07/22/13

Matthew 16: The Demand For A Sign

New International Version (NIV)

 

 

The sign of Jonah is in reference to three days and three nights until new life and deliverance. His example was a type of Christ that foretold of the death and sacrifice of our LORD, His burial, and His rising on the third day.

 

 The phrase “sign of Jonah” was used by Jesus as a typological metaphor for His future crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus answered with this expression when asked by the Pharisees for miraculous proof the He was indeed the Messiah. The Pharisees remained unconvinced of Jesus’ claims about Himself, despite His having just cured a demon-possessed man who was both blind and mute. Shortly after the Pharisees accused Jesus of driving out demons by the power of Satan, they asked Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.”

 

Retrieved from the worldwide web @www.gotquestions.org  No copyright infringement  intended.

 

 

The Demand for a Sign

 

 

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

 

2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.[a] 4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

 

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

 

5 When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. 6 “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

 

7 They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.”

 

8 Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? 11 How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

 

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

 

 

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

 

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

 

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

 

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

 

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

 

 

Jesus Predicts His Death

 

 

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

 

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

 

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

 

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

 

28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

 

 

Footnotes:

 

Matthew 16:3 Some early manuscripts do not have When evening comes … of the times.
Matthew 16:18 The Greek word for Peter means rock.
Matthew 16:18 That is, the realm of the dead
Matthew 16:19 Or will have been
Matthew 16:19 Or will have been
Matthew 16:25 The Greek word means either life or soul; also in verse 26.

 

 

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

07/16/13

What is Hope? Colossians 1:27

To whom GOD would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory…

 

 

Colossians 1:27

 

 

 

What exactly is hope? Is it wishing , like I hope I win the door prize? Or, is it something deeper than that, an expectation of glorious things to come?

 

 

The word hope has been weakened and washed down because of modern society’s insistence on putting hope in the realm of magic. Wish upon a star and hope for your wish to come true, or put a coin in the wishing well and hope for the same. The Biblical references do not go in this direction, but lean more toward Christ Jesus, our ‘Hope of Glory’.  Hope goes so much further than wishing and dreaming–it is the ‘Hope of The Gospel’ to all people, manifested in ‘The Word Made Flesh”.

 

 

Hope resides in us, as God’s Holy Spirit, sent by God the Father and God the Son to minister, strengthen and aid us. If Hope is then alive in us, then Hope has been raised from the dead, and Hope believes that all things are possible because Hope is the Source of all things.

 

 

Hope is closely bonded with Faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’…Hebrews 11:1

 

 

“Hoped for’ means that I am relying on Jesus to bring this to pass. I am trusting that what I cannot yet see is already in existence,  brought alive through the urgency and sincerity of my pleas. ‘Hope springs eternal in the human breast’ is a fitting statement to explain how we can go through trial after trial and still hold on to our Saviour and to our beliefs.

 

Do you have hope? Do you believe that what God says in His Word that He will do He will perform? If you do then you have arrived at that place of trust, which is also a part of hope, where you are absolutely depending on God’s Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and sustain you. You know that what you see in the flesh is not as real as what is occurring in the Spirit realm.

 

 

Let us walk in Hope, for Hope bears a large shield, and joy is its weapon.

 

 

                                                                                                                   Charlene

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 Charlene Kirst
07/16/13

Praise as Light by Ron Hutchcraft: How To Banish The Darkness

A Word With You – Your Most Important Relationship
 

How To Banish The Darkness

 

 This article will help you to see how darkness can be made light–how spiritual wickedness can be overcome, and how relying on Jesus will ease your pain. Charlene 

 

 I had taken a carload of team members from our reservation outreach team to see a scenic canyon a couple of hours from where we were staying. Someone forgot to tell me that the station wagon they loaned me had a broken gas gauge. It said we had three-quarters of a tank. That wasn’t true! It was getting dark, and I decided to take a shortcut across the reservation to get back to our place. It was a pretty deserted dirt road that traversed a very remote part of the reservation, and about halfway back we ran out of gas, forty miles from the nearest gas station. Those who understand some of what the Bible says about spiritual warfare will understand that ceremonies that summon the spirit world can bring an invasion of spiritual darkness. And apparently, we were stranded in an area that was known for a lot of that kind of supernatural activity. When we got back, a tribal man who grew up on this reservation and knew that area well, said with a look of really deep concern, “If I had known where you were, I would have come after you immediately.”

