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Paul Worked

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
II Thessalonians 3:7‭-‬12 NKJV

Great Article about “Why Paul Worked”: http://www.bible-bridge.com/pauls-income-four-reasons-why-paul-worked-day-job/

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I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever

The Lord  is  my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
Psalms 23:1‭-‬6 NKJV

Today is my birthday, and I have been blessed with 42 years of life. But these last few years have been abundantly blessed – with a new direction, with a new purpose.

You see, I met a man that I had heard about,  but that I never really knew. I fell into a close relationship with someone that I knew about from afar, but who I hadn’t loved up close and personal. I met a man who touched me and healed me and set my life on fire, and His name is Jesus Christ.

He changed my desires and my direction. He has me looking outward at how I can love and serve others and be a good steward of this life that I’ve surrendered to Him – instead of only inward serving myself. Many people will look at me and only see “another religious person” – and I understand, there are many of those around,  and I was once too blind to know the difference myself.

But I’m no longer rebellious or religious – I’m just in love with my Lord and Savior. I just want my life to be a blessing, to bring honor and glory to His name – not so that it will earn me anything, not so that people might think that I’m a good person – but so that they might realize that He is real.

You see, He isn’t that far away God that I would remember only in times of trouble. He is that loving Spirit that has come and made my house His home. He is changing my life. He is sending me out with His Good News that He loves you.

You don’t have to buy salvation with your silver pieces, but if you cling to them as your own, you will lose what is truly most valuable, and you will receive what you desire most instead.

You don’t have to work for your salvation with charitable gifts and religious practices, but if you remain idle and fruitless in what you call faith, can expect anything but to be cut away and burned with the other dead branches?

You don’t have to be a slave to the law, but if you are a slave to sin, how can you say that you have a permanent place in the Lord’s house and that His Holy Spirit lives in you and is Lord of your life?

The Good News is that He tells us, repent of your sins, believe in your heart,  and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of your life, follow Him and do not turn back,  run this race to the end, because He has gone to prepare a place for you good and faithful servants.

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Mercy

Oh, give thanks to the Lord , for He  is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Psalms 118:1 NKJV

הֹודוּ לַיהוָה כִּי־טֹוב כִּי לְעֹולָם חַסְדֹּֽו׃

Strong’s H2617 – checed
From חָסַד (H2616)

The KJV translates Strongs H2617 in the following manner: mercy (149x), kindness (40x), lovingkindness (30x), goodness (12x), kindly (5x), merciful (4x), favour (3x), good (1x), goodliness (1x), pity (1x), reproach (1x), wicked thing (1x).

חֶסֶד cheçed, kheh’-sed; from H2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subjectively) beauty:—favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing.

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[Godly mercy is not passive – it is active. It is not simply an exchange of forgiveness for sacrifice,  that is religion. It is an exchange of His active participation in our lives for our belief and surrender,  that is Christ. God’s ways are quite different than the ways of men.

His mercy endures forever towards us – we cannot escape it no matter what we do – because His mercy is poured out the same to all, but is received quite differently depending on our hearts.

He is merciful enough to chasten us when we are in rebellion, He is merciful enough to forgive us when we are repentant,  and He is merciful enough to surrender the reprobate to their true desires.

This is why the very same truth of the Word of God can produce revelation in one, conviction in another, and rejection in yet another. His mercy, His Truth, His way does not change, it endures forever, it abides, it is eternal and victorious.]

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:13 NKJV

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Do they realize that you have been with Jesus?

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:8‭-‬13 NKJV

How often or how rarely do people see the example of our good deeds and bold proclamation of Christ? Is it so much that they must marvel and realize that we have been with Christ?

Or do we look so similar to the world, that it is hard to tell if there is any faint glimmer or touch of Christ in us at all?

When we see a man or woman in need, is our thought whether or not our good deeds will result in any change or consequence, whether it will appear that we’ve done good or bad when measured and weighed by the scale of the religious and legal minded?

Or are we eager to show love and tell them that we serve them and love them because Christ first served and loved us?

Do we stand firm against those temple builders – those blind religious leaders leading the blind into destruction – who have turned their backs to the cornerstone, to that perfect stone set forth as our example, because their eyes could not see what their hearts could not comprehend?

Are our lives evidence of having more concern about being judged by men today than about being judged by God – foolishly saying things like “only God can judge me” as we laugh in His face doing the very things that please men and not God?

Do we really love God?

Will we love Him today,  by serving and loving our fellow man?

Will we look for the opportunities to make ourselves seem foolish and peculiar today for the purposes of God, not caring what the world thinks or says about us?

Is He worth it to us?

We were worth the cross to Him.

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ALL Devoted Themselves

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper ), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. – Acts of the Apostles 2:42‭-‬47 NLT

What a church! And I don’t say that because of grand buildings, or leaders with doctorates in theology, or a charismatic leader with controversial messages that appeal to the hearts of the worldly. This was a beautiful community of people sacrificing for one another because they loved God and loved one another. ALL of them devoted themselves, not just a few that claimed a “higher calling” while the others remained satisfied lukewarm and complacent and religious. They actually took to heart the teachings of Christ who wanted us putting the needs of others above our own wants. They actually sought Him and His ways diligently. They actually loved God.

So shouldn’t we ask, Do I love God? Do I love others? Does “my church” love God? Does it love others? Does it resemble this alive and thriving body of believers?

God of wind and fire, whoever would have guessed that ac ragtag band of Jewish followers could be bound together in a movement that would turn the world upside down? Only because of your Holy Spirit, who is fully God. Do that work again in our day; take a wildly diverse people who don’t naturally fit together, and make a peculiar and compelling community, beautiful because of Jesus. In His name we pray,  amen. (HC 53)

https://youtu.be/kqkRRhXLeDI

We need your revival, Lord. A change and a fire so peculiar that the world cannot hide from the bright light of our house upon a hill. Let us be the church publicly and unashamedly in our lives every day, not just privately in our buildings and prayer closets.

What a high calling, to be your church – not to just go to church – not to just be a church member, volunteer, teacher, preacher, evangelist, pastor, or servant – but to take up the call to be a disciple of Christ, a student of the Word of God, a Child of the most high God, a vessel of His Holy Spirit, a royal priesthood, the Body of Christ,  the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven. Help us to do your will today, Lord. Establish our footsteps so that we will walk upright in righteousness, truth, mercy and love. Fill our lives with the fruit of your Holy Spirit, and may our lives bring nourishment to those in need of hope, encouragement, love, and repentance – and bring honor and glory to your name.  Amen.

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The Day of Pentecost

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Ezekiel 36:26‭-‬27 NKJV

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is  it  that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord . And it shall come to pass That  whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’
Acts 2:1‭-‬21 NKJV

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/rom.15.13.NKJV