Waterfalls Gatlinburg, Picture by Sandra Mullins
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Wednesday after Epiphany
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
In this is love brought to perfection among us,
that we have confidence on the day of judgment
because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love,
but perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment,
and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.
Emphasis mine 1 John 4:11-18
In my younger years, I was afraid of many things. It wasn’t until I started working for a relationship with God and thinking about the term Outrageous Love that I started to relax and have faith that God had my back.
When I grew up in the forties and fifties all we heard about was sin, purgatory and hell. I think many believed they were doomed to hell for eating meat on Friday or some other minor sin, and finally quit. They couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, so many quit.
Why did we say minor sin? To go to hell, remember the gates are locked from the inside, what you did had to be so bad that you refused the Love of God, also remember, Jesus on His Cross said, “Father forgive them they know not what they are doing.” Lk 23:34 As we typed this I realized this is a reprieve, but also a condemnation of how stupid and stubborn we are.
I grew up fearing purgatory and hell, and decades later realized this isn’t the relationship God wants. Love is never built on fear. You know this from family life.
I believe our sons, their wives, and children, love Gail and me and show that love by their support.
In short, we have each other’s backs!
Since we are a reflection of God our Father, Brother, and The Holy Spirit why would it be any different with God? They are not here to scare us, coerce us, or condemn us, God is here to support us, and lead us to a better life in the “Spirit World,” a world filled with Love, Joy, and Peace.
Decades ago, I heard a priest at Easter time say “Jesus sweat Blood in the Garden of Gethsemane because Jesus was afraid of what would happen next.”
If that is true, then Jesus sinned! He lost faith that His Father would take care of Him.
And we know that isn’t true, because Bishop Barron said, standing before a picture of Jesus Crucified, stated that, “This is a picture of Joy.”
Jesus always lived in the “Spirit World,” which is why He never sinned, and therefore Jesus was and is the Perfect Sacrifice.
Grow in love by learning the “Nine,” and making a conscious effort to throw out satan, and live in the “Spirit World.
Please remember we are recommending these prayers because of our positive experience in the Cumberland County Jail, where we witnessed changes in the men who did as we asked.
Prayers:
The Fruit of The Holy Spirit:
You grow in LOVE, JOY, AND PEACE by growing in PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL. Learn these nine words in order and say them daily, and you will see a difference in your life.
Sidebar:
An email I received two weeks ago.
Merry Christmas Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed
Merry Christmas Fred & Family
Give me the nine , love, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, generosity and self control.
Very good Ryan
Have you thanked God for the difficult times you’ve had or having ? I have
Okay have you prayed Psalm 91 over yourself or a person, and I have and do very very often
Okay very good,
Have you told Satan to get behind you
And I have Fred, I will not be his punching bag.
So Fred I’m sure you’re very familiar with this because you did it to me with me and everybody in the room.
Fred
I just prayed over you and the Journey you have set me on, A Journey with the Holy Spirit, (Ryan showed a copy of the book in his email) the very first day you put two hands on my shoulders to pray over me I felt it Fred, I knew something very special was about to happen and felt God through you.
Ryan missed Joy, which I couldn’t believe because as you read his email to me, you can clearly say this is a JOYful email.
We met Ryan, and he had a real anger problem. After blowing us off for three or four months, he decided to try what we asked him, and all the men at our meetings, and we ask you to please say the prayers we give you, they work.
I will never forget the day when he arrived, months later, at the bible study meeting and said he had found Joy in the Jail. This makes no sense, but if you consider it carefully it makes total sense for one who has found Jesus and is now building a relationship with God.
I also believe you are reading our blog because God is working in your life to get you to change and live in the NOW, in The “Spirit World.”
Never forget the past is the past, and the future is the future, you only have NOW, so why not enjoy it?
Imitate Ryan, learn the prayers, and watch the change that will happen.
You will love it!
Speaking of the NOW, I sat down to write this blog, and my mind was empty. The Holy Spirit kicked in, and I can’t believe what we wrote all tied in beautifully, especially the email from Ryan. In our last paragraph we talked about the men in the jail, and BAM, The Holy Spirit reminded me about Ryan’s email, which I had received two weeks earlier, answered, and forgotten about. The Holy Spirit didn’t, and this gave us testimony from someone from the jail who tried what we asked and now has a whole new life.
Notice Ryan didn’t mention the prayers Weeeeeeeeeee, Thank you Father, I’m Fantastic, and This is the day the Lord has made, let us reJoyce and be glad. At the time when Ryan was in jail, I didn’t know and pray these powerful prayers. We pray your prayer life isn’t stagnant, but dynamic by bringing in new prayers to further your relationship with God.
Correction:
I just learned from, On This Day by Robert G. Morgan, that Horatio G. Spafford wrote the words to It is well with my Soul, and Philip Paul Bliss wrote the music.
Picture:
Fall is my favorite season. I love the beautiful colors of the leaves. The waterfalls are one of many that can be found in Gatlinburg. Picture by Sandra Mullins
Grand Tetons National Park. God’s magnificent creatures Picture by Rebecca Clancy
(For some reason last week’s picture was deleted. Sorry)
Please keep Snapping!
Email me if you want a copy of the prayers we discussed.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, please do not include people. We have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