 

My passengers were obviously really nervous, and some honestly, almost freaked out by our predicament. I tried to defuse the tension with humor. That didn’t work. (In fact, my humor seldom does.) Then somebody started to sing a praise song to Jesus – then another and another. As long as we were praising, there was this peace and calm. Whenever we stopped praising, you could cut the air with a knife. Thanks to a Good Samaritan God sent, we ultimately got some fuel; we got home, but only after an unforgettable laboratory in the power of praise.

 

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “How to Banish the Darkness.”

 

That night, in our remote corner of an Indian reservation, we experienced the reality of Psalm 8:1-2 , our word for today from the Word of God. Here’s what it says: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” I like that. When you are praising your awesome Lord, you silence the devil.

 

Celebrate Jesus and you evacuate the devil, who can’t stand even the name of Jesus. Because it is at that name that he and all his demons must one day bow in total surrender, because the devil’s death warrant is signed in the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. So in those times when the darkness seems to be closing in, you can literally praise the darkness away. Because the one place the prince of darkness will never be is in praises to the Most High God.

 

In many ways, whether or not the light or the darkness is winning in your soul is a matter of what you choose to dwell on. I can tell you what the devil’s trying to get you to dwell on – your past, your fears, your pain, your worries, your doubts. Right? Those areas are Satan’s playground. They drown you in anxiety, guilt, discouragement and depression. God, on the other hand, wants you to choose to dwell on what He’s like, not what your situation is like. Psalm 145 says, “The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” So, a few verses later, it says: “I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”

 

When you’re praising your Lord, you are choosing to dwell on the awesome things about Him that have never changed and never will, including in the middle of this dark moment. You’re celebrating the good things He’s done in your life instead of frustrating over your struggles. It’s celebrating Jesus, whether you feel like it or not.

 

When it’s the darkest, when it’s the hardest to praise Him, that is when you need to praise Him the most, because praise is that blinding light from heaven that dispels the darkness and banishes your enemy.

 

 

07/5/13

Dirty God by Johnnie Moore

I’ll admit that this title stopped me in my tracks. I almost didn’t read it; but I’m glad that I did. This is wonderful, thoughtful material. It reminds us once again of the Grace of God.

  

The doctrine of the incarnation reminds us that Jesus was both divine and human. His humanity endured enormous stress as he was repeatedly rejected by the very people he came to love. It hurt.

 

In fact, on the eve of his arrest we find Jesus so distressed over what is coming that he collapsed in an olive grove, weeping, under such duress that he perspired drops of blood.

 

It was heartbreaking for Jesus. The purpose of his trip to earth was to give grace to people, but so many people rejected, or were indifferent to, the good news he brought.

 

Because Jesus wasn’t the kind of savior people were expecting, he was rejected by most, and the few who accepted him were mainly from the other side of the tracks.

 

Jesus was considered edgy by the religious establishment. He was an antiestablishment heretic who ignored certain “sacred” Jewish practices. He did his own thing, often in blatant defiance of the most respected religious leaders.

 

Jesus wasn’t the kind of revolutionary one might have expected to make history. He didn’t manipulate the crowds or pull together coalitions, gathering as much power as possible. In fact, he ignored the systems of power that made the ancient world function.

 

Yet grace was ever present in his life and ministry, even in his relationships with his enemies. Jesus wasn’t so much angry at the religious establishment as he was heartbroken over their unbelief – so much so that he once broke down as he approached Jerusalem. Looking down over the city from a high hill, he said, “If you only knew…” (Luke 19:42 GNT).

 

Choosing to follow Jesus wasn’t a respectable, admirable thing to do. Following Jesus was truly radical. It would cost you – and it might cost you everything. It was like wearing a Red Sox cap in the middle of Yankee Stadium. It was a provocation.

 

And why did Jesus go through all of this? Why did he knowingly invite so much ridicule and shame, so much pain and embarrassment? Why was he willing to start life in a feeding trough, only so he could end it by being cursed at, flogged, stripped of his clothes, and nailed an executioner’s cross? Why did he leave the Father’s side and exit heaven to wander around this heartsick place?

 

He did all of this for one reason: you. That’s right – you.

 

He caught your eye through history’s window as he stared over the bannister of heaven, and he determined that he would care for you and give you a chance. He would make grace available and give you an opportunity to enjoy peace again.

 

And maybe you already know all of this. But I’m wondering if you really know it.

