LOVE - Day 2

I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.  Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 

-Psalm 116:1-2

                                 

LOVE - Day 1

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

-John 3:16

                    

It Is Finished

John 17:1, 4

Hebrews 9:25-26

John 19:30

Jesus' last words, "It is finished," was referring to his purpose--to die for our sins.  But the "work" he'd done was by no means over.  It was merely the beginning of what the Holy Spirit, who came in his stead, would do in and through us.  Just like the caterpillar dies in order to become a beautiful butterfly, there is more to Jesus' purpose.

Jesus finished what he was sent for, but His Spirit is still working.  Still accomplishing.  But even the Spirit's work will one day be finished.  Will you be ready?

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This concludes the Three Little Words book I've been sharing on this web journal.....

So, what comes next?

To finish out the year I'm using the Fruit of the Spirit passage from Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;

When this passage first came to my attention years ago I saw it as a list of ways to be that I wanted to be.  Then one day I realized there was no "s" on the word "fruit."  The fruit of the Spirit was a package deal.  Thus began my journey to understand how does one become loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled?  The answer is, YOU don't!  It is the SPIRIT in you who is all these things.  That is why it's a package deal.  When we accept Christ into our very being, it is He Who is now living in us.  It is only through our self-will that we either quench the Spirit or let Him reign. 

Each quality that the Spirit manifests through us will be highlighted for two weeks.  I'll use scripture and in whatever way the Spirit inspires me.  The other change is it will be posted each morning at 5:00 a.m. so that you can start your day meditating on these traits of the Spirit in you. 

I hope you will join me as I make new discoveries in God's word.

You Can't Hide

Jonah 1:3

Psalm 139:7-8

Jeremiah 23:23-24

When our granddaughter stayed with us for a few days my cat, Poetry, would hide in the basement and only come up when Olivia was in bed asleep.  As you can see Gabriel, our dog, was right there with Olivia looking through the cat door to the basement looking for Poetry.  We are like my cat.  We hide from God because we fear Him.  If you are a Christian, we fear Him because we're afraid He is displeased with us.  If we're not a Christian, we fear Him because we're afraid He IS real and we know in our heart that we need Him but our ego won't let us put down our defenses.  But the Good News little Olivia is a lot like God in that all she wants to do is hug Poetry, like she hugs Gabriel and tries to kiss him all the time. . . .

Do Not Oversleep

Proverbs 6:10-11

1 Thessalonians 5:6

Proverbs 20:13

I don't think our granddaughter will ever be guilty of oversleeping!  She is just too curious about everything and doesn't want to miss out.  Perhaps that is part of the problem that these scriptures describe.  When we disengage from the beauty in our lives and become complacent we will withdraw into a type of "oversleep" that is not only detrimental to our physical life but our spiritual life.  I hope I will remain curious and engaged with the life God has given me until it is over. 

The Anchor Holds

Hebrews 6:19-20

John 10:28-29

Psalm 16:8

The boat not tied up to the dock has thrown an anchor into the cove to keep it from drifting.  For Christians hope is our anchor.  As long as our soul is tied to that anchor, we are secure. 

Control Your Appetite

Proverbs 23:1-3

Philippians 3:17-19

2 Peter 1:5-7

We have many types of appetites.  Some are no good for us and some are only good in moderation.  Unless you count love for God.  A hearty appetite of love for God does not need to be controlled.  And God says if we love Him we'll show it by our care for one another.  I think humans remain helpless babies longer than the rest of the animal kingdom because adults who care for them need more time to learn selfless love.  Until I had a child to care for I didn't really understand the nature and purpose of love.