Fruit of the Spirit part 5 will continue by May 1

Hello Friends,
 I will continue the next part of the Fruit of the Spirit series by May1, if not tomorrow. If anything I will be back tomorrow for postings like I am doing today. So I hope you will still come by both days. I appreciate your time and pray God's abundant blessings on you in the meantime.

Fruit of the Spirit-Peace (Part 4)

 He will keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon the Lord. Isaiah 26:3

Peace: freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility.

freedom from or the cessation of war or violence.

How can we be free from the fear and violence that this world sometimes offers us? How can we live here peacefully? To be sure, it is not easy and it is not fun. And yet that is the next fruit of the Spirit. And so because of that truth, there has to be a way. Right? Because if not, why else would it be included?

 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18

We are to live as peacefully as we possibly can with everyone. With our friends, our neighbors and yes even our families. Sometimes living peaceably with our families is harder than with anyone else. But it is something we need to strive for. 

Jesus is called the Prince of Peace in the bible. God sent him here to bring us a relationship of love and restoration. But it cost him his life. And in so doing, he did not have a peaceful death, he gave his life so that you and I could attain it. 

We cannot force others to live in peace with us, but neither does Jesus try to force us to accept his terms for peace. There is none of us that come into this world righteous. We are born selfish and hopeless apart from God our creator. And at some point in our lives, in order to meet his terms must accept what he did on the cross. Only then, can real peace truly come to us.  

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1

And the Holy Spirit can work in us to produce the fruit of peace to be able to live as much as we can with others. Sometimes it is not easy. But then, what in life does come easy at times. If everything came easy to us, we would probably not depend on God. However, he does give us the help we need when we ask him.

Living with all the fear of war and violence every day can be scary. We see all that goes on in the world and it can be very dishearting. But as Christians, we have the assurance that God is in control of our lives and we can rest in him that all things work together for those of us that love him. But there again, in so doing, we need to keep our minds stayed upon him. That is what makes his peace work in us.

 Are you living as peacefully as you can with those around you?  If not, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a willing spirit and then let him guide you towards that goal. He will do it for sure.

Thanks again for joining me today Friends. I pray for you a peaceful Lord's Day!

Fruit of the Spirit-JOY (Part 3)

The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.  Psalm 28:7

How do we define joy? How do you define it in your own life? We can say it is being happy. We can say it means we are delighted or blissful? There are many other words we could use for the word joy, but are they what the bible defines it as?

We may think of joy as cheating on our taxes. Or sleeping with someone else's' spouse. But is that joy? No, that is sin. The joy one gets from sin lasts only for a season. It is temporary and it is a symptom for serious problems within the person that is sinning.

We may think of joy as perhaps getting a good return on our taxes. Or finding a mate that really loves God. Is that joy? Surely, those kinds of things are good and they do make us happy. To an extent. But, are they the kind of joy that the bible speaks of?

The real joy is in knowing that God has revealed to us his perfect plan for us. The hope of eternal life. The expectations of his coming kingdom. The knowledge that deep down inside us that we will one day go to be with him in paradise.

It is (or should be) displayed for people to see that God within us can penetrate the darkness that surrounds them and therefore they want what we already have.

If we let it come forth in us. What was that? If we are grouchy as Christians and do not allow the joy of the Lord to come through, why would anyone want to have what we have? There is enough of that without being a Christian.

However, if no matter what we go through, we can let it come through us, people will see that and they will want to find out how we can go through the things we are and still be joyful.

Yes, even in times when sadness hits us. Through an illness, either of a loved one or maybe ourselves. A death or some other crisis. We can still emulate the real fruit of joy in our lives because it comes through the Holy Spirit.

I know of a man in church a few years ago, that got cancer. The pastor asked him how he wanted the church to pray for him. Did he want them to pray for healing or to pray God's will? He said, "I have had a good life. I am ready to go to be with God if that is his will for me. If he wants to heal me, I am happy to be here until he does take me home." What a testimony. This man was joyful either way. He was leaving the decision up to God.

