.....love so amazing...

so excited about Cell Group starting up again.. such a great part of the life of a disciple.. being open and authentic, holding each other accountable.. sharing how the Lord is speaking to us, praying for one another..

I am so excited that I have started reading the first passage of 2 Corinthians already, the book we will be working through.as of next week.. :)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,   who comforts us  in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.   For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ,  so also our comfort abounds through Christ.   If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation;  if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.   And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings,  so also you share in our comfort.  ( 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 )

wow.. and there we are again... there is not a single word in His Word that is not meaningful and has deep impact.. is relevant and gives us strength, wisdom and builds us up..

He is the God of Compassion and Comfort, and that He is.. He has comforted me so many times, and in turn I have been able to comfort those around me.. He has compassion on me and I have compassion for others..

through going through sufferings I get to share in His.. through that I do know Him even more.. appreciate what He has done, because let's face it. He willingly suffered for me, because He loves me.. He could have stayed in Heaven with His Father, but He came to live a sinless life to give Himself as a Sacrifice... for MY sins...

and then, to top it all off, He is always ready to comfort..
I love Him..

had the opportunity to hear a loved one talk about the answers he has found in some "religion" "way of looking at things"... principles sound similar, and for sure, there will be some good stuff coming from it.. ultimately it will not work, forgiveness extended without having understood the full extent of his own sinfulness and his need for a Saviour, experiencing the Lord's forgiveness and His amazing love, and therefore  getting the "Power of the Holy Spirit" to forgive like this .. it will not work..
not arguing with him, since he just can't understand..
the difference is not in the principles, (even though some  are  indeed different), the real difference is the RELATIONSHIP with the Risen Christ.. the gratitude that overwhelms my heart every given second for what He has done for me... His Spirit in me, allowing me to live out the principles, not out of my own strength so that I cannot boast.. but through what He is doing in me..

there is nothing like it... my prayer for him and all those that have not encountered Jesus, the Lover of my Soul is that their eyes would be opened, their ears unstopped and that their hearts instead would grow ears... so that they could hear Him... the Saviour, the God of all Compassion and Comfort .. who chose to suffer .. so that I could be His.. AMAZING LOVE!!!!