Living in Harmony

1 Peter 3:8-9  

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another;
be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult,

but with blessing, because to this you were called
so that you may inherit a blessing.

Paul's counsel to the congregation in Rome (Romans 12:17-20; 13:8-10) is clearly in line with what Jesus taught. He insists that we must never allow vindictiveness, the desire to get even with someone for a suffered wrong, to drive us.

In the same vein, Peter taught that we must not repay evil with evil, insult with insult, but we must bless (I Peter 3:8-9). Why are we called to react this way? Because if we want to be in God's Kingdom, it can only happen without the spirit of murder dwelling in us, and those evil retaliations are the spirit of murder. We are not to take vengeance because God has retained that responsibility to Himself. Is that not the way it should be? Only He fully knows and understands every facet of the circumstances and can judge perfectly. By the way, Paul addresses the issue of retaliation four times in Romans 12, which begins by stating that we are to be living sacrifices and not to conform to this world's ways.


The picture should be clear. Somebody must be willing to do this if there will be peace. Jesus set the example: He, refusing to strike back, died for the entire world. Christ's non-retaliatory remedy is ultimately for everybody's benefit, but until He returns, the standards He set can be met and lived only by those who, like Jesus, have the Spirit of God, are living by faith, and are enabled to keep God's ways by God Himself.


God bless you all ..Submitted by AMA

ABOVE ALL ELSE

I just wanted to share the lyrics to a special song. It was written by Stormie Omartian and sung by Debbie Boone expressing her thoughts toward her children. The lyrics are dear to me and I hope will touch your heart as well.

"So much to say and just a lifetime to say it.
How quickly time passes.
If I had my way, I'd keep you safe within my arms
While the storm of life crashes.
I won't always be with you, my child, but words I can give.
When the winds of hope are dying down, these words will live.
Above all else, know God's the one who'll never leave you.
Look to Him above all else.
He is love you can depend upon, a heart set to care.
If in the darkest night you should be lost, He will be there.
He's the Everlasting Father,
In His hands you'll never fall.
He's the one who holds it all,
Above all else.
He's the Author of your laughter,
He's the keeper of your tears,
He's the one who you must fear
Above all else.
He's the Giver of the kingdom
bought for you right from the start,
And He'll ask you for your heart
Above all else.
So much to say
And not enough time left to say it.
Just love the Lord
Above all else."

Copyright 1987 by Michael and Stormie Omartian for See This House Music/ASCAP

Shared by CF

GIVING AND RECEIVING

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " Acts 20:35

Many women know very well how to give. We often are giving our time to many things, masters of multi-tasking, whether that be time for family, or for church, or for others. We share our abilities, offering to do things for other people where we feel able. We are taking the lead over men in charitable giving and philanthropy. We give and give and give....

But do we know how to receive? The above verse doesn't say we should never be on the receiving end. However, it is sometimes difficult to accept something from another person, whether that be "fighting" over who will pay for a lunch, or not knowing how to accept a compliment. It can even go so far as not asking for help when we need it. Sometimes we are the ones who are weak who need support.

If there is giving going on, there must also be receiving. If there is a giver, there is a receiver. The person giving is blessed when they give to the person receiving. So if we are the ones receiving, we are also being used as a tool in the life of the person giving. And perhaps God really wants us to have what is being given - we wouldn't want to reject God's gift!

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving... 1 Timothy 4:4

So when we are paid a compliment, we can simply thank the person, or even pay it back with a compliment for them. It is also important not to deny what they are saying, because that would be like calling them a liar. We can give God the credit for what we were complimented on, humbly saying how grateful we are that God gave us that trait or that talent, etc. And when someone offers to pay for a meal, perhaps we can simply agree to return the favor in the future. Finally, when we are in need of support in some way, we can remember that asking for help allows another person to use their gifts from God in our own lives.

Dear Lord in heaven, thank you for all that you have given me. Help me to find balance in my life in giving and receiving. Help me to be grateful when someone offers me something. And help me to give you the glory in all that I receive and do. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Written by Jan A.

