expressions of a child of God

Old Post......Let Go, by Fenelon

2009-06-02T08:19:00.002-05:00

Someone recently Googled a phrase that lead them to my old blog. However, the link it lead them to was broken because I had erased the old post when I was creating my new blog. I am re posting for that purpose. Fenelon's a good read... so here goes.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Let Go, by Fenelon

I have been reading and rereading the following letter. I was blessed by how directly it fit with the discussion and sharing that the ladies and Jeff had during Monday night. I have a few comments about it all, but will hold off for now. I won't claim to understand everything he says in this letter, but was definitely encouraged and blessed by it as a whole.

Letter 33
The Will of God Our Only Treasure

My desire is that you might have an absolutely settled surrender to the Lord Jesus- a surrender which does not size itself up as being "pretty good"- a surrender which is complete, with nothing held back, no matter how dear it might be. If you have such a surrender as this, you will not deceive yourself. But if you have secret reservations, you are not only deceiving yourself, you are leaving yourself open to deception by the devil.

Also, you must determine to be just as humble and simple when you are out in society as you are in your own prayer closet. Never do anything just because it seems logical, or because it's what you like to do. Whatever you do must be done under submission to the Spirit of life and death (I call Him that because He is the spirit of death to self, and life in God.) Be very careful about great enthusiasm, for even this must be under the control of the Holy Spirit. And when you are tempted to doubt, be careful about searching for certainty within. You have no certainty except in God! Be careful also about looking forward to better things. Even if the present is bitter, yet it is enough for us if it is the will of God. His will is our only treasure. If self is sad because of the present circumstances, do not seek to compensate it by the prospect of the future! We deserve to meet with disappointment when we pamper ourselves like this. Let us accept everything God sends in humility of mind, never asking questions, and always dealing sternly with self. Let God do His work in you, and concentrate on living a selfless life in each and every moment, as thought each moment was the whole of eternity.

Maria's thoughts:
May we truly humble ourselves to the Lord by taking His will and surrendering ours. I am wondering if that is true humility.

posted by hoesayfina @ 9:58 AM

Vote for Juan Pierre--Dodger All Star!!!

2009-05-31T08:05:00.006-05:00

I'm not positive, but I'm thinking Dodger Juan Pierre is a Christian. He pays for children from a Christian organization in L.A. to attend a few games a year and one of his teammates referred to his good attitude about being a bench player as the "God in him". I'm guessing he meant the Lord in him. He has been called back into a starting role at Dodger Stadium and wherever the Dodgers are playing baseball while Manny is serving his due suspension for whatever it is that he was putting in his body.

So, I am thinking that Pierre deserves to be an ALL-STAR! When it has mattered he's stepped back on the field and performed for his team. And with class. I've been trying to find bios on him, but it's been difficult. But from what I can gather he is deserving. If someone out there disagrees please let me know! I'm going on gut here. And think he should be rewarded so, it's up to us to WRITE HIM IN on the ALL-STAR ballot. Every email address gets to vote 25 times. I'm not sure how many times you get to vote if you got a game. We are going to a game in Arlington in a few weeks. I'm sure I will vote 4 times there! There are 4 of us!

So, that's what I have.....write him in....and please leave Manny out. Do not vote for Manny! That's my advices atleast!

centeredonjesus.blogspot.com is....

2009-01-22T22:06:00.002-06:00

no longer the URL of my blog. If you would like to know where to find me just email me at mariataylor at grandecom dot net or comment here and I will email you the address... I elected not to delete "all" of my posts. Just most of them. I'd be happy to share the new url with folks....just email me.....

Roll Call

2009-01-15T08:03:00.003-06:00

I'm taking a quick roll call of my blog readership. If you are reading this message either comment and let me know who you are or email me at mariataylor at grandecom dot net. Every once in a while I think I am crazy for posting so many picture and personal stuff on the World Wide Web and going private does once again cross my mind..... if I had an idea of who was actually reading this I think I would feel better.

