You’re a great idea! God had a great idea when He thought the world needed a very special you!
Gratitude in its deepest sense means to live life as a gift to be received thankfully. And true gratitude embraces all of life: the good and the bad, the joyful and the painful, the holy and the not-so-holy. We do this because we become aware of God’s life, God’s presence in the middle of all that happens.
Grateful people learn to celebrate even amid life’s hard and harrowing memories because they know that pruning is no mere punishment, but preparation.
When our gratitude for the past is only partial, our hope for the future can likewise never be full. But our submitting to God’s pruning work will not ultimately leave us sad, but hopeful for what can happen in us and through us. Harvest time will bring its own blessings.
If we are to be truly ready for a new life in the service of God, truly joyful at the prospect of God’s unfolding vocation for our lives, truly free to be sent wherever God guides, our entire past, gathered into the spaciousness of a converted heart, must become the source of energy that moves us onward.
Start with prayer! No matter what is going on in your life today, the joy of the Lord is your strength... start by going to Him for your family, your loved ones, your job, your needs, and every issue of your heart. And rejoice in Him!
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”—Numbers 6:24-26
As we learn God’s Word, we will be able to discern whether people are speaking for God when they claim to be. We will find everything we need to know about God in the Bible. And we also need to evaluate everything according to it.
The Word of God—not pious platitudes or cute posts on social media—will sustain us in times of difficulty. We need God’s Word in our lives.
It’s time to be mature people of God, with a faith that sustains us, instead of living on fickle emotions that come and go. It is also time to find younger believers and help them grow up to spiritual maturity as well. There are false teachings and other things that can lead us astray. We need to be mature so that we can apply proper biblical understanding.
Spiritual babies that don't grow up die in the wilderness...
At the Lord's Supper, the resurrection was implied. "I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes" (Luke 22:18). At the tomb, the resurrection was documented. "He is not here, but is risen!" (Luke 24:6). With the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, the resurrection was proclaimed. "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, and put to death; whom God raised up" (Acts 2:23-24).
At the Lord's Supper, the resurrection was implied. (Luke 22:18). At the tomb, the resurrection was documented. (Luke 24:6). With the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, the resurrection was proclaimed. (Acts 2:23-24).
Just as the new covenant of grace is a covenant of the Spirit; it is also a covenant of resurrection. When the grace of God is allowed to work in us, God applies the resurrection of Christ to our lives. This gracious work gives us access to the eternal life of our risen, triumphant, living Lord Jesus.
It is the will of God that we walk in daily dependence upon the Holy Spirit. It is God's desire that we seek Him for the fullness of the Spirit's work in and through our lives. Three wrong responses that undermine the will of God in our lives are resisting, grieving, and quenching the Spirit of the Lord.
Turn to the Bible, for there is in it the very word you need.
"Great ministers may make great mistakes." -J.C.Ryle.
Jesus makes the heavenly local.
"Sinners are not saved by their orthodoxy, but rather by the One who is Truth incarnate."
-Mike Myers.
"Cling to Christ, beloved. Go no further than he leads you." —
Charles Spurgeon
"God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does." -
Martin Luther.
Strive to enter while the gate of mercy remains open. -
John Newton
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