Well, my loved ones, there is so much hope and grace in God’s word.  We can always focus on the good things God has for us and all the promises He has given us.  This is where we want to dwell; this is our safe spot.  But…God wants to grow us up into Him.  To do this, He must bring some things into our circumstances that will show us who we are and how we need to change to come into the full knowledge and grace of God. 

What did Jesus suffer?  He suffered trials, temptations, rudeness, man’s anger toward Him, jealousy, hate, beatings, threats against His life, and eventually His human life was taken by an untimely and painful death.  Why did the Son of God have to suffer all of this when He was perfect and sinless and fully deserved only grace, and mercy, only joy and acceptance; He deserved the best of God and the best that humankind could provide.  That is not what He received in the 33 years He lived on the earth.  He is our example…so if He must suffer then shouldn't we expect suffering to enter our lives. But we always seem a bit shocked. After all, we are God's children! Shouldn't we be free of suffering? Who is our example?

Hebrews 2:10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. NIV

1 Peter 4:19 So then, those who suffer according to God's should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. NIV

There are so many scriptures about loving your enemies, scriptures about how we should respond to those whose sin causes us pain and suffering. Scripture teaches us that we should forgive them and spread His love to everyone, even those who hurt us. God is using these people for our good. I want you to know that everything that comes into your life comes to help you develop into the person God wants you to be.  Are you weak in faith?  God will give you lots of opportunity to grow in faith.  Are you weak in patience?  God will give you lots of opportunities to grow your patience.  Are you quick to anger?  God will give you lots of opportunities to help you reign it in…eventually you will realize it hurts you and everyone around you and you will change.

How can you apply this little teaching on SUFFERING?  You can evaluate your own spiritual growth and your struggles, then accept the things that come into your life as God’s way of teaching you to be whom He wants you to be.  He knows you intimately and loves you without reserve, allow Him to use your suffering to grow you up so He can use you in amazing ways.  He is Love.

You Are Loved, MJ Gillespie

HOLINESS

 HOLINESS 1 Peter 1:13-16 

If you are a child of God, you are Holy.  It is a position you hold before God. He sees you as Holy because He sees you through the blood of Jesus. 

Heb 10:10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. NIV

In reality of course you do not immediately appear Holy or feel Holy because although God sees you as Holy and accepts you as Holy, you yourself are far from experiencing true holiness.  You hopefully are striving for the goal of experiential holiness.  Day by day God is working in you even if you don't feel it. You are being made holy through God*s word, His work, and the work of the Holy Spirit that dwells in you.

Heb 10:14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.  NIV

So, although God sees us as us holy because we have the Holy Spirit in us there is much work for the Holy Spirit to do in us to complete us.  And yes, we must become willing participants in His work to accomplish and experience personal holiness.  Are you willing?

To know what personal holiness looks like we must look at Jesus, the author and founder of our faith.  What did Jesus look like and how did he treat others? 

**He chose not to sin or disobey the Father.

**He used God*s word to fight evil.

**He was full of grace toward others ie, patient, and nurturing.

**He saw potential in everyone.

**He was willing to put himself out for others.

**His love was not based on the behavior of those around Him.

**He showed everyone God*s love and He was the light that dispelled darkness.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. NIV   This is what Jesus lived; He was our example.

Truly this is the struggle, and this is the challenge.  Every believer makes the choice of being a willing participant in God*s plan or not. I challenge you to ask God to help you become active in achieving your own personal holiness. Draw close to God and He will draw close to you.  

1 Peter 1:13-16 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."  NIV

God*s meets you where you are, but He loves you too much to leave you there. Are you making progress? The test:: Is your behavior improving? Everyone has things they struggle with, bad language, bad attitude, anger, fear, alcohol, vanity, gluttony, pride, lack of self-discipline, laziness, and anything that does not look like Jesus.  He knows what it is you struggle with, and He wants to help you grow closer to being a reflection of Him and sounding like Him.  Let holiness reign in you.  Keep moving forward that is all that is required; keep setting your sights on holiness.

In Him, MJ Gillespie

YOU ARE LOVED!

 

THE CALLING

The calling of a Christian will change your life. The calling of a Christian? What is that? Here is my take on it. The calling of a Christian is to be Christ Like. And what was Christ like? First and foremost, He was loving and kind. He went about daily things talking with people about God’s love for them. It didn’t matter what He was doing, His priority was letting people know God loved them. Yes, He was different! Yes, He stood out! Yes, He was weird in His day! People either loved Him or hated Him. His calling was to reach the people with the news of salvation through grace. But what about you?

How do you get to have a calling? I know I ask a lot of questions. But they need answering, don’t they? I wondered, how do I get a spiritual calling? First and foremost, you must have the Holy Spirit. You receive the Holy Spirit when you confess your sins to God and ask Jesus to forgive your sins. He is always waiting and willing to accept you, right where you are, and embrace you with His love and forgiveness. This is why He came, this is why He suffered, this is why He died. This was His calling. But that is not the end of the story.

Once you have been received and forgiven, He has a calling for you. Read about Paul in Acts and Romans. He was chosen and received an unbelievable call. After following the above steps, you are ready to receive a call too. So, what do you do now?

Here is my answer: you pray, you wait, you listen, and it comes. This may take an hour, or it may take a year. The answer will come. Your calling can be as simple as volunteering in the children’s ministry. It can be as complicated as becoming a missionary to other parts of the world. For most of us it is something we can do while living our normal lives. As with Jesus, who was living life and preaching to any who would listen.

It is not always comfortable. It is not always easy. It is always showing the love of God and leading people to the baptism of faith and forgiveness. God is love, my friend. Show it! Live it! Be it! YOU ARE LOVED! Your calling awaits.

 

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

The more we study God’s word and learn who we are supposed to be a change begins. The more we find out about how we should act, behave, and be the person God wants us to be, we begin to become more like Him. The more we become Christ like something happens inside our finite thinking. We become elevated in our own minds. We pat ourselves on the back and look around at others. Yes, we begin to compare ourselves to others in our circle. And yes, we come out on top!

Our thinking goes a bit astray as we evaluate our own behavior. We’ve come a long way, baby! Or have we? It is human nature to compare ourselves to others. We do it from grade school. Who has the cutest hair, the sweetest smile, who is the tallest, the smartest, the most fun. So why not follow that human trait and compare our spiritual growth to other believers, now that we have arrived, or think we have.

Here is the danger: We don’t know anyone’s path but our own. We don’t know how God has worked in their life, how their family life was before they walked with God. We don’t know the plan God has for them, the struggles and battles they face. We only truly know our own. They may have moved an inch when we think we have moved miles from where we started. An inch for them may be more in God’s eyes than our miles are in our own. We are warned about judging others in God’s word. Here is what Paul imparts in Romans.

Paul writes in Romans 14:10 Why do you pass judgement on your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

And in Romans 14:12 Do not cause another to stumble. Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

We are encouraged to love one another in God’s word. We are instructed to embrace our oneness in Christ and move from elevating ourselves to elevating our brothers. If you are not doing this then rightly judge yourself. You haven’t come as far as you think you have. Just a thought!

Let God know where you are and let Him be the judge.

MJ Gillespie