Becky Austin

Rejoice In The Lord

4:30 PM


Paul wrote the book of Phillipians, thanking this church for their help and concern for him while imprisoned in Rome. He also focused on uplifting and encouraging them in their faith. In this final chapter of his letter to them, he gave them some vital keys to his own ability to have a positive mindset and strong faith even though his circumstances were far from desirable. 

He started with an attitude, a deliberate approach to his day: He told them to rejoice….not because of the circumstances but because of their focus on the Lord. And he reminded them the Lord was near. Paul knew that even though he was in chains and confined to a prison, he was not alone. God was with Him and this gave him hope, confidence and a cause to rejoice. 

  

He gave them an action plan “for every situation”. Instead of being anxious and feeling powerless, he urged them “by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (v6)


He gave them a focus for their thoughts: “..whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (v8)


Life certainly has its ups and downs, its twists and turns, and its unexpected pitfalls. In fact, the weight of circumstances can feel like a crushing, smothering burden you can’t escape. If we let our difficult circumstances set the tone, we are doomed. But if we follow Paul’s example, we have an action plan and a focus that can set the right attitude for our day. Because of Christ, Paul could encourage us to “Rejoice”. 


Prayer: Father, this Thanksgiving week is a special time to celebrate and rejoice as we count the abundance of your blessings. But, Lord, we ask that you instill within us the strength and grace to find daily gratitude and peace. No matter our circumstances, may we be empowered by Your Spirit to rise up each morning with a heart that exclaims to the world…Rejoice! 

Cornbread

Chicken Cornbread Casserole

9:00 AM



Chicken Cornbread Casserole

5 cups cubed cornbread
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 celery ribs, chopped (about 2 cups)
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350°. Place bread cubes on an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toasted. Cool on baking pan. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until tender. Transfer to a greased 4-qt. slow cooker. Stir in cornbread,chicken, soups, broth and seasonings. Cook, covered, on low 3-4 hours or until heated through.

Becky Austin

Genuine Love is Transforming! (Romans 12)

12:30 PM




Our Scripture Reading: Romans 12

Today is Thanksgiving Day, a day when many gather with friends and family to enjoy a meal, companionship, and hopefully reflect upon the blessings of life they can be thankful for. It reminds me of the early church gatherings, where those who wanted to grow in Christ gathered in small groups within someone’s home to eat together, share life together, and grow together spiritually. 

Perhaps you don’t have your physical family close this season. Don’t let that deter you from knowing that you belong to a bigger family. Once you accept Christ, you are adopted into a huge spiritual family. It’s part of God’s plan for you to grow within relationships and not in isolation. Relationships are where we get to practice what we learn in His Word and allow God to mold our hearts to reflect the attributes of Christ.

God wants to transform us and He wants us to be a vital part of the body of Christ. In fellowship with like minded believers, we are encouraged, challenged, and loved. I gather with a small group each week and it is amazing to study God’s Word together, and to share and discuss how to put spiritual truths to work in “real life”. 
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

In Romans 12, we are given examples of what a transformed life starts to look like. I think the key to it all is in verse 9: LET LOVE BE GENUINE!
I don’t think that we can achieve genuine love on our own. This is the kind of love that only God can instill in the depths of our being. It’s a process of yielding to Him, denying our selfish motivations, and learning to be grateful for what we have as well as how to be genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of others. 

These are the attributes that stood out to me:
-“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
   Romans 12:10
-“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
   Romans 12:12
-“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
   Romans 12:13
-“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
   Romans 12:14
-“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”
   Romans 12:15

An interesting observation, is that so much of what God asks of us in attitude and thought involves how we view and interact with others. Even with just these few, there’s a lot of room for God to do some major transformation work in my heart. It’s a work I must allow Him to do. My part is to seek Him, and yield to Him daily as He convicts me and whispers to me throughout the day. 

What about you?  What stood out to you in this chapter? Are you in fellowship with other Christians who can help you in your spiritual journey? Are you renewing your mind by studying and applying God’s Word to daily life? Are you yielding to His Spirit as He teaches you about genuine love? Remember, It’s not about “What” we do.  It’s about the transformed heart that motivates us to action. It’s about genuine love.

Happy Thanksgiving today and everyday!


1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Power in Praise {Psalm 145}

12:00 AM

~ Psalm 145

Praise means “to commend, to applaud or magnify.” For the believer, our praise to God is an expression of our worship, lifting-up and glorifying the Lord. But I've recently discovered it's so much more than that! And I cannot wait to share all I've discovered!



