Tag Archive for: Christianity

Missing Puzzle Pieces ~ Pt. 2

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And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

I hope you were able to take a look at Joseph’s story.  Did you see how the puzzle pieces of his life didn’t exactly fit?  His life was an up and down roller coaster ride.  A ride that he didn’t sign up for.  Today, we will find the ride starts to ease a bit.  Everything begins to make sense in Joseph’s life.

In Genesis 41, we see that two years had passed since David had interpreted the dreams for the Cupbearer and Baker.  That would seem like a good length of time in prison, especially when your innocent.  How’s that puzzle looking now?  Well, we see that Pharaoh had a dream that troubled him.  In fact, he had two dreams.  These two dreams really disturbed him.  He sent for the wise men and magicians of Egypt to interpret them.  Unfortunately, no one in his company could interpret the dreams.  This was good news for Joseph, as the chief cupbearer remembered the day Joseph interpreted his dream.  He shared with Pharaoh how Joseph had correctly interpreted a dream for him, so Pharaoh sent for Joseph.

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Missing Puzzle Pieces ~ Part 1

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Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

It’s that time again, time to reflect back and remember what God is doing in our lives!  How was God faithful to you?  Did you see God answer prayer for you?  Did you see God give you strength when you thought you couldn’t possibly go any further?  Were you simply amazed by the beauty of God in creation?  I would love to hear how God has been faithful to you.

God’s faithfulness has been evident to me once again this last week in many ways.  The one thing that God seemed to be working on the most was how I see things.  I was convicted this last week about my perception of reality.  I’ve been looking at all the facts in my life and honestly they don’t line up in some areas.  I keep trying to put the pieces together, but they just don’t fit.  My life feels like a puzzle at times and quite frankly I’m always missing the important pieces!  Well, that’s what I keep telling God anyways.  Do you ever feel like that?  Do you ever feel like you can’t get the puzzle of your life together?  Is there always one piece missing?

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Bearing Fruit

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No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  Each tree is recognized by its own fruit… The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:43-45)

This passage of Scripture seems so simple.  I mean shouldn’t we expect good things to come out of someone who has good stored up in their heart and shouldn’t we expect evil from the same.  Honestly, I don’t expect to get apples from an orange tree.  And I don’t expect to get peaches from a plum-tree.  That just doesn’t make sense.  I expect to find oranges in an orange grove and apples in an apple grove.  So why is it that we expect good things to come from those who do not store up good in their hearts.  Hmmm….  Good question!

Let’s look at what kind of fruit a good tree should bear!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

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Lavished on Me

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How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1)

What’s God doing in your life?

Yes, I know I skipped this question yesterday, but I did not forget about it.  In fact, I’ve been celebrating the love of God in my life.  Yes, I am very privileged to be loved by my husband and to share my life with him.  I’m blessed beyond measure to be loved by family and my friends.  But nothing comes close to being loved by God.  His love makes it possible for me to be loved by all these others.  In and of ourselves we do not have the capacity to love others.  We simply lack the ability to put up with people’s shortcomings day in and day out.  God’s love has withstood the test of time.  He can take the heat!  He can love us through every fall and every failure.  He can love us, even when we are unlovable.

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Love Never Fails

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Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Today is a day to celebrate love!  It’s not just about the love between man and woman.  It’s the love that God has poured out in abundance on His people.  It’s the love that we receive from each other.  The love we receive from our parents, siblings, friends, mentors, etc.  Today, we celebrate the love of more than just a spouse or special someone.  Today, we have the opportunity to celebrate the greatest love of all.  The love of God.  The love that gives us the ability to love one another.

“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

Let’s celebrate what True Love is!

Love is patient!

Love says, “I’ll wait for you, no matter how long it takes.”  This kind of love waits for a son or daughter to come home to Christ.  This kind of love waits on God’s timing.  This kind of love does not have an agenda!

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