Let' Explore Gentleness

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 31st, 2009
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What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?

Lets Memorize these today!
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Longsuffering
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
Last One ! tomorrow Self-control


Let' Explore Gentleness

Many men may draw back a bit from this next fruit, which is the quality of gentleness.
Whether some of the liberals like it or not, Jesus was incarnated into a human flesh body.
This incarnation was done as a man - fully man and fully God.
He was not incarnated into the body of a woman - no matter how any tries to spin this basic fact.
with many people trying to make God gender neutral.
Since Jesus walked our earth as a man, the Son of man.
We reviewed His actions very carefully when we read the gospels and how He handled different types of people.
There were times that He would engage and set people straight, like He did with some of the Scribes and Pharisees.
But there were other times that He dealt with people very gently - with kindness and gentleness.
His gentle way of handling some of these people is what really jumps out at you when you really study how He handled different types of people.
Again, Jesus is the perfect role model for all of us to study and learn from.
Especially with how He handled people while He was walking down here on our earth.
For men in particular, His actions and behavior towards others should be a major study.
We should seek to pattern our own daily walk after Him.
And one of the qualities that He had operating in Him with great abundance was the quality of gentleness.
The quality of gentleness is another major quality needed in our world today.
So many people have been beat up and hurt in their dealings with other people - that just a gentle word, a gentle touch from another Christian.
Will really open up the door for that person to be able to receive Jesus and His healing, saving and deliverance power into their lives.
Once you really start walking in the Holy Spirit with His fruits operating and flowing through you.
You'll really be able to feel and sense when you should handle a certain person or a certain type of situation with more of a touch of gentleness.
There is a time for tough love - but there are also times that just a gentle and loving touch is all that is really needed to properly handle a certain situation.
The Holy Spirit will guide you in all of this.
Just realize that the quality of gentleness is one of the 9 fruits of the Spirit,
and this is one of the fruits that He would really like to get worked into your personality.
Especially in being able to use it when dealing with and helping out others.
Parents really need this fruit operating through them, as it is very easy to get out of balance with the way you are correcting your children.
Sometimes more of a tough love approach is needed, but at other times more of a gentle approach will be better suited for the situation.
If all your children ever hear from you are stern words of rebuke and criticism,
and it is never properly balanced out with words and actions of love, kindness and gentleness.
Then after a certain period of time your children will start to pull away from you.
They will have no more interest or desire in wanting to establish a good, solid, loving and deep personal relationship with you.
Now here are some of the different definitions on the quality of gentleness:
• Mildness combined with tenderness

• Gracious, kindly disposition, controlled strength

• A disposition that is even-tempered, tranquil, balanced in spirit, unpretentious and that has passions under control

• A character that is equitable, reasonable, forbearing, moderate, fair and considerate

• Power and strength under control

• Willing to pardon injuries, correct faults. One who rules his spirit well
Not only will other people love and gravitate towards you more if you learn how to walk in this quality.
WE will be at much more peace with yourself since you won't always have to be fighting and striving with others when trying to help them out.
So Shine Your Light In the Direction Of Those Who Need It Today.
Remember they are in a Darkness that The Light has just not gotten to YET!!
You Be That Light OK?

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVSHCbolJew

Blessed Unity

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 27th, 2009
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We will finish the 9 fruits of the Spirit on Friday and Monday


Blessed Unity
By Connie Ciccone

Precious oneness, blessed unity;

wrapped in Love

of the Holy Trinity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In one accord, steady gazing;

upon His beauty

a fire blazing!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His passion known in worship sweet;

hearts abound

at His feet!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blessed unity, Love's mystery known;

in communion of hearts

around the throne!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soaring the heights,,of Love extended;

perfect in One

differences transcended.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Body of One,

