Seeking To Praise God - Psalm 63:3

 

Psalm 63:3
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.

    The lovingkindness of God is His mercy towards all people. This is reiterated in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world (all people) that He sent His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

    Mercy keeps God from annihilating people when the break His commandments, knowingly or unknowingly. God does not want people to die in their sins.

    That's why He sent the world His Savior, His Son, His Word wrapped in flesh. Believing on The Name of Jesus Christ for our salvation is the only way to avoid eternal death.

    God's people are to show this level of mercy, this same lovingkindness, to other people, whether they are His people, or are not yet His people, or are fighting against God. Once we were a people enslaved to our sinful nature, but now that God has saved us with His Mighty Power and brought us into His kingdom and His family, we choose to honor Him with our lives, every part of our lives.

    Our lips praise God for His neverending mercy towards us. His lovingkindness is BETTER THAN LIFE. We are willing to surrender our lives for His glory than live without Him. This is why so many of God's people are tortured, imprisoned, ridiculed, and killed for His Name's sake: we refuse to deny The Name of Jesus Christ.

    Believers do not go around killing other people, even in our thoughts. For God can see what we are thinking. We don't want to be mean-spirited, angry, or rude to one another. We cannot take offense. When we do, we immediately, once we are made aware of our sin, repent of it. And God forgives us. Jesus tells us to, "Love one another as I have loved you."

    God knows what is in a person's heart. Our hearts need to be focused on obeying God with joyful hearts and sincere worship should roll off our tongues, across our lips and into the arena of praise!

    We are all made in God's image. He set that in motion when He created Adam, and then Eve. To imagine someone's demise or thinking about inflicting pain and how is evil; it is not of God, nor is it of a godly nature. Forget Santa Claus or elf on the shelf, GOD IS ALWAYS WATCHING.

    Which means God is always close by, too. He can tell the difference between someone using His Name as blasphemy (swearing) and someone saying His Name as a cry, a plea, for salvation through His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. How will you say His Name?

GRACE GOT YOU - MercyMe

CRY OUT - TRIBL/Naomi Raine/ReFRESH

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH - KOTR

Serve The Lord With Gladness

 

Psalm 100:2
Serve The LORD with gladness, come before His presence with singing.

1 Thessalonians 5:16
Rejoice evermore.
Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in The Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

    We serve The Lord with gladness of heart, because we know where we've been and we know where we're going. So we can tolerate any rough patches we come across in life.
    Whether these rough patches happen to us by the people in our lives, or whether we inadvertently place ourselves there. Deaths, divorce, broken promises, estranged family members: these are rough patches. Having suffered through all of these, know that I am not minimizing the trauma when I say that the pain they inflicted were all temporary.
    They are trials and tribulations put upon us by others. It is our job as Christians, if we want to truly be Christ-followers, to forgive, forgive, forgive, forgive each and every one. We have been forgiven much: surely we can forgive much. We have Christ living in, changing us from unforgiving people into a people who forgive everything that the ones being forgiven may turn to Christ, also.
    Matthew 6:14,15
14. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.
    Mark 11:25
"And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”
    Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
    Forgiveness is not weakness. Mercy is not weakness. Compassion is not weakness. Forgiveness, Mercy, and Compassion are all signs of the strength of Christ Jesus within us.
    So, we rejoice. We serve our Lord and Savior with gladness, and only then can we come before His presence with singing, only then can we "enter His courts with praise."

AGAIN I SAY REJOICE - Israel Houghton

Psalm 116:5 Gracious Is The Lord and Righteous - Channun Yhvh Tsaddiqh

 

CHANNUN YHVH TSADDIQH

(pronounced khan-noon' yeh-ho-vaw' tsad-deek')

GRACIOUS IS THE LORD AND RIGHTEOUS

Psalm 116:5

The LORD is Gracious and Righteous; our God is full of compassion.

Exodus 34:6

Then The LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: "The LORD, The LORD God, is Compassionate and Gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,"

Romans 2:4

Or do you disregard (despise, think little of) the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness (the goodness of God) leads you to repentance?

God's Kindness

Ephesians 2:4-7

4. But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy,

5. made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

6. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms 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.

