¹² So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. ¹³ There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. ~ James 2:12-13

Such a strong statement — can it be true? What does this mean? How much mercy do I need to show and to who?

Let me very simple minded here, MERCY is MERCY period. Mercy is not dependant on the circumstances, the reasons, the feelings, the person or your anger. MERCY is MERCY.

We become a merciful person as we grow in the Lord, as transformation takes place. A heart of revenge is a dangerous heart to have as a Christian man or woman. God forgave you and had mercy on you when you did not deserve it, He gave you every tool you need to be transformed into His likeness. Our words do not do this, our words are pretty cheap, it’s our heart and actions that He looks at…. we can say all the right things but can we DO all the right things?

Once again it all goes back to KNOWING and FALLING LOVE with Him and His Word…. other wise it’s just religion.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

²⁶ If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. ²⁷ Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.~ James 1:22-27

The Word we read, the words we hear from the Spirit, the sermons we hear, if we just listen to them and do NOTHING with them, if we listen and say “that was good” and walk back into the world un-changed it’s a waste of time, energy and effort. IT DOES not make us a Christian by having Bibles, knowing the right people, going to church. THE WORD OF GOD HAS THE POWER to transform a life, blow away addictions, heal the sick, renew a mind and totally change a life.

True change is seen when our heart and compassion changes, by taking care of others, loving the people in this world that need love and when the things of this world are NO LONGER able to corrupt us.

WORDS ARE CHEAP — ACTONS SPEAKS TRUTH OF WHO YOU ARE!!

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

⁶ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers^[c] who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received^[d] from us. ⁷ For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. ⁸ We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. ¹⁰ Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”

¹¹ Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. ¹² We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. ¹³ As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

¹⁴ Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. ¹⁵ Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister.^[ ~ 2Thessaloinans 3:6-15

Let me sum this up in a few words….. If you don’t work, you don’t eat.

Do not become idle, keep buys, stay out of other peoples affairs, work for your housing, food etc…. HOLD tight to the truth you have been taught.

Now go out and have an EPIC day tosay

2 Now, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. ² Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. ³ Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness^[b] is revealed—the one who brings destruction.^{[c] 4} He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. ~ 2Thessalonians 2:1-4

Stand Firm, KNOW YOUR WORD….. when this time arrives so many in the world will be DUPED and not even know what hit them! This is when the church needs to shine and be the LIGHT in the world. THE ONLY WAY this will happen for you is if you KNOW the Word and you have a LOVE relationship with Jesus — other wise you too will be duped and sucked right into the lie and find yourself heading to hell.

Don’t forget before this takes place this man will appear to be awesome, have all the answers the world will flock to him like he is god, he will bring the words and actions that the world desperately needs and is longing to hear. Millions of Christians will fall away from the faith when he arrives on the scene!!!!

I cannot tell you enough — KNOW HIM, LOVE HIM, KNOW HIS WORD — the church has the main role when we enter into these times…..I do not believe the church will look like it does today….we will be a force with supernatural power from God. But if you are not in now, chances are you won’t be then. Are you ready? Jesus is coming!!!

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¹¹ So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. ¹² Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. ~ 2Thessalonians 1:11-12

Wouldn’t life be incredible if you knew someone was praying this for you on a daily basis? This is another reason God created the church body, called out pastors, this is the prayer of a pastor’s heart!! Now think of it this way… what if…. pastor’s prayed for the flock like this daily and the flock prayed for the pastor’s like this daily. WOW just imagine the possibilities and the power of men, women, teens, children and pastors and their families in this world.

Enough said…. well except this: Are you plugged into a local body?

Now go out and have an EPIC day today.

