OUR SUPPLY OF LOVE
Are you feeling ready to walk away from a relationship -- are you possibly even considering divorce?
When we think of some of the dear people in our lives spontaneous feelings of love sprang to our hearts. Then there are others who are not so easy to love. They challenge our sense of justice, our patience and even our Christian faith as we grapple with how to love them.We all have them in our lives from time to time. There might be the group at church who is talking about the pastor and trying to get him to leave. Or they might be woman at work who just seems to want to make life miserable. Maybe it's a neighbor who mistreats his family and evokes disgust from the neighborhood, or a politician who represents you yet makes decisions contrary to your beliefs. Even some extended family members can be awfully trying. Sometimes we feel justified in withholding our love.The Bible talks about the characteristics of love in 1 Corinthians 13.
Here God clearly outlines them. One particular characteristic stood out to me recently...
"Love is patient and is kind". God's Word says that the world should know we are Christians by our love. Love should be the hand-rail that will steady us in all our relationships and dealings with the world around us. Yet how is it possible? One could not just turn a blind eye to injustice, mistreatment and gossip.The springs of love are within God...love does not naturally exist in our own hearts when love is not returned. God tells us exactly what is required of us when we face this dilemma in our hearts. Listen to His wisdom...."And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly, To love mercy and, To walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).It makes sense. Our responsibility is simply to walk humbly with our God allowing Him to keep our hearts soft with mercy while striving for fairness. This would make the difference in the situations where people seem so irritating. His Holy Spirit can give us the patience and the ability to be kind. This approach would even bring balance to situations at church or work that might be getting out of control. This love makes sense. . Mercy and fairness from God's heart can help us deal with some of the hard spots in life.
Father in Heaven,You have called me to love the world around me. It's not an easy thing to do. Thank you that You not only spell out how but You also offer the resource of Your mercy and Your wisdom to bring balance to circumstances that seem so out of balance. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit today and let Your love flow through me so others see You through me. In Jesus' name, amen
Questions: What does "walking humbly with your God" mean to you? How do you love someone that you feel dislikes you?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Back To Basics
BACK TO THE BASICS
Do you know who you are? Do you think nobody cares about you and feeling depressed?
A new year is sort of like a blank slate, but not really, because we can't erase all things from years before, yet God can. Yes, we must still pay the price and carry the scars of mistakes long ago, but we can lay all of that at the foot of the cross as we start anew. The real question is whether we have let our earthly challenges blur our vision of the basics of our faith and a new year is the best time.The best exercise is to go back to the basics. When the legend coach Vince Lombardi's team wasn't doing well, He got them back to basics by standing in front of them with a round leather object in his hand and said: Gentlemen, this is a football." We too need to get back to the basics of the Christian faith. Here are some ideas to get us to the basis of our faith in this New Year:I am God's child (John 1:12)I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )I am assured all things work together for good � (Rom. 8:28)I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16)I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)I have been justified (Rom 5:1)I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9)I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)I am confident the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col 1:14)I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)I belong to God.
Thank you Lord God, that I can know for sure who I am and also Whose I am. Amen.
Questions: Have you allowed your earthly challenges to blur your vision of the basics of who you are in Christ?
Do you know who you are? Do you think nobody cares about you and feeling depressed?
A new year is sort of like a blank slate, but not really, because we can't erase all things from years before, yet God can. Yes, we must still pay the price and carry the scars of mistakes long ago, but we can lay all of that at the foot of the cross as we start anew. The real question is whether we have let our earthly challenges blur our vision of the basics of our faith and a new year is the best time.The best exercise is to go back to the basics. When the legend coach Vince Lombardi's team wasn't doing well, He got them back to basics by standing in front of them with a round leather object in his hand and said: Gentlemen, this is a football." We too need to get back to the basics of the Christian faith. Here are some ideas to get us to the basis of our faith in this New Year:I am God's child (John 1:12)I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )I am assured all things work together for good � (Rom. 8:28)I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16)I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)I have been justified (Rom 5:1)I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9)I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)I am confident the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col 1:14)I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)I belong to God.
Thank you Lord God, that I can know for sure who I am and also Whose I am. Amen.
Questions: Have you allowed your earthly challenges to blur your vision of the basics of who you are in Christ?
Jars Of Clay
JARS OF CLAY
Are you feeling discouraged today
Has your world shattered and left you with no hope for your marriage?
He handcrafted the clay baby cup with her name on it. It was beautifully glazed and I hardly wanted to let her use it. But he said, "Please use it, that's why I made it." And so we did. She loved her own cup with her own name on it!Today the cup sits in her cupboard in her own kitchen. It is still beautifully glazed with her name on it. But the lines on it show where it was carefully glued back together. A clay pot is oh so sturdy yet oh so fragile!!God calls us clay pots. And true to the name most of us sport cracks, carefully glued back together. We are oh so sturdy, yet oh so fragile. Why would God entrust clay pots with the light of His love? We try to fulfill His purposes but we get cracked and broken.Yet His strategy is clear... He knows our weaknesses yet He chose clay pots anyway. He tells us why..."But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).Don't be ashamed of the cracks in your life... don't be afraid to show how God has mended you. This is the testimony to the watching world. Our God fixes broken pieces!If you are broken today because of circumstances in your life, or because of choices you wish you had made differently, don't stay in pieces on the floor. If you know you have disappointed God in your walk or in your talk tell Him you are sorry.God will forgive you, pick you up and mend you. Changed lives, lives lived in the power of the Holy Spirit, demonstrate that it is His power at work in us. This is our hope...this is the hope we hold out to a needy world.
