What Does the Lord Require Of You

 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

It doesn't get much clearer than that.

Christ lived this and I believe it is required of us as well.

 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. Matthew 23:23

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10

Jesus reiterated scripture from the Old Testament,  Deuteronomy 6:5;

 love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor.

 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’   All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

If we act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God, won't that be accomplished as well!?

If we have mercy we will show love and compassion. 

If we act justly we will treat our neighbor/others as we should.

If we are humble and walking WITH God we will love as He does.

It isnt complicated, actually.

It isnt confusing.

It may not be easy all the time,

But it is required of us if we are a follower of Christ.

What does your Lord require of you today?

These Are the Precious Days

Everyone has been waiting for
"Things to return to normal"
"Things to go back to how they were"
One friend of mine said "she is missing out on her precious days" referring to the lack of social interaction due to the social distancing and isolation being required. 
My response was "we were given today as a gift"
📖 This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)

And because we are here ...we woke this morning..God has purpose in it.
So isn't that precious?
I also thought....those days, before all this,  may have been "ordinary" days.... and they are in the past.
THESE days are precious! Precious in the fact that we have had to lean on Him, learn how to continue to show the world who He is even in the middle of the upheaval. 
📖 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:1-3
Every day we are given has something in it for us to see, learn, we have another day to worship Him, to share His love with others. Even in the struggle. 

📖 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46:10

In being given this pecious day, we are shown we are precious to Him.

📖 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life Isaiah 43:4

📖 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 1 Peter 3:4

Given another day to worship Him, point others to Him, and IF we haven't...another day to commit ourselves to Him, to surrender to Him.

📖 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

So no matter what is swirling around us, don't wish for "ordinary" days...thank God for the precious day He has given His precious child.❤

AWESOME

We all want to be awesome....but the world definitely has a different idea of awesome.

We should want to be awesome in the Lord!

A - answer with grace
        Let your conversation be always full of grace,          seasoned with salt, so that you  may know how.           to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6
W - wise in the ways of the Lord
        Be very careful, then, how you live—not as                   unwise but as wise, Ephesians 5:15

        “Therefore everyone who hears these words of.            mine and puts them into practice is like.        

         a wise man who built his house on the rock.    

          Matthew 7:24

E - ears to listen
       Apply your heart to instruction and     

       your ears to words of knowledge.

       Proverbs  23:12
        If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.   

        Mark 4:9
S - slow to anger
       My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this:   

       Everyone should be quick to listen, slow          

       to speak and  slow to become angry.  

         James 1:19 

O - obey His commandments

        It is the Lord your God you must follow, and.                him you must revere.    

        Keep his commands and obey him; serve him            and hold fast to him. Deuteronomy 13:4
M - mustard seed faith
       He replied, “Because you have so little faith.                 ”Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a            mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,                ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will.         

       move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”            

        Matthew 17:20
E - encourager

        Therefore encourage one another and build.             each other up, just as in fact you are.      

        doing  1 Thessalonians 5:11

       Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for 

        full  restoration, encourage one another, be

       of one mind, live in peace. And the God.   

       of love and peace will be with you. 

        2 Corinthians 13:11

YOU are 
Awesome in the Lord!

We can be Awesome in the Lord because our God is an Awesome God!

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. Deuteronomy 10:17

🎵Our God Is An Awesome God

Death in the Pot

Not my title.....that is what it says in black and white in my version of  2 Kings 4:38-41 (NIV)

📖  Death in the Pot
38 Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.”
39 One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. 40 The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.
41 Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot. 

These obscure verses were just brought to my attention.  Not something I recall seeing before.  Once I read it ....my brain started whirling...or "stirring"!😉
What do we bring to the pot?...what "death" do we add to the mix?
First of all do we bring denial?   Denial of who Christ is and what He has done for us....because that does lead to death...eternal separation from our God.
📖 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9

But even if we have acknowledged and accepted Christ, 
📖 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Acts 2:21

do we still venture out on our own, seeking what we believe to be the "key ingredients" to our life pot?
Instead of following THE recipe.
Do we bring complacency,  bitterness,  hardness of heart, anger.
Do we bring apathy, pride, self-centeredness?
Even the smallest of these will cause a rank tasting pot of stew!
I can envision hard, bitter, unpalatable chunks bringing distastefulness to the whole thing.
Pluck them out!

