Romans 3:10-12

¹⁰As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
¹²All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."

Hebrews 9:27

²⁷Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

1 Peter 3:18

¹⁸For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

1 Peter 1:3

^{Well, after learning all this, i think it helped us in being more discerning and careful about the preaching of the gospel. It is true that God does love us.}

John 3:16

¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

^{But it is not the full gospel.}

^{Here's John MacArthur}

²He said to them, "When you pray, say:
" 'Father,^a]"[a]
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.^[b]
³Give us each day our daily bread.
⁴Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.^[c]
And lead us not into temptation.^[d]' "

Luke 11:1-4

then LM said we can follow the structure of the Lord's prayer.

⁵"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

⁹"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us today our daily bread.
¹²Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.^[a]' ¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew 6: 5-15

so just from this experience, i know that God answers prayer, and God speaks to us through His word, and through people in the church, and circumstance.

http://breakthroughprayer.com/howto/ACTS.html

it had the ACTS thing. i havent read it yet though...

³ Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶ When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. ⁷ With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

⁸ Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. ⁹ May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband."
Then she kissed them and they wept aloud ¹⁰ and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."

¹¹ But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? ¹² Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons- ¹³ would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!"

¹⁴ At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵ "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."

¹⁶ But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." ¹⁸ When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

¹⁹ So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"

²⁰ "Don't call me Naomi, ^b]">[b] " she told them. "Call me Mara, ^c]">[c] because the Almighty ^d]">[d] has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted ^e]">[e] me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

²² So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

After reading some commentaries on Ruth 1, there were some things that were significant to me. Firstly, in Ruth 1:8-9, ruth tells her daughter-in-laws to go back to their homes while she leaves to go back to where she came from. In the commentaries i read, they both asked a question, did she not want to 'save them from the idolatry of Moab, and bring them to the faith and worship of the God of Israel'? Well, the answer is that she probably wanted to do so, but would have rather they followed her on their own account. The commentary goes on to say 'Those that take upon them a profession of religion only to oblige their friends, or for the sake of company, will be converts of small value.' I guess it's not uncommon to pull people along to church activities giving friendship as the reason, but i guess what is achieved is of little value? hmm...stuff to think about?

Another thing was like a comparison between Orpah and Ruth. In Ruth1:10, they both said that they will go back Naomi. This shows that they both loved her very much. But in verse 14, orpah left naomi, while ruth clung on to her. This shows that though orpah loved naomi, she did not love her enough to go back with her. the commentary says 'Thus, many have a value and affection for Christ, yet come short of salvation by him, because they will not forsake other things for him. They love him, yet leave him, because they do not love him enough, but love other things better.' so if we love other things better, then who are we serving?

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Matthew 6:24

mmm. time for reflection and prayer.

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

² Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

³ There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. ^a]">[a]

⁴ Their voice ^b]">[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

⁵ which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

⁶ It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

¹¹ By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Indeed, the heavens declare the glory of God. We left school at about 9 today, and as we walked towards the side gate, we looked up, and saw stars. twinkling, shiny stars.

I don't remember where i heard, or read it, (during sky i think) but the guy said that when we look at the ocean, or a beautifully carved out rock in the middle of the ocean, we don't think first about how it was the result of many years of erosion or cycles of change, but we think about how amazing it is.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

what can i do but praise Him, our Creator, our Father, our Lord, our Saviour, our God