The United States Declaration of Independence states,

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

 

These words were based in the Bible, just as our country was founded on the Bible. Today we are going to briefly explore the unalienable rights endowed to us by our Creator.

 

Unalienable rights by their nature cannot be taken away, violated, or transferred from one person to another. That means that God gave them to you and no one can take them away, and you cannot give them away. They are your birthright. They belong to you.

 

Let us look at the first of these rights, LIFE.

 

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ( John 1:1-4 )

 

Jesus Christ is the Word and “In Him was life.” Life is knowing Jesus Christ, not just know of Him. Life is a true relationship with God.

 

⁶Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. ( John 14:6 )

 

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  ( John 11:25 )

 

¹⁰The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. ( John 10:10 )

 

³And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ( John 17:3 )

 

¹¹And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹²He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ( 1 John 5:11-12 )

 

From these verses, and many more in the Bible, we see that JESUS IS LIFE! Asking Jesus into your life is like asking for Life. Do you have true life in your life?

Now let us look at LIBERTY.

 

³¹Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³²And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

³³They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.    ( John 8:31-36 )

 

To have true freedom (liberty) you must learn, live, and practice the truth (God’s Word).  Do you have something that you are a “slave” to? No one is perfect. We all sin. But, being a slave to sin is continually walking everyday on a path that you know with cause you to sin over and over again. Asking God for forgiveness and changing your path will set you free.

 

⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ( 1 John 1:9 )

 

¹⁸    “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

    Because He has anointed Me

    To preach the gospel to the poor;

    He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

    To proclaim liberty to the captives

    And recovery of sight to the blind,

    To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

( Luke 4:18 )

     

Jesus was sent “to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Are you oppressed by something? Does temptation continually draw you into a sinful situation? A life of sin can hold you captive. Call out to God for freedom!!! He is listening, and waiting for you.

 

 ¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ¹⁸But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. ( 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 )

 

Now let us take a look at the Pursuit of Happiness.

 

We are all chasing after something that we think will make us happy. Be it a new car, a bigger, better house, a new mate, the bottom of a glass, or the new hot drug. Things will never make you happy. You may feel happy for a time, but it quickly fades and you are off looking for the next think to make you happy. What are you looking for? The next big thing? Or the REAL thing?

 

¹¹    You will show me the path of life;

    In Your presence is fullness of joy;

    At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore

( Psalm 16:11 )

 

      If we seek God first, he will provide all our needs. He loves us and wants to do wonderful things for us. Just as we love our children and want to do wonderful things for them.

 

²⁵“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ( Matthew 6:25-26 )

 

³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

( Matthew 6:33 )

 

       I challenge each one of you to take a look at your life and ask some hard questions. Are you truly free or held captive by the things that you think will make you happy? I’m not saying that possessions are bad. I’m just asking you to stop chasing after the next happy fix and turn to the Lord. In Him is true happiness.

 

       I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. We live in a wonderful country. God Bless America!!! And, God bless you!

PASSAGE:
The Widow's Offering
   As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
( Luke 21:1-4 )

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   Jesus always notices women who throw everything they've got into the Lord's work! Sitting near the treasury at the temple, Jesus drew His disciples' attention to a poor widow. She was, I'm sure, unaware that Jesus was watching. She didn't have to be watched as she gave God everything she had. Her two small copper coins would have bought her a morsel of bread or five sparrows to eat ( Luke 12:6-7 ), but she decided to go hungry and give her money to God instead. Two small coins weren't much. They weren't noticed, they weren't appreciated by other people until Jesus came along and saw what she did and made sure the twelve apostles saw it. He made sure that Luke and Mark recorded it and that the whole world read about it! Solomon's temple would stand without help of the widow's coins, but Jesus knew that that sort of giving was the stuff of which the kingdom was made.
   Jesus always notices the small offerings. Even if the widow herself didn't think her offering was worth the notice, Jesus disagreed and affirmed her in her service. Have you cast in all you can? Are you married to a man who will not allow you to serve God as you wish? Does financial strain limit you to giving little when you desire to give much? If you've indeed cast in all you possibly can of your money, time and service, God understands. He affirms you in it. He says THANK   You.