 

Like a lover catching the first glance of his beloved in a crowded train station after a long journey back home from a faraway land, Jesus caught your eye and then endured the cross so that you might be invited to dine again with God.

 

Into a culture where the gods seemed to look, and behave, like superhumans with perfect physiques and Herculean qualities – came Jesus. The one true God didn’t come adorned with Romanesque glory, and he didn’t arrive to celebration in a city like Rome or Athens, Alexandria or Jerusalem. He arrived in Bethlehem, and he came as an innocent child.

 

Jesus went through hell to show his kindness, to give us grace. He was on a mission to woo back God’s long, lost love.

Us.

 

 

Reprinted by permission. Dirty God by Johnnie Moore, ©2013, Thomas Nelson Inc. Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

07/4/13

IF I COULD HEAR MY MOTHER PRAY AGAIN

Mahalia Jackson put her soul and spirit into every song. This is a beautiful performance…

I have sung this song many times, and it never fails to move me to tears at the remembrance of my mother’s prayers and sacrifices for her family.  Charlene

credit: ahlordgod

Charlene’s Source: youtube

Share This

07/4/13

Love Lifted Me & I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

Love Lifted Me (Hymn with words and music) – James Rowe

 

Famous song writer James Rowe didn’t have an easy life. As a matter of fact, just performing the art of writing was a real struggle. Born January 1, 1865, James was the fifth of 9 children, but the first born boy. He and his family lived in Wales.
In 1889 James, as a 24-year-old man, immigrated to the United States, where he settled in Albany New York. During the course of his life, James worked as a teacher, government worker, railroad worker, and an inspector for the Hudson River Humane Society.
While he enjoyed his work, his true passion lay in creating. It is said that James Rowe wrote some 20,000 hymns and poems. Among them were such cherished songs as God Holds the Future in His Hands, I Walk With the King, If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again, and many others.
What makes this so amazing is what he overcame in order to pen these thousands of songs. According to his daughter, she witnessed her father, who suffered with a serious case of arthritis, spending day after day working on the words, melody, and music to many different songs. Despite the pain with which he lived, he pushed through and achieved his goals of putting his faith to the written word.
One of those songs which he laboured over is the well-known hymn, “Love Lifted Me.”

 

 

Kelly Price – I Know Who Holds Tomorrow (lyrics)

 

 

credit: The Hymn Club+earlylyricsorg1668

Charlene’s Source: youtube

Share This

06/27/13

Are Plants Smarter Than People?

 

Are Plants Smarter Than People?

by James Robison

 

 

Plants seem to be smarter than most people, including many who profess Christianity. Trees, crops, flowers, and grass recognize the source upon which they must depend. They naturally turn toward the light, seeking it consistently and persistently to receive its benefits. They respond to water as their roots reach into the depths of the soil, however resistant it may be, in order to absorb every drop of life-giving water.

 

The Scriptures encourage those created in the image of God to be fruitful – like a tree planted by the river, extending its roots downward while spreading its leaves to the sun. The Psalmist said to the person who delights and meditates in the Word of God, “You will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does, he prospers.”1

 

Jeremiah wrote, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, for he will be like a tree planted by water that extends its root down to a stream and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaves will be green and he will not be anxious in a drought and will not cease to yield fruit.”2

 

If we are to be God’s vineyard, we must remain under the oversight and care of the true husbandman – the Lord Himself. If you want to see the most briar- and weed-infested field, just look at a cultivated garden that has been abandoned and watch what grows! The same is true of human beings who are not submitted to the ongoing care of the Vinedresser.

 

If a blade of grass diligently and consistently seeks light and water, why can’t people created in the image of God do the same? All of creation depends on the Creator, with the exception of those created in His image – both sad and tragic!

 

Scientists indicate that even house plants have some level of intelligence. A plant adjusts to varying conditions by processing information and reacting to it. According to science writer Robert Wright, “It has sensors that absorb information reflecting the state of the environment – where light is coming from, for example – and this information guides the plant’s growth accordingly. And so, too, with every other form of life that pursues goals under varying conditions (which is to say every other form of life).”3

 

The plant is a sophisticated machine. It persists toward a goal in varying conditions by processing information. Why don’t people?

 

We are challenged by God through the apostle Paul to be “deeply rooted and grounded in love,” which will enable us to sustain the abundant blessings fruitfulness so often produces. “We are to be firmly rooted and built up in Christ.”

