Become a peacemaker! —1 Thes 4:11 (NIV)We urge you, brothers & sisters, to do so more & more, & to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business & work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders & so that you will not be dependent on anybody. — Did you know that God wants us to live a quiet life, minding our own business & stay busy with our hands. What a world it would be if more people sought out peace. — Rom 12:18 (ESV)If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. James 3:18 A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Matt 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Num 6:26 May The Lord lift up His countenance upon you & give you peace. Love Mel
Come Up Higher
Micah 4:12 (ESV) They do not know the thoughts of the Lord, & they do not understand His purpose; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. — The process of threshing was performed generally by spreading the sheaves on the threshing floor and causing oxen to tread repeatedly over them, loosening the edible part of the grain from the scaly, inedible chaff that surrounds it. To be trodded on seems painful. Offense can be painful, especially when others seem to trod over us! Offense can be used by God to bring about the good! — Prov 19:11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, & it is His glory to overlook an offense. 1 Peter 2:19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. — When we repay offense for offense, then we have our just reward. However, when we learn to come up higher. When we learn to turn the other cheek, it is here where God takes up for us! It is here where we actually have the ability to build treasures in heaven that last for all eternity. This is the place we all hope to achieve, where we hear the words, “well done my good & faithful servant”! The key is willing to serve instead of being served! Love Mel
ABIDE
ABIDE John 15:1-27 I am the true vine, & my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, & every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, & I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me & I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. —To Abide is to live life thru Him. He is the vine & we are the branches. In life anything that separates us from the vine brings death, & anything that joins us to the vine brings life. We literally get our sustenance from our connections to Jesus, our vine. He is the source of life & we must do everything to continue to ABIDE in Him. Love Mel
Enter His Presence
Some information on the Presence of God! Psalm 100:2 (ESV)Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Ex 34:34-35 Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. & when he came out & told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ FACE was SHINING…. Psalm 97:5 The mountains MELT like WAX before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is FULLNESS of JOY; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Ex 33:14 He said, “My presence will go with you, & I will give you REST.” James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, & He will exalt you. Psalm 145:18: “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. — God is real & His presence is discussed throughout the Bible. We are to enter His presence with singing. Our face will glow with joy of His presence. We will find rest & pleasure. When we come with a humbled heart filled with truth we find exaltation. Now that is something worth pondering! The creator of the Universe shows up when we are humble & filled with truth! Holding nothing back! Love Mel
No Curse in Your Cross –
“No Curse in Your Cross” – I heard this from a Charles Spurgeon sermon this morning. Let’s unpack it. 2 Sam 14:28 tells us a story from the time of King David and his banished son Absalom. “28 Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king’s face. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab (David’s general) in order to send him to the king, but Joab refused to come to him. So he sent a second time, but he refused to come. 30 Then he said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire. 31 Then Joab DID go to Absalom’s house, and he said to him, “Why have your servants set my field on fire?” While this is a story relating to two unique individuals who are not great examples, the point is that sometimes God let’s our fields be set on fire to get our attention. Actually such things are a gift to His children that we may not wander too far off the path. I know some of our dear friends have had pain so searing that I am never saying this came from God. But in life we often see events in our lives which shake us to the core and bring us to our knees. The message is different for the believer and those who will not believe however. The crosses He gives to us – my dear beloved friends – will bring us redemption and sanctification if we let Him mold us. There is no wrath of God upon us – Christ has taken that. These are from a God of love to His children. There is no curse in our cross. God bless you and thank you for praying. Love Mel
