Prayer of Ephesians 2

Dear Father in Heaven, Creator of Heaven and Earth,

Thank you for your love for me and your great mercy. I was once dead in my sins when I formally walked in the way of the world according to the prince of the power of the air and the spirit who worked in my disobedience,  I went against YOU O Lord by following my own wants, my own lusts, my own desires, whatever my mind sought, but You O Lord, reached out your hand and called me to You – even when I was dead in my transgressions.  You made me Alive together with Christ and raised me up with Him, You have seated me in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus – this is too amazing to understand.

Oh Lord, I am silenced at your amazing Power and Holiness, what an honor and blessing to be before your heavenly throne to talk to you, to praise you and to be in Your presence. Thank you for your mercy and love for me. Thank you for showing me the riches of your grace and  kindness in Christ Jesus.

I know it is only by your grace, mercy and love that I can say that I know you and you have redeemed my life, you have saved me in my faith, and this faith was your gift to me – and it wasn’t because I was something special or any special work or steps I took, but it was only because of your gracious gift.

I am Your workmanship, I praise you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous–how well I know it. Speak to my heart and lead me in doing the good works  that I was created to do in Christ Jesus- all my steps that God prepared for my life , Lord let my feet stay on your planned path.

For once I was unclean and common, but now I am an heir in Christ, part of the family of the Lord God. I praise you O Lord for considering me. I remember that I was once separated from Christ and not included as a part of the family of Israel, I was a stranger to your covenant and I had no hope for  I was without God in this world.

But today I can lift my hands and Praise the Lord, for though I was far off, I have been brought near  by the blood of Christ.  O Lord, I praise you, for He Himself is my peace- He has made me one as part of His Holy family, breaking down the barrier wall that divided us.

By your Holy Spirit I have access to you O God, I am in awe at your love for me. Thank you for making me part of Your household, thank you for making me a fellow citizen with the saints. Lord, teach me and lead me to live a life that is pleasing to you.  Keep me from anything that would grieve you.

May my life be a stone in the temple of God in Christ as we are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

I will meditate on all Your gifts and benefits all day, I stand amazed at your love and care for me. Thank you O God , for making me part of your Holy Family in Christ Jesus.  Let my life sing your praises and be a testimony of Christ, for He is way, the truth and the life and no man can go to you O God but by your chosen son Jesus, may all the world know this truth.

In Christ, I pray, Amen

KNIT TOGETHER WITH BONDS OF LOVE, A LOVE THAT LASTS FOREVER

•  God’s love for us is forever
• We are knitted together with bonds of love that are eternal
• We are to continue to grow in love and charity in the body of Christ  This love is gentle and kind with a humble and tenderhearted attitude
• Love never gives up
• Love never loses faith
• love always endures through every circumstance
• love is always hopeful
• love lasts forever! 1 Cor 13:8

The bible tells us that God’s love for us lasts forever.  He has chosen you as His own people(1 Thes 1:4). We are told that we are knit together with bonds of brotherly love – and this love in Christ lasts forever. Jesus told us that three things last forever – faith, hope, and love- and the greatest of these is love.  I can’t imagine a greater gift, it’s a gift that all the money in the world can’t buy. This is what it means to be rich in the things that don’t belong to this world.

• Could all the money in the world buy eternal salvation?
• Could all the world’s gold buy God’s love and mercy for us eternally?
• Could all the galaxies put together be enough to pay the price for us to enter the Holy of Holies before a perfect, just and holy God?

Jesus made the greatest sacrifice for us – a love we can’t understand – that He would pay the price for us. If you read the Song of Solomon, you will read about a great love between a king and his bride. That love, that we can understand from an earthly standpoint, times infinity is the love that God in heaven has for you.

We know that this world and all the things the world craves after will one day come to an end. (1 Peter 4:7) but the love we have from the Lord and for others will never end– it’s forever!  According to scripture, when we die, the love we have for others is still alive- and it’s forever.

Brotherly love

You must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. 1 Peter 1:22

“or thy friend, which is as thine own soul” Dt 13:6

Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 1 Peter 3:8

Consider the verse in 1 Samuel 18:1- And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

KNIT TOGETHER

In Colossians, Paul talks about our hearts being knit together in love. If love lasts forever, then this knitting of believers in love also lasts forever. I guess you could say this is another way of seeing the body of Christ, Christ being the head. Also, a way as seeing believers as a vine or tree as described in scripture. The Jewish people being the branches and gentiles, by God’s grace, being grafted in as heirs, sons and daughters.

“That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.” Colossians 2:2-4

 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.  Col 2:15-22

This verse says that we are to grow together in strength and knowledge in Christ, the head of the body of believers knit together in love.

