COME TOGETHER, RIGHT NOW, IN UNITY

 

1 Peter 3:8

 

"Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind." ESV 

 

Can we move beyond insisting on our own opinions and ways of living so that we can be free to live in unity with other believers in Christ Jesus? Can we make it a point to be more understanding and supportive of those who are spiritually weak and having difficulty in their walk? Can we be open minded with Godly discernment to those who are mature in Christ and look for those things that speak of the gospel of Jesus Christ? The Lord did not tell us He would unify us. He told us to be moldable in His hands toward our fellow believers so that we would choose to live in unity.

 

Lord, help us to set aside our own agenda and to become sensitive to our fellow Christians. Give us willing hearts to live in harmony with one another, without judging, but with understanding. We all stand in need of Your grace and mercy. In Your great name we pray, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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WHAT DO WE LOVE THE MOST?

 

1 John 2:15

 

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." ESV 

 

We are not told to dislike people in this world, we are told to keep from loving the ways and material things of this world. These things are what keeps us from eternal life with Christ.

 

Lord, please help us keep true discernment so that we do not get seduced by the ways and things of this world. Help us to stay a separate people for Your use and Your glory. In Your name we pray, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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WE GOTTA LOVE EVERYBODY, ITS THE LAW

 

James 2:8

 

"If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing well." ESV 

 

Loving our neighbor is a moral thing and good people love their neighbors and are kind to them. Loving our neighbors, whoever's path we cross, is a royal law given by God Almighty. It's not just the people on our street we are to love. It is everyone we encounter. If we live by this law, we will be more like Christ.

 

Lord, help us to live according to the royal law of loving all others. Give us awareness that we live by this law in honor and gratefulness of Your love toward us. In Your loving name we pray, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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FREE TO SERVE

 

Galatians 5:13

 

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." ESV 

 

Just the thought of being free is a wonderful thing. We were made free by the sacrifice of Jesus at the cross. We are free to say no to the things of this world that once held us captive. We are free to live so that we become more and more like Christ.

 

Lord, we praise You for setting us free to love and serve You and one another. Help us to use our freedom solely for Your kingdom. In Your name we pray, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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ANGER IN ITS RIGHT PLACE

 

Psalm 86:15

 

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, show to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." ESV 

 

If every person in the world responded to difficult people and circumstances like we do, what kind of world would we have? If we all responded like our Lord does, how would this world be? We are so blessed that He is compassionate and slow to get angry. Where would we be if He weren't?

 

 

Lord, thank You for being patient and gracious toward us, although we know we don't deserve it. Help us to be more like You when we interact with others in this world. Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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WHERE DID I GO?

 

Galatians 2:20

 

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." ESV

 

Since Jesus Christ willingly suffered the greatest, most horrendous agony by taking our sin onto Himself, how much more do we willingly crucify our sinful nature and allow Christ to live our lives for us? That is the battle we fight here on earth. Crucifying the self is a constant fight, but Jesus Christ gives us everything we need to be victorious. We merely have to move ourselves out of the way, and allow Christ to live our lives for us.

 

Lord, we give You praise for willingly taking our sin to the cross. We fail to keep our sinful nature buried so that we live solely by faith in You. Help us to persevere in living the new life, and totally leaving behind the old. We pray in Your wonderful name, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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WHICH WAY? THIS WAY!

 

John 3:16

 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." ESV 

 

Do we truly understand the love our God has for all mankind? His love does not recognize certain laws, traditions, and denominations. When Christ died on the cross, all the dividing walls were ripped from top to bottom. From that moment on, there are no longer any elite groups that have privilege to the throne of grace. There is only one group. That is the Bride of Christ, those who believe by faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The world is a harvest field. If we try to win converts to our own brand of "religion," we fail to bring them to Christ. It is only through Him, that eternal life become ours.