caught in love between Three,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
for all the world to see.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Holy Trinity
~~~~~~~~~~~
Blessed Unity




Connie Ciccone © November 2006


May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie

Let’s Explore Faithfulness

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 26th, 2009
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What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?
Lets Memorize these today!
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Longsuffering
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-control

3 John 1:3
It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth.
Let’s Explore Faithfulness

In the times we live in with half of all marriages still ending up in divorce,
and with many people getting backstabbed in the workplaces, with people they thought they could initially trust.
This particular quality is one that is really needed in our day and age.
This quality is not only needed in our own personal relationship with God,
but it is also needed in our personal relationships with our friends and our families.
Once you are saved and have entered into a true personal relationship with the Lord.
One of the first things we really have to grab a hold of is holding fast to the Lord,
and staying faithful to Him for the rest of your eternal life.
Once you are saved and have entered into a true personal relationship with the Lord, there is no turning back - ever!
This is what got the Jewish people in major trouble with God the Father back in the Old Testament.
They could not stay faithful and loyal to Him on a consistent and regular basis.
There were times that God the Father was literally calling them harlots and adulterers because they would not stay faithful to Him.
Especially when they kept chasing after other gods.
God the Father really holds this particular quality in high esteem,
and this is one quality that He will really expect us to operate very strongly in.
In other words, He wants you to be faithful and loyal to your spouses, to your children, to your parents and to your good friends.
Too many people are bailing out from their spouses and their children if they hit a few minor speed bumps in their marriages.
Too many spouses are having affairs behind their spouse's back,
thereby destroying all of the trust and faithfulness that may have been built up in the early years of their marriages.
Too many dads are bailing out of their marriages, and then forgetting
and forsaking their own children,
and sometimes for good, never wanting to see any of them ever again!
If God brings you a wonderful mate, wonderful children, and good and wonderful friends.
Then He will expect us to stay loyal and faithful to all of them in our own personal relationships with them.
A true friend will stay by your side for life - through thick and thin and for better or for worse.
Just as God will stay faithful to you in His own personal relationship with you.
He will expect you to stay loyal and faithful in your own personal relationships with others.

Now here are what some of the different Bible dictionaries and commentaries have to say about this particular quality:

• Fidelity which makes one true to his promise and faithful to his task
• Steadfast, dedicated, dependable and worthy of trust
• Steadfast, unchanging and thoroughly grounded in relation to the other
• Dependability, loyalty and stability

With the self-centered and materialistic world in which we now live in,
where many people's only goals and ambitions are to get as much as they can out of this life.
I'm afraid this is one quality that is in very short supply.
Most people are lucky if they manage to make 2 or 3 good, true, loyal and faithful friends in this lifetime.
This is one quality that God the Father is really watching all of us on.
He is watching who is going to stay true, loyal and faithful to Him,
and who will stay true, loyal and faithful to the friends and family that are brought into our lives.
The flesh is strong – The self is strong - especially in the area of wanting to satisfy its lust for the material things of this life.
This is why this quality is one of the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit.
We all need the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit worked into us to help keep us loyal to God, family and friends.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKkVtVTOOSo&feature=related

Let’s Explore Goodness

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 25th, 2009
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What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?
Lets Memorize these today!
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Longsuffering
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-control
Let’s Explore Goodness
2 Peter 1:5
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
The Bible says that it is the goodness of God that will lead sinners to repentance and salvation.
The quality of goodness is another real powerful quality to have operating through you.
This particular quality has a real drawing power to it.
Not only does the goodness of God draw people direct to Him,
but this fruit of goodness operating in a believer can draw people directly to God through the actual believer.
Spirit-filled saints who are walking with many of these fruits operating through them are like a magnet.
Many people who have been saved through an individual believer,
say that what drew them in was the love and goodness they saw shining through that believer.
And They Thirsted For It!! (AMEN)
Jesus says that we are to carry His light and we are to let that light shine before men and not attempt to hide it.
Part of His light are these 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit shining through an anointed believer.
Nonbelievers are really drawn to someone who has some degree of these nine fruits manifesting through them.
However, there is something extra special about the quality of goodness.
Many Christians can effectively witness to others by just living right and being a good example and role model for others to follow.
Many nonbelievers carefully watch and study some Christians because they know there is something different about them.
One of the key qualities a nonbeliever will pick up on in a solid Christian is this quality of goodness from their heart.
This quality has an ability to really get down deep into the core of a believer's personality.
To those who really have this quality, you can tell that it is something operating deep down inside of them.
This quality is not something that waivers like some of the other qualities can.
These people are good down to their very cores of their personalities.
You can see it and feel it when you get around these types of people.
As a result of seeing this God-like goodness deeply ingrained into their personalities,
there is an immediate drawing towards them.
You feel safe around them because you know you can totally trust them and you know they would never deliberately hurt you.
