The Holy Spirit Reminds Us of Jesus

Church blog post from Family Sunday's theme: a kid friendly look at grace:

http://windbornchurchblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/the-holy-spirit-reminds-us-of-jesus/

I Love Christmas!

Distributed food earlier in the day to those in need.

Christmas music on the stereo.

Girls decorating cookies.

Mexican Hot Chocolate in the mug.

Timer on the Christmas lights worked.

I LOVE THE WHOLE SEASON TO CELEBRATE JESUS BIRTH!

So Glad Our Current Sunday School Series Is On Heaven!

It's a difficult week to have a grave site service and back to back hospital calls...arghhhh. This getting sick and the process of dying is the pits. Being ready and longing for eternity with Jesus is the paramount perspective giver. I cannot wait till heaven!

Thanksgiving in Action

Just a simple thought that thanksgiving and gratitude in action means that we live like we trust God!


"Wait on God alone in stillness, O my soul.
O God, teach us to seek security,
not in money or theft,
not in human ambition or malice,
not in our own ability or power,
but in you, the only God,
our rock and our salvation."

From the Daily Office, the refrain on Psalm 62 (wonderfully and simply translated in the NLT).

The Unique Jesus Story

Psalm 73.23-28

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.

Deliver Me

(from the Daily Office)

Psalm 119.153, 154, 156

O consider my affliction and deliver me,
for I do not forget your law.
Plead my cause and redeem me;
according to your promise, give me life.
Great is your compassion, O Lord;
give me life, according to your judgements

Refrain: I have longed for your salvation, O Lord.
God of mercy, swift to help us,
as our lips pour forth your praise,
fill our hearts with the peace you give
to those who wait for your salvation
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ah Grace!

Aren't we glad Jesus does not treat us this way. Matthew 5.3 being poor in spirit: knowing we need God!

I've been pondering the connection with this rich passage and the beatitudes!

“The Year of the LORD’s Favor 61 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,” http://ref.ly/Is61.1 via the Logos Bible Android app.

The Rest of Saving Grace--A Way of Life

In Hebrews 4.1-13 the author speaks of entering into rest. There is great encouragement for us if we are experiencing Jesus grace: "Now we who have believe enter that rest" (vs. 3). The flow of though is careful to remind us to not let our hearts get hardened (vs. 7) as the Israelites did; thus they did not enter into God's rest (vs. 6). So even though we currently have 'rest' we "make every effort to enter that rest" (vs.11)--rest becomes a way of life for us!

This thought of rest strongly parallels Philippians 2 and "working out our salvation with fear and trembling" (vs. 12) and how our salvation is a "work" of God, not of us (vs. 13). We are cognizant of living out our faith because it is God who does it anyway! Once saved by grace we keep living in grace because it is all God's work; we do not live after our salvation in our own works--grace becomes a way of life for us!

There is no amount of spiritual work that we can do to keep our hearts soft and thus stay in 'rest'. None. Jesus is the only one who can "guard your hearts and your minds" (Philippians 4.7)! Which stand to reason, Jesus is the only giver of rest and grace and salvation.  These passages are not licence to create rules, laws and regulations to manage the Christian life. Our efforts of "rest" and our "working out salvation" are only the firm acknowledgement that we cannot live on our own.

Scripture then can speak to our hidden motives for it is "alive and active (Hebrews 4.12,13). The ongoing work of the Holy Spirit includes His ministry to our souls through the words He inspired human authors to write. As we yield to the Holy Spirit, in and through the word, He points us to Jesus to the giver of rest and grace (vs. 14-16). So we walk in rest and grace as we already have our salvation and we walk toward to day when our salvation will be complete.

May rest and grace become a way of life for us!

1 Peter 1.3-9

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Psalm 90:12, 14, 17 (NIV)

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.

Refrain on Psalm 63

My soul is athirst for God, even for the living God.
To you we come, radiant Lord,
the goal of all our desiring,
beyond all earthly beauty;
gentle protector, strong deliverer,
in the night you are our confidence;
from first light be our joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Psalm 37:3-7, 23-24, 39-40 NIV

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord ; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Salus Aeterna – Saviour Eternal

Saviour eternal,
life of the world unfailing,
light everlasting
and our true redemption.

Taking our humanity
in your loving freedom,
you rescued our lost earth
and filled the world with joy.

By your first advent justify us,
by your second, set us free:
that when the great light dawns
and you come as judge of all,
we may be robed in immortality
and ready, Lord, to follow
in your footsteps blest, wherever they may lead.