LIFE

After studying Job chapters 1-3, I meditated on chapter 3 and Job’s lament. Here we have Job not only cursing the day he was born, but even the day he was conceived. I've never been in such deep depression in my own life, but, after all that he'd been through, I can't say that I blame him for expressing such extremes. I really can't fathom the amount of pain he was in. However, verses 16 and 17 speak of his desire to have died before he even left the womb and how much better he felt it would've been to never have been born in order to avoid such pain.

My mind went to the issue of miscarriages, abortions, and still births...lives coming to an end before they've even had the chance to begin. It seems to me that one of the typical phrases used to consul someone when they've lost a loved one is "They're in a better place." I know that these are typical words even in the case of a life that was ended before it was born. It seems that worldly wisdom would have us believe that the reason for the life to have ended was God's way of allowing the child to avoid something in life. The usual reasons would be, "...painful medical challenges...," and, "...traumatic family life...." But after reading Job's wish to have perished in the womb himself, my gut feeling told me that there are no justifiable reasons to explain the loss of a life, especially a life that never even had a chance to begin.

Such a tragedy is exactly just that...a tragedy; the type of occurrences that have no explanation to them because we don't have the mind of God. If we're right in explaining away a life because they would avoid suffering, then what does that say about those who survive in spite of the suffering they have in store for them? I guess my question is this, do we not value life the way we should? Shouldn't we value just being alive far beyond the suffering that's experienced? I really think that there's more to this "being alive thing" that we just don't fully grasp. After all, I can't think of a single person who could tell me what it's like to never have been given a chance. Can you?


Why is it that even in the greatest physical suffering when the mind is telling the body to give up and wishing that its life was over, the body is still going through all the survival mechanisms programmed into it (by God Himself) to keep the body alive? It's not as easy as the mind telling the body to die. The body just keeps on fighting to live.


Could it be that all the miscarried, aborted and stillborn babies who are with Jesus right now are, dare I say, envious that they never made it past the womb alive and experienced the breath of life that God desires for all of us to have? Is there something about having that breath, even just once, that we just don't get? It's a gift, isn't it? I don't think we understand how great of a gift it truly is...so great that it's worth all the suffering that comes along with it.


Now technically, I do believe that life begins at conception, not birth. (That makes it all the more significant that Job not only cursed the day he was born, but the day he was conceived. He must have been a believer in life beginning at conception as well.) Although the lungs aren't fully expanded and filled with air until birth, I believe that God's breath of life fills us the moment we're conceived...that moment that two cells come together and a living being is created...that moment that cannot be explained by science as to why and how it happens but just that it happens is the moment that God steps in and does what science cannot do. After all, the first breath of life was breathed into man by God Himself.


So maybe I’m wrong in thinking that they (the unborn babies) had no chance to live since they lived right from conception. You can’t die if you didn’t live, and a life ended before birth is still a life ended. The point is that life is so precious. There's just no "reason" for it ever to be ended except that we live in a fallen world, for living in a fallen world is the only answer to why…why do such tragedies occur? And if it is such a tragedy, why wish for it? You can’t remedy one tragic situation by wishing for another.


O.K., I will concede that in one sense, death is a blessing. The moment that sin entered the world, death came along with it and most of the time death is viewed as a curse, but there is mercy in it. For if God was not merciful enough to allow for death, we would all be living forever in a cursed world. But God is just. He has our days numbered and decides when He’ll allow for death to come. Since, as I said before, we don’t have the mind of God, we can never do justice to the reasons why death comes at the times that it does. We can be sorry for it, we can thank God for His wisdom in it, but we just should never wish for it. Let's not forget that although God did not necessarily step in and prevent Job's suffering, He was not willing for Job to lose his life.

Genesis 2:7

 The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground

and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,

and the man became a living being.

Amie Spruiell 9/14/2010

I Will Go Before You

"I will go before you and level the mountains (to make the crooked places straight);

 I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron".

And I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches

of secret places that you may know that it is I,

the Lord, the God of Israel, Who calls you by your name".

