Grace for your spirit December 31, 2009

Grace for your spirit

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. II Timothy 4:2

God's recipe for a great relationship with others is encouragement with great patience and instruction. Many times it is necessary to reprove God's standard of behavior with the word. Often a light rebuke is necessary to help others see how they have missed the mark, but the most generous part of the recipe is encouragement. Preaching the word alone is not enough. Rebuking alone is brutal, but when it is mixed with a hearty exhortation, the results are usually much better. Of all the things we can say to build each other up in the faith, the word of encouragement is by far the greatest. May our words truly bless the hearts of those we come into contact with today. May it give us all a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit

Philippians 4:23

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Grace for your spirit December 30, 2009

Grace for your spirit
So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved." All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them. Nehemiah 8:11-12
Sometimes when people hear the word of the Lord, they mourn over the mistakes they have made. Here Nehemiah reminded the people that the joy of the Lord was their strength. He told them not to grieve, but celebrate a great festival, and help others enjoy the victory as well. In the Old Covenant, God gave the people many feasts and festivals to celebrate His presence among them. Festivals like Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, Purim, and others. These celebrations would be a continuing reminder of God's provisions for them, and their opportunity to enjoy them. Jesus has provided a place for all Christians to have community together in the church. When we have done the will of the Lord, and when we have met the needs of others around us, let's celebrate the joy of the Lord, and let Him be our strength in the coming days.


The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23
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Grace for your spirit December 29, 2009

Grace for your spirit

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. John 15:12

We have all heard of the "golden rule" about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. There is a higher and better rule than the golden rule, that I call the "platinum rule". Why is it higher and better? With the "platinum rule", we are called to do unto others as Jesus has done unto us already. This is an excellent way of living. Our behavior is not dependent on anyone but Jesus. Throughout the Bible, God calls us to excellent behavior toward others. To love, do right, do good, be kind, and help the downcast. Jesus made a giant impact on the world with His excellent behavior. Since we have His Divine Nature dwelling in us, we can have a giant impact on our world too. What would Jesus do? Love and be excellent to one another.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit

Philippians 4:23

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Grace for your spirit December 28, 2009

Grace for your spirit

Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things; Let this be known throughout the earth. Isaiah 12:5

If there is an overriding theme for our worship behavior in the Old and New Testament, this is surely it. Praise the Lord in song to let the world know the excellent things He has done in our lives. Repeated in the Psalms, God calls for a joyful noise, and coming before His presence with singing. He encourages us to Praise Him with a new song in the congregation and in life. In the New Testament, God calls us to speak to one another, and to encourage each other with Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs. It is discouraging to see a Christian who has lost their song. Loss of song is one of the first signs of spiritual loss. Loss of memory about what God has done, and loss of awareness of how we appear to others. Let's open our hearts, and open our mouths. Make a joyful noise, even if it is an awful noise. God loves it and so do I.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit

Philippians 4:23

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Grace for your spirit December 24,, 2009

Grace for your spirit

In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35

Remember Christmas time when we were kids? Most of us were totally focused on what we were going to get. The thought of putting out effort to buy a gift for someone else was the last thing on our mind. As we grew, matured, and learned to love others as we should, we became more interesting in giving than getting. They say some boys never grow up, they just want more expensive toys. That should never be true of the Christian.

As we grow in Christ, we should find our blessings in sharing with others. Watching others mature, and seeing souls develop into productive disciples for Christ. It is the joy of sharing His Son, that ultimately brings true joy to the world. When we enjoy giving more than getting and when we enjoy helping more than being helped, we are finally on the right track.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spiritr

Philippians 4:23

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Grace for your spirit December 23, 2009

Grace for your spirit

So the ransomed of the LORD will return,and come with joyful shouting to Zion. And everlasting joy will be on their heads They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 51:11

Joy to the World. The Lord has a place prepared for us all. In the Old Covenant there was always the hope of return to Mt Zion and experiencing that total joy. Jesus ultimately came to be our sin offering so we could all be the randomed of the Lord, and enjoy eternal salvation in our Zion. When we are born again, we have an eternal inheritance and can have a total joy beyond what we can express. No matter what ups and downs we have in this world, we can always rejoice that are names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. May we all let God restore the joy of His salvation, and sing Joy to the World.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit

Philippians 4:23

graceforyourspirit.blogspot.com

Grace for your spirit December 21, 2009

Grace for your spirit
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. Lk 2:10-11
Joy to the World, the Lord is come! We should always have joy in the world, and joy to the world because of the eternal presence of God. Joy to the world in His creation. Joy to the world in the Shekinah glory seen over the ark in the Old Testament. Joy to the world because the Word was made flesh and lived among us. Joy to the world because the glory of God's Spirit dwells in us all and can be seen and honored by our world today. How can we bring Joy into our world today? When we put Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last, we will always experience and give Joy To The World


The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit
Philippians 4:23
graceforyourspirit.blogspot.com