I will exalt You, my God, O King, and [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will bless Your name forever and ever.- Psalm 145:1 

Praise and thanksgiving go hand and hand in our conversation with The Lord, though each are very different, and knowing this difference can help us to experience the Lord in a more significant way.

A few weeks ago I wrote on giving thanks and described my prayer sandwich I discovered in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. (You can read all about it here)
  In Hebrews 13:15, the writer encourages us to "offer up a sacrifice of praise" and somehow I've always looked upon that verse as though I was doing The Lord a favor by taking a moment to praise Him. It seems rather silly just writing that, but that's how I interpreted that verse in my mind.

Barnes explains it this way:
 The sacrifice of praise - For all the mercies of redemption. The Jews, says Rosenmuller (Alte u. neue Morgenland, in loc.), had a species of offerings which they called "peace-offerings, or friendship-offerings." They were designed not to produce peace or friendship with God, but to preserve it. Burnt-offerings, sin-offerings, and trespass-offerings, were all on account of transgression, and were designed to remove transgression. But in their peace-offerings, the offerer was regarded as one who stood in the relation of a friend with God, and the oblation was a sign of thankful acknowledgment for favors received. (emphasis mine)

Every day I will bless You and lovingly praise You;
Yes, [with awe-inspired reverence] I will praise Your name forever and ever. 
Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man].-Psalm 145:2-3

When we praise the Lord, we praise Him for who He is (His attributes) and what He’s done. For example, we can praise Him for redeeming us through His death on the cross, for His resurrection from the dead, and for ascending to heaven. We can praise Him for He is now seated at the right hand of the Father. 

To thank the Lord is to thank Him for the things that He has personally done for us, or provided. Thanksgiving takes on a more personal note. 

I will give thanks to you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths from the realm of the dead. -Psalm 86:12-13 

Can you see the difference?

Rejoice always
Unceasingly pray,
 In everything give thanks; 
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

Here is why our petition need to be wrapped around Praise and Thanksgiving!

A sample prayer following 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

Lord, I praise You for who You are and for what You’ve done. You are Omnipotent- Almighty God! All things are possible for You! You are Omniscient (all knowing); absolutely nothing takes you by surprise! You look carefully after each and every little detail and nothing escapes Your notice! You have proven Yourself over and over to me and I know I can once again trust you with this small matter. Lord God, I know You hear my pleas; You know the longings my heart; therefore I'll will set this here once more before You and thank You once more for lovingly listening to my impassioned plea. Father, I know You have acted on my behalf in this matter before, and You can be trusted to do it again, therefore I will give You thanks and wait on Your perfect timing to act once more! Amen.

By praising in this way, we gain God's perspective on the situation, and we see the Lord for who He really is. We speak truth to our anxious heart and embolden our hearts once more with faith. We take our eyes off ourselves, and look away unto Jesus who is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) and we gain the strength and confidence, knowing that our prayer has been heard and He will act.

I used to be one who sought to get straight to the point. Simply seeking to give Him my list of needs, but there aren't adequate words to explain how just the three commands in 1Thessalonians 5:16-18 have revolutionized my prayers and my walk with Him.

I want to encourage you to begin speaking truth to your heart wrapping your petition with praise and thanksgiving and see if it will make all the difference in your walk as well.

Blessings,
Sue

 

Hiding God's Word in our Heart

Psalm 100 (start with v. 1-3, challenge yourself with v.4,5) ~ Joyful Noise! ~ Praise

12:00 AM

Saturday, March 2, 2019


Welcome to Scripture Saturday!

This coming week's memory verse is Psalm 100:1-3 (challenging 4-5)...

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations. (ESV)

As we  lift up our voices in praise to our God, we do so with the confidence and assurance of the truth…that we “know that the LORD, He is our God!”  He is the only true God! And we are His people! 

As we lift up our voices in thanksgiving to our God, we do so because God is the “source and perfect example of goodness.” (MacArthur) He gathers His sheep to Himself and intimately cares for each one of us. He loves us! And He does for all eternity! 

HE IS WORTHY OF OUR JOYFUL NOISE!

So when you attend services this weekend remember to “make a joyful noise.” Sing out to the LORD, raise your voice with praise and thanksgiving not only with song but in your heart, mind, and soul!

Have a blessed day and week everyone!




