Fw: knowledge and strength

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

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Strength and knowledge are qualities that we generally all aspire to and esteem in others.  In our culture today fitness and health is a popular pursuit, and certainly a healthy one.  Knowledge is one of the major emphases of parents as they raise children and point them to careers.  Knowledge is seen as the key stepping stone to success.

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But there is another kind of strength and another category of knowledge that is greater.  There is a knowledge and a strength that flows from Heaven, from the Lord.  This strength and this knowledge resides in our innermost person and is a gift...not the kind of strength we can develop from time in the gym.  It really isn't our strength at all...it is His strength that descends from His glory and it is the only way we can have the knowledge that doesn't come from our heads but from His presence.  So the strength of the Lord may penetrate our experience to allow us to know the Lord experientially...in a way that far surpasses our ability to comprehend.

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After all, it is His strength and it is the knowledge of Him that is our greatest need!

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

constant trust

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

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When you think about it, we live with constant uncertainty.  Really, from one moment to the next we don't know what will happen.  We don't know the circumstances we will face as near as the next heartbeat or breath.  We don't know what problems may face us in the next work day.  We don't know what kind of traffic situations we will 'run into' on the highway, even as we merge onto the road.  We don't know what the outcome will be of our next medical appointment.  We tend to cope with this blindness about the future by trusting in routines and past experience (or we react with fear and anxiety to the unknown)....but, even in the most familiar settings and average days, we just don't know if something unexpected, challenging, or even disturbing may show up!

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The inability we all have of knowing the future calls for trust.  We need to trust in something to allow us to step into the unknown future with confidence.

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Trusting in the Lord is the answer because He knows the future of each one, down to the heartbeat level.  He knows how history will ultimately play out and He has answers for the corruption and disruption that have caused havoc since Adam and Eve strayed from trusting in Him.

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Trusting in Him starts by acknowledging our inability to trust in ourselves and the necessity of trusting in what was accomplished by Jesus on the cross, when He paid with His life for our sins.  That personal act of admitting our failures...our dependence on self...our sins...and trusting in Him...opens up a whole new life.  We are honestly admitting that we have been trusting in the wrong thing all along.

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Trusting in the Lord leads to resting in the Lord and experiencing His leadership through our days.  He gives the Holy Spirit to help us walk through uncertain days with understanding, hope and divine promises.  

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Knowing the Lord, we no longer need fear the unknown.

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blessings and love,

Rob Smith

-------------------------------------------

"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Where God is

Ephesians 2:22 In him (Jesus) you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

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We have a sense, and a knowledge, that God is everywhere.  He made everything in the universe and set in motion the forces of nature and the ability of living things to reproduce.  But, somehow, we may still feel that He is distant.  I'm convinced that He doesn't want for us to believe He is distant.

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We rightly picture God on Heaven's throne, for so He is and so He does rule from Heaven.  But where does the verse above say that he dwells?  I find it so encouraging that God has built a dwelling place within and among men.  In the verses just ahead of this one we find that Jesus is the cornerstone of a special building for the household of God (vs 20).  The foundation of that building is made from the apostles and prophets that went before and told of the great plans to redeem and rescue the church.  In verse 21 this building is actually called a 'structure' that is being joined together...that is, it is still in the process of being built as people join the faithful across generations.  We also see that the type of building that is being made is a 'temple'... a place of worship and a place to be directly in the presence of God.

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Doesn't it warm your heart to know that the God, who is everywhere, also dwells so near?  And don't you want to be able to say that Jesus is the cornerstone of your life as well?  Wouldn't you prefer to dwell with the Lord in a place of worship rather than keeping Him at a distance?

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blessings!

Rob Smith

-------------------------------------------

"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: Body Life

It occurred to me yesterday, as I was walking and listening to Ephesians, that the Lord really emphasizes 'body' in a different way than I do, in my general thinking.  When I think about 'body' I generally think about my body...my individual, separate body...my life...my problems...my health...my future, etc.  But, while that body is certainly important to the Lord...in fact He has given His life to deliver that body from eternal death to eternal life......His body is a grander one to consider.

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We who have placed our faith in Christ and been born anew have been placed into His body, not as separate, stand-alone pieces, but as one integrated entity.  His body is the church...and that body is truly amazing.  Just as our personal bodies have billions of cells that are woven into tissues and organs and that work together to think and move and function with purpose, so His body on earth is made of all true believers, who are woven together for great purpose.

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As it says in Romans, chapter 12:5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

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We don't lose our identity in Christ....We find it...and that identity is wrapped up in His body.

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It is a body with great purpose.  Consider these words from Ephesians, chapter 4:15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

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If we have this grand view of the body we are part of as believers, perhaps it will give us a grander view of the purpose our individual bodies have!

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Love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fw: foundation

The visible part of every building depends on the, generally invisible, foundation.  We've lived in houses with a range of foundations, from slab to crawl space to basement.  The most interesting foundation was in an old house near the beach that was built on rough-cut sections of a cedar tree.  As I was walking yesterday and thinking about the reality of the Lord, it occurred to me that every life has a foundation of one kind or another.  There is an invisible, inner base established in each heart.  And everyone walks through their life relying on that foundation to hold them up and, especially, to carry them through life's storms.  On the outside we may try to maintain a good face, while there are great stresses and strains being felt down to our foundations.

I think this is why a person needs the Lord as foundation.  Underneath it all, what is carrying you...what is supporting you...what is in place to hold you fast through the hurricanes and earthquakes of life?

The foundation of a life, like the foundation of a house, may be invisible.  But a good house foundation is firmly established in the soil, with strong materials like concrete and steel.  What are the materials of your personal life foundation?  Into what soil are they planted?  Will your foundation carry you through all of life's challenges and, most importantly, do you have a foundation designed to last into life past this life?

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2 Chronicles 8:16 Thus was accomplished all the work of Solomon from the day the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.

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Psalm 102:25 

Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.

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Luke 6:48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

-------------------------------------------

"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

a day, a life

Psalm 23:6 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Each life is lived out in days.  Sometimes there is a day that focuses the meaning of a life.  This Monday was that kind of day.  A phone call from my Mom first thing in the morning led to a trip to the Emergency Room to identify the source of pain she'd been having for a few days.  The caring staff at the hospital walked us through scans and then gave us information that turned a day into a reflection on life.  Mom has lived a lot of days.  At 96 she's experienced over 35,000 spins of the earth on its axis.  She grew up with memories of riding in a Model T, hungry men coming by their home for food during the Great Depression, singing in a college choir the day Pearl Harbor was bombed...There have been historical days in her experience!  There was a rainy day in 1949 when she married a young and ambitious engineer...Three more exciting days as her children entered the world came over the next several years.  As we grew up she brightened every single day we were with her.  I am an optimist because my Mom is and every day that I have known her she has been a positive, hopeful and encouraging presence in my life and the lives of many.

So Monday was a day, and a day with serious news.  But it was also a day when, between x-rays and cat scans, Mom was showing interest in the nurses and doctors who came to see her...asking about their lives and professions and remaining buoyant and optimistic through it all.  Hers is a life that embraces every day and seeks to brighten the day of all around her.  And now we can return a bit of that love to her as she walks through some challenging days ahead!

Much love,

Rob Smith

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"Death is inevitable.  Life is a choice!"

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."

Fwd:

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https://www.guiaturisticamexico.com/empresa/?a=link&e=00817&u=http://alturl.com/85p3p&

Rob Smith

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From: Rob Smith <toanosmith@yahoo.com>
Date: Thursday, May 09, 2019 09:36:15 AM
Subject: hi Contact
To: <rsmith13.newpost@blogger.com>

     

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