Wednesday July 29th 2 Peter chapter 1 and 2

WOW the Lord is speaking mighty thru His word and I pray as I share it touches and convicts us all to not just get by as a Christian but to continually grow.
In todays verses again we see the importance of loving others' and of growth in fact growth is essential. It begins with faith and culminates in love for all others', to keep growing we must know God we must keep following Him and to remember what He has taught us and is teaching us. We also need to know His word well so we have discernment to be able to resist false teachers among us.

2Peter chapter 1 says starting in verse:2) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3) as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the Knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4) by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Many believers want an abundance of God's grace and peace, but they are unwilling to put forth the effort to get to know Him better through the Bible and prayer. To enjoy the privileges God offers us freely, we have "the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord".
speaking about ch.1:3-4 The power to grow doesn't come from within,(that is for sure) but it comes from God we in and of ourselves cant we are not capable. Because we dont have the resources to be truly godly,
God allows us to be "partakers of His divine nature" in order to keep us from sin and to live for Him alone. When we have accepted Him into our hearts He then empowers us through His Holy spirit to be able to do as He wills.
2 Peter ch.1 5-9 reads as follows: 5) But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6)to knowledge self- control, to self- control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,7) to godliness brotherly kindness ,and to brotherly kindness love. 8) For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9)For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
speaking about ch.1:5-9 Faith must be more than belief in certain facts; it MUST RESULT IN ACTION, growth in Christain character, and the practice of moral discipline, or it will die away (James 2:14-17) Peter lists several of faith's actions: learning to know God better , developing perseverence, doing God's will, and Yes again gang LOVING OTHERS'. These actions do not just come automatically, they require WORK. ALSO FRIEND'S THEY ARE NOT OPTIONAL; ALL OF THESE THINGS MUST BE A CONTINUAL PART OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES. God empowers us and enables us in doing so thru His Holy spirit within us, but He also gives us responsibility to learn and to grow we must allow this process.
In 2 Peter chapter 2 the one real important thing that stood out to me in all the verses was being able to discern the teaching of false teachers and as our world becomes more and more darker and wicked we see this more and more even some authors whom at one time seemed to be of sound doctrine seem to now be in question this is why it is so important to live our daily lives being in the word of God so we know His truth for ourselves and will be able to say hey wait a minute this is not what God says. Please dont misunderstand there are still many good authors out there in which the Lord uses to minister to even myself however I am saying dont live your life soley by what a book says and always go to the word of God first then use discernment in reading others' books.

Prasie God for your word and for the fact that you do empower and enable us through your Holy spirit may we allow ourselves to be guided and directed by that very holy spirit within. May we take every step in obedience to you Lord.
In Jesus name amen

until next time,
faithfully yours,
cindy

1 PETER CHAPTERS 4 & 5 TODAY'S THRU THE WORD

HELLO FRIENDS!!!!! I have decided to share with you all some thoughts, insite, or things the Lord is speaking to me on as I go thru the word daily. Today we were finishing up 1 Peter chapters 4 and 5 while reading 4 I again am drawn to verses speaking of Loving one another..................... beginning with verse 7 which reads as follows:
7) "but the end of all things is at hand; therefore be SERIOUS and WATCHFUL in your prayers. 8) And above ALL THINGS have FERVENT LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER, for "LOVE WILL COVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS." 9) Be HOSPITABLE TO ONE ANOTHER WITHOUT GRUMBLING. HERE IS THE DEFINITION I found on fervent: having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, or enthusiasm also passionate or impassioned. SO FRIENDS THIS IS HOW WE ARE To LOVE ONE ANOTHER not with a fake love or a forced love(see 1 Peter 1:22) but with enthusiasm and warmth and again to ALL with intensity can you imagine if we all do this how amazing the body of believers could truly be something to ponder.
Again in my husbands bible I would like to share the study part of what it says at bottom of Bible (his bible is the Life Application Study Bible NKJV) :
this is what is said about verses 7-9:
We should live expectantly because Christ is coming. Getting ready to meet Christ involves continually growing in LOVE for God and OTHERS' (see Jesus' summary of the law in Matthew 22:37-40) It is important to pray regularly, and it is also important to REACH out to NEEDY people. Your possessions, status, and power
will mean NOTHING in God's kingdom, but you will spend eternity with other people. invest your time and talents where they will make an eternal difference.
(for more about hospitality see Romans 12:13)
Again we are seeing how LOVING EVERYONE is really not an option it is however a command
it is in countless scriptures and we see it yet again in todays' verses and when we are loving as God has called us to be doing... not suggesting it says here in todays' verse 4:8 that love will cover a multitude of sins. we were shown by a gracious God that same Love in which our many sins too were covered in LOVE so we in turn have a duty to do the same for ALL Jesus paid to high of a price for us to pick and choose whom we will love and not love or accept and not accept if they are a child of God we must accept them all each one with all their differences... following this verse we are called to be hospitable to one another and without grumbling. It says to one another not some not the likable people not our FRIENDS but to one another. I would like to encourage us all (myself always included) to be hospitable to a new face we may happen to see at church this week because I know there are many new faces gang and if we all do it to just one person we see wow can you imagine the possibilities amazing to think about.
I am now brought to chapter 5 of 1Peter and the verses that stood out to me were as follows:
5)Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, ALL of you be SUBMISSIVE to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." 6) therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7)
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. I love that we can go to God with anything simple or huge and if we cast those cares and burdens onto Him He will care for us and see us thru whatever we may find ourselves in at that very moment if we are faithful in laying it down and not picking it back up again (easier said then done however "with God all things are possible") now in the verses to follow we are warned so to speak to: 8) be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the DEVIL walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour 9) RESIST him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10) but may the God of all grace who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a while perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. Praise God gang and the only way to resist the evil one is to be in the WORD of God daily
seeking God's face for our lives and being doers' of the word and not just hearers' only we must walk the walk as we talk the talk. May we be encouraged by the word of God knowing He cares for our every individual needs and desires may we humble ourselves in the sight of our Lord that He may exalt us in due time. May we also just be on guard friends that there is a very real enemy out there waiting to destroy us and to be on the look out for his smooth ways however remembering he has only the power we give him so may we not even allow him to get a foothold in our lives. May God bless each one of our lives and multiply our efforts as we serve Him.