 

Lord, we know that it all comes back to the cross, where You gave Your life for us. Help us to be aware of how we share this good news. Please check us in our hearts when we get off track, talking about doctrine and traditions. We praise You for Your precious grace and mercy You freely offered us through Your suffering, death, and resurrection. In Your name we pray, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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THE CROWD HAS GONE WILD

 

Deuteronomy 6:5

 

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." ESV 

 

A group of people are watching a video of a crowd in a stadium who are cheering, waving, clapping, shouting, and jumping up and down. There is no sound in the video. When the group of people watching the video are told this crowd is at a football game and their team just scored a winning touchdown, they will most likely comment that it must have been an awesome play, a really intense and exciting game. If the group was told it was a Christian rally and souls have just been won for Christ, they would most likely comment that these people are religious fanatics, going overboard with their emotions, Bible thumpers. If football athletes deserve an excited demonstration of celebration from a crowd, how much more does our Lord Jesus Christ deserve our excited, demonstrative praise for saving us and others to eternal life?

 

Lord, help us to never be ashamed to show our full excitement and joy at the wonderful gift of eternal life you provided for us and for those who continue to come to You. You gave us the ultimate sacrifice to save us. Give us boldness by the power of Your Holy Spirit to show our thankfulness and praise to You with our hearts, our minds, and with our bodies. In Your great name we pray, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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LOVE IS GOD IS LOVE

 

1 John 4:12

 

"No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." ESV 

 

No one has ever seen God. But He has designed things so that our love for others provides a great likeness to Himself. If we express Godly (agape)love to those around us, even to those who don't seem to deserve it at all, we are showing others who God is and that He is love. So many have come to know Him by the love His children have shown to each other and the love we show to those that are undeserving of love. What an honor and a privilege that our Lord has seen fit to fill us with His love so that we can show Him to the world.

 

Lord, we fall so short of showing Your love to the world. We pick and choose those we think deserve to be loved. Forgive us. You flooded us with Your love when we didn't deserve it. Heal our hearts by Your love so that we will love others and give them a glimpse of Who You are. In Your name we pray, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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BESIEGED

 

Psalm 31:21

 

"Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love me when I was in a besieged city." ESV 

 

To be besieged is to be closed in and surrounded by those whose intent is to conquer and take over, such as a city or military fortress. We were besieged by the forces of sin and Satan. There was no escape for us. We were in position for take over by the enemy and we weren't even aware of it. But God, in His great love reached out to us with His mighty hand to rescue us. Those of us who recognized the danger grabbed onto His hand. Those who believed everything was business as usual, sensing no danger, refused to take hold of His hand and offer of rescue. We recognized we were in danger because someone who had been rescued before took the time to share the Word with those of us who were still in captivity. If we do the same, God is still reaching out His hand to those in danger in a besieged place, and He will use us to prepare them to take His hand.

 

Jesus, how can we ever show our gratitude that You came to us when we were held captive by sin and You rescued us? What love You have for us. Help us to share Your love, as others did, to those who are still besieged in the danger of sin. We pray they will take Your hand and be set free. In Your name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED

 

Romans 13:10

 

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." ESV 

 

There is no earthly law that limits how much we can love and do good to others. If we truly love, we will never do any wrong toward others. There would never be anything to condemn. Love verifies that we belong to the Lord and it draws others to him. If we allow love to rule our hearts, love is the only law we need.

 

Heavenly Father, we are so thankful that You are Love and that You pour Your love on us every moment of every day. We ask that You help us to let Your love flow through us so that we will be a blessing to those who so desperately need Your love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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WANNA KNOW GOD? OBEY HIM!

John 14:21

 

"Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." ESV

 

 

If we fill our hearts and minds with God's Word and do what it says, the love of God will flow freely and abundantly through us. When we obey Him, it shows that we love Him. That pleases Him so much that He will reveal Himself to us!

 

Heavenly Father, sometimes it is difficult to obey, but we ask that You show us grace and mercy to stand strong and obey Your Word. Knowing You will reveal Yourself to us if we obey is more than enough motivation. In Jesus' name, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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INSEPARABLE

  

Romans 8:38,39  "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." ESV

The Gospel proclaims that God is love and that He gave is only Son to save us. There is nothing that can get in the way of God's love for us. We have the choice to reject God's Love and His plan of salvation that will cause us to spend eternity away from His presence. But His love is everlasting.

