Our Good Fortune

“For the scripture says:  Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.   For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:11-13

We are fortunate to worship God, who is not counting our errors or requiring us to do penitence for our sins or dismissing us because of what we look like or where we come from or how we talk.  God embraces us all as His sons and daughters; we say “We believe” and He says, “Welcome.”

Better Than Gold

“But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you:  In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene — walk!”  Acts 3:6

Did you ever think you should say something and then not speak?  Well, when we are confronted by people who have problems or issues and we don’t have a clue what we can say to help them, we can take a hint from Peter.  We can say, “Can I pray with you?”  Or if we are not that bold, then we can say, “I hear what you are saying, and I will pray for you in this difficult time.” 

We can bring the love of Christ to many people, just by being willing to offer what we have – faith in God, that no matter what He is looking after all of us. 

It Is No Secret

“Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.”  1 John 3:13

They are out there.  They were there in the times of Moses, Jesus, and the Apostles.  The faces change, but their message is the same – hate.  They are the ones who will hate us because we are Christians or because we attend church or because we refuse to help them bully innocent people.  When we speak up, they are there to try to stop us by heckling or giving us a not too gentle shove.  They are not above lying about us in hopes of creating more enemies for us or making us look bad in the eyes of others. 

We have our own weapons – love and prayer.  We know we serve the God who is the master of the last minute victory and we take comfort in this.     

Teach Me

“Make me know Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me, Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

For you I wait all the day.”

Psalm 25:4-5

The great part of serving a living God is that He expects us to ask Him for help and guidance.  We don’t have to muddle through life without a clue of what to do.  When we ask God, He answers.  All we have to do is listen and learn.

Live in Peace

“Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”  2 Corinthians 13:11

Paul’s encouragement still applies today.  We as Christians can become more resilient by changing our attitude about how we let life’s little aggravations affect us.  Getting into a frame of mind where we can say to ourselves, “So what,” or “Whatever,” when little things go wrong, can change our whole outlook on life and open us up to receive the blessing of peace. 

Fruits of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”  Galatians 5:25.  

Wow!  All this is ours for the taking!  Just think how peaceful our homes would be if we just strived for the fruits of the Spirit in our families.  And, should this spill out into the world, we might overwhelm our enemies with God’s love.