Children and animals alike are quick to sense and pick up on this quality in people who really have it.
These types of Christians draw children, adults, and animals to them like magnets.
This is why this particular fruit and quality is so important for each Christian to have.
With it, you can easily draw many more people to the Lord.
If the goodness of God will lead people to repentance and salvation.
Then the goodness of God operating through an anointed believer will have the ability to draw nonbelievers into salvation.
The goodness of God can be transmitted and worked up into your personality through the power of the Holy Spirit.
You can have the actual goodness of God shining through you to reach others,
if you are willing to work with the Holy Spirit in this sanctification process.

Now here are some of the different definitions of what this quality is all about:
• Beneficence, ready to do good, love in action
• Kindness in actual manifestation, virtue equipped for action,
• a bountiful propensity both to will and to do what is good, intrinsic goodness producing a generosity and a Godlike state or being
• The word beneficence means the fact or quality of being kind or doing good
This particular quality is a very powerful fruit to have operating in your personality because of the drawing power it has in it.
The most beautiful part about this fruit is that this quality is so pure in its goodness,
it doesn't have any manipulative qualities within it.
In other words, a truly good person could not even begin to try and use you or manipulate you for his own personal gain,
because he is too good and too righteous to even begin to think along those lines.
This is why these kinds of people are so trustworthy, and why so many people are drawn to them.
Because you feel so safe by just being around them and thirst for what they have.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B300gQkgDS0&feature=channel

Let’s Explore Kindness

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 24th, 2009
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What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?

Romans 11:22
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God:
sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off

Let’s Explore Kindness

As a result of more people being impatient,

having short fuses and with everyone always being in a hurry.
Many people have lost the ability to treat others with kindness and respect.
A kind word, a kind action to another person can really do wonders for them.
When you study the life of Jesus in the New Testament, you can really tell how kind He always was with other people.
Jesus is without question, the ultimate role model for all of us of someone who was fully operating in all 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit.
The quality of kindness will go hand in hand with the quality of love.
Once the Holy Spirit starts to transmit His love up into you, the quality of kindness will follow right along with it.
It will become much easier for you to be able to be kind to others once the love of God starts to flow more into your personality.
But You cannot Love others until you learn to Love Yourself.
You can't help but be more kind to others if God's love is flowing through you.
This is why the quality of love has to be the main quality that you really concentrate on getting more of from the Holy Spirit.
Once the love of God starts to operate and flow through you to touch others,
many of the other fruits of the Holy Spirit will start to follow suit in domino fashion.

Here are some of the different definitions of what real kindness is all about:
• Quality or state of being kind
• The steadfast love that maintains relationships through gracious aid in times of need
• Goodness of heart, serviceable, good, gracious, pleasant
• Love for mankind, hospitality, acts of kindness, readiness to help,
• human friendship, benevolence, taking thought of others
• Goodness in action, sweetness of disposition, gentleness in dealing with others, affability
• The ability to act for the welfare of those taxing your patience

As you can see from some of these different definitions, this is a very beautiful quality to have.
Once transmitted up into your soul and personality by the Holy Spirit.
Not only will you be able to touch others with this godly quality, but you will also be able to touch yourself.
You will feel so much better about yourself,
if you can learn to treat others with much more kindness and respect in your daily dealings and affairs with them.

Of All The Things You Say And Do
By Connie Ciccone
For My Internet Daddy Darrell

Of all the things you say and do
I see the very heart of you
Your joy, your caring
Your love of sharing

Reaching out.....touching a life
Bringing freedom from one's strife
Showing someone that you care
When the burden seems
too hard to bear

In ways so gentle.....ways so kind
To others you bring peace of mind
Your prayers and thoughts
mean so much
Do you realize the lives you touch?

I see your soul.....your spirit too
Such a beautiful reflection
of God in you
I'm forever grateful He
chose to send
A blessing such as you, my friend.

And Because...
Of All The Things You Say And Do

Connie Ciccone ©October 2006

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie

Ephesians 2:7
in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,
expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b0O2zJt8Rw&feature=related

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 21st, 2009
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What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?
Let’s Explore Longsuffering

Lets Memorize these today!
• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Longsuffering
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control
2 Corinthians 6:6
By innocence and purity, knowledge and spiritual insight, longsuffering and patience, kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love;

One of the main definitions of the word longsuffering is that it is referring to patience.
And patience is another sorely needed quality in the fast paced world in which we live in today.
Just watch people standing in line at the grocery store or at your local fast food restaurant.
Watch how short some people's fuses are today.
Road rage is still a problem on some of our highways.
Look at someone the wrong way and they will want to try and take your head off.
Many people have been killed or seriously injured because someone lost his temper over something that was very trivial.
With the fast paced ways of our society, many people have had their fuses shortened up and thus takes very little to set them off.
As a result, many people have very little patience operating in their personalities.
For Christians, this poses a major dilemma.
One of the ways of our God is that He is a very patient and longsuffering God.
His ways are not our ways.
One of the things you will find out very early on about His ways. Is that He works on a much slower time frame than we do.

Unless you learn to adjust to His slower way of working things out,
