Some of the sweetest moments in life for me have been just “hanging out” with those I love. I remember gathering fossils along a creek bed with our son when he was into learning about them. I can recall hours of faithfully running with my friend Rich below star-filled, early morning skies. And I still enjoy daily walks with my lovely Sherry around our neighborhood. These are times of “full sharing” where we open our hearts to one another.
For about ten years of our married life, Gene and I would often fly back to the states from our home in the Pacific. Flying time was usually about a total of 18 hours, one way. I had no fear of flying at first, but after a few years of this I started to get worried. My growing fear began to eat away at my trust in the heavenly Father to keep me safe always.
I’ve enjoyed being unified in my relationships with others throughout my life. I was unified into a wonderful family with a great Dad and Mom and all eight of us kids. I was unified with my Boy Scout troop, my school class, and my soccer team. Later I was unified with my wife Sherry and our son. These are all relationships that endeavor to live the old motto “all for one and one for all.”
Superbowl Sunday is a big event in the United States. Although this is not what these scriptures are really talking about, here a few Bible verses that might be humorously used about football.
Originally, God set up special days to recognize His goodness to His people. Yet, God has always wanted every day to be a holy day, set apart for Him. That is where we get the modern word “holi-day,” meaning a holy day. The word “holy” in the Bible means to be set apart for another. We are set apart to love and worship our heavenly Father every day! Every day is a holiday.
God, our heavenly Father, has given us so many wonderful things. One thing we can always give back to Him is thankfulness for what He’s done. That is “thanks giving” at its finest. Here are a few places the word “thanksgiving” appears in the King James Version of the Bible.
In Branded by God, Part 1, we established that keeping the unity of the spirit, “…starts with recognizing that each and every born again believer is a member of the body of Christ,” and “no individual believer is any ‘better’ than another, and none is of less value.” That is the essence of the lowliness and meekness toward God and one another that we need to keep the unity of the spirit.