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ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS:

   At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"
   Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked.
( Acts 10:1-4 )

   Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
( 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 )

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MY THOUGHTS:

I'm so sorry that I have not posted since April. I am once again able to continue God's work by posting. Please continue to look for future blogs.

As for "giving", I hope you all give of yourselves to God. He desires anything you are willing to give, whether it be your time or your money, or even just a kind word to a stranger. God thanks you for all you do in His name.

God bless you all!
Danielle
( nelliegirl100 )

PASSAGE:
Faith or Observance of the Law
   You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
   Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
   All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

The Law and the Promise
   Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
   What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
   Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
   Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

Sons of God
   You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
( Galatians 3:1-29 )

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   You're at the beach...you're famished...you find a restaurant...you rush in...you spot a sign:

          No Shirt
          No Shoes
          No Service

   The message is clear. To be accepted, you must be clothed according to the restaurant's standard.
   God also has a standard. But He makes it possible for you to be acceptable to Him at all times when He gives you "righteousness as [your] clothing" ( Job 29:14 ). The word righteous, in its simplest form, means "right" and "just." The word also means "acquitted, vindicated." Your faith in Christ enables God to regard you as righteous. He doesn't see your sin any longer, but He sees you as clothed with the righteousness of Christ. As such you are acceptable and properly dressed to "come and dine."
   If you have struggled with feeling too unworthy to be called "the righteousness of God" ( 2 Corinthians 5:21 ), realize that this "clothing" you are given is like a uniform that, because it represents righteousness, also carries authority.
   Have you ever seen a gigantic eighteen-wheel semitrailer truck groaning to a stop just because a police officer walks in front of the traffic and holds up his or her hand? What gives this person the right to command such respect? Certainly not parentage, social status, education, personality, or even church affiliation. The officer stands confidently in front of this awesome "king of the road" because of the right clothing - the uniform has undeniable authority.
   At the moment of conversion you were issued a righteous uniform. The Lord not only covered your past but also gave you authority over your future. With the "breastplate of righteousness" ( Ephesians 6:14 ), God gave you power over sin.
   As a child of God, you have the righteousness of God. You have the power that backs the badge.

                              ******

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS:

I delight greatly in the LORD;
   my soul rejoices in my God.
   For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
   and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
   as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
   and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
( Isaiah 61:10 )

   Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.
( Revelation 3:4-5 )

PASSAGE:
   It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.
   They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.
   The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.
   The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God's word].
   It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord.
   It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke [of divine disciplinary dealings] in his youth.
   Let him sit alone uncomplaining and keeping silent [in hope], because [God] has laid [the yoke] upon him [for his benefit].
   Let him put his mouth in the dust [in abject recognition of his unworthiness]--there may yet be hope.
   Let him give his cheek to the One Who smites him [even through His human agents]; let him be filled [full] with [men's] reproach [in meekness].
   For the Lord will not cast off forever!
   But though He causes grief, yet will He be moved to compassion according to the multitude of His loving-kindness and tender mercy.
   For He does not willingly and from His heart afflict or grieve the children of men.
( Lamentations 3:22-33 )

                              ******

   Worry wastes time. Worry cannot produce good fruit -- the only fruit we reap from it is more worry. It can become a way of life. We worry whether someone will like us, if we will do a job well, if we can pay our bills each month, if our health will fail us. We worry about war. Prices. Traffic. Germs. We worry if we gain or lose a pound. We become consumed.
   Thousands of people have lost weight on the "Free to Be Thin" (Bethany House, 1979) program. As Coauthor of the books, I receive many letters. One woman who lost seventy pounds wrote, "I have a new life. I no longer have to hide, lie, or cheat. I eat healthy foods. I have more energy then ever and I feel better than I've ever felt in my life." But then she added, "One worry consumes me. Will I gain back the weight?"
   I see worry everywhere. Each time it reminds me of Lamentations 3:22-23: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fails. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
   Worry could consume us like fire -- like a pile of smoldering embers that quietly destroys everything around it. Because we worry, we work hard to get ahead, do well and avoid pain. But our efforts may fail. Only the compassion of the Lord will never fail. His faithfulness is monumental, majestic, true and permanently dependable.
   The woman who feared gaining weight needed to trust in Lamentations 3:22-23. When she fully grasped that she was not alone in her desire to be healthy and strong -- that the Lord was blessing her to that end -- she began to trust His faithfulness. Each morning she dedicated her whole self to the glory of God, and each morning she discovered His compassions to be new and fresh.
   Now, five years later, she still has not gained weight and she has learned some valuable spiritual lessons. This woman can sing, along with all of us who offer up our whole selves to God, "Great is your faithfulness!"