Not long after that, God did take him home.

That is what true happiness, true joy is. Being joyful no matter what we are going through in our earthly circumstances and letting it shine through us. That is what the joy of the bible means.

Nehemiah 8:10 says: The joy of the Lord is my strength. Even in sorrow, God gives us strength through our joy. Are you joyful today of what God has done in your life? If not, maybe you haven't quite connected to the Holy Spirit. Get into his word. Ask him to give you his joy. If you are honestly seeking it, he will give it to you.



Thanks so much for coming today folks. Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you will join me again tomorrow for the next Fruit of the Spirit-Peace. God bless!

Fruits of the Spirit-LOVE (Part 2)

Mathew 22:37-39  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Love is ________to me. Fill in the blank. What is love to you? Is it your home? The car you drive? Your job? Is it a love for money? Is it your family? Is it God? We can all have a god whether it be the God of the Bible or a material thing or people. Even those that say they do not believe in God, have some type of god. 

Love is a universal language Understood by people all over the globe. And guess what. It is the language given by who other than God himself. 

Is it any wonder why it is the first fruit on our list of spirits that God wants us to pursue?

And loving God is the first commandment. Everything else comes after that. And if we truly love God, those things do follow. 

God is many things to us. He is our Savior, Deliverer, Provider, Peace, Healer, Light, and our Shepard. The list goes on and on. 

But above all: God is Love.  And because he first loved us, he sent his son Jesus into the world to save us from sin. (John 3:16)

To understand the fruit of love in its fullness is we need to first put our faith in him, accept his gift of salvation and learn what it is to first truly love him and then and only then can we love the gifts that he has given us.

Have you trusted God? Are you following him? Do you truly love him? If not, I pray that you will accept him and allow him to begin to work his fruit of love into your life. There is no greater love for us then God! For God is love. 

A kindergarten teacher was walking around observing her classroom of children while they were drawing pictures. As she got to one girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.       The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."       The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like."       Without looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."

Thanks for stopping in today Friends. I pray you will go bless someone today and share your fruit of Love with someone that needs it! Have a great day!

Fruits of the Spirit (Part one)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.Galatians 5:22-23

This week I am going to try to touch on the qualities of the Holy Spirit and the work he wants to do and does do in our lives as we let him.

Just like God and Jesus, he is the 3rd person in the Trinity and has specific work that he does in us. As Christians, we should develop these qualities as we grow in Christ.

John 16:8 tells us that he convicts us of sin.

At the moment we ask Jesus to come into our lives, the Holy Spirit comes in and gives us new lives-a new meaning to life. We have a whole new direction to life. He changes us from the inside out and that is when these qualities can really take hold in us.

In and of ourselves, we do not have the power to bear the fruits of love, joy peace and so on because our flesh wants to control us. However, as a Christian, we can let the Holy Spirit do the work in us to produce the fruit.

But we do have a choice. We can be carnal. Having time for everything else and none for God. We can allow ourselves to be envious of others. We can lust after things, whether it be money, power or someone. We can be hateful and cause strife in our lives or someone else's life. Or any number of other sins.

What kind of person are you?  Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? If so, that is the first step in developing the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

I hope you will join me for the next few days in a look into these qualities of the Holly Spirit starting tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing this time with me folks. Have a blessed day!

Truth or Consequences? Or Maybe Even Truth or Dare?

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18

Have you ever known anyone to not tell you the truth about something? Have you ever lied to anyone about something?

Sure you have.On both accounts. We all have lied about things at times. To get our way. To cover something up so as not to get us in trouble. 

