Sharing 11

 That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

Ephesians 1: 15-19 (The Message)

Sharing 10

Colossians 1:15-23 (The Message) 


 ^15-18 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.


 ^18-20 He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.


 ^21-23 You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.

Sharing 9

An unexpected and sweet reminder:

 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
(Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV)

Have a wonderful week of sweet wanderings!!!

Sharing 8 + Imoteda's Blogpost

The Weak and the Strong

 ¹ Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. ² One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.
 ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

 ⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

 ¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister^[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written:

   “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
   every tongue will acknowledge God.’”^[b]

 ¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

Romans 14 (New International Version)

Also, check out Imoteda's blogpost on the ABSU gang rape victim. She is pulling together a petition. God is not going to come down and divine out justice, that's why He put governments in place and rules, to keep order in society. And if we see that order being abused, it is up to us to speak up when wrong is being done. 

Sign the petition!

Sharing 7

I haven't shared His Word here in a while, but going through devotion this morning, I was reading Romans 7:13-25, and it just occurred to me, Apostle Paul was just like me, or vice versa. Verses 14 to 25 tell the whole story of struggles with sin, as we try and fail on our own, and learn the hard way what the solution is, and learn to depend on Him for the redemption of our bodies. The Christian life is one of war: war of the mind against the body, war of the spirit against the body, old self versus new self... realizing that justification is instant and sanctification a life long process. 


***

14-20: We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 

And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 

As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 

For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 

Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21-25: So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

   So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature^[b] a slave to the law of sin.

***

Sharing 6 + In transit Tunes

 21-24  But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
 25-26 God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.


Romans 3 (The Message)

Sharing 5

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 
If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.


1 Peter 4:10-11 (NIV)

'JC's Birthday' aka Merry Christmas!!!

Isaiah 9 (NIV):  


Verse 2:  
The people walking in darkness 
   have seen a great light; 
on those living in the land of deep darkness 
   a light has dawned. 


Verse 6:
 For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Sharing 4

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.


Hebrews 2:14-18 (NIV)

Sharing 3

Colossians 1 (The Message): 

^15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

 ^18-20He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.

Sharing 2

Philippians 1: 9-11 (The Message):


So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. 
Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

Sharing 1

 "Come on, let's go back to God. He hurt us, but he'll heal us.
He hit us hard, 
   but he'll put us right again.
In a couple of days we'll feel better. 
   By the third day he'll have made us brand-new,
Alive and on our feet, 
   fit to face him.
We're ready to study God, 
   eager for God-knowledge.
As sure as dawn breaks, 
   so sure is his daily arrival.
He comes as rain comes, 
   as spring rain refreshing the ground."

"What am I to do with you, Ephraim?
   What do I make of you, Judah?
Your declarations of love last no longer
   than morning mist and predawn dew.
That's why I use prophets to shake you to attention,
   why my words cut you to the quick:
To wake you up to my judgment
   blazing like light.
I'm after love that lasts, not more religion.
   I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings.
You broke the covenant—just like Adam!
   You broke faith with me—ungrateful wretches!


Hosea 6:1-7 (The Message)