spiritualsnippets.com

Seeing life's events in the light of God's Word.

Sep 10

“Watch Your Mouth!”

by Brenda Poulos

James 3:10- “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

As a child, my Dad told me to guard my tongue more than once. And I got my mouth washed out with soap more times than I’d like to admit.

The Bible warns us that what we say is a reflection of what is in our hearts and it can hurt others.

If we belong to Christ, our speech should not only honor Him, but it should spread peace, love, and fruits of the spirit to everyone we come in contact with—starting with family and rippling outward.

How can we guard against the occasional slip of the tongue?

Start the day off right by reading scripture and meditating on it throughout the day.

Pray for God’s guidance in our interactions all day long.

Sound simple? It is—and it isn’t.

God reminds us that we must continually guard our hearts against the influences of the world around us because our hearts are easily swayed by worldly temptations.

And, if we let that happen, others will become the recipients of the hurtful things we say.

We can’t plant seeds of the gospel if our words don’t honor our Savior.

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Sep 3

Exploring the Question of “Works”

by Brenda Poulos

James 2:26- “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”

In my mid-thirties, my local church began a series of sermons on different religions of the world. I learned what their teachings were, countries where each religion was most prevalent, and so on.

I was astounded by the number of religions who taught that “works” (doing good things) was the way to heaven. Yet, I’d always been taught that it was faith in Jesus Christ—and him alone—that was required for salvation.

I was confused and went to the Bible for answers. The book of James offered a clear explanation.  Faith in Jesus must come first; then works are done as a result of the working of our faith within us.

A living, active faith is shown outwardly in works. So, there was the truth: We are not saved by works. We are saved for works.

James is a short book packed full of practical applications for living the victorious Christian life.

If you are struggling with the questions of salvation in your own life, may I recommend that you open your Bible to the book of James and let God lead you to His answer for you?

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Aug 27

Popular Choices

by Brenda Poulos

Two songs, Amazing Grace and I’ll Fly Away are said to be the most chosen music for memorial services (and many other public events) for decades.

Besides the wonderful music, what is it about these two songs that make them so popular among Christians and non-christians, alike?

I believe both songs show the composers’ great faith in God and their belief in heaven as the final abode for believers. In fact, 80-90% of their lyrics speak directly to that point. 

It may be the remaining percentage, 10-20%, coupled with the uplifting music, that makes them popular to thousands.

Consider this portion of the lyrics from Amazing Grace, written by Englishman, John Newton:

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

And this, from I’ll Fly Away by Hezekiah Walker:

One glad morning
When this life is over
I’ll fly away

I surmise from these, that the heart yearns for peace and joy at life’s end—the hearts of all human beings, even those who have not professed faith in Jesus Christ.

Today, let our prayer be for salvation for everyone who will believe. May they indeed experience an eternal life of joy and peace.

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Aug 20

Keep the Faith

by Brenda Poulos

2 Timothy 3:13-15~ “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

“What a week,” my friend said. “I knew things were getting bad, but I didn’t realize they’d get this bad.”

Sharon was referring to something she read this morning on the internet and later was reported on the midday news report.

Christians, especially, shouldn’t be surprised to hear such comments because we have been warned in the Bible that the “last days” will be filled with all kinds of things that we have never heard of before– language and behaviors opposite of the way we were taught.

The encouragement in 2 Timothy is a reminder for us to keep following the words recorded in scripture—to remember what we learned as children and stay true to the Biblical Truths.

While we may be appalled by things we see and hear, now more than ever we need to pray for those who might be influenced by social media and those around them.

Prayers of righteous men “availeth much.”

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Aug 13

Look for Opportunities

by Brenda Poulos

Revelation 21:27- “Nothing impure will ever enter it (heaven), nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

I met a lady recently who asked me a few questions about being an author. She confessed that she’d been thinking about writing a memoir because it would be a thrill for her to see her name on the cover of her very own book.

What an opportunity God gave me to talk to her about seeing her name in The Book of Life!