(Book of Common Prayer)

Another Grace Prayer

O God,
the strength of all those who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers
and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do no good thing without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in the keeping of your commandments
we may please you both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

YHWH's hesed is better than self-preservation

http://bible.us/Ps63.3.ESV

Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

Praying in Jesus Name! This is Sweet!

Our Great God of Grace

The Refrain from Psalm 147 in today's daily office:

"Great is our Lord and mighty in power.
Compassionate God,
as you know each star you have created,
so you know the secrets of every heart;
in your loving mercy bring to your table
all who are fearful and broken,
all who are wounded and needy,
that our hungers may be satisfied
in the city of your peace;
through Christ who is our peace."

I think I have posted this before, but I just love how it reflects Jesus' heart-beat!

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

The Sustaining Power of Our God

From the introduction on Psalm 37 from Bible Expositor's Commentary.

"In a moving way the psalmist deals with the issues of life and death, wisdom and folly, and reward and punishment. He is most sensitive to the question of the future and its rewards and sufferings. The psalmist affirms that the Lord will sustain the righteous and that they will fully enjoy the blessings promised to them. The sage sets before the reader or hearer the highway of wisdom, even as our Lord called on his followers to learn from him the way that pleases our Father in heaven (Matt 5:2–10)."

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Simple Prayer, Praying God's Character

Lord God, mighty king,
you love justice and establish equity;
may we love justice more than gain
and mercy more than power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Refrain after Psalm 99 in today's daily office.)

Pumped for Matthew

New (simple) post on the church blog.

http://windbornchurchblog.wordpress.com/

God Keeps His Promises

Luke 24:5b-6a ""Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you..."

God keeps His promises. He said He would die. And He did.

God keeps His promises. He said He would raise up on the third day. AND HE DID!

Because of the resurrection we have hope! Whatever this life throws at us, our hope is that Jesus will speak into our madness NOW and be for us who He is IN THIS LIFE TIME. We have hope today because we know someday He will come back and make all the wrong things right and He'll restore justice to our broken world!

God keeps His promises!

An Easter Thought

Starting with Adam, humanity has been made in the image of God. Adam was made to rule as God’s vice regent and obediently exercise his God given dominion (Genesis 1.26-28). He sinned and lost his dominion, and passed sin on to us: a perpetual falling short of God’s glory (Romans 8.23). When Jesus came, He became a servant of all humanity. Where Adam failed, Jesus was without sin (2 Corinthians 5.21). On the cross, Jesus sets us free from sin and with the empty grave Jesus imparts to all humanity a life that Adam never could (Romans 6.4.7).

May Believers Stop Pointing Fingers at Those Who Need Grace!

Isaiah 58:9b The Message

"...get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins"

My Week's Focus

Zechariah 7:9-10 NIV

9 "This is what the Lord Almighty said: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.'

Prayer of Worshipful Acknowledgment

Blessed are you, God of compassion and mercy,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In the darkness of our sin,
your light breaks forth like the dawn
and your healing springs up for deliverance.
As we rejoice in the gift of your saving help,
sustain us with your bountiful Spirit
and open our lips to sing your praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever.

Worth Memorizing

Psalm 43.3,4 (NLT) "Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live. There I will go to the altar of God, to God—the source of all my joy. I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!"

A Pretty Good Prayer Spot...

...to consider: The Call of and Professing Wisdom

"The Word of the Lord does not return void" Isaiah 55...
• Invitation for real satisfaction
• Promise of living in the ways of God
• Illustration of repentance: nature manifests and praises God

Psalm 34.8,9
"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing."
• Know the fear of the Lord
• Do the will of the Lord
• Be in the faithfulness of the Lord

Two Great Quotes on Entrusting Prayer

The Spirit of Jesus is conscious of one thing only —a perfect oneness with the Father, and He says “Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.” All I do ought to be founded on a perfect oneness with Him, not on a self-willed determination to be godly. This will mean that I can be easily put upon, easily over-reached, easily ignored; but if I submit to it for His sake, I prevent Jesus Christ being persecuted.

Oswald Chambers

Only be sure you have the sail up. Do not miss the gale for want of preparation for it. Seek help of God, that you may be more earnest in duty when made more strong in faith; that you may be more constant in prayer when you have more liberty at the throne; that you may be more holy in your conversation whilst you live more closely with Christ.

Charles Spurgeon

Gratitude & Justice

"Thoughtfulness...is a necessary condition of gratitude, which in turn is a prerequisite of the virtue of justice."

Douglas McManahan

A Prayer for Impactfull Song

"Lord, the power of song can stir our hearts to courage and break down walls of resistance. Help us compose lyrics of our lives that move enemies to compassion and make justice to rise up and dance in every corner of the world. Amen."

