February Week 4 - Samuel

Ponderize Scripture: 
Luke 17:32-33 "Remember Lot's wife.  Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."

Monday 2/22
John 11:1-53 'Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead' vs. 9-10 "...If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, beacuase he seeth the light of this world.  But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him."  Christ is the only way back to Heavenly Father.  He is the way, the truth and the light.  No one can be saved by his own works...'there is no light in him'.  Reminder to always look to Christ, use the Atonement daily, and walk by faith and the light will appear. v.25-26 "...I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."  I need not die spiritually ever even though I may die physically.  I need to exercise faith or believe that Christ is my Savior and that he will save me through the Atonement and then follow him, obey the commandments and serve others.  The promise is that I will 'never die'.
So interesting how Christ raised Lazarus from the dead before he completed the Atonement.  I would assume that Lazarus later on died again because his body was still mortal and he wasn't resurrected yet.  It was only after Christ resurrected that all who had died could begin to be resurrected.  However, Lazarus believed in Christ, Martha believed in Christ, Mary believed in Christ though they didn't know the meaning of all things.  The disciples also didn't know the meaning of all things. What is the lesson to be learned?  That in order to live I should believe in Christ, believe him, and follow after him though I don't necessarily need to know or understand everything, I just need to have the desire and be seeking for the truth and be trying to increase my faith.  The Savior was able to make up the difference of their faith for the miracle to occur and he can do the same in my life.

Tuesday 2/23
Luke 17:11-19 The Ten Lepers vs.17-19 "...Were not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?  There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.  And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."  This is a warning to followers of Christ, that gratitude is easy to forget, especially when the miracles and blessings in our lives become either routine or are slight that they are not perceived.  Yes, keeping the commandments brings blessings but there is another part, that would recognizing those blessings and giving thanks to God for his mercy, love, and kindness.  It really is only through him that makes my life worth living.  I really like how Christ said that the man was made whole.  If I am not grateful, though I may receive a blessing and/or am healed because of faith and obedience, I may not be made whole completely.  I may be healed, but not made whole like the one man was.  The other nine were healed, but not necessarily made whole or made complete, which is to be focused on the Savior and the Atonement.  This brings about a transformation I think or our desires, thoughts, words, and actions.  Being whole to me is becoming like God through the Atonement.  How can I better recognize the Lord in my life?  How can I better be grateful for my blessings and the tender mercies that happen daily in my life??  Prayer helps with this, give a prayer of gratitude in the moment, 5 things to be grateful for each day, write down blessings in a journal...?

Wednesday 2/24
Luke 18:1-8 'Parable of the Unjust Judge' v. "...men ought always to pray, and not to faint."  What does faint mean? To me it means to not be committed or be consistent, having the faith and hope that God will hear and answer. vs.7-8 "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with men?  I tell you he will avenge them speedily..."  God hears and answers prayers.  I will answer my prayers will I consistently and faithfully cry to him.  The old saying goes...'the squeaky wheel gets the grease'.  Prayer is like this and more.  It is an act of faith and it requires consistent work/effort. How can I make prayer a central part of my life?  How can I be consistent in my prayers?
Luke 18: 9-14 'The Pharisee and the Publican' v.11-12 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust...I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess."  How am I like this?  Even when I am not praying do I think that I am better than others?  How can I realize that all that I have and am is from and because of God, my Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ?  v.13-14 "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."  This is important.  When I look to God for help and support and realize that the source of all power and glory comes from him (which is what it is in reality) he can lead me on the perfect journey for me and I will follow but when I think that I am hot stuff because I do good things and am obedient I stop my progress because I think I am better, that it was my effort and girt that got me to where I am at.  That is not so.  I really hinder my progress and don't accept feedback and constructive criticism well.  Even if I am good at something, God had something better in store for me if I just look to him.

Thursday 2/25
Matt. 19:1-12 vs.4-6 "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."  I really like this...God created a man and a woman with a purpose for them to become one flesh.  They are very different and distinct beings but what they bring makes something complete and whole.  Men and Women are very different but I feel like they can't exist without each other and the union and progression that are made when they are together extend far beyond what one person can do alone.  God wants marriage and for a man and a woman to work at it to make it worth it.  All things that have value and are worthwhile take work and effort and they should do it together (leaving father and mother and cleaving to his wife).  Cleave to me means to hold fast and to not let go.  The marriage is about a man and a woman leaving the other influences in their separate lives and creating a new one that will not fail through effort and patience and love and forgiveness and repentance, full of communication and seeking for understanding.  Marriage makes a perfect union.  How can I be more ready for marriage?  Be committed and loyal and seek to be the man that my Lindsey wants and needs me to be...seeking the Lord everyday and leaving the influences of my family  and friends behind.

Friday 2/26
Gregory Clark Some Lessons on Faith and Fear "When I am living in faith, I don't fear change, or changing myself, for the better.  But when I am living in fear, I find change and changing--for the better, at least--almost impossible." This is so profound.  A good measure on whether I have fear or not is to recognize when change happens how I feel about it.  "What is the source of fear? I think that it is rooted in the assumption that I must solve all my problems and face all my challenges along, using my own resources.  That is frightening, because deep in my heart I know how limited those resources are.  So when I am fearful, I am also hopeless.  And without hope, I find myself paralyzed.  Knowing that I am not capable of changing myself or my circumstances for the better, I stand frozen in fear."  The source of all faith is the Lord so this would make sense that relying on myself brings fear (opposite of faith) and keeps me from making decisions and acting on those decisions.  The source of fear is myself and the influences around me including the adversary.  The source of faith is the Lord.  "Faith is a choice to believe and to act upon that belief in the face of uncertainty."  It is a choice, something that will not be taken away.

Saturday 2/27
Gregory Clark Some Lessons on Faith and Fear " continued...  "Faith is founded upon our memory of divine witnesses and blessings received in the past and upon our hope in divine promises for the future.  Founded upon promises of the past and the future, our faith can be vulnerable when experiences in the present seem to contradict both.  So even with knowledge of the truth, in the present moments of our day-to-day experience we remain subject to fear and must consciously choose again and again to believe, to remember, to hope, to have faith."  How profound this is!  I have to choose again and again to have faith, taking from the experiences from the past and hope in the future.  "I have to remind myself constantly to choose faith and keeping choosing faith in the face of realities that seem to contradict it and to do that for as long as it takes...I have to remind myself that this choice of faith will, sooner or later, result in answers to my prayers and miracles in my life."  Choosing faith should be a slogan in my life.  In each decision, I should ask myself 'am I choosing faith??