When I retired a few years ago, I had been working in a group home that housed 4 women, all in their late 40s. They were mentally challenged due to some damage to their chromosomes before birth. The things they had had to endure due to their disease was sad to be sure, but these ladies were no dummies. They felt like they had been cheated in life because they weren't "normal" like other people and through their life had learned to manipulate people and circumstances to get what they wanted. The lady that started this particular program they were in, made up the daily schedules that included activities for each day and they were rewarded if they participated in each one. But there were consequences for actions that did not comply with the rules of the house.Their awards were recorded at the end of each day. And one of the ways they could get one was to "not tell an untruth." Staff thought that one was worded the wrong way. It should have been for " not lying" or "not telling the truth." Because they know the difference between right and wrong, the truth from a lie. And just because they had the disease they did, it was like that rule was just a soft way of dealing with it, instead of calling it like it was.It was lying and manipulating something to get what they wanted. And to be sure, it was not tolerated, so it should have been called what it really was, so the staff felt. 

But isn't that what people do? No matter who they are and what walk of life. From small children that have learned how to get their way by telling fibs to the richest people in government, we have learned ways to get things by deceit

Lying started from the very beginning of the world with satan in the Garden of Eden. The 9th Commandment in Exodus 20:16 tells us not to bear false witness against our neighbor. Does the fact that it does not say anything about not bearing it to others mean it is ok to do so? Of course not.  And yet we do it. From what we try to say are little white lies, to the really big ones and everything in between. Lies are lies and it doesn't matter how little they are. 

And lying, of course, is a sin. And we know what the consequences of sin are. The wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23. 

Thank God that we have Jesus as our advocate that when we sin, no matter what kind it is we can be forgiven. 

The ladies in the group home knew Jesus as their savior as well. They came from Christian families. But they felt like they were owed something because they were not like everyone else. They are not any different than any of us really. We all sometimes feel we are owed something for the hard things we have or are going through. And yet, it does not matter to God who we are or what our obstacles in life are. He loves us and forgives us when we ask him. Lying does hurt us, and can destroy our lives if we let it. But Jesus can put back the broken pieces so that our end is not death but eternal life. 

. 

Thanks for your visit today. God bless and keep you in the palm of his hand.

Blessed Are the Persecuted For Righteousness Sake-Theirs is the Kindgom of Heaven (part 9)

Mathew 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Down through the ages, Christians have been persecuted for their beliefs and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I read something just this morning that said this:" People will question your Christian beliefs but believe every negative thing they hear about you." And how true that is.

Christian persecution has and is happening all over the world.And isn't it sad that in this century, in this country it happens every day? From our own families that do not accept that we have become Christians and ridiculing us to someone going into a church and killing whoever they can until they are stopped. It goes on and on. 

Many Christians have paid the ultimate price, with their lives. But persecution is the price we must all pay to enter God's Kingdom. We have only 2 choices in life. They are found in John 3:20-21.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Why then does Jesus require us to suffer the injustice that is brought upon us for loving him and doing what he asks of us?

I believe it is to help keep our hearts and minds on heaven.(Colossians 3:2 ) It says to keep our minds centered on things in heaven, not things on the earth. Our life here is just a wisp. A vapor to what our next life will be. Whether we spend it in heaven. Or we spend it in hell. Nothing we go through now will compare to what we experience in either place. 

With just those thoughts in mind, that is why I can honestly say, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." Philippians 4:4  and Rejoice and celebrate, for great is your reward in heaven for in the same way they persecuted the prohets before you. Mathew 5:12.

Jesus went to the cross. Reviled, rejected, beaten, whipped, spit on and then they hung him on the cross. Sometimes we look at the things just said about our Christian way of life. Our love of God. And we think we are so prosecuted and we get offended.  What makes us think we have so much to complain about when he did that for us?

The thing is if we truly love God, and people know it, they are going to try to intimidate us and put us down. They are going to try to make us look like fools.

Instead, we should rejoice for our reward is in heaven. Not necessarily on earth for it, but in heaven. So the next time someone tries to put you down for your beliefs, remember what Jesus did for you and rejoice in what is to come. 

