Mark 1:8

[John the Baptist] will baptize you with water,

but [Jesus Christ] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

I'm still trying to work out this phenomenon in my head.  I'm not quite ready to research it until I get at least my own opinion on the matter a little more formed.  So, with that being said, I'm looking toward the Holy Spirit for understanding.  Until then, this will remain a shorter post than normal!

Philippians 4:4-6

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

God doesn't ask for much, but he does ask for us to rejoice in His name, and give Him thanks no matter what we're going through.  We're all going to have struggles.  Right now, I'm working toward a degree in dietetics, and everything I've completed in the past four/five years has led up to an internship.  My classmates are stressed beyond belief, but I'm trying to stay calm and give God the rejoice and thanksgiving He deserves.  We rejoice in all aspects of our lives - our actions, our relationships, our thoughts.

I'm working toward being gentle to everyone.  Obviously, some people are easy to be gentle toward, but God rejoices over us when He sees us being gentle to everyone - especially those who make it a little more difficult.  They are still children of God, and we are still called to share the gospel with them in a gentle manner.

Zepheniah 3:17

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. 

He will take great delight in you,

he will quiet you with his love,

he will rejoice over you with singing.

He will quiet you with his love!

The part of this verse that stands out most for me, at least today, is "he will quiet you with his love."  I think especially in this chaotic world, we need to be quieted more so than ever.  The picture that immediately comes to mind is a mother rocking her baby.  How often do we end up in tears from frustration, sadness or despair?  Just think - God wants to comfort us and quiet our souls.  Just like the little baby, we are afraid, unsure.  But God is bigger than it all and can show us that the unknown isn't so big and scary.

I'm challenging myself to practice deeper quiet times with God.  Not those half-hearted, I'm-only-doing-this-because-I-have-to quiet times, but those ones where you run into them, devouring the word as you read it.  Oh yeah, and to make them QUIET.  No music, no Facebook, no roommates, no cell phone.  Just me and God, and His word.  Challenge?  Yup.