"Where Friends Send Friends"

"Where Friends Send Friends"

Thursday, November 26, 2009

God’s Thanksgiving Love ...........

Read Philippians 4:1-9, Psalm 28

God’s Thanksgiving Love


“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 John 1:12



It is very easy to be filled with overflowing joy and thankfulness at Thanksgiving when we are surrounded by loved ones enjoying a bountiful feast and thinking about all the good things we have to enjoy.

This is a good thing and a wonderful feeling, especially when we realize that God is the source of every good thing and of all our blessings.

There are millions of people who find it very hard if not impossible to find any thing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving or any other day. The overwhelming grief over departed loved ones, health issues, divorce, relational strife, and financial problems make depression the main course of the holiday meal for many.

The absence of problems like these should give all great cause to rejoice and praise God that they have been spared such sorrows.

On the other hand, all who are hurting in any way can experience the thanksgiving love of God when they rejoice and give thanks to God in their distress.

When we see Paul and Silas rejoicing and praising God when they were imprisoned, we see why Paul can say with all certainty that God’s peace will guard our minds and our hearts, and that His all sufficient grace will supply our every need.


God, thank You for the special blessings you promise when we go through the hard times with thanksgiving and praise to You.In Jesus’ name, Amen


Chris Spears
Ocala Florida


This great thought by Homilygrits

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Long before Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed ...

Read Colossians 3:12-17, 1 Chronicles 16:7-36

The Way of Thanksgiving



“There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.” Deuteronomy 12:7 NIV

Long before Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed a national holiday in 1941, God had ordained a thank offering as a means of worship for His people.

Among the many things for which people of the Old Testament were exhorted to give thanks, “His love endures forever” is one of the most oft mentioned and repeated reasons for thanksgiving.

Scripture also encourages thanking God for salvation, His goodness, His unfailing love, wonderful deeds, righteousness, and for being our strength and our shield.

The thanksgiving “way” is the daily “thanks living” of our lives in response to God’s love in sending Jesus Christ to die that we might live, and to show us how to live life to the fullest in Him.

One day is not enough time to count all of the physical, material, relational and spiritual blessings of our past, present, and future lives.

Our Lord realized the importance of giving thanks. Before the feeding of the 5,000, at the last supper before partaking of both the bread and the wine, and for God answering His prayer for raising Lazarus as they took away the stone, Jesus gave thanks to the Father.


Thanksgiving is a holiday for the heart. May Thanksgiving Day be just one of 365 opportunities for living the thanksgiving way as we grow into the fullness of Christ.
Father, thank You! In Jesus’ name, Amen


Chris Spears
Ocala Florida

**Read more like this at www.Homliygrits.com **

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Words We Love to Hear ......

Words We Love to Hear

“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.” Ephesians 4:9 NIV


Of all the words we love to hear, words of love top the list. “I love you,” ”God loves you,” ”I forgive you,” and ”Jesus loves me” are terms of affirmation that we need on a daily basis.
We can’t tell our spouses that we love them often enough. Letting God tell of His love for us through His Word is music to our ears. It literally sets our hearts to dancing as we respond by praising God and telling Him how much we love Him.
We all love to hear words of good news and appreciation. “Thank you,” ”great job,” ”your application has been approved,” and ”you’re invited” are music to our ears.
We don’t always like to hear a lot of words spoken in love, but in time, we usually will recognize how helpful, important and necessary these have been as God uses His Word and the words of others to help us confront our sins and deal with them with confession and repentance.
We need always to make sure we are hearing truth, and not just what we want to hear. We need the gift of spiritual discernment as we filter what we hear through God’s Word to make sure we are not hearing something that merely pleases our vanity and egos, without any validation from God’s Word.
I personally can think of no sweeter words that we should love to hear more than “well done, good and faithful servant,” when we meet our Savior face to face and give an account of our stewardship of life.



Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, help us to lead lives fully pleasing to You and fruitful in every good work. In Jesus’ name, Amen


Chris Spears
Ocala Florida

**Message from Homilygrits ministries**

Monday, November 23, 2009

Interior Decorating 101 .....

Read Luke 19:11-26, Psalm 94

Interior Decorating 101

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9b NIV


When we receive Jesus Christ as Savior, we receive the keys to the kingdom of eternal life in heaven in a brand new home. Actually, we are promised a mansion. This is our gift by the grace of God, through faith. We do nothing to earn it.
As wonderful as heaven will be, it is not the end of anything except sin. It is the beginning of everything in a new life for all eternity.
Since the sins of pride, envy and jealousy will be banished, there will be no concept of rank or anyone being any better than any one else.
There is much Scripture referring to rewards in heaven, treasures in heaven, and even ruler-ship in heaven. The faithful stewards who managed the lives they had been given were promised the responsibility managing cities in heaven.
We receive a great deal of love and satisfaction in responding to God’s love on this earth by loving God and others and glorifying Him. What joy there will be when Jesus says, “well done, good and faithful servant,” and proceeds to reward us with the privilege and joy of serving and glorifying Him in His heavenly kingdom!
Thank God we are not going to have to move into our new mansions with the baggage of our sins. Thank God we are going to have the rewards of our good works decorating our mansions in heaven with even greater opportunities to show our love for Him by serving Him and enjoying Him forever.
Father, help me to decorate my life with the good works you created me for here, that I might enjoy serving and glorifying You to the fullest in heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen



Chris Spears
Ocala Florida

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Are You Well Spent?

Are You Well Spent?

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV

Almost everyone is value conscious and strives to see that their money, time and talents are well spent. To some, anything spent in pursuit of pleasure and gratification of any kind is well spent. Many find the time spent in developing their talents is too demanding and they find other things that they would rather be doing, much to their sorrow later. When it’s furnace stoking time in glory we are all going to find out

Almost everyone will agree that time spent with family is time well spent. When we invest in our children’s future by spending time with them when they are young, we will most likely be rewarded with their love and good character when they are older.

Time spent studying is time well spent at exam time, or, as in the case of studying the Word of God, when testing comes. Salvation is a free gift of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Our heavenly home is assured. But there is coming a day when we are going to be called to give an account of how we have spent our lives.


The idea that we will be rewarded beyond salvation for well spent lives is an idea full of conjecture; but Scripture does mention rewards and blessings that we will receive at the resurrection of the just.

how well spent our lives have been. When all of the trivial pursuits and chasing after the wind endeavors have burned away, what’s left is going to define whether we have lived well spent lives. May we all seek to live lives well spent and fully pleasing to God. Father, keep me ever mindful that my life is not my own, that You created me for Your good purposes and for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen



Have a Blessed Day!

Chris Spears

** Today's message from www.homilygrits.com **

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I think the purpose of life is ..........

Wednesday, November 18, 2009


I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is, after all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all. -- Leo C. Rosten


Make it a great day!


Chris Spears
Prestige Auto Sales

Monday, November 16, 2009

When it is obvious that .......

Monday, November 16, 2009



When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. -- Confucius



Make it a great week!


Chris Spears
Ocala Florida

Friday, November 13, 2009

Friday, November 13, 2009

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grief’s which we endure help us in our marching onward. --Henry Ford



Make it a great weekend!

Chris Spears
Prestige Auto Sales

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Many of our fears are .........


Thursday, November 12, 2009

Many of our fears are tissue paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them. -- Brendan Francis


Make it a great day!






Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Security is not ..........

Security is not the meaning of my life. Great opportunities are worth the risk. —Shirley Hufstedler


We are not what we know…. but rather what we are willing to learn. —Mary Catherine


Bateson Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary. —Margaret Cousins


The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible -- and achieve it, generation after generation. -- Pearl S. Buck


Chris Spears Ocala Florida