¹⁴ Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

¹⁵ See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Do not scoff at prophecies, ²¹ but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. ²² Stay away from every kind of evil. ~ 1Thessalonians 5:14-22

There is so much here that he says, so much meat and importance to the body of Christ. These verses show how much we need one another in our lives, in our church, in our walk with the Lord. Encourage one another to keep the JOY, to keep on praying, to remain thankful for what we have. To encourage one another to be strong, not to get lazy in the faith……

That’s a good word there, not to get lazy. I do not think that he is speaking of be lazy and laying around but he is speaking of those who get lazy in the faith. How does that look? It looks like lukewarm, not cold and surely not hot… just getting by in your walk with Jesus. A place where our words are much stronger than our actions. Who we are is who we are in secret, in private. Encourage your brothers and sisters not to get lazy!!!

Always allow the Holy Spirit to be the holy Spirit…. don’t you dare say “that’s not the holy spirit” do not put him in a box, your thoughts are not His thoughts, your ways are not His ways! A lastly stay away from EVERY KIND OF EVIL…. just chew on that one for a day or two…. what does that mean in your life?

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died^[f] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.^{[g] 16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died^[h] will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words. ~ 1Thessalonians 4:13-17

Have HOPE — live your life as though you KNOW the hope that eternity holds for us. Death is part of life, we all die, but as Christians we know that it is just our bodies that die our souls live for eternity. It’s very hard and painful to lose a loved one but there is something so peaceful knowing that they are just passing into eternity and will live forever, and even great we will be reunited once again!!

People spend thousands of dollars trying to reach dead loved ones, they hold on to a hope of the afterlife, mediums, fortune tellers, physics makes millions giving people HOPE — friends our HOPE is found right here in these scriptures!!

This is WHY salvations is so important, this is why we need to teach our children at an early age. The world says DO NOT FORCE religion on them, lol you can’t force religion on anyone but you can teach them, model to them and show them, ultimately they all need to make the choice themselves. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL. Live out a life in front of them, DO NOT deceive your children.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

“…….we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God’s co-worker^[a] in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, ³ and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through” ~ 1Thess 3:2-3a

God sends men and women into our lives to strengthen and encourage us in our faith!!! This is so important to realize and understand. Probably the number one person is your pastor, so the question is do you have a pastor? If you do not that means you are not part of a church. I know there are many reasons for this but MOST of them are your issues not the churches. Find a bible preaching, alive, deep worshipping church with a strong pastor that LOVES his/her flock.

Probably the most influential person God sends to you would be a mentor/friend/small group leader that walks through life with you. The good the bad and the ugly. If you believe they are sent by God then it is easy to be taught, encouraged and strengthened by them. God loves you and wants the very best for you. Jesus died for His church so be a part of a local body and GROW, be accountable, use your gifts. I LOVE THIS and as we get deeper into time here on earth the separation is greater and greater…..

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

¹⁰ You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. ¹¹ And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. ¹² We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. ~ 1Thess. 2:10-12

This letter was written by Paul, Silas and Timothy and here they are reminding them how they came to them, they worked hard, labored so they would not be a burden to any of them. They preached the gospel message to them, taught them, mentored them and help build the church. They say they treated them as a Father would treat his own children.

As a father I only want the very best for my children, I want them to have a good life but the most important thing for me is that they know Jesus, they have eternal life and that they teach their children the same thing. I want them to be men and women of integrity and love, I want them to love others, have strong marriages, I want their children to grow up educated and full of love. I want them to be healthy and have wisdom. Here they say “we pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to walk a life in a way that God would consider it worthy…..”

WHAT A GREAT WORD!!!! Do not be afraid to plead, encourage and urge your spouse, children and friends to walk a life worthy of our calling!!!!!!! We DO NOT have to accept and EXPECT our children to “test the waters” of drugs, sex and drink….. it’s going to be worth it.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today.

⁶ So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. ⁷ As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.^[d]

⁸ And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, ⁹ for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. ¹⁰ And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment. ~ 1Thessalonians 1

Not a whole lot I can say more about this. How does your life compare to the Thessalonian Believers? Do you realize how important your life is? You will reach people not by your words, but by your life!!

Now go out and have an EPIC day today