Take Time To Be Happy

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:15-17

There is nothing that compares to happy children. They chatter and laugh and dance around with total joy. They live in the moment.

Perhaps we should spend more time living in the moment. We can allow our existence to be blackened by worry or circumstances, to the point that we fail to rejoice in the good things that happen. We may not have great victories to celebrate, but we do have things in which we can take joy.

That is why the Apostle Paul reminds us to worship with joy and thankfulness. We are uplifted when we sing praises to God for His goodness and love. So, stand up, clap your hands and sing and bask in the joy of the love of God.

Your Kids Are Special

And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

Luke 1:33

We are so close to our children that we sometimes do not see what other people see. Jesus was a baby, when God revealed to Simeon that He was the Messiah. Mary and Joseph were not expecting that. I am sure they knew Jesus was special because the Angel told them so before He was born but they probably thought that this would not be revealed to anyone else until Jesus was an adult.

Let’s all take a minute to watch our kids and catch them doing something good. And, say, “Wow, that sure was nice of you to do that.”

Your kids are special, let them know it.

God Leads, We Follow

 

…Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Romans 2:4

Even when we are not looking, God is there leading us to repent. All we have to do is follow.

If You Tell The Truth...

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

James 5:12

A good reason to always speak the truth is that you never have to remember what you said. We don’t have to say any more and we don’t have to defend the truth, because it is what it is and nothing can change it.

 

Power, Love, And Self-control

 

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7

I like that self-control.  I am going to work on that.

The Rightful Handling Of The Scripture

 

He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

Matthew 12:30

I think this is one of the most frequently misused scriptures. It is used to bully opponents to support controversial and sometimes immoral actions by implying that seeking answers to lingering questions is somehow hindering progress. The misuse of the words “If you are not for us, you are against us” does nothing to resolve conflict or promote truth. It only serves to make people angry.

And, yes, there are people today who are enemies of the Gospel. And, yes, we need to arm ourselves with the Truth of the Gospel and be prepared to do battle for the souls of men and women who have been misled about the nature of God by telling them about Jesus who loves them.

Remember, Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He comes in love.

No Charges Here

Who will bring charges against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather He who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Romans 8:33-34

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Accepting Jesus as our Lord, Master and Savior washes us clean of all our sins. We need not spend our lives defending ourselves against our past sins, because we are forgiven.

Likewise, we are to view other Christians without condemnation because Jesus died once for all, including those whom we would like to judge as unworthy. We need to be mindful that new Christians are new and may take a while to sort those things out in their lives which do not measure up to God’s word. Rather than judge, it is better that we rejoice with them in their salvation and pray with and for them.