But First Look to GOD

~~~ verse of the day ~~~

2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.  

~~~ Reflections ~~~
But first Look to God! 
Hanging on to anxiety, bitterness, complaining, depression can consume you. These negative emotions that you carry around leaving you lacking energy, energy to bless others, enjoying life.  When you carry around your negative emotions, usually someone gets hurt. Dwelling on the negative emotions are from the evil one. If he can keep your mind troubled, you won't make time with the Lord. 

Even though you live in the midst of a brutal and perverse culture. Your thoughts and words don't have to go there. The Holy Spirit is your helper. Focus on the Lord, focus on praising the LORD.  A simple whisper of the name of Jesus can change your focus. 

God wants your light to shine brightly amongst others. Live a cheerful life, without complaining or division among yourselves. Look to God, for His is faithful, He will establish you and guard you from the evil one. For our God is energizing! He can get you out of your funk feelings. You don't have to be discouraged, throughout the day. Going about feeling sluggish, depressed. If only you would  Look to God.   

He will guide you so that you will desire and do what always pleases Him. For He is the One working in you. "Hashem",  the Lord  will continually revitalize you, implanting within you the passion to love, to do what pleases him.

 ~~~ Prayer ~~~
 Grant your grace Lord to be seen in all my words, actions, in all friendships, and in all relationships, in everyone who sees me or hears me. Guard my emotions, train my mind to be kind, not grumbling or complaining.  Lord guide my thoughts that they are pleasing to you. Remove all things that are discouraging me. Thank you Lord/  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be imitators of God

Be imitators of God

Ephesians 5:1-2
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

~~~  Reflections ~~~
Working towards really become imitators of God. Means you have to seek the Lord.
To be imitators of God, we must first know who God is. Your relationship with God, must be an intimate relationship. To be intimate means to spend quality time with the Lord. Talk to him, like you would a close friend. You need to grow in your relationship with the Lord.
Have Intimacy with Him.
His loving kindness is better than life.

You can find a deeper understanding of the love of God, than you ever knew before. 
He will reveal Himself to you. He wants you to know him deeper than you already know him.
He wants your heart, mind and soul to be 100% belonging to him.
Learning who He is will allow you many different ways you can call upon your faith, in any circumstance.

Our Goal should be to be engulfed in who is God's character. This will take you to a deeper relationship with the Lord.  We need to know who He is. So we can be the Imitators of God. This means Digging into the word, Seeking the Lord. 

With all your heart, mind and soul. Allowing His Presence and The Word to be our greatest treasures.
If you want to be a Being more like God, here are a few characters of God, be  filled with Compassion. Merciful, Full of Grace, Slow to anger, Bountiful in Kindness and Truthful.

This means letting go of any thing that holds you back from the Lord, From His presence. Anything that blocks you from  being in the presence of the Lord needs to be torn down. STOPPED! It can be the way we spend our Time, habits, people, distraction, material things, coveting, laziness, fornicators, idols, foolish talking, coarse words, routines, anything that is of the flesh that is creating road blocks in our way to a closer relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Needs to be replaced with time seeking Him.

Ask, Seek the Lord, and He will deliver and He will establish you in His ways.
Seek the Lord, and He will Seek You. Seek his word to get to know him, Keep Seeking, Keep Asking. Pray, Thank Him. Call on Him.

 Engage with others who seek the Lord. Worship, Praise Him, For He is Worthy! Be patient, Intimacy doesn't happen overnight.  Sometimes I think we get into the habit, of prayer being asking God for things. Being intimate with the Lord God is a Sharing your innermost thoughts with the Lord, and waiting on him to share Himself with You.  By abiding in the Lord. The presence of the Lord will abide in you.

Matthew 7: 7-8
Ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

1 John 4: 13
By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.