Love

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

                                                                                                (Eph 3:14-21 KJV)

To God be the glory!  He has does such marvelous things out of his great love for us!

Again, I remind you that it is not out of the fear of hell that we worship the Lord. It is out of love for him because of his great love for us.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.  We love him, because he first loved us."  (John 4:18-19)

To choose to be baptized just in case that there might really be a hell and you're afraid that you might end up there if God is real then you are merely hedging your bet. That is not faith. That is not love. Love comes from being in a relationship with God. It comes from knowing that he loves you and you wanting to return even a portion of that love. 

If you were in a car accident and someone saved your life would you not care deeply for that person?  Well, God has sent his Son to die to save us from our own sinful selves. It would seem to me that we ought to love him for that act of love and compassion. We worship him not because we are afraid of the possibility of hell; but, because we love him so much that we desire, with all of our hearts, to be in a relationship with him for all of eternity. We want to know God and to know the love of Christ, which passeth all knowledge, that we might be filled with the fulness of God.

For his great love for us we glorify and magnify his Holy Name.  

God's Peace - Pr. J.

God Is In Charge

Snow, be thou on earth

God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. (Job 37:5-6 KJV)

God is in charge. He has been from even before the beginning and will be forever. God, who can still even the snow and rain, can calm the hearts of any anxious person. Whatever He sees fit to do, He can do.

Let God be in charge. Quit trying to do everything and have everything your way. Only He can comprehend what is truly good for us so quit fighting His will and follow in the way that He would have you go.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Marvelous Things

Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jer 33:2-3 KJV)

I wish that I had figured out that I could really talk to the Lord when I was much younger. I made so many foolish mistakes and followed in ways that were definitely not good for me or anyone else. But, I did not comprehend that talking to God mean more than just asking for things. I wasn't asking him to help me to better understand who he really was. I wasn't asking for a closer relationship with him. I was asking for much more worldly things. Things like: get me out of the trouble I just put myself in! 

Now, I hope that the younger people (and not just younger) that I know and love would have enough sense to want to get to know this great and awesome and loving God that we have. Having him in our lives is enough. He is more than enough! 

Talk to him and not just talk to him; but, listen to him and he will show you great and mighty things which you cannot know or understand without him.

Our God is an awesome God. Call upon him and then listen and follow in the way that he would have you go and you will better understand and appreciate all of the marvelous things he has done for you.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

His Love Is Always There

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Psalm 73:25-26 NRSV

Family and friends are great. We need them. We cannot live and actually thrive in isolation. But, for whatever reason sometimes they simply cannot be there for you. Sometimes, they do not seem to be able to comprehend what you might be enduring or they are busy trying to work through their own problems or maybe they are helping someone else who is having a crisis. But, there is one who does understand everything you are going though. He is there for you always. His love for us gives us the strength to endure all things.

We know that He is always there for us. He will always love us. We are never alone. It is difficult not to desire even more of He who loves us so much.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Be Who God Made You To Be

Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3:2-4 NRSV

Although, it keeps commerce going, I have never quite understood the need for anyone to have major amounts of piercings or to change the color of one's hair every few weeks. I do not comprehend the need for the wearing of someone else's name on one's clothing. It makes me think that the person is not comfortable with who they are. I can't quite get why someone would need to wear make-up that would disguise the person that God made them to be. I'm not saying that I think women shouldn't wear any. But, I would think the purpose for make-up would be to enhance one's features and not to mask them.

God has made everyone and every one is precious in God's sight. Let the world see the person God created you to be. There is nothing more beautiful than a child of God who exudes the loving and gentle spirit that comes from knowing that you are a child of God.  

May God help each of us to cherish the lasting beauty of the gentle and quiet spirit of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

How Great Is His Love!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." John 3:16 NRSV

It is difficult to comprehend a love as great as the love God has for the people of planet Earth. Yet, it is there. His desire is not that anyone should die; but, that all should live. It is evidenced by the willingness of Jesus to die on the cross, carrying our sins in his body. It is evidenced by the sacrifice that our Lord, Jesus, made for us. Paul wrote to the Romans (Rom 3:21-25) "But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,  since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith."

How great is the love of the one who was willing to die so that all who believe could live in God's presence for all eternity! Thanks be to God for this gift of life!

God's Peace - Pr. J