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Tag Archives: Proverbs 27:17

Hope And Help Among Us!!! Bible Ballistics: BBs #717

26 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by Blanche in Eyes that SEE HIM, Faithful, Good News, Grace, HOPE

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Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Encourage with your words, Encouragement, Encouraging Words, HOPE, Kindness, Proverbs 27:17

Bible Ballistics: BBs #717  Hope And Help Among Us!!!

 

I just want to share a brief word of encouragement that I pray will help you today and brighten your way.

“Two are better than one;

because they have a good reward

for their labour.

10 For if they fall,

the one will lift up his fellow:

but woe to him that is alone when he falleth;

for he hath not another to help him up.

11 Again, if two lie together,

then they have heat:

but how can one be warm

alone?

12 And if one prevail against him,

two shall withstand him;

and a threefold cord

is not quickly broken.”  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

I’m not talking about “safety in numbers”, but rather the benefit of encouraging words that show caring for one another!  Our kind words can be a help, a blessing and often a spark of hope that someone may need more than we can see!

“Iron sharpeneth

iron;

so a man sharpeneth

the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17

I got just a such a note this morning and I don’t think we can understand the power of our words when we use them to lift up one another.  I pray that this simple post will encourage each of us to be an encourager each day! Amen!

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A Month Of Gratitude??? #7. Bible Ballistics: Vol. 14 No. 14

17 Sunday Nov 2019

Posted by Blanche in Abiding In Jesus, Attitude of Gratitude, Blessed by God, Follow Jesus, Friends, Friendship, Gratitude, Gratitude Is Timeless, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Thankful, Thanksgiving, That They May Know, The Crucified Life

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1 John 4:9-11, 2 Peter 3:18, Attitude of Gratitude, Because He first Loved us, Crucified Life, Friends, Friendship, Galatians 2:20, Gratitude, Jesus Saves!, John 15:15-21, Matthew 16:24-26, Philippians 3:12-17, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 18:24, Proverbs 27:17, Proverbs 27:6-7

Bible Ballistics: Vol. 14 No. 14   A Month Of Gratitude??? #7

 

Friendship: I thank God for friendship!  First of all, I thank Jesus for taking me not only as His child but also to be my best friend!

“Henceforth I call you not servants;

for the servant knoweth not

what his lord doeth:

but I have called you friends;

for all things that I have heard of my Father

I have made known unto you.

16 Ye have not chosen me,

but I have chosen you,

and ordained you,

that ye should go

and bring forth fruit,

and that your fruit should remain:

that whatsoever ye shall ask

of the Father in my name,

he may give it you.

17 These things I command you,

that ye love one another.

18 If the world hate you,

ye know that it hated me

before it hated you.

19 If ye were of the world,

the world would love his own:

but because ye are not of the world,

but I have chosen you

out of the world,

therefore the world

hateth you.

20 Remember the word that I said unto you,

The servant is not greater than his lord.

If they have persecuted me,

they will also persecute you;

if they have kept my saying,

they will keep yours also.

21 But all these things will they do

unto you

for my name’s sake,

because they know not him

that sent me.”  John 15:15-21

Having Jesus as my Lord and Savior isn’t about having a magic lamp, or a genie—it means being crucified with the One who loves me and gave Himself that I might have life!  He did it all for me and having Jesus as my friend means not only identifying with Him as my Lord and Savior, but also loving Him and yielding to His work in my life; that the world may see Jesus in me and be drawn to Him; and I can only do that as I die to self and live to HIM!

“I am crucified with Christ:

nevertheless I live;

yet not I,

but Christ liveth in me:

and the life which I now live

in the flesh

I live by the faith of the Son of God,

who loved me,

and gave himself for me.”   Galatians 2:20

Jesus has given all for me, what less could I give to and for Him?  And Jesus Himself told us that the cross is the issue—He died that I might live, and I live by the power of His cross!  My friend, Jesus, gave His life for me—how could I thank Him for His sacrifice with less than my all?

