Tag Archives: Joy

For to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain. ~Paul

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Philippians 1:21-30

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

Philippians 1:21-30

FOR TO ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST, TO DIE IS GAIN

We’ve all seen this verse…

What does this mean?
Is Paul wanting to die?
Is Paul suicidal, but just deciding to live?
Is he being a living martyr for us?
Is he complaining?

I don’t think so. I think he’s just stating the fact that in this world, we have tribulations(John 16:33) – and the only complete deliverance from them is in the presence of Christ, after earthly death.
I also think he’s talking about how amazing it is to be with Christ, but now, we see through a glass darkly – but then we will see clearly, and know clearly (1 Corinthians 13:12 ).

I had a time when I was close to death and I had a conversation with Jesus. I call it, a glimpse of Jesus.

To confirm this, Ph 1:20

20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

It’s not martyrdom mentality.
We’ve all met them.
“sigh – I would rather be doing this but I am called to be here, suffering for you, and it’s too God’s glory – sigh” followed by the hand swipe of the imagined sweat on the brow.

Paul is explaining what it is to be in Christ – to minister the gospel – to disciple others.
He’s admitting that it ain’t easy!

1 Ph 1:22-24

22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.

He calls the work for the Lord IN the flesh as fruitful labor…sounding like a husbandman of a vineyard, that loves the vines, and willing works and toils in order to nurture them to fruitfulness.
He knows his calling.
His calling is to teach.
The shepherd looks after his sheep, and gives his life for his sheep, if necessary. (John 10:11)
Paul is only imitating HIS Shepherd – Jesus, the good Shepherd. (John 10)
He’s doing it for the sheep – he’s living his life for the sheep that Christ has given him!
A servant heart!

Phil 1:25-26
Here is where I had to stop and do some research into the life and ministry of Paul.

25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

I am ashamed to admit that I did not realize that Paul was in Rome twice.
He was released, and he did return to minister to the Philippians.
I love The Blue Letter Bible site! It’s there that I was able to look up the apostle Paul’s timeline!

His ministry at or around this time is explained in Acts 28, in his missionary works after the first Rome experience are indicated in 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus.

His second trip to Rome was under Nero – and he was imprisoned and martyred.

2 Timothy 4:6-8
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

How did Paul know that he was going to be released the first time, and not the second?

Amos 3:7
Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

The Angel of the Lord said a similar thing when meeting with Abraham before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 18:16-21)

Have you ever had a time when you just knew what God was going to do in your life?

You had asked for wisdom, you had asked for guidance – Just like James 1 says to do.

Somehow, in your time of meditating and praying, all of the sudden, you just KNEW what God was going to do in your situation.

As I read through this, I notice Paul, the ever consummate teacher! The Papa to these young Christians – wanting to not waste any time in his letter.
Why is he going to be returned to them?

Phil 1:25
for your progress and joy in the faith,

This would get my attention…that the reason that he is going to be continuing here on the earth, and even returning to see us is for OUR PROGRESS…and OUR JOY in the FAITH!

I’d sit up and take notice! This is for MY joy? MY progress? Woo Hoo!

Phil 1:27
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

ZING! OUCH! THAT’S PERSONAL!

  • Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ,
  • so that whether I come and see you or am absent,
  • I may hear of you that you are standing firm
  • in one spirit,
  • with one mind
  • striving side by side
  • for the faith of the gospel,

I don’t know about you, but, while this seems to be spoken to the church at Philipi…no group of Christians can be bound together in unity without the individuals choosing to live their lives worthy of the gospel of Christ!
A church cannot stand firm, unless the indivduals are choosing to stand firm.
A body cannot be in one spirit, in one mind unless each part chooses to be in unity with the others, or at least harmony, and in unity with Christ.
Only THEN, can they stand side by side!
Because they are focused individually and together on the faith of the gospel!

It’s the living out of the Body of Christ, as he wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
At the end of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul points to 1 Corinthians 13 by saying
“And I will show you a still more excellent way.”
That is the way of Love!

Romans 12:4-5, Ephesians 2:19-22
Knowing Jesus has a great list of verses about the Body of Christ.

Paul also addresses that something is going on that is causing fear…well, in this time, HE’s in prison for the gospel, Christ has been crucified, Stephen was stoned(this he knew of very well). The culture was not very pro Christian.

Phil 1:28
28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

Stand fast together side by side…in LOVE.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14
13 Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.
14 Do everything in love.

Paul encourages them NOT to be terrified…that the persecution is to their(the enemies) damnation, but will work to salvation in the Christians. Romans 8:28 again, only this time, it’s applying to the believers..not to Paul’s circumstances!

I believe he’s pointing back to Jesus’s great sermon!

Matthew 5:10-12
10 “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.

If we walk as Christ walked, we can expect persecution. The keys here are FALSELY and on CHRIST’s account!
Paul started out this section with let your conversation(also translated as life) be as it becomes the gospel of CHRIST!

I’ve been ‘persecuted’ for my attitude – as in BAD.
I’ve been ‘persecuted’ for my rudeness, or inappropriateness, or my lack of respect for someone’s time.
That’s not being persecuted for my life reflecting the gospel or Christ.

I’ve heard of folks that have called their reprimands at work as being persecution. Unfortunately, when I questioned them, they were not doing their job, and were preventing others from getting their work done, and offending customers. That was NOT persecution. Maybe for their naivete, but not for Christ.

Then, again – as if Paul MUST drive this home…after letting us know that he would rather die and be with Jesus, but had chosen to stay here, in order to help us grow…into the fullness of Christ…and that we will have opponents….

Phil 1:29 – 30
29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

WAIT!!! HOLD ON!!! I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS!!!
I thought it was all going to ask and ye shall receive…seek and ye shall find, life more abundantly, my father owns the cattle on a thousand hills…open the windows of heaven and pour out the blessings…Abraham’s blessings are mine!!!!

This type of Christianity just does not line up with the fullness of scripture.
Are those things true?
Of course. They are Bible.
Is this persecution and suffering thing true?
Again, Yes – they are Bible.

The best way I can explain it is to share this:
1 Peter 4
YES, the WHOLE chapter.
But here’s the main poit I want to make:

1 Peter 4:12-17
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

In this section, Phil 1:20-30, I see Paul stating why he is remaining here, and then, going ahead and teaching, challenging, encouraging, and maybe convicting the believers.

For to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.
Do we really have a choice? technically, yes…but, if I want to be like Jesus…I don’t have a choice.
Jesus said it this way:

Matthew 16:24-26
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

A very wise man, who did give his life for Christ, said this:

I’m going to end this chapter with a link to a poem I was given last night, The Pain of Night. I think it goes well with this study.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More Philippians ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~Thank you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission. The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.
Some artwork is from FreeClipArt Library. copyrights belong to them.