Titus 3:4, 5

4. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,

5. He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

God's kindness to us is salvation through His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, Whose blood which was shed on the cross washes away our sins forever. He has no remembrance of them. How many people can you number who have a memory like an elephant and keep reminding you of your sins? of who you used to be? before you came to Jesus and accepted Him as your personal Lord and Savior? I don't have enough fingers to do that.

But God does not remember the sins we have repented of and been forgiven for. God knows who belongs to Him and who does not. Do you belong to Jesus?

NOW I BELONG TO JESUS - George Beverly Shea

Grace & Peace to You

 

Grace and Peace to You

    Of the twenty letters written to churches and people, there are only sixteen salutations which include this phrase in the beginning of each letter. Of these sixteen, twelve are written by Paul. The other four are written by Peter, John, and Jude.

Paul:

1 Corinthians 1:3

2 Corinthians 1:2

Galatians 1:3

Ephesians 1:2

Philippians 1:2

Colossians 1:2

1 Thessalonians 1:1

2 Thessalonians 1:2

1 Timothy 1:3

2 Timothy 1:2

Titus 1:4

Philemon 1:3

Peter:

1 Peter 1:2

2 Peter 1:2

John:

2 John 3

Jude:

Jude 1:2

    It is more than just a lovely greeting. It is a glorious reminder from the pen of the church-planter to the churches. From the pen of a brother in Christ to other brothers in and sisters in Christ: 

    When Paul writes to Titus, he writes to his 'son of common faith'. A Gentile Greek whom Paul had led to Christ. This son he entrusts the care and setting up of the churches in the area where he left him. Titus is both a brother in Christ and a son in the faith in which they had in common: faith in Jesus Christ "our" Lord and Savior.

    When Paul writes to Philemon, he writes also to Apphia, Philemon's wife, and Archippus (fellow soldier of Christ), and the church in their house. He writes regarding Onesimus, who at one time was not of the faith but now is through Paul's ministering to him. This Onesimus is now a son of faith and Paul is sending him back to Philemon and the house church to be received as man of faith, and not as a runaway, thieving servant. 

    Peter writes to "the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia". Strangers, perhaps, to Peter, but definitely strangers set apart from the world. For we know that this world is not our home, that our home is in heaven. We are the 'aliens', the 'foreigners', lights shining the love of God through Christ into a rapidly darkening world. To us, as well as them in their day, this letter is sent. 

    In 2 John 3, the aging John addresses his letter to 'the elect lady and her children'. To a woman who has chosen to belong to Christ and to her children, whom she has raised in this faith in Christ for their own. A short letter encouraging them to continue to walk in this faith, to be aware of deceptions and to avoid people who profess not that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

    Although Jude does not send greetings of Grace and Peace, he does, however, send "Mercy and peace and love, multiplied". And to whom does Jude send this greeting? To them that are sanctified by God The Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called. (v1)

    Why do I bring up to whom these letters are written? Because if the person reading any of these letters, these Epistles, is not a son or daughter of the common faith, they will not receive said letters. If the woman reading is not a woman of faith who is raising her children in The Lord, she won't receive it. 

    If the person reading is not a stranger to this world, is not a foreigner or alien, they won't receive the letter written to such. If the one reading is not sanctified by God The Father, not preserved in Jesus Christ, and not called, then that person will not be able to receive the letter written. 

    From the pen of one who is a stranger, a daughter of faith, in an alien world; from the heart of one who is sanctified by God The Father and preserved in Jesus Christ, who has been called not only to salvation but in the service of God through Christ Jesus, I, too, send Grace and Peace to you who also are of our  common faith in Jesus Christ. I send Mercy and Love multiplied. 

    Grace: the favor of God extended outwards from Himself to anyone who wants to receive it [John 1:16]

    Peace: the gift of God in wholeness, completeness in Him through Christ and His Holy Spirit [Romans 5:1]

    Mercy: God gives us new birth into a living/lively hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead [1 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 2:8]

    Love: the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ and applied to the hearts of believers by The Holy Spirit [Romans 5:5; John 1:14] 

THE WORDS OF JESUS - Indie Folk Worship Set

    

The LORD is Merciful - Psalm 103

 

PSALM 103:8

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plentiful in mercy.

