2015 – Time for a NEW LIFE!

It’s Almost 2015 – Join me as we enjoy the gift of a New Year….with a NEW LIFE!

Your New Life With Each Other

¹²God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. ¹³Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. ¹⁵Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body.^[c] And always be thankful.

¹⁶Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus. – Colossians 3

– HLERadio.com – Chaplain – Brian Graves – 12/30/2014

No matter where you are in the world, at some point during the day your body will tell you that you are hungry….and you will feed it. However, many of us will go a week or longer before we feed our spirit any spiritual food at all and then, we only feed it because someone comes along (a Preacher and Bible Study Teacher) and “Spoon Feeds” our spirit like we are a little baby and are incapable of feeding ourselves.

I grew up in the Mid-West, and there was an old Indian proverb that went around. You may have heard it or a variation of it, it went like this.

The young Indian Warrior came to the Old Chief and said, ” I try to be the best Warrior I can, I train, learn and watch older Warriors to learn from them. But, sometimes I get lazy and I don’t want to train, I don’t think honorable thoughts and do dishonorable things. What is wrong with me? It’s like I have a war inside me”. The Chief thought for a moment and said, “You do have a war inside you. It’s like you have two fierce wolves fighting against each other, one is good and one is evil”. The young Warrior said, “Which one will win”? The Old Chief said, “The One you feed“.

The point is FEED YOUR SPIRIT! Feed your spirit in the morning and many times during the day. When you feed your spirit, God Food – You are feeding the Good Wolf – If you don’t feed the spirit, you are by default feeding the Bad Wolf and the Good Wolf will become weaker and unable to fight at all. The moral of the thought today is, ” Feed the Spirit God’s Word, Listen to Good Bible Teaching and Preaching -Not just on Sunday! Study God’s word! Pick a topic and dig in to find all God has to say about it. Learn to LOVE the spirit food….then when the battle comes and you have storms in your life. Your spirit will be strong, ready for the battle and you will have the opportunity like Peter to walk on stormy waters with Jesus….only maybe you will be able to skip the sinking part 🙂

Ephesians 6:10-20 – ESV

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, andthe sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit,with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Thanks for stopping by to Chat with the Chap -May the Love of God’s Spirit SHATTER Your DARKNESS and HIS WORD LIGHT a FIRE in YOUR LIFE!

– HLERadio.com – Chaplain – Brian Graves – 08/11/2014

Don’t you love Pearl’s? They are BEAUTIFUL and what we would call a “Natural Phenomenon”. Do you know how a pearl is made? Most of us know they are made by Oysters. How does an Oyster make a Pearl? First, a wound must occur and some type of imperfection or irritant is placed in the wound such as a piece of sand etc. This can happen naturally or it can be can be done purposely by a “Pear Master” wishing to harvest a pearl. The irritant festers inside the wound, the irritant never being removed, the Oyster covers it with layers of a protective substance that keeps the irritant from doing damage to the inside of the Oyster. Over time, the Oyster produces a BEAUTIFUL Pearl that is admired by all! Many times unless great care is taken with the Oyster, when the pearl or pearls are harvested, the Oysters dies in the process. Thoughts: As a Christian (A Follower of Jesus Christ), we are in many ways like an Oyster. I think of one Christ Follower who had a wound he wanted to have taken away from him and he asked the Pearl Master (God) to do so…..lets look at it… 2 Corinthians 12: 7 ESV … a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Paul, accepted his Thorn in the Flesh and decided to make a Pearl, he didn’t let the “Thorn in the Flesh” affect his “Inside Spirit” except to make him more dependent on the Pearl Master. We also know Paul’s life story. Paul didn’t leave just one pearl behind but MANY! He brought MUCH Glory to God and encouragement to the Saints in his physical weakness. We also know that ultimately Paul died while leaving these Pearls behind. We all must die physically, but until that time…..are we willing to “Die to Self” and Make Pearls for God? I Corinthians 15:31 ESV…..”I Die Every Day”. Everyone of us has a “Wound or Thorn in the Flesh”. The question is, how will we react to it? Will we become angry at God because “Life isn’t Fair” and say, ” A Loving God wouldn’t” allow this to happen to me?” OR … Will we accept the wound and the irritant then coat it with the “Living Word of God” and the with presence of “His Holy Spirit” keeping the wound from infecting our “Inside Spirit”. I don’t know about you but, I want to be an Oyster for God and when I’m gone I want to leave behind MANY Pearls as a testament to God’s Greatness! Join Me….Make A PEARL in your Wound!