Each morning what do you do?

You woke up this morning because God had something for you to do.
Did you find it?
Did you do it?
If yes than your day has been successful.
If no than your day has been incomplete.
With these things in mind, presuming we wake up again tomorrow, what will your focus be?
To sharpen your focus each morning try this:
Wake up asking "Father God how will you glorify yourself today, give me eyes to see."
Just a thought.
Love
J&E in Tn

Another thought on Love

Today's question:
Are you doing what you Love, and loving what you do?
Take time to think upon the important things of life.
Every day could and should be a joy to live.
This isn't based on money or success, it's based on personal values and good decisions.
It's based on proper priorities, then taking action.
Remember that Love is a verb, a continuous action-expression, a purpose and the doing.
Love transcends time and situation.
Love never fails.
Life's greatest purpose is to Love Unconditionally.
Love
J&E in Tn

More thoughts on Love

The more we Love the less we complain.
Love gives every "life encounter" a deeper perspective.
Love clears the eyes of any beam or mote that would distort the recognition of needs.
Love touches the hearts of both the one giving and the one receiving.
Love always blesses, never curses.
To live Love is to "walk with God."
God is Love,
and Love never fails.
Love
J&E in Tn

Be set free.......

Today is a great day to take a while and settle some "unsettled" business from the past. There is nothing you can do to change what happened but a lot that you can do to "be set free" of it's oppressive clutches.
Everyone alive carries around some wound or sore spot that was inflicted at some point in their lives by the immature actions, words, or attitudes of others. But it's what we do with them that counts. Remember that they happened in the past, which is unchangeable "now". Many of these incidents hold sway over us or our emotions to the point where we become very tender to the things that set off the memory, and the mood that follows like a dark cloud.
I have to query this: is life so long that we have time to waste on bondage's that were inflicted by our own actions or the missuses caused by others? Do we really want to spend any more of our precious moments in anger or despair?
If we are still here, (and we are if you are reading this), what difference did what happened make in the long run. Was your pride insulted? Did your integrity get besmirched? Did it cost you money? If money does it matter now? Does any of these wounds matter now? Even if they changed the course of your life can what happened be changed now?
The answer is no! You cannot change anything that has happened in the past but you can change "EVERYTHING" that will take place from here on out. Life goes on and so does the decisions we make that will make the living of it a blessing or a curse.
The greatest Love you can show is to "FORGIVE" those who offended or misused you in any way. By doing this you will break the chains of bondage and be set free. Your life will bloom with blessing and moods will melt away.
Don't be held to the Freudian past practices that blame everyone else for your state of mind thereby giving depression a hold to rob you of your joy. Life is too short and too precious for that.
How many times have we prayed the answer "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us". When God forgives (as we forgive others) He casts our sins as far East as West, into the "Forgetful sea". We are to see our Father in Heaven doing His works and do them also.
Whether or not the offenders are still alive ask God for forgiveness for what is harbored in the heart and let "freedom" reign once again in your spirit. And the past bad experiences will slowly slip into the "forgotten" zone of memory.
He whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
Love
J&E    

A good day to take time and reflect on life

Overcast,
Slightly warm,
A little drizzly.
A good day to take time and reflect on life,
We have two choices each of time and application.
First part time, second part application:
Past: Did we learn or will we repeat?
Now: Will today's decisions help or hinder ourselves or others?

I don't quite agree with the "positive attitude" approach.
I believe that a humble attitude guided by God's Word and Spirit is as good as it gets.
The word "positive" neither reflects good or evil in its application. We assume that it has "good" connotations but very wicked men can be positive. The devil was positive in his attitude and effort to "ascend above the mount". I make this point to throw up a red flag on Christians who indulge in secular humanism because it "sounds right", instead of God's Word which "is right." Humanism placates the mind with carnal right, but God's Word enters the heart and fills it with timeless Truth (Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Light/Life.)

Whereas "humble men and women" filled with God's Spirit and His word can't help to reproduce good actions and (with) good intentions. Not at all meaning that the Godly cannot sin but that the general "habit" of application for the man and women who fear God is on an average good. (Notice that I choose the words "humble men and women filled with God's Spirit and His Word, not all who know scripture, or go to church, or all who say they know God are His. Those who's hearts are filled with Christ and Love God are the ones I am speaking of.) These are better than "positive" they are "righteous" by their communion (intimacy) with Christ and God the Father.
More than "positive" they are joyful of spirit which is far better than happy in the mind or flesh. Being "joyful" is a quality of character that is born from God as a divine gift from being saved, realizing that your "death sentence" has been es-ponged and all your sins have been paid for and washed away at Calvary by the blood of Christ. When Christians loose their joy all they have to do is "lift up holy hands" to their Father in Heaven, confess their sins, believe that His word to forgive is true, be grateful for the cleansing, and their joy will be restored. Now in this practice "blessed" is a better word than positive.