📖 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:31


AND let God bring His ingredient, that is what makes the whole pot appealing, life sustaining.
If we think of flour added to a sauce or stew....once added and mixed in you can not sift or strain it out...it becomes one.
📖 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Painting by Rachel

        And there was nothing harmful in the pot. 

📖  The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore. Psalm 121:5-8

Super Powers and Super Fruits

I have grandkids who love the fairy tales and super powered ...well,  just about anything, from pups to princesses!
One common theme, I have noticed, is that they have a special item (a scepter,  a crown, a "pup pack", etc) that infuses them with special powers or a special ability...and at the climax of the show the evil villain steals the special object so the hero no longer has their power...but sometimes find they had "the power" within all along
Harkens back to a story about a girl and some red shoes!
My first thought was, "we don't have a special object that gives us what we need....do we?"
📖  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:11-17

Each piece is representative of what we can have in Christ. We don't have to actually have a helmet to have salvation.  A helmet covers us at the top...the start so to speak...it also protects our brain...our mind...where we make a conscious decision to follow Christ.  Where we reason the great gift God  gave us in His only Son, so that He could be the sinless "lamb" and die for our sins, and have victory over death when He rose three days later. Salvation is top!
📖 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condem n the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16
When we accept that we are a sinner and need a savior we receive forgiveness.   And in that we can give forgiveness.
Once we have accepted His grace we can give grace.
We accept His love, we can love others the way we are called to.
📖 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

Once we become His follower and be filled with Him we have the ability to live righteously (breastplate), we have faith (shield), we have the spirit/the word of God (sword), and we have His word which is truth (belt), and should be ready to spread His gospel of peace (shoes)

We read and memorize scripture, but it isn't what gives us our "power".  Scripture gives us truth which gives us wisdom, understanding.
We accept Christ and receive the Holy Spirit....and we can't not lose that once accepted with a true heart.
Being filled with Christ and the Holy  Spirit is what allows us the ability to have... not exactly super powers...but "super fruits"!

 📖  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

We hear today about many of the super fruits we should ingest to help with our over all health.

When we become infused with the Holy Spirit we will produce these fruits, His fruits!

Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Self control
I consider it a good  day when I can display several, my goal, always, is to have them all!!
But I know that I can not produce them in my own strength, and I don't even have what it takes within me, unless I am filled with Him and His mighty power!
be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Ephesians 6:10
I pray you find your power today!
🙏❤
 📖  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly  realms,  Ephesians 1:18-20

The Gate and Beyond

I am cheating again!
I am going to share with you the link to our virtual church service yesterday.
There are 2 songs (beginning and end)
I mention Victory Baptist Church specifically a couple times, but insert your church name, it still applies!
I pray God use His wordto speak to hearts.
❤🙏
The Gate and Beyond

I Am At A Loss

"I am at a loss."
Have you heard that statement before?
Have you said that statement before?
During a crisis, a tragedy, when someone comes to us with their crisis or tragedy we may find ourselves saying or at least thinking,
"I am at a loss?"

At a loss for what?
A loss for an explanation?
Don't  need one.
📖 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3
There will be trials and trouble in this world....PERIOD.
📖 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:32-33
You don't need to come up with the reasons.

A loss for answers?
Don't need them.
Christ has the answers
📖 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37
📖 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10
Any answers you could want are in His Holy Word!

A loss for words?...don't need them.
Love
📖 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:35
📖 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:32
LOVE!

At a loss as to what to do?
📖 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
📖 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
 1 Corinthians 13:13

We do not have to be "at a loss"
because Christ has already has it.
However we can lose
the anger
the hurt
the bitterness
resentment
jealousy
pride

If we are in the middle of grief, or great tragedy,
whether brought upon is by our actions or the actions of another
or we are thrust into it through circumstances that are under no ones control...life just happens that way....
Our reaction may be " I am at a loss"
When Christ faced His biggest, darkest challenge,
He was at a loss;
"Father take this cup from me..."
But instead of trying to bargin or reason, or find words to try to change it He said
"Not My will, but Yours be done"!
And then His loss became His victory and our gain!

When we are in it and are at a loss as to what to say or even what to pray
Pray the "prayer that never fails "
"Lord, Your will be done."
If someone comes to you with their sorrow so heavy they can not bear it alone...
and your mind is whirling, all that wants to come out is "I am at a loss"
Pray for them!
📖 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. James 5:15

Christ is not surprised by anything....He is never at a loss...
📖 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26

🙏I pray that if the circumstances around you are putting you "at a loss" you look to your Savior for your direction 
And know I am praying for you ❤