I OFFER MY LIFE... FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ... GLORY TO GOD...

TRANSFORMING THURSDAY
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Last night there were thousands without power on the East Coast as a snowstorm, described as a "Thundersnow with the characteristics of a Catagory 1 Hurricane", pummeled north. I got my hands on several flashlights with strong batteries and prepared for the possiblity of no electricity. It was not something that I wanted to happen, but knew being without power was a possibility.

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At one point, yesterday, the rain had taken away the snow and I could see our grass. Then, for several hours we got about 2 inches an hour of wet heavy snow until it stopped around 10 inches. There was no loss of power! We did not have to live in the darkness like thousands did. This morning, servanthearted Brian arrived early to help dig us out:

Sisters, how do we get our power to live transformed lives? How do we stay plugged in to the power source? How do we keep lit during the storms of life? Let this very strong-willed and opinionated woman answer that!

• I have to continually crucify my spirit, to allow the reign and realm of Christ Jesus to take over my life! Life is not about me! It's about Him!

So, our first memory verses of this year have included:

MATTHEW 5:3 .

"BLESSED are the POOR IN SPIRIT,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "

If you and I want to lead THE BLESSED LIFE, we must live presently in the "kingdom of heaven!" Entrance into that "kingdom" is by Jesus. He is the key. He is the door. He is the light. He'll keep us plugged in! It begins by you and I being poor in our own spirit and submitting to the easy requirements of JESUS for the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. I must tell you that for a strong-willed and opinionated woman, that is NOT always easy. So, the rest of the memory verses for this month help me to continually refocus:

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PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11

• 5 Your ATTITUDE should be the same as that of CHRIST JESUS:
  
• 6 Who, being in very nature GOD,
  
• did NOT consider EQUALITY with God something to be grasped,
  
• 7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a SERVANT, being made in human likeness.
  
• 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He HUMBLED Himself and became OBEDIENT TO DEATH- even death on a cross!
  
• 9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the NAME that is ABOVE EVERY NAME,
  
• 10 that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE should BOW, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
  
• 11 and every EVERY TONGUE CONFESS that Jesus Christ is Lord, TO THE GLORY OF GOD the Father.

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If you are a SEMANTIC learner, then you probably had no trouble just reading the verses, meditating on the concepts, and practicing for memorization. (Some people call that the Read - Repetition method.)

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If you are a SYMBOLIC learner, it is helpful to have some kind of notations or patterns to help you remember. I am partially a symbolic learner. So, I came up with these letters (connected to the upper case words in the bullets above) to help me memorize:

• A.G.E.S. - (Attitude; God; Equality-not; Servant
• HO! - (Humbled; Obedient)
• HP - (Highest Place)
• NAEN - (Name Above Every Name)
• EKB - (Every Knee Bow)
• ETC - (Every Tongue Confess)

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If you are a FIGURAL learner, you probably do best with hands on actions or pictures for your memory work. This way is helpful for me, too. So, this might be an aid for you, as well.

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MATTHEW 5:1-3 .

Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them, saying:

"BLESSED are the POOR IN SPIRIT,

for theirs is the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN."

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PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 . 5

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. .

8 And being found in appearance as a man,

He HUMBLED Himself and

became OBEDIENT to death-

even death on a cross! .

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9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. .

The bottom line is to stay PLUGGED IN TO THE WORD! The WORD will guide you in your transformation to KINGDOM LIVING! Join us here tomorrow for some secrets about THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN on Family Fellowship Friday.

~BLESSED~

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