you will find yourself easily losing your patience with Him and how He wants to work things out in your life.
God operates on a much longer and slower time frame than we are used to operating.
In this fast paced world in which we live in,
you will really have to work with the Holy Spirit on this particular quality to get it properly worked up into your soul.
The reason for this is that your own impatience will start to act up and try to override,
the patience and longsuffering that the Holy Spirit will try and transmit to you.
At times, it may become of battle of wills - your will against His will.
But once the Holy Spirit starts to try and manifest this quality up into your personality,
then you have to try and move with it and allow it to get worked into your mind and emotions.
When you do, then His patience will start to override your impatience,
and before you know it, your fuses will start to lengthen and you won't lose your patience like you used to do.

Here are the different definitions for the word longsuffering:
• Forbearance, patience
• Patient endurance and steadfastness under provocation
• Forbearance under ill-will, with no thought of retaliation
• Patience, endurance, steadfastness and forbearance
• Forbearance under suffering and endurance in the face of adversity
• Ability to endure persecution and ill-treatment

With the way all of these definitions are reading,
you can really see why we all need the patience and longsuffering of the Holy Spirit to start operating in our souls and personalities.
Especially when we are forced to have to face any kind of adversity.
Sometimes it will be the patience and longsuffering of the Holy Spirit ,
that will be the only thing that will give you the ability to last the entire length of a storm cloud or trial.
Learn to ride and flow with the patience of the Holy Spirit in your daily life.
Walk with the Lord….
You will then be able to enter into a much more restful and peaceful state within your mind and emotions.
Ecclesiastes 7:8
The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ2NizzlkCE

Let’s Explore Peace

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 20th, 2009
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What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?



Let’s Explore Peace
“Be still, and know that I am God.” —Psalm 46:10

This is another major quality that we all need operating in our lives,
especially with all of the uncertainty of this life and never knowing what is going to happen next.
Jobs are no longer as secure as they used to be.
You never know when the company you work for may be bought out and your job will be gone in a flash.
Half of all marriages are still ending up in divorce.
We are all forced to constantly live under the threat of future terrorist activity,
never knowing when or where the next attack will come from.
With all of this kind of heightened activity that we are all forced to deal with on a daily basis,
it becomes very easy to lose your sense of peace - especially your peace in the Lord.
Again, this is one of the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit can really help you
pick up the slack if you start losing your own sense of peace over some of the storm clouds that will hit you in this life.
Realize that the Holy Spirit has His peace to give to you and that He can give it to you in great abundance.
I have found that once His peace starts to flow up into your mind, soul and personality,
it really is as the Bible says - a peace that surpasses all human understanding.
Especially when that peace comes in right in the middle of a severe storm cloud that you may be going through.
Here is how the quality of peace is described in some of the different Bible dictionaries and commentaries:
• The presence and experience of right relationships
• The tranquility of soul
• Sense of well-being and fulfillment that comes from God and is dependent on His presence
• The inner tranquility and poise of the Christian whose trust is in God through Christ
• Tranquility, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord
The quality of peace should be one of the main qualities that you should try and get worked up into your soul
through the Holy Spirit in the sanctification process.
Without the peace of God operating in your life,
you could become very easily rattled, shaken, tormented and knocked right off our feet.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” —Psalm 46:10

“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy,” says the old song.
Yet for many people worries and stresses don’t take a summer vacation.

That doesn’t mean, however, that we have to respond with panic or anxiety.
As Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said, “Life can be wonderful…
if you will just get the stillness of God into your body, mind, and soul.
Do the best you can; do good, be good.
Then put it all into His hands and trust Him.
Don't be excited; don't be nervous; don't be tense.
Just be still.
AND
KNOW That He is God

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRFNg-Eyt_0

Let’s Explore Joy

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 19th, 2009
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What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?
Let’s Explore Joy


In the rough and tough world we live in with all of the crime, disorder and bad things that can happen to anyone of us at anytime.
Many Christians have lost a lot of their joy in the Lord as a result of some of the tests and trials they have taken in this life.
I remember I had a bank teller tell me one time that she very seldom sees people smiling anymore.
She says no one seems to be happy anymore and everyone seems to be carrying around the weight of the world on their shoulders.
Again, with the imperfections of our own fallen nature, and then you combine that with how people react differently to adversity.
Some Christians have literally had most, if not all of their joy in the Lord, knocked right out of them.
Galatians 4:22-26
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
This is why the above verse from Galatians is so powerful and so needed by every single Christian today.
In this verse, God is telling us that He can transmit some of His godly and divine qualities right up into the middle of us.
Like filling up a new car with its first tank of gasoline.
Many of God's people need a fresh infusion of His divine qualities,
due to the leaks that have occurred as a result of some of the trials His people have taken during the course of their lives.
The quality of joy is a much needed as the quantity in this day and age.
No matter how bad of a trial you may have taken in this life.
God can still fully heal, deliver and restore your JOY, if you are willing to work with Him in this healing process.
And one of the things that God can fully restore in you is your Joy in Him.
Not only can the Lord fully restore what joy you used to have in Him,
but He can also increase it to a much greater degree and intensity.
Here are some of the different definitions of what real joy is all about:
• Great delight; gladness of heart
