15We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.2Each of us should please our neighbours for their good, to build them up.3For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’[a]4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,6so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Last Sunday I lost a dear friend to Cancer. She had Cancer on two separate occasions, only difference was unlike the first time where she beat the disease, the second time she wasn’t so lucky and died on Sunday 4th June 2023.
She along with her sister, like me were brought up in The Salvation Army. She was still a member of a Corps (as the Army calls it) when she was ‘Promoted to Glory’ which is another Army term.
The Celebration of her life is to be held tomorrow in that Church.
Yesterday the Corps band played ‘Gaudian of my Soul’ as a tribute to this person as that was one of her many favourite pieces
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
According to the editor of The Oxford Edition of the Works of John Wesley, “And Can It Be” was written immediately following Charles Wesley’s conversion to Christianity on May 21, 1738. Wesley had known his Bible well before this time but had not yet experienced affirmation of new birth or the wholeness of grace in his life.
Wesley starts the first stanza by expressing admiration over the love shown by Jesus dying for him and wonders how we who “pursued” his death are now graced by it.
In the second stanza, Wesley calls for appreciation of God’s love and mercy in this sacrifice. In the third stanza, Wesley conveys the unending grace and mercy of Christ’s love and humility in the incarnation, death, and finding of lost sinners. In the fourth stanza, Wesley harkens to the “imprisonment” of his own sin and the freedom he found in Christ.
Finally, he reviews the results of Christ’s loving and merciful work: there is no condemnation for those made alive in Christ and clothed in his righteousness; rather, there is open access to the throne as we have the right to claim the divine crown.
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“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:19
The following excerpt is from Pastor Pete’s post, Progress in High Places. It will give you insight into today’s verse and encourage you, too. I hope you will read it.
“The armies of the Babylonian empire were now destroying his nation, burning the temple and putting an end to the kingdom that God had once given to King David. Things couldn’t have looked worse. Habakkuk saw that no matter how hard he tried or how persuasively he preached, that his version of success was not to be, and yet God gave him hope. In his darkest moments, Habakkuk discovered that God was still his strength…”
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my pageWho Is Jesus?
33 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelite’s before his death.2 He said:
“The Lord came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with[a] myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes.[b] 3 Surely it is you who love the people; all the holy ones are in your hand. At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction, 4 the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob. 5 He was king over Jeshurun[c] when the leaders of the people assembled, along with the tribes of Israel.
6 “Let Reuben live and not die, nor[d] his people be few.”
7 And this he said about Judah:
“Hear, Lord, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes!”
8 About Levi he said:
“Your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful servant. You tested him at Massah; you contended with him at the waters of Meribah. 9 He said of his father and mother, ‘I have no regard for them.’ He did not recognise his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your word and guarded your covenant. 10 He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar. 11 Bless all his skills, Lord, and be pleased with the work of his hands. Strike down those who rise against him, his foes till they rise no more.”
12 About Benjamin he said:
“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.’[d]”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Romans 12:1-2 1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
This video is a beautiful devotional Song sung by Jane Brill, Sue Johnson and Kayte Harding-Chestney all about time and talents and laying them on the alter.
We all have different talents some musical, others working with the elderly or disabled. Some of us have the talent to work with the homeless or down and outs.
It takes all sorts, there are even some people who wish to do these things will say when asked why they do it?…
Christian Devotions, Health and General issues of the day 