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First Metropolitan Church | The Open Door | Without Walls International Church |
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 | posted 2 months ago | | | 90 reads |
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| posted 2 months ago | | | 149 reads |
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| posted 8 months ago | | | 272 reads |
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MaKelly says ...
 Christian Glitter by www.christianglitter.comFRIENDSHIP, GOD’S WORD ON
How many friends do you have? Who are they? If you are typical, your friends range from casual acquaintances to those who would die for you. Sometimes friends are closer than brothers or sisters. Friends share affection, companionship, confidences, consideration, devotion, esteem, faithfulness, fellowship, harmony, helpfulness, loyalty, partnership, support, sympathy, trust, and understanding. Friends are special. Above all, God is our very best friend. His friendship is a role model for all other friendships.
CAN WE TRULY BE FRIENDS WITH GOD?
Exodus 33:11-23 . . . The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend . . . “for you have found favor with me, and you are my friend.”
God called Moses his friend. We are his friends, too, if we truly seek him and love him.
Psalm 25:14 . . . Friendship with the Lord is reserved for those who fear him. With them he shares the secrets of his covenant.
Sharing our deepest secrets is a mark of great friendship. When God shares the secrets of his promises with us, we know that he considers us his friends.
WHAT IS THE MARK OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP?
Proverbs 17:17 . . . A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.
1 Samuel 18:1-4 . . . Jonathan made a special vow to be David’s friend.
Some friendships are fleeting and some are lasting. True friendships are glued together with bonds of loyalty and commitment. They remain intact, despite changing external circumstances. |
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MaKelly says ...
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MaKelly says ...
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MaKelly says ...
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MaKelly says ...
HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY HE HAS RISEN
Almighty God, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that I, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Before the festival of Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved those who were his in the world, loved them to the end. They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from the table, removed his outer garments, and, taking a towel, wrapped it around his waist; he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘Never!’ said Peter, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus replied, ‘If I do not wash you, you can have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said, ‘Well then, not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘No one who has had a bath needs washing, such a person is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said, ‘though not all of you are.’ When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand,’ he said, ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly, so I am. If I then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’
--John 13:1-15
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MaKelly says ...
bless our friends who provide us
with the grace and love of an extended family.
Endow them with the riches of your blessings:
good health, sight, and mobility,
that they may enjoy the wonders of your creation
and share their delight with others.
Bless them with keen minds and compassionate hearts
that they may create a better life for all.
Guard them from injustice, oppression, and evil
that they may know freedom and hope lifelong.
In their waking and in their sleeping,
in their laughter and in their tears,
surround them with your love
until the end of their days;
and so bring them to eternal life in peace.
Through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.
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MaKelly says ...
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MaKelly says ...
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MaKelly says ...
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MaKelly says ...
A CHRISTIAN’S HOPE IS BASED ON GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.
These verses show what God meant when he said he is slow to anger (Exodus 34:6). Even if the Israelites chose to disobey and were scattered among their enemies, God would still give them the opportunity to repent and return to him. His purpose was not to destroy them, but to help them grow. Our day-to-day experiences and hardships are sometimes overwhelming; unless we can see that God’s purpose is to bring about continual growth in us, we may despair. The hope we need is well expressed in Jeremiah 29:11-12: ” ’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ’They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.’ ” Retaining hope while we suffer shows we understand God’s merciful ways of relating to his people.BIBLE READING: Mark 5:21-43KEY BIBLE VERSE: Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” (Mark 5:36)
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