Thanks for coming by today. I know your time is important so it blesses me that you viist. As always, I will be here again tomorrow to share and hope that you will be back. Take care and be blessed. 

Lessons From the Teachings of Jesus -Blessed Are the Peacemakers (part 8)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. According to John 1:12,  to all of us that receive and believe in his name, he gives us the right to be called God's children.

God is peace. Hebrews 13:20
Heaven is a place of peace. Luke 19:38

And because God is a God of peace, those that are led by his spirit are peacemakers and are his son's. Romans 8:14. If we do not hold that characteristic of God, we don't have his spirit.

So then, what does being a peacemaker mean for us?

Romans 12:18  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

That should be our goal. To be at peace with everyone. And yet, sometimes with other people, this may not be possible. And so while keeping that as our goal, we need to pray for our enemies, for those that persecute us, and getting right down to it, pray for those in our own relationships that have for whatever reason have been broken up. 

Humanly speaking we can just do the best we can within those relationships. And there are going to be circumstances that just cannot be rectified. However,  
God knows our hearts and if we are working at living in peace with those people, that is what he asks. Is it easy? Probably not. But if we want to be called Gods children or his sons, it is a requirement, and then we can be blessed due to it. 

Are you living life as peaceably as you can with those around you? Or are you adamant that life just has to go your way, that it causes division in those relationships?  Are you praying about it, or are you apart of the strife? Life is not easy. And sometimes things are not always our faults. Those are the times we need to be on our knees asking God what we should be doing and to help us work things out with whoever it is. God knows our hearts and as long as we are trying, he will bless us. He can heal our relationships but it starts with us.




How sad that this has and is becoming the norm in our world today. Instead of moving ahead in the cause of Jesus Christ, so much of it is going backward. God forbid. God help us.

Thanks again for your visit today Friends. I pray your week gets off to a great start and you are blessed beyond measure! 

Lessons From the Teachings of Jesus-Blessed Are the Pure in Heart (part 7)

What is a pure heart?

Pure: Clean, blameless, guiltless,
Heart: Not only physical but the center of spiritual life where thoughts, desires, purpose, will understanding and character reside.

Being pure in heart is having a singleness of heart towards God.It has no hypocrisy, no guile, and no hidden motives. And the only way to have a truly pure heart is to give our lives to Jesus and ask him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

https://www.gotquestions.org/pure-in-heart.html

Most of us know the story of King David in the bible. He had seen a beautiful woman and wanted her. He got her pregnant and then to hide the fact, he had her husband killed in battle. He thought no one would know. But someone did. God saw it and he sent his prophet Nathan to confront David. And David did confess what he had done. He then wrote Psalm 51 asking God to create in him a clean heart.There were consequences to his sin but God, in his grace did forgive David and kept his promise to him that someone from David's family would rule forever.

Jeremiah 17:9 says that our hearts are deceitful. However, just as David, we too can have a clean and pure heart. But just like David, we too have to ask him to cleanse us from all deceit and he is then faithful to do it for us.

If you haven't already, ask God's forgiveness for your sin. Ask him to create a clean heart for you. If you are sincere, he will do just that. Sometimes our sin does call for consequences but praise Jesus, he does hear and wants to do that for you. He is ever faithful and he is just.

.

Thanks for visiting me on this wonderful Lord's Day. May God richly bless you and yours!

Lessons From the Teachings of Jesus - Blessed Are Those That Show Mercy (part 6)

Mercy: Compassion or forgiveness toward someone to whom it within one's power to put in or harm.

Where would our world be without it? What if Jesus skipped over this beatitude leaving this one out?

Have you ever show someone mercy? Has anyone ever shown you mercy?

Of course, Jesus showed us ultimate mercy by dying on the cross to take the place for our sin We don't have to do that but why it so important for us to show it to others.

