HAPPY THURSDAY!
Today’s scriptures are about remaining strong in the Lord. To be strong in times of trouble is great, and necessary, but to be strengthened in the Lord is a little different. We are called to complete God’s will, just as Jesus had a job to complete so do we, and we must remain strong in our faith, in order to accomplish those things. Yes, we’ll all have moments of weakness, and times of strife, but all we need to do to cry out to the Lord, and He’ll give us strength. However, these times help us prepare for the next weak moment, which gives us the opportunity to be strengthened.
When we’re born we go through the cycle of life. For awhile our bodies develop, and all we can do is lay there. We’ll eventually start to move our head, then legs and arms, and next then you know we’re strong enough to crawl. Watch out world, because once we’re mobile, we’re ready to explore, and see new things. We’ll then start to pull ourselves up and stand. What do our parents do then? They give us a walker, which is an apparatus that supports us while we’re strengthening our muscles, to become strong enough to walk on our own. In the time between birth, and learning to walk on our own, we’ve probably fallen over one thousand times, because it took that fall, to help us understand how to get back up, and do it right the next time. If God gave us that much sense to strengthen ourselves as infants and toddlers, imagine what we’re capable of now.
We must remember that we are children of God, and through Christ all things are possible. We have inherited His Kingdom, on Heaven and on earth, because of His works, and now it’s time for us to follow His lead. Nothing can come to us without work. To be strengthened requires faith, love, courage, prayer, praise, and worship, and all of these words are verbs—things that require action on our part. All of these things are like muscles in our Spirit, and they each work together, to produce a strong and healthy Christian life. We must strengthen them all individually, in order to help the entire body to function correctly, hence the reason why we must bring every part of our life into submission.
I’m currently in physical therapy, because I have arthritis in my knees. My therapist says that my knees have been doing all of the work, because my other muscles weren’t strong enough to do the job that they’re designed to do. In order to correct the problem with my knees, we had to figure out my weak spots, and work on those, so that those muscles can take some of the pressure off of my knees. I’m working on strengthening my quads, gluts, calves, and even the muscles in my feet, so that they can do the job they were intended to do. Paul taught us: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Gal 5:22-23) We need to exercise all of these fruits of the Spirits, which make up our spiritual muscles. If we’re using one more than the other, it’ll become warn out and frayed. Life is about balance, so the only way to be strong, is to use each at its proper time. It’s almost impossible to have joy but no peace, or kindness without goodness. If you push one to its limit, without using the others, you’ll eventually lose the gentleness that’s required to maintain self-control.
I stress to you today the importance of being in touch with the Holy Spirit, and learning to hear His voice. He’s the most important component in building strength in our faith walk. He’ll make it so that we can avoid some of life’s pitfalls, and He’ll comfort us through the ones that we have to experience. He’ll help us see the meaning behind it, and so that we can effectively communicate with God. These things are surely easier said than done, however they are doable, when we lean on God for strength and understanding. By Christ we have that option, but without Him we’re nothing, just as the clay of the earth. There are many Christians who don’t utilize all of their resources and end up living as an unsaved man. That’s very dangerous, and a waste of time, so be sure to exercise all of your spiritual muscles. First by self-reflection, which will help you pinpoint the areas of weakness, so you work effectively work on them. Remember, you have to take action, and keep moving. It’s a lifestyle change, and not just a quick fix. Our muscles are only good if we’re using them. If you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior, you’re in the worst shape of your life! Allow Him to be your Savior [and Personal Trainer], and watch things change for the better. Take a few moments to take the God Quiz right now! My favorite verses today are: Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not. (Isaiah 35:3-4)
ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455596&dtype=Scripture
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I love you!
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