Well, welcome back again to another podcast of Struggling Well and Suzi, I thought we would do something maybe a little different today, this week. and that's this. we often times have been asked if we have favorite verses, favorite books of the Bible, which I know is probably something you shouldn't have as
who started that? What Christian movement started that? Your favorite verse, your favorite hymn.
I have no idea. But anyway, so I thought we would do that today just to give people some insight into our lives and, we'll have a favorite Old Testament verse and a favorite New Testament verse. You know this for me in the Old Testament. My two favorite books in the Old Testament are the book of Job and the book of Jeremiah.
Now, that should give you a little indication.
Yes, it should.
That Jimmy is not a party in a bag.
No, that's true. That's very true. But they are really my favorite books. and I don't know that's always been the case in my life, but they but it has certainly been for many, many years. Job who faced you know un undefined for him tragedy. He never understood why. And then Jeremiah who was a failed prophet for 40 years. Nobody listened to a thing he had to say. But in the book of Jeremiah so that's where I'm getting to my favorite verse in the Old Testament in the book of Jeremiah in the 31st chapter in a book that is filled with judgment. It's filled with all kinds of things that aren't really good for the tribes of Judah. There is verses of hope in Jeremiah 31 in verse 2. God says, "Thus says the Lord, the people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness when Israel sought for rest. The Lord appeared to him from a far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you." And that to me is the verses of hope right there in the middle. of the book of Jeremiah, grace in the wilderness. God's help and to me the wilderness, we know what it was for Israel at that time. They were going into captivity in Babylon, but grace in the wilderness for all of us those difficult times and then loved you with an everlasting love. I know you've talked many times about the steadfast love of the Lord. That's the idea that love will never end. And so, of all the verses in the 39 books of the Old Testament, Those would be probably two of my favorite verses.
Well, it's hard to decide what is your favorite because a lot of times for me a verse becomes impactful when I'm in a place whether it's a great place, a middle place, or even especially at a very difficult place. What would be my favorite? Because I feel like at each point when I go to the word, God illuminates scripture that I've probably read many many times but it becomes something very dear to me but one that I go back to is it has a lot to do with the beginnings of Israel and for me when I look back and I you know look at Genesis and read through there and see how in spite of man's sin and man's choice to think that they had a better way when Adam and Eve made that first choice. There's the story that begins God's redemption. And it's so powerful to me how from the very beginning as they're wandering around in the garden and they discover that they're naked and they feel ashamed that God says to them, "Where are you?" His initiation towards them. So I love that theme that's throughout scripture that God is constantly initiating. And one of the places where I have gone to many, many times is in the book of Exodus. the Psalms I couldn't list out a psalm for you because I love Psalm 1 through 150. So that's hard to quote all of those.
It would take more than our usual time that we do,
but you know what? I could do it. I could so do it. but in Psalm 33, the Lord is telling God is telling Moses that they need to leave Si.
You just said Psalm 33. You don't
I did. I don't. But see howish I am.
I know.
Oh, that was fun. Smish. Not Amish, but Sish. Exodus 33. Thank you. Babe, where God tells Moses that it's time to move the people. They've escaped Egypt. And he says to them, I'm going to take you to the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And he says, I'm going to I'm going to send an angel who's going to guide you and go before you. And the interesting reaction of the Israelites is they mourn. and they put on I don't know what it means when it says they put on their ornaments. I maybe that I don't know what that is.
I should do some searching on that, but the people felt that this was a disastrous thing. Again, I don't know the context of all of that, but remember how further forward when they're in the wilderness and they're crying and when they're at the Red Sea and all these hard places, they go, "It would have been better had you left us in Egypt. We had food and you know, we could do what we wanted." Which is a joke because they were they had bricks. That's what they had. And they had br us for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But they were thinking the good old days. So anyway, I haven't gotten to the verse yet. I know you're looking at me with those eyes like, "Move it along. Land the plane. I'm coming in. I'm circling the airport right now."
Good.
So anyway, God says to Moses, ", I want it's time to leave." And so when you get to 33:12, Moses says to the Lord, "See, you say to me, bring up this people, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, "I know you by name." You have also found favor in my sight. Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me your ways that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider to that this nation is your people. Let's see. Turning the pages in my Bible. Harder than I thought this morning. And God said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." And he said to him, if your presence does not go with me. Do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are a distinct people, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth? And the Lord said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken, I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." And then Moses goes on, so it's not a favorite verse, favorite paragraph here. So Moses goes on to say, "Please show me your glory. I love this little back and forth thing. God doesn't lose patience with Moses here. He just keeps responding to him, I'm going to go with you. I'm going to go with you. And Moses says to him, please show me your glory. And God says, I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name, the Lord, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But he said, "You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live. And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes, I will put you in the clif of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen." What I love about that is that Moses is so honest. He doesn't have any guile here. He's coming with his heart open wide. God, this next portion of this trip you're asking us to do, feels harder than the last one. Now I'm putting myself in. It feels harder than leaving Egypt. And so now we're not we can't do anything without you because you have pulled us out of Egypt and called us a distinct people, your people. But now you're asking us to go where we don't know. And so God says, "My presence will go with you. You found favor in my sight." And I love when he says, "I have engraved your name in the palm of my hand. And so when I am as I walk this walk of following Christ, there have been many many times through the years where I have just said, "Lord, I can't go here." Whether it's going through a difficult time back in the day when you were pastoring full-time or with our kids or in our marriage or in our health, whatever. It's like, I can't go forward, Lord, unless you're with me. And again and again throughout scripture, In the Old Testament, he tells Israel constantly, "I'm with you. I'm going to send a cloud and fire and all these things. I'm going to be I'm going to meet with you in this is this holy place, this temple, I'm going to over and over." He says that. And so, as I read this here, this place right here says to me, "No matter what, Suzi, I will go with you." And my name is engraved on his hand. And when we go to the New Testament, we see just how engraved it was.
