Building Yourself Up.....

Jude 1:20 " But you, beloved, build yourselves up founded on your most holy faith make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher, praying in the Holy Spirit." Amplified Bible

I love this scripture for the truth that it holds for each of us as Gods' beloved children. First this verse states that we are beloved, which means we are beloved of God. No matter what happens in life we know we are Gods' beloved children. Next we are to build ourselves up on our most holy faith. In other words stop leaving it to Gods' ministers on Sundays to build you up. You should be doing this yourself based on your faith in God and your personal relationship with HIM. Not only should Gods' children be building themselves up in their faith in HIM, but they should also be making progress! Moving forward in HIM! Not sitting still, not waiting on the pastor, prophet, apostle, teacher or evangelist to build them up and move them forward. To progress means to move forward not sit still or regress. Yet many do just that as they are too lazy to read the word or study to show themselves approved. They want to blame their lack of faith on those who stand Sunday after Sunday in the pulpit spoon feeding them the word of God because of laziness on their part. It is time for the church to stop procrastinating and leaving their relationship with God on the pews when they leave the church building on Sundays and only picking it back up the next week. It is not the pastors job to stir you up! It is your place and responsibility to do so. 1st Timothy 6-7 " That is why I would remind you to stir up, rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning the gracious gift of God, the inner fire that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands with those of the elders at your ordination. (7) For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, of cowardice, or craven and cringing and fawning fear, but He has given us a spirit of power and love and of calm and well balanced mind and discipline and self control." Timothy was being told to stir up the gift inside of him. To make sure that he was the one doing the stirring up of said gifts. All you have need of to walk up rightly with God is on the inside of you. All you have need of to walk in love, power and authority is on the inside of you! Placed there at the time of salvation! NOW is the time to get up, dust yourself off and stir the gifts and callings in your life and then move forward with them! STOP waiting on someone else to stir your spiritual llife to life! Get up, get up and move forward now with the authority and gifts and callings that GOD and not man has given you and progressively move towards the high calling! STOP being lazy! MOVE IT!!!

LOVE....

The greatest gift we have is LOVE...we should not be stingy with our love, but shower everyone we come into contact with, with the love that we have on the inside of us. Love is a powerful emotion that should not be locked away and discarded. Love should be freely spread to those we come in contact with. Love is and always should flow freely in our lives. God's word has a whole chapter dedicated to the subject of LOVE. On this day that we celebrate LOVE take a few moments to meditate on what real and true love is. Not what the world says love is but what God has said love is...
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 " Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."
How powerful is love! Love is a grand and wonderful thing and is made even more so when shared and given out freely. Let LOVE pour out from you even when you do not feel like loving. Remember that LOVE is not just a feeling. It is a living element of who GOD created us to be. Share the LOVE!
In His Service,
Wendy

Forgiveness......

Colossians 3:13 " Be gentle and forebearing with one another and, if one has a difference a grievance, or complaint against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has freely, forgiven you, so you must also forgive." Amplified Bible

Forgiveness involves a three fold promise.....
1) I will forgive those who have wronged me and not keep it alive in my mind, will or emotions.
2) I will not bring up the subject again to the one I forgave or to anyone else. I will leave it at the alter where I lay it without holding a grudge.
3) I will on purpose walk in forgiveness so that when I need forgiveness it will be given to me.

Do you need forgiveness or need to extend forgiveness to someone else? Today is a great day to extend forgiveness for we know not what the future holds. Why be waited down with unforgiveness when you can walk in the freedom that forgiveness provides for you. Remember that unforgiveness only hurts you as the other person has most likely moved on and does not have a clue that you are hurting or allowing a slight to fester.