Posts Tagged ‘Christ’

Love For One Another

August 16, 2010

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: John 13:33-35

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. —John 13:35

You have to work hard to offend Christians. By nature, Christians are the most forgiving, understanding, and thoughtful group of people I’ve ever dealt with. They never assume the worst. They appreciate the importance of having different perspectives. They’re slow to anger, quick to forgive, and almost never make rash judgments or act in anything less than a spirit of total love. . . . No, wait—I’m thinking of golden retrievers!

I laughed when I read this in an e-mail. But having had experience with goldens—and fellow Christians—I think it’s true that sometimes believers are just too easily offended! “The choir director always gives her the solos.” “The pastor didn’t even look at me when he shook my hand.” “I do a lot around here—people ought to appreciate me a little more.”

Anger. Resentment. Pride. Sure, issues between believers do sometimes need to be addressed. But what if we always tried to treat others the way we want to be treated (Matt. 7:12), weren’t quick to judge others but forgave them (Luke 6:37), and demonstrated a little humility? (Phil. 2:3).

And what if the world could actually recognize that we are followers of Jesus by the love we have “for one another”? (John 13:35). Is this true of us? —Cindy Hess Kasper

Lord, let me be a shining light
In all I say and do,
That Your great love displayed in me
May lead someone to You. —Sper

Sometimes the best witness is love.

From Gail:

20Now then we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5)

God is trusting you to represent him well and to accurately portray his love so others can see and believe.  Don’t betray this trust.

The spirit indeed is willing, but how weak the body is!

O Lord, we love to do your will!  Our hearts’ desire is to glorify your name.  All night long I search for you; earnestly I seek for God.

I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned.  No matter which way I turn, I can’t make myself do right.  I want to but I can’t.  I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me, in my lower nature, that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.  For we naturally love to do evil things that  are just the opposite from the things that the Holy Spirit tells us to do; and the good things we want to do when the Spirit has his way with us are jsut the opposite of our natural desires.  These two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win control over us, and our wishes are never free from their pressures.

I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power.  Our only power and success comes from God.  I am with you; that is all you need.

Mt 26:41. Is 26:8,9. Rom 7:18,22-23, Gal 5:17. Phil 4:13. 2 Cor 3:5, 2 Cor 12:9.

Taken from Living Light

From Gail:

Struggling to overcome evil is nothing to be ashamed of, rather something to be proud of.  God sees that you want to do what is right.  Just be careful that you are not trying to overcome on your own power.  Only God can change your heart.

Don’t bring me to trial!  For as compared with you, no one is perfect.

“Come let’s talke this over,” says the Lord; “no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow.  Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool!”

If I find thorns and briars bothering her, I will burn them up, unless these enemies of mine surrender and beg for peace and my protection.  Quit quarreling with God!  Agree with him and you will have peace at last!

Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promies, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  So, we too, have trusted Jesus Christ that we might be accepted by God.  The more we know of God’s laws, the clearer it becomes that we are obeying them; his laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners.  No one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what the law demands.

Everyone  who trusts in him is freed from all guilt and declared righteous.  How we thank God for all of this!  It is he who makes us victorious through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Ps 143:2. Is. 1:18. Is. 27:5. Job 22:21. Rom. 5:1. Gal. 2:16. Rom.3:20. Acts13:39. I Cor. 15:57.

Taken from Living Light

I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me and heard my cry. And He hath put a new song in my mouth; even praise unto our God; many shall see it and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:1,3

Praise ye the LORD! Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints! Psalm 149:1

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.  I Corinthians 5:17

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?  Isaiah 43:19

And He that sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said unto me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob says he will make all things new.  Let these be words of encouragement to you this Pentecost season.

What new things do you want to happen in your life?  Make a list and see what you can do to make them happen, and then let go and ask God to help you with the rest.  List both the positive and negative. What negative things do you want out of yourself and your life, and what positive things do you want Jesus to do for you in your heart and your life and family.

To trust in God means safety.  The Lord is very great and lives in heaven.  He is high above the nations; his glory is far greater than the heavens.  Far below him ar the heavens and the earth; he stoops to look, and lifts the poor from the dirt, and the hungry from the garbage dump, and sets them among princes.  But God is so rich in mercy;  he loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead–only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved–and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with him in the heavenly realms–all because of what Christ Jesus did.

Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t he also surely give us everything else?  For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love.  Death can’t, and life can’t.  The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away.  Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are–high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean–nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.

Prov 29:25; Is 33:5; Ps113:4,-8;Eph 2:4-6; Rom 8:32,38,39

Taken from Living Light

Losing weight is no different than any other bad habit.  We have to discover why we have the bad habit, no matter what it is, and then take steps to correct it.  In other words, there is psychology involved.

Psychology involves finding out why people behave the way they do.  It quite often probes into the subconscious.

In many instances overeating means life is somewhat out of control for us.  We don’t know how to handle it, so we turn to other ways to console ourselves.

For myself, life is quite out of control.  I have lost a lot of weight, but for me, overeating is not my problem as much as my sweet tooth is.  Because I have always had one, it seems to manifest itself more now.  To really correct the problem, my life will have to come under control, but in the meantime, I know I have to keep sweets out of the house and just indulge myself only once a week.  At times, I have used reverse psychology or negative reinforcement to bring about a positive result.  I just have a junk food day.  I enjoy it but by the end of the day, I just want to say “yuck,” and I am more than happy to eat right (at least for awhile).

The bottom line is life is full of choices.  We have to get to the point where we would rather be thin than fat.  Every time we make a special trip to the refrigerator we are chosing to be fat.  This is very important to remember.

So, in conclusion, sit down and evaluate yourself.  What makes you want to over eat?  What does the doctor say about you being overweight?  Do you have a medical problem?  Do you lack exercise in your life?  Are you eating the wrong foods?  Are your proportions to large?  Is there too much sugar in your diet?  Do you have unresolved issues in your life?  If so, perhaps finding a support group would be wise.  What ever the reasons, know that you do NOT have to stay overweight and you CAN lose it and keep it off.  Don’t let anyone tell you different.  Remember Phillipians 4:13:  “I can do ALL things through CHRIST who strenghtens me.” 

The Millennium is the 8th and final dispensation of time, and it follows the dispensation of grace that we are presently in.  It lasts, as its title suggests, 1,000 years.  It will be a theocracy  with Christ reigning from the new Jerusalem.  Revelation 21 states:

1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no more sea.  2And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of Heaven, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them; and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” 5And He that sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said unto me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful. 6And He said unto me, “It is done! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the Water of Life freely. 7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

What will life be like in the Millennium?  Isaiah 11 gives us a clue.  It states:

1And there shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.  2And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him–the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” 3and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD; and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears 4But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.5And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.6″The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 10″And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand for an ensign of the people; to It shall the Gentiles seek, and His rest shall be glorious.”

It will be a time of limited sin.  Satan will be bound for 1,000 years.  Revelation 20:1-3 states:

¹And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  ²And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, ³And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

You will be considered an infant if you die before age 100.  Isaiah 65: 20 states:

There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.

There will be two types of bodies.  The mortal and the immortal.  The mortal bodies are those who survived the tribulation without accepting Christ and were not condemned in judgment of the nations. (Matthew 25:31-46).  Millions of babies will be born to them during the Millennium, and they will all have to make their choice too.   Revelation 20:7-9 states:

 ⁷And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, ⁸And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

The immortal bodies are the glorified bodies possessed by those who were raptured or resurrected.  I John 3:2 states:

 ²Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Also read Luke 24:36-51 for a more detailed description of the glorified body of Jesus.

How will we be occupying our time during the Millinneum?  II Timothy 2:12 states:  if we endure, we shall also reign with him.

I hope this blog encourages all of you and please know there is a wonderful new world coming!!

 Jesus would say to you this day from Revelation 1&2&21

⁷Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

 ⁸I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty

 To The Church of Ephesus: ⁴Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

 ¹And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

 ²And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

 ³And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

 ⁴And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

 ⁵And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

 ⁶And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

 ⁷He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

 ⁸But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

God’s justice always comes–sometimes sooner rather than later and sometimes later rather than sooner.  Be of good cheer this day and remember always praise the Lord even if you don’t feel like it.