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Scripture

Hebrews 13:20-21 NKJV
" Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen"

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On Guard Duty

Out of Your Heart

Proverbs 4:23  KJV 
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life".

Proverbs 4:23 says to guard your heart "for it determines the course of your life" (NLT). Think about that. Whatever's in your heart is eventually going to show up in your everyday life. Whatever's inside will eventually find its way out, where anyone and everyone can see it.

That alone makes it extremely important to monitor the things we allow to shape our hearts. I don't want something nasty, sinful, and selfish finding its way out and damaging my relationships with God and with those around me, and I doubt you do either.

A large part of guarding your heart means learning how to control your thoughts, your words, your disposition and your general outlook. What you think usually comes out in what you say. What you say affects how you feel, and that shows up in your overall attitude.

In the course of everyday life, this is what determines how you handle your circumstances, whether you'll have peace or fall apart in a stressful situation. It governs how you respond to others, either with compassion and understanding or with judgment and arrogance, especially when you disagree with them!

You can try and keep your inner thoughts from altering your words and attitudes, but I find it's much easier to have godly thoughts to begin with. Spend time in God's presence, and let the Holy Spirit fill your heart with His goodness.

I only want my heart to be filled with thoughts and desires that are from the Lord Jesus. As I spend more time in His presence and focus solely on Him, I know that my heart will change for the better, affecting the rest of my life in godly ways.  Won't you join me today in changing your heart for the better?

Living Life Through Love

Knowing God Through Love

1 John 4:7-21 NKJV

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who
loves is born of God and knows God.
8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

The Consummation of Love

17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
19 We love Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God
whom he has not seen?
21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.


Jesus; Our Example

Love is something that can be seen. It is seen in the fruit of the Spirit working in our lives, in our behavior and how we treat people. Love has many facets, or different ways we can see it. For example, when a diamond ring is held up to the light, it can sparkle in various ways depending on which way it is turned in the light. I believe love also sparkles in different ways depending on how we look at it.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 gives us examples of the many facets of love:

Love endures long, it has the ability to put up with stuff for a long time.

Love is never envious, it doesn't want what it doesn't have.

Love is not boastful or vainglorious, it doesn't call attention to itself.

Love is not conceited or rude.

Love doesn't insist on its own way.

Love pays no attention to a suffered wrong.

Love never gives up!

These are just a few ways we're supposed to love others...and it's also the way God loves us. First John 4:8 says that "God is love." He loves us and has saved us, so now we can share His love with others. Obviously; at some point in our lives we are going to happen upon some people that just make it difficult to love them. They are going to wrong us, gossip about us, say things that are not true or just be mean for the sake of being mean. Still; we must love them and be an example to them of what living a life of love is all about. In other words; we have to be the bigger person.

To imitate God, we have to look at Jesus, a perfect representation of God who lived out all of the descriptions of love in 1 Corinthians 13. He always acted in love in every situation, even when people came against Him. He always showed loving kindness towards everyone but He was not their doormat. He showed them the example of treating people with love, with respect, with dignity and with grace and then He moved on.

Colossians 3:12-14 says to "clothe yourselves therefore, as God's own chosen ones.... And [put on] love"....

Like Jesus, let's clothe ourselves in love and choose to follow His example, bringing honor and glory to God. People may not always respond in kind to the love you have shown them but at least you can move through life knowing that you set the example of how they should be living. Plant the seed of love in others. Then leave the watering and tending to God. Amen?

Grow In Grace Like Faith

~ Living Grace ~

Romans 12 NKJV

1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
3  For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
4  For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
5  so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
7  or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;
8  he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9  Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
10  Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
11  not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12  rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13  distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15  Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16  Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17  Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18  If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
20  Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

                                      


Grace, Freely Given

If  you've been in the world very long, you've learned that there are very few days that go exactly the way we'd like them to go. Thankfully, God is never going to put us in a situation without giving us the ability to be in it with joy.

Here's  my definition of grace: It's God's power coming to us freely, meaning it doesn't cost us anything other than just putting our faith in God, enabling us to do with ease what we could never do on our own with any amount of struggle or effort.

I  believe God gives us His special grace for every situation. I like to define grace as receiving God's power to help us do whatever it is we need to do. You can have that power today, but you have to receive it, and the only way to receive it is by faith.

Romans 12:3 says that "God has allotted to each a measure of faith."

Ask  yourself today, "What am I doing with my faith?" Are you putting your faith in yourself, or in others, or in your circumstances? That's not living in grace, that's just living by your own strength and works. And it won't get the job done!

But  when you release your faith and trust God to do what you can't do, you're putting your faith in Him. Then grace, God's power, will come through the channel of faith and will enable you to do things that will amaze you and others.

Put  your faith in God. He wants to give you His grace today.


Relying on God

I  believe every time we feel frustration, it means we've really stopped relying on God. That might sound like a bold statement to you, but think about it: God's given you and me His Holy Spirit and His grace to help us walk through anything that comes our way. Frustration hits when we stop depending on Him and try to make something happen our own way.

Understanding  this really helped me. Every time I became frustrated, I reminded myself that what I was really doing was trying to take the place of the Holy Spirit. I was trying to be Holy Spirit Junior!

Do  you struggle with an independent spirit? When you refuse to depend on God, in essence, you're saying, "Okay, God, I appreciate that You're around, but watch me do this." Depending on God for everything may be difficult, but it's the key to the victory we need every single day of our lives.

When  God saved us, He didn't help us and then say, "Ok, that's it. You're on your own now!" He's eternally saved us, which means if we depend on Him, He will guide us and help us.


Dearest Father God,

I know that life won't always go in the way that I want it to. In fact; I fully expect it to go in the complete opposite direction, but I trust in You. I trust that no matter what twists and turns, curves and bends that my life has is by Your hands and will ultimately be what is best for me. I may not always understand the Whys and the Hows of every situation- Why some times worked out and Why some things did not. But I really don't need to; do I? I just have to trust that You do things the way You do because that is what was best for me. By faith, I receive Your grace, the power You have freely given to help me walk through any situation I face not only today but all the days of my life. Though I know I am completely undeserving of such Grace I accept it and give thanks for it. Amen and Amen.