Word and Verse for 2010 Options

[Catherine]

I'm calling 2010 "The Jesus Year". I want my total focus to be Jesus. My word is "Jesus" and my verse is 2 Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." I'll be sharing in detail what I learn at my blog called "The Jesus Year" at CathsCommunity.com but will also share here on a separate forum thread. I'd love to know what others choose for their word and verse for 2010.

Choosing a word and a verse is something I've been doing for many years now. And the Lord has surely taught me so much. I think the most profound years so far have been with the words "trust" and "hope". Both words were incredibly significant for me in light of the testing of my faith during those 2 years. I learned that trust is "total reliance under stress and trial" and hope is "holding on with patient expectation."

May the Lord bless us all as we continue on in the great adventure of knowing Him.

[linda]

This is the fourth year I have pondered this: what the LORD would have me focus upon for the year. Instead of one word, I have a phrase this year: grace in the wilderness. It all makes sense to me as I am in the midst of a wilderness that seems to correlate with the Israelites' 40 years... seems that way anyway!!

Verses: Jeremiah 31:2-3
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 far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

Oh, Precious LORD, Your everlasting love envelops and comforts me, it caresses and grows me. I know that You are always near, that You are and will be faithful as always. May I be yielded to You, to Your Word, to every moment, to every breath. LORD, I am Yours. May I be steadfast in my yieldedness to You. Knowing You love me, I am Yours. Amen.

... and from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:16-17

[RuthintheDesert]

My word is Praise. I'm in the middle of a writing project on Mary's prayer of praise in the book of Luke.

My verse is Psalm 86:10
You are great and perform wonders;
You alone are God.

[Little_1]

My verse for 2010 is:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. -- Psalm 20:7

My husband is in a situation where he is very much on his own against very many powerful people in our land. I remember teaching a chorus to a group of children aged 5-12 and the chorus was simply this verse set to music... This repeats in my mind often (almost 16 years later) and I'm trusting in the name of the LORD our God also in this situation because when God is on our side - who can be against us.

[Catherine]

I LOVE that verse - Psalm 20:7 - thanks for sharing it today (and for the whole year). One of my greatest challenges is "trust". That must have been David's challenge as well because he resolved to trust God more than once. I love all of his affirmations and resolves about TRUST (Psalm 20:7 being one of them).

Blessings, Catherine

[Little_1]

I LOVE that verse - Psalm 20:7 - thanks for sharing it today (and for the whole year). One of my greatest challenges is "trust". That must have been David's challenge as well because he resolved to trust God more than once. I love all of his affirmations and resolves about TRUST (Psalm 20:7 being one of them).

Blessings, Catherine

Yes - I love the Psalms also Cath. The Lord has been teaching me about affirmations this past year or so and David is a great example of one who affirmed his trust in God. I am reading your book called 'Trusting in the Names of God' at present (I purchased it a few days ago)... I really am finding this book helpful and it confirms to me everything the Holy Spirit has been teaching me. So many Christians do not affirm who God is in their prayer life to God, in their thoughts, or to others... I am a member of another forum (which I really enjoy visiting) but sadly, there is very little encouragement concerning affirming God's Names and attributes. Some mistake such for being part of the WOF (Words of Faith Movement) and therefore, I thank God for leading me to this site and to others whom I can share with and learn from regarding such.

[Catherine]

I'm so glad you have Trusting In The Names Of God. I love the promise of Psalm 9:10 - when we know His names, we WILL trust in Him! It's so essential for us to know God's Word so that we will recognize the counterfeits. I'm so glad you brought that up at the end of your post here. It gives me the opportunity to share my heart a bit

One of the great truths that the Lord began teaching me about His promises in His Word a number of years ago is HOW to trust Him in what He says. (I wrote my discoveries in the book Walking With The God Who Cares - Finding Hope When You Need It Most). Claiming God's promises doesn't presume to tell God what He is going to do. I like what David says in Psalm 5:3 "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly" (NLT). I believe that is a correct handling of God's promises in His Word - praying to the Lord, asking Him for all that is on our hearts (pouring out our hearts like Hannah did in 1 Samuel 1:15), holding on to His Word, and then waiting expectantly for what God will do. Some of those movements believe that you need to "command" God in a sense which is just not what I see in Scripture anywhere. Besides that (and you will see this thought throughout Trusting In The Names of God), the Lord has things on His mind that we have not yet thought of and may desire to take our lives in a direction, and answer our prayers in ways that venture into the realm of the impossible. We just don't see the whole picture but God does - He is eternal, all-knowing, and sovereign. Blessed be His name!! This is what SO amazes me about God. I think that the more I know Him the more humbled I am and the more I realize I don't know And it all makes me hungry to know and love Him more. Anyhow, thanks for bringing up this topic. It's fun to share together!

May we all continue to affirm God's names day by day - who God is, what He does, and what He says!

Blessings and love,
Cath