Daily Gospel

PROVERBS 5:18-19;
18 _ Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. 19 _ She is a loving doe, a graceful deer. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.

SONG OF SONGS 7:6-12;
6 _ “Oh, how delightful you are, my beloved; how pleasant for utter delight! 7You are tall and slim like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters of dates. 8 _ I said, ‘I will climb up into the palm tree and take hold of its branches.’ Now may your breasts be like grape clusters, and the scent of your breath like apples. 9 _ May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine, smooth and sweet, flowing gently over lips and teeth.”
6. The bride’s tender appeal
Young Woman: 10 _ “I am my lover’s, the one he desires. 11Come, my love, let us go out into the fields and spend the night among the wildflowers. 12Let us get up early and go out to the vineyards. Let us see whether the vines have budded, whether the blossoms have opened, and whether the pomegranates are in flower. And there I will give you my love.

EPHESIANS 5:28, 33
28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. 29No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church. 30And we are his body.
31 _ As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

God clearly shares with us the love and delight dimensions of sex in marriage. Sex is not for reproduction only, but for a bonding of love and enjoyment between husbands and wives.


SONG OF SONGS 5:2-8

Young Woman: 2 _ “One night as I was sleeping, my heart awakened in a dream. I heard the voice of my lover. He was knocking at my bedroom door. ‘Open to me, my darling, my treasure, my lovely dove,’ he said, ‘for I have been out in the night. My head is soaked with dew, my hair with the wetness of the night.’
3“But I said, ‘I have taken off my robe. Should I get dressed again? I have washed my feet. Should I get them soiled?’
4“My lover tried to unlatch the door, and my heart thrilled within me. 5I jumped up to open it. My hands dripped with perfume, my fingers with lovely myrrh, as I pulled back the bolt. 6I opened to my lover, but he was gone. I yearned for even his voice! I searched for him, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. I called to him, but there was no reply. 7 _ The watchmen found me as they were making their rounds; they struck and wounded me. The watchman on the wall tore off my veil.
8“Make this promise to me, O women of Jerusalem! If you find my beloved one, tell him that I am sick with love.”

When marriage becomes routine, it is important to restoke the fires of sexual intimacy.



TRIVIA
Where in the world? What city in Revelation was seen as a place that would never again hear the voices of brides and grooms?

Answer:

Where? Babylon (Revelation 18:23)

God’s mighty power is evident in creation.

Psalm 65:5-13

⁵ You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.

⁶ You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength.

⁷ You quieted the raging oceans
with their pounding waves
and silenced the shouting of the nations.

⁸ Those who live at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
you inspire shouts of joy.

⁹ You take care of the earth and water it,
making it rich and fertile.
The rivers of God will not run dry;
they provide a bountiful harvest of grain,
for you have ordered it so.

¹⁰ You drench the plowed ground with rain,
melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
and bless its abundant crops.

¹¹ You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.

¹² The wilderness becomes a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.

¹³ The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!

What sweet substance was part of John the Baptist’s diet?

Answer:

Honey (Matthew 3:4)

⁴ John’s clothes were woven from camel hair, and he wore a leather belt; his food was locusts and wild honey.

Carol S. Wimmer

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting, "I am saved!"
I'm whispering "I was lost"
"That is why I chose this way."

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble needing
God to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And pray for strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't think I know it all
I submit to my confusion
Asking humbly to be taught.

When I say... " I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are too visible.
But God believes I'm worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartaches
Which is why I seek His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I do not wish to judge.
I have no authority.
I only know I'm loved!

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. "My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20."

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him.

Psalm 17:8 states that God will keep us, "as the apple of His eye."

THOUGHT: The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we are but by WHOSE WE ARE! You are special - Don't ever forget it!

For your part, son of man, I have set you as a watchman for Israel, and when you hear my word, you must give them my warning. When I say to the wicked: ‘Wicked man, you shall die for sure,’ if you do not warn the wicked man to turn from his ways, he will die because of his sin, but I will also call you to account for his blood. If you warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you yourself will be saved.

Romans 13:8-10

For this passage, it is clear that whenever you hear God’s words and wisdom, it is your responsibility to tell it to everybody. It means you must win souls to be brought back to Jesus and make disciples to let everybody know Him the Lord our savior.