1 Thessalonians

The Prayer Sandwich {1 Thessalonians 5:16-18}

8:30 PM

I stumbled upon something recently that has revolutionized my prayer life and I’m <SO EXCITED> to finally be able to share it with you today!! Of course you know that with God nothing happens by accident; I didn’t simply stubble, but God revealed something that has changed me forever! Now where do I start …


It all began when I was teaching a women’s Bible class one morning. I actually planned to talk about I Thessalonians 5:17, but the verse was so small, that I decided to include 16 and 18 with it, for they were good too. I wrote them on the board like this:
Rejoice always,
Pray without ceasing
Give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

During my lesson someone made the comment that, “pray without ceasing” was in the middle of the commands to rejoice and give thanks! (It was a light-bulb moment for me!)

I saw the sandwich!!




While in college, studying for a degree in early childhood education, I was taught that when it came to parent-teacher conferences, we should always sandwich what we wanted the parents to know between two positives! For example:
Your child is such a hard worker!
Even though she’s struggling right now in math
I’m confident she’ll eventually master it with some extra help!


Though, our prayers are completely different from a parent-teacher conference, it suddenly occurred to me that God wants our prayers seasoned with joy and thanksgiving! Do you naturally season all your prayers with joy and thanksgiving?

I hadn’t been! Not always. I usually tended to get straight to the point!

BUT, I also discovered recently that ALL three of these commands here are covered by Paul’s last statement in verse 18, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for YOU.” (emphasis mine). These three verses were meant to be kept together!

And the Lord gave me the longest migraine headache of my life to drive home this lesson!! I’d been suffering with the same migraine headache for a week, trying everything I knew to do to try to get rid of it, when finally one night I went straight to bed after dinner because I just didn’t want to deal with the pain any longer.

The Lord woke me during the night at 2AM with the headache still there, and I immediately lay there and began talking to Him, “Well Lord, I’ve tried everything I know to get rid of this headache and it’s still here.”

“Not everything.” was His reply and He reminded me of what He had recently revealed to me in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. I had to agree that I’ve never thought to rejoice and give thanks for a migraine headache, but I had grumbled and complained and begged for it to be gone A LOT! So, I began praising Him and giving thanks for everything I could think of! There was a party going on in my brain, and the next thing I knew it was morning! I'd fallen back to sleep and now daylight was shining through my windows!

I woke and the headache was still there!! But my whole countenance had changed!! I was so light and joy-FILLED and I was NOT going to allow that headache to keep me down any longer. I got up, dressed and went about my day filled with His Holy Spirit and the headache eventually disappeared, though I can’t tell you when it happened exactly.

Here in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, Paul is writing to a new church of young believers, and it seems as though he is quickly trying to write down all these finally instructions for them to follow before he closes the letter and sends it off. Most of what I’ve read about these three verses speaks of the impossibility to keep them! Can we really rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in every and all circumstance??

YES! I don’t believe The Lord would have Paul include these commands to this group of young believers, who were facing constant persecution, if they were impossible to follow! I also believe our first clue for how to follow the commands is found in the final words of verse 18. “for this is the will of God… for you.” This is God’s will for all of us, but it’s, “in Christ Jesus” or in other words, through Christ Jesus!! We can't leave Christ Jesus out! 

 ...For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.We must include Christ Jesus for Paul told us in the letter to the Philippian church that we “can do all things through Christ…”(Phil 4:13)

I have also discovered that by seasoning our constant conversations with God with joy and thanksgiving we are actually speaking truth to our hearts and strengthening our resolve as we pray!! Proving once more that these commands are for OUR BENEFIT, and not God's.But don’t take my word for it, start putting these verses into practice and see for yourselves!






Grateful

Scripture Saturday ~ Psalm 28:7 ~ Thanksgiving!~ Gratitude

12:00 AM

Saturday, February 16, 2019


Welcome to Scripture Saturday!

This coming week's memory verse is Psalm 28:7...

 The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. (NLT)

 “The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight which made David dance.” (C.S. Lewis)

 Dear Father…You are awesome and worthy of my praise and worship.  I trust you with all of my heart, my mind, and my soul. You are my strength, for I am weak. You are my shield, for I need protection. My heart bursts with joy and my mouth sings praises of thanksgiving of You!

 I love you Lord!