                              ******

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS:

   What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You.
   By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?
( Psalm 56:3-4 )

   Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad.
( Proverbs 12:25 )

PASSAGE:
   For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue).
   By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature.
   For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence),
   And in [exercising] knowledge [develop] self-control, and in [exercising] self-control [develop] steadfastness (patience, endurance), and in [exercising] steadfastness [develop] godliness (piety),
   And in [exercising] godliness [develop] brotherly affection, and in [exercising] brotherly affection [develop] Christian love.
   For as these qualities are yours and increasingly abound in you, they will keep [you] from being idle or unfruitful unto the [full personal] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
   For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, [spiritually] shortsighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious [to the fact] that he was cleansed from his old sins.
   Because of this, brethren, be all the more solicitous and eager to make sure (to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast) your calling and election; for if you do this, you will never stumble or fall.
   Thus there will be richly and abundantly provided for you entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
( 2 Peter 1:3-11 )

                              ******

   There were once two porcupines who lived in Alaska. Desiring to get warm, they drew close to each other. As they did, they needles one another. It hurt so much that they pulled apart. But when they did, they got cold again, so they drew close once more, and hurt each other as before. Their predicament -- they were either cold or hurting.
   All too often this is the situation even in Christian homes. Personality differences are like the quills of the porcupines. They can get tangled and cause hurt. We must work at our relationships so that we will demonstrate the Christlike qualities of love, compassion, self-sacrifice and a forgiving spirit. The motto for our homes should be: "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." ( Ephesians 4:2 )
   Love demonstrates itself in action. Have we done something today to demonstrate our love for our families? Love takes pleasure in its object. Jesus' example of love and compassion teaches us that it is possible for these qualities to be part of our Christian homes.
   Self-sacrifice is against our human nature, yet it should be part of our "new nature." If each of us had an attitude of self-sacrifice, what a change would come about in the atmosphere of our homes. Self-sacrifice is total unselfishness.
   Loving unselfishly does not mean making the least of ourselves but making the most of someone else. We view the other person through the eyes of Jesus.
   This thought can transform relationships in our homes, especially with our unsaved loved ones!

                              ******

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS:

   Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
( Romans 12:9-13 )

   This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
   This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
( 1 John 3:11-18 )

PASSAGE:
   John to the seven assemblies (churches) that are in Asia: May grace (God's unmerited favor) be granted to you and spiritual peace (the peace of Christ's kingdom) from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] before His throne,
   And from Jesus Christ the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead [first to be brought back to life] and the Prince (Ruler) of the kings of the earth. To Him Who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood,
   And formed us into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen (so be it).
   Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Him and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Him. Even so [must it be]. Amen (so be it).
   I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord God, He Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty (the Ruler of all).
( Revelation 1:4-8 )