Thanks!

We have a LIVING Hope!

2009-01-11T22:13:00.003-06:00

We were able to spend sometime worshiping the Lord with part of our church body this evening. It was a blessing to be together. The Lord reminded us that He is ALIVE. And it was definitely an encouragement to me. I was reminded of the following scripture this evening. May it bless and encourage you as well.

1 Peter 1:3-5

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—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 Christ Alone"

2008-11-28T21:01:00.002-06:00

Chris and I were recently blessed by a song. I googled it and found it on YouTube. I thought it might bless you as well. Enjoy.

Why Does God Love Us So Much?

2008-09-10T11:18:00.004-05:00

As I was preparing for our school day the Lord reminded me of a simple truth. It stems from the question, "Why does God love us so much?" The answer: Because we belong to Him. It was good to be reminded that I am His and He created me. So, thus I belong to Him. This of course can be found in scripture. A dear sister pointed out Romans 1 verse 6 to me years ago, "And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." So, part of our theme this morning was we belong to Jesus. It went well with making up a song to help us memorize Psalm 143:10 "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground."

A Blessing to Me this week

2008-09-09T12:39:00.001-05:00

This Psalm has been a blessing to me this week. The kids and I are working on memorizing verse 10.

Psalm 143

A psalm of David.

1 O LORD, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.

2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.

3 The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.

4 So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.

5 I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.

6 I spread out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Selah

7 Answer me quickly, O LORD;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD,
for I hide myself in you.

10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.

11 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life;
in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.

The Mom Walk by Sally Clarkson

2008-08-10T08:38:00.003-05:00

My time in Austin included some reading. The following excerpt from Sally Clarkson's book entitled The Mom Walk really blessed and encouraged me:

She concludes the prologue by stating:
"...the success of a mom's walk through her years of motherhood is largely dependent on her walk with God. If she learns to love Him and listen to His voice through prayer and scripture, then she will walk on a road that leads to success in God's eyes. It is not about how much we can control our lives and the lives of our children or how well we can live up to standards our culture has imposed on us. It is not a matter of doing the all the right things.

"It is all about how well we learn to walk this journey with God, how well we provide a godly pattern for our children to follow and teach them how to walk their own paths with God. It is by living in the presence of God and resting in His will and walking in His power and being a part of what He is doing in and through our lives. In other words, the Mom Walk consists of commiting to walk with Him as our guide, with His wisdom and perspective, and with Him to protect us and strengthen us. It is God's will for us to get to the finish line of our mothering journey without being used up, dried out, spent, or depressed. By following His design, we can finish our walks well. He designed us to walk this road with Him."

I remember a few years ago being blessed when reading the account of Noah. I had never before seen that the reason Noah was able to hear and obey the Lord was because he had a relationship with Him. He walked with God. The following is Genesis 6:8-9

"But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God."

So, what does all of this say to me? Well, it encourages me to walk with God. A relationship with God is one worth having.

We Had No Idea

2008-08-07T06:49:00.008-05:00

The entry is related to yesterdays entry entitled "your prayers".

As I sit here in a hotel room in Austin, Texas watching the early morning sunlight awaken the sleeping city I cannot help but reflect on the tragic news that I received last night. As you can imagine I have thought about it a lot, and my sleep was definitely impacted. I'm hoping my mom and aunt made it safely to Phoenix. It's too early out west for me to call anyone and find out. So, I will trust and wait.