It seems more and more God is providing situations for me to talk to others about grace, forgiveness, and salvation.

These are exciting days leading up to Christ’s return. So many reasons to share the gospel!

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Jul 30

Exciting News

by Brenda Poulos

Revelation 21:27- “Nothing impure will ever enter it (heaven), nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

I met a lady recently that asked me a few questions about being an author. A few minutes later, she confessed that she’d been thinking about writing a book because it would be a thrill for her to see her name in print on the cover of her very own book.

What an opportunity God gave me to talk to her about having her name in The Book of Life!

It seems more and more God is providing situations for me to talk to others about grace, forgiveness, and salvation.

These are exciting days leading up to Christ’s return. So many reasons to share the gospel!

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Jul 23

A Familiar Face

by Brenda Poulos

Matthew 8:11-”Many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

We relocated to Nevada in January. Although we love it here, now, it was quite an adjustment for us to start over and build new friendships. We only knew our son, daughter-in-law, and little grandson. 

It was a strange experience to go to the grocery store or out to the mall and not see anyone we knew.

We started to attend a Bible study on Wednesday evenings. As I opened the door one night, my eyes immediately connected with a familiar face. How could this be? I asked myself. What were the chances of me knowing anyone in this state? 

“I know you somehow, don’t I?” she asked.

“You look familiar, too,” I answered.

Within five minutes we realized we had taught at the same school in Arizona some thirty-five years ago! We hadn’t really been friends at the time; just acquaintances that said hello in the hallway or school office.

With this realization, we shouted and hugged. We were thrilled to see each other again. I vowed that since God had brought her back into my life, I would get to know her better this time around!

Later, as I drove home, I couldn’t help but fast-forward to a future day when I will reunite with relatives and friends who have already gone to heaven. 

Gathered from around the globe, there will be a lot of hugging and rejoicing going on!

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Jul 16

Sunshine and Rain

by Brenda Poulos

Matthew 5:45b- “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

This week, I had an “ah-ha” moment—a  sudden understanding of something I thought I knew about, but actually didn’t have a complete understanding. 

The subject was Grace.

My experience has been that Grace means “God giving us something that we don’t deserve.” Hence, forgiveness of sins and life everlasting with Him. This grace is given to believers.

But there is another kind of grace at work in the world that God gives to believers and unbelievers alike.

It is called common grace. 

It doesn’t get a person to heaven. But God takes pleasure in His creation and exercises the grace that makes the sun come up and sends rain on the just and unjust alike.

God tells us to pray for and bless our enemies. For me, common grace is His supreme example of this principle at work.

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Jul 9

You Can Be Confident

by Brenda Poulos

2 Corinthians 5:8- “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

A good friend of ours went home to be with the Lord last night. We know her absence here, means she is now present in heaven with God.

Her family reported that the last words she spoke on this earth were: “I love Jesus.”

I can only guess that those were also her first words in heaven.

It should comfort every Christian facing loss of a loved one that if the person being mourned knew Jesus as Savior, then they are no longer suffering and are rejoicing in heaven.

The assurance of our eternal home, the forgiveness of sins, and a relationship between God and each believer throughout this life are all a direct result of God’s redeeming grace.

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Jul 2

This Really Humbled Me

by Brenda Poulos

Romans 1:1–Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.

Looking for a book to read last week, I thought about one of my favorite authors. She hadn’t published anything for a long time, so I Googled her to find out why.

What I saw astounded—and humbled—me.

She has quit writing because God called her to prayer. Full-time prayer. 

This was a big-time author who had earned lucrative royalties. 

But she gave it all up when God spoke to her heart.

How often have we said to one another that we admired people who have gone to the mission field, but hoped God didn’t call us?

Away from family and friends, cozy homes, fulfilling careers…

Paul knew what it was like to be called and beaten and jailed for the cause of Christ.

He longed to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant” from the Savior one day.

My author friend was obedient to God’s calling, too. And I consider this morning whether I will be obedient to the command He has given each one of us.

For we have all been set aside to spread the Gospel.

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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