• The happy state that results from knowing and serving God
• That deep, abiding, inner rejoicing in the Lord
• To rejoice, to be glad
• Happy, joyful, cheerful, rejoicing, festive
Realize that God can transmit this divine quality right up into your personality,
and this will be His joy, not your joy, once it starts to flow up into you.
Once God starts to release His joy into your system, you won't be able to help but feel it.
The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is your strength.
This is why it is so important that every Christian have some level of God's joy operating through them in this life.
Without God's joy operating in your life, things can begin to dry up.
Nothing is ever fun anymore. Everything can start to become a chore.
Before you know it, you will want to start to withdraw from others and life in general.
The joy of the Lord can really give you an incredible surge of strength in your own daily walk with God.
This is why each Christian should work very closely with the Holy Spirit.
Let Him release His joy into your system, but keep it running through you on a regular and consistent basis.
The Holy Spirit will do this for you. if you are open to receiving this divine infusion of perfect JOY.
Thank You Lord for my Joy!!!
1 Thessalonians 2:19
For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBACOLWEq98&feature=related

Let’s Explore Love

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 18th, 2009
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What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?

Let’s Explore Love

Mark 12:33
To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

If I had to rank all of the above fruits in their order of possible importance, the quality of love would have to be #1.
And this is why it may have been listed as #1 fruit in the above Scripture verse.
Here are some of the different definitions on what love is from the different Bible dictionaries and commentaries:
• Unselfish, benevolent concern for another; brotherly concern; the object of brotherly concern or affection
• The self-denying, self-sacrificing, Christ-like love which is the foundation of all other graces
• Unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the well being of another
• The high esteem which God has for His human children,
• and the high regard which they, in turn, should have for Him and other people
• To love, to have affection for someone; to like; to be a friend; the love of brothers for each other
One of the main messages that comes through loud and clear from studying our Bible
is the extreme importance that God the Father is placing on that everyone learn how to love Him,
love ourselves, love one another, and to even go as far as to be able to love our enemies and those who will try and hurt us.
However, our abilities as fallen humans to love one another is very limited.
This is why it is so important for each and every Christian to work very closely with the Holy Spirit
to get this Fruit worked up into the core of our personalities.
It is only when the love of the Holy Spirit starts to flow and enter into our personalities can we even begin to love God,
love ourselves, and love one another to the degree and to the intensity that God would like to see from each one of us.
To those of you who will be entering into this sanctification process with the Lord –
this quality should be listed as the #1 quality you should really attempt to put on into the core of your soul and personality.
The Holy Spirit will be moving on you very early and very quickly to get this quality imparted into your mind,
soul and emotions due to the extreme importance of it in your walk with the Lord.
You can be the greatest man of God and have some of the greatest gifts of God flowing through you –
but if you are not walking with all of this in the spirit of love and humility, it will be very difficult
to embrace the other Fruits of The Spirit.
Matthew 22:37 (New International Version)
37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktjBfqPwH4M&feature=related

What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 17th, 2009
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What Are The Fruits Of The Spirit?

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22)

It is the time that we all study these and put them to use in our lives today.
This is a dream I had with the Father….

When God the Father purposely isolates and spells out 9 specific qualities
that will be coming direct from His Holy Spirit - He is really letting you know the extreme importance of these 9 specific fruits.
These 9 fruits are major fruits and qualities that are coming direct from God Himself –
and every Christian should do the best they can to work with the Holy Spirit
in getting all 9 of these fruits worked into his or her personality.
I'll first start off by bullet pointing each of these 9 specific fruits so that you can have all nine of them isolated at the top of this article.
I will then give you the Scripture verse where these 9 fruits are coming from,
and then do a brief commentary on each one of these fruits so you can fully understand what each one of these fruits are
all about and how they can dramatically change the quality of your life,
and your state of well-being if you are willing to allow the Holy Spirit to start to work all 9 of these fruits into your mind, soul and personality.
Here are the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit listed one right after the other in a bullet point format:
Lets Memorize these today!
• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Longsuffering
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control
Now here is the specific verse from Scripture where these 9 fruits are being given to us by the Lord:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22)
We will explore these in upcoming devotions this week.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit !:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sPhpXO9sqc&feature=PlayList&p=F34C20306E24CCD7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=59

Can You Forgive?

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 13th, 2009
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in memory of my step-brother Mike

Can You Forgive?

An unforgiving heart is good soil for anger and sin.
Anger gives birth to resentment, bitterness and hostility. . .
We expect life to be fair.
God is really in control and He allows these things to happen.
In tribulations we are tested and this is a gift of God, (Phil. 1:29).
Difficult times should produce spiritual maturity, as St. James said (1:2 -4).


Since forgiveness is rooted in love, a brief look at Christian love may help us understand,
in a fuller sense, the act of forgiveness.
AGAPE, the Christian love, is limitless and unchangeable even when the object of that love is changing.
When our Lord commanded us to love our neighbor, he made it very clear that the world around us is that neighbor.
On the basis of distinction and likeness, a person stops being that neighbor.
Though different from us, a person is still very close to us,