I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Glimpses of Heaven – a Glimpse of Jesus

A Glimpse of Jesus

disclaimer –
I’m not saying that I WENT to heaven.
I’m not saying that THIS is what heaven looks like.
This is MY experience in response to a situation for which I was seeking God.
My intent is to offer comfort.

Back in the 1980’s, when we had five children, and didn’t know what we were doing. One night, our oldest son got sick. The ugly, throw up down the side of the bed, kind of sick. I’m not sure what happened to me, but I was having difficulties breathing, and I was lying down in my bed, on the other side of the house. I couldn’t move to help Jim with our son. Things kept coming into and out of view.
All of the sudden, I realized that I was walking on this beautiful green hill, with a beautiful blue sky above my head. The grass was the greenest green I’d ever seen. The river below me was babbling along, with that sweet sound of water just lazily flowing over round rocks, a musical sound that nothing can replicate. In the far distance were purple mountains rising up to meet the blue sky, with bits of white on the tops, mixing in with the white clouds so that it wasn’t obvious where the mountains ended and the clouds began.

“Hello, Christi” a warm, friendly voice spoke. The voice sounded familiar, but it almost didn’t sound at all. It was if everything, including me, resonated with this voice. I turned around.
“Jesus!” I exclaimed! “Where am I?”
“With me, child”

We seemed to take a walk, though we seemed to stay in one place. I thought I was moving, and yet, there was no effort, just a flowing, being, kind of movement. As we walked, I told Him of my concerns for my children, and them growing up to serve him. I told Him of my concerns about being good enough to be their mom. I told Him how I felt worthless as a woman, a wife, a mom and a child of God. I told Him how I felt I was failing Jim and Him.
He listened to all I said, and would interject loving words that seemed to wash away all of my concerns.

“Jesus – I have a question, please.”
“Yes…” He replied, looking me in the eyes, with more love that any mother ever had for her child.
“Am I dead? Is this heaven?”
“Almost, my dear. You are almost dead, but this is just outside of heaven.”
I started asking him questions, and I wasn’t bothered at all that I was mostly dead. I just loved hearing his voice, and feeling that love roll over me like a wave of the ocean on a warm summer day. I wanted to lie down in that green grass, feel the breeze flow over me, and enjoy the musical melody of the water. I don’t remember all that He told me, but for that period of time, nothing matter, except that I was with Jesus. I knew everything I needed to know, I feared nothing, and I was so full of love and joy that I thought I was going to burst!

As I was listening to Jesus, there came a buzz in my ear…like a mosquito that just won’t let you fall asleep. I started waving it off, and it got louder and louder. I didn’t even stop to grasp, why are there mosquitoes in heaven? I just kept swatting it away. I was getting annoyed!
I looked up at Jesus, about to ask why, and saw that He had this interesting, understanding grin on his face.
“christi” – I heard, as if it was far away, as if it were from someone on those mountains…someone yelling my name. The voice was pulling me away from standing there with Jesus. The voice was taking my attention away from focusing on Jesus and this beautiful place. It was if a pull that I could not control were trying to drag me away. I just wanted to be right there, in the sweet green grass, beside the still waters, and enjoy the restoring of my soul!
“Go away”
“Christi”
“Be Quiet!” I said…trying to wave off that pesky voice.
“Christi” – I heard it again, even louder. NOOOOOOooooooooo!

“Jesus, it’s Jim’s voice…why is he interrupting us? Doesn’t he know I’m with you? How dare he interrupt my time with You!”
“Yes, dear, he does. But he’s calling you back.”
“Jesus, NO – I don’t want to go back there…it’s beautiful here, YOU are here,” and I fell on my knees and begged him…tears falling down my cheeks.
“We agreed a long ago that if you called one of us home, we would not demand that they come back…doesn’t he remember that?”
Jesus took my hands in his, and smiled into my face. I could feel the warmth of His glory fall upon me.
“I haven’t call you home yet, my dear.”
As he wiped away my tears, He said,
“My child, you have to go back, he can’t raise the five children without you. He can’t make it without you.”
“Oh, Jesus – sure he can…he’s got the Bible, family and You…just let me stay here. They’ll be fine!”
“CHRistiiiii” – Jim’s voice was getting louder. I turned to see if he was walking up the hill to meet us.
“Lord – I want to stay here with you…please”
“I’m sorry, my child – it’s not your time to come here yet. You have work to do”

As Jim’s voice pulled me closer and closer…I realized that I was being pulled away from the presence of Jesus. It was like one of those sci-fi vortex things from which you cannot escape – crossing dimensions. I reached out for Jesus’ hands, but he was far, far away now, and was disappearing into the vision. The hills were just faded green, I could not smell the grass anymore. I couldn’t make out the mountains from the clouds anymore. The water was so distant, and so soft now that I could barely hear it. I was being pulled back, back to…..

“CHRISTIIII – COME BACK!”
I jerked, and looked up, and a female EMT was on top of me with her hands on my sternum. Her face was white, but a glimmer came across her face and she exclaimed
“We got her!”
I looked to my left, and Jim’s mouth was right at my ear – he’d been shouting in my ear the whole time.
I looked to my right, and saw another EMT, just as white as the first one, taking deep breaths.
“Good – “ and started rattling off those things EMT’s rattle off in emergencies.

I closed my eyes and tried to see the hills, the meadows, the mountains, the river…and Jesus.
They were gone.
The colors had faded.
The touch was gone.
The warmth of His glory was gone.
The peace of that quiet hillside was crashed with the noise of people, children, instructions, machines…and I don’t know what else. It was just loud.

“We thought we’d lost you” Jim said.
I don’t remember right now if I told him, or if I was even able to speak.
All I remember is that I had met with Jesus, seen a glimpse of heaven, and knew that heaven was my home.
All I knew was that I wanted to get back there.
And I knew that Jesus had told me that I was supposed to finish raising my five children.

But He left me with a memory:

Ps 73:25
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Phil 3:20
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Matthew 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

My heart was filled with a song that my husband, Jim, taught me:
This World is not My Home, three ways.

Have you had a talk with Jesus?

Have you felt His presence in YOUR life in times of struggle, or times of joy?

Have you been near death, and known that Jesus was with you?

please share your comments with me!

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission. The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.
Some artwork is from FreeClipArt Library. copyrights belong to them.

I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2018 My One Word/phrase – be like Jesus

My 2018 One Word/Phrase – Be Like Jesus

Character is what you are when no one is watching.
Hypocrisy is what you are when ONLY someone is watching.

