grace, peace, mercy

In all of the books Paul wrote, he started out asking for God to give the reader grace and peace. In four of his books he added mercy to the list.

Grace – getting what you don’t deserve.

Peace – -untroubled; tranquil; content – Peace with God, peace in your own heart and peace with others around you

Mercy – not getting the punishment you deserve

“Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.” (NLT) 2 John 3

Living in truth and love is vital if you want to live a life of grace, mercy and peace.

2 Peter 1:2 tells us “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

Who doesn’t want more grace and peace? It flourishes when we grow in our relationship with God. As we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. (James 4:8) We are truly as close to Him as we choose to be. Does it seem that you could use more grace and peace in your life? Then make the decision to spend time getting to know who God is. As you do, you will find your faith will grow and with that peace, grace and mercy will too.

My dad would end all his letters with this passage from Jude 2.

“Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.”

Selah,

til next time

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4 powerful words

“I’m praying for you.”  Four powerful words.

Sometimes I find myself at a loss for how to pray. The Bible is a great help here. Of course we have the Lord’s Prayer when they asked Jesus to teach them to pray. (Matt 6:9-13)

Also, when Paul would write that he was praying, he would include the things he was praying for them. We can pray those things too.

(See Colossians 1:9-12 in the comment section)

Pray for each other / for your children / for yourself – asking God for:
*wise minds,
*live well,
*make the Father proud,
*that the fruit of the spirit would be evident in our lives (love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control)
*that we would increase in our knowledge of God –

How do we do increase in our knowledge of God? Learn how God operates by reading His word, listening to sermons, discussing the Word and then applying it to our lives.

 

Oh that our faith would keep showing up and that people would recognize Christ in what we do, in who we are. That Christ would shine brightly through us! Let’s pray that for each other!

til next time

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to grow you must eat

I enjoy watching giraffes and I have a love for acronyms. Jesus is at the center of my life so it was only a matter of time before I put all three of them together.

 

“Grow In Righteousness And Faith, Fully Engaged”

Growing in Righteousness has to do with how we act. Are we making morally right choices? Do we do what is right in the eyes of God? Are we growing in our ability to take a stand for what is right when those around us don’t?

Growing in Faith — (2 Cor 10:15)
Having faith IN God in little things opens the way for having faith in Him for the bigger things. Growing in faith also has to do with being faithful TO God.

“The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; …” 1 Samuel 26:23

Fully Engaged — “Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.” Titus 3:14

Living life on purpose  — Making the most of opportunities that come our way – (Eph 5:16, Col 4:5)

The more I learn – the more I realize there is just so very much more to learn.  If I am going to grow – then I must eat and not the bread of idleness.  (She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.”  Proverbs 31:27)

til next

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how do you respond?

I interact with numerous people throughout any given week.  Sometimes I can go from talking with someone who has just lost a loved one or lost their job to someone who just got married or just got a promotion.  

Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”  Be careful that you don’t get that backwards and rejoice when something bad happens to someone and be sad when they get a blessing.  Jealousy is behind that line of thinking.

“So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus.” 2 Peter 1:5-8 (MSG)

“these qualities active and growing in your lives”

“It takes discipline and character to be a person who responds in a Christ like manner.” Pastor Curt

How do you interact with others?

Would warm friendliness describe you? How about passionate patience? We all have room for growth.

People want to be heard and understood. People want to know you care.  Do you let Jesus love shine through you to others?

Let’s interact in such a way that they feel encouraged and loved after speaking with us.

Compassion, grace, and mercy are indeed quite attractive.

We are in this together!

til next time

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