James 5:11

See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Compassion: according to the Bible, means full of mercy. It is an accusative term applied to God's love, which He extends to us. Not accusatory, but accusative, which is, according to the dictionary: relating to or denoting a case of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives that expresses the object of an action or the goal of motion. And what is the object of God's action or goal of motion: GOD IS LOVE (1 John 4:15-17). In His great love, He sent us His only begotten Son by wrapping His WORD in flesh and having It go through life like any other person....almost. For Christ is sinless, the only Person who never sinned against GOD. How could He? He was, and is GOD. An amazing feat which only GOD could accomplish!

    Here, both David and James write that God is reminding us that He shows us mercy, great mercy, and grace. The gods in the areas in which David and James lived were not. The gods being worshiped in those days are still being worshiped today. Yet, GOD is still extending His mercy towards us. 

    Our God is slow to anger (longsuffering, which is more than just being patient).  It's been nearly 2,000 years, since Christ ascended into heaven to be with His Father. That's more than patient; that length of time is, indeed, longsuffering. He has put up with people ignoring Him, mocking Him, hating Him, betraying Him, loving, then leaving Him. And, yet, GOD extends His mercy out into all the world. 

    Though every heart will not receive His Truth by their own choice, God being love, flows out into all the world like a winding stream, touching every person even if they refuse to be loved by GOD. Please don't be that person. GOD loves you and wants only the best for you. How do we know that? John 3:16,17 "For GOD so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For GOD sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

    Again, in 1 John 4:15-17 - If anyone confesses that Jesus is The Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. GOD IS LOVE; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him. In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like Him. 

    The 'we' James is referring to is the believers, the ones who have confessed that Jesus Christ is The Son of God. Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, 10 "That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved." 

    This is the mercy which GOD extends to us all. This great and wonderful mercy is mine. Is it yours, too? 

THE CROSS - Anne Wilson & Chris Tomlin 

The Mercy of God - Never Fails

 

 

Lamentations 3:22

Because of the loving devotion of The LORD we are not consumed,

 for His mercies never fail. 

Psalm 103:10

He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.

    Though The Lord could destroy us at any time for our great wickedness against His Word, yet He restrains Himself, for it is not His will that any of us should die in our sins. He wants us to repent of our unrighteous acts against Him and obey His Word, which He has given us through the cross. For Christ is The Living Word of God sent to die for each and every one of us. 

    Who are we that God should love us so? We are His sheep even though we were once lost in the darkness of our own hearts and minds. It is why He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross, so that us who were once lost sheep can be found sheep and placed in His pasture of love and mercy. 

    Exodus 34:7 says He extends His mercy to a thousand generations: " Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." 

    Numbers 14:18 tells us God is slow to anger and of great mercy. He wants us live with Him when we die. But unless we choose to live for Him now, there won't be a home in heaven for the unrepentant sinner. 

     1 John 1:9 tells us " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God wants us to confess our sins against Him to Him. No one else has the power to forgive us for the sins we have committed against God except God. 

    It's as if you did me wrong and went to a stranger for forgiveness for what you had done to me. Would that make the wrong you did to me right? Not hardly. It is the same when we have sinned against God. To sin against God is to break His Word, to disregard His Word and to deliberately ignore His Word. To sin against God is to disobey when He tells us to do something and we don't. And when He tells us not to do something and we do it anyway. These sins need to be repented of when we come to God for His forgiveness. 

    In His unfailing mercy God will forgive the sincere repentant heart and wash the sins from the seeker's heart. He promises:

Psalm 32:5

Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

Psalm 51:2

Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Proverbs 28:13

He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

1 John 1:7

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

    

   

    

 

 

Great Is Your Mercy

 

PSALM 86:13

Great is Your Mercy toward me: You have delivered my soul from the lowest hell. 

Psalm 56:13

For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in The Light of Life.

John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am The Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have The Light of Life.”

    As long as I remain in The Light of God's Love, I can see clearly enough to know that God is with me and will not abandon me to my own follies. His grace, after all, is "sufficient for me".     The Lord is, as David writes in Psalm 27:1, "My Light and My Salvation, and My Strength of Life." The Lord is with me and I am content.

    

    See how David writes that The Lord God has delivered him from 'the lowest hell'? The very bottom of hell, where no light pierces. All is darkness, despair and hopelessness. His soul was in a very dark place. But God reached down when David reached up and lifted him out of the worst of the worst. Why? Because God loved David and David loved God.

    He faith in His God remained strong despite all the troubles and pitfalls David found himself in. This great faith can be ours, too. We just need to reach up to God, with our praises and prayers, and He will lift us up out of the dark places we find ourselves in from time to time.

