“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org/
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht
“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com/
Ephesians 4:32… And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (NKJV)
As I was sitting here trying to pick out a scripture verse, to open my writing about comforting someone in need…this opening verse as a tweet, just came onto my screen… (Here is the twitter address for this fantastic site for sharing God’s Word, one scripture verse at a time… BIBLE _Retweet@BIBLE_Retweet
Comforting someone in need is just one of the responsibilities that the Lord commands those Christians to obey, who are living for Him… One might say that there is no scripture which commands a Christian to comfort others… But I believe the following scripture commands this, and much more from the obedient Christian…1 John 4:21… And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. (NKJV)
Jesus tells us that His first and second most important commandments are (1)… to first love the Lord with ALL of your heart, ALL of your soul, and ALL of your mind… And (2)… to love your neighbor as yourself…Matthew 22:36-40… Verse 40 tells us this… “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
The mature Christian who is walking in the Spirit (Spirit filled- Ephesians 5:18-20), will place the Lord first in their lives…and they will do their best to live their lives to please the Lord… The love of Christ will fill their heart, mind, and soul…and they will be urged by the Holy Spirit, to grow and mature into being conformed to the image of Christ…Romans 8:29…
The 9 fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…Galatians 5:22-23), are the “Christ like” attributes given to the new believer, at the moment they become a Christian in God’s eyes; and they are graced with the gift of salvation by God to become a new creation in Christ, and child of God…2 Corinthians 5:17…
You don’t see comforter listed in these 9 spiritual fruit, which are to grow and mature in the life of the obedient Christian… This growth is a lifelong process called sanctification (being conformed to the image of Christ)… And you don’t see the word hope listed either… But there is scripture that urges the Christian to be a comforter to those in need; and scripture to tell the Christian how to obtain the hope of conforming to the image of Christ…
2 Corinthians 1:3-4… Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (NKJV)
Romans 15:13… Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (NKJV)
Don’t think for one minute…that in your own strength, you can show love, gentleness, kindness, and self-control (all at the same time)…toward someone who is screaming in your face with rage… Jesus tells us as believers, that this is what we care called to do, in…Matthew 5:43-44… “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,” (NKJV)
It is only the full “power of the Holy Spirit”, which will provide the supernatural strength for the Spirit filled Christian to resist lashing back with anger; and respond with love, toward someone in their face with rage… The Apostle Paul calls this God given love, “the love of Christ which passes knowledge”…because our mortal minds just couldn’t produce this much love…Ephesians 3:16-19… Here is the link for this scripture about this supernatural love…
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph3:16-19,%20&version=NKJV
This scripture also has the Apostle Paul using these words… “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”… This is the fullness of the Holy Spirit; which will empower the Christian in so many ways… This supernatural power will only be obtained by the Christian who is walking in sweet fellowship with the Lord, with their sins confessed…repented of…and turned from…1 John 1:9…
Some may say that I write about this same need to confess our sins all the time… For these perfect people, there is really no need to continue reading the same solution to conquering the devastating destruction that Satan and our own carnal flesh will bring into our lives… For me…it is a necessary day to day reminder…that we as Christians can easily forget… We must remain humble to the leading of the Holy Spirit, or we will be sinning in God’s eyes…and not walking with the sweet fellowship all Christians should be basking in…
The God given peace, and love, and joy, and patience, and a quiet spirit…and all the other advantages that living for the Lord as a Spirit filled Christian will bring into our lives…is something that God promises to protect and nurture, if we submit to Him…James 4:7-8a… Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (NKJV)
I not only believe every Word in the Bible is truth…I experience God’s richest blessings in my own life, because of God’s fullness that He extends abundantly to His obedient children…
Heavenly Father…I sit here in awe and praise for You…with words that just can’t express the feeling of joy…of hope…of peace…of comfort…and of completeness…that the fullness of the Holy Spirit has brought into my life… I pray Lord, that others would humble themselves into submission to Your will and Your ways…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
written by bruce r mills
God's group 