Good deeds that happen from a good heart.

Just as the Pentacostals look for a move of the spirit, or other denominations might look for a code of conduct, or prayerfulness, or an appearance of meekness, contemplatives look for that prayerful meditative state, and in that, God is revealed in things all around the believer, in the everyday minutia, and Christ in all details, from the most important to the smallest of things.

In the opening Psalm, David says that those that meditate on God's law are blessed, but how many of us are simply given a few lifestyle edicts to act on, and that at most?

Could we not only ever do more, but be mindful of our own fallen sin state, and the continual need for God's grace and mercy.

We could do more still in the practice of love, and I say that, everyone, not pointing to anyone other than myself, but meditating on that too, the overgrowing practice of love, contemplation of God, good deeds that happen not out of necessity, but grow from a Christian heart.

From Romans 8. Tragedy and ultimate Triumph through Grace.

 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31‭-‬39 KJV

 

That from Pastor Lawrence. 

And believe me, we could all be reminded, at any old time of the day, every day or every other day, just to keep the truth fresh in our minds and keep the gratitude flowing.

Key part in there might be that we do sometimes suffer for God's sake, but that does not negate grace, that does not defy gratitude, does not nullify gratitude.  Just like Job, even if we are made to suffer by the world, we do not forget God, nor do we discount Christ's sacrifice for the sake of our forgiveness.

three images/quotes added to KJV memes.

 

he asked if God still forgives

Said he had been convicted in the court of public opinion.  Convicted of his appearance, his lifestyle and other minutia.

He asked if God forgives.

He had taken the standards of man and been condemned, but these are not all in line with God's standards.

God has already forgiven, but is he repenting to man or God?

Consider that so many never know real guilt, or only know guilt in man's eyes.  Many more think deep down, knowing his or her own heart, that he or she is a good person, despite outside circumstances, failed relstionships and so forth.

There is a nugget of something in the mind, maybe something still an infant, maybe something animal, not blissful but naive.

Man had to learn sin, just as mind through his intellectualism found sin in the garden.

Consider further: God already sent Jesus to intercede in man's sin guilt.

Reach for God and be blessed.  

we faint not. Forgiveness and Mercy.

Seeing as how the Lord gave us this ministry, we faint not.....

I was just saying and seeing earlier that forgiveness is much more easily said or talked about than really done.  

We are to forgive.

We are forgiven, in turn.

Seeing as how we received mercy, we faint not.....

But if we can't grant forgiveness, can we at least try for mercy?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for....."

"The substance of things hoped for..."

How often do we squander our hopes on fleeting, unimportant things.  But this is the truth of man's sin nature, that we fail in that way, among others.  However, through prayer, fellowship and the word of God, we may be renewed again and again.

An old prayer goes, "I thank You for rest and home and everything good."  We do not take stock that way in the modern world; maybe we take too much for granted, and only when we see some catastrophe in a third world nation do we nearly have a moment of clarity, getting a sense of how blessed we are.

Let us not forget.  Let us take heed and be thankful for how truly blessed we are.