Quarrel Vs. Love

Quarrel VS. Love
by Heather Collver

So what option will you choose? Will you hold your tongue? Can you walk away without the last word? Are you in this for you or for the good of all men? Is it really a choice to love?

All these questions. I have to say that even after everything I learned this week, my brain keeps saying "yeah...but". End that thought with "you don't know how bad they hurt me", "I want to be heard", or insert your thought here. There are so many reasons we can logically come up with that would support us causing a bit of a quarrel. In fact I think that must be one of the hardest things between men and women. If we don't understand that a man needs to feel respected and a woman needs to feel loved, we will fight like cats and dogs. I am not saying we are to avoid fighting for our rights as a people, but when it comes to relationships, it's best to practice self control. It's best to let Love prevail.

One thing that I love to share is that my daughter used to pray for Satan all the time. She still does it occasionally, but when she was younger, her little mind said that everyone deserves to be loved and everyone deserves God. So she prayed for him and asked God to help him be better and not so mean. You might not like this, but if we cause strife and quarreling among our selves, we are taking away from God. We need prayer too, just as my daughter prayed for Satan, we need to be sure that others are praying for us and that we choose love above all things, because God is love.

Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up quarrels,but love makes up for all offenses.

Proverbs 17:14 Starting a quarrel is like opening a floodgate,so stop before a dispute breaks out.

Proverbs 17:19 Anyone who loves to quarrel loves sin;anyone who trusts in high walls invites disaster.

Proverbs 18:6 Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels;they are asking for a beating.

Proverbs 19:13 A foolish child is a calamity to a father;a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping.

Proverbs 20:3 Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor;only fools insist on quarreling.

Proverbs 21:9 It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.

Proverbs 21:19 It’s better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife.

Proverbs 22:10 Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too.Quarrels and insults will disappear

Isaiah 58:4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.

Romans 13:13 Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.

2 Timothy 2:24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.

There are so many more verses that teach us not to quarrel. I hope you have a moment to write it on your heart that we must not let our thoughts or our words cause quarreling.

Dear Lord, thank you for your word, I praise you for loving me in the midst of my inadequacies. Help me to know your words, live your word and love all people.


Praise and Prayer

Mom got to come home last night. It's been 3 long months of hospitals, nursing homes and care facilities. But, all is well for right now. Thanks for all the support. LEW

Hayden is feeling much better today, please pray for protection over our family during this flu season with weakened immune systems. HC

Please pray for Jenni, Jake and Nikki. They all are fighting the symptoms of swine flu.

Please pray for Diana and Dan as they recover from an auto accident. Pray for provision for them.

Please pray for a situation where a mother is giving up rights for the better of her child. Pray for her unborn child now.

Please pray for Gil O. Heart. Health.

Please pray for Sierra. young girls struggling with insecurities.

Please pray for Ashley, health

Please pray for Lisa, Roger, Kimberly and Joshua, family, unity, health

Thank you for praying with me for these issues.

The Quarrel about Quirinius

The Quarrel about Quirinius

by Heather Collver

I love it. I started off this week not being able to find a name that started with Q. So I chose a topic that started with Q, Quarrel. Then two people give me two different names. Both of these names is linked to the word Quarrel. For me, this kind of stuff is pretty exciting. I love this weeks devotional because it has been challenging, I am learning about two people that are not easiest to find in the Bible. Yet both of their lives seem so important to me. I saved Quirinius for today, it's pretty exciting.

Apparently there has been quite a bit of quarrelling going on concerning Quirinius and the accuracy of the Bible. Many scholars who have tried to find a historical error in the Bible in order to prove it is not accurate have used Quirinius as their example for hundreds of years. The argument stands that the Bible states Quirinius was the governor at the time of the first census. However, the New King James version states he was not the governor. He was governing, or in an important office, but not governor. So it really depends on the translation that is used when debating this fact. Why didn't anyone ever check historical documentation? Could they have been so set on proving the Bible inaccurate that they were blinded by the truth?

Quirinius was an important figure in Roman politics. His name is mentioned as a councilman of Augustus. The Roman historian Tacitus states that Quirinius was an advisor to Augustus' young son Caius Caesar in Armenia. The first century historian Josephus also mentions that Quirinius became governor later on in 6 A.D.,
He wrote:
“Quirinius, a Roman senator who had gone
through other magistracies and had passed through
them all until he had become consul, was appointed
governor of Syria by Caesar and was given the task
of assessing property there and in Judea."
So who was in charge as the assessor of property in Judea during the first census? Just as the
Bible had said all along, Quirinius.

