Hi Thomas,

What BEAUTIFUL verse and words to remind all of us!  What a BEAUTIFUL and compassionate world this could be!

I vote that we all print your entire post and read it every morning and give away at least 1 copy a day.  It starts with us.....and I am doing it!  :-)

Bless you for sharing this!

Hugs,  Jill

Thomas, you did indeed give us much to think about and be thankful for and I see that you also sparked a lot of meanngful comments!

Those of us who bear the banner of "Christian" have so much to be thankful for!  Especially when we think about Jesus giving His life for us while we were still in our sins!

What a privilege those of us who have been born in America, which was founded on Christian principles, have enjoyed as we look at how God truly has blessed this country!

You mentioned a lot of things that we really do need to take to heart because we have been blessed with God's grace so we should be extending that on to others that we come in contact with!

My concern is that we may forget that Jesus said that He would build His church and that the gates of hell wouldn't prevail against it!

Do we recognize just how powerful that is?  That it is really Jesus Who is building His church---not us!

Where is our faith that He is able to do what He set out to do?

I'm not saying that we as Christians have nothing to do but just watch Him accomplish His purpose!  He gave us specific instructions as to what we are to be doing as we share His suffering and will also share His glory!

What I am saying is that people in some circles seem to think that the gates of hell are prevailing over Christ's church because we Christians are letting down in doing our duty!

What they fail to see is that we are children of the King!  The King rules, not the children!  We put our faith and confidence in Him because He Is Was and always has been God!

When He came to earth to live in His humainty---He still never stopped being God!  He was God in the flesh!

When He says, "I will do something---anything"  we shouldn't overlook the power that is behind that!

Thomas, I know I have digressed somewhat from the grace that you addressed but I think we also need to be reminded that its not as much about us as it is Him!  ---Not as much about what we can do as about what He has done!

Yes, He has set us an example of having compassion on others by showing His compassion on us!

As we take on the family resemblance of His children we should be reflecting His light of compassion and mercy on to one another!

John 3:17 tells us that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through Him the world might be saved!

God, through Christ, is reconciling all the world to Himself---not just those of us who have been privileged to be born in this blessed nation called America!

May God help us all to see the big picture that He would have us see from His point of view as we realize how small we are and how great He is, and yet how mindful He is of us!

God bless and keep up the good work,

J.V.

 

Thanks J.V. but as a Disciple of his i do think its about what we do with the faith and the Spirit that has been handed to us to become Christ like, as you said ;

My concern is that we may forget that Jesus said that He would build His church and that the gates of h*ll wouldn't prevail against it!

Do we recognize just how powerful that is?  That it is really Jesus Who is building His church---not us!;  The Church is his people James thats what he meant by that statement, hell is around us and it is us to prevent ourselves and other believers not to go down that path, to uphold his commands with fellowship, prayer and saving the lost.  Jesus' spirit is through us when we enter the waters of baptism, not as a child but as an adult or atleast well enough to understand and read what is said in God's Holy Bible. Its a personal choice one with cost but a well worthy cost if you ask me. Thank you for your comments James, may God continue working in you as he has and that you keep reading, searching and count those blessings my fathful friend. God_bless you.

_{I think i would vote for my own post if that ever happen Jill Lol, thank you for your wonderful comments my dear friend God_bless you!}

Thank you Thomas, for your response to what I wrote as well as your response to all the posts that we make to this forum!

Its great to be part of a forum where we don't just try to exhault ourselves but where we can truly uphold the precious name of God, His Son, and Holy Spirit!

When I referred to us as "children", I meant to be doing so in the same sense that the apostles and Jesus Himself referred to us.  Even though in our humanity other people may see us as old men and women!  We are still just children in the eyes of an eternal creator!

He is our Father, we are His children!

He is making all things new, and that includes us!  We don't know yet what we will be, but the Scriptures declair that "We shall be like Him!"

In I Peter, the analogy is made of us being lively stones in the Spiritual Temple of God where He resides!

Jesus Himself is the chief cornerstone and the foundation consists of He, the apostles and the prophets.

Paul adds to that in I Cor. that no other foundation can be laid other than that which has already been laid.  We know from that that we can't be a part of the foundation, but that doesn't take away from the fact that we are a part of the holy spiritual Temple of God!

If God's Temple were all foundation, and that's all, it would not be complete!

What a great and wonderful privilege we all have to be a part of that beautiful complete holy spiritual Temple of God that He Himself is still building!!

We didn't choose Him, He chose us!

We can all look forward to seeing the complete Temple one day, with ourselves being a part of it, and just stand in awe as we behold its beauty!

When we see things from God's point of view, it makes us want to study His Word more, not so we can be a part of His Temple, but because He has chosen us as individual stones to be cemented into a beautiful temple that will put Solomon's to shame!

We will not look at the beautiful Temple of God and say, "I did it MY way" any more than we can claim credit for the beauty of a rose that just happened to grow in our own rose garden!

Oh what wonderful joy God has planned for those of us who love Him and that He has called according to His purpose!

Let's be careful to Give Him the Praise, Honor, and Glory that He deserves in as much as we are able!

Love and continued blessings,

J.V.

P.S.  I don't mean to imply that there is nothing for us to do! 

What I am saying is that we do the work we are called to do because God has already chosen us, not so that He will choose us! 

He has created us to do good works, and what a privilege to serve such an awesome God!