September Twenty- Sixteen
(more quotes from the Message this month below to share along with some birthday celebrations and back to school traditions and even some pirate fun mixed in for good measure...)
Celebrate
God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you
can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not
against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show
up any minute! Philippians 4: 4-5 The Message
Don’t
fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your
worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a
sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and
settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the
center of your life. Philippians 4: 6-7 The Message
And sing, sing your hearts out to God!
Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of
the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. Colossians
3:16-17, The Message
So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Colossians 3:1-2, The Message
Where you are right
now is God's place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. 1 Corinthians 7:17 The Message
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30, The Message
Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The
person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have
told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you
don’t really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes
running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let
go. John 6:35-38, The Message
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say
you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble,
reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the
beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into
practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do
that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most
excellent harmonies. . Philippians 4:8-9
The Message
Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. Colossians 3:15
If you decide for God, living a life of
God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at
mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far
more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer
appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and
unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God.
And you count far more to him than birds. Matthew 6:25-26, The Message
art by Anna...
