August 6, 2020





But by Love



"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." Galatians 5:13




Thank You, Lord, for my family.

Thank You, for putting a hedge around us so that we have been able to grow in Your grace and mercy.

Thank You, for purposefully drawing each of my children to You.


Read I Thessalonians 1 & 2


I am often in awe of Paul's love for people.


Consider who he had been. A Pharisee: by training, taught to uphold the letter of the law before people. A murderer: not in the eyes of his Pharisee cohorts, but by anyone who followed Christ. A Jew of a perfect heritage.


And then God transformed him. And now, by choices Paul made, God gave him a legacy that has been known for centuries the world over and that extends into eternity.


Perhaps one of the most difficult paradigms to grasp is the Christian life. We are called to love. But not as man loves. As God loves. We are told to trust God and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, that without Him, we can do nothing. And then we are called to work, obey, do.


Becoming a person like Paul did not just happen overnight. Instead, God chose to groom him, even before he was saved, for the life he would lead. God gave him the personality, the strengths, that would enable him to become the man God wanted him to be, if he chose to do what it would take.


Even loving the people, while love is a fruit of the Spirit, comes when we ACT with love.


There is no doubt that we are, at our core, selfish and prideful people, haters by nature. But we have the knowledge of good, and when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, we are strengthened not only to draw that knowledge out but also empowered to change our mindset and our responses and our emotions.


Action is necessary. Action comes from a change of heart, which begins when we take on the new life we find in Christ. Action comes from a new mindset, new found purpose, a new 'why' for living. But action takes work.


Change is laid out before us, but it isn't free. It takes work. Yes, God's work, but also ours. This calls on our faith. The decision to change comes from the hope God brings to us hope springing from a series of circumstances that reveal His hand--and then we believe, just enough to change our mindset. Then a little more to tentatively take a step, make a decision, to form a new habit, replacing the bad one. And one good habit leads to another and another, and in time we discover we've become a new person...continue to become a new person.


A glimpse of hope.A spark of faith.A decision.A determination to believe.A choice to make a good habit and turn from a bad one.Another choice to form a good habit, and again, and again, and again.Then from the smoke of our hard work under the perfect guidance of God's hand (His Holy Spirit's leading) we become a new person with more hope, new ideals, new and clearer vision, and an ever deepening joy.Then joy overflows to draw another to hope, beginning his path to eternal joy.


"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?" I Thessalonians 2:19


Thank you, Lord for letting us partake in the change so that we can gain understanding of Your love and grace and mercy.

Thank you, Lord for giving us hope.

Thank you, for sanctifying us.