The Letter Kills The Spirit Gives Life

2 Corinthians 3:1-6 KJV The Spirit writes the epistle of Christ upon our hearts.

Friends With Ulterior Motives

Psalm 41 KJV; Help us to help others, Lord. Let us not destroy others by putting our own desires over the needs of others.

Helping Our Neighbor

Romans 15:1-7 KJV

Servant To All

And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. (Mark 9:35 KJV)

And... that is exactly what Jesus did. He did not use his power or authority to laud it over us. He became as a servant to all people when he suffered and died on the cross for our sins. The King of Kings suffered and died for us so that we might live in his Kingdom; in the presence of God Almighty.

He who was without sin was willing to suffer and die for the sinner.

The King of heaven and earth made himself to be last for us. He became our servant so that we might have life. May God help us to live lives serving others; putting the needs; putting the very lives of others before our own desires.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Love Them And Show The Children The Way

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.." (Psalm 127:3 KJV)

For a few of generations now, I have witnessed children being neglected. Sure, most, but not all, have adequate food, shelter, clothing, etc.. Most of the children are physically provided for. But, not all of them. 

This morning, the neglect that I'm thinking of isn't due to lack of caring for physical needs. The neglect that I'm thinking of is when love is withheld. This neglect happens when these precious gifts from God are ignored by their parents. Some are even left to raise their parents because their parents put themselves before all others. They put themselves before God. They put themselves before their children. Sometimes, they have a lot of fun with their children. They horse around and play with them because that makes the parents feel good for the moment and then they are off to do their own thing.

There are some who say that many children raising children. Sadly, in many cases it has gone beyond that. The children are raising their parents and the children are not equipped. I am not saying that the whole world or all parents are being raised by their children. But, way too many are. It really is up to the parent to raise up a child in the way that they should go. It is not up to the child to take care of the parents' needs and desires.

"Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." (Eph 5:14)

Wake up, as they say, and smell the roses. Your children are a gift from God. Care for them, guide them, teach them, love them as God loves you. Love your children even as they love you.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Trust God And Know Peace

Proverbs 3:1-12 KJV

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

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There is a path that leads to peace. Our Lord has shown us the way if we would only listen to Him. I have fallen off that path more than a few times. Thanks be to God for loving me enough to lead me back to the path that He has set before us! 

I have learned over the years and after being corrected by God more times than I can count that the way to live a peaceful life is to live trusting that the Lord will provide for us and by  honoring Him for all that He is and for all that He does. 

I have found that it is best to listen to Him rather than my own desires. The Lord provides all things including a peace that surpasses all understanding. (Phil 4:4-8)  As a young married couple so many decades ago my husband and I often struggled trying to make ends meet. We struggled and didn't get most of the things we desired. We did not get any extra conveniences. But, we were never without our daily needs being provided for.

It is a wise move to listen to the Lord and trust Him. Follow in the way that He has shown you and live in peace.

God's peace be with you always - Pr. J.

The Holy Spirit Knows

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

                                                                                      (Rom 8:26-27 KJV)

Troubles can weigh us down and leave us feeling like we are in between places and time; in a state of confusion. We can be in such a state that we are not even sure what is really troubling us and definitely don't know how to fix the problems as we find ourselves unsure of which direction we should take and not even sure how we should pray. 

At times like this we thank God for the Holy Spirit who knows exactly what is troubling us; knows exactly what we need; knows exactly what we should pray for. When we cannot figure out what to do we must trust the Lord. When we do not even know what or how to pray, the Spirit knows and makes intercession for us when we find that we cannot.

Do not fear. God knows what you need. 

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Phil 4:19-20)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Brother's Keeper

"Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." 

                                                                                       (Matt 7:9-12 KJV)

"And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9) 

After killing his brother, Cain would not answer the Lord directly when asked where his brother was. His retort was "Am I my bother's keeper?" Consider today if you are your brother's keeper. And, are you your brother's children's keeper? I hope that you are answering in the affirmative.

