Eucharisteo- Salvation

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—   

and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

not by works, so that no one can boast.

 Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

Salvation is a gift. God gives it to those of His children who respond to His calling them to Him. Jesus saves us from our sin. By doing this He makes our lives better than they could ever be under our own power.

He guides us along the path He chooses for us. He accompanies us as we go through the trials of life, those that befall us whether caused by ourselves or others.

Jesus Christ hears our prayers as we lay our wants and our needs at His feet. He surrounds us with His arms of love when we have needs. He whispers the words we need to hear into our ears.

For all He does for me, I am thankful.

Graphic: biblegodquotes.com

Eucharisteo- God’s Word

“Your word is a light to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:106 (NIV)

Each morning, I awaken; my first thoughts turn to God. He’s there to help me start my day. 

I have fallen into a habit-a good one. I lay there awhile praying a bit but I seem to always say: “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) Then I arise and start my day.

Certain scriptures are dear to me. Lately, I find myself drawn to specific ones. Every time He directs me to Isaiah 41:10, He reminds me that the Lord God is there for me, stubborn, bull headed as I am. When I found these dear words, they broke a barrier in my heart. I realized that God knew and cared about what I faced; I felt things would get better and they did.

I thank God for His Word.

graphic: pinkyshelo.blogspot.com

Eucharisteo- God’s Word

“Your word is a light to my feet and a light for my path.”

Psalm 119:106 (NIV)

Each morning, I awaken; my first thoughts turn to God. He’s there to help me start my day.

I have fallen into a habit-a good one. I lay there awhile praying a bit but I seem to always say: “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) Then I arise and start my day.

Certain scriptures are dear to me. Lately, I find myself drawn to specific ones. Every time He directs me to Isaiah 41:10, He reminds me that the Lord God is there for me, stubborn, bull headed as I am. When I found these dear words, they broke a barrier in my heart. I realized that God knew and cared about what I faced; I felt things would get better and they did.

I thank God for His Word.

Eucharisteo-His Grace

“. . . justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

 

                                                                                  Romans 3:24(NIV)

From time to time, we, as God’s children, receive gifts from Him. These are truly gifts because we haven’t asked for them.

God gives those who love Him in return special attention because of His great love for those children. We call this great love grace. It is so special that song writers can only write about it using words like wonderful, greater, marvelous, and indescribable.

As we progress through our Christian walk, we learn the degree of how special God’s grace is to us. When He grants grace to us, God gives us something we don’t deserve-a gift. When He grants us mercy, God withholds something we do deserve.  Both these actions are done at the Lord God’s discretion-he chooses to grant what he gives us.

Grace comes in many forms.One of my favorite forms is prevenient grace; He uses it to draw someone outside the arc of safety to Him. (. . . by grace, you have been saved). God extends grace to call a child he created to become one of His spiritual children.

I give thanks to God for his grace.

Graphic:pastorbrianchilton.wordpress.com

Eucharisteo- God’s Beauty

“’ Listen to this . . . stop and consider God’s wonders.’” Job 37:14 (NIV)

We see God’s beauty everywhere we look. It is apparent in each season of the year.

Right now, we are near the end of the autumn season. The broadleaf trees have changed color and some have shed their leaves. The bright reds, oranges, and yellows blend together for the splendor of the season.

The stark contrast of winter’s black and white have a beauty all its own. The white snow looks like a heavy woolen blanket covering the earth, keeping it warm, and allowing the winter wheat to germinate and eventually grow.

When spring awakens the earth, the crocuses poke their colorful heads through the earth and possibly a layer of snow. Next, the ground allows the grass to regain it’s natural verdant hue. A bit later, the yards are spotted with bright yellow of dandelions-not exactly a flower but small children love to pick them and present them to their mothers. This is followed by the presence of purple violets all over our yards. I know it is spring when I see violets in our back yard.

Summer is a delightful season. Most people look forward to the relaxed atmosphere of the year. We Americans like to celebrate Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. May brings college graduations, while June brings high school graduation. June has also been known to be the month for weddings.

Seeing the fields of corn, soy beans, and wheat mature throughout the summer causes me to respect the farmers who work such long days in the fields at harvest time. The bounty of the fruit and vegetables make us thankful each time we sit down to our mealtimes.

The beauty of God’s earth presents us with reason to praise Him during each season of the year.

graphic: www.motherearthnews.com

Eucharisteo-Joy

"This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

 

God makes each day distinct from the others.  
He has His own secret recipe for each one. He allows things to happen that he intends to use as a away to draw us closer to Himself.

Our job is to rejoice, to be full of joy that God is in each day, walking beside us. Sometimes God allows something into our lives that we don’t understand or is an action we have to take that hurts us or someone close to us.

I find myself repeating the focus verse every morning as I try to get up for the day. Right now fibro and seesawing temperatures seem to play havoc with my muscles and joints. But once I get my mind set on what the day can be, I am ready to rise and face that day.

When I typed my first draft for this entry, I reflected on a phone call I received. I have friends who are going through a life-changing event. After 30 years, a family-owned small business has to close its doors.  I have known these people for 28 of those years. When the wife called me and told me, she could barely keep from crying. I was able to talk to her about what happened and why our depressed economy is still with us.

This business is located about two blocks from our home. We pass by or near it almost every time we leave our house. I always say a sentence prayer as I pass it. Two men work there—the owner and their son-in-law, both Christian men.  I will continue to pray for them during this time of transition and afterward.

Dear Father God: Thank you for giving me the verse to start my days. Help those who have weighty issues they are working through. Continue to be there for them. I rejoice in the fact that You love us and give us so many gifts to guide us through each day.

Eucharisteo-God’s Protection

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

 when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

 When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

 the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Isaiah 43:2

God protects those He calls His own. Throughout the Old Testament, we have stories of God protected when He Daniel (Daniel 6). We know God protected Shadrack and his two friends (Daniel 3).

God protects his people even today. We ask God to take care of a condition in our lives and He works things out according to His will, not ours. I have friends going through this phase of kind of God’s protection.

Sometimes, God puts us to the test to teach us that we can trust Him. He allows hard experiences into our lives to show us what we need to do about certain circumstances in our lives. We don’t always like the way events unfold for us but God has to get our attention in ways we never thought possible. At the same time He protects us.

When Job went through his terrible experience, God told the enemy he could not touch Job. It took God Himself to explain to Job how things were. God is sovereign. He chooses what He chooses to happen. He doesn’t need us to advise Him what to do about circumstances in our lives. But, in the past, I have tried to be an advisor to God. The young girl was healed of her internal injury but I don’t believe God’s plan for her came to completion. Had I not stepped in and told Him what to do, I believe the outcome would have brought Him more glory.

When God allows something to happen to a person, we have to rely on Him to protect that person from further harm. Our prayers should not necessarily be for that person to have that circumstance be removed from their life because God might want to use that condition to further His kingdom. We can pray God’s protection over him or her as God leads the way through the trial.

Graphic: howard-carter.blogspot.com