It was not this last Saturday, but the Saturday before (July 25th), that my family including my mom, dad, and nephew Marc drove from Gold Beach, Oregon to Sacramento via Grants Pass, Oregon and interstate 5. I will have to tell you that i haven't personally seen my cousin Bryan in over 10 years. I knew he was working construction in Oregon somewhere, but that was it. So, the fact that he was battling the wildfires in California was a surprise. In fact, it's quite eery to me that we had lunch in Mt. Shasta, California so close to where he was. The smoke and the haze. The sight of it and the smell of it is fresh in my mind. I took some pictures as we were driving down the road. One is a hazy picture of Mt. Shasta (or what we could see of it...i'm sure it's bigger than that). Another is of the road ahead where on either side you can see red fire retardant....at first i thought it was red dirt then I realized that it wasn't. I also took some pictures of fire trucks headed back to Southern California with tired and weary firefighters on them. I thought it was all "interesting" and part of the story of our vacation. I had no idea that it was real. I mean, I took the pictures because I knew it was real. Real to someone. But not "real" to me. It was relevant as a news story. But, not as one that would bring tears to my eyes and pain to my heart. My Aunt Donna is one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. While I wasn't close to Bryan, I mourn for him. And the pain, the tears, the sorrow reaches deep within me at the fact that my aunt has lost her oldest son. The phone call my mom received years ago when Bryan was brought home as their son was one of excitement and joy. The phone call she received last night that Bryan was killed was filled with anguish and pain.

So, I had no idea that Bryan was fighting fires. I had no idea that these pictures would become real to me. I had no idea.....

This picture was taken at the Black Bear Diner in Mount Shasta City where we had lunch. Again, we had no idea that Bryan was nearby fighting fires. (We knew he was doing construction in Oregon. Apparently there wasn't much work for him there. So, someone told him about this opportunity to fight fires in California with this company which I am assuming was Grayback)

Of course please pray for my Aunt and Uncle, Jim and Donna Rich. They are supposed to be flown from Phoenix to Oregon at some point for the funeral. I understand that the bodies haven't been recovered yet. So, I'm not sure when that will be. They have another son named Lee. I'm sure that this is hard on him too.

Here is a link to this mornings San Francisco Chronicle story.

Self Government and Will Training

2008-05-14T15:30:00.003-05:00

As most of you know I have been blessed over the years by the writings of a dear sister named Sally Clarkson. I subscribe to her blog and enjoy reading her reflections on life. She knows the Lord and has shown me some very practical ways to encourage my children in the Lord. I recently read and was inspired by post of hers entitled, The Value of Self Government and Will Training. I am trying to slowly digest it and ask the Lord how I can apply some of her suggestions to parenting Annie and Benjamin.

Excerpt from Sally's post:

The idea behind self-government is that all of us have a power and authority over life that comes from within that can help us to master problems, obstacles, and can use our self-will to achieve great things. It is not about gutting out life in the flesh without the power of God, but it is the idea that we have a moral character that can be strengthened and under girded by our will and by practice. He who has cultivated this kind of strong character is useful and productive in almost all areas of life. It is what helps a believer to exercise faith and courage and perseverance in the midst of trials. It is what helps a pianist to practice long hours, an athlete to exercise rigorously in order to become a champion, a missionary to master a language and remain faithful in a foreign country until there is a multiplying ministry; a wife to bear up with grace when married to an immature husband; a mother who continues over and over to practice patience with a sick or rebellious child–governing life by mature, faith-based choices, not by feelings.

1 Thessalonians Chapter 5

2008-05-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

I have been blessed by this chapter over and over again over the course of the last 7 days. I was blessed by it prior to the retreat and my time at the retreat has brought new blessing and perspective for me. Here are a couple of my favorite excerpts:

"But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." verses 8-11

Verses 16 through 18 was what brought me to read the entire chapter and ultimately the whole letter. There is a great deal of substance and good reading in the entire letter and this chapter, of course I am just giving you the highlights to make you want to dig deeper and see what Paul wrote that led to him making these other statements:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

I'll lump 19-24 together here, but I must tell you that the Lord brought verse 24 to mind more than any other verse lately. It blesses me to know that "the one who calls" me "is faithful and He WILL do it."

"Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it."

Father,
Thank you that you have given us the Holy Spirit through Jesus so that we have the chance of knowing you. Continue to reveal yourself more and more to us. Amen.

Verse 28, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."

