10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5: 10-11 (NIV)
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
Psalms 40: 1-4 (NIV)
4 Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.”
5 When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place.
6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
Psalms 118:4-6 (NIV)
A Prayer for the Ephesians
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
Luke 2:10-1134 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 1: 34-35 (NIV)
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors, and teachers,
12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV)
7 The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Isaiah 26:7 (NIV)
O Lord, as I prepare for the upcoming Christmas celebration,
help me to remember the true meaning of the season…Jesus.
I often get overwhelmed with shopping lists and decorating,
forgetting to slow down and appreciate the true meaning of the holiday.
Help me to remember that Christmas is not about finding the perfect gift,
but about finding time to spend with my loved ones. Amen.
Borrowed, but perfectly written
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:21 (NIV)
Holy Father,
I often feel as if I’m meant to do more.
Lord, I ask You to guide me. Show me the way.
I know there are many ways that I can share Your Word and
the gifts You have given me, but I need guidance.
Show me the wisdom and the insights I need so I can do more
in my life and to help others in theirs.
Where do I begin? Help me to feel complete.
Amen.
Life itself has no meaning, However, life is an opportunity to create a meaning
As you look for this meaning you are creating, keep this in mind: We are taught from birth to listen to others to reply, we need to change this to listening to understand.
There you will find the meaning.
16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them;
Deuteronomy 11:16
It seemed Christmas was an excellent time to drop this.
Season Three free online started tonight. Those that have not seen the Chosen need to take the time and watch all the episodes. It is definitely benign worthy.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
Psalm 135:5-7 (ESV)
For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
This gift did not come with conditions, exclusions, or a warranty. It is yours for the taking, for as long as you wanted. A true gift of love to ALL the people of the world.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 (ESV)
A statement made by Paul.
1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.
Psalms 112:1-5 (ESV)
Have we made Churches into Our ATM for blessings?
So many of us that are still practicing Christians have
slowly turned organized churches that meet in brick-and-mortar buildings,
mainstream churches we attend into a blessing ATM. We give a few dollars and ask for our actions
to be forgiven and to get blessings back.
Similar to the way we get money from our bank. We slip in a card and get
money out. We move on with our lives doing the same we
have been doing knowing full well in our minds that come Sunday our trusty
Blessing ATM is waiting for us. Small
cost to give to be the person we are, Right?
The problem with this is we do not change. The Church does nothing to facilitate
change. The clergy are stuck in their
routine and are defeated for the most part by the fact that they have to have
the money to run the Church and all its programs. They know well over 90% did
not get or understand the message of the homily. The traditional churches find themselves
losing out to the big Televangelist churches with TV broadcasts, merchandise,
and preacher that has charism. They see
him pull up in a Mercedes and live in a mansion on the outskirts of town. The church is all new and shiny so he must
know the right words he would not be successful, so his Blessing ATM must be
the right one.
The problem is that is not how Jesus taught his
beliefs. He taught that for a Church to
be a servant to the people. That a
church is at its best when it is giving to all people. Jesus did not have a building, an income, not
a chariot, or even a donkey of his own.
No, he spread his teaching to all who wanted to listen. Remember the story of him tossing tables in
the temple and chasing the money changer out as blasphemy to his father's house? Think how he would react to these
mega-churches.
So I say it is time we return to the mentality that the
church is here to serve all peoples, that it is meant to provide, love, peace,
and harmony. No longer should any church
preach hate, exclude those who are different, and should never be run for the
enrichment of a few. If we truly want
the Christian faith to be strong and a focus of people again, we have to
deserve it. Stop being the Blessing ATM
and start being the tool of God’s love for all his creation, large or small.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. Psalm 73:25 (NIV)
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied.
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;
30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.”
31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
Matthew 9:27-31 (NIV)
