spiritualsnippets.com

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

Feb 2

Your Uniqueness is Showing

by Brenda Poulos
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James 4:10- “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

The Bible tells us that each of us is uniquely gifted by God. I have a brother-in-law who is a genius. I know a couple of people who are hysterically funny. I have a friend whose smile is a wonder to behold. Several others are gifted public speakers/teachers. My great niece is a remarkable artist.

Politicians, celebrities, sports stars, singers, models—even authors—often  get attention that makes it difficult to remain humble. Sometimes those receiving attention get caught up in the “glory” of the moment, forgetting the One who blessed them with their good looks, talent, or unusual skill.

However, there have been times I have seen a football player or a contestant on a talent show, look up or raise their hands, giving God the glory for their performance. My heart swells in gratitude for them because their small gesture speaks volumes.

Even though we may not be the recipients of public acclaim, we can be assured that when we recognize God’s hand in our accomplishments, He sees our hearts.

It is God whose voice will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Jun 15

Spilling Over Into Joy!

by Brenda Poulos

Colossians 1:11,12- We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. (From “The Message” translation.)

“Mama, are we there yet?”

Those are words every parent has heard!

We humans are an impatient sort, aren’t we? We want to do it NOW, have it NOW, see it NOW, read it NOW, go there NOW…

NOW, NOW, NOW!

We could all use a heavy dose of patience, couldn’t we?

My long-time prayer partners could tell you that I have been asking them to pray for me in this area for years. I’m not there, yet, but I’m getting closer…

In these two verses from Colossians, we are reminded that patience is not just gritting our teeth and bearing the “waiting” for the answer to a prayer, for something to take place, or the end of suffering to come at last. That’s not the kind of patience God wants for us. “Grinning and bearing it” isn’t the way to live the victorious life in Christ.

No, our Heavenly Father wants us to experience the glorious strength that He offers because we will then be able to endure what often is (or seems to be) the unendurable.

But, it doesn’t end there because He offers more than just the ability to wait. He promises the kind of patience that spills over into joy.

That’s amazing. That takes us beyond the enduring and straight to the abundant life He has for us—that bright and beautiful life that begins when you come to know Him as Savior and continues on into eternity!

So, how do we get to that place of joy? Ah, let’s look at that verse again…it says that He will bring us to that place by HIS STRENGTH—not ours.

It’s not about us and what we do.

It’s all about trusting HIM—tapping into His “glory-strength.”

Is there something in your life that seems unendurable? My prayer for you, today, is that you will trust Him to strengthen you and bring you to that place of patience that “spills over into joy.”

Brenda

Biblical lessons

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Dec 28

Is All That Glitters Really Gold?

by Brenda Poulos

Revelation 22:13 and 16b: “I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last…I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

The young woman at the restaurant flashed her engagement ring to the five other young ladies seated at her table.

“It’s so HUGE! Is it real?” one girl asked.

“I didn’t know Dave had that much money,” another chimed in.

“I’d get it appraised, and then insured. In that order,” offered yet another guest.

In a world full of fake jewels, furs, purses—even flowers—conversations like this are not uncommon. The quest for what is real is an ongoing one. No one wants to be outwitted or fall for a counterfeit, a reproduction, a copy.

We all want the “real deal”, don’t we? We have an aversion to being duped.

So it is with people. We want to know that our friends are really our friends. That they don’t pretend to be our friends to our faces, and then talk about us behind our backs. We want to be able to depend on the fact that they are who they say they are.

The Bible tells us that we can be sure that Jesus is who He claims to be. That He cannot—and does not—ever lie. His Word assures us of who He is and that we can truly depend on Him to do what He says He will do. He keeps His promises. He never fails. He never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

One day, believers will meet Him in Heaven. We will see Him “face-to-face.”

We are not waiting to see a phony. We are looking forward to seeing our God, our Savior, our Lord. The true and Living Word…in all His Glory…our Bright and Morning Star!

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