We often strip the cross of it's original meaning. The cross = the symbol of a cruel death. Christ used/chose a despicable symbol of torture and rejection to illustrate what it means to follow Him. In the context of a Christ-follower life, it means dying to self. (Job 2:4) "A man will give all he has for His own life." Christianity without Christ. Forgiveness without repentance. Salvation without regeneration, and Heaven without hell. What we often hear substituted for the true gospel today. To deny ourselves and take up the cross daily, and follow Jesus Christ flies in the face of the deep self-love that is so prevalent today, even in the church. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) People are: lover of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proudful, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, un-holly, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
America's only hope is a nationwide revival.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Let God change your life
"Man is born to trouble.." (Job 5:7)
We are disappointed with ourselves, because we are not always what we want to be. We want to be strong, but we are weak. We want to be successful, yet we experience many failures. We want to be loved, but people are often indifferent toward us. This is God's cure for the heart problem:
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you are also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." (John 14:1-6)
The phrase He utters, "let not your heart be troubled," could simply mean, "don' be agitated, disturbed, or thrown into confusion." Christ says, "It may look like your world is falling apart and the darkness will overtake you, but don't let your heart be troubled." Christ is saying "relax."
Christ laid out the reasons why:
1. As Christians, regardless of what cause we may have to be troubled, there is a greater cause not to be. His word is true. (John 14:1)
2. We are going to heaven. (John 14:2) For our present troubles are small and wont last very long. Yet, they produce for us glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever.
3. He is coming back for us. (John 14:3) In our fallen world, we find relief for our troubled hearts in the promise that Jesus will come back to receive us unto Him.
The Lord Jesus will not merely send for us, but will come in person to escort us to His Father's house.
(1 Thess. 4:16-18)
"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. The we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet he Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
(John 14:3) He will receive us.
Three reasons, or three cures for heart trouble that Jesus offered can comfort and strengthen.
1. His word is true.
2. We are going to heaven.
3. He is coming back again for us.
These promises were made only to the children of Gd who have received Christ. Jesus revealed these truths to his disciples with this somewhat mysterious statement, "And where I go you know, and the way you know." I think Christ wanted them to ask what He meant.
The doubter doubt, even when the facts are clear, while skeptic looks carefully, wanting to see the truth for himself and herself. Who was really responsible for Jesus' death? Do we put the blame on the Romans? Do we put the blame on the Jewish? We DID! Our sins did. And more to the point, Jesus did not go to the cross against His will. He knew. Christ willingly went because there was no other way to satisfy the demands of a righteous God, who we offended. (John 15:13) (Acts 17:30)
(More to come...)
We are disappointed with ourselves, because we are not always what we want to be. We want to be strong, but we are weak. We want to be successful, yet we experience many failures. We want to be loved, but people are often indifferent toward us. This is God's cure for the heart problem:
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you are also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." (John 14:1-6)
The phrase He utters, "let not your heart be troubled," could simply mean, "don' be agitated, disturbed, or thrown into confusion." Christ says, "It may look like your world is falling apart and the darkness will overtake you, but don't let your heart be troubled." Christ is saying "relax."
Christ laid out the reasons why:
1. As Christians, regardless of what cause we may have to be troubled, there is a greater cause not to be. His word is true. (John 14:1)
2. We are going to heaven. (John 14:2) For our present troubles are small and wont last very long. Yet, they produce for us glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever.
3. He is coming back for us. (John 14:3) In our fallen world, we find relief for our troubled hearts in the promise that Jesus will come back to receive us unto Him.
The Lord Jesus will not merely send for us, but will come in person to escort us to His Father's house.
(1 Thess. 4:16-18)
"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. The we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet he Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."
(John 14:3) He will receive us.
Three reasons, or three cures for heart trouble that Jesus offered can comfort and strengthen.
1. His word is true.
2. We are going to heaven.
3. He is coming back again for us.
These promises were made only to the children of Gd who have received Christ. Jesus revealed these truths to his disciples with this somewhat mysterious statement, "And where I go you know, and the way you know." I think Christ wanted them to ask what He meant.
The doubter doubt, even when the facts are clear, while skeptic looks carefully, wanting to see the truth for himself and herself. Who was really responsible for Jesus' death? Do we put the blame on the Romans? Do we put the blame on the Jewish? We DID! Our sins did. And more to the point, Jesus did not go to the cross against His will. He knew. Christ willingly went because there was no other way to satisfy the demands of a righteous God, who we offended. (John 15:13) (Acts 17:30)
(More to come...)
Oh you of little faith...
"Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him. Oh you of little faith, who do you doubt?" -Matthew 14:30-31
The water that seeks to drown you, God is there walking on top of everything. As we walk through our daily life, God is teaching us of our own faith. If you think about it, this disciple that had little faith in Christ, as there with Jesus. He saw Jesus and touched Him and still had little faith. But it ll comes down to, that seeing His face will not help us have faith in Him, but knowing His love and mercies will teach us of His love and mercy. It takes a believer, a true Christian that knows in His full heart that Jesus Christ is our Savior. In a time of need, we need to step out into the impossible.
This summer, God is really testing my faith and my heart. Some of it has been a breaking moment to my heart and my character. Some of it, Satan has been attacking me through, but God's grace has brought me to a place where I am no longer bound by those strongholds. The more we are confound in God's love, the more Christ shines His love through our lives.
The water that seeks to drown you, God is there walking on top of everything. As we walk through our daily life, God is teaching us of our own faith. If you think about it, this disciple that had little faith in Christ, as there with Jesus. He saw Jesus and touched Him and still had little faith. But it ll comes down to, that seeing His face will not help us have faith in Him, but knowing His love and mercies will teach us of His love and mercy. It takes a believer, a true Christian that knows in His full heart that Jesus Christ is our Savior. In a time of need, we need to step out into the impossible.
This summer, God is really testing my faith and my heart. Some of it has been a breaking moment to my heart and my character. Some of it, Satan has been attacking me through, but God's grace has brought me to a place where I am no longer bound by those strongholds. The more we are confound in God's love, the more Christ shines His love through our lives.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
The Stars and Their Names
(Psalm 147:4, "He determines the number of stars, and He gives to all of them their names"). I cannot imagine life without stars in the sky. Each one glistening and immersing their energy (gas) that explodes in the sky. The beauty inside the stars creating nuclear fusion and shinning forth the beauty of a star being made. Beautiful.
Have you ever looked up into the night sky? It is a mind boggling thing to think that our amazing God created each and everyone and placed them in the sky for us to gaze upon (Psalm 8:3-4). What a thoughtful thing to do right? As we look upon each one, each one shines a little differently then another. Some are shinning very brightly with much power and energy, and others are just shinning very lightly.....doesn't mean they are dying or going out, but simply shinning without much need to. As I think of how each star is creating their own shine and energy of gas, I think of each individual person here on earth as they shine their light a little differently than everyone else. Some are very spontaneous and outgoing to where their light is being shone very brightly with much energy, and some are caught behind the scenes doing their shining/energy a little it differently. (Daniel 12:3 "And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever). We are given a light by God to shine among all men. And when I think about the darkness, i was always told that that was Satan's great time to work, but as I think about it, God tells that He made the light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night (Genesis 1:16). He gave us darkness to rest, but gave us stars so that we still may have light....a lesser light to still hope in.
The other night I was star gazing and came across a thought that kind of boggled my mind in a sense that made me realize how beautiful the people on this earth are and how much God loves us. I thought that maybe God had placed all those stars in the sky to represent the people on this earth. To represent His people....the ones He loves. To think that if He possibly did, that means each star has a name, which God has given; and each star has a light, which Go has given; and each star has a heart, which God has saved and loved dearly. Wow. I cannot even fathom the thought of it. It's beautiful actually. To think that our God has placed such an energy in the sky or us to look at, that might be our star we are looking at or someone else's star. (Matthew 5:14 states, "You are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden"). We are the light of the world. Just as the stars are a light the world to shine down on us, we also are the same. We are a light to those who are burnt out and hidden. We are to shine our light to those and bring them back to life again, where their fire is burning and shining for the world to see. We light the way though darkness, and allow the path of darkness to be lit up and seen and not hidden. We have a purpose.
(John 1:3-5, "Through Him all things were made, Without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it"). Christ made us stars and said they were good. And through Him, the stars became life and shone to every nation. They shine throughout the darkness, but yet the darkness does not even understand why. We have a great power in the darkness. With the light God as placed within us we have the power to allow that light to burst with energy and passion and desire. To shine through the darkness and cut through the dead and dying. To bring to life all that are wearing and heavy burdened. Don't let your let burn out or be hidden because of others...stand out and shine.
Why try to fit it, when you were born to stand out?
