Wednesday

How to Keep & Share A Thankful Heart - A Dose of Encouragement


Who or what are you thankful for & happy about today?






So many times we are drawn to think on the more unpleasant things in life which lead to unhappiness and they can keep us from being thankful for anything when we are in that frame of mind.  


What can we do to keep the right frame of mind and not get into that attitude that can get worse and worse as we dwell on the hurts and unpleasantness caused by others?







We can remember that we are blessed.


There is a little song that we used to sing years ago in church and maybe we should revive it to remind us that we are blessed.

I am blessed, I am blessed,
Every day I walk with Jesus I am blessed.
When I wake up in the morning,
When I lay my head to rest,
I am blessed, I am blessed.

If we are God's child, saved by the grace of Jesus and living by the power of the Holy Spirit then we are blessed more than be could be in any other way.


Being Blessed is not having all the money you want, having great possessions or having a great life which never sees sadness.

Being Blessed is described in Numbers 6 v 24-26 which I learnt as a song in the Presbyterian Church I grew up in as we sang it each time a baby was christened.






We are blessed as Christians because we know:

We are kept in the hand of God 
We are favoured by God 
We are in the Grace of God
We know we have the peace of God






So every day we know we are blessed and we should remember to thank God for His blessings to us.

As we thank God repeatedly we will build up a thankful heart.






As we become more thankful we will also love God more.

As we love God more we will build up a loving heart.







As we love God more we will also become more loving towards others.

As we love others more we will build up a more caring and giving heart.






I'm sure we know people who are very generous and do think often of helping and giving to others but we as Christians have the greatest thing to offer others and that is the Love of God, through the Gospel.


We can't go around saying - Oh I'm better at showing God's Love to others by giving to people rather than telling them about God's Love.

Because of God's love to us we should have a thankful and loving and giving heart which should mean give people out of the abundance of love in our hearts but that should always include the best thing we have and that is telling them about God's Salvation.



Amy Carmichael put it very simply and clearly in this quote below
because 
she knew that we cannot truly love God without giving this gift to others.






 John Wesley entreated us as believers to speak as we truly believe 
because 
he wanted us to act as the bible has also told us.







How to Keep a Thankful Heart?

Recognised how God loves & blesses us each day and remember to thank God each day.




How to Share a Thankful Heart?

React out of the Thankfulness we have which makes us more loving towards others and then we will share the Love of God. 































Sunday

Reading through The Bible - 1 Peter








Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shorter books.








1st Peter  -  NEW TESTAMENT  -  EPISTLE

21st book of the NT 
60th book of the Bible



It starts by blessing God
  in 1 Peter ch. 1 v 3-5


 
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,  
who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.


and quickly takes us to rejoice in salvation in 
verses 6-9

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,


8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,  
receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.






What is it?

The Book of 1 Peter is one of the EPISTLES in the New Testament which means it is a Letter.



How Long is it?

It has 5 chapters.



When was it Written?

It was written in 64 AD



Who Wrote it?

Simon Peter the disciple of Jesus

The name of the letter tells us the writer.
Other letters in the bible are named to show who the recipients of the letters were specifically intended to be but these were letters written by Simon Peter who we know as the Apostle Peter.
One of the three disciples who Jesus often took with him apart from the others. 

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"Peter wrote the letter during Nero's reign"  

 




Who was it Written to?

It was written to the believers that had moved away because of the persecution of the early church.
This is told to us in the first verse

"To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia." 





What is it normally well-known for?


It is a source in the Bible where people can find encouragement when suffering or being persecuted for their faith.


The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Peter writes to Christians who are being persecuted, encouraging them to testify to the truth and live accordingly"



Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"Jesus becomes the source of example and strength when we come into trials & tribulations.  By allowing God to help you in your perseverance and work for Christ we can always have hope in the midst of our suffering."






Why was it Written? 

It was written to encourage and remind the believers of the truth and love they have in Jesus and to rely on Him as they face persecution. 



Encouragement for times of worry


 



& persecution of the faith






but also to have love for one another





 

Which other books of the Bible may have a connection with this one? 


Peter wrote two epistles of which this is the first and is followed by 2nd Peter

 2nd Thessalonians also deals with suffering as a Christian







How does it end?


With encouragement of eternal life in Jesus
 chapter 5 v 11

 





and that God answers our prayers 
chapter 5 v 14










The Overview Bible  gives us the following


Quick outline of 1 Peter

  1. Suffering proves salvation (1 Pet 1:1-12)
    Therefore: 
    • Be holy (1 Pet 1:13–21)
    • Love one another (1 Pet 1:22–25)
    • Long for the word (1 Pet 2:1–3)
  2. We are a holy people (1 Pet 2:4–11)
    Therefore, pursue excellent behaviour:
     
    • Toward authority (1 Pet 2:11–25)
    • Toward spouses (1 Pet 3:1–7)
    • Toward all (1 Pet 3:8–12)
  3. Christ suffered for us (1 Pet 3:13–22)
    Therefore: 
    • Live for the will of God (1 Pet 4:1–6)
    • Exercise spiritual gifts (1 Pet 4:7–11)
  4. Suffering tests us (1 Pet 4:12–19)
    Therefore: 
    • Elders should guard the flock (1 Pet 5:1–5)
    • Humble yourselves under God (1 Pet 5:6–7)
    • Stand firm (1 Pet 5:8–14)









OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE 











Monday

How to Share the Gospel on Social Media - Good News for Everyone in 90 Seconds - Coffee & Conversation







Do you need some help to share the Gospel 
on Social Media?


Do you feel you need a short interesting video to help you 
share the Gospel?






We all could do with help or instruction to help us tell others about Jesus and there are many ways we can can find help.

In this post I want to point you to a Video which will do a lot of the work for you.

When looking for videos about the Gospel we need to be sure we are looking for good reputable, reliable, Bible Based companies or individuals behind these and not just click unto Google or Youtube and search Gospel or Good News.

We also don't have enough time to search through all that would pop up on our screens from these types of searches to weed out
 
the 
 boring, 
old-fashioned, 
long-winded ones

especially when we want to get someone's attention on Social Media.


Hence I want to introduce you to a video that is

NOT boring
NOT old-fashioned
NOT long-winded

and

is produced by people I can fully recommend


What could be better than a direct, to the point, colourful, eye-catching
90second video

who would refuse to take a look?



"Speak Life" has produced this video (see below)
called

Good News in 90 Seconds

and
it does what it says.




 



You can find this and other projects by this organisation on 
Facebook

and
Twitter




Here's a direct, to the point, colourful, eye-catching way to share the Good News







For other ways to share the good news on Social Media you can see my
 Facebook Page Sandra's Ark from which you are welcome to share my Bible Verse graphics, Inspirational pics and any other posts.