And that's I mean that's great. It was an entire chapter, but that's great. that gives you all some insight into our differences in our personalities. I say two verses in the Old Testament and Suzi reads a chapter.
I have no personality. So that's why I have to read a lot.
Hey, let's go to the New Testament. 27 books in the New Testament probably just equally as difficult. And again, you made a great point. The different verses at different times in our journey Because what I want for people, what I want for those of you who are listening, what I want for myself is that the scriptures would stir in my heart that there would be a reason why a particular verse or verses or an entire chapter come alive to you. but in the New Testament equally as difficult, but for me, this is a verse that years ago really said something to me based upon my upbringing in my Christian life. It's in the book of Galatians where Paul says to the church there, Oh, oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this. Did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish that having begun by the spirit, you now are being perfected by the flesh? that meant a lot to me in my growing up years as I came through my teenage years and into college because I grew up in a brand of Christianity that I will call performance-based. If you do the right thing, if you do what is an external act of compliance to with whatever the church had to say, you were okay. if you didn't, you were in big trouble. And that was this whole idea that he said to the Galatians, you started by faith. You received the spirit by faith. What makes you think you can now live this life? by your own works, by the works of the flesh. And so God used that back in 1990 when we were on sbatical to really begin to open my eyes to begin to understand and I still am understanding what grace is all about. it's not about performing it. It's not about doing the right things. Those are byproducts of a walk of faith. So those are the verses for me in the New Testament.
What chapter do you have?
Yeah. Well, I have did you have two verses in the Old Testament that you shared? Yeah, sure.
Okay. So, I can do two here. Two large paragraphs. It's just the way we roll, folks. it's crazy. the fact that we are so different and yet perfectly fit. That's what I love.
That's a little gushy, I know, to hear, but you're going to have to just work through that. the book of Ephesians is a favorite. I've u been in Bible study with women doing this several times, and it's a the letter that Paul writes I think in Ephesians you hear his passion and not a fleeting passion but a continual passion for people that he had led to Christ that had become churches and the struggles that happened within churches. He addresses them all the time. But I'm going to start with Ephesians and it's in Ephesians 1 and starting in verse 7. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace. And then this word, oh I love it, which he lavished upon us and all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things to him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. I love this again. I mentioned it in the Old Testament verse. God's initiation to us towards us all the time. In him we have redemption and forgiveness according to the riches of his grace. It's all about what he is giving us, not what I bring him. But I love that word lavished. I don't think we use that word much anymore in our culture, but he lavishes grace on us. And u maybe one of our podcasts, we'll talk about grace and what that means. because we I think as Christians, we throw that word around a lot. and anybody who might be listening who doesn't understand grace or doesn't know what we're talking about because it sounds like we're speaking in a foreign language. grace is a concept that I don't know if I'll ever grasp it fully because it's so immense and enormous. so Ephesians is a great passage. Then another one is comes from well yeah I know we have a few minutes left comes from Romans I've been in Romans this summer and it's a hard book you guys it's hard there's a lot of the law this and I mean it's hard but I have grown to love it and one of the verses that I love is in Romans 8:35 and I'm going to read it to you in the ESV and then I'm going to read it to you in the message in the ESV it says who shall separate us from the love of Christ. Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? And in the message, I love the way Peterson had translated this when it says, "Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There's no way. Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sin. listed in scripture. When I read it in the message like that, I oh there's I don't know how to describe the comfort that I feel from that. All I know is that I feel that peace. maybe that shalom that God offers that there is nothing to separate us. And we say that to we banter that back and forth with one another. But do we really sit in that and marinate in the fact of his lavish grace? that we see in Ephesians and the fact that nothing can separate his love from us. There's so that means there's nothing that you can do that he's going to go, you know what, I'm going to hold back a little bit on my love or I'm not going to love you at all. And so, you all know who you are. I know who I am and I know what a mess I can be a lot of the time. And to know that God's love, Christ's love, the indwelling of the spirit, nothing changes that, nothing. Shall I say nothing one more time?
I think you said it. That's right. so that gives you some insight into us and some of the places in scripture that are our favorites. here's what we want to challenge you all with. As you go to God's word, as you think about his word, see if there's places that you are drawn to because those verses have ministered to you in difficult times or in just special moments in your life. and begin to think through and maybe begin to verbalize to a friend, a spouse, a loved one. what parts of scripture have come alive and meant something to you in your life? Thanks for being with us today.