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Step #1 - LISTEN to the Scriptures (you can READ along, too, if you click on Scriptures Doc below or with your own Bible. I suggest listening & pausing to take notes in your journal, or even in the Scriptures Doc. Bingo! :)
Step #2 - LISTEN to Commentary
Step #3 - Stop & PRAY, asking God to speak to you and give you the power of the Holy Spirit to help you write the Scriptures you just listened to / read on your heart, giving you HIS divine revelation & wisdom into the deeper meanings.
Step #4 - REVIEW & study - as time permits - additional support, & research we will have here to further help explain today's Scriptures. And if you have anything you think would be helpful, attach it below or contact us and we will review and happily share here.
Okay guys, today was serious and I was passionate, but I am laughing hysterically at some mistakes that I made in the Commentary, but I'm not going to edit. Let me know if I should. :) One was I said rosemary instead of roseary. I cannot stop LOL about that one. And I said Jesus in one spot instead of Moses, etc. I know you are tracking and I leave them to make sure you will get the errors. haha!
In addition, I refer to the St. Valentine story. I have the Valentine story down below.
Enjoy this amazing story that brings me to tears and gives me chills every time!!!! Happy, happy Valentine's Day to all my true Valentines - BELIEVERS of JESUS CHRIST who love HIM & HIS WORD so much that you can therefore love ME! I am humbled and grateful for all of you, my Bible in a Year family!!!!! xoxoxo
The True Meaning of Valentine’s Day -
Like Phinehas in today's Scriptures or St. Valentine in the 3rd Century, may we pierce our hearts of conviction & confession of our sins, repenting of ALL that kills & destroys, and live holy lives honoring God above all else and being zealous for His Name & Him alone!!!
I am writing to encourage all of you regarding the true meaning of Valentine's Day. It is not even a holiday about lovers - the world has distorted the true meaning of the holiday, kind of like they have done to Christmas with Santa Claus & flying reindeer, Easter with the Easter bunny, and St. Patrick's Day with green beer. Like all of these, they have added pagan traditions & festivals at the time of year to take away from the true meaning of the Saints these holidays were originally celebrating & the reason why these men were sainted by the Church in the first place - St. Nicholas, St. Patrick, St. Valentine, and of course Jesus.
Valentine's Day is really a celebration of unconditional love & the God of miracles, and a humble man who was willing to risk his life for his faith. It is about friendship & caring for others. It is about being joyful even in the worst of circumstances & knowing that our life still has a purpose & we can still do God’s work & bless others, IF we take our eyes off of the circumstances & put them on the goal of always trying to use our talents & resources, right where we are at, always thinking of God first, then others.
Valentine's Day should be a day of worship & thanksgiving - a time to thank God for how He has worked in the past through the lives of His faithful servants & that He still is a God of miracles & can & will do mighty things. The Catholic Church sainted St. Valentine for miracles & good works attributed to him & honored him with a holy holiday on the calendar.
Let's enjoy this Valentine's Day & every February 14th by thanking God for the wonderful friendships He has given us & the wonderful miracles He performs, and use it as a day to ask God to help us to be more faithful, more bold and more willing to be more like St. Valentine – courageous, trusting, joyful, hopeful, giving, confident, strong, etc. Let’s remember to thank God for His love, for providing Godly people throughout the ages to encourage & inspire us
to live a life worthy of our calling & purpose. Let's celebrate St. Valentine, a Godly Christian man through whom God was able to do miracles because he gave his love, friendship & faith to others, even in the worst of circumstances & paid for it
with his life, for Christ’s sake.
Here is the reason why 100's of years ago Valentinus Valentinus was sainted by the Church and why this holiday was originally so significant.
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The story of Valentine's Day begins in the Third Century with an oppressive Roman Emperor and a humble Christian martyr. The emperor was Claudius II. The Christian was Valentinus Valentinus.
Claudius had ordered all Romans to worship twelve (of course he did) gods and he had made it a crime punishable by death to associate with Christians, but Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ, and not even the threat of death could keep him from practicing his beliefs. He was arrested and imprisoned.
During the last weeks of Valentinus' life a remarkable thing happened. Seeing that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his daughter, Julia, might be brought to Valentinus for lessons. She had been blind since birth. Julia was a pretty, young girl with a quick mind. Valentinus read stories of Rome's history to her. He described the world of nature to her. He taught her arithmetic and told her about God. She saw the world through his eyes, trusted in his wisdom and found comfort in his quiet and yet confident strength.
"Valentinus, does God really hear our prayers?" Julia asked one day. "Yes, my child, He hears each and every one," he replied. "Do you know what I pray for every morning and every noon and every night? I pray that I might see. I want so much to see everything you've told me about!"
"God does what is best for us if we will only believe in Him," Valentinus answered. "Oh, Valentinus, I do believe," Julia said intensely. "I do." She knelt and grasped his hand.
They sat quietly together, each praying. Suddenly there was a brilliant light in the cell. Radiant, Julia screamed, "Valentinus, Valentinus I can see! I can see!" "Praise be to God alone," Valentinus exclaimed, and he knelt again in prayer.
On the eve of his death, Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia, urging her to stay close to God and he signed it - "from your Valentine."
His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14th, 270 AD, near a gate that was later named Porta Valentini in his memory. He was buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome. It is said that Julia herself planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave. Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship.