Grace and Peace

Grace Gift
Grace and Peace

photo by Sean Duran

2 Peter 1:2
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

photo by Sean Duran

What robs you of your peace most often?

 For me it is the lack of time spent with God,

 a cluttered home,

and filling up longings with things that don't satisfy.....

Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.  4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

What else would we mediate on except our wonderful God of Peace?  As we mediate on Him, He keeps us at perfect peace.

 

Clinging To What Is Good

Grace Gift
Clinging to what is good

Romans 12:9
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Patricia Hunter photo

Patricia Hunter photo

Heavenly Father, put away from us all pretense of Your love and fill us with Yourself, which is love. Help us to recognize the difference between Your love and imitations of It. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Freedom

Grace Gift
Freedom Whom the Son has set free is free indeed." ~ John 8:36

 Psalm 37
Do not fret because of evil men
       or be envious of those who do wrong;
 for like the grass they will soon wither,
       like green plants they will soon die away.

 Commit your way to the LORD;
       trust in him and he will do this:
 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
       the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
       dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
 Delight yourself in the LORD
       and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
       do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
       when they carry out their wicked schemes.
 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
       do not fret—it leads only to evil.

 For evil men will be cut off,
       but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

 Where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is Freedom.
~2 Corinthians 3:17 

I am quite sure what this country needs is more of Him and less of us...U.S- Uncle Sam... shame on U.S. for turning Him away the way we do.

There Will Be A Day

Grace Gift
Everlasting Light

Your sun will never set again,

and your moon will wane no more;

the LORD will be your everlasting light,

and your days of sorrow will end.

~ Isaiah 60:20

 The LORD your God is with you,
       He is mighty to save.
       He will take great delight in you,
       He will quiet you with his love,
       He will rejoice over you with singing.

      ~ Zephaniah 3:17

Light Of Knowledge

Grace Gift
Light Of Knowledge

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”

made his light shine in our hearts

to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God

in the face of Christ.

~ 2 Corinthians 4:6

The night is nearly over;

the day is almost here.

So let us put aside the deeds of darkness

and put on the armor of light.

~ Romans 13:12

Live as children of light.

~ Ephesians 5:8

Compassion

Grace Gift
Compassion

 1 Peter 4:10  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

The definition of compassion is: “a feeling of deep sympathy or sorrow for another who is stricken with misfortune, accompanied by the strong desire to alleviate the suffering.”

Matthew 14:14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Mark 6:34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and  he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:11-14 

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

 

" Be an encourager, a healer, one who helps restore the years the locust has eaten"

~Dr. David Jeremiah~

"I will restore to you the years the swarming locus has taken," says the Lord in Joel 2:25.

Strength

Grace Gift
Strength

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart:
wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalm 27:14

The Biblical meaning of the word WAIT, seems to be more of an attitude than an action.  Waiting is an attitude of patience, which is waiting on the Lord and trusting in him to do what is best for you.    

  I've realized how impatient I can be. Part of it is because I don't like waiting. I want results. I want resolution. I want answers. I want progress. And I want it asap. I want it now. I want it immediately....

  Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.  ~ Elisabeth Elliot ~
 
Reminding myself and my readers that God does not and has not abandoned us.

We don’t know how our lives will unfold, but we can decide to trust our future to an all knowing God.  For those of us who WAIT on the Lord, our hearts will be strengthened.