Share the Love of Christ on Valentine's Day

John 3:16 succinctly summarizes the central message of the Bible. It is the little Bible. It is the gospel in a nutshell.

God personifies love. If it has to do with God, it has to do with love.You cannot know God's love if you do not believe in His Son, Jesus Christ

You can give without loving but You can not Love without giving.

 "Could we with ink the oceans fill "And were the skies of parchment made, "Were every stock on earth a quill, "And every man a scribe by trade, "To write the love of God above "Would drain those oceans dry, "Nor would the scroll contain the whole, "Though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh, how He loves you and me, oh, how He loves you and me!
He gave His life, what more could He give?
Oh, how He loves you, oh, how He loves me, oh, how He loves you and me!

A Desire to Grow

Certain elementary teachings are essential for all believers to understand. Those basics include the importance of faith, the foolishness of trying to be saved by good deeds, the meaning of baptism and spiritual gifts, and the facts of resurrection and eternal life. To go on to maturity in our understanding, we need to move beyond (but not away from) the elementary teachings to a more complete understanding of the faith. And this is what the author intends for believers to do (Hebrews 6:3). Mature Christians should be teaching new Christians the basics. Then, acting on what they know, the mature will learn even more from God’s Word.

Real seeds (the gospel), given genuine care by the farmer (God) and planted in a fertile field (your heart and life) will produce a bountiful crop (spiritual maturity). Weeds (temptations) threaten to overwhelm the crop. If the field produces only weeds, then the seeds are lost and the field ruined. The Holy Spirit’s conviction, the Word of God, and wise counsel help cut us cut those weeds and keep growing...taken from Life Application daily devotion.

No one drifts into maturity
you have to cultivate it...

Exercise and practice are essential in spiritual growth
A Mature Christian does more than study the Bible and Meditate , He Experiences it 

Stir Up Your Gifts

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline
When you use the gifts God has given you, you will find that God will give you the power you need. The power of the Holy Spirit can help you overcome any fear of what some might say or do to you, so that you can continue to do God’s work. (from Life Application Study Bible)

Father, help me not to give in to timidity, but to stir up the gift You have given me. Thank You for giving me a spirit of power, love, and discipline. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

Since every person possesses different abilities and spiritual gifts, the body of Christ can fully function only when everyone takes advantage of what God has given them. 

Romans 12:6 tells us, "And since we have different gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them accordingly.  Society may favor certain talents, but they might not suit us as individuals. By failing to look at a gift's true value, we not only cheat ourselves, but we cheat God as well. 

"Isn't He, the Potter, greater than you, the jars He makes?" asks Isaiah 29:16 (Living Bible). "Will you say to Him, 'He did not make us'? Does a machine call its inventor dumb?" God has created us for a purpose¬we should follow the direction He lays out.

Each of us should be content with what God has given and exult in our own uniqueness. "Now there are varieties of gifts," Paul said to the Corinthians, "but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons" (1 Corinthians 12:4-6).

1 Peter 4:10 ESV 

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:

Move Forward with Hope

Joyce Meyers tells us, "Become prisoners of Hope"...

Oral Roberts used to open his weekly broadcast with these lyrics:

Something good is going to happen to you,
happen to you,
this very day
Something good is going to happen to you,
Jesus of Nazareth is passing your way.

in John 33:16  Jesus says, I tell you these things that in Me you will be at peace...In this world you will have trials and tribulations...take heart, I have overcome this world.

Paul emphasized the importance of managing our thoughts, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

Paul emphasized this principle of positive thoughts when he penned, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Prayer is part of the formula that causes new thinking to stick in the form of faith.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).hi

To Him Be the Glory

When you feel shut out or isolated, remember that you can never be lost to God’s love. As Paul mentioned, your “roots” go down deep into God’s love. You can never be uprooted. He tenderly tends your soil and waters you by his Word. The mud of discouragement may leave you feeling stuck for a time. But God’s presence through the Spirit can pull you out of the depths of despair.

There is an inexhaustible fullness of grace and mercy in God, which the prayers of all the saints can never draw dry. Whatever we may ask, or think to ask, still God is still able to do more, abundantly more, exceedingly abundantly more. Amen. So be it; and so it will certainly be.
from Matthew Henry's Commentary.

Who Is The Real Enemy?

Acts 15:36-41

37-41 Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn’t have him; he wasn’t about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to build up muscle and sinew in those congregations.

...excerpts from This Day's Thought Jan.18, 2015   
When Good Men Disagree  by Jimmy Chapman

Disagreements between people are going to happen. It’s human nature to disagree with one another at times because we are different people! We are made out of the same stuff, dirt, but we are different people in spirit, attitude, thinking, etc.

The cause was greater than their disagreement.

They did not NURSE their disagreement.  Nursing your hurt will only cause you to become bitter. Bitter people lose their zeal and zest.

They did not REHEARSE their disagreements

They did not gossip about it or spread it among others.

Sometimes God in His grace (and in His sense of humor) throws us together with people who grate against us in order to sandpaper our rough edges.

Let’s face it. I don’t need patience, forbearance, gentleness, and kindness when the other person sees everything my way! I don’t need to learn to deny myself when the other person thinks that I’m a wonderful guy.

But when there is a clash, God often confronts me with my selfishness and stubbornness. If I submit to Him and don’t bail out of the difficult relationship, He will use it to develop those Christlike qualities in me.

Who is the real enemy? The person you are having a clash with is not your enemy nor your adversary.

The British admiral, Lord Nelson, once came on deck and found two of his officers quarreling. He whirled them around, pointed to the enemy ships, and exclaimed, “Gentlemen, there are your enemies!”

ReNew

I Make All Things New