Christ is NOT a hypocrite.

Can someone be a hypocrite without realizing it?
Yes, by lying to themselves.

The rich young ruler was certain that he had done all that he needed to do to enter into the Kingdom…until Jesus said “go, sell all that you have and come follow me” and he went away sad.
His heart was mixed up with those things!
He didn’t realize that he was bound by greed. THIS WAS HUGE!

Giants are huge. I wrote a few of my giants down in some blogs, which can be found at “there are Giants in My land”
The first three for me are

  1. Fear
  2. Depression
  3. Unforgiveness

These giants make us do things that we would rather not do…like Paul saying that he doesn’t understand his own actions.
Romans 7:15-20

  • Like someone sabotaging themselves for a promotion.
  • Someone not writing a book they have been called to write.
  • Like someone messing things up so that they cannot get a medical procedure.
  • Like someone refusing to go to the doctor because they are so afraid of what might be found.

When you get below the excuses, you usually come up with four basic reasons:

  • Mad
  • Sad
  • Glad
  • or Afraid.

These are the most basic human emotions.
From these, all others eminate.

FEAR or Afraid.
Afraid of something.
and, the giant wants to take control.
The giant wants you to believe that you are in control of the situation…by using fear to talk you out of something.
While the person sabotaging themselves against a promotion, or not writing the book would have obvious consequences, does the person refusing to see the doctor, or refusing a scan really have any control over what is going on in their body? Of course not…they are lying to themselves.

The sad thing about this giant is that not only does it keep one in the state of fear…it brings along it’s brother – Liar.
You see, the giant liar can weave a story around in your head (because that’s where they dwell) with all your thoughts, dreams, and fears, and make the excuses make sense to you. He’s a master manipulator!

  • “He didn’t call me, so I won’t call him.”
  • “I can’t do this right, and they know it, they’re just trying to humiliate me.”
  • “I’m not good enough for that scholarship, God knows that, so I’m not going to take it. It’s his fault”
  • “I can’t prepare if I don’t have total control of my appointment time, so it’s their fault.”
  • “They won’t give me a job, so why even show up for the interview, they lied to me.”

The rich young ruler said “all of these I have kept from my youth”…as in, I’ve walked in the law perfectly. Mark 10:17-22
He thought that Jesus would welcome him in!
Jesus saw his heart.
Jesus said – wait…there’s a bit more to this!
The Consequences are HUGE…possibly eternal!

There is the story of the Pharisee and the Tax collector.

Luke 18:10-14
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The Pharisee knows all the ways and ins and outs of the law.
The Pharisee is revered by people, as he walks through the street as a holy man.
The Pharisee does what he does when others are watching, so as to be seen.

Jesus goes into even more detail about his thoughts about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:17-33

The Tax collector is honored, BY JESUS HIMSELF! I think that Jesus was talking about a REAL occurrence! I even wonder if this man was standing in the back of the crowd while Jesus was talking, and thought “he saw ME!”

There are so many promises given to those that humble themselves….here are a few:

1 Peter 5:6-7English Standard Version (ESV)
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

2 Chronicles 7:14King James Version (KJV)
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

James 4:6-10English Standard Version (ESV)
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

With humility comes peace, forgiveness, grace, and joy. What’s to be afraid of there?
Oddly enough – peace counteracts fear, forgiveness counteracts unforgiveness, joy counteracts depression…and grace…well, that will address another giant in my land…condemnation.

The Pharisee was deceived – he was lying to himself.
The Rich Young Ruler was deceived – he was lying to himself.
Lying is a serious sin.
It’s one of the 10 – Ex 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
So, does this mean it’s ok to lie to ourselves?

That line of reasoning would also go like this:
Ex 20: 13 “You shall not murder.
But that means only other people, so it’s ok to commit suicide.

You probably would disagree with that, wouldn’t you?

King James

Revelation 21:8King James Version (KJV)
8 But 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.

ESV

Revelation 21:8English Standard Version (ESV)
8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

If there was any question as to what God thinks of lying…or the rest of these, here’s His answer.

This is the final judgement.
These are giants that have taken over folks, and folks did not deal with them.
They may not have even recognized them.
They have been manipulated BY the giants.
They may have been blindsided by them, like David almost was, and his mighty men had to kill one for him.

Fear and Lying….
cowardly and faithless…
and idolatry.

Yep, idolatry is in that set of 10! the first four deal with our relationship with GOD!

I put this quote at the end of every blog and email:

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

For me, this is the simplest definition of idolatry I’ve ever found.
I allow something between ME and HIM.
So, when I wrote there are giants in my land, I was taking down the rights of those giants to get between me and Jesus. I also confessed that I will not put ME between me and Jesus! My definition of LORD is that HE is given control(as if he needed me to give him permission) over my life, and I will yield to MY LORD.

Lying to myself gets between me and my God…and peace, forgiveness, grace and joy.

 

Lies...that is how the abuse in my life continued.
I suppose that folks that knew lied to themselves, as well as others.
Those lies almost destroyed me.

John 8:30-32King James Version (KJV)
30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The truth of sexual abuse is not an easy truth to accept.
but by allowing the truth to open my eyes, so many things started to fall in place that had been chaotic, and confusing. Things that had never made sense were now making sense, in the face of this ugly truth. And the bigger TRUTH??? Jesus was in control. Not me. Not my abuser. Not those that knew and allowed it.

Even Satan has to get permission to mess with God’s Saints…Job 1 … and God puts limitations upon his efforts.

We cannot allow the enemy to rule in our bodies…Romans 6:12

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

THIS IS OUR CHOICE! But if we remain afraid…if we continue lying…we will not know this freedom.

So, fear, brings in lying, which brings in other things…for some of us, suicide and depression. Giving up.
Quitting.
Anger because things aren’t working out the way we want it to.
Because we think we are in control.
If God is not in control of our lives and our decisions, then the enemy is, and he doesn’t ask permission to mess with our heads…not from us.
The only way that we are protected from the enemy is when we are choosing to walk in faith and truth.
Will we stumble? yes.
Will we fall? yes.
Will be revert back to the old fearful, lying ways? Absolutely.

But every time we stand up to the giant, we are stronger for the exercise, and he is weakened because of the presence of God in our lives.

And by the power of the Holy Spirit within us…

Romans 6:11
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

1 John 1:6-7
6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 2:3-6
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

We’re supposed to BE LIKE JESUS!

