Recovery week - day 5

A worship song to guide our thoughts to our Father God. I hope all who pause here receive a blessing.

Recovery week - day 4

Once I was lost, I was deep in despair....

Satan had me bound, in my mind, everywhere....

Jesus brought me up and turned my life around....

Now I'm on my way!


The sheer joy and exuberance of this video will have you happy-dancing the rest of today!!

Praise the Lord!!

Recovery week - day 3

Recently, I've had conversations with several folks who were wrestling with the issue of past sins.....and I totally understand.....I've been there, too. I would keep remembering the things that made me cringe; there were things that stayed in my mind, although my heart kept telling me that I'd already told Jesus about them -- and He had gently taken my hand and assured me of His forgiveness.  My heart was overflowing with joy the day the Spirit told me, "You may remember those things, but He doesn't. He has forgiven you. Those sins are as far from you as the east is from the west!" I finally understood what "under the blood" really meant.  Now, when I recall those things, instead of asking again for forgiveness, I thank Him for His grace and mercy. Praise Him!

I was blind
Or maybe I just didn't want to see
How foolishly I tried
To build my own destiny
But all my well-constructed plans
Failed me time and time again
So my broken heart came to Him
With empty hands

That's when Jesus changed everything
Jesus changed everything
There is joy overflowing
I'm forgiven and free
Jesus changed everything

I was filled with pain and guilt
But now I know His peace
The chains of yesterday
Have now been released
The bitterness that I once knew
The anger that inside me grew
Were all washed away
By the grace and made me knew

Jesus changed everything
Jesus changed everything
There is joy overflowing
I'm forgiven and free
Jesus changed everything

Recovery week - day 2 (verses that inspire)

Heart defects....

 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

Did you know that even if we were born the perfect picture of health, and squalled like we were supposed to, when the doctor or nurse thumped our behind, that we had a heart defect?

Yup.
None of us were born with a heart that was alive to God. It's the way things have been ever since the Fall and the angel posted at the Garden... We are born with a heart of stone; we have an inner being that isn't awake to God. We don't love Him, trust Him, delight in Him, or obey Him.
But all is not lost!
God promises to hurting, broken people, that He will restore them. He promises regeneration; it's a fresh start. With new hearts and God's own Spirit within us, we will be able to start a deep and genuine relationship with Him.
Once that happens, we will not follow the old heart of stone, but we'll follow our Friend and Savior, Jesus Christ! Our new hearts will delight in Him, pray to Him, trust Him, and obey Him!

We don't need to be good. We actually can't become "good enough" to merit this gift. We can only accept His gift and start our new life.
If you are reading here today and you've never started that relationship with God, if you've never had that special "heart transplant" that He offers, won't you click on the right-hand side and read how to accept Christ as your Savior?

If you already have a new heart and a new Spirit, because you are a Christian, praise Him today! Thank Him for His ability to move us and cause us to be "careful to keep" His commandments!

Recovery week

I hope you will bear with me this week, as I had the second of my two surgeries last week - on Halloween! Hopefully, I'll be back with you next week, but I need some time to recover from the orthopedic surgery.

I had the right foot worked on this time, another implant to replace the big toe joint. Looking forward to having two "good" feet soon!

I've planned some brief notes and songs for this week, and I hope you will join me in prayer as I work to be still and allow healing to take place.

Blessings to all who study here, and thank you for your prayers!

Today's vitamin - agape love

Our final "vitamin" for this week is charity:

............add to brotherly kindness charity....... (v.7)

Now, I expect that all of know that Peter is not talking about dropping off our sacks of gently-worn shoes and purses at the Salvation Army drop off.... not that kind of charity. (Grin)
The Greek word here is "agape."
The previous vitamin was the Greek word "philadelphia" which means brotherly love. It applied to the kindness and care that we should use when we interact with all human beings here on the planet.
Agape love is unconditional, all-encompassing love. I think that it's the special care that we should provide for believers. Why do I say that? Aren't we supposed to love everyone? Of course! But John quotes Jesus as saying:

 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Jesus is pointing out the specific situation of fellow-disciples. Fellow believers. And so I believe (with the Spirit's help) that Peter is talking here about the "agape" love that we should show to other Christians.
Hmmmmmm. Since Peter is exhorting us to apply all diligence to brotherly affection and to love, it stands to reason that he thought he needed to remind us.....these are not spontaneous qualities. Not typical human characteristics. Sad but true. We actually must work at these, and often go against our fleshly feelings of pride, laziness, or even self-centeredness to demonstrate love for others!

I'll be the first one to be honest, raise my hand, and say, "Sometimes I just don't feel like loving everyone! And when I'm blue, I especially want other people to love me!"
Yep.
Think we may need an example here. Someone that we can look at and model ourselves after.
Oh! How about this?
Agape love is the love that Jesus possesses for us! It's the love that propelled Him to come down to earth. It's the love that motivated Him to go to the cross and die for us. And it's the love that we should have for others.