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples,

If any man will come after me,

let him deny himself,

and take up his cross,

and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life

shall lose it:

and whosoever will lose his life

for my sake

shall find it.

26 For what is a man profited,

if he shall gain the whole world,

and lose his own soul?

or what shall a man give

in exchange for his soul?”  Matthew 16:24-26

Because I am grateful for the ONE who gave His life for me, I desire to please Him, and to hear His “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” when He calls me to Himself, or when He returns for His own!  Do you have such a friend?

I am also thankful for the precious friends in this life whom God has blessed me with!  I truly believe if you/I have one “real” friend, then we are abundantly blessed.  If you have more than one, then you are greatly blessed; and I count myself as one of those abundantly showered with faithful friends!  I have been so greatly blessed by those whom God has sent into my life—some for most of my life—some for a season—some for a short time.  Some are still here, some have gone on before me; but regardless of when, or where, or how long we had in close proximity, I am blessed beyond measure to have shared my life, love and labors with these unique precious ones.

God’s Word says a lot about friends, and I’d like to share just a few of those principles and truths with you today.

“A man that hath friends

must shew himself friendly:

and there is a friend

that sticketh closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18:24

“A friend loveth

at all times,

and a brother

is born for adversity.”   Proverbs 17:17

“Open rebuke

is better than secret love.

6 Faithful are the wounds

of a friend;

but the kisses of an enemy

are deceitful.”   Proverbs 27:6-7

To have good friends, we must be willing to be a good friend; one who is there through thick and thin; one who stands fast in good times and adversity; one who is willing to hold you accountable to God’s Word; one whose advice is for your ultimate good rather than your momentary satisfaction!  How grateful I am that God has sent those kinds of people into my life—He has also allowed me to help those who stayed for a time; as well as those who stayed only as long as it was beneficial to them; and He has sent me those who have stayed the course despite my humanity!  God is so faithful and His love and care for me, as well as His faithfulness to grow me in His Word have helped me be a better friend, and I pray that I can always be that “friend that sticketh closer than a brother”! While I praise God for my siblings (whom I love and am thankful for also), we have often had great distances between us, and God has sent me friends who have stood by me in that “closer than a brother” kind of way!  My heart’s desire is that I will be that kind of friend to others.

Sometimes friendship has a cost, and just as Jesus paid the price for our salvation out of His great love for us; we ought to share with others that same kind of love in friendship!  True friends live and share the love of Jesus with one another, helping each other to become the best that we can be—to glorify our Lord!

“Iron sharpeneth iron;

so a man sharpeneth

the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17

Are we being that “iron” sharpening “iron” by our walk with Jesus, or are we leading our friends down a path of compromise, indulgence and selfish, fleshly lusts?  It’s a tough question because it makes me assess my own walk with Jesus; am I growing in the grace of Jesus and helping others to keep our “eyes on the prize”—Jesus Christ Himself!

“But grow in grace,

and in the knowledge

of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

To him be glory

both now

and for ever. Amen.”  2 Peter 3:18

Oh, to stand fast in “the evil day” and bring glory to The Lord Jesus, to encourage those He sends to us, being grateful for each one HE sends into our lives, imparting grace, courage and love!

“Not as though I had already attained,

either were already perfect:

but I follow after,

if that I may apprehend that

for which also I am apprehended

of Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:

but this one thing I do,

forgetting those things

which are behind,

and reaching forth

unto those things which are before,

14 I press toward the mark

for the prize

of the high calling of God

in Christ Jesus.

15 Let us therefore,

as many as be perfect,

be thus minded:

and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded,

God shall reveal even this unto you.

16 Nevertheless,

whereto we have already attained,

let us walk by the same rule,

let us mind the same thing.