 So I’ll stand

With arms high and heart abandoned

In awe of the One who gave it all

So I’ll stand

My soul Lord to You, surrendered

All I am is Yours
So I’ll stand

With arms high and heart abandoned

In awe of the One who gave it all

So I’ll stand

My soul Lord to You, surrendered

All I am is Yours
The Stand (chorus only) by Hillsong

 Have a blessed day and week everyone!



Becky Austin

With Thankful Hearts (Ephesians 1-2)

2:31 AM





Today is Thanksgiving Day, a day of reflection on the many blessings we have and a day to offer our humble thanks for those blessings to God, our loving Father. In Ephesians 1-2, Paul reminds us of some of those wonderful blessings and encourages us to have a heart of gratitude as we offer up praise to God. 
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” (1:3)
How did He bless us?  “ IN Christ”. 
Christ is the reason we have acceptance in God’s eyes. And having Christ grants us the Grand Prize Package so to speak because “in Christ” we get it “ALL”- “every” spiritual blessing is ours! 

Just think about how much God extended to you. 
God loved you before the beginning of time. He knew long before you were born that you would need a Savior and he sent Christ to make you worthy of a status change. 
“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.  (1:4-5)
How amazing is that! You are adopted into God’s family. But there’s more.  God chose to lavish us with His grace.  Lavish means “to bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities upon.”
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight”(1:7-8)

Paul talks about how the first believers, like himself, were given an inheritance by believing in Christ. But, this extended beyond the chosen Jewish nation to ALL people who would choose to believe. That includes you. “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (1:13-14 )
The Holy Spirit teaches you, comforts you, and empowers you.  Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? (1 Corinthians 3:16) What a blessed gift you have been given to have the Holy Spirit, with you always.

Life is the most important of blessings.  I’ve heard this quote recently “Jesus Christ did not come to make bad people good but to make dead people alive. “.  You should be grateful for your physical life, certainly, but what far exceeds physical life is Eternal Life!  Because of Christ, you have the greatest blessing of all.”
Paul reminds us that we were spiritually dead.  “in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (2:2-3)
But, Praise God, we were given New Life....eternal life! 
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace, you have been saved—” ( 2:4-5) 
Paul reminds us this is “a gift of love”. You don’t deserve it. You don’t earn it. You don’t perform to keep it.  It is a freely offered gift of love and grace. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”(2:8-9)

What a great gift to be thankful for. Part of our thankfulness should be to allow God to extend what He has blessed us with in service to others. God wants to use our lives to glorify and honour Him. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (2:10)
Today is a great day to show our thankfulness and appreciation for what God has blessed us with but every day affords the same opportunity. Thanksgiving shouldn’t just be a day but a way of life!


2 Samuel

A Secret Found in Grieving {2Samuel 1-4:12}

7:30 PM





All of us will deal with grief at some point, for you cannot love and be forever free from grieving. Some of us will grieve over the death of a loved one, while others may mourn the loss of a lifestyle, job, marriage, of even a dream of how you envisioned your life would be.

 I just recently loss my mother after taking care of her for the past 14 years and when we came to 2 Samuel, chapter 1; where David mourns the lost of King Saul and his best friend, Jonathan, I decided it was time to talk about something most people would prefer not to discuss- grief. I did a bit of research into the grieving process and found I could identify with some of all I discovered, but not all. 

I loved how Molly Fumia described the grieving process, "Grief is a journey, often perilous and without clear direction. The experience of grieving cannot be ordered or categorized, hurried or controlled, pushed aside or ignored indefinitely. It is inevitable as breathing, as change, as love. It may be postponed, but it will not be denied."

