In His Love, Cathy
Friday, October 25, 2013
One of God's Wonderful Miracles
Here is my newest sweet little niece...Cathryn Michelle. She is a miracle. Her Mommy and Daddy lost a little boy right after Thanksgiving last year...he was born prematurely. This just months after loosing our Dad. Her Mother was told she could never have children again. But God blessed them with this sweet little girl less than a year later. I get to see her next weekend. I cannot wait to hold this precious little girl! Thank you Lord, for you are so very good!
In His Love, Cathy
In His Love, Cathy
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Thanksgiving
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever."
Psalm 118:1 (and 118:29)
Psalm 118:1 (and 118:29)
"Though your life may not yet be perfect, when you focus on God's grace in your life, it will color every other experience, past and present." —Diane Eble
In His Love, Cathy
Monday, October 21, 2013
Prayer Request
Please be in prayer for a family that has experienced a totally unexpected loss. I cannot fathom what they are experiencing but I know it must be very difficult for them (and will be difficult in the days and months ahead). My heart goes out to them.
In His Love, Cathy
In His Love, Cathy
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
from those who do what is right.
Psalm 84:11
So I am a little ADHD when it comes to reading through my Bible. I love to bounce back and forth between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
And as I am reading today - BAM! - Psalm 84:11!
For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. God lights our path, showing us the way that is good and righteous! But He is also our shield, providing eternal protection to those who are in Christ!
He gives us grace and glory. God is full of grace and glory! He loves us so much that He offered us grace in the form of His perfect One and Only Son, Jesus Christ - who died in our place to pay for our sins. Through Christ, we can experience God's Grace and His Glory!
The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.
I cannot offer any better commentary than what my Study Bible says: "God does not promise to give us everything we think is good, but he will not withhold what is permanently good. He will give us the means to walk along his paths, but we must do the walking. When we obey him, he will not hold anything back that will help us serve him."
God has never held back anything eternally good from us. In fact, He gave us His all. Jesus gave us His all. And for such a love as He has for us, our love for Him in return should motivate us to obediently walk in faith!
In His Love, Cathy
He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
from those who do what is right.
Psalm 84:11
So I am a little ADHD when it comes to reading through my Bible. I love to bounce back and forth between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
And as I am reading today - BAM! - Psalm 84:11!
For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. God lights our path, showing us the way that is good and righteous! But He is also our shield, providing eternal protection to those who are in Christ!
He gives us grace and glory. God is full of grace and glory! He loves us so much that He offered us grace in the form of His perfect One and Only Son, Jesus Christ - who died in our place to pay for our sins. Through Christ, we can experience God's Grace and His Glory!
The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.
I cannot offer any better commentary than what my Study Bible says: "God does not promise to give us everything we think is good, but he will not withhold what is permanently good. He will give us the means to walk along his paths, but we must do the walking. When we obey him, he will not hold anything back that will help us serve him."
God has never held back anything eternally good from us. In fact, He gave us His all. Jesus gave us His all. And for such a love as He has for us, our love for Him in return should motivate us to obediently walk in faith!
In His Love, Cathy
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Ephesians 4:7-10
However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
In His Love, Cathy
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
Ephesians 4:7-10
Some people go through this life thinking they are without talent, that they have nothing special to offer to others.
However, this could be furthest from the truth! In Ephesians 4:7 Paul says that God has given each and every believer a special gift! And not only that, he GENEROUSLY gave us this gift. Each and every believer belonging to the Body of Christ has been blessed with God-given abilities!
But how is this? Because God sent His One and Only Son Jesus Christ to this world. Jesus took on the punishment for our sins, though he was without sin. And though falsely accused and crucified, Christ rose from the dead - conquering sin and death. When Jesus ascended to Heaven to sit at God's right hand, He sent the Holy Spirit to live in believers. Through the Holy Spirit Christ gave gifts to the church. And these gifts, no matter how big or small they may seem, are important in growing and strengthening the church!
Yield your heart to Christ. Let His Holy Spirit generously fill you. See what wonderful gifts come to fruition as you serve Christ!
In His Love, Cathy
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Ephesians 4:1-6
"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 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all."
Ephesians 4:1-6
In reading Ephesians Chapter 4, I am struck not just with the theme of unity in the Body of Christ, but also how that unity is attained.
We so often hear how The Body of Christ, the Church, is supposed to be unified. In Ephesians 4, Paul shows us how true unity of believers can be obtained.
First and foremost, we should always remember what unites us as followers of Christ. "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one spirit, and we all share the same spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) No matter our differences - race, culture, political views, social status, church association - we who are in Christ are ONE BODY...ONE SPIRIT...ALL sharing the same Spirit - HIS HOLY SPIRIT! God created a diverse world full of diverse peoples. Diversity also exists in His Body of Believers. My Bible commentary offers further insight into diversity within the body, "Learn to enjoy the way we members of Christ's body complement one another." God doesn't want cookie cutter Christians. He wants diversity! We all have different jobs to do and differing gifts to offer. If we were all the same I cannot help but to think not much Kingdom work would get done. God uses this diversity within His Church to further His Kingdom!