 Mercy is a remedy. It can be a cure for all bitterness within a family, other relationships or just in one's own heart and mind. It is extending forgiveness to someone who may not be worthy of your forgiveness just as we are not worthy of the forgiveness Jesus gives us because of what he did for us on the cross.

But mercy also demands action. Jesus gave an illustration in Luke 10: 25-37 that defines mercy for us.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance, a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.35 And the next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Out of those 3, it was the Samaritan that had compassion and mercy on the man that had been robbed and beaten.He did not just see that this man needed help. He did not go and tell someone else that there is a man laying out on the road that needs help, so go help him. He was the one that did help him.  Jesus told the people that they should go and do the same for others. Not just feel compassion or mercy for them but to do for them. 

I know what some might say. That in this world of so many scams how can you really know if someone is truly needful of mercy, or if they are trying to scam you? You should always be mindful of God that he would direct you in what to do. I could give you an example of that very thing a few years ago when we met a 20 something-year-old girl that tried to scam us. We were to find out that she was on drugs and she had a good story about a grandmother that led her to the Lord as a child. But when her stories proved to be false, we had to stop helping her. Once we saw through her and stopped helping her the way she wanted, she dropped us like a hot potato. And though I wish things could have been different, I knew God didn't want us to continue to allow her to do that. Ever since then, we have been careful and made sure that who we help, is who God would have us to. 

Mercy does not excuse or ignore sin. Therefore, we need to be merciful to those that need us but are not in some way using us and being deceitful. And I don't mean that we should not feed the hungry or help those in need, but we should always be vigilant about who is in a real need or who might be trying to pull a scam on us.. 

Again I ask, have you shown mercy to anyone? I know who has shown mercy to you. His name is Jesus Christ. He paid the ultimate sacrifice to us even though we don't deserve it. That is MERCY. That is LOVE. 

Luke 10:25-37

Thanks for your visit today Friends. Many, many blessings to you and yours. Come back tomorrow for the next beatitude "Blessed Are the Pure in Heart" Have a wonderful day!

Lessons From the Teachings of Jesus-Blessed Are They That Hunger and Thirst After Righteousness (part 5)

Righteousness: acting in accordance with divine or moral law-free from guilt or sin, morally right or justifiable.


What are you hungry for in your life? What are your passions? What drives you?

Is it to get rich? Is it to be married and have a family? Is it to travel the world?

Or is it to do the work of the Lord above all else?

Whatever it might be, we can be so filled with the desire to attain it, that we hunger after it. Doing the things that we strive to do or become, is ok so long as we first are passionate to do God's bidding first.
Why? Because if we are attuned to him, he will direct our paths. Proverbs 3:6. And he will give us the desires of our heart. Psalm 37:4.

It does not matter if we are saved or unsaved. All of us hunger and thirst for something or someone.
We all have the drive to get up in the morning. A desire. An agenda to meet, whether it be just to get through today, or a drive to get rich. Or anything in between.

Maybe our desire is even in our church. We worship there, we teach a class, we are in the choir or whatever else it might be. We love God and we are driven by the things that the church offers us.  But are we really driven by God or are we driven by the activity that goes on there?

Maybe you know the saying: Live like a Christian one day a week and like the devil the other six days.

Is that what drives you? Or do you really hunger and thirst after God's righteousness so that you try to follow him every day, hour and minute of your life? Because that he wants of us. Not that we are perfect and are able to follow him like that.Problems come up that bombard us with solutions that we have to work out. And we can get pretty frustrated. But when those things happen, we should always try to have God in the forefront of our minds and ask for his guidance. And when we fail, we need to ask God's forgiveness to get back on track.

To hunger after God and his righteousness, we must be in his word every day. Talk to him and have a personal relationship with him. We must want his will above all else and obey what it is. This is what it means to be hungry and thirst. And when we do this he will fill us, in whatever form he chooses to fit our needs and passions.