Graham Cooke: The Nature of God

2008-04-03T23:38:00.004-05:00

Many of us have listened to the audio recording of Graham Cooke declaring the Nature of God. A dear sister reminded me of it in an email this evening. I found the transcript that a brother of ours had tirelessly and diligently transcribed. I would love to post the whole document, but it's 6 pages in Word. So, I had to choose a small excerpt. It's encouraged me. I hope it encourages you too.

Our god is consistent

But he’s also unpredictable

You never know what God is going to do next.

You always know what he’s going to be like

You never know what he’s going to do.

And God has called you to see the invisible and do the impossible.

God has not called you to do the things that you can do

He’s called you to do the things that you will never be able to do in a million years

You’re not able to do what god has called you to do

Only he can do it.

But he’s called you to live in his faithfulness

He’s called you to live in his consistency

That he will come and do all the things that need to be done

So beloved, you cannot find security in what God is doing

Because God commits you to the impossible

He asks you to see the invisible

He calls you to do the outrageous.

There is no security in that place.

There is no security in what God is doing

There is only security in who God is.

He ends with this:

I know you are going to do something today

I just want to be alive to you

So I can see it

Wait for it

Speak it out

Live in it

Experience it

Worship you in it

Glorify your name in it.

There are no good days anymore

No bad days

Just days of grace, eh?

That’s agreed

Days of grace.

And the grace of God is going to come

And bring with it the nature of god

That you might know him

That you might know him

That you might know him

And rest in him

And live in him

And move in him

Worship him

Represent him.

So, may we go on in God's nature today. The encouragement I received from my dear sister was that there are days of grace. Not good days or bad days, but days of Grace. May that be real to us all today!

Never Let Go --David Crowder

2007-10-03T17:54:00.000-05:00

A brother of ours recently blessed us with a copy of David Crowder's newest album Remedy. I have been really blessed by track #5 Never Let Go. The song has been especially good for me today. Annie's getting better --at least we hope and pray that she is. At any rate the last few days of caring for her day and night has been emotionally and physically draining on our household. The Lord started speaking to me about his faithfulness and constancy last week before the on-set of her "bronchitis-pneumonia" (which i will start calling "bronchmonia" :). So, when I heard those ideas expressed in this song this week I was increasingly blessed by The Father's love and the message expressed in this song. I was unable to locate an easy way to link the song itself here, but if you visit this link you can listen to any track on the Remedy album. And through it all, no matter how many times Annie wakes up during the night, how many breathing treatments she requires, or how many medications i must giver her---> HE remains constant. HE remains loving. He remains Good. And HE Never Lets go!

Never Let Go

When clouds veil sun
And disaster comes
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
When waters rise
And hope takes flight
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul

Ever faithful
Ever true
You I know
You never let go
You never let go
You never let go
You never let go

When clouds brought rain
And disaster came
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
When waters rose
And hope had flown
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul
Oh, my soul

Oh, my soul
Overflows
Oh, what love, oh, what love
Oh, my soul
Fills hope
Perfect love that never lets go

Oh, what love, oh, what love
Oh, what love, oh, what love
In joy and pain
In sun and rain
You’re the same
Oh, You never let go

The Psalms

2007-08-17T23:36:00.002-05:00

I recently posted part of Ephesians 6 in reference to the armor of God. Reading what is written there in the letter to the Ephesians as well as the excerpt from Edith Schaeffer's book The Tapestry made me want to come up with some cool "armor of God" type craft for my children. I started to brain storm about what kind of cool things that we could do when I was reminded that it wasn't about a "craft" it was about the actual armor. The two pieces that have been on my heart concerning that specifically have been the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit, the word of God. So, more than a craft about the armor, my children need the armor. I need the armor. So, that conviction from the Lord led me to an idea that I believe was of Him as well. That is to go through the Psalms with my children. Now, the Psalms are full of lots and lots of things. Regardless, I believe that the Lord will be able to show me simple truths that the kids and I can read about, talk about, sing about, and perhaps do a craft about. Not simply for activity sake, but to begin teaching them how to put on God's armor- one truth at a time.