Here are some prayerful songs for humbling myself:

To be like you – Hillsong

Humble thyself in the Sight of the Lord
Heal Our Land 
No Higher Calling

Here is a printable for more verses:
from the four step Bible Study

Here is a video of the service preached by Pastor David Uth, on Letting Go

I’d like to recommend this booklet by Syvia Gunter of The Father’s Business. I have no affiliation with her other than my respect for the things she has written.

We are called by HIS name – Christians – Christ followers – therefore, let’s
humble ourselves
pray
seek his face
turn from OUR wicked ways(they are ours, even if giants manipulate us)
AND HE WILL HEAR US
AND HE WILL HEAL OUR LAND.

Bottom line, isn’t that better than living with giants?

Jim & Christi 2017

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission. The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.
Some artwork is from FreeClipArt Library. copyrights belong to them.

I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Philippians 1:12-18

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

Philippians 1:12-18
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

First:

Phil 1:12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

So often, when things go badly from our point of view, we wonder what we did wrong, what others did wrong, or why God did not protect, provide, or prevent whatever happened.

Paul wrote Romans 8:28

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

This goes all the way back to the story of Joseph – being thrown into the well by his brothers…and his final statement to them:

Genesis 50:19-20
19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? 20″As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.

This goes back to Ruth and Naomi…if Naomi, Elimelech and their sons had not gone to Moab, and the men had not all died, Ruth would not have met Boaz and been the grandmother of David, and in the ancestral line of Christ.

Ruth 4:13-17
Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

For more of my thoughts on this part of Ruth’s story – Itty Bitty Bible Study – Ruth 4

The verse states : those that Love God and are Called according to his purpose
Paul loved God – shown early on by his zealous nature to eradicate the Christians, and his willingness to humble himself, admit he was wrong, and zealously follow Christ!
Paul was called – again – hearing the voice of God saying “Paul, Paul, why do you persecute me?”, and then, as a blind man, being led to Christ so that he could truly see.

Our lives, when we give them over to the Lord, are knit together to bring about HIS good will and purposes in our lives. Throughout the Bible, it is obvious that God is not as concerned about being the holy Santa Claus and giving us the material things to look like the wealthy kings, but more that he is interested in giving us lessons so that our character is challenged, and we are given spiritual things so that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit, and walk as an Ambassador of Christ! A representation of Christ to the world.

What was Paul called unto?
1 Cor 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ…
2 Cor 1:1; Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God….
Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead)
Philippians 1:1 Paul…the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus….
1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness

An apostle.

But this is talking about the effect his bonds have upon others…and, this is the statement that talks about Paul’s specific calling:

Philippians 1:17
The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.

Saul’s calling was pretty dramatic.
Acts 9 talks about the zealot – and his blinding – and his healing – and his calling!
Ananais was not convinced to go see this man that killed the Christ followers! But here is where God states Paul’s calling:

verse 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

Paul’s bonds for Christ hve drawn attention. I’d imagine, it wasn’t just the bonds, because many had been put in bondage. It’s the REASON for which he was put in bondage…something worth being put into bondage for!

Christ’s death exploded the faith. His resurrection completed the plan – but being willing to die for His faith set in motion the cost to be a follower. Here are just a few of the ways that Jesus tells us to count the cost…

We can understand why Paul said, in Philippians 3:7-9 that he counts all things as loss, except for Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:18
But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,

Jesus said something similar. in Luke 9:49-50(ESV)

49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.”50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”

To me, this is saying that God is able to make sure that HIS word is able to accomplish that to which HE has sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11English Standard Version (ESV)
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

It’s the basis for Philippians 1:6

For I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will continue to perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

and reflects, from the Psalmist:

Psalm 138:8 NASB
The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

There are various ways to share the gospel.
Here are a few:

Some great pointers on being clear, when sharing the gospel.

The key is TO SHARE THE GOSPEL!

Mark 16:15-16English Standard Version (ESV)
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

There’s a parable about the seed…we all know it.Matthew 13
We’re to cast the seed – maybe we do some watering – maybe some day, we get to harvest…but we are all called to cast the seed!
Paul explains to us that some plant, some water, and some harvest – but, the point is…we all spread the seed. 1 Cor 3:6

Remember, we may be the only Jesus that someone ever meets!
Let’s BE LIKE JESUS!

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission. The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.
Some artwork is from FreeClipArt Library. copyrights belong to them.

I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Midnight Musings – Be Like Jesus – Jan 5, 2018

Often, I am given things in the middle of the night. Most of the time, I just lie there and beg to go back to sleep! Recently, I’ve been convicted to share these ramblings, and I’ve had some encouraging responses. So – here goes obedience! ~Christi
This is day 6 of 100 in 2018
and this fits into my one word(phrase) be like Jesus.

 

Okay, so I’ve binged. I ate the whole bag of Christmas chocolates.

I admit,

  • I am sick and tired of having problems with my legs.
  • I hate having to put the braces on to stretch out the tendons so that I don’t have the electric shock things.
  • I hate having to put ointment on my legs,
  • I hate having to wrap my legs,
  • I hate having to wear socks that compress my legs, and
  • I hate the fact that I’m doing all of these things and have no idea why I’m doing it because no one knows what’s going on.

NO ONE?
 

Well someone knows.
God knows.
God knows what’s going on with my body,
God knows what’s going on with my heart,
God knows what’s going on with my mind.

Romans 8:28English Standard Version (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[a] for those who are called according to his purpose.

Ephesians 2:10English Standard Version (ESV)
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I have no idea what good works I can do when I’m spending so much time dealing with pain, headaches, other strange things that I get doctor saying “ooh that’s really weird, but I have no idea what it is!”
But God knows.
And I know God.
And one thing I know about God is it that he intends everything that happens in my life to do something good in me, so that I can glorify him in my life .
God says it…and I say I believe God…so therefore, I believe it is true, whether I understand or not.

Glorify God in my struggles?

Jesus said to let our light shine so that others would glorify God. (Matthew 5:16). Our purpose here is to glorify the King of Kings Lord of lords, Glory Glory! Our purpose here is to share with others the love, grace, mercy that is the heart of the King of kings and Lord of lords. And since there are going to be trials (thank you James), and we’re not supposed to be surprised that they come upon us (Thank you, Peter), we are to count it joy(Thanks again, James), we are to share our love, we are to be in peace, and the whole point of struggling, and suffering with Jesus, is to show how to suffer with Jesus (thanks again, Peter!).
For that matter – we’re not supposed to be surprised if the world hates us! (Thank you, Jesus, as reported by John!) They hated him, first.

1 Peter 2:12English Standard Version (ESV)
12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Empathy

There’s a verse about participating in the sufferings of Jesus, and that’s not what I’m talking about here, because this is about chronic illness, mental illness, and such things. These were not issues that Jesus dealt with, specifically.