Because he knows what is best for us.Far above what we know. And that is the blessing that comes with wanting him above all else. In today's world, the terrible things that go on, isn't it better that we are passionate about God, who loves us and wants the very best for us? I know I can't imagine a life without him. Can you?

Thanks for visiting today folks. Please come back tomorrow for the next lesson in this series. Until then have a wonderfully blessed day!

Lessons From the Teachings of Jesus: Blessed Are the Meek (part 4)

Meekness: To be humble, gentle, kind, compliant 

It is an attribute that been lost in our society today by many people. We think meekness as weakness and it is not. It is a fruit of the Spirit by which all Christians should desire to be.

Jesus was the meekest person that ever walked the earth and he was not weak. Someone that would willingly lay down his life for the sins of the world, is not weak. Someone that did all the things he did is not weak.

The world does not see it this way. We would rather it be "Blessed are the strong" and That makes me think of that saying "Only the strong survive." Society tries to be fiercely competitive and aggressive so that we can gain respect and recognition. We want to be the best. Number One. And how many would admit to stepping on others, trying to outdo them, so that we can be the ones that make it to the top?

It is not wrong to work hard to get to where we want to go. However, it is wrong to try to push others out of the way, so that we can achieve that.

Romans 12:3  Do not think more highly of yourselves than you should. but rather think of yourselves with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has given each of you.

Being meek, humble gentle etc will then rule out stepping over others to get to the top. And it is one way God blesses us.

Meekness is not weakness. It is strength. In all we do. It is gentleness and yet being strong. It is not proud, it does not boast in earthly things. After Jesus comes back to take his church home, he has promised that those that are meek, they will inherit the earth. Will you take part in inheriting the earth?

Thanks for coming by today Folks. Please come back tomorrow for another lesson Jesus taught on. In the meantime, be blessed!

Lessons From The Teachings of Jesus-Bessed Are They That Mourn (part 3)

To mourn: "To experience deep grief" At one time or another, we all mourn for some reason. Ecclesiastics 3:4 says there is a time to mourn. The longer we live, the more we experience grief as we watch loved one die. Or experiences other losses.

 It can come from any of the following.
Divorce
Personal Injury
Financial loss
Marital problems
Trust issues

These are just a few.The list can go on and on.We don't like the thought of grieving because it means we have lost something.Take divorce. I know a lady that some years ago, her husband just simply announced that he wanted one.

Linda,, (not her real name) might as well been shell-shocked. She thought things were fine with them in their marriage There was no doubt red flags that there were problems. But she had missed them. Maybe she was trying to ignore them. She begged and pleaded with him to not go through with it. To no avail. When that didn't work, she pretty much started a type of stalking him. Not that she wanted to hurt him, but using excuses just to talk to him or be near him, in hopes of winning him back That didn't work either and there came a day that she finally had to let him go.

But what she went through during that time was nothing short of profound grief. And I think that while she has moved on in her life, that pain from the divorce though perhaps hidden away still affects some of her decisions today.

Jesus himself was deeply grieved over the sins of man. So much so that as he prayed in the garden just before Roman Soldiers came to take him away, he sweated drops of blood. That is intense grief. And it showed the human side of him, that can understand today, the grief that we feel.

 We can feel, it over our own sin.When we come to the place where we are so sick of it in our lives, and we ask Jesus to be our Lord, it can be so intense an experience that his forgiveness can bring us to our knees and we realize that we are no longer bound by it. But sometimes, we are so sad knowing what Jesus had to pay for it.

Thankfully over time, God can replace it with comfort.Knowing that he does know best. My dad passed in 2005 and there are times that I still think of him and get sad.But I can be glad it has lessened and God comforts me because I can imagine him with my mother, waiting for me to join them.That is a happy thought as I go on with my life and wait for that time.