Father God, Thank you that You use cracked pots to demonstrate Your love and power. Forgive me today for the guilt trips and the pity parties and help me to tap into the power that changes lives. Thank you that You put Your Spirit in me so that Your amazing power can be visible! Shine through my cracks today, Lord so that others can see who You are. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Questions: Do you need to change your thinking and accept the cracks in your life as the very places Jesus can shine through? Invite Him into those places today.
Are you feeling discouraged today
Has your world shattered and left you with no hope for your marriage?
He handcrafted the clay baby cup with her name on it. It was beautifully glazed and I hardly wanted to let her use it. But he said, "Please use it, that's why I made it." And so we did. She loved her own cup with her own name on it!Today the cup sits in her cupboard in her own kitchen. It is still beautifully glazed with her name on it. But the lines on it show where it was carefully glued back together. A clay pot is oh so sturdy yet oh so fragile!!God calls us clay pots. And true to the name most of us sport cracks, carefully glued back together. We are oh so sturdy, yet oh so fragile. Why would God entrust clay pots with the light of His love? We try to fulfill His purposes but we get cracked and broken.Yet His strategy is clear... He knows our weaknesses yet He chose clay pots anyway. He tells us why..."But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).Don't be ashamed of the cracks in your life... don't be afraid to show how God has mended you. This is the testimony to the watching world. Our God fixes broken pieces!If you are broken today because of circumstances in your life, or because of choices you wish you had made differently, don't stay in pieces on the floor. If you know you have disappointed God in your walk or in your talk tell Him you are sorry.God will forgive you, pick you up and mend you. Changed lives, lives lived in the power of the Holy Spirit, demonstrate that it is His power at work in us. This is our hope...this is the hope we hold out to a needy world.
Father God, Thank you that You use cracked pots to demonstrate Your love and power. Forgive me today for the guilt trips and the pity parties and help me to tap into the power that changes lives. Thank you that You put Your Spirit in me so that Your amazing power can be visible! Shine through my cracks today, Lord so that others can see who You are. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Questions: Do you need to change your thinking and accept the cracks in your life as the very places Jesus can shine through? Invite Him into those places today.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
We Know God's Truth: Jesus Christ
We Know God's Truth: Jesus Christ
by Rick Warren
Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
The Bible says that Jesus was full of grace and truth. Truth is not a principle. Truth is a person; truth is Jesus Christ.
One of the clearest and best-known statements by Jesus is: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me (John 14:6 NLT).
Notice Jesus says, I am the truth . He doesn't say truth is a religion, or a ritual, or a set of rules and regulations. He says I. Truth is a person.
This is what separates Jesus Christ from every other leader of every other faith. Other leaders have said, Im looking for the truth or I'm teaching the truth or I point to the truth or I'm a prophet of truth. Jesus comes and says, I am the truth.
A lot of people say, I think Jesus was just a great teacher. But he couldn't be just that: No great teacher would claim to be God if he wasn't. Either Jesus is conning 2.3 billion people who believe a lie, or he was nuts, or Jesus is who he said he was.
Everybody's betting their life on something. I'm betting my life that Jesus is who he said he was.
Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him! (John 14:6-7 NLT).
What do you do with the truth once you've discovered it? Four things:
1. Believe the truth!
2. Do the truth. Truth is not just an intellectual exercise; it's something you obey.
3. Stand for the truth. The Bible tells us our responsibility is to never oppose the truth but to stand for it at all times.
4. Spread the truth. The Bible says, Let everything you do reflect your love of the truth and the fact that you were in dead earnest about it (Titus 2:7 LB).
by Rick Warren
Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NLT)
*** *** *** ***
The Bible says that Jesus was full of grace and truth. Truth is not a principle. Truth is a person; truth is Jesus Christ.
One of the clearest and best-known statements by Jesus is: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me (John 14:6 NLT).
Notice Jesus says, I am the truth . He doesn't say truth is a religion, or a ritual, or a set of rules and regulations. He says I. Truth is a person.
This is what separates Jesus Christ from every other leader of every other faith. Other leaders have said, Im looking for the truth or I'm teaching the truth or I point to the truth or I'm a prophet of truth. Jesus comes and says, I am the truth.
A lot of people say, I think Jesus was just a great teacher. But he couldn't be just that: No great teacher would claim to be God if he wasn't. Either Jesus is conning 2.3 billion people who believe a lie, or he was nuts, or Jesus is who he said he was.
Everybody's betting their life on something. I'm betting my life that Jesus is who he said he was.
Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him! (John 14:6-7 NLT).
What do you do with the truth once you've discovered it? Four things:
1. Believe the truth!
2. Do the truth. Truth is not just an intellectual exercise; it's something you obey.
3. Stand for the truth. The Bible tells us our responsibility is to never oppose the truth but to stand for it at all times.
4. Spread the truth. The Bible says, Let everything you do reflect your love of the truth and the fact that you were in dead earnest about it (Titus 2:7 LB).
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