"Every Good and Perfect Gift"

Therefore I remind you to stir

up the gift of God which is in you...

2 Timothy 1:6

I had laid down blogging for more than a year but through an unexpected encounter I found myself pulling up my blog page once again, and began to give it a “new look”. It is then I sensed the Lord speaking to me. This had been no chance encounter but a way of getting my attention to continue to express myself through writing and speaking as the Holy Spirit inspires me.

It’s not because I have some great gift. I certainly don’t. I only long to hear the heart of God, do His will and echo His heartbeat. No matter how inadequate I may think I am He is all-sufficient.

The Lord has given each one of us gifts that He means for us to use, though at times we may feel unworthy or lacking. It’s true, I have no good thing apart from Him but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. God uses the weak and frail of this world but He is the One who delights to fill and enable us to demonstrate His power.

The Father reminds me that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights and is not meant to hide under a basket but to shine for all to see as we are living expressions of Christ.

As I was in church today I found myself interceding for the people of God regarding this very thing. My prayer is that every good and perfect gift would be sought out, discovered, unwrapped, and utilized for the Kingdom of God and for His glory.

And so, “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1) He is worthy!

Scripture Meditation:
2 Corinthians 4:6-7 - For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Ephesians 4:7-16 - But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “ When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Romans 12:3-8 - For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Philippians 2:13 - … for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Matthew 5:14-16 - “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
(See also, 1 Corinthains, chapter 12)

(Artwork by, Karla Dornacher, http://www.karladornacher.com/)

"The Joy of the Lord is My Strength"

The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10

This is truly one of my most loved passages of Scripture, so I just had to do a scrapbook page to include in my little inspirational book. This is one I did quite awhile ago but thought I'd begin to share some of my pages right here on my blog.

I'm slow at creating each page but I don't think the Lord's in a hurry. I find it very peaceful and relaxing as I ponder the possibilities of putting my pages together. I so strongly feel the presence of the Lord as I meditate on His Word during the creative process and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to me.

I'm trying to decide which promise of the Lord I'll work on next, but in the meantime I'll see if I can get some other scrapbook pages posted. I hope they'll encourage and inspire you as they have me.