Fellowship So Deep

Sunday, Terry will be speaking on discipleship among followers of Christ and what it can and should look like. However, when you read this, he may already have spoken and my anticipation will then be enjoyment and eagerness to live it out in my life. I am leading worship and the song below was suggested by Jen at our practice and it fits the message so well. Hopefully it can encourage you to worship the Lord and have a true, deep fellowship. 

Fellowship So Deep

by Caedmon's Call

For the love that knows no ending, in the wisdom of God's plan

For the light that was descending to revive the heart of man

Christ the Lamb was made to suffer and to die upon a tree

So that we, sisters and brothers, could know His fellowship so deep

Let us sing of our Redeemer and of His love that made us free

And know this gift is ours forever, 

A fellowship so deep

A fellowship so deep

We can feel his love among us; we can sing redemption's song

We can hear the Spirit call us to a place where we belong

For His joy is in our laughter and His comfort in our grief

Let His love here ever after be the language that we speak

Alleluia, alleluia to the Lamb, alleluia to the Lamb

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia to the Lamb, alleluia to the Lamb

New Blog Title

1. be·lov·ed

   biˈləv(i)d/

   adjective

   adjective: beloved

   1. 1.

      dearly loved.

      synonyms:

      darling, dear, dearest, precious, adored, much loved, cherished,treasured, prized, highly regarded, admired, esteemed, worshiped,revered, venerated, idolized More

      antonyms:

      hated

      • very popular with or much used by a specified set of people.

        "being so close, the mountain hut is beloved of families on a day's outing"

   noun

   noun: beloved

   1. 1.

      a much loved person.

      "he watched his beloved"

      synonyms:

      sweetheart, love, darling, dearest, lover, girlfriend, boyfriend; More

   Origin

   

   late Middle English: past participle of obsolete belove ‘be pleasing,’ later ‘love.’

   Translate beloved toTurn off translationAfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDutchEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKhmerKoreanLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalayMalteseMarathiNorwegianPersianPolishPortugueseRomanianRussianSerbianSlovakSlovenianSpanishSwahiliSwedishTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduVietnameseWelshYiddish
   

   adjective

   1. chéri
   2. bien-aimé

   Use over time for: beloved

   

   (from Google)

I have always loved the word: Beloved. For one, my name, AMY, means beloved. It is of latin and french origin and is a feminine form of the Hebrew name, David, which also means beloved. 

I wanted to give a new name to my blog - I already changed the domain, so why not? After a few minutes of trying to come up with something witty and creative, this word came to mind. So I did a quick word study using the Logos app. In the Bible, beloved is often used to address people who are very loved and cared about. It also refers many times to Jesus - this is my Beloved Son. I gravitated toward Ephesians chapter 5 and Colossians chapter 3 in their use of beloved.  

Colossians 3:12-17 states: 

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

This is my "verse(s)" for the year two-thousand fourteen. It encompasses so well everything I desire for myself and how I relate to Christ, my family, friends, and "neighbors" in this year and years to come. Pray for me, as you remember, that I may keep these verses in my mind; that Christ will change my heart that I may "put on" the qualities mentioned here.

I love the sentence: And be thankful. So let's live our lives in love, as one body, with thankfulness in our hearts to God. 

Bible Eater

Happy New Year! New year, and a renewed life for me. I am excited for what this year will bring and I pray to face it with Thanks, Grace, and Joy in Christ: Eucharisteo. This year, I am going to read the whole Bible. It has been a few years - I think the last time was 2010? So I'm diving in again to become refreshed and filled with God's word. The plan I have chosen is about 4 chapters a day but it's a little different because it's set up by quarters of the year instead of daily tasks. It's called the "Bible Eater" plan because every quarter there are also selected books of the Bible that are meant to be read in one sitting - or at least as much as you can over a few days. Each quarter allows for 4 days off (or maybe 4 catch up days in my case) but it's nice to be able to more or less make my own schedule. Below is an article that gives many more options for reading the whole Bible this year. If you haven't ever read the whole Bible through, I suggest you do. I think there is a plan in the article for reading the Bible in two years, if one is too much daily reading - but you can do it! Let me know if you have chosen to read the whole Bible this year; accountability is so important in my life and I would love to ask you how it's going. Feel free to ask me as well. I have great expectations for my growth with Jesus this year. Let's get 2014 underway!

The Gospel Coalition - How to read the Whole Bible in 2014

Bible Eater - Trent Hunter