Well I can see that today has been "productive" in the reflection on life for me and I pray for you too. Take time to get quite before God and enter into His presence through the name of Jesus and review (not dwell) your past, sight areas to improve on: thought, word and deed, then prayerfully ask to receive the grace today to avoid the same pitfalls.
Remember you can only receive grace for "today" because "today has enough troubles of it's own."

Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ daily and you will fulfill the will of God in your life.

With all Love in Christ
J&E in Tn

One side of forgiveness we struggle with.

You should look at forgiveness as light through a prism. It goes in pure light then is refracted into multiple rays of different colors.

To know God's forgiveness is only one kind (the most important) but our understanding and relationship with "Our Father in Heaven" will dictate how we perceive all other applications of forgiveness.

What do I mean?

We are to "forgive" to be forgiven, but we need to accept forgiveness, especially for ourselves, so we can "be free in Christ" unencumbered by the oppression of "being bound" thereby rendered useless for His Kingdoms works.

This occurred to me on a personal level the other night. I was prayerfully reflecting on my efforts in raising our nine children when this "thought" occurred to me, but came with an oppressive spirit of failure instead of a spirit of joy and accomplishment. 

I am not a man that takes lightly to using excuses, (not that I am not carnal and at times do so unwittingly), but ours (my wife and I) were the first generation in our family to "receive Christ and His Gospel" that could be remembered. As you could tell that "the salvation so rich an free" changed the misdirected passion that I had to a direction toward Christ and His Way, Truth and Life/Light. We were told that such severe change of direction would fail and we would return to the worldly ways. We lost a few good friends, (though our friendship was mostly based drinking and activities that could include such), but gained many more and the ones lost were not forsaken on our part but dismissed on theirs.

So wheres this going?

As I reflected on "my responsibilities" as a father and my interactions with our children, I felt that somehow I came up short in the "weighing."

A great preacher (Bill Gothard) once said: "if we are 1% of 100% of the problem, then we are 100% of the 1% and need to take care of that before we can expect the other person to be responsible for their part."

This statement is the glass through which I am looking when I was reflecting on my father/child raising responsibilities the other night.

As I poured over my interactions with our children I felt an oppressive loss or failure as to: "did I do enough? Could I have been more active/intimate? Did I show enough care and concern? What about support? Was enough encouragement given? Were they inspired to follow Godly desires? How are they reflecting over this most precious time of development in their lives? Is there complaint in their hearts? Do they feel that they were let down or given up on?"

These were the major questions that hit my spirit and of course I immediately felt "lacking".

That's when God's Spirit spoke to my heart about my time and effort in the "raising a family" process. We all sin and fall short of the Glory of God. Daily! But God is a redeeming God and life has gone on. When we confess our inability and lack in training, we turn to God to cover our lack and replace it with the grace that is His alone. I was immediately set free when I realized that I live in Him who "is and was and is to come" and the past failures are forgotten and forgiven. 

I had to receive forgiveness for myself to be "set free" from the binding thoughts of failure that the "evil one" would use to take me captive and make me incapable of knowing and doing God's will.

Learn to forgive yourself and be free. Don't beat yourself up over the past, learn and move on. When we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteous. Then He cast them as far a East is to West, into the forgetful sea. 

So should we.........

We have freedom in Christ. 

So we can be used to set the captives free.

He whom the Son sets free is free indeed from anything that binds you to make you ineffective for Him.

Love

J&E in Tn

If Love could be measured.............

If Love could be measured as a distance:
It would start at God in heaven and end at Calvary.

If Love could be measured by time:
It would start with God in heaven and end with our return to Him.

If Love could be measured by depth:
It would start with God in heaven and end with "God sent His only son."

If Love could be measured by consistency:
It would start with God in heaven and end with "Love never fails."

If Love could be measured by the return of it then:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Love was designed by God that we might be complete in Him, and help others to be complete.

 And now abideth faith, hope, charity (Love), these three; but the greatest of these is charity (Love).

Anything done outside of faith is sin. We are commanded to "Love one another". Refusing to Love is sin.

Walk in Love children.
Love 
J&E

Love is the miracle that keeps on "manifesting" itself.

You may believe that there are many kinds of love,
You may believe there are many ways to express love,
But there is only one place that love "originates" from,
It comes from the heart of God,
And seeks to replicate in the heart of man.

Unconditional Love is God's most powerful miracle.
When we replicate Unconditional Love we prove ourselves to be son's of God.
As we show God's Unconditional Love to others we prove His existence.
Then the "heart of man" has divine hope, and we are made one with our Father in Heaven.
God sacrificed His "only begotten Son" to prove His Love for us on an old rugged cross.
How far will we go to prove to others that His Love exists in us.
John 15:13-17
13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what His Master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 This I command you, to Love one another.

Love
J&E in Tn