The picture to the left is of homemade Turkish style ravioli called "manti". After practice tonight, the whole team went over to Burcu's (teammate) house for a team dinner. The meal was delicious :)
For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.— 1 Peter 2:19 (NIV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...Unjust suffering! Ouch, even the sound of those words sends a chill up and down my spine. Such a thing doesn't seem fair or appropriate -- and it isn't. Yet we have many brothers and sisters bearing up under pain and unjust suffering because of their commitment and loyalty to the only True God and to his Son, Jesus Christ. Wouldn't it be incredible if those of us who are not touched by terrible persecution or hardship would begin each day praying for those in our spiritual family who do face hardship, persecution, suffering, and mistreatment? As they display the grace of Christ to honor God in the face of such difficulty, let's pray that our Father will not only give them strength to endure, but that he will also deliver them soon!
*This verse really spoke to me! To bear unjust suffering and pain is not easy. Who wants to do that right? Think about missionaries and workers overseas who are putting themselves in danger and risking their lives (sometimes losing them) for the sake of the gospel. Think about Jesus who had to endure the pain, torture, beatings, and eventually hanging on a cross. Did He deserve that? No way!As you and I go through each and every day, we have so many things to be thankful for. Sure, we may be going through a rough time financially, spiritually, emotionally, or physically, but Remember and keep in mind the verse above. The Lord never promised the Christian walk to be easy, but He did promise that He would walk beside us ALL the way :).
My Utmost For His Highest:
As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him-to give God “elbow room.” We plan and figure and predict that this or that will happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way, but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly—God meets our life “. . . when it pleased God . . . .”
Our Daily Bread:
We don’t know very much about eternity, but we do know that for the Christian, whatever our emotional and physical struggles are now, they will cease then. Life with God will be better by far.
Think of a land of no sorrow,
Think of a land of no fears,
Think of no death and no sickness,
Think of a land of no tears. —Anon.
Heaven’s delights will far outweigh earth’s difficulties.
I thought I would snap a quick pic!
Tomorrow we play Istanbul University at 6:00 p.m. which is 11:00 a.m. E.S.T. The game will be game #14 in the TKBL league. I will update you tomorrow night and let you know how we do.
Megan