                              ******

   I'll probably never meet Kara, now four years old. But one day she made a beautiful observation that has helped me.
   "We had been standing on the hillside watching the airplane skywriting," her grandmother wrote me one day. "When the words began to disappear, she asked, 'Why, Grandma? Where do they go?'"
   "Then, as I groped for an answer, her little face brightened and she suddenly exclaimed, 'Maybe Jesus has an eraser!'"
   I smiled as I read, but my eyes filled and suddenly I wanted to hug that little girl. For that morning I had been grieving over past mistakes. A cruel thing I had said to my mother the day I left for college. And Dad...if only I'd invited him to that luncheon where I was to speak - he'd have been so proud. One tender buy painful memory releases others: the time I'd punished a child unfairly, humiliated my husband, let a friend down...
   No matter how much we mature as people, grow as Christians, try desperately to compensate, memories of our own failures rise up to haunt us, and sting - how they sting. For me, it's not the unkindnesses of others that hurt so much or last so long, it's the burden of my own. Yes, I ask God to forgive me, and try to believe that I am forgiven. But the memory won't go away. And if I can't forgive myself, how can God?
   Then a little girl, in her innocence and wisdom, makes me realize: Like that writing on the sky that simply disappears, Jesus has wiped away all things I so bitterly regret. Jesus does have an eraser.

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ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS:

   For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.
   As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
( Psalm 103:11-12 )

   Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy and loving-kindness.
   He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
( Micah 7:18-19 )

                              ******

   I know that I have made many, many mistakes in my past that I would sooner forget, but they always seem to pop to mind on occasion. I believe that those reminders are the devil's way of messing with us and trying to get us to dwell on what God has already forgotten. The devil will use any and every trick in the book to pull us away from God. Cast down those negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. Let the past be the past and look toward the future.
                              Just a thought!
                              God bless!
                              Danielle ( nelliegirl100 )

PASSAGE:
   For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another.
   For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is complied with in the one precept, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.
   But if you bite and devour one another [in partisan strife], be careful that you [and your whole fellowship] are not consumed by one another.
( Galatians 5:13-15 )

                              ******

   As friends we need to be two people discovering Christ together, standing at eye level equally in need of the Lord's redemption and grace, seeing each other as both gifted and needy. This Biblical perspective of each other creates a safe emotional climate in which we "serve one another" ( Galatians 5:13 ) and "submit to one another." ( Ephesians 5:21 )
   Serving each other is another way of expressing God's love. It means freely undertaking any task or commitment necessary or helpful to another's spiritual, emotional, or physical welfare. It may even be menial such as Jesus offered when he bathed the sore and dirty feet of His followers, or it may be offering empathy, bearing burden, comforting. But however we do serve in His spirit, we make His love tangible.
   We also make His love real to each other as we submit to each other. We are to be adaptable to each other in working out decisions, solutions to problems, and in accepting instruction. Keep in mind that this is quite different from obedience, which is something that can be demanded or coerced. Submission in this Biblical sense must be freely and voluntarily given. It is self-imposed out of humility and desire to serve. The motives to be submissive can only be healthy when the choice is coming from a strong sense of worth and identity in Christ. Then it will not be submission out of fear and a slavish desire to please. It will reflect that characteristic of Christ so contrary to human nature, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." ( Philippians 2:6-7 )
   You may not encounter any of the barriers we have faced as friends, but you can be sure Satan will put some roadblocks in the path of godly friendships. He would love to have you limp along as a Christian lone ranger or as a person with many nice aquaintances but no one who really knows you well.

                              ******

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS:

   Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion;
   And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude],
   And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.
   Therefore, rejecting all falsity and being done now with it, let everyone express the truth with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one body and members one of another.
   When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.
   Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].
   Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his own hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need.
   Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.
   And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God's own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin).
   Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).
   And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.
( Ephesians 4:22-32 )

   SO BY whatever [appeal to you there is in our mutual dwelling in Christ, by whatever] strengthening and consoling and encouraging [our relationship] in Him [affords], by whatever persuasive incentive there is in love, by whatever participation in the [Holy] Spirit [we share], and by whatever depth of affection and compassionate sympathy,
   Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention.
   Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves].
   Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others.
( Philippians 2:1-4 )