because that person is a neighbor on the basis of equality with us in front of God, and that equality is unchangeable.
“The Christian love is spontaneous and unmotivated.
Love directed to sinners is intended to disclose its independence and sovereignty,” said Nygren.
God loves us because of who He is and not because of what we do or don’t do to deserve that love.
God’s love is very much indifferent to value.
Nothing in and by itself (apart from God) has a self-rooted worthiness or value,
but actually, it is the love of God which gives the object of that love VALUE and WORTHINESS.
That which is not worthy or valuable acquires its utmost value and work from being loved by God.
AGAPE does not require value, it creates it.
Our neighbor needs not only our love, but our forgiveness also.
If we are to extend forgiveness, we must overcome the roadblocks of fear, pride, revenge, self-pity and social pressure.
FEAR that our forgiveness will put a stamp of approval on the other person’s actions.
It gives the person who hurt us the license to hurt us again and again.
Forgiving makes us vulnerable and we fear that.
If you tell a lie about me and I forgive you, then the lie must be true, some may reason.
This fear measured against the love and forgiveness of our Lord does not have a leg to stand on.
Our forgiveness is based upon our pure love toward the other person whether they will hurt us again or not.
Our forgiveness is an answer to Christ’s call to forgive and is not motivated by human reasoning.
Forgiveness does not approve of the wrong, but erases it.
Our forgiveness indicates our love for the person committing the wrong, and not the wrong action.
At times, we drown ourselves in a sea of self-pity which prevents us from reaching out
to receive the hand of our loving and forgiving Lord who can help us deal with our wounded selves.
Self-pity is one of the most devastating roadblocks to forgiveness, because it magnifies the self,
the hurt and prevents us from looking at the wrong doer with any kind of loving and caring perspective.
Only in identifying with the other can we really understand and forgive.
We, at one time or another, may engage in a similar wrong doing which requires forgiveness.
One wrong act is not sufficient reason to devalue a person.
Like ourselves, the other person is capable of weakness, confusion, fear, panic and frailty.
Identifying with the other is a necessary step in penetrating the otherwise impenetrable wall of unforgiveness.
In love we put the act in perspective and view it apart from the person.
Forgiveness allows us to see only the love in others and ourselves.
Forgiveness is freeing ourselves from the past, transforming the present and securing a love-filled future.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31D2g7t5Bjs&feature=related

What God’s Mercy Means

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 12th, 2009
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What God’s Mercy Means

God's mercy is another one of his attributes that comes from his goodness,
and so it is also closely related to his love and grace.
Mercy has to do specifically with God's characteristic attitude toward people who are in trouble.
It is God's pity for those who are miserable or suffering or needy, and helpless in their situation;
but it includes more than just a feeling of pity, for his mercy has his rescuing power behind it.
Out of God's mercy he rescues from difficulty;
out of his mercy he saves the powerless; out of his mercy he heals the sick.
God's delivering activity toward the oppressed, the afflicted, the poor, and the fatherless are all described as coming from his mercy.
Since all of his creation is so dependent upon him, the psalmist can say that "his tender mercies are over all his works (Psalm 145:9)."

Like all of God's attributes, God's mercy in intrinsic to him.
He is called "the Father of mercies" and a "God of mercy"
(2 Cor. 1:3, Neh. 9:17). His mercy is also abundantly great and boundless,
higher than the heavens and filling the earth. Scripture refers to "the multitude of his mercies"
(Lam. 3:32) because the acts stemming from this attribute are so numerous.

His mercy is eternal and unchanging.
God's mercy is "from everlasting to everlasting" (Psalm 103:17)
in the same way that God himself is from everlasting to everlasting.
His mercies don't cease or fail,
because they are new every morning (Lam. 3): constantly fresh and perfect and never fading with age.

His mercy endures forever.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ijOYAYcdwQ

What Is The Glory Of God?

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 11th, 2009
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What Is The Glory Of God?

This is the first and most important of the basic principles of our work.
Real Christianity is God--centered. Real Christianity recognizes,
as Jesus Himself said, that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind.
Those who have glimpsed the greatness, the grandeur, the majesty and the excellence of our God through the eyes of trust in Jesus never get over that vision.
An obsession with the glory of God is the hallmark of true knowledge of God.
What is the glory of God?
The original meaning of glory has to do with weightiness.
The glory of God summarizes the seriousness, the perfection, and the infinite significance of all of the attributes of God.
It sums up who He is, in the awesome brightness and weightiness of all His perfections.
What does it mean then for us to glorify God?
We cannot add to His glory, for He is already perfectly and infinitely glorious.
Rather, for us to glorify God means for us to ascribe the glory that is due His Name in worship.
It means that we acknowledge His glory by living as though His perfections are as serious and significant as they really are,
so that we reflect His glory through a pure mirror.
It means that nothing horrifies us more than the thought of bringing dishonor to His glorious Name,
and nothing delights us more than to feel His pleasure as we live to the praise of His glory.
It also means that we declare His glory among the nations, inviting others to join us in our love affair with His glorious perfection.
Glorifying God thus consumes and defines every aspect of our life and witness as well as our worship.
If the glory of God is our supreme passion, this will redefine both the goal of our task and the manner in which we pursue that task.
The goal of our task is that the earth be filled with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the sea.
Our passion is to see Him receive the glory that is due His Name from every tribe, tongue, people and nation.
Everything else is simply a means to that end.
We are not seeking to add numbers that we can report to the organization;
we are seeking to add worshippers to the choir of heaven, who will live every area of their lives to the praise of His glory.
This focus invests a new, holy seriousness to discipleship and the life of the church.
We are not content unless His glory is proclaimed, reflected, upheld and adored among the people to whom He has called us.