Many men have died never believing that the son of God was truly Jesus all because of this small little fact. They say that because some translations read governor instead of governing, then the whole Bible inaccurate. It was all about the translation. Now, hundreds of years later we are able to check against historical documents and see that the Bible is 100% accurate. How tragic is it that these many men never knew the peace that comes with knowing Jesus. They quarrelled, so bullheaded that they were not able to see the truth. How true is that in our own lives. How many times have we been so headstrong we are practically willing to die over what we believe is fact. This world is full of information and not all of it is accurate. The best thing to do is to remember that the Word is accurate and if it does not line up with the Word of God, then it is not 100% truth. It is all about our perspectives and our translation, isn't it?

Dear Lord, I pray that we as a people in this World will not become believers of things that are not accurate. Will you guard us against lies in both our thoughts and ears so that we may hear your truth, so that we may not cause others to question such small and minute things that it would cause them to turn from you. May we guard our tongues and our hearts against such lies as the ones that have been told for hundreds of years. I pray that those who do not yet know you, will come to know and love you and trust in your Word. You are faithful. Thank you Lord.

Please pray for Bob Oliger today, for many blessings on him, as he suggested the name Quirinius to me, thanks so much.

Don't forget to send in praise and prayers for tomorrows devotional.

Quartus, just one verse.

Quartus, just one verse.

by Heather Collver

So I did it. I put it out there and someone stepped up to the plate. I couldn't find a man's name in the Bible that started with Q.... until I hopped on Facebook after the devotional posted. I was enlightened.... there are two men in the Bible who's names start with a Q. Absolutely delighted. I have three days left and will be sharing what I have learned about these two men whom I overlooked.

Romans 16:21 Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

All those listed had a name or a title. Quartus was listed and his only title that gets him into history is "a brother". This is the only verse he was listed in. The fact that he was listed last in the greetings means he was least known to those who would be reading and basically least important. Paul writes as many would in those days, by listing those that are well known and wealthy first.

But the fact that he was listed should not go unnoticed. It should be celebrated.

"He is only a good, simple, unknown Christian. He feels a spring of love open in his heart to these brethren far across the sea, whom he never met. He would like them to know that he thought lovingly of them, and to be lovingly thought of by them. So he begs a little corner in Paul’s letter, and gets it; and there, in his little niche, like some statue of a forgotten saint, scarce seen amidst the glories of a great cathedral, ‘Quartus a brother’ stands to all time."(a)

Doing a bit more research, I find that Quartus by name means Fourth. That he was from the city of Corinth and that the word brother meant he was one of the 70 disciples of Jesus. So he had actually seen and heard Jesus at one time. Of the thousands of people who came to listen to Jesus' teachings, he put it into action, he became a disciple. He's much more than a brother.

"Let me suggest another thing. Quartus was a Corinthian. The Corinthian Church was remarkable for its quarrellings and dissensions. One said, ‘I am of Paul, and another, I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.’ I wonder if our friend Quartus belonged to any of these parties? There is nothing more likely than that he had a much warmer glow of Christian love to the brethren over there in Rome than to those who sat on the same bench with him in the upper room at Corinth. For you know that sometimes it is true about people, as well as about scenery, that ‘distance lends enchantment to the view.’ A great many of us have much keener sympathies with ‘brethren’ who are well out of our reach, and whose peculiarities do not jar against ours, than with those who are nearest. I do not say Quartus was one of these, but he may very well have been one of the wranglers in Corinth who found it much easier to love his brother whom he had not seen than his brother whom he had seen. So take the hint, if you need it. Do not let your Christian love go wandering away abroad only, but keep some for home consumption."(b)

Did you see that? I was able to find a correlation between both Quarrel and Quartus. I am so excited.

So here, we see an example of one who was more than just a brother, one who took the challenge from Jesus to go to the reaches of the Earth and spread his word. He may not have physically delivered the letter to Rome, but he was important, he sent his love for those he did not know.