Have you ever looked up into the night sky? It is a mind boggling thing to think that our amazing God created each and everyone and placed them in the sky for us to gaze upon (Psalm 8:3-4). What a thoughtful thing to do right? As we look upon each one, each one shines a little differently then another. Some are shinning very brightly with much power and energy, and others are just shinning very lightly.....doesn't mean they are dying or going out, but simply shinning without much need to. As I think of how each star is creating their own shine and energy of gas, I think of each individual person here on earth as they shine their light a little differently than everyone else. Some are very spontaneous and outgoing to where their light is being shone very brightly with much energy, and some are caught behind the scenes doing their shining/energy a little it differently. (Daniel 12:3 "And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever). We are given a light by God to shine among all men. And when I think about the darkness, i was always told that that was Satan's great time to work, but as I think about it, God tells that He made the light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night (Genesis 1:16). He gave us darkness to rest, but gave us stars so that we still may have light....a lesser light to still hope in.
The other night I was star gazing and came across a thought that kind of boggled my mind in a sense that made me realize how beautiful the people on this earth are and how much God loves us. I thought that maybe God had placed all those stars in the sky to represent the people on this earth. To represent His people....the ones He loves. To think that if He possibly did, that means each star has a name, which God has given; and each star has a light, which Go has given; and each star has a heart, which God has saved and loved dearly. Wow. I cannot even fathom the thought of it. It's beautiful actually. To think that our God has placed such an energy in the sky or us to look at, that might be our star we are looking at or someone else's star. (Matthew 5:14 states, "You are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden"). We are the light of the world. Just as the stars are a light the world to shine down on us, we also are the same. We are a light to those who are burnt out and hidden. We are to shine our light to those and bring them back to life again, where their fire is burning and shining for the world to see. We light the way though darkness, and allow the path of darkness to be lit up and seen and not hidden. We have a purpose.
(John 1:3-5, "Through Him all things were made, Without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it"). Christ made us stars and said they were good. And through Him, the stars became life and shone to every nation. They shine throughout the darkness, but yet the darkness does not even understand why. We have a great power in the darkness. With the light God as placed within us we have the power to allow that light to burst with energy and passion and desire. To shine through the darkness and cut through the dead and dying. To bring to life all that are wearing and heavy burdened. Don't let your let burn out or be hidden because of others...stand out and shine.
Why try to fit it, when you were born to stand out?
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Husband, Wife, God?
Have you ever felt the want to be married? Have you ever had the desire to be with a person for the rest of your life and live in happiness with them? Oh you have. Everyone has. You were made to love. Not only were you made to love, but you were made to be loved. That moment when someone says, "I love you," and your heart stops and you think..."Is this for real? could he really mean what he is saying to me right now? is he crazy?" Most girls, and I mean all have had these questions run through their head many times when some guy would say these words to them on some perfect night under the stars and then someday down the road get married to him/her. But in these words do we really understand the concept of what it means to love. The truth about forever in a relationship united by not one, not two, but three people.
Marriage. What is marriage? The Webster dictionary states that marriage is, "The state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship." The state of being united to one of the opposite sex; The state of having the last name of the male; The state of living with that person and sharing your every move and moment with them.What the world describes as "The American Dream/Life." We dream of wanting to be loved by someone, and long to be "wanted". The word wanted has become a big issue between our younger women and men. Deceiving us as a tool to twist our hearts and minds in a way that that has to be a major in a relationship. To feel....wanted. Which most of the time is a problem in marriages. We worry that we are not wanted or longed for. We tell ourselves that we are no good for any guy/girl out there. We lie to ourselves by saying that "no one loves us." And after that, we wait just for someone to....love us.
I would like to bring up the verse that most weddings use for the vows. It's in the book of Ruth. “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17). This pledge that Ruth made to Naomi could fit into a modern wedding ceremony if the couple really understands it. For Christians, marriage goes beyond the earthly covenant also, as a divine picture of the relationship between Christ and his Bride, the Church. It is a spiritual representation of our relationship with God. As we look at and dream of our wedding one day, it now only shows us the beautiful story of our lives living as one, but it shows us a little glimpse of what Christ will feel like when we get to heaven. What He will feel like when we see Him face to face at the alter. He will cry, and smile, and cover his eyes at the sight of you. And you will be sitting at his feet and crying and thanking him, for the continual love and unconditional love and promise He has been to you. And to be wearing white in His presence. We will all be wearing white because of the blood he shed for us on the cross to make us white as snow.
In 1 Corinthians 13, we see the distinct definition of love. Without love....these are not able to grasp. "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
To love someone is to know God. And through this we see that we cannot enter a relationship without the God of romance, love and unity, come in and be the foundation and path way to a beautiful marriage. I have realized through my relationship with God, that I can't love on my own strength. It's Christ who gives me the love I need to love the one I am suppose o love and cherish my whole life. Why go to the world for love, when the man who made love himself is waiting for you to come and be His one and only, and in return give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Give God your heart, and He will place it into the hands of a man that is worth knowing & taking hold of your heart.
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