A Love THAT  lasts forever

 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 1 Corinthians 13:8

LOVE IS

• Patient
• Kind
• Not jealous or boastful or proud
• Not rude
• Does not demand it’s own way
• Keeps no record of wrongs
• Does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices in the truth
• Never gives up
• Never loses faith
• Always hopeful
• Endures allA person who has no love is dead. Real love is what Christ did for us, so we should also give our lives up for others. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?  Let your faith grow as you walk in moral excellence, adding knowledge of God’s word in your heart and mind daily. Practice self-control and patient endurance with godly character as you walk in brotherly love with everyone.  1 John 3:141 John 3:16 1 John 3:17  2 peter 1:5-7

Walking with God : Moses, Enoch, Noah, David  and YOU

^“And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle Ex 33:11

And Enoch walked with God. Genesis 5:22-24

 Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God Genesis 6:9.

 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Acts 13:22

God wants to walk with you

 For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people 2 Corinthians 6:16

 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

All this love stuff sounds great, but if we aren’t walking right with God, we are fooling ourselves.  If we have all the gifts of God but don’t have love, we are nothing. If we could move mountains and speak the language of angels, but don’t have love, we are nothing. If we were filled with all wisdom and knowledge but didn’t love others, we are nothing. If we give to the poor and spend our time serving the church and others, but didn’t love others, we are nothing. You can boast about all these great things, but without love, you have gained nothing.

Get rid of all bitterness, anger, sin and unforgiveness. Ask God to search your heart to see if there is anything hiding  that has separated you from Christ.  Are you holy ? You were created to be holy as He is holy. Are you lukewarm? Are you half in the world and its ways and a half baked Christian? It’s time to grow up, cut off the sins and the ways of the world and get right with God. Love Him with all your heart, draw close to Him and He will draw close to you.  Grow in love, being knit together in love with other believers, bringing others in and snatching them from death.

How awesome is God’s eternal love for us! How awesome that we are knitted together in love forever!  May your love for others abound in Christ!

Faith is dead without good works (James 2:26) and Good works are nothing without love 1 Corinthians 13

Where will you stand during the Final Judgment ?
On the left or on the right?

When Jesus returns in His glory with His angels with Him, He will sit upon His throne. All the nations will stand before Him as He separates each person as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

The sheep (righteous) at His right hand, the goats (cursed) at His left.

 To the sheep (righteous) on the right, He will say : “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.  I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
and they will reply:  ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

   To those on His left, He will say, “Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
and they will reply : ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Matthew 25

AND FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD , BUT WORKS WITHOUT LOVE PROFITS YOU NOTHING

Love is 

• Love is patient
• kind
• Love is not jealous
• or boastful
• or proud
•  or rude
• Love does not demand its own way
• Love is not irritable
• Love keeps no record of being wronged
• Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out
•  Love never gives up
• Love never loses faith
• Love is always hopeful
• Love endures through every circumstance (1 Corinthians 13)

   PRAY ABOUT IT, pray at all times, on every occasion. If you ask anything according to His will, He will hear you, for the prayer of the righteous has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:16, 1 John 5:14 and Eph 6:18

There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while,  So be truly glad.  1 Peter 1:6

Traits of a godly servant 1 & 2 Timothy

A Servant of the Lord must be : (1 Timothy 3, 2 Timothy 2)