For me, this is not confessing to be a Christian. Here in the United States of America, for the most part, it’s not hard to confess to be a Christian.

Suffering well, in any situation, shows others hope in their situation. Participating in suffering gives us a bridge to touch others who are suffering, because we can empathize, not just sympathize. Experiential Compassion.

Do Good?
For the most part, most Christians don’t look any different than everybody else. For the most part, the majority of the population gives the Christian church, and any faith-based anything really, a wide berth as do-gooders. But is that the tag, the evidence, of our Christianity? Doing Good?

I know that there are people that do not believe in Christ, who have no basic faith statement, but are good people! They choose to support the poor, to donate to organizations that help the homeless, that restore are land, help our schools, etc., etc., etc. How does that look any different than the Christians who collect food for the food pantry, go in and help with floods, and give their money wherever? How are WE supposed to look different?
How are OUR good works supposed to look differently?

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

For me, with the problems I have with my legs, I can’t go stand at a soup kitchen, I can’t go serve for the floods, there’s so many things that I cannot do, and good people are doing more good than I am. So how do I stand out as a Christian in the midst of the darkness that we are surrounded by? How do I show empathy, and experiential compassion from the core of my faith? From Jesus in me?

LOVE
Jesus said to or through John that they will know us by our love. It has to be something different about our love compared to the love of your basic do-gooder. The love of Jesus was a love that suffered, and died, on our behalf. His life shows us how he struggled with those that would say things against him, that would choose to throw him off the cliff, and how he actually responded those last days as he knew he was going to end up on the cross.
What do we have to show, differently?

We love because he first loved us(1 John 4:19).
He loved us while we were yet sinners(Romans 5:8).
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son (John 3:16).
The symbol of our Christianity is that they will know us by our love(John 13:35).
Jesus showed us his love when as he was being tried and beaten and made fun of, he looked over and his best friend had just denied him.
Jesus showed us his love, when another of his disciples did not believe that he had risen and demanded to touch his feet and hands.
Jesus showed us his love when he embraced Peter back into the fold and asked him to feed his sheep.
Jesus showed us his love while he was hanging on the cross, and he looked down and asked John to take care of his mother Mary even though he knew he had brothers that could do the job.

How Can I show this type of Love?

Love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious, and does not seek its own way… And the rest of 1 Corinthians 13. As Paul said, if I speak with the tongue of angels and have not love, I am just a noisy gong.
This is NOT easy…and this is a growth!

JOY

Joy is another key that Christ has given us in the midst of trial.
He came that we would have joy and have it fully(John 15:11).
The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh 8:10).
And in his presence is Joy forever more (Psalm 16:11).

KEY —> if we don’t have joy, it’s because we haven’t spent time in the presence of our King and Joy Giver.

I can’t really talk about Jesus showing Joy because that’s not really what the scripture talks about when it talks about how Christ responded. But I can say scripture points to Joy. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, and I think the next is patience or long-suffering(yep, Gal 5:22-23). The spirit that is providing us with these fruit to grow is the Holy Spirit, the part of God that lives within us. So we should exhibit the love, and we need to exhibit the joy.

But on top of that, there’s some aspect of joy that should just emanate from the Christian, as well as peace in the midst of Trials.

PEACE
The next way to be different than the world in my trials is to have peace.
The peace of God that passes all understanding and keeps my heart and mind in Christ Jesus(Phil 4:7),
Who is the Prince of Peace(Is 9:6),
Who spoke to the storm “peace, Be Still” (Mark 4:35-41)
and said to us “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
In the world there are tribulations (John 16:33)) but HE promises us peace.
Someone without the spirit of God within misses out on the peace that God grants us through his word and through prayer and through the privilege of fellowship with our creator father. So peace is the other indicator of our walk with Christ.

In Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, you can read about people that were singing hymns while they were burning at the stake. That is definitely joy and peace in the midst of a very serious trial. And I have never been asked to confess my faith or renounce my faith at the pain of death, or bodily harm. In our lifetime there have been Christians beheaded in Ethiopia area, there have been people, students, shot in schools because they were asked if they were Christian. There are Christians in China and India that are being tortured and killed. And I know someone from Indonesia who tells of the story of it being so dangerous to be Christian there. I want to look different, even here, in the United States.
I want to look like JESUS!

Conclusion?
James said

James 1: ESV
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The point is, sometimes trials are what God uses to grow us in love, joy, peace and patience (no, I didn’t write about patience, but it’s a good fruit to have!). When we exhibit that love, joy, peace and patience in the midst of turmoil, we actually glorify God in the midst of our struggles, and that is a very good thing. If in any way I can help someone walk through their Darkness and find some light from the Lord that brings them love, joy, peace, and patience as they face what seems to be insurmountable terrors and trauma and trials and tribulations, then my trials and tribulations have value. This is where God takes coal of my life and presses it with intense pressure, and heat(fiery trials), and eventually brings forth a diamond that is a jewel in His crown to glorify him when I see him face to face.

My Prayer
I confess the struggle with my human flesh dealing with pains and such, and I ask my Lord and Savior for strength to endure with character qualities that glorify him. And I pray that my life would be given over and a sacrifice for his glory and to help whoever may need help to take the next step as they walk to the Valley of the shadow of death.

RESOURCES
Verses about Love from Daily Verse .net
Verses about Joy from Daily Verse .net
Verses about Peace from Daily Verse .net
And for good measure:
Verses about Patience from Daily Verse .net

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission. The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Advent – Christmas day

Christmas Day!
If using an Advent Log – light ALL of the candles!

Christmas Eve

Christmas on the Advent Log

If using an Advent Wreath – Light all four candles and the Christ Candle!

Read The story of Christmas:

Luke 2:1-21
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas songs!

This may have duplicates, but here are all the songs from the Advent Devotions!

May your celebration of Christ’s birth be full of peace, joy and LOVE!

Advent Devotions

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Advent 2015 – Christmas Eve

Advent 2015 – Christmas Eve

For the longer Advents – this is Advent 28
Here is the Advent Log for day 28:

Christmas Even Advent Log - Day 28

Christmas Eve Advent Log – Day 28

Tradition was that we would have pizza. Then, we would get serious.
This is the evening that we would have communion – preparing our hearts for the coming of the King.

Christmas Eve Communion

Christmas Eve Communion

For years I attended Midnight Mass at Christ Episcopal Church. Mass = Communion.
This was our family tradition.
When we had children, we attended non denominational, or non liturgical churches that had their Christmas Eve services in the evening. There wasn’t always communion.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

Busted Halo gives a very short explanation on why we go to Midnight Mass.
Wikipedia information on Midnight Mass

My memory is that we were combining the vigil of waiting for Christ’s birth, and preparing ourselves to give Him room, and at Midnight, we celebrated his birth.

