Verse 11...

So I realize I only memorized 1 verse for the month of May! I am still on track to have all 24 memorized by December but I must admit this verse was more difficult than some of the others...

"Didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I am not sure if it is because this verse is in the Message and it is more conversational or if I struggled because this verse is so hard to put into practice! I do want to honor God with my body both by what I put into it and how I take of it...however, that is so much easier said than done!

So while I continue to work on putting 1 Cor.6:19-20 into practice this is verse number 11...

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:1-2

While I used to always look at this verse and think about not listening to "bad" music or watching "bad" movies or tv shows, today this verse means so much more.

I think that the writer is saying not to worry about achieving great success in the world's eyes. Quit striving to make your life comfortable with more and more luxuries. Focus on Christ and the things He is focused on...like serving the needy, redeeming the lost, caring for the widow and the orphan, and so much more. For so much of my life I have been focused on earthly things...how to make enough money, how to make sure my house looks cute, how to make more time for me, and while none of this is bad it does make me wonder how many years I have wasted just focusing on me instead of sharing the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.

I pray that I will remember this verse at every turn in my life... that when my flesh's desire to be comfortable wages war with God's desire to use me for His glory my mind and my heart will be focused on the "things above" and that I will not be drawn in by earthly things.