Thank you, Bob, for your wonderful poem, Flowers From The Garden.

Happy Warm and Fuzzy Wednesday!

And, YES! It is finally a warm day here in New England.

((((HUGS))))

ML/LTOS

97 degrees today.

Too warm, yet fuzzy : )

Ogh my...that IS rather warm, isn’t it?

Indeed : )

101 tomorrow......

Oh my........

I’m used to it : )

Thank you for the pretty flowers....Happy you have a
warm up, ML.
We had a severe thunderstorm last night. No damage
at my house despite the VERY high winds,--- 75 MPH
at the airport.
Air conditioning is my favorite invention, SJB.

Have A Good Evening

LOL

;o)

Happy Warm and Fuzzy
...and Extremely Sticker-y....
Wednesday!

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Ambassador of Love

May 12, 2016

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17

In my work as a chaplain, some people occasionally ask if I am willing to give them some additional spiritual help. While I’m happy to spend time with anyone who asks for help, I often find myself doing more learning than teaching. This was especially true when one painfully honest new Christian said to me with resignation, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to read the Bible. The more I read what God expects from me, the more I judge others who aren’t doing what it says.”

As he said this, I realized that I was at least partly responsible for instilling this judgmental spirit in him. At that time, one of the first things I did with those new to faith in Jesus was to introduce them to things they should no longer be doing. In other words, instead of showing them God’s love and letting the Holy Spirit reshape them, I urged them to “behave like a believer.”

Now I was gaining a new appreciation for John 3:16-17. Jesus’ invitation to believe in Him in verse 16 is followed by these words. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Jesus didn’t come to condemn us. But by giving these new Christians a checklist of behaviors, I was teaching them to condemn themselves, which then led them to judge others. Instead of being agents of condemnation, we are to be ambassadors of God’s love and mercy.

Father, help me not to judge others today. Let me learn this until it changes me into someone more like You.

If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, that’s probably not our mission either!

INSIGHT:

In John 3:1–21 Jesus is having a conversation with a religious leader named Nicodemus and tells him these important things about the kingdom of God: God’s Spirit gives new life and entrance into His kingdom, and this is not obtained by our own efforts (vv. 5–8). God sent Jesus to show us His love, not His condemnation (vv. 16–18). People hide in the darkness because of their sin, but Jesus is the Light and whoever follows Him is in the light (vv. 19–21).

” While I’m happy to spend time with anyone who asks for help, I often find myself doing more learning than teaching.”

IMHO, this is what makes a teacher a good one.

“Jesus didn’t come to condemn us. But by giving these new Christians a checklist of behaviors, I was teaching them to condemn themselves, which then led them to judge others. Instead of being agents of condemnation, we are to be ambassadors of God’s love and mercy. “

Great lesson, Russ.

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Unseen, Yet Loved

May 13, 2016

Though you have not seen him, you love him. 1 Peter 1:8

Like others in the blogging community, I’d never met the man known to us as BruceC. Yet when his wife posted a note to the group to let us know that her husband had died, a string of responses from distant places showed we all knew we had lost a friend.

BruceC had often opened his heart to us. He talked freely about his concern for others and what was important to him. Many of us felt like we knew him. We would miss the gentle wisdom that came from his years in law enforcement and his faith in Christ.

In recalling our online conversations with BruceC, I gained a renewed appreciation for words written by a first-century witness of Jesus. In the first New Testament letter the apostle Peter wrote, he addressed readers scattered throughout the Roman Empire: “Though you have not seen [Christ], you love him” (1 Peter 1:8).

Peter, as a personal friend of Jesus, was writing to people who had only heard about the One who had given them reason for so much hope in the middle of their troubles. Yet, as a part of the larger community of believers, they loved Him. They knew that at the price of His own life, He had brought them into the everlasting family of God.

Lord, we have never seen You, yet we believe in You and love You. Strengthen our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ who love You as well. Make us one community in You.

Our love for Christ is only as real as our love for our neighbor.

INSIGHT:

Why was there so much tension between Jewish and Gentile followers of Christ? In part, the answer is found in how ancient Israel had come to understand their relationship with God. As His “chosen people,” Israel had been given the law of Moses and a land of promise in order for them to live in relationship with God and with one another. Clearly, no other people group was given this unique access to and relationship with God.

This relationship, however, was never intended to be simply for their benefit. As they lived in covenant relationship with God, they were also intended to draw the surrounding Gentile nations to the God who sought relationship with them as well. The prophet Isaiah had taught them, “He says, ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth’” (Isa. 49:6).

As a result, Israel’s relationship with God had a missional element to it—to bring the nations to the Creator who loved them. By the time of Christ, however, this mission had not only been lost, it had been turned inside out. In the minds of the Jewish people, Gentiles had become enemies of God’s people rather than objects of God’s love.

Perhaps that is why Jesus reached out to Gentiles wherever He went: a Roman centurion, a Samaritan woman, a Canaanite woman, and more. The Son of God was teaching us by example that He had come for the lost sheep of Israel, but that He had also come to bring light to the world (John 8:12; 9:5). The heart of His children should reflect the heart of His Father, who is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Reflection Questions

How does Jesus’s attitude toward “outsiders” inform our love for those who do not yet know Him? Are there people in your life you have been hesitant to reach out to? How can we, in prayer, seek the help and heart of our loving Father to reach out to those who need the Savior?

For further study on this important topic, read the free Discovery Series booklet How Can I Break the Silence?

Late thank you for this beautiful message...

Good Morning To Amy's Place

We Wear Red On Friday To Support
Our Troops
Have A Great Weekend

Catching up ...The FReepathon has me busy! I love this lovely country road to your grandparent’s house.

Happy Red Friday!

Busy day Today...Sis is visiting from Maine, and we have lots to do!

((((HUGS))))

ML/LTOS

Wonderful, ML! I know you will have a great time together!

RAY WYLIE HUBBARD~RED DRESS