Showing posts with label Spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spirit. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Truly Blessed

 

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Blessed is the man to whom the LORD

does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit, there is no deceit.

Psalm 32:2 (NKJV)


Blessed


Looked upon with favor. When a child of God receives a blessing, that child realizes the special degree of God’s care he or she has received.


Impute to impute means to charge with, to ascribe. When a follower of Jesus confesses his sin to Jesus, God wipes it away. We are not held accountable for that transgression.


Iniquity a lack of righteousness, injustice; wickedness, sin. As children of God, we quickly learn that God prefers us not to sin, However, He forgives us when we confess to Him when we do. If God did not wipe away my sins, I would not be able to stand up.


God chooses to look with favor on those of us who confess our sins before Him. He does this out of His grace, mercy, and love. In our world today, a lot of people don’t think of certain of their actions or habits as being sinful. This is because people have forgotten God. They choose to live as they wish.


All we can do is pray for those who have forgotten about God and especially for those who have never heard of God or His Son, Jesus.



Thursday, May 4, 2023

Pray Constantly

 



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Love one another with brotherly affection.

Outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not be slothful in zeal,

be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation,

be constant in prayer.

Romans 12:10-12 (ESV)


Words of Paul


The Apostle Paul wrote these words to “ all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints….” (Romans 1:7)


As God’s children, we are to treat each other as if they were our brothers and sisters. He instructs us to do this because we are all God’s children.


Paul further tells us we are to “Outdo one another in showing honor.” When we choose to do something for someone, we should do it because we are led to. We are not supposed to expect something from him or her in return.


Paul tells us we are not to be ‘slothful in zeal,” by this he means that we are not to be slow in passion or enthusiasm.1


He next tells us to “be fervent in Spirit”.

Being fervent simply means having great depth or feeling.2


He next tells us to “serve the Lord.” Simply stated, we are to work for the Lord, our God.

Now, some of us are unable to do what we used to do for God. For me, I am able to pray and send cards to those who are ill, have lost a loved one, or try to encourage those who seem to be down.


He tells us to “Rejoice in hope,” We are to take pleasure3 in hope and all the good things God allows us to experience.


He, then tells us to “be patient in tribulation,” This is one area of my life that I have struggled with for a long time.


It’s been in recent years that I have found myself to be calm during something that could cause a person much stress. (In the past, I could be a basket case when things got to tense.)


Paul then tells us to “be constant in prayer.” Sometimes, we have to mentally send up sentence prayers to God. At other times we can receive a phone call from someone who asks us to pray for them. We can pray for that need right then. We should always be ready to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as those who need to know Jesus.

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1,2,and 3 are taken from Merriam-Webster Dictionary. com Accessed 4/25/2023

“Abide in Me”

  Read John 15:4-10 Abide in me and I in you. As th e branch cannot b ear fr u it of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither c...