17 Brethren, be followers

together of me,

and mark them

which walk so

as ye have us for an ensample.”  Philippians 3:12-17

May we ever pursue the example of our Lord—He loved us first!  Loving others as He loves us—may we be the friend to others that Jesus is to us!  Thank you to all my wonderful friends—and a special thank you to those of you who have stood with me through the years—you are a treasure rare—and I truly “thank my God upon every remembrance of you”!  Blessings on your week! (Thank God and be sure and thank a friend!)

“In this was manifested the love of God

toward us,

because that God sent his only begotten Son

into the world,

that we might live

through him.

10 Herein is love,

not that we loved God,

but that he loved us,

and sent his Son

to be the propitiation

for our sins.

11 Beloved,

if God so loved us,

we ought also

to love one another.”  1 John 4:9-11

Amen and Amen!!!

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Iron Or Putty??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #582

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by Blanche in By example, Friends, Friendship, Iron Sharpening Iron

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Ephesians 2:8-10, Ephesians 4:32, Faithful God, Friends, Friendship, Iron Sharpening Iron, Proverbs 17:7, Proverbs 18:24, Proverbs 27:17

Bible Ballistics: BBs #582     Iron Or Putty???

 

“Iron sharpeneth iron;

so a man sharpeneth

the countenance

of his friend.”   Proverbs 27:17

“A friend loveth

at all times,

and a brother

is born for adversity.”  Proverbs 17:7

I want to take just a few moments today to celebrate ‘friends’!  I have been abundantly blessed through the years with amazing friends.  Scripture tells us the key to having real friends is relatively simple—not easy but simple!

“A man that hath friends

must shew himself friendly:

and there is a friend

that sticketh closer

than a brother.”  Proverbs 18:24

To have friends, we must ‘be’ a friend! We must be willing to risk heartache as we reach out to others.  Now, this isn’t a popular idea if you follow the ideology of social media; which says, “If you don’t meet my needs, or if you are inconvenient, or if you fail in some way—then I just need to avoid, dump or otherwise exclude you from my life.”  I’m not saying that we aren’t to have boundaries, but we are to exercise grace, love and endurance toward others, as Jesus has extended these qualities to us!

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking,

be put away from you,

with all malice:

32 And be ye kind

one to another,

tenderhearted,

forgiving one another,

even as God

for Christ’s sake

hath forgiven you.”    Ephesians 4:31-32

That must not be right!  Afterall, I am the center of the universe! Right?  Well, to be quite truthful, that may be a popular attitude, but it surely isn’t biblical!  We are called to be iron sharpening iron—not silly putty, that changes to match the shape of the moment.  So, my question for us today is simply this; “Are we being ‘iron’ support for our friends, or are we so demanding of perfection from others, that we have failed to realize that we have been saved by grace, to serve Jesus and others?”  Are we walking in His ways or the popular social trend of the day?  Scripture makes it quite clear that our goal is to do God’s good works- not the imitation ‘goodness’ of the world; which is basically ‘me and my four, and no more’!

“For by grace are ye saved

through faith;

and that not of yourselves:

it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works,

lest any man should boast.

10 For we are his workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus

unto good works,

which God hath before ordained

that we should walk in them.”   Ephesians 2:8-10

So, my friends let’s press on and be that ‘iron sharpening iron’ that someone may need today!  Blessings on your journey of faith and obedience-don’t ‘putty’ out!  Amen and Amen!!!

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Praying Matters!!! Bible Ballistics: BBs #577

09 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by Blanche in Praise God Today!, Prayer, Press ON!

≈ 5 Comments

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1 Timothy 2:1-4, Ephesians 6:10-18, John 15:15, Philippinas 4:6, Prayer Is Important, Praying, Proverbs 27:17

Bible Ballistics: BBs #577      Praying Matters!!!

 

(I wrote this last night, shortly after the incident that I mention happened..  Life happens, and I’m just now being able to post it—I hope it speaks to you as it spoke to me as I wrote it!)