 

Christians must also develop a desire to walk in the light of God’s truth and love, continually drinking the “water of the Word.” In this, we will experience cleansing and nourishment necessary to be consistent in all seasons, however blessed or challenging they may be. The droughts and dry times should drive our spiritual roots even deeper to absorb every drop of the water of life possible. Proverbs says, “The root of righteous yields fruit.” The fruit will look like Jesus!

 

Just as plants reach toward the light, we must do the same. May God give us a thirst for His righteousness and the abundance of fruit produced by the Holy Spirit. We can live continually overflowing with the spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.4 If plants can be fruitful by consistently seeking light and water, surely we who are created in His image can do as much – and do it for the honor and glory of our great God and Father. “You are the light of the Lord. Now walk as children of the light.”5

 

 

 

1 Psalm 1:2-3 NAS
2 Jeremiah 17:6-8 NAS
3 Robert Wright, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, New York: Vintage Books, 2000, page 312
4 See Galatians 5:22-23
5 Ephesians 5:8 NAS

06/22/13

Deuteronomy 6 (New International Version)

The beauty of God’s Word is His timelessness. The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, we can be assured of a firm foundation for our own lives.      Charlene

 

 

Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

 

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

 

10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

 

13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.

 

20 In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” 21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”

 

Footnotes:

 

Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone

 

New International Version (NIV)

 

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

06/10/13

United and Set Afire

United and Set Afire
by James Robison

 

If I was the pastor of a church, I would encourage my people to build a charcoal fire until they were successful. Not with self-lighting charcoal, but the kind you have to soak and light.

 

One winter a friend of mine went out to build a charcoal fire and couldn’t get it lit. I went out and saw that the charcoal was scattered all over the grill, one little layer of charcoal. He was dousing it with the lighter fluid and putting a match to it. It would flare up and burn off, leaving him with dead, black charcoal.

 

Well, I had done this before and knew his approach wouldn’t work. I raked the chunks of charcoal into a little pile with my hands. Some of the briquettes trickled off and rolled down the side, but I meticulously picked up each one until I had a nice pyramid. As I was doing this, dirtying my hands as I worked so diligently to stack them, it was as though God Himself began chuckling at me.

 

“What are you doing?” I heard Him ask.

 

“I’m stacking this charcoal,” I said. “It won’t light unless you get it all together where each briquette is touching others. That’s what I’m doing, Lord.”
“Isn’t that something?” He said. “Why don’t you preachers learn to do that with my people?”

 

God said, “My people are scattered all over the earth, accusing and avoiding one other, seldom touching each other, and preachers are running around trying to soak them in the oil of the Holy Spirit. You just soak them and soak them and soak them, then wonder why they don’t get on fire.”

 

He said, “My son already prayed for unity: that you may be one as We are one. A new commandment He gave you ‘that you love one another even as We love one another’ and become ‘perfected in unity.’ And by this the world will know you’re My disciples – not Baptist, not Pentecostal, not Catholic, or anything else. My disciples, connected to one another and submitted to the Head – the Lord Jesus.”

 

Then God said, “You can soak them in teaching and soak them in the Holy Spirit, but until my people agree to come together, truly seeking to preserve the unity of the spirit into which they were born in Christ in a bond of peace, you need not expect Me to light the fire. Let My people come together with this purpose: seeking Me as they did at Pentecost, and I’ll light their fire. That’s what I want to see.”

 

I’m committed to that. May we all learn to love each other as Christ loves the church, so we can be a bright light in our dark world.

 

Adapted from James Robison’s 1984 message on unity

 

Charlene’s Source:  LifeToday : Words of Life

06/5/13

1 Thessalonians 5: The Day of The LORD

1 Thessalonians 5

 

New International Version (NIV)

 

 

The Day of the Lord

 

 

5 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

 

4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

 

 

Final Instructions

 

 

12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

 

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

 

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.

 

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

 

25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us. 26 Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

 

28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

 

 

       In a time in which we struggle to maintain our identity in the Faith, it is so rewarding to read this scriptural passage. It is an affirmation of who we are and can be in Christ. There is no room for wavering right nor left; there is only room for commitment to He who will come back for His Bride the Church. Let us all be diligent to The Word and all that He stands for.  We must be prepared for His coming much like the bride prepares for her groom with attention to detail and sincerity of purpose. Let us not be found wanting; ill-equipped for the tasks at hand. We work to further the Kingdom until the Day of His Coming. Then we will gain our rest and reward.

 

Charlene

 

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide