Mercy, Peace and Love For You

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:  May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.

Jude 2-3

It Is More Than Money

Now this I say; he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7

This is about money, but it also applies to other things.  Opening our wallets and handing out money is easy, but opening our hearts and giving encouragement to others is more difficult because it requires something personal from us. 

We have so much more than money that we can give.  We can give a smile to a stranger.  We can greet a new acquaintance with enthusiasm and interest.  We can throw the ball back over the fence at the playground.  We can offer kindness to the hurting and we can celebrate with those who are joyful. 

Money helps but the real cure all for a hurting world, is human interaction.  If we see each other and share with one another and reach out with Christian fellowship to those in need, we truly share in the ministry of Christ. 

Be brave.  Be kind and caring.  Reach out.

Onions Or Oranges

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

Can you picture a world where there is no road rage, no yelling at store cashiers, and no arguing about tooth paste tube lids?  Every day we are faced with petty annoyances, and every day we pop off at people because we think it will make things better.  And, what is the result?  We are angry, they are angry, feelings are hurt, and in the end all we have done is make stuff worse.

The fruits of the Holy Spirit seem simplistic but they are packed full of life changing, life improving characteristics.  When we have the fruits of the Spirit we are less belligerent and more in control of our actions which translates into healthier personal relationships with others.    

Seek the fruits of the Spirit.

My Refuge And Fortress

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

My God in whom I trust!

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper

And from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with His pinions,

And under His wings you may seek refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

Psalm 91:1-4

Happy Thanksgiving

So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly, and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 

“Both riches and honor come from You and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.

“Now therefore, our God, we thank you and praise Your glorious name.”

1 Chronicles 29:10-13

Everything we have comes from God and we are grateful. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

Give It Up

Therefore putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you my grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

1 Peter 2:1-3

If you feel hate or malice, if you have a bent to deceit, or if you recognize hypocrisy in your life, give it up. 

God is kind to us, and we should be kind to our fellow human beings.  Our goal is to grow in the love of God and in knowledge of His ways and be reinvented as one who not only follows God, but strives to be godly. 

Because God is kind to us, we are kind to others.