The task is not about us, and it's not even ultimately about the nations.
The focus is on Him.
That’s The Glory To God!

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C6354CAYQc

Embrace God Ideas and Not Just Good Ideas.

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 10th, 2009
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Embrace God Ideas and Not Just Good Ideas.

It is true that good works are fruit of the life of God on the inside of us.
But, many people are wearing themselves out physically doing things that are good ideas, while avoiding "God Ideas".
I am not advocating laziness because the Bible tells us in

Prov. 6:6-11 that laziness is a quick way to failure.
However, good ideas are not always "God ideas". A "God idea"
for you may just be a good idea for someone else and vice versa.
We must use Godly discernment in this area or some of our good ideas will become weights around our neck and hinder us in our race.
Exodus 18:13-24 tells us Moses, as the leader of the Israelites,
came out daily to judge the affairs of the people from morning until evening.
Moses' father in law, Jethro, recognized and told Moses that what he was doing
would cause both him and the people to become weary.
At first, Moses defended his position and explained to Jethro the necessity of what he is doing for God and the people.
Jethro then advises Moses to select some Godly men to help and then advises Moses this:
"if you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure and all this people will also go to their place in peace."
Moses knew Jethro's advice was a "God idea" because Moses had probably already begun to feel weary from his work load.
Jesus followed this same example by delegating responsibility to His disciples.
By saying "no" to one good idea we can save hours of time and energy that can be better spent pursuing "God ideas".
Prov. 19:21 says, "There are many plans in a man's heart, never the less the Lord's counsel in that will stand."

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxtl4SQcVP8&feature=related

Stay With "Your Call"

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 7th, 2009
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Stay With "Your Call"

The Bible contains the general will of God concerning man's salvation and benefits,
but it does not contain the specific call of God for our personal lives (i.e. where to work, who to marry).
We must ask God for direction in these areas. James 1: says, "If any one lacks wisdom let him ask of the Lord who gives to all liberally;".
If we are truly interested in God's will for our lives he will show us.
Once we know His will we should stay with that call no matter what the cost.
Because with that call that God has given us comes all the grace that we need to fulfill that call.
We live in what I call a "flash and hype" generation.
People scramble everywhere to purchase the newest addition of their favorite technology item,
simply because it is flashier than the model they have.
It is not necessarily wrong to have such things,
because God is a good father who wants to bless his children with nice things.
However, many times this "flash and Hype" attitude carries over into people's spiritual life.
As long as something is new and exciting many have no problem resisting discouragement,
but when they have to work long and hard without a lot of fanfare,
it is very easy to look around for newer and more exciting things to do.
At this point, it is also very easy to look around at other people and compare our race with other people's race.
We must resist this temptation.
II Cor. 10:12 says:
"But they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise."
Everywhere Paul went, people continually tried to compare his race with the race of other people.
Paul was determined to stay with his call and not compare himself to other people.
Your call is very important in the plan of God.
So,
Stay With "Your Call"

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiRwdHNZ23g

Let’s Run Our Race With Endurance!

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 6th, 2009
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Let’s Run Our Race With Endurance!

"Therefore do not cast away your confidence,
which has great reward. For you have need of endurance.
So that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise." (Heb. 10:35 & 36)

As I listen to many Christians talk, it is quite obvious that they are discouraged.
They say, "I'm doing what I believe God wants me to do, but it is just not exciting.
I’m doing the same things "so & so" is doing, but my life is just not as exciting as theirs."
At this point they begin to talk about quitting the work that they believe God has called them to do.
It is true that some people start things for the wrong motives.
However, when we know that God has given us a particular race to run,
we have a responsibility to resist discouragement and run that race with endurance until it is completed.
Webster’s defines to endure as: to put up with; to with stand, to continue in existence; last.
The Apostle Paul was a man who exemplified this definition.
He knew that his race was not going to be a sprint,
but a marathon and would require endurance much like a long distance runner.
I believe he had 3 characteristics which caused him to run his race with endurance.
1. He put God's word first place in his life.
2. He stayed with his call.
3. He embraced God ideas, not just good ideas.
Put God's Word First Place
Jesus said in Matt. 4:4 that our lives should be governed, "by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
Putting God's word first place is like building a house on a firm foundation which
never changes and will endure for many years even through the worst storms (see Mat. 7:24).
When the Apostle Paul was tempted to become discouraged during hard times in his life, he placed the Word of God
ahead of feelings and emotions about the situation.
Heb. 12:1-3 says: "Let us lay aside every weight and sin;
and let us run with endurance the race set before us looking unto Jesus; lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."
Paul was looking to Jesus as his example.
In difficult times Paul asked himself, "What does God say about this situation?"
Then he let the word of God be the deciding factor about how he responded to the situation.
This attitude caused Paul to run with endurance and say with confidence,
"Now thanks be to God who always leads us to triumph in Christ." II Cor. 2:14.
This must also be our attitude and confession if we expect to win, so
Let’s Run Our Race With Endurance!

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9quF_O9InI&feature=related

Little "White" Lies

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 6th, 2009
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This Message may be hard to swallow, but very needed (even for me) ouch!

Little "White" Lies