I’d like to share a very recent event that has brought to my heart and mind the import of praying—not just ‘prayer’ but ‘praying’!!!  Praying is one of the most important works that we can do for God, for ourselves, and for one another!  Paul calls us to pray, because God calls us to pray!!!

“Finally, my brethren,

be strong in the Lord,

and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God,

that ye may be able to stand against

the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not

against flesh and blood,

but against principalities,

against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this world,

against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you

the whole armour of God,

that ye may be able to withstand

in the evil day,

and having done all,

to stand.

14 Stand therefore,

having your loins girt about

with truth,

and having on the breastplate

of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with

the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the

shield of faith,

wherewith ye shall be able to quench

all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet

of salvation,

and the sword

of the Spirit,

which is the word of God:

18 Praying always

with all prayer

and supplication

in the Spirit,

and watching thereunto

with all perseverance

and supplication

for all saints;”   Ephesians 6:10-18

We are to put on “the whole armor of God”, but not just put it on, we’re to pray it on, pray it through, and pray in it with “supplication”, “watching”, and “perseverance” for one another!  I have been reminded today of the import of continual prayer for one another; and I would like to share a story and a few pointers in regard to prayer with you.

We have a friend in ministry for whom we pray regularly, and today this precious friend was in a near tragic automobile accident.  He had just left our home and was headed to church when a trailer, carrying a lawnmower, in front of him somehow broke loose from the hitch, throwing the lawnmower into his windshield, then tearing off the top of his pickup truck.  As I heard of this tragedy, my mind went to the amazing providence of our God—the God who has this precious family in His hand—and even though they’ve seemingly had one crisis after another, God has a plan for them! And while the enemy may attack, undermine, try to delude, and distract, God has a plan and when we are suited up—we are safe and secure in His hand!

Yet we can also learn from the instructions that God gives us here:

Be strong in God’s strength and power, not our own!

Depend on God’s armor, not our own self-reliance!

Recognize that we have an enemy- and resist  him!

 Recognize that ‘others’ aren’t our enemy—love them!

Live, walk, and succeed in Jesus’ perfect provision for us–

His truth (for HE IS truth)—

His righteousness (which He provides for us)—

His peace (bought by His sacrifice for our sin)—

His faith (faith in Him, and from Him)—

His mind (thinking God’s way)—

His Word (His love letter to our hearts and minds)!!!

So just a few thoughts of mine on prayer:

 It is important, unparalleled in import—

It is worth taking time for (for you will never “find” time)—

The urgency of it is beyond our understanding—

 We need to have a time to pray–

We need to have a heart for prayer—

 We need to pray regularly, continually and spontaneously!

What does that mean?  It means we should have a time to pray, a prayer list, a place to pray, and an open heart for those moments when God’s prompting of a particular person on our heart isn’t a coincidence but a “God-incidence”!  God wants us to be a channel for HIS blessings on others, to bring Him glory, to minister one to another, and to increase His kingdom. I pray that this will encourage you to value prayer, even when you don’t see the answers in your timing.

“Be careful for nothing;

but in every thing

by prayer

and supplication

with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known

unto God.”  Philippians 4:6

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all,

supplications,

prayers,

intercessions,

and giving of thanks,

be made

for all men;

2 For kings,

and for all that are in authority;

that we may lead a quiet

and peaceable life

in all godliness

and honesty.

3 For this is good

and acceptable

in the sight of God

our Saviour;

4 Who will have all men

to be saved,

and to come unto the knowledge

of the truth.”  1 Timothy 2:1-4

Thank YOU, God, for reminding us that while we may not know how YOU are using our prayers, YOU have called us to draw near to YOU, to minister YOUR grace to each other, and to the world! Let us press on to be “iron” sharpening “iron”!  We win!!!

“Iron sharpeneth iron;

so a man sharpeneth

the countenance

of his friend.”   Proverbs 27:17

He calls you/me friend!

“Henceforth I call you not servants;

for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth:

but I have called you friends;

for all things that I have heard of my Father

I have made known unto you.”  John 15:15

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