    It's lonely in those dark places. A person would begin to believe they are all alone; that no one loves them or even thinks about them. No one reaches out to rescue them from the darkness and discouragement. It appears to the lost or lonely soul that they are the only ones to experience such thoughts. Not so, for even the faithful believer has to battle the thoughts that threaten their souls.

    Let us open our hearts and our mouths, lift our hands and begin to praise God right here, wherever you are, with every breath that is within us. Give God the glory. Give God adoration. Give God you. And you will find yourselves walking in His Light.

Goodness & Mercy

 

PSALM 23:6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of The Lord forever. 

    What is the goodness of God? His lovingkindness, HIs choice to bless His faithful people. The goodness of God is every blessing, every "good and perfect gift" which He provides for us when we seek Him out to spend time with Him. 

    What is the mercy of God? His unconditional pure love. This love sent Jesus to the cross to die for you and I. This love of God is for anyone who wants to be loved by God in God's Way. This mercy of God extends "to a thousand generations". It is sought after by they who are hungry for The Truth of God's Word. It is longed for by they who seek to be comforted by God's Word. 

    God's goodness and mercy follow me closely, like our shadow. Wherever the sun shines, we have a shadow, right? So wherever The Son-shine takes us, God's favor goes with us. And it will not leave us when we die: we will dwell -- live completely and wholly holy in Him -- in God's house forever, without end. 

    All of God's promises are Faithful and True. And I'm clinging to this one daily. 

SURELY GOODNESS & MERCY 

AS THE DEER - Forerunner (Instagram) 

1 Peter 2:9, 10

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own peculiar people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 

    What is in this house in which we will dwell forever? The holy presence of God. We don't need anything else but Him, God in all His glory and light. 

STORM ALL AROUND YOU - Forerunner (Jon Thurlow)

Blessed Are The Merciful

 

    Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

    HOW DO WE SHOW MERCY?

Share The Living Water of Life with Them

(that they may drink and be satisfied)

    Proverbs 11:25

A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Forgive The People Who Have Done Us Wrong

(regardless of how many times they do so)

    Matthew 6:14

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Honor Each Other With Genuine Affection

(not because you have to but because you want to)

Romans 12:10

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

    These are just a few verses on showing Mercy to others. Which ones can you think of?

A Crucified Life - - Comprehends Mercy

 

    Romans 10:19

But I ask, did Israel not know? First, Moses says: "I will provoke you to jealousy by those not a nation; I will anger you by a nation without understanding."

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 801

Without Understanding: unintelligent, unwise, undiscerning

From the Greek word 'asunetos' (pronounced as-oon'-ay-tos): without comprehension, foolish, illogical because unwilling to use good reason.

    Deuteronomy 32:21

They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.

    Romans 11:11

I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.

    1 Peter 2:10

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

    The prophecy against Israel goes all the way back to Moses' time. It is beginning to be fulfilled in Acts 2, when the Spirit-filled disciples go out into the city and preach the gospel. But because persecution was swift, many left the city and went out to other countries, other nations, sharing the gospel message as they went. 

    Very thankful for that. Where would I be without God's mercy? I'd be dead and in hell. For I was without understanding. I was foolish and ignorant of God's lovingkindness. I knew nothing and in the darkness of this world, I sought that which I knew not, but where I looked for it, I found it nought. 

    Cocaine, marijuana, 'ludes, LSD and liquor brought me neither joy nor lasting happiness. I had no peace, no hope, no awareness that I was living/dying in the darkness of sin. Death tried to have its way with me. Until Jesus found me and called my name. And I began to make my way to His cross.

    God's grace and mercy are found at the cross of Christ, where the blood of His Lamb washes away the stain of sin on my life. At the cross I found the only God I would ever need again. He found me first and brought me to the place of forgiveness and hope, for I had no hope. I didn't know joy until I gave my heart to Jesus Christ. 

    At the cross I was grafted into the Vine. In order to be grafted one must first be cut from one rootstock and grafted into another. There is a separation from the old and a twisting into the new. 

    At the cross I saw the light of God's love. It was both beautiful to me and a horror to look upon. For the Lamb of God was tortured, and beaten and had heavy nails pounded into His hands and feet (to hold Him onto the cross). He was a bloody mess.

