Mercy
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:3-4
Who have you given mercy to this week? An act of kindness, compassion or favor to anyone? Think hard and see if this mercy you practiced was for someone you love dearly or someone you just love because Christ asked you to. It is sometimes hard for most of us to show mercy to someone we know intimately, but it is more difficult to show mercy to those you don't really know. God knows us intimately and knows our hearts, and yet He still shows us mercy on a daily basis. If God can show you mercy when he knows us so well, don't you think it should be easier to show someone mercy when you don't know them? Show mercy and see what happens.
Have a great weekend.
Friday, December 29, 2017
Friday, December 22, 2017
Fantastic Friday #607 - Enter
Enter
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:1-3
I entered several locations this week, and not once was I denied entry. These were places of business, work and home. These places were welcoming for me to enter, but do you have those places where you are not allowed to enter without a special membership? Maybe you have to pay a fee to enter one of those stores, or you have to pay a huge amount to enter a club and participate in all that it has to offer. Have you ever sat down to think of what it takes to enter God's rest with Him? Certainly there are things you have to leave behind to gain this rest, but a lot of times we don't pay attention to this but only focus on the things that gratify us now. If we thought more about what we should pay attention to that would gain us entry, our lives might be more fulfilling here on this earth. Don't lose sight of that entry.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:1-3
I entered several locations this week, and not once was I denied entry. These were places of business, work and home. These places were welcoming for me to enter, but do you have those places where you are not allowed to enter without a special membership? Maybe you have to pay a fee to enter one of those stores, or you have to pay a huge amount to enter a club and participate in all that it has to offer. Have you ever sat down to think of what it takes to enter God's rest with Him? Certainly there are things you have to leave behind to gain this rest, but a lot of times we don't pay attention to this but only focus on the things that gratify us now. If we thought more about what we should pay attention to that would gain us entry, our lives might be more fulfilling here on this earth. Don't lose sight of that entry.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, December 15, 2017
Fantastic Friday #606 - Hard
Hard
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power,love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
What do you find to be hard? Is it schoolwork, your job, managing your finances, or even that home improvement project you are working on. What makes these things so hard is actually you. You have the ability to control how these difficult circumstances impact you. You have the opportunity to let it beat you up or you have the opportunity to let God guide you through these times. I read something this week that basically said "God did not give us the Spirit of Fear." Once we focus more on the areas that God has stated "fear not" then those times would be easier because we are living by faith and not by fear. Keep working through the hard things by utilizing the Spirit of God and not the spirit of fear.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power,love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
What do you find to be hard? Is it schoolwork, your job, managing your finances, or even that home improvement project you are working on. What makes these things so hard is actually you. You have the ability to control how these difficult circumstances impact you. You have the opportunity to let it beat you up or you have the opportunity to let God guide you through these times. I read something this week that basically said "God did not give us the Spirit of Fear." Once we focus more on the areas that God has stated "fear not" then those times would be easier because we are living by faith and not by fear. Keep working through the hard things by utilizing the Spirit of God and not the spirit of fear.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
Friday, December 8, 2017
Fantastic Friday #605 - Best
Best
7 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: 8 “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. Luke 14:7-9
How many of us look for the best seat at the movie theatre, sporting event, or even church. In some cases there are better seats than others at these events, but if you take a step back and think about it, how good is that seat. Does it give you the full picture, or does it place you in a position where everyone else can see you. A lot of us should take the example of humbling ourselves and taking a seat that is not the most prominent. I bet if you take a less prominent seat, that you will actually have the best seat because you can see everything and not be the focus of everything. Step back because none of us deserve the best seat.
This is the rest of the scripture if you were interested.
10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:10-11
Have a great weekend.
Matt--
7 So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: 8 “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; 9 and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. Luke 14:7-9
How many of us look for the best seat at the movie theatre, sporting event, or even church. In some cases there are better seats than others at these events, but if you take a step back and think about it, how good is that seat. Does it give you the full picture, or does it place you in a position where everyone else can see you. A lot of us should take the example of humbling ourselves and taking a seat that is not the most prominent. I bet if you take a less prominent seat, that you will actually have the best seat because you can see everything and not be the focus of everything. Step back because none of us deserve the best seat.
This is the rest of the scripture if you were interested.
10 But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. 11 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:10-11
Have a great weekend.
Matt--
Friday, December 1, 2017
Fantastic Friday #604 - Whisper
Whisper
12 “A word was secretly brought to me,
my ears caught a whisper of it.
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people, Job 4:12-13
Do you sometimes sit still and listen to the wind? What do you hear when you listen carefully? Is it the ripple of the trees, the flapping of a flag, the washing on shore of the water? When we listen a lot of times you can almost hear nature whispering to you. Telling you things you haven't heard before. Listening to the Holy Spirit can be that same way. The voice is sometimes too soft to hear because we allow the enemy to creep in and cover the whispers with loud noises. We can combat the loud noises in our life if we take the time to listen to what the Spirit says, and often the Spirit will prompt us prior to the whisper but we just aren't in a place to listen. Place yourself in a position to hear the whisper.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
12 “A word was secretly brought to me,
my ears caught a whisper of it.
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people, Job 4:12-13
Do you sometimes sit still and listen to the wind? What do you hear when you listen carefully? Is it the ripple of the trees, the flapping of a flag, the washing on shore of the water? When we listen a lot of times you can almost hear nature whispering to you. Telling you things you haven't heard before. Listening to the Holy Spirit can be that same way. The voice is sometimes too soft to hear because we allow the enemy to creep in and cover the whispers with loud noises. We can combat the loud noises in our life if we take the time to listen to what the Spirit says, and often the Spirit will prompt us prior to the whisper but we just aren't in a place to listen. Place yourself in a position to hear the whisper.
Have a great weekend.
Matt
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