If you have gone through or are going through some type of loss, just know that God loves you. Hopefully, time will lessen your pain and you can know that what is ahead, is better than anything behind. Isaiah says it this way in 6:3 To grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

If you belong to God, he can and will be there for you in your grief and he will give you the comfort you need to get through it.

Have a wonderful day, Friends! Thanks for coming by!

Lessons From The Teachings ofJesus-Blessed are the Poor In Spirit (part 2)

Mathew 5:1-12

Jesus had been preaching and many people had been following him as he healed the sick of disease.
He then had gone to a mountain, and the disciples had come to him. And this was where he preached to them what is known as the SERMON ON THE MOUNT

He began with: Blessed is the poor in spirit. For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

But what did he mean by that, and how can we define it in our lives today?

When we come to God, it must be in a spirit of humility. Knowing and recognizing our sin and our need for a Savior. Until we do,, we are in spiritual poverty. We must not come to God with a proud heart. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6  If we have a proud heart, God cannot bless us.

Pride can take on many forms and the worst is spiritual pride. The more material things we have, or the richer we might be, the more prideful we can become. "Look at me. Look what I have done. Look at my education. Look at how much money I have" etc, etc.  The emphasis there is on Me and what I have done. Not what God has done through me or what he has given to me.

And so after studying this, it does not surprise me that Jesus would start off preaching against being proud. We must get ourselves out of the way to receive his blessings. And as I said, we do this by acknowledging our sin, asking for his forgiveness and accepting him as our personal savior.

Have you done this in your own life? Have you turned away from sin? If not, you need to. It is the only way you can truly be blessed by God.

source:  https://billygraham.org/answer/what-does-it-mean-to-be-poor-in-spirit-as-jesus-said-we-ought-to-be/

Thanks for spending part of your busy day with me.I hope you will visit me tomorrow for part 3 on the Lessons From Jesus on the Sermons on the Mount. Be blessed!

Lessons From the Teachings of Jesus: The Beatitudes (Part 1)

,

While Jesus was on earth, we know that he taught his disciples' many things. And those teachings were not left for them and the people of his day, alone. They were recorded for all of us down through the ages that would follow him.

Some of his teachings came from the sermons he taught on the mount. commonly known as SERMONS ON THE MOUNT or THE BEATITUDES

But what were these teachings, and what lessons can we glean from them for this modern day in which we live?. In the next 8 days following this initial lesson, I want to try to delve a little bit into what the teachings were and what they might mean for us today.

The first thing that I wanted to know was the location of where these beatitudes were taught. I found that the traditional location of the mount was in the low hills behind the region of Capernaum and other fishing villages along the shore.

Jesus had gone throughout all of Galilee during his ministry, preaching in the synagogues there, the gospel of God's Kingdom, healing all forms of sickness and disease among the people. His fame spread to Syria and great multitudes followed him from many cities-from Decapolis to beyond the Jordan where he was to eventually end up on the mountain teaching his disciples the beatitudes.

According to Wikipedia, the beatitudes were eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. Each is a proverb-like proclamation, without narrative. ... They echo the ideals of the teachings of Jesus on mercy, spirituality, and compassion.

These qualities gave a picture of the character of the true people of God that were truly a part of his kingdom. They would have the full blessings of God to look forward to.

So what were they? The short answers are:
1.Blessed are the poor in spirit
2.Blessed are those that mourn
3.Blessed are the meek
4.Blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness 
5.Blessed are those that show mercy
6.Blessed are those that are pure in heart
7.Blessed are the peacemakers
8.Blessed are those that are persecuted because of righteousness

The longer answers will come starting with the next lesson tomorrow as we find some of these qualities can and do exist in those of us that are apart of the kingdom of God. I truly hope you will join me.

sources:   https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mathew+5%3A1-12&version=NIV
and:https://bible.org/seriespage/7-beatitudes-matthew-51-12  and    

Amen!

Thanks for your visit today Friends! Please come back tomoorw for part 2 in this series on the Beattuides!