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LIVING IN THE KINGDOM OF
GOD FEBRUARY 13, 2025
Greetings Dear Saints,
May the LOVE of God be
upon each you every second of your daily living in His Kingdom. A song states,
“It’s love, it’s love, it’s love that makes the world go round.”How true
because God is Love and He so loved the world, which includes everything about creation
and not just the earth. God gave of Himself to and for us because of His love.
As we observe “Valentine’s
Day,” we will hear tremendous references to love. You can research love and
Valentine’s Day on the internet and discover multiple references, definitions,
“stories” and whatever else you want to find out. As you may know, there are
various levels of love, but the highest level and the only one deserving of all
our heart, mind, might, and strength is GOD’S LOVE. In the Greek it is called
“Agape” meaning the type of love that is God’s.
So, God is love, and God
so loved the world that He gave of Himself, His Only Begotten Son, our Savior,
Jesus Christ. There are numerous scriptures that refer to what is known as “The
Great Commandment.” What is that commandment? Don’t forget the second one.
However, sometimes we may hear something so much that we “turn it off.” What
God has asked us to do is to so incorporate the Great commandment into our
hearts, minds, body, spirit, soul that despite the efforts of the adversary, we
will never forget or turn away from His love.
In Matthew when Jesus was
asked what the great commandment was, he said that all the laws and
commandments hang on these two, love God with all and your neighbor as
yourself. In Mark, in a similar session, Jesus told the young man, who had said
that to obey the two great commandments is more than all the burnt offerings
and sacrifices, “You are not far from the kingdom.” In Luke we get the parable
of the “Good Samaritan” with the understanding of who our neighbor is. These
great commandments are also brought to our attention in the Old Testament, Book
of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants.
It is said that the first
mention of love in the Bible is Genesis 22:2 where God spoke to Abraham and
said, “Take now thy son, thine only Isaac, whom thou lovest…” God was directing
Abraham to take Isaac and offer him for a sacrifice. Notice, God did not say
“Thine only son” but, “Thine only Isaac.” God knew what it meant and would
mean to “Give His Only Begotten Son.”
So, if God gave His best,
even Himself for each of His creation, we should not wonder then that the
Greatest Commandment is to Love God with all we have, are, or ever hope to be.
As humans, we usually try to reciprocate when it comes to giving gifts, even
valentines. That is to give, at least of equal value, but more importantly,
above and beyond. Of course, we can never “Out give God.” He does not expects
us to. He just asks that we love Him as He loves us.
But words, as important as
they might be, are not enough. Our expressions of gratitude must be carried out
in the lives we live, in the way we respond to His giving us our daily bread.
We are called to live so His will and Kingdom may come on earth as it is is
heaven. GOD LOVES YOU!
God bless,
Paul Gage
Queen Bed Frame, Box Spring, and Dresser For Sale
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Independence Heartland Meeting - February 20
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From: Australian Restoration
Handy Man Available For Work
CRE Conference 2025
Good evening brothers and sisters,
The Conference for the CRE will begin Sunday, March 23rd and go through Friday, March 28th and will be held at Waldo Restoration Branch (819 West Waldo Ave., Independence, MO. 64059). The theme for this year’s conference is “New Wine in New Bottles” and I am very excited with how God has given us direction in the planning for the conference. I felt very directed by the Spirit in creating the daily themes for all of us to focus on and I want to share them with you now.
Sun., 3/23: New Wine in New Bottles (Matthew 9:21-23)
Mon., 3/24: Being One with Jesus Christ (Mosiah 11:186)
Tues., 3/25: Willing to Make Changes to Come Into God’s Presence (Alma 3:25 & 48)
Wed., 3/26: Willing to Make Changes to Come Into God’s Presence (Alma 3:50-55)
Thur., 3/27: Coming Together and Asking God for Direction (Mosiah 11:188)
Fri., 3/28: Do As He Directs (Numbers 15:38-40)
In my preparation the Lord made it clear to me that it was not going to be sufficient for just the elders or even priesthood to focus on these items and come into His presence. ALL of our people AND our families need to participate in this process, so, we are trying to involve as many people as possible. Voting in the business sessions will be limited to the elders but all can observe. The members, Aaronic priesthood and youth are all encouraged to come and participate in quorum sessions and discussions as well as classes and worship. We really want to encourage you to register early so that we can prepare enough conference books, as well as calculate for meal planning. There really isn’t a registration fee, however we would request $15 to cover the cost of the books and printed materials. To register, you can go to http://www.eldersconference.org/cre2925. From there, click on the link in the upper right corner that says, “Conference 2025”.
It is the desire of the Coordinating Council to complete the business needs early in the week so that we can focus on seeking God’s direction for us in our current state.
There are times that God asks us to do something that we consider a sacrifice. After our experience in Kirtland last September, I feel this may be one of those times that we need to do whatever it takes to come together as a body. I believe God is calling us to come together this week.
Just to remind you, 2-1/2 years ago in the message that was given to the priesthood in Kirtland, the parable of the 10 virgins was referenced and so let us not be part of the foolish that did not prepare in advance. Let us prepare so that when the call is made, we are ready.
So please do not wait until that week of conference to prepare, let us join together and prepare now through prayer, fasting and study. As we get closer to the conference date, there will be a zoom link available on the CRE website if you absolutely cannot join us in person.
May God bless each of us as we prepare to come into his presence.
YBIC
Brian Mundy