YOU ARE THE ONE

You make me happy even tho you're not here,

Just to think of how you're sweet, tender, and dear;

How you cause my heart to be filled with joy,

And my mind the thoughts of you employ;

You are the one I will live with forever,

And depart from you...never, never, never;

The thought of it is so far away,

For our love will grow stronger day by day;

I know what I want,

I know what I need,

"To be with you"

Will be heavenly, indeed;

To hold you and to love you,

Will be my goal,

And to be with you til we both grow old;

Age will have no depth, length, or width,

Our love will just continue to exist;

We'll reminisce all the happiness we have

and laughter we shared,

Not a dull moment and never lonely or sad;

For you are the one who has captured my heart,

And my love for you will never depart.

Revised selection from Complete Bits and Pieces.

God's Love and Ours

Greetings to all in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As I was reading my Bible this morning, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me to share this message with all of you. Every time I read from the Word of God, I am blessed and refreshed. We know that "love" is an action word. It has arms and reaches out to share and to nurture others. We have learned to not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Praise God for the following message; we all can appreciate a reminder from our Father who is full of compassion and who loves us unconditionally.

The Word of God says, "Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.

He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Supporting Scriptures: I John 3:18;4:17-21

Compassion puts love into action.

Making Our Calling and Election Sure

Our Lord's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them we may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if we possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if any of us do not have them, we are nearsighted and blind, and have forgotten that we have been cleansed from our past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, let's be all the more eager to make our calling and election sure. For if we do these things, we will never fall, and will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Supporting Scriptures: 2 Peter 1: 3-11

Living For God While Suffering For Being A Christian

Dear Readers: Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Praise God that all is well with you and yours. This is to encourage and to remind you that to live for God is impossible without the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of God. In the Old Testament we see the Holy Spirit active in the creation of the world. The Spirit also filled certain people with power at special times. It is the Holy Spirit who worked through men to produce the Scriptures. Because Jesus died and rose to a new life, the Holy Spirit now lives in all God's people. He is the One who makes us new; teaches us and gives us freedom for a new life.

Since Christ suffered in His body, we should arm ourselves with the same attitude, because if we suffer in our body, we're done with sin. As a result, we do not live the rest of our earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. We spent enough time in the past doing what we chose to do---living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, wild parties, carousing and detestable idolatry.

Now that we're living for God; we must be clear minded, and self-controlled so that we can pray. Above all, let's love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Let's offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. We should use whatever gift we have received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. When speaking, we should do it as speaking the very words of God; when serving, serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.

If we're insulted because of the name of Christ, we are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on us. We must not be ashamed, but praise God that we bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? So then, we who suffer according to God's will should commit ourselves to our Creator and continue to do good.

Supporting Scriptures: Genesis 1:1-2; Psalm 104:30; Numbers 11:16-17, 24-30; Judges 14:1-6; 2 Peter 1:19-21; John 14:15-31; Acts 2:1-21; Romans 8:1-27; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16; Galatians 5:16-26; 1 Peter 4:1-19.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

Greetings to my dear sisters and brothers in Christ and to all who may read this article. The Holy Spirit has impressed upon me to share this message with you. Be assured that your reading this message is not by chance---but by the leading of the Holy Spirit. All the glory belongs to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who is the 'only' true sacrifice of redemption. Read, believe and be blessed.

LIVING AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the times would have reached their fulfillment---to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.*

We were dead in our trangressions and sins, in which we used to live when we followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trangression---it is by grace we have been saved through faith---and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God---not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.**

We must no longer live in the futility of our thinking. We were darkened in our understanding and separated from the life of God because of ignorance that was in us due to the hardening of our hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, we gave ourselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

We were taught, with regard to our former way of life, to put off our old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of our minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, each of us must put off falsehood and speak truthfully of our neighbor, for we are all members of one body. We should not sin in anger and not let the sun go down while we are still angry, and DO NOT give the devil a foothold.

We should not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

We must not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom we were sealed for the day of redemption. Let's get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Let's endeavor to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave us. We should be imitators of God, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Let's rid ourselves of sexual immorality, of any kind of impurity, or greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.

We must live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and seek for what pleases the Lord.***
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Supporting Scriptures: *Ephesians 1:7-10; ** Ephesians 2:1-5; 8-10; ***Ephesians 4:17-32;
5:1-14.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

Paul wrote to all those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; exhorting and reminding them of God's grace through Jesus Christ. Paul expounded on the life style for the local church at Corinth. He speaks against divisions and uses Israel as a warning example.

The concerns that Paul had for the followers of Christ are real concerns in our Christian society today. We have firm believers of the Word of God, and not so firm believers. We have those who deligently follow Christ daily, and those who follow afar off. We have believers who testify of the goodness of God regardless to the outcome of choices they made, and those who blame God for results of their own bad choices. We have those believers who spend timeless hours trying to discredit the knowledge of God and replace it with philosophy of men.

Paul reminded the followers of Chirst how the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved this message is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

Christ is the power and wisdom of God. The foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; the weak things of the world to shame the strong. Paul wrote, " our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did." Paul admonished them; "do not be idolaters, as some of them were;" as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." He wrote that we should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did----and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did----and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did----and were killed by the destroying angel.

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you're standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man: And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES: I Corinthinans 1:18; 10:1-13

His eye our secret thoughts behold,
His mercies all our lives enfold,
He knows our purposes untold,
You cannot hide from God! __Ackley

Standing Firm

Jesus loves us
this we know,
He gave His life
to show us so,
He kept His word
to set us free,
came out of the tomb
so we could see,
He's the only Savior
who lives today,
whom we can reach
when we choose to pray;
More than a cloud
of false accusation,
can weaken our faith
and dedication,
We'll live, honor, trust
and obey,
For we know He's coming back
one day,
We're looking up for His return,
Worshiping, praising and standing firm.
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Read: II Thessalonians, Chapter 2
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