We began in Psalm 1. It was such a blessing to me. And as we have told more people about our first day I personally have learned more about that passage and feel strengthened in my Spirit.

Psalm 2 verse 6 states, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." So, we made a cardboard and tissue mountain as visual reminder of this passage. Benjamin wanted to make a crown for the mountain, so we did.
There are lots of aspects of homeschooling that excite me. This plan to go through the Psalms with both Ben and Annie is one of the things that I am really looking forward to. We looked at Psalm 3 already. Loved seeing that God is our shield and protector. Psalm 4 is good too. I have looked at it myself, but the kids and I haven't done it together yet.

Shield of Faith; Sword of the Spirit

2007-08-12T22:19:00.000-05:00

The following except inspired me to read and meditate upon Ephesians 6:10-20:

"If it were up to the devil...he would subtract every one of God's people from history, and would divide all of God's people from each other, setting them at each other's throats, with hate erasing love, and occupation with lesser battles diverting their attention from the Major Battle of God against Satan. The devil's "darts" or "flaming arrows"are real, and w are told we are meant to know they exist, not as a kind of fairytale illustration for children, but as a dangerous "happening," assailing us day by day.

"We are to quench or put out the fiery darts...how? By taking the shield of faith. The shield is faith. The sword is the Word of God. Day by day, hour by hour, we are meant to take the protection we are warned we seriously need. We are to read, meditate upon, dwell in the bible as the true Word of God. We are not meant simply to talk about how much we believe it; wee are to use it as a "sword" in our portion of the battle--the portion in which we are involved. we are to have a "shield" in front of us-- a bullet-proof vest, so to speak, which is the shield of faith. We are to believe what we have read, to remember that our God is the God of the impossible, that He is greater than our enemy, and that He has promised us that this shield is effective! We have a "tried and tested" shield against the fiery darts that do come against us day by day, even if we are not aware of them. We are to pray with faith, staying in communication with God actively."-- The Tapestry by Edith Schaeffer, page 513

*********

Ephesians 6:10-20
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should

Paper Mache: Painting a Hot Air Balloon

2007-08-05T07:53:00.003-05:00

For steps and advice on how to paper mache (papier-mache) hot air balloons check out my homeschooling blog here.

Ben diligently paints his balloon.

Annie works on hers.

Here's a shot of both of them working.

Annie and Ben pose in the courtyard with the paper mache hot air balloons. We had hung them fom our crape myrtles to dry.

An up-close look at Ben's balloon.

Here's Annie's. I just loved how fun they looked hanging from the trees. :)

Paper Mache: Making a Hot Air Balloon

2007-07-31T23:23:00.004-05:00

For steps and advice on how to paper mache (papier-mache) hot air balloons check out my homeschooling blog here.

This is our first attempt at paper mache. We are attempting to make hot air balloons.

It was fun to get our hands all messy to coat the newspaper with goop to make it stick to the balloon. Stay tuned for painting the hot air balloons and the final product.

God is Love

2007-05-07T17:09:00.000-05:00

God is love: Learning to Live by His Spirit

So, the Lord has been speaking to me in a variety of ways recently (some of those have been so real that i have tasted the salt from my tears ---others have been based on time i have had quiet before the Lord AND HE "SPOKE"-- then i was in scripture and HE affirmed what I "heard") all of this has been so scriptural/spiritual that my life cannot be mine alone any longer!!

Let me share what i came to this blog to share. First off, Friday night during our time of prayer/discussion/seeking the Lord on behalf of and for the portion of Christ that we belong to...this Church that is precious to us because it is so very precious to Him. During our time together the Lord spoke to me about LOVE. He expressed Himself as love to me and opened up my eyes to the fact that i have been trying to bottle up and hoard the love that He has given to me. I have been trying to keep it to myself. I have been selfish. I wonder if i am the only one....