Christmas Carols

Christmas Carols

Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King! Let every heart, prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and heaven and nature sing!

Christmas Carols

Christmas Carols

Christmas Eve, Jim would read the Christmas story from Luke.

Jim reading Christmas Eve devotions

Jim reading Christmas Eve devotions

Then, we would say the Lord’s prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the Glory and the power forever,
Amen.

This prayer, given to us by Jesus, covers most of what any worship service should cover:

  • Glorify God
  • Align yourself with His will.
  • Ask for needs.
  • Ask for forgiveness, as we forgive.
  • Ask for help to walk in this world.
  • End with praise.

We would then read the communion scripture:

Usually using this passage for the communion:
1 Cor 11:23-26

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

In 1 Corinthians 10:16, The Apostle Paul asks

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”

The whole focus of our Advent Meditations was to turn the eyes upon Jesus and giving, and off of the worldly focus of Santa and getting gifts.
Communion is an outward sign of choosing to set aside my life, and decide to follow Jesus.

Tonight, I will pull out my old Episcopal Prayer Book, and go through communion with my husband. Here is the Episcopal Prayer book Online.

Lifeway has a set of resources online for practicing the Lord’s Supper. They are for churches, but could easily be adapted for your home.

For us, it was just simple to do the Lords Prayer, and then follow 1 Cor 11:23-26.

In a world where Christmas is so full of rabble rousing, and even those that say they know the reason, we wanted it to be a somber, and sacred celebration. Jesus didn’t come to earth so that we could get ginormous flat screen TVs! Jesus came to save our souls!

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Hail, the heav’n born Prince of Peace.
Hail the Son of righteousness.
Light and life to all He brings,
ris’n with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays His glory by,
born that man no more should die;
Born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth!
Hark the herald angels sing,
Glory to the New born King!

What Child is this?

Why lies He in such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear” for sinners here the silent word is pleading/
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
the cross be born for me, for you;
Hail, Hail, the Word made flesh,
the Babe, the Son of Mary.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Oh Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray.
Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emanuel.

We sang many Christmas Carols!

One of my favorite Christmas Albums is by Don Moen, 1990
Praise Worship, Christmas

Here’s a compilation of the Piano Guys for Christmas

Since it’s pretty obvious that I love Pentatonix – here’s a compilation of their Christmas songs.

Instead of reading the Night Before Christmas, we would read a few different things.  The Shoemaker stories:

AdventShoemakerNVP004 AdventShoemakerCTB2006 AdventShoemakerCTB1005

We compared Jesus to Santa.

JesusSanta

And we read Twas the night before Jesus came. (c) 1993 Bethany Farms, Carrollton, IL.

I found a cute printable Christmas Story book on Ministry to Children that may be useful for those that still have littles.  My littles have all grown up.

One last thing, is this A Christmas Prayer for the Home by Henry Van Dyke, from The Book of Jesus edited by Calvin Miller.

 

More Advent Devotions

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Advent 2015 – days 19-26 part 2

Advent days 19-22 dealt with Mary, Joseph, Jesus and Bethlehem.

Part 2 deals with The Star, Angels, Shepherds and Magi. That actually takes us to Advent day 26.
25 days in December until Christmas, but Advent usually starts before December. I explained that in part 1, linked above.

Star Day 23

Star

Star

Why the star before the Angels?
well, since the Magi were coming from the East, or was it the west…
(if the star is in the east, do you walk east or west to Bethlehem?)
(westward leading still proceeding…as well as the appropriate verse: Matt 2:2 & 9),
(See how I figured that out?)
and it took them(Magi) some time to get there – it may have been seen by the magi BEFORE the birth. Maybe it was lit for them at just the moment of his birth – and since their journey was not ended at the stable, right after the birth(spoiler!) – they may have started then. Either way, the Star proclaiming Christ’s birth was at least at the same time, if not before the Angels and the shepherds. It’s my Advent study. If you don’t like it…you can change it up for yourself!

Star

Star

The Star.
I did some research on this, since just this year ‘they’ were saying that we could see a repeat of Christ’s star! With my naked eye I could see that it was three different stars…so, I don’t buy that explanation. It was neat to actually be able to experience one of the possibilities.

There are some very interesting scientific research going on, to prove or disprove this star. Sort of like that sun standing still miracle, but that’s another story.

Ray Pritchard, on www.jesus.org, describes four possibilities in this post.

Dr. Henry Morris, from Institute in Creation Research has an indepth discussion about the Star of Jesus within his article about the Star and the Magi.

Whatever the star was – it was important enough to the Magi, wise men, potentially astronomers, to know that something important had happened. Just as Dr. Morris did in his post, Edersheim speaks a little bit about the magi and why they might know of the coming King.

Next – The Magi Day 24

Magi

Magi

Because they share these two research posts, and this song! The Magi and the Star go hand in hand.

They probably weren’t kings.
There is no indication that there were only 3, there were only 3 types of gifts.
But still, the song, We Three Kings tells the story of Christ, and gives an indication as to what the three gifts would be for in his life.

And, my take on this is, Am I wise enough to still seek HIM? And would I give him such expensive gifts? Or only leftovers?

https://youtu.be/k8mjRxkMBkE

Shepherds Day 25
100_6788

Shepherds
Simple working folk.
Mostly unlearned.
Oddly enough, King David was a shepherd boy before he was anointed to become King.
The Messiah was to come from David’s lineage.
Jesus is the good shepherd, such as Psalm 23 describes.
So, who else would deserve the first proclamation, other than his brethren, in his ancestral home?

These shepherds heard the news and ran…to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
But first – they were scared out of their wits!!! A nice, quiet night out with the sheep. The usual stars in they sky (or they would have noticed), and everyone was settled in to watch for the night and suddenly! or in KJV speak:

Lk 2:8-9

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

https://youtu.be/X4kAQs7KAHM

silent Night

silent Night

Luke 2:15 & 25

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
~
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Those they told just wondered. It doesn’t say that they went to see.
Now, granted, the shepherds heard it from angels – the townspeople just heard it from, well, shepherds.

My take away? Would I drop everything and run? Do I despise the messenger?

