Th rest of the old posts

Our lives reflect our attitude toward God Psalm 97 The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the ...earth sees and trembles. Do our lives reflect this or is He simply a nice guy who want us to be nice
Things that happen to us in life can either be no fault of our own, or no fault but our own. In either case, the result is that we must deal with it, and it is in the dealing that character is made. We can either respond with patience or frustration. Our actions directly effect the way people respond to us. Kind words ...invite a kind response, angry words invite an angry response and can only have devastating outcomes.
Who we are effects how we see things. How we see things effects what we do. If we are in Christ, we will see the world around us as God does and will act in accordance with the love we have been given. If we are bitter and angry people, we will perceive the actions of others in the same way and respond with cutting words and harsh remarks. We can measure the state of our heart by the way we respond to people.
God should not just be an addition to our lives to help make it more complete. The power of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit should transform our lives into something radically new. The Bible says, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." The best way to serve God is to live out who he created you to be in Him and to use our talents and desires for his glory.
I think we as Christians underestimate the power of prayer. If God really is who we claim Him to be, then our communication with him should have much more power. Do we know what it means when we pray in the Jesus' name? Do we realize that we are speaking intimately with the one who put the earth in motion? How does this effect what we pray, how we pray, who we pray for, how often we pray? Pray with great expectation.
17 "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. 2 Samuel 22: 17-19

I'm discovering the key to patience is to cultivate tough skin. We can receive criticism, insults, personal attacks without needing to avenge ourselves. We can calmly let the Lord deal with them as He chooses. By not needing to correct every slanderous word, we are free to focus on God's work. We can even love the people who hurl such words. Forgiveness becomes much easier since we weren't offended in the first place.
Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 3:3) Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10: 23)
So if I stand, let me stand on the promise that You will see me through. And if I can't let me fall on the Grace that first brought me to You! And if I sing let me sing be for the joy that has born in me these songs. And if i weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home... -Rich Mullens (1955-1997)
(John 3:16) لأَنَّهُ هكَذَا أَحَبَّ اللهُ الْعَالَمَ حَتَّى بَذَلَ ابْنَهُ الْوَحِيدَ، لِكَيْ لاَ يَهْلِكَ كُلُّ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ، بَلْ تَكُونُ لَهُ الْحَيَاةُ الأَبَدِيَّةُ.
Give thanks with a grateful heart because of what He has done for us. Let the weak say I am strong. Let the poor say I am rich, because of what the Lord has done. I know all to well that without the Lord, I am nothing. I can do nothing on my own strength. It is only by fully depending on Him along with the grace and love of God that I can do what He has called me to do. Without Him I am so dead.
In the words of my good friend Pastor Nate, "God gave us a brain for a reason." it is true that we depend on God for everything, Including our every breath. But God also expects us to do something with time and abilities He has given us. Just because we know the battle is already won in Christ, does not mean that fighting it becomes unnecessary. Even though David knew he would defeat Goliath, he still had to fight.

What is that makes God's grace so amazing? It is the the balance between Holiness and Mercy. In view of God's Holiness, we are "undone" as Isaiah says. Gods standards are set so high, no Human can possibly reach them. God, in his ...mercy, makes us his children. The fact that is God is Holy makes his grace amazing. Wha...t if God was all grace and no truth, or all truth
I see the man I am. I see who He is, and I can see the man I want to be because of Him. Lord help me to: die daily, submit my will to yours, let you remove everything that is not of you in my life no matter how painful, work out my salvation, walk humbly before you. Help me to grow in sature and favor with God and man. When people look at me, I want them to see you.and no grace?
What is that makes God's grace so amazing? It’s the balance between Holiness and Mercy. In view of God's Holiness, we are "undone" as Isaiah says. Gods standards are set so high, no Human can possibly reach them by their own efforts. This is the fundamental reason we need a savior. God, in his mercy, makes us his children. The fact that is God is Holy and does not tolerate sin makes his grace amazing. He lowered himself taking the likeness of man so that we could be made right with Him. Why would the Ruler of the universe humble himself to the point of becoming like one of his creation? This baffles the imagination and can only be described as AMAZING. What if God was all grace and no truth, or all truth and no grace?
What does it really mean to bare one another's burdens? I was watching the Passion of the Christ, and I came to the part where Simon of Cyrene takes Jesus cross. Even Jesus needed help baring his burden. How much more do we need a friend to simply sit with us, cry with us, and carry us to the feet of Jesus in prayer when we can't pick ourselves up one more time. This is the kind of Love Jesus is talking about.


What would happen if our theology and our reality clashed? Most of us could, in great detail, explain our beliefs about God; what we believe, why we believe it. It's almost like be spiritually drunk. When we're sober, pleasing God is at the forefront of our attention. When we're caught up in the world, God is the last thing on our minds. What can we do to make God a priority all the time?
I've come to the conclusion that the phrase, "practice what you preach is backwards." We as followers of God need to preach what we are already practicing. To live what I believe, pray for those in need, always give more that enough. To gently walk in grace, boldly stand in faith. Most of all to share the Father's love. Let me know that you think?
I love how the apostle Paul puts this. "If it possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." I love the part (as far as it depends on you) I'm not responsible for anything else other than my relationship with God and my own actions. How I love God and how I love others. Here's another one from proverbs. "When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to live at peace with him."
It is impossible to forgive without humbling ourselves. It's humbling to confront the person who hurt you and say I release you. We don't have to wait for the offender to apologize before we forgive. Sometimes this will never happen. We forgive because God told us to, not because it feels good at the time. It does later. "Forgiveness is releasing a prisoner, and realizing the prisoner was yourself.”
Today's thought comes from Pastor and teacher Chuck Swindoll. "The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment. The making of a saint is the task of a life time." The Bible says, "Choose this day whom you will serve." This is the process we are all in. Am I daily surrendering my life and will to God? Do I love and care for others as He would? Am I quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry?
Hi, so today's thought also comes from Wild at Heart. Here's the quick paraphrase. When God looks at you deep in your soul, what do you think he sees? How we answer this question, largely indicates how we relate to God. If we see our selves as sinners, we will hide from Him in shame. If we recognize the FACT we are made HOLY by His grace, we will run to Him.
Today's thought comes from a book called The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. "Creation discloses a power that baffles our minds and beggars our speech. We are enamored by God's power. We stutter and stammer about God's holiness. We tremble before God's majesty and yet we grow squeamish and skittish before God's love." We say how great God is, but yet doubt His capacity to love us in the face of our troubles.


What would happen if our theology and our reality clashed? Most of us could, in great detail, explain our beliefs about God; what we believe, why we believe it. It is an entirely different thing to take those principles and implement them in our daily life. Instead of just talking about loving others and putting God first, what would happen if these ideas became a lifestyle?