PASSAGE:
   And letters were sent by special messengers to all the king's provinces--to destroy, to slay, and to do away with all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to seize their belongings as spoil.
   A copy of the writing was to be published and given out as a decree in every province to all the peoples to be ready for that day.
   The special messengers went out in haste by order of the king, and the decree was given out in Shushan, the capital. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was perplexed [at the strange and alarming decree].
   NOW WHEN Mordecai learned all that was done, [he] rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and bitter cry.
   He came and stood before the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.
   And in every province, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
   When Esther's maids and her attendants came and told it to her, the queen was exceedingly grieved and distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, with orders to take his sackcloth from off him, but he would not receive them.
   Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's attendants whom he had appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was.
   So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city, which was in front of the king's gate.
   And Mordecai told him of all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews to be destroyed.
   [Mordecai] also gave him a copy of the decree to destroy them, that was given out in Shushan, that he might show it to Esther, explain it to her, and charge her to go to the king, make supplication to him, and plead with him for the lives of her people.
   And Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
   Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mordecai, saying,
   All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any person, be it man or woman, who shall go into the inner court to the king without being called shall be put to death; there is but one law for him, except [him] to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live. But I have not been called to come to the king for these thirty days.
   And they told Mordecai what Esther said.
   Then Mordecai told them to return this answer to Esther, Do not flatter yourself that you shall escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews.
   For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Jews from elsewhere, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this and for this very occasion?
   Then Esther told them to give this answer to Mordecai,
   Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast for me; and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I also and my maids will fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.
   So Mordecai went away and did all that Esther had commanded him.
( Esther 3:13-4:17 )

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   Effective service almost always comes by assignment rather than choice. When my husband and I accompanied our college mission team to East Africa, we suspected that many of our tasks would be lowly, but we assumed that our ministry would be primarily spiritual. Once there, I was needed to prepare meal for the students, and my husband was enlisted to assist the medical team in dispensing medications to patients in bush clinics. Neither of us used our theological training. but we both were called to serve, and in that serving we were able to share Christ with countless people.
   A member of a hated minority race, bereft of parents, without any material legacy, living in exile in a foreign land, untutored by formal education, Esther had been reared and trained by her older cousin Mordecai. In God's providence, this teenage orphan was thrust into the royal court in Persia.
   Through perhaps not as far-reaching in influence as Esther, we are each what God has made us with our own respective circle of opportunities. In opportunity lies the real test of character. Through we usually thing of affliction as the major test of character, in Esther's case, prosperity and fame were the testing ground.
   Mordecai believed that Esther we placed in the king's house hold by divine appointment to do God's timely work. He passionately pleaded with Esther to put her life on the line because he believed the promises of God. He had watched the power and faithfulness of God unfold over the years. Mordecai understood that it is not failure that brings despair, but unfaithfulness and idleness.
   Esther had her opportunity; we have ours. A difficult and dangerous human task is no excuse for failing to perform divinely assigned duty. God chooses where we are called to serve; we choose, as did Esther, whether or not to respond in obedience to that call.

                              ******
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Paul's Vision of the Man of Macedonia
   Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
( Acts 16:6-10 )

   I appeal to you for my [own spiritual] child, Onesimus [meaning profitable], whom I have begotten [in the faith] while a captive in these chains.
   Once he was unprofitable to you, but now he is indeed profitable to you as well as to me.
   I am sending him back to you in his own person, [and it is like sending] my very heart.
   I would have chosen to keep him with me, in order that he might minister to my needs in your stead during my imprisonment for the Gospel's sake.
   But it has been my wish to do nothing about it without first consulting you and getting your consent, in order that your benevolence might not seem to be the result of compulsion or of pressure but might be voluntary [on your part].
   Perhaps it was for this reason that he was separated [from you] for a while, that you might have him back as yours forever,
   Not as a slave any longer but as [something] more than a slave, as a brother [Christian], especially dear to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh [as a servant] and in the Lord [as a fellow believer].
( Philemon 10-16 )

                              ******

   We are all called to discipleship. Are you doing your part to minister the word to others? We, as Christians, should set an example. Our daily lives should reflect the image of Jesus to all those around us. Before saying or doing anythings, ask yourself, "What would Jesus do in this situation?" The answer might be far different then what you yourself would normally do in that same situation. Reflect Jesus in your everyday life, I know that is what I strive to do.
                              Just a thought!
                              God Bless!
                              Danielle ( nelliegirl100 )

