Warrior For The Cross

                                                                          JOY Gal. 5: 22-23 " The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulnes, Gentleness, self control. You may have heard about the fruit of the Spirit and wondered what it is and how it relates to our Christian faith. Just like physical fruits need time to grow, the fruit of the Spirit will not ripen in our lives overnight. As we mature in our faith our spiritual  fruits will grow as well. The 2nd. Fruit is Joy. Joy appears nearly 200 times in the bible, that shows us just how important this second sweet fruit really is, Joy is a condition of the heart. The Greek word for joy is 'Chara' The important attribute of Joy is that you can find joy in adversity which can be difficult to grasp because joy might be the last thing you are feeling when facing struggles. God knows our sorrows, heartache, and fears, and He calls us to rejoice anyway.  "WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT

 Fruits of the Spirit Love                             Goodness Joy                                 Faithfulness Peace                           Gentleness Patience                      Self Control                Kindness  Gal. 5: 22-23  Tells Us........ The Spirit produces love. Agape  is a perfect love from God. When God's  Spirit is at work in a person, amazing things happen. The person's  whole life blossoms and bears beautiful fruit, and the most wonderful fruit of all is the giving and receiving of true love. John 13:34,  A new command I give you; Love one another . So what's new about it? As I have loved you, so you must love one another. Jesus' teaching about love set the highest standards ever (Luke 6:26-38) He backed them up with His perfect example, showing a love greater then the world has ever seen! 1ST...Consider how Christ was willing...for the sake of mankind..to sacrifice His heavenly glory and power to be incarnated to a mere human being. (Phil. 2: 5-

 Physical Infirmity: JOHN 5: 1-9 Later, Jesus went  ( up) to Jerusalem for a special  feast. In Jerusalem there is a pool with five covered porches, which is called Bethesda ( a pool of water north of the temple thought to have curative powers) in the Hebrew language  ( referring to Aramaic, the native language of the Jews at the time) This pool is near the  Sheep gate. Many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed, and they waited for the water to move. Sometimes ( at a certain time; From time to time) an angel of the Lord came down to the pool and stirred up the water. After the angel did this, the first person to go into the pool was healed from any sickness he had. A man was lying there who had been sick ( an invalid, disabled) for thirty eight years. When Jesus saw the man and knew that he had been sick for such a long time, Jesus asked him, Do you want to  be well? The sick man answered  (Him) Sir there is

 MIRACLES of physical healing A leper    Mt. 8: 2-4, Mt. 9: 2-8,  Mk. 1: 40-45, Mk. 2: 3-12, Lk. 5: 12-15, Lk. 5: 18-26 Mt. 8: 2-4 Then a man with a skin disease ( leper: term does not refer to modern leprosy ( Hansen's  disease) but to various skin disorders; ) came to Jesus. The man bowed down (knelt) before Him And said " Lord, you can heal me ( make me clean such skin disorders rendered the victim ceremonially unclean) If you will ( choose, are willing). Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man and said," I will ( do choose; am willing). Be Healed (cleansed)! And immediately the man was healed from his disease. Then Jesus said to him, Don't  tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer the gift (offering, sacrifice) Moses commanded for people who are made well, (Lev. 14: 1-32). This will show the people ( a public testimony to be evidence for) what I have done. So many of us suffer with physical ailments, WHY? Jesus said you have

 WHAT IS HOPE? A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen...a feeling of trust. Hope is commonly used to mean wish. In the Bible Hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and it's strength is in His faithfulness. WHY DO WE NEED HOPE???? Research indicates that hope can help us manage stress and anxiety and cope with adversity. It contributes to our well being and happiness and motivates positive action. Hopeful people believe they can and have a positive impact. ACTS 26:6 And now here I am on trial because I believe in the Hope of God's promises made to our ancestors. 2 Corn. 4:18  Because we don't focus our attention on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but the unseen realm is eternal. Wherever Jesus went people felt the presence of Hope.Time and time again we see Jesus welcoming the outcasts, (who decided they were outcasts? ) healing the sick, restoring those who were spirituality  or emotionally af

 WHAT IS God's  Unmerited Favor? Grace is the unmerited favor of God. His undeserved kindness that He shows  through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world. Faith is simple Trust that clings to God's  grace, holding Him to His promise of salvation in Christ.  Unmerited means: Not adequately earned or deserved. Grace is the free, unmerited Favor of God, working powerfully on the mind and heart to change lives.  (Timothy Keller) GRACE... Expresses two complimentary thoughts: God's  unmerited Favor to us through Christ, and God's divine assistance to us through the Holy Spirit. ( Jerry Bridges) Eph. 4: 4-9,  John 1:16, Eph. 1:2-4, Eph. 1:23, Col. 1:19, 2:9 John 1:16; And from the overflow of His fullness we receive Grace heaped upon more grace. Out of His fullness we are fulfilled that is, every believer receives from the fullness of Christ a divine completeness. We are given from Him whatever each requires for the perfection of His character

 I have learned that pain has purpose, which at the peak of excruciating discomfort, brings me little consolation.  Hindsight, though, has often proven pain's value. In fact, I have found pain to be one of life'so most effective teachers. It gains one's  full attention. It takes lessons down to the bottom line. ( Patsy Clairmont ) Our hearts respond to God's  love and mercy in individual  ways. God's  love may be changeless. , but our love for Him changes and deepens as we grow. Read Luke 7: 40-47. Take the time to consider just how long you have been loved. God knew you when you were small. He knew you before you were born. He knew  you before He'd  even created the first man and woman. He knew you before time had begun. And all that time He Loved You! Thank God for His love, that your life might reflect that love. DOUGHNUT: doughnuts are delicious, hot fresh right from the source. God is love, the source of love. Our love has limits, but, God's  love is pe