    Blood ran down His face from the crown of thorns that was pushed forcefully into His head. Rivulets of blood ran down His chest from the whip lashings He endured for my sake. Pain coursed through His body until His heart broke and He died. For me, for you: for a foolish, ignorant people that we might be restored to a right relationship with God. 

    At the cross we see Jesus. In the garden we see Jesus. Both times He is unrecognizable. Until He speaks. On the cross He speaks forgiveness for the ignorant. In the garden He speaks Life to the seeker. 

    Mercy is mine because I am forgiven. And because I want to be where He is, I went to the garden, too, seeking Jesus. And He spoke to me. He speaks Life because He is Life Eternal. He speaks Love because He is the representation of God's Love to a broken world, a lost people, an ignorant nation. I'm so thankful I made my way to the cross. It's the wisest, smartest decision I ever made. 

MERCY IS MINE, PRAISE IS YOURS 

A Thousand Hallelujahs 

God Be Merciful To Me

Holy Forever

River of Life

At The Cross

Greater

Flawless

Redeemed

Broken Things

Forgiven

Heart of God

Different

    

    

A Crucified Life - - Speaks Freely

 

2 Corinthians 6:11

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians. Our hearts are open wide.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 455

Speak Freely: to be or stand openly

From the Greek word 'anoigó' (pronounced an-oy'-go): speak freely, keeping nothing back.

    

    In writing to the church in Corinth, Paul reminds them that he has shared his sufferings and his joys with them, keeping nothing from them that they might share in not only these but also in the rewards of faithfulness. As Paul had written to the church in Rome, Romans 8:17 "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." 

    We who believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation are the church. Not in our name but in His Name. For we are also God's children, brothers and sisters in Christ and of Christ Jesus. We obtain this inheritance of glory through the sufferings of Christ. 

    What one believer suffers, all believers suffer. We are not alone. We may be on different continents, live in varying cities and towns, but we are all one in Christ. What one goes through, all go through. 

    When one of us goes through the fire, we all go through the fire. When one of us gets slandered, we all get slandered. When one of us is persecuted for the Name of Christ, all of us are persecuted for His Name's sake. 

    Having been called to suffer, why do so many persist in believing that persecution is not theirs to bear? That it belongs in some remote part of the world? Technically, we are all in remote parts of the world. And as much as the internet brings many together, it also separates. It is both a blessing and a curse. 

    But the sharing to which Paul alludes is of a much higher sharing in of: it is the cross of Christ which brings us all to His feet, it is the Suffering Servant Who makes us joint-heirs with Him by our belief in His Name for our salvation. 

    It is the blood of Christ which washes away our sins, changing us from sinners guilty of eternal damnation to saints worthy of an eternal inheritance. It is the grace of God extended to a lost and dying people that redeems us back to Him, making us found and alive in Christ. 

    It is the mercy of God through the obedience of His only begotten Son that is shown to each and every person time after time after time. We who believe receive such salvation, grace and mercy to the everlasting benefit of our souls. Do you believe?

    And now, let me speak freely. God loves us. God loves us so much He can't bear to leave us like He found us. So God changes the person who believes in His only begotten Son into a resemblance of His Son, so that when He looks at us, He sees only a reflection of His Son. He's not looking at unwashed, unglazed pottery any more. He's transformed us into a useable vessel to be of service in some form or fashion in His house. 

    I must ask you, Does God see Jesus in you? 

     

SPEAKING FREELY 

Refiner - Maverick City Music

Glorious Ruins - Hillsong Live

No Way, We Are Not Ashamed - Carman

The Worth of Knowing You - Austin Bratton

Alive In You - Jesus Culture

Do They See Jesus In Me - Jessell Dawn Mahinay

    

A Crucified Life - - Speaks For Itself

 

2 Corinthians 6:8

By honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No.

Evil Report: defamation, reproach, ill-repute

From the Greek word 'dusphemia' (pronounced doos-fay-mee'-ah).

Good Report: commendation, praise

From the Greek word 'euphémia' (pronounced yoo-fay-mee'-ah).

    Slandered. Spoken ill of for speaking the Truth. To share the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ is to expect people to come against you. As they came against Christ who not only speaks Truth but is Himself Truth, how can we expect any less to happen to us as His faithful followers? 

