Friday, May 27, 2016

Fantastic Friday #525 - Atone

Atone

25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:25-26

Do you ever think about Christ's atonement? Not really the physical act, but what the atonement represents. That sacrifice is an amazing gift and even more wonderful when you think of it being not just for those who need to repent for sins, but for also those who need to forgive others. What a perfect picture of forgiveness and model that we should all follow. If we didn't have that forgiveness, we wouldn't have that faith in Christ to do great things for us. I think we all need to remember that repentance and forgiveness can go both ways.

Have a great weekend.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Fantastic Friday #524 - Flourish

Flourish

7 “Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
and grew strong by destroying others!”

8 But I am like an olive tree
flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
for ever and ever.

9 For what you have done I will always praise you
in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
for your name is good. Psalm 52:7-9

Do you ever think of being in the prime of your life? What does that really mean? Maybe you are thriving in your life for whatever reason. Maybe it is your job, your family, or it could be your walk with Christ. However, do you think about not being in that prime? Maybe the enemy is causing you to question your faith or question your role in this world. Remember your identity in Christ and it is important not to forget this. Just like verse 8 describes an olive tree flourishing in the house of God, so also we are like that olive tree if we allow our faith to strengthen our hope in God and allow us to flourish.

Have a great weekend.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Fantastic Friday #523 - Wait

Wait

14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

If you are like me you always want to hurry things, or expect an answer right away. With the way the world works with immediate gratification, there isn't much patience for things any longer. I assume that there are things in everyone's life that they want an answer to right away, but we need to take the advice of this scripture and wait for the Lord. It is He who is in control and only He will give us our answers and direction when He is ready and when He feels we are ready. Be patient and wait for God's blessings, because they are bountiful.

Have a great weekend.

Friday, May 6, 2016

Fantastic Friday #522 - Whole

Whole

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word,love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. 1 John 2: 1-6

Do you ever think about things that are whole or in pieces? Things that are whole are complete and put together and typically strong. Those things that are in pieces are typically separated, not together, very weak and isolated. When I think of God and where He has put me, He has made me partially complete, because He wants me to rely on Him and accept Him. God just isn't support for the bits and pieces of a few people but for the whole world. He is what makes us complete and did this through the sacrifice of His son. We need to remember that in order to be whole and not in pieces that we need to commit to Him daily and His teachings. We should not fall into the traps of this world and expect to be complete, we must obey the word of the Lord who makes us complete and whole. Take a moment to become stronger and be made whole through our Lord and Savior.

Have a great weekend.