TODAY'S PROMISE

"And this hope will not lead to disappointment.

For we know how dearly God loves us, because

he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts

with his love."

(Romans 5:5 NLT)

I AM UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Some of us do not have all the "carry through" we would

like.  How many incomplete projects do you have sitting

around?  Or things that you want to do - some day?

And, even worse, a concern about finishing life it's self

and being ready to stand before God at the end of our 

earthly life.

There is one of the truths of the Scriptures that is a real

comfort to myself.

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work

within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished

on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

(Philippians 1:6 NLT)

What is the good work that God began?

Very few people over all have God working in them at all.

They are living and working for themselves rejecting 

what God wants to do for them.

The "the good work" that is being spoken of here is;

the work that God does in a person who has submitted

to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  When we submit to 

Jesus Christ and invite him in to run our lives He

places in us His Holy Spirit.  Then, we have two

natures in us.  One of course is the natural nature

that is in very person alive.  The other is the nature

of God Himself, or the Holy Spirit.

It is this nature, the nature God has put in us that

causes us to be "Born Again" as is it is often called.

And God will continue to give us life through that 

new nature until Jesus Christ returns to this earth to

to rule and reign over his creation.

The Apostle Paul who was the writer of the above

Scripture also said it another way about this good

work that God has started in a "TRUE" Christian.

"He will keep you strong to the end so that you

will be free from all blame on the day when

our Lord Jesus Christ returns."

(1 Corinthians 1:8 NLT)

You and I both know that life is not easy.  We

have our "up's" (mountain tops") and our "downs"

(valleys) in this life.  God has it that way on purpose,

 to help us grow into what He is trying to make us

into.

I like the way Kathryn Kuhlman said it;

"Christian character isn't made on the

mountain top.  It's made in the valley."

One more thought about God completing

His work in me.  Speaking of the Lord Jesus

Christ the writer of the Hebrews stated;

"Therefore he is able, once and forever,

to save those who come to God through

him.  He lives forever to intercede with

God on their behalf." 

(Hebrews 7:25 NLT)

Did you catch that?

Those of us who come to God through

Jesus Christ, Jesus himself will be 

interceding to God the father for us forever.

Let me close with part of a children's song

the Hemphills wrote. Yes, I know it is childish, 

but so true.

"He's still working on me

To make me what I need to be

It took him just a week to make the moon and stars

The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars

How loving and patient He must be

'Cause He's still working' on me."

TODAY'S QUOTE

“People should love being alone with

the Word of God and nothing else -

just them, the Holy Spirit and the 

Word of God.”

- Francis Chan

TODAY'S PROMISE

"But - 'When God our Savior revealed his

kindness and love, he saved us, not because of

the righteous things we had done, but because

of his mercy.  He washed away our sins, giving

us new birth and new life through the Holy

Spirit.  He generously poured out the Spirit

upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior."  

(Titus 3:4-6 NLT)

TODAY'S QUOTE

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com  

"I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are

emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and

everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy

Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts.  But if we

are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the

world, there is no room for the Spirit of God."

- D. L. Moody 

JOY IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com    

It has been rainy all week long.  A time when the arthritis

and a gloomy attitude want to take over.  A time of longing

for spring and some sunshine.

Yesterday when I was finishing up a project on a piece of 

equipment my wife pulled up to the shop door in her car

to speak to me.  About the time she rolled her window down

we both begin to smell something electrical burning.  At first

we did not know if it was the equipment I was working on,

or her car.  It was her car.

It ended up that the problem was the compressor for the 

air conditioning system had locked up.  This "fried" the

clutch [cause of the smell] and broke the serpentine belt.

"O joy"  That was a play on words.  That was anything but

good news to me.

I have the equipment to repair it.  But, I burned out on

working on cars twenty years ago.  That was not a task

I was looking forward to.  I wanted a break from problems.

However,  last evening I noted something.  A joy, a real

honest to goodness joy was springing up in me.  Not 

something put on trying to put on a happy face and pretend

that everything will get better.  But a real joy or happiness

that I did not have to generate.  I knew what it was, I have

experienced it before.  We call it the joy of the Holy Spirit.

This joy that comes from God himself does not come from

going to church, or joining a church, or having the correct

doctrine or theology, saying a certain pray, or doing some

ritual, but simply being in relationship to God himself.

When we yield ourselves to Jesus Christ and have him

come in and take over our life his Spirit - the Holy Spirit -

moves into our life and that is the source of the joy that

springs up in us when things are tough.

That joy has strengthened me and given me the confidence

to dig into this problem - ready or not.

Thank you Jesus.

TODAY'S PROMISE

"And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive;

seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will

be opened to you.  For those who ask will receive,

and those who seek will find, and the door will

be opened to anyone who knocks.  Would any of

you who are fathers give your son a snake when 

he asks for fish?  Or would you give him a scorpion

when he asks for an egg?  As bad as you are,  you

know how to give good things to your children.

How much more, then, will the Father in heaven

give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

(Luke 11:9-13 TEV)

******************

"The promises of the Lord can be trusted;

they are as genuine as silver refined

seven times in the furnace."

(Psalms 12:6 GNT)

1. Meditate on God's Promises.

2. Plead the Promises at the throne of Grace.

3. Act in Faith that God Will Perform His Promises.

(William Gurnall)