Jesus Himself warned His disciples that as many came against Him for the Truth of the Word which He spake, people would also come against them, against us. 

>John 16:1-3

>John 15:18-20

>Proverbs 29:27

>Matthew 10:22

>Matthew 24:9

    Knowing that even the very mention of the Name of Christ could get a person killed, how does the kingdom of God keep growing? Grace.Joy. Peace. Rest. Forgiveness. Wisdom. Love. Hope. Mercy. Of God. In Christ. Through the Holy Spirit of God. 

>GRACE: Ephesians 2:8

>JOY: John 15:11

>PEACE: John 16:33

>REST: Matthew 11:28

>FORGIVENESS: Ephesians 1:7

>WISDOM: Proverbs 11:30

>LOVE: 1 John 4:16

>HOPE: Psalm 39:7

>MERCY: Titus 3:5

    All of these things Christ is to us who believe. All of these are in us and need to be displayed to everyone else by our words and our actions. The name is the reputation. Whose name are you defined by? The faithful follower of Christ is defined by Christ's Name and carries His reputation with them wherever they go. 

    Philippians 2:7, 8

But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

     As such He did, so, too, do we, His followers. We make ourselves of no reputation, and yet, we are known by many for who we are. As Christ is known, both loved and hated, we who love Him and follow in His steps, are both loved  and hated. Though we desire no reputation of our own, we are given two. We are only slightly known to this world. But in God's kingdom we are fully known.

REPUTATION

Clean Hands - Lauren Alexandria

Better Than Life - Phil Wickham

Here's My Heart - I Am They

No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus - Steffany Gretzinger

Nothing Without You - United Pursuit

I Belong To Jesus - Paul, Hannah McClure

Give Us Clean Hands - Caedmon's Call

I Speak Jesus - Here Be Lions

Hands and Feet - Audio Adrenaline

Build Your Kingdom Here - Rend Collective

Known - Tauren Wells

    

A Crucified Life - - Is Accountable to Christ

 

2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. 

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 5319

Appear: to make visible, make clear

From the Greek word 'phaneroó' (pronounced fan-er-o'-o): make known, make manifest, to become apparent.

    Everything we say and do has consequences. Whether we receive the results of our actions and words in this life or the next, we are accountable to Christ for our testimony and our witness. 

Job 34:11 

For according to a man's deeds He repays him; according to a man's ways He brings consequences.

Matthew 16:27

For the Son of Man will come in His Father's glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

Matthew 25:32

All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

    A crucified life lets go of the offense and embraces forgiveness. As Christ was dying on the cross, He still retained mercy and compassion, saying, "“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” - Luke 23:34. 

    Are we this forgiving? this merciful? this compassionate? He asked His Father to forgive them, to not hold this thing they had done to the Father's Son against them. 

    May our hearts be as full of love for those who sin against us, that our words towards them are words of love, mercy, forgiveness. That our actions towards they who desire to see us fail be actions of love. 

    May that which held Christ on the cross also hold us. It wasn't the nails; it was the Love of God for you and I.

LET IT BE JESUS  A Christy Nockels Album

    

Guard Your Heart - - Build Your Faith

 

Jude 1:20, 21

20. But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 

21. keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2026

Building: to build upon

From the Greek word 'epoikodomeó' (pronounced ep-oy-kod-om-eh'-o): to build up, to edify; to follow a plan with pre-designed specifications; to make progress in building up (from one level to another).

UNWAVERING FAITH

~PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT~

Hebrews 10:23

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)

James 1:6

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

    If we have our doubts when we pray, then we are praying in doubt, not in faith; our prayers will neither be received nor heard. We must pray expecting to receive, with confidence and absolute trust in God's perfect will. But only if we pray according to His will. 

    Praying in The Holy Spirit, The Holy Ghost, is praying according to God's Word: the Word we are being led to and through when we listen to The Spirit of God. If we pray our desires, then it is doubtful we will receive the answer we want. But when we pray God's Word over every situation, then God's Will will prevail. 

    Praying in The Spirit does not mean we have to pray in tongues (although that will happen sometimes with the person who is filled with The Holy Spirit), but that we need to be working with The Spirit of God throughout our daily lives: fervently (urgently), consistently (constantly) and in faith (believing that it will be so). James 5:16; Ephesians 6:18; James 1:6; 1 Timothy 2:1.