Jesus told us, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."—Matthew 5:4
God designed us so that we will feel joy and love in the presence of our loved ones, and grief when we are separated from them. Hmm..I believe I took for granted that we’ve been created with emotions until now! I’m not quite sure why this revelation is just coming to me, but just think how robotic we’d be if we hadn’t been given the ability to feel the gambit of emotions! The ability to feel all we do it truly a blessing!
Do you all rejoice along with me when you read in John 11:35, “Jesus wept” over the death of his friend Lazarus? Did He actually weep for Lazarus or for the other’s pain over their loss, for He knew He was about to raise him up and give him back to all those who loved him? Either way, it’s comforting to know that we are more like Jesus when we mourn with and for others.
It’s also comforting to know that God knows exactly how we’re feeling and hurts along with us!
While grief is an expected response to any loss, the unfamiliar emotions that arise can lead to feelings of uncertainty and fear. (Wondering if what we’re experiencing is normal)
The truth is everyone deals with a loss differently. Some may be devastated depending on the circumstances; others may initially feel numb and disconnected. Some may choose to withdraw socially, while others look for and appreciate the support others.
Although grieving is an individual experience, there are symptoms many people experience after a personal loss. (Some that might even surprise you):
  • Feels physically drained
  • Can't sleep at night
  • Forgetful and unable to think clearly. (Brain fog.)
  • Noticeable change in appetite
  • Physical distress such as chest pains, headaches.
  • Stays extremely busy to avoid thinking about his or her grief
  • Eats, drinks watches television, etc. excessively
  • Becomes withdrawn, lonely and apathetic
In all my research I discovered that there isn’t only one, or right way to grieve and no right way, or one way to comfort. My mother was ill the entire time I took care of her. Her illness grew progressively worse until even her doctors were surprised that she was still doing as well as she was. On one hand, I knew she had already outlived the doctor’s expectations, but on the other I believed she’d still keep right on going! Therefore, when the news came that she had only days (which was really hours) to live I was surprised, but accepted the reality that it was time for Jesus to take her home.

After her passing, I got so busy with trying to settle her estate that I felt I didn’t have time to mourn, but that wasn’t true. I was keeping busy to avoid the grief. I’ve had my sleepless nights, lack of energy, headaches, periods of forgetfulness, etc. From the very moment I learned that Mom was going home, I have sensed the Lord presence even more.  He IS near to the brokenhearted. He continues to exhort me to simply, “Be still…” Psalm 46:10, for He knows I’ve never been one to sit still for long and allow Him to take charge. (It’s something we’re still working on.)

But, as hard as this time has been, I find myself… thankful! (1Thes 5:18)

  • I’m thankful Mom came to know the Lord as her Savior and Lord right after she moved here in 2003.
  • I’m thankful for all the years I’ve been able to take care of her and every phone call I made each morning to simply say, “Good morning, Mom!”
  • I’m thankful that this parting is only temporary.
  • And thankful for all The Lord has taught me since her passing!
  • Thankful for the relationships with friends and family that have deepened since, but there’s still more I need to do on my end to grow them even more!
  • I’m thankful to know more of how to bless others when they are grieving.

These are just a few off my list. (I didn’t want to keep you here too much longer) BUT I did want you to know that in all I read about grieving (especially the secular articles) I didn’t read anything about giving thanks! We all know the Lord commands us to give thanks in all circumstances, (1 Thes 5:18) and I have to admit that I’ve found this one thing to be the greatest help in dealing with the loss of my mom! The greatest help!
Thank you all for letting me share it with you!

1 John 4

Gratitude for God's Love {1 John 4}

12:30 AM


Thanksgiving 2017

This Thanksgiving I have been reflecting on memories of family gatherings.  As a child growing up, I have fond memories of lots of food and desserts and cousins to play with at my Great Grandparents home.  But, I also remember that as the years passed and I got older, I became more aware that between many of the adults that gathered was constant friction, tension, grumblings and arguments. Sadly, many of my great aunts and uncles have passed away and the bitter rivalries continued with them to their final days. They did not know how to be grateful or show love to each other. 
In contrast, I have been blessed to experience Thanksgivings over many years at the home of my husband's grandmother.  She always extended love and acceptance to me as if I were her own.  Gatherings were always pleasant because those who gathered were truly grateful to be there and to be with each other. That family embraced Christ and loved so genuinely. How grateful I am to have been blessed with such a family. 

In 1 John 4, we are reminded that the source of true, genuine love is God.  If we know God, then we will extend the love of God to others. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” ( v 7-8)

God loved us first.  Not only did he send his Son to save us but He  welcomed us into his family with full acceptance.  As part of God's family, we should naturally extend the love of Christ to each other. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” ( v10-11)

When others observe us they should see God and the love of God. They may never read a Bible or attend church. They may have only experienced self centered, harsh and unloving family dynamics. We may be the only chance they have to see the difference God's love can make as we yield to His Spirit. . “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” ( v 12-13)

The more we understand how much God loves us, the more empowered we are by that  love.  “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (v 18)

We would not be capable of genuine love toward others if we did not know the love of God. “We love because he first loved us." ( v 19)

Are you grateful for the love of God shown so mercifully toward you? If so, then ask God to help you extend that same  love toward others. "And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” ( v 21)

I wish each and every one of you a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!