L is for Love

L is for Love
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. 2 John 6

Love is not a mere emotion.
Love is a conscious decision.
Love chooses to obey.

Love is not a mere emotion.
Love is not the warm fuzzies of affection. Love is not the giddy butterflies of attraction. Love is not the heady appeal of flattery, and Love is not the cozy feeling of friendship.

K is for Kindness

K is for Kindness
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 4:29-32

Acts of kindness shouldn’t be random they should be consistent.
Our words should encourage. Rather than dishing the dirt we should be dishing compliments. Find something nice to say, and if you can’t, at the moment, then keep your mouth shut until you can.

J is for Joy

J is for Joy
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11

I choose Joy.

The world wants us to be terrified and is trying its best to destroy the peace that comes with the assurance of salvation. But even in the center of a crisis we can claim the joy and the peace of Jesus for it is His joy and His peace that he has given us.

My joy, My peace, I do not give to you as the world gives John 14:27; 15:11 The world gives peace when times are peaceful, Jesus gives peace when times are hectic. The world does not understand this peace and this joy because they do not know Jesus. But I do know Jesus and so in the times of crisis – I choose Joy!

I is for Indwelling

I is for Indwelling
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Ephesians 3:16-19

In your inner being, that is where Christ dwells. He is the center of the Christian life, He lives inside of us, in such a way as to show Him clearly through everything we say and do. He is the vine and His firm roots support us, the branches. We know this love and this love surpasses knowledge. This love is so great we will never see the height, or the width, or the depth of it. This is a love so great that we will never know the end of it.

H is for Humility

H is for Humility

by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before, God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:10-14

Humility is not humiliation. Neither is it poverty of spirit. Like a child, Jesus said. (Matthew 18:4) So the question is how is a child humble?

G is for Gentleness

G is for Gentleness
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 

1 Peter 2:23

Meek is not mild, and gentleness is not weakness. The ‘he’ of 1 Peter 2:23 was Jesus, the Son of God. 

If you insult a tyrant the tyrant is likely to have you shot. If you insult a bully the bully is likely to break your nose. 

If you insult the Son of God he is likely to turn the other cheek. 

Jesus had the power of God in the palm of his hand. He could have ended them, instead he willing died for them.

Gentleness takes strength of character.

F is for Faithfulness

F is for Faithfulness
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? Luke 16:10-11

Can you be trusted? Do you keep your word? Do you cheat on your taxes? Are you proficient with the little white lies of life? Do you live beyond your means? Do you live on credit, spending money that you do not have? Do you gamble with money that you do not have?

E is for Endurance

E is for Endurance
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4

Christianity is a marathon, not a sprint. Salvation is the beginning, not the end. When you invite Jesus into your life your old life is over and your new life has just begun, and this relationship will live and grow for the rest of your life. Whether that is 9 minutes or 90 years you must “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

D is for Discipleship

D is for Discipleship
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

A new command I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35

This is a Command-ment. And it covers 6 of the big 10. If you love one another you will not kill each other, cheat on each other, steal from each other, lie about each other, envy what each other has, and of course you will honor the parents that you love.

And this is not the temporary warm fuzzy kind of love. This is the love of Christ, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” No ifs, ands or maybes about it, we must love one another in the same way that Jesus loved us. This is discipleship, this is what a disciple of Jesus does. He loves people, he cares about their circumstances here on earth and he cares about their eternal condition.

C is for Courageous

C is for Courageous
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the Lord your God goes with you: he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

Sometimes it is the little negative voice in the back of our minds that we must fight. “Who do you think you are?” “It can’t be done, better to not even try.” “Do you honestly think that God could use you, you are worthless, a failure – Loser!”

The more we head in God’s direction, the louder the devil shouts in our ears, throwing up imaginary road blocks that we must have the courage to walk through. It’s a smoke screen, one of Satan’s most powerful weapons, but it is nothing more substantial than smoke. The fog looks solid, and we can’t see what is on the other side – but God can see and if you follow Him then the fog swirls around you with no power to stop you – none at all.

B is for Boldness

B is for Boldness
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

The world hates Christians. There are places in this world where Christianity is a death sentence. Christians have died for their faith since the very beginning. Before Saul was Paul he got permission to drag Christians from their homes and throw them in jail. Then he met Jesus and his whole world changed.

There was an active conspiracy to destroy Christians, apostles especially. Like Paul, when he was still Saul, there were Jews who went from town to town, stirring up trouble for Christians. Paul had to sneak out of town on more than one occasion. But nothing, not threats of stoning, not being jailed, not being whipped, nothing stopped him from telling the good news of salvation to everyone he met.

A is for Adoration

A is for Adoration
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

There are a few different Greek words that got translated into English as ‘love.’ Some mean affection, some mean a mother’s love for her child. The word Jesus used was agape. This is more than affection, more than the love a mother has for her child. This is devotion, commitment – Adoration. 

And on top of this Adoration Christ adds all – all – all – all.

Do You Know Your ABCs?

Do You Know Your ABC’s?
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

A: Admit
B: Believe
C: Confess

These are the ABCs of Salvation. They are the foundation of the Christian Life. Accept the gift of Salvation and you are born again, born into a new life that is completely different from the life you had before.

Welcome to the Kingdom of God on earth where your soul is secure and eternal blessings await.

But if you were expecting happy days and sunshine from here on out think again. In this world you will have trouble… this world will hate you because this world hates Christ …But take heart! I [Christ] have overcome the world. John 16:33; Matthew 10:22