It was amazing because while God was speaking i began to feel love. I began to feel love for brothers and sisters that i am not "close" to. I began to feel love for his people in a way that i did not realize was possible. In fact, it didn't occur to me that i wasn't already feeling "love" for them until i received His very heart of love for them. I began to cry out in pray for brothers & sisters whom i am now capable of loving with His love because He has chosen to reveal Himself to me about this place where i had been attempting to hoard his love -or at least not consider sharing it. In more than an idea sort of way. In a way that empties me of my selfish desire and ambition and makes me available to serving this one whom God loves and wants to love through me. So, this is Friday night. This is what God is speaking to my heart Friday night.

Saturday and Sunday the Lord pours out compassion and love on me and my family through brothers and sisters in a way that i didn't think was possible. He showed us mercy and grace and love through the eyes and actions of a dear sister and brother. We experienced the abundant flow of love that the Father had just asked me to be willing to give. Wait, so i am willing to love and what happens? I am LOVED.....how does that work? That works because we are talking about the amazing and wonderful love of God. God is love and His love grows...it multiplies, it feeds, it nourishes, it surprises us, it brings forth miracles, it heals marriages, it came in the form of a person, it/he cannot be defined.

So, God's talking to me about love and i am experiencing it first hand. Then on Sunday God reminds me that He's been talking to me about how the fruit of the Spirit isn't something to be "achieved" rather it is a natural result of living by the Spirit? What Spirit? God's Spirit...JESUS!! Living by the Spirit of the Life of Christ within me is the life that will yield the good fruits. i don't need to attempt to achieve the "fruit" it will be a natural result of living by His Spirit.

Now, here is where it gets really good! i mean i think that it has been good thus far, but check this out. So, God is talking to me. He's talking to me about loving His people, I am being loved by His people, then He says remember to live by my Spirit. Okay, got that God. Well so, Monday morning i am thinking let me go ahead and read some of what it says in Galatians about life by the spirit. So, I began by reading in verse 16 under the caption, "Life by the Spirit" because after all that's what i am looking for. It reads:

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 1But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."

Okay, so there's lots of good stuff their. In fact, i thought plenty of it was very relevant to our Sunday morning discussion. After reading this i read into Chapter 6 which really seems to carry this theme on some. After that i thought, let me begin in the beginning of Chapter 5 and see what it might say leading up to the part about "Live by the Spirit".

So, here's the portion of that that really blessed me:

5But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love....13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Okay, so wait a second here. Are you telling me that this passage speaks directly to the things that God has has been "speaking" to me about loving my brothers and sisters as well as living by the spirit? I mean first He "spoke" to me; Then He gave me real-life examples; and finally He leads me to a passage of scripture that affirms everything He has been telling me. WOWSERS!!!

What an amazing God!!! Hopefully you have hung with me through. Let me encourage you that HE Speaks!!! He is Love....and He longs to display His Love for His Church. His People. His Bride. May we allow Him to use us at the vessels of His love by living by His Spirit!!!!

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

2007-05-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

Psalm 107

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.

5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.

6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.

7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.

8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,

9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,

11 for they had rebelled against the words of God
and despised the counsel of the Most High.

12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.

14 He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom
and broke away their chains.

15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,

16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.

17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

18 They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.

19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.

20 He sent forth his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.

21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men.

22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.

23 Others went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.

24 They saw the works of the LORD,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.

25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.

26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.

27 They reeled and staggered like drunken men;
they were at their wits' end.

28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.

29 He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.

30 They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.

31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men.

32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.

33 He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,

34 and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

35 He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;

36 there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.

37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;

38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.

39 Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

40 he who pours contempt on nobles
made them wander in a trackless waste.

41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.

42 The upright see and rejoice,
but all the wicked shut their mouths.

43 Whoever is wise, let him heed these things
and consider the great love of the LORD.