Heavenly Father, our minds cannot contain how unending Your love for us is. We pray for Your grace to live in this Love, to share this Love, and to honor this Love in everything we do. We pray for those who have not accepted this Love, that You will allow our path to cross with theirs, so we can share this Love and they will ask for it. In Jesus' name, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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LOVE AND HATE

 

Romans 12:9

 

 

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." ESV

 

 

Love is not merely an emotion, it is action. What is in our hearts will show in our actions. Do our actions show genuine love? Abhor is a very strong word. It means hate. Like love, it is not merely an emotion. It is an intense action that comes out of our heart. Do we genuinely hate evil to the point that it shows in our actions? If so, we will be actively destroying evil that comes near us and will be actively clinging to the Lord.

 

Heavenly Father, we humbly ask that you help us love with sincere hearts and hate evil so that we defeat it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Give us a burning desire to cling to You and all that You have declared good. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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I HAVE TO LOVE THEM?

 

 

Matthew 5:44,45

 

"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." ESV

 

Jesus tells us that we are to imitate the love of God by showing the same love to our enemies. He showed His love to us when we were His enemies. He sends good and bad, sun and rain to every human whether they are Godly or not. We are called to be like Him.

 

Heavenly Father, only by your grace can we love those who are unlovable. We desire to be like you and accept Your grace to love everyone, good and bad. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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LOVE IS MORE THAN AN EMOTION

 

John 21:15

 

"When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?' He said to him, 'Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.' He said to him, 'Feed my lambs.'" ESV

 

How much do we really love our Lord? Do we love Him to the point that we will obey Him in all things? He commands us to feed His lambs. It takes our commitment, time, and patience, to give to believers who are newborn, struggling, or erring. That leaves us with no alternative but to be in constant communion with the Lord so that we will have what we need to feed His lambs. Do we really love Him?

 

Heavenly Father, we pray to be receptive to Your love so that we will be able to give it out to feed Your lambs. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014 Daily Grace Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC   http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/   No Copyright Infringement Intended Personal Use Only

MONEY IS MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU THINK

 

1 Timothy 6:10

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." ESV

 

Money is not evil. Having money is not evil. It's the love of money that is evil. The love of money draws people, Christians and non-Christians, into a deceitful place where it seems happiness and power abound. Falling into this trap of loving money will cause great sorrow for many who realize they have rejected eternal life and happiness to bask in earthly things that will be here today and gone tomorrow.

 

Heavenly Father, we humbly ask that You will guard our hearts and minds against the love of money and the earthly things it buys us. Fill our hearts with a burning desire to love You and Your Word. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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JOY OVER WHAT?

 

Zephaniah 3:17

 

"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." ESV

 

Jesus Christ did not become a man, walk and live among us, become hated and murdered so that He could win a prize. He offered Himself to reconcile fallen man back to God. The Lord's love for us is so great that He involves Himself with us and will never leave us. Christ takes such joy and delight in us, His Church, that He quietly basks in this love, singing with joy over those who love Him too. This is His reward.

 

 

Heavenly Father, help us to remember that we are Christ's joy and reward. Give us hearts to seek Him and continue to be a joy to Him. We pray in His precious name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

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LOVE IS NOT JUST A WORD

 

John 14:15

 

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." ESV

 

How can we show God that we truly love Him? Can we just sing the worship songs, quote the love chapter in the Bible, or merely tell God that we love Him? Jesus tells us He will know we love Him if we obey His commandments. What are His commandments? They are to love God will all our being and to love each other. This love is not just words or warm fuzzy feelings, but it is acts of giving and sacrifice.

 

Heavenly Father, fill our hearts to overflowing with love for you and one another, so that all will see what we are doing and they will praise You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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NO GETTING EVEN?

 

 

Ezekiel 18:23

 

"Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?" ESV

 

If we are honest, there are times we feel a sense of satisfaction when those who have wronged us have to pay for what they did. But, God's heart is different. Although unrepentant people will be punished, He is truly satisfied when they turn from their selfish ways and humbly walk with Him.

 

Heavenly Father, we ask You to mold our hearts to be like Yours, so that we will rejoice when our enemies turn to You with repentance, and grief when they don't. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

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