Verse of the Day 10/27

Through the Bible - Jeremiah 21-23, 2 Timothy 4   Good morning, As I mentioned yesterday, Sunday was my son Jeff's 27th birthday.  I had signed him up on Facebook, but since he is unable to access it himself, I have the notes that are sent to him directed to me.  With the wonder of technology I am able to forward e-mails from my personal address to my Blackberry.  Because of this, all day long, starting from early morning to late at night I was receiving birthday wishes for Jeff.  Some simply said Happy Birthday, while others included a note for Jeff.  It encouraged me to know how many people were and are thinking of him.   Prayer was the topic of the weekend, and the thought of these messages brought me to a verse that I had quoted a few weeks ago, Ephesians 4:29 reads:   Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.  NKJV At that time I primarily focused on the "let no corrupt word" portion of the verse.  Today I'd like you to consider "that it may impart grace to the hearers".  The verse isn't specifically referring to prayer here but it does apply.   People often think of grace as God's forgiveness, but it is much more, it also has to do with God's enabling power to overcome sin, temptation, depression, fear and a host of other things.   OK, how can we impart grace?  There are many ways.  One would be going back and applying this to the facebook messages; what if instead of saying happy birthday to someone, we told them "I'm praying for you".   It could be a facebook post, a simple e-mail or even a text messagae "I'm prayin 4 U", but follow through and pray for them, pray for this grace.  It might be enough to "see the person through" a tough situation just to know that others are thinking and praying for them.  The song "Somebody's Prayin Me Through" written by Darrell Brown and Ty Lacy came to mind.  Here are a few lines.   It may be my Mother, it might be my Dad Or an old friend I've forgot I had But whoever it is I'm so glad that Somebody's praying me through Somebody's praying me through Through the tears, through the rain Through the sorrow, through the pain It keeps bringing me through Over and over again So when you're drowning in a sea of hurt And it feels like life couldn't get any worse There's a blessing waiting to push back the curse 'Cause somebody's praying you through Somebody's praying you through I've read that verse in Ephesians many times but never really considered that part about imparting grace.  It goes to show that God continues to reveal new things new mercies every morning in our personal studies or through someone else who is "rightly dividing the Word of Truth".  For me all of these thoughts flowed out of some messages that I heard this weekend. Today's verse comes from 2 Timothy 2: 2 Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.   NKJV If you have had grace "imparted" to you, if you hope to impart grace to others, it is likely to flow from time spent in and meditating upon God's Word and prayerfully applying what you learn. In Christ, Mike 2 Tim 2:11-15 11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. 14 Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  NIV