Until next time,
cindy

1 Peter Chapter 2 and 3 Thru the Word

Good afternoon friends,
I want to say regarding my blog entitled "ACCEPTANCE" my intent was not to be harsh but to bring awarness of just how hurtful our very actions can be to those around us and as the song by "Casting Crowns" says : the girls teasing laughing and their laughter is doing damage farther than they know ...... we really need to realize the damage our mouths can have on another's life. It seems to be VERY important to the Lord not speaking evil of another and LOVING ALL TREATING THOSE AS WE WOULD WANT TO BE TREATED even those different, the unlovable, ALL. In today's verses we see these things yet again:
verse 1 of 1 Peter chapter one starts off saying: therefore laying aside ALL malice, ALL deceit, HYPOCRICY, ENVY, AND ALL EVIL SPEAKING, VERSE 17 says: "HONOR ALL people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the King. We now come to 1 Peter ch. 3 and in verse 8 we see again the love we are to have: FINALLY,
ALL of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; LOVE AS BROTHER'S, BEING TENDERHEARTED, BE COURTEOUS; NOT RETURNING EVIL
FOR EVIL OR REVILING FOR REVILING BUT ON THE CONTRARY BLESSING, KNOWING THAT YOU (WE) ARE CALLED TO THIS, THAT YOU MAY INHERIT A BLESSING.
MY HUSBANDS BIBLE HAS THIS TO SAY ABOUT VERSE 8 OF 1 Peter
Peter lists five KEY elements that SHOULD characterize any group of believer's:
(1) "HARMONY" ("of one mind") -pursuing the SAME GOALS
(2) "COMPASSION" - being responsive to each others' needs
(3) "LOVE" - SEEING AND TREATING each other as brothers and sisters
(4) "TENDERHEARTED" - being affectionately sensitive and caring
(5) "COURTEOUS" - being WILLING to encourage one another and rejoice in each others' successes. these five qualities go a long way toward helping believers serve God effectively.
So today I myself am encouraged to live my life as a mirror of Christ... will I fail yes I am sure however I am determined to live my life in Harmony, with compassion, love, being tenderhearted and courteous to ALL that the Lord brings me in contact with. I am encouraged to train my children to do the same and the IMPORTANCE BEHIND DOING SO. Friends I am
only sharing this to encourage us ALL (again self included) to "keep our tongue from (ALL) EVIL" Psalm 34:13 and today's verse "let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. " 1 Peter 3:10 verse 11 " Let him turn away from evil and do good,"
may we turn from ALL EVIL and do good so our Father in Heaven may be glorified truly living a life SET APART from this fallen wicked world we live in.
Father I thank you for your word that we so often take for granted even being able to freely read our bible and in public no less. Father praise you for your basic instructions before leaving earth may we follow them being a mirror of you to all whom look upon our lives. May we do our VERY best to always live in harmony to those in our lives being compassionate LOVING ALL having tender hearts and always being courteous to those around us keeping our tongues from all evil that we may bring you glory and honor in Jesus name amen and amen.

until next time,
cindy