Angels

Hark the Angels Sing

Hark the Angels Sing

Angels
messengers from God.
warriors from God.
protectors from God.
In this case, I believe they were just so full of Joy that their star quarterback was now in the game!
They were there when God created the earth.
They were left in heaven when satan and the other angels fell.
They were there when Adam and Eve brought death into the world through sin.
They knew that God the Father had a plan, but they didn’t know what it was.
All they knew was what they were told when they were sent as messengers.
And today was the day – The Son of God was going into the world to make everything right! Lucifer had not won. The great plan, that had been foretold in multiple prophecies was being unfolded right before their eyes. This was the beginning of Peace on Earth, good will towards men!

Crocheted Angels

Crocheted Angels

Luke 2:10-12

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

This was the message they had been waiting to give! And once it was given:

Luke 2:13-14

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Piano Guy Version – a must watch!

Hark the Herald Angels

Hark the Herald Angels

And, then, just bust out singing!

hark and Joy

hark and Joy

and some fun

https://youtu.be/bHgPlC7wph4

The next blog will be thoughts for Christmas Eve – and Christmas Day.

For now – I am thinking about the ones that were part of the declaration of Christ’s birth. And I wonder, do I declare Christ’s birth, death and Resurrection with my life, as a light Jesus told us to be? He came as the light in the darkness, and I am to be the light of the world – my life should shine the light of Jesus wherever I go. He came and died so that I might live, and declare the glory of God.

Gloria! In excelsis Deo!

nativity

nativity

More Advent Devotions

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Advent 2015 – days 19 – 26 part 1

In 2016, Advent is 28 days long.
In 2017, advent is 22 days long.

What? 26 days of Advent?,
Isn’t Advent 24 days before Christmas, on the 25th?

The length of Advent changes every year – based on the date of Thanksgiving. Advent is the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, or the fourth Sunday preceding Christmas. In 2017, for example, Thanksgiving does not fall on the last Thursday, but the fourth Thursday of November, and the fifth Thursday is Nov 30. That year, the 1st Sunday of Advent is Dec 3rd – making that Advent only 22 days long.

Thank you Catholic Resources – Advent!

The longest Advent is 28 days.
The shortest is 22(I think).

This blog is going to be about the characters in the Christmas story. Use it however you would like.

Mary, Joseph, Jesus & Bethlehem, then the second half; the Star, the Angels, and the Shepherds

Away in the Manger

Away in the Manger

Mary
Advent day 19

Holy Family

Holy Family

By all accounts, a young girl, Mary was chosen to marry a man, named Joseph.

But even before her was Elizabeth and Zacharias.
They had been waiting for a child.
Zacharias received a very special message during his service to the Lord in Luke 1:5 and following. This child was going to announce the coming of the Messiah!
An Angel messenger.

Luke 1:26-27

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

Sixth month of what? Elizabeth’s pregnancy!

What did the Angel say?
Luke 1:28

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Thou that art highly favoured – favor and grace
The Lord is with thee: – with – as in WITH? an unheard of position.
blessed art thou among women. – above Rachel and Leah by whom Jews had been blessing their daughters for centuries!
She is one that Loves her God!

She’s told she will have a child…with no male intervention. This means that she will be seen as a harlot. This is punishable by death. Maybe this is why it’s angel GABRIEL! that came to speak to her! But, her response is a beautiful statement of complete yeildedness to God’s plan, no matter what.
Luke 1:38

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

The Angel sends her on her way to Elizabeth’s – the babe in Elizabeth’s womb jumps for joy, and Mary sings what has gone down in history as her Magnificat.

Luke 1:46-55

She raises the Son of God – her story continues to the day he dies. She was a person, just like me, that said yes to God.

The key to me in this is am I willing to be embarassed at least, persecuted to death at the most for something that God has told me I should do. Now, Mary did get some evidence pretty soon that she was going to have a baby – but she also knew that she hadn’t been with a man. I, on the other hand, just have the strange visions, notions, or thoughts that God might want me to do things…and I often beg out because I am embarrassed. Mary’s reputation was on the line, and it was even brought up to Jesus years later. And she said yes!

Joseph
Day 20

Holy Family wood

Holy Family wood

Joseph.
A Carpenter.
Asked for Mary’s hand in marriage.
we know he is a Godly, compassionate man, for when his bride to be is found with child(and has some cockamammy story about being impregnated by God), he decided to divorce her quietly – so she won’t be stoned. Or would she? Anyway – he’d made his decision, and he got visited by an angel!
Matthew 1:18-25
Joseph was told that he was the stepfather to the Son of God. And he was to name him Jesus, God with us. or was it Immanuel?
The folks over at Christian Apologetics and Research have a great explanation of the two names of Jesus and why. I won’t go into it!

Joseph provides the flesh and blood father that protects Jesus when they have to flee to Egypt. He provides training for Jesus and provides for the family as a carpenter. Apparently, he, also, was chosen for his role in Christ’s life, and by taking Mary into his home as his wife, and not ‘knowing’ her as was his biblical right, Joseph said yes to God!

The angel thing again. But seriously, if I met an angel that told me that such and thus was going to happen, especially if I had been in bed, I would second guess myself. Of course, Mary was with child. Joseph could believe or not believe. but he said yes. I believe.

https://youtu.be/BARVAg0gl6w

https://youtu.be/PytP9XPhP1g

Jesus
Advent day 21

Away in the Manger

Away in the Manger

The best way to describe Jesus, is through the Word of God:

Is 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Zacharias prophesied Jesus’ purpose, to which his son John would proclaim in Luke 1:67 and following.

John poetically describes Christ in John 1:1-18 – describing the difference again between Jesus, and the prophet John.

Jesus – Son of God, Son of Man, Savior of the World.

https://youtu.be/MC9cbEHjvPs

Of course, before Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph had to get to Bethlehem.

Bethlehem

Bethlehem

Advent day 22

Yes, Bethlehem IS a character in this Christmas story, because it was foretold that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Bethlehem wasn’t a large city…but it was the city of David’s birth.
During the taxing, everyone had to go to the city of their ancestors birth to be counted. Luke 2:1-7

This is where we learn that she had to go, ‘great with child’ and that ‘there was no room for them at the inn.’
They key for Christmas here is the question, is there room for Jesus in MY heart…or does he get left out in the stable?

This gets us almost to Christmas Day.(in 2015)
if you added these four to the previous 18, you are at day 22 – the shortest of the Advent seasons. I will be providing another set – Star, Angels, Shepherds and Magi to make it to the 26th day of Advent next.

Love nativity

Love nativity

My prayer this Advent season was to become more aware of Christ in My life, and to make sure that he dwells in my heart – not on the outskirts of my life. I pray that this is your prayer as well.

For the rest of these, go to Advent 2015 part 2

More Advent Devotions

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Galatians 5

Galatians 5

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

I’ve shared my thoughts on

Galatians 5
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

I believe that this is one of the key verses in Galatians!
I love the King James Version – it’s what I memorized as a young Christian!