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

Never-ending.
In-spite-of-insults.
Through-the-pain.
Self-sacrificing.
Unconditional.
The kind of love that puts God first, others second, and ourselves last.

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)

Everything that we do should be rooted in love. Love for God, and also love for others.
Agape love is unconditional, and it's not judgmental. It's not our place to speak condemnation to anyone. As Christians, we must love our fellow believers and serve others; reach out to the unbelievers and disciple them. This can be difficult! Some folks aren't easy to love!

Paul showed us a good example in this message to a group of people who had caused him a lot of harm:

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel.... (Romans 9:1-4a)

Paul had a burden for those Jews and Jewish religious leaders who had harmed him; in spite of the abuse and physical harm, he was so anxious for them to be saved that he would be willing to sacrifice his place in heaven, so that they didn't go to hell! That's agape!

We spoke last week of the billion dollar industries of vitamin supplements, gymnasiums and fitness memberships; of spas and exercise regimens. The commercials tout products that will give you "fast results." People want to be fitter, stronger, better -- and they want it to happen quickly!

There are no shortcuts to spiritual growth, however. It's a long and sometimes difficult task to grow and mature in Christ. But the end result is so worth it!
We've been given everything that we need to grow. Let's start adding these vitamins to our faith!

Today's vitamin - brotherly affection

Our focus passage continues:

.......add to godliness brotherly kindness.... (v. 7)

Brotherly love? That's a simple one, right? Jesus said:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37)

As Christians, we are supposed to love our family, our friends, our co-workers, our school mates, the people driving in the other lanes of the interstate, the neighbors who live around us.... and many more! We are to love all of them! In fact, Jesus also told us to love our enemies:

 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."  (Luke 6:27-28)

We're going to zero in on our brotherly love for unbelievers today....what is our responsibility there? How do we behave with and toward unbelievers? Do we like them? Hate them? Tolerate them? Are we concerned about their salvation?
Do we act like unbelievers when there are no other Christians around? Or do we snub them? I believe some Christians think being nice to unbelievers is like throwing pearls before swine. Then, of course, there are some that stand and shout on a corner, a parking lot at the mall, or elsewhere, to witness to unbelievers. And then there are some that don't seem to care, one way or another!
Where do we fit in? Do we share our faith using honey or a hammer? Or do we share our faith at all?
I believe that there are specific instructions about how we, as Christians, are to conduct ourselves toward unbelievers -- instructions on showing brotherly affection and kindness, if you will.

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6)

First, Paul tells us how to begin to show brotherly love: with wisdom. There are many things that we can do for outsiders, or unbelievers. We should be sympathetic in counseling and listening as we try to share the Gospel. Peter chimes in with the need also to be compassionate and humble:

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing.... (I Peter 3:8-9)

Being loving and patient are other ways to show brotherly love....as is truly listening to the person we are talking to. I don't know about you, but that's one of the hardest things for me. To simply listen to a person. Sometimes I catch myself listening with only one ear, and the other half of my brain is formulating the incredibly wise and uber-smart guidance that I think the person needs to hear. Oy. That's not good.
Often, the best thing is to just sit and listen, and wait to speak. Right? Right!
Verse 5 is translated in many Bible versions as "redeeming the time," or "buying up the opportunity." The sense of the phrase is don't just sit there and wait for opportunity to fall into your lap. Don't just talk to unbelievers when they initiate the conversation -- seek opportunities to tell them about your relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't be complacent; share the Gospel.

Conversations "full of grace......"
Paul is asking the Colossians to "watch their mouths," in the vernacular of the South. Be careful when we talk in public or in private; don't gossip about others. Be careful whether we are speaking to an equal or someone more powerful; don't slander. Be gracious when we speak to the poor or to the rich - no favoritism. And be careful no matter what the conversation is about....the weather, the economy, politicians, or our neighborhood.

Hmmmm, how can we be certain that our speech is gracious? Showing brotherly love? Well, grace is getting what you don't deserve, so no matter whether the person has been rude or polite, give them kindness, love, compassion, and patience. Be gentle to them; be positive; be helpful.
What about that last part?
How can we "know how to answer everyone"?
Part of having the right answers means being wise. We can ask the Lord for wisdom, and then apply ourselves to study His Word in preparation for conversations. Then we will be able to answer in times of joy or sorrow, and in times of counseling others.
Another part of having the right answers means knowing our doctrine. No, we don't need to be accomplished scholars and debate theology. But the basics of our faith should be easy for us to talk about.
The last part of having the right answers is to study difficult issues. Know about other religions, and study issues that we may need to address. We don't have to master them -- just be familiar with them!

Our conduct and our speech are vitally important when it comes to showing brotherly love to those outside the faith.
John put it in no uncertain terms:

 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (I John 4:20-21)

Have we added to our faith the supplement of brotherly love? A very important "vitamin"!