Dear Lord, I pray that we will all remember each of us has a story. When our lives are busy, help us to see others in your eyes, so that we do not pick out their differences and cause strife, but that we would see them as unique and wonderfully made by you. Help us to share your love with all who are watching us, in the grocery store, bank, work, church, social events, school events, etc... Thank you for Quartus, for his example and for the amazing writer, ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D., Litt.D., whom I have quoted in my teaching today. Thank you also for Kenneth Gray, who cared enough to share the name Quartus with me.

(a)(b)QUARTUS A BROTHER http://www.ccel.org/ccel/maclaren/rom_cor.ii.l.html

Can't we all just get along?

Can't we all just get a long?
by Heather Collver

Acts 7:26
Then on the next day he suddenly appeared to some who were quarreling and fighting among themselves, and he urged them to make peace and become reconciled, saying, Men, you are brethren; why do you abuse and wrong one another?

It is a common thought that passes through my head. "Why can't we all just get along?" More during the hours my children are all home or when we are in a vehicle together. It is amazing to witness the love between siblings. One minute they have each other's backs, the next they are pulling out the knife. It's a love/hate thing that drives me crazy. So when I think about God's response to all his children fighting and quarreling, I figure that he must be pretty hurt that his own creation wouldn't be willing to forgive one another as he has forgiven us. It doesn't just happen in the secular world. I have to admit that I have seen my share of quarreling among Christians. No one is immune to it. But God's Word clearly tells us that we must stop, we must make peace and become reconciled.

Is there someone in your life that you have recently quarreled with? Is there something bothering you and you have gone over the hurtful words you want to say over and over, but something is keeping you from unleashing them? Have you allowed a difference in opinion become a personal hurt in your life? All of these things stir up strife. It causes a break down in relationships and often results in a quarrel.

Ephesians 4:31- Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).

Dear Lord, let our words, thoughts and actions be consistent with the character of Christ whom we so desperately want to be like. Help us to reflect your goodness and be quick to forgive others, help us to let stuff slide off our backs. We love you, Lord.

Please pray for those who hate. Those who seek out crimes against those who are different from them. There were over 7,600 incidents of hate crimes in 2007. go to http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2007/table_01.htm for more information. Don't forget to pray.

Q is for Quarrel

Q is for Quarrel
by Heather Collver

Is there anyone in the Bible who's name starts with a Q? I apologize that I could not find it if there is. I hope that I will be able to teach on a word rather than a person for our letter Q this week.

Quarrel- The following definitions are from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quarrel
–noun
1.
an angry dispute or altercation; a disagreement marked by a temporary or permanent break in friendly relations.
2.
a cause of dispute, complaint, or hostile feeling: She has no quarrel with her present salary.
–verb (used without object)
3.
to disagree angrily; squabble; wrangle.
4.
to end a friendship as a result of a disagreement.
5.
to make a complaint; find fault.

Reading those definitions may spark a memory in most of us. I know I am guilty of being quarrelsome. Especially when I was a child. What does the Bible teach us about Quarrel? How will we be able to connect it to men in the Bible?

2 Timothy 2:24- And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong.

Men are teachers. They teach in many ways. At home, at work, in the community, among friends. They teach in schools, churches and corporate settings all the time. They lead our counties, states and country. Good teaching never promotes quarrels or foolish arguments. It is important to listen to people's questions and treat them respectfully. Debates should be avoided at all times. Those who oppose you will be more willing to hear what you have to say and perhaps turn from their error. This is particularly helpful when representing the Lord, our God. It also pertains to both men and women. Whenever we have the opportunity to represent our Lord, we must keep from debates and quarreling.

Proverbs 20:3- It is an honor for a man to cease from strife and keep aloof from it, but every fool will quarrel.

Men and women both have a responsibility. They are to live a life of integrity. It is important that we always live above reproach. When arguments start, find a way to cease from participating.

Proverbs 26:21-As coals are to hot embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man to inflame strife. Just picture a camp fire, or a barbecue. We must add the fuel to get it going. Are you more likely to be the fuel or the extinguisher?

Dear Lord,
I want to spend time on this subject this week. I know that I am guilty of strife and quarreling. I ask that you remind us this week to turn away, cease and extinguish any desire to participate, fuel or encourage a quarrel. I pray that you will speak through me and help me to teach your Word accurately.

We do not currently have a scheduled name to pray for this week. If you are in need of prayer, please let us know. So for now, let's pray for our country and it's ability to fuel or extinguish current issues that could cause quarreling.