By Grace » Personal Reading

Romans 8:28

Lee — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:27:41 +0000

A verse I gave known of for so long. But a verse that now means so much more with lifes ups and downs. Thank you Jesus.

Romans 8:28

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Promise – 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Lee — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:46:59 +0000

When Grandma passed away a few months ago, it reminded me of the exciting promise of eternal life. Reading through 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 is a wonderful insight into passing from life on earth to life in heaven. Here is how I broke the passage down in brief to help me understand certain sections and to encourage myself.

The Promise:

1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

When you accept Jesus into your heart, you become a child of God and are automatically eligible for the inheritance of eternal life.

Longing for Rest:

2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Just like a long hard day, we long for rest and relaxation where we can unwind and leave the problems of that day behind us. Its the same with life on earth! It is tiring and we long to rest and be with our heavenly Father.

The Guarantee:

5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

God sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ to the sacrifice for our Sins. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we are given the gift of Gods Holy Spirit as a guide, a strength and a comfort. And as this verse reminds us, as a guarantee of how serious God is about his promise to us.

Faith:

7We live by faith, not by sight.

Unlike doubting Thomas, we believe in Jesus without needed to see Him. We do not demand proof! In my own life things have changed so much since I met Him that I can not deny His existence! Looking at the beauty of creation, its impossible to imagine there was no creator!

Preparation:

10For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Matthew 6:19-24 – Treasures in Heaven. We will be judged on that final day! The things that we do for His glory will earn us spiritual rewards in heaven. We don’t know what they are to be, but they must be awesome to be described as treasures!

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Debt – Romans 13:8

Lee — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:42:06 +0000

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. (NIV)

I have heard before in books and on TV that a Christian should not borrow, perhaps even citing this verse. In everyday life however it is nearly impossible, if not completely impossible not to incur debt. Many companies bill you after you have used their service like gas and electricity, so until you have settled that account, you are in debt! Purchasing a home now-a-days is impossible without a mortgage which is a large long term debt. If we were to take on a vow of being debt free, it would be extremely difficult to live.

Businesses too rely on acceptable levels of debt to allow their business to function whilst money is being turned over. Over the period of the year, money in covers that debt and profit is made. Many businesses would struggle without working this way especially in the early years of a new start.

You see I don’t think this verse is saying “do no borrow”. I believe that is is telling us to keep up-to-date with our bills! It is a warning against missing payments of a mortgage or avoiding paying a gas or electricity bill. OK so gas and electricity bills did not exist in biblical days, however they certainly would have the need to borrow money or possessions as well as pay for services rendered.

I do think we also need to be careful here too. Although we can have an acceptable level of debt, we need to avoid getting into debt for those items that aren’t necessary. For example paying off a games console, or the latest style of TV when the one you bought last year is perfectly OK! We do need to live within our means. Our debts like mortgages, and standard bills need to be manageable, when payments are made, the overall amount owed should be decreasing and not remaining the same or gaining more in interest.

If you are in a situation where you are struggling to control your accounts, and you are in debt to many people, turn to the Lord in prayer. Lay your burdens at His feet. Seek pearls of wisdom like this verse. Seek to agree repayment plans with your creditors to get rid of any excess debt. Make sacrifices with the non essentials in life (even if it means unsubscribing from cable TV or disconnecting broadband!).

If you are struggling with debt and live in the UK, please check out this website: http://www.capuk.org.

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Taxes – Romans 13:6-7

Lee — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:53:02 +0000

How many times have you thought that you would do a better job with Tax payers money than the government of that time? I think only the other day I was complaining at what our government was doing! As much however as we disagree with what our government(s) may be doing for our country, we still have to respect them and to continue to pay our taxes. Government officials may or may not know it, but they are in a highly responsible position where they should be carrying out Gods will for the land. Therefore regardless of what we think, we need to continue to support them. After all, should they make mistakes, or decisions displeasing to Him, it will be Him they answer to and not us!

It is also our duty therefore, as we read on into verse 7, that we treat out government with respect. They have been given a position of high responsibility, and therefore we should not become caught in the web of negative words against them. The media today picks up very much upon the faults of government parties, as well as the individual faults of members in the name of entertainment and news. People gloat over this information, and use it to fuel their dislike of that person or party. We must not get involved in that world. Avoid reading papers that do this, or watching programs of a similar nature. We are to be obedient to the Lord: (Acts 23:5, Exodus 22:28).

Mark 12:17 – Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

We do therefore have a responsibility to fund our government. It helps support all the services that are provided, including the security and safety the police and fire services bring. We should render unto our government the taxes they require without complaint. If we get the “cash in hand” jobs, as tempting as it may be to keep, we should seek to do the right thing and ensure all taxes have been paid on all amounts of money in.

Why do this? We do this as a sign of respect for those in Government that God has placed there, and also as an act of obedience to the Lord who has commanded we do this.

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Power of Prayer – Exodus 17:10-13

Lee — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:12:47 +0000

I am reading the book titled “Too Busy Not To Pray” by Bill Hybels, as the Holy Spirit has been convicting me of my lack of prayer time, and I want to learn best practices for praying, and even how to pray as sometimes my prayers can be a jumble of words, that sometimes I don’t even understand!

In the spirit of Journaling what I learn from my times with the Lord, I would like to share this.

Bill talks about the power of prayer and how power flows through prayer. Take a look at Exodus 17:10-1. Here we see the power of prayer really in action! When Moses has his arms raised in prayer, the battle is going their way, however when he stops, they begin to loose. Thus he perseveres and keeps his arms out stretched and prays.

They win the battle!

Not only therefore does this passage highlight the power of prayer, but also the need for persistence in prayer. We see the end result that the prayer is answered.

It reminds me that not only should I pray regularly, but also those things I do pray about, need not be prayed about once, but can be brought before the Lord again and again, and in his time, not ours he will respond.

Lord teach me to pray. Amen

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A Comfort

Lee — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:53:37 +0000

Here is a verse that I have found a comfort recently:

Rom 8:37-39 ESV
(37) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
(38) For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
(39) nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Through trials and temptation, through periods of loneliness, depression, adversity, tradgedy, remember…. NOTHING shall separate us from the love of God.

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Growth – Psalm 1:2, 3

Lee — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 07:49:23 +0000

Psalm 1:2, 3: “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law He meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”

A free man delights in the law of the Lord. He feeds daily on his word. (day and night). A man who drinks the living water will bear fruit, and grow just as a tree fed by many streams has life and grows in all fullness. What a powerful reminder to feed on the word of God for spiritual growth.

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