FRAUD

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affection, Christianity, compassions, conviction, Cookies, Epistle to the Galatians, fraud, Fruit of the Holy Spirit, Galations, gates of joy and peace, Gifts, God, HolySpirit, hurt others sef-control, ice cream, Jesus, lethal weapon, problems, Religion and Spirituality, serence, thoughts in check, tongue

Fruit of the Spirit (Photo credit: Martin LaBar)

I am a Fraud with a capital F.

Let me tell you about the real ME.

I do not love the way I should, I have trouble keeping my thoughts in check and I have a problem with living inside the gates of joy and peace. My tongue is a lethal weapon.  I am not serene. I am not holy. I am not always kind or gentle or patient. I hurt my loved ones and others, probably, more times than I know.

Self-control?

Hah, Hah and Hah!

Can you hear those cookies calling my name?  How about the two (count them “2”) ice cream cartons residing in my refrigerator.

Or how about the evil one sliding in and out of my brain saying “See, I told you – nothing ever changes!”

But when I get it right and live GOD’S WAY…..

I give, produce, lead, carry, convey and generate the fruit of the Spirit.

I receive God’s gift.  I can be confident and assured that a God’s Holiness will soak, saturate and spread through my life and then penetrate into the lives of others.

When I welcome God’s Gifts, He enables me to extend generosity to others through compassion, affection and conviction.

Instead of forcing my will into other’s lives, I can direct God’s energy into the lives of others.

No more fraud just God’s Holy Harvest.

Galatians 5: 22-23 (MSG)

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

 

Day Dreamer or Cloud Watcher?

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Anger, Bitterness, Christ, Christianity, cloud watcher, day dreamer, Fear Not, God, Jesu, Kingdom, Master, Psalm 90, Psalms, Questions, Revelation

How’s your faith today? If you rated your faith with #1 being low and #10 being faith-overflowing, how would you rate yourself?

Are you questioning and grumbling and bitter?

Take a look at Psalms!

 

Psalm 90: 3-11 (Message) So don’t return us to mud, saying, “Back to where you came from!” Patience! You’ve got all the time in the world—whether a thousand years or a day, it’s all the same to you. Are we no more to you than a wispy dream, no more than a blade of grass That springs up gloriously with the rising sun and is cut down without a second thought? Your anger is far and away too much for us; we’re at the end of our rope. You keep track of all our sins; every misdeed since we were children is entered in your books. All we can remember is that frown on your face. Is that all we’re ever going to get? We live for seventy years or so (with luck we might make it to eighty), And what do we have to show for it? Trouble. Toil and trouble and a marker in the graveyard. Who can make sense of such rage, such anger against the very ones who fear you? 

 

FEAR NOT!  

Watch the Clouds and Dream for the Days to Come:

 

Revelation 1:4-8 (MSG) All the best to you from The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive, and from the Seven Spirits assembled before his throne, and from Jesus Christ—Loyal Witness, Firstborn from the dead, Ruler of all earthly kings.

Glory and strength to Christ, who loves us, who blood-washed our sins from our lives, Who made us a Kingdom, Priests for his Father, forever—and yes, he’s on his way! Riding the clouds, he’ll be seen by every eye, those who mocked and killed him will see him, People from all nations and all times will tear their clothes in lament.
Oh, Yes. ⁸ The Master declares, “I’m A to Z. I’m The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive. I’m the Sovereign-Strong.”

 

FIXING UP

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Caulk, Christianity, Evangelism, God, Jesus, Opposing Views, Paint, Religion and Spirituality

Dried green paint (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We are going to paint the house! Yuck and Hooray!

We bought a foreclosed home, although in fairly good condition, the outside paint has been neglected. The paint is faded and peeling and just plain, ole tired!

So I gathered up some caulk, the caulking gun and some paint swatches. Hubby and I sanded and scraped off the peeling paint. We’ve pushed and cajoled the caulk into all of the surface cracks and crevices.

All this fixing up is hard work but it gives you time to think about life and enjoy the fall weather. As I was smearing some more caulk into an unyielding area, I thought about God’s process of “fixing us up”.

We come to Jesus like a worn, old foreclosed home. Jesus sands us down to the bare wood, primes and caulks any needed areas and repaints us. He restores us and makes us new again.

Through Jesus’ Grace we are renewed!

Jesus makes us new in order for His Grace to shine through us.

Yep, that’s quite a paint job!

PSALM 65: 9-13 (the Message)

Oh, visit the earth, ask her to join the dance! Deck her out in spring showers, fill the God-River with living water. Paint the wheat fields golden. Creation was made for this! Drench the plowed fields, soak the dirt clods With rainfall as harrow and rake bring her to blossom and fruit. Snow-crown the peaks with splendor, scatter rose petals down your paths, All through the wild meadows, rose petals. Set the hills to dancing, Dress the canyon walls with live sheep, a drape of flax across the valleys. Let them shout, and shout, and shout! Oh, oh, let them sing!