Our lives can be full of chaos and not just ours. Everyone has down times. Let us not be the ones to bring those down times to others. Let us not harm those close to us by considering our own desires above the needs of others. May God help us to remember to look out for not only our needs but for the needs of those around us as well.

Yes, you are your brother's keeper. If you, yourself, are a child of God then you would respond in the affirmative when it comes to helping those around you. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Last Of All

“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:35-37 NRSV)

So who exactly does the world want to welcome: Jesus, God the Father. the little child? 

For a whole lot of the world, these words from Jesus are absolutely worthless. A large part of the world thinks more of themselves than any of these. Believing and following Jesus calls us to be last in the world. Following Jesus means to open our arms to all and that includes the little children. Our comfort; our convenience does not come before serving others according to their needs. 

Jesus was a servant to all. He healed those who were sick. He raised them from the dead. He fed the hungry. He washed his followers' feet. Our Lord, was willing to die that we might live. Our Lord and our King; was willing and even desirous of serving humankind that we might be welcomed by our Father into His presence; not just for life after death; but, so that we could live in His glorious presence even today.

The firstborn of creation; the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:15, 18) became last; the servant of all for all of God's children.  

May God help us to put the lives of all God's children, young and old, before our own comfort and convenience.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Child-like Humility

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

                        Matthew 18:1-5 NRSV

I have often wondered what exactly did Jesus mean when he said that we must be humble like a child? A lot of the definitions for humility, according to my understanding, don't seem to fit. But, yet they do.

Humility includes the ability to put the needs of others before yourself. From what I have observed, children often put their own needs before the needs of others. It begins when they are babies crying to be held; crying to have their needs met. But; then again, that crying alone tells us that these children are really dependent on others. They cannot fulfill their own needs. Likewise; to be like little children, we must also recognize that we cannot fulfill our own needs, either. We depend on God who is the creator of all that was and is and will be. We depend on Him to supply our daily bread; to supply us even with the breath of life. We depend on Jesus the Christ for our salvation. And, we depend on the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see that we need God, the Father; God, the Son; and God the Holy Spirit if we ever plan to live life in the Kingdom of God.  We cannot get there on our own. We are dependent upon God. 

In humility, we come before Him and worship the one true God, acknowledging that we can do or be nothing worthwhile without Him. We need Him every hour! We need him every minute; every second, of every day!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Time and Season for Change

There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV

Every season brings change. People must adapt to the season. We must be prepared for every season or in the winter we will freeze; in the summer we might suffer from heat stroke. The earth itself has changed over the generations. It has not only had four seasons; but, seasons of entire climate change. There were times of great flooding. There were times of almost global drought. There was that ice age. In order to survive, people had to adapt. Recently, Hurricane Matthew came through. That called for a few weeks of doing things differently for millions of people. Change sometimes has to happen whether we are comfortable with it or happy about it. Sometimes, we have no choice; but, to reevaluate how things are done and make some changes for the well-being of all people.

The church has its seasons as well; both short term and long term. If we do not adapt, if we flat out refuse to change to meet the changes that come with each season; we may find ourselves suffering. We will leave others out in the cold to suffer and die. We may find ourselves all alone without water to sustain either our bodies or our souls. 

Change comes with growth. Growth comes with change. What was good for yesterday is not always what is good for today. What we are called to do specifically to help God's children depends on the circumstances surrounding us. What are their needs? Are they spiritual? Do they need to be lifted up at this present point in time? Maybe they need food or shelter? Maybe, their physical needs are so great that until those needs are met we cannot begin to address spiritual needs or maybe as we meet those needs their emotional and spiritual needs will also be addressed?

There is a time and a season for every purpose under heaven. May the church on earth be granted the wisdom and ability to know when and how to change with the seasons for the glory of God.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Trust Him!

"For no word from God will ever fail." Luke 1:37

We do harm to ourselves when we do not believe the promises of God. We will find ourselves troubled and worried if we have any inclination that God cannot do all things. Place your trust in Him and His promises and He will see you through all things. He will provide for all of your needs.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Prov 3:5-6 

God grant us faith to trust in Him above all others.

God's Peace - Pr. J