Secondly, with diversity can come disagreements. And, because we are human, each and every one of us are prone to mistakes and subject to sin. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:2 that we in Christ need to be humble, gentle, and patient with each other. Therefore, when we see faults in others we are to first be humble - because we are not perfect either. We are to show patience and gentleness in dealing with them rather than focusing soley on their shortcomings. That is how God has dealt with us - allowing His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment for our sins. God loves and offers us forgiveness so we are to do the same for others! Instead of responding to others in a critical spirit, our love response should be taking positive steps to help strengthen those who are weak or at fault. We have to be gentle because we are not privy to all of the facts - we do not know what kind of pain or troubles someone is struggling with. Furthermore, we are more effective in helping others overcome if we have established a genuine relationship with them. Instead of judging others because of their differences and faults, get to know the person. Pray for them. But do not just stop there. Spend quality time with them. Be a true friend. Help them out of genuine concern and offer correction (if necessary) out of love. Some of my closest friends over the years have been people who were not necessarily cut from the same cloth as me. But after spending time with them and getting to know them, these are friendships I value and cherish! It does not matter if we see eye to eye, we are friends. We understand each other. We value each other's opinions and we are patient with each other's faults. And we let each other know when we see things in them that causes concern - because of our love and genuine interest in each other's well being.
And here is where verse 3 comes in. Not only must we be patient with one another's faults, we must do all that we can to live peaceably with one another. Without love and patience for one another, peace cannot exist. That is why remaining humble and dealing with fellow believers gently and patiently is so important. Infighting and arguments hinder unity within the Body. In order to attain that peace, we must willing to allow the Spirit of God to lead us instead of our human nature. Those who focus on God instead of themselves can achieve this spirit of peace both within and without. In response, our words and actions should bring this peace to the Body - building up all members and making us all fit for His Service.
For we who are in Christ belong to one body, united under one head - Jesus Christ! And this body serves a God who is active in our lives... He is OVER ALL, IN ALL, and LIVES THROUGH ALL!
Praying for the Holy Spirit to give me a heart that loves the members of the Body as God loves us...for a peaceful spirit that offers mercy and forgiveness - a spirit of humility, gentleness, and patience.
In His Love, Cathy
Ephesians 4:1-6
In reading Ephesians Chapter 4, I am struck not just with the theme of unity in the Body of Christ, but also how that unity is attained.
We so often hear how The Body of Christ, the Church, is supposed to be unified. In Ephesians 4, Paul shows us how true unity of believers can be obtained.
First and foremost, we should always remember what unites us as followers of Christ. "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one spirit, and we all share the same spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) No matter our differences - race, culture, political views, social status, church association - we who are in Christ are ONE BODY...ONE SPIRIT...ALL sharing the same Spirit - HIS HOLY SPIRIT! God created a diverse world full of diverse peoples. Diversity also exists in His Body of Believers. My Bible commentary offers further insight into diversity within the body, "Learn to enjoy the way we members of Christ's body complement one another." God doesn't want cookie cutter Christians. He wants diversity! We all have different jobs to do and differing gifts to offer. If we were all the same I cannot help but to think not much Kingdom work would get done. God uses this diversity within His Church to further His Kingdom!
Secondly, with diversity can come disagreements. And, because we are human, each and every one of us are prone to mistakes and subject to sin. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:2 that we in Christ need to be humble, gentle, and patient with each other. Therefore, when we see faults in others we are to first be humble - because we are not perfect either. We are to show patience and gentleness in dealing with them rather than focusing soley on their shortcomings. That is how God has dealt with us - allowing His Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment for our sins. God loves and offers us forgiveness so we are to do the same for others! Instead of responding to others in a critical spirit, our love response should be taking positive steps to help strengthen those who are weak or at fault. We have to be gentle because we are not privy to all of the facts - we do not know what kind of pain or troubles someone is struggling with. Furthermore, we are more effective in helping others overcome if we have established a genuine relationship with them. Instead of judging others because of their differences and faults, get to know the person. Pray for them. But do not just stop there. Spend quality time with them. Be a true friend. Help them out of genuine concern and offer correction (if necessary) out of love. Some of my closest friends over the years have been people who were not necessarily cut from the same cloth as me. But after spending time with them and getting to know them, these are friendships I value and cherish! It does not matter if we see eye to eye, we are friends. We understand each other. We value each other's opinions and we are patient with each other's faults. And we let each other know when we see things in them that causes concern - because of our love and genuine interest in each other's well being.
And here is where verse 3 comes in. Not only must we be patient with one another's faults, we must do all that we can to live peaceably with one another. Without love and patience for one another, peace cannot exist. That is why remaining humble and dealing with fellow believers gently and patiently is so important. Infighting and arguments hinder unity within the Body. In order to attain that peace, we must willing to allow the Spirit of God to lead us instead of our human nature. Those who focus on God instead of themselves can achieve this spirit of peace both within and without. In response, our words and actions should bring this peace to the Body - building up all members and making us all fit for His Service.
For we who are in Christ belong to one body, united under one head - Jesus Christ! And this body serves a God who is active in our lives... He is OVER ALL, IN ALL, and LIVES THROUGH ALL!
Praying for the Holy Spirit to give me a heart that loves the members of the Body as God loves us...for a peaceful spirit that offers mercy and forgiveness - a spirit of humility, gentleness, and patience.
In His Love, Cathy
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