Yet, I will trust in Him!

Job1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man
was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 12 And
the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do
not lay a hand on his person.” 2:9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still
hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” 13:15 Though He slay me,
yet will I trust Him...

There are people that I know, when I see them and ask them, "how are you

doing?", their answer is, "fabulous" or "great". Then there are others that

always seem to be going through something. When I was a baby Christian, the

first book of the Bible that I studied was Job. As I look back on those

early days and that study, I learned a lot. I was not at all like Job in my

devotion to God. I could understand some of the pain and suffering that he

went through due to my own life. Loss of family, job, friends. God got my

attention through my pain and suffering. I have learned about being

blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. I also believe that I

can say, "Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him". My life is not easy due

to many different reasons, one thing I know for sure is that God is with

me. Whatever you are going through, know with all that you are, God is with

you. Jesus loves you, if there is anything I can do for any who read this

please contact me.

Douglas 

No Reason To Lie. Ephesians 4:15-25 NLT

 Ephesians 4:15-25 NLT

15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21bSince you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 

If you've ever told a lie stand up. If you're still sitting, stand up because you've just lied.  

Why do people lie? I believe it's to temporarily, in the eyes of the person receiving the lie, to be someone other than who we really are. Why would we do that? Maybe out of our own insecurity, maybe because we are not doing what we should or doing something we know we should not. 

If we are doing what we know we should and not doing what we know we shouldn't, if we are secure in our identity as a follower of Christ we have no reason to lie. 

Give it a try and see how much easier life is.

Blessings, Cecilia

Ephesians 6 Discipline out of love!

4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Our adopted son was diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder.  
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is defined by the DSM-5 as "a pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behavior, or vindictiveness lasting at least six months."

So how did we bring him up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord? Very carefully as he was easily provoked. It took allot of prayer and leaning on The Lord.
What about you, and your children?

None of us are perfect, only Jesus was. We all made or make mistakes in rearing our children but we learn and move on. When in doubt look it up in the Bible because it is the book of life, here on earth and spiritual life thereafter. Seek Gods guidance for raising your children and when you discipline them do it out of love not anger.

Blessings, David

Dad Loves Me Best. Ephesians 2:4-10

Ephesians 2:4-10 NKJV

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Do you really think it is because you are so very lovable that God loves you? I know I'm not THAT lovable! Yet, despite how unlovable I am, God loves me as if I am His only child. God loves YOU as if you are His only child. 

Grace is undeserved favor. We are undeserving of the gifts God gives us. Our salvation is the most important gift God gives us yet we don't deserve to spend eternity with God because of our sin. 

Mercy is not giving us what we deserve. Because of our sin, we deserve eternity in hell.

God, in His abundant grace (giving us what we don't deserve) and mercy (not giving us what we deserve) because of His abundant love for us, chooses to give us the free gift of salvation, eternity with Him. We just have to accept the gift. God offers this free gift through His Son's death in the cross. Jesus took the wrath of God on Him so we could experience God's grace and mercy. 

Blessings, Cecilia

I can do all things through Christ!

Phil4:13 I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who
strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in
Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through
Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]

Have you ever had one of those days, or maybe even a few, where you

thought, I just don't know how much longer I can do this? The job is

overwhelming, a relationship is not working out like you want, school is

not coming together, family issues, financial challenges, not enough time

in the day, reoccurring sin issues, and I am sure there are a few other

things that you are dealing with. Before coming to know Jesus, I would of

taken to the worldly way of trying to forget, alcohol, drugs, starting a

different relationship. As a Christian, I go to the Word, to Jesus, the

Author and Finisher of my faith. I look to His promises and know, I can do

ALL things through Christ who strengthens me. Brethren, when life gets to

be a little bit to much, stop, breathe, pray, wait and look to God's word

for your confident peace. We all go through challenges of life. My favorite

phrase in the Bible is, "it came to pass". Jesus will help you get through

it. He promises.

Douglas 

Ephesians 6 Honor your mother and father!

1Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord,afor this is the right thing to do. 2“Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: 3If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”b

I look back on my childhood and I see where I failed concerning these verses and commands.
What about you?
If we failed to obey then we also failed to honor. And if we didn't honor then we broke the first commandment!

The great thing about being born again is you start over, and when you get baptized the coming out of of water symbolizes a new person being raised from the dead.
Start over with your parents like I did and honor them.

If your a child and reading this, obey your mother and father, and honor them. You never know when God will call them home.

If you're an adult and your parents are still alive, make up for your failings and lost time, let them know you love them.

For those of you that never knew your parents or they weren't nice people remember you have a Father in Heaven, He loved you enough to send His Son to die on the cross for you. Tell Him how much you love Him. He's waiting to hear from you!

I pray things will go well for you and that you have a long life on earth.

Blessings, David

Don't Forget The Water Galatians 5:16-23 NLT

Galatians 5:16-23 NLT

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Fruit doesn't appear overnight on a young tree. The tree needs to mature before it will produce the really good fruit. In order to mature, the tree needs manure. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) The tree needs to be fed and watered and pruned. It takes time and work. 

Likewise, when we give our lives over to Jesus, we aren't automatically given the ability to produce the fruits of the Spirit. We have to work at it. We have to be fed and pruned. We are fed through fellowship with other Christians, Bible Study, attending Church Services and a conscience effort to follow God's will. It's an ongoing process that doesn't stop until we are standing before the King. We are pruned by God removing the unwanted parts of our lives. The old ways, the old influences in our life that keeps us from fully producing and the fruit God desires from us. It can be painful at times but trust Him, it's necessary. 

What kind of fruit are you producing? Is it full, beautiful, desirable fruit or is it only half of what it could be? Sometimes we need a little manure and pruning in order to produce. And don't forget the water, it helps the nutrients in the manure soak into the roots. 

Blessings, Cecilia