A Call to Live in Peace

In the book of Ephesians, Paul urges us to be united.

 1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.  2 Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.  3 Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace.  4 We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future.  5 There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism,  6 and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all.    --Ephesians 4:1-6 New Living Translation  It seems that God is speaking to me about peace.  I have full faith that it is not by accident.  If you follow my blog regularly, you will see that last Wednesday I spoke about a time for everything, including war and peace.  This Wednesday, I will also be writing about putting down weapons.  Of course, weapons come in many forms.    In Ephesians, Paul is urging us to live godly.  He doesn't just say, "Live godly."  No.  He goes into detail.  Even though Paul persecuted Christians, he himself became one.  He was compelled by Jesus Christ.  I like how the New Living Translation makes it simple for us to understand what Paul is saying in Ephesians 4 about peacefully living in unity.  I thank God that we, in this day and age, have the ability to understand the Bible.  How should we act towards one another?  We should:  --be humble towards one another;--be patient through one another's flaws;--be gentle in our conduct towards one another;--thus, practice unity under the Holy Spirit.  Why should we be united in peace?   --God has called us for His purposes; --we have the same spirit (of God); --we are within one body (of Christ); --we have one Lord who rules over us; --we share in the same faith; --we have been born of the same baptism;  --we have the same glorious future; and--we share the same Father, God.   We should live peacefully with one another! Well, this has been informative.  I pray that the Holy Spirit counsels us all about these Bible verses.  I love breaking down the meanings of the words, piecemeal, in order to understand what I am reading.  I hope it helps you all, too.  Thanks for reading what the Lord has revealed to me about living in peace.   How about you, my readers? Are you living in peace with one another?  Are you living in unity within your home?  Or are you divided in your goals as a unit?  Like the saying goes, "United we stand.  Divided, we fall."  I encourage you all, my readers, to examine whether you are acting in harmony or in discord with one another.  It could change your life.  Please discuss this issue at the dinner table.  It is worth the time and effort.  I pray that God gives you all, my beloveds, His wisdom and peace.   

 
This has been an entry for the Spiritual Sundays series. 

To compile this mini- bible study, I visited: http://www.biblestudytools.com/

 

 

Accept God's Mercy

God's Word shows his mercy for everyone.

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.  

 

16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

1 Timothy 1:15-17 NIV
 

This Bible verse that I have chosen for today has come via another track of thought.  I was compelled to read the whole chapter and preferred to ponder a little more on this portion of 1 Timothy chapter 1.  I think it is of a timely nature to be brought to this spectacular set of words.  We are so close to Resurrection Sunday or Easter as some call it.  Whatever the case may be, I think we Christians understand that Jesus did a wonderful thing for us all.

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  This means, for those who do not fully understand or know, that none of us are perfect.  We do bad things.  We might not want to be bad.  We might not understand that we are bad, but we have the tendency to do or think bad things.

Does that mean that God doesn't love us?  No.  He is merciful.  He's forgiving.  God is slow at getting angry, just like a loving, patient father would.  

We can get close to the God.

Lest you, my wonderful readers, think that I think I am better than anyone else, I am here to tell you that I am like Paul.  I am the worst of sinners.  I have bad thoughts.  I don't act on them, but I can think just as badly as the worst of people.  Am I to be condemned?

God is willing to forgive our sin.

No.  Paul (who's traveled everywhere to speak about Jesus) tells Timothy, his young helper, that Jesus showed mercy to Paul.  Paul is an example of Jesus' patience.  Look, if Jesus could forgive Paul for persecuting or treating the early Christians so horribly, it is possible for you and me to be forgiven of our worse sins.  Isn't that comforting?

Jesus made it possible for us to live with God, the Father.  

If God shows his love for Paul and me, in that He has chosen to forgive us, that should give everyone hope.  I pray that you, my readers, understand that God's love is so deep and wide.  We must understand that God wants us to trust Him.  He wants us to have eternal (forever) life with Him.  Isn't that awesome?!

My readers, are any of you wondering if you are good enough for God's love?  Do you feel that you have sinned too much?  No.  My friends, please turn to Him today and confess your sin to Him in prayer.  Then, accept His mercy.

God loves you so much.

God wants you to turn away from your sin.  

He wants you to live with Him. 

I pray that God gives you all, my beloveds, His wisdom and peace. 

This has been an entry for the Spiritual Sundays series.  Please think on this message as we near Resurrection Sunday and/or Easter.

To compile this mini- bible study, I visited: http://www.biblestudytools.com/