Isaiah 45:2 and 3 (Amplified Bible)

 

This is such a beautiful reminder and promise. I have found myself meditating on it this morning. I love the thought that nothing can keep the Lord out of where He wants to go... not even "doors of bronze" or "bars of iron". Sometimes we see those "doors and bars" in our lives and it looks so hopeless, doesn't it?

Sometimes they are the "doors" that we see keeping us from where we want to be in life, or the "bars" we see around our children's or loved ones hearts that keep them from knowing God's hope and joy for themselves. Whatever those “doors” or “bars” happen to be in our lives today, I am praying alongside you that they be "leveled" by the Lord Himself, even when they appear to be "mountains". Nothing is too big for our God, for Who is like Him?


I love that He summons us by name, because that represents the fact that He knows all about us. He knows our hearts, our dreams, our spouses, our children, our situations, and He also knows the plans that He has for us. I think that those plans that He has for us are the things that He brings out of the darkness and into the light, that His plans are some of the "riches stored in secret places". I believe that they are only in the darkness and in the "secret" places to us, but not to Him, because He sees and knows all things and His timing is always perfect.

I also love the way that He says "So that you may know that I am the Lord". He never, ever tires of showing us His infinite love for us, and His goodness. He knows that we do not fully or cannot fully understand His heart for us and so He continually shows His kindness to us by reminding us of all of His promises. I love that He never tires of reassuring us. Again and again and again He reassures us that He is Our Father and that He alone holds all in the palm of His Hands.

Meditating on these truths has made such a difference in my outlook and attitude today. I pray that it will do the same for you. I pray that you will be reassured yourself this morning, and blessed with the knowledge that you are loved far much more than you could ever hope, dream or even imagine.

Written by Beverley A. Napier

When you are soul tired...

Thursday, September 22, 2010


I Just Need a Break

Honestly, I am looking for some peace and quiet, lack of conflict, minimal challenges, reduced demands, understanding and relief. Relief from fatigue, from a sense of just getting by, that no matter what I do, it’s not enough; with every completed day, there is a mountain of items just waiting in the wings. Does anyone understand how I feel?


If I had just poured that sentence out to me, with a gentle voice, over a lovingly brewed cup of tea, I would, quoting Jesus, say, “Peace, be still.” You’re mind is full and anxious about many things. God has not forgotten about you. He loves you with an unending love. Seek first His purposes and plans and righteousness. His grace is sufficient for you. God will see you through everything in your life. He is willing to be your strength. You can depend on Him.

Psalm 37:5-9 (NLT)

5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.

Trust him, and he will help you.
6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,

and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,

and wait patiently for him to act.

Don’t worry about evil people who prosper

or fret about their wicked schemes.

8 Stop being angry!

Turn from your rage!

Do not lose your temper—

it only leads to harm.

9 For the wicked will be destroyed,

but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

 Dear Lord, I thank You that Your mercy is new every morning. I humble myself and ask You to please forgive me for trying to do everything in my own strength, in my own way, with my own wisdom. I give up. Please forgive me for being angry so often! Search my heart and cleanse me of every sin, both known and hidden. Help me to trust You and rely on You every moment of every day. Please give me a thirst for more of You. Thank You for the purifying power of Your Word. In Jesus name, Amen.

Prayed by Mary M. Wilkins: May 14, 2007 (and many times before and since).

Be Anxious For Nothing

Why would we as God's people worry when instead we can have peace and rest in Him? We certainly accomplish nothing when we worry, but in fact we suffer loss. A result of worry causes tension, stress, pressure, sleepless nights, robs our joy and the list goes on. We lose precious time by worrying, for instead we could be petitioning our requests to God and trusting and resting in the arms of Jesus.

Would we rather be overwhelmed with worry or look to Jesus and allow Him to lavish His love, care, rest and peace upon us? I would rather choose the latter in focusing my heart on Jesus. Our heavenly Father is ever mindful of our daily needs.
God's word tells me in Philippians 4:6-7 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Thank you Lord that you take good care of your children.

Blessings,

Written by Sandy