LOVE FORGIVES

Love looks for excuses to eliminate hard feelings, as it replaces resentment and bitterness with love and forgiveness. Love by forgiving your family member who may not even know they hurt your heart. Love by forgiving your friend who volitionally violated your confidence. Love by forgiving your father and mother who are preoccupied parents. Love by forgiving your child who is ungrateful and selfish. Love by forgiving yourself for your stupid decisions. Forgiveness forgets the past, engages in the present, and hopes in the future. Extend forgiveness indiscriminately and receive it graciously. Delete any record of wrongs from the hard drive of your heart. Call, write, or initiate a freeing conversation of forgiveness. Reject the temptation for indignation and humbly receive God’s grace instead. Love liberally by regularly relying on forgiveness. Love forgives.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6: 5

MARRIAGE COVENANT

“It [wisdom] will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.” Proverbs 2:16-17

Marriage is a covenant before God, not to be messed with by man. It is not a secular ceremony, but a Christ-centered commitment ‘until death do us part’. However, there are tempters, both men and women, who try to take away the trust between a husband and a wife. Their life is unhappy, so they scheme for artificial satisfaction at the expense of someone else’s marriage.

Sin is not passive but active, so be on prayerful alert not to listen to its allure. Pay attention and do not place yourself in compromising circumstances. Marriage is a sacred obligation; God is not only a witness, but the one who instituted the ordinance, so stay true to Him and your true love.

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Hebrews 13:4

Marriage is accountability between husband and wife, under the authority of Almighty God. This is why wayward men and women do not get away with disrespecting marriage vows. Disobedience to an oath before God leads to the damaging and even death of relationships, reputation, financial security, emotional stability and physical health. Husbands and wives who take seriously their commitment to Christ and to each other do not get seduced into sex outside their marriage.

 How do you maintain this high standard of honor? By God’s grace you romance each other like the days when you were dating. You only share your heart and affections with your true love, the bride of your youth. You determine not to be alone with anyone of the opposite sex, as this can feed temptations. Lastly, celebrate and uphold marriage as a solemn covenant before the Lord, your family, your friends and each other.
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How can I honor my spouse : by respecting your marriage as a covenant before God?

OUR CLASSROOM WAS BAPTIZED SUNDAY

Hallway outside clssroom

Looking toward Joe's seat

When we arrived at church this morning we found our classroom flooded with 2 inches of water because of a broken water pipe. Our class was relocated to the sanctuary where Wayne Ashworth did an excellent job under the circumstances.There was another class in the balcony which made it difficult to hear.

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Rob Darnell did the opening prayer and Kim Morrow passed out Valentine cards for us to sign for the Grace Manor residents. A small flood wasn't going to distract us from our purpose for being here. ...

Praise Be To God in 2012!

Looking toward back of classroomfrom Brenda's seat

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"LOVE IS KIND"... 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4

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Kindness is a natural application of love because it makes one feel loved. It is the ability to be accepting when everything within you wants to be rejecting. It is a strategy for forgiveness when you are wronged or when someone takes advantage of you. When your trusting spirit has been violated, you still love by being kind; you stop fighting, and you start forgiving.

Kindness means you are pleasant to be around because your countenance is inviting and shows interest. It is as much an attitude as anything, and it is the ability to see beyond the immediate to the potential. Kindness means you go out of your way to love someone. People who are unlovable become prime candidates for your kindness. A family member, a friend, and even a stranger who is far from God, deep down desires unconditional love and kindness.

Therefore, kindly love people through difficult situations. Serve those who are experiencing financial difficulties, for example. Kindness is king for followers of King Jesus, so love with kindness and watch them come around and embrace Christ. Kindness kills sin and sadness, and brings to life love, forgiveness, and hope. Allow Jesus’ loving kindness to flow through you, for kindness toward the needy honors God (Proverbs 14:31). Kindness resides where love is applied, because love is kind.

GOD LISTENS

You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter his presence, the attendants turn to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer or stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God—and he listens. He listens to the painful plea of the elderly in the rest home. He listens to the gruff confession of the death-row inmate. When the alcoholic begs for mercy, when the spouse seeks guidance, when the businessman steps off the street into the chapel, God listens. Intently. Carefully.
The prayers are honored as precious jewels. Purified and empowered, the words rise in a delightful fragrance to our Lord. “The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God.” Incredible. Your words do not stop until they reach the very throne of God.
Then, the angel “filled the incense pan with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth” (Rev. 8:5). One call and Heaven’s fleet appears. Your prayer on earth activates God’s power in heaven, and “God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.”
You are the someone of God’s kingdom. You have access to God’s furnace. Your prayers move God to change the world. You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don’t need to. But this much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an amazing thought!
When you speak, Jesus hears.
And when Jesus hears, thunder falls.
And when thunder falls, the world is changed.
All because someone prayed.

ENCOURAGE A FRIEND

 Message Forwarded by: Ret. Captain Dave Roberts

JESUS COMMANDS BAPTISM FOR HIS CHILDREN



( click on photo )

Baptism is a bold declaration of a personal belief in Jesus Christ. It is an outward expression of an inward conversion. Baptism is symbolic of an individual Christian (normally a new believer) burying their old way of life and coming alive in Christ. Jesus commands baptism for His children. He knows the accountability, the encouragement and the love that accompanies this act of obedience.

Who is a candidate for baptism? If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior your next step is to follow the example of Jesus and be baptized. He modeled the way of humble submission—when as the Son of God—He insisted on being baptized by another. Baptism identifies you with God’s forever family of faith.

What happens if a believer is not baptized? You don’t miss heaven, but you miss the blessing of hearing your Heavenly Father say, “This is my child in whom I am well pleased.” Baptism brands you a Christian—a follower of Jesus Christ. Your public display of gratitude and glory to God will help another make a private commitment to Christ. It is a formal declaration of your dependence on Jesus for grace and forgiveness.