From www.commonprayer.net/

Unity of the Godhead's Renewing Grace

Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Reflection After Reading Psalm 147

"Great is our Lord and mighty in power.

Compassionate God, as you know each star you have created, so you know the secrets of every heart; in your loving mercy bring to your table all who are fearful and broken, all who are wounded and needy, that our hungers may be satisfied in the city of your peace; through Christ who is our peace."

(from the morning Daily Office)

Use the Force Luke...I Mean Tim

WRITTEN BY GEOFF FOSTERFOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL...
http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2012/01/13/nfl-divisional-round-playoffs-wsj-picks/

...and it's awesome!


Denver Broncos (+13.5) at New England Patriots
DR: Broncos; KC: Pats; GF: Broncos; HTC: Broncos

When I wrote the prediction for the Broncos vs. Patriots game a couple weeks ago, I drew an analogy to the scene from “Star Wars” where the Dark Side (Patriots) unleashes the full power of their best weapons to destroy the peaceful planet of Alderaan (aka Planet Tebowmania). That more or less happened in Week 15, as the Patriots racked up 451 yards and 41 points and left Denver fans second-guessing their faith in the power of the Force (the Tebow). The Broncos would lose the next two and trip backwards into the playoffs. But then, they shocked the galaxy with their defeat of the Steelers in the wild card round, and a new hope was born. The scrappy Rebel Alliance, disregarding decades of football logic and blindly following its belief in Tebow, has lived to battle the Dark Side again. So in this possible climax to the season, will Denver’s young leader use his cosmic powers to destroy the Death Star (Gillette Stadium)?

Last week, Pittsburgh made the mistake of assuming the Denver quarterback couldn’t make the big throws down the field. They thought he was a one-dimensional running threat who could be contained with a modest scheme. But John Fox trusted his QB’s arm and unleashed him. Here is a “Star Wars”-inspired scene before that game where our hero Tim was training with Obi-Won Fox and Han Elway, an old gunslinger who has never been a true believer in this type of gimmicky football.

[Tim is training with his throwing arm aboard the Millennium Bronco.]
Fox: Remember, a professional option quarterback can feel the Tebow flowing through him.
Tim: You mean it controls your actions?
Fox: Partially, but it also obeys your commands.
[Tim gets sacked.]
Elway: [laughs] Hokey religions and college football weapons are no match for a good pro-style quarterback at your side, kid.
Tim: You don’t believe in the Tebow, do you?
Elway: Kid, I’ve flown from one side of this NFL to the other. I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff, but I’ve never seen anything to make me believe there’s one all-powerful Tebow that can make a team win. There was no mystical energy field that controlled my team’s destiny. Anyway, it’s all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.
Fox: I suggest you try it again, Tim. Only this time, let go of your desire to run and act on instinct.
Tim: But with the run game down, I can’t even move the ball! How am I supposed to fight?
Fox: Your legs can deceive you. Don’t trust them. Stretch out the field with your arm! [Watches Tim complete a long pass] You see? You can do it.
Elway: I call it luck.
Fox: In my experience, there is no such thing as luck.

This is a valid question: Was Tebow just lucky in his defeat of the Steelers, which was sealed on an inexplicable 80-yard overtime bomb to Demaryius Thomas? Can it be repeated? Luck or not, they showed the Patriots their cards, and Bill Belichick certainly won’t make the same miscalculation as Mike Tomlin. And this is key, as this game will come down to whether or not the Denver offense can exploit a vulnerable (OK, lousy) New England defense. No matter how underrated rookie Von Miller and the Denver defense is, you know the Patriots will score points, probably 25 to 55, depending on their mood that day and wind conditions. It is very likely this saga will end with Tebow doubled-over on the ground, while Emperor Belichick shoots lightning into him and tackles.

Another quick scene:
Emperor Belichick: Young fool. Only now, at the end, do you understand. [Shoots another bolt of lightning into Tim] Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side! You have paid the price for your lack of throwing ability! [Continues shooting lightning at Tim]

But then Darth Brady realizes he believes in Tebow and picks up Belichick and throws him down a reactor shaft, and all the Broncos celebrate with a dance party with the Ewoks who joyously play the drums on old Patriot helmets. … OK, that might not happen. And it’s a pity, because a complete New England implosion is probably the Broncos’ only hope of winning. Still, the last contest should have been closer (New England recovered three fumbles that changed the game), so I will take the points and not underestimate the power of Tebow. – GF

Get Through

"For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone."

Lamentations 3.31-33 (NIV)

Psalm 42.8
"By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life."