Let us look at some specific ways the devil gets us to lie. We will expose some of his devices. These sorts lies are being practiced by many Christians. Now remember, we are guilty of lying when we do not keep our word. Even if these sorts of lies seem harmless and don't appear to really hurt anyone else, they are harmful to our own souls. The more we practice telling untruths of any kind, the duller our conscience becomes.

1.) "I will call you back tomorrow." (This excuse is often used with a deliberate intent to deceive. The person does not call back at the appointed time and will call back at a much later date with excuses of why they were unable to call which usually goes something like: "I just was so busy, I meant to call , but did not get around to it." We all have been guilty of this, but we need to realize when we say we will do something we need to keep our word. We do understand there are legitimate reasons that make it impossible at times to keep our word. This is not the case we are referring to here. It would be better to not make this promise or to say, "I will try to call you back tomorrow.")
2.) "I will be happy to do that for you." (Whatever promise was made, it was not kept and their word about the matter causes them not to be trusted. The Holy Spirit is trying to purge this lack from His people and is using a group of men known as "Promise Keepers" to help restore trustworthiness back in the heads of families by stressing that they need to keep their promises.)
We could list numerous examples but these two cover a lot of territory; any time we say the words "I will" we need to be responsible to do it. We all, on occasion, fail to do the things we have good intentions of doing or we are hindered in some way and can’t do them. However, if we are unable to keep an appointment we should be thoughtful enough to call and cancel, or tell of our delayed arrival. We are living in an age when there are so many uncaring attitudes expressed. As Christians, we can be good witnesses by being different.

One of the biggest faults of many Christians, and our society as well, is that we tend to over-commit and then we are unable to keep our word. It is disheartening to see this shift prevalent in businesses. They commit to the jobs, then, are not able to produce them on time and thus the standard for business practices is shifting to not expecting them on time. Business people must now factor in lengthy time delays just to compensate for people’s lack of business ethics.
People that tend to over commit sometimes have a pride problem and are people pleasers. They want people to like them so they offer to do things for them, and because they are unable to keep their promises to all they end up not being able to keep their word; thus they are dishonest not really meaning to be. In business it is usually greed that tends to cause them to over commit. They want more business and more money, even when they must work from a backlog that was promised timely.

As Christians we need to ask the Lord to forgive us if we are guilty of lying or deceit. It is a very serious matter with God when we lie. (We can read of the incident of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5 in the Bible. They both fell dead when they lied to the Holy Spirit.)
The Bible also lists this sin of lying as one that can lead us to hell along with some other grievous ones. Revelation 21:7-8 says, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

We can be overcomers through the power of the Holy Spirit as we seek to be like Jesus.
We not only do not want to lie, but we also want to keep our word so that people know we are honest and trustworthy.
As Christians, we want to represent our Father well in this life and be honest and free from fabrication and fibbing.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ouBobxZ0qE&feature=related

Use Me Dear Lord

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 5th, 2009
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Use Me Dear Lord
By Connie Ciccone

Lord, here I am to be used
for You;
Give me the task You'd have
me to do.

I am only a vessel made of
clay,
Seeking to follow always in Your
pathway.

Take me Lord, and use me
today;
in your most unique and
special way.

I serve You faithfully
to share Your
love;
that others may see what
their hearts are made of .


Help me To reach what
they were truly made
for;
that then they may say.

Use Me Dear Lord.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie

Connie Ciccone © September 2006

THE PRACTICE OF GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 4th, 2009
Thank you for your Patience while I recuperated

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THE PRACTICE OF GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY


A. BE AN EXAMPLE TO OTHERS...
1. "...be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in
love, in spirit, in faith, in purity." - 1Ti 4:12
2. There is no way you can avoid being an example to others
a. You will be either be a good example
b. Or you will be an example of what not to be
3. Determine to be an example of those who believe, and this will
set you on the right track of one who grow old gracefully!

B. COMMIT YOURSELF TO THE WORD OF GOD...
1. "Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to
doctrine." - 1Ti 4:13
2. Commit yourself to studying and teaching the Word of God to
others
3. This will assure that you have an open line to God's wisdom
4. So study the Bible daily, and share what you learn with others!

C. CULTIVATE YOUR TALENTS...
1. "Do not neglect the gift that is in you..." - 1Ti 4:14
2. The degree to which you reap will be based upon the ability
with which you can sow
3. If you want to reap a large harvest of good in this life,
develop your talents!

D. APPLY DILIGENCE TO YOUR EFFORTS...
1. "Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that
your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself
and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you
will save both yourself and those who hear you." - 1Ti 4:15-16
2. Growing old gracefully, like many good things, does not happen
by accident
3. It takes concentrated effort, so be diligent and persevere!

CONCLUSION

1. "To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful,
reverent--that is to triumph over old age." - Thomas Bailey Aldrich

2. Is it possible to triumph over old age, to grow old gracefully? Yes,
for I have seen it happen time and again!

3. But those of us who are young must realize the experience is reserved
for those who...
a. Follow the wisdom of God
b. Understand the abundant life is not found in worldly things
c. Sow in such a way as to bear fruit and reap a harvest leading to
eternal life

4. Such a person will be like those described in Ps 92:12-15...

"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."

Don't you wish to be like that? By the grace of God you can! In Christ
Jesus you can become a new creature (2Co 5:17), made possible by the
washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Tit 3:5).

The sooner you begin this new life, the less "baggage" of the old life
you will have to contend with, and the more you can do for the Lord...

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!
With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFHD1kCgJNU