1. Blameless – above reproach, unblammable
2. sober minded – temperate , self controlled
3. self controlled – of a sound mind, sane, discreet
4. of good behavior
5. hospitable – kind to strangers
6. able to teach – 2 Timothy 2;24 a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach , patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth and that y they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will
7. not given to wine – you can’t be a drunk and a servant of God. You need to pick one or the other. Do you serve God or your desires?
8. Not violent – not someone who is always quarrelsome or ready to smack someone. Calm down.
9. Not greedy for money –. Do your dreams of being a godly servant have you daydreaming of mansions , yachts, fame and all of the world’s luxuries?
10. Gentle and not quarrelsome – Stop calling people stupid and getting angry because they don’t see things your way. Be gentle and patient, walk in humility correcting those who are in opposition. It’s not easy, I know…….
11. Not Covetous- go to #9 for a recap on that. Set your sights on the Lord and His Kingdom, that’s all you need.
12. One who rules his own house well – his children in submission with all reverence, for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?  Disqualified!   I notice that I’m battling against outside influences that affect our children. Television, Music, School, Friends, Movies – why is my child  singing “I’m suicidal?” why is my youngest singing “talk dirty to me?”  or the latest song “When you feel my heat Look into my eyes It’s where my demons hide It’s where my demons hide”. Where did this new disrespect of elders come from?  Not to mention social media and other things the kids can so easily hid. I think it may be more difficult to parent a child today  with so many outside influences and as we ship them off to government run schools for 6-7hours a day. They bury themselves in books and social media in their room until nightfall.  We’re losing our kids, that’s my humble opinion.  Homeschooling makes this easier, but with the load of busy work from school , there is never a second left for youth group or bible study.  Pray about how you can change that. They are only with us a few years and then they are gone.
13. Not a novice – not a newbie, no offense but the bible says you need more time if you’re brand new to Christianity. Grow in Christ and be an example of a new Creation and in time, the Lord will lift you up. There’s good reason for this so pay attention to God’s instructions. If a newbie is given high standing in the church he may puff up with pride and fall back into the same condemnation as the devil.  Consider the greatness of Moses and the testing of his life. He didn’t lead the people until he was 80 years old. He was the most humble man on all the earth. Consider also the status the Lord raised Joseph up to. He endured years of tribulation and testing to get to position that the Lord had planned out for him. Wait on the Lord.
14. Have a good testimony and well thought of by outsiders so he does not fall into disgrace into the snare of the devil
15. Reverent – honorable and reputable
16. Not double tongued- not deceitful,  revengeful, saying one thing and meaning another – a fibber
17. have a clear conscience – inward moral impression of one’s actions and principles, moral judgment
18. Being of one wife, ruling their own children and houses well
19. Endure Hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. If you endure, you will reign with Him
20. not entangle himself with affairs of this life, this way you may please Him who enlisted you as a soldier
21. Work hard to present yourselves approved to God, rightly dividing the word of truth.
22. Shun profane and idle babbling , for they increase more ungodliness and their messages spreads like cancer.
23. Depart from all iniquity!
24. Be prepared to do the Lord’s work
25. Flee youthful lusts.- Seriously, stop making excuses. God created you to be holy and you can be holy. Stop listing to teachers that okay this behavior; it’s a doctrine straight from hell. In Numbers 15, the people were to wear tassels to remind them of God’s commands and “that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined and that you may remember and do all My commands and be holy for your God.”

 Vs 10” And let them be tested first, and then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless”

  This list can go on and on, but it’s a good start. In all things remember that our ultimate goal is Loving God and Loving others.  1 Corinthians lists the definition of God’s love as evident in our lives. I like to look over the list and consider what I need to work on:

• Longsuffering – enduring in times of trouble (Rejoice Romans 5:3-4 and James 1)
• Kind to others, never quick to be angry. Always considering others first
• Love does not envy
• Does not behave rudely. (There goes south Florida, Aventura and Boca specifically, no offense though. If it makes you feel better, you have great malls)
• Does not seek its own, does not demand it’s own way : Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. Philippians 2:3
• It is not provoked (He will not shout or cry out,  or raise his voice in the streets.³ A bruised reed he will not break,  and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; Isaiah 42:2-3 and Matthew 12:20 )
• Thinks no evil – ^“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Phil 4:8
• Does not rejoice in iniquity. Hmmm need to think about that, I found myself laughing at something really stupid and ungodly in a movie bc I don’t know why – maybe bc I was expected to laugh. I had to stop myself. How about laughing at ungodly jokes or some radio morning shows. Turn it off. Rejoice only in the truth, not in iniquity – even if you’re the last one standing.
• Rejoices always in the truth. What is truth? Jesus is truth. Jesus is the only way to God the Father.
• Bears all things. Love bears ALL things, even sandpaper people. That’s not always fun. Love bears all circumstances – think about that. What circumstances are you going through?  Endure through all times in love as you cling to the Lord. Love bears all things.
• Hopes all things. I love hope.
• Endures all things. Amen!
• Love never fails.
• Do not seek praise from people. Set your mind to live a life that pleases the Lord. “We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.⁷ Instead, we were like young children among you. 1 Thes 2:6

The Lord’s eyes are on all our ways, we are not hidden from his face.

The Lord says, “My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.  I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land with the lifeless forms of their vile images and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.” Jeremiah 16:17

He searches and tests our heart, even our innermost motives are not hidden from him.  

I the Lord search the heart  and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct,  according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10  and  1 Thes 2:4

Call on Him, He will tell you great things!

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know Jeremiah 33:3 See, I am doing a new thing!   Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness  and streams in the wasteland Isaiah 49

Expect persecution and trials, but no worries! The Lord God goes before you. Be Strong.

 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution 1 Timothy 3:12

Peace and Shalom, make sure you are ready for the Lord’s return. The time now is sooner that it ever was. Be ready, get your heart right with the Lord. The Lord’s love never fails, it never gives up, it never gives up on you. Live a life with that same unconditional love towards others. Live a life that pleases the Lord God.