GOD IS LOVE 1JN 4:15 and 1 COR 13:3

1Jn 4:15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
1Jn 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.

1Co 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1Co 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1Co 13:5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1Co 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
1Co 13:7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1Co 13:8 Love never fails.
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Today 1 cor 13 has new meaning for me. I still look to it as a guideline of how I need to treat those around me (and still wish I could take back the times I did not behave this way in the past), but there is something else that I feel God is trying to tell us here. I have read this verse a couple of times over the last couple of months. It dawned on me today that God is love. I mean yes, I have heard this before and I knew it was in the Bible. But this hit me like WOW!!! If God is love, then God feels this way towards us! God is using these guidelines in His relationship with us! If you replace the word love or it with God in this verse, you see the true nature of God’s love for us. I decided to read the verse again where it states that God is love, and it added the other piece of the puzzle for me. If we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in us and we live in him just like Jesus did. In this way, love is made complete among us. The more we focus on Jesus, who is the very nature of God, the more we will reflect His image of love that Paul speaks of in this verse. This entire time I have been reading this verse, and then trying to force myself to behave this way towards those that I love. I have been failing miserably. Our human nature is to act the exact opposite way. It makes sense that God continually urges us to focus on Him and His Kingdom and assures us the rest will fall into place. I truly feel I would have never had this revelation (for me anyway it was), if I had not been diligently studying His Scriptures, and praying and asking Jesus to transform me into His likeness. His Kingdom is like a grab bag of secrets that you get to stick your hand into and pull out a prize. Only you don’t need a ticket or cash to play, you need only seek Him with all your heart (no this is not a parable in the Bible, it just popped in my head). Thank you so much Father for Your Grace! You are truly an awesome God! XOXO

Isa 57:1 DEATH OF A LOVED ONE

The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Isa 57:2 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death
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I have often said that Earth is the closest thing we will get to hell. I mean the devil lives here right? One of the biggest stumbling blocks of a believer can be the death of a loved one too soon. We are so filled with pain and grief, we raise our hands to Heaven, WHY LORD WHY?! We wonder why such a great person that was obviously making a huge difference in the world is removed. Why did He allow that little girl to die? I believe God is giving us an answer in the verse above. They are taken away to be spared. This life is hard. Let us do everything that we can in order to spread the Good news of Christ so that fellow believers that pass on can rest in His peace. All one has to do in order to enter the gates of Heaven is to believe that Jesus Christ has died on the cross for his sins. I love the quote, "there are no atheists in foxholes". I believe that just as the sinners to His right and left on the cross had a chance to repent before death, that he offers this "last chance" to those that are about to pass on from this life. I sincerely believe that most of us having His words written on our hearts, will make the right choice.

ISA 61:1 PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS

Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach 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,
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You will notice there is a comma at the end. This is because the statement goes further than what I have placed above. If you prefer, take out the Book of all Books and read the rest of what it has to say. I want to point out to you that this verse is speaking to us. Once we have given our hearts to Christ, it is our job to spread His love around as much as we possibly can, in order to pull others out of the darkness and into the light. There is a spirtual warfare going on in our world today that cannot be denied. The father of lies is holding so many in chains as he whispers his lies into their ears. Whether it is that they are not worthy of the love of another or they need to be perfect in order for God to accept them. It is up to us as brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage one another. When you hear someone make a negative statement about themselves, take the time to counter it with the Truth for them. Most people are not reading the Word so, they need a spokesperson to step in and tell them about how much God loves and accepts them exactly the way that they are. Read your Bible daily and spend time with our Father so that His promises will be fresh in your mind and heart. In doing this, you will be able to have the pefect verse come to mind to help you encourage them.

JAMES 1:2-6 DUAL-MINDED

Jas 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
Jas 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Jas 1:4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Jas 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Jas 1:6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
Jas 1:7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
Jas 1:8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
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We should ask the Lord before we make our daily decisions in life. I have learned that it is much easier to ask God to direct my steps early in the morning and communicate with Him throughout the day, rather than asking him to bless my blunders later. OBEDIENCE PRECEDES FAITH. When we ask, we must BELIEVE that He will provide the guidance that we are seeking. The second step is to MOVE forward. In moving in the direction He has shown, it will give us the opportunity to witness the fulfillment of His promises. The lord will not do anything against our will. We must ask and we must BELIEVE. Perhaps you are in a waiting period and are tempted to give up hope. Do not believe the lies the devil will throw at you to try to steal your blessings. God will come through on His time. Our only job is to BELIEVE in the Lord rather than the lies.

IS IT FAILURE?

We always hear about the successes of people that have made their mark in history. I think it is important to remember that most successful people in life have had many failures along the way. We usually only hear of the successes because that is the only time that people in this world seem to care enough to notice someone (sad but true). While the second link is speaking of business success in most cases, it can also apply to relationships or anything in life that is worth having. I just wanted to send this as it was an encouragement for me to go after the things that I truly desire without letting fear cripple me. I hope this can be an encouragement for you as well to go after the things you want in life. To those of you that are experiencing failure now, congratulations your success is in the making:

http://www.school-for-champions.com/history/lincoln_failures.htm

http://www.nfib.com/object/1584096.html