particular book of the bible"). This one encouraged me to be humble in my verse memorization.
"Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom." -JAMES 3:13 |
What is your Life Verse? If you do not have one, let me encourage you to claim one. Or two. Or more. It's your call -- you get to make all of the rules when it comes to your Life Verse!
…exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today...,” -HEBREWS 3:13 |
"As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good." |
The Bible is God's written word. It's verses calm us down, fire us up, instruct us, help us to set boundaries, and help us to commune with God. In your search for a Life Verse you will find new ways that the Lord will speak to you. To ask yourself, "What is my calling in this season of life?" is a great launching pad, I have found.
Someone once told me that there were over 785,000 words in the Bible. I think that came out to about 31,000 verses in 1189 chapters in all of the 66 books. No matter whether I have had a tough day at the office, a grueling day digging for a septic leak, or the most amazing day on a train ride shared with my beautiful granddaughter, without fail, there has never been an occasion where there wasn't "something" in the Bible that would "speak out" strongly to me. Get the message?
Always Looking Forward,
