Gleanings for July 2

TIME WITH THE LORD

Colossians 3: 13 NKJV “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you so you also must do.”

One morning as I read that verse while having devotions, some new insight came to me in regard to the meaning of “forgiving”. In the “Word Wealth” which is printed in my Bible it says:

“Forgiving: Greek--charizomai (Strongs # 5483) which means: to do a favor, show kindness unconditionally, give freely, grant forgiveness, and forgive freely. The word is from the same root as charis: “grace.”

Somehow that opened a whole new thought for me. I always realized we need the “Grace” of God in order to forgive someone but it blesses me to know that when I forgive, I am actually putting God’s Grace into practice.

That same day my eyes fell on a book I had in my library: “If Not for the Grace of God” written by Joyce Meyer. I had read it earlier in the year but now once again it was brought to my attention. Incidents like that help me realize God directs our thinking and our lives—it is a confirmation of His love!

Are you allowing God to give you special “nudges” during your devotion time? Open your heart and I know He will speak to you.. Never let your time with the Lord become boring and routine—check up on yourself—you may find that you need an attitude adjustment. Make sure you don’t get in a “rut” during your devotion time with HIM. Remind yourself that you have an appointment with the KING OF KINGS, HE IS the One with whom you will be meeting.

You may need to change your schedule if you haven’t had a special time alone with your Lord. Most of us do have to make the time because there are many duties that want our attention every day, remember, we all have 24 hours—we can choose what we do take time for! There will come a day when “time” will be no more. You DO NOT want to wait to have a special relationship with your Creator God until you meet HIM in person.

As I began this devotional I thought I would be sharing about “forgiveness” and “grace” but somehow it took a different “turn”. I trust the Lord as I write these Grandma’s Gleanings; I believe this was a reminder meant not just for me but also for all who are ready to have a closer walk with God. If you need more help, please call the TCC office. They will direct you to someone who can be of assistance to you. The library has many good books for you to check out too.

The more you get to know WHO God is, the more joy you will experience. This is why we end these devotions with this scripture:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!