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

It’s not just chains…it’s entanglement!

From Marmion by Sir Walter Scott

copyright by ChristArt.inc

The vision is that once entangled, it is very hard to unravel all the parts to be set free.

How are we set free?

John 8:31-32
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:36
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Because the issue of being entangled into the law is:

James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

Paul specifically points out the law issue of THIS letter – circumcision – to be counted as a child of God.

Galatians 5:2-6
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

The historical background is in Acts 15.
Paul wrote about this experience with Peter in Galatians 2:11-21
My thoughts on the aspects of the danger of the law in IBBS Galatians 2:14-21; Galatians 3:1-9; Galatians 3:10-20; Galatians 3:21-29.

Paul pleads with the Galatians…with a bit of an interesting wish for those that were preaching the “other” gospel…aside from being accursed (Galatians 1:6-9)

7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.
11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
in Galatians 2:11-21, Paul makes it evident that Peter’s hypocrisy affected others in the area to raise themselves up above the gentile believers.
One reason for our walking in the Spirit(later in this chapter) is that we do not cause others to stumble!

Mark 9:42
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

Matthew 18:6-7
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin![b] For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

1 Corinthians 8:12
Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

1 Peter 2:15-16
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Called to Freedom – and the purpose is not to sin, but to love and serve one another.

Galatians 5:13-15
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Walking in the Spirit does NOT lend to itself to sin,

Galatians 5:16-17
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the
flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Romans 6:1-2 –
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

One version says GOD FORBID!

Christians will be known by their fruit…their lives…their works!

Matthew 7:16

You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

Being led of the Spirit – is to walk in liberty, not the law!

Galatians 5:18
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The works of the flesh…known by their fruit!

In Matthew 7, Jesus is talking about a lot of things!
It starts out in verses 1 – about Judge not that ye not be judged.

1“Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

In verses 13-14 he talks about the narrow gate:

Matthew 7:13-14
13 Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Then,Matthew 7:15, he’s talking about judging false prophets!
Verse 16 –

you shall know them by their fruit.

We are to judge people BY THEIR FRUIT!

Matthew 7

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

In John 7:24 Jesus tells the leaders of the church to judge justly. Interestingly enough – his talk references circumcision being done on the sabbath, and that not breaking the law! There this sticky issue comes up, again!

We are to test the spirits of the prophets…1 John 4:1-3
How are we to know if we need to help a weaker brother, if we do not recognize the fruits of the flesh?

1 Thessalonians 5:14
And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are irresponsible, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone

Matthew 18, Jesus tells us how to address a brother or sister in sin –
Obviously, there is a difference between judging another in order to ignore a sin in our own life(hypocrisy), and recognizing that a brother or sister is having difficulty, and going to them in love to restore them to fellowship(love for the brotherhood).

Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Based on the Matthew 7 chapter – first we need to take the log our of our own eye!

1 Peter 2:1-3
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

There are plenty of passages for putting off the sins of the flesh.
Even a few verses back!

Galatians 5:16-17
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the
flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Why should we take heed to how we act and are?

1 Peter 2:15-17
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Why? To silence those that are outside the church. To not give them any reason to truthfully say evil against us, thereby the church, thereby the reputation of Jesus Christ. We are ambassadors – we are often the only Jesus someone will see.

Galatians 5:22-25

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Peter had something to say about this!

2 Peter 1:3-10
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

Paul talked to Timothy about it in 1 Timothy 6

Titus 3:1-2
1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Colossians 1:9-14
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

In Revelation 2 and 3, the Apostle John is told to write, over and over and over “i know your works…”

James 2:14-26 talks about faith without works being dead.
Works IS THE EVIDENCE of faith!
We cannot SEE faith, but God, in His wisdom, has showed us how to grade ourselves…and how to take the temperature of others in order to love them back to the fold.

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

This is Jesus speaking! The only way to know about someone’s love for another is to SEE it!

We were created FOR GOOD WORKS!

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians 13 – and it sounds a lot like the fruit of the Spirit!

Jesus talked about the difference between following the law in Luke 10, comparing it to that of the Samaritan who showed HIS faith by HIS works, and was commended for his acts, or “work”.

We need to show our faith by our works – our fruit – our evidence!
We will be judged by our works:

1 Corinthians 3:12-15
12 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled[b]master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

We are building upon the foundation – Jesus Christ. We are not adding to salvation, we are declaring our LOVE for HIM and our desire to HONOR HIM with our lives.

We will be judged by our words:

Matthew 12:36-37
36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

John 15:8-10
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

The beauty of Christianity is not that we don’t have to walk circumspectly…it’s that God has made a way!

John 15
Specifically verse 5

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

And he even promises us Joy for abiding in HIM!

John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Fruit and works are similar –

​Galatians​ ​5:22-23
22​ ​But​ ​the​ ​fruit​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Spirit​ ​is​ ​love,​ ​joy,​ ​peace,​ ​patience,​ ​kindness,​ ​goodness,​ ​faithfulness,
23​ ​gentleness,​ ​self-control;​ ​against​ ​such​ ​things​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​law.

I looked up some verses about Love, Joy and Peace. Just the first three!

LOVE The only way to know if someone, if I, have the fruit of LOVE – is to see it. – it’s often said that Love is a verb. We can SEE it! (1 Cor 13; Mt 5:43-48, 22:39; Lk 6:27; Eph 5:2; 1 John 3;1 John 4 )

JOY – this should show on my face, even in times of despair…and I’m not talking about happiness that is based upon happenings around me. I’m talking about JOY that transcends what is going on, and is based in Jesus. (Mt 25:21; 1 John 1:4; Rom 14:17; Neh 8:10; John 15:11; Ps 16:11)

PEACE – it is obvious when someone has peace – or anxiety. (John 14:27; Eph 2:14; Phil 4:7; Heb 12:14; Isaiah 9:6)

 

I found a lovely coloring page for the Fruit of the Spirit from paper gifts for Estafany.

Galatians 5:26
24​ ​And​ ​those​ ​who​ ​belong​ ​to​ ​Christ​ ​Jesus​ ​have​ ​crucified​ ​the​ ​flesh​ ​with​ ​its​ ​passions​ ​and​ ​desires.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

We do not use our liberty to sin – but rather, rejoice in our liberty, wherewith Christ has set us free – and abide IN HIM, so that we are empowered to not become entangled again in the sins and lusts of our lives. Will we sin again? of course. Thank God for our advocate in Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9) But will we become entangled? Not if we abide in Christ!

1 John 5: 1- 3
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome

Adding a little hope of joy and peace:

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

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