TIME GETS AWAY!

I apologize for the tardiness in posting. No excuse to give that will hold water when examined for more than 20 seconds, so I will just move on the the blogging. :-)

Yesterday I was blessed with the time we shared in Bible study. Had a new face in our group - John, glad you came. Also it was very nice to see Brandi "home" again. We are praying for you young lady.

Here is a brief outline of our study from the book of Ephesians:
Title: "We Have to Learn to Walk"
Memory Verse: Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

Five times in Ephesians, we find the word WALK which speaks of the living of our lives. Another word which is closely related to this idea is the word "conversation" which means manner of life.

1. We are to WALK WORTHY of the vocation wherewith we are called. In other words we are to live in such a way that brings honor to the One Who has called us out of darkness to salvation. Honor Him in our speech, our habits, our dress, or attitudes, etc. We will never be perfect in this earthly life, but this is our goal.

2. We are to WALK NOT AS OTHER GENTILES WALK IN THE VANITY OF THEIR MIND, as we find in Eph. 4:17. "Lean not unto thine own understanding" would be another Biblical way of saying this. Human reasoning is a poor substitute for the Word of God and the powerful, indwelling Holy Spirit.

3. WALK IN LOVE. Eph. 5:2 Three words from the Greek are translated love in English. EROS is a word which stands for sexual love, but it is not found in the Scriptures, and it is the least of the three. PHILEO is the word which means brotherly love, kindnesses shown to others, a proper spirit to display between us and other people. "Let brotherly love continue." The third word, found almost exclusively in the New Testament, is the word AGAPE or AGAPAO and this word refers to the UNSELFISH LOVE demonstrated to us by God at Calvary. This is the love that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and should be then expressed to those who are around us. It is self-sacrificing and self-denying as we see in the last few verses of Ephesians 5 where husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it.

4. WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT - Eph. 5:8 A very good commentary on this passage is found in 1 John chapter one which speaks of walking in the light as God is in the light. When we walk in the light we have fellowship with God and real joy as a Christian. Of course this is only for believers. We must first come to the Lord, Who is light, before we can walk in the light with Him. God's Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, so to walk int he light I must be walking in obedience to the Word of God as well.

5. WALK CIRCUMSPECTLY - Eph. 5:15 Generally speaking this refers to being aware of our surroundings, aware of what is going on in our world. We should be aware of our inner world, the real us, and how our relationship is going with God and others. We should be aware of our family world. It is so important to have these relationships right as well. We should be aware of our church world. Give effort to making a contribution in the work of the Lord through your local church in time, effort, and money. We ought to also be wisely aware of what is going on in the world around us. The time is drawing near for the second coming of Christ. Look at the signs of the times. Prepare your own heart and life and join in the great harvest God has going on right now. He is at work calling people to salvation and desires for y ou to join Him in this great calling. Become a laborer together with Him.

BASED UPON THESE TRUTHS, let us take some action steps.

* Determine a way TODAY that you can live your life closer to God than you did yesterday. (reading your Bible, prayer, obeying God as He speaks to you, witnessing to someone of the way God has changed your life. . .)
* Actuate a plan to learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ.
* Make a definite step to show someone the love of Jesus today in some practical way.
* Read your Bible daily and read the news or watch the news with the Bible and Bible prophecy in mind. See if there is something that stand out to you concerning the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


Wow that is a pretty beefy blog! LOL

Do not forget that we are having a Sunday School cookout this weekend. All adult classes are invited. We are planning to have some games, too. Pray for decent weather. Bring your own meat and a side dish. ALSO, bring a friend or two (friends do not need to bring anything but themselves unless they want to). We are starting at 6 PM on Saturday, May 8.

PRAYER LIST - Kit Stafford, has cancer; Jennie, cancer; Terry, heart valve problem; David's parents health and well being as they are facing lingering health concerns; all those involved in the Gum Tree 10 k race (Brother Mike and Brenda); Brandi, for God's leadership in her life and she is facing some challenges this week as she seeks to make some things right with others;

God bless you! Have an awesome week.