    Unwavering faith sees its sins forgiven, its bodies healed, its minds delivered, prisoners freed. Not just then, but even today. Unwavering faith desires to please God: doing what makes God happy. 

BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATION

~HONOR~

    Knowing that our Foundation is Jesus Christ, we need to be careful how we are building on that Foundation. For God built His Foundation with Justice and Righteousness (Isaiah 28:16, 17). 

    Reading 1 Corinthians 3:10 "We must be careful how we build on that Foundation". Throughout this past year we have been learning what it means to be born again. We are still learning. Each monthly series this year I have still listed under the main heading of Being Born Again. (if you don't see some of it on this site, check Facebook).

    1 Peter 2:1 tells us to "Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander." These items do not make good building blocks. Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander fall under the commandments of what not to do, how not to behave with one another: Thou shall not bear false witness (malice, deceit, hypocrisy, slander). Thou shall not covet (envy).   They are hindrances to the building. Our natural desires war against our spiritual desires (1 Peter 2:11) but conducting ourselves with honor is a desirable building block of faith (1 Peter 2:12).

~MERCY~

    In Matthew 25:35-40 Jesus is speaking on the faithful servant, the one who will enter into the joy of the Lord. "For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

    Not everyone is called to be a missionary, but we are all called to pray for one another. In prayer I pray that needs are met. That the hungry are fed, the thirsty receive clean water, the sick are ministered to: their wounds bound, their diseases healed, their dead raised to life. 

I pray for the captives, in prison and out of prison, to be delivered and set free. I pray that their needs also are met. When I pray for those who serve on the front lines of ministry, I pray for each of these things on them as well. This is mercy.

~GRACE~FORGIVENESS~

    Saving grace is what God extended through Jesus Christ to us. (Acts 15:11). It is only by grace we are saved at all (Ephesians 2:5, 8). Grace is an extension of God's love. It is having and showing compassion; it is forgiveness multiplied beyond number (Matthew 18:21,22). Because if we are counting how many times you have "forgiven" a person or persons, then we are not really forgiving them at all: we're tallying up offenses and holding grudges. Not ideal building blocks at all to lay on the Foundation of our faith.

    The grace, the forgiveness, we offer to each other must be sincere and offered in love, the true love of God which lives in the born again believer. If we keep coming back to the original offense we received from the one we think we forgave, then we never offered them love and grace in the first place. Our hearts need to be right with God, aligned in His Justice and Righteousness, that we may freely give grace to one another.

KEEP IN THE LOVE OF GOD & HIS MERCY

 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

9. For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain 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 and build one another up, just as you are already doing.

Romans 14:8

If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

2 Timothy 2:11

This is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him.

    The only way to Keep in the Love of God and His Mercy is to remain in God's love, in God's testimony, in God's Son Jesus Christ. To remain in God's love is to live (dwell, take up residence) in God's love. 

    How do we conduct ourselves in our everyday living when we interact with family, when we are working with colleagues, when we sit in waiting rooms? Are we living in the love of God when we get angry, frustrated, upset? Are we living to the Lord by our actions and our words? These are questions only we can ask ourselves and only we can answer. If our answers are not in keeping with God's definition of Christian conduct, then we need to take the matter before Him in prayer and ask that He keep changing us, molding us into the people He wants us to be. 

    Have you ever thought about how the clay might feel on the potter's wheel? Being poked here, prodded there; smoothed away in some areas, broken off in others. Yet there the lump of clay sat, waiting for the potter to create in them what the potter had in mind to create. 

    We are lumps of clay being perfected on the Potter's wheel. Perhaps we, too, should wait without argument while our Potter finishes working on us; while He builds us into Himself. 

    We know we are saved. We both know and hope for our resurrection into eternal life. For it is in Christ that we have the Resurrection and the Life. Let us therefore live in God as He lives in us: with grace, with integrity, with mercy. 

2 Peter 3:13, 14

13. But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14. Therefore, beloved, as you anticipate these things, make every effort to be found at peace—spotless and blameless in His sight.

I BUILT MY HOUSE ON A STONE by Jason Upton

HOUSE OF PRAYER by Eddie James, Jayna Cullens

POUR ME OUT by Brandon Lake

FILL MY WAY by Iris DeMent

TREMBLE by I AM THEY

I WON'T LEAVE YOU HERE by Southern Raised Bluegrass