   Close your eyes and pretend that your fairy godmother has just appeared before you with her magic wand.
   "Open your eyes, dearie," she says, "I'm here to change one thing and one thing only. Think fast because you've only got ten seconds."
What would your answer be? Would you wish for money or a new car? A trip to Brazil? Are you overweight? Would you wish away ten or twenty pounds? Are you shorter than you would like to be? Would you wish to be 6 foot tall instead of the 5'5"" you are right now?
   We earthlings tend to want to change the things that other mortals see, but there is something much more important. But the LORD said to Samuel, "The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the
heart." ( 1 Samuel 16:6-8 )
   Instead of wishing away pounds or wrinkles (my personal wish) we should be wishing for a pure heart.

Heart Problems?
   If you suspect your ticker isn't working right, you wouldn't go to a foot doctor, you would want a cardiologist. If you suspect your heart isn't pure, go to the best "heart doctor" around...God. You can find his description of a pure heart in the Bible.

Here are just a few of the characteristics you will find there.

A Pure Heart loves God.
   This is the first and greatest commandment. Without this it is impossible to have a heart that is pure.
   "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Matthew 22:36-38

A Pure Heart knows that earthly possessions are not "true treasures."
(Only that which is Eternal will last.)
   Remind yourself of your priorities daily. If we aren't careful we get caught up in the rat race of life and end being nothing more than a rat. When God is the captain of the ship we are on we know that the real treasure is Heaven, and that no matter how many storms assail us, we will never sink as long as He is with us.
   "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:20-22

A Pure Heart thinks on pure things and speaks only words that are pure. (Don't open that can of worms!)
   Have you ever been at a ball game and heard someone you thought was a Christian "trash talk" the referees? Purity means pure at all times...not just in church.
   "But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man `unclean.' Matthew 15:17-19
   "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:44-46

A Pure Heart is a confident heart.
(If God is for me, who can be against me.)
   God is the creator of the universe and Jesus wants us to remember to trust Him and His Father. If we live according to the Bible then we don't have to worry about tomorrow or life after death. It's already bought and paid for. Like the hymn says, "It is the debt He did not owe, and the debt we could not pay."
   "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." John 14:1-2
   "For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-11

A Pure Heart is a giving heart.
J - Jesus - First
O - Others - Second
Y - You - Third
(The Joy that comes from the Fruits of His Spirit.)
   A pure heart isn't a stingy heart. Christians are to give of their time, talents, and finances to help others and to do it cheerfully.
   "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
2 Corinthians 9:6-8

A Pure Heart doesn't worry about what men think.
(John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.)
   Just as we shouldn't worry about what other people think about our earthly appearance, we shouldn't worry about those who criticize us. We are to please God, not men.
   "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:22-24
   "On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts." 1 Thessalonians 2:3-5

A Pure Heart is a loving heart.
(Heb. 13:1 Keep on loving each other as brothers.)
   If you read the Bible and don't comprehend the power of God's love and the love of Jesus, you've missed the whole point. Love is the basis for all that is good and it is because of love that we can be saved. No matter what the question is, love is the answer.
   "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." 1 Timothy 1:4-6
   "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart." 1 Peter 1:21-23

A Pure Heart can handle chastisement.
(Prov. 10:17 He who heeds discipline shows the way to life,
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.)
   We can't always have everything our way. God knows what's best for us and what we see as failure or loss, may harbor hidden blessings if we put our trust in Him.
   "And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you." Hebrews 12:4-6

A Pure Heart is filled with gratitude.
(Col. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.)
   One day I picked my twin boys up at school. They were attending a private Christian school at that time and they must have just came from music class because all the way home they sang "My cup is full and running over!" As I glanced in the rear view mirror at their two identical faces and listened to their singing my heart literally ached with love for them and I gave thanks to God for the blessing they are in my life.
   Our hearts should ache with gratitude for what God has done for us and we should sing his praises as loudly as my twins sang...until our cups run over!
   "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." 3 Colossians 3:15-17

If your heart isn't pure...it can be.
(Rom. 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed
to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.)
   If you have a flat tire, you pull over to the side of the road and change it. For reasons they don't understand, I make my ten year old twins change their socks and underwear daily. Yet when it comes to changing our hearts some of us throw up our hands and say "I can't change how I feel!"
   Yes you can and you don't need a fairy godmother with a wand to do it.
   Maya Angelou, a famous writer once said, "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."
   If your heart isn't pure don't complain, God can change it if you will let Him. Read your Bible, follow His commandments, and pray the same prayer that David, a man after God's own heart, prayed. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
   The path to a pure heart comes from reading your Bible, prayer, and obedience. It isn't always an easy path to follow, but at the end of the road lies the ultimate reward...
   "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Matthew 5:7-9

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   This time of year, we think about how much we love our family, friends, and significant other, but how much thought do we give to God's unending (and unconditional) love?
   God gave us the ultimate Valentine. He gave us His Son! How awesome is that? Would you be willing to give your child over to a world, knowing that they were going to kill him? I know I couldn't. God gave us His Son willingly and with LOVE. He did it FOR us. Without the blood of Christ Jesus, not a single one of us could ever possibly hope to enter the gates of Heaven and worship at the Father's feet. We could never earn our way into Heaven. It is through God's grace and mercy that we are made righteous. God love all of His children, but unless we return His love, we are unable to feel his loving embrace.
   I wish you all a wonderful and love filled Valentine's Day. Remember, God's love endures forever. He is always with you and will always love you.
   God Bless you and keep you!
                              Just a thought!
                              Danielle ( nelliegirl100 )

PASSAGE:
The God of All Comfort
   Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
   We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
( 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 )

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   It is common to hear women bemoaning their lack of patience as if it were the most difficult gift to pry from God's hand. In fact impatience stems almost solely from our exaggerated notions of what is due us. If we could but lower our estimation of the importance of our time, our plans, and our feelings, we would find ourselves almost automatically more patient.
   If we are impatient about the same things that anger God - repeated sin, inattention to His Word, social injustice - we cannot really be called impatient (as long as our opinions are expressed in love). Neither can we expect a woman to remain totally unperturbed if someone smashes into her new car. Certainly "learned patience" is not an acceptable reason for failure to discipline a rebellious child. Patience is not the same thing as resignation or the cynical attitude that always expects the worst possible outcome.
   Patience is a more positive trait. It is the ability to bear affliction, delay and interruption with calmness, perseverance and confidence in the goodness of God ( Colossians 1:11-12 ). It is inward peace as well as outward control. It is the submission of our schedules, our viewpoints, our dreams to the greater plan of God, with the conviction that He has a good reason for every delay He allows to come our way.

                              ******

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS:

   You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
   But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God "will give to each person according to what he has done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
( Romans 2:1-8 )

   And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
( Colossians 1:10-12 )

                              ******

   Today I had a test of patience. My 3 year old lives mainly on granola bars. We are trying to get him to try new foods. Everyone says that it is our responsibility as his parents to make him eat good foods. But, he is a very strong willed child. Yesterday, he sat at the table for almost 2 hours before finally giving in and eating 4 tiny popcorn chickens. I saw it as a small victory. Then today, we sit down at a lunch of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn. I asked him to take one small bite of each. He refused. I tried to force him. It didn't work. After I finally managed to get a tiny bite of potatoes into his mouth, he spit them all over me. I lost it. I spanked him and put him in his room, telling him, "you can come out when you are ready to eat your lunch."
   I wish I had handled the whole situation differently. After the frustration of the situation, I turned to God. He is always our comforter. He is always there to listen and encourage. In times of trial with a stubborn toddler, always remember, it is only a short time in your child's overall life. And, they will forgive you for losing your temper.
                              Just a thought.
                              Danielle ( nelliegirl100 )