Take Up Your Mat

34 I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.35 By this shall all (men) know that you are My disciples, if you love one another (if you keep on showing love among yourselves).John 13:34-35 Amplified Bible 34 So I give you a new command: Love each other deeply and fully. Remember the ways that I have loved you, and demonstrate your love for others in those same ways. 35 Everyone will know you as My followers if...

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV 9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided...

6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.Philippians 1:6 NLT 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.Philippians 1:6 NASB Melanie Romano is a (R-HYI 225) and (RYT 200) certified yoga instructor, also certified in Chair yoga, Yin yoga and Touch & Assist training. In the studio, she loves...

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.James 1:27 NIV True spirituality that is pure in the eyes of our Father God is to make a difference in the lives of the orphans, and widows in their troubles, and to refuse to be corrupted by the world’s values.James 1:27 The Passion Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their...

25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. 26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.Lamentations 3:25-26 NLT God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks.It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God.It’s a good thing when you’re young to stick it out through the hard times.Lamentations 3:25-27 The Message The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks...

11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.1 Kings 19: 11-12 ESV Amy Hoyte is the founder and facilitator for Beautifully...

for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemyPsalm 61:3 ESV For You have been a refuge for me,A tower of strength against the enemy.Psalm 61:3 NASB Lord, you are a paradise of protection to me.You lift me high above the fray.None of my foes can touch mewhen I’m held firmly in your wrap-around presence!Psalm 61:3 The Passion Translation From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint.Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.Psalm 61:3 Tree of Life Version For...

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”Acts 1:8 NIV 17 On one of the days while Jesus was teaching, some proud religious law-keepers and teachers of the Law were sitting by Him. They had come from every town in the countries of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was there to heal them. 18 Some men took a man who was not able to move his body...

8-12 Bless our God, O peoples! Give him a thunderous welcome! Didn’t he set us on the road to life? Didn’t he keep us out of the ditch? He trained us first, passed us like silver through refining fires, Brought us into hardscrabble country, pushed us to our very limit, Road-tested us inside and out, took us to hell and back; Finally he brought us to this well-watered place.Psalm 66:10-12 https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/...

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.Genesis 1:26-27 NIV 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in...

6 1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.Galations 6:1-3 The Message https://www.amazon.com/Psalms-Praying-Invitation-Nan-Merrill/dp/0826419062 Queen began her yoga journey in 2015 as a...

Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. 6 Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go. 7 Don’t think for a moment that you know it all, for wisdom comes when you adore him with undivided devotion and avoid everything that’s wrong. 8 Then you will find the healing refreshment your body and spirit long for.Proverbs 3:5-8 The Passion...

for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.Psalm 61:3 ESV For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.Psalm 61:3 NIV Lord, you are a paradise of protection to me. You lift me high above the fray. None of my foes can touch me when I’m held firmly in your wrap-around presence!Psalm 61:3 The Passion From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.Psalm 61:3 Tree of Life Translation for you are my safe...

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.Psalms 91:1 NIV He who is dwelling In the secret place of the Most High, In the shade of the Mighty lodgeth habitually,Psalms 91:1 Young's Literal Translation When you sit enthroned under the shadow of Shaddai, you are hidden in the strength of God Most High.Psalms 91:1 The Passion He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.Psalms 91:1 ESV He who takes refuge in...

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”1 Samuel 16:7 NIV 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”1 Samuel 16:7 NLT Eternal One (to...

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.Psalms 51:12 NIV Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance.Sustain me by giving me the desire to obeyPsalms 51:12 NET Let my passion for life be restored, tasting joy in every breakthrough you bring to me. Hold me close to you with a willing spirit that obeys whatever you say.Psalms 51:12 The Passion Translation Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.Psalms...

2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! 3 For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things. 4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.James1:2-4 THe Passion 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into...

18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.Ephesians 3:18-20 NLT 18–19 Then you will be...

13 You, beloved, are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes bland and loses its saltiness, can anything make it salty again? No. It is useless. It is tossed out, thrown away, or trampled. 14 And you, beloved, are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. 15 Similarly it would be silly to light a lamp and then hide it under a bowl. When someone lights a lamp, she puts it on a table or a desk or a chair, and the light illumines the entire house. 16 You are like...

1-3 The boy Samuel was serving God under Eli’s direction. This was at a time when the revelation of God was rarely heard or seen. One night Eli was sound asleep (his eyesight was very bad—he could hardly see). It was well before dawn; the sanctuary lamp was still burning. Samuel was still in bed in the Temple of God, where the Chest of God rested. 4-5 Then God called out, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Yes